ANGEL STADIUM of Anaheim … Imagine it without fans in attendance (Flickr/Ray LAC).

You won’t be able to take anyone out to the ball game this year … at least not for a while.

According to Fox News, Major League Baseball’s owners have put forth a proposal to start the season around Independence Day weekend in stadiums without fans.  The reports say that spring training could begin in June and that each team would play about 82 regular season games against other
teams in its division, plus interleague contests with a regional look: AL West vs. NL West, for example. It’s estimated that about 40 percent of most teams’ revenues come from attendance, concessions, advertising and private boxes.

If medical or governmental approvals are not received at some locations, teams might play their home games not in their regular stadiums but in spring training or neutral sites. Additionally, the All-Star Game planned for Dodger Stadium on July 14 would probably be cancelled or postponed to 2021.

Such proposals would have to be approved by the players’ association.

Wear a mask … even at the White House

The use of masks in fighting the spread of coronavirus was underlined this weekend and Monday as the White House has now ordered everyone who enters the West Wing of the executive mansion to wear a mask or other face covering.

THE CORONAVIRUS (Shutterstock).

According to the Associated Press, the new order came after Vice President Mike Pence and three top-ranking medical experts – including Dr. Anthony Fauci – went into quarantine or “self-isolation” after being exposed to two known cases of COVID-19.

Further, the White House is now recommending that all residents and staff at nursing homes be tested for the virus in the next two weeks, which could exceed 1 million people.

Also on Monday, the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that the number of deaths from the coronavirus in New York City might be undercounted. According to the AP, the true count may be about 5,300 more than the latest estimate of nearly 27,000 people.

As of Monday, the Johns Hopkins University tally of confirmed coronavirus cases is now 4.1 million cases worldwide, with 1,346,163 in the United States. Global deaths are at 285,690, with 80,297 in the U.S.

Defiant Musk restarting Tesla production

Defying an order from Alameda County, Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk announced Monday that the electric car company’s primary assembly plant in Fremont was reopening.

ELON MUSK, CEO of Tesla (Wikipedia/NORAD).

According to NBC news, Musk tweeted “Tesla is starting production today against Alameda County rules. I will be on the line with everyone else. If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me.”

Tesla, the nation’s leading manufacturer of electric automobiles and the only car manufacturing company in California, has received approval to reopen from state officials but ran afoul of a county ordinance.

Musk has threatened to pull his factory out of the state, and Tesla filed a lawsuit against the county in federal court.

Weather: Cloudy and then sunny in the OC

The weather in Orange County should be slowly getting warmer, hitting the low 80s by the weekend, according to the National Weather Service. Partly cloudy conditions should be in place Tuesday and Wednesdays with highs of 73. Temps are expected to rise to 77 on Thursday with the sun coming out, and hitting 82 by Saturday.