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Good morning. |
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On Thursday, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared there would be a “hard close” of state and local beaches in Orange County. |
“I’m a beach advocate,” Mr. Newsom said. But he added that maintaining access to the state’s iconic coastline and protecting public health were not mutually exclusive. |
[Read about the state’s four-phase framework for reopening.] |
Orange County, home to some of the state’s most beloved beaches, is nestled between Los Angeles and San Diego, where beaches had been closed. |
He said that too many visitors from across the region could have become infected with the coronavirus and inadvertently spread it in their home communities — an outcome that is almost impossible to track. |
“It wasn’t just folks from that county who went to the beach,” he said. “Therein lies our concern.” |
Mr. Newsom added he hoped the measure would be short-lived. |
[Read more about how beaches have become the front lines of clashes over the balance between public health and civil liberties.] |
It was the latest word from the governor in what has been a brewing political battle between state leaders and some local elected officials, who have pushed back against what they’ve said are overly broad measures that aren’t necessary in more remote communities. |
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The Orange County Register reported that some local leaders saw the move as an overreach. Some counties pushed back against other restrictions. The San Francisco Chronicle reported Modoc County officials have said they plan to drop shelter-in-place orders and allow businesses to open. |
Without specifying enforcement actions, the governor has emphasized that the state’s order is a baseline, meaning that local governments can’t ease stay-at-home orders to be less strict than the statewide restrictions. |
[See which California counties have the most coronavirus cases.] |
Still, recently, he’s acknowledged that Californians are getting antsy, especially as the weather warms. |
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“We want you to see sunsets, we want you to enjoy activities outdoors,” he said. “The only thing we don’t want you to do is linger outside in ways that are congregating.” |
And while beaches in many of the state’s most populous coastal areas are closed, other parts of the coastline have remained open, according to local discretion. |
Mr. Newsom pointed to the state’s Covid-19 website, which now explicitly lists a broad range of activities that are allowed, as long as you keep your distance from others. |
A (very California) sampling: |
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You get the idea. |
Many state parks, including hiking trails, are still open, Mr. Newsom said. You can find more information about visiting them here. |
Some state parks are, however, closed to the public. You can find a list of them here. |
And you can check your local city or county website to find information about which parks are open near you. |
[Is California a nation-state?] |
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Here’s what else to know |
We often link to sites that limit access for nonsubscribers. We appreciate your reading Times coverage, but we also encourage you to support local news if you can. |
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Also, here’s a new statewide portal for finding child care. [State of California] |
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Also, Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, who called shelter-in-place orders “fascist,” are not on the same page about the pandemic. [The New York Times] |
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And here’s The Times’s “At Home" section for more recommendations. [The New York Times] |
A remembrance |
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We’re continuing with our remembrances of those lost in the pandemic. (If you’d like to share memories of a Californian who has died, please email us at CAtoday@nytimes.com.) |
Today’s piece, about Albert Kass, known as Alby, was written by Brett Simpson: |
For more than a decade, if “Fiddler on the Roof” was playing in Sonoma County, chances are Alby Kass was the lead. Virtually every local production of the musical recruited him because of his uncanny resemblance to Tevye, the milkman. |
“It’s hard to say whether Alby resembled Tevye, or if Tevye resembled Alby,” his son, Larry, said. “Whenever he performed, he felt the music all the way to the core.” |
Mr. Kass died of Covid-19 on March 31 at a hospital in San Leandro. He was 89. He was one of at least 40 patients infected by the coronavirus at the Gateway Care & Rehabilitation facility in Hayward, where he was recovering from a hip injury. Eleven people from the facility had died as of April 15. |
Born in the Bronx to Romanian Jewish immigrant parents, Mr. Kass learned Yiddish folk songs from his mother before he learned English. |
He and his wife, Wallie, were pillars in the town of Guerneville. They owned the Riverlane Resort, founded the Russian River Jewish Community group and co-founded the Russian River Jazz Festival — the proceeds of which funded music education at local schools. |
“Art, photography, nature, music — his enthusiasm was so infectious,” Sonia Tubridy, a close friend and director of the Russian River Jewish Community, said. “You were swept up in a world of beauty.” |
Last September, the group held its first Yom Kippur without Mr. Kass as he recovered from heart surgery. Gathering on the riverbank, they played a recording of him singing the Jewish prayer Kol Nidre. |
And Finally … |
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Although the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve is one of the state parks that is temporarily closed to the public, the Los Angeles-based photographer Jenna Schoenefeld snagged some shots for The Times. |
So please enjoy, and whatever you do this weekend, wherever you are, we hope you’re safe and well. |
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California Today goes live at 6:30 a.m. Pacific time weekdays. Tell us what you want to see: CAtoday@nytimes.com. Were you forwarded this email? Sign up for California Today here. |
Jill Cowan grew up in Orange County, went to school at U.C. Berkeley and has reported all over the state, including the Bay Area, Bakersfield and Los Angeles — but she always wants to see more. Follow along here or on Twitter, @jillcowan. |
California Today is edited by Julie Bloom, who grew up in Los Angeles and graduated from U.C. Berkeley. |
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