51.4% of eligible Californians are fully vaccinated. A Message from our Sponsor Other stories you should know 1. Permanent pandemic changes? Restaurant patrons sit in a parklet along Valencia Street in San Francisco on July 25, 2020. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters Hard-hit restaurants and bars may not exactly come out of the pandemic smelling like roses — but many will likely be able to continue serving alcohol to-go and expanding outdoor dining, CalMatters’ Miranda Green reports. State lawmakers are currently considering two bills that would permanently allow restaurants to sell to-go alcoholic beverages and another that would permanently allow cities to restrict traffic, creating “slow streets” that could encourage more outdoor dining. Several large cities, including Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose and San Francisco, have already expanded or are considering expanding their outdoor dining programs.