latimes--2020-05-26--With clubs closed, underground parties thrive in Hollywood Hills. Authorities are cracking down

With nightclubs shuttered due to the coronavirus outbreak , short-term rentals of Hollywood Hills homes have become a spot for illicit underground parties .
Now , the Los Angeles city attorney and Los Angeles Police Department are warning homeowners they can be held accountable criminally and civilly for renter ’ s unruly parties .
The LAPD said it has responded to complaints about several parties in recent weeks .
The biggest occurred last week when police arrived at a home to find 100 people partying .
They then heard a gunshot and found a partygoer with an accidental self-inflicted gunshot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Hollywood United Neighborhood Council , said “ cabin fever has gotten to everyone.
” Irani said without clubs , hotels with swimming pools , people are flocking to the Hollywood Hills to party night and day .
Many , she said , making short-term rentals of larger homes are visitors from out of town .
“ By the time anything happens , they are up and gone , ” she said .
“ We have houses here with 12 people floating in the pool all day , ” she said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ said , one owner has been operating a four-bedroom house as a rental without the required registration for at least a month .
Calls to the police , City Hall and the city attorney haven ’ t changed that .
“ We tried to get them to wear a mask .
They ’ re walking down our streets in crowds , ” she said .
LAPD Officer Ralph Sanchez , senior lead officer for the area , has a message to people looking for a replacement for the closed clubs : “ Please @ @ @ @ @ @ @ party.
” Hollywood Station Capt .
Steve Lurie said that last week , they received 49 calls about parties , 15 % to 20 % more than normal for a Memorial Day weekend .
“ It is taking up a lot of officers ’ time , ” Lurie said Asst .
Chief Robert Arcos said the department is doing its best to get all those party complaint calls at a time when officers are undertaking additional tasks .
“ As you know , we are stretching deployment to cover beaches and support all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Los Angeles city attorney ‘ s office said it will be more than a slap on the wrist for the homeowner if they have a history of partying renters .
Ethan Weaver , the Hollywood area prosecutor for Los Angeles city attorney ’ s office , said , “ if police are called to the location of a party , there will be consequences .
The consequences can range from a citation up to criminal prosecution and six months in jail .
Those consequences don ’ t just apply to the person @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to ... the homeowner .
If your house has been cited for a party violation in the past , you as a property owner can be held responsible even if you are not present.
” Los Angeles police say the party house issue emerged a few years ago with the explosion of short-term rentals through services such as Airbnb .
Since Gov .
Gavin Newsom , Los Angeles County and L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti in March instituted the stay-at-home orders to slow the spread of the coronavirus through social distancing , the LAPD @ @ @ @ @ @ @ steady stream of complaints of loud parties with music and voices at all hours of the night echoing through the tight canyons and narrow hillside arteries .
Those reports include jam-packed hillside parking , public intoxication and people urinating outside people ’ s homes .
The issue came to a head May 16 , when officers entered a raging party at a 4,000-square-foot luxury home rented out for the weekend and heard the shooting in the 1400 block of Miller Drive .
Josh Rubenstein , the LAPD communications director , said the investigation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ party .
Three guns were recovered from the scene , he said .
The house had been rented out and used for the party , Rubenstein said , and the owner of the property was seemingly unaware of the plan for its use during the short-term rental .
That home was not rented out under the most popular short-term rental service , Airbnb .
- That company has cracked down on such violations since the pandemic , warning property owners they will be forbidden from using the service if it is discovered they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Gatherings of any size are prohibited under the stay-at-home orders issued by L.A. County and the state .
Hollywood Hills party houses have been a problem well before coronavirus .
In 2018 , the City Council approved a party house ordinance proposed and championed by Councilman David Ryu , who represents the Hollywood Hills .
That law imposed fines on both event hosts and homeowners .
Ryu is now looking at expanding the law to crack down on those who continue to flout the law and put others at risk .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nightclubs have been a problem for years .
It ’ s why we passed the party house ordinance in 2018 .
This has always been dangerous , but during a pandemic it is especially selfish and stupid , ” Ryu said .
“ This is no longer a standard of life issue , it ’ s a standard of health issue .
Whether it ’ s by expanding the party house law or stronger enforcement of physical distancing rules , we must crack down on these parties and hold party hosts and homeowners @ @ @

Short-term rentals in the Hollywood Hills have become party hot spots during the coronavirus lockdown.
With nightclubs closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak, short-term rental homes in the Hollywood Hills have become hot spots for illicit parties.
Now, the Los Angeles Police Department and city attorney are warning homeowners that they can be held criminally and civilly accountable for renters’ unruly parties.
The LAPD said it has responded to complaints about several parties in recent weeks. The biggest occurred May 16, when police arrived at a home to find 100 people partying. They then heard a gunshot and found a partygoer with an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound.
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“Cabin fever has gotten to everyone,” said Sheila Irani, a member of the Hollywood United Neighborhood Council.
Irani said people are flocking to the Hollywood Hills to party night and day. Many of the short-term rentals of large homes are going to visitors from out of town.
“By the time anything happens, they are up and gone,” she said. “We have houses here with 12 people floating in the pool all day.”
In the Lake Hollywood Estates, she said, one owner has been operating a four-bedroom house as a rental without the required registration for at least a month. Calls to the police, City Hall and the city attorney haven’t changed that.
“We tried to get them to wear a mask. They’re walking down our streets in crowds,” she said.
Ralph Sanchez, LAPD’s senior lead officer for the area, has a message to people looking for a replacement for closed nightclubs: “Please don’t come up here to party.”
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Capt. Steve Lurie said his Hollywood station last week received 49 calls about parties, 15% to 20% more than usual for a Memorial Day weekend.
“It is taking up a lot of officers’ time,” Lurie said.
LAPD Asst. Chief Robert Arcos said the department is doing its best to respond to party complaint calls at a time when officers are undertaking additional tasks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “As you know, we are stretching deployment to cover beaches and support all tiered openings,” he said.
The Los Angeles city attorney’s office said homeowners with a history of renting to partyers will face more than a slap on the wrist.
“If police are called to the location of a party, there will be consequences,” said Ethan Weaver, the Hollywood-area prosecutor for the city attorney’s office. “The consequences can range from a citation up to criminal prosecution and six months in jail. Those consequences don’t just apply to the person throwing the party; it can apply to ... the homeowner. If your house has been cited for a party violation in the past, you as a property owner can be held responsible even if you are not present.”
Police say the party-house issue emerged a few years ago with the explosion of short-term rentals through services such as Airbnb.
Since Gov. Gavin Newsom and L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti in March instituted stay-at-home orders to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, the LAPD’s Hollywood Division has gotten a steady stream of complaints of loud parties, with music and voices echoing through the tight canyons and narrow hillside arteries at all hours of the night.
Those complaints include jam-packed hillside parking, public intoxication and partygoers urinating outside people’s homes.
With bars & clubs closed due to COVID 19, we have seen an increase in calls for loud house parties in the Hollywood Hills. Our Senior Lead Officers as well as Ethan Weaver from the @CityAttorneyLA office put together a video with info on nuisance party laws in LA. pic.twitter.com/kGN5NG7IG6 — LAPD Hollywood Division (@LAPDHollywood) May 26, 2020
The issue came to a head May 16, when officers entered a raging party at a 4,000-square-foot luxury home in the 1400 block of Miller Drive, which had been rented for the weekend, and heard a gunshot. Josh Rubenstein, the LAPD communications director, said the investigation determined that there was gang activity at the party. Three guns were recovered from the scene, he said.
The house had been rented out for the party, Rubenstein said, and the owner of the property was seemingly unaware of the plan for its use.
That home was not rented via the most popular short-term rental service, Airbnb. That company has cracked down on such violations since the pandemic, warning property owners that they will be forbidden from using the service if it is discovered they rented to people throwing parties.
Gatherings of any size are prohibited under the stay-at-home orders issued by L.A. County and the state.
Hollywood Hills party houses were a problem well before coronavirus.
In 2018, the City Council approved an ordinance proposed and championed by Councilman David Ryu, who represents the Hollywood Hills, that imposed fines on both party hosts and homeowners.
Ryu is now looking at expanding the law to crack down on those who continue to flout the law and put others at risk.
“Party promoters turning homes into de facto nightclubs have been a problem for years. It’s why we passed the party-house ordinance in 2018. This has always been dangerous, but during a pandemic it is especially selfish and stupid,” Ryu said.
“This is no longer a standard-of-life issue; it’s a standard-of-health issue. Whether it’s by expanding the party-house law or stronger enforcement of physical distancing rules, we must crack down on these parties and hold party hosts and homeowners accountable.”


latimes--2020-05-26--Earthquake: 3.6 quake near El Centro, Calif.

A magnitude-3.6 earthquake was reported at 12:53 p.m. Tuesday 11 miles from El Centro , Calif. , according to the U.S. Geological Survey .
The earthquake occurred 12 miles from Imperial , Calif. , 13 miles from Calexico , Calif. , 20 miles from Brawley , Calif. and 54 miles from Alpine , Calif .
In the past 10 days , there has been one earthquake of magnitude 3.0 or greater centered nearby .
An average of 234 earthquakes with magnitudes of 3.0 to 4.0 occur each year in California and Nevada , according to a recent three-year data sample @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of 6.3 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 ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ system , visit our list of frequently asked questions .

