Today’s Headlines: How California’s drought will (or won’t) affect you

Drought is back, but Southern California faces less pain than Northern California.

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How the Drought Will (or Won’t) Affect You

Drought is returning to California as a second consecutive parched winter draws to a close in the usually wet north, leaving the state’s major reservoirs half empty.

But not all regions will feel the same effects. In Northern California, areas dependent on local supplies, such as Sonoma County, could be the hardest hit. Central Valley growers have been told of steep cuts to upcoming water deliveries. Environmentalists too are warning of grave harm to native fish.

Yet, hundreds of miles to the south, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California reports record amounts of reserves — enough to carry the state’s most populous region through this year and even next.

Officials say the lessons of the 2012-16 drought have left the state in a somewhat better position to deal with its inevitable dry periods, and Gov. Gavin Newsom is not expected to declare a statewide drought emergency this year.

The GOP’s Best Chance?

The attempt to recall Newsom is expected to qualify for the ballot this month, but Republicans hoping to replace him aren’t waiting for official word. They’re already in full campaign mode.

The three top Republicans — former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, former Rep. Doug Ose and businessman John Cox — are not well known among the state’s voters. So they are refining their message, raising money against the well-funded incumbent, figuring out how to deal with former President Trump and trying to define themselves in contrast to their GOP rivals while also focusing their fire at Newsom.

The last GOP governor in California was Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was elected during a 2003 recall and then reelected in a general election in 2006.

Winning a recall election is complicated, but the rules set the bar lower than a general election. Voters are asked two questions: Do they want to recall the current governor, and if the governor is recalled, whom do they want to replace him? If the governor is recalled, then the top vote-getter wins, regardless of how few votes they earn.

More Politics

— President Biden’s massive infrastructure plan faces an uphill battle in Congress, and not just from Republicans.

— A year after Congress created the Paycheck Protection Program, taxpayers don’t know how many jobs were saved by the nearly $1 trillion in forgivable loans. They probably never will — the government didn’t keep track.

A Vaccination Milestone

More than 30% of Californians are now at least partially vaccinated against COVID-19 — a hopeful milestone that comes as the state dramatically expands who is eligible to receive the shots.

While still far short of the threshold needed to achieve the kind of herd immunity that can finally put the pandemic behind us, officials say getting even to this level of community coverage provides a desperately needed layer of defense as the state seeks to dodge the COVID-19 spikes striking other areas of the country.

To date, providers throughout California have administered more than 18 million vaccine doses. While the raw number of COVID-19 vaccine doses dwarfs that of any other state, the picture is muddier when accounting for population.

A Tragedy in Orange

Police said the gunman who killed four people, including a 9-year-old boy, at an Orange office park locked the gates to the complex with bike cable locks and was armed with a weapon as well as pepper spray and handcuffs.

The shooting occurred inside a real estate and manufactured home business, and the gunman and victims were connected through business and personal ties, authorities said. The boy is believed to be the son of one of the victims.

The incident — the third mass shooting in the United States in two weeks — stunned the quiet north Orange neighborhood where it happened.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

In The Times’ archives, Easter often meant coverage of sunrise services throughout the area.

Tens of thousands of people would turn out for services at the Hollywood Bowl. But other locations drew crowds too, like the Santa Monica Pier, Mt. Rubidoux and Vasquez Rocks County Park. Attendees would sit among the rocks or stand when all seats had been filled. The services sometimes included large orchestras, choirs and elaborate costumes.

Times staffers photographed dozens of services throughout the years. You can see more here.

April 6, 1980: Easter sunrise services at Vasquez Rocks County Park.

(Cal Montney / Los Angeles Times)

YOUR WEEKEND

— With these beachy adventures, you can fast-forward to summer.

— Here are 17 culture picks to stream this weekend, including a Broadway benefit and a look back at the Hollywood Bowl’s first concert.

— The newest cooking stars to watch are defying traditional career paths. They’re building audiences on TikTok.

— Imagine being on Tinder and finding ... your crush from sixth grade?

CALIFORNIA

— California has lifted the statewide advisory that asked leisure travelers to stay within 120 miles of home to curb the spread of COVID-19, but officials are still discouraging travelers from leaving the state or the country.

— The state’s next attorney general, Rob Bonta, will enter office with a full plate of major challenges.

— After YouTube star Stevie Ryan’s death, a nurse practitioner faces scrutiny.

— Subscriber exclusive: The Huntington Library has a history of inequity. Can it pivot toward inclusivity?

NATION-WORLD

— The Justice Department is asking a federal judge to revoke the pretrial release of two members of the far-right Proud Boys charged in the U.S. Capitol attack, citing new evidence that alleges the men pose a threat to the public.

— George Floyd’s girlfriend tearfully told a jury the story of how they met — at a Salvation Army shelter where he was a security guard with “this great, deep Southern voice, raspy” — and how they both struggled mightily with an addiction to opioids.

— Texas Republicans advanced a slate of proposed new voting restrictions that would reduce options to cast ballots, limit polling hours and hand more power to partisan poll watchers.

— From monitoring social media to encouraging boycotts of Western clothing companies, the Chinese government goes to great lengths to silence discussion about its harsh policies in Xinjiang, even as it claims that all its citizens support them.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

— Ovation Award organizers mistook nominee Jully Lee for a different Asian actor. In protest, the city’s largest theaters pulled out of the L.A. Stage Alliance.

— Olivia Rodrigo has released “Deja Vu,” the much anticipated follow-up to her smash debut, “Drivers License.” The 18-year-old pop singer doubles down on what she knows works: skewering an ex, writes pop music critic Mikael Wood.

— After a year of closure, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art has reopened with six shows that hint to what the future museum will be like, writes art critic Christopher Knight.

— The old-fashioned sitcom is still going strong. Here are six to watch this spring.

BUSINESS

— U.S. manufacturing expanded in March at the fastest pace since 1983, catapulted by the firmest orders and production readings in 17 years. The data add to evidence of an economy poised to accelerate.

— Court TV was the groundbreaking cable network that gave the viewers a front-row seat to the notorious trials of the 1990s. Viewers are rediscovering the channel as the country focuses on the trial of Derek Chauvin.

SPORTS

— In an attempt to force the sale of the Chargers, a sister of controlling owner Dean Spanos filed a petition in Los Angeles County Superior Court arguing that mounting debt has imperiled the family’s finances and the only solution is to put the NFL franchise on the market.

— Rams safety Taylor Rapp is taking personal action to help Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders through trendy means: auctioning off NFTs.

— The Dodgers began the season in bizarre fashion in a loss to the Colorado Rockies.

OPINION

— California rushed to vaccinate poor people in pushing for vaccine equity. But what about transgender people? Outreach to the LGBTQ community is lacking, columnist Erika D. Smith writes.

— Newsom promised healthcare for immigrants who are living in the country without legal status. A new poll shows strong public support for it for the first time, writes columnist George Skelton.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

— Facebook says it’s taken action to combat vaccine conspiracy theories. The problem? The platform is perfectly designed to amplify them. (Bloomberg)

— Why Johnson & Johnson throwing out 15 million COVID-19 vaccine doses shouldn’t scare you. (The Conversation)

ONLY IN CALIFORNIA

Western monarch butterflies are set to begin their annual migration north for the summer, relying on milkweed plants as they travel through Southern California. But finding the right kind is trickier than it sounds for gardeners who want to help the collapsing species. If you’re just getting started, here are eight places to buy native milkweed.

Comments or ideas? Email us at headlines@latimes.com.