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SAN JOSE — Californians come Tuesday will largely return to a world most Golden Staters haven’t seen for nearly a year and a half, one many welcome as long overdue and others find a little unsettling.

Whether picking up groceries or shopping for a new pair of Vans, grabbing a bite or a beer, catching a film or a workout at the gym, they’ll find those indoor spaces they’ve learned to fear as potential Covid-spreaders jarringly full with people – presumably vaccinated – without face masks.

Limits on indoor and outdoor gatherings go away. So do the half-capacity limits on restaurants, theaters, gyms and places of worship. Most popular retail stores will no longer require masks for customers.

Bars that are now restricted to a quarter of their full capacity or 100 people will have no limit. Neither will amusement parks, from California’s Great America in Santa Clara to Disneyland in Anaheim, which were held to about one third of their capacity.

California – the first state to lock down as the pandemic erupted in March 2020 – will be among the last to broadly reopen, despite some of the country’s lowest Covid rates.

“California is behind for everything,” lamented Ali Shaivi, who’s vaccinated and already stopped wearing a mask at the Campbell tobacco shop where he works.

But around the Bay Area, where public health orders found broader support than other regions, many people say they aren’t yet comfortable with resuming every aspect of their pre-pandemic lives.

“I don’t think I would go back to a fully crowded bar,” said Oakland teacher Aidan Leslie, who has gone back to eating inside restaurants and was relaxing with her friend mask-free on the grass along Lake Merritt.

California’s June 15 reopening comes six months after a devastating winter Covid-19 infection surge that marked the country’s deadliest outbreak. Cases have plummeted since thanks to immunity from those who recovered and an aggressive vaccination effort – 45% of the state’s total population is now fully vaccinated.

UC San Francisco epidemiologist Dr. George Rutherford said the state’s monthlong delay in adopting the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s relaxed mask rule for the vaccinated gave people, including newly eligible adolescents, more time to get shots. He’s confident it’s safe now.

“I think the time is right,” Rutherford said. “I don’t see there being that much risk.”

As the state prepares to reopen, infection rates in half its 58 counties have put them in the least-restrictive yellow tier representing minimal Covid risk in the state’s four-color reopening “blueprint” that officially ends Tuesday.

The other counties also will reopen, despite three of them – Shasta, Yuba and Del Norte – still experiencing case rates that indicate there is substantial risk of virus spread. Several others are still at moderate risk based on case rates.

But regardless of risk level and accompanying restrictions, those limits vanish Tuesday.

While these changes will be new in regions like the Bay Area, other parts of the state have been operating under them for some time. Rural Kings County in the Central Valley never enforced the state’s restrictions.

“We allowed the store owners to do what they felt was important for them,” said County Supervisor Doug Verboon. “So many are mom and pop stores, they need to make a living. Some restaurants shut down completely, some never shut down at all.”

Folks in Kings County aren’t in denial about the virus, Verboon added – a close friend’s wife who had asthma died from it. He wears a mask where it’s required and he got vaccinated, as did his son and a daughter, but his wife and two other daughters chose not to.

“I know it’s real,” Verboon said. “But we’ve got to give the freedom back to the people to make their own choices.”

Orange County Supervisor Don Wagner said fully opening Disneyland “is going to be very big – it is one of our biggest employers.”

He said Gov. Gavin Newsom’s imposing more extensive restrictions in California than were present in other states added needless hardship on businesses.

“Some have been damaged substantially by the lockdowns,” Wagner said.

And not everything is changing Tuesday. Regardless of vaccination status, masks still will be required in settings the CDC recommended: public transit, health care settings, school buildings and long-term care, correctional and shelter facilities.

And people attending large indoor “mega-events” of 5,000 people or more – many conventions, conferences, concerts, sporting events – must either be vaccinated or test negative for Covid-19.

Enforcement, however, will be an honor system. Unlike some states like New York, which developed a smartphone verification app, California will leave enforcement up to businesses and event organizers. Simply not wearing a mask would be a form of self-attestation that a person is immunized.