A magnitude-3.6 earthquake was reported at 12:53 p.m. Tuesday 11 miles from El Centro, Calif., according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The earthquake occurred 12 miles from Imperial, Calif., 13 miles from Calexico, Calif., 20 miles from Brawley, Calif. and 54 miles from Alpine, Calif.
In the past 10 days, there has been one earthquake of magnitude 3.0 or greater centered nearby.
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An average of 234 earthquakes with magnitudes of 3.0 to 4.0 occur each year in California and Nevada, according to a recent three-year data sample.
The earthquake occurred at a depth of 6.3 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, visit our list of frequently asked questions.


latimes--2020-05-26--Hair salons, barbershops can reopen now, in Stage 3 of Newsom's plan

Gov .
Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday that counties can begin to reopen hair salons and barbershops , marking a transition to the third stage of a plan to ease his stay-at-home order as California nears 100,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 .
With cases on track to nearly double in the month of May , the governor has pointed to steady hospitalizations and other metrics as proof that the state is bending the curve .
Los Angeles County , which accounts for the bulk of the state ’ s COVID-19 cases and more than half of its reported deaths , is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to push further in reopening .
Newsom ’ s move to resume salon services , under a county-by-county approach , adds to a growing list of activities , including in-person shopping and eating at restaurants , that Newsom has permitted at a regional or statewide level over the last month .
But even as the governor walked back his original March 19 stay-at-home order after some counties openly defied his rules , he warned that the virus will remain a threat in California for months to come .
“ The reality is , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
“ It hasn ’ t ended .
And while we are moving forward because of stabilization , because of the good work that ’ s been done by health officials all across this nation , all across the state of California , specifically , to suppress the spread of this virus , by no stretch of the imagination is this virus behind us.
” Newsom said counties that elected to reopen salons must meet the criteria to move ahead of the current statewide restrictions and require shops to take precautions to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weaves , extensions , braiding , lock maintenance , wig maintenance , hair relaxing treatments and color services will be allowed , according to a 10-page guidance document released by the state .
Other work that requires employees to touch a client ’ s face , such as facials and eyelash and eyebrow services , will remain suspended .
To date , Newsom said 47 out of 58 California counties had met the state ’ s regional standards , which include preparations to increase hospital capacity , testing and supplies of protective equipment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Supervisors meeting Tuesday , officials debated whether to work with the state to allow individual cities to progress at different speeds .
Some supervisors say such a patchwork plan is necessary to help businesses survive ; others argue that it poses problems .
“ We have to express extreme caution , ” Supervisor Hilda Solis said .
The governor unveiled the new directive for salons the day after his administration issued statewide guidelines for religious services , calling on houses of worship to limit attendance to 25 % of capacity , conduct @ @ @ @ @ @ @ precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 .
Amid mounting pressure from protesters and President Trump , state health officials strongly recommended that churches continue remote services to protect the elderly and those with chronic conditions .
The Newsom administration on Monday also allowed retail stores to reopen in California , shifting away from an earlier patchwork approach that permitted in-person shopping only in counties that met the state ’ s criteria .
Retailers are advised to limit the number of patrons in stores at one time , to urge the use of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and to provide hand sanitizer , in addition to other guidelines .
Under Newsom ’ s original four-stage reopening plan , hair salons , barbershops , nail salons and other grooming services , gyms , sports competitions in empty stadiums and religious services were set to open in Stage 3 .
The governor made no mention Tuesday of sports returning or gyms opening , which is expected to begin later on in the third stage .
The fourth and final stage would mark the end of the stay-at-home order and all restrictions , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sporting events , which the governor previously noted was unlikely to occur until a vaccine became widely available .
As of Tuesday , confirmed cases of COVID-19 in California had reached 99,090 while 3,806 people had died , according to The Times ’ coronavirus tracker .

Rosa Pedraza cuts Robert Nunez’s hair at Rosa Hair Salon in Atwater, Calif., on Tuesday. Pedraza has owned the business for 17 years.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday that counties can begin to reopen hair salons and barbershops, marking a transition to the third stage of a plan to ease his stay-at-home order as California nears 100,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
With cases on track to nearly double in the month of May, the governor has pointed to steady hospitalizations and other metrics as proof that the state is bending the curve.
The shears will not be snipping immediately in Los Angeles County, however. The county, which accounts for the bulk of the state’s COVID-19 cases and more than half of its reported deaths, is one of 11 the state has not yet allowed to push further in reopening.
At the Hair Event in Fullerton, Kristy Rana, far left, threads Maureen Harry’s eyebrows, salon owner Zaharia Bala cuts Ahmad Bitar’s hair, center, and Kylee Liu cuts Anthony Arevalo’s hair on Tuesday. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Both L.A. County and city restrictions are more severe than the statewide ones.
Newsom’s move to resume salon services, under a county-by-county approach, adds to a growing list of activities, including in-person shopping and eating at restaurants, that the governor has permitted at a regional or statewide level over the last month.
But even as the governor walked back his original March 19 stay-at-home order after some counties openly defied his rules, he warned that the coronavirus will remain a threat in California for months to come.
“The reality is, this has just begun,” Newsom said. “It hasn’t ended. And while we are moving forward because of stabilization, because of the good work that’s been done by health officials all across this nation, all across the state of California, specifically, to suppress the spread of this virus, by no stretch of the imagination is this virus behind us.”
Dan Collins, co-owner of Skyline Barbershop in Temecula, cuts Gene Kelley’s hair on Tuesday, the first day they could open. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
Newsom said counties that elected to reopen salons must meet the criteria to move ahead of the current statewide restrictions and require shops to take precautions to protect workers and patrons.
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To date, Newsom said 47 out of 58 California counties had met the state’s regional standards, which include preparations to increase hospital capacity, testing and supplies of protective equipment.
After a closed-session meeting on Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors announced it would submit a variance application to the state, which if approved would allow the county to advance further into Newsom’s plan for reopening the state.
If granted the variance, the county could accelerate reopening some businesses, including in-person dining at restaurants, which have been shuttered by the coronavirus outbreak.
“We have to express extreme caution,” Supervisor Hilda Solis said earlier in the meeting.
Pedro Delafuente, co-owner of Old Town Barber in Temecula, gives 14-year-old Chris Kavanaugh Jr. a haircut Tuesday. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
Late Tuesday afternoon, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health released a new order that sets the stage for the variance request.
Under the shift, faith-based organizations can resume services, with the number of congregants limited to 25% of the building’s capacity, or a maximum of 100 people, whichever is lower.
All retail establishments, including those in indoor and outdoor shopping centers, can open for business at 50% capacity; flea markets, swap meets and drive-in movie theaters can also resume operations. Pools, hot tubs and saunas that are in a multi-unit residence or part of a homeowners association can also open.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti also announced Tuesday that all retail businesses in the city will be able to allow customers inside their stores starting Wednesday, as long as they adopt the county’s safety protocols.
× Despite the growth in coronavirus infections, the governor has eased many of the restrictions of his original stay-at-home order.
“We’ve earned the right” to do it, Garcetti said at a media briefing.
Churches and other houses of worship also will be allowed to reopen, he said, but must follow the state’s guideline of limiting services to 25% of their normal capacity, or 100 people, whichever is smaller.
Restaurants are still restricted to take-out services, he said.
Hours after Newsom’s news conference, salons were already open. Some businesses were taking more precautions than others, highlighting concerns that the state’s decision to move forward could backfire.
A 10-page guidance document released by the state said haircuts, weaves, extensions, braiding, wig maintenance, hair-relaxing treatments and color services could begin again. Other work that requires employees to touch a client’s face, such as facials and eyelash and eyebrow services, will remain suspended.
The state’s rules require customers and workers to wear face masks and advise shops to stagger appointments and create more physical distance between chairs.
At Old Town Barbers in Temecula, nearly a dozen people waited for haircuts. The owners sanitized the shop, but workers said they didn’t believe that masks were necessary.
“Since we opened back up to the public, we’ve been slammed all day,” said Nick Hernandez, a co-owner of the shop. “Everyone is thankful and glad we’re here. They’re ready to get back to real life.”
The barbershop had been forced to lay off workers and now faces bills for months of unpaid rent.
“Every day we were closed we were getting deeper in a hole,” he said. “It’s going to be rocky for a couple months, at least.”
Barbers were wearing masks and wiping down surface at Legends Barber Shop in Murrieta. Owner Bryan de la Torre said some of his barbers were hesitant to return to work out of concern about catching the virus. That left him with just two workers on a Tuesday afternoon shift that would have been staffed with 13 before the pandemic hit.
Dizan Perez, a regular at Legends, said it was his first haircut in three months and he missed having conversations with his barber. He said he wasn’t worried about his safety.
“I’m young enough,” Perez said. “I’m healthy. I take care of myself.”
In California and in many parts of the country, barbershops have previously opened in secret or in defiance of stay-at-home orders, at some risk to employees and customers. In New York state, a barber who continued cutting hair in his home ended up testing positive for the coronavirus.
As of Tuesday, confirmed cases of COVID-19 in California had reached 99,308 while 3,817 people had died, according to The Times’ coronavirus tracker.
The governor unveiled the new directive for salons the day after his administration issued statewide guidelines for religious services, calling on houses of worship to limit attendance to 25% of capacity, conduct health screenings of congregants and take other precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Amid mounting pressure from protesters and President Trump, state health officials strongly recommended that churches continue remote services to protect the elderly and those with chronic conditions.
The Newsom administration on Monday also allowed retail stores to reopen in California, shifting away from an earlier patchwork approach that permitted in-person shopping only in counties that met the state’s criteria.
Retailers are advised to limit the number of patrons in stores at one time, to urge the use of face masks by employees and customers, and to provide hand sanitizer, in addition to other guidelines.
Tracking the coronavirus in California The latest maps and charts on the spread of COVID-19 in California.
Under Newsom’s original four-stage reopening plan, hair salons, barbershops, nail salons and other grooming services, gyms, sports competitions in empty stadiums and religious services were set to open in Stage 3. A spokesman for the governor said sporting events, gyms and theme parks could receive the green light to return later on in the third stage.
The fourth and final stage would mark the end of the stay-at-home order and all restrictions, allowing people to return to concerts and sporting events, which the governor previously noted was unlikely to occur until a vaccine became widely available.
The governor joked Tuesday that three of his young children did not properly sanitize their work space or respect physical distancing rules over the weekend when they cut his hair, which had grown noticeably long compared with his typically coiffed appearance.
“It was a family effort to remove what was described by my wife, forgive me, as a mullet,” Newsom said. “Our family will have to read these guidelines as well and make sure we modify our family behavior accordingly.”
Times staff writers Jaclyn Cosgrove and Sarah Parvini in Los Angeles contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-05-26--3 Metro buses catch fire in Carson; one person injured

