latimes--2020-06-22--First COVID-19 case in California Capitol after staffer tests positive

An Assembly employee tested positive for COVID-19 , marking the first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus in the state Capitol , according to an email sent to legislative staffers Monday .
The positive case comes as the Legislature has taken unprecedented measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19 inside the building , including health screenings and temperature checks at the entrances to the Capitol .
Elevators have been limited to one person per ride and strict limits established on in-person seating for public hearings .
The Assembly staffer who tested positive for COVID-19 had been working in the building @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not perform work in any office other than their own Capitol office suite , had minimal interactions with a co-worker , and wore a face covering while in the workplace , ” Debra Gravert , the Assembly ’ s chief administrative officer , wrote in an email to employees Monday .
The employee who tested positive is “ complying with quarantine recommendations , ” Gravert said .
The employee ’ s co-worker was notified and workplaces are being disinfected per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines , Gravert said in the email @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Friday , while the Senate will break July 2 .
Both houses of the Legislature halted session in March to lessen the risk of the virus spreading in the Capitol .
The Assembly returned May 4 and the Senate resumed May 11 in order to continue their legislative work and pass a budget , all while adhering to physical distancing and mask protocols .
In March , a Senate employee who works in a Southern California district office tested positive for COVID-19 .
That employee was unaware that they had been exposed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Secretary of the Senate Erika Contreras .
The constituent caseworker had not worked in the Capitol .

Elevators in the state Capitol have been limited to one person per ride and strict limits established on in-person seating for public hearings.
An Assembly employee tested positive for COVID-19, marking the first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus in the state Capitol, according to an email sent to legislative staffers Monday.
The positive case comes as the Legislature has taken unprecedented measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19 inside the building, including health screenings and temperature checks at the entrances to the Capitol. Elevators have been limited to one person per ride and strict limits established on in-person seating for public hearings.
The Assembly staffer who tested positive for COVID-19 had been working in the building last week.
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“The employee did not perform work in any office other than their own Capitol office suite, had minimal interactions with a co-worker, and wore a face covering while in the workplace,” Debra Gravert, the Assembly’s chief administrative officer, wrote in an email to employees Monday.
The employee who tested positive is “complying with quarantine recommendations,” Gravert said.
The employee’s co-worker was notified and workplaces are being disinfected per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, Gravert said in the email. The Assembly adjourned for summer recess on Friday, while the Senate will break July 2.
Both houses of the Legislature halted session in March to lessen the risk of the virus spreading in the Capitol. The Assembly returned May 4 and the Senate resumed May 11 in order to continue their legislative work and pass a budget, all while adhering to physical distancing and mask protocols.
In March, a Senate employee who works in a Southern California district office tested positive for COVID-19. That employee was unaware that they had been exposed and had continued to work, said Secretary of the Senate Erika Contreras. The constituent caseworker had not worked in the Capitol.


latimes--2020-06-22--Shooting in San Francisco's Tenderloin leaves 5 injured

Five people were injured Monday afternoon in a shooting in San Francisco ’ s Tenderloin district , police said .
@ @ @ @ @ Francisco police officers stationed in the Tenderloin , a dense neighborhood in the city ’ @ @ @ @ @ a shooting near Leavenworth and Eddy streets , Sgt .
Michael Andraychak said .
There @ @ @ @ @ suffering from gunshot wounds .
The men were taken to hospitals and treated for non-life-threatening @ @ @ @ @ A fifth person was later found with a “ minor gunshot wound ” but declined @ @ @ @ @ hospital , he said .
San Francisco police have yet to arrest any suspects , @ @ @ @ @ with information about the incident call a tip line at ( 415 ) 575-4444 or @ @ @ @ @ beginning the message with “ SFPD .
”

Five people were injured Monday afternoon in a shooting in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district, police said.
At 3:15 p.m., San Francisco police officers stationed in the Tenderloin, a dense neighborhood in the city’s downtown, responded to a shooting near Leavenworth and Eddy streets, Sgt. Michael Andraychak said. There, they found four men suffering from gunshot wounds.
The men were taken to hospitals and treated for non-life-threatening injuries, Andraychak said.
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A fifth person was later found with a “minor gunshot wound” but declined to be taken to a hospital, he said.
San Francisco police have yet to arrest any suspects, and Andraychak asked that anyone with information about the incident call a tip line at (415) 575-4444 or text information to TIP411, beginning the message with “SFPD.”


latimes--2020-06-22--Former governors join Newsom in urging Californians to wear face masks

Arnold Schwarzenegger and a trio of other former California governors have joined Gov .
Gavin Newsom in a public service announcement aimed at promoting the use of face masks to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus .
“ This is not about being weak , ” says Schwarzenegger , known for his strongman roles in professional bodybuilding and in Hollywood as the “ Terminator.
” Schwarzenegger is joined in the video campaign by Jerry Brown , Gray Davis and Pete Wilson , all of whom are on hand to support Newsom ’ s statewide mandate requiring the wearing of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ It ’ s about fighting the disease and keeping our families and ourselves safe , ” Davis adds .
The campaign comes days after Newsom ordered all in most indoor settings and outdoors when social distancing is not possible .
Newsom issued the amid the continuing rise of COVID-19 cases in the state .
Prior to the statewide mandate , several counties had rescinded mask-wearing requirements — most notably Orange County , which reversed course on its requirements after the county public health officer who instituted the initial order resigned .
As @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 179,605 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in California , 1,382 of which were reported Monday , .
“ Simply put , we are seeing too many people with faces uncovered — putting at risk the real progress we have made in fighting the disease , ” Newsom said last week .
“ California ’ s strategy to restart the economy and get people back to work will only be successful if people act safely and follow health recommendations .
That means wearing a face covering , washing your hands and practicing physical distancing.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ — two Democrats and two Republicans — is that “ nobody wants to wear ” face masks , but the virus is still present , and wearing face coverings is necessary to stop the spread of the illness in order to continue opening businesses and getting people back to work .

Arnold Schwarzenegger and a trio of other former California governors have joined Gov. Gavin Newsom in a public service announcement aimed at promoting the use of face masks to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
“This is not about being weak,” says Schwarzenegger, known for his strongman roles in professional bodybuilding and in Hollywood as the “Terminator.”
Schwarzenegger is joined in the video campaign — produced by media company Attn — by Jerry Brown, Gray Davis and Pete Wilson, all of whom are on hand to support Newsom’s statewide mandate requiring the wearing of face coverings in most public settings.
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“It’s about fighting the disease and keeping our families and ourselves safe,” Davis adds.
Californians look out for each other - no matter who you voted for.
CA Governors @gavinnewsom @JerryBrownGov @schwarzenegger @GovernorDavis & Pete Wilson know the fight against #COVID19 isn't over - wear a mask! 😷 #YourActionsSaveLives pic.twitter.com/fROVI2HJWI — Office of the Governor of California (@CAgovernor) June 22, 2020
The campaign comes days after Newsom ordered all Californians to wear face coverings in most indoor settings and outdoors when social distancing is not possible. Newsom issued the order amid the continuing rise of COVID-19 cases in the state.
Prior to the statewide mandate, several counties had rescinded mask-wearing requirements — most notably Orange County, which reversed course on its requirements after the county public health officer who instituted the initial order resigned.
As of early Monday afternoon, there were 179,605 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in California, 1,382 of which were reported Monday, records show .
“Simply put, we are seeing too many people with faces uncovered — putting at risk the real progress we have made in fighting the disease,” Newsom said last week. “California’s strategy to restart the economy and get people back to work will only be successful if people act safely and follow health recommendations. That means wearing a face covering, washing your hands and practicing physical distancing.”
The message from the former governors — two Democrats and two Republicans — is that “nobody wants to wear” face masks, but the virus is still present, and wearing face coverings is necessary to stop the spread of the illness in order to continue opening businesses and getting people back to work.
“Just do it,” Schwarzenegger says.


latimes--2020-06-22--For third day in a week, L.A. County reports more than 2,000 new coronavirus cases

Los Angeles County health officials reported 2,571 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday , the third day in the last week that the county has reported more than 2,000 infections .
The number is especially high considering that cases reported on Mondays are typically lower because of limited testing on weekends and a lag in reporting .
In addition , the county announced 18 additional COVID-19 deaths , bringing the death toll to 3,137 .
It ’ s “ highly likely ” that the surge is connected to mass protests that erupted in recent weeks over the death of George @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Barbara Ferrer said .
But because contact tracers do not track cases that stem from public settings , it ’ s often impossible to pinpoint the origin of spread at such events , particularly given that the protests occurred while the county was lifting many of its stay-at-home restrictions .
Ferrer said restaurant settings and parties may also be linked to several clusters of infections in recent weeks , despite the county ’ s ongoing prohibition of gatherings beyond religious services and political protests .
Newly reopened workplaces where people are in close @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ The virus is not done with us , ” she said .
The county ’ s updates followed an announcement by Gov .
Gavin Newsom that the state ’ s positivity rate among those who have been tested for the coronavirus , as well as the number of hospitalizations linked to the illness , including patients in intensive care , has increased as cases have surged in recent weeks .
There have been 46,735 coronavirus cases reported in the past 14 days , Newsom said .
That accounts for 36.5 % of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ increased by 16 % , and ICU patients have jumped by 11 % .
The positivity rate throughout the state has increased from 4.5 % to 4.8 % ; worse , in Los Angeles County , the rate spiked from 5.8 % two weeks ago to 8.4 % on Monday , Ferrer said .
Dr. Christina Ghaly , director of L.A. County ’ s Department of Health Services , said one in roughly 400 L.A. County residents are unknowingly infected with the coronavirus .
That number does not account for those who are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over the course of a typical day are likely going to interact with individuals who are infectious , ” she said .
“ These people might not seem sick.
” Despite this , the estimated rate of transmission has decreased to less than one in the county ’ s modeling system , which now accounts for people who may be immune to the disease .
The number of hospital beds , including those in ICUs , and ventilators is at capacity throughout the state , officials said .
But Ghaly warned that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ limited as COVID-19 patients compete for space with others who are hospitalized with different illnesses .
Officials have long expected the COVID-19 case count to rise as months-long restrictions were lifted across the state .
As of now , there are no plans to slow reopening efforts in the county , officials said .
“ We ’ ve always predicted that reopening would bring new cases , ” Ghaly said .
Social distancing and face masks remain key weapons in the fight against the virus ’ spread , in addition to testing , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ individuals have been tested for the virus in L.A. County .
Of those , 8 % have tested positive .
Earlier Monday , asymptomatic individuals in the county were unable to sign up for testing due to high demand .
Testing has been something that officials have strongly encouraged in recent weeks amid the surge in COVID-19 cases .
The county announced Monday that despite the ongoing risk , officials will no longer hold news briefings three times a week , switching to a weekly meeting on Mondays .
The news came as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many health officers throughout the county , has received death threats and hate mail during the past three months amid stay-at-home orders she issued to help stem the spread of the illness .
“ We ’ re doing the very best we can during the pandemic to save lives , ” she said .