Shopping will start to feel more like it did before the pandemic, as it already does in much of the country. Starting Tuesday, California Safeway supermarkets will no longer require vaccinated customers to wear masks, spokeswoman Wendy Gutshall said.

Raley’s is still evaluating the coming changes at its supermarkets, which include Nob Hill stores, said spokeswoman Chelsea Minor. In Nevada, which ended statewide restrictions last month, Raley’s customers are no longer required to wear masks, there’s no social distancing and self-serve Hot Wok, salad bars, doughnut racks and drinking fountains are open.

As in other states, Target will no longer require masks for vaccinated shoppers, and fitting rooms recently reopened. Some pandemic practices will stay though, like 6-foot social distancing markers on the floors, and clear plastic shields and hand sanitizer at the checkout stands, spokesman Brian Harper-Tibaldo said.

Theaters like Campbell’s Pruneyard Cinemas will no longer be limited to half capacity. The owners are mulling over the changes and say they’ll keep following all requirements and may adopt additional measures “to further the health and safety for our guests and employees.”

One thing not expected to immediately change Tuesday is mask rules for employees. The state’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health agreed to reconsider a rule that would require vaccinated workers to wear masks around anyone who’s unvaccinated, but that revision is not expected until June 28.

For now, that means all workers must wear masks unless they’re alone or all around them are vaccinated.

If that’s all confusing, you can forgive Bay Area residents like San Jose retiree Dan Allen for keeping his mask on. Reopening California is great and all, but he’s playing it safe.

“I’ve been fully vaccinated for months,” Allen, 70, said as he left a Safeway in Campbell wearing both a surgical and cloth mask. “But what does that mean exactly?”

Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty Images/TNS file People walk through the Santa Monica pier ahead of Memorial Day in Santa Monica, May 29.

Plans: School

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tiered integrated socialemotional program to support the well-being of all students and staff by promoting prosocial behavior, teaching coping and decision-making skills, and modeling positive relationships. n Goal Two: Execute an equitable, high-quality educational program and provide educational options to ensure every student graduates college and career ready. n Goal Three: By June 2024, the district will implement and refine a staffing plan that includes aggressive recruitment and professional learning in order to retain and develop staff. n Goal Four: Create safe, inclusive and welcoming learning environments where students are connected to their schools and staff are connected to their work environment. n Goal Five: Engage parents, families and community partners through education, communication and collaboration to promote student success.

The plan looks to increase and improve services for students who are low-income, foster youth, or English learners.

A draft of the 2021-24 Local Control and Accountability Plan has been posted on the district website and a hard copy has been posted in the lobby of the Central Office for public review and comment. The district’s Local Control and Accountability Plan will be brought back June 24 to the governing board for final review and potential approval.

The district’s Local Control and Accountability Plan must be submitted to the Solano County Office of Education by June 30.

Public comment received between June 1 and the next board meeting will be posted as “Additional Information” prior to the June 24 meeting.

Budget: Proposed

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24:1 for transitional kindergarten through third grades and 32:1 for fourth through eighth grades with 170 contacts per day for sixth through 12th grades. The top annual general fund expenditures are estimated to be certificated staff (teacher and other support staff) salaries at 35.55%; employee benefits (all staff) at 25.12% and classified salaries at 15.90%.

Grindle said it is expected that the increase in the statutory benefits for retirements will continue to outpace revenues. The projected years of 2022-23 and 2023-24 show that significant budget reductions may be necessary, she said.

“These are just projections, and so they will change,” Grindle said.

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Floor

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had to offer,” Briones said.

Repurposing a large portion of a major vacancy at the mall is seen as a boon for the community.

“My excitement about Dave & Buster’s opening goes beyond the entertainment and jobs the center brings,” Councilwoman Catherine Moy said in a social media message. “Malls are changing with society. I think we’ll see more entertainment and fewer retail outlets in traditional malls. Dave & Buster’s is a big move toward that in Fairfield.

“Ultimately, I envision malls like ours transforming into living units above, and food and entertainment below. This makes sense because of Amazon and the pandemic that forced us to shop online,” Moy said in the message.

“I first announced to the public that Dave & Buster’s was coming a long time ago. The pandemic hit and citizens lost faith it would open,” Moy said. “Here we are! I’m ecstatic.”

