latimes--2020-09-19--'Tsunami' of hotel closures is coming, experts warn

Located on one of the world ’ s most expensive strips of commercial real estate , the upscale Luxe Rodeo Drive hotel has closed , a casualty of a pandemic that is likely to put more hotels out of business .
The 86-room hotel , which for 27 years shared a city block with such high-end outlets as Cartier and Harry Winston , notified its workers last week that it would permanently cease operations because of the financial effects of the COVID- ` 19 crisis .
“ Please accept my sincerest gratitude for your service and loyalty and know that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Efrem Harkham , the chief executive of Luxe Hotels , which owns or operates three other hotels in Los Angeles and New York , told workers in a letter .
The Luxe Rodeo Drive is the first high-end hotel in the Los Angeles area to go out of business because of the pandemic , and industry experts point to an unusually high loan delinquency rate among hotel borrowers as a sign that more closures are likely to follow .
“ We know there is a tsunami outside .
We know it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We just don ’ t know when , ” said Donald Wise , a commercial real estate expert and co-founder and senior managing director at Turnbull Capital Group .
The steep decline in tourism and business travel has devastated the hotel industry .
“ We anticipate many hotels won ’ t survive , ” said Heather Rozman , executive director of the Hotel Assn .
of Los Angeles .
“ Industry data shows 1 in 4 properties already are struggling to pay mortgages , risking foreclosure.
” Aron Harkham , president of Luxe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said in an email that the Rodeo Drive location “ got caught up with the bad timing of the global travel market ” by launching a full remodel just before the pandemic struck .
Given the drop in demand for hotel rooms , he said Luxe Hotels is now considering “ alternative options ” for the property , which is owned by the Harkham family under a limited partnership .
High-end hotels have also closed in other parts of the country , including the 44-story Hilton Times Square hotel in New York City @ @ @ @ @ @ @ month .
Ashford Hospitality recently turned over the keys to its newly purchased Embassy Suites in Midtown Manhattan to its lender after the real estate investment trust fell behind on debt payments , according to CNBC .
The owner of Chicago ’ s Palmer House Hilton hotel was sued by Wells Fargo last month , accused of defaulting on a $ 333.2-million loan .
The lawsuit asks the court to appoint a receiver for hotel operations , according to the Chicago Sun-Times .
Nationwide , it ’ s not clear how many hotels @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But figures are available on hotel loans that have been bundled and sold to investors as commercial mortgage-backed securities .
Payments on 16.77 % of those loans are more than 30 days late , according to Fitch Ratings — up dramatically from less than 2 % before the industry began feeling the pandemic ’ s financial effects .
Once a hotel is more than 30 days late on making a mortgage payment , the lender can file a notice of default on the loan and increase the interest rate by 5 % until @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to hospitality industry experts .
If after 90 days , the lender has not brought the loan current , the lender can file a notice of sale — a sale that can take place 21 days after the 90 days expire , experts say .
“ The clock is ticking on loans for hotels and restaurants , and there is going to be a sharp uptick in delinquencies , ” said Lloyd Greif , founder and chief executive of the investment banking firm Greif & Co .
In Southern California , nearly 60 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are more than 30 days delinquent on their loans , including the Embassy Suites by Hilton in Palmdale , according to the data firm Trepp .
An executive with the management company that operates the Embassy Suites in Palmdale and 52 other hotels said some of the hotels in its portfolio are struggling to stay in business while others are overcoming the pandemic , with occupancy rates as high as 80 % .
“ We do see some promise and hope , ” said Ernie Catanzaro , executive vice president of Blue Sky @ @ @ @ @ @ @ yet closed permanently because they were able to take advantage of the funding provided by the federal Paycheck Protection Program or because banks have been forgiving of loan delinquencies for the last few months , said Wise , the commercial real estate expert .
But he expects that such clemency won ’ t last long .
Hotels that primarily cater to conventions and business travelers are more at risk of closing because such travel has all but disappeared , according to industry experts .
Meanwhile , hotels located in popular car-accessible vacation destinations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Barbara and San Diego , seem more likely to survive the crisis thanks to a slow increase in leisure travel .
“ All the drive-through markets are starting to get business back , ” said Alan X. Reay , president of Atlas Hospitality Group .
“ A number of owners are starting to see light at the end of the tunnel.
” New York has over the last few years experienced a surge in new hotel construction to serve a boom in international visitors and many of the hotels that close due to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ properties or offices because of the glut of hotels , Reay said .
In Southern California , it is unclear what will become of shuttered hotels .
Wise said some could reopen as student housing for nearby colleges , senior citizen housing facilities or condominiums , but for that to happen , local policymakers would have to be lenient in adopting new zoning rules .
He predicted that large hotels near convention centers that go out of business would not have the option to convert to anything else .
“ There is no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ added .
Former hotel worker Oscar Melara , 60 , had been working at the Luxe Rodeo Drive location for 39 years , starting before the Harkham family took over the property .
He began his career as a dishwasher and worked his way up to cook .
The hotel had been closed since March when the pandemic struck , but Melara and his co-workers held out hope that it , like several other hotels in the L.A. area , would eventually reopen and rehire them .
Over the years his co-workers had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and the $ 22 an hour he earned was enough to pay his bills and send money to his sister in El Salvador to help her make ends meet .
Then the letter from Harkham arrived , saying it was over .
“ When you work most of your life for a place and it closes , it ’ s not fair , ” Melara said .

The Luxe Rodeo Drive hotel in Beverly Hills has shut down, citing the financial effects of the pandemic. The steep decline in tourism and business travel has devastated the hotel industry.
Located on one of the world’s most expensive strips of commercial real estate, the upscale Luxe Rodeo Drive hotel has closed, a casualty of a pandemic that is likely to put more hotels out of business.
The 86-room hotel, which for 27 years shared a city block with such high-end outlets as Cartier and Harry Winston, notified its workers last week that it would permanently cease operations because of the financial effects of the COVID-19 crisis.
“Please accept my sincerest gratitude for your service and loyalty and know that this decision was not made lightly,” Efrem Harkham, the chief executive of Luxe Hotels, which owns or operates three other hotels in Los Angeles and New York, told workers in a letter.
Advertisement
The Luxe Rodeo Drive is the first high-end hotel in the Los Angeles area to go out of business because of the pandemic, and industry experts point to an unusually high loan delinquency rate among hotel borrowers as a sign that more closures are likely to follow.
The Luxe Rodeo Drive hotel is the Los Angeles area’s first high-end hotel to go out of business because of the pandemic. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
“We know there is a tsunami outside. We know it’s going to hit the beach. We just don’t know when,” said Donald Wise, a commercial real estate expert and co-founder and senior managing director at Turnbull Capital Group.
The steep decline in tourism and business travel has devastated the hotel industry.
“We anticipate many hotels won’t survive,” said Heather Rozman, executive director of the Hotel Assn. of Los Angeles. “Industry data shows 1 in 4 properties already are struggling to pay mortgages, risking foreclosure.”
Aron Harkham, president of Luxe Hotels and son of Efrem Harkham, said in an email that the Rodeo Drive location “got caught up with the bad timing of the global travel market” by launching a full remodel just before the pandemic struck.
Given the drop in demand for hotel rooms, he said Luxe Hotels is now considering “alternative options” for the property, which is owned by the Harkham family under a limited partnership.
Advertisement
High-end hotels have also closed in other parts of the country, including the 44-story Hilton Times Square hotel in New York City, which went out of business this month.
Ashford Hospitality recently turned over the keys to its newly purchased Embassy Suites in Midtown Manhattan to its lender after the real estate investment trust fell behind on debt payments, according to CNBC.
The lower lobby of the Palmer House Hilton hotel in Chicago. Wells Fargo sued the owner of the luxury hotel last month, alleging Palmer House Hilton had defaulted on a $333.2-million loan. (Raymond Boyd / Getty Images)
The owner of Chicago’s Palmer House Hilton hotel was sued by Wells Fargo last month, accused of defaulting on a $333.2-million loan. The lawsuit asks the court to appoint a receiver for hotel operations, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Nationwide, it’s not clear how many hotels are behind on their loan payments. But figures are available on hotel loans that have been bundled and sold to investors as commercial mortgage-backed securities. Payments on 16.77% of those loans are more than 30 days late, according to Fitch Ratings — up dramatically from less than 2% before the industry began feeling the pandemic’s financial effects.
Once a hotel is more than 30 days late on making a mortgage payment, the lender can file a notice of default on the loan and increase the interest rate by 5% until the payments are brought current, according to hospitality industry experts. If after 90 days, the lender has not brought the loan current, the lender can file a notice of sale — a sale that can take place 21 days after the 90 days expire, experts say.
“The clock is ticking on loans for hotels and restaurants, and there is going to be a sharp uptick in delinquencies,” said Lloyd Greif, founder and chief executive of the investment banking firm Greif & Co.
In Southern California, nearly 60 hotels in Los Angeles and Orange counties are more than 30 days delinquent on their loans, including the Embassy Suites by Hilton in Palmdale, according to the data firm Trepp.
An executive with the management company that operates the Embassy Suites in Palmdale and 52 other hotels said some of the hotels in its portfolio are struggling to stay in business while others are overcoming the pandemic, with occupancy rates as high as 80%.
“We do see some promise and hope,” said Ernie Catanzaro, executive vice president of Blue Sky Hospitality Solutions.
More hotels have not yet closed permanently because they were able to take advantage of the funding provided by the federal Paycheck Protection Program or because banks have been forgiving of loan delinquencies for the last few months, said Wise, the commercial real estate expert.
But he expects that such clemency won’t last long.
Hotels that primarily cater to conventions and business travelers are more at risk of closing because such travel has all but disappeared, according to industry experts. Meanwhile, hotels located in popular car-accessible vacation destinations, such as Santa Monica, Santa Barbara and San Diego, seem more likely to survive the crisis thanks to a slow increase in leisure travel.
“All the drive-through markets are starting to get business back,” said Alan X. Reay, president of Atlas Hospitality Group. “A number of owners are starting to see light at the end of the tunnel.”
New York has over the last few years experienced a surge in new hotel construction to serve a boom in international visitors and many of the hotels that close due to the pandemic will likely convert to residential properties or offices because of the glut of hotels, Reay said. In Southern California, it is unclear what will become of shuttered hotels.
Wise said some could reopen as student housing for nearby colleges, senior citizen housing facilities or condominiums, but for that to happen, local policymakers would have to be lenient in adopting new zoning rules. He predicted that large hotels near convention centers that go out of business would not have the option to convert to anything else.
“There is no playbook for a pandemic,” he added.
Former hotel worker Oscar Melara, 60, had been working at the Luxe Rodeo Drive location for 39 years, starting before the Harkham family took over the property. He began his career as a dishwasher and worked his way up to cook.
The hotel had been closed since March when the pandemic struck, but Melara and his co-workers held out hope that it, like several other hotels in the L.A. area, would eventually reopen and rehire them.
Over the years his co-workers had become his second family, he said, and the $22 an hour he earned was enough to pay his bills and send money to his sister in El Salvador to help her make ends meet.
Then the letter from Harkham arrived, saying it was over.
“When you work most of your life for a place and it closes, it’s not fair,” Melara said.


