Bay Briefing: The COVID surge that won’t seem to end

COVID-19 cases remain stubbornly high across California despite some indicators earlier this week that the state had moved past the peak of its spring surge, with the Bay Area continuing to outpace other regions with its rate of infections.

“You have new transmissible variants and people being fed up,” said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist with UCSF. “If people were still being cautious and we had the same variant for a long time, you would have that quick downslope that we saw in the winter. But now all bets are off.”

And while the high volume of cases has not caused excessive strain on the health care system, the number of hospitalizations is steadily rising.

Read more from Aidin Vaziri.

• ICYMI: If you still have not had COVID after the latest surge, what are the odds you never will?

‘A Sort of Disneyland for the Peninsula’

That was the headline for the first San Francisco Chronicle article about Marriott’s Great America, when the Santa Clara amusement park was announced in 1973.

News that the park’s days are numbered may feel like a “sucker punch” to generations of Bay Area residents, writes Peter Hartlaub. And though Great America never quite became Disneyland North, “At a time when Silicon Valley was still filled with orchards and Marc Benioff hadn’t bought his first computer, Great America was the biggest thing in the South Bay.”

From the Turn of the Century coaster to the The Edge to the Grizzly, renowned as one of the “worst wooden roller coasters in the world,” we take a look back at Great America’s history.

Around the Bay

• Chronicle Interview: Chesa Boudin says he won’t rule out running again for San Francisco D.A., in his first interview since the historic recall.

• Illegal vending: San Francisco vowed to crack down on people selling stolen goods on the streets. Here’s why that hasn’t happened yet.

• San Francisco budget: Mayor Breed reached a deal with supervisors that keeps police hiring plans and boosts affordable housing.

• Fire weather: The Bay Area has avoided a major wildfire so far this year. Here’s the meteorological reason why.

• Real estate: A famous California home once owned by Ronald Reagan has hit the market for just under $5 million.

• School conflict: SFUSD removed the principal who used a racial epithet. The decision has divided parents, and left tensions boiling.

What to eat

Looking for somewhere to celebrate the Fourth of July weekend? One solid option: The new San Francisco location of Square Pie Guys in the heart of Ghirardelli Square is opening just in time for the long weekend.

Their extremely popular Detroit-style pizza has, of course, been featured in our critics’ list of best pizza restaurants in the Bay Area, and their new restaurant is massive, with 3,300 square feet of space, a large patio with several picnic tables, and a kitchen that can serve about 76 diners at a time.

If you’re not going to be in S.F. this weekend, our Top Pizza guide still has plenty of options for you, from a brick-oven spot in the North Bay by a champion pizzaiola to a place specializing in New Haven pizza on the Peninsula. And there’s 15 pizza picks in our list focusing just on the East Bay.

Warriors free-agency primer

On Thursday, just a week after Golden State hoisted its fourth Larry O’Brien Trophy in eight seasons, it drafted three players. The player movement isn’t about to stop. At 3 p.m. this coming Thursday, the Warriors will head into what should be a critical free-agency period for the franchise.

Who stays? Who goes? Who joins the quest to repeat?

Connor Letourneau breaks down the biggest questions facing Golden State.