latimes--2020-09-30--Think California is bouncing back? Recovery will take more than two years, economists say

California ’ s economy began to bounce back this summer thanks to an infusion of federal jobless benefits and business loans along with the reopening of some workplaces , but a full recovery from the coronavirus downturn will take more than two years , UCLA economists predict .
The UCLA Anderson quarterly forecast released Wednesday suggested California payrolls will drop 7.2 % this year to 16 million jobs , a loss of some 1.5 million since the COVID-19 pandemic hit .
They are expected to climb back slowly , by just 1.3 % next year and 3.5 % in 2022 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rate , which was 3.9 % in February , will average 10.8 % this year , then fall to 8.6 % next year and 6.6 % in 2022 , the forecast calculated .
Nonetheless , “ the news is not all bad , ” economist Leila Bengali wrote in the report , noting that some industries are faring far better than others .
A precipitous drop in travelers has hammered California ’ s leisure and hospitality sector , where payrolls are projected to fall 25 % this year , but “ the housing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ particular strength and a quick recovery to pre-recession levels.
” Residential building permits slowed at the start of the pandemic but will be back to a normal pace by year ’ s end , the forecast predicted , and will climb to 127,000 units in 2022 from an estimated 105,000 this year .
The California economy will “ largely track movements in the U.S. economy with some areas displaying more weakness and some displaying more strength , ” Bengali wrote .
For example , professional and business services , which includes many technology @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , while leisure and hospitality , along with such industries as auto repair and personal care , will be weaker .
Still , those predictions could be too rosy given COVID-19 ’ s fluctuating path and the uncertainty of vaccines and treatments that could affect how many businesses are able to revive .
“ Our forecast assumes either widespread availability and usage of an effective vaccine in early 2021 or that the pandemic ’ s impact on economic activity abates and is relatively mild in 2021 and 2022 , ” economists Leo Feler @ @ @ @ @ @ @ section of the report , titled “ The Recovery Is Losing Momentum.
” Moreover , the UCLA forecast assumed that Congress will allocate at least $ 1 trillion in fiscal stimulus before the end of the year — even though negotiations for new federal relief have been at a standstill for months with little sign of progress .
“ None of these assumptions are assured , and if they do not come to pass , our forecast , presented here , is too optimistic , ” Feler and Nickelsburg caution .
The $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the federal CARES Act extended to the jobless expired at the end of July , and a $ 300 weekly supplement for some workers ended this month .
A federal program giving jobless benefits to gig workers and the self-employed is set to expire at the end of the year .
Gig workers — including such diverse occupations as ride-hailing drivers , lawyers , technology contractors and entertainment industry artists and writers — are not eligible for state unemployment benefits , which are only funded for payroll employees .
From 2005 to 2018 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % to more than 26 million in the U.S. and by 39 % in Los Angeles County to 1.1 million , according to a section in the forecast by economist William Yu .
Congress has also not renewed the Paycheck Protection Program , through which small businesses could get forgivable loans on the condition they maintained their workforces .
From April through August , 623,000 California businesses that collectively provide an estimated 6 million jobs received loans under the federal program .
Overall , the U.S. economy reopened faster than expected in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ consumers and businesses adapted to remote working and the Federal Reserve committed to low interest rates , Feler and Nickelsburg wrote .
Nonetheless , they predict a 4.2 % decline in the nation ’ s real gross domestic product this year — bigger than the 2.8 % drop the U.S. experienced in 2008 during the Great Recession .
They expect 3.5 % growth in 2021 and 4 % growth in 2022 .
However , “ even as the economy recovers , the sticking point is unemployment , ” they wrote , forecasting the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its 14.7 % peak in April to 7.8 % by the end of the year and gradually to 4.7 % by the end of 2022 .
It won ’ t reach pre-pandemic rates before late 2024 , they estimated .
Despite workers returning from temporary layoffs as some businesses reopen , “ continued recovery will be much more arduous as more bankruptcies unfold and slack demand for sectors with high human contact continues , ” Feler and Nickelsburg predicted .
They also noted slower recovery for Black people and for women than for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % of Black men nationwide were unemployed , compared with 6.9 % of white men ; 12.5 % of Black women were jobless versus 7.3 % of white women .
Education-related gaps have widened considerably with the pandemic , they wrote .
In August , 9.8 % of workers with just a high school degree were jobless , compared with 5.3 % of those with at least a bachelor ’ s degree .
The report noted a stock market recovery driven by “ an economy that is led by a concentrated number of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where many labor-intensive sectors that provide the goods and services for human interaction lag far behind.
” Leaders are companies that enable remote working ( such as Zoom Video Communications Inc. , Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp. ) , shopping from home ( Amazon.com Inc. and Wayfair Inc. ) , exercising at home ( Peloton Interactive Inc. ) , shipping goods to homes ( United Parcel Service Inc. and FedEx Corp. ) , meal delivery ( Grubhub Inc. ) or home improvement ( Home Depot Inc. ) .
Laggards include airlines , hotels @ @ @ @ @ @ @ movie theaters , restaurants and gyms .
UCLA ’ s forecast , a widely watched report now in its 69th year , is in line with that of other economists .
“ Recovery from here will be much more difficult , ” said Scott Anderson , chief economist at Bank of the West in San Francisco .
“ Growth is already slowing and downside risks are building as another round of federal aid is delayed .
Some industries won ’ t fully recover until long after the pandemic has ended.
” His California @ @ @ @ @ @ @ somewhat higher California job growth next year : 2 % , as opposed to UCLA ’ s forecast of 1.3 % .
He also assumes at least $ 1 trillion in new federal aid and a vaccine by early next year .

California residential building permits slowed at the start of the pandemic but will be back to a normal pace by year’s end, the UCLA Anderson forecast predicts. Above, a home under construction in South San Francisco.
California’s economy began to bounce back this summer thanks to an infusion of federal jobless benefits and business loans along with the reopening of some workplaces, but a full recovery from the coronavirus downturn will take more than two years, UCLA economists predict.
The UCLA Anderson quarterly forecast released Wednesday suggested California payrolls will drop 7.2% this year to 16 million jobs, a loss of some 1.5 million since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. They are expected to climb back slowly, by just 1.3% next year and 3.5% in 2022.
The Golden State’s unemployment rate, which was 3.9% in February, will average 10.8% this year, then fall to 8.6% next year and 6.6% in 2022, the forecast calculated.
Nonetheless, “the news is not all bad,” economist Leila Bengali wrote in the report, noting that some industries are faring far better than others. A precipitous drop in travelers has hammered California’s leisure and hospitality sector, where payrolls are projected to fall 25% this year, but “the housing market is an area where we project particular strength and a quick recovery to pre-recession levels.”
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Residential building permits slowed at the start of the pandemic but will be back to a normal pace by year’s end, the forecast predicted, and will climb to 127,000 units in 2022 from an estimated 105,000 this year.
The California economy will “largely track movements in the U.S. economy with some areas displaying more weakness and some displaying more strength,” Bengali wrote. For example, professional and business services, which includes many technology jobs, may be stronger in California, while leisure and hospitality, along with such industries as auto repair and personal care, will be weaker.
Still, those predictions could be too rosy given COVID-19’s fluctuating path and the uncertainty of vaccines and treatments that could affect how many businesses are able to revive.
“Our forecast assumes either widespread availability and usage of an effective vaccine in early 2021 or that the pandemic’s impact on economic activity abates and is relatively mild in 2021 and 2022,” economists Leo Feler and Jerry Nickelsburg wrote in the U.S. section of the report, titled “The Recovery Is Losing Momentum.”
Moreover, the UCLA forecast assumed that Congress will allocate at least $1 trillion in fiscal stimulus before the end of the year — even though negotiations for new federal relief have been at a standstill for months with little sign of progress.
“None of these assumptions are assured, and if they do not come to pass, our forecast, presented here, is too optimistic,” Feler and Nickelsburg caution.
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The $600 weekly supplement to state benefits that the federal CARES Act extended to the jobless expired at the end of July, and a $300 weekly supplement for some workers ended this month. A federal program giving jobless benefits to gig workers and the self-employed is set to expire at the end of the year.
Gig workers — including such diverse occupations as ride-hailing drivers, lawyers, technology contractors and entertainment industry artists and writers — are not eligible for state unemployment benefits, which are only funded for payroll employees. From 2005 to 2018, gig worker numbers skyrocketed by 30% to more than 26 million in the U.S. and by 39% in Los Angeles County to 1.1 million, according to a section in the forecast by economist William Yu.
Congress has also not renewed the Paycheck Protection Program, through which small businesses could get forgivable loans on the condition they maintained their workforces. From April through August, 623,000 California businesses that collectively provide an estimated 6 million jobs received loans under the federal program.
Overall, the U.S. economy reopened faster than expected in the third quarter of this year because many consumers and businesses adapted to remote working and the Federal Reserve committed to low interest rates, Feler and Nickelsburg wrote.
Nonetheless, they predict a 4.2% decline in the nation’s real gross domestic product this year — bigger than the 2.8% drop the U.S. experienced in 2008 during the Great Recession. They expect 3.5% growth in 2021 and 4% growth in 2022.
However, “even as the economy recovers, the sticking point is unemployment,” they wrote, forecasting the nation’s joblessness will drop from its 14.7% peak in April to 7.8% by the end of the year and gradually to 4.7% by the end of 2022. It won’t reach pre-pandemic rates before late 2024, they estimated.
Despite workers returning from temporary layoffs as some businesses reopen, “continued recovery will be much more arduous as more bankruptcies unfold and slack demand for sectors with high human contact continues,” Feler and Nickelsburg predicted.
They also noted slower recovery for Black people and for women than for white men. In August, 13.2% of Black men nationwide were unemployed, compared with 6.9% of white men; 12.5% of Black women were jobless versus 7.3% of white women.
Education-related gaps have widened considerably with the pandemic, they wrote. In August, 9.8% of workers with just a high school degree were jobless, compared with 5.3% of those with at least a bachelor’s degree.
The report noted a stock market recovery driven by “an economy that is led by a concentrated number of large, capital-intensive technology titans, one where many labor-intensive sectors that provide the goods and services for human interaction lag far behind.”
Leaders are companies that enable remote working (such as Zoom Video Communications Inc., Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp.), shopping from home (Amazon.com Inc. and Wayfair Inc.), exercising at home (Peloton Interactive Inc.), shipping goods to homes (United Parcel Service Inc. and FedEx Corp.), meal delivery (Grubhub Inc.) or home improvement (Home Depot Inc.). Laggards include airlines, hotels, cruise lines, theme parks, movie theaters, restaurants and gyms.
UCLA’s forecast, a widely watched report now in its 69th year, is in line with that of other economists.
“Recovery from here will be much more difficult,” said Scott Anderson, chief economist at Bank of the West in San Francisco. “Growth is already slowing and downside risks are building as another round of federal aid is delayed. Some industries won’t fully recover until long after the pandemic has ended.”
His California forecast, published Sept. 22, predicted somewhat higher California job growth next year: 2%, as opposed to UCLA’s forecast of 1.3%. He also assumes at least $1 trillion in new federal aid and a vaccine by early next year.


