In CA: The cost of COVID, royals leaving L.A., and the flip-flops of the future

Plus: Bars in one county can stay open later, and mental hospital patients sue over coronavirus

If you’ve been wondering how many lives — and dollars — the personal protective equipment shortage has cost California, there’s a study for you. Also, the pandemic’s ban on evictions isn’t working for at least 1,600 Californians.

Meanwhile, the PAC-12 announced it’s calling off the fall football season over COVID concerns, but there’s some excitement in the Golden State, too — Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan have picked a new home in Santa Barbara. 

It’s Alayna Shulman writing from an air-conditioned corner of the sweltering far north on this Wednesday, and these are the state’s top headlines.

But first: the duke and duchess aren’t the only royals stirring up talk in the Golden State — Princess Diana is getting the "Hamilton" treatment in La Jolla.

In California brings you top Golden State stories and commentary from across the Paste BN Network and beyond. Get it free, straight to your inbox. 

PPE shortage got 15,800 people sick, study says

It seems like there’s a more specific crisis within the pandemic every few weeks, so remember all the way back to when the shortage of personal protective equipment was first popping up?

In California, that got some 15,800 essential workers sick and cost the state $93 million in unemployment dollars alone, a new study out of UC Berkeley says.

Of those sickened workers, dozens died needlessly, the researchers said. 

Santa Barbara lets bars stay open later. But you won't be able to watch Pac-12 football

But for every study showing the dangers of COVID-19, there seems to be a government body that's still loosening its restrictions to curb the virus. 

Enter Santa Barbara, whose city council voted this week voted to expand nightlife in town by letting bars stay open later (they can now go to 12:30 a.m., instead of 10 p.m.). 

Supporters of the move say it's not careless — just a way to balance safety and the economic toll of the pandemic. 

"All the owners understand the need to control the virus,” one bar owner told The Santa Barbara Independent. “None of us wants to make a buck at the expense of getting anyone infected.”

But at least one councilmember still had concerns, the paper reports. 

The news comes as the PAC-12 announced coronavirus restrictions: Namely, the whopping decision to cancel fall football. 

And further south, incarcerated patients at Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino have filed a class-action lawsuit accusing the psychiatric facility of failing to take precautions to keep them safe from the coronavirus, the Orange County Register reports. 

One more virus update — and a potentially good one: Researchers at the University of Cailfornia, San Francisco, have developed a nasal spray they say can kill the virus inside the nose. 

Building better, greener flip-flops  

Alright, shifting gears to the environment, California researchers already went so far as creating algae-based flip-flops to fight plastic waste. Now, they're taking that one step further by looking for ways to turn those shoes into their former matter. 

Scientists say some 3 billion petroleum-based flip-flops — the footwear of choice for so many Californians — are made every year, and they usually end up as litter. 

The scientists have already created a prototype of the new flip-flop that they're trying to market, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.  The next step is create shoes that remain sturdy while on customers’ feet, but biodegrade quickly once discarded.

Never a dull news day in California...

What else grabbed our attention Wednesday? 

• Former health executives in Tulare County have been indicted on embezzlement, grand theft and other charges
• The latest produce recall (onions) expands
• A look at newly named Joe Biden running mate and Californian Kamala Harris' political leanings
• First, San Quentin. Now, Folsom: The virus spreads behind a new prison's walls 
• ICE faces allegations it barred COVID-19 tests from happening 

Alright, that's going to do it for another California Wednesday. Stay safe, and thanks for reading.

In California is a roundup of news from across Paste BN Network newsrooms. Also contributing: Los Angeles Times, San Diego Union-Tribune, Orange County Register, The Sacramento Bee, CalMatters, Harper's Bazaar, Santa Barbara Independent, KRON4 and the Mercury News.