latimes--2020-07-22--Strong evidence quake faults run through site of Hollywood skyscrapers, state says

State geologists have concluded there is strong evidence that multiple earthquake faults run through the site of a controversial skyscraper development proposed for Hollywood , records obtained by The Times show .
A letter from the California Geological Survey to Los Angeles city planners , obtained through a public records act request , raises new questions about the Hollywood Center development .
The project calls for 46- and 35-story skyscrapers that flank the famed Capitol Records Tower , along with two buildings for low-income senior residents that would each stand 11 stories tall .
“ These studies strongly support the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ entering the eastern Hollywood Center property , ” the letter said .
“ Importantly , the combined data indicate that more than one ... fault trace of the Hollywood Fault crosses the proposed project site.
” The state also noted a recent U.S. Geological Survey report that found four parallel sections of the Hollywood fault identified just east of the property which are believed to extend under the development .
For years , state scientists have said there ’ s evidence an earthquake fault slices through a strip of Hollywood .
In 2014 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fault — capable of a magnitude 7 earthquake — shown running through the area .
But that hasn ’ t stopped a New York-based developer and Los Angeles city officials from championing a $ 1-billion plan that would create Hollywood ’ s tallest and largest development .
Philip Aarons , a founder of Millennium Partners , this week disputed the state ’ s conclusions , as he has in the past .
“ It is clear that the data relied upon by the state is significantly inferior in quality to the data acquired @ @ @ @ @ @ @ site , ” Aarons said in a statement .
“ We will continue to work diligently with the city to review any and all data with the goal of assuring the construction of the most seismically safe structure in the history of Los Angeles.
” Aarons said a new geology report was prepared for the draft environmental impact report , which was published earlier this year .
It again concludes there have been no earthquake faults on the property that have moved since the last Ice Age , “ and therefore , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ according to state and city requirements.
” Aarons said the Hollywood Center project site “ has been the subject of the most extensive geotechnical testing of any property in Hollywood .
From 2012 to 2019 , seven fault investigations were performed .
In each and every case , those studies have come to the conclusion that there is no active fault on the project site.
” The California Geological Survey said there were limitations in the previous studies cited by the developer as evidence of the absence of a fault .
For instance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trench excavated in 2014 was not dug long enough for the developer to disprove the state ’ s previous conclusion that an active earthquake fault ran underneath the property .
Seismologist Lucy Jones said the California Geological Survey is the gold-standard scientific authority for recognizing the locations of faults in California .
“ That ’ s their job , ” said Jones , a former chair of the California Seismic Safety Commission and former science advisor for seismic safety for Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti .
“ And they say the studies they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ active fault strand in the property.
” The mayor ’ s office did not comment publicly on the state ’ s letter .
Formerly known as Millennium Hollywood , the Hollywood Center project would place nearly 1.3 million square feet of developed space on about 4½ acres of land , adding more than 1,000 residential housing units and more than 30,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space .
An alternate plan would involve creating more than 880 housing units and a 220-room hotel .
California law generally prohibits the construction of buildings @ @ @ @ @ @ @ risks catastrophic collapse if it sits on land that splits apart during an earthquake , in which one side of the fault lurches past the other .
In the magnitude 6.6 Sylmar earthquake of 1971 , 80 % of buildings on land where the fault ruptured the surface suffered moderate to severe damage , while only 30 % of buildings constructed a little farther away suffered such damage .
The existing map of the Hollywood fault drawn by state officials in 2014 already places the path of the Hollywood fault under the proposed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ near the 11-story east senior residence building .
In 2015 , however , the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety , then led by Raymond Chan , rejected the state ’ s conclusion and sided with the developer ’ s geologist .
City officials agreed that an earthquake fault was probably located deep beneath the property but that it was too old to be considered active .
Still , the development was halted by a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge in 2015 , who ruled that the project ’ s description @ @ @ @ @ @ @ too vague to permit a reasonable and meaningful review .
The ruling tossed out the city ’ s previous approval for the project .
The judge ’ s ruling was upheld by a state appeals court last year .
Since 2014 , there have been a number of scientific advances made by federal and state scientists in mapping earthquake faults .
In May , the U.S. Geological Survey and California Geological Survey released a 48-page report detailing the latest science of where the Hollywood fault sits , based on a new fault-finding technique @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a technique in which scientists can shoot a sound wave down a suspected surface of the fault , and instruments can verify whether it is indeed a fault .
The technique has proved to be very accurate in identifying the location of faults where they meet the surface , said former state geologist John Parrish .
In the case of the Hollywood Center , test results not only verified the earthquake fault the state mapped as going through the property in 2014 , but identified three new , additional and parallel fault strands @ @ @ @ @ @ @ development , said Parrish , who was chief of the California Geological Survey at the time the study was done .
“ Those will go all the way through ” and continue west into the Hollywood Center project parcel , Parrish said .
“ They just didn ’ t run up to the curb and stop .
Unfortunately , they ’ re going to go through that piece of property.
” The proposed 35-story west building also has a nearby fault .
Because of the way it is angled into the ground at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the tower ’ s foundation could be built astride two sides of the fault , Parrish said .
In such a scenario , the foundation could suddenly snap as one side of the fault moves past the other in a major quake , setting the stage for a catastrophic collapse .
The new data also suggest a fault line runs beneath a luxury apartment complex built at the site of the former KFWB-AM radio studios , at 6230 Yucca St. , which is also known as 1755 Argyle Ave. , Parrish said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Capitol Records Tower , is home to an 18-story complex called the Argyle House , developed by the Related Cos. and opened in 2018 .
In 2014 , state officials removed from a map a fault line that was suggested to run under the former KFWB studios after tests showed the fault was inactive .
But Parrish said evidence uncovered recently identifies how a fault near the Hollywood courthouse — about two-fifths of a mile to the east of the Argyle House — is active .
“ If it ’ s active in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whole fault is considered active , ” said Parrish , who led the California Geological Survey from 2005 to 2018 .
“ It is unlikely that this string of faults — the Raymond , Hollywood and Santa Monica , which have all been shown to be active for a 110-mile-long stretch — that the ... acres that they want to build a Millennium property on is not active.
” In a statement , the Related Cos. disputed the recent government studies as “ not as accurate at finding if a fault is active @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recommended method for determining the activity of faults.
” Parrish said the California Geological Survey has traditionally contacted local governments to alert them if a large development may be sitting on geologically unstable land .
“ It ’ s for the public health , public health and safety .
The public ’ s already paid for it , so they might as well have access to it , ” Parrish said .
“ We don ’ t have a stake in whether it ’ s built or not , but we certainly want @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leaders ] fully aware of what geologic hazards might be for the area.
” One California project that didn ’ t receive the attention of the state agency before it was built was also developed by Millennium Partners : the 58-story Millennium Tower in San Francisco , a $ 350-million luxury residential project that opened in 2009 but has since started to lean and sink .
It will require a costly retrofit to upgrade the foundation — which originally stretched only to a layer of sand , just above a layer of clay @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ They built it on liquefiable lands ... but they never called us , ” Parrish said .
“ So we didn ’ t comment.
” The residents of Millennium Tower have blamed Millennium Partners for the design problems ; the developer , in turn , blamed a neighboring construction project for sucking water out of the soil beneath the tower , causing the noticeable sinking .
Millennium Partners ’ experience with the leaning skyscraper is more reason to be skeptical of the developer ’ s claims , said Robert P. Silverstein , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ opposed to the development who successfully sued to halt the previous version of the Hollywood project .
Silverstein also expressed a lack of confidence in how the city has handled the project in the past , noting that key officials who championed the development have since been embroiled in corruption investigations .
“ These independent governmental studies are bombshells that prove the Millennium skyscrapers can not be allowed , ” Silverstein said .
The city is currently working on a final version of the Hollywood Center ’ s environmental impact report .
Following @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public hearings before the City Council , the planning commission and the council ’ s planning and land use management committee .