latimes--2020-09-19--Full coverage: Jackie Lacey and George Gascón face off in L.A. County district attorney race

With debates about criminal justice reform and police accountability buzzing across the country , the race for Los Angeles County ’ s next top prosecutor may be one of the most important on the ballot in Southern California this November .
Jackie Lacey , the county ’ s first Black district attorney and a career prosecutor backed by local law enforcement , is seeking a third term in office , but she will have to fend off a challenge from former San Francisco Dist .
Atty .
George Gascón , who is considered one of the key figures in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the U.S .
The race is seen as a referendum on what 21st century criminal justice should look like , one that ’ s been exacerbated after a summer that saw large-scale opposition to the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and the shooting of Jacob Blake .
Lacey has been faulted by activists for her perceived hesitance to charge police in controversial killings , but Gascón has faced questions about his own record of not filing such charges during his eight years in San Francisco .
You can review The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .

With debates about criminal justice reform and police accountability buzzing across the country, the race for Los Angeles County’s next top prosecutor may be one of the most important on the ballot in Southern California this November.
Jackie Lacey, the county’s first Black district attorney and a career prosecutor backed by local law enforcement, is seeking a third term in office, but she will have to fend off a challenge from former San Francisco Dist. Atty. George Gascón, who is considered one of the key figures in a push to elect more progressive prosecutors across the U.S.
The race is seen as a referendum on what 21st century criminal justice should look like, one that’s been exacerbated after a summer that saw large-scale opposition to the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and the shooting of Jacob Blake. Lacey has been faulted by activists for her perceived hesitance to charge police in controversial killings, but Gascón has faced questions about his own record of not filing such charges during his eight years in San Francisco.
You can review The Times’ coverage of the race here.


latimes--2020-09-19--Governor again overrules parole board recommendation to free ex-Mexican Mafia member