Los Angeles County firefighters worked to extinguish a blaze at a transportation hub in Carson where three Metro buses caught @ @ @ @ @ L.A. County Fire Department received a call at 10:26 a.m. , and firefighters were dispatched @ @ @ @ @ South Wilmington Avenue in Carson , between East Dominguez Street and East 213 Street , @ @ @ @ @ The area is a mix of residential and industrial buildings , with manufacturing , transportation @ @ @ @ @ South Wilmington Avenue .
It was not immediately clear how the buses caught fire .
@ @ @ @ @ three vehicles used compressed natural gas for power .
Photographs from the scene showed a @ @ @ @ @ hosed down next to a line of orange Metro buses that had not been touched @ @ @ @ @ said one person was transported to a hospital with minor injuries .

Los Angeles County firefighters worked to extinguish a blaze at a transportation hub in Carson where three Metro buses caught fire Tuesday morning.
The L.A. County Fire Department received a call at 10:26 a.m., and firefighters were dispatched to the 21000 block of South Wilmington Avenue in Carson, between East Dominguez Street and East 213 Street, spokeswoman Leslie Lua said.
LARGE VEHICLE FIRE | FS10 #Carson | 21222 S Wilmington Ave | BC7 reports (3) Metro buses well involved. All (3) buses are CNG (compressed natural gas) powered. This is now the”Metro Incident”. E10 E105 Q127 S10 handling. #MetroIC #LACoFD — LACoFD Incident Alerts (@lacfd) May 26, 2020
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The area is a mix of residential and industrial buildings, with manufacturing, transportation and distribution companies running along South Wilmington Avenue.
It was not immediately clear how the buses caught fire. The Fire Department said all three vehicles used compressed natural gas for power.
Photographs from the scene showed a trio of charred buses being hosed down next to a line of orange Metro buses that had not been touched by the fire.
Authorities said one person was transported to a hospital with minor injuries.


latimes--2020-05-26--Los Angeles opens its largest coronavirus testing site at Dodger Stadium

The city of Los Angeles opened its largest coronavirus testing site Tuesday at Dodger Stadium , where up to 6,000 people can be tested daily .
“ This builds on our work we ’ ve been doing [ over the ] past weeks and months , ” Mayor Eric Garcetti said during a news conference , shortly after being one of the first people tested at the new site .
“ We want testing to be easy , accessible and free for everybody here in Los Angeles.
” The drive-through facility will have big screens showing videos demonstrating how to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ waiting in line .
The city is partnering with the Los Angeles Fire Department and the Community Organized Relief Effort , a nonprofit co-founded by Sean Penn , which will oversee operations and have 60 staffers helping .
About two months ago , Dodgers Chief Executive Stan Kasten said 40,000 people had been tested at a site already operating at the stadium .
With this new undertaking , Kasten said , more people can be tested in one week than in the 10 previous weeks combined .
“ This is how we come @ @ @ @ @ @ @ back to normal , ” he said .
Los Angeles has tested 450,000 people across more than 10 testing sites , and more than half have already received their results , Garcetti said .
He said people can also expect a quicker turnaround time now , with results in 30 hours or so rather than days .
Los Angeles County reported 1,047 new COVID-19 cases and 12 more deaths on Monday , bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 46,018 and fatalities to 2,116 .
People can find a testing site or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( 213 ) 978-1028 or visiting the city ’ s coronavirus website .

A worker directs cars at the new drive-through coronavirus testing center at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday.
The city of Los Angeles opened its largest coronavirus testing site Tuesday at Dodger Stadium, where up to 6,000 people can be tested daily.
“This builds on our work we’ve been doing [over the] past weeks and months,” Mayor Eric Garcetti said during a news conference, shortly after being one of the first people tested at the new site. “We want testing to be easy, accessible and free for everybody here in Los Angeles.”
The drive-through facility will have big screens showing videos demonstrating how to administer a self-test to help prepare those waiting in line.
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The city is partnering with the Los Angeles Fire Department and the Community Organized Relief Effort, a nonprofit co-founded by Sean Penn, which will oversee operations and have 60 staffers helping.
About two months ago, Dodgers Chief Executive Stan Kasten said 40,000 people had been tested at a site already operating at the stadium. With this new undertaking, Kasten said, more people can be tested in one week than in the 10 previous weeks combined.
“This is how we come back. This is how we get back to normal,” he said.
Proud to announce that on Tuesday, the city will open a new testing site at @Dodgers Stadium in partnership with @CoreResponse and @LAFD. We'll be able to test up to 6,000 Angelenos there per day.
Sign up to get tested at https://t.co/rHWABmXUEl. — MayorOfLA (@MayorOfLA) May 23, 2020
Los Angeles has tested 450,000 people across more than 10 testing sites, and more than half have already received their results, Garcetti said. He said people can also expect a quicker turnaround time now, with results in 30 hours or so rather than days.
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Los Angeles County reported 1,047 new COVID-19 cases and 12 more deaths on Monday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 46,018 and fatalities to 2,116.
People can find a testing site or sign up for a test by calling (213) 978-1028 or visiting the city’s coronavirus website.


latimes--2020-05-26--Eaton Canyon closed till June 1 after being overrun by visitors

A popular hiking area in Pasadena has been closed for the rest of the month amid concerns that crowded conditions could pose health risks .
Officials closed Eaton Canyon on Sunday after the area was overwhelmed by crowds .
The Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation said the area would be shuttered for the remainder of the Memorial Day weekend “ due to overwhelming crowds that were not following the COVID-19 public health requirements.
” On Tuesday , officials extended the order and reminded hikers of the rules : • Users are encouraged to check the Trails LA @ @ @ @ @ @ @ updated lists of openings , safety guidelines , notifications and up-to-date information .
The website offers information for more than 600 miles of trails , including those managed by partner agencies .
• Download the Trails LA County mobile app before heading out for real-time updates and offline location tracking and trail information .
• Do not visit public trails and trailheads if feeling sick or exhibiting any symptoms of illness .
• Follow all posted regulations at trails and trailhead facilities .
• Physical distancing of six feet is required .
No @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in parking lots .
• Limit visits to members of your household only .
• Everyone needs a face covering at the trailhead/parking lots and on any trails where there are other groups of people nearby .
• Infants and children under age 2 should not wear cloth face coverings .
Those ages 2- 8 should use them but under adult supervision to ensure that the child can breathe safely and avoid choking or suffocation .
Children with breathing problems should not wear a face covering .
• Consider avoiding popular locations that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trail users of your presence and step aside to let others pass .
• Bring water , hand sanitizer or disinfecting wipes to wash or sanitize hands frequently .
• Practice the leave-no-trace principles on the trails to protect park staff and wildlife .
Remove trash .
Overall , officials said there were no major problems at beaches during Memorial Day , though some places , such as the Venice Boardwalk , saw dense crowds with some people not wearing masks .
Warm conditions this week are expected to lure more people outdoors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ heat wave will bake Southern California through Thursday , boosting the mercury to dangerously high levels in some inland areas and parching vegetation that could serve as fuel for , forecasters say .
Inland areas will see maximum temperatures 10 to 18 degrees above normal , with many valleys hitting the 90s and some cracking triple digits , according to the National Weather Service .
The coast will have a more subtle uptick , with temperatures four to six degrees warmer than usual for this time of year .

