latimes--2020-08-03--L.A. hunter killed an elephant. Now he's a PETA target in bid to end trophy hunting

In mid-December , Aaron Raby shot and killed an elephant .
Hours later , he had a piece of it for dinner , with a side of sliced tomato and avocado .
A self-described “ blue-collar ” Los Angeles crane operator , Raby paid more than $ 30,000 for the once-in-a-lifetime experience — traveling more than 10,000 miles to South Africa to shoot and kill the tusked pachyderm .
He then paid roughly $ 10,000 to have its head preserved as a souvenir of his adventure .
Yet Raby may never receive his trophy — which is still in South @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if California enacts new legislation , Senate Bill 1175 .
The legislation , which has passed the state Senate and is expected to pass the Assembly on Tuesday , would prohibit the importation and possession of animal parts from a list of endangered and threatened African species , including elephants , lions and rhinos .
“ It ’ s time to wake up and realize that we ’ re in the middle of a mass extinction event , ” said Sen. Henry Stern ( D-Canoga Park ) , who wrote and shepherded the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ passed both the Assembly and Senate two years ago but was ultimately vetoed by then-Gov .
Jerry Brown , who called the trophy ban “ unenforceable.
” Stern said circumstances have since changed , and is confident the current governor , Gavin Newsom , will sign this year ’ s bill .
For Raby , the consequences of his latest kill are just starting to unfold .
After the hunt , he posted images of his trophy on Facebook , YouTube and AfricaHunting.com , a website for hunters .
People for the Ethical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ activist organization , independently obtained video of the elephant shooting , which it released Monday and plans to use in a late-session campaign to ensure passage of Stern ’ s legislation .
Raby said he has faced threats and online harassment before , such as when he posted an image of himself with a lion he had killed .
But the PETA campaign is sure to bring him a new notoriety , and deepen the debate about trophy hunting .
“ I don ’ t understand why this is anybody ’ s business @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ What I did is legal .
I didn ’ t break a law .
They ’ re going to place a ban because a bunch of ... crybabies that don ’ t like hunting.
” California has become a focus of the trophy fight partly because the federal government has vacillated on banning such imports .
This year , the Trump administration approved the import of a lion trophy from Tanzania , the first since lions began receiving protections in January 2016 as a threatened species .
Fearing the administration may @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are hoping California will provide a line of defense .
For years , trophy hunting has also quietly divided conservation biologists .
Last fall , that split became publicly acerbic within the pages of the prestigious research journal Science .
Some experts argue the practice provides funding for local communities , raises money for wildlife management and gives people who live near dangerous or destructive animals — such as lions and elephants — an incentive to conserve them instead of kill them .
Others say there is no evidence that trophy hunting provides @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it did , they question whether killing and dismembering such creatures justifies those ends .
The scope of the imports is vast .
In 2017 alone , more than 650,000 wildlife trophies were imported to the United States , including species considered internationally rare or threatened , according to a report from the Congressional Research Service .
Last winter , after years of diligently saving , Raby embarked on a two-week hunting expedition in South Africa , led by a pair of experienced safari guides .
A video of the hunt , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a startled elephant facing the hunter and his phalanx of guides and trackers .
As the young male pachyderm looks on — his ears widening — the guides set up a tripod upon which Raby places his rifle .
Raby shoots , and the bullet hits the elephant in its head .
The elephant crumples to his knees .
Over the next 2½ minutes , Raby shoots the elephant four more times — three more hitting the animal ’ s head .
The footage shows the elephant breathing heavily , groaning , bleeding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s guides continue to encourage him to get a cleaner shot .
They never offer or attempt to intercede to quickly end the animal ’ s suffering .
The video cuts off before the elephant dies , although later footage — which Raby posted on YouTube and his Facebook page — shows crews skinning and deboning the elephant .
Raby has killed hundreds of animals across North America , as well as in Europe , Africa and Russia .
Photos of his forays can be viewed on his public Instagram page , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and another in which he is hugging a dead leopard .
The elephant was the culmination of Raby ’ s African “ Big Five ” quest .
He ’ d already killed a lion , rhinoceros , Cape buffalo and leopard .
Raby said he hunts not for the kill , but for the experience and adventure of the hunt — living outdoors , cooking around a campfire , tracking an animal and immersing himself in the wild .
He also notes that lions regularly kill agricultural and pastoral animals — and occasionally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and crops .
“ We pay a lot of money to hunt these animals , ” Raby said .
“ If we didn ’ t hunt , that land would be converted into cattle ranches and there ’ d be poaching .
They don ’ t want lions killing their cattle or elephants destroying their crops.
” Mike Axelrad , a trophy hunter from Texas , said hunting provides financial incentives that prevent poaching .
He said animals are often poisoned if considered a nuisance — a painful and often prolonged death .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ director of the University of Minnesota ’ s lion research center , said there are examples of successful trophy-hunting conservation preserves in countries such as Namibia and Zimbabwe — in which the proceeds from international hunting expeditions have provided funding to conserve wildlife habitat and employ people from local communities .
Unfortunately , he said , in most places , these reserves don ’ t translate into the desired outcomes because the money spent by hunters — a lion hunt can range from $ 20,000 to $ 70,000 — doesn ’ t come @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to conserve biodiversity and manage habitat .
Or employ enough people to have a meaningful effect on a community .
In addition , corruption in many countries and regions often makes it impossible to know where the money is going , to whom , and how the hunts are regulated .
“ Many of these hunting preserves are fly-by-night operations .
Business owners swoop in , sell big takes , and leave .
They aren ’ t in it for the long term , ” he said .
“ The emperor has no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a conservation biologist at the University of Wisconsin and director of the Carnivore Coexistence Laboratory .
Treves says there are no concrete data supporting the idea that hunting promotes biodiversity , habitat conservation or local employment and engagement .
Proponents tend to repeatedly cite the few studies that bolster the argument for hunting , creating a body of research that boils down to “ self-citation , ” he said .
An even bigger issue , said Chelsea Batavia , a conservation biologist at Oregon State University , is ethics .
“ We know @ @ @ @ @ @ @ emotional capacity and they have complicated social lives , ” she said .
Even if proponents could demonstrate that trophy hunting benefits conservation , she added , “ do the ends justify the means ?
” The debate , she said , needs to be seen in the context of colonialism , in which European traditions were and still are imposed upon Africans .
What is needed , she said , are alternative conservation measures that aren ’ t issued from the top or from outside , but supported and embraced by local @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from South Africa investigate Raby ’ s hunt and , in particular , the prolonged death of the elephant .
In a letter to officials at the Balule preserve , Jared Goodman , PETA ’ s vice president and deputy general counsel , said the kill violated the preserve ’ s requirement that animals are provided with “ ethical and humane ” treatment and that its guides comply “ with the highest moral and ethical standards in recognition of a reverence for life and good sportsmanship.
” As for Raby , he said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s legislation becomes law .
“ We ’ re not all bloodthirsty , psycho machines that people make us out to be , ” he said .
“ I promise you , I can read an animal better than someone who is against hunting .
They say they like animals , but they don ’ t know anything about them .
”

