latimes--2020-03-29--Stranded at LAX since Christmas Eve. Homeless. Then the coronavirus hit

Seth Tom Davis realized how serious the coronavirus outbreak was when he went to buy lunch at the Earl of Sandwich at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX .
He sat down and laid his jacket on the seat beside him .
Poppy , his seizure-alert dog , jumped up and made herself comfortable .
Then the Jack Russell terrier-Dalmatian mix sneezed a very big sneeze for a very little dog .
The woman beside him , Davis said , “ freaked out.
” Gov .
Gavin Newsom had yet to order Californians to stay at home in an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus .
People were still going to work and traveling .
The airport was still bustling ; the grocery stores , more or less stocked .
But “ people got really scared , ” the 30-year-old said .
“ They were scared of my dog .
They were afraid because she sneezed.
” Davis and Poppy have had a rare view of the pandemic ’ s impact on Southern California air travel .
They had been living in Terminal 6 at Los Angeles International Airport since Christmas Eve , when Davis fell asleep @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his home in North Dakota .
Davis had been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome and epilepsy .
He had been in foster care or adult protective services for most of his three decades .
He survived on Social Security and food stamps .
As Christmas Eve turned into Christmas Day , his wallet was stolen .
Then his identity was hijacked and his bank account plundered .
What was already a precarious life began to spin out of control .
Davis and Poppy were not sick , yet the coronavirus hit them hard .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ he said , had been mostly overwhelmed or closed in recent weeks .
On Tuesday evening he had $ 5 and change .
Poppy was out of dog food .
They were homeless and alone .
“ I have to find a way to pay for her food , ” Davis said .
“ I have to plan things out.
” He sat on the floor of Terminal 6 , legs crossed , Poppy on his lap , his arms wrapped around her slight frame .
The black swans tattooed on the backs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plaid jacket sleeves .
“ I don ’ t know what to do.
” On a normal day in Terminal 6 — that is , of course , if being stranded for three months in the world ’ s fourth-busiest airport is the norm — Davis rose from his makeshift bed at around 8 a.m .
He slept beside a tall metal pillar on the ticketing level between Alaska and United airlines .
Davis wasn ’ t the only person who called LAX home .
He had become friendly with Paul Conley , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or two away .
They watched each others ’ bags and backs .
Conley said he had slept at the airport for about eight months .
He was not inclined to discuss his circumstances further .
The noise was a constant , even with stay-at-home orders meant to halt the virus ’ s spread imposed in more than half of U.S. states .
Arrival and departure boards were lit up with canceled flights .
Airline and airport workers appeared to outnumber travelers .
Yet machines still whirred , cell phones buzzed , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ systems .
“ Smoking is permitted in designated areas only.
” “ Please take a moment to ensure that the bag you claim is yours.
” “ Hello , this is Allison Janney , ” boomed the Oscar-winner ’ s recorded voice .
“ I want to be the first to welcome you to LAX and the city of Los Angeles.
” A new message had been added to the din , instructing travelers how to sneeze without infecting others , how to wash their hands and avoid touching their faces , how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , no handshakes .
Davis called this message “ the long one.
” It interrupted conversation and sleep .
It warned that “ we all have a responsibility to reduce the spread of germs.
” The first thing Davis did upon waking was head to the nearby restroom to brush his teeth and wash his hair .
Hygiene is important , he said : “ I don ’ t like to look bad or smell bad.
” When he had money , he and Poppy took the shuttle to the airport employee parking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supermarket .
He ’ d buy ramen .
It was cheap , and the baristas at Starbucks gave him hot water for free .
Many days , he and Poppy also headed to the Westchester Family YMCA .
He ’ d shower there , maybe wash some clothes in the sink and put them through the swimsuit dryer .
But then Mayor Eric Garcetti on March 15 ordered all bars , nightclubs , gyms and other Los Angeles venues closed .
No more showers .
That same week , President Trump announced he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the U.S. for 30 days beginning March 13 .
“ In the beginning , it didn ’ t empty out so much ” at the airport , Davis said .
“ That was later on … In the beginning , it was panic to get back home .
Now you can ’ t get back home.
” The creased yellow police report was painfully spare .
“ Report of : Theft —Petty .
Victim : Davis , Seth Tom .
Occupation : Unemployed .
Type of Property Stolen/Lost/Damaged : Headphone , Wallet , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Recovered : 0.
” There was a mistake on the terse form , which the investigating officer filled out at the airport at 3:40 a.m. on Christmas Day .
The officer checked the box next to “ no serious injury to victim.
” By reporting the crime to police , Davis missed his flight back to North Dakota , and he could not afford to pay for the next one .
He was supposed to fly to Fargo , then take the bus to Jamestown , population 15,226 , where he lived @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the federal Section 8 program .
Section 8 housing is hard to come by .
Davis ’ North Dakota lease was up on Jan. 1 .
The only reason he was living in the Peace Garden State , he said , was because he could afford it .
His family was not there .
He was adopted at birth .
His adoptive parents divorced when he was 6 or 7 .
His adoptive mother died in 2016 in Aurora , Colo. , where he spent much of his life .
His adoptive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when he was a child .
They are estranged , although Davis receives some Social Security benefits through him .
“ Because I never came back home , I lost my [ Section 8 ] voucher , ” he said .
He also lost everything in that cozy North Dakota house , which he ’ d filled with thrift-store furniture and books .
“ I didn ’ t do anything wrong .
All I have to do is reassign to a new voucher wherever I ’ m at.
” But California is expensive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ costs .
Cheap rent is hard to find .
“ So I can ’ t afford it , ” he said .
Because of his epilepsy , Davis said , he has trouble remembering things .
So he ’ d written his bank account PIN on a sticky note .
It was in the bag that was stolen , along with his wallet .
The thief used Davis ’ ATM card twice in February , according to the claim form he filed with Current bank .
The $ 353.21 in charges made by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Davis out .
The bank , Davis said , refused to refund the money , even though he filled out the proