Unauthorized immigrants put hopes in new White House.

The motley California crew accused in Capitol siege.

And the eight best winter trails in national parks.

As California seeks to ramp up its vaccination campaign, the state has inoculation centers and the personnel to run them — it just lacks enough doses. Many people 65 and older have been rushing to get appointments only to wait in line for hours. A number of counties were close to running out of doses this week. L.A. Times | A.P.

California has pinned hope on President Biden, who pledged to deliver 100 million doses in 100 days. But some experts say that's far too low. N.Y. Times | Washington Post

Los Angeles County recorded 30% fewer coronavirus cases this week than it did last week. On two straight days — Wednesday and Thursday — daily infections were fewer than 10,000, the first time that has happened since early December. Hospitalizations were down 7%. “This is progress, but as we’ve been reminded again and again,” Mayor Eric Garcetti said, “don’t let down your guard.” L.A. Daily News

The statewide daily case total on Thursday was 19,673, the lowest since Dec. 2. Covid19.ca.gov

Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed $2 billion in incentives to school districts if they can get kids back into classrooms safely by Feb. 16. One problem: The strings attached mean the fund would actually cost some districts money. The proposal calls for vastly increased testing, for which schools would have to pay. The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office concluded that the plan is unlikely to hasten a return to classrooms. CalMatters

The inauguration of Biden this week brought renewed hope among California's roughly 2 million unauthorized immigrants. Some of the changes he has proposed in his U.S. Citizenship Act:

Immigrants in the country illegally could apply for temporary legal status right away, and for green cards after five years.

Agricultural laborers who have worked 100 days during four of the last five years would be eligible for green cards immediately. So would DACA recipients.

Those with green cards, clean records, and knowledge of English would be eligible for citizenship after three years. Sacramento Bee | Desert Sun | Reuters

☝️ On a table in Biden's Oval Office, placed prominently near a collection of family photos, is a bust of the California labor leader Cesar E. Chavez. Fresno Bee | Washington Post

California has been getting in on the Bernie Sanders inauguration mittens meme. 

☝️ Here's a view from the Golden Canyon/Gower Gulch Loop in Death Valley. During the summers, the shadeless desert is no place for humans. But between November and February, temperatures can hover in the 70s. Outside Magazine included the 4-mile Gower Gulch loop, which plunges through gorgeous multicolored badlands and canyons, its list of the eight best winter hikes in national parks. 

The Appeal obtained some disturbing video from inside a holding cell at the Vallejo Police Department. A detective, Lt. Kent Tribble, can be seen standing over a detained man in his cell, then suddenly lunging at him and pummeling him in the head. The detainee, Enrique Cruz, was left motionless and bloodied on the floor. Tribble faced no disciplinary action. He was later promoted.

Margo St. James died. An aspiring artist, she emerged from the ferment of 1960s San Francisco to become one of the nation’s most prominent rights advocates for sex workers. Her organization — called COYOTE, for Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics — hosted the Hooker's Ball, for years one of San Francisco's colorful political events. “There is no immorality in prostitution,” St. James said. “The immorality is the arrest of women as a class for a service that’s demanded of them by society.” She was 83. Washington Post | N.Y. Times

On this week's California Sun Podcast, host Jeff Schechtman chatted with Casey Newton, a Bay Area tech journalist and the author of the Platformer newsletter. He discussed the balancing act that social media platforms are trying to perform on free speech. Most people want social media to be like a town square, Newton said. "At the same time, we want the town square to be policed. If you come to the town square to cause mischief or hurt people, we want somebody to remove you." 

The Southern Californians charged with joining the violent assault on the U.S. Capitol included the owner of an eyelash extension salon, a Beverly Hills concierge doctor, and a fashion model who appeared on a the cover of a raunchy novel. The L.A. Times fleshed out the back stories of the "motley crew" of far-right Californians.

When Donald Trump issued a pardon for a wealthy developer accused of a criminal effort to secure his daughter’s entry to USC, the White House said the move was backed by a university trustee, eliciting shock at the campus. But the trustee, Thomas Barrack, a longtime friend of Trump, denied having anything to do with it. The White House also said the tech billionaire Sean Parker supported the pardon. He too denied playing any role. L.A. Times

Five items that got big views over the past week:

The stormy seas of recent weeks have triggered warnings of danger to beachgoers. But for sea lions near the Channel Islands, they've been an occasion to frolic. @pacificoffshore 

Long before Google Street View, the Los Angeles artist Ed Ruscha captured thousands of photos along the city's Sunset Strip. The resulting archive of an evolving Los Angeles is now featured in an immersive project called "12 Sunsets." Washington Post

A crowdsourced effort is filling the information vacuum surrounding California's vaccine rollout. Hundreds of people have been calling hospitals, pharmacies, and other medical centers for information about vaccine availability. S.F. Chronicle | Vox

Catalina Herrera, a dog groomer in Burbank, has become wildly popular on TikTok with short videos of bedraggled dogs being transformed by a haircut and a wash. @catherrera 

A stand-up comedian has been riding around Los Angeles on a motorized skateboard in full Mandalorian costume. "I'm a big box of stupid and I love making people laugh," he explained. NBC Los Angeles

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Today's California Sun: Unauthorized immigrants put hopes in new White House, the motley California crew accused in Capitol siege, and the eight best winter trails in national parks.

New hope among unauthorized immigrants // Winter hikes in national parks

Los Angeles poet steals the show at inauguration.

Vaccinating older Californians could take four months.

And forecast calls for several rounds of much-needed rain.