latimes--2020-09-30--One boy killed, another injured in Westlake Village crash

One boy was killed and another injured Tuesday night after being struck by a car in Westlake Village , according @ @ @ @ @ Sheriff ’ s Department .
At 7:10 p.m. , a motorist hit the two boys @ @ @ @ @ near the intersection of Triunfo Canyon Road and Saddle Mountain Drive , the Sheriff ’ @ @ @ @ @ statement .
One of the boys was pronounced dead at the scene ; the other @ @ @ @ @ hospital .
His condition was unclear Tuesday night .
The Sheriff ’ s Department said @ @ @ @ @ ” had been detained .

One boy was killed and another injured Tuesday night after being struck by a car in Westlake Village, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
At 7:10 p.m., a motorist hit the two boys, who were pedestrians, near the intersection of Triunfo Canyon Road and Saddle Mountain Drive, the Sheriff’s Department said in a statement. One of the boys was pronounced dead at the scene; the other was taken to a local hospital. His condition was unclear Tuesday night.
The Sheriff’s Department said a “person of interest” had been detained.


latimes--2020-09-30--Fatal cases of COVID-19 at nursing facilities prompt new California law

With skilled nursing homes hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic , Gov .
Gavin Newsom on Tuesday signed a law requiring those facilities in California to report disease-related deaths to health authorities within 24 hours during declared emergencies .
The law was written in response to concerns that health agencies were slow to respond to outbreaks in skilled nursing facilities because they did not receive timely information about them .
So far , more than 5,630 residents and staff at skilled nursing facilities in the state have died from COVID-19 — 36 % of California ’ s fatalities from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the significant weaknesses in the reporting system currently required by these facilities , ” said Assemblyman Jim Wood ( D-Healdsburg ) , who introduced the legislation .
COVID-19 outbreaks have occurred at some 1,164 skilled nursing homes and 379 assisted-living facilities in California , according to the state Department of Public Health .
The spread at such facilities is alarming to health officials , who note that the virus is especially deadly for the elderly and for those with underlying medical problems .
Wood ’ s bill requires that records of deaths be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ department ’ s website , and that residents of the facilities and their families be notified of COVID-19 cases .
“ This data , which will be reported in a manner that protects an individual ’ s privacy , will help the state receive more timely data , helping us respond much more quickly to the spread of communicable diseases , such as COVID-19 , and save lives , ” said Wood , who is a dentist .
The measure , AB 2644 , also puts into law current Department of Public Health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ member who is trained in infection prevention and control .
In the early weeks after the pandemic was declared in March , much of what the public knew about COVID-19 in nursing homes did not come from public health agencies but from relatives , staff members and facility administrators .
The state was slow to report to the public which skilled nursing facilities were dealing with outbreaks .
The reporting requirements in the new law will also help the state meet its mandate to send data on virus infections to the federal Centers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ measure was supported by groups advocating for the elderly , including the California Commission on Aging .
“ This pandemic has highlighted the ongoing problems of poor infection control , understaffing and poor regulation of nursing homes here and across the nation , ” Betsy Butler , the commission ’ s chairwoman , said in a letter to lawmakers , adding that the bill “ takes meaningful steps to address these issues .
”

Patients were moved from Riverside’s Magnolia Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in April after staff failed to show up. Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a law requiring the reporting of deaths during health emergencies.
With skilled nursing homes hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday signed a law requiring those facilities in California to report disease-related deaths to health authorities within 24 hours during declared emergencies.
The law was written in response to concerns that health agencies were slow to respond to outbreaks in skilled nursing facilities because they did not receive timely information about them.
So far, more than 5,630 residents and staff at skilled nursing facilities in the state have died from COVID-19 — 36% of California’s fatalities from the coronavirus. The percentage “reveals the significant weaknesses in the reporting system currently required by these facilities,” said Assemblyman Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg), who introduced the legislation.
COVID-19 outbreaks have occurred at some 1,164 skilled nursing homes and 379 assisted-living facilities in California, according to the state Department of Public Health. The spread at such facilities is alarming to health officials, who note that the virus is especially deadly for the elderly and for those with underlying medical problems.
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Wood’s bill requires that records of deaths be compiled into a weekly report on the department’s website, and that residents of the facilities and their families be notified of COVID-19 cases.
“This data, which will be reported in a manner that protects an individual’s privacy, will help the state receive more timely data, helping us respond much more quickly to the spread of communicable diseases, such as COVID-19, and save lives,” said Wood, who is a dentist.
The measure, AB 2644, also puts into law current Department of Public Health guidance that facilities have a full-time staff member who is trained in infection prevention and control.
In the early weeks after the pandemic was declared in March, much of what the public knew about COVID-19 in nursing homes did not come from public health agencies but from relatives, staff members and facility administrators.
The state was slow to report to the public which skilled nursing facilities were dealing with outbreaks.
The reporting requirements in the new law will also help the state meet its mandate to send data on virus infections to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The measure was supported by groups advocating for the elderly, including the California Commission on Aging.
“This pandemic has highlighted the ongoing problems of poor infection control, understaffing and poor regulation of nursing homes here and across the nation,” Betsy Butler, the commission’s chairwoman, said in a letter to lawmakers, adding that the bill “takes meaningful steps to address these issues.”


latimes--2020-09-30--Police in L.A. and across California disproportionately cite Black people for minor infractions, stu

Police in L.A. and across California disproportionately cite Black people for minor infractions, study finds