Rene Enriquez , a Mexican Mafia member who defected 18 years ago and helped law enforcement authorities incarcerate dozens of his onetime confederates , has been denied parole by Gov .
Gavin Newsom , the fifth time in a row the state ’ s governor has overruled a recommendation to free him .
Newsom disagreed with a parole board ’ s opinion that Enriquez , 58 , deserved to walk free after spending the last three decades in prison for a pair of murders committed in 1989 .
In a three-page letter signed Friday , Newsom said Enriquez ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ programming and other efforts to make amends didn ’ t outweigh his “ extensive history of violent and manipulative behavior.
” At the height of his influence , Enriquez , who was known as “ Boxer , ” controlled swaths of Southern California and earned a reputation as a ferocious killer .
He ordered murders and committed them himself ; he sold drugs and extorted dealers who peddled them in his territory ; he attacked rivals of the Mexican Mafia and even some of its own members .
Asked how many murders he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a recent federal case , replied , “ It ’ s fairly difficult to guesstimate .
I — just being liberal , say 10.
” But now , Enriquez testified , he spends his days sorting recyclables for 11 cents an hour and deciphering intercepted gang communications in a special wing of Ironwood State Prison reserved for inmates who have turned their back on the Mexican Mafia .
Since defecting in 2002 , Enriquez has testified by his count in 40 federal and state prosecutions .
These courtroom disclosures and his testimony @ @ @ @ @ @ @ account of his polarizing life , complete with musings about guilt and innocence , penance and mercy , the taking of life and what punishment the taker of it should be required to pay .
“ Can a person really step away ?
” Enriquez asked rhetorically during a hearing in May .
“ Can a person really change ?
Can a person really say , ‘ You know what , I ’ m done with this , these attitudes , I ’ m done with them , these thought processes , I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It is a question that has divided the parole board and the governor ’ s office for years .
Born in 1962 to a family with 14 children , Enriquez told the parole board he initially had a comfortable , middle-class childhood .
His father owned a factory that made custom furniture , and his mother worked on and off in an electronics plant .
“ We lived in good areas like Thousand Oaks and Cerritos , ” he said .
“ I went to good schools.
” But at 11 , Enriquez @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : an arrest for stealing a car .
He started selling drugs at junior high for his mother , a heroin addict , he told the board , and by the time he was 13 , Enriquez followed his older brother into Arta , a Latino street gang that prowled Artesia and its environs .
He dropped out of school in the ninth grade , disgusting his father , who hated that his sons were in a gang and told them they looked “ like clowns ” in their baggy Pendleton shirts , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ went to prison at 18 , convicted of taking part in a gang rape of an intoxicated girl and a string of armed robberies .
To the teenager , going to prison didn ’ t seem like a setback .
“ As counterintuitive or as crazy as it sounds , jail was a place we aspired to go , ” Enriquez said in court .
“ It ’ s kind of like going to Harvard or Yale .
For us , going to prison was the big time.
” For gang members who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one day become — a member of the Mexican Mafia , prison is an audition .
Nearly all of the syndicate ’ s roughly 140 members are incarcerated .
Inmates vying for a supporting role are evaluated on their willingness to carry out the organization ’ s agenda , be it attacking another prisoner , smuggling drugs , or extorting other inmates .
At Soledad State Prison , Enriquez first met a member of the Mexican Mafia .
Daniel “ Black Dan ” Barela introduced himself by passing a note and some unfiltered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s with fishing line .
“ This is a made guy , he ’ s a mobster , and I ’ m just this lowly kid , skinny kid , and this guy ’ s acknowledging me , ” Enriquez said , recalling the thrill he felt .
Enriquez was transferred to San Quentin , where his dealings with the Mexican Mafia “ increased exponentially , ” he testified .
His duties as a porter allowed him to walk throughout the prison , and he came to know the inmates in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ California , ” where all of the prison ’ s Mexican Mafia members were held , he said .
Enriquez was then sent to Folsom State Prison near Sacramento , where , in 1985 , he was admitted to the Mexican Mafia .
He had vaulted to the peak of the prison hierarchy , joined the “ crème de la crème in the criminal underworld , ” as he put it .
“ I felt like an Olympian.
” After paroling in 1988 , Enriquez seized control of the narcotics trade in Boyle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he said , was a woman named Cynthia Gavaldon , the sister-in-law of David Gavaldon , a Mexican Mafia member known as “ Spider ” who had been inducted alongside Enriquez at Folsom .
Enriquez came to believe Cynthia Gavaldon was stealing drugs and cutting what supply remained to cover it up , he told the parole board .
He ordered two underlings to murder her .
“ She was a participant and those are the rules at the time , ” he said in court , three decades later .
” You @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re killed.
” Enriquez told the board that delegating the murder to subordinates “ was an entirely cowardly act.
” “ There ’ s no rationalization that can make my ordering her death right in any way , ” he said .
“ It was just — it was wrong.
” Enriquez may not have deflected responsibility before the parole board , but he delivered a colder account for an audience with no say over his fate : a jury weighing whether to convict Cynthia Gavaldon ’ s sister-in-law on racketeering charges .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ murder with her brother-in-law , David Gavaldon .
Years later , when they were incarcerated in the same prison , Enriquez asked Gavaldon through his cell door “ if he had a problem with what happened to Cynthia , ” he recalled .
“ No , not at all , ” Gavaldon replied , according to Enriquez , and the two grasped pinky fingers through the door .
“ He understands it was business and that ’ s all it was.
” Days after Cynthia Gavaldon was murdered , Enriquez killed David “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ member who had been branded a coward .
After an associate injected Gallegos with a large dose of heroin , Enriquez drove him to an alley and shot him five times in the back of the head .
“ I had embraced the abyss of violence , ” he told the parole board .
Enriquez was convicted of murder , and in 1993 , he was sent to Pelican Bay State Prison , the highest-security complex in California .
From his cell , Enriquez oversaw a crew extorting drug dealers and other criminals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Cudahy , Victorville , Lennox , Hawaiian Gardens and parts of Riverside , Norwalk , Cerritos and Boyle Heights , he testified .
But as Enriquez rose within the Mexican Mafia , he grew more afraid , he told the board .
Its upper ranks are “ the worst place to be , ” he said .
“ Consider a group of individuals who have every form of personality disorder .
Some have mental disorders .
They ’ re extremely violent men who have been excluded from their homes.
” In 2002 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with a visitor heard Enriquez say , “ What would you do if I wasn ’ t a mobster anymore ?
” Enriquez had come to see the Mexican Mafia for what it was , he told the board : a band of thieving , murdering sociopaths who were devouring one another .
The investigator asked Enriquez to debrief — to turn his back on the organization and spill its secrets to the government .
It was 11:20 a.m. March 22 , 2002 .
“ Everything I knew , everything that I was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ my life to was going to radically change at that moment , ” Enriquez recalled in court .
For the next 18 years , he would testify against his former associates and decipher their phone calls , letters , even videos of inmates communicating through hand signs during visits .
He collaborated with a journalist who wrote a book about his life ; he spoke at symposiums for government officials and business leaders .
Enriquez acknowledged that as a darling of law enforcement , he had replaced the validation he once basked in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and prosecutors .
“ At first , it fed my narcissism , ” he told the board , describing his thinking as , “ I still have , oh man , I still have some status and some power.
” Relatives of the woman whose killing he ordered , Cynthia Gavaldon , have hammered on Enriquez ’ s quasi-celebrity status in pleading with the parole board to keep him behind bars .
It was “ salt on a wound , ” her daughter told the board , “ to know this monster of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ off of his disgusting life of crime and murder and rape.
” In denying Enriquez his freedom , Newsom noted that a psychologist had described him as a “ smooth talker ” whose professed transformation “ may not have been altruistic.
” Newsom wrote that he wasn ’ t yet convinced that Enriquez ’ s life behind bars — unblemished by misconduct since leaving the Mexican Mafia — reflected a genuine change “ in thought and conduct , ” and not “ merely an attempt to game the system for his needs .
@