The proposed Hollywood Center project includes 46- and 35-story buildings flanking the Capitol Records Tower and two 11-story residential buildings for low-income senior residents.
State geologists have concluded there is strong evidence that multiple earthquake faults run through the site of a controversial skyscraper development proposed for Hollywood, records obtained by The Times show.
A letter from the California Geological Survey to Los Angeles city planners, obtained through a public records act request, raises new questions about the Hollywood Center development. The project calls for 46- and 35-story skyscrapers that flank the famed Capitol Records Tower, along with two buildings for low-income senior residents that would each stand 11 stories tall.
“These studies strongly support the presence of an active ... fault strand entering the eastern Hollywood Center property,” the letter said. “Importantly, the combined data indicate that more than one ... fault trace of the Hollywood Fault crosses the proposed project site.”
The state also noted a recent U.S. Geological Survey report that found four parallel sections of the Hollywood fault identified just east of the property which are believed to extend under the development.
For years, state scientists have said there’s evidence an earthquake fault slices through a strip of Hollywood. In 2014, state officials mapped out the Hollywood fault — capable of a magnitude 7 earthquake — shown running through the area.
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But that hasn’t stopped a New York-based developer and Los Angeles city officials from championing a $1-billion plan that would create Hollywood’s tallest and largest development.
(Lorena Elebee / Los Angeles Times)
Philip Aarons, a founder of Millennium Partners, this week disputed the state’s conclusions, as he has in the past.
“It is clear that the data relied upon by the state is significantly inferior in quality to the data acquired from the extensive trenching done on our site,” Aarons said in a statement. “We will continue to work diligently with the city to review any and all data with the goal of assuring the construction of the most seismically safe structure in the history of Los Angeles.”
Aarons said a new geology report was prepared for the draft environmental impact report, which was published earlier this year. It again concludes there have been no earthquake faults on the property that have moved since the last Ice Age, “and therefore, the site is safe to build on, according to state and city requirements.”
A parking lot on Vine Street next to the Capitol Records Tower is the proposed site for the Hollywood Center project. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Aarons said the Hollywood Center project site “has been the subject of the most extensive geotechnical testing of any property in Hollywood. From 2012 to 2019, seven fault investigations were performed. In each and every case, those studies have come to the conclusion that there is no active fault on the project site.”
The California Geological Survey said there were limitations in the previous studies cited by the developer as evidence of the absence of a fault. For instance, the state agency said a fault trench excavated in 2014 was not dug long enough for the developer to disprove the state’s previous conclusion that an active earthquake fault ran underneath the property.
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Seismologist Lucy Jones said the California Geological Survey is the gold-standard scientific authority for recognizing the locations of faults in California.
“That’s their job,” said Jones, a former chair of the California Seismic Safety Commission and former science advisor for seismic safety for Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. “And they say the studies they have strongly support the presence of an active fault strand in the property.”
The mayor’s office did not comment publicly on the state’s letter.
Formerly known as Millennium Hollywood, the Hollywood Center project would place nearly 1.3 million square feet of developed space on about 4½ acres of land, adding more than 1,000 residential housing units and more than 30,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. An alternate plan would involve creating more than 880 housing units and a 220-room hotel.
California law generally prohibits the construction of buildings directly atop earthquake faults. A building risks catastrophic collapse if it sits on land that splits apart during an earthquake, in which one side of the fault lurches past the other.
In the magnitude 6.6 Sylmar earthquake of 1971, 80% of buildings on land where the fault ruptured the surface suffered moderate to severe damage, while only 30% of buildings constructed a little farther away suffered such damage.
Attorney Robert P. Silverstein, representing homeowner groups and activists opposed to the Hollywood Center project, displays a map showing two seismic studies by separate government agencies that warn that the proposed high-rise project would sit atop a site crossed by active earthquake fault lines. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
The existing map of the Hollywood fault drawn by state officials in 2014 already places the path of the Hollywood fault under the proposed 46-story East Building and under or very near the 11-story east senior residence building.
In 2015, however, the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, then led by Raymond Chan, rejected the state’s conclusion and sided with the developer’s geologist. City officials agreed that an earthquake fault was probably located deep beneath the property but that it was too old to be considered active.
Still, the development was halted by a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge in 2015, who ruled that the project’s description listed in its environmental impact report was too vague to permit a reasonable and meaningful review. The ruling tossed out the city’s previous approval for the project. The judge’s ruling was upheld by a state appeals court last year.
California Chance of big San Andreas earthquake increased by Ridgecrest temblors, study suggests New odds mean a large quake on the Garlock fault is much more likely and the chance of a large quake on the San Andreas has also increased.
Since 2014, there have been a number of scientific advances made by federal and state scientists in mapping earthquake faults.
In May, the U.S. Geological Survey and California Geological Survey released a 48-page report detailing the latest science of where the Hollywood fault sits, based on a new fault-finding technique called guided wave. It’s a technique in which scientists can shoot a sound wave down a suspected surface of the fault, and instruments can verify whether it is indeed a fault.
The technique has proved to be very accurate in identifying the location of faults where they meet the surface, said former state geologist John Parrish.
In the case of the Hollywood Center, test results not only verified the earthquake fault the state mapped as going through the property in 2014, but identified three new, additional and parallel fault strands — all just east of the proposed development, said Parrish, who was chief of the California Geological Survey at the time the study was done.
“Those will go all the way through” and continue west into the Hollywood Center project parcel, Parrish said. “They just didn’t run up to the curb and stop. Unfortunately, they’re going to go through that piece of property.”
The proposed 35-story west building also has a nearby fault. Because of the way it is angled into the ground at the surface, it’s possible the tower’s foundation could be built astride two sides of the fault, Parrish said. In such a scenario, the foundation could suddenly snap as one side of the fault moves past the other in a major quake, setting the stage for a catastrophic collapse.
The new data also suggest a fault line runs beneath a luxury apartment complex built at the site of the former KFWB-AM radio studios, at 6230 Yucca St., which is also known as 1755 Argyle Ave., Parrish said.
The site, just east of the Capitol Records Tower, is home to an 18-story complex called the Argyle House, developed by the Related Cos. and opened in 2018.
Attorney Robert P. Silverstein represents homeowner groups and activists opposed to the Hollywood Center project. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
In 2014, state officials removed from a map a fault line that was suggested to run under the former KFWB studios after tests showed the fault was inactive. But Parrish said evidence uncovered recently identifies how a fault near the Hollywood courthouse — about two-fifths of a mile to the east of the Argyle House — is active.
“If it’s active in one area on a fault, the whole fault is considered active,” said Parrish, who led the California Geological Survey from 2005 to 2018. “It is unlikely that this string of faults — the Raymond, Hollywood and Santa Monica, which have all been shown to be active for a 110-mile-long stretch — that the ... acres that they want to build a Millennium property on is not active.”
In a statement, the Related Cos. disputed the recent government studies as “not as accurate at finding if a fault is active, and therefore, are not the recommended method for determining the activity of faults.”
Parrish said the California Geological Survey has traditionally contacted local governments to alert them if a large development may be sitting on geologically unstable land.
“It’s for the public health, public health and safety. The public’s already paid for it, so they might as well have access to it,” Parrish said. “We don’t have a stake in whether it’s built or not, but we certainly want the decision to be made [by leaders] fully aware of what geologic hazards might be for the area.”
The California Geological Survey declined interview requests.
California Earthquake fault long thought dormant could devastate Los Angeles, researchers say Researchers say an earthquake fault along the L.A. coast long believed dormant is in fact active and could generate a devastating quake.
One California project that didn’t receive the attention of the state agency before it was built was also developed by Millennium Partners: the 58-story Millennium Tower in San Francisco, a $350-million luxury residential project that opened in 2009 but has since started to lean and sink. It will require a costly retrofit to upgrade the foundation — which originally stretched only to a layer of sand, just above a layer of clay — and extend it to bedrock.
“They built it on liquefiable lands ... but they never called us,” Parrish said. “So we didn’t comment.”
The residents of Millennium Tower have blamed Millennium Partners for the design problems; the developer, in turn, blamed a neighboring construction project for sucking water out of the soil beneath the tower, causing the noticeable sinking.
Millennium Partners’ experience with the leaning skyscraper is more reason to be skeptical of the developer’s claims, said Robert P. Silverstein, a Pasadena lawyer who represents neighborhood groups opposed to the development who successfully sued to halt the previous version of the Hollywood project.
Silverstein also expressed a lack of confidence in how the city has handled the project in the past, noting that key officials who championed the development have since been embroiled in corruption investigations.
“These independent governmental studies are bombshells that prove the Millennium skyscrapers cannot be allowed,” Silverstein said.
The city is currently working on a final version of the Hollywood Center’s environmental impact report. Following its completion, the project will face public hearings before the City Council, the planning commission and the council’s planning and land use management committee.


latimes--2020-07-22--Sierra Club calls out the racism of John Muir

John Muir is a towering figure in the environmental movement .
He saved Yosemite Valley , helped form the National Park Service and influenced generations with his passionate calls to protect and revere nature .
But on Wednesday , the Sierra Club — which Muir co-founded — acknowledged a darker part of Muir ’ s history .
“ He made derogatory comments about Black people and Indigenous peoples that drew on deeply harmful racist stereotypes , though his views evolved later in his life , ” the environmental group said in an article posted on its website .
“ As @ @ @ @ @ @ @ history , Muir ’ s words and actions carry an especially heavy weight .
They continue to hurt and alienate Indigenous people and people of color who come into contact with the Sierra Club.
” The club said it was addressing Muir ’ s racism in the spirit of reckoning with the past following protests over the death in police custody of George Floyd .
In the wake of Floyd ’ s death , numerous Confederate monuments have been taken down , as well as some statues of Christopher Columbus and Father Juniper @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ It ’ s time to take down some of our own monuments , starting with some truth-telling about the Sierra Club ’ s early history , ” the organization said .
In addition to noting Muir ’ s history , the post also said that two other club founders — Joseph LeConte and David Starr Jordan — were white supremacists and that Jordan was a leading believer in eugenics .
Muir is one of the most revered figures in California history .
His writings greatly influenced the environmental movement .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a growing debate about his influence and relevance .
A 2014 Times article noted Muir ’ s hatred of indigenous Californians and his support for pushing Native Americans off their lands .
“ It is essential that we try to understand John Muir in all his complexity , ” Laura Pulido , a professor in USC ’ s Department of American Studies and Ethnicity , told The Times in the article .
“ He was a man of his times , who actively worked to displace California Indians by taking their lands.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ landmark sites Muir saved were stolen from indigenous people , often by force .
Before Muir arrived in Yosemite , it was home to native Californians who died in large numbers from disease and slaughter when Europeans arrived and pushed them out .
“ Muir was depressingly conventional on matters of race , afflicted with a garden-variety Victorian white supremacism , ” writer Daniel Duane wrote in a Times opinion article in 2015 .
“ But he was an otherwise harmless and decent man ; my point is really just that Muir experienced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only because armed men stole the land by violence 17 years before he arrived in 1868.
” Some have also argued that Muir ’ s message missed key environmental issues the world is facing today , such as population growth , urban sprawl , demographic shifts and climate change .
“ Critics also see a correlation between the emotional , biblical language of Muir ’ s writings and the demographic makeup of national park visitors and the ranks of the largest environmental organizations — mainly aging , white Americans , ” the article @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to make the group better reflect the diversity of America today .
The organization has wrestled with Muir ’ s legacy in the past .
In one article on its website , a writer carefully examined Muir ’ s writings and found both racism and a growing admiration for Native Californians as he got older .
That review found that Muir held bigoted views toward Indians ( “ he used such negative terms as ‘ dirty , ’ ‘ garrulous as jays , ’ ‘ Superstitious , ’ ‘ deadly , ’ ‘ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and ‘ wife stealing ’ to describe California Indians , ” the report said ) .
But later in life , he came to admire their stewardship of the land and expressed concern about the cruel ways they were treated .
Floyd ’ s death has sparked a new look at the racism and violence inflicted on Native Californians .
State officials removed a statue of Christopher Columbus from the Capitol rotunda in Sacramento this summer .
A statue of Serra was pulled down on Olvera Street in Los Angeles , with protesters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ system enslaved and abused Indians .