Los Angeles County health officials reported 2,571 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, the third day in the last week that the county has reported more than 2,000 infections.
The number is especially high considering that cases reported on Mondays are typically lower because of limited testing on weekends and a lag in reporting.
In addition, the county announced 18 additional COVID-19 deaths, bringing the death toll to 3,137.
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It’s “highly likely” that the surge is connected to mass protests that erupted in recent weeks over the death of George Floyd, L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said.
But because contact tracers do not track cases that stem from public settings, it’s often impossible to pinpoint the origin of spread at such events, particularly given that the protests occurred while the county was lifting many of its stay-at-home restrictions.
Ferrer said restaurant settings and parties may also be linked to several clusters of infections in recent weeks, despite the county’s ongoing prohibition of gatherings beyond religious services and political protests. Newly reopened workplaces where people are in close contact may also be a factor.
“The virus is not done with us,” she said.
The county’s updates followed an announcement by Gov. Gavin Newsom that the state’s positivity rate among those who have been tested for the coronavirus, as well as the number of hospitalizations linked to the illness, including patients in intensive care, has increased as cases have surged in recent weeks.
There have been 46,735 coronavirus cases reported in the last 14 days, Newsom said. That accounts for 36.5% of all cases. Additionally, hospitalizations have increased by 16%, and ICU patients have jumped by 11%. The positivity rate throughout the state has increased from 4.5% to 4.8%. Worse, in Los Angeles County, the rate spiked from 5.8% two weeks ago to 8.4% on Monday, Ferrer said.
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Dr. Christina Ghaly, director of L.A. County’s Department of Health Services, said one in roughly 400 L.A. County residents are unknowingly infected with the coronavirus. That number does not account for those who are self-isolating after potential exposure.
“Angelenos over the course of a typical day are likely going to interact with individuals who are infectious,” she said. “These people might not seem sick.”
Despite this, the estimated rate of transmission has decreased to less than one in the county’s modeling system, which now accounts for people who may be immune to the disease.
The number of hospital beds, including those in ICUs, and ventilators is at capacity throughout the state, officials said. But Ghaly warned that the number of ICU beds may become more limited as COVID-19 patients compete for space with others who are hospitalized with different illnesses.
Officials have long expected the COVID-19 case count to rise as months-long restrictions were lifted across the state. As of now, there are no plans to slow reopening efforts in the county, officials said.
“We’ve always predicted that reopening would bring new cases,” Ghaly said.
County officials are also looking to begin reopening their buildings to their employees and the public.
At its meeting Tuesday, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors will consider a motion that would allow departments to begin reopening July 6 at the earliest.
Department administrators and their staffs have been working on creating phased reopening plans since early June, but how and when a department reopens will depend on its size, building setup and how its employees interact with the public, said Supervisor Kathryn Barger’s office.
If the motion passes, departments would be required to submit operational plans to the county’s chief executive office by July 31 outlining how they will reopen.
“These operational plans should consider telework options, staggered schedules, modified schedules and other innovative ways to continue to serve the needs of our constituents in more efficient ways that also meet the public health guidelines for operation,” Supervisors Barger and Hilda Solis said in the motion.
Also on Tuesday, Los Angeles International Airport will begin testing thermal cameras to identify passengers with high body temperatures as a way of slowing the spread of the coronavirus.
The three cameras will scan streams of passengers arriving at and departing from the Tom Bradley International Terminal in hopes of spotting passengers with a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher — a common symptom in the COVID-19 pandemic that has pushed air travel demand down to the lowest levels in decades.
Temperature checks are not a silver bullet: Health experts say people can spread the virus while showing few or no symptoms. Nor should temperature checks be the lone precaution. Other health protocols added at the airport include requirements that travelers wear masks and maintain physical distance from one another whenever possible, and LAX has installed 250 hand sanitizer dispensers throughout the terminals.
Social distancing and face masks remain key weapons in the fight against the virus’ spread, in addition to testing, health officials maintain. More than 960,000 individuals have been tested for the virus in L.A. County. Of those, 8% have tested positive.
Earlier Monday, asymptomatic individuals in the county were unable to sign up for testing due to high demand. Testing has been something that officials have strongly encouraged in recent weeks amid the surge in COVID-19 cases.
The county announced Monday that despite the ongoing risk, officials will no longer hold news briefings three times a week, switching to a weekly meeting on Mondays.
The news came as Ferrer publicly revealed that she, like many health officers throughout the county, has received death threats and hate mail during the last three months amid stay-at-home orders she issued to help stem the spread of the illness.
“We’re doing the very best we can during the pandemic to save lives,” she said.
Times staff writers Hugo Martín, Dakota Smith and Jaclyn Cosgrove contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-06-22--How to get help if you're experiencing domestic violence

Calls to Los Angeles County ’ s domestic violence hotline have risen during the pandemic .
And the Los Angeles Police Department has seen an increase in domestic violence calls for service .
As the pandemic continues , people should know that there are resources available for anyone experiencing abuse .
Organizations that help survivors are concerned that people who need help won ’ t seek it , either because they ’ re constantly at home with their abuser or they ’ re too scared to reach out .
“ There are places to go , ” City Atty .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ There are resources on which you can draw.
” But what actually happens once you call a hotline or the police ?
To find out , I spoke with lawyers , city officials , service providers and police about the resources available to domestic violence survivors .
The Los Angeles County Domestic Violence hotline is available 24 hours a day , 7 days a week .
You can call if you need help or if you know someone who does .
When you call the hotline , you will be prompted to enter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to a local service provider .
The hotline is available in Arabic , Armenian , Cantonese , English , Farsi , Japanese , Khmer , Korean , Mandarin , Spanish , Tagalog , Thai and Vietnamese .
The providers can help you access counseling and legal services , formulate a safety plan , connect to a shelter or get a referral for medical services .
Eve Sheedy , the director of the L.A. County Domestic Violence Council , said the hotline can help you access services regardless of whether you plan to leave @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t have to be a major decision just to reach out , ” she said during a meeting with providers last month .
The hotline can also be a resource for friends and neighbors of survivors who want to figure out the best way to help their loved one .
The Los Angeles LGBT Center also offers domestic violence services for LGBTQ people .
What happens if I call 911 ?
Whether you make a phone call or send a text message to 911 ( 911 texting is available only in English @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unit or a police patrol car — depending on availability — will come to your home .
“ We get there , we make sure at the moment everyone is safe , separate parties and ask what happened , ” said LAPD Det .
Marie Sadanaga with the department ’ s domestic violence unit .
If a crime has occurred , police will make a report and will take temporary custody of any guns at the scene .
If a crime has not occurred — for example , one person threw objects at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ happened and complete a domestic violence incident report .
The report , mandated by the state , can be used in the future if the abuse continues , Sadanaga said .
If a specialized domestic violence unit comes to your home , an advocate will connect you to domestic violence resources or services such as shelter and safety planning .
If a patrol officer responds , he or she should also be able to connect you with resources .
If you don ’ t want a patrol officer to come to your house @ @ @ @ @ @ @ allow people to make an appointment with an officer .
How do I get a protective order ?
A protective order is a ruling by the court that will prohibit an assailant from having contact with you and your children .
The quickest type of restraining order — an emergency protective order — can be issued on the spot at the request of a police officer .
An officer can call an on-duty judge at any time .
Before the pandemic , these orders lasted five business days or seven calendar days .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ up to 30 days to allow people more time to get to court to file for an order that will last longer .
It ’ s important to tell the officer about any specific limitations ( child care or transportation issues ) that would prohibit you from going to court in that timeframe .
The emergency order is a measure of protection until you can go to court to obtain a temporary restraining order , which is usually issued for 21 days but can be extended to 90 days .
To get a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the L.A. County Superior Court self-help line , legal aid services or a private attorney .
The court allows people to file parts of these orders via email .
Although the court clerk ’ s office reopened on June 15 , you should make an appointment through the self-help line before actually going to court .
At the end of the order , there will be a hearing with a judge .
The judge will either deny the restraining order , grant a permanent restraining order or move the hearing to a later @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are brought against the assailant , a judge may issue what is called a criminal protective order .
The detective investigating your case should be able to tell you about future hearings .
If an order is issued , keep a copy with you at all times .
Because of the pandemic , the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles has been conducting remote hearings , said Michael Waldren , an attorney with Community Legal Aid of Southern California .
That ’ s why Waldren recommends that clients try to file their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supervising attorney at the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles , said survivors should try to save any documentation of abuse such as text messages or photographs .
“ Any documentation of the abuse is always helpful for a legal case , ” she said .
What if I need shelter ?
Because of the pandemic , the city and county have worked with local providers to nearly double the shelter capacity for domestic violence survivors and their families across Los Angeles County , an initiative called Project Safe Haven , according to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ donors , the county can now accommodate an additional 900 families , up from 1,000 available beds .
City officials said that no one will ask about your immigration status .
Transportation is also available .