Amanda Gorman, a Los Angeles poet all of 22 years old, delivered one of the most stirring moments of Joe Biden's inauguration ceremony on Wednesday. Following in the footsteps of Maya Angelou and Robert Frost, she became the youngest person to write a recite a poem at a presidential swearing-in. It included these lines:

Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:
That even as we grieved, we grew
That even as we hurt, we hoped
That even as we tired, we tried
That we’ll forever be tied together, victorious

See Gorman deliver her poem "The Hill We Climb." 👉 @YouTube 

Gorman grapples with a speech impediment. “But I don’t look at my disability as a weakness,” she said. “It’s made me the performer that I am and the storyteller that I strive to be." L.A. Times

“It just shows her that anything is possible.”

"I've been sitting here ugly crying all morning."

The swearing-in of Kamala Harris as vice president, making her the first female vice president and the first Black American and first person of South Asian descent to hold the position, had a special resonance in the Bay Area, where Harris grew up. Mercury News | KQED

Fun fact: The second and third highest-ranking officials in U.S. government are now both women from the Bay Area.  

Harris's first official act as vice president was swearing in her successor in the Senate, Alex Padilla, who became the first Latino to represent California in the upper chamber of Congress. "I’ve been telling folks I have big Chuck Taylors to fill,” he said, giving a nod to Harris’s favorite footwear. One of Padilla's first tasks: serving as a juror in the impeachment trial of Donald Trump. L.A. Times | S.F. Chronicle

CalMatters asked Padilla if he'd support the expulsion of Sens. Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley for objecting to the Electoral College votes. "I think the nation would be best served if they were no longer in the Senate," he said. "There are several procedures for that."

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, an ardent Trump ally who objected to Biden's election victory, struck a conciliatory tone on Wednesday, telling Biden and Harris that he was "very proud" of them. McCarthy skipped Trump's send-off. According to the N.Y. Times's Maggie Haberman, Trump has used colorful language to describe a newfound antipathy toward the Bakersfield Republican since he rebuked the president for stoking the Capitol mob. KFSN | USA Today

It could take until June to finish vaccinating Californians 65 and older, the state’s epidemiologist, Dr. Erica Pan, said Wednesday. That suggests a wait of at least four months for those who are not on the current priority list, which includes health care workers and people in nursing homes. There are 6.2 million Californians over the age of 65, but the state is only getting between 400,000 and 500,000 vaccine doses in a good week. L.A. Times | Sacramento Bee

When California announced an outdoor dining ban in early December, officials were asked to provide evidence of a link between the activity and coronavirus transmission. They didn't, instead arguing that the ban sends a message discouraging mixing. But some experts believe the ban has had the opposite effect, driving people toward riskier gatherings. "Things actually got worse," said Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease expert at UCSF. SFGate.com

On Tuesday, 45 cargo ships were anchored outside the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, part of a major bottleneck that is being exacerbated by the coronavirus. Nearly 700 dockworkers at the ports have contracted Covid-19, and hundreds more have taken virus-related leaves. Members of Congress have pleaded with health officials to give dockworkers vaccine priority. “Without immediate action," Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragan wrote, "terminals at the largest port complex in America may face the very real danger of terminal shutdowns." L.A. Times

State Sen. Shannon Grove, of Bakersfield, was ousted as leader of the Republicans in the Legislature's upper house on Wednesday. An enthusiastic Trump supporter, Grove amplified misinformation about the presidential election and initially blamed the Capitol insurrection on antifa. Republicans chose state Sen. Scott Wilk, a moderate who sometimes votes with Democrats, to take her place. S.F. Chronicle | Politico

Donald Trump granted clemency to a Los Angeles man who was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for nonviolent marijuana crimes. In 2013, Corvain Cooper was convicted of trafficking large amounts of cannabis. Although he was low in the hierarchy of the operation, conspiracy charges allowed prosecutors to inflate his culpability. Cooper reacted from prison on Facebook: “I get to now be the dad I always wanted to be!” O.C. Register | NY Post

Also pardoned: Anthony Levandowski, the engineer who stole trade secrets from Google. Trump cited the support of Peter Thiel. A.P. | The Guardian

Forecasters expect as many as four storms to drop desperately needed rain and snow over California during final weeks of January. The first system, arriving midweek, was poised to dump heavy rain on parts of Southern California, followed by a succession of storms across the state beginning Friday. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, 95% of California is now stricken by drought conditions. CNN | Weather Channel

Catalina Herrera, a dog groomer in Burbank, has become wildly popular on TikTok with short videos of bedraggled dogs being transformed by a haircut and a wash. In a recent video, Herrera treated a pup whose matted hair was among the worst she had ever seen. Knotted hair can be painful. After an hour of work, the dog was like new. "You're officially free," says Herrera. "You're free!" 👉 @catherrera 

Pictured above, deep in the heart of the Lost Coast, is the aftermath of a GPS device gone haywire. Not really. Some years ago, a local doctor with a penchant for whimsy hoisted a Ford truck shell into the trees near the mouth of Mattole River just for the heck of it. Being the Lost Coast, with its live-and-let-live ethos, no government agent has thought to tell him to take it down. RudyRucker.com

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Today's California Sun: Los Angeles poet steals the show at inauguration, vaccinating older Californians could take four months, and forecast calls for several rounds of much-needed rain.

L.A. poet steals show at inauguration // Forecast of needed rain

Homegrown Covid variant suspected in dramatic surge.

Several Californians are arrested in U.S. Capitol siege.

And fierce winds kick up rare round of winter wildfires.