John Muir is a towering figure in the environmental movement. He saved Yosemite Valley, helped form the National Park Service and influenced generations with his passionate calls to protect and revere nature.
But on Wednesday, the Sierra Club — which Muir co-founded — acknowledged a darker part of Muir’s history.
“He made derogatory comments about Black people and Indigenous peoples that drew on deeply harmful racist stereotypes, though his views evolved later in his life,” the environmental group said in an article posted on its website. “As the most iconic figure in Sierra Club history, Muir’s words and actions carry an especially heavy weight. They continue to hurt and alienate Indigenous people and people of color who come into contact with the Sierra Club.”
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The club said it was addressing Muir’s racism in the spirit of reckoning with the past following protests over the death in police custody of George Floyd. In the wake of Floyd’s death, numerous Confederate monuments have been taken down, as well as some statues of Christopher Columbus and Father Juniper Serra, another founding father of California.
“It’s time to take down some of our own monuments, starting with some truth-telling about the Sierra Club’s early history,” the organization said. In addition to noting Muir’s history, the post also said that two other club founders — Joseph LeConte and David Starr Jordan — were white supremacists and that Jordan was a leading believer in eugenics.
Muir is one of the most revered figures in California history. His writings greatly influenced the environmental movement. But in recent years, there has been a growing debate about his influence and relevance.
A 2014 Times article noted Muir’s hatred of indigenous Californians and his support for pushing Native Americans off their lands.
“It is essential that we try to understand John Muir in all his complexity,” Laura Pulido, a professor in USC’s Department of American Studies and Ethnicity, told The Times in the article. “He was a man of his times, who actively worked to displace California Indians by taking their lands.”
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Others have noted that many of the landmark sites Muir saved were stolen from indigenous people, often by force. Before Muir arrived in Yosemite, it was home to native Californians who died in large numbers from disease and slaughter when Europeans arrived and pushed them out.
“Muir was depressingly conventional on matters of race, afflicted with a garden-variety Victorian white supremacism,” writer Daniel Duane wrote in a Times opinion article in 2015. “But he was an otherwise harmless and decent man; my point is really just that Muir experienced Yosemite as God’s empty paradise only because armed men stole the land by violence 17 years before he arrived in 1868.”
Some have also argued that Muir’s message missed key environmental issues the world is facing today, such as population growth, urban sprawl, demographic shifts and climate change.
“Critics also see a correlation between the emotional, biblical language of Muir’s writings and the demographic makeup of national park visitors and the ranks of the largest environmental organizations — mainly aging, white Americans,” the article added.
The Sierra Club outlined plans to make the group better reflect the diversity of America today. The organization has wrestled with Muir’s legacy in the past. In one article on its website, a writer carefully examined Muir’s writings and found both racism and a growing admiration for Native Californians as he got older.
That review found that Muir held bigoted views toward Indians (“he used such negative terms as ‘dirty,’ ‘garrulous as jays,’ ‘Superstitious,’ ‘deadly,’ ‘lazy,’ ‘squirrelish,’ and ‘wife stealing’ to describe California Indians,” the report said). But later in life, he came to admire their stewardship of the land and expressed concern about the cruel ways they were treated.
Floyd’s death has sparked a new look at the racism and violence inflicted on Native Californians.
State officials removed a statue of Christopher Columbus from the Capitol rotunda in Sacramento this summer. A statue of Serra was pulled down on Olvera Street in Los Angeles, with protesters saying the founder of the Spanish mission system enslaved and abused Indians.


latimes--2020-07-22--Inmates talk of COVID fear and helplessness after transfers bring 'the beast' to San Quentin

Sixty-six inmates from the coronavirus-ridden California Institution for Men were on buses in late May , headed from Chino to the prison at Corcoran where Frank Estrada was incarcerated .
What they didn ’ t know was that “ the ‘ beast ’ came with them , ” Estrada said , alluding to the lethal virus that hitched a ride on one of the most disastrous prisoner transfers in state history .
Corcoran State Prison was coronavirus-free before the buses arrived .
It now has 10 active cases of COVID-19 and one reported inmate death .
San Quentin , California @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 121 transfers from Chino and has since been ravaged by the disease .
Last week , it passed the 2,000 mark in infections , and now reports 862 active cases and 13 deaths among its 3,362 inmates .
The transfers deepened a health crisis within California ’ s correctional system that has now affected more than half of the state ’ s 35 prisons .
At least 40 inmates statewide have died of COVID-related illnesses , and 1,905 had active infections on Tuesday .
Current and recently released inmates describe the terror behind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one by one , fellow prisoners got sick and in some cases died .
Several said they felt helpless because they could not easily practice social distancing or take other precautions available to those on the outside .
“ The fear echoed through the cells , ” said Estrada , 56 , who managed to avoid the virus and was released early from a 16-month sentence for burglary .
“ Lots of grown men who aren ’ t scared of much were really scared.
” The outbreaks at Corcoran and San Quentin were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from Chino , according to elected officials , corrections experts and a court-appointed receiver overseeing prison medical care .
At the time of the moves , the Chino prison reported more than 600 cases of COVID-19 and nine deaths .
The 700 inmates selected for transfer had medical conditions that made them especially vulnerable to the virus .
All were tested before they shipped out .
But for reasons that corrections officials have yet to explain , some were tested weeks prior to the move , rendering the results useless .
“ How @ @ @ @ @ @ @ check the dates on when those individuals were tested is actually incompetent and unconscionable , ” said state Sen. Nancy Skinner ( D-Berkeley ) , who chairs the Senate Public Safety Committee .
In an emailed statement to The Times , a spokesperson for the court-appointed receiver acknowledged that the transfers were ill-conceived .
“ In essence , the transfer process was opened too early , too quickly and without the necessary precautions in place , ” the statement said .
“ Changes have been made to the transfer and testing policies.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suitable for parole in April and was awaiting final approval and a release date when word of the Chino transfers reached San Quentin , and along with it a feeling of dread .
“ We knew it was only a matter of time for us , ” he said .
Kirkpatrick said he and his cellmate , Anthony Waldrip , both developed symptoms , including headaches .
They were tested last month and got the results about two weeks ago .
“ All they really did was say , ‘ Here , take @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s it , ” he said .
“ We were just kind of on the wish system : You wish you don ’ t have it .
You wish you don ’ t get sicker.
” Kirkpatrick , who was released July 13 after his parole on a burglary conviction was expedited because of the outbreak , said he and Waldrip had their temperatures checked regularly by prison nurses but never saw a doctor .
“ It was very scary , ” he said .
“ Guys would yell , ‘ Man down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and it would be someone who fell out or got so sick they had to come and send them out of there .
You ’ d hear that five or six times a day , and you ’ d say , ‘ Am I next ?
’ ” Most inmates were locked down around the clock .
They lived on boxed meals for weeks .
Showers were cut back to one every few days .
On Kirkpatrick ’ s tier of about 50 cells , only about five held men who were not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s really bad , ” he said .
“ A lot of guys who refused to take the test were considered to be not positive — even though many of them probably were.
” Kirkpatrick , who said he earned a college degree during his 22 years in prison and has a job waiting for him as a substance abuse counselor , is quarantined in a San Francisco motel , relishing his newfound freedom and counting his blessings .
Corrections officials say they have taken steps to protect staff , inmates and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ system ’ s population by almost 10,000 since March by reducing new admissions and expediting parole for some 3,500 inmates .
They also noted that some of the state ’ s prisons have no or few infections , and they defended their handling of the outbreak at San Quentin .
In a statement , corrections officials said they have set up a 220-bed “ alternative care site ” on the prison ’ s grounds , given N95 respirators to all inmates and staff and sent hundreds of additional guards and healthcare workers to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ We have taken extraordinary measures to remedy this situation , ” the statement said .
Anxiety also pervades San Quentin ’ s death row , a five-tiered wing that houses 718 condemned men .
At least seven who tested positive for COVID-19 have died in the last month .
“ I pride myself on not being scared of anything or anyone on death row , not even death itself , ” Kevin Cooper wrote in an online opinion article in May .
“ But this virus is more than just dying or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ death , like lethal injection is.
” Cooper , a high-profile inmate who is seeking DNA testing that he says could prove his innocence in the 1983 murder of four people in Chino Hills , wrote that he was doing his best to stay healthy .
“ I social distance , I wash my hands regularly , clean this cage that I am forced to live in on a regular basis , ” he wrote .
“ Every inmate who lives next to me or around me to my knowledge is taking care @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one of Cooper ’ s attorneys , said his client began coughing and suffering flu-like symptoms last month .
He said Cooper seemed to be improving but was still awaiting test results .
“ COVID should not be a death sentence on death row , ” Hile said .
“ They did not get sentenced to death by COVID.
” Critics said the decision to transfer inmates to San Quentin was a bad one for several reasons , including its old-style barred cells that do not restrict airflow .
“ A prison is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ floors and buffets .
People can ’ t get away from each other , ” said defense attorney Brian Pomerantz , who represents death row inmates .
For many inmates , COVID-19 is more of an imminent threat than the executioner .
California has not carried out a death sentence since 2006 .
“ There ’ s a real ‘ sitting duck ’ feeling to this , ” Pomerantz said , adding that inmates at other California prisons also are worried about the virus , especially among vulnerable populations in the system ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
On July 10 , the day that Gov .
Gavin Newsom announced as many as 8,000 California inmates could be let out early to help stem the spread of COVID-19 , Pomerantz petitioned a federal court for the release of Waldrip , a client not held on death row .
Waldrip , 54 , who suffers from high blood pressure and other ailments , has served about 20 years of a 25-years-to-life sentence for being a felon in possession of a firearm .
In January 2000 , two Los Angeles police officers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a handgun and arrested him , court records state .
Waldrip , who was visiting and did not own the gun , had taken it from a play area where an 8-year-old boy was showing it to his sister , according to court records .
The weapons charge was a “ third strike ” offense for Waldrip .
Pomerantz argued in court papers that Waldrip , who is eligible for parole in less than a year , “ can get better medical treatment and has a substantially better chance of surviving COVID-19 outside @ @ @ @ @ @ @ California ’ s prisons , officials earlier this month replaced the correction system ’ s top medical officer , Dr. R. Steven Tharratt , and Newsom criticized the decision to transfer the Chino inmates .
Although kept separate from the rest of the inmate population at San Quentin , the 121 new arrivals used the same showers and ate in the same mess hall as other prisoners .
After less than a week , San Quentin reported four positive cases among inmates and halted further transfers .
J. Clark Kelso , the court-appointed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ since 2008 , said at a July 1 state Senate hearing that a transfer protocol had called for all inmates to test negative before being transferred .
But it did not include a time frame for the tests .
“ Although all patients had negative test results , in many cases , the tests were two , three and some cases four weeks old , ” he said .
“ Far too old , to be a reliable indicator for the absence of COVID.
” Once transferred inmates began testing positive for COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ testing within seven days of transfer .
Prisoner advocates and healthcare experts said there was no defending the testing foul-up .
“ It is basic medicine — a nurse could have told you those tests were too old , ” said Don Specter , executive director of the Prison Law Office , which represents inmates in a long-standing lawsuit over medical care .