Calls to Los Angeles County’s domestic violence hotline have risen during the pandemic. And the Los Angeles Police Department has seen an increase in domestic violence calls for service.
As the pandemic continues, people should know that there are resources available for anyone experiencing abuse.
Organizations that help survivors are concerned that people who need help won’t seek it, either because they’re constantly at home with their abuser or they’re too scared to reach out.
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“There are places to go,” City Atty. Mike Feuer told The Times. “There are resources on which you can draw.”
But what actually happens once you call a hotline or the police? To find out, I spoke with lawyers, city officials, service providers and police about the resources available to domestic violence survivors.
How do hotlines work?
The Los Angeles County Domestic Violence hotline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can call if you need help or if you know someone who does. When you call the hotline, you will be prompted to enter your ZIP code and will be connected to a local service provider.
Resources Phone numbers and websites for domestic violence survivors L.A. County Domestic Violence Hotline: (800) 978-3600
Los Angeles LGBT Center:
(323) 993-7649 or (562) 433-8595 in Long Beach
L.A. County Superior Court self-help line for temporary restraining order: (213) 830-0845
Project Safe Haven:
corona-virus.la/DVResources
In an emergency, call 911.
The hotline is available in Arabic, Armenian, Cantonese, English, Farsi, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Mandarin, Spanish, Tagalog, Thai and Vietnamese.
The providers can help you access counseling and legal services, formulate a safety plan, connect to a shelter or get a referral for medical services.
Eve Sheedy, the director of the L.A. County Domestic Violence Council, said the hotline can help you access services regardless of whether you plan to leave an abusive relationship.
“It doesn’t have to be a major decision just to reach out,” she said during a meeting with providers last month.
The hotline can also be a resource for friends and neighbors of survivors who want to figure out the best way to help their loved one.
The Los Angeles LGBT Center also offers domestic violence services for LGBTQ people.
What happens if I call 911?
Whether you make a phone call or send a text message to 911 (911 texting is available only in English), a specialized domestic violence police unit or a police patrol car — depending on availability — will come to your home.
Advertisement
“We get there, we make sure at the moment everyone is safe, separate parties and ask what happened,” said LAPD Det. Marie Sadanaga with the department’s domestic violence unit.
If a crime has occurred, police will make a report and will take temporary custody of any guns at the scene. If a crime has not occurred — for example, one person threw objects at a wall — police can document what happened and complete a domestic violence incident report. The report, mandated by the state, can be used in the future if the abuse continues, Sadanaga said.
If a specialized domestic violence unit comes to your home, an advocate will connect you to domestic violence resources or services such as shelter and safety planning. If a patrol officer responds, he or she should also be able to connect you with resources.
If you don’t want a patrol officer to come to your house, Sadanaga said that some LAPD stations allow people to make an appointment with an officer.
How do I get a protective order?
A protective order is a ruling by the court that will prohibit an assailant from having contact with you and your children.
The quickest type of restraining order — an emergency protective order — can be issued on the spot at the request of a police officer. An officer can call an on-duty judge at any time.
Before the pandemic, these orders lasted five business days or seven calendar days. Now an order can be given for up to 30 days to allow people more time to get to court to file for an order that will last longer.
It’s important to tell the officer about any specific limitations (child care or transportation issues) that would prohibit you from going to court in that timeframe.
The emergency order is a measure of protection until you can go to court to obtain a temporary restraining order, which is usually issued for 21 days but can be extended to 90 days.
To get a temporary restraining order, you can contact the L.A. County Superior Court self-help line, legal aid services or a private attorney.
The court allows people to file parts of these orders via email. Although the court clerk’s office reopened on June 15, you should make an appointment through the self-help line before actually going to court.
At the end of the order, there will be a hearing with a judge. The judge will either deny the restraining order, grant a permanent restraining order or move the hearing to a later date.
Separately, if criminal charges are brought against the assailant, a judge may issue what is called a criminal protective order. The detective investigating your case should be able to tell you about future hearings.
If an order is issued, keep a copy with you at all times.
Because of the pandemic, the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles has been conducting remote hearings, said Michael Waldren, an attorney with Community Legal Aid of Southern California. That’s why Waldren recommends that clients try to file their cases there.
Julianna Lee, a supervising attorney at the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, said survivors should try to save any documentation of abuse such as text messages or photographs.
“Any documentation of the abuse is always helpful for a legal case,” she said.
What if I need shelter?
Because of the pandemic, the city and county have worked with local providers to nearly double the shelter capacity for domestic violence survivors and their families across Los Angeles County, an initiative called Project Safe Haven, according to the mayor’s office.
Through donors, the county can now accommodate an additional 900 families, up from 1,000 available beds.
City officials said that no one will ask about your immigration status. Transportation is also available.


latimes--2020-06-22--Increase in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations tell 'sobering story,' Newsom says

Gov .
Gavin Newsom said Monday that hospitalizations from COVID-19 grew 16 % over the last two weeks as the state reported more than 46,000 new cases of the virus , marking significant increases as more Californians begin to return to a sense of normalcy .
The Democratic governor started easing his stay-at-home order roughly six weeks ago and has now allowed 54 of 58 counties in the state to open businesses again .
Newsom also noted a modest uptick in the rate of positive cases — from 4.5 % to 4.8 % — in the last week .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also increased by 11 % over two weeks , he said .
“ Those that suggest we ’ re out of the woods , those that suggest this somehow is going to disappear , these numbers tell a very , very different and sobering story , ” Newsom said .
The state has closely monitored hospitalizations and positivity rates as key metrics in determining the spread of the coronavirus in California .
Newsom has repeatedly said that the state may need to reinstate some of the restrictions of the stay-at-home order if those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ declined to provide details on the level of increases that would serve as an impetus to do so .
The governor said he felt confident that the state will be able to respond to the virus in the weeks and months ahead .
“ We ’ ve always walked into this with our eyes wide open .
We ’ ve always prepared for a surge , ” Newsom said .
“ We ’ re in that band , where I feel like we anticipated the likelihood as we ’ ve reopened , of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” When asked how worried he felt about the data , Newsom pointed to some of the economic effects of the shutdown , including the 5.7 million Californians seeking unemployment benefits , and said poverty and hunger also have “ profound health impacts.
” “ One has to be mindful of that as well , ” Newsom said .
“ That ’ s why we ’ ve worked hard to safely reopen the economy .
That ’ s why we ’ ve given the tools to the locals to make the decisions for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Californians to wear masks in most public settings .
On Monday , he repeated a call for people to move about safely when in public .
“ Wear your masks .
Practice physical distancing .
Continue the hygiene that is so foundational in terms of mitigating the spread of this virus , ” Newsom said .
“ We ’ re not discussing yet the second wave because we still need to work through the first wave of this virus .
”

California is not out of the woods, Gov. Newsom said on Monday.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that hospitalizations from COVID-19 grew 16% over the last two weeks as the state reported more than 46,000 new cases of the virus, marking significant increases as more Californians begin to return to a sense of normalcy.
The Democratic governor started easing his stay-at-home order roughly six weeks ago and has now allowed 54 of 58 counties in the state to open businesses again. Newsom also noted a modest uptick in the rate of positive cases — from 4.5% to 4.8% — in the last week. The number of patients in intensive care has also increased by 11% over two weeks, he said.
“Those that suggest we’re out of the woods, those that suggest this somehow is going to disappear, these numbers tell a very, very different and sobering story,” Newsom said.
The state has closely monitored hospitalizations and positivity rates as key metrics in determining the spread of the coronavirus in California. Newsom has repeatedly said that the state may need to reinstate some of the restrictions of the stay-at-home order if those metrics spike, but has so far declined to provide details on the level of increases that would serve as an impetus to do so.
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The governor said he felt confident that the state will be able to respond to the virus in the weeks and months ahead.
“We’ve always walked into this with our eyes wide open. We’ve always prepared for a surge,” Newsom said. “We’re in that band, where I feel like we anticipated the likelihood as we’ve reopened, of the numbers increasing, and they have.”
When asked how worried he felt about the data, Newsom pointed to some of the economic effects of the shutdown, including the 5.7 million Californians seeking unemployment benefits, and said poverty and hunger also have “profound health impacts.”
“One has to be mindful of that as well,” Newsom said. “That’s why we’ve worked hard to safely reopen the economy. That’s why we’ve given the tools to the locals to make the decisions for themselves.”
Last week, Newsom required Californians to wear masks in most public settings. On Monday, he repeated a call for people to move about safely when in public.
“Wear your masks. Practice physical distancing. Continue the hygiene that is so foundational in terms of mitigating the spread of this virus,” Newsom said. “We’re not discussing yet the second wave because we still need to work through the first wave of this virus.”
Tracking the coronavirus in California The latest maps and charts on the spread of COVID-19 in California.