Police in Los Angeles and other major cities across California issue citations to Black residents for minor infractions such as loitering , drinking in public and sleeping on the street at far higher rates than white residents , according to a new study by the Lawyers ’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area .
In L.A. , Black residents — who represent less than 10 % of the city ’ s population and about 38 % of its homeless population — were 3.8 times more likely than white residents to be cited for a non-traffic infraction @ @ @ @ @ @ @ issued by the Los Angeles Police Department between 2017 and 2019 , the study found .
Black people received 63 % of citations issued by the LAPD for loitering while standing , 33 % of citations for loitering while sitting or sleeping , 27 % of citations for drinking or being intoxicated in public , 32 % of citations for having an open bottle and 29 % of citations for refusing to take down a tent , the study found .
In some cities , Latinos are also disproportionately cited , the study @ @ @ @ @ @ @ represent nearly half the population — they were found to be slightly more likely to be cited than white residents .
The LAPD did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday .
The study examined court filings , police data and other records from jurisdictions and agencies across California , including the 15 largest police departments , and found more than 250,000 non-traffic infraction citations in 2019 alone .
The report relied in part on jurisdictions responding to public records requests — more than 80 of which were filed — and some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ data do not include administrative citations issued under Los Angeles ’ Administrative Citation Enforcement program , which also targets homeless people for “ nuisance abatement and quality of life offenses.
” Still , the Lawyers ’ Committee said the study represents one of the most comprehensive statewide reviews of low-level citations ever conducted — and “ shows a pattern of enforcement of petty laws against California ’ s Black , Latinx and unhoused residents ” that “ would not be politically tenable if it targeted wealthy white Californians.
” Such citations have long @ @ @ @ @ @ @ United States to clear corners and streets of people deemed undesirable — including homeless people and those suspected of being involved in crime — and defended by elected officials as necessary tools for police to uphold order .
However , civil liberties advocates and other activists have denounced such citations and the laws they are based on as unconstitutional and ineffective enforcement tools that have perpetuated structural racism in law enforcement for decades .
The new study concluded that , in California , such citations — based on an array of local statutes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ penalizing poverty and applied in “ racist and classist ” ways , said Tifanei Ressl-Moyer , an attorney and civil rights fellow at the Lawyers ’ Committee .
Such citations saddle unhoused and other low-income people with hundreds of dollars in fines per citation and can lead to warrants for their arrests when those fines aren ’ t paid — as they often aren ’ t .
People can land in jail for the smallest infractions , at times for simply being outside in public spaces , the study found .
Often , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ report shows that even where laws appear to be neutral in composition , they are disparately enforced against Black and Latinx people , and they have tremendous consequences , ” Ressl-Moyer said .
“ We believe cities and counties in California should stop enforcing them all together.
” To conduct its study , the Lawyers ’ Committee filed public records requests with police agencies across the state and looked at data that jurisdictions must disclose under the state ’ s Racial and Identity Profiling Act .
Beyond L.A. , disparities were noted in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ San Francisco , Sacramento , San Jose , Oakland , Long Beach and elsewhere .
Khalid Samarrae , an attorney who consulted the Lawyers ’ Committee in researching and writing the report , said the enforcement and adjudication of such citations consumes billions of taxpayer dollars a year in California — money that could otherwise be put into support services to help people get off the street instead of saddling them with fines .
Some cities , including L.A. , have halted enforcement of certain infractions during the COVID-19 pandemic , citing public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ However , as cities continue to grapple with pandemic-related budget shortfalls and policymakers “ reimagine ” public safety amid calls for the defunding of police , they should consider why they are putting money into citing low-level street infractions in ways that exacerbate the problem they are meant to address , Samarrae said .
“ This is not just a police thing , ” he said .
“ We need comprehensive healthcare .
We need housing .
We need education .
All of those things are also necessary to deal with these issues @ @

A study examining court filings, police data and other records found that police in major cities across California cite Black residents for infractions such as loitering, drinking in public and sleeping on the street at disproportionately high rates.
Police in Los Angeles and other major cities across California issue citations to Black residents for minor infractions such as loitering, drinking in public and sleeping on the street at far higher rates than white residents, according to a new study by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area.
In L.A., Black residents — who represent less than 10% of the city’s population and about 38% of its homeless population — were 3.8 times more likely than white residents to be cited for a non-traffic infraction, receiving 30% of all citations issued by the Los Angeles Police Department between 2017 and 2019, the study found.
Black people received 63% of citations issued by the LAPD for loitering while standing, 33% of citations for loitering while sitting or sleeping, 27% of citations for drinking or being intoxicated in public, 32% of citations for having an open bottle and 29% of citations for refusing to take down a tent, the study found.
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In some cities, Latinos are also disproportionately cited, the study found. In L.A. — where Latinos represent nearly half the population — they were found to be slightly more likely to be cited than white residents.
The LAPD did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
The study examined court filings, police data and other records from jurisdictions and agencies across California, including the 15 largest police departments, and found more than 250,000 non-traffic infraction citations in 2019 alone.
The report relied in part on jurisdictions responding to public records requests — more than 80 of which were filed — and some did not provide data. The LAPD data do not include administrative citations issued under Los Angeles’ Administrative Citation Enforcement program, which also targets homeless people for “nuisance abatement and quality of life offenses.”
Still, the Lawyers’ Committee said the study represents one of the most comprehensive statewide reviews of low-level citations ever conducted — and “shows a pattern of enforcement of petty laws against California’s Black, Latinx and unhoused residents” that “would not be politically tenable if it targeted wealthy white Californians.”
Such citations have long been used by police departments in the United States to clear corners and streets of people deemed undesirable — including homeless people and those suspected of being involved in crime — and defended by elected officials as necessary tools for police to uphold order.
However, civil liberties advocates and other activists have denounced such citations and the laws they are based on as unconstitutional and ineffective enforcement tools that have perpetuated structural racism in law enforcement for decades.
The new study concluded that, in California, such citations — based on an array of local statutes — are used as a tool for penalizing poverty and applied in “racist and classist” ways, said Tifanei Ressl-Moyer, an attorney and civil rights fellow at the Lawyers’ Committee.
Such citations saddle unhoused and other low-income people with hundreds of dollars in fines per citation and can lead to warrants for their arrests when those fines aren’t paid — as they often aren’t.
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People can land in jail for the smallest infractions, at times for simply being outside in public spaces, the study found. Often, those people are Black.
“This report shows that even where laws appear to be neutral in composition, they are disparately enforced against Black and Latinx people, and they have tremendous consequences,” Ressl-Moyer said. “We believe cities and counties in California should stop enforcing them all together.”
To conduct its study, the Lawyers’ Committee filed public records requests with police agencies across the state and looked at data that jurisdictions must disclose under the state’s Racial and Identity Profiling Act. Beyond L.A., disparities were noted in Los Angeles County, San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, San Jose, Oakland, Long Beach and elsewhere.
Khalid Samarrae, an attorney who consulted the Lawyers’ Committee in researching and writing the report, said the enforcement and adjudication of such citations consumes billions of taxpayer dollars a year in California — money that could otherwise be put into support services to help people get off the street instead of saddling them with fines.
Some cities, including L.A., have halted enforcement of certain infractions during the COVID-19 pandemic, citing public health concerns around displacing homeless people. However, as cities continue to grapple with pandemic-related budget shortfalls and policymakers “reimagine” public safety amid calls for the defunding of police, they should consider why they are putting money into citing low-level street infractions in ways that exacerbate the problem they are meant to address, Samarrae said.
“This is not just a police thing,” he said. “We need comprehensive healthcare. We need housing. We need education. All of those things are also necessary to deal with these issues.”


latimes--2020-09-30--Swarm of small earthquakes strikes Salton Sea area

A swarm of small earthquakes struck a region of Imperial County south of the Salton Sea on Wednesday .
The @ @ @ @ @ magnitude 4.9 and struck after 5 p.m. near the town of Westmoreland .
There were @ @ @ @ @ including at least 10 that measured greater than magnitude 3.0 .
According to the U.S. @ @ @ @ @ were largely felt in relatively remote regions of Imperial and Riverside counties .
Seismologist Lucy @ @ @ @ @ the epicenter was probably “ too far from the San Andreas [ fault ] to @ @ @ @ @ quake on it.
” The San Andreas is capable of producing a catastrophic quake known @ @ @ @ @ She noted that quake swarms are relatively common in the Imperial County area and that @ @ @ @ @ in 1981 .

A swarm of small earthquakes struck a region of Imperial County south of the Salton Sea on Wednesday.
The biggest of the temblors measured magnitude 4.9 and struck after 5 p.m. near the town of Westmoreland.
There were other, smaller quakes, including at least 10 that measured greater than magnitude 3.0.
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According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quakes were largely felt in relatively remote regions of Imperial and Riverside counties.
Seismologist Lucy Jones said on Twitter that the epicenter was probably “too far from the San Andreas [fault] to change the probability of a quake on it.” The San Andreas is capable of producing a catastrophic quake known as the Big One.
She noted that quake swarms are relatively common in the Imperial County area and that Westmoreland saw a 5.8 quake in 1981.


latimes--2020-09-30--L.A. Unified's high-stakes bet that untested start-up can run its coronavirus testing program