Outside the California Institute for Men in Chino. The prison reported more than 600 cases of COVID-19 and nine deaths.
Sixty-six inmates from the coronavirus-ridden California Institution for Men were on buses in late May, headed from Chino to the prison at Corcoran where Frank Estrada was incarcerated.
What they didn’t know was that “the ‘beast’ came with them,” Estrada said, alluding to the lethal virus that hitched a ride on one of the most disastrous prisoner transfers in state history.
Corcoran State Prison was coronavirus-free before the buses arrived. It now has 10 active cases of COVID-19 and one reported inmate death.
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San Quentin, California’s oldest prison, took in 121 transfers from Chino and has since been ravaged by the disease. Last week, it passed the 2,000 mark in infections, and now reports 862 active cases and 13 deaths among its 3,362 inmates.
The transfers deepened a health crisis within California’s correctional system that has now affected more than half of the state’s 35 prisons. At least 40 inmates statewide have died of COVID-related illnesses, and 1,905 had active infections on Tuesday.
Current and recently released inmates describe the terror behind bars as the virus raged and, one by one, fellow prisoners got sick and in some cases died. Several said they felt helpless because they could not easily practice social distancing or take other precautions available to those on the outside.
“The fear echoed through the cells,” said Estrada, 56, who managed to avoid the virus and was released early from a 16-month sentence for burglary. “Lots of grown men who aren’t scared of much were really scared.”
More than 2,000 inmates at San Quentin State Prison have tested positive for COVID-19, including 13 who died. (Eric Risberg / Associated Press)
The outbreaks at Corcoran and San Quentin were avoidable had officials not made the transfers from Chino, according to elected officials, corrections experts and a court-appointed receiver overseeing prison medical care.
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At the time of the moves, the Chino prison reported more than 600 cases of COVID-19 and nine deaths. The 700 inmates selected for transfer had medical conditions that made them especially vulnerable to the virus.
All were tested before they shipped out. But for reasons that corrections officials have yet to explain, some were tested weeks prior to the move, rendering the results useless.
“How a transfer occurred where someone did not check the dates on when those individuals were tested is actually incompetent and unconscionable,” said state Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), who chairs the Senate Public Safety Committee.
In an emailed statement to The Times, a spokesperson for the court-appointed receiver acknowledged that the transfers were ill-conceived.
“In essence, the transfer process was opened too early, too quickly and without the necessary precautions in place,” the statement said.
“Changes have been made to the transfer and testing policies.”
Michael Kirkpatrick, 62, was deemed suitable for parole in April and was awaiting final approval and a release date when word of the Chino transfers reached San Quentin, and along with it a feeling of dread.
“We knew it was only a matter of time for us,” he said.
Kirkpatrick said he and his cellmate, Anthony Waldrip, both developed symptoms, including headaches. They were tested last month and got the results about two weeks ago.
“All they really did was say, ‘Here, take some Tylenol,’ and that’s it,” he said. “We were just kind of on the wish system: You wish you don’t have it. You wish you don’t get sicker.”
Kirkpatrick, who was released July 13 after his parole on a burglary conviction was expedited because of the outbreak, said he and Waldrip had their temperatures checked regularly by prison nurses but never saw a doctor.
“It was very scary,” he said. “Guys would yell, ‘Man down in 246! Man down!’ and it would be someone who fell out or got so sick they had to come and send them out of there. You’d hear that five or six times a day, and you’d say, ‘Am I next?’”
Most inmates were locked down around the clock. They lived on boxed meals for weeks. Showers were cut back to one every few days.
On Kirkpatrick’s tier of about 50 cells, only about five held men who were not infected, he said.
“It’s really bad,” he said. “A lot of guys who refused to take the test were considered to be not positive — even though many of them probably were.”
Kirkpatrick, who said he earned a college degree during his 22 years in prison and has a job waiting for him as a substance abuse counselor, is quarantined in a San Francisco motel, relishing his newfound freedom and counting his blessings.
Corrections officials say they have taken steps to protect staff, inmates and surrounding communities. They include shrinking the system’s population by almost 10,000 since March by reducing new admissions and expediting parole for some 3,500 inmates.
They also noted that some of the state’s prisons have no or few infections, and they defended their handling of the outbreak at San Quentin. In a statement, corrections officials said they have set up a 220-bed “alternative care site” on the prison’s grounds, given N95 respirators to all inmates and staff and sent hundreds of additional guards and healthcare workers to help reduce movements between housing units.
“We have taken extraordinary measures to remedy this situation,” the statement said.
Anxiety also pervades San Quentin’s death row, a five-tiered wing that houses 718 condemned men. At least seven who tested positive for COVID-19 have died in the last month.
“I pride myself on not being scared of anything or anyone on death row, not even death itself,” Kevin Cooper wrote in an online opinion article in May. “But this virus is more than just dying or death. It’s a torturous death, like lethal injection is.”
World & Nation Out of Portland tear gas, an apparition emerges, capturing the imagination of protesters An iconic image has emerged on Twitter since early Saturday morning in Portland, when a woman wearing nothing but a mask and cap strode toward federal agents as they fired tear gas at protesters — a surreal image of human vulnerability in the face of an overpowering force.
Cooper, a high-profile inmate who is seeking DNA testing that he says could prove his innocence in the 1983 murder of four people in Chino Hills, wrote that he was doing his best to stay healthy.
“I social distance, I wash my hands regularly, clean this cage that I am forced to live in on a regular basis,” he wrote.
“Every inmate who lives next to me or around me to my knowledge is taking care of themselves too.”
Norm Hile, one of Cooper’s attorneys, said his client began coughing and suffering flu-like symptoms last month. He said Cooper seemed to be improving but was still awaiting test results.
“COVID should not be a death sentence on death row,” Hile said. “They did not get sentenced to death by COVID.”
Critics said the decision to transfer inmates to San Quentin was a bad one for several reasons, including its old-style barred cells that do not restrict airflow.
“A prison is like a cruise ship without the dance floors and buffets. People can’t get away from each other,” said defense attorney Brian Pomerantz, who represents death row inmates.
For many inmates, COVID-19 is more of an imminent threat than the executioner. California has not carried out a death sentence since 2006.
“There’s a real ‘sitting duck’ feeling to this,” Pomerantz said, adding that inmates at other California prisons also are worried about the virus, especially among vulnerable populations in the system’s medical facilities in Vacaville and Stockton.
On July 10, the day that Gov. Gavin Newsom announced as many as 8,000 California inmates could be let out early to help stem the spread of COVID-19, Pomerantz petitioned a federal court for the release of Waldrip, a client not held on death row.
Waldrip, 54, who suffers from high blood pressure and other ailments, has served about 20 years of a 25-years-to-life sentence for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
In January 2000, two Los Angeles police officers saw him in an apartment doorway holding a handgun and arrested him, court records state. Waldrip, who was visiting and did not own the gun, had taken it from a play area where an 8-year-old boy was showing it to his sister, according to court records.
The weapons charge was a “third strike” offense for Waldrip.
Pomerantz argued in court papers that Waldrip, who is eligible for parole in less than a year, “can get better medical treatment and has a substantially better chance of surviving COVID-19 outside of prison.”
As COVID-19 spread through California’s prisons, officials earlier this month replaced the correction system’s top medical officer, Dr. R. Steven Tharratt, and Newsom criticized the decision to transfer the Chino inmates.
Although kept separate from the rest of the inmate population at San Quentin, the 121 new arrivals used the same showers and ate in the same mess hall as other prisoners. After less than a week, San Quentin reported four positive cases among inmates and halted further transfers.
J. Clark Kelso, the court-appointed receiver overseeing California prisons’ medical care since 2008, said at a July 1 state Senate hearing that a transfer protocol had called for all inmates to test negative before being transferred. But it did not include a time frame for the tests.
“Although all patients had negative test results, in many cases, the tests were two, three and some cases four weeks old,” he said. “Far too old, to be a reliable indicator for the absence of COVID.”
Once transferred inmates began testing positive for COVID-19, the protocol was changed to require testing within seven days of transfer.
Prisoner advocates and healthcare experts said there was no defending the testing foul-up.
“It is basic medicine — a nurse could have told you those tests were too old,” said Don Specter, executive director of the Prison Law Office, which represents inmates in a long-standing lawsuit over medical care.