In mid-December, Aaron Raby shot and killed an elephant. Hours later, he had a piece of it for dinner, with a side of sliced tomato and avocado.
A self-described “blue-collar” Los Angeles crane operator, Raby paid more than $30,000 for the once-in-a-lifetime experience — traveling more than 10,000 miles to South Africa to shoot and kill the tusked pachyderm. He then paid roughly $10,000 to have its head preserved as a souvenir of his adventure.
Yet Raby may never receive his trophy — which is still in South Africa being prepared by a taxidermist — if California enacts new legislation, Senate Bill 1175.
Advertisement
The legislation, which has passed the state Senate and is expected to pass the Assembly on Tuesday, would prohibit the importation and possession of animal parts from a list of endangered and threatened African species, including elephants, lions and rhinos.
“It’s time to wake up and realize that we’re in the middle of a mass extinction event,” said Sen. Henry Stern (D-Canoga Park), who wrote and shepherded the bill through the Senate.
Similar legislation passed both the Assembly and Senate two years ago but was ultimately vetoed by then-Gov. Jerry Brown, who called the trophy ban “unenforceable.” Stern said circumstances have since changed, and is confident the current governor, Gavin Newsom, will sign this year’s bill.
For Raby, the consequences of his latest kill are just starting to unfold. After the hunt, he posted images of his trophy on Facebook, YouTube and AfricaHunting.com, a website for hunters.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an animal rights activist organization, independently obtained video of the elephant shooting, which it released Monday and plans to use in a late-session campaign to ensure passage of Stern’s legislation.
Raby said he has faced threats and online harassment before, such as when he posted an image of himself with a lion he had killed. But the PETA campaign is sure to bring him a new notoriety, and deepen the debate about trophy hunting.
“I don’t understand why this is anybody’s business but my own,” Raby said. “What I did is legal. I didn’t break a law. They’re going to place a ban because a bunch of ... crybabies that don’t like hunting.”
California has become a focus of the trophy fight partly because the federal government has vacillated on banning such imports. This year, the Trump administration approved the import of a lion trophy from Tanzania, the first since lions began receiving protections in January 2016 as a threatened species.
Fearing the administration may approve more trophy imports, wildlife advocates are hoping California will provide a line of defense.
Advertisement
For years, trophy hunting has also quietly divided conservation biologists. Last fall, that split became publicly acerbic within the pages of the prestigious research journal Science.
Some experts argue the practice provides funding for local communities, raises money for wildlife management and gives people who live near dangerous or destructive animals — such as lions and elephants — an incentive to conserve them instead of kill them.
Others say there is no evidence that trophy hunting provides these benefits, and, even if it did, they question whether killing and dismembering such creatures justifies those ends.
The scope of the imports is vast. In 2017 alone, more than 650,000 wildlife trophies were imported to the United States, including species considered internationally rare or threatened, according to a report from the Congressional Research Service.
Last winter, after years of diligently saving, Raby embarked on a two-week hunting expedition in South Africa, led by a pair of experienced safari guides.
A video of the hunt, which PETA shared with The Times, shows a startled elephant facing the hunter and his phalanx of guides and trackers. As the young male pachyderm looks on — his ears widening — the guides set up a tripod upon which Raby places his rifle.
Raby shoots, and the bullet hits the elephant in its head. The elephant crumples to his knees. Over the next 2½ minutes, Raby shoots the elephant four more times — three more hitting the animal’s head. The footage shows the elephant breathing heavily, groaning, bleeding and struggling to get up.
Raby’s guides continue to encourage him to get a cleaner shot. They never offer or attempt to intercede to quickly end the animal’s suffering.
The video cuts off before the elephant dies, although later footage — which Raby posted on YouTube and his Facebook page — shows crews skinning and deboning the elephant.
Raby has killed hundreds of animals across North America, as well as in Europe, Africa and Russia. Photos of his forays can be viewed on his public Instagram page, including one that shows a dead wolverine and another in which he is hugging a dead leopard.
The elephant was the culmination of Raby’s African “Big Five” quest. He’d already killed a lion, rhinoceros, Cape buffalo and leopard.
Raby said he hunts not for the kill, but for the experience and adventure of the hunt — living outdoors, cooking around a campfire, tracking an animal and immersing himself in the wild.
He also notes that lions regularly kill agricultural and pastoral animals — and occasionally people — while elephants can destroy homes and crops.
“We pay a lot of money to hunt these animals,” Raby said. “If we didn’t hunt, that land would be converted into cattle ranches and there’d be poaching. They don’t want lions killing their cattle or elephants destroying their crops.”
Mike Axelrad, a trophy hunter from Texas, said hunting provides financial incentives that prevent poaching. He said animals are often poisoned if considered a nuisance — a painful and often prolonged death.
Craig Packer, a biology professor and director of the University of Minnesota’s lion research center, said there are examples of successful trophy-hunting conservation preserves in countries such as Namibia and Zimbabwe — in which the proceeds from international hunting expeditions have provided funding to conserve wildlife habitat and employ people from local communities.
Unfortunately, he said, in most places, these reserves don’t translate into the desired outcomes because the money spent by hunters — a lion hunt can range from $20,000 to $70,000 — doesn’t come close to the kind of money needed to conserve biodiversity and manage habitat. Or employ enough people to have a meaningful effect on a community.
In addition, corruption in many countries and regions often makes it impossible to know where the money is going, to whom, and how the hunts are regulated.
“Many of these hunting preserves are fly-by-night operations. Business owners swoop in, sell big takes, and leave. They aren’t in it for the long term,” he said.
Others dispute Packer’s examples of hunting’s benefits.
“The emperor has no clothes,” said Adrian Treves, a conservation biologist at the University of Wisconsin and director of the Carnivore Coexistence Laboratory.
Treves says there are no concrete data supporting the idea that hunting promotes biodiversity, habitat conservation or local employment and engagement. Proponents tend to repeatedly cite the few studies that bolster the argument for hunting, creating a body of research that boils down to “self-citation,” he said.
An even bigger issue, said Chelsea Batavia, a conservation biologist at Oregon State University, is ethics.
“We know these animal are intelligent, they have emotional capacity and they have complicated social lives,” she said. Even if proponents could demonstrate that trophy hunting benefits conservation, she added, “do the ends justify the means?”
The debate, she said, needs to be seen in the context of colonialism, in which European traditions were and still are imposed upon Africans. What is needed, she said, are alternative conservation measures that aren’t issued from the top or from outside, but supported and embraced by local communities.
PETA is requesting that officials from South Africa investigate Raby’s hunt and, in particular, the prolonged death of the elephant.
In a letter to officials at the Balule preserve, Jared Goodman, PETA’s vice president and deputy general counsel, said the kill violated the preserve’s requirement that animals are provided with “ethical and humane” treatment and that its guides comply “with the highest moral and ethical standards in recognition of a reverence for life and good sportsmanship.”
As for Raby, he said he’d leave California if Stern’s legislation becomes law.
“We’re not all bloodthirsty, psycho machines that people make us out to be,” he said. “I promise you, I can read an animal better than someone who is against hunting. They say they like animals, but they don’t know anything about them.”


latimes--2020-08-05--'I don't know what I'm supposed to do.' Parents in distress over school opening online

How do we start school online ?
I have five children and one Wi-Fi hot spot .
I can ’ t answer the questions my children are asking .
The kids have way too much free time .
What took so long to come up with this schedule ?
We need help .
As a more detailed picture of the new online-only school day in Los Angeles emerges , a crescendo of concerns and questions is arising among parents , whose children will be expected to fire up computers in less than two weeks for the opening of the 2020-21 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The broad outline of a tentative agreement between the teachers union and school district is clear : Students and parents will follow a predictable schedule that somewhat mirrors a traditional school day .
And there will be more live , face-to-face time , via computer , with teachers and counselors .
But what parents are not seeing — and what many say they desperately need — is assistance with child care , a full school day , supervised activities after school and real-time academic supervision .
All would be needed for them to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ children to catch up and keep pace in their studies .
And , while having a structured online school day should enhance learning , some parents worry that the new schedule and rules , which will require daily attendance , will result in more intense demands to carry out a role that many say they are not qualified to handle — that of co-teacher .
“ The school district doesn ’ t understand we ’ re not qualified to answer a lot of questions our kids are asking , ” said Adriana Ruiz @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cudahy who also serves as a caregiver for her 51-year-old sister .
“ That ’ s the frustrating part .
It ’ s like the school ’ s saying , ‘ Hey , we ’ re here for two hours and then you ’ re on your own.
’ ” Her children , ages 10 to 16 , attend Cudahy ’ s Elizabeth Learning Center — some are still learning English and others have special learning needs .
She does not see her family ’ s situation getting much better .
“ I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but it ’ s not enough , ” Ruiz said of the schedule .
“ You ’ re leaving the children with a lot of free time.
” At Tuesday ’ s board meeting , officials pledged to provide district families — about 80 % of whom are low-income — with many answers in the next few days , via a new handbook and direct contact from schools .
For elementary grades , the school day would begin at 9 a.m. with an activity related to social and emotional learning .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ successful , schools first need to address the trauma associated with COVID-19 and the loss of social interaction and personal development that a campus setting provides .
The agreement does not spell out what such activities would look like , but they could include icebreakers in which students develop friendships or talk about experiences or feelings important to them .
The district will release sample activities .
This element is crucial because parents reported in a union survey that students were sad and anxious , said Arlene Inouye , a leader of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a video session to announce the pact .
The typical morning continues with two sessions of instruction divided by breaks .
These sessions are supposed to concentrate on math and English .
A third morning session can teach music , art , science , social science , health and physical education .
Lunch — at home , of course — is scheduled to begin just before noon .
There are two sessions in the early afternoon , which have a somewhat different focus and allow for a teacher to work live with small @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for example , for a teacher to provide special assistance to students who are learning English , guide a small group project or work with high-achieving students who need an extra challenge .
The typical school day ends with a 50-minute period for office hours by appointment or teacher planning time .
All learning sessions don ’ t have to be live , but live sessions have to be part of the day .
For example , in fourth grade , students must have 90 minutes of live interaction on Monday and 120 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Live instruction would include full-class videoconferencing , students working with one another online under active teacher guidance or a teacher working with smaller groups .
Other kinds of learning would occupy 120 to 150 minutes .
These would include students working independently offline or online , such as moving through an “ instructional module ” or watching a prerecorded lesson .
Learning time also can include emails and chats .
For the higher grades , in which students move from class to class throughout the day , schools will use block schedules @ @ @ @ @ @ @ day .
For example , on one day high school students would have sessions for half their classes .
On another day , they would virtually attend the other half .
There also will be smaller group advisory periods for the older students , where teachers can do a wellness check , students can connect with one another , and informal college and career counseling could take place .
The uneven instruction of last semester still makes Ruiz uneasy .
She said that some teachers had been “ very active ” online , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were not .
“ I still don ’ t know exactly what the plan is , who are my children ’ s teachers and what do they need to have before the first day of school , ” she said .
“ My kids are anxious.
” While relieved that a plan is in place , some parents said union concerns trumped theirs .
“ The school year is about to start and we as parents are here sitting in the dark waiting to find out what ’ s going on , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ week , Gonzalez waited outside for hours in a heat wave with 750 other families to receive donated backpacks , school supplies and food pantry items in East Los Angeles .
But she fretted that she ’ d need other sorts of supplies for the online education of Johnny , 6 , Jayla , 5 , and Jacob , 3 — all enrolled at Alexandria Avenue Elementary in East Hollywood .
Not one of her children has a tablet or laptop , she said .
In the spring , they shared an older @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hot spot .
“ I don ’ t know what I ’ m supposed to do , ” she said Monday afternoon .
This problem is supposed to be resolved next week , officials said , when schools will begin handing out devices as needed , although they are not likely to go to preschoolers .
School board member Monica Garcia , speaking at Tuesday ’ s board meeting , made a plea to parents to make sure schools have their up-to-date contact information .
David Zarate , a roofing installer with three @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Angeles , said his children stayed on top of online learning last spring because of his wife , Cynthia Moreno .
He is grateful for the set schedule and live learning announced Monday .
“ To know that there ’ s a first period , that we ’ re starting at 9 a.m. , is really important , ” he said .
“ You can ’ t have it like last year where there was like two Zoom meetings a week and you and your kids are just supposed to figure everything out.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , more help would be available to students , including one-on-one tutoring after school and on Saturdays .
The hope is that students will be allowed to visit an actual classroom one at a time for this help .
L.A. schools Supt .
Austin Beutner said Tuesday that he understands the pressing need for child care but that there are legal hurdles that , for now , make it difficult , if not impossible .