Los Angeles schools Supt .
Austin Beutner had a problem .
He was firm in his stance that reopening schools safely during the COVID-19 pandemic would depend on rapid , extensive coronavirus testing .
But but no city , county or state program was available to provide or pay for it at the scale he thinks is needed in the nation ’ s second-largest school district .
So he turned to a former business partner , Sky Dayton , who helped him put together an audacious plan : The Los Angeles Unified School District would carry out its own testing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the country .
Beutner approved a $ 48.9-million contract with Dayton ’ s new company , SummerBio , using emergency powers he has invoked since March because of the pandemic .
The district ’ s regular , often lengthy procurement process typically involves a formal request for proposals and traditional competitive bidding .
But at the start of the pandemic , the Los Angeles school board set aside customary guardrails to give Beutner the ability to act quickly — powers he has exercised repeatedly , including in efforts to distribute meals and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This effort could end up being a major test of whether Beutner — whose background is in business rather than education — can deliver results to the sprawling district .
Dayton , the founder of EarthLink and Boingo , made a fortune in technology start-ups .
But his background for medical testing is thinner .
Nonetheless , Dayton reached out to Beutner in May , the schools chief said , pledging to deliver machine-automated coronavirus testing that would drastically drive down the cost .
“ We have to do something different because the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to say : ‘ All right , I ’ ll wait for someone else to do it , ’ ” Beutner said Wednesday .
“ That wasn ’ t happening.
” “ We knew they were building a real company , ” Beutner said .
“ Part of our due diligence was to understand who would be in charge , ” he said , referring to Dayton and Guido Baechler , who was named SummerBio ’ s chief executive in August but was associated with the project earlier .
Baechler formerly ran a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Los Angeles Board of Education said that the board is regularly briefed in general terms on the progress of the testing effort and that he wasn ’ t aware of any potential concerns with SummerBio .
He added that Beutner brings business experience and connections that are helpful in the current crisis .
“ He can sit down with knowledge with CEOs of lots of companies , ” Vladovic said .
“ I ’ m convinced he ’ s looking out for the interests of the students and the district .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and I think that ’ s one way to open schools.
” Several district insiders , speaking on the condition of anonymity , have expressed nervousness about operating outside the normal contracting process — which would have been unlikely to yield Menlo Park-based SummerBio , a company with no track record that was hurriedly hiring employees .
The fledgling company has a mail drop at a UPS store for an official address and a lab with an undisclosed location , and it just posted a starter website , which includes video footage of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Aug. 14 contract with L.A. Unified , which the district released to The Times on Wednesday , states that the company “ has not received an Emergency Use Authorization ” issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the tests .
That could normally create legal hurdles for the company ’ s ability to operate , but during the pandemic emergency , the company can do business legally by submitting an application for authorization .
The company submitted its application Aug. 7 , according to the contract .
In the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ listed 16 openings on LinkedIn last week , including postings for four scientists , a data manager , a senior automation control engineer and a biostatistician .
Beutner noted that SummerBio is using an established , FDA-approved test kit .
What ’ s new , he said , is the engineering that allows for faster and less expensive processing .
If the results arrive too slowly or are unreliable , the district doesn ’ t have to pay for those particular tests .
Given that , Beutner said , the contract is worth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ start-up .
The district has received hundreds of millions of dollars in coronavirus relief funds and intends to use that funding to pay for the testing , although it has argued that it should not have to pick up the full costs from those dollars .
Under the contract , L.A. Unified is to get next-day , early morning results for up to 40,000 daily tests , at a price that no one else can match , Beutner said .
The first 475,000 tests are $ 20 apiece , and the price drops @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after the 2-million mark drop to $ 10 apiece , which the contract schedule estimates to happen in February .
Quality tests elsewhere range higher .
By comparison , the well-regarded Broad Institute in Cambridge , Mass.
, has developed an automated procedure that has allowed it to reduce what it charges to schools and colleges , who are paying about $ 35 to $ 50 per test .
The periodic testing is supposed to encompass all K-12 , preschool and adult school students as well as some 75,000 employees — a total @ @ @ @ @ @ @ immediate family members as needed .
Inevitably , “ risk-taking is going to be part of the solution , ” said Peter Kuhn , a professor of biology , medicine and engineering at USC .
Kuhn noted that efforts to close the testing gap are coming from academic centers , existing companies that were able to adapt to a new role and “ rapid-fire start-ups financed by individuals and groups who wanted to be part of the solution.
” Ideally , he said , these kinds of transactions would occur in a fully @ @ @ @ @ @ @ moving so fast.
” Dayton is well known for entrepreneurial ventures involving the internet .
He was an early provider of dial-up internet service as EarthLink ‘ s founder .
Later , he founded Boingo , which is known for providing internet service at airports .
More recently , he ’ s been an active investor and board member in Joby Aviation , which is designing electric short-hop mini-planes that would provide taxi service , and a leading investor in Swarm Technologies , which specializes in launching satellites as small as a sandwich @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pay a $ 900,000 fine to the Federal Communications Commission for launching four tiny satellites without the agency ’ s permission .
Dayton also has a major stake in Age of Learning , an online education platform for children .
Beutner served on the board of EarthLink when Dayton headed the company , according to federal regulatory disclosure documents from 2001 .
Around that time , a trade publication noted that he and Dayton were business associates in eCompanies-Evercore Venture Management through Evercore , the investment company that Beutner headed at the time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Boingo .
In 2011 , Dayton co-hosted a fundraiser for Beutner ’ s short-lived run for mayor of Los Angeles .
Beutner said it ’ s been about 15 years since he ’ s had a business association with Dayton , whom he described as “ just someone I know.
” When Dayton came to him with the testing proposition around May , SummerBio also was contacting other potential customers , Beutner said , adding that L.A. Unified was also researching other testing providers , which it continued to do throughout the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ given that SummerBio would get the work , said Beutner , adding that SummerBio has delivered so far .
At this juncture , the number of daily tests needed is well below what the district will soon be seeking .
The company uses its own pilot to fly tests to the San Francisco Bay Area twice a day for processing .
SummerBio was incorporated May 26 in Delaware , a common place for corporate filings .
The company was registered in California on June 3 .
Two apparently related entities were incorporated in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Holdco ) and Aug. 21 ( Summer Bio Holdings ) — a week after Beutner announced the partnership .
Documents filed with state regulators are signed by Dayton , who lists himself as “ manager.
” Baechler , the CEO , was officially hired in August , according to his LinkedIn profile , but Beutner said Baechler was part of the project well before that .
According to the profile , Baechler serves on the board of two biotech companies and recently founded a medical technology consulting firm .
For six years , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Silicon Valley medical testing company .
In June 2019 , the 71-employee company reported to the state that it was closing permanently before the end of the month .
The company ’ s website is no longer active .
Beutner said it ’ s his understanding that L.A. Unified is SummerBio ’ s first and only customer but that the company has fielded many recent inquiries about its `` $ 10 test.
” SummerBio referred all inquiries to L.A. Unified .
Dayton could not be reached for comment .
Outside experts said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more details about the testing plan but that it ’ s not unusual during the pandemic for companies to put such projects into overdrive .
“ It would not be completely unreasonable for a company to start in a matter of months , especially as many biotech or laboratory companies have recently shifted gears to COVID testing during the pandemic , ” said Richard Dang , assistant professor of clinical pharmacy at USC .
“ I do think that the lack of transparency from the company is somewhat of a red flag.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an incredibly low amount that I have yet to see elsewhere.
” Even at the comparatively low prices , the school district projects its testing plan to run more than $ 150 million this year , when all costs are factored in .
Collaborators on the effort include experts from three universities — UCLA , Johns Hopkins and Stanford — and Microsoft , which is designing an app linked to the testing effort .
Because of high infection rates in L.A. County , schools can not fully reopen until late October at the @ @