In December, California scientists searching for a coronavirus variant first detected in Britain discovered something else: a new homegrown variant. Dubbed CAL.20C, the strain accounted for more than half of the virus genome samples collected in Los Angeles labs on Jan. 13. The finding suggests CAL.20C likely played a large part in Southern California's dramatic winter surge. “I’m decently confident that this is a more infectious strain of the virus,” a molecular pathologist said. N.Y. Times | NBC Los Angeles

A crowdsourced effort has taken shape to fill the information vacuum surrounding California's haphazard vaccine rollout. The project began with a single tweet by a software engineer seeking volunteers. More than 200 people stepped up, calling hospitals, pharmacies, and other medical centers for information about vaccine availability in each county. S.F. Chronicle | Vox 

In remote Northern California, health officials face the daunting task of vaccinating more than 683,300 people spread across a vast and mountainous region. Another obstacle: Widespread skepticism of coronavirus risks. “We have a lot of anti-vaxxers and a lot of independent people who just feel that Covid was a hoax, that it was going to go away when the election was over," Tehama County's health officer said. L.A. Times

The coronavirus case fatality rate in California has been steadily declining. In May, it was 5.9%. In October it fell to 2.1%. And in December it dropped to 1.58%. S.F. Chronicle

Gov. Gavin Newsom lost credibility during the French Laundry debacle. But his pandemic briefings have other problems. Critics say he muddles his message, hypes announcements, and keeps local officials in the dark. L.A. Times

Tito Ortiz, the mixed martial arts star, is on Huntington Beach's City Council. He thinks masks cause rather than prevent disease. This week, he posted a video attacking a local hamburger joint because they require masks. O.C. Register

Suspects accused of storming the U.S. Capitol have been arrested in communities from rural Northern California to Beverly Hills in recent days. Among them was a Republican official in Sacramento who bragged about breaking into Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office. In Beverly Hills, agents picked up Simone Gold, a doctor known for spreading misinformation about the coronavirus, and a salon owner named Gina Bisignano. Video showed Bisignano rousing the mob through a bullhorn, according to court documents. “Everybody, we need gas masks," she yelled, "We need weapons." Sacramento Bee | L.A. Times | A.P.

On Tuesday, Donald Trump's final full day in office, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed nine lawsuits against the departing president's administration. Becerra's aggressive litigation has been likened to Texas's legal battles with the Obama administration. But Becerra has been far more prolific, filing 122 lawsuits — an average of one every two weeks — compared to just 48 by Texas across two terms. A.P. | Capitol Public Radio

A Sacramento sheriff's deputy was fatally shot Monday night after a man fled an attempted traffic stop, officials said. After a brief car chase, the man refused to exit his vehicle then fired several shots, killing the deputy and a K-9, officials said. The man, who was killed in return gunfire, suffered from serious mental issues, family members said. The slain deputy, 31-year-old Adam Gibson, was the father of a new baby girl. Sacramento Bee | A.P.

“It’s hard to believe this is January.”

Furious winds helped kick up numerous wildfires in Northern and Southern California on Tuesday, at least five of which were ignited with lingering embers from last summer's massive blaze in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Several neighborhoods were evacuated. The winds toppled trees, big rigs, and power lines. Utilities preemptively cut power to tens of thousands of customers across the state. A.P. | L.A. Times | Mercury News

A video shot in Ventura gave a sense of how intense the winds were. 👉 @FudMacks 

A survey found that a staggering 1.6 million California households are currently in arrears on their water bills, owing an average of $500. In all, the debt is estimated at about $1 billion. The crisis could lead to a wave of families facing water shutoffs or liens on their homes. Officials said the communities most at risk are also those hit hardest by the pandemic. Fresno Bee | The Guardian

In December, California metros experienced both the sharpest rent drop in the nation — San Jose — and the sharpest increase — the Inland Empire. In San Jose, the decline was 13.7% compared with a year earlier, a report found. In the Inland Empire, it was up 7.3%. The report attributed an exodus from big cities to job losses and the rise of remote work. S.F. Chronicle

Don Sutton died on Monday. The Dodgers Hall of Famer was never the No. 1 pitcher on his team, but he was a paragon of reliability. After joining the Dodgers in 1966, he won 233 games in 16 seasons with the team, the most in franchise history. “I never wanted to be a superstar or the highest-paid player,” Sutton said in 1985. All he wanted was to be “consistent, dependable, and you could count on me.” Sutton had been battling cancer. He was 75. L.A. Times | N.Y. Times

☝️ This rock is known as Balanced Rock, but some people see a penguin in its portly figure. Its pedestal is in Joshua Tree National Park, a stunning desert sanctuary where giant boulders sometimes take familiar forms. Over time, many have earned names — such as "skull rock," "the marble," and "pope's hat" — as if they were art pieces borrowed from a museum. The sculptor: water, wind, and time.

Below, a short tour of Joshua Tree's accidental sculpture garden.  

Today's California Sun: Homegrown Covid variant suspected in dramatic surge, several Californians are arrested in U.S. Capitol siege, and fierce winds kick up rare round of winter wildfires.

Californians arrested in Capitol siege // Wildfires in winter

Experts say it looks like the winter Covid wave has crested.

California takes center stage in Joe Biden's Washington.

And fantastic video of sea lions frolicking in big waves.