latimes--2020-06-22--LAX will try thermal cameras to spot travelers with COVID-19

Hoping to make flying safer , Los Angeles International Airport on Tuesday will begin testing thermal cameras to identify passengers with high body temperatures as a way of slowing the spread of the coronavirus .
The three cameras will scan streams of passengers arriving at and departing from the Tom Bradley International Terminal in hopes of spotting passengers with a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher — a common symptom in the COVID-19 pandemic that has pushed air travel demand down to the lowest levels in decades .
“ Our ability to spot folks exhibiting COVID [ -19 ] symptoms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of this pandemic , is so critical to stopping its spread and ensuring that people can travel safely , ” Mayor Eric Garcetti said at a news conference from the terminal .
Temperature checks are not a silver bullet : Health experts say people can spread the virus while showing few or no symptoms .
Nor should temperature checks be the lone precaution .
Other health protocols added at the airport include requirements that travelers wear masks and maintain physical distance from one another whenever possible , and LAX has installed 250 hand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around the world have been turning to technology to help slow the spread of the virus .
In addition to thermal cameras , airports are testing sanitation booths , autonomous cleaning robots and other gadgets in hopes of making air travel safer while reducing the risk of exposing airport staff to the disease .
LAX , one of the world ’ s busiest airports , plans to operate the cameras for 12 weeks to test the effectiveness of the technology and evaluate staffers ’ procedures before deciding whether to expand the use of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hand-held no-contact thermometers , the thermal cameras can gauge the temperatures of several people at the same time , even as the people move .
Under the LAX program , passengers heading toward departing flights who have a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher will be pulled aside and tested again by a medical technician or an assistant with a hand-held thermometer ; if the second check confirms the high temperature , they will be advised to not travel — but not prevented from traveling .
Arriving international passengers who are identified as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention staff for possible quarantine .
LAX is paying for the medical professionals from a reserve fund not to exceed $ 150,000 during the pilot program , with plans to seek reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency , according to LAX officials .
LAX is not being charged by the developers and operators of the cameras for the use of the technology during the testing period .
The screening of passengers departing LAX is voluntary , and those travelers can avoid the cameras by taking one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The CDC , however , requires temperature screening for passengers arriving from certain countries , such as China and Iran .

Three thermal cameras will be used to scan streams of passengers arriving at and departing from LAX’s Tom Bradley International Terminal in hopes of spotting passengers with a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher. Above, a woman at the airport points at an image from a thermal camera.
Hoping to make flying safer, Los Angeles International Airport on Tuesday will begin testing thermal cameras to identify passengers with high body temperatures as a way of slowing the spread of the coronavirus.
The three cameras will scan streams of passengers arriving at and departing from the Tom Bradley International Terminal in hopes of spotting passengers with a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher — a common symptom in the COVID-19 pandemic that has pushed air travel demand down to the lowest levels in decades.
“Our ability to spot folks exhibiting COVID[-19] symptoms, as we saw at the beginning of this pandemic, is so critical to stopping its spread and ensuring that people can travel safely,” Mayor Eric Garcetti said at a news conference from the terminal.
Temperature checks are not a silver bullet: Health experts say people can spread the virus while showing few or no symptoms. Nor should temperature checks be the lone precaution. Other health protocols added at the airport include requirements that travelers wear masks and maintain physical distance from one another whenever possible, and LAX has installed 250 hand sanitizer dispensers throughout the terminals.
Advertisement
Airports around the world have been turning to technology to help slow the spread of the virus. In addition to thermal cameras, airports are testing sanitation booths, autonomous cleaning robots and other gadgets in hopes of making air travel safer while reducing the risk of exposing airport staff to the disease.
LAX, one of the world’s busiest airports, plans to operate the cameras for 12 weeks to test the effectiveness of the technology and evaluate staffers’ procedures before deciding whether to expand the use of the cameras to other terminals. Unlike hand-held no-contact thermometers, the thermal cameras can gauge the temperatures of several people at the same time, even as the people move.
Under the LAX program, passengers heading toward departing flights who have a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher will be pulled aside and tested again by a medical technician or an assistant with a hand-held thermometer; if the second check confirms the high temperature, they will be advised to not travel — but not prevented from traveling. Arriving international passengers who are identified as having a high temperature will be directed to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention staff for possible quarantine.
LAX is paying for the medical professionals from a reserve fund not to exceed $150,000 during the pilot program, with plans to seek reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to LAX officials. LAX is not being charged by the developers and operators of the cameras for the use of the technology during the testing period.
The screening of passengers departing LAX is voluntary, and those travelers can avoid the cameras by taking one of several entrances into the terminal. The CDC, however, requires temperature screening for passengers arriving from certain countries, such as China and Iran.


latimes--2020-06-22--After protest, Junipero Serra statue still standing in Ventura

For a time Saturday , it looked as if a statue of Junipero Serra outside City Hall in downtown Ventura might join the growing ranks of toppled figures .
Two days earlier , a joint statement from local political , indigenous and Catholic leaders pledged to remove the monument , originally commissioned in the 1930s but replaced in 1989 .
“ The time has come for the statue to be taken down and moved to a more appropriate nonpublic location , ” read the statement , issued by Ventura Mayor Matt LaVere ; Chumash elder Julie Tumamait Stenslie , tribal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Indians ; and Father Tom Elewaut , pastor of the San Buenaventura mission , the ninth and final mission founded by Serra .
By the time the statement — which called for a collaborative process , including community discussion — was released , a protest had already been scheduled and a petition calling for the statue ’ s removal had received more than 5,000 signatures .
When Saturday came , protesters unfurled a banner in front of the statue .
Counter-demonstrators — many bearing American flags and who appeared to be white and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ circle around the statue of the Spanish missionary , blocking protesters from reaching it .
This group carried its own signs .
“ I < 3 Padre Serra , ” read one ; “ Serra : Defender of the Chumash ” read another .
After the dueling groups departed , the statue remained standing .
A recently canonized saint in the Roman Catholic Church , Serra is considered the founder of the mission system that cemented the religion in what is now California .
The missions often violently forced indigenous people to assimilate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exposed them to foreign diseases .
Hundreds of thousands of indigenous people are estimated to have died .
“ This is our history that we ’ re talking about here .
… We are going to be a part of this , ” Tumamait Stenslie said during the protest .
Long controversial , statues of Serra are receiving heightened attention since protests against police violence and racism have gained more traction in the country following the death of George Floyd by Minneapolis police .
The toppling of statues dedicated to people considered racist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the worldwide anti-racist movement .
Statues of Confederates have fallen in the South .
One depicting a slave trader was tossed into a river in Bristol , England .
Other casts of Serra have been torn down , too , including one pulled off a pedestal Saturday in downtown Los Angeles .
At the Ventura demonstration , the Chumash leader called for a more formal process in the city .
“ I do condone the anger .
What I do not condone is the violence , ” Tumamait Stenslie said .
“ This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this .
We have talked , and we have met with the city mayor and Father Tom .
You may be contrary to me , but these people are not monsters , ” Tumamait Stenslie said .
When he spoke , Elewaut acknowledged that 3,600 indigenous people are buried at the Ventura mission he oversees .
“ We will do what we can to have some recognition for the burial grounds , ” Elewaut said .
He shared doubts that the mission would be able to name each indigenous person buried in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ earlier on behalf of Alan Salazar of the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians called on the Catholic church to do .
Police , who estimated that there were 200 people at the protest , made no arrests even as tensions simmered between those for and against the statue ’ s removal , according to the Ventura County Star .
Ventura city spokeswoman Heather Sumagaysay said the city is making plans to host community discussions regarding the Serra statue .
There is no timeline for its removal , she said .
“ It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public concerns and provide an environment where all voices are heard and respected .
A historic decision such as this will involve the voices of the Chumash tribe , the City Council and the residents of Ventura , ” Sumagaysay said in an emailed statement .
“ The city remains committed to collaborating with the community to determine next steps .
We will inform the public of opportunities to participate and offer input at a future meeting .
”

