• It's the last day of business for Benkyodo mochi shop in Japantown, which after close-of-business Thursday will close forever after 115 years. The shop, Japantown's oldest business, initially was set to close in January but extended until today, after an outpouring of support, and customers were lined up today as of 2 a.m. [CBS SF]
  • Today, on what would have been Cesar Chavez's 95th birthday, California cities, schools, Latinx groups, and labor organizations are celebrating Cesar Chavez Day with marches and community service. [KTVU / NBC News]
  • A flag store in Belmont is having trouble keeping Ukrainian flags in stock as they're flying off the shelf. [KRON4]
  • San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose are among the only major cities in the country where average rents are still below pre-pandemic levels. [Mercury News]
  • California's eviction moratorium, extended several times, expires as of Thursday, March 31, and that could spell trouble for any renters still behind on rent. [NBC Bay Area]
  • The U.S. men's soccer team has clinched a spot in the World Cup in Qatar despite a 2-0 loss to Costa Rica in qualifying rounds. [Associated Press]
  • A new study out of Brazil confirms that ivermectin doesn't do anything to help COVID patients stay out of the hospital. [Bloomberg]
  • The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences now says that it asked Will Smith to leave the Oscars ceremony following the big slap, but he refused. [New York Times]

Top image: Labor activist Cesar Chavez (1927 - 2003) leads the United Farm Worker's (UFW) 1,000 Mile March in California, summer 1975. The march was a 59 day trek organized by the UFW, from the Mexican border at San Ysidro to Salinas and then from Sacramento south down the Central Valley to the UFW's La Paz headquarters at Keene, southeast of Bakersfield. Tens of thousands of farm workers marched and attended evening rallies to hear Chavez and organize their ranches. (Photo by Cathy Murphy/Getty Images)