L.A. schools Supt. Austin Beutner, left, takes a COVID-19 nose swab test at Harry Bridges Span School in Wilmington. It was one of more than 2 million tests to be processed by SummerBio, a start-up with a $48.9-million contract with the district.
Los Angeles schools Supt. Austin Beutner had a problem. He was firm in his stance that reopening schools safely during the COVID-19 pandemic would depend on rapid, extensive coronavirus testing. But no city, county or state program was available to provide or pay for it at the scale he thinks is needed in the nation’s second-largest school district.
So he chose the company of a former business partner, Sky Dayton, who helped him put together an audacious plan: The Los Angeles Unified School District would carry out its own testing, the largest such district-led initiative in the country.
For the record: A previous version of this article incorrectly said testing lab SummerBio had an undisclosed location. The company added a map pin to its website on Sept. 25.
Beutner approved a $48.9-million contract with Dayton’s new company, SummerBio, using emergency powers he has invoked since March because of the pandemic.
The district’s regular, often lengthy procurement process typically involves a formal request for proposals and traditional competitive bidding. But at the start of the pandemic, the Los Angeles school board set aside customary guardrails to give Beutner the ability to act quickly — powers he has exercised repeatedly, including in efforts to distribute meals and purchase computers and Wi-Fi hot spots.
This effort could end up being a major test of whether Beutner — whose background is in business rather than education — can deliver results to the sprawling district.
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Dayton, the founder of EarthLink and Boingo, made a fortune in technology start-ups. But his background for medical testing is thinner. Nonetheless, Dayton reached out to Beutner in May, the schools chief said, pledging to deliver machine-automated coronavirus testing that would drastically drive down the cost.
“We have to do something different because the [other] choice for us was to say, ‘All right, I’ll wait for someone else to do it,’” Beutner said Wednesday. “That wasn’t happening.”
“We knew they were building a real company,” Beutner said. “Part of our due diligence was to understand who would be in charge,” he said, referring to Dayton and Guido Baechler, who was named SummerBio’s chief executive in August but was associated with the project earlier. Baechler formerly ran a medical testing company.
Beutner said SummerBio’s discount pricing, which was far less expensive than other firms being evaluated, ultimately made the project feasible.
L.A. school board President Richard Vladovic said that the board is regularly briefed in general terms on the progress of the testing effort and that he wasn’t aware of any potential concerns with SummerBio. He added that Beutner brings business experience and connections that are helpful in the current crisis.
“He can sit down with knowledge with CEOs of lots of companies,” Vladovic said. “I’m convinced he’s looking out for the interests of the students and the district. He got us a good deal, and I think that’s one way to open schools.”
Several district insiders, speaking on the condition of anonymity, have expressed nervousness about operating outside the normal contracting process — which would have been unlikely to yield Menlo Park-based SummerBio, a company with no track record that was hurriedly hiring employees.
The fledgling company has a mail drop at a UPS store for its official address in state records. Until Friday, when a pin drop map was added, the company’s website did not identity its location. The web update included video of Beutner describing the testing effort.
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SummerBio’s Aug. 14 contract with L.A. Unified, which the district released to The Times on Wednesday, states that the company “has not received an Emergency Use Authorization” issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the tests. That could normally create legal hurdles for the company’s ability to operate, but during the pandemic emergency, the company can do business legally by submitting an application for authorization. The company submitted its application Aug. 7, according to the contract.
In the middle of a hiring spree, SummerBio listed 16 openings on LinkedIn last week, including postings for four scientists, a data manager, a senior automation control engineer and a biostatistician.
Beutner noted that SummerBio is using an established, FDA-approved test kit. What’s new, he said, is the engineering that allows for faster and less expensive processing. If the results arrive too slowly or are unreliable, the district doesn’t have to pay for those particular tests. Given that, Beutner said, the contract is worth the calculated risk of going with a start-up.
The district has received hundreds of millions of dollars in coronavirus relief funds and intends to use that funding to pay for the testing, although it has argued that it should not have to pick up the full costs from those dollars.
Under the contract, L.A. Unified is to get next-day, early morning results for up to 40,000 daily tests, at a price that no one else can match, Beutner said. The first 475,000 tests are $20 apiece, and the price drops gradually based on volume. Tests purchased after the 2-million mark drop to $10 apiece, which the contract schedule estimates to happen in February.
Quality tests elsewhere range higher. By comparison, the well-regarded Broad Institute in Cambridge, Mass., has developed an automated procedure that has allowed it to reduce what it charges to schools and colleges, who are paying about $35 to $50 per test.
The periodic testing is supposed to encompass all K-12, preschool and adult school students as well as some 75,000 employees — a total surpassing 700,000 people — as well as immediate family members as needed.
Inevitably, “risk-taking is going to be part of the solution,” said Peter Kuhn, a professor of biology, medicine and engineering at USC. Kuhn noted that efforts to close the testing gap are coming from academic centers, existing companies that were able to adapt to a new role and “rapid-fire start-ups financed by individuals and groups who wanted to be part of the solution.”
Ideally, he said, these kinds of transactions would occur in a fully transparent way, “but everybody is moving so fast.”
Dayton is well known for entrepreneurial ventures involving the internet. He was an early provider of dial-up internet service as EarthLink‘s founder. Later, he founded Boingo, which is known for providing internet service at airports.
More recently, he’s been an active investor and board member in Joby Aviation, which is designing electric short-hop mini-planes that would provide taxi service, and a leading investor in Swarm Technologies, which specializes in launching satellites as small as a sandwich. In 2018, Swarm agreed to pay a $900,000 fine to the Federal Communications Commission for launching four tiny satellites without the agency’s permission. Dayton also has a major stake in Age of Learning, an online education platform for children.
Beutner served on the board of EarthLink when Dayton headed the company, according to federal regulatory disclosure documents from 2001. Around that time, a trade publication noted that he and Dayton were business associates in eCompanies-Evercore Venture Management through Evercore, the investment company that Beutner headed at the time. Evercore also became a key investor in Boingo.
In 2011, Dayton co-hosted a fundraiser for Beutner’s short-lived run for mayor of Los Angeles.
Beutner said it’s been about 15 years since he’s had a business association with Dayton, whom he described as “just someone I know.”
When Dayton came to him with the testing proposition around May, SummerBio also was contacting other potential customers, Beutner said. Over the summer, a team at L.A. Unified, which included outside advisors and experts, evaluated the testing services and prices of 22 companies — per a list provided by the district. The offer nearest to SummerBio was four times as expensive, according to the district.
It was far from a given that SummerBio would get the work, said Beutner, adding that SummerBio has delivered so far. At this juncture, the number of daily tests needed is well below what the district will soon be seeking. The company uses its own pilot to fly tests to the San Francisco Bay Area twice a day for processing.
SummerBio was incorporated May 26 in Delaware, a common place for corporate filings. The company was registered in California on June 3. Two apparently related entities were incorporated in Delaware on Aug. 14 (SummerBio Management Holdco) and Aug. 21 (Summer Bio Holdings) — a week after Beutner announced the partnership. Documents filed with state regulators are signed by Dayton, who lists himself as “manager.”
Baechler, the CEO, was officially hired in August, according to his LinkedIn profile, but Beutner said Baechler was part of the project well before that. According to the profile, Baechler serves on the board of two biotech companies and recently founded a medical technology consulting firm.
For six years, until 2019, he headed Singulex, a Silicon Valley medical testing company. In June 2019, the 71-employee company reported to the state that it was closing permanently before the end of the month. The company’s website is no longer active.
Beutner said it’s his understanding that L.A. Unified is SummerBio’s first and only customer but that the company has fielded many recent inquiries about its “$10 test.”
SummerBio referred all inquiries to L.A. Unified. Dayton could not be reached for comment.
Outside experts said many projects have gone into overdrive during the pandemic.
“It would not be completely unreasonable for a company to start in a matter of months, especially as many biotech or laboratory companies have recently shifted gears to COVID testing during the pandemic,” said Richard Dang, assistant professor of clinical pharmacy at USC. “I do think that the lack of transparency from the company is somewhat of a red flag.”
Dang called the $10 test “an incredibly low amount that I have yet to see elsewhere.”
Even at the comparatively low prices, the school district projects its testing plan to run more than $150 million this year, when all costs are factored in.
Collaborators on the effort include experts from three universities — UCLA, Johns Hopkins and Stanford — and Microsoft, which is designing an app linked to the testing effort.
Because of high infection rates in L.A. County, schools cannot fully reopen until late October at the earliest.


latimes--2020-09-30--How to help young children get the most out of online school

