COVID PM: A statewide extension for outdoor dining, to-go drinks plus some myth-busting

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Straight to the headlines of the day we go…

California extends outdoor dining, to-go drinks through Dec. 31

Restaurant patrons sit in a parklet along Valencia Street in San Francisco on July 25, 2020. Since last July, Valencia Street has been shut down to traffic on the weekend to allow for additional outdoor activity. San Francisco is one of several cities across California that is considering expanding the outdoor dining program started during the pandemic. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters

’I want to say 90% of our customers, they don’t want to dine indoors anymore’: Even as the state prepares to lift coronavirus restrictions on June 15, some changes such as outdoor dining and to-go drinks will likely remain in many California cities. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced extending pandemic extensions through Dec. 31. Here’s more from CalMatters on what it means.

Gov. Newsom says to-go cocktails are here to stay. But there’s a catch. (SF Gate)

‘Don’t get played’: Some COVID-19 vaccine myths are outrageously false. Yet they spread like wildfire on social media and can play a role in persuading some people to hold off on getting a shot. More from the LA Times here.

Stanford study finds students can’t determine what’s fake on the internet: High school students demonstrated a near-total inability to detect fake news on the internet, researchers at the Stanford Graduate School of Education found in the largest study of its kind. More from EdSource on that here.

Lab-leak origin claim in the news, but still fact-free

Analysis: The “lab leak hypothesis,” as it’s known to virologists, is experiencing a heyday. Long dismissed by many experts, it’s now being taken more seriously as one of two general possibilities for COVID-19’s origin, along with the theory that the virus reached humans through contact with animal hosts. The LA Times’ Michael Hiltzik examines this here.

Can California withstand a teacher retirement boom?

First grade teacher Lacie Wall welcomed students back to her classroom at Gault Elementary on Monday. — First grade teacher Lacie Wall welcomes students back to her classroom at Gault Elementary earlier this year. Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

Will there be a looming problem here and elsewhere? California schools could be facing the largest number of teacher retirements ever, but factors like enrollment drops should take the sting out of it. More from CalMatters on that here.

➤ Do you know a retiring teacher in Santa Cruz County? Are you one of them? Lookout would like to know the story behind the retirements. Send us an email to news@lookoutlocal.com