Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. Itâs Monday, April 6.
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[Los Angeles Times]
Essential California
April 6, 2020
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Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California [newsletter](. Itâs Monday, April 6. Iâm [Gustavo Arellano]( filling in for Julia Wick, and Iâm writing from Orange County.
On a typical weekend, [Alta Baja Market]( in downtown Santa Ana hums with activity.
Shoppers load up on the storeâs selection of heirloom beans, locally made hot sauces, and Mexican wines and craft beers. Families dine in to enjoy owner Delilah Snellâs eclectic menu of Southwestern-inspired sandwiches, salads and blue corn chile cheesecakes. Daytime drinkers enjoy Delilahâs inventive micheladas (Mexican-style beer cocktails), which range in flavors from coconut to chile mango.
But this last weekend, Alta Baja was empty, one of Southern Californiaâs many restaurants barely hanging on in the era of coronavirus.
[Read the story: [Unhappiest hour: What the coronavirus shutdown has meant for two L.A. bars](
I have a front-row seat to Alta Bajaâs troubles: Delilah is my wife.
Iâm now her cashier and dishwasher, duties I fulfill in between interviewing people for my L.A. Times stories from the storeâs closet, where I type on my computer that sits among [Cambros]( and colanders.
Itâs one thing to report on the seismic shifts in life that the pandemic has wrought on the world. But itâs quite another to see the coronavirus crisis play out in front of you, as it affects your own life and that of your significant other.
As the kids say, itâs real.
Iâve seen my wifeâs daily tally plummet, to the point where she has had to lay off all her workers and enlist me as a backup (quick aside: Iâd rather get yelled at by an irate subject than scrub down sheet pans).
Iâve seen Delilah tell her suppliers â bakers, wholesale produce distributors, laundry companies â that she doesnât need their services as much anymore, and seen those companies beg for some business, any business.
Iâve seen Alta Bajaâs regulars â who love Delilahâs mercadito for her good food but also for her personal touch â vow to support my wife, but slowly disappear as financial reality hits them.
And weâre one of the lucky ones: At least Alta Baja remains open. Nearly all the other storefronts on 4th Street â long a hub of activity for Latinos but [weathering gentrification in recent years]( â are closed for the foreseeable future.
Itâs a story playing out across small businesses in Southern California. But Iâd argue the economic effects of Californiaâs stay-at-home orders hit nowhere harder than in restaurants, where we all gather to eat and drink and forget about our precariously situated lives for an hour or so.
And now, we have them only in the form of takeout, which Alta Baja offers. But what Delilah makes off of that doesnât even come close to paying the rent.
Take the advice of my colleagues, Bill Addison and Patricia Escárcega: Support your local restaurants with a takeout order. Hereâs [Billâs recommendation for 20 great Mexican spots that deliver](. Consider Patriciaâs [five things you can do to help L.A. restaurants](.
And be ready to hear more stories like that of Alta Baja, not just from my colleagues but also myself: Iâll be debuting a podcast this Wednesday called âCoronavirus in California: Stories from the Front Lines.â Details to come...