For a time Saturday, it looked as if a statue of Junipero Serra outside City Hall in downtown Ventura might join the growing ranks of toppled figures.
Two days earlier, a joint statement from local political, indigenous and Catholic leaders pledged to remove the monument, originally commissioned in the 1930s but replaced in 1989.
“The time has come for the statue to be taken down and moved to a more appropriate nonpublic location,” read the statement, issued by Ventura Mayor Matt LaVere; Chumash elder Julie Tumamait Stenslie, tribal chair of the Barbareño/Ventureño Band of Mission Indians; and Father Tom Elewaut, pastor of the San Buenaventura mission, the ninth and final mission founded by Serra.
By the time the statement — which called for a collaborative process, including community discussion — was released, a protest had already been scheduled and a petition calling for the statue’s removal had received more than 5,000 signatures.
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When Saturday came, protesters unfurled a banner in front of the statue.
“Father Genocide,” it read.
Counter-demonstrators — many bearing American flags and who appeared to be white and not wearing face masks — formed a circle around the statue of the Spanish missionary, blocking protesters from reaching it.
This group carried its own signs. “I <3 Padre Serra,” read one; “Serra: Defender of the Chumash” read another.
After the dueling groups departed, the statue remained standing.
A recently canonized saint in the Roman Catholic Church, Serra is considered the founder of the mission system that cemented the religion in what is now California. The missions often violently forced indigenous people to assimilate to Serra’s foreign culture and exposed them to foreign diseases. Hundreds of thousands of indigenous people are estimated to have died.
“This is our history that we’re talking about here. … We are going to be a part of this,” Tumamait Stenslie said during the protest.
Advertisement
Long controversial, statues of Serra are receiving heightened attention since protests against police violence and racism have gained more traction in the country following the death of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.
The toppling of statues dedicated to people considered racist has emerged as a viral mainstay of the worldwide anti-racist movement. Statues of Confederates have fallen in the South. One depicting a slave trader was tossed into a river in Bristol, England. Other casts of Serra have been torn down, too, including one pulled off a pedestal Saturday in downtown Los Angeles.
At the Ventura demonstration, the Chumash leader called for a more formal process in the city.
“I do condone the anger. What I do not condone is the violence,” Tumamait Stenslie said. “This would not be our way of doing this. We have talked, and we have met with the city mayor and Father Tom. You may be contrary to me, but these people are not monsters,” Tumamait Stenslie said.
When he spoke, Elewaut acknowledged that 3,600 indigenous people are buried at the Ventura mission he oversees.
“We will do what we can to have some recognition for the burial grounds,” Elewaut said. He shared doubts that the mission would be able to name each indigenous person buried in the mass grave, as a statement read earlier on behalf of Alan Salazar of the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians called on the Catholic church to do.
Police, who estimated that there were 200 people at the protest, made no arrests even as tensions simmered between those for and against the statue’s removal, according to the Ventura County Star.
Ventura city spokeswoman Heather Sumagaysay said the city is making plans to host community discussions regarding the Serra statue. There is no timeline for its removal, she said.
“It is our priority to be receptive to public concerns and provide an environment where all voices are heard and respected. A historic decision such as this will involve the voices of the Chumash tribe, the City Council and the residents of Ventura,” Sumagaysay said in an emailed statement.
“The city remains committed to collaborating with the community to determine next steps. We will inform the public of opportunities to participate and offer input at a future meeting.”


latimes--2020-06-22--L.A. falls far short of COVID-19 promise to house 15,000 homeless people in hotels

An ambitious Los Angeles County plan to lease hotel and motel rooms for 15,000 medically vulnerable homeless people is falling far short of its goal and may never provide rooms for more than a third of the intended population .
Project Roomkey has given safe haven to thousands of those it has housed .
But as it enters its fourth month , negotiators have secured only 3,601 rooms .
That ’ s only a fourth of the number needed to house all those who are eligible .
As a result , homeless officials are now changing course , saying they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for all those eligible , whether they first move into hotel rooms or remain on the street .
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority is scheduled to submit a plan to the Board of Supervisors Tuesday to house all 15,000 eligible people .
Although details have not been publicly released , it is expected to seek hundreds of millions of dollars over several years for services and housing subsidies .
The goal of Project Roomkey is to provide private rooms to homeless people considered most likely to need hospitalization or die if infected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the goal , the pace of new leases would have to increase dramatically .
Instead , it is slowing .
Only one hotel , with 91 rooms , has been added since May 20 .
County officials say that housing more than 3,700 people in three months has been an “ unprecedented ” achievement and that they are not giving up on the goal .
“ In a few short weeks , Project Roomkey has done what many thought was impossible and we are committed to this continued effort to serve the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said Tiana Murillo , an administrator temporarily assigned to oversee the county ’ s emergency housing efforts .
At least in the short term , the program has transformed lives .
For three years , Wendy Brown slept against the wall of the Cadillac Hotel , a funky 1914 beach inn in Venice once home to Jim Morrison and Charlie Chaplin .
Here , tourists would pay up to $ 240 a night to mingle with B-boy dancers , bikini-clad skateboarders and artists steps away on the boardwalk .
Now , thanks to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the 47-room hotel .
She and other guests have separate , airy bedrooms , bathrooms lined in green tiles , three meals a day — burritos , bowls , wraps and salads — thrice-daily nurse checks , maid service including clean towels and linens , cable television and HBO .
“ I feel spoiled , ” said Brown , 58 , a boardwalk artist who keeps her easel , pink bike and supply trailer in her room .
Brown chose a quiet room overlooking the street , but her hallway window opens on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , rippling sand and a blue strip of ocean “ This is a really good thing for homelessness , ” said Brown , who has used the time away from the shouting tweakers and cold to run several times a week and to make art — urban landscapes in acrylic paints and water colors — for online sales .
But with the slowing pace of new leases , outreach workers can ’ t get their clients into rooms even when they are eligible .
Tasha Tinsley , 41 , who has hepatitis C @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ d been waiting for three weeks to be given a hotel room .
Throughout the recent protests and civil unrest , she mostly she stayed in her tent at 3rd and Main streets , not wanting to get in trouble with the police .
“ I am trying to get my business done during the day , ” she said last week before the curfew was lifted , “ because at night I ’ m not leaving my tent.
” Gov .
Gavin Newsom launched Project Roomkey in early April with a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hotels and motels that had lost business because of the coronavirus .
The Federal Emergency Management Agency agreed to pay 75 % of the cost , and Newsom put in $ 150 million of state money .
Officials in Los Angeles quickly doubled down on the governor ’ s goal , saying 15,000 rooms were needed in the county after the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority identified that many people in its database — about a quarter of the county ’ s estimated homeless population — who met the federal criteria for FEMA @ @ @ @ @ @ @ caused by the COVID-19 pandemic made the leasing program attractive to many hotel owners as a way to sustain income while their properties would otherwise be closed .
There are still tens of thousands of rooms available for lease , a spokesman for the Hotel Association of Los Angeles said .
County officials would not comment on what ’ s kept them from closing deals .
Obstacles related to insurance and indemnity are at least partly responsible .
Another factor is how quickly homeless officials can muster the services needed to manage the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the Homeless Services Authority is facing a limit on its capacity , interim executive director Heidi Marston said .
The window may now be closing as some owners begin developing ways to instill customer confidence as portions of the economy reopen .
While tacitly acknowledging that they may never reach the goal , homeless officials are sticking by their commitment to find shelter or housing for all of those designated as vulnerable because they are 65 or older or have chronic health conditions such as heart disease , respiratory ailments or diabetes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lives in our hands .
It ’ s a matter of life or death , ” Marston said in a news briefing late last month .
“ That is a different priority than we ’ ve seen in the past.
” The shortfall is most pronounced in downtown and South Los Angeles , the two areas with the highest concentrations of homeless people .
Only two motels with a total of just over 100 rooms have been leased in South Los Angeles , enough to shelter less than 1 % of the estimated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A 467-room hotel lease negotiated by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti ’ s staff has buttressed the effort in downtown .
But the nearly 1,000 rooms under lease there are only enough to house 6 % of the estimated 17,000 homeless people living in the area in and around downtown .
The best results have been in the San Gabriel Valley , where the homeless count is comparatively low .
Enough rooms are currently under lease for nearly 14 % of the estimated homeless population .
The bed rate trailed in other areas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , 7 % in the South Bay , 5 % in the San Fernando Valley , 3 % in West Los Angeles and 2 % in the Antelope Valley .
The geographic disparities are reflected in low rates of Latinos served by Project Roomkey .
A report to the Board of Supervisors by an academic team retained by the county showed that through April , 45 % of those served were white and only 17 % Latino , while the homeless population is 25 % white and 37 % Latino .
Blacks made @ @ @ @ @ @ @ population , about the same as in the homeless population .
Marston noted the issue , saying the post-Roomkey effort must ensure that “ we are recognizing and rectifying historical injustices and not just perpetuating them.
” From the outset of Project Roomkey , city and county officials have vowed to come up with an exit plan to ensure that no one temporarily housed in a hotel would be forced back onto the street .
City and county officials and nonprofits such as United Way and the California Community Foundation have been brainstorming @ @ @ @ @ @ @ goal .
Among the ideas under review are expanding traditional shelters , paying subsidies to make rental housing affordable and purchasing motels that are currently under short-term lease .
Joel John Roberts , the CEO of PATH and PATH Ventures , a homeless services and housing development agency , said his organization is looking for motels and hotels that the county can purchase .
But John Maceri , executive director of The People Concern , a nonprofit social service agency , expressed doubts .
“ I think there will be some that will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ but I don ’ t think it ’ s going to be anywhere near what ’ s going to be needed to fill in the gap.
” Marston had said the aim was to have all 15,000 people in interim or permanent housing by April 2022 .
But she said she could not yet provide a breakdown of how many people would be placed in shelters , how many would receive rent subsidies and how many would be able to stay in hotel or motel rooms purchased by the city or county @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it would be funded .
United Way , which has been convening discussions on the funding , is proposing that a large portion of it come from just over $ 10 billion in federal coronavirus relief funds delivered to the state , county and city .
Those funds , which are restricted to coronavirus relief , could “ allow all 15,000 people experiencing homelessness who are especially at-risk of hospitalization , because of their age or health conditions , to come or stay inside , ” said Tommy Newman , the nonprofit ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ The only question now is whether we ’ ll make the choice to embrace this critical goal.
” United Way is pushing for at least $ 600 million to lease , buy , or build that housing by the end of the year .
The new commitment to housing all those eligible for Project Roomkey , whether they obtain hotel rooms or not , amounts to a change of strategy that prioritizes age and physical health over a complex scoring system that rated factors such as mental health , substance use and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ temporary , the strategy change has the virtue of being simple and morally clear , said Randall Kuhn , a professor in UCLA ’ s Fielding School of Public Health who co-wrote a report on the potential for coronavirus to devastate homeless camps .
“ People that age should not be allowed to be homeless , ” Kuhn said .
“ They deserve a chance to live out their time in dignity and to perhaps extend that time .
”