Visitors stream in and out of Eaton Canyon Natural Area park on Sunday in Pasadena during the Memorial Day weekend, before the Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation Department closed the trails.
A popular hiking area in Pasadena has been closed for the rest of the month amid concerns that crowded conditions could pose health risks.
Officials closed Eaton Canyon on Sunday after the area was overwhelmed by crowds.
🚨 Eaton Canyon Natural Areas & Trails are closed for the rest of today & Memorial Day, May 25, due to overwhelming crowds that were not following the COVID-19 public health requirements. No walk-ins.📢 Review guidelines here- https://t.co/4DXeR4vkTw pic.twitter.com/PGQiBnRAuN — Los Angeles County Parks & Recreation (@lacountyparks) May 24, 2020
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The Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation said the area would be shuttered for the remainder of the Memorial Day weekend “due to overwhelming crowds that were not following the COVID-19 public health requirements.” On Tuesday, officials extended the order and reminded hikers of the rules:
Users are encouraged to check the Trails LA County website before visiting trails for an updated lists of openings, safety guidelines, notifications and up-to-date information. The website offers information for more than 600 miles of trails, including those managed by partner agencies.
Download the Trails LA County mobile app before heading out for real-time updates and offline location tracking and trail information.
Do not visit public trails and trailheads if feeling sick or exhibiting any symptoms of illness.
Follow all posted regulations at trails and trailhead facilities.
Physical distancing of six feet is required. No group gatherings are allowed on trails or in parking lots.
Limit visits to members of your household only.
Everyone needs a face covering at the trailhead/parking lots and on any trails where there are other groups of people nearby. Infants and children under age 2 should not wear cloth face coverings. Those ages 2- 8 should use them but under adult supervision to ensure that the child can breathe safely and avoid choking or suffocation. Children with breathing problems should not wear a face covering.
Consider avoiding popular locations that are prone to crowds.
Alert trail users of your presence and step aside to let others pass.
Bring water, hand sanitizer or disinfecting wipes to wash or sanitize hands frequently.
Practice the leave-no-trace principles on the trails to protect park staff and wildlife. Remove trash.
Overall, officials said there were no major problems at beaches during Memorial Day, though some places, such as the Venice Boardwalk, saw dense crowds with some people not wearing masks.
Warm conditions this week are expected to lure more people outdoors, particularly to the beaches.
A heat wave will bake Southern California through Thursday, boosting the mercury to dangerously high levels in some inland areas and parching vegetation that could serve as fuel for brush fires , forecasters say.
Inland areas will see maximum temperatures 10 to 18 degrees above normal, with many valleys hitting the 90s and some cracking triple digits, according to the National Weather Service.
The coast will have a more subtle uptick, with temperatures four to six degrees warmer than usual for this time of year.


latimes--2020-05-26--Coronavirus 'silent spreaders' become a bigger risk as California reopens

The role of “ silent spreaders ” in transmitting the coronavirus is becoming an even greater issue for health officials as they ease stay-at-home rules and slowly reopen the economy .
Health officials have stressed the importance of creating an army of disease detectives — investigators who can interview newly infected people and find their close contacts , telling them to quarantine themselves for 14 days in hopes of keeping other people from getting infected .
But if many people who get the virus don ’ t show symptoms and yet are infectious , the disease could spread invisibly , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Health experts say it can take a few days from the time a person becomes infected , and could infect others , and the point at which they begin to show signs of illness .
It ’ s called “ presymptomatic transmission.
” There ’ s also “ asymptomatic transmission , ” in which infected people show no serious signs of illness but still can spread the disease .
There ’ s increasing concern that silent spreaders are playing a large role in the transmission of COVID-19 , which is becoming the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
With a possible new surge in coronavirus cases in the fall , being able to find those people becomes more crucial .
Identifying silent spreaders also is important as California eases stay-at-home rules now , allowing people to eat inside restaurants , shop in stores , go to beaches and parks , and resume in-person church services .
All these activities come with strict social distancing rules designed to make it harder to spread the virus .
But scientists and officials say that reopening brings new risks , especially when people who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are out and about .
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates there ’ s a 20 % -to-50 % chance that those infected with the coronavirus do not show symptoms .
Yet even those asymptomatic people may be just as capable of transmitting the disease as other infected people who eventually become visibly sick , the CDC said .
That ’ s why it ’ s so important to adhere to social distancing and wearing masks , experts say .
“ The best way to protect yourself — and to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ infected — is to treat it as though everyone is potentially infected , ” said Dr. Robert Kim-Farley , medical epidemiologist and infectious disease expert at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health .
“ Keep that social distancing .
And keep that masking on.
” Kim-Farley said images of large numbers of people gathering closely together without masks is going to result in increased spread of the coronavirus .
It can take two to four weeks before an accelerating rate of infections can be observed in worsening hospitalization numbers and a rising @ @ @ @ @ @ @ social distancing , we are going to definitely see some increased spikes and transmission occurring .
That ’ s definitely going to happen , ” said Kim-Farley , a former senior official with the L.A. County Department of Public Health , the CDC and World Health Organization .
“ We ’ ve made it clear that there ’ s asymptomatic spread , and that means that people are spreading the virus unknowingly .
And this is unusual in the case of respiratory diseases ... so you don ’ t know who ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the White House ’ s coronavirus response coordinator , told ABC News on Sunday .
Of 402 residents and workers testing positive for the coronavirus at Los Angeles County nursing homes , 345 of them had no symptoms of illness , the director of health services , Barbara Ferrer , said last week .
In other words , 86 % of people testing positive at scores of skilled nursing facilities across the nation ’ s most populous counties had no symptoms of the disease when they were tested .
This is not the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ large numbers of presymptomatic or asymptomatic infected people .
A UC San Francisco study conducted in late April found that , among several thousand residents and workers in San Francisco ’ s Mission District , 62 people tested positive for COVID-19 — but more than half of them , 53 % , had no symptoms at the time they were tested .
An editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine in late April called asymptomatic transmission of the coronavirus “ the of COVID-19 pandemic control through the public health strategies we have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” the editorial said , “ clearly sheds at high concentrations from the nasal cavity even before symptom development.
” In another , also published in the New England Journal of Medicine , 56 % of residents at a skilled nursing facility in Washington state ’ s King County who initially tested positive in a survey of patients showed no symptoms at the time , but most later did show signs of illness .
It took a median of four days for them to show symptoms .
Visibly healthy people can also other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people , such as attempting to screen incoming airline passengers from overseas countries .
And a silent spreader can transmit the coronavirus simply by talking .
Loud talking can emit thousands of saliva droplets per second , and researchers recently found that , in a stagnant air environment , droplets of fluid sprayed from the mouth remained in the air for as long as before drying up .
“ These observations confirm that there is a substantial probability that normal speaking causes airborne virus transmission in confined environments , ” said the authors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the National Academy of Sciences on May 13 .
Pre-symptomatic people have been identified as the index patient in a number of outbreaks .
In the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou , one person who had just returned from Wuhan — the epicenter of the global pandemic — was pre-symptomatic while eating lunch on Jan. 24 at a restaurant with family .
Scientists concluded that person infected two other families sitting at neighboring tables about three feet away , according to a report published by the CDC .
Scientists suspect that infected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ride on air flows powered by an air-conditioning system .
In Singapore , pre-symptomatic tourists from Wuhan visited a church in Singapore on Jan. 19 and started showing symptoms several days later .
Three other people who attended the same church on the same day also got sick , including one who sat in the same seat as the tourists , according to closed-circuit camera video documented in a CDC report .
Officials did not uncover any symptomatic church attendees who visited that day .
It ’ s easier to suffocate a disease @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in which infectiousness occurs after symptoms show up , Kim-Farley said .
For instance , there are very few asymptomatic cases of measles , and officials can identify cases , isolate them , find the infected person ’ s close contacts and quarantine them , snuffing out an outbreak .
But diseases where there ’ s a large share of asymptomatic cases can be far harder to deal with .
For instance , for every 100 people who were infected with polio , only about one person fell ill with paralysis , Kim-Farley @ @ @ @ @ @ @ highly asymptomatic .
So that ’ s why you really can ’ t do contact tracing for polio , because for every case that you identify that has symptoms , there are 99 others that don ’ t .
So it ’ s silently spread in the community.
” That ’ s why , in the years before the polio vaccine was available on a large scale in the mid-1950s , many parents kept their children at home , even in the summer when the spread of the virus seemed to peak .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s most feared diseases , more than 35,000 people a year , on average .
There are some estimates that suggest the proportion of asymptomatic patients may be even higher than what the CDC has said publicly : Experts estimate that 25 % to 75 % of coronavirus infections may be asymptomatic , Kim-Farley said .
If it ’ s on the higher end , even public health officials with robust disease-detective resources could fail to detect much of the spread of the disease In such a situation , health officials should @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vulnerable , like those in nursing homes , until the number of new cases falls to essentially zero , Kim-Farley said .
Silent spread of the coronavirus is all the more reason to wear masks in public , Dr. George Rutherford , an epidemiology and infectious-disease expert at UC San Francisco , said Thursday in a campus webinar .
“ What we ’ re really trying to do is prevent transmission from talking , ” Rutherford said .
“ We ’ re trying to ... prevent people who are asymptomatically infected from transmitting.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ masks a century earlier .
In an unearthed photo showing fans at a Georgia Tech football game during the 1918 flu pandemic , most people are wearing masks .
“ As you can see , everybody in the stands has on masks .
So that ’ s what ’ s gon na help us out , ” Rutherford said .
Face coverings not only help keep asymptomatic people from transmitting the virus to others , he said , but they also provide some protection to the wearer .
The White House ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , saying on ABC News , “ Social distancing is absolutely critical .
And if you can ’ t social distance and you ’ re outside , you must wear a mask .
These are items that are really critical to protect individuals.
” She said it would also be important to proactively test asymptomatic people , such as residents and workers at nursing homes and workers at meatpacking plants and in agriculture .
The coronavirus can spread rapidly in the right conditions .
“ What I ’ m worried about is : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ find asymptomatic cases ?
” Birx said .
“ All of this proactive testing needs to be in place — and needs to continue to be in place — because that will determine safely remaining open in the fall .
”

