Fearing a backlash, some immigrants in California from the former Soviet Union have started to reject the label “Russians” in an effort to distance themselves from Vladimir Putin’s attack on Ukraine. Victoria Corbett, 46, who immigrated from Ukraine, said people were going to start hating Russians. “I have always loved Russian culture, music, dance,” she said. “But I don’t want to be called Russian anymore.” N.Y. Times

Other developments:

California has the most imperiled biodiversity of any state in the contiguous United States. The most detailed map of its kind depicts the places most likely to have plants and animals at high risk of global extinction. In California, they include the California condor, San Francisco garter snake, and western Joshua tree, but also lesser-known groups: species of beetle, butterfly, clover, and grass. N.Y. Times

With statewide coronavirus hospitalizations now down to 3,237 from a January peak of more than 15,000, officials moved to further relax restrictions on public life. In Los Angeles, the City Council president advanced a proposal to abandon mandatory vaccine checks at restaurants. In San Francisco, school officials said students could go without masks starting March 12, reversing their earlier stance. That leaves Los Angeles Unified as a mask mandate outlier. L.A. Times | L.A. Daily News | S.F. Chronicle

The northern and southern tips of the San Andreas Fault — which stretches much of the length of California — have long been thought to be much more active than the supposedly sleepy middle. But new research says that’s not true: Evidence points to multiple major quakes along the fault’s central section in Monterey and San Benito counties. People shouldn’t be alarmed by the finding, the researchers said. But author Genevieve Coffey also said: “We should be aware that there is this potential.” Washington Post | Newsweek

Supporters of an effort to recall San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin have accused him of going soft on crime. Now a trove of conviction data has been released to help evaluate that claim. It shows that compared with his predecessor, Boudin has been letting a far greater share of defendants avoid jail time through diversion programs, which can include mandated addiction treatment. S.F. Chronicle

The parents of Katie Meyer, the Stanford goalkeeper who took her own life last week, told the “Today” show that “letters” from the university in recent months may have contributed to her death. Meyer gave no inkling of her plans, they said, but she was worried about potential disciplinary action for an incident that involved “defending a teammate.” “This is the only thing we could come up with that triggered something,” Gina Meyer said.

“Be grateful for yourself.”

“The world is a better place with you in it.”

“Choose weird.”

“Bro, you are looking great.”

In response to trying times, an elementary school class in Healdsburg found a way to help: a phone hotline that delivers recorded pep talks from kindergarteners. They expected to generate a few smiles for people in the surrounding community. Within a week, the hotline was handling 5,000 calls a day. NPR | CNN

The number to call: 707-998-8410.

On the first Saturday of the month between October and May, vehicles are banished from one of the prettiest redwood drives in California. Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway meanders for 10 miles through the old-growth groves at the heart of Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park in Humboldt County. On car-free days, it’s a dream for road cyclists, who fly along the narrow corridor free of noise or obstacles. The temptation to stop, however, is irresistible: whether to commune with a 1,500-year-old tree or gaze at the 800-pound Roosevelt elk that congregate in a roadside meadow. VisitRedwoods.com | Parks.ca.gov

Drumm Avenue, once a quiet neighborhood street in Wilmington, has been transformed into a loud and dusty truck route for big rigs from the nearby ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The trucks began arriving two years ago, after a previous truck route was closed. Residents have grown so desperate they’ve tried blocking the road to catch city officials’ attention. “Imagine if your family lived here, your parents or your children,” said Imelda Ulloa, wiping her eyes. “Would you want this?” L.A. Times | KTLA

“The only way we can have streets that are welcoming to all is if all religions can equally go through them and be on them without feeling like they are less than.”

The group that calls itself the Atheist Street Pirates began last year as a joke. But it’s grown into something more as teams of pirates fan across Los Angeles to remove illegally placed religious material on public streets and overpasses. One pirate said they’ve yet to encounter religious signage about Islam, Judaism, or Hinduism. Religion News Service

The photographer Gregory Bojorquez describes the East Los Angeles of his upbringing as a place of community but tinged with danger. “All the neighbors knew each other, and it was fun,” he said. “Sometimes bad things happened.” His photo subjects were people from the neighborhood, with rich back stories that only a local like him could know. That authenticity stands out in “East Siders,” Bojorquez’s new project on 1990s East Los Angeles. GregoryBojorquez.com | i-D

The bioluminesence has returned in recent days along the San Diego coast, creating electric blue waves. The unpredictable phenomenon is caused by microscopic phytoplankton that emit light when agitated to scare off predators. Patrick Coyne, a videographer, captured a magical moment of glowing dolphins swimming at Black’s Beach. Look closely and you can see them jumping out of the water. 👉 @patrickc_la