Metrolink restored service to nearly pre-pandemic levels as of Monday. Alas, that comes about three weeks too late for me, as I had to resort to alternatives to get to dinner in DTLA for my birthday. Also: a Joyce Carol Oates short story concerns Leslie Van Houten, who recently lost her latest bid for parole from prison in Chino, and an Orange County history book is published. All this is in my Wednesday column.