The role of “silent spreaders” in transmitting the coronavirus is becoming an even greater issue for health officials as they ease stay-at-home rules and slowly reopen the economy.
Health officials have stressed the importance of creating an army of disease detectives — investigators who can interview newly infected people and find their close contacts, telling them to quarantine themselves for 14 days in hopes of keeping other people from getting infected.
But if many people who get the virus don’t show symptoms and yet are infectious, the disease could spread invisibly, beyond the reach of county health officials.
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Health experts say it can take a few days from the time a person becomes infected, and could infect others, and the point at which they begin to show signs of illness. It’s called “presymptomatic transmission.” There’s also “asymptomatic transmission,” in which infected people show no serious signs of illness but still can spread the disease.
Science & Medicine How ‘silent spreaders’ are fueling the coronavirus pandemic One of the biggest challenges in trying to contain the coronavirus is that an unknown number of people are spreading it when they don’t even seem sick themselves.
There’s increasing concern that silent spreaders are playing a large role in the transmission of COVID-19, which is becoming the greatest public health threat of the century. With a possible new surge in coronavirus cases in the fall, being able to find those people becomes more crucial.
Identifying silent spreaders also is important as California eases stay-at-home rules now, allowing people to eat inside restaurants, shop in stores, go to beaches and parks, and resume in-person church services.
All these activities come with strict social distancing rules designed to make it harder to spread the virus. But scientists and officials say that reopening brings new risks, especially when people who have the illness but show no symptoms are out and about.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates there’s a 20%-to-50% chance that those infected with the coronavirus do not show symptoms. Yet even those asymptomatic people may be just as capable of transmitting the disease as other infected people who eventually become visibly sick, the CDC said.
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That’s why it’s so important to adhere to social distancing and wearing masks, experts say.
“The best way to protect yourself — and to protect others in case you yourself were infected — is to treat it as though everyone is potentially infected,” said Dr. Robert Kim-Farley, medical epidemiologist and infectious disease expert at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. “Keep that social distancing. And keep that masking on.”
Kim-Farley said images of large numbers of people gathering closely together without masks is going to result in increased spread of the coronavirus. It can take two to four weeks before an accelerating rate of infections can be observed in worsening hospitalization numbers and a rising weekly death toll.
“Without having social distancing, we are going to definitely see some increased spikes and transmission occurring. That’s definitely going to happen,” said Kim-Farley, a former senior official with the L.A. County Department of Public Health, the CDC and World Health Organization.
Federal officials have echoed those warnings.
“We’ve made it clear that there’s asymptomatic spread, and that means that people are spreading the virus unknowingly. And this is unusual in the case of respiratory diseases ... so you don’t know who’s infected,” Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House’s coronavirus response coordinator, told ABC News on Sunday.
Of 402 residents and workers testing positive for the coronavirus at Los Angeles County nursing homes, 345 of them had no symptoms of illness, the director of public health, Barbara Ferrer, said last week. In other words, 86% of people testing positive at scores of skilled nursing facilities across the nation’s most populous counties had no symptoms of the disease when they were tested.
This is not the only study to raise concerns about the large numbers of presymptomatic or asymptomatic infected people. A UC San Francisco study conducted in late April found that, among several thousand residents and workers in San Francisco’s Mission District, 62 people tested positive for COVID-19 — but more than half of them, 53%, had no symptoms at the time they were tested.
An editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine in late April called asymptomatic transmission of the coronavirus “the Achilles’ heel of COVID-19 pandemic control through the public health strategies we have currently deployed.”
“Live coronavirus,” the editorial said, “clearly sheds at high concentrations from the nasal cavity even before symptom development.”
In another study , also published in the New England Journal of Medicine, 56% of residents at a skilled nursing facility in Washington state’s King County who initially tested positive in a survey of patients showed no symptoms at the time, but most later did show signs of illness. It took a median of four days for them to show symptoms.
Visibly healthy people can also be omitted from other efforts aimed at trying to identify infected people, such as attempting to screen incoming airline passengers from overseas countries.
And a silent spreader can transmit the coronavirus simply by talking. Loud talking can emit thousands of saliva droplets per second, and researchers recently found that, in a stagnant air environment, droplets of fluid sprayed from the mouth remained in the air for as long as eight to 14 minutes before drying up.
“These observations confirm that there is a substantial probability that normal speaking causes airborne virus transmission in confined environments,” said the authors in the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on May 13.
Pre-symptomatic people have been identified as the index patient in a number of outbreaks.
In the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, one person who had just returned from Wuhan — the epicenter of the global pandemic — was pre-symptomatic while eating lunch on Jan. 24 at a restaurant with family. Scientists concluded that person infected two other families sitting at neighboring tables about three feet away, according to a report published by the CDC. Scientists suspect that infected droplets from the index patient hitched a ride on air flows powered by an air-conditioning system.
In Singapore, pre-symptomatic tourists from Wuhan visited a church in Singapore on Jan. 19 and started showing symptoms several days later. Three other people who attended the same church on the same day also got sick, including one who sat in the same seat as the tourists, according to closed-circuit camera video documented in a CDC report. Officials did not uncover any symptomatic church attendees who visited that day.
It’s easier to suffocate a disease where the symptoms are obvious, and in which infectiousness occurs after symptoms show up, Kim-Farley said. For instance, there are very few asymptomatic cases of measles, and officials can identify cases, isolate them, find the infected person’s close contacts and quarantine them, snuffing out an outbreak.
But diseases where there’s a large share of asymptomatic cases can be far harder to deal with. For instance, for every 100 people who were infected with polio, only about one person fell ill with paralysis, Kim-Farley said. “So it’s highly asymptomatic. So that’s why you really can’t do contact tracing for polio, because for every case that you identify that has symptoms, there are 99 others that don’t. So it’s silently spread in the community.”
That’s why, in the years before the polio vaccine was available on a large scale in the mid-1950s, many parents kept their children at home, even in the summer when the spread of the virus seemed to peak. Polio was once one of the nation’s most feared diseases, crippling more than 35,000 people a year, on average.
There are some estimates that suggest the proportion of asymptomatic patients may be even higher than what the CDC has said publicly: Experts estimate that 25% to 75% of coronavirus infections may be asymptomatic, Kim-Farley said. If it’s on the higher end, even public health officials with robust disease-detective resources could fail to detect much of the spread of the disease
In such a situation, health officials should take aggressive measures to protect the most vulnerable, like those in nursing homes, until the number of new cases falls to essentially zero, Kim-Farley said.
Silent spread of the coronavirus is all the more reason to wear masks in public, Dr. George Rutherford, an epidemiology and infectious-disease expert at UC San Francisco, said Thursday in a campus webinar.
“What we’re really trying to do is prevent transmission from talking,” Rutherford said. “We’re trying to ... prevent people who are asymptomatically infected from transmitting.”
America learned the lesson of wearing masks a century earlier. In an unearthed photo showing fans at a Georgia Tech football game during the 1918 flu pandemic, most people are wearing masks.
In 1918 Georgia Tech played almost a complete football schedule during the Spanish Flu outbreak that killed more than 675,000 in the US. Coached by the legendary John Heisman, The Golden Tornadoes, played six games at Grant Field. 📸:Andy McNeil, PP 01. https://t.co/KJYbe9onFE pic.twitter.com/Q7UPEMahf8 — Georgia Tech Alumni (@gtalumni) May 13, 2020
“As you can see, everybody in the stands has on masks. So that’s what’s gonna help us out,” Rutherford said.
Face coverings not only help keep asymptomatic people from transmitting the virus to others, he said, but they also provide some protection to the wearer.
The White House’s Birx has emphasized the importance of masks, saying on ABC News, “Social distancing is absolutely critical. And if you can’t social distance and you’re outside, you must wear a mask. These are items that are really critical to protect individuals.”
She said it would also be important to proactively test asymptomatic people, such as residents and workers at nursing homes and workers at meatpacking plants and in agriculture. The coronavirus can spread rapidly in the right conditions.
“What I’m worried about is: What are we putting in place to find asymptomatic cases?” Birx said. “All of this proactive testing needs to be in place — and needs to continue to be in place — because that will determine safely remaining open in the fall.”


latimes--2020-05-26--Heat wave to bake parts of Southern California, dry out vegetation that can fuel fires

A heat wave will bake Southern California through Thursday , boosting the mercury to dangerously high levels in some inland areas and parching vegetation that could serve as fuel for brush fires , forecasters say .
Inland areas will see maximum temperatures 10 to 18 degrees above normal , with many valleys hitting the 90s and some cracking triple digits , according to the National Weather Service .
The coast will have a more subtle uptick , with temperatures 4 to 6 degrees warmer than usual for this time of year .
Hardest hit locally will be the Antelope Valley @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the mid-100s .
The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning for the region , indicating that conditions will significantly increase the potential for heat-related illnesses — particularly among vulnerable populations such as children and seniors , according to Kristen Stewart , a meteorologist at the agency ’ s Oxnard office .
“ That ’ s kind of our hot spot , ” she said of the Antelope Valley .
The heat wave is expected to be more uncomfortable than unprecedented in Los Angeles County , Stewart said , with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but not record-breaking .
Other areas of the state have already had to rewrite their record books , though .
Downtown Sacramento hit 100 degrees Monday , tying a daily record set in 1951 .
Records for the day were set in downtown Oakland , at 91 degrees ; Kentfield , 95 ; and San Francisco International Airport , 90 .
San Jose and Gilroy also tied historical records , hitting 95 and 98 degrees , respectively , according to the weather service .
Fresno and Bakersfield also could topple temperature records , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is in effect through Thursday evening for the San Joaquin Valley and Sierra Nevada foothills .
Although forecasters don ’ t believe this week ’ s heat wave will result in immediate fire danger , “ the extended hot and dry conditions will continue to dry out the fine fuels , increasing the threat of grass fires , especially across interior areas , ” according to an agency forecast .
The Los Angeles County Fire Department already made quick work of one such blaze , which blackened 10 acres in Pomona on Monday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ potential for that when you have hot temperatures and kind of dry air and all that , ” Stewart said .
“ We still are not expecting critical danger , due to the fact that we have more moist fuels from all the recent rains the past couple months.
” But vegetation drying out now “ will be a concern later on , ” she added .
The heat wave also will take its toll on air quality .
Given the expected high temperatures , the South Coast Air Quality Management District has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ afternoon .
The amount of smog will likely reach unhealthful levels in the Santa Clarita , San Fernando , San Gabriel and Coachella valleys , as well as the Inland Empire and San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains , according to the district .
When that occurs , “ people with heart or lung disease , older adults and children should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion , ” district officials said in a statement .
“ Everyone else should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion .
”