Doug Smith, Benjamin Oreskes, Gale Holland

Wendy Brown enters her room at the Cadillac Hotel in Venice on June 1 as part of Project Roomkey.
An ambitious Los Angeles County plan to lease hotel and motel rooms for 15,000 medically vulnerable homeless people is falling far short of its goal and may never provide rooms for more than a third of the intended population.
Project Roomkey has given safe haven to thousands of those it has housed. But as it enters its fourth month, negotiators have secured only 3,601 rooms. That’s only a fourth of the number needed to house all those who are eligible.
As a result, homeless officials are now changing course, saying they will continue working to find permanent housing for all those eligible, whether they first move into hotel rooms or remain on the street.
Advertisement
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority is scheduled to submit a plan to the Board of Supervisors Tuesday to house all 15,000 eligible people. Although details have not been publicly released, it is expected to seek hundreds of millions of dollars over several years for services and housing subsidies.
The goal of Project Roomkey is to provide private rooms to homeless people considered most likely to need hospitalization or die if infected by the coronavirus. To get close to the goal, the pace of new leases would have to increase dramatically. Instead, it is slowing. Only one hotel, with 91 rooms, has been added since May 20.
County officials say that housing more than 3,700 people in three months has been an “unprecedented” achievement and that they are not giving up on the goal.
“In a few short weeks, Project Roomkey has done what many thought was impossible and we are committed to this continued effort to serve the most vulnerable L.A. County residents,” said Tiana Murillo, an administrator temporarily assigned to oversee the county’s emergency housing efforts.
At least in the short term, the program has transformed lives.
Wendy Brown waits for the elevator in the lobby of the Cadillac Hotel in Venice. Those staying at the hotel have their temperature taken upon entrance by nurses. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
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For three years, Wendy Brown slept against the wall of the Cadillac Hotel, a funky 1914 beach inn in Venice once home to Jim Morrison and Charlie Chaplin. Here, tourists would pay up to $240 a night to mingle with B-boy dancers, bikini-clad skateboarders and artists steps away on the boardwalk.
Now, thanks to Project Roomkey, Brown is living inside the 47-room hotel. She and other guests have separate, airy bedrooms, bathrooms lined in green tiles, three meals a day — burritos, bowls, wraps and salads — thrice-daily nurse checks, maid service including clean towels and linens, cable television and HBO.
“I feel spoiled,” said Brown, 58, a boardwalk artist who keeps her easel, pink bike and supply trailer in her room. Brown chose a quiet room overlooking the street, but her hallway window opens on a view of a palm tree stand, rippling sand and a blue strip of ocean
“This is a really good thing for homelessness,” said Brown, who has used the time away from the shouting tweakers and cold to run several times a week and to make art — urban landscapes in acrylic paints and water colors — for online sales.
Artist Wendy Brown looks over her urban sketches in her hotel room. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
But with the slowing pace of new leases, outreach workers can’t get their clients into rooms even when they are eligible.
Tasha Tinsley, 41, who has hepatitis C, said in an interview that she’d been waiting for three weeks to be given a hotel room. Throughout the recent protests and civil unrest, she mostly stayed in her tent at 3rd and Main streets, not wanting to get in trouble with the police.
“I am trying to get my business done during the day,” she said last week before the curfew was lifted, “because at night I’m not leaving my tent.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom launched Project Roomkey in early April with a statewide goal of leasing 15,000 rooms in hotels and motels that had lost business because of the coronavirus. The Federal Emergency Management Agency agreed to pay 75% of the cost, and Newsom put in $150 million of state money.
Officials in Los Angeles quickly doubled down on the governor’s goal, saying 15,000 rooms were needed in the county after the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority identified that many people in its database — about a quarter of the county’s estimated homeless population — who met the federal criteria for FEMA reimbursement.
The precipitous decline of travel caused by the COVID-19 pandemic made the leasing program attractive to many hotel owners as a way to sustain income while their properties would otherwise be closed. There are still tens of thousands of rooms available for lease, a spokesman for the Hotel Association of Los Angeles said.
County officials would not comment on what’s kept them from closing deals. Obstacles related to insurance and indemnity are at least partly responsible. Another factor is how quickly homeless officials can muster the services needed to manage the hotels.
After setting up 35 hotels, the Homeless Services Authority is facing a limit on its capacity, interim Executive Director Heidi Marston said.
The window may now be closing as some owners begin developing ways to instill customer confidence as portions of the economy reopen.
While tacitly acknowledging that they may never reach the goal, homeless officials are sticking by their commitment to find shelter or housing for all of those designated as vulnerable because they are 65 or older or have chronic health conditions such as heart disease, respiratory ailments or diabetes.
“We have people’s lives in our hands. It’s a matter of life or death,” Marston said in a news briefing late last month. “That is a different priority than we’ve seen in the past.”
The shortfall is most pronounced in downtown and South Los Angeles, the two areas with the highest concentrations of homeless people. Only two motels with a total of just over 100 rooms have been leased in South Los Angeles, enough to shelter less than 1% of the estimated 13,000 homeless people in the area.
A 467-room hotel lease negotiated by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s staff has buttressed the effort in downtown. But the nearly 1,000 rooms under lease there are only enough to house 6% of the estimated 17,000 homeless people living in the area in and around downtown.
The best results have been in the San Gabriel Valley, where the homeless count is comparatively low. Enough rooms are currently under lease for nearly 14% of the estimated homeless population. The bed rate trailed in other areas: 10% in East Los Angeles, 7% in the South Bay, 5% in the San Fernando Valley, 3% in West Los Angeles and 2% in the Antelope Valley.
The geographic disparities are reflected in low rates of Latinos served by Project Roomkey. A report to the Board of Supervisors by an academic team retained by the county showed that through April, 45% of those served were white and only 17% Latino, while the homeless population is 25% white and 37% Latino. Blacks made up about 33% of the Roomkey population, about the same as in the homeless population.
Marston noted the issue, saying the post-Roomkey effort must ensure that “we are recognizing and rectifying historical injustices and not just perpetuating them.”
From the outset of Project Roomkey, city and county officials have vowed to come up with an exit plan to ensure that no one temporarily housed in a hotel would be forced back onto the street.
City and county officials and nonprofits such as United Way and the California Community Foundation have been brainstorming with LAHSA on how to achieve that goal. Among the ideas under review are expanding traditional shelters, paying subsidies to make rental housing affordable and purchasing motels that are currently under short-term lease.
Joel John Roberts, the CEO of PATH and PATH Ventures, a homeless services and housing development agency, said his organization is looking for motels and hotels that the county can purchase.
But John Maceri, executive director of The People Concern, a nonprofit social service agency, expressed doubts. “I think there will be some that will be sold,” he said, “but I don’t think it’s going to be anywhere near what’s going to be needed to fill in the gap.”
Marston had said the aim was to have all 15,000 people in interim or permanent housing by April 2022. But she said she could not yet provide a breakdown of how many people would be placed in shelters, how many would receive rent subsidies and how many would be able to stay in hotel or motel rooms purchased by the city or county. Nor would she commit to how it would be funded.
United Way, which has been convening discussions on the funding, is proposing that a large portion of it come from just over $10 billion in federal coronavirus relief funds delivered to the state, county and city.
Those funds, which are restricted to coronavirus relief, could “allow all 15,000 people experiencing homelessness who are especially at-risk of hospitalization, because of their age or health conditions, to come or stay inside,” said Tommy Newman, the nonprofit’s senior director of impact initiatives.
“The only question now is whether we’ll make the choice to embrace this critical goal.”
United Way is pushing for at least $600 million to lease, buy, or build that housing by the end of the year.
The new commitment to housing all those eligible for Project Roomkey, whether they obtain hotel rooms or not, amounts to a change of strategy that prioritizes age and physical health over a complex scoring system that rated factors such as mental health, substance use and criminal record.
Though meant to be temporary, the strategy change has the virtue of being simple and morally clear, said Randall Kuhn, a professor in UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health who co-wrote a report on the potential for coronavirus to devastate homeless camps.
“People that age should not be allowed to be homeless,” Kuhn said. “They deserve a chance to live out their time in dignity and to perhaps extend that time.”


latimes--2020-06-22--Class-action suit against LAPD adds fresh claims of injury, anguish among protesters