Rene Enriquez, 58, a former member of the Mexican Mafia, now speaks before businesses and police groups about the internal workings of the gang and has become a valuable law enforcement asset — providing expert testimony and other help in scores of cases.
Rene Enriquez, a Mexican Mafia member who defected 18 years ago and helped law enforcement authorities incarcerate dozens of his onetime confederates, has been denied parole by Gov. Gavin Newsom, the fifth time in a row the state’s governor has overruled a recommendation to free him.
Newsom disagreed with a parole board’s opinion that Enriquez, 58, deserved to walk free after spending the last three decades in prison for a pair of murders committed in 1989. In a three-page letter signed Friday, Newsom said Enriquez’s assistance to law enforcement, his self-help programming and other efforts to make amends didn’t outweigh his “extensive history of violent and manipulative behavior.”
At the height of his influence, Enriquez, who was known as “Boxer,” controlled swaths of Southern California and earned a reputation as a ferocious killer. He ordered murders and committed them himself; he sold drugs and extorted dealers who peddled them in his territory; he attacked rivals of the Mexican Mafia and even some of its own members.
Advertisement
Asked how many murders he was involved in, Enriquez, testifying in a recent federal case, replied, “It’s fairly difficult to guesstimate. I — just being liberal, say 10.”
But now, Enriquez testified, he spends his days sorting recyclables for 11 cents an hour and deciphering intercepted gang communications in a special wing of Ironwood State Prison reserved for inmates who have turned their back on the Mexican Mafia.
Since defecting in 2002, Enriquez has testified by his count in 40 federal and state prosecutions. These courtroom disclosures and his testimony before the parole board offer a detailed account of his polarizing life, complete with musings about guilt and innocence, penance and mercy, the taking of life and what punishment the taker of it should be required to pay.
“Can a person really step away?” Enriquez asked rhetorically during a hearing in May. “Can a person really change? Can a person really say, ‘You know what, I’m done with this, these attitudes, I’m done with them, these thought processes, I’m done with them.’”
It is a question that has divided the parole board and the governor’s office for years.
Born in 1962 to a family with 14 children, Enriquez told the parole board he initially had a comfortable, middle-class childhood. His father owned a factory that made custom furniture, and his mother worked on and off in an electronics plant.
Advertisement
“We lived in good areas like Thousand Oaks and Cerritos,” he said. “I went to good schools.”
But at 11, Enriquez had his first run-in with the law: an arrest for stealing a car. He started selling drugs at junior high for his mother, a heroin addict, he told the board, and by the time he was 13, Enriquez followed his older brother into Arta, a Latino street gang that prowled Artesia and its environs.
He dropped out of school in the ninth grade, disgusting his father, who hated that his sons were in a gang and told them they looked “like clowns” in their baggy Pendleton shirts, Enriquez told the board.
Enriquez first went to prison at 18, convicted of taking part in a gang rape of an intoxicated girl and a string of armed robberies. To the teenager, going to prison didn’t seem like a setback.
“As counterintuitive or as crazy as it sounds, jail was a place we aspired to go,” Enriquez said in court. “It’s kind of like going to Harvard or Yale. For us, going to prison was the big time.”
For gang members who aspire to work for — or perhaps one day become — a member of the Mexican Mafia, prison is an audition. Nearly all of the syndicate’s roughly 140 members are incarcerated. Inmates vying for a supporting role are evaluated on their willingness to carry out the organization’s agenda, be it attacking another prisoner, smuggling drugs, or extorting other inmates.
At Soledad State Prison, Enriquez first met a member of the Mexican Mafia. Daniel “Black Dan” Barela introduced himself by passing a note and some unfiltered Camel cigarettes from his cell to Enriquez’s with fishing line.
“This is a made guy, he’s a mobster, and I’m just this lowly kid, skinny kid, and this guy’s acknowledging me,” Enriquez said, recalling the thrill he felt.
Enriquez was transferred to San Quentin, where his dealings with the Mexican Mafia “increased exponentially,” he testified. His duties as a porter allowed him to walk throughout the prison, and he came to know the inmates in a block of cells known as “Hotel California,” where all of the prison’s Mexican Mafia members were held, he said.
Enriquez was then sent to Folsom State Prison near Sacramento, where, in 1985, he was admitted to the Mexican Mafia. He had vaulted to the peak of the prison hierarchy, joined the “crème de la crème in the criminal underworld,” as he put it. “I felt like an Olympian.”
After paroling in 1988, Enriquez seized control of the narcotics trade in Boyle Heights. One of his dealers, he said, was a woman named Cynthia Gavaldon, the sister-in-law of David Gavaldon, a Mexican Mafia member known as “Spider” who had been inducted alongside Enriquez at Folsom.
Enriquez came to believe Cynthia Gavaldon was stealing drugs and cutting what supply remained to cover it up, he told the parole board. He ordered two underlings to murder her.
“She was a participant and those are the rules at the time,” he said in court, three decades later. ”You steal from the mafia, you’re killed.”
Enriquez told the board that delegating the murder to subordinates “was an entirely cowardly act.”
“There’s no rationalization that can make my ordering her death right in any way,” he said. “It was just — it was wrong.”
Enriquez may not have deflected responsibility before the parole board, but he delivered a colder account for an audience with no say over his fate: a jury weighing whether to convict Cynthia Gavaldon’s sister-in-law on racketeering charges.
He testified that he smoothed over the murder with her brother-in-law, David Gavaldon. Years later, when they were incarcerated in the same prison, Enriquez asked Gavaldon through his cell door “if he had a problem with what happened to Cynthia,” he recalled.
“No, not at all,” Gavaldon replied, according to Enriquez, and the two grasped pinky fingers through the door. “He understands it was business and that’s all it was.”
Days after Cynthia Gavaldon was murdered, Enriquez killed David “Pelon” Gallegos, a Mexican Mafia member who had been branded a coward. After an associate injected Gallegos with a large dose of heroin, Enriquez drove him to an alley and shot him five times in the back of the head.
“I had embraced the abyss of violence,” he told the parole board.
Enriquez was convicted of murder, and in 1993, he was sent to Pelican Bay State Prison, the highest-security complex in California. From his cell, Enriquez oversaw a crew extorting drug dealers and other criminals on the streets of Artesia, Downey, Cudahy, Victorville, Lennox, Hawaiian Gardens and parts of Riverside, Norwalk, Cerritos and Boyle Heights, he testified.
But as Enriquez rose within the Mexican Mafia, he grew more afraid, he told the board. Its upper ranks are “the worst place to be,” he said. “Consider a group of individuals who have every form of personality disorder. Some have mental disorders. They’re extremely violent men who have been excluded from their homes.”
In 2002, a gang investigator monitoring his conversation with a visitor heard Enriquez say, “What would you do if I wasn’t a mobster anymore?”
Enriquez had come to see the Mexican Mafia for what it was, he told the board: a band of thieving, murdering sociopaths who were devouring one another. The investigator asked Enriquez to debrief — to turn his back on the organization and spill its secrets to the government. It was 11:20 a.m. March 22, 2002.
“Everything I knew, everything that I was, and everything that I had dedicated my life to was going to radically change at that moment,” Enriquez recalled in court.
For the next 18 years, he would testify against his former associates and decipher their phone calls, letters, even videos of inmates communicating through hand signs during visits. He collaborated with a journalist who wrote a book about his life; he spoke at symposiums for government officials and business leaders.
Enriquez acknowledged that as a darling of law enforcement, he had replaced the validation he once basked in from criminal underlings for plaudits from agents and prosecutors. “At first, it fed my narcissism,” he told the board, describing his thinking as, “I still have, oh man, I still have some status and some power.”
Relatives of the woman whose killing he ordered, Cynthia Gavaldon, have hammered on Enriquez’s quasi-celebrity status in pleading with the parole board to keep him behind bars. It was “salt on a wound,” her daughter told the board, “to know this monster of a person wrote a book and profited off of his disgusting life of crime and murder and rape.”
In denying Enriquez his freedom, Newsom noted that a psychologist had described him as a “smooth talker” whose professed transformation “may not have been altruistic.” Newsom wrote that he wasn’t yet convinced that Enriquez’s life behind bars — unblemished by misconduct since leaving the Mexican Mafia — reflected a genuine change “in thought and conduct,” and not “merely an attempt to game the system for his needs.”


latimes--2020-09-19--Earthquake: 4.5 quake rattles Southern California; no major damage reported

There were no immediate reports of serious damage or injuries , but the 11:38 p.m. quake was felt across the region and as far as San Diego , according to the U.S. Geological Survey , which revised its magnitude downward after initial reports .
Deputies at the L.A. County Sheriff ’ s Department ’ s Temple City station were doing checks on critical facilities in the area , Deputy Young Cole said .
The Los Angeles Police Department urged the public to call 911 only for emergencies but said it was not getting immediate reports of damage .
In South @ @ @ @ @ @ @ epicenter , the quake began with a strong sharp shake followed by another jolt not quite as strong .
Several items fell off a shelf in one home .
But power remained on .
The shaking was less severe farther from the epicenter but still packed a punch .
The temblor was centered not far from the epicenter of the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake , seismologist Lucy Jones said on Twitter .
That quake was much larger — at 5.9 magnitude — and caused several deaths and more than $ 200 million in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seismically active .
In 2014 , a magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck along the Puente Hills thrust fault , which stretches from the San Gabriel Valley to downtown Los Angeles .
That quake , centered near La Habra , caused some damage and left about 100 residents temporarily displaced .
The Puente Hills thrust fault is considered particularly dangerous because it runs under the skyscrapers of downtown Los Angeles .
Experts say a major , magnitude 7.5 earthquake on the fault could do more damage to the heart of Los Angeles than the dreaded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which runs along the outskirts of metropolitan Southern California .
Molly Oswaks was sitting in her Koreatown apartment on the phone with her 12-step sponsor when the couch started swaying .
“ We were talking about how I needed to be more present in my body and more present to my feelings and experience , ” she recalled .
“ And then it started to shake.
” As the framed art above her rattled on the wall , the 31-year-old freelance writer “ freaked out in real time ” while processing it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who was not in the city at the time .
Their conversation had already been “ as L.A. as it gets ” before the ground started shaking , she said .
“ And then the most L.A. event — more so even than a movie premiere — happened , ” Oswaks said , referring to the earthquake .
The temblor didn ’ t cause any damage in Oswaks ’ studio apartment , though a sample vial of Black Orchid by Tom Ford perfume fell off the dresser .
And as for the 12-step @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said that after the shaking stopped she felt present in her body “ to an uncomfortable degree.
” “ Careful what you wish for.
” The earthquake occurred less than a mile from South San Gabriel , less than a mile from Montebello , less than a mile from South El Monte and 1 mile from San Gabriel .
In the last 10 days , there has been one earthquake of magnitude 3.0 or greater centered nearby .
An average of five earthquakes with magnitudes between 4.0 and 5.0 occur per year in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to a recent three-year data sample .
The earthquake occurred at a depth of 10.9 miles .
Did you feel this earthquake ?
Consider reporting what you felt to the USGS .
Find out what to do before , and during , an earthquake near you by reading our five-step earthquake preparedness guide .
The first version of 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 , and it was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interested in learning more about the system , visit our list of frequently asked questions .