Smokey Bear wears a mask as a sign warns of High Fire Danger at the Riverside Drive and Los Feliz Boulevard entrance to Griffith Park on Tuesday.
A heat wave will bake Southern California through Thursday, boosting the mercury to dangerously high levels in some inland areas and parching vegetation that could serve as fuel for brush fires, forecasters say.
Inland areas will see maximum temperatures 10 to 18 degrees above normal, with many valleys hitting the 90s and some cracking triple digits, according to the National Weather Service.
The coast will have a more subtle uptick, with temperatures 4 to 6 degrees warmer than usual for this time of year.
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Maria Huff, 68, of Atwater Village uses an umbrella in Glendale on Tuesday. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times)
Hardest hit locally will be the Antelope Valley, where the mercury could top out in the mid-100s.
The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning for the region, indicating that conditions will significantly increase the potential for heat-related illnesses — particularly among vulnerable populations such as children and seniors, according to Kristen Stewart, a meteorologist at the agency’s Oxnard office.
“That’s kind of our hot spot,” she said of the Antelope Valley.
The heat wave is expected to be more uncomfortable than unprecedented in Los Angeles County, Stewart said, with temperatures that are “unseasonably warm” but not record-breaking.
Jovanny Luis, 18, takes a water break while playing basketball with friends Tuesday at Sgt. Steve Owen Memorial Park in Lancaster. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
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Other areas of the state have already had to rewrite their record books, though. Downtown Sacramento hit 100 degrees Monday, tying a daily record set in 1951.
Records for the day were set in downtown Oakland, at 91 degrees; Kentfield, 95; and San Francisco International Airport, 90.
San Jose and Gilroy also tied historical records, hitting 95 and 98 degrees, respectively, according to the weather service.
Fresno and Bakersfield also could topple temperature records, forecasters say. An excessive heat warning is in effect through Thursday evening for the San Joaquin Valley and Sierra Nevada foothills.
🌡⚠NEW TEMPERATURE RECORDS⚠🌡
New Record:
Kentfield: 95 (Prev. 92, 1992)
SFO: 90 (87, 1951)
Oakland D'town: 91 (90, 1975)
Tied Record:
San Jose: 95 (1982)
Gilroy: 98 (1982) — NWS Bay Area (@NWSBayArea) May 26, 2020
Although forecasters don’t believe this week’s heat wave will result in immediate fire danger, “the extended hot and dry conditions will continue to dry out the fine fuels, increasing the threat of grass fires, especially across interior areas,” according to an agency forecast.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department already made quick work of one such blaze, which blackened 10 acres in Pomona on Monday.
“There’s always the potential for that when you have hot temperatures and kind of dry air and all that,” Stewart said. “We still are not expecting critical danger, due to the fact that we have more moist fuels from all the recent rains the past couple months.”
California May showers sprinkle Southern California Most areas of Los Angeles County will see a quarter-inch or less of rain, which rarely falls at all this time of year, according to the National Weather Service.
But vegetation drying out now “will be a concern later on,” she added.
The heat wave also will take its toll on air quality. Given the expected high temperatures, the South Coast Air Quality Management District has issued a wide ozone advisory through Friday afternoon.
South Coast Daily Air Quality Forecast: Tues 5/26: https://t.co/szsyGAFunD#LosAngeles: Moderate / Unhealthy for Sens. Gr. / Unhealthy#Orange: Good / Moderate#Riverside: Moderate / Unhealthy for Sens. Gr. / Unhealthy#SanBernardino: Moderate / Unhealthy for Sens. Gr / Unhealthy pic.twitter.com/Ztlu5EcNLL — South Coast AQMD (@SouthCoastAQMD) May 26, 2020
The amount of smog will likely reach unhealthful levels in the Santa Clarita, San Fernando, San Gabriel and Coachella valleys, as well as the Inland Empire and San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains, according to the district.
When that occurs, “people with heart or lung disease, older adults and children should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion,” district officials said in a statement. “Everyone else should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion.”


latimes--2020-05-26--California's battle over reopening churches isn't over despite new coronavirus rules

California ’ s new plan to allow churches and religious institutions to reopen in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic marks a major step forward .
But it still will alter religious services in dramatic ways , and it ’ s unlikely to end the push by some churches to allow more regular operations .
Gov .
Gavin Newsom has faced lawsuits from religious groups over the stay-at-home rules and has so far been victorious in court .
On Friday night , the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on in-person church services .
“ We ’ re dealing here with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for which there presently is no known cure .
In the words of Justice Robert Jackson , if a “ [ c ] ourt does not temper its doctrinaire logic with a little practical wisdom , it will convert the constitutional Bill of Rights into a suicide pact , ’ ” the majority wrote .
But critics say the new rules are still too restrictive .
“ An artificial 25 % or 100-person limitation on a house of worship is inconsistent with the absence of such limitations on retail establishments , ” said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Center for American Liberty .
“ Simply put , Gov .
Newsom lacks authority to dictate to California ’ s faithful how they may worship .
Guidelines , suggestions , education , and support are all welcome .
Secular dictates that do not apply to other categories of our daily lives are not welcome and not constitutional.
” Here are some of the basic guidelines : • Houses of worship must limit total attendance to 25 % of a building ’ s capacity for the first three weeks of services and stop passing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other precautions .
• Congregants must be screened for fever or other symptoms of illness and are asked to use hand sanitizer and wear face coverings .
• Houses of worship have been told to discourage the sharing of items , including prayer books , cushions and rugs .
• Staff , visitors and congregants are discouraged from singing , holding potluck meals and shaking hands and hugging .
• High-traffic areas , such as chapels and libraries , must be thoroughly cleaned , and common surfaces such as pulpits , pews , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ frequently .
, released by the California Department of Public Health and Cal/OSHA , does not obligate churches , mosques , temples and other houses of worship to resume in-person activity , officials said .
In fact , state health authorities strongly recommend that places of worship “ continue to facilitate remote services and other related activities for those who are vulnerable to COVID19 including older adults and those with co-morbidities.
” The vast majority of California churches have complied with the stay-at-home order .
But there have been some exceptions .
More @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pentecost Sunday .
On Friday , President Trump made an unexpected appearance in the White House briefing room to declare that he was designating so they could immediately reopen .
Trump previously said he would leave decisions about easing public health guidance to states but often criticized decisions by individual governors .
The president has now threatened that he will “ override ” states that don ’ t heed his directive .
It was not clear to which authority he was referring .
The occupancy limit for services will remain in place for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health department has approved the resumption of religious services and cultural ceremonies within their jurisdiction , the guidance states .
After 21 days , the California Department of Public Health , in consultation with county health officials , will review and assess the effect of the imposed limits and provide further direction as part of a phased-in restoration of activities in places of worship .
Some churches have already announced reopening proposals .
The announced plans for public Masses to resume in phases in Orange County starting June 14 .
The first phase @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to gather for limited Mass , church officials said Friday in a news release .
The second phase will allow for larger groups ; the third will permit choirs and social gatherings .
All phases will require participants to follow strict guidelines for social distancing and disinfection , officials said .
“ The pandemic is far from over , so we will begin with small steps , ” Diocese of Orange Bishop Kevin Vann said in a statement .
“ Realizing that reinfection is a concern , as we saw occurred in Texas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pastors to prepare their churches to ensure that these guidelines are followed without exception.
” In Orange County , the bishop ’ s advisors have been working on reopening guidelines for weeks , in consultation with county officials and medical experts , the release said .
Those older than 65 or who have an underlying health condition will be encouraged not to return when churches initially reopen , as will anyone who is sick or lives with someone who is sick .
Holy-water fonts will remain empty , hymnals will be removed , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ touch one another , including during greetings .
Church rituals that require touching , like the sign of peace , will be suspended .
In most cases , churches will be required to limit their capacity to one-third of normal attendance , officials said .
More Masses will be offered than usual , and people will be encouraged to come throughout the week to avoid crowding on Sundays .
Vann extended a dispensation from the obligation to attend Mass on Sunday to permit the shift .
The bishop also granted a temporary dispensation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ church buildings , including in gyms , parish halls and outdoor spaces .
The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego also has begun planning to safely welcome back parishioners .
The diocese has determined that in-person daily Masses can begin June 8 , and it set June 14 as the target date for parishes to celebrate Sunday Mass , with significant steps required to enforce social distancing .
The plan is still being developed , taking into account guidance from county and state health officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention @ @ @ @ @ @ @ changes , including shorter Masses , protective masks for parishioners , no choir or singing and attendance at 25 % to 50 % of capacity , among other things , said Kevin Eckery , vice chancellor of the diocese and a spokesperson for the diocese .
“ We don ’ t want people to go back and think it ’ s just like normal , ” Eckery said .
“ No , it ’ s going to be the new normal .
We are not going to do anything that endangers parishioners and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the virus .
”