And now, hereâs whatâs happening across California:
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L.A. STORIES
South L.A.âs renaissance was decades in the making. The coronavirus could end it in weeks: From coffee shops to shared workspaces to neo-soul cafés, black-owned businesses from Leimert Park to Inglewood to Slauson are in a particularly precarious economic situation. [Los Angeles Times](
L.A. has a coronavirus eviction ban, but landlords are finding ways to demand rent: Whereâs Mr. Furley when you need him ... [Los Angeles Times](
After President Trump tweeted that heâd be âtuning in,â a SoCal megachurch pastor told worshipers to stay home: Harvest Christian Fellowship Pastor Greg Laurie â who also runs the annual [SoCal Harvest crusade at Angel Stadium of Anaheim]( every summer â cites Matthew 18:20 in urging Christians to stay home during Holy Week. [Los Angeles Times](
This Thousand Oaks councilman, a pastor, resigned and said he would defy stay-at-home orders from Ventura County and the state: Rob McCoy sets aside his political career and Mathew 18:20 (âFor where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of themâ) to offer Communion to Christians. [Los Angeles Times](
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IMMIGRATION AND THE BORDER
The coronavirus border closure keeps immigrants from seeing families: The closure of the U.S.-Mexico border to nonessential travel has cut off many Mexicans and Mexican Americans from relatives and home. [CalMatters](
Foreign doctors on the front lines of COVID-19 fear deportation from U.S.: Because la migra doesnât stop, you know? [Los Angeles Times](
California-Mexico ports of entry will limit hours to reduce the spread of COVID-19: If youâre coming in from Tecate, beware. [Border Report](
POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT
âHardest, saddestâ days ahead in coronavirus outbreak, surgeon general warns: Jerome Adams likened the projected loss of life to âour Pearl Harbor moment, our 9/11 moment.â [Los Angeles Times](
The coronavirus is Americaâs common enemy, but the states arenât fighting as a team: Govs. Gavin Newsom and Andrew Cuomo, meet Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds. [Los Angeles Times](
A retirement community is protesting an O.C. plan to house homeless people with the coronavirus at hotel: Laguna Woods Village residents participate in Orange Countyâs favorite parlor game: Keep the homeless away from city limits. [Los Angeles Times](
[A Laguna Woods Village senior protests after learning nearby Ayres Hotel will be used to treat homeless COVID-19 patients ]
A Laguna Woods Village senior protests after learning nearby Ayres Hotel will be used to treat homeless COVID-19 patients (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
A captainâs choice: Brett Crozier â who was removed as captain of the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt and has just tested positive for coronavirus â chose his crew over his career. His decision surprised no one who knows him. [San Francisco Chronicle](
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CRIME AND COURTS
California courts eye dramatic new steps to slow the spread of the coronavirus: Judicial leaders are expected to adopt a statewide emergency order setting bail at zero for misdemeanor and lower-level felony offenses. [Los Angeles Times](
Cut off from their kids, parents of juvenile detainees wait and worry as the coronavirus spreads: The situation in juvenile halls is a microcosm of the broader struggle across the country to balance public safety against public health. [Los Angeles Times](
HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT
How a discovery that brought us Viagra could help those battling the coronavirus: Can the science behind the blue pill save us once more? [Los Angeles Times](
Calls to a suicide hotline over the coronavirus skyrocket. Counselors feel the pain: At Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services, a Century City-based nonprofit organization, crisis counselors fielded more than 1,800 calls related to COVID-19 in March, versus just 20 in February. [Los Angeles Times](
When it comes to the coronavirus, sheâs L.A.âs version of Dr. Fauci: Columnist Steve Lopez talks to L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer, whoâs destined to become the Lucy Jones of this pandemic. [Los Angeles Times](
On Union Station and the bubonic plague: USC history professor William Deverell delves into L.A.'s sordid past of demonizing Mexicans and Chinese residents during outbreaks. [Alta Journal](
CALIFORNIA CULTURE
And now, a dispatch from a Hollywood water stuntwoman: A longtime pro talks about the beauty and difficulty of her trade. (Spoiler: The Wayans Brothers are a bit too fond of mechanical sharks.) [Hakai Magazine](
Meet the professor teaching a college course on Selena and her legacy: When all this disease desmadre is done, letâs all audit San Diego State professor Nathian Shae Rodriguezâs class on the legendary Tejana singer. [Texas Monthly](
Missing live music while staying at home? Visaliaâs Rudy Parris has you covered: The current lead singer for the Buckaroos is doing Facebook Live concerts on weekends. (Iâm going to request âAct Naturallyâ and âWhoâs Gonna Mow Your Grass.â) [Visalia Times Delta](
Somewhere, John Muir is applauding: You may never see Yosemite like this again, as this video peeks into the valley, without humans. [Sacramento Bee](
CALIFORNIA ALMANAC
Los Angeles: rain, 62. San Diego: rain, 63. San Francisco: rain, 52. San Jose: rain, 53. Fresno: rain, 61. Sacramento: rain, 59. [More weather is here.](
AND FINALLY
This weekâs birthdays for those who made a mark in California:
Former Gov. Jerry Brown (April 7, 1938), filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola (April 7, 1939) and labor leader Dolores Huerta (April 10, 1939).
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](mailto:julia.wick@latimes.com). Follow her on Twitter [@Sherlyholmes](.
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