In CA: Can you be too clean in the time of COVID? Plus, the virus visits Yosemite

It’s Alayna Shulman filling in for Arlene, and these are the top headlines in the Golden State on this summer Monday.

But first, to warm up your brains and hearts: This 8-year-old Lodi boy has been gripped with fear since he got shot by a mystery assailant on the 4th of July, so Stockton police wrangled together donations to give him a bike, helmet and more.

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SF hotels sue over COVID-19 cleaning requirements

If you thought there was one thing everyone could agree on in the pandemic…wait, no one thinks that anymore.

Exhibit A: The San Francisco hotels are suing the city because they believe its COVID-19 cleaning requirements are too rigorous and even potentially dangerous, as the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The suit was expected to be filed Monday and aims to get around a city law — the strictest in the nation — that requires intensive daily cleaning.

The Chronicle reports that the plaintiffs allege the law doesn’t just financially burden hotels and go beyond state and federal cleaning guidelines, but that it could —ironically — expose hotel workers to harmful substances.

Guess who’s coming to Yosemite for the pandemic?

Speaking of COVID-19 and all the ways it's changed California, traces of coronavirus have reportedly been found in Yosemite National Park’s sewage.

Since the area’s health officer attributes the positive tests to the famed park’s many summer tourists, it’s a disturbing sign of the potential for the virus to be introduced to a community when people don’t follow health guidelines.

The park was closed for about three months until reopening in early June. There haven’t been any confirmed cases among employees.

Read more about that here. 

Another 'Karen' video goes viral, this time out of Rancho Mirage

But enough about the pandemic — for now. The latest high-profile incident involving a white woman harassing a person of color on camera touched down recently in the Palm Springs area.

Rancho Mirage officials on Sunday told The Desert Sun that “action will be taken” after a white woman was filmed repeatedly asking a Hispanic landscaper to “show me your papers” (seemingly referring to his immigration status). In a sign of the times, the exchange also features the man asking the woman to keep her distance because he’s wearing a mask and she isn’t (more on that issue here). 

The video was taken at an affordable-housing complex for people over 55 in the city.

It’s only the latest in a series of similar encounters featuring white women — colloquially referred to as “Karens” — who confront people of color, seemingly just for existing in public.  

Daughter of Golden State Killer upset by documentary footage

In other news, a daughter of one of Golden State Killer Joseph DeAngelo’s many victims called out the producers of a documentary she participated in for seemingly showing crime-scene footage, the Ventura County Star reports.

While Ventura County native and current Santa Cruz resident Jennifer Carole agreed to be part of "I'll Be Gone in the Dark," she says she didn’t realize the extent of the footage it would include.

Carole’s father and stepmother were murdered by DeAngelo in 1980, and she said producers of the docuseries told here they'd be showing disturbing images. She says they didn't mention anything about actual evidence of the crime, though.

Nail salons still battling stigma after virus claim

Remember when Gov. Gavin Newsom said California’s first community-spread coronavirus case was transmitted in a nail salon?

Here’s a look at how California’s Vietnamese community has come together in the wake of the statement.

And since we’re already on the topic of grooming in the time of COVID, Newsom also announced at his daily press conference that you can now get a haircut even in high-risk counties if it’s done outside. Of course, depending on what part of the Golden State you call home, you might want to wait until July is over.

Pandemic leads to ‘simplified’ Taco Bell menu

Finally, Irvine-based Taco Bell — the pandemic staple of so many Californians — is going to stop selling some of its items Aug. 13.

Among other favorites, the Quesarito, 7-Layer Burrito and all potato-based dishes are saying goodbye, though it’s unclear whether the change will be permanent.

In a statement on its website, Taco Bell said COVID-19 has caused the company to look for ways to improve efficiency.

The good news? The company said it’s rolling out some new items at the same time.

But wait, there's more!

So what else caught our attention Monday? 

• A first-person account of coronavirus in New York City from a Salinas doctor who went there to help out.
• Another news outlet is paring down operations in the Golden State. More on that here and here. 
• One of San Quentin State Prison's death-row inmates has died, apparently from coronavirus. 
• Speaking of the virus and inmates, one who was released because of the pandemic reportedly robbed an armored car and then escaped from police in the city of Indio.

Alright, that's another day on the books for California news. As always, we'll circle back tomorrow for the latest. Stay safe out there. 

Alayna Shulman covers a little bit of everything for the Record Searchlight. In particular, she loves writing about the issues of this community through long-form storytelling. Her work often centers on local crime, features and politics, and has won awards for best writing, best business coverage and best investigative reporting in the California News Publishers Association's Better Newspapers Contest. Follow her on Twitter (@ashulman_RS), call her at 530-225-8372 and, to support her work, please subscribe.