Monte Morin, Alex Wigglesworth, Mike Freeman

The Rev. Joe O’Neill celebrates Mass inside an empty Holy Family Church in South Pasadena, on Palm Sunday, April 5. The church has been livestreaming its services during stay-at-home orders.
California’s new plan to allow churches and religious institutions to reopen in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic marks a major step forward.
But it still will alter religious services in dramatic ways, and it’s unlikely to end the push by some churches to allow more regular operations.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has faced lawsuits from religious groups over the stay-at-home rules and has so far been victorious in court.
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On Friday night, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Newsom’s ban on in-person church services.
“We’re dealing here with a highly contagious and often fatal disease for which there presently is no known cure. In the words of Justice Robert Jackson, if a “[c]ourt does not temper its doctrinaire logic with a little practical wisdom, it will convert the constitutional Bill of Rights into a suicide pact,’” the majority wrote.
But critics say the new rules are still too restrictive.
“An artificial 25% or 100-person limitation on a house of worship is inconsistent with the absence of such limitations on retail establishments,” said Harmeet Dhillon, chief executive of the Center for American Liberty. “Simply put, Gov. Newsom lacks authority to dictate to California’s faithful how they may worship. Guidelines, suggestions, education, and support are all welcome. Secular dictates that do not apply to other categories of our daily lives are not welcome and not constitutional.”
Here are some of the basic guidelines:
• Houses of worship must limit total attendance to 25% of a building’s capacity for the first three weeks of services and stop passing offering plates, in addition to taking other precautions.
• Congregants should be screened for fever or other symptoms of illness and are asked to use hand sanitizer and wear face coverings.
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• Houses of worship have been told to discourage the sharing of items, including prayer books, cushions and rugs.
• Staff, visitors and congregants are discouraged from singing, holding potluck meals and shaking hands and hugging.
• High-traffic areas, such as chapels and libraries, must be thoroughly cleaned, and common surfaces such as pulpits, pews, altars and donation boxes must be disinfected frequently.
The 13-page document , released by the California Department of Public Health and Cal/OSHA, does not obligate churches, mosques, temples and other houses of worship to resume in-person activity, officials said. In fact, state health authorities strongly recommend that places of worship “continue to facilitate remote services and other related activities for those who are vulnerable to COVID19 including older adults and those with co-morbidities.”
Political pressure points
The vast majority of California churches have complied with the stay-at-home order. But there have been some exceptions.
More than 1,200 pastors vowed to hold in-person services on May 31, Pentecost Sunday.
On Friday, President Trump made an unexpected appearance in the White House briefing room to declare that he was designating churches as “essential” businesses so they could immediately reopen.
Trump previously said he would leave decisions about easing public health guidance to states but often criticized decisions by individual governors. The president has now threatened that he will “override” states that don’t heed his directive. It was not clear to which authority he was referring.
What’s next?
The occupancy limit for services will remain in place for the first 21 days after a county health department has approved the resumption of religious services and cultural ceremonies within their jurisdiction, the guidance states.
After 21 days, the California Department of Public Health, in consultation with county health officials, will review and assess the effect of the imposed limits and provide further direction as part of a phased-in restoration of activities in places of worship.
Some churches have already announced reopening proposals.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange announced plans for public Masses to resume in phases in Orange County starting June 14.
The first phase includes allowing small groups of healthy people to gather for limited Mass, church officials said Friday in a news release. The second phase will allow for larger groups; the third will permit choirs and social gatherings. All phases will require participants to follow strict guidelines for social distancing and disinfection, officials said.
“The pandemic is far from over, so we will begin with small steps,” Diocese of Orange Bishop Kevin Vann said in a statement. “Realizing that reinfection is a concern, as we saw occurred in Texas and elsewhere, I am asking our pastors to prepare their churches to ensure that these guidelines are followed without exception.”
In Orange County, the bishop’s advisors have been working on reopening guidelines for weeks, in consultation with county officials and medical experts, the release said.
Those older than 65 or who have an underlying health condition will be encouraged not to return when churches initially reopen, as will anyone who is sick or lives with someone who is sick.
Holy-water fonts will remain empty, hymnals will be removed, and people will be instructed not to touch one another, including during greetings. Church rituals that require touching, like the sign of peace, will be suspended.
In most cases, churches will be required to limit their capacity to one-third of normal attendance, officials said. More Masses will be offered than usual, and people will be encouraged to come throughout the week to avoid crowding on Sundays. Vann extended a dispensation from the obligation to attend Mass on Sunday to permit the shift.
The bishop also granted a temporary dispensation allowing priests to celebrate Mass outside of church buildings, including in gyms, parish halls and outdoor spaces.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego also has begun planning to safely welcome back parishioners.
The diocese has determined that in-person daily Masses can begin June 8, and it set June 14 as the target date for parishes to celebrate Sunday Mass, with significant steps required to enforce social distancing.
The plan is still being developed, taking into account guidance from county and state health officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But it will likely mean big changes, including shorter Masses, protective masks for parishioners, no choir or singing and attendance at 25% to 50% of capacity, among other things, said Kevin Eckery, vice chancellor of the diocese and a spokesperson for the diocese.
“We don’t want people to go back and think it’s just like normal,” Eckery said. “No, it’s going to be the new normal. We are not going to do anything that endangers parishioners and families, or do anything that spreads the virus.”


latimes--2020-05-26--Banks: Once homeless, a student loses 100 pounds and fends off isolation with teachers' help

High school senior Keith Wallick really wants to go to college .
“ I know I have to go to make myself better , ” he says .
But young Keith really did not want to go to school .
As a freshman , he “ was very outspoken about his feelings , ” recalls Susana Ansley-Gutierrez , principal of Santee Education Complex in South Los Angeles .
“ I would run into him on the quad , and he ’ d say , ‘ Miss , I don ’ t really like school .
Why do I even have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , she would learn , had dimensions beyond the academic .
It was hard just getting to and from campus .
Keith and his mother had been homeless since he was in seventh grade , moving into and out of motels .
His first year at Santee “ was the most difficult , ” he said .
“ The motel was far from school , so I was late a lot.
” As a new student , making friends did not come easy .
Keith began ninth grade weighing more than 400 pounds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sick about it , ” he said .
“ Not liking myself because of my size.
” It was hard for Keith to open up to his teachers about his weight , his loneliness or his living situation .
But once he did , school officials stepped up .
They provided him with a loaded TAP fare card , so he could ride the Blue Line to school and not have to depend on his mom .
And with that simple gesture , he dropped his guard .
Keith got to know his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ They were like life coaches for me , ” he said .
They taught him to enjoy healthful meals and encouraged exercise .
Keith , who walked the track at school every day for years , shed more than 100 pounds .
When Keith showed a talent for painting , they suggested he expand his métier and take up dancing , fashion design and performance art .
Which he did .
His horizons broadened , “ and he matured into this amazing young man , ” his principal says , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ He went from ‘ Miss , I don ’ t like school ’ to being one of the most involved students on campus.
” This spring , Keith moved a step closer to his dream when college acceptance letters arrived .
He was offered admission to three art colleges and decided on the Art Academy of Cincinnati , which offered a scholarship to cover his tuition .
But before that prospect could even sink in , COVID-19 landed , scrambling plans he thought were secure .
He ’ d arranged to work @ @ @ @ @ @ @ airfare and dorm fees , but jobs disappeared with coronavirus closures .
Now school counselors and a local nonprofit are trying to raise money for him .
Keith is still determined to head to Cincinnati in the fall .
But in a scenario familiar to multitudes of students since their campuses shut down , he ’ s struggling now to muster the enthusiasm that successful distance learning requires .
He lives with an older brother and several children in a crowded Watts apartment .
He has to stash his unfinished paintings in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bother them .
He misses his teachers , the energy of classmates at work and a school storeroom stocked with the paintbrushes , colors and canvases he needs .
Student artists tend to be particularly frustrated by online classes , said Rubi Fregosa , arts education coordinator with the Partnership for L.A. Schools , a nonprofit that oversees Santee and 17 other LAUSD schools .
“ In the visual arts , there are a lot of specific tools you utilize … things that students may not have at home and don ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also tend to be more engaged with school than their peers and more motivated to take on challenges , she said .
“ The arts provide support for social and emotional growth .
... Once students are able to find a passion , able to identify and explore their own interests , they are better able to set and pursue goals .
“ They feel empowered , ” Fregosa said .
“ That ’ s especially beneficial for the highest-needs students.
” There are Keiths in every school , all across Los Angeles @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wayward children whose gifts have yet to be discovered .
Keith ’ s art teacher Carlos Vargas was once one of them .
“ I was a kid who was only good at art , ” he recalls .
“ I think we are underestimated .
… When schools create an environment with music and art , kids can be creative and not be judged for it in a negative way .
“ Judgments might be harsh in math and science and English , ” he said .
“ Teachers say , ‘ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not that way.
’ In art , you have to find all the good in the work that they do.
” It wasn ’ t hard for him to find the good in Keith ’ s artwork .
The teen ’ s portfolio is so sophisticated he ’ s been officially deemed “ gifted ” in the arts .
Keith ’ s specialty is dramatic impressionist portraits , particularly of African American women .
“ I focus on them because that ’ s what I grew up with , ” he explains .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , my mother , my aunt ... Women basically made me who I am .
And they ’ re not always appreciated as they should be .
“ To Vargas , Keith ’ s style resembles the early work of Los Angeles artist Kehinde Wiley , a former student who ’ s now a national treasure .
Wiley was commissioned to paint the presidential portrait of Barack Obama that ’ s now on display in the Smithsonian ’ s National Portrait Gallery .
“ Somehow , watching Keith makes me feel like I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ someone who wants to break the cycle , ” he said .
“ He ’ s incredibly gifted , incredibly passionate , incredibly resilient.
” Talking with Vargas took me back to junior high school , to Ishmael Johnson , an art teacher who helped shape my life , even though he doesn ’ t know it .
I signed up for his class because it sounded better than Home Ec .
Mr. Johnson found something to praise in every project I did .
I was convinced I had a gift .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t it .
But the year I spent in Mr. Johnson ’ s class fortified my confidence in a way that , to this day , emboldens me .
He celebrated my willingness to take creative risks .
He taught me that art involved seeing with your heart as well as with your eyes .
That ’ s a gift from him that I still rely on today .
For Keith , art was a lifeline tossed to him by another Santee teacher .
He can ’ t recall her name , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ face , ” he said .
She was exasperated because he was such a chatterbox ; he kept disrupting the class .
“ She wanted to occupy me so I wouldn ’ t talk so much , ” Keith said .
She told him he might be good at art .
“ She said I should take a class.
” That teacher could have focused on disciplining him and sent him to the dean instead .
But she cared enough to look for a way to channel his mental energy .
Keith took @ @ @ @ @ @ @ class ; his talent emerged , and a disgruntled teen became a confident young man .
That ’ s a lesson in how important thoughtful actions can be , particularly those little things we ’ re not liable to see when we ’ re obsessing over school test scores and judging overloaded teachers .
Keith may be the object of this column , but the subject is the community of teachers , classmates and administrators who cared enough to lift him up .
It ’ s a given that homebound students are losing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s story spotlights a less tangible but just as important cost of campus closures : the loss of ordinary moments that bond young people to their schools , their classmates , their teachers and their talents .
In adolescence , particularly , it ’ s easy for isolation to hijack a good day .
It ’ s easy to feel deserted when you ’ re separated from your friends .
And it ’ s easy to feel angry or depressed because you ’ re missing art class or softball or band .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Santee principal Ansley-Gutierrez admits .
“ Everyone is having to adjust to this new normal .
That can really be difficult for students , to not have that social connection with their peers , to miss the teachers they have found a support system around.
`` After all , a student ’ s future depends on more than good grades and high test scores .
There are all kinds of interactions and opportunities in schools that can change a student ’ s trajectory — the TAP card Keith ’ s school handed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of independence , personal connections that promoted trust .
His relationships with teachers who shared their lunches and their lives , putting him on a path to better health .
And the academic accomplishments , even in a single class , that build confidence and allow every student to see themselves as gifted .

