Midday Edition

Researchers at UC San Diego estimate that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was likely circulating undetected for at most two months before the first human cases of COVID-19. Plus, distance learning during the pandemic has only worsened students' achievement gap from marginalized communities and those growing up in privilege. But could there be some long-term benefits to this experience? And this weekend in the arts: Cauleen Smith at the San Diego Museum of Art, outdoor Afro-Cuban jazz at Queen Bee’s, a year of virtual civic organ concerts and "There's Something About the Weather of This Place," at Best Practice gallery in Barrio Logan.

The IRS is delaying the 2020 tax filing deadline until May 17. How will provisions in the latest stimulus bill will affect your taxes? Plus, Moderna has begun testing its COVID-19 vaccine in children under 12, another step to getting everyone protected. Then, San Diego’s freeways and public transportation were empty in the early days of the pandemic. Traffic and transit ridership are now recovering, but will they ever come back all the way? And, Carlsbad’s GenMark Diagnostics, developer of rapid COVID-19 testing kits, was sold for $1.8 billion — a testament to the San Diego region’s biotech industry innovation during the pandemic. Also, the controversy over how to safely move millions of pounds of nuclear waste from the shuttered San Onofre power plant is back in the headlines. And, efforts to improve the environment around the Salton Sea were widely expected to begin at Red Hill Bay in 2015 but the project remains undone. Finally, KPBS arts reporter Beth Accomando speaks with Turner Classic Movies host Eddie Muller about contextualizing classic films that might be problematic and often downright offensive for contemporary audiences.

The repercussions of a shooting rampage in Atlanta Tuesday are being felt in Asian-American and Pacific Islander-American communities across the U.S. including in San Diego County. Plus, COVID-19 has not only crushed many small San Diego businesses, but in some cases, destroyed family wealth meant to sustain future generations. And an infectious disease specialist at UC San Diego Health describes how our understanding of how the COVID-19 virus affects the body has changed. Then, local arts organizations weigh in on the last 12 months of art and music during the pandemic and face continued uncertainty and adaptation as we move towards reopening. Finally, San Diego Latino Film Festival kicked off last week and continues through the weekend. We hear from two filmmakers whose work will be showcased.

San Diego County will move back into the less restrictive red tier of the state's COVID-19 reopening blueprint Wednesday. Plus, our series on the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic continues with a look at how major health care organizations responded. And we speak to the founder of UC San Diego Health's post-COVID-19 clinic about what we are learning about the lingering effects of COVID-19 long after the infection is gone. Then, almost a month after the Biden administration launched a program to process some asylum-seekers, hundreds of people are now camped outside of the San Ysidro Port of Entry. Plus, how will the pandemic change the future of work? Finally, author and oceanographer Kim McCoy combines science and adventure in his new book, "Waves and Beaches: The Powerful Dynamics of Sea and Coast."

It’s been just over a year since COVID-19 was officially declared a pandemic. A year of anxiety, hardship, confusion and loss. A year like no other.

Supporters of the San Pasqual Academy in Escondido are calling on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors to help the school for foster youth stay open. Plus, artificial tide pools may help keep rising sea levels from flooding the land around San Diego Bay. And our weekend arts picks: City Ballet, Philipp Scholz Rittermann, a dance film reflection on a year of closures and the acoustic rock of Grampadrew.

President Joe Biden on Thursday signed into law the $1.9 trillion relief package that he said will help the U.S. defeat the coronavirus and nurse the economy back to health. Plus, protesters gathered outside the San Diego Police Department headquarters Wednesday night after a video surfaced that appears to show an officer pointing his gun at a young boy during a traffic stop in Hillcrest this week. And San Diego Unified School Board changed the name of Junipero Serra High School in response to a student-led movement. Then, the City of La Mesa will soon accept food waste from residents. The waste will be processed at EDCO's new anaerobic digestion facility in Escondido. Plus, Sally Ride’s story is being told along with 12 other inspiring women profiled in the "She Persisted" young adult book series. Finally, the third episode of the Parker Edison Project looks at how customs impact our culture, and examines how they even play a part in our imaginations.

Governor Gavin Newsom urged Californians to dream of brighter days during his annual State of the State address, this year from an empty Dodgers Stadium. Plus, a North County mobile crisis response program is expanding county wide by this summer. And, a new report from UC San Diego Health suggests that long-standing tests used to determine lung capacity are actually rife with archaic and, in some cases, racist components that could lead to a misdiagnosis in patients of color. Then, the County Board of Supervisors called for a review of the entire COVID-19 hotel sheltering program eight days after our partners at inewsource reported on problems at a county-run COVID-19 isolation hotel. Plus, leaders from the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York will allow most of the students involved in a major cheating scandal to remain at the prestigious school. Finally, how the San Diego Latino Film Festival is adapting and growing due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sweetwater Union High in the South Bay voted on a school reopening plan Monday night while Poway Unified and others will have to hold off on plans to bring back high schoolers. Plus, a day in the life of a teacher in Oakland, California and how she deals with remote teaching during the pandemic. And, voting began Monday in the special election to fill the 79th Assembly District seat vacated by Shirley Weber when she became secretary of state. Gov. Newsom’s popularity has fallen significantly after reaching record highs at the start of the pandemic. He’s likely to face a recall election later this year. Then, how the San Diego American Indian Health Center is working to keep its urban indigenous community healthy in body, mind and spirit amid the challenges posed by COVID-19. Finally, the sound of mariachi was synonymous with celebrations prior to the pandemic. Now, San Diego's mariachi bands have had to adapt and change their business models to survive.

New CDC guidance indicates those fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can gather indoors in some circumstances but should keep wearing masks in public. Plus, about 700 homeless people sheltered for months at the San Diego Convention Center are scheduled to move into smaller shelters starting March 22. And surveys show that Black Californians are a lot more reluctant to get the coronavirus vaccine than white Californians. But most surveys don’t ask respondents why. Then San Diego scientists say wildfire smoke is more harmful to the health of people living in the path of smoke from the fires than other pollutants. Plus, twenty-five percent of Stockton's population lives in poverty. Two years ago, then-mayor Michael Tubbs opened the door to an experiment: 125 residents would get $500 a month, no strings attached. And an upcoming skate park in Fallbrook will be built with extreme wheelchair skaters in mind. Finally, the San Diego REP launches its new Black Voices 2021 Play Reading Series next Monday.