latimes--2020-07-23--As cuts begin at LAPD, Chief tells troops to 'show your relevance'

During a recent meeting with officers from the elite but troubled Metropolitan Division , Los Angeles police Chief Michel Moore offered support for their crime-fighting mission , but also a warning he ’ d previously shared with command staff .
With significant reductions in the force looming , every unit is under a microscope — and must prove its worth .
Following a historic $ 150-million budget cut , and amid a nationwide re-imagining of what policing should be , the LAPD is reviewing its operational structure from top to bottom and pushing forward with potentially far-reaching internal changes in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officials said .
The revamped LAPD will have hundreds of fewer officers to deploy by this time next year , and Moore has asked unit commanders throughout the department to write him proposals for what their teams should look like in such a future .
The Metro force , which includes the department ’ s targeted enforcement teams , is being scrutinized closely for potential cuts , and gang units and other specialized squads are also likely to be slimmed down .
Some fear a reduction in patrols as well , meaning fewer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , though officials have said they intend to limit such cuts .
Programs that center cops in the community , meanwhile , will be expanded .
“ We need to look at how we police the city with the scant resources that we have , and determine how we can find alternatives if our current practices aren ’ t going to continue to work , ” Moore said in an interview with The Times .
Assistant Chief Horace Frank said the department will probably concentrate resources on patrols and community outreach , while @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that are somewhat removed from directly serving neighborhoods .
It ’ s likely that some officers who have been assigned to specialized units will go back on patrol , officials said .
“ Patrol is absolutely our base service .
That is our primary core , and then everything spins around that , ” Moore said .
The entire conversation represents a radical departure from policing discussions in L.A. just a few months ago , when officials were talking about increasing the police budget .
It also falls against a backdrop of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ blows to city coffers ; a recent increase in homicides in L.A. ; and massive protests for police reform that broke out in major cities across the country following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May .
For too long , demonstrators allege , police departments have been bloated , their budgets allowed to balloon to ridiculous levels because they are viewed as sacrosanct by city politicians fearful of crime and all the implications that come with it .
Instead , demonstrators have demanded that police be “ defunded , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more social workers , mental health professionals and transportation employees to respond to a plethora of calls that don ’ t require an officer with a gun .
Some activists called for the Police Department to be abolished entirely .
Others called for its budget to be cut by 90 % .
One called the $ 150-million cut “ pocket change.
” “ We are saying defund the police , ” said Black Lives Matter - L.A. co-founder Melina Abdullah said at a City Council hearing last month .
“ We ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We know that public safety is not policing , ” actor and activist Kendrick Sampson said at the same hearing .
With defunding suddenly gaining traction , the council acted last month by slashing the LAPD ’ s funds .
It also put forward a few additional ideas for reshaping the LAPD .
But planning for how the cut would play out on the ground and within the department was lacking , and department officials were sent scrambling .
Moore , who approves of shifting some police responsibilities to civilian agencies , sees @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with careful preparation .
His more immediate challenge , he said , is shepherding the LAPD forward with less funding and without sacrificing public safety while a clearer framework for the future is developed .
The questions before him , he said , are twofold : “ How am I going to realign the organization ?
And , in the interim , how am I going to handle the workload while we decide what we ’ re going to stop doing ?
” Given the city spends about $ 3 billion on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recent cut as relatively minor and indicative of little change .
But police officials don ’ t see it that way .
By this time next year , they expect to have 250 fewer sworn officers , bringing their total to about 9,750 — the lowest in a dozen years .
They ’ ll also lose about 140 civilian employees , Moore said .
The transition to a smaller force has already begun , with hiring curtailed despite sustained attrition .
Eric Miller , a professor at Loyola Law School who focuses on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a tough spot , facing pressure from all sides — elected officials , the civilian Police Commission , rank-and-file officers , protesters , and most of the rest of the public , who want to see change but still value police in their neighborhoods and quick response times when they call for help .
But police officials have survived similar moments in the past by targeting units that face scrutiny — such as Metro — or are unproductive , Miller said .
“ What he has to do is suggest that he is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are shouting loudest about , but which don ’ t necessarily impact the core mission of police as he sees it , ” Miller said .
“ What you want to do is work out which units are causing you disciplinary headaches , use that as an excuse to trim the unit , and use that as a sop to the mayor and the public.
” The proposals Moore requested from commanders are due in the coming days and weeks , he said , and will help inform decisions about what units should @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if any — and which should be reconfigured .
“ What is the size of them going forward ?
That question is being asked of every command , ” he said .
Moore acknowledged “ there ’ s a lot of rumors ” that Metro will be completely disbanded , but that is unlikely , he said .
The Metro Division is an amalgamation of several specialized units , including targeted enforcement teams , the SWAT team and the department ’ s mounted and canine units .
For years , its members were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the forefront of a lot of police work , conducting thousands of traffic stops and seizing guns .
Mayor Eric Garcetti at one point ordered the division ’ s expansion as a solution to violent crime .
However , since it was revealed last year by the Times that Metro officers were disproportionately stopping and searching Black drivers , many members of the 200-person team have been diverted to spend more time investigating crimes that have already occurred .
That is important work that will continue , Moore said .
Beyond patrol and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to expand its Community Safety Partnership program , including devoting more command staff to the mission , as part of a directive from the Police Commission .
LAPD officials also are having conversations with officials from other agencies that may be asked to pick up some duties .
Moore recently told the Police Commission that he had begun discussions with transportation officials about a City Council proposal that would see some traffic calls handled not by police but by transportation employees .
He said he can ’ t imagine transportation employees handling enforcement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to some collision calls .
“ Our effort is to sit down together and understand what potential realignment of responsibilities might entail , ” he said .
Moore said he is looking for ways to incorporate some ideas from officers .
“ The wisdom of this organization doesn ’ t come from the 10th floor ; it comes from the rank and file , ” he said , referring to command offices at police headquarters .
Officers and the union that represents them have been critical of Moore and city officials in recent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the protests and surrounding unrest — where dozens of officers were injured — but for what they perceive to be an acquiescence to the department ’ s critics and a failure by officials to defend officers ’ actions .
They say they worry about public safety at a time when homicides are up nearly 14 % from last year and shootings are on the rise .
And they say that little about the path forward is clear to them .
“ It ’ s changing so fast .
It just seems like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on , ” said Craig Lally , president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League .
Lally said a lot of people are talking about defunding the police without a clear idea of what that even means — “ they ’ re putting the cart before the horse.
” Given the force reduction , Lally said he expects there to be “ massive shortages over the next few years in patrol , ” and new demands for more cops from residents angry about rising crime .