Keith Wallick, 17, poses for a portrait in his South L.A. neighborhood. Wallick struggled in school until he found art.
High school senior Keith Wallick really wants to go to college. “I know I have to go to make myself better,” he says.
But young Keith really did not want to go to school.
As a freshman, he “was very outspoken about his feelings,” recalls Susana Ansley-Gutierrez, principal of Santee Education Complex in South Los Angeles. “I would run into him on the quad, and he’d say, ‘Miss, I don’t really like school. Why do I even have to come?’”
His reluctance, she would learn, had dimensions beyond the academic.
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It was hard just getting to and from campus. Keith and his mother had been homeless since he was in seventh grade, moving into and out of motels. His first year at Santee “was the most difficult,” he said. “The motel was far from school, so I was late a lot.”
As a new student, making friends did not come easy. Keith began ninth grade weighing more than 400 pounds. “I started feeling kind of sick about it,” he said. “Not liking myself because of my size.”
It was hard for Keith to open up to his teachers about his weight, his loneliness or his living situation. But once he did, school officials stepped up. They provided him with a loaded TAP fare card, so he could ride the Blue Line to school and not have to depend on his mom.
And with that simple gesture, he dropped his guard. Keith got to know his teachers and recognized what caring looked like.
“They were like life coaches for me,” he said. They taught him to enjoy healthful meals and encouraged exercise. Keith, who walked the track at school every day for years, shed more than 100 pounds.
Keith Wallick, holding one of his works, has a choice of scholarships to three different college arts programs. (Gabriella Angotti-Jones / Los Angeles Times)
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When Keith showed a talent for painting, they suggested he expand his métier and take up dancing, fashion design and performance art. Which he did.
His horizons broadened, “and he matured into this amazing young man,” his principal says, as Keith prepares to graduate next month. “He went from ‘Miss, I don’t like school’ to being one of the most involved students on campus.”
◆
This spring, Keith moved a step closer to his dream when college acceptance letters arrived. He was offered admission to three art colleges and decided on the Art Academy of Cincinnati, which offered a scholarship to cover his tuition.
But before that prospect could even sink in, COVID-19 landed, scrambling plans he thought were secure. He’d arranged to work this summer to earn money for his airfare and dorm fees, but jobs disappeared with coronavirus closures. Now school counselors and a local nonprofit are trying to raise money for him.
Keith is still determined to head to Cincinnati in the fall. But in a scenario familiar to multitudes of students since their campuses shut down, he’s struggling now to muster the enthusiasm that successful distance learning requires.
He lives with an older brother and several children in a crowded Watts apartment. He has to stash his unfinished paintings in a closet so the kids don’t bother them. He misses his teachers, the energy of classmates at work and a school storeroom stocked with the paintbrushes, colors and canvases he needs.
Student artists tend to be particularly frustrated by online classes, said Rubi Fregosa, arts education coordinator with the Partnership for L.A. Schools, a nonprofit that oversees Santee and 17 other LAUSD schools. “In the visual arts, there are a lot of specific tools you utilize … things that students may not have at home and don’t have access to. “
But those students also tend to be more engaged with school than their peers and more motivated to take on challenges, she said. “The arts provide support for social and emotional growth. ... Once students are able to find a passion, able to identify and explore their own interests, they are better able to set and pursue goals.
“They feel empowered,” Fregosa said. “That’s especially beneficial for the highest-needs students.”
There are Keiths in every school, all across Los Angeles: struggling students with hidden challenges. Wayward children whose gifts have yet to be discovered.
Keith’s art teacher Carlos Vargas was once one of them. “I was a kid who was only good at art,” he recalls. “I think we are underestimated. … When schools create an environment with music and art, kids can be creative and not be judged for it in a negative way.
“Judgments might be harsh in math and science and English,” he said. “Teachers say, ‘No, do it this way, not that way.’ In art, you have to find all the good in the work that they do.”
It wasn’t hard for him to find the good in Keith’s artwork. The teen’s portfolio is so sophisticated he’s been officially deemed “gifted” in the arts.
A work by Keith Wallick. (Gabriella Angotti-Jones / Los Angeles Times)
Keith’s specialty is dramatic impressionist portraits, particularly of African American women. “I focus on them because that’s what I grew up with,” he explains. “I was raised by my grandma, my mother, my aunt... Women basically made me who I am. And they’re not always appreciated as they should be. “
To Vargas, Keith’s style resembles the early work of Los Angeles artist Kehinde Wiley, a former student who’s now a national treasure. Wiley was commissioned to paint the presidential portrait of Barack Obama that’s now on display in the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. “Somehow, watching Keith makes me feel like I’m watching this whole rebirth of someone who wants to break the cycle,” he said. “He’s incredibly gifted, incredibly passionate, incredibly resilient.”
Talking with Vargas took me back to junior high school, to Ishmael Johnson, an art teacher who helped shape my life, even though he doesn’t know it. I signed up for his class because it sounded better than Home Ec. Mr. Johnson found something to praise in every project I did. I was convinced I had a gift. I realized in high school that art wasn’t it.
But the year I spent in Mr. Johnson’s class fortified my confidence in a way that, to this day, emboldens me. He celebrated my willingness to take creative risks. He taught me that art involved seeing with your heart as well as with your eyes. That’s a gift from him that I still rely on today.
For Keith, art was a lifeline tossed to him by another Santee teacher. He can’t recall her name, “but I can still see her face,” he said.
She was exasperated because he was such a chatterbox; he kept disrupting the class. “She wanted to occupy me so I wouldn’t talk so much,” Keith said. She told him he might be good at art. “She said I should take a class.”
That teacher could have focused on disciplining him and sent him to the dean instead. But she cared enough to look for a way to channel his mental energy. Keith took her advice and enrolled in Vargas’ class; his talent emerged, and a disgruntled teen became a confident young man.
That’s a lesson in how important thoughtful actions can be, particularly those little things we’re not liable to see when we’re obsessing over school test scores and judging overloaded teachers.
Keith may be the object of this column, but the subject is the community of teachers, classmates and administrators who cared enough to lift him up.
It’s a given that homebound students are losing academic ground this spring. But Keith’s story spotlights a less tangible but just as important cost of campus closures: the loss of ordinary moments that bond young people to their schools, their classmates, their teachers and their talents.
In adolescence, particularly, it’s easy for isolation to hijack a good day. It’s easy to feel deserted when you’re separated from your friends. And it’s easy to feel angry or depressed because you’re missing art class or softball or band.
“I worry about our students,” Santee principal Ansley-Gutierrez admits. “Everyone is having to adjust to this new normal. That can really be difficult for students, to not have that social connection with their peers, to miss the teachers they have found a support system around. “
After all, a student’s future depends on more than good grades and high test scores. There are all kinds of interactions and opportunities in schools that can change a student’s trajectory — the TAP card Keith’s school handed him that that gave him a sense of independence, personal connections that promoted trust. His relationships with teachers who shared their lunches and their lives, putting him on a path to better health.
And the academic accomplishments, even in a single class, that build confidence and allow every student to see themselves as gifted.