Stephanie Chavez, Dakota Smith, Julia Wick

A magnitude 4.5 earthquake was reported Friday at 11:38 p.m. in Rosemead, Calif., according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake was reported late Friday night, rattling a wide swath of Southern California but causing no major damage.
There were no immediate reports of serious damage or injuries, but the 11:38 p.m. quake was felt across the region and as far as San Diego, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, which revised its magnitude downward after initial reports. It was followed by a few smaller aftershocks.
In South Pasadena, about 10 miles from the epicenter, the quake began with a strong sharp shake followed by another jolt not quite as strong. Several items fell off a shelf in one home. But power remained on. The shaking was less severe farther from the epicenter but still packed a punch.
The temblor was centered not far from the epicenter of the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake, seismologist Lucy Jones said on Twitter. That quake was much larger — at 5.9 magnitude — and caused several deaths and more than $200 million in damage.
Advertisement
Yes. A M4.6 2 mi WSW of El Monte at 11:38. Almost the same location as the M5.9 Whittier Narrows earthquake in 1987 — Dr. Lucy Jones (@DrLucyJones) September 19, 2020
The Whittier Narrows area is seismically active. In 2014, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck along the Puente Hills thrust fault, which stretches from the San Gabriel Valley to downtown Los Angeles. That quake, centered near La Habra, caused some damage and left about 100 residents temporarily displaced.
The Puente Hills thrust fault is considered particularly dangerous because it runs under the skyscrapers of downtown Los Angeles. Experts say a major, magnitude 7.5 earthquake on the fault could do more damage to the heart of Los Angeles than the dreaded Big One on the San Andreas fault, which runs along the outskirts of metropolitan Southern California.
Molly Oswaks was sitting in her Koreatown apartment on the phone with her 12-step sponsor when the couch started swaying.
“We were talking about how I needed to be more present in my body and more present to my feelings and experience,” she recalled. “And then it started to shake.”
As the framed art above her rattled on the wall, the 31-year-old freelance writer “freaked out in real time” while processing it on the phone with her sponsor, who was not in the city at the time.
Their conversation had already been “as L.A. as it gets” before the ground started shaking, she said. “And then the most L.A. event — more so even than a movie premiere — happened,” Oswaks said, referring to the earthquake.
Advertisement
The temblor didn’t cause any damage in Oswaks’ studio apartment, though a sample vial of Black Orchid by Tom Ford perfume fell off the dresser.
And as for the 12-step advice she was working on? Oswaks said that after the shaking stopped she felt present in her body “to an uncomfortable degree.”
“Careful what you wish for.”
The earthquake occurred less than a mile from South San Gabriel, less than a mile from Montebello, less than a mile from South El Monte and 1 mile from San Gabriel.
In the last 10 days, there has been one earthquake of magnitude 3.0 or greater centered nearby.
An average of five earthquakes with magnitudes between 4.0 and 5.0 occur per year in the Greater Los Angeles area, according to a recent three-year data sample.
The earthquake occurred at a depth of 10.9 miles. Did you feel this earthquake? Consider reporting what you felt to the USGS.
Find out what to do before, and during, an earthquake near you by reading our five-step earthquake preparedness guide.
The first version of 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, and it was later updated. If you’re interested in learning more about the system, visit our list of frequently asked questions.


latimes--2020-09-18--Want to honor Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg? Show up to vote Nov. 3

So Ruth Bader Ginsburg is dead , and all I can think about is my sunflowers .
They were tall and bright at the beginning of the week .
Bees swarmed to their stamen , eager for pollen .
The yellow petals shined , the heads ranged in size from my fist to a flour tortilla .
Their strong stalks needed no stakes .
I sprouted them in May , when the Supreme Court justice secretly began chemotherapy .
I planted the seedlings in July , when she announced her latest health battle to the public .
The sunflowers survived @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wasted nearly everything else .
They weathered the record-breaking heat of August , the smoke-filled skies of September .
But as I drove up to my Orange County home late Friday afternoon , with news that Ginsburg had passed away at 87 of cancer lighting up my cellphone , I noticed my sunflowers now drooped .
Their end was inevitable , like the rest of us .
But their demise was sudden , unexpected , far too quick and left me with nothing to take their place so soon .
It ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ far away as a coronavirus vaccine .
Wrecked economy , nearly 200,000 dead due to COVID-19 , continued police violence , sports and schools a shadow of themselves .
I wasn ’ t part of the RBG cult — I pray to no member of the executive , judicial or legislative branch .
But I always had fond feelings for her .
She was confirmed in the summer of 1993 , when I was about to enter high school and her confirmation hearings dominated the broadcast news .
I knew nothing then of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ legend — the constant rocks she threw to break glass ceilings .
Her immigrant father .
The sexism endured , insults absorbed , pioneering cases argued .
All I knew was that I saw just a little of myself in this woman on television — big glasses , seemingly meek , but ready to throw down in the name of justice .
Ginsburg showed me the power of working from a disadvantage — the more they underestimate you , the more satisfying the victory .
Her 22-year battle against various cancers was an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just last year to ovarian cancer .
I especially loved Ginsburg ’ s friendship with the late Justice Antonin Scalia , her polar opposite in nearly every way , from faith to physical stature to politics .
If they were able to be pals , I always thought , the rest of us could as well — and should .
But that possibility now looks more distant than ever before .
On social media and in my phone , I especially see my Black and brown friends , men and women alike , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In an era where the United States is more diverse than ever before , it looks as if the Supreme Court will tilt even righter and whiter .
There seems to be no hope as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell licks his lips in anticipation of voting through a replacement for Ginsburg ’ s seat .
And this is what angers the Latino part of me more than anything .
That ’ s all politicians , ultimately .
But McConnell is a special kind of convenenciero .
In 2016 , he blocked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Garland to fill Scalia ’ s seat , arguing a decision as momentous as that shouldn ’ t happen during a presidential election year .
It was a decision I actually agreed with , but only if McConnell would ’ ve agreed to do the same if a Republican president was in the Oval Office .
And here we are .
In my Mexican world , convenencieros are a special breed of bad .
It ’ s the politicians who looked away from what ’ s right for their own benefit .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hate even as their own children do the exact sin they accuse others of .
People often shun convenencieros as the cancers to society that they are .
Now , convenencieros hold the power to shape the Supreme Court for generations to come .
Despair now fills my social media timelines .
Can anything possibly go good in this annus horribilis of 2020 ?
That brings me back to those sunflowers .
The bees did their work and pollinated the flowers .
Hundreds of seeds are still developing ; they ’ ll be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them scatter across the ground , then cover them in soil and let them rest through the spring .
Next summer , most of them will sprout up from the soil .
I will let some grow , but give away the majority of the seedlings .
This will be the life of Ginsburg .
Except don ’ t wait for next year to see if her seeds will sprout .

People lay flowers and light candles outside the Supreme Court on Friday in Washington, after the court announced that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died of metastatic pancreatic cancer at age 87.
So Ruth Bader Ginsburg is dead, and all I can think about is my sunflowers.
They were tall and bright at the beginning of the week. Bees swarmed to their stamen, eager for pollen. The yellow petals shined, the heads ranged in size from my fist to a flour tortilla. Their strong stalks needed no stakes.
I sprouted them in May, when the Supreme Court justice secretly began chemotherapy. I planted the seedlings in July, when she announced her latest health battle to the public.
Advertisement
The sunflowers survived the slugs that invaded my garden and wasted nearly everything else. They weathered the record-breaking heat of August, the smoke-filled skies of September.
But as I drove up to my Orange County home late Friday afternoon, with news that Ginsburg had passed away at 87 of cancer lighting up my cellphone, I noticed my sunflowers now drooped.
Their end was inevitable, like the rest of us. But their demise was sudden, unexpected, far too quick and left me with nothing to take their place so soon.
2020 strikes again.
It’s a year where rock bottom seems as far away as a coronavirus vaccine. Wrecked economy, nearly 200,000 dead due to COVID-19, continued police violence, sports and schools a shadow of themselves.
It’s only mid-September.
This one hurts.
I wasn’t part of the RBG cult — I pray to no member of the executive, judicial or legislative branch. But I always had fond feelings for her. She was confirmed in the summer of 1993, when I was about to enter high school and her confirmation hearings dominated the broadcast news.
I knew nothing then of the personal history that made her a legend — the constant rocks she threw to break glass ceilings. Her immigrant father. The sexism endured, insults absorbed, pioneering cases argued.
All I knew was that I saw just a little of myself in this woman on television — big glasses, seemingly meek, but ready to throw down in the name of justice.
Ginsburg showed me the power of working from a disadvantage — the more they underestimate you, the more satisfying the victory. Her 22-year battle against various cancers was an inspiration for someone who lost his mother just last year to ovarian cancer.
I especially loved Ginsburg’s friendship with the late Justice Antonin Scalia, her polar opposite in nearly every way, from faith to physical stature to politics. If they were able to be pals, I always thought, the rest of us could as well — and should.
But that possibility now looks more distant than ever before.
Advertisement
On social media and in my phone, I especially see my Black and brown friends, men and women alike, mourn even more than my white ones.
In an era where the United States is more diverse than ever before, it looks as if the Supreme Court will tilt even righter and whiter.
There seems to be no hope as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell licks his lips in anticipation of voting through a replacement for Ginsburg’s seat. And this is what angers the Latino part of me more than anything.
He’s the epitome of a convenenciero.
A self-serving man.
That’s all politicians, ultimately. But McConnell is a special kind of convenenciero.
In 2016, he blocked President Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland to fill Scalia’s seat, arguing a decision as momentous as that shouldn’t happen during a presidential election year.
It was a decision I actually agreed with, but only if McConnell would’ve agreed to do the same if a Republican president was in the Oval Office.
And here we are.
In my Mexican world, convenencieros are a special breed of bad. It’s the politicians who looked away from what’s right for their own benefit. The holier-than-thou aunts and uncles who love to hate even as their own children do the exact sin they accuse others of.
People often shun convenencieros as the cancers to society that they are.
Now, convenencieros hold the power to shape the Supreme Court for generations to come.
Despair now fills my social media timelines. Can anything possibly go good in this annus horribilis of 2020?
That brings me back to those sunflowers.
The bees did their work and pollinated the flowers. Hundreds of seeds are still developing; they’ll be ready around November.
I always let them scatter across the ground, then cover them in soil and let them rest through the spring.
Next summer, most of them will sprout up from the soil. I will let some grow, but give away the majority of the seedlings.
This will be the life of Ginsburg. Except don’t wait for next year to see if her seeds will sprout.
Your germination date is Nov. 3.


