• A Sunday night fire heavily damaged Oakland's Junior Center of Arts and Science at Lake Merritt, which was readying to reopen for the first time during the pandemic. The 65-year-old non-profit educational and community center for kids is now seeking donations and volunteer help to clean up the damage. [KRON4]
  • A recent U.S. Census survey found that the SF Bay Area ranks highest among any other metro area in the country for vaccine buy-in and demand (actually #2 by one percentage point behind Seattle, but we could be #1 with the margins of error). We have the least hesitancy of any other area in the country when it comes to getting our shots, with 72% of unvaccinated respondents saying they will get one — while only 44% of Riverside, CA residents want vaccines. [Chronicle]
  • Pfizer has released the results of a small-scale study showing that its COVID vaccine is highly effective in kids ages 12 to 15. The kids in the study experienced similar side effects to adults, and showed possibly higher immunity afterwards than young adults. [Associated Press]
  • Governor Gavin Newsom announced that California is hiring an additional 1,400 firefighters ahead of what many fear will be another devastating fire season. [NBC Bay Area]
  • A 3.4M earthquake rattled an area south of Gilroy this morning in San Benito County. [CBS SF]
  • A Black Oakland homeowner who invested in fixing up his home says he was shorted in an appraisal by $155,000, and a mortgage broker helped solve the issue. [ABC 7]
  • A car belonging to a Bend, Oregon man who disappeared strangely two weeks ago has been found in the tiny Siskiyou County town of Mount Hebron off Highway 97, about 170 miles south of Bend, and residents are being asked if anyone saw him. [Mercury News]
  • COVID cases are trending upward in much of the Northeast, and it may be driven primarily by young people, in addition to the relaxing of restrictions. [Chronicle]
  • New York State just legalized recreational marijuana, becoming the 15th state to do so and one of the largest potential markets in the country. [New York Times]
  • The last Blockbuster in the world, in Bend, Oregon, is gaining a flurry of new attention — and shipments of flowers from fans — after the release of the Netflix documentary The Last Blockbuster. [Associated Press]

Top images: People line up to receive a COVID-19 vaccine as San Francisco Mayor London Breed speaks during a news conference outside of Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital with essential workers to mark the one year anniversary of the COVID-19 lockdown on March 17, 2021 in San Francisco, California. San Francisco has some of the lowest number of coronavirus cases and death rates in the country with only 422 deaths in a city with a population near 900,000. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)