Kevin Rector, Richard Winton, Cindy Chang

Chief Michel Moore says big changes are coming to the LAPD after a historic $150-million budget cut.
During a recent meeting with officers from the elite but troubled Metropolitan Division, Los Angeles police Chief Michel Moore offered support for their crime-fighting mission, but also a warning he’d previously shared with command staff.
With significant reductions in the force looming, every unit is under a microscope — and must prove its worth.
“Show your relevance,” Moore recalled saying.
Following a historic $150-million budget cut, and amid a nationwide re-imagining of what policing should be, the LAPD is reviewing its operational structure from top to bottom and pushing forward with potentially far-reaching internal changes in anticipation of an even broader shake-up, officials said.
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The revamped LAPD will have hundreds of fewer officers to deploy by this time next year, and Moore has asked unit commanders throughout the department to write him proposals for what their teams should look like in such a future. The Metro force, which includes the department’s targeted enforcement teams, is being scrutinized closely for potential cuts, and gang units and other specialized squads are also likely to be slimmed down.
Some fear a reduction in patrols as well, meaning fewer officers on the streets and in neighborhoods, though officials have said they intend to limit such cuts. Programs that center cops in the community, meanwhile, will be expanded.
“We need to look at how we police the city with the scant resources that we have, and determine how we can find alternatives if our current practices aren’t going to continue to work,” Moore said in an interview with The Times.
Assistant Chief Horace Frank said the department will probably concentrate resources on patrols and community outreach, while trimming specialized units and other police functions that are somewhat removed from directly serving neighborhoods.
It’s likely that some officers who have been assigned to specialized units will go back on patrol, officials said.
“Patrol is absolutely our base service. That is our primary core, and then everything spins around that,” Moore said.
Advertisement
The entire conversation represents a radical departure from policing discussions in L.A. just a few months ago, when officials were talking about increasing the police budget. It also falls against a backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic, which has dealt significant blows to city coffers; a recent increase in homicides in L.A.; and massive protests for police reform that broke out in major cities across the country following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May.
For too long, demonstrators allege, police departments have been bloated, their budgets allowed to balloon to ridiculous levels because they are viewed as sacrosanct by city politicians fearful of crime and all the implications that come with it. Instead, demonstrators have demanded that police be “defunded,” with those dollars redirected to hire more social workers, mental health professionals and transportation employees to respond to a plethora of calls that don’t require an officer with a gun.
Some activists called for the Police Department to be abolished entirely. Others called for its budget to be cut by 90%. One called the $150-million cut “pocket change.”
“We are saying defund the police,” Black Lives Matter-LA co-founder Melina Abdullah said at a City Council hearing last month. “We’re also saying re-imagine public safety.”
“We know that public safety is not policing,” actor and activist Kendrick Sampson said at the same hearing.
With defunding suddenly gaining traction, the council acted last month by slashing the LAPD’s funds. It also put forward a few additional ideas for reshaping the LAPD. But planning for how the cut would play out on the ground and within the department was lacking, and department officials were sent scrambling.
Moore, who approves of shifting some police responsibilities to civilian agencies, sees any such plan unfolding over time, with careful preparation. His more immediate challenge, he said, is shepherding the LAPD forward with less funding and without sacrificing public safety while a clearer framework for the future is developed.
The questions before him, he said, are twofold: “How am I going to realign the organization? And, in the interim, how am I going to handle the workload while we decide what we’re going to stop doing?”
Given the city spends about $3 billion on the LAPD annually, critics have viewed the recent cut as relatively minor and indicative of little change. But police officials don’t see it that way.
By this time next year, they expect to have 250 fewer sworn officers, bringing their total to about 9,750 — the lowest in a dozen years. They’ll also lose about 140 civilian employees, Moore said. The transition to a smaller force has already begun, with hiring curtailed despite sustained attrition.
Eric Miller, a professor at Loyola Law School who focuses on policing issues, said Moore is in a tough spot, facing pressure from all sides — elected officials, the civilian Police Commission, rank-and-file officers, protesters, and most of the rest of the public, who want to see change but still value police in their neighborhoods and quick response times when they call for help.
But police officials have survived similar moments in the past by targeting units that face scrutiny — such as Metro — or are unproductive, Miller said.
“What he has to do is suggest that he is making significant reforms in areas that people are shouting loudest about, but which don’t necessarily impact the core mission of police as he sees it,” Miller said. “What you want to do is work out which units are causing you disciplinary headaches, use that as an excuse to trim the unit, and use that as a sop to the mayor and the public.”
The proposals Moore requested from commanders are due in the coming days and weeks, he said, and will help inform decisions about what units should stay, which ones can go — if any — and which should be reconfigured.
“What is the size of them going forward? That question is being asked of every command,” he said.
Moore acknowledged “there’s a lot of rumors” that Metro will be completely disbanded, but that is unlikely, he said.
The Metro Division is an amalgamation of several specialized units, including targeted enforcement teams, the SWAT team and the department’s mounted and canine units. For years, its members were praised by public officials for being at the forefront of a lot of police work, conducting thousands of traffic stops and seizing guns. Mayor Eric Garcetti at one point ordered the division’s expansion as a solution to violent crime.
However, since it was revealed last year by the Times that Metro officers were disproportionately stopping and searching Black drivers, many members of the 200-person team have been diverted to spend more time investigating crimes that have already occurred. That is important work that will continue, Moore said.
Beyond patrol and criminal investigations, the department is working to expand its Community Safety Partnership program, including devoting more command staff to the mission, as part of a directive from the Police Commission.
LAPD officials also are having conversations with officials from other agencies that may be asked to pick up some duties.
Moore recently told the Police Commission that he had begun discussions with transportation officials about a City Council proposal that would see some traffic calls handled not by police but by transportation employees. He said he can’t imagine transportation employees handling enforcement stops, but could see them responding to some collision calls.
“Our effort is to sit down together and understand what potential realignment of responsibilities might entail,” he said.
Moore said he is looking for ways to incorporate some ideas from officers.
“The wisdom of this organization doesn’t come from the 10th floor; it comes from the rank and file,” he said, referring to command offices at police headquarters.
Officers and the union that represents them have been critical of Moore and city officials in recent weeks, not only for their handling of the protests and surrounding unrest — where dozens of officers were injured — but for what they perceive to be an acquiescence to the department’s critics and a failure by officials to defend officers’ actions.
They say they worry about public safety at a time when homicides are up nearly 14% from last year and shootings are on the rise. And they say that little about the path forward is clear to them.
“It’s changing so fast. It just seems like every day, something else is going on,” said Craig Lally, president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League.
Lally said a lot of people are talking about defunding the police without a clear idea of what that even means — “they’re putting the cart before the horse.”
Given the force reduction, Lally said he expects there to be “massive shortages over the next few years in patrol,” and new demands for more cops from residents angry about rising crime.


latimes--2020-07-23--Sierra Club denounces racism of co-founder John Muir

As U.S. companies , politicians and institutions seek to atone for a history of systemic racism , the environmental movement is also grappling with a past built on white supremacy and a glaring lack of diversity in its current rank and file .
On Wednesday morning , Sierra Club ’ s executive director , Michael Brune , penned a missive on the organization ’ s problematic history — from founder John Muir ’ s racist statements about Black and Indigenous people , to its affiliation with the eugenics movement , and its current , predominantly white membership and sentimentality .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ some people to shut their eyes to the reality that the wild places we love are also the ancestral homelands of Native peoples , forced off their lands in the decades or centuries before they became national parks , ” he wrote .
It is this ignorance , he said , that “ allows them to overlook , too , the fact that only people insulated from systemic racism and brutality can afford to focus solely on preserving wilderness.
” As advocates for a more equitable nation take down Confederate statues in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Father Junipero Serra in California , Brune called for the organization to reexamine its own role in perpetuating white supremacy , “ starting with some truth-telling about the Sierra Club ’ s early history.
” Muir ’ s legacy — the father of the national park system , whose words shaped the way generations have thought about the wilderness and how it should be protected and managed — has come under increased scrutiny in recent years .
Many questioned whether his ethos is still relevant in today ’ s world .
This history @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis as a renewed social awareness of systemic racism takes hold .
“ The first step is to own mistakes personally and institutionally , ” Brune said in an interview .
“ There were early leaders in our organization who made harmful and disparaging remarks about Native Americans and Black people that haven ’ t been acknowledged by leadership in the organization for more than a century , so we ’ re owning that , apologizing for it.
” The club ’ s staff , membership @ @ @ @ @ @ @ membership skews older .
“ The Sierra Club is multi-generational and multi-racial but not nearly enough , ” Brune said .
“ There ’ s a lot of work to be done in that regard.
” Many of the polluting industries that are propelling climate change disproportionately affect poor and non-white communities that live next to refineries and pipelines .
“ It ’ s been an evolution over time , ” said Kathryn Phillips , director of Sierra Club California .
“ Since the ‘ 90s , the Sierra Club has gotten more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ air pollution … What ’ s happening now is we are overtly recognizing that we have to make sure we are including all people.
” In 2004 , the club was nearly dismantled after an internal rift grew between those who were advocating for tough immigration restrictions as a way to control environmental damage and those who felt such policies were inherently racist .
Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš of Azul , a group based in Oakland that aims to bring more Latino voices to coastal issues , said the Sierra Club ’ s reckoning with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coming , and it ’ s sadly a reflection of not just the Sierra Club but our field in general.
” Gutiérrez-Graudiņš has spent years framing issues from an environmental justice perspective but said until recently , it did not have the impact and reception it is now receiving — not just from decision makers but also from her conservation colleagues .
“ We ’ re at a point where people can ’ t ignore it anymore , ” she said .
“ There ’ s a confluence of all these changes that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now taking action on this work that has been going on for decades.
” She pointed to generations of work by advocates such as Robert García , of the City Project , and others who fought for equitable access to clean air and water .
Together , they pushed for California ’ s recent , which explicitly authorizes state officials to consider not only impacts to plants , animals and coastal habitats when making decisions but also the effects on underrepresented communities .
Gutiérrez-Graudiņš left the mainstream environmental movement almost a decade ago @ @ @ @ @ @ @ isn ’ t just one way to be a conservationist .
For years , she has battled a misperception that Latinos don ’ t care about the environment and has urged colleagues in the environmental space to recognize how diversifying their meetings and events is not just about checking boxes .
“ I was basically tokenized left and right , and I wanted to be able to say ‘ no ’ and do things the way I thought they should be done — informed by and led by my community , ” she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that there ’ s one way to do environmental work , that there ’ s one way to do conservation , that there ’ s one way to do outreach , and that if folks don ’ t show up to your thing , they don ’ t care.
” The Sierra Club has taken a number of steps in the right direction in recent months , she noted , including naming the first Latino in its 128-year history to lead its board of directors .
A recent poll , conducted by Yale @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people of color are more concerned about climate change than white people .
The poll found that 49 percent of white people are concerned about climate change , compared to 57 percent of Black people and 69 percent of Latino people .
“ There is definitely a reckoning underway , and it ’ s long overdue , ” said Meera Subramanian , the Society of Environmental Journalists ’ board president , who oversees a predominantly white membership-driven organization of environmental journalists .
“ The challenge now is to translate the promises made in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ The environment isn ’ t polar bears and Yosemite National Park , ” she said .
“ It ’ s the water in Flint , Michigan , and the air in New Delhi.
” Gladys Limón , executive director of the California Environmental Justice Alliance , said the Sierra Club and other major environmental organizations have traditionally wielded most of the power and benefited from the biggest budgets .
To advance their racial justice commitments , she said the major players need to make room for smaller , grassroots groups and shift @ @ @ @ @ @ @ organizations and communities .
Rene Henery , California science director for Trout Unlimited , noted that the environmental movement arose in a culture that was white and patriarchal : “ Everything , from who could participate in that movement and have a voice to how the organizations came to be , to who was on the boards and how the organizations are structured ” reflected that culture .
“ It is what it is .
Now we are trying to set a new boundary , ” Henery said .
“ It ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ care of everybody else because we ’ re all interconnected .
”

