Quick Take:

With a goal to continue their mission to uplift the community through music and music education, Kuumbwa Jazz created...

Happy Wednesday, everyone.

Here are your headlines of the day — and I’m starting with one close to my heart since the only exotic surf trip I’ve embarked upon was to El Salvador. Even though it was long past a “secret surfing oasis” by then, I still very much want to go back to that special place. Away we go…

How three surfer dudes left California to find a secret surfing oasis in El Salvador

Surfer Bob Levy
Surfer Bob Levy in his back yard in Long Beach with one of his surfboards. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

The Olympic trials for surfing are being held in El Salvador: It was the early 1970s and El Salvador was known primarily for coffee, sugar and staggering economic inequality that eventually sparked a revolution. But the surfers were drawn by the narrow, rocky beaches and the spectacular point-break waves, which break to the surfer’s right and are more consistent than the sandy-bottom beach-break waves common in California. More from the LA Times here.

The ‘Grief Pandemic’ will torment Americans for years

A COVID-19 outbreak at the Watsonville Post Acute Center has resulted in the deaths of 16 residents.
A COVID-19 outbreak at the Watsonville Post Acute Center over the summer resulted in the deaths of 16 residents. Credit: via Pixabay

Panic attacks and depression that make it hard to get out of bed: More than 5 million Americans lost a loved one to COVID, and the ripple effects could lead to serious illness down the road. More from Kaiser Health News here.

Doctors share ideas on how to make the most of your telehealth visits

Doctor visits down; deaths, severe diseases likely to surge
Doctor visits down; deaths, severe diseases likely to surge

Patients “have to overcome a lot of obstacles to get to me”: Public health restrictions put in place during the pandemic are loosening, meaning it’s OK to go back to your doctor’s office. But will virtual visits remain an option? KHN with more on what you should do to get the most out of it.

Mondays with Kuumbwa: one of the great jazz venues of the world, reimagined

Are rewards for getting COVID-19 vaccinations really such a great idea?

Vax
Medical student Liesl Eibschutz loads a syringe with a dose of COVID-19 vaccine made by Pfizer and BioNTech. New research bolsters the case that the vaccine reduces the risk of a coronavirus infection. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Is this the best plan? As demand for the vaccines waned, the prizes began: Fishing licenses in Maine. Crawfish in New Orleans. Baseball tickets in New York. “A shot and a beer” in New Jersey — plus (perhaps less enticing) a chance to have dinner with the governor. The LA Times dissects this topic more here.

California bill calls for $7 billion in bonuses for healthcare workers

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA MAY 6, 2020-Nurses attend a candlelight vigil for nurse Celia Marcos outside Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles Wednesday. Marcos died from the coronavirus. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
Nurses attend a candlelight vigil for nurse Celia Marcos outside Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles. Marcos died from COVID-19. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

$10,000 in hero pay: Assembly Bill 650 by Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi (D-Rolling Hills Estates) would award $10,000 bonuses to California healthcare workers. The pay would be spread out in hopes that the cash would entice healthcare workers to remain in their job. More from the Times on that here.

Parents frustrated by pandemic education launch activist group to raise their voices: The group OpenSchoolsCA coalesced around parent anger over how long it was taking to reopen California campuses that were closed for a year or more amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Their discontent simmered for months when reopenings offered students much less than a full five-day-a-week school experience. More from the Times here.

More California counties allowed to reopen their economies as COVID-19 fades: Four more counties — Marin, Monterey, San Benito and Ventura — move into the least restrictive yellow tier of California’s COVID-19 reopening roadmap. More from the Times here.

Celebrating 25 years at the MAH

How an underground fight club was born during the pandemic

A small man and a much larger man box in a ring.
Big Cheese fights in a higher weight class, but that didn’t stop Black Blade from accepting the last-minute matchup. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

‘When I get hit, it feels like a blessing’: At Backyard Squabbles, an underground fight club born in the pandemic, contenders are split between athletes with dreams and local guys with grudges. More from the Times.

More from here & elsewhere

➤ New science chief wants next pandemic vaccine ready in 100 days (NBC News)
➤ Disney to launch two-day ‘simulation’ cruise to test COVID safety (SF Gate)
➤ Thousands of Fauci’s emails from the pandemic’s early days were published. Here’s what they show (CNN)
➤ Ohio Lottery announces 2nd Vax-a-Million incentive winners (ABC News)
➤ White House prepared to announce next steps in global vaccination effort after months of debate (CNN)
➤ Where to find Evolvetogether’s new KN95 masks (NBC News)

We will do it again tomorrow.

Mark Conley
Deputy Managing Editor

Follow Mark Conley on: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook. Mark joins Lookout after 14 years at the Mercury News and Bay Area News Group, where he served as Deputy Sports Editor on a staff that covered three...