First grade student Isabella Tahmasian writes her name with fellow classmates on the first day of school for LAUSD in 2017. The Los Angeles Unified School District and United Teachers Los Angeles agreed upon a deal for online learning just before the first day of school on Aug. 18.
How do we start school online? I have five children and one Wi-Fi hot spot. I can’t answer the questions my children are asking. The kids have way too much free time. What took so long to come up with this schedule? We need help.
As a more detailed picture of the new online-only school day in Los Angeles emerges, a crescendo of concerns and questions is arising among parents, whose children will be expected to fire up computers in less than two weeks for the opening of the 2020-21 school year amid a global pandemic.
The broad outline of a tentative agreement between the teachers union and school district is clear: Students and parents will follow a predictable schedule that somewhat mirrors a traditional school day. And there will be more live, face-to-face time, via computer, with teachers and counselors.
Advertisement
But what parents are not seeing — and what many say they desperately need — is assistance with child care, a full school day, supervised activities after school and real-time academic supervision. All would be needed for them to return fully to work and for their children to catch up and keep pace in their studies.
And, while having a structured online school day should enhance learning, some parents worry that the new schedule and rules, which will require daily attendance, will result in more intense demands to carry out a role that many say they are not qualified to handle — that of co-teacher.
“The school district doesn’t understand we’re not qualified to answer a lot of questions our kids are asking,” said Adriana Ruiz, a mother of five children in Cudahy who also serves as a caregiver for her 51-year-old sister. “That’s the frustrating part. It’s like the school’s saying, ‘Hey, we’re here for two hours and then you’re on your own.’”
Her children, ages 10 to 16, attend Cudahy’s Elizabeth Learning Center — some are still learning English and others have special learning needs. She does not see her family’s situation getting much better.
“I think it’s a good start, but it’s not enough,” Ruiz said of the schedule. “You’re leaving the children with a lot of free time.”
Advertisement
At Tuesday’s board meeting, officials pledged to provide district families — about 80% of whom are low-income — with many answers in the next few days, via a new handbook and direct contact from schools.
For elementary grades, the school day would begin at 9 a.m. with an activity related to social and emotional learning. The idea is that for learning to be successful, schools first need to address the trauma associated with COVID-19 and the loss of social interaction and personal development that a campus setting provides.
The agreement does not spell out what such activities would look like, but they could include icebreakers in which students develop friendships or talk about experiences or feelings important to them. The district will release sample activities.
California LAUSD, teachers reach tentative deal on remote learning Students will have a more predictable learning schedule under an agreement between the teachers union and L.A. Unified amid the coronavirus outbreak.
This element is crucial because parents reported in a union survey that students were sad and anxious, said Arlene Inouye, a leader of the union’s bargaining team, in a video session to announce the pact.
The typical morning continues with two sessions of instruction divided by breaks. These sessions are supposed to concentrate on math and English. A third morning session can teach music, art, science, social science, health and physical education.
Lunch — at home, of course — is scheduled to begin just before noon.
There are two sessions in the early afternoon, which have a somewhat different focus and allow for a teacher to work live with small groups. This offers an opportunity, for example, for a teacher to provide special assistance to students who are learning English, guide a small group project or work with high-achieving students who need an extra challenge.
The typical school day ends with a 50-minute period for office hours by appointment or teacher planning time.
All learning sessions don’t have to be live, but live sessions have to be part of the day. For example, in fourth grade, students must have 90 minutes of live interaction on Monday and 120 minutes each day on Tuesday through Friday. Live instruction would include full-class videoconferencing, students working with one another online under active teacher guidance or a teacher working with smaller groups.
Other kinds of learning would occupy 120 to 150 minutes. These would include students working independently offline or online, such as moving through an “instructional module” or watching a prerecorded lesson. Learning time also can include emails and chats.
For the higher grades, in which students move from class to class throughout the day, schools will use block schedules to reduce the number of videoconferences per day. For example, on one day high school students would have sessions for half their classes. On another day, they would virtually attend the other half.
There also will be smaller group advisory periods for the older students, where teachers can do a wellness check, students can connect with one another, and informal college and career counseling could take place.
The uneven instruction of last semester still makes Ruiz uneasy. She said that some teachers had been “very active” online, but most who dealt with her children were not.
“I still don’t know exactly what the plan is, who are my children’s teachers and what do they need to have before the first day of school,” she said. “My kids are anxious.”
While relieved that a plan is in place, some parents said union concerns trumped theirs.
“The school year is about to start and we as parents are here sitting in the dark waiting to find out what’s going on,” said Koreatown parent Kellyn Gonzalez.
California Coronavirus surge turns the Southland inside out Second wave of coronavirus has businesses and the public moving from indoors to the great outdoors
Last week, Gonzalez waited outside for hours in a heat wave with 750 other families to receive donated backpacks, school supplies and food pantry items in East Los Angeles. But she fretted that she’d need other sorts of supplies for the online education of Johnny, 6, Jayla, 5, and Jacob, 3 — all enrolled at Alexandria Avenue Elementary in East Hollywood.
Not one of her children has a tablet or laptop, she said. In the spring, they shared an older sister’s laptop and one Wi-Fi hot spot. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” she said Monday afternoon.
This problem is supposed to be resolved next week, officials said, when schools will begin handing out devices as needed, although they are not likely to go to preschoolers.
School board member Monica Garcia, speaking at Tuesday’s board meeting, made a plea to parents to make sure schools have their up-to-date contact information.
David Zarate, a roofing installer with three children at Belvedere Elementary in East Los Angeles, said his children stayed on top of online learning last spring because of his wife, Cynthia Moreno. He is grateful for the set schedule and live learning announced Monday.
“To know that there’s a first period, that we’re starting at 9 a.m., is really important,” he said. “You can’t have it like last year where there was like two Zoom meetings a week and you and your kids are just supposed to figure everything out.”
In September, said district officials, more help would be available to students, including one-on-one tutoring after school and on Saturdays. The hope is that students will be allowed to visit an actual classroom one at a time for this help.
L.A. schools Supt. Austin Beutner said Tuesday that he understands the pressing need for child care but that there are legal hurdles that, for now, make it difficult, if not impossible.


latimes--2020-08-05--After years of silence, Ron Jeremy's arrest spurs women to share stories of rape, groping