We may be past the worst of the pandemic. Some scientists are now saying California's massive winter wave of coronavirus infections appears to have finally crested. Data shows that infection, hospitalizations, and deaths have all been trending downward over the last couple weeks. “I read those tea leaves as indicating we’re starting to decline,” said Dr. George Rutherford, an epidemiologist. Mercury News

Another coronavirus variant is now ripping through parts of California. First identified in Denmark, the L452R variant has been linked to outbreaks at nursing homes, jails, and a San Jose hospital where an inflatable Christmas costume may have hastened transmission. Scientists don't know yet whether the variant is more contagious than other versions of Covid-19, but they've been alarmed by how rapidly it has spread. S.F. Chronicle | Washington Post

California's top epidemiologist, Dr. Erica Pan, told health care providers late Sunday to stop administering a batch of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine after a small number of people had severe allergic reactions. The lot of Moderna vaccines included about 330,000 doses distributed across the state. Pan described the halt as warranted by an "abundance of extreme caution." L.A. Times | Sacramento Bee

There's been a tendency to underplay good news in the pandemic. But doctors say the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are among the best vaccines ever created. “It’s ridiculously encouraging,” one said. N.Y. Times

A Southern California air regulator on Sunday suspended limits on cremations as storage space runs out for those who have died of Covid-19. Normally, the South Coast Air Quality Management District restricts monthly cremations to limit air pollution. That's led to a backlog of bodies. As of last week, a person was dying from the coronavirus every eight minutes in Los Angeles County. CNN | CBS News

An Orange County man who said he was afraid to fly because of the coronavirus spent three months hiding in Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. It was unclear how Aditya Singh, 36, who has a master's degree in hospitality and no criminal background, ended up in Chicago. When he was approached by police officers, Singh told them he was “scared to go home due to Covid,” a prosecutor said. As of Monday, was in a Chicago jail. Chicago Tribune | O.C. Register

Santa Barbara County now has one of the worst rates of coronavirus spread in the state. A county health official called the numbers "extremely concerning." edhat | Covid19.ca.gov

Hundreds of people, including many seniors, camped out in the cold late Sunday at an Imperial County mall to be first in line for vaccines the next morning. KYMA

Kamala Harris, Xavier Becerra, Jennifer Granholm, Alejandro Mayorkas.

After four years of being marginalized by a Republican president, the Golden State is taking center stage in Washington as President-elect Joe Biden surrounds himself with Californians. "There is no place the incoming administration is leaning on more heavily for inspiration in setting a progressive policy agenda," wrote the L.A. Times.

Monday was a day of firsts as Gov. Gavin Newsom formally appointed Alex Padilla to replace Vice President-elect Kamala Harris in the Senate, making him California's first Latino senator. He also appointed Shirley Weber to be California's secretary of state, the first Black person in the role. Formally resigning her post, Harris wrote, “Change is possible. For that, I am grateful and ready to get to work. Thus, as I leave the United States Senate, this is not goodbye. This is hello.” The Hill | HuffPost

Since voting to overturn the election results, Rep. Kevin McCarthy has faced calls from Democrats and some Republicans to step down. A scathing Sacramento Bee editorial called him "a soulless anti-democracy conspirator.” But in his conservative home district of Kern County, McCarthy has been under fire for not being loyal enough to President Trump. N.Y. Times

Miriam Pawel: "Many people will not forgive the Republican House leader’s blatant acts to embrace and perpetuate dangerous lies that threatened democracy."

An unusually fierce and far-reaching wind event that began overnight Sunday was expected to rake California through Wednesday. Meteorologists said gusts could reach more than 80 mph around Los Angeles, parts of the Bay Area, and beyond, threatening to topple trees and power lines. The forecast comes after days of record-breaking heat that has heightened fire danger. PG&E planned to cut power Tuesday in parts of the Sierra foothills and Central Coast. Washington Post | Weather Channel

"None of us had ever seen such sustained and enthusiastic wave riding from pinnipeds before."

The stormy seas in recent weeks have triggered warnings of danger to beachgoers. But for sea lions, they've been an occasion to frolic. A whale watching company caught some fantastic video last week of sea lions leaping from giant swells near Santa Barbara Island. 👉 @pacificoffshore 

… Ken Layne, a Joshua Tree-based writer, editor, and publisher of the Desert Oracle, a print-only magazine that has become a cult sensation around the world. Last month saw the publication of the first compilation of Layne’s tales of the desert. 

Q. What is one place everyone should visit in California?

A. Mojave National Preserve. A summer wildfire did real damage to the largest protected Joshua tree forest there, in the preserve atop Cima Dome, but this massive part of the National Park System has plenty more to see and explore, without the crowds of Joshua Tree. No vacation rentals, either; this is a place to camp under the stars. (Or get a cheap room just across the Nevada state line.)  

What’s the best book you've read or podcast you've listened to recently? 

California City, a podcast about the dream of owning desert land, by Emily Guerin & KPCC/LAist. 

Wagnerism, by Alex Ross, is a compelling and enlightening history of the cultural and political impact of Wagner's great works, especially in Hollywood. 

Our few restaurants around Joshua Tree were hit hard by the pandemic. And now they're all closed to outdoor dining again. I hope we still have some locally owned restaurants when this nightmare ends. God knows we've had very little help for restaurants, bars, and live-music honk-ytonks like Pappy & Harriet's in Pioneertown. 

You’re organizing a dinner party. Which three California figures, dead or alive, do you invite, and why? How would you get the conversation started? 

Mary Hunter Austin, Ambrose Bierce, and Ruben Salazar. Mary Hunter Austin is mostly known today for The Land of Little Rain, her beautiful book of 1903 about the natural and cultural wonders of the California desert from the Eastern Sierra to the Mojave, but she was also a prolific novelist, playwright, architect, socialist, feminist, and champion of Indian rights and keeping Los Angeles out of the Owens Valley. Ran with a tremendous literary crowd, too, from H.G. Wells to Jack London.

