As Californians streamed into Universal Studios behind him, an unmasked and unusually jovial Gov. Gavin Newsom declared Tuesday that the state was reopened and finally ready to “turn the page” after a tough year.

And as he ends COVID-19 restrictions, Newsom is doing his best to shut the book on the recall months before the election.

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, Newsom was praised for his health-first approach to governing. But muddled policies, school closures and his own damaging missteps, such as his French Laundry dinner during the state shutdown, frustrated even some of his staunchest supporters and inflamed an angry bloc of voters who had grown tired of his emergency use of executive powers.

Now his political fortunes are on the rise again.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.