Lianne Young still remembers in vivid detail the night Ron Jeremy snuck up behind her on the Sunset Strip .
The adult film actress who went by the name “ Billie Britt ” was wearing a bikini inside the former House Of Blues at a porn industry Halloween party when she said Jeremy shoved her onto a table and forced himself inside her .
The ordeal lasted only seconds — Young says she fought Jeremy off — but there were at least three other people from the industry in the room , she said .
None of them reacted .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ her story to colleagues years later .
“ People were just like , ‘ that ’ s Ron , ’ ” said Young , now 45 .
Fear of Jeremy ’ s stature in the business also led adult entertainer Elle Hell to keep quiet after she says Jeremy attacked her in Chicago in 2014 .
Despite the fact that she broke down crying and repeatedly said “ no , ” Elle alleges Jeremy forced oral sex on her and tried to rape her .
“ You have everyday citizens who are already @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we work in an industry where we are ‘ whores , ’ '' she said .
Los Angeles prosecutors charged Jeremy in late June with sexually assaulting four women in West Hollywood .
Within days , prosecutors said they had been contacted by 25 women across the country who made allegations “ ranging from misdemeanor sexual battery to rape ” against the man who for decades was one of the porn industry ’ s most visible celebrities , according to court records .
Following his arrest , the L.A. County Sheriff ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forcible rape and groping against Jeremy involving incidents that took place in L.A. County since 2000 , according to a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing case .
The claims are part of the sheriff ’ s department ’ s investigation of Jeremy , but none have been presented to prosecutors for charging yet , the official said .
It was not clear how many of the 30 claims received by the sheriff ’ s department overlapped with the 25 new allegations detailed by prosecutors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 13 of those 25 claims took place in L.A. County .
Six additional women , including Young and Elle , have contacted The Times since Jeremy ’ s arrest , describing interactions with him from unwanted touching to violent rape .
The allegations span two decades and both coasts .
Jeremy ’ s attorney , Stuart Goldfarb , said he was unaware of the allegations made by the women quoted in this article , adding he was focused on defending his client against the charges he ’ s facing in court .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to even take it to him and discuss it .
There ’ s so many other things that we ’ re working on right now .
...
I know as much about them as you said to me , ” Goldfarb said .
Jeremy remains jailed in lieu of $ 6.6-million bail and has pleaded not guilty .
The Los Angeles County district attorney ’ s office declined to comment on this article .
The women had not contacted police or previously told their stories publicly before Jeremy ’ s arrest , fearing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would not be believed .
But each account shared one commonality : Jeremy , they said , never hesitated .
If he saw something he wanted , he took it .
“ He does things without asking .
There ’ s a lot of people who assume because we ’ re adult actresses , that it ’ s OK to just touch us inappropriately , ” said Alana Evans , president of the Adult Performers Actors Guild .
Evans was at the party where Young alleges Jeremy raped her , and said Young @ @ @ @ @ @ @ early 2000s .
Evans described the alleged assault in near identical terms to the way Young did .
Pat Cronenberg , a business associate of Young , also said she told him about the alleged attack in 2019 .
Rumors of Jeremy ’ s alleged misconduct have long swirled in the adult entertainment industry , but only exploded into the public eye in recent years .
In 2017 , adult entertainer Ginger Banks compiled allegations against Jeremy in a 10-minute YouTube video that has since been viewed more than 200,000 times .
Sheriff @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interview Banks as they search for additional victims , she said .
Months later , Rolling Stone published allegations from a dozen women who said Jeremy either groped them or , in two cases , violently raped them .
The claims led to Jeremy ’ s expulsion from the adult film industry , as he was banned from both the Exxxotica Expo and the Adult Video News awards .
In an article published last month , Rolling Stone detailed several more groping allegations from women outside the adult entertainment industry .
“ I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
All serious allegations have been investigated by police and dismissed by judges , ” Jeremy wrote in response to the 2017 Rolling Stone article .
In spite of the allegations , Jeremy was invited to join dozens of women at a 2018 birthday celebration for brothel owner and reality TV star Dennis Hof at the Bunny Ranch near Carson City , Nev. Hof died later that weekend , and his body was discovered by Jeremy .
Less than 48 hours earlier , Jeremy allegedly assaulted a woman during Hof ’ s party @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was formerly employed by Hof .
The woman , who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisals , said she was horrified by Jeremy ’ s presence due to the recent allegations .
“ I was just super sick that Ron was even in the building , ” the woman said , noting Jeremy was a frequent visitor .
“ We all had seen things happening at the ranch , but I was just trying to fly low and do my own thing .
But this time ... Dennis made that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ birthday party , she said , Hof was introducing Jeremy to several women who worked at the ranch .
The woman alleged Hof approached her , took her hand and placed it on Jeremy ’ s penis without consent .
When the party moved to the Bunny Ranch restaurant , the woman said Jeremy led her away from the partygoers and toward the back of the building .
She said she tried to signal to co-workers , mouthing “ help me , ” but couldn ’ t get their attention .
Jeremy led @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the restaurant , pressed her up against a railing and forced himself inside her , she said .
“ He bends me over the railing at the restaurant , lifts up my dress and does his thing , ” she said .
“ I ’ m in shock .
I don ’ t really know how to process what ’ s going on because it ’ s such a public area .
What do you do ?
” The woman said the attack lasted between 10 and 15 minutes .
“ I feel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or anything , ” she said .
“ I guess I didn ’ t know how to react.
” The woman said she did not report the alleged attack to police , in part because it took place just weeks before voters would decide on a ballot measure to shutter a number of Nevada ’ s brothels .
She said she told ranch staff about the alleged attack but nothing was done .
The woman also reported the alleged attack to Banks and a close friend , adult actress Draven Star , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ worked at Hof ’ s brothels between 2017 and 2019 , said she was also frustrated that Jeremy was there given the looming assault allegations .
She saw the woman and Jeremy were both inside the Bunny Ranch restaurant on the night the alleged attack happened .
The next morning , Draven said , her friend looked shellshocked .
“ Those words that she told me are burned into my brain … there ’ s no way she was making any of that up , ” Draven said , adding that she had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wearing the night of the alleged attack .
Draven also confirmed that the woman reported the attack to a specific staff member .
Draven said they never discussed going to the police , assuming they would be laughed out of the building .
“ I do porn … she was a cam girl … and it ’ s Ron Jeremy , ” Draven said .
“ So no .
No one is going to take us seriously.
” Banks provided The Times with messages — time-stamped less than 24 hours after the woman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ woman describes the assault in graphic terms and expresses fear about Jeremy “ doing this to other women.
” A spokesman for the Bunny Ranch did not respond to an email requesting comment .
In court filings made public , Los Angeles prosecutors detailed a number of uncharged allegations against Jeremy .
One rape accusation from 1997 was unknown to prosecutors until “ the initiation of the present investigation , ” records show .
Jeremy was also accused of forcing oral sex on women in 2006 and 2016 and forcibly raping a woman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Several women who spoke to The Times said Jeremy crossed lines of consent almost as soon as he met them .
Sabrina Alvarado , a 36-year-old New Jersey woman who has appeared in Playboy and is better known as “ Marcela Latinbabe ” online , said she first met Jeremy at the Exxxotica Expo in Edison , N.J. , in 2015 .
Alvarado said she was a little known “ cam girl ” when she approached Jeremy for a photo .
Alvarado alleged Jeremy immediately grabbed her breasts and put them in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been to that convention , maybe five years total , and that ’ s never happened to me with anyone — talent , fans or anything , ” she said .
Alvarado provided pictures to The Times that show Jeremy clutching and sucking on her breasts .
Though she is smiling in the photos , Alvarado said she did not give Jeremy permission to touch her and was unnerved by his behavior .
“ I was very naïve of what went down … and because this is a famous guy I … I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a normal thing or not , ” she said .
Alvarado ’ s ex-husband , Mauricio Morales , took the pictures and said Jeremy grabbed Alvarado as soon as she asked for a photo .
“ She was getting closer , just to take a normal picture , and that ’ s when he just groped her completely , ” said Morales , who was married to Alvarado from 2003 to 2018 .
Jeremy ’ s brash nature around beautiful women was well-known in the industry , according to Evans , the head @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Frequently , Evans said , women have complained that Jeremy ran a hand up their skirt and tried to digitally penetrate them without consent .
“ He ’ s done that to me , ” Evans said .
“ When enough women describe something that you have felt , then you know , OK , it ’ s absolutely real.
” Evans , who has performed scenes with Jeremy in the past , said she also witnessed him pulling up the skirt of an actress who was asleep while the two were on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the “ Brady Bunch ” in the mid-2000s .
“ I look over and I see Ron has grabbed the corner of her dress and is lifting it up to look underneath … it immediately made me uncomfortable , ” said Evans , who woke the woman up immediately .
Colleen Pinto , a former adult film actress and exotic dancer in Florida , said Jeremy grabbed her breasts during an appearance at a strip club in 2005 .
Pinto said when she tried to pull away , Jeremy smacked her in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of us that were ever dancers or in the porn industry , we all have a Ron story , ” said Pinto , 46 .
“ You don ’ t ever meet Ron without him doing something to you.
” Victoria Martin , a former dancer who worked with Pinto at a different Florida club , said she remembered Pinto describing Jeremy striking her on stage in the mid-2000s .
Elle Hell said she was new to the industry when a chance encounter with another performer landed her next to Jeremy during the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Elle said she got into a limousine with about 10 other people , including Jeremy , and drove to a bar .
Not long after they went inside , Elle said Jeremy suddenly pulled her onto his lap .
She claimed she had to use the bathroom to get away , but said Jeremy followed her .
After Jeremy tried , and failed , to get access to a private room in the bar , Elle said Jeremy led her back to the limousine that they arrived in .
Once inside , Elle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on her .
Elle said she demanded that he stop , but Jeremy slid closer to her .
“ He takes his [ penis ] out , and I remember this vividly , I ’ m crying , ” she said .
Elle said Jeremy repeatedly tried to force himself on her , pressing his penis against her hard enough that he left an abrasion on her genitals , before giving up and growing angry .
Jeremy led her back inside the club , where he wrote her a note , she said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hope ... if I ever leave , ” he wrote , according to a picture of the note she posted to Twitter with his autograph .
Elle asked The Times not to use her legal name because she has previously been the victim of stalking and harassment .
Blake Clay , an amateur photographer who was in the limousine , said Elle and Jeremy were at the same after-party and that both had disappeared from the group at the bar .
Clay , who took pictures of the two together , said Elle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that night .
Another adult performer who was at the party confirmed Elle and Jeremy were there .
The performer , who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals , said Elle later described an assault by Jeremy .
Young , the British actress who accused Jeremy of raping her in 2000 , said she believes he has used his status as porn ’ s elder statesman to gain access to vulnerable young women for years .
Young left the industry and began counseling adult entertainers in England who have suffered abuse , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American adult film business .
Some had remained supportive of Jeremy over the years .
But Young hopes now , people can finally see past his status as an icon .
“ Many people were friends with him , saying oh , Ron ’ s all right , ” she said .
“ Well , no , he ’ s not all right .
He ’ s not OK .
”

