Contributed

I drive to Gibbel Rd. Via State St until it crosses Domenigoni Parkway—about seven miles from my house. In order to get my full forty-five-minute workout, I find that it is best to park in the dirt next to the little fenced in water building, or whatever it is, and begin there. It is seventy-five degrees at 8:45 AM in October, because in this valley, summer is stubborn and steadfast.

Turns out a lot of us actually like certain changes we've made in our lives while holed up at home since the coronavirus hit. No, we're not talking about what turned out to be the not so stop-gap measures experts usually cite in arguing the entire world has been forever transformed due to COVD-19. Telemedicine.

Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the selection of California Secretary of State Alex Padilla to be California’s next United States Senator, filling the term being vacated by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. Padilla, who previously served as a Los Angeles City Councilman and State Senator, and is a national leader in the fight to expand voting rights, will become the first Latino to represent California in the United States Senate and the first Southern Californian in nearly three decades.

Sarah Trubnick is starting to make peace with a gut-wrenching reality: She may never reopen The Barrel Room, her beloved 5-year-old restaurant in San Francisco’s financial district. The sweeping $900 billion pandemic relief package that Congress has approved contains billions in aid directed specifically at struggling small businesses like Trubnick’s.

The holidays are upon us but nothing about them will be normal. Covid-19 has changed many things including the way we interact with others. Many of us will not be celebrating in person with the family and friends we normally celebrate with. Some of us will be zooming our get-togethers, myself included.