A lawsuit alleging violent abuses of power by Los Angeles police during recent protests has been greatly expanded to include more details on demonstrators ’ injuries and their allegations of mistreatment , as well as explicit claims of poor leadership among top police brass .
First filed earlier this month by the Los Angeles chapter of the National Lawyers Guild , Black Lives Matter and Los Angeles Community Action Network , the lawsuit was amended Sunday to provide a more complete breakdown of arrests — there were more than 3,000 over the course of several days — and accuses the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clear the streets .
The lawsuit says demonstrators ’ constitutional rights were violated and many were left bloodied and bruised .
“ We wanted to show the scope of what happened over all of these days and the range of injuries , ” said Carol Sobel , a longtime civil rights attorney who is helping to represent the plaintiffs .
“ What ’ s extraordinary about this is how many people got shot in the upper torso or the head , because those are potentially deadly strikes.
” The updated lawsuit also elaborates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the coronavirus after being crammed on buses for hours , often for infractions that the plaintiffs argue do not legally justify arrest or detention , only citations on the street .
It accuses LAPD Chief Michel Moore of condoning such arrests despite knowing the risks posed by the virus , and of ordering the types of force that can severely wound demonstrators , including the firing of foam and sponge bullets into crowds .
“ These were not just poorly trained officers , ” Sobel said .
“ These were mis-trained officers being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to comment on the specific allegations .
The expansion of the class-action lawsuit , based on new information and images from more than 1,000 people who have been in touch with the Lawyers Guild and other attorneys in the case , follows a Times investigation that found LAPD officers wounded many demonstrators using batons and less-lethal projectiles , often in ways that likely violated protocol .
It also comes amid mounting litigation over the LAPD ’ s response to days of protest at the end of last month and early this month over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the killings of other black men and women at the hands of police across the country .
Separately on Monday , a 22-year-old woman named Laura Montilla filed her own lawsuit against the LAPD and other law enforcement officials , alleging abuses — including that she was surrounded , or “ kettled , ” by police officers ahead of an evening curfew that had been bumped up without much warning , then blocked from leaving , arrested , and left in handcuffs for hours .
Suits against the LAPD also include one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was shot in the head with a police projectile while in her car near protests in the Fairfax district , as well as lawsuits by the ACLU and other advocacy organizations over the department ’ s implementation of curfews in the city for several nights in a row .
Capt .
Gisselle Espinoza , an LAPD spokeswoman , said the department didn ’ t comment on pending litigation but was “ fully committed to investigating every allegation of misconduct or excessive force related to the recent protests ” and had assigned 40 internal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ department has previously acknowledged receiving at least 74 complaints against officers , about 40 of them alleging excessive force .
It has placed at least 10 officers on desk duty pending the outcome of investigations but has not punished any officers .
According to protocol , officers can use batons to push people in large crowds that they are trying to disperse but are only meant to strike people with batons when those individuals present a danger .
Officers are allowed to shoot projectiles at people ’ s belt line but not at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not supposed to shoot projectiles into crowds but at specific targets , and they are not supposed to shoot them at people who are running away .
The expanded lawsuit alleges the LAPD violated many of its own rules , as well as other laws governing how and whether police can confront protesters in the street .
One plaintiff , Abigail Rodas , said she was trying to leave a protest in the Fairfax district on May 30 when LAPD officers started shooting projectiles at her and a friend .
She said she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ consciousness .
The lawsuit includes a picture of Rodas ’ bloodied mouth with gauze coming out of it .
Rodas was driven to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center , where she was diagnosed with a severe fracture to her right mandible and rushed into surgery , the lawsuit claims .
She left the hospital two days later with stitches inside and outside her mouth and a steel plate along her jawbone , it claims .
“ She was unable to talk for about 10 days .
For one week , she could only drink liquids @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” the lawsuit states .
“ Nearly three weeks after the injury , she has screws in her gums and rubber bands to immobilize her jaw while the bones rejoin.
” Another plaintiff , Jeffrey Trotter , 51 , who lives at the Rosslyn Hotel on skid row , said he was walking home when officers in riot gear confronted him and asked him where he was going .
After he said he was returning home from a walk to Rite-Aid , the lawsuit states , the officer without further discussion “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plaintiff with hard rubber or foam projectiles at close range four times , once in the chest , twice in the stomach , and once on the left hand.
” He was in intense pain for more than a week , the lawsuit says , and the projectiles tore skin from his chest and hand .
In her own lawsuit , filed Monday against Moore , Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva and other unidentified officers , Montilla claims that she was sexually assaulted by officers .
Multiple officers groped her breasts and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
She did not identify the officers .
She also said an LAPD officer handcuffed her so tightly in zip ties that she lost feeling in her right hand and had “ abrasions and a bruise ” on her wrist for days .
She said she and others arrested alongside her , including homeless individuals who would have been exempt from the curfew , were subjected to “ torturous , inhumane conditions.
” She said she was loaded on a bus along with others , who started to panic and scream in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no explanation by police as to where they were being taken and that officers subjected them to blaring heavy metal music .
“ Every single officer who was present that day was complicit in that cruelty , ” Montilla said in an interview Monday .
“ The police I encountered did what they did because they are protected by a system that does not hold them accountable.
” The sheriff ’ s office said it did not comment on pending litigation .
Both Montilla and the plaintiffs in the expanded lawsuit argue that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus , including by not requiring officers to wear masks .
Medical experts have criticized the department ’ s use of crowded buses to transport nonviolent curfew violators , given the ongoing pandemic .
The advocate organizations that filed the expanded lawsuit laid the blame for that and for many of the most severe injuries to protesters directly at the feet of Moore , who oversaw the department ’ s response and was personally on the scene in the Fairfax District on May 30 , when some of the most brutal police enforcement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ approved , and ratified the unwarranted assault on the protesters with projectiles and batons , ” the lawsuit states .
“ Alternatively , he did nothing to stop the assault on the protesters as he witnessed it.
” Asked on Monday about the claims in the lawsuit , Moore deferred to Espinoza ’ s statement , adding only that officers were “ the subject of countless assaults as well as witnessed vandalism , fires and looting.
” Moore previously said he was forced to give dispersal orders and to enforce curfews at various @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spiraling out of control and people ’ s lives were in danger .
He also said he saw some things he didn ’ t like , including the use of batons by some officers , and made some orders in the field to halt them .
Police previously said that dozens of officers were injured , including an officer whose skull was fractured .

A lawsuit alleging violent abuses of power by Los Angeles police during recent protests has been greatly expanded to include more details on demonstrators’ injuries and their allegations of mistreatment, as well as explicit claims of poor leadership among top police brass.
First filed earlier this month by the Los Angeles chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, Black Lives Matter and Los Angeles Community Action Network, the lawsuit was amended Sunday to provide a more complete breakdown of arrests — there were more than 3,000 over the course of several days — and accuses the LAPD of repeatedly misapplying the law to clear the streets. The lawsuit says demonstrators’ constitutional rights were violated and many were left bloodied and bruised.
“We wanted to show the scope of what happened over all of these days and the range of injuries,” said Carol Sobel, a longtime civil rights attorney who is helping to represent the plaintiffs. “What’s extraordinary about this is how many people got shot in the upper torso or the head, because those are potentially deadly strikes.”
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The updated lawsuit also elaborates on the possible exposure of arrestees to the coronavirus after being crammed on buses for hours, often for infractions that the plaintiffs argue do not legally justify arrest or detention, only citations on the street. It accuses LAPD Chief Michel Moore of condoning such arrests despite knowing the risks posed by the virus, and of ordering the types of force that can severely wound demonstrators, including the firing of foam and sponge bullets into crowds.
“These were not just poorly trained officers,” Sobel said. “These were mis-trained officers being directed by the chief.”
Police declined to comment on the specific allegations.
The expansion of the class-action lawsuit, based on new information and images from more than 1,000 people who have been in touch with the Lawyers Guild and other attorneys in the case, follows a Times investigation that found LAPD officers wounded many demonstrators using batons and less-lethal projectiles, often in ways that likely violated protocol.
It also comes amid mounting litigation over the LAPD’s response to days of protest at the end of last month and early this month over the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the killings of other black men and women at the hands of police across the country.
Separately on Monday, a 22-year-old woman named Laura Montilla filed her own lawsuit against the LAPD and other law enforcement officials, alleging abuses — including that she was surrounded, or “kettled,” by police officers ahead of an evening curfew that had been bumped up without much warning, then blocked from leaving, arrested, and left in handcuffs for hours.
Suits against the LAPD also include one brought by a woman who said she was shot in the head with a police projectile while in her car near protests in the Fairfax district, as well as lawsuits by the ACLU and other advocacy organizations over the department’s implementation of curfews in the city for several nights in a row.
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Capt. Gisselle Espinoza, an LAPD spokeswoman, said the department didn’t comment on pending litigation but was “fully committed to investigating every allegation of misconduct or excessive force related to the recent protests” and had assigned 40 internal affairs investigators to the task.
The department has previously acknowledged receiving at least 74 complaints against officers, about 40 of them alleging excessive force. It has placed at least 10 officers on desk duty pending the outcome of investigations but has not punished any officers.
According to protocol, officers can use batons to push people in large crowds that they are trying to disperse but are only meant to strike people with batons when those individuals present a danger. Officers are allowed to shoot projectiles at people’s belt line but not at their heads or necks. They are not supposed to shoot projectiles into crowds but at specific targets, and they are not supposed to shoot them at people who are running away.
The expanded lawsuit alleges the LAPD violated many of its own rules, as well as other laws governing how and whether police can confront protesters in the street.
One plaintiff, Abigail Rodas, said she was trying to leave a protest in the Fairfax district on May 30 when LAPD officers started shooting projectiles at her and a friend. She said she was shot in the face and lost consciousness. The lawsuit includes a picture of Rodas’ bloodied mouth with gauze coming out of it.
Rodas was driven to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where she was diagnosed with a severe fracture to her right mandible and rushed into surgery, the lawsuit claims. She left the hospital two days later with stitches inside and outside her mouth and a steel plate along her jawbone, it claims.
“She was unable to talk for about 10 days. For one week, she could only drink liquids and is still on a soft-food diet,” the lawsuit states. “Nearly three weeks after the injury, she has screws in her gums and rubber bands to immobilize her jaw while the bones rejoin.”
Another plaintiff, Jeffrey Trotter, 51, who lives at the Rosslyn Hotel on skid row, said he was walking home when officers in riot gear confronted him and asked him where he was going. After he said he was returning home from a walk to Rite-Aid, the lawsuit states, the officer without further discussion “took a few steps back and shot plaintiff with hard rubber or foam projectiles at close range four times, once in the chest, twice in the stomach, and once on the left hand.”
He was in intense pain for more than a week, the lawsuit says, and the projectiles tore skin from his chest and hand.
In her own lawsuit, filed Monday against Moore, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva and other unidentified officers, Montilla claims that she was sexually assaulted by officers.
Multiple officers groped her breasts and vagina, she claims in the lawsuit. She did not identify the officers. She also said an LAPD officer handcuffed her so tightly in zip ties that she lost feeling in her right hand and had “abrasions and a bruise” on her wrist for days. She said she and others arrested alongside her, including homeless individuals who would have been exempt from the curfew, were subjected to “torturous, inhumane conditions.”
She said she was loaded on a bus along with others, who started to panic and scream in the dark. She said they were given no explanation by police as to where they were being taken and that officers subjected them to blaring heavy metal music.
“Every single officer who was present that day was complicit in that cruelty,” Montilla said in an interview Monday. “The police I encountered did what they did because they are protected by a system that does not hold them accountable.”
The sheriff’s office said it did not comment on pending litigation.
Both Montilla and the plaintiffs in the expanded lawsuit argue that the LAPD unnecessarily exposed them to the coronavirus, including by not requiring officers to wear masks. Medical experts have criticized the department’s use of crowded buses to transport nonviolent curfew violators, given the ongoing pandemic.
The advocate organizations that filed the expanded lawsuit laid the blame for that and for many of the most severe injuries to protesters directly at the feet of Moore, who oversaw the department’s response and was personally on the scene in the Fairfax District on May 30, when some of the most brutal police enforcement occurred.
“Chief Moore authorized, approved, and ratified the unwarranted assault on the protesters with projectiles and batons,” the lawsuit states. “Alternatively, he did nothing to stop the assault on the protesters as he witnessed it.”
Asked on Monday about the claims in the lawsuit, Moore deferred to Espinoza’s statement, adding only that officers were “the subject of countless assaults as well as witnessed vandalism, fires and looting.”
Moore previously said he was forced to give dispersal orders and to enforce curfews at various points during the protests because things were spiraling out of control and people’s lives were in danger.
He also said he saw some things he didn’t like, including the use of batons by some officers, and made some orders in the field to halt them.
Police previously said that dozens of officers were injured, including an officer whose skull was fractured.