Adult film star Ron Jeremy is charged with sexually assaulting four women in Los Angeles Superior Court. Attorney Stuart Goldfarb is at right.
Lianne Young still remembers in vivid detail the night Ron Jeremy sneaked up behind her on the Sunset Strip.
The adult film actress, who went by the name “Billie Britt,” was wearing a bikini inside the former House of Blues at a porn industry Halloween party when she said Jeremy shoved her onto a table and forced himself inside her.
The ordeal lasted only seconds — Young says she fought Jeremy off — but there were at least three other people from the industry in the room, she said. None of them reacted. It was the same when she told her story to colleagues years later.
“People were just like, ‘That’s Ron,’ ” said Young, now 45.
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Fear of Jeremy’s stature in the business also led adult entertainer Elle Hell to keep quiet after Jeremy attacked her in Chicago in 2014, she says. Elle alleges that, despite the fact that she broke down crying and repeatedly said “no,” Jeremy forced oral sex on her and tried to rape her.
“You have everyday citizens who are already excusing and validating his sexual assaults because we work in an industry where we are ‘whores,’” she said.
Los Angeles prosecutors charged Jeremy in late June with sexually assaulting four women in West Hollywood. Within days, prosecutors said they had been contacted by 25 women across the country who made allegations “ranging from misdemeanor sexual battery to rape” against the man who for decades was one of the porn industry’s most visible celebrities, according to court records.
Following his arrest, the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department has also received 30 allegations of forcible rape and groping against Jeremy involving incidents that took place in L.A. County since 2000, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing case.
The claims are part of the Sheriff’s Department investigation of Jeremy, but none have been presented to prosecutors for charging yet, the official said. It was not clear how many of the 30 claims received by the Sheriff’s Department overlapped with the 25 new allegations detailed by prosecutors in court last month, though only 13 of those 25 claims took place in L.A. County.
Six additional women, including Young and Elle, have contacted the L.A. Times since Jeremy’s arrest, describing interactions with him including unwanted touching as well as violent rape. The allegations span two decades and both coasts.
Jeremy’s attorney, Stuart Goldfarb, said he was unaware of the allegations made by the women quoted in this article, adding he was focused on defending his client against the charges he was facing in court.
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“It’s too early for me to even take it to him and discuss it,” Goldfarb said. “There’s so many other things that we’re working on right now. ... I know as much about them as you said to me.”
Jeremy remains jailed in lieu of $6.6-million bail and has pleaded not guilty. The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office declined to comment on this article.
The women had not contacted police or previously told their stories publicly before Jeremy’s arrest, fearing they would face retribution or that they would not be believed. But each account shared one commonality: Jeremy, they said, never hesitated. If he saw something he wanted, he took it.
“He does things without asking. There’s a lot of people who assume because we’re adult actresses that it’s OK to just touch us inappropriately,” said Alana Evans, president of the Adult Performers Actors Guild.
Evans was at the party where Young alleges Jeremy raped her, and said Young told her about the incident in the early 2000s. Evans described the alleged assault in near-identical terms to Young’s account. Pat Cronenberg, a business associate of Young, also said she told him about the alleged attack in 2019.
Rumors of Jeremy’s alleged misconduct have long swirled in the adult entertainment industry, but only exploded into the public eye in recent years.
In 2017, adult entertainer Ginger Banks compiled allegations against Jeremy in a 10-minute YouTube video that has since been viewed more than 200,000 times. Sheriff’s detectives are now planning to interview Banks as they search for additional victims, she said.
Months later, Rolling Stone published allegations from a dozen women who said Jeremy either groped them or, in two cases, violently raped them. The claims led to Jeremy’s expulsion from the adult film industry, as he was banned from both the Exxxotica Expo and the Adult Video News awards. In an article last month, Rolling Stone detailed several more groping allegations from women outside the adult entertainment industry.
“I have never and would never rape anyone. All serious allegations have been investigated by police and dismissed by judges,” Jeremy wrote in response to the 2017 Rolling Stone article.
In spite of the allegations, Jeremy was invited to join dozens of women at a 2018 birthday celebration for brothel owner and reality TV star Dennis Hof at the Bunny Ranch near Carson City, Nev. Hof died later that weekend, and his body was discovered by Jeremy.
Less than 48 hours earlier, Jeremy allegedly assaulted a woman during Hof’s party, according to a sex worker who was formerly employed by Hof. The woman, who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisals, said she was horrified by Jeremy’s presence due to the recent allegations.
“I was just super sick that Ron was even in the building,” the woman said, noting Jeremy was a frequent visitor. “We all had seen things happening at the ranch, but I was just trying to fly low and do my own thing. But this time ... Dennis made that impossible.”
On the weekend of the birthday party, she said, Hof was introducing Jeremy to several women who worked at the ranch. The woman alleged Hof approached her, took her hand and placed it on Jeremy’s penis without consent.
When the party moved to the Bunny Ranch restaurant, the woman said Jeremy led her away from the partygoers and toward the back of the building. She said she tried to signal to co-workers, mouthing “help me,” but couldn’t get their attention.
Jeremy led the woman to an outside area behind the restaurant, pressed her up against a railing and forced himself inside her, she said.
“He bends me over the railing at the restaurant, lifts up my dress and does his thing,” she said. “I’m in shock. I don’t really know how to process what’s going on because it’s such a public area. What do you do?”
The woman said the attack lasted between 10 and 15 minutes.
“I feel guilty that I didn’t scream or anything,” she said. “I guess I didn’t know how to react.”
The woman said she did not report the alleged attack to police, in part because it took place just weeks before voters would decide on a ballot measure to shutter a number of Nevada’s brothels. She said she told ranch staff about the alleged attack but nothing was done.
The woman also reported the alleged attack to Banks and a close friend, adult actress Draven Star, the next day.
Draven, who sporadically worked at Hof’s brothels between 2017 and 2019, said she was also frustrated that Jeremy was there given the looming assault allegations. She saw the woman and Jeremy were both inside the Bunny Ranch restaurant on the night the alleged attack happened. The next morning, Draven said, her friend looked shellshocked.
“Those words that she told me are burned into my brain. … There’s no way she was making any of that up,” Draven said, adding that she had loaned the woman the dress she was wearing the night of the alleged attack.
Draven also confirmed that the woman reported the incident to a specific staff member. Draven said they never discussed going to the police, assuming they would be laughed out of the building.
“I do porn … she was a cam girl … and it’s Ron Jeremy,” Draven said. “So no. No one is going to take us seriously.”
Banks provided The Times with messages — time-stamped less than 24 hours after the woman claims the attack happened — where the woman describes the assault in graphic terms and expresses fear about Jeremy “doing this to other women.”
A spokesman for the Bunny Ranch did not respond to an email requesting comment.
In court filings made public, Los Angeles prosecutors detailed a number of uncharged allegations against Jeremy. One rape accusation from 1997 was unknown to prosecutors until “the initiation of the present investigation,” records show. Jeremy was also accused of forcing oral sex on women in 2006 and 2016 and forcibly raping a woman in 2010, according to the filing.
Several women who spoke to The Times said Jeremy crossed lines of consent almost as soon as he met them.
Sabrina Alvarado, a 36-year-old New Jersey woman who has appeared in Playboy and is better known as “Marcela Latinbabe” online, said she first met Jeremy at the Exxxotica Expo in Edison, N.J., in 2015. Alvarado said she was a little known “cam girl” when she approached Jeremy for a photo.
Alvarado alleged Jeremy immediately grabbed her breasts and put them in his mouth.
“I’ve been to that convention, maybe five years total, and that’s never happened to me with anyone — talent, fans or anything,” she said.
Alvarado provided pictures to The Times that showed Jeremy clutching and sucking on her breasts. Though she is smiling in the photos, Alvarado said she did not give Jeremy permission to touch her and was unnerved by his behavior.
“I was very naïve of what went down … and because this is a famous guy I … I didn’t know whether that was a normal thing or not,” she said.
Alvarado’s ex-husband, Mauricio Morales, took the pictures and said Jeremy grabbed Alvarado as soon as she asked for a photo.
“She was getting closer, just to take a normal picture, and that’s when he just groped her completely,” said Morales, who was married to Alvarado from 2003 to 2018.
Jeremy’s brash nature around beautiful women was well-known in the industry, according to Evans, the head of the adult performers union. Frequently, Evans said, women have complained that Jeremy has run a hand up their skirt and tried to digitally penetrate them without consent.
“He’s done that to me,” Evans said. “When enough women describe something that you have felt, then you know, OK, it’s absolutely real.”
Evans, who has performed scenes with Jeremy in the past, said she also witnessed him pulling up the skirt of an actress who was asleep while the two were on set together for a porn parody of “The Brady Bunch” in the mid-2000s.
“I look over and I see Ron has grabbed the corner of her dress and is lifting it up to look underneath. … It immediately made me uncomfortable,” said Evans, who woke the woman up immediately.
Colleen Pinto, a former adult film actress and exotic dancer in Florida, said Jeremy grabbed her breasts during an appearance at a strip club in 2005. Pinto said when she tried to pull away, Jeremy smacked her in the breast with a microphone.
“Any of us that were ever dancers or in the porn industry, we all have a Ron story,” said Pinto, 46. “You don’t ever meet Ron without him doing something to you.”
Victoria Martin, a former dancer who worked with Pinto at a different Florida club, said she remembered Pinto describing Jeremy striking her on stage in the mid-2000s.
Elle Hell said she was new to the industry when a chance encounter with another performer landed her next to Jeremy during the Exxxotica Expo near Chicago in 2014.
Elle said she got into a limousine with about 10 other people, including Jeremy, and drove to a bar. Not long after they went inside, Elle said Jeremy suddenly pulled her onto his lap. She claimed she had to use the bathroom to get away but said Jeremy followed her.
After Jeremy tried, and failed, to get access to a private room in the bar, Elle said Jeremy led her back to the limousine that they had arrived in.
Once inside, Elle said, Jeremy forcibly performed oral sex on her. Elle said she demanded that he stop, but Jeremy slid closer to her.
“He takes his [penis] out, and I remember this vividly, I’m crying,” she said.
Elle said Jeremy repeatedly tried to force himself on her, pressing his penis against her hard enough that he left an abrasion on her genitals, before giving up and growing angry. Jeremy led her back inside the club, where he wrote her a note, she said.
“You would cry, I hope ... if I ever leave,” he wrote, according to a picture of the note she posted to Twitter with his autograph.
Elle asked The Times not to use her legal name because she had previously been the victim of stalking and harassment.
Blake Clay, an amateur photographer who was in the limousine, said Elle and Jeremy were at the same after-party and that both had disappeared from the group at the bar. Clay, who took pictures of the two together, said Elle described the sexual assault to him later that night.
Another adult performer who was at the party confirmed Elle and Jeremy were there. The performer, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals, said Elle later described an assault by Jeremy.
Young, the British actress who accused Jeremy of raping her in 2000, says she believes he has used his status as porn’s elder statesman to gain access to vulnerable young women for years.
Young left the industry and began counseling adult entertainers in England who had suffered abuse, but she maintains contact with friends in the American adult film business.
Some remained supportive of Jeremy over the years. But Young hopes that, now, people can finally see past his status as an icon.
“Many people were friends with him, saying, oh, Ron’s all right,” she said. “Well, no, he’s not all right. He’s not OK.”


latimes--2020-08-05--Earthquake: 2.6 quake hits near Rancho Cucamonga

A magnitude 2.6 earthquake was reported at 10 p.m. Pacific time Tuesday two miles from Rancho Cucamonga , according to the U.S. Geological Survey .
The earthquake occurred two miles from Claremont , three miles from Upland , six miles from La Verne and seven miles from San Dimas .
In the last 10 days , there have been four earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater centered nearby .
An average of 59 earthquakes with magnitudes between 2.0 and 3.0 occur per year in the greater Los Angeles area , according to a recent three-year data sample .
The earthquake @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Did you feel this earthquake ?
Consider reporting what you felt to the USGS .
Even if you didn ’ t feel this small earthquake , you never know when the Big One is going to strike .
Ready yourself by following our five-step earthquake preparedness guide and building your own emergency kit .
This story was automatically generated by Quakebot , a computer application that monitors the latest earthquakes detected by the USGS .
A Times editor reviewed the post before it was published .
If you ’ re interested in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our list of frequently asked questions .