Susanne Rust, Bettina Boxall, Rosanna Xia

As U.S. companies, politicians and institutions seek to atone for a history of systemic racism, the environmental movement is also grappling with a past built on white supremacy and a glaring lack of diversity in its current rank and file.
On Wednesday morning, Sierra Club’s executive director, Michael Brune, penned a missive on the organization’s problematic history — from founder John Muir’s racist statements about Black and Indigenous people, to its affiliation with the eugenics movement, and its current, predominantly white membership and sentimentality.
”... willful ignorance is what allows some people to shut their eyes to the reality that the wild places we love are also the ancestral homelands of Native peoples, forced off their lands in the decades or centuries before they became national parks,” he wrote. It is this ignorance, he said, that “allows them to overlook, too, the fact that only people insulated from systemic racism and brutality can afford to focus solely on preserving wilderness.”
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As advocates for a more equitable nation take down Confederate statues in the South and those of Christopher Columbus and Father Junipero Serra in California, Brune called for the organization to reexamine its own role in perpetuating white supremacy, “starting with some truth-telling about the Sierra Club’s early history.”
Muir’s legacy — the father of the national park system, whose words shaped the way generations have thought about the wilderness and how it should be protected and managed — has come under increased scrutiny in recent years. Many questioned whether his ethos is still relevant in today’s world.
This history has come into even sharper focus since the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis as a renewed social awareness of systemic racism takes hold.
“The first step is to own mistakes personally and institutionally,” Brune said in an interview. “There were early leaders in our organization who made harmful and disparaging remarks about Native Americans and Black people that haven’t been acknowledged by leadership in the organization for more than a century, so we’re owning that, apologizing for it.”
The club’s staff, membership and volunteers are predominantly white and the membership skews older.
“The Sierra Club is multi-generational and multi-racial but not nearly enough,” Brune said. “There’s a lot of work to be done in that regard.”
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Many of the polluting industries that are propelling climate change disproportionately affect poor and non-white communities that live next to refineries and pipelines.
“It’s been an evolution over time,” said Kathryn Phillips, director of Sierra Club California. “Since the ‘90s, the Sierra Club has gotten more involved in California in urban issues and air pollution … What’s happening now is we are overtly recognizing that we have to make sure we are including all people.”
In 2004, the club was nearly dismantled after an internal rift grew between those who were advocating for tough immigration restrictions as a way to control environmental damage and those who felt such policies were inherently racist.
Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš of Azul, a group based in Oakland that aims to bring more Latino voices to coastal issues, said the Sierra Club’s reckoning with its history “was a long time coming, and it’s sadly a reflection of not just the Sierra Club but our field in general.”
Gutiérrez-Graudiņš has spent years framing issues from an environmental justice perspective but said until recently, it did not have the impact and reception it is now receiving — not just from decision makers but also from her conservation colleagues.
“We’re at a point where people can’t ignore it anymore,” she said. “There’s a confluence of all these changes that are coming together, and people are now taking action on this work that has been going on for decades.”
She pointed to generations of work by advocates such as Robert García, of the City Project, and others who fought for equitable access to clean air and water. Together, they pushed for California’s recent environmental justice law , which explicitly authorizes state officials to consider not only impacts to plants, animals and coastal habitats when making decisions but also the effects on underrepresented communities.
Gutiérrez-Graudiņš left the mainstream environmental movement almost a decade ago to amplify Latino voices and show there isn’t just one way to be a conservationist. For years, she has battled a misperception that Latinos don’t care about the environment and has urged colleagues in the environmental space to recognize how diversifying their meetings and events is not just about checking boxes.
“I was basically tokenized left and right, and I wanted to be able to say ‘no’ and do things the way I thought they should be done — informed by and led by my community,” she said. “There was this idea that there’s one way to do environmental work, that there’s one way to do conservation, that there’s one way to do outreach, and that if folks don’t show up to your thing, they don’t care.”
The Sierra Club has taken a number of steps in the right direction in recent months, she noted, including naming the first Latino in its 128-year history to lead its board of directors.
A recent poll, conducted by Yale and George Mason universities, shows that people of color are more concerned about climate change than white people.
The poll found that 49 percent of white people are concerned about climate change, compared to 57 percent of Black people and 69 percent of Latino people.
“There is definitely a reckoning underway, and it’s long overdue,” said Meera Subramanian, the Society of Environmental Journalists’ board president, who oversees a predominantly white membership-driven organization of environmental journalists. “The challenge now is to translate the promises made in an engaged moment into long-term action.”
“The environment isn’t polar bears and Yosemite National Park,” she said. “It’s the water in Flint, Michigan, and the air in New Delhi.”
Gladys Limón, executive director of the California Environmental Justice Alliance, said the Sierra Club and other major environmental organizations have traditionally wielded most of the power and benefited from the biggest budgets.
To advance their racial justice commitments, she said the major players need to make room for smaller, grassroots groups and shift philanthropic financial support directly to environmental justice organizations and communities.
Rene Henery, California science director for Trout Unlimited, noted that the environmental movement arose in a culture that was white and patriarchal: “Everything, from who could participate in that movement and have a voice to how the organizations came to be, to who was on the boards and how the organizations are structured” reflected that culture.
“It is what it is. Now we are trying to set a new boundary,” Henery said. “It’s in everybody’s interest to take care of everybody else because we’re all interconnected.”


latimes--2020-07-23--How did California end up surpassing New York in coronavirus cases? 'We got impatient'