latimes--2020-06-22--Oakland professor on leave after asking student to 'Anglicize' her name

An Oakland college professor has been placed on administrative leave after asking an Asian student to “ Anglicize ” her name , saying the pronunciation “ sounds like an insult.
” Matthew Hubbard was unwilling to call on student Phuc Bui Diem Nguyen , a Vietnamese American freshman , by her given name , claiming that it too closely resembled a profanity in English .
Growing up , Nguyen had gone by the nickname “ May.
” But as a freshman at Laney College , she was excited to use her birth name , which means “ happiness blessing.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ class last week during the summer semester , Nguyen said she received an unsolicited email from her professor .
“ Could you Anglicize your name ?
Phuc Bui sounds like an insult in English , ” the professor wrote on Wednesday .
“ Hello Professor Hubbard , ” she wrote .
“ Your request for me to ‘ Anglicize ’ my name feels discriminatory and I will move forward with filing a complaint with the Title IX Office if you can not refer to me by my given birth name .
Best , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has more than 17,000 students , nearly 30 % of whom identify as Asian .
Classes are being conducted online and via Zoom sessions , while the campus remains closed amid the COVID-19 pandemic .
In a , the school ’ s president , Tammeil Gilkerson , said the college has been “ discussing and working to combat structural racism , xenophobia , and violence in both the Black and Asian Pacific Islander community ” for decades .
But when Hubbard received Nguyen ’ s email , he did not relent .
Nine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ Your name in English sounds like F— boy.
” If I lived in Vietnam and my name in your language sounded like Eat a D— , I would change it to avoid embarrassment , ” he wrote .
“ I repeat my request.
” A Twitter user caught word of the incident and posted a screenshot of the emails on Thursday .
The post has been retweeted nearly 50,000 times and received more than 125,000 likes .
Nguyen ’ s sister later posted a screenshot of the emails to Instagram , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and audacity.
” “ As a professor , he should be trying to learn her name and culture and not try to whitewash her name .
My sister graduated high school thinking she can finally be able to use her name , ” she wrote .
“ I love that my parents want to keep my culture alive by keeping our Vietnamese name.
” By Thursday , Hubbard had thought of an alternative .
Another student in his 30-person trig class had changed his online name , Hubbard .
Why couldn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all of the students to rename themselves by their last name and first initial during the Zoom class .
“ P .
Nguyen , ” he said , calling on the freshman .
Later that day , Gilkerson announced that Hubbard , who has taught at Laney for 15 years , had been placed on administrative leave .
“ While our mission has been bold and unrelenting , we also recognize that our college and its community is a reflection of broader society and we must actively fight ignorance with education .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ oppression of any kind , ” Gilkerson wrote .
In an email Monday , Hubbard declined to comment .
The Peralta Community College District , a collaboration of community colleges in Oakland , Saturday .
“ We understand the need to challenge and eliminate racism and white supremacy in all of its insidious forms , including the suppression of native cultures and languages and its demands that people of color conform to norms of ‘ whiteness , ’ ” board President Julina Bonilla and Secretary Regina Stanback Stroud wrote .
The college district @ @ @ @ @ @ @ expand racial literacy ” among the faculty , staff and administrators in response to racial injustice and the death of George Floyd .
Stewart Kwoh , the founder of Asian Americans Advancing Justice-L.A. , says learning names and the background of names should be part of the education process for professors and students alike .
“ Your name is who you are , ” he said .
If people refuse to call you by that name , “ you ’ re getting a message that your name and yourself are not acceptable .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ an insult because your real name is considered off-bounds or considered a curse word .
”

A Laney College professor is on leave after refusing to call an Asian student by her given name, saying it “sounds like an insult.”
An Oakland college professor has been placed on administrative leave after asking an Asian student to “Anglicize” her name, saying the pronunciation “sounds like an insult.”
Matthew Hubbard was unwilling to call on student Phuc Bui Diem Nguyen, a Vietnamese American freshman, by her given name, claiming that it too closely resembled a profanity in English.
Growing up, Nguyen had gone by the nickname “May.” But as a freshman at Laney College, she was excited to use her birth name, which means “happiness blessing.”
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But on the second day of trigonometry class last week during the summer semester, Nguyen said she received an unsolicited email from her professor.
“Could you Anglicize your name? Phuc Bui sounds like an insult in English,” the professor wrote on Wednesday.
Offended but composed, Nguyen began to type.
“Hello Professor Hubbard,” she wrote. “Your request for me to ‘Anglicize’ my name feels discriminatory and I will move forward with filing a complaint with the Title IX Office if you can not refer to me by my given birth name. Best, Phuc Bui Diem Nguyen.”
Laney College has more than 17,000 students, nearly 30% of whom identify as Asian. Classes are being conducted online and via Zoom sessions, while the campus remains closed amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement , the school’s president, Tammeil Gilkerson, said the college has been “discussing and working to combat structural racism, xenophobia, and violence in both the Black and Asian Pacific Islander community” for decades.
But when Hubbard received Nguyen’s email, he did not relent. Nine minutes later, the professor fired back.
“Your name in English sounds like F— boy.” If I lived in Vietnam and my name in your language sounded like Eat a D— , I would change it to avoid embarrassment,” he wrote. “I repeat my request.”
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A Twitter user caught word of the incident and posted a screenshot of the emails on Thursday. The post has been retweeted nearly 50,000 times and received more than 125,000 likes.
Nguyen’s sister later posted a screenshot of the emails to Instagram, stressing the professor’s “ignorance and audacity.”
“As a professor, he should be trying to learn her name and culture and not try to whitewash her name. My sister graduated high school thinking she can finally be able to use her name,” she wrote. “I love that my parents want to keep my culture alive by keeping our Vietnamese name.”
By Thursday, Hubbard had thought of an alternative. Another student in his 30-person trig class had changed his online name, Hubbard told the New York Times . Why couldn’t Nguyen do the same?
He asked all of the students to rename themselves by their last name and first initial during the Zoom class.
“P. Nguyen,” he said, calling on the freshman.
Later that day, Gilkerson announced that Hubbard, who has taught at Laney for 15 years, had been placed on administrative leave.
“While our mission has been bold and unrelenting, we also recognize that our college and its community is a reflection of broader society and we must actively fight ignorance with education. We do not tolerate racism, discrimination or oppression of any kind,” Gilkerson wrote.
In an email Monday, Hubbard declined to comment.
The Peralta Community College District, a collaboration of community colleges in Oakland, issued a statement Saturday.
“We understand the need to challenge and eliminate racism and white supremacy in all of its insidious forms, including the suppression of native cultures and languages and its demands that people of color conform to norms of ‘whiteness,’” board President Julina Bonilla and Secretary Regina Stanback Stroud wrote.
The college district recently announced it would work to “expand racial literacy” among the faculty, staff and administrators in response to racial injustice and the death of George Floyd.
Stewart Kwoh, the founder of Asian Americans Advancing Justice-L.A., says learning names and the background of names should be part of the education process for professors and students alike.
“Your name is who you are,” he said. If people refuse to call you by that name, “you’re getting a message that your name and yourself are not acceptable. You feel devalued. It’s an insult because your real name is considered off-bounds or considered a curse word.”