Ambrose Bierce was in that crowd too. Occult writer, Civil War hero (on the right side), feared newspaper columnist in San Francisco. Disappeared into the Mexican desert in his 70s to join Pancho Villa's revolution.

Ruben Salazar was a Chicano activist and Los Angeles Times reporter covering the Chicano movement and the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department's relentless murder and harassment of brown-skinned people in LA County. He was shot through the skull with a tear-gas projectile, by that same sheriff's department, while he was sitting inside a bar taking a break from covering anti-Vietnam War protests.

Whiskey and wine should get the stories, gossip, and political passion flowing.

What's an aspect of the desert that you think is unappreciated or misunderstood?

It's a carbon sink, important as our conifer forests for soaking up the carbon we're still pumping into the sky. Even a seemingly lifeless expanse of low-desert Mojave hosts immense cryptobiotic networks of living organisms that feed off carbon dioxide. It's the reason you should keep your mountain bikes and hiking boots on trails; human traffic breaks up and kills the microbiotic rust that holds the desert together, keeps it from becoming loose sand like on a desert dirt road.

“5 questions with …” is a weekly feature by Finn Cohen, who edits the California Sun. Conversations are sometimes edited for brevity. Someone you’d like to see interviewed? Let him know: finn@californiasun.co.

Today's California Sun: Experts say it looks like the winter Covid wave has crested, California takes center stage in Joe Biden's Washington, and fantastic video of sea lions frolicking in big waves.

Experts say Covid wave has crested // Frolicking sea lions

One in three L.A. County residents has had Covid-19.

Governor activates the National Guard in Sacramento.

And how Facebook's algorithms radicalize many users.

Please note: The newsletter will pause for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Back in your inbox on Tuesday.

New modeling estimates that one in three residents of Los Angeles County — more than 3 million people — has been infected with the coronavirus. The astonishing figure has actually slowed the pace of transmission as the virus comes into contact with people who have likely developed immunity. “Unfortunately, we are still engaging in behaviors that facilitate spread of the virus, so it is still able to find plenty of susceptible people to infect,” a health official said. L.A. Times

Wednesday's news that Californians 65 years and older could get a coronavirus vaccine gave way to frustration as phone lines crashed under a flood of requests and many people were told they might have to wait weeks. Coordination has been a problem, experts said. “Almost every practical question I ask anybody, the answer I get is a shrug of the shoulders,” UCSF's Dr. Robert Wachter told the L.A. Times. “It is not good. It just feels like the plans have been made without any attention to the practicalities of the last mile.” L.A. Times | S.F. Chronicle

As of Thursday, Texas had administered more inoculations than California, despite receiving about 1.4 million fewer doses. Bloomberg

Disneyland announced that it was ending its annual pass program, blaming the uncertainty caused by the pandemic and the closure of the theme park. The nearly four-decade-old program changed the culture of the Happiest Place on Earth, making it a regular hangout for many Southern Californians. Die-hard fans were heartbroken by the news. O.C. Register | A.P.

In Los Angeles County, the death rate among Latinos has risen at terrifying levels. Data showed they are now dying at about eight times the rate they did in November. L.A. Times

Orange County doctor on her feelings of betrayal: “Every time I see people on social media having parties or gatherings, I literally say, ‘Unfriend, unfriend, unfriend.’ I just can't take it anymore.” KQED

On the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe you can play poker, sit at a bar, take off your mask, and smoke a cigarette — all indoors. On the California side, literally across the street, businesses are emerging from weeks of lockdown. SFGate.com

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday activated 1,000 National Guard troops to guard the state Capitol in Sacramento in anticipation of potential violence leading up the inauguration of Joe Biden. Officials also planned to erect barricades around the statehouse. Newsom said law enforcement was taking the threats very seriously. “I can assure you, we have a heightened, heightened level of security.” S.F. Chronicle | A.P.

A group planned to hold an event Sunday at the state Capitol “to peacefully protest our compromised election.” The CHP denied the permit, citing the potential for civil unrest. Sacramento Bee

The N.Y. Times published a fascinating dissection of how Facebook's algorithms radicalize many of its users. In three examples, individuals who used to post selfies and get a handful of likes discovered that they were showered with adulation when they pivoted to hyperpartisanship. Dominick McGee, a 26-year-old from Georgia, was coaxed so deep into the world of election misinformation that his family essentially disowned him. Yet he remained as committed to his beliefs as ever. 

By some measures, San Francisco’s office market had its weakest year in decades in 2020, according to a new report. New office-leasing activity fell by a staggering 71% compared with the year before, while the vacancy rate rose higher than it was in the aftermath of the 2008 recession. Whether the city will make a comeback with the vaccine rollout is an open question as many companies rethink their office cultures. The Guardian | S.F. Chronicle

The reporter Nellie Bowles talked to more than two dozen tech executives and workers who have left San Francisco for other parts of the country over the last year. “I miss San Francisco. I miss the life I had there,” said John Gardner, 35, the founder of the startup Kickoff. “But right now it’s just like: What else can God and the world and government come up with to make the place less livable?” N.Y. Times

On this week's California Sun Podcast, host Jeff Schechtman chats with Hank Sims, the editor of Lost Coast Outpost, a news site based in Humboldt County. Sims talks about remote workers who flee California's cities for the soaring natural beauty of the North Coast. Some locals worry about being priced out, he said. "On the other hand, Eureka, where I am, the county seat, they're on a building spree."