Work had begun on the Solano Town Center Dave & Buster’s site prior to the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

There are more than 140 Dave & Buster’s locations in the United States and Canada.

Briones started with the company in 2010 at the San Jose location. A move to the Daly City site followed, then a return to San Jose just as Covid-19 was surfacing.

“I started waiting tables at 16,” he said. “I never left (the restaurant business.)”

Briones and some pals were at the Dave & Buster’s in 1993 in Dallas. His Kansas City Chiefs were playing the New Orleans Saints that day.

A “laid back dude” was walking around and invited them to the back of the house.

“I knew I wanted to open my own business then,” he said.

He was co-owner of two eateries before joining Dave & Buster’s.

Briones oversees about 30,000 square feet of space, about half of it home to a variety of games.

Dave & Buster’s is known for sharing ideas for games with gaming companies such as Activision, EA Sports and Sega, Briones said.

At the local Dave & Buster’s, which has an outdoor entrance as well as one inside the mall, guests on the Million Dollar Midway will find a full-size version of Hungry Hungry Hippos, battle zombies in a

Aaron Rosenblatt/Daily Republic The new Dave & Buster’s at the Solano Town Center in Fairfield features bar and restaurant seating with dozens of television screens.

“Walking Dead” game and have new virtual experiences such “Vader Immortal: Lightsaber Dojo,” to name a few.

There are some classics, such as PacMan, mixed in.

“We take older games and make them new,” Briones said.

Forget about having to collect tickets. A card with a magnetic stripe will hold information such as the balance, how many prize points, etc. The prize points never expire, Briones said.

Those points can be surrendered for Xbox consoles, Beats by Dre and other items.

There’s also a party room, complete with equipment for a business meeting.

The Fairfield opening ties in with a new menu that features 23 new food items and four summerinspired drinks.

People must be 18 or older to enter. Those younger than 18 must be accompanied by someone who is 25 or older.

Dave & Buster’s is located at 1350 Travis Blvd.

“We are happy to provide Solano County with the best experience to have fun,” Briones said. “Especially after the last year. We want to get people out and get our lives back.”

For your first time at Dave & Buster’s:

“Come in and try different things,” Briones said. “Get a feel for it. Come in and walk around. See what appeals to you.”

Results

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ronment homes, featuring rooms for three to four residents, with the ultimate goal of finding permanent residences.

“I think City Church is doing phenomenal,” LA BAR said Dawn La Bar, the Homeless Services Manager for the city. “They would be doing what they do anyway, but we have been able to get them funding and help in formalizing homeless strategies. You have to take baby steps and be willing to go. Going from the outskirts of Fairfield to a tent in a church parking lot is a lot. That’s a step.”

La Bar has been most impressed by the peer-to-peer addiction counseling provided by City Church. “These aren’t just people coming in with fancy clothes and fancy degrees,” La Bar said. “They know how to interact and work so hard to make lives better.”

This pilot program’s goal was to operate for six months. Referrals are made through the city’s Homeless Services Division and the Police Department’s Homeless Intervention Team.

The Way Home program is not the same for everyone. Collaborative partnerships and resources come into play to help try to ensure that individuals in need can be on their way to exiting homelessness.

Mulvey’s goal when he came to Fairfield with his wife, co-lead pastor Deborah Mulvey, a decade ago was to help nurture and grow City Church. But at many of his previous stops, homelessness has been an issue he has continually addressed.

When he was young, his parents took in troubled addicts and Mulvey saw first-hand the struggles and success for individuals trying to get clean. He also had a friend of his son at a previous church need help and he was able to offer housing, which eventually grew into housing for more than 80 people in Brentwood.

“Many in the homeless community want to stay homeless,” Mulvey said. “There is also a large percentage that want out, and that number is higher than I thought.

“I’ve seen what drugs can do to a person after many years,” he said. “As a young man, I saw what God can do in a program like this. I tell people, you have nothing to lose in giving God a try.”

The goal for the city is for City Church to be a model for other churches and organizations to assist in the mission of curtailing homelessness.