The location of the earthquake, near Rancho Cucamonga.
A magnitude 2.6 earthquake was reported at 10 p.m. Pacific time Tuesday two miles from Rancho Cucamonga, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The earthquake occurred two miles from Claremont, three miles from Upland, six miles from La Verne and seven miles from San Dimas.
In the last 10 days, there have been four earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater centered nearby.
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An average of 59 earthquakes with magnitudes between 2.0 and 3.0 occur per year in the greater Los Angeles area, according to a recent three-year data sample.
The earthquake occurred at a depth of 5.4 miles. Did you feel this earthquake? Consider reporting what you felt to the USGS.
Even if you didn’t feel this small earthquake, you never know when the Big One is going to strike. Ready yourself by following our five-step earthquake preparedness guide and building your own emergency kit.
This story was automatically generated by Quakebot, a computer application that monitors the latest earthquakes detected by the USGS. A Times editor reviewed the post before it was published. If you’re interested in learning more about the system, see our list of frequently asked questions.


latimes--2020-08-05--30 cases of coronavirus reported at Westlake Food 4 Less; workers demand better protections

Thirty cases of the novel coronavirus have been reported at a Food 4 Less in Westlake , as the union that represents grocery store workers in Los Angeles demanded that the business institute better protocols to protect its staff .
In a media release , the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 770 announced a demonstration Wednesday at the Food 4 Less at 1700 W. 6th St. to demand measures such as regular testing for workers and transparency about infections at stores run by Kroger Co. , which operates the Food 4 Less and Ralphs supermarket chains .
Kathy Finn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said workers are also asking that the business enforce social distancing , temperature checks of employees and mask-wearing among customers , and that it provide sufficient gloves in various sizes for employees .
Workers , she said , have noted that the store is so crowded that they do not have enough time to disinfect their stations or wash their hands .
“ The real problem with all of this is its inconsistency , ” she said .
“ If they enforce the mask rule a bit better part of the day but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ’ s not that helpful .
They need a list of protocols to follow , and they have to follow them 100 % .
These are people ’ s lives and people ’ s health on the line — they should be doing a better job.
” In a statement , Food 4 Less spokesperson Vanessa Rosales said there have been a total of 30 cases of the coronavirus among the store ’ s 125 associates .
Twenty-four of those infected have already returned to work .
The chain , she said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its workers , including cleaning high-touch areas every 30 minutes , limiting store capacity to 25 % of normal and mandating temperature checks for employees before the start of their shifts .
“ At Food 4 Less , our associates are like family , ” she wrote .
“ We are in communication with our associates that have tested positive to assist in their needs , and our thoughts are with them as they recover.
” The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health did not immediately return a request for comment .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Hollywood , Kroger in May announced safety measures such as free coronavirus testing for front-line associates who have symptoms or medical needs that make them eligible for testing .
At the time , the outbreak was deemed the largest cluster of infections at a retail store recorded by the county ’ s department of health .
Twenty-one employees had tested positive , a spokesman for the grocery chain said then .

A Food 4 Less store in Westlake has reported 30 infections from the novel coronavirus.
Thirty cases of the novel coronavirus have been reported at a Food 4 Less in Westlake, as the union that represents grocery store workers in Los Angeles demanded that the business institute better protocols to protect its staff.
In a media release, the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 770 announced a demonstration Wednesday at the Food 4 Less at 1700 W. 6th St. to demand measures such as regular testing for workers and transparency about infections at stores run by Kroger Co., which operates the Food 4 Less and Ralphs supermarket chains.
Kathy Finn, the union’s secretary-treasurer, said workers are also asking that the business enforce social distancing, temperature checks of employees and mask-wearing among customers, and that it provide sufficient gloves in various sizes for employees.
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Workers, she said, have noted that the store is so crowded that they do not have enough time to disinfect their stations or wash their hands.
“The real problem with all of this is its inconsistency,” she said. “If they enforce the mask rule a bit better part of the day but don’t do it consistently, it’s not that helpful. They need a list of protocols to follow, and they have to follow them 100%. These are people’s lives and people’s health on the line — they should be doing a better job.”
In a statement, Food 4 Less spokesperson Vanessa Rosales said there have been a total of 30 cases of the coronavirus among the store’s 125 associates. Twenty-four of those infected have already returned to work. The chain, she said, has taken extensive measures to protect its workers, including cleaning high-touch areas every 30 minutes, limiting store capacity to 25% of normal and mandating temperature checks for employees before the start of their shifts.
“At Food 4 Less, our associates are like family,” she wrote. “We are in communication with our associates that have tested positive to assist in their needs, and our thoughts are with them as they recover.”
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health did not immediately return a request for comment.
Following a coronavirus outbreak at a Ralphs in Hollywood, Kroger in May announced safety measures such as free coronavirus testing for front-line associates who have symptoms or medical needs that make them eligible for testing.
At the time, the outbreak was deemed the largest cluster of infections at a retail store recorded by the county’s department of health. Twenty-one employees had tested positive, a spokesman for the grocery chain said then.


latimes--2020-08-04--As summer progresses, social distancing in San Francisco parks proves challenging

The chalk circles that appeared in four San Francisco parks in late May weren ’ t an art installation or giant checkerboard game : The city ’ s parks and recreation team drew the circles 10 feet in diameter in the grass as boundaries , intended to encourage social distancing .
But as weeks pass and the temperatures rise , more people are naturally flocking to the parks .
The circles are filling up fast and social distancing is proving difficult .
Last weekend , crowds gathered at Mission Dolores Park in the Mission District to enjoy the sunny weather @ @ @ @ @ @ @ respectful and responsible and trying to stay in the circles , but there can be too many people in the circles — some people are bursting out of them , ” said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong , an infectious disease doctor at UC San Francisco .
In fact , the circles could be creating a greater health hazard , he said : “ They might actually be a disservice if they are making people come together in an artificial way.
” Chin-Hong said it can be a challenge to resist sharing snacks .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s mango slices , you ’ re not going to take a slice of mango , walk away , eat it alone and come back — it ’ s not human nature.
” Michael Piazza , a San Francisco based-photographer who was at Dolores Park over the weekend , said , “ The biggest issue is masks.
” He said many people weren ’ t wearing them .
“ People want to talk with their friends and enjoy eating and drinking together , ” he said .
But San Francisco residents are taking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We are very mindful of the risks , but if the parks are open , people will want to visit them with their friends.
” Removing masks in crowded parks can be risky .
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , wearing a mask is “ most essential when social distancing is difficult , ” and that includes in parks and on hikes .
“ Parks are critical to our mental and physical health — benefits that are too important to lose , ” Phil Ginsburg , general manager of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said in a statement .
“ Wear your mask , ” he added .
“ Even if you know the people around you .
Even if it ’ s not crowded .
Do it so parks can stay open for everyone.
” As of Tuesday , has recorded 6,989 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 61 people have died .

Visitors sit inside circles designed to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus by encouraging social distancing at Dolores Park in San Francisco.
The chalk circles that appeared in four San Francisco parks in late May weren’t an art installation or giant checkerboard game: The city’s parks and recreation team drew the circles 10 feet in diameter in the grass as boundaries, intended to encourage social distancing.
But as weeks pass and the temperatures rise, more people are naturally flocking to the parks. The circles are filling up fast and social distancing is proving difficult.
Last weekend, crowds gathered at Mission Dolores Park in the Mission District to enjoy the sunny weather.
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“People are trying to be respectful and responsible and trying to stay in the circles, but there can be too many people in the circles — some people are bursting out of them,” said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease doctor at UC San Francisco.
In fact, the circles could be creating a greater health hazard, he said: “They might actually be a disservice if they are making people come together in an artificial way.”
Chin-Hong said it can be a challenge to resist sharing snacks. “You have your delicious Trader Joe’s mango slices, you’re not going to take a slice of mango, walk away, eat it alone and come back — it’s not human nature.”
Michael Piazza, a San Francisco based-photographer who was at Dolores Park over the weekend, said, “The biggest issue is masks.” He said many people weren’t wearing them. “People want to talk with their friends and enjoy eating and drinking together,” he said.
But San Francisco residents are taking COVID-19 seriously, Piazza said: “We are very mindful of the risks, but if the parks are open, people will want to visit them with their friends.”
Removing masks in crowded parks can be risky. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , wearing a mask is “most essential when social distancing is difficult,” and that includes in parks and on hikes.
“Parks are critical to our mental and physical health — benefits that are too important to lose,” Phil Ginsburg, general manager of the city’s parks department, said in a statement.
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“Wear your mask,” he added. “Even if you know the people around you. Even if it’s not crowded. Do it so parks can stay open for everyone.”


latimes--2020-08-04--L.A. County voters to decide whether to divert millions to social services and racial justice

