After 15 months of pandemic-related restrictions, California is back open for business. In downtown Clovis, reactions ranged from cautious optimism to elation. “I still think we should keep our precautions, just to be on the safe side,” says emergency room nurse Angelica Martinez. She’s grateful she hasn’t contracted COVID, but knows the risks aren’t completely gone. Business owner Sherri Cooley’s teenaged children have struggled with social restrictions and distance learning. “I’m super grateful,” she says, happy they can receive some recognition for being vaccinated as early as they were eligible. “It’s about dang time,” says videographer Nick MacNeill, who had to pivot from documenting weddings and quinceañeras to reviewing products for Youtube. Jeff Pascua took a job as a truck driver for the Salvation Army after his photography and event production business evaporated during the pandemic. Now, “it’s like, ‘ok, I can breathe,’” he says, sitting with a cup of coffee outside a café.
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