latimes--2020-09-18--'We expect structure loss': Bobcat fire forces more evacuations in Antelope Valley

The Bobcat fire has made its way into the foothills of the Antelope Valley and is damaging structures and forcing more evacuations .
Vince Pena , unified incident commander with the Los Angeles County Fire Department , said the blaze is threatening property around Juniper Hills and Valyermo .
There has been “ structure damage and we expect structure loss , ” Pena said at a Friday evening news briefing .
The relentless fire , which started Sept. 6 , has now chewed through more than 72,000 acres — doubling its size in the last week .
Strong winds are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Antelope Valley , L.A. County Fire Chief Daryl Osby said .
Fire crews are trying to stop the blaze from marching in the other direction — east of Highway 39 — and working to protect Mt .
Wilson , home to a historically important observatory as well as numerous communication towers .
Residents in northern foothill communities , including portions of Juniper Hills , Devil ’ s Punchbowl and Paradise Springs , were placed under earlier in the week as flames moved within a mile of the area .
New evacuation orders were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forest east of Highway 39 , south of East Fork Road , west of Glendora Mountain Road and north of Glendora Ridge Road .
Additional orders were issued for residents south of Fort Tejon Road , west of Longview Road , north of Colley Place and east of 89th Street East , as well as residents south of East Avenue W-14 , west of 165th Street East , north of Tumbleweed Road and east of Longview Road .
Orders were also issued for residents south of Pearblossom Highway , north of Big Pines @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and east of 165th Street East .
“ Yesterday we saw the fire expand north , to the west and to a pocket to the east , ” Angeles National Forest spokeswoman Keila Vizcarra said .
“ Toward the north end , we have a lot of ‘ light and flashy ’ fuels that ignite really swiftly and quickly , which is contributing to its growth.
” The Juniper Hills area is home to several ranch houses and consists of low-lying desert terrain , the Forest Service said , which fire crews hope @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been feeding off the forest ’ s bone-dry vegetation .
The fire ’ s dramatic spread has raised questions about what — if anything — could have been done to prevent its rapid growth .
have all been attributed to the fire ’ s ignition and growth .
In a meeting with Gov .
Gavin Newsom on Monday , President Trump doubled down on criticism that poor forest management has contributed to California ’ s record wildfires .
“ When you have dried leaves on the ground , it ’ s just fuel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But the Angeles National Forest is just that — a national forest — which means it falls under the purview of the federal government and not the state .
The federal government owns 57 % of California ’ s 33 million acres of forests , Newsom said .
State and local governments own 3 % , while the remaining 40 % is privately owned .
In August , Newsom reached an agreement with the Forest Service in which the federal government of reducing wildfire risks on 500,000 acres of forest land per @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weeks after that agreement was signed .
Weary fire crews have made significant progress on the southern end of the fire , which jeopardized several foothill communities , including Arcadia and Sierra Madre .
With that side of the blaze all but stopped , the overall containment of the Bobcat fire rose from 3 % Thursday to 15 % Friday , officials reported .
“ Right now , they are feeling tired , but they ’ re also ready to continue the work that ’ s been done , ” Vizcarra said of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ve done a lot of good work already .
”