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed a measure Tuesday to let voters decide whether to boost spending on social services , in an initiative dubbed “ Re-Imagine L.A. County ” that has drawn strong opposition from labor unions and Sheriff Alex Villaneuva , who called it a veiled attempt to reduce funding for law enforcement .
The measure , slated for the November election , would amend the county ’ s charter , requiring that 10 % of locally generated , unrestricted county money — about $ 400 million — be spent on housing , mental health programs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ social services .
The county would be prohibited from using the money on prisons , jails or law enforcement agencies .
“ For far too long our locally generated tax dollars have been given to reinforce the legal injustice system that has failed to make our communities safer , torn apart our families and caused generational trauma , ” said Eunisses Hernandez , a Re-Imagine L.A. County coalition co-chair .
To many in the coalition of almost 100 organizations — among them , Black Lives Matter Los Angeles and the United Way of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ continuation of the board ’ s recent reform initiatives , which include continued efforts to create alternatives to jail and prison and last month ’ s passage of an antiracist policy framework pushed by Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas .
Ridley-Thomas said after Tuesday ’ s 4-1 vote that an antiracist approach to governance should focus spending on rehabilitation and restoring communities over a punitive criminal justice system .
“ This re-imagining must fundamentally and meaningfully prioritize investments in community health and well-being — and we can ’ t allow perfection to be the enemy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Supervisor Kathryn Barger , whose 5th District is the largest geographically and spans about 2,800 miles in northern L.A. County , has been the only supervisor opposed to the charter amendment .
At Tuesday ’ s meeting , Barger , the only Republican on the board , said she feared the measure hadn ’ t been appropriately vetted by stakeholders , including labor unions , some of whom have opposed the initiative for fear it will lead to a cut in county jobs .
Barger said she wasn ’ t opposed to making @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of how quickly the Re-Imagine L.A. County initiative made it to the ballot , arguing that “ this process was anything but transparent.
” “ This amendment will tie the hands of future boards , preventing them from acting nimbly to meet the public ’ s needs in real time , ” Barger said .
Supervisor Sheila Kuehl , who authored the measure , disagreed , saying the board would still retain flexibility in funding .
“ This doesn ’ t tie our hands in a way , ” Kuehl said .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ d like you to allocate this money in ways that help communities.
’ And I don ’ t think that ’ s really a bad thing .
It doesn ’ t take anything away from our priorities .
It actually exhibits our priorities.
” The amount of unrestricted locally generated money in the county ’ s budget varies from year to year .
If the amendment were in effect now , between $ 360 million and $ 496 million could potentially go toward purposes specified in the charter amendment , according to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ If approved , the county would begin phasing in the measure next July , implementing it fully by June 30 , 2024 .
If the county were ever in a financial emergency , the board could , through a four-fifths vote , reduce how much money it would allocate under the measure .
Villanueva called the title of the proposal deceptive , saying it is a veiled attempt to slash the Sheriff ’ s Department ’ s budget .
A 10 % cut to the department would result in the loss of 1,020 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ questioning the constitutionality of the idea .
“ You ’ re gon na have your own challenges with the constitutionality of this — the fact that there was no meet and confer , and the massive impact this is gon na have on certified bargaining units that you have to represent , ” he told the board last week .
The Sheriff ’ s Department has been clashing with the supervisors for months over budget cuts triggered by the pandemic-induced economic slowdown .
In May , Villanueva announced plans to close two patrol @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — to help shrink his department ’ s budget deficit .
He quickly scrapped that proposal after swift backlash from those communities .
Kuehl said in an interview that Villanueva intentionally chose budget cuts that the supervisors would not want as part of a larger narrative the sheriff has been pushing to incite fear among constituents by implying that the board ’ s actions — including the Re-Imagine L.A. County initiative — will lead to fewer deputies to combat crime .
“ It was a sort of , I would say , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Kuehl said .
“ And so the CEO said , ‘ Well , why don ’ t we just look at [ the number of ] your custody officers ?
’ and that was a non-starter with him , even though that would be most appropriate.
” Ultimately , the board cut $ 162 million from the Sheriff ’ s Department budget , which county officials said could result in 451 potential layoffs , records show .
The measure has also faced strong opposition from unions representing 80,000 L.A. County employees .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Supervisors in late July , the Coalition of County Unions and SEIU Local 721 objected to the measure , arguing it was “ clearly unlawful ” because , they said , the Board of Supervisors ’ ordinance requires the county to negotiate with its labor unions before going to voters to amend the county charter .
At Tuesday ’ s meeting , Supervisor Hilda Solis , who co-authored the measure with Kuehl , said she disagreed with the rhetoric implying that the measure would hurt county workers .
“ What ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the voters and having them decide ?
” Solis asked .
“ In my opinion , it is not as threatening as some folks that have sent correspondence [ to the board ] tried to make this out as .
I don ’ t think any one of us here wants to eliminate positions outright .
I don ’ t think that ’ s what this is about .
”

Supervisor Sheila Kuehl authored a motion that led to the “Re-Imagine L.A. County” measure being placed on the ballot in November. Kuehl has been outspoken about the need for criminal justice reform in L.A. County.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed a measure Tuesday to let voters decide whether to boost spending on social services, in an initiative dubbed “Re-Imagine L.A. County” that has drawn strong opposition from labor unions and Sheriff Alex Villaneuva, who called it a veiled attempt to reduce funding for law enforcement.
The measure, slated for the November election, would amend the county’s charter, requiring that 10% of locally generated, unrestricted county money — about $400 million — be spent on housing, mental health programs, jail diversion, employment opportunities and social services. The county would be prohibited from using the money on prisons, jails or law enforcement agencies.
“For far too long our locally generated tax dollars have been given to reinforce the legal injustice system that has failed to make our communities safer, torn apart our families and caused generational trauma,” said Eunisses Hernandez, a Re-Imagine L.A. County coalition co-chair.
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To many in the coalition of almost 100 organizations — among them, Black Lives Matter Los Angeles and the United Way of Greater L.A. — the proposal is a continuation of the board’s recent reform initiatives, which include continued efforts to create alternatives to jail and prison and last month’s passage of an antiracist policy framework pushed by Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas.
Ridley-Thomas said after Tuesday’s 4-1 vote that an antiracist approach to governance should focus spending on rehabilitation and restoring communities over a punitive criminal justice system.
“This re-imagining must fundamentally and meaningfully prioritize investments in community health and well-being — and we can’t allow perfection to be the enemy of good,” Ridley-Thomas said.
Supervisor Kathryn Barger, whose 5th District is the largest geographically and spans about 2,800 miles in northern L.A. County, has been the only supervisor opposed to the charter amendment.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Barger, the only Republican on the board, said she feared the measure hadn’t been appropriately vetted by stakeholders, including labor unions, some of whom have opposed the initiative for fear it will lead to a cut in county jobs.
Barger said she wasn’t opposed to making significant investments in communities but was critical of how quickly the Re-Imagine L.A. County initiative made it to the ballot, arguing that “this process was anything but transparent.”
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“This amendment will tie the hands of future boards, preventing them from acting nimbly to meet the public’s needs in real time,” Barger said.
Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, who authored the measure, disagreed, saying the board would still retain flexibility in funding.
“This doesn’t tie our hands in a way,” Kuehl said. “It simply says, ‘We’d like you to allocate this money in ways that help communities.’ And I don’t think that’s really a bad thing. It doesn’t take anything away from our priorities. It actually exhibits our priorities.”
The amount of unrestricted locally generated money in the county’s budget varies from year to year.
If the amendment were in effect now, between $360 million and $496 million could potentially go toward purposes specified in the charter amendment, according to the county’s chief executive office.
If approved, the county would begin phasing in the measure next July, implementing it fully by June 30, 2024. If the county were ever in a financial emergency, the board could, through a four-fifths vote, reduce how much money it would allocate under the measure.
Villanueva called the title of the proposal deceptive, saying it is a veiled attempt to slash the Sheriff’s Department’s budget. A 10% cut to the department would result in the loss of 1,020 jobs, he said, while also questioning the constitutionality of the idea.
“You’re gonna have your own challenges with the constitutionality of this — the fact that there was no meet and confer, and the massive impact this is gonna have on certified bargaining units that you have to represent,” he told the board last week.
The Sheriff’s Department has been clashing with the supervisors for months over budget cuts triggered by the pandemic-induced economic slowdown.
In May, Villanueva announced plans to close two patrol stations — Altadena and Marina del Rey — to help shrink his department’s budget deficit. He quickly scrapped that proposal after swift backlash from those communities.
Kuehl said in an interview that Villanueva intentionally chose budget cuts that the supervisors would not want as part of a larger narrative the sheriff has been pushing to incite fear among constituents by implying that the board’s actions — including the Re-Imagine L.A. County initiative — will lead to fewer deputies to combat crime.
“It was a sort of, I would say, a middle-finger kind of proposal to us,” Kuehl said. “And so the CEO said, ‘Well, why don’t we just look at [the number of] your custody officers?’ and that was a non-starter with him, even though that would be most appropriate.”
Ultimately, the board cut $162 million from the Sheriff’s Department budget, which county officials said could result in 451 potential layoffs, records show.
The measure has also faced strong opposition from unions representing 80,000 L.A. County employees.
In a memo sent to the Board of Supervisors in late July, the Coalition of County Unions and SEIU Local 721 objected to the measure, arguing it was “clearly unlawful” because, they said, the Board of Supervisors’ ordinance requires the county to negotiate with its labor unions before going to voters to amend the county charter.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Supervisor Hilda Solis, who co-authored the measure with Kuehl, said she disagreed with the rhetoric implying that the measure would hurt county workers.
“What’s so frightening about putting this in front of the voters and having them decide?” Solis asked. “In my opinion, it is not as threatening as some folks that have sent correspondence [to the board] tried to make this out as. I don’t think any one of us here wants to eliminate positions outright. I don’t think that’s what this is about.”


latimes--2020-08-04--Ron Deaton, influential advisor to the L.A. City Council, dies at 77