In 1966, long before Google Street View, the Los Angeles artist Ed Ruscha mounted a motorized camera in the bed of a Datsun pickup truck and captured thousands of photos along the city's Sunset Strip. Over the following decades, he repeated the ritual again and again. The resulting archive of an evolving Los Angeles is now featured in an immersive project called "12 Sunsets" launched by the Getty Research Institute. The art critic Sebastian Smee called it one of the most enthralling online art offerings of 2020. Washington Post

Along the Mendocino coast, tucked about a half-mile up from the beach, is a grove of about two dozen redwoods shaped like unruly candelabras. Unique among California's redwoods, the strange appearance of the stand at Shady Dell resulted over centuries as fierce winds shattered the tops off trees and warped new growth into multiple prongs. It turned out to be the trees' saving grace: Lumbermen are said to have deemed the gnarled wood worthless. Atlas Obscura | Save the Redwoods

On Jan. 8, the surfer Peter Mel rode what surfing publications are calling one of the most glorious waves ever surfed at Mavericks, the fabled Half Moon Bay break. YouTube

A ridiculous mansion in Bel Air has hit the market for a reported $340 million, potentially making it the most expensive home ever sold in the U.S. Architectural Digest took a tour.

Bakersfield has all but eliminated chronic homelessness. The remarkable accomplishment has been attributed in part to a “by-name” approach that tracks every individual on the street. Fast Company

A Bay Area real estate appraiser shot a 2 on a par-6 hole at an Oakland golf course. The feat is known as a condor — meaning 4 under par — and it's believed to be the first documented instance on a par 6 in the history of golf. Mercury News

Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger delivered a powerful video message on the tumultuous events in Washington, drawing on his personal experience growing up in postwar Austria. @Schwarzenegger (~7:30)

Today's California Sun: One in three L.A. County residents has had Covid-19, governor activates the National Guard in Sacramento, and how Facebook's algorithms radicalize many users.

1 in 3 Angelenos infected with Covid // How Facebook radicalizes its users

Covid-19 vaccine eligibility is expanded to people over 65.

A California Republican votes to impeach the president.

And Architectural Digest takes tour of Bel Air megamansion.

California on Wednesday broadened eligibility for the coronavirus vaccine to everyone over the age of 65, a response to rising hospitalizations and deaths among the age group. California's vaccine rollout has been painfully slow. As of Wednesday, the state had received 3.4 million doses but administered only about a quarter of them. Still, some county officials were perplexed by the move to expand eligibility, saying they lacked enough doses and staff. The Guardian | A.P.

For now, there is no statewide sign-up for the vaccine. Instead, residents can inquire with their local doctor or health care agency. Here are links for every county.  👉 Covid19.ca.gov 

The Atlantic on how a well-meaning health policy created California's coronavirus nightmare: "The health-care system in California is fraying because the state has tried to run its health system efficiently. The principles are simple: Keep patients out of hospitals, funnel people to primary-care doctors, and don’t build hospitals you don’t need." 

The scale of California's unemployment fraud keeps growing. Last month, it was pegged at up to $2 billion. Now the estimate is more than $8 billion. KGO | SFist

The columnist Gustavo Arellano checked in with the owner of a body-bag manufacturer in Laguna Hills. “Record earnings, yes, but the emotional toll is more," Abdul Salam said. "In the end, you’re human and you feel.” L.A. Times

The number of people infected with Covid-19 after an employee wore an air-powered costume at a San Jose hospital on Christmas Day has increased to nearly 100, including 15 patients. L.A. Times | SFGate.com 

Just one California Republican voted to impeach President Trump on Wednesday: Rep. David Valadao, a dairy farmer from the San Joaquin Valley. Hours before the vote, Valadao said he remained undecided. But he ultimately broke ranks along with nine other Republicans, he said, as a result of conscience. Trump's "inciting rhetoric was un-American, abhorrent, and absolutely an impeachable offense," Valadao said. "It’s time to put country over politics." Visalia Times-Delta | Fresno Bee

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the House minority leader, voted against impeachment, saying it would be divisive. But he notably tiptoed away from the president, with whom the Bakersfield Republican had forged an unwavering alliance. “The president bears responsibility for Wednesday’s attack on Congress by mob rioters," McCarthy said. "He should have immediately denounced the mob.” S.F. Chronicle | NPR

A week ago, McCarthy voted to subvert the 2020 election. On Wednesday, he called for unity. “I understand for some, this call for unity may ring hollow," he said. It does indeed, wrote the Washington Post's Philip Bump.

John Eastman, the Chapman University law professor who participated at the "Save America" rally in Washington, agreed to resign after faculty members demanded his ouster. But he may have a new job soon — as a Trump lawyer. Sources told Reuters that the president is considering a role for Eastman on his defense team. L.A. Times | Reuters

Flashback: Eastman published a widely discredited op-ed in August arguing that Kamala Harris may be ineligible for the vice presidency because her parents were immigrants. N.Y. Times

Gov. Gavin Newsom's latest tax revenue projection is 20% higher than it was pegged to be in June, putting the state on such strong fiscal footing that it may be forced to issue rebates next year. Turns out that even in a year of lockdowns, the state's richest residents have done very well. And in California, the progressive tax system takes an unusually large bite out of their incomes and gains. CalMatters

The Washington Post published a deep dive on Kamala Harris's Jamaican ancestry. Her father, Donald Harris, is a proud islander who tried to imbue his American-born girls with a sense of pride in their roots. The younger Harris once jokingly cited her Jamaican heritage when asked by a radio host if she ever smoked marijuana. Her father was furious. "Speaking for myself and my immediate Jamaican family," he wrote, "we wish to categorically dissociate ourselves from this travesty."