The Bobcat fire opened a new, dangerous front as it barreled toward homes in the Antelope Valley, prompting more evacuations.
The Bobcat fire has made its way into the foothills of the Antelope Valley and is damaging structures and forcing more evacuations.
Vince Pena, unified incident commander with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, said the blaze is threatening property around Juniper Hills and Valyermo.
There has been “structure damage and we expect structure loss,” Pena said at a Friday evening news briefing.
The relentless fire, which started Sept. 6, has now chewed through more than 72,000 acres — doubling its size in the last week.
Advertisement
1 / 42 Blue Ridge Hot Shots crew members from Arizona work on a backfire operation north of Mt. Wilson on Angeles Crest Highway. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 42 Blue Ridge Hot Shots crew members from Arizona join forces with firefighters from Northern and Southern California on a backfire operation north of Mt. Wilson on Angeles Crest Highway. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 42 Smoke and ash filter the sunset looking west from Angeles Crest Highway as the Bobcat fire continues to burn. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 42 Blue Ridge Hot Shots crew members from Arizona help on a backfire operation on Angeles Crest Highway. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 42 Firefighters continue to battle the Bobcat fire north of Mt. Wilson along Angeles Crest Highway. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 42 Blue Ridge Hot Shots crew members from Arizona work on a backfire operationon Angeles Crest Highway. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 42 The Bobcat fire continues to burn in the Angeles National Forest as seen from the Evergreen Cemetery in Los Angeles on Sept. 21. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 42 Horses are spooked by the approaching Bobcat fire on 106th Street in Juniper Hills on Sept. 18. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 42 A resident flees as Bobcat fire approaches Cima Mesa Road in Juniper Hills. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 42 A Joshua tree burns as the Bobcat fire rages in Juniper Hills. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 42 A Super Scooper dives behind a house in Juniper Hills to make a water drop. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 42 The view from Big Pines Highway as the Bobcat fire continues to burn in the Angeles National Forest. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 42 A statue sits on top of a house that burned to the ground in Juniper Hills. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 42 A house on Cima Mesa Road in Juniper Hills burns Sept. 18 as the Bobcat fire continues to rage. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 42 Mike Gregoryan is frustrated as he is asked to leave his home on Cruthers Creek as Bobcat fire closes in on structures. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 16 / 42 A smokey sunset as the Bobcat Fire continues to burn in the Angeles National Forest. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 17 / 42 Bear Divide Hotshots cover a U.S. Forestry Department information center Sept. 19 in Wrightwood to protect it from the Bobcat fire. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 18 / 42 A man riding a tractor evacuates Valyermo as the Bobcat fire burns Sept. 18 in Angeles National Forest. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times) 19 / 42 Castle Snider, 8, looks on as flames from a control burn are used to reduce fuel near homes in Monrovia as the Bobcat fire continues to burn in the Angeles National Forest. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 20 / 42 A statue is left charred Sept. 19 after the Bobcat fire roared through Juniper Hills. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 21 / 42 The LA County Fire Camp 9 hand crew rests on Big Pines Highway after working the north flank of the Bobcat fire near Mile High. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 22 / 42 LaVerne engine 761 arrives to offer defense as the Bobcat fire burns near homes in Monrovia. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 23 / 42 A fire engine drives into air thick with smoke along Juniper Hills Rd. as the Bobcat fire advances north into the Antelope Valley. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 24 / 42 Flames crest a hill a few miles from Juniper Hills Rd. as the Bobcat fire advances north into the Antelope Valley. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 25 / 42 Los Angeles County firefighters standing on outlook as they monitor the Bobcat fire burning in a canyon near the Mt. Wilson Observatory in Angeles National Forest. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times) 26 / 42 A helicopter fights the Bobcat fire burning close to Mt. Wilson Observatory. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times) 27 / 42 After spending night at camp Pasadena, firefighters Christina Terrazas, left, and Jason Van Vlymen have their breakfast standing next to their fire truck. Hundreds of firefighters from different agencies fighting Bobcat Fire in San Gabriel mountains above Arcadia, Monrovia and Duarte camp overnight in Santa Fe Dam Recreation Park in Irwindale. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times) 28 / 42 Roland Pagan surveys the remains of his home on Juniper Hills Drive. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 29 / 42 A plane makes a fire retardant drop in the Antelope Valley. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 30 / 42 Road Runners hand crew from the Angeles National Forest walk single file as they head for breakfast at the Bobcat fire command post at the Santa Fe Dam Recreation Park in Irwindale. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times) 31 / 42 Flames from a control burn are used to reduce fuel near homes in Monrovia as the Bobcat fire continues to burn in the Angeles National Forest. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 32 / 42 Curious deer look on as firefighters watch the progress of the Bobcat fire as it continues to burn in the Angeles National Forest. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 33 / 42 Firefighters look on from Sawpit Canyon as a controlled fire burns on a hillside overlooking the San Gabriel Valley. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 34 / 42 Firefighters keep watch from an overlook on Mt. Wilson as the Bobcat fire burns in the Angeles National Forest near Pasadena. (Mario Tama / Getty Images) 35 / 42 A Coulson 737 firefighting tanker jet drops fire retardant to slow Bobcat fire at the top of a major run up a mountainside in the Angeles National Forest. (David McNew / Getty Images) 36 / 42 Los Angeles County firefighters, using only hand tools, keep flames from jumping a fire break in the Angeles National Forest north of Monrovia. (David McNew / Getty Images) 37 / 42 Mormon Lake, Ariz. Hotshot Squad team member Jessy Twin looks over charred hillsides after clearing brush. Twin said his crew is on their sixth day of cutting line. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 38 / 42 A firefighting helicopter refills in a reservoir on Grand View Ave. as crews continue to battle the Bobcat fire. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 39 / 42 A line of California fire engines head to the flaming Santa Anita Canyon as the Bobcat fire burns near Arcadia. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 40 / 42 Claudia Alcaino walks her dogs along Highland Oaks Drive as crews continue to battle the Bobcat fire in the nearby Angeles National Forest. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 41 / 42 A worker installs a street camera along North Azusa Avenue as smoke covers the sky from the Bobcat fire. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 42 / 42 The Bobcat fire continues to blaze in the mountains above Monrovia. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Strong winds are driving the blaze toward communities in the Antelope Valley, L.A. County Fire Chief Daryl Osby said.
Fire crews are trying to stop the blaze from marching in the other direction — east of Highway 39 — and working to protect Mt. Wilson, home to a historically important observatory as well as numerous communication towers.
Residents in northern foothill communities, including portions of Juniper Hills, Devil’s Punchbowl and Paradise Springs, were placed under evacuation orders earlier in the week as flames moved within a mile of the area.
New evacuation orders were issued Friday for residents in the national forest east of Highway 39, south of East Fork Road, west of Glendora Mountain Road and north of Glendora Ridge Road.
Additional orders were issued for residents south of Fort Tejon Road, west of Longview Road, north of Colley Place and east of 89th Street East, as well as residents south of East Avenue W-14, west of 165th Street East, north of Tumbleweed Road and east of Longview Road.
Orders were also issued for residents south of Pearblossom Highway, north of Big Pines Highway, west of Largo Vista Road and east of 165th Street East.
“Yesterday we saw the fire expand north, to the west and to a pocket to the east,” Angeles National Forest spokeswoman Keila Vizcarra said. “Toward the north end, we have a lot of ‘light and flashy’ fuels that ignite really swiftly and quickly, which is contributing to its growth.”
The Juniper Hills area is home to several ranch houses and consists of low-lying desert terrain, the Forest Service said, which fire crews hope will help rebuff the flames that have been feeding off the forest’s bone-dry vegetation.
Advertisement
The fire’s dramatic spread has raised questions about what — if anything — could have been done to prevent its rapid growth.
Ample fuel, record heat and steep terrain have all been attributed to the fire’s ignition and growth. In a meeting with Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday, President Trump doubled down on criticism that poor forest management has contributed to California’s record wildfires.
“When you have dried leaves on the ground, it’s just fuel for the fires,” Trump said.
But the Angeles National Forest is just that — a national forest — which means it falls under the purview of the federal government and not the state.
The federal government owns 57% of California’s 33 million acres of forests, Newsom said. State and local governments own 3%, while the remaining 40% is privately owned.
In August, Newsom reached an agreement with the Forest Service in which the federal government will match California’s goal of reducing wildfire risks on 500,000 acres of forest land per year.
The Bobcat fire ignited just weeks after that agreement was signed.
Weary fire crews have made significant progress on the southern end of the fire, which jeopardized several foothill communities, including Arcadia and Sierra Madre. With that side of the blaze all but stopped, the overall containment of the Bobcat fire rose from 3% Thursday to 15% Friday, officials reported.
“Right now, they are feeling tired, but they’re also ready to continue the work that’s been done,” Vizcarra said of the crews, “and they’ve done a lot of good work already.”


latimes--2020-09-19--L.A. County reports 1,343 new coronavirus cases and 13 additional deaths

Los Angeles County reported another 1,343 cases of COVID-19 on Saturday , along with 13 additional deaths , according to figures released Saturday .
The coronavirus numbers , prepared by the Department of Public Health , bring the total number of positive COVID-19 cases to 259,817 countywide .
So far , 6,330 people have died in the county due to complications from the disease .
Health officials said the number of new daily cases has climbed over the past four days .
Although that could be the result of the reopening of testing centers and an increase in testing , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ during the recent holiday weekend , they said .
“ The recent increases in the number of new cases is of concern because it may reflect increased exposures associated with Labor Day activities , ” said public health director Barbara Ferrer .
County health officials said they will be monitoring the numbers closely .
The report comes as the state is riding a new wave of success in combating the coronavirus , with hospitals treating the fewest patients with COVID-19 since April .
The percentage of tests coming back positive for the virus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Gavin Newsom saying the state is “ turning the corner.
” In L.A. County , health officials said Saturday that 732 people with COVID-19 are currently hospitalized , nearly a third of them in intensive care units .
In Orange County , 202 people are hospitalized , with 65 in intensive care units , according to the latest health data .
Orange County health officials also reported 4 new deaths , bringing the total to 1,127 .
More than a third of those were people in skilled nursing facilities , officials said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ new positive cases on Saturday , for a total of 51,873 .
Of those , 556 were jail inmates , the health agency said .
Of the deaths reported Saturday by L.A. County , five were over the age of 80 , three were between 65 and 79 years old , four were between 50 and 64 and one was younger than 30 .
Health officials said 92 % of the COVID-19 deaths in L.A. County have involved people with underlying health conditions .
Of the 2,529,785 individuals tested in L.A. County , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , officials said .

Los Angeles County reported another 1,343 cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, along with 13 additional deaths, according to figures released Saturday.
The coronavirus numbers, prepared by the Department of Public Health, bring the total number of positive COVID-19 cases to 259,817 countywide. So far, 6,330 people have died in the county due to complications from the disease.
Health officials said the number of new daily cases has climbed over the past four days. Although that could be the result of the reopening of testing centers and an increase in testing, it also may be linked to socializing during the recent holiday weekend, they said.
Advertisement
“The recent increases in the number of new cases is of concern because it may reflect increased exposures associated with Labor Day activities,” said public health director Barbara Ferrer.
County health officials said they will be monitoring the numbers closely. The report comes as the state is riding a new wave of success in combating the coronavirus, with hospitals treating the fewest patients with COVID-19 since April.
The percentage of tests coming back positive for the virus statewide is also lower , with Gov. Gavin Newsom saying the state is “turning the corner.”
In L.A. County, health officials said Saturday that 732 people with COVID-19 are currently hospitalized, nearly a third of them in intensive care units. In Orange County, 202 people are hospitalized, with 65 in intensive care units, according to the latest health data.
Orange County health officials also reported 4 new deaths, bringing the total to 1,127. More than a third of those were people in skilled nursing facilities, officials said.
In addition, Orange County logged 227 new positive cases on Saturday, for a total of 51,873. Of those, 556 were jail inmates, the health agency said.
Advertisement
Of the deaths reported Saturday by L.A. County, five were over the age of 80, three were between 65 and 79 years old, four were between 50 and 64 and one was younger than 30.
Health officials said 92% of the COVID-19 deaths in L.A. County have involved people with underlying health conditions. Of the 2,529,785 individuals tested in L.A. County, 10% were found to be positive, officials said.


latimes--2020-09-19--Video shows LAPD officer shooting protester in groin at close range