Another day in Zoom school , another meltdown and another reminder of what parents already know : Online school is especially challenging for younger students .
There ’ s a reason children from kindergarten through third grade spent much of their pre-pandemic school days moving around and learning through play , not sitting still and staring at at a screen .
Many school districts are prioritizing younger elementary school students for reopenings , as studies show that younger children may be less vulnerable to the coronavirus .
But what if you ’ re in a What if your child is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ return to in-person learning in the middle of a pandemic when there are so many “ what ifs ” ?
Then you have to make the most of distance learning .
Many tips for how to best manage distance learning — including creating a designated space for school , maintaining a clear routine and minimizing distractions — are recommended across age groups .
Here are some other ideas that can help , particularly with students in third grade and below .
Understand that this is not natural for kids “ You can ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all day .
You would never want that , ” said John Watson , founder of the digital learning company Evergreen Education Group , which hosts the Digital Learning Collaborative and an annual conference to help members understand how to incorporate technology into education .
Amber Francis is a third-grade teacher at Bethany School in Long Beach .
She also has a first-grader and a third-grader at home .
As the school ’ s distance learning facilitator , she said that after about 30 minutes , younger students tend to tune out .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ kids , assuming a higher level of reading competence , the ability to manipulate a mouse and interface with the computer , ” Watson said .
It ’ s important for all students , but especially younger ones , to feel connected with their teachers .
Even if a teacher is proactive about acknowledging individual students in a Zoom class , it ’ s impossible to offer encouragement as often as young kids need , Francis said .
Before the pandemic , a teacher was able to walk around the classroom and put @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But online , children can feel ignored when their teacher doesn ’ t see them raising their hands or can ’ t answer their questions right away .
“ Last year , at least we were finishing up with the students we were with in the classroom , ” said Laurie Campbell , an Orange Coast College professor and program coordinator for the school ’ s early childhood education department .
“ But we ’ re starting this year where we don ’ t know our students.
” Watson and Campbell said the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ones who take the time to talk to students , maybe even leading a group yoga session , before jumping into academics .
Many teachers also offer online office hours , which could be a good time for a one-on-one chat to nurture a deeper connection or for a student to just hear that the teacher is rooting for the student .
Francis recommends setting up a positive behavior management system , a philosophy , to keep kids motivated .
In the spring , when Francis realized she had to not only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also make sure her own young kids were set up for distance learning , she used a star chart and bought a rewards wheel , letting her kids spin it for small prizes if they had a good school day .
She explains that adults can be motivated to work by getting a paycheck every two weeks , but kids need more frequent reminders .
So depending on the child , she suggests giving a star for every 15 minutes they sit in the chair .
Some kids may need to be reminded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you to be more specific about what they need to do to get a star .
“ We use a punch-card system , ” said Joanna Inurreta , mother of a kindergartner and third-grader at Fullerton ’ s Pacific Drive Elementary School .
“ You know , one you would find in a restaurant , where if they get 10 punches , they get a reward.
” She lists toys , books or puzzles as the prizes for paying attention or participating .
“ Getting an 8-year-old and 5-year-old to focus is not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can , ” she said .
“ It ’ s much harder as a parent , ” Francis said .
“ My student will obey me 100 times more than my own kids.
” But if parents are frustrated , kids will also get frustrated , and then they associate negative feelings with school , she said .
You can gradually phase out the rewards system once a student learns good habits .
Campbell is more wary about a rewards system that links good practices to an extrinsic reward , as opposed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a “ first-then ” schedule , which is also often used in special education .
It involves explaining , as much as possible , what needs to get done and deciding together what the student wants to do first , before they then get a break or can do an activity of their choosing .
This helps parents find a developmentally appropriate practice for their kids , based on their preferred activities and attention spans .
More important , students will feel they are part of the process , she said .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ working As distance learning became the norm during the pandemic , some lower-income families didn ’ t have access to technology , internet or help at home , a found , which is leading to greater gaps in educational inequities .
Even privileged families that are equipped for distance learning have struggled .
“ It really comes down to the kid ’ s learning style , ” Campbell said .
“ Some kids will do great , and others will not .
It ’ s hit or miss.
” Online schools , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virtual learning effectively , never try to replicate the experience of an in-person school through a computer , Watson said .
They change their approach to meet the same educational goals .
Live lessons are usually a very limited part of their schedules , he said .
Often , they use a lot of paper materials , pre-recorded videos , and science labs that can be done outdoors , and they gather online only to discuss what they learned offline .
Maybe your kid learns better while moving around .
“ It ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t understand childhood development , but you know your child , and you know what their limits are , ” Campbell said .
“ I think we as parents really need to advocate for our children , ” she added .
“ If this process is not working , talk to the teacher to see if there is another way .
Collaboration and partnership go a long way .
There ’ s not one answer that ’ s going to fit for every situation.
” What ’ s most important for grades K @ @ @ @ @ @ @ your kid is not a good reader by about third grade , school becomes harder because you learn from reading , ” Francis said .
Practice sight words and phonics with your children , sounding out the letters and making sure they can distinguish different sounds .
• Math : If sitting still for addition and subtraction worksheets is challenging , Campbell said , there are ways to learn math through play : “ Go on a walk , collect rocks , leaves and sticks , and then sort and classify them.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time to imagine and create stories in their heads , ” Francis said .
“ That ’ s what makes them good storytellers , and if they can ’ t visualize the stories in their heads , they get stuck when they start writing.
” • Follow their curiosity : Ask your children questions .
Spend more time on the subjects they like .
Be a model for them by showing your own interests and passions .
• Social and emotional learning : Teach your kids how to take turns and how to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conflict .
This includes talking to them about how they are feeling when they are frustrated with online school .
“ Say , ‘ I know this is really hard .
And this is not what we want it to be , but this is the way it is right now , ’ ” Campbell said .
“ ‘ What can we do together to get this done so we can move on to something else ?
’ I think just acknowledging their feelings could be a huge motivator for kids , that @ @ @ @ @

Gladys Alvarez, a fifth-grade teacher at Manchester Avenue Elementary School in South Los Angeles, waves to her students after a meet-and-greet in August. Forging a personal connection between student and teacher can help with online schooling.
Another day in Zoom school, another meltdown and another reminder of what parents already know: Online school is especially challenging for younger students. There’s a reason children from kindergarten through third grade spent much of their pre-pandemic school days moving around and learning through play, not sitting still and staring at at a screen.
Many school districts are prioritizing younger elementary school students for reopenings, as studies show that younger children may be less vulnerable to the coronavirus .
But what if you’re in a school district that’s not reopening anytime soon? What if your child is immunocompromised? Or what if you are reluctant to return to in-person learning in the middle of a pandemic when there are so many “what ifs”?
Then you have to make the most of distance learning.
Many tips for how to best manage distance learning — including creating a designated space for school, maintaining a clear routine and minimizing distractions — are recommended across age groups.
Here are some other ideas that can help, particularly with students in third grade and below.
Advertisement
Understand that this is not natural for kids
“You can’t expect a first-grader to be online all day. You would never want that,” said John Watson, founder of the digital learning company Evergreen Education Group, which hosts the Digital Learning Collaborative and an annual conference to help members understand how to incorporate technology into education.
Amber Francis is a third-grade teacher at Bethany School in Long Beach. She also has a first-grader and a third-grader at home. As the school’s distance learning facilitator, she said that after about 30 minutes, younger students tend to tune out.
“These platforms are built for older kids, assuming a higher level of reading competence, the ability to manipulate a mouse and interface with the computer,” Watson said.
Connect with the teacher
It’s important for all students, but especially younger ones, to feel connected with their teachers.
Even if a teacher is proactive about acknowledging individual students in a Zoom class, it’s impossible to offer encouragement as often as young kids need, Francis said.
Advertisement
Before the pandemic, a teacher was able to walk around the classroom and put her hand on students’ shoulders.
But online, children can feel ignored when their teacher doesn’t see them raising their hands or can’t answer their questions right away.
“Last year, at least we were finishing up with the students we were with in the classroom,” said Laurie Campbell, an Orange Coast College professor and program coordinator for the school’s early childhood education department. “But we’re starting this year where we don’t know our students.”
Watson and Campbell said the teachers who have been most successful are the ones who take the time to talk to students, maybe even leading a group yoga session, before jumping into academics.
Many teachers also offer online office hours, which could be a good time for a one-on-one chat to nurture a deeper connection or for a student to just hear that the teacher is rooting for the student.
California Back to school in a pandemic: Resources and news for parents The new school year of remote learning will bring unique challenges. Here are guides to help parents of school-age children navigate remote learning, as well as recent updates about education in Southern California.
Positive encouragement from home
Francis recommends setting up a positive behavior management system, a philosophy explained in the 1-2-3 Magic parenting program , to keep kids motivated.
In the spring, when Francis realized she had to not only manage her own classroom online, but also make sure her own young kids were set up for distance learning, she used a star chart and bought a rewards wheel, letting her kids spin it for small prizes if they had a good school day.
She explains that adults can be motivated to work by getting a paycheck every two weeks, but kids need more frequent reminders.
So depending on the child, she suggests giving a star for every 15 minutes they sit in the chair. Some kids may need to be reminded every five minutes. Others might need you to be more specific about what they need to do to get a star.
“We use a punch-card system,” said Joanna Inurreta, mother of a kindergartner and third-grader at Fullerton’s Pacific Drive Elementary School. “You know, one you would find in a restaurant, where if they get 10 punches, they get a reward.”
She lists toys, books or puzzles as the prizes for paying attention or participating.
“Getting an 8-year-old and 5-year-old to focus is not easy, so you do what you can,” she said.
“It’s much harder as a parent,” Francis said. “My student will obey me 100 times more than my own kids.”
But if parents are frustrated, kids will also get frustrated, and then they associate negative feelings with school, she said.
You can gradually phase out the rewards system once a student learns good habits.
Campbell is more wary about a rewards system that links good practices to an extrinsic reward, as opposed to the joy of learning.
She recommends a “first-then” schedule, which is also often used in special education. It involves explaining, as much as possible, what needs to get done and deciding together what the student wants to do first, before they then get a break or can do an activity of their choosing.
This helps parents find a developmentally appropriate practice for their kids, based on their preferred activities and attention spans. More important, students will feel they are part of the process, she said.
It makes sense if it isn’t working
As distance learning became the norm during the pandemic, some lower-income families didn’t have access to technology, internet or help at home, a Los Angeles Times survey found, which is leading to greater gaps in educational inequities.
Even privileged families that are equipped for distance learning have struggled.
“It really comes down to the kid’s learning style,” Campbell said. “Some kids will do great, and others will not. It’s hit or miss.”
Online schools, which have spent decades researching how to do virtual learning effectively, never try to replicate the experience of an in-person school through a computer, Watson said.
They change their approach to meet the same educational goals.
Live lessons are usually a very limited part of their schedules, he said. Often, they use a lot of paper materials, pre-recorded videos, and science labs that can be done outdoors, and they gather online only to discuss what they learned offline.
Maybe your kid learns better while moving around.
“It’s hard because most parents don’t understand childhood development, but you know your child, and you know what their limits are,” Campbell said.
“I think we as parents really need to advocate for our children,” she added. “If this process is not working, talk to the teacher to see if there is another way. Collaboration and partnership go a long way. There’s not one answer that’s going to fit for every situation.”
What’s most important for grades K to 3
Reading: “If your kid is not a good reader by about third grade, school becomes harder because you learn from reading,” Francis said. Practice sight words and phonics with your children, sounding out the letters and making sure they can distinguish different sounds.
Math: If sitting still for addition and subtraction worksheets is challenging, Campbell said, there are ways to learn math through play: “Go on a walk, collect rocks, leaves and sticks, and then sort and classify them.”
Make believe: “Give them time to imagine and create stories in their heads,” Francis said. “That’s what makes them good storytellers, and if they can’t visualize the stories in their heads, they get stuck when they start writing.”
“Give them time to imagine and create stories in their heads,” Francis said. “That’s what makes them good storytellers, and if they can’t visualize the stories in their heads, they get stuck when they start writing.” Follow their curiosity: Ask your children questions. Spend more time on the subjects they like. Be a model for them by showing your own interests and passions.
Social and emotional learning: Teach your kids how to take turns and how to solve problems through communication when there is conflict. This includes talking to them about how they are feeling when they are frustrated with online school. “Say, ‘I know this is really hard. And this is not what we want it to be, but this is the way it is right now,’” Campbell said. “‘What can we do together to get this done so we can move on to something else?’ I think just acknowledging their feelings could be a huge motivator for kids, that they feel understood.”
Times staff writer Andrew J. Campa contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-09-30--Newsom signs law mandating more diversity in California corporate boardrooms

