Essential California: Anti-vax disruption at Dodger Stadium
Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Monday, Feb. 1, and here’s a quick look at the week ahead.
Newsletter
The stories shaping California
Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
Monday marks the first day of Black History Month.
Tuesday is Groundhog Day, much like the 300 or so days that came before it.
Golden Globe nominations will be announced on Wednesday.
L.A. poet Amanda Gorman will read an original poem during Super Bowl LV on Sunday. There will also be a football game, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers facing off against the Kansas City Chiefs.
And now, here’s what’s happening across California:
A group of protesters managed to temporarily disrupt operations at Dodger Stadium’s mass COVID-19 vaccination site Saturday, frustrating hundreds of motorists who had been waiting in line for hours. Los Angeles Fire Department officials closed the main entrance to the stadium — one of the largest vaccination sites in the country — for about an hour Saturday after a group of between 40 and 60 demonstrators appeared on Stadium Way holding signs that decried masks while shouting unfounded claims about the vaccine. The group eventually dispersed, and no arrests were made. Los Angeles officials have since expressed fury at the demonstrators while calling for increased security at testing and vaccination installations. Los Angeles Times
Note: Some of the sites we link to may limit the number of stories you can access without subscribing.
L.A. STORIES
Latasha Harlins’ name sparked an L.A. movement. Thirty years later, the first memorial to her is up. Los Angeles Times
A mural of Latasha Harlins was unveiled at the Algin Sutton Recreation Center in Los Angeles on Jan. 1. Harlins was fatally shot by a shopkeeper in 1991.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Why must TVs remain off at L.A. County restaurants? Officials say yelling and screaming can spread the coronavirus. Los Angeles Times
A happy update on a formerly homeless man who asked strangers to take care of his corgi: A lovely column from Nita Lelyveld. Los Angeles Times
POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT
Trump loses lead impeachment lawyers; gets new impeachment lawyers. A day after he parted ways with his lead impeachment lawyers, former President Trump announced that a new set of lawyers would lead his impeachment defense team. Trump, the first president in American history to be impeached twice, is set to stand trial in the Senate next week. Associated Press
Gov. Gavin Newsom is under fire from Democrats over his COVID-19 response as he faces a GOP-led recall campaign. Los Angeles Times
CRIME AND COURTS
The nearly fatal attack on a legendary San Francisco private detective may be solved by an unlikely person: Jack Palladino himself. San Francisco Chronicle
HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT
How UC Davis is trying to shield a whole city from the coronavirus: The university is providing free testing, masks and quarantine housing to tens of thousands of people who live nearby. New York Times
CALIFORNIA CULTURE
Despite protections, more than 500 Bay Area residents have been evicted from their homes during the pandemic: “The most evictions in the Bay Area during that time period — roughly half the total — were in Santa Clara County, with 145, and Contra Costa County, with 135.” KQED
Braille is everywhere, but most blind kids can’t read it. A competition hopes to change that. Los Angeles Times
The pandemic has erased entire categories of friendship. There’s a reason you miss the people you didn’t even know that well. The Atlantic
A poem to to start your week: From “The Holy Longing” by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, translated from the German by Robert Bly. Favorite Poem Project
Free online games
Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games in our new game center at latimes.com/games.
CALIFORNIA ALMANAC
Los Angeles: partly sunny, 68. San Diego: cloudy, 66. San Francisco: rain is likely, 61. San Jose: sunny, 63. Fresno: partly sunny, 70. Sacramento: partly sunny, 64. More weather is here.
AND FINALLY
This week’s birthdays for those who made a mark in California:
X singer Exene Cervenka (Feb. 1, 1956), media mogul Barry Diller (Feb. 2, 1942), L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti (Feb. 4, 1971), boxer-turned-promoter Oscar De La Hoya (Feb. 4, 1973), the late former President Ronald Reagan (Feb. 6, 1911) and comedian Chris Rock (Feb. 7, 1965).
If you have a memory or story about the Golden State, share it with us. (Please keep your story to 100 words.)
Please let us know what we can do to make this newsletter more useful to you. Send comments, complaints, ideas and unrelated book recommendations to Julia Wick. Follow her on Twitter @Sherlyholmes.
*** This article has been archived for your research. The original version from Los Angeles Times can be found here ***