California recorded some of the first COVID-19 cases in America and the country ’ s first known death , in what would become a worldwide pandemic .
It responded with the nation ’ s initial stay-at-home order .
Now , the Golden State claims another dubious distinction : more confirmed coronavirus cases than any other state .
California passed New York for that record Wednesday morning , reaching more than 409,000 cases and eclipsing New York ’ s 408,886 , according to the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University .
California is No .
1 in part because it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because millions of residents have been unwilling , or unable , to practice the social distancing and mask-wearing that public health experts say are the best measures to keep SARS-CoV-2 somewhat in check .
“ I think we started to exit shelter-in-place sometime around Memorial Day both emotionally and physically .
And we are paying the price for that , ” said Nicholas Jewell , a biostatistics authority at U.C .
Berkeley .
“ It ’ s like we should be tip-toeing out on the ice .
What we did , instead , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , some not too cautiously .
And a lot of people fell through the ice.
” It wasn ’ t so long ago that New York Gov .
Andrew Cuomo was being pummeled for his state ’ s slow response to the pandemic , while California seemed to have dodged disaster with its early action .
But the tables have turned and the disease ’ s onward march here showed no sign of slowing Wednesday , as Gov .
Gavin Newsom reported that 12,807 cases had been logged in the previous 24 hours @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for California and pushed the pandemic total to 413,576 .
“ It ’ s just another reminder , ” Newsom said , “ of the magnitude of impact that this virus continues to have.
” Though it passed New York in the total number afflicted , California ( at nearly 40 million residents , more than double the population of the Empire State ) has tallied just over 8,000 deaths from COVID-19 , less than a third the death toll in New York .
As in other states , some of California ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ care facilities , prisons and meatpacking plants .
But the disease has spread to places without such confined spaces , such as Mono County , where restaurant workers have been among the most commonly afflicted .
New York City saw intensive-care wards overwhelmed and morgues deluged with bodies , as fatalities spiked at about 800 a day .
Those scenes of suffering continue to epitomize the threat from the novel respiratory illness in America .
Even with recent increases , California has not seen its intensive care system overwhelmed .
The deadliest day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when 149 people died .
New York ’ s spring crisis should remain a cautionary tale for Californians , said Dr. Grant Colfax , director of public health for San Francisco .
He said the emergency in New York revealed “ how bad the pandemic can get and how rapidly it can get bad.
” It should also put the Golden State on notice that even a sophisticated , well-financed healthcare system can become overwhelmed .
If the cases in the Bay Area continue to rise , “ it is plausible we could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the late summer or fall , ” Colfax said .
But New York ’ s experience also confirms that upticks in COVID-19 can be reversed with a concerted public effort .
“ I just hope we can do that before a massive surge , ” Colfax said .
“ New York unfortunately had to do that after a massive surge.
” New York ’ s pandemic storm appeared to come with one silver lining , compelling New Yorkers to “ make a more dramatic and sustained change in behavior , ” said Dr. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Riverside University Health System in the Inland Empire .
“ In New York , everyone knew someone who had COVID , ” Leung added , while many Californians still know of the disease only secondhand and thus lack “ the emotional driver they had in New York.
” Leung said the Riverside health system has had to expand its intensive care capacity from 36 to 54 beds because of the influx of patients .
Physical space is easier to provide than the emotional resilience of healthcare workers , several physicians said .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t wear down .
But humans wear down , ” said Dr. Armand Dorian , chief medical officer at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital .
“ My most difficult commodity to maintain is my front-line workers .
How are we going to replenish these people or give them a break ?
That ’ s an issue we don ’ t discuss enough.
” Climbing hospitalization numbers represent one of the “ downstream ” impacts of increasing infections .
They reached a new high this week — with 7,170 hospitalized statewide as of Tuesday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ occupied intensive care beds , according to the state Department of Public Health .
The death toll also continues to climb , with 674 fatalities for the week that ended Monday , the highest seven-day total to date .
That number broke the record set in the previous week , when 640 died .
The week before that , COVID-19 deaths numbered 474 .
State officials sought to put the statistics in perspective .
“ I don ’ t myself over-read into the significance of that number , ” California Health and Human @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , California becoming No .
1 in total coronavirus infections .
He pointed to the state ’ s population and geographical size and added : “ At the end , I really expect and hope that California is going to be the state that adapted the most , learned the most , prepared the best and that we are going to really reduce its impact.
” Newsom agreed that especially given the state ’ s size , even a slight increase in people having social contact would cause an uptick in the state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ called California ’ s case count “ a sober reminder of why we are taking things as seriously as we are.
” Hospitalization and death totals that are reaching new highs reflect exposure to the virus that occurred weeks ago , experts said .
That becomes one of the key challenges in the fight against COVID-19 : It can take weeks to see if steps taken to stem the spread of the disease are working .
Conversely , it can also take weeks to see the repercussions of not taking the contagion seriously @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t wear masks around others , mix with people they don ’ t live with and decline to regularly wash and sanitize their hands .
Hospital administrator Dorian worries that a secondary kind of epidemic — a lack of public trust— is making it harder to gain broad public compliance .
“ It should be a simple notion , ‘ Just wear a mask , ’ but so often now I am confronted with people who say that is a political statement .
It ’ s not.
” State health officials issued an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a mask on June 18 and reimposed restrictions on many other activities last week .
But Ghaly said it will take three to five weeks to determine whether those restrictions have cut infection rates .
Jewell , the UC Berkeley epidemiologist , said restrictions on some travel would also help to slow the “ mixing bowl ” effect of coronavirus carriers spreading the virus around California and between states .
“ We did well in March and April with some of the restrictions , ” Jewell said .
“ But we got impatient @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than there was back then , but it ’ s going to be much harder to get people back to following those rules.
” Times staff writers Maura Dolan , Iris Lee , Rong-Gong Lin II and Colleen Shalby contributed to this report .

Kaeli Burks, 3, left, and her cousin Bailey Watson, 5, look out of their car after their mothers helped them at a drive-up coronavirus testing site in Carson, Calif.
California recorded some of the first COVID-19 cases in America and the country’s first known death, in what would become a worldwide pandemic. It responded with the nation’s initial stay-at-home order. Now, the Golden State claims another dubious distinction: more confirmed coronavirus cases than any other state.
California passed New York for that record Wednesday morning, reaching more than 409,000 cases and eclipsing New York’s 408,886, according to the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University.
California is No. 1 in part because it is the most populous state but also because millions of residents have been unwilling, or unable, to practice the social distancing and mask-wearing that public health experts say are the best measures to keep SARS-CoV-2 somewhat in check.
“I think we started to exit shelter-in-place sometime around Memorial Day both emotionally and physically. And we are paying the price for that,” said Nicholas Jewell, a biostatistics authority at U.C. Berkeley. “It’s like we should be tip-toeing out on the ice. What we did, instead, was all run out on the ice, some not too cautiously. And a lot of people fell through the ice.”
Advertisement
It wasn’t so long ago that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was being pummeled for his state’s slow response to the pandemic, while California seemed to have dodged disaster with its early action.
But the tables have turned and the disease’s onward march here showed no sign of slowing Wednesday, as Gov. Gavin Newsom reported that 12,807 cases had been logged in the previous 24 hours. That marked a new record high for California and pushed the pandemic total to 413,576.
“It’s just another reminder,” Newsom said, “of the magnitude of impact that this virus continues to have.”
Though it passed New York in the total number afflicted, California (at nearly 40 million residents, more than double the population of the Empire State) has tallied just over 8,000 deaths from COVID-19, less than a third the death toll in New York.
Tracking the coronavirus in California The latest maps and charts on the spread of COVID-19 in California.
As in other states, some of California’s biggest outbreaks have been in elder care facilities, prisons and meatpacking plants. But the disease has spread to places without such confined spaces, such as Mono County, where restaurant workers have been among the most commonly afflicted.
New York City saw intensive-care wards overwhelmed and morgues deluged with bodies, as fatalities spiked at about 800 a day. Those scenes of suffering continue to epitomize the threat from the novel respiratory illness in America. Even with recent increases, California has not seen its intensive care system overwhelmed. The deadliest day for COVID-19 came on July 8, when 149 people died.
New York’s spring crisis should remain a cautionary tale for Californians, said Dr. Grant Colfax, director of public health for San Francisco. He said the emergency in New York revealed “how bad the pandemic can get and how rapidly it can get bad.” It should also put the Golden State on notice that even a sophisticated, well-financed healthcare system can become overwhelmed.
Advertisement
If the cases in the Bay Area continue to rise, “it is plausible we could get in the New York situation in the late summer or fall,” Colfax said.
But New York’s experience also confirms that upticks in COVID-19 can be reversed with a concerted public effort. “I just hope we can do that before a massive surge,” Colfax said. “New York unfortunately had to do that after a massive surge.”
New York’s pandemic storm appeared to come with one silver lining, compelling New Yorkers to “make a more dramatic and sustained change in behavior,” said Dr. Geoffrey Leung, ambulatory medical director of Riverside University Health System in the Inland Empire.
“In New York, everyone knew someone who had COVID,” Leung added, while many Californians still know of the disease only secondhand and thus lack “the emotional driver they had in New York.”
Leung said the Riverside health system has had to expand its intensive care capacity from 36 to 54 beds because of the influx of patients. Physical space is easier to provide than the emotional resilience of healthcare workers, several physicians said.
“The concrete that makes a hospital won’t wear down. But humans wear down,” said Dr. Armand Dorian, chief medical officer at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital. “My most difficult commodity to maintain is my front-line workers. How are we going to replenish these people or give them a break? That’s an issue we don’t discuss enough.”
Climbing hospitalization numbers represent one of the “downstream” impacts of increasing infections. They reached a new high this week — with 7,170 hospitalized statewide as of Tuesday. More than 2,000 of those patients occupied intensive care beds, according to the state Department of Public Health.
The death toll also continues to climb, with 674 fatalities for the week that ended Monday, the highest seven-day total to date. That number broke the record set in the previous week, when 640 died. The week before that, COVID-19 deaths numbered 474.
State officials sought to put the statistics in perspective.
“I don’t myself over-read into the significance of that number,” California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said Tuesday, when asked about California becoming No. 1 in total coronavirus infections.
He pointed to the state’s population and geographical size and added: “At the end, I really expect and hope that California is going to be the state that adapted the most, learned the most, prepared the best and that we are going to really reduce its impact.”
Newsom agreed that especially given the state’s size, even a slight increase in people having social contact would cause an uptick in the state’s numbers. Nonetheless, he called California’s case count “a sober reminder of why we are taking things as seriously as we are.”
California Newsom reopened California without meeting his own coronavirus testing, tracing benchmarks California Gov. Gavin Newsom defended his reopening decisions and adopted the same argument made by many critics of his original order: The consequences of the COVID-19 shutdown for the economy and mental health were too great to ignore.
Hospitalization and death totals that are reaching new highs reflect exposure to the virus that occurred weeks ago, experts said. That becomes one of the key challenges in the fight against COVID-19: It can take weeks to see if steps taken to stem the spread of the disease are working.
Conversely, it can also take weeks to see the repercussions of not taking the contagion seriously, such as when people don’t wear masks around others, mix with people they don’t live with and decline to regularly wash and sanitize their hands.
Hospital administrator Dorian worries that a secondary kind of epidemic — a lack of public trust— is making it harder to gain broad public compliance. “It should be a simple notion, ‘Just wear a mask,’ but so often now I am confronted with people who say that is a political statement. It’s not.”
State health officials issued an order for those in public to wear a mask on June 18 and reimposed restrictions on many other activities last week. But Ghaly said it will take three to five weeks to determine whether those restrictions have cut infection rates. Jewell, the UC Berkeley epidemiologist, said restrictions on some travel would also help to slow the “mixing bowl” effect of coronavirus carriers spreading the virus around California and between states.
“We did well in March and April with some of the restrictions,” Jewell said. “But we got impatient. Now there is much more risk than there was back then, but it’s going to be much harder to get people back to following those rules.”
Times staff writers Maura Dolan, Iris Lee, Rong-Gong Lin II and Colleen Shalby contributed to this report.