It's Tuesday. Coronavirus cases have increased by 18 percent over the past two weeks. Plus, PG&E agrees to pay $55 million to settle civil cases over wildfires. |
 | | Cynthia Key, a public health nurse, administered a second vaccine dose to Shatasha Howard at a Los Angeles park last week as part of a county outreach initiative.Alisha Jucevic for The New York Times |
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Rising coronavirus cases in the Northeast and the proliferation of the highly transmissible BA.2 subvariant raise the inevitable question: Is another Covid surge coming to California? |
It remains unclear whether the increase is a blip or the beginning of a surge. Coronavirus case numbers are also rising in Sacramento, San Mateo and San Bernardino Counties. (Look up your county's latest rates here.) |
In San Francisco, new cases have nearly doubled over the past month. Much of that is probably driven by the BA.2 subvariant, which now accounts for a majority of new coronavirus cases in the United States. |
"It is worrisome," Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious diseases expert at the University of California, San Francisco, told The San Francisco Chronicle. "We have this thing coming, and we don't know how it will impact the population." |
Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, said he was hopeful that the increase in cases wouldn't lead to a jump in hospitalizations and deaths. The growth in cases was somewhat expected after officials began relaxing public health measures in recent months. |
"Right now we're watching it very, very carefully," Fauci said on ABC's "This Week." "And there is concern that it's going up. But hopefully we're not going to see increased severity." |
Fauci stressed that catching Covid comes with serious risks even if you don't end up hospitalized, such as significant illness and long Covid. But he said people needed to make their own decisions about the risks they were willing to take. |
"This is not going to be eradicated, and it's not going to be eliminated," he said. "And what's going to happen is that we're going to see that each individual is going to have to make their calculation of the amount of risk that they want to take in going to indoor dinners and in going to functions." |
 | | Capt. Sukhbir Singh Toor and three other Sikhs sued the Marine Corps on Monday.Mark Abramson for The New York Times |
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- Sikhs sue Marine Corps: A California Marine artillery captain is fighting the Marine Corps dress code, calling for a religious waiver to wear long hair, beards and turbans during combat deployment or boot camp.
- Infected fox: Representative Ami Bera was among at least eight people bitten by a fox infected with rabies near the U.S. Capitol, The Los Angeles Times reports.
- Falling school enrollment: California public school enrollment has dropped for the fifth year in a row, The Los Angeles Times reports.
- Woman pleads guilty to hate crime: Miya Ponsetto pleaded guilty to tackling a Black teenager at a New York hotel after falsely accusing him of stealing her cellphone.
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- Zero pay: A U.C.L.A. job posting for an assistant adjunct professor requiring a Ph.D. but offering zero dollars in compensation was taken down after protests.
- Race for L.A. mayor: A recent poll found that Karen Bass and Rick Caruso are almost equally likely to be elected mayor of Los Angeles, The Los Angeles Times reports.
- YouTubers sued: The University of Southern California is suing two YouTube performers — who are not U.S.C. students — for their prank videos in classrooms, The Associated Press reports.
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- PG&E settlement: The utility company agreed to pay $55 million in penalties and costs over wildfires across six Northern California counties.
- Elon Musk and Twitter: Musk, the world's wealthiest man and Twitter's biggest shareholder, could use the social media platform against itself.
- Encampment ban: The Sacramento City Council approved an ordinance that effectively bans homeless encampments once enough shelter spaces are created, CapRadio reports.
- Corruption scandal: San Francisco's top environment official resigned after soliciting a $25,000 donation from the same company she was awarding a contract to, The San Francisco Standard reports.
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 | | Rancho Mirage | $1.899 millionShafik Wahhab |
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 | | Carolyn Fong for The New York Times |
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Today's tip comes from Jackie Leventhal, who recommends the Point Richmond neighborhood in the Bay Area: |
"The East Bay's hidden waterfront city offers spectacular three-bridge views, hiking trails, marinas, restaurants and cafes. The San Francisco Bay Trail, for bikes and pedestrians, runs several miles through Point Richmond providing access to the historic downtown. The Municipal Natatorium, also known locally as the Plunge, is a landmark pool built in 1926. It is twice the size of an Olympic pool and the walls are decorated with murals. The fairies of Point Richmond live in miniature custom-built homes on the tree trunks along Washington Avenue and sprinkled throughout other places. Keep walking to the Wave Garden with many succulent plants and great views of the San Francisco Bay. Nearby there is a public beach in an undeveloped setting where you can picnic on the benches and watch the pelicans and sea gulls. It's a lovely outing to a place it seems time forgot." |
Tell us about your favorite places to visit in California. Email your suggestions to CAtoday@nytimes.com. We'll be sharing more in upcoming editions of the newsletter. |
What's the best part of spring in California? Email us at CAToday@nytimes.com and your submission may be included in a future newsletter. |
 | | Borrego Badlands in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.Mario Tama/Getty Images |
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And before you go, some good news |
You can now check out passes to California state parks at your local library. |
A new state initiative allows Californians to pick up free one-day vehicle passes, typically $10, for more than 200 state parks. |
"We invite you to take your family and friends, and go walk among the tallest trees in the world, or spend some time on the California coast," the California state parks director, Armando Quintero, said in a video posted to Twitter. "Or just go out for a picnic with family and friends for your enjoyment, and also for your physical and mental health." |
Thanks for reading. I'll be back tomorrow. — Soumya |
P.S. Here's today's Mini Crossword, and a clue: Her album "21" is in Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" (5 letters). |
Mariel Wamsley and Jonah Candelario contributed to California Today. You can reach the team at CAtoday@nytimes.com. |
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