Many California corporations will have to increase the diversity of their boards of directors under a new law signed Wednesday by Gov .
Gavin Newsom to address a shortage of people of color in executive positions .
The law requires some 625 publicly held corporations headquartered in California to include at least one person from an underrepresented community by the end of next year , with additional appointments required in future years .
Newsom said during an online signing ceremony that the law is necessary to promote diversity in corporate boardrooms as part of a broader effort to improve racial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ talk about racial justice , we talk about empowerment , we talk about power , we need to talk about seats at the table , ” Newsom said .
The new law is likely to be challenged in court by conservative groups including Judicial Watch , which sued to contest a 2018 law that required a minimum number of women on corporate boards .
“ It ’ s a quota , and quotas are unconstitutional , ” said Thomas Fitton , president of Judicial Watch , regarding the law signed by Newsom .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ pending lawsuit about the law requiring women on corporate boards .
Fitton said his organization is reviewing the new law before deciding whether to go to court .
“ We are deeply concerned about the new legislation , ” Fitton said .
“ It ’ s a violation of the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution .
It undermines the core legal concept of equal protection.
” Other constitutional law experts disagree that the measure is on weak ground , including Erwin Chemerinsky , dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law @ @ @ @ @ @ @ subject are unclear and will have to be decided by the courts .
“ I believe that there is a compelling need to enhance diversity on corporate boards , ” Chemerinsky said .
“ The question is whether a court will find these laws to be sufficiently narrowly tailored .
Because there are few other alternatives , I think there is a strong argument that such laws are constitutional.
” Under Assembly Bill 979 , publicly held corporations headquartered in California are required to have at least one director from an underrepresented community @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the end of 2022 , corporate boards with four to nine members must have two people from underrepresented communities , and those with more than nine members must have at least three people from those communities .
Directors from an underrepresented community include those who self-identify as Black , African American , Hispanic , Latino , Asian , Pacific Islander , Native American , Native Hawaiian or Alaska Native , or who self-identify as gay , lesbian , bisexual or transgender .
“ While some corporations were already leading the way to combat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s corporate boards will better reflect the diversity of our state , ” said Assemblyman Chris Holden ( D-Pasadena ) , one of the authors of the bill , on Wednesday .
“ This is a win-win , as ethnically diverse boards have shown to outperform those that lack diversity.
” He said that after the death of George Floyd in police custody , many corporations offered public support for diversity , but that too many firms have not acted on that support .
Lawmakers cited 2018 data from Deloitte and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ percentage of Fortune 500 company board seats held by people who identified as African American or Black was 8.6 % , while Latino people held 3.8 % of seats , and people identified as Asian or Pacific Islander held 3.7 % .
That study indicated that 84 % of board seats were held by people identified as white , which lawmakers said is 22 % higher than that group ’ s share of the general population .
Lawmakers have urged corporations for years to make their boards more reflective of society , said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , another author of the new law .
“ However , it is clear we can no longer wait for corporations to figure it out on their own , ” Garcia said .
Supporters touted the outcome of Senate Bill 826 , which required public companies headquartered in California and traded on the NYSE or Nasdaq to have at least one female director by Dec. 31 , 2019 .
By that date , only 4 % of California-headquartered companies had all-male boards , down from 29 % as of June 30 , 2018 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Annalisa Barrett , senior advisor for the KPMG Board Leadership Center .
Opponents say California does not have power to dictate the selection of board members to firms incorporated in Delaware and other locations outside California , even if their headquarters are in the Golden State .
“ Limiting a person ’ s opportunity based solely because of their skin color , sex , or sexual orientation is the thing we should be trying to avoid , yet AB 979 requires exactly that , ” said Anastasia Boden , a senior attorney at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bishop also warned that the new law , when coupled with the 2018 requirement , will have the unintended consequence of hurting participation by men and non-binary persons on board .
“ Publicly held corporations will be required to comply with both sets of quotas , ” he said in a letter to lawmakers .
“ Therefore , individuals who self-identify as both female and as African American , Hispanic , or Native American will undoubtedly be preferred as director candidates because they will satisfy both quotas.
” However , the new law @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Commerce , which noted that a recent study by the Latino Corporate Directors Assn .
determined that 233 of the public-company boards in California have no members from underrepresented communities .
“ Greater boardroom equity that is inclusive of Latinos will lead to greater results for business and our state , ” the chamber said in a statement to legislators .

Gov. Gavin Newsom has acted on a bill requiring more diversity on corporate boards in California.
Many California corporations will have to increase the diversity of their boards of directors under a new law signed Wednesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom to address a shortage of people of color in executive positions.
The law requires some 625 publicly held corporations headquartered in California to include at least one person from an underrepresented community by the end of next year, with additional appointments required in future years.
Newsom said during an online signing ceremony that the law is necessary to promote diversity in corporate boardrooms as part of a broader effort to improve racial equity in the U.S.
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“When we talk about racial justice, we talk about empowerment, we talk about power, we need to talk about seats at the table,” Newsom said.
The new law is likely to be challenged in court by conservative groups including Judicial Watch, which sued to contest a 2018 law that required a minimum number of women on corporate boards.
“It’s a quota, and quotas are unconstitutional,” said Thomas Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, regarding the law signed by Newsom. Fitton made the same argument in a pending lawsuit about the law requiring women on corporate boards.
Fitton said his organization is reviewing the new law before deciding whether to go to court.
“We are deeply concerned about the new legislation,” Fitton said. “It’s a violation of the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution. It undermines the core legal concept of equal protection.”
Other constitutional law experts disagree that the measure is on weak ground, including Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law. He said the laws on the subject are unclear and will have to be decided by the courts.
“I believe that there is a compelling need to enhance diversity on corporate boards,” Chemerinsky said. “The question is whether a court will find these laws to be sufficiently narrowly tailored. Because there are few other alternatives, I think there is a strong argument that such laws are constitutional.”
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Under Assembly Bill 979, publicly held corporations headquartered in California are required to have at least one director from an underrepresented community by the close of 2021.
By the end of 2022, corporate boards with four to nine members must have two people from underrepresented communities, and those with more than nine members must have at least three people from those communities.
Directors from an underrepresented community include those who self-identify as Black, African American, Hispanic, Latino, Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, Native Hawaiian or Alaska Native, or who self-identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.
“While some corporations were already leading the way to combat implicit bias, now all of California’s corporate boards will better reflect the diversity of our state,” said Assemblyman Chris Holden (D-Pasadena), one of the authors of the bill, on Wednesday. “This is a win-win, as ethnically diverse boards have shown to outperform those that lack diversity.”
He said that after the death of George Floyd in police custody, many corporations offered public support for diversity, but that too many firms have not acted on that support.
Lawmakers cited 2018 data from Deloitte and the Alliance for Board Diversity that found the percentage of Fortune 500 company board seats held by people who identified as African American or Black was 8.6%, while Latino people held 3.8% of seats, and people identified as Asian or Pacific Islander held 3.7%.
That study indicated that 84% of board seats were held by people identified as white, which lawmakers said is 22% higher than that group’s share of the general population.
Lawmakers have urged corporations for years to make their boards more reflective of society, said Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens), another author of the new law.
“However, it is clear we can no longer wait for corporations to figure it out on their own,” Garcia said.
Supporters touted the outcome of Senate Bill 826, which required public companies headquartered in California and traded on the NYSE or Nasdaq to have at least one female director by Dec. 31, 2019.
By that date, only 4% of California-headquartered companies had all-male boards, down from 29% as of June 30, 2018, according to a June study by Annalisa Barrett, senior advisor for the KPMG Board Leadership Center.
Opponents say California does not have power to dictate the selection of board members to firms incorporated in Delaware and other locations outside California, even if their headquarters are in the Golden State.
“Limiting a person’s opportunity based solely because of their skin color, sex, or sexual orientation is the thing we should be trying to avoid, yet AB 979 requires exactly that,” said Anastasia Boden, a senior attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation.
Corporate attorney Keith Bishop also warned that the new law, when coupled with the 2018 requirement, will have the unintended consequence of hurting participation by men and non-binary persons on board.
“Publicly held corporations will be required to comply with both sets of quotas,” he said in a letter to lawmakers. “Therefore, individuals who self-identify as both female and as African American, Hispanic, or Native American will undoubtedly be preferred as director candidates because they will satisfy both quotas.”
However, the new law is supported by the California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce, which noted that a recent study by the Latino Corporate Directors Assn. determined that 233 of the public-company boards in California have no members from underrepresented communities.
“Greater boardroom equity that is inclusive of Latinos will lead to greater results for business and our state,” the chamber said in a statement to legislators.