He was the consummate behind the scenes player , advising and influencing the Los Angeles City Council on its most urgent issues while staying out of the public eye .
Ronald F. Deaton , the city ’ s chief legislative analyst from 1993 to 2004 , offered his expertise as the council responded to the 1994 Northridge earthquake , dealt with the aftermath of major civil unrest and battled a years-long campaign to break up the city .
When the mayor and council were at odds , or council members weren ’ t speaking to each other , Deaton served @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Yaroslavsky , who served on the council and later the county Board of Supervisors .
“ People trusted him , because at the end of the day , he loved the city .
He loved governance , ” said Yaroslavsky , a longtime friend who is now director of the Los Angeles Initiative at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs .
“ If you wanted to get something done , you went to him.
” Deaton died Tuesday after a prolonged illness at his home in Ensenada , Mexico , said his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
A lifelong Republican working in a politically liberal city , Deaton logged more than 40 years inside L.A government .
He spent three years running the Department of Water and Power , the agency where he started and finished his career .
Still , he wielded the greatest influence in the chief legislative analyst ’ s office , where he advised the 15-member council on ballot measures , public works projects and the protracted fight over whether the San Fernando Valley should secede from Los Angeles and become its own city .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ council member , ” Deaton negotiated the terms of federal oversight of the Los Angeles Police Department .
He helped craft the deal points for financing Staples Center , the arena that opened near the city ’ s Convention Center in 1999 .
And he advised council members as they sparred with secessionists over the language of a Valley breakaway ballot measure , which voters defeated in 2002 .
Deaton also pushed for the $ 300-million seismic retrofit and restoration of City Hall , despite objections that the project was too expensive , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who served on the council from 1997 to 2005 .
“ There were a lot of forces who said ‘ Tear it down .
It ’ s not economical .
And we can do so much more with the land , ’ ” Miscikowski told The Times in 2017 .
“ Definitely , City Hall still stands because of Ron Deaton.
” Deaton was born in Long Beach on Jan. 12 , 1943 , to Nellie and Olon Deaton , who moved to Southern California from Arkansas during the Dust Bowl .
After @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the DWP in 1965 .
He started in the utility ’ s sales department , promoting all-electric Gold Medallion homes , and quickly met Ellery Boyle , a typist and receptionist who worked on the same floor .
The two began carpooling and were married in 1966 .
Deaton eventually transferred out of the DWP and by 1976 was working in the chief legislative analyst ’ s office .
He landed the department ’ s top job 17 years later .
While in that post , Deaton showed newly elected council members @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could be more effective , said Councilman Mike Hernandez , who represented neighborhoods such as Westlake , Chinatown and Lincoln Heights .
“ Basically , he helped me become a better policy maker , ” said Hernandez , who stepped down in 2001 .
Deaton handled a long list of ballot measures that generated funds for new parks , libraries , animal shelters , police stations and zoo facilities .
He also worked to ensure the city preserved some of its most significant landmarks , including Griffith Observatory , Van Nuys City Hall @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Mayor Eric Garcetti , while serving on the council , worked with Deaton on a 2004 clean water bond measure , which provided funding to restore Echo Park Lake and other park land .
“ The entire writing of it was something he taught me how to do , ” Garcetti said .
“ He was a marvelous teacher .
He knew when to give you a lecture , when to back off ... and he wasn ’ t too proud to learn new tricks.
” Deaton ’ s influence began to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , with a new crop of city lawmakers taking office in 2001 .
Some felt Deaton was trying to dictate the outcome of key council decisions .
In 2004 , he took the top job at the DWP .
Deaton retired three years later , after suffering a cardiac arrhythmia during a trip to Costa Rica .
Although he never sought or publicly showed any interest in running for office , his wife won a seat on the Seal Beach City Council in 2010 .
Deaton is survived by his wife ; his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wife Joy ; his children David Deaton , Daniel Deaton , Deidre Davis and Dara Loftis , as well as their spouses , and 12 grandchildren .

Ron Deaton, shown in 2000, served as L.A.’s chief legislative analyst and also headed the Department of Water and Power.
He was the consummate behind the scenes player, advising and influencing the Los Angeles City Council on its most urgent issues while staying out of the public eye.
Ronald F. Deaton, the city’s chief legislative analyst from 1993 to 2004, offered his expertise as the council responded to the 1994 Northridge earthquake, dealt with the aftermath of major civil unrest and battled a years-long campaign to break up the city.
When the mayor and council were at odds, or council members weren’t speaking to each other, Deaton served as a valuable go-between, said Zev Yaroslavsky, who served on the council and later the county Board of Supervisors.
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“People trusted him, because at the end of the day, he loved the city. He loved governance,” said Yaroslavsky, a longtime friend who is now director of the Los Angeles Initiative at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. “If you wanted to get something done, you went to him.”
Deaton died Tuesday after a prolonged illness at his home in Ensenada, Mexico, said his son David Deaton. He was 77.
A lifelong Republican working in a politically liberal city, Deaton logged more than 40 years inside L.A government. He spent three years running the Department of Water and Power, the agency where he started and finished his career.
Still, he wielded the greatest influence in the chief legislative analyst’s office, where he advised the 15-member council on ballot measures, public works projects and the protracted fight over whether the San Fernando Valley should secede from Los Angeles and become its own city.
Former Chief Legislative Analyst Ron Deaton, right, with former Councilman Hal Bernson. (Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times)
Sometimes referred to as the “16th council member,” Deaton negotiated the terms of federal oversight of the Los Angeles Police Department. He helped craft the deal points for financing Staples Center, the arena that opened near the city’s Convention Center in 1999. And he advised council members as they sparred with secessionists over the language of a Valley breakaway ballot measure, which voters defeated in 2002.
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Deaton also pushed for the $300-million seismic retrofit and restoration of City Hall, despite objections that the project was too expensive, said former City Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski, who served on the council from 1997 to 2005.
“There were a lot of forces who said ‘Tear it down. It’s not economical. And we can do so much more with the land,’” Miscikowski told The Times in 2017. “Definitely, City Hall still stands because of Ron Deaton.”
Deaton was born in Long Beach on Jan. 12, 1943, to Nellie and Olon Deaton, who moved to Southern California from Arkansas during the Dust Bowl. After attending college, he took a job with the DWP in 1965.
He started in the utility’s sales department, promoting all-electric Gold Medallion homes, and quickly met Ellery Boyle, a typist and receptionist who worked on the same floor. The two began carpooling and were married in 1966.
Deaton eventually transferred out of the DWP and by 1976 was working in the chief legislative analyst’s office. He landed the department’s top job 17 years later.
City Attorney James Hahn listens to Ron Deaton, L.A.’s chief legislative analyst, in May 2000. (Rick Meyer/Los Angeles Times )
While in that post, Deaton showed newly elected council members how the city worked and how they could be more effective, said Councilman Mike Hernandez, who represented neighborhoods such as Westlake, Chinatown and Lincoln Heights.
“Basically, he helped me become a better policy maker,” said Hernandez, who stepped down in 2001.
Deaton handled a long list of ballot measures that generated funds for new parks, libraries, animal shelters, police stations and zoo facilities. He also worked to ensure the city preserved some of its most significant landmarks, including Griffith Observatory, Van Nuys City Hall and Point Fermin Lighthouse in San Pedro.
Mayor Eric Garcetti, while serving on the council, worked with Deaton on a 2004 clean water bond measure, which provided funding to restore Echo Park Lake and other park land.
“The entire writing of it was something he taught me how to do,” Garcetti said. “He was a marvelous teacher. He knew when to give you a lecture, when to back off ... and he wasn’t too proud to learn new tricks.”
Deaton’s influence began to wane in the wake of term limits, with a new crop of city lawmakers taking office in 2001. Some felt Deaton was trying to dictate the outcome of key council decisions.
In 2004, he took the top job at the DWP. Deaton retired three years later, after suffering a cardiac arrhythmia during a trip to Costa Rica. Although he never sought or publicly showed any interest in running for office, his wife won a seat on the Seal Beach City Council in 2010.
Deaton is survived by his wife; his brother, Gary Deaton, and his wife Joy; his children David Deaton, Daniel Deaton, Deidre Davis and Dara Loftis, as well as their spouses, and 12 grandchildren.


latimes--2020-08-04--Evacuations recommended in 3,500-acre Stagecoach fire in Kern County

Officials have kept recommended evacuations in place as firefighters continue to battle a 3,500-acre vegetation fire in Kern County .
The blaze , named the Stagecoach fire , was first reported on the Kern County Fire Department ’ s Twitter feed at 3:40 p.m. Monday , located off Stagecoach Drive and Old Ox Road , south of the community of Havilah .
The fire encompassed 15 acres then .
As of 8 p.m. Tuesday , it had grown to 3,500 acres , with 5 % containment , according to the county ’ s fire department .
About 250 structures are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Twenty-one engines , three helicopters and more than 200 personnel are fighting the fire .
Evacuation recommendations were issued for residents west of Caliente Bodfish Road , as well as those in the area east of Caliente Bodfish Road and north of Walker Basin Road .
Officials also announced precautionary evacuations for the area off Indian Oaks Road , east of Caliente Bodfish .
A temporary evacuation point has been established at a parking lot at 710 W. Tehachapi Blvd .
in Tehachapi .
The cause of the fire has not been determined @

Patricia Paine credits her son Michael’s efforts at clearing brush with saving her home. Two of her neighbors’ homes were destroyed.
Officials have kept recommended evacuations in place as firefighters continue to battle a 3,500-acre vegetation fire in Kern County.
The blaze, named the Stagecoach fire, was first reported on the Kern County Fire Department’s Twitter feed at 3:40 p.m. Monday, located off Stagecoach Drive and Old Ox Road, south of the community of Havilah. The fire encompassed 15 acres then.
As of 8 p.m. Tuesday, it had grown to 3,500 acres, with 5% containment, according to the county’s fire department. About 250 structures are threatened and two have been destroyed. Twenty-one engines, three helicopters and more than 200 personnel are fighting the fire.
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Evacuation recommendations were issued for residents west of Caliente Bodfish Road, as well as those in the area east of Caliente Bodfish Road and north of Walker Basin Road. Officials also announced precautionary evacuations for the area off Indian Oaks Road, east of Caliente Bodfish.
A temporary evacuation point has been established at a parking lot at 710 W. Tehachapi Blvd. in Tehachapi.
The cause of the fire has not been determined.