A recently renovated Super 8 motel in South San Diego will now serve as temporary housing for homeless families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Also on KPBS’ San Diego News Matters podcast: valedictorians from across the county talk about what it's like to earn this honor during a pandemic, murder hornets and more local news you need.

Gov. Gavin Newsom issued guidance yesterday to churches and other houses of worship in California on how they can safely reopen amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Also on KPBS’ San Diego News Matters podcast: How drastically the situation along the border has changed, San Diego police are still ticketing the city's homeless residents and more local news you need.

Some San Diego restaurants opened yesterday as the county moved forward with expanded reopenings. Also on KPBS’ San Diego News Matters podcast: leaders and health officials in the South Bay are asking for help to control the surge of coronavirus cases there, the University of California became the largest public university system in the country to no longer require standardized testing and more local news you need.

Positive COVID-19 tests are on the downward trend in San Diego. Also on KPBS’ San Diego News Matters podcast: San Diego County officials are moving forward with plans to reopen restaurants for dine in service and retail stores, but healthcare workers want more of a say on how quickly that happens, eleven employees at a VA Counseling Center in Mission Valley that serves homeless veterans have tested positive for COVID-19 and more local news you need.

On Tuesday, San Diego County Supervisors decided to ask the state to let our county be a test case for an accelerated reopening. Also on KPBS’ San Diego News Matters podcast: San Diego City Council members extended a moratorium on evictions for struggling renters and businesses, California blood banks are urgently asking COVID-19 survivors to donate plasma and more local news you need.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a dramatic relaxation of health standards to reopen the state. Also on KPBS’ San Diego News Matters podcast: droves of people turned out for Viejas Casino & Resort's reopening yesterday, restaurants across San Diego are preparing to open for dine-in service as soon as they get the go-ahead, the coronavirus’ silver lining and more local news you need.

Four San Diego Indian casinos will reopen this week. Also on KPBS’ San Diego News Matters podcast: expanded COVID-19 testing and new testing sites in central and southeastern San Diego, the COVID-19 numbers in San Diego County suggest the virus was likely not widely circulating before stay at home orders, as it may have been in other places like New York City and more local news you need.

Today, a story about how creativity persists, even in a pandemic. Because like a river that snakes its way around rocks, creative juices don’t just stop flowing when hit with obstacles. Often, creativity just finds a way around things. When the coronavirus hit, Katie Harroff didn’t waste any time. Like, at all. While most people were still scrambling to figure out how to live their new lives in quarantine, Katie not only got right back to work for her day job, but she also did something kinda nuts. She relaunched her own theater company. This is the last episode of "The Pandemic Pivot" popup podcast. Listen to all the episodes in the limited-run series here: https://www.kpbs.org/pivot Support future pop-up project like this by becoming a KPBS member: http://www.kpbs.org/donate

A petition was launched today to reopen a portion of Ocean Front Walk between Mission Beach and Pacific Beach for one select purpose: to allow the rollerblader known as ``Slomo'' to once again take to the boardwalk, where he's been a rolling icon for, like, ever. Also on KPBS’ San Diego News Matters podcast: city and county officials are moving forward with a plan to reopen the economy faster than currently allowed by California guidelines, Metropolitan Transit System workers are getting $1000 bonuses for their work during the coronavirus pandemic and more local news you need.

Viejas Casino and Resort in Alpine announced plans last week to reopen on May 18, and Sycuan Casino Resort plans to open May 20, but the county has a problem with those dates. Also on KPBS’ San Diego News Matters podcast: County health officials made a significant decision last week -- to allow daycares to begin accepting children whose parents are nonessential workers, but because of miscommunications by county officials, daycares are just now getting the message. How a local nonprofit is stepping in to help some San Diego seniors cope with the increased isolation and more local news you need.