Derick Almena, the master tenant at the Ghost Ship warehouse where 36 people died in a ghastly 2016 fire, is expected to take a plea deal that keeps him out of jail. Families of the victims said Almena will plead guilty to 36 counts of manslaughter in exchange for nine years of jail. Time served and credit for good behavior means he likely won't return to jail after being released last year because of the pandemic. “It’s beyond a disappointment," the mother of one victim said. "It’s beyond shock." East Bay Times | KPIX

The delays and cost overruns that have plagued California's bullet train project are poised to worsen, according to a letter from a top contractor that blamed the state's failure to acquire many parcels of land. The contractor said the delays were "beyond comprehension" and would result in idled work sites and new layoffs. L.A. Times

A ridiculous mansion in Bel Air has hit the market for a reported $340 million, potentially making it the most expensive home ever sold in the United States. Dubbed "The One," it's got 21 bedrooms, 42 bathrooms, a 30-seat movie theater, a 30-car garage gallery, a moat, and a massive sky deck with a putting green. Architectural Digest took a tour. 

Viewed from above, strange cleavages appear along the urban fabric of Los Angeles and San Francisco. They’re the result of long-lost rail lines, a sort of architectural scar tissue in the form of alleyways and property lines. In the starkest examples, the trajectories plow diagonally through the neat grids of whole neighborhoods, skewing the shapes of buildings, fences, and parking lots.

“The notion that every city has these deeper wounds and removals that nonetheless never disappear is just incredible to me,” wrote Geoff Manaugh, an architecture blogger. “You cut something out — and it becomes a building a generation later. You remove an entire street — and it becomes someone’s living room.” BldgBlog | 99% Invisible

1. A former Southern Pacific rail line arches through the Mission District in San Francisco. More on this route. 👉 Nesssoftware.com 

2. A former Pacific Electric line slices between West Hollywood and Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. More about this route. 👉 Hollywood Partnership 

Today's California Sun: Covid-19 vaccine eligibility is expanded to people over 65, a California Republican votes to impeach the president, and Architectural Digest takes tour of Bel Air megamansion.

California Republican votes to impeach // Absurd mansion in Bel Air

California's coronavirus surge shows signs of leveling off.

A rift opens between Kevin McCarthy and Liz Cheney.

And a Bay Area man clinches one of the rarest shots in golf.

California's coronavirus surge is showing signs of leveling off. Health officials said on Tuesday that the number of daily hospitalizations over the previous two days had fallen to about 2,500 from an average of 3,500. Dr. Mark Ghaly, the state health secretary, called the numbers “the biggest signal to me that things are beginning to flatten and potentially improve.” Daily infections were also sharply down. S.F. Chronicle | Reuters

A CNN reporter, Sara Sidner, broke down in tears during a heartbreaking report on the funeral for a coronavirus victim conducted in the parking lot of a Los Angeles hospital. "It's just not OK," she said. "It's not OK what we are doing to each other. These families should not be going through this. No family should be going through this." YouTube/CNN

Stay-at-home orders were lifted in the 13-county Sacramento region as hospital conditions improved. That means outdoor dining, worship services, and hair salons can resume. Sacramento Bee | A.P.

Dr. Brad Pollock of UC Davis School of Medicine: “I wouldn’t say the stay-at-home orders have been futile, but they probably haven’t had a huge impact on what’s actually happened with the transmission patterns.” A.P.

The coronavirus has been surging up the coast from its epicenter in Los Angeles County, with alarming spikes in Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo counties. Ventura's transmission rate now surpasses that of Los Angeles. L.A. Times | Ventura County Star

A dramatic rift has opened in House GOP leadership after Rep. Liz Cheney, the No. 3 Republican, embraced plans to impeach President Trump. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the minority leader, remains steadfastly opposed the move, having spent years building his political brand around ties to the president. McCarthy and Cheney, wrote Politico, are making two very different bets — "and the one who guesses right may find themselves with a future leading the GOP." 

The California Democratic Party held a press conference Tuesday that branded the recall effort against Gov. Gavin Newsom as a "California Coup," linking it to the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. The likening of a democratic process written into the California constitution to a mob attack drew widespread condemnation. Kevin Faulconer, the Republican former mayor of San Diego, called it "disgraceful." Yashar Ali, a journalist and former Democratic aide, called it "absolutely insane." CalMatters | S.F. Chronicle

More Californians faced condemnation for actions linked to the unrest in Washington:

“This is Lexington and Concord. First shots fired against tyranny." A policy group called for the expulsion of Assemblyman Randy Voepel from the Legislature after he glorified the Capitol attack. S.D. Union Tribune

The editorial board of Chico Enterprise-Record leans right-of-center. Yet in a highly unusual column, it called on its hometown congressman, Rep. Doug LaMalfa, to resign, citing his role in propping up falsehoods of a stolen election.