Newly released body camera video from protests in Los Angeles this summer shows L.A. police officers yanking a large protest sign from the hands of a man in a Hollywood intersection , shoving him backward as he puts his hands up , then shooting him in the groin with a projectile at close range .
Ben Montemayor , a 28-year-old filmmaker , suffered serious injuries to his testicles as a result and was rushed into emergency surgery , he told The Times in the days that followed .
The video raises new questions about the LAPD ’ s tactics during @ @ @ @ @ @ @ particularly in regard to their use of 40-millimeter projectiles — which , by policy , are not meant to be used on individuals for “ mere noncompliance.
” “ In some ways , it ’ s even worse than we thought , ” said Dan Stormer , one of Montemayor ’ s attorneys .
“ It ’ s not often you see something like this that is so cut and dried , but it ’ s pretty brutal.
” The LAPD launched an investigation last month into Montemayor ’ s shooting , citing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about Montemayor and other protesters who were injured by police during several days of demonstrations and unrest in late May and early June .
They released the video Friday .
Montemayor was injured as groups of officers in riot gear moved to establish skirmish lines and take control of the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Ivar Avenue about 2:40 p.m. June 2 .
Officers on police radios can be heard in the video voicing concern about rocks and bottles being thrown at officers , but Montemayor does not appear to pose any threat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are seen on each side of a large white sign that is covered in protest messages — including a call to defund police and another to protect local communities .
They are standing in the middle of a crosswalk .
As an officer grabs the woman , she drops her end of the sign before moving off-camera .
At the same time , an officer rushes toward Montemayor as he backs away , according to the video .
The officer rips the sign from Montemayor ’ s right hand as Montemayor puts his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officer is then seen shoving Montemayor back .
As Montemayor begins to slowly move forward again — he said in a later interview that he was going to help his friend , who had been thrown to the ground — a third officer steps forward and shoots him with a 40-mm projectile from several feet away .
Capt .
Stacy Spell , an LAPD spokesman , said Montemayor then left the scene , and has declined to answer questions from police since , referring them instead to his attorneys .
The LAPD ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in its early stages , Spell said , and no determinations have been made as to the appropriateness of the officers ’ actions .
LAPD policy requires such projectile weapons to be used only on individuals who present a clear and immediate threat , and who are specifically targeted and at least five feet away .
Officers are not to use the weapons in response to verbal threats or “ mere noncompliance.
” After he was shot , Montemayor said , one of his testicles swelled to twice its usual size , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ preserve his ability to father children .
He has said he intends to file a lawsuit against the LAPD .
On Saturday , he referred questions about the video to Stormer .
Stormer said Montemayor has filed a notice of claim with the city , a necessary step toward filing suit .
He said Montemayor was wise not to speak with internal affairs investigators because LAPD investigations of its own officers “ are a complete farce.
” “ They ’ re taking evidence and conducting an investigation to protect themselves from the lawsuit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The LAPD will have plenty of opportunity to hear from Montemayor during litigation , but it won ’ t change the fact that the officers ’ treatment of him , as captured in the video , was “ a brutal assault , ” Stormer said .
Already , the LAPD faces a large lawsuit from Black Lives Matter Los Angeles and other activist groups and protesters who allege that officers inappropriately used batons and projectile weapons to quell protests — violating people ’ s constitutional rights and injuring many in the process @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the protesters and an injunction that would preclude the LAPD from using such weapons against protesters in the future .
Carol Sobel , an attorney for the plaintiffs in the larger case , said the LAPD ’ s use of 40-mm projectiles like the one that struck Montemayor is a major concern in the litigation , because such weapons are not designed to disperse protesters but to “ incapacitate ” people .
The video in Montemayor ’ s case is the latest to be released by the department .
In July , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shot in the head with a projectile as he stood with his hands up in a street May 30 .
Last month the department released video of several clashes between officers and protesters , including one in which a protester appears to kick an officer , then get shot in the groin with a projectile .
Other video shows an officer getting pulled into a crowd by the neck , and a group of officers then swinging their batons into the crowd aggressively .
Several reviews of the LAPD ’ s handling of @ @ @ @ @

Newly released body camera video from the LAPD shows an officer shooting a demonstrator in the groin with a projectile at close range.
Newly released body camera video from protests in Los Angeles this summer shows L.A. police officers yanking a large protest sign from the hands of a man in a Hollywood intersection, shoving him backward as he puts his hands up, then shooting him in the groin with a foam projectile at close range.
Ben Montemayor, a 28-year-old filmmaker, suffered serious injuries to his testicles as a result and was rushed into emergency surgery, he told The Times in the days that followed.
The video raises new questions about the LAPD’s tactics during the summer’s tumultuous protests, particularly in regard to their use of 40-millimeter projectiles — which, by policy, are not meant to be used on individuals for “mere noncompliance.”
Advertisement
“In some ways, it’s even worse than we thought,” said Dan Stormer, one of Montemayor’s attorneys. “It’s not often you see something like this that is so cut and dried, but it’s pretty brutal.”
The LAPD launched an investigation last month into Montemayor’s shooting, citing a June 11 article in The Times about Montemayor and other protesters who were injured by police during several days of demonstrations and unrest in late May and early June. The department released the video Friday.
Montemayor was injured as groups of officers in riot gear moved to establish skirmish lines and take control of the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Ivar Avenue about 2:40 p.m. June 2.
Officers on police radios can be heard in the video voicing concern about rocks and bottles being thrown at officers, but Montemayor does not appear to pose any threat.
Instead, Montemayor and a woman are seen on each side of a large white sign that is covered in protest messages — including a call to defund police and another to protect local communities. They are standing in the middle of a crosswalk.
As an officer grabs the woman, she drops her end of the sign before moving out of view. At the same time, an officer rushes toward Montemayor as he backs away, according to the video. The officer rips the sign from Montemayor’s right hand as Montemayor puts his hands up in the video. Another officer is then seen shoving Montemayor back.
As Montemayor begins to slowly move forward again — he said in a later interview that he was going to help his friend, who had been thrown to the ground — a third officer steps forward and shoots him with a 40-millimeter projectile from several feet away.
Capt. Stacy Spell, an LAPD spokesman, said Montemayor then left the scene, and has declined to answer questions from police since, referring them instead to his attorneys.
The Los Angeles Police Department’s investigation into the incident is still in its early stages, Spell said, and no determinations have been made as to the appropriateness of the officers’ actions.
Advertisement
LAPD policy requires such projectile weapons to be used only on individuals who present a clear and immediate threat, and who are specifically targeted and at least five feet away. Officers are not to use the weapons in response to verbal threats or “mere noncompliance.”
After he was shot, Montemayor said, one of his testicles swelled to twice its usual size, and he was rushed into emergency surgery to preserve his ability to father children.
He has said he intends to file a lawsuit against the LAPD. On Saturday, he referred questions about the video to Stormer.
Stormer said Montemayor has filed a notice of claim with the city, a necessary step toward filing suit. He said Montemayor was wise not to speak with internal affairs investigators because LAPD investigations of its own officers “are a complete farce.”
“They’re taking evidence and conducting an investigation to protect themselves from the lawsuit that is coming,” Stormer said.
The LAPD will have plenty of opportunity to hear from Montemayor during litigation, but it won’t change the fact that the officers’ treatment of him, as captured in the video, was “a brutal assault,” Stormer said.
Already, the LAPD faces a large lawsuit from Black Lives Matter Los Angeles and other activist groups and protesters who allege that officers inappropriately used batons and projectile weapons to quell protests — violating people’s constitutional rights and injuring many in the process. That lawsuit seeks class status for the protesters and an injunction that would preclude the LAPD from using such weapons against protesters in the future.
Carol Sobel, an attorney for the plaintiffs in the larger case, said the LAPD’s use of 40-millimeter projectiles like the one that struck Montemayor is a major concern in the litigation, because such weapons are designed not to disperse protesters but to “incapacitate” people.
The video in Montemayor’s case is the latest to be released by the department.
In July, the department released video of a protester being shot in the head with a projectile as he stood with his hands up in a street May 30. Last month the department released video of several clashes between officers and protesters, including one in which a protester appears to kick an officer, then get shot in the groin with a projectile.
Other video shows an officer getting pulled into a crowd by the neck, and a group of officers then swinging their batons into the crowd aggressively.
Several reviews of the LAPD’s handling of the protests are pending.