latimes--2020-09-30--L.A. will be ticketing on street-sweeping days again starting Oct. 15

The Los Angeles City Council moved Wednesday to resume enforcement of street parking violations following a department report that cited complaints about trash piling up on roadways and a drop in city revenue .
City officials halted enforcement amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic that cost many Angelenos their jobs and forced others to work from home , ultimately creating more competition for parking spots in some neighborhoods .
Now , traffic officers will return to handing out $ 73 street sweeping enforcement tickets beginning Oct. 15 .
Enforcement of rules pertaining to abandoned and oversize vehicles , overnight restrictions , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ registrations also will resume on that date .
The impounding of vehicles that serve as dwellings will be delayed while the city comes up with a “ next step ” plan , under an amendment submitted Wednesday by City Councilman Joe Buscaino .
Enforcement of expired preferential parking district permits will also start Oct. 15 .
Parking citation revenue has plunged , according to a Department of Transportation report released last month .
The pandemic-related delay of normal parking enforcement is one of the main drivers for the $ 6-million revenue loss each @ @ @ @ @ @ @ report .
Revenue may continue to drop following planned city employee furloughs , a recently approved separation agreement with unions , and position vacancies , according to the report .
The report noted that “ after months without street sweeping , the debris and trash build up around unmoved vehicles creates a public health and safety concern with vermin and rodent infestations.
” “ Even with the [ complaint ] line closed , LADOT receives daily complaints from disgruntled residents requesting vehicles be cited and/or removed .
Prior to COVID-19 , LADOT ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of 10,500 abandoned vehicle complaints per month or 126,000 per year , ” the report said .
The city is also working on new economic relief programs for citation amnesty and early citation payment , according to the report .
Mayor Eric Garcetti talked about launching a program to incentivize people to pay citations early during his first run for mayor , but it never happened .

A stretch of Kingsley Drive in Koreatown is free of parked cars on one side to make way for street sweeping in 2015.
The Los Angeles City Council moved Wednesday to resume enforcement of street parking violations following a department report that cited complaints about trash piling up on roadways and a drop in city revenue.
City officials halted enforcement amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which cost many Angelenos their jobs and forced others to work from home, ultimately creating more competition for parking spots in some neighborhoods.
Now, traffic officers will return to handing out $73 street sweeping enforcement tickets beginning Oct. 15. Enforcement of rules pertaining to abandoned and oversize vehicles, overnight restrictions, peak-hour and anti-gridlock zones, and expired registrations also will resume on that date.
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The impounding of vehicles that serve as dwellings will be delayed while the city comes up with a “next step” plan, under an amendment submitted Wednesday by City Councilman Joe Buscaino.
Enforcement of expired preferential parking district permits will also start Oct. 15.
Parking citation revenue has plunged, according to a Department of Transportation report released last month. The pandemic-related delay of normal parking enforcement is one of the main drivers for the $6-million revenue loss each month, department officials said in the report.
Revenue may continue to drop following planned city employee furloughs, a recently approved separation agreement with unions, and position vacancies, according to the report.
The report noted that “after months without street sweeping, the debris and trash build up around unmoved vehicles creates a public health and safety concern with vermin and rodent infestations.”
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“Even with the [complaint] line closed, LADOT receives daily complaints from disgruntled residents requesting vehicles be cited and/or removed. Prior to COVID-19, LADOT’s abandoned complaint line received an average of 10,500 abandoned vehicle complaints per month or 126,000 per year,” the report said.
A new program ordered by Mayor Eric Garcetti will award a $20 discount to parking citations paid within 48 hours, the Department of Transportation announced Wednesday night.
Garcetti first talked about launching a program to encourage people to pay citations early during his first run for mayor in 2013.


latimes--2020-09-30--U.S. appeals court blocks Trump from shutting down the census count early

A federal appeals court decided Wednesday to let stand a preliminary injunction barring the Trump administration from shutting down the census count early in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic .
A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2 to 1 that stopping the Census Bureau ’ s count now “ risks undermining ” its mission .
“ Given the extraordinary importance of the census , it is imperative that the Bureau conduct the census in a manner that is most likely to produce a workable report in which the public can have confidence , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Clinton appointee , for the majority .
Judge Morgan Christen , an Obama appointee , joined Rawlinson in the ruling .
The panel called the planned speedup “ hasty and unexplained.
” The coronavirus outbreak severely disrupted the census count this year .
The Census Bureau , which is part of the Department of Commerce , had to suspend field operations in March , and when they resumed it was unable to recruit enough temporary employees to work in the field .
Early on during the pandemic , there was widespread agreement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ extended into next year .
The legal deadline for getting the results to the president is Dec. 31 .
The Census Bureau asked Congress to extend the deadline to the end of April 2021 .
The House approved the extension .
The Senate has not yet done so .
With no extension in place , the Trump administration argued that field operations had to end a month early to get the census to the president by the legal deadline .
The count is used for various federal decisions , including apportioning seats in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ electoral college .
In early August , a “ senior Department [ of Commerce ] official ” in the Trump administration changed course and ordered the bureau to complete its fieldwork and data collection by Sept. 30 , the court said .
A group of civil rights groups and local governments , including Los Angeles County , challenged the speedup .
A federal district judge last month blocked it , saying the Trump administration knew that suspending operations a month early would lead to an inaccurate count .
Judge Patrick J. Bumatay , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the lower court lacked the authority to issue an injunction .
“ Nearly every American ’ s plans this year have been roiled by the virus , ” Bumatay wrote .
“ But it can not roil the law.
” He said courts were “ not empowered to swoop in and rescue the elected branches from themselves.
” The Trump administration also wants to exclude immigrants without documentation from being included in the count that determines reapportionment .
Trump issued a memorandum ordering the change in July , but a federal court in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump has appealed the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court .
The 9th Circuit will continue to consider the government ’ s appeal of the district court ’ s decision .
The government may appeal the panel ’ s decision within the 9th Circuit or ask the Supreme Court to intervene .
A spokesperson for the Justice Department could not be immediately reached for comment .
The U.S. census , taken every 10 years , is mandated by the Constitution .

A federal appeals court decided Wednesday to let stand a preliminary injunction barring the Trump administration from shutting down the census count early in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2 to 1 that stopping the Census Bureau’s count now “risks undermining” its mission.
“Given the extraordinary importance of the census, it is imperative that the Bureau conduct the census in a manner that is most likely to produce a workable report in which the public can have confidence,” wrote Judge Johnnie B. Rawlinson, a Clinton appointee, for the majority. Judge Morgan Christen, an Obama appointee, joined Rawlinson in the ruling.
The panel called the planned speedup “hasty and unexplained.”
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The coronavirus outbreak severely disrupted the census count this year. The Census Bureau, which is part of the Department of Commerce, had to suspend field operations in March, and when they resumed it was unable to recruit enough temporary employees to work in the field.
Early on during the pandemic, there was widespread agreement that the count would have to be extended into next year. The legal deadline for getting the results to the president is Dec. 31. The Census Bureau asked Congress to extend the deadline to the end of April 2021. The House approved the extension. The Senate has not yet done so.
With no extension in place, the Trump administration argued that field operations had to end a month early to get the census to the president by the legal deadline.
The count is used for various federal decisions, including apportioning seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and the electoral college.
In early August, a “senior Department [of Commerce] official” in the Trump administration changed course and ordered the bureau to complete its fieldwork and data collection by Sept. 30, the court said.
A group of civil rights groups and local governments, including Los Angeles County, challenged the speedup. A federal district judge last month blocked it, saying the Trump administration knew that suspending operations a month early would lead to an inaccurate count.
Judge Patrick J. Bumatay, a Trump appointee, dissented, arguing the lower court lacked the authority to issue an injunction.
“Nearly every American’s plans this year have been roiled by the virus,” Bumatay wrote. “But it cannot roil the law.”
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He said courts were “not empowered to swoop in and rescue the elected branches from themselves.”
The Trump administration also wants to exclude immigrants without documentation from being included in the count that determines reapportionment. Trump issued a memorandum ordering the change in July, but a federal court in New York blocked it this month. Trump has appealed the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The 9th Circuit will continue to consider the government’s appeal of the district court’s decision. The government may appeal the panel’s decision within the 9th Circuit or ask the Supreme Court to intervene. A spokesperson for the Justice Department could not be immediately reached for comment.
The U.S. census, taken every 10 years, is mandated by the Constitution.