A California doctor named Simone Gold was identified among the Capitol rioters. Gold became a darling of coronavirus skeptics over the summer when she appeared in a viral video promoting hydroxychloroquine as a Covid treatment. Washington Post | N.Y. Daily News

Former Sen. Barbara Boxer, of California, registered as a foreign agent for a Chinese surveillance firm accused of abetting the country’s mass internment of Uighur Muslims. After an Axios report on her work sparked intense criticism Tuesday, she said she would sever the relationship. President-elect Joe Biden’s inaugural committee planned to refund a $500 donation from Boxer. S.F. Chronicle

Over the past few years, tens of thousands more people have been leaving California than moving in. Dowell Myers, a demographer, said  many of those taking flight are people who had been lured to sunny California from other places. They are turning around, he said, “because they just couldn’t achieve the American dream in California — because that involves buying a single-family house." L.A. Times

Bitcoin has been on an extraordinary run, making many of its holders very rich. But the cryptocurrency’s unusual nature means many people are locked out of their fortunes because they have lost or forgotten their passwords. Stefan Thomas, a programmer living in San Francisco, has two guesses left to figure out a password that is worth about $220 million. “I would just lay in bed and think about it,” he said. N.Y. Times

A woman convicted of killing her three children by setting fire to her home in a Los Angeles suburb walked free on Tuesday after 29 years in prison. In 2011, a review panel concluded that the fire was probably accidental. JoAnn Parks, 54, always maintained her innocence. “Nothing could be worse than losing your children and then being wrongfully convicted of their murder,” said Justin Brooks, director of the California Innocence Project. S.D. Union-Tribune | A.P.

A Bay Area real estate appraiser shot a 2 on a par-6 hole at a golf course in Oakland. The feat is known as a condor — meaning 4 under par — and it's believed to be the first documented instance on a par 6 in the history of golf. On Dec. 10, Kevin Pon launched a 540-yard drive from the top of a hill at the 18th hole of Lake Chabot Golf Course. He then sank a 120-yard blind shot with his pitching wedge. “It’s like I’ve been telling people," he later joked. "'You know, this has been a weird year.'" Mercury News | KTVU

"Immersive Van Gogh," a touring art exhibit that lets you step inside the Dutch artist's paintings, is so popular that its run in San Francisco is being extended. And it hasn't even opened yet. The walk-through exhibit is making its West Coast premiere on March 18 at SVN West. Intense demand for advance tickets led organizers to extend the run through Sept. 6. S.F. Chronicle | Mercury News

Today's California Sun: California's coronavirus surge shows signs of leveling off, a rift opens between Kevin McCarthy and Liz Cheney, and a Bay Area man clinches one of the rarest shots in golf.

Signs of a flattening surge // A golf miracle

Sacramento braces amid warning of statehouse attacks.

Bakersfield puts an end to chronic homelessness.

And an exquisite ride at the fabled Mavericks break.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced plans for several mass Covid-19 vaccination centers as the state seeks to dramatically expand its inoculation campaign, until now one of the slowest in the nation. Sites are expected to open as soon as this week at Sacramento's Cal Expo, Disneyland, Dodger Stadium, and San Diego's Petco Park. Those who can administer the injections have been expanded to include pharmacists, dentists, and paramedics. KPBS | S.F. Chronicle

Mariposa County is among the first places to move to vaccinate teachers. See the state's rollout phases. 👉 Covid19.ca.gov 

At least two gorillas at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park tested positive for the coronavirus in the first known natural transmission of the virus to great apes. The infection is believed to have come from park staff who also tested positive. The gorillas appear to be fine, aside from some coughing and congestion. The coronavirus has previously been detected in cats, dogs, lions, tigers, pumas, mink, and snow leopards. S.D. Union Tribune | A.P.

“The light at the end of the tunnel.” 

Both the University of California and USC announced Monday that they would resume in-person classes in the fall in anticipation of widespread distribution of vaccines. California State University said last month that it would do the same. The moves represent a return to normalcy for more than 800,000 students who have seen their campus lives put on hold for nearly a year. L.A. Times | Mercury News

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, a close Trump ally who voted against certifying Joe Biden's victory in two states, told the president that he bears some blame for the deadly Capitol riots, sources told Politico. The top House Republican opposes impeachment, but he has signaled openness to some form of censure. As many as a dozen Republicans were said to be considering joining Democrats to impeach. Politico | N.Y. Times

Rep. Darrell Issa, a Republican from San Diego County, on plans to impeach Trump: “It’s kicking him when he’s down.” S.D. Union-Tribune

Law enforcement officials were adding security measures at the Capitol in Sacramento in response to FBI warnings of possible attacks at statehouses in the days leading up to Joe Biden's Jan. 20 inauguration. Gov. Gavin Newsom said mobilization of the National Guard could be ordered “as needed.” "Everybody is on a high alert," he said. Sacramento Bee | L.A. Times

Silicon Valley broadened its extraordinary muzzling of President Trump and his allies. Among the latest to join the campaign were GoFundMe, which barred fundraising for travel to Trump events, and Salesforce, which restricted the RNC's use of its products. The Great Deplatforming, in the coinage of tech reporter Casey Newton, has highlighted the power of a small number of companies to drive voices from the digital public square. S.F. Chronicle | BuzzFeed

Companies that have moved to shun Trump and his allies: Reddit, Twitch, Shopify, Google, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Apple, Discord, Pinterest, Amazon, Stripe, Okta, and Twilio. Axios

More than 160 faculty members called on Chapman University, a private university in Orange, to fire a law professor who helped fire up the crowd at the "Stop the steal" rally in Washington last week. Chapman's president refused. "I realize that my position has made me very unpopular with many of you," he wrote. "As much as that saddens me, it will not compel me to violate the rules under which the university operates." SFGate.com | Inside Higher Ed

Halfway through his first term, Gov. Gavin Newsom has become a locus of frustration for many Californians, and Republicans have sensed an opportunity to wound him with a nascent recall drive. Ted Costa, who helped spearhead the recall of former Gov. Gray Davis in 2003, offered a warning. “People are really pissed off,” he said. “Things can get hot quick, and I don’t know if Newsom realizes what happens when a groundswell hits.” Politico

Today's California Sun: Sacramento braces amid warning of statehouse attacks, Bakersfield puts an end to chronic homelessness, and an exquisite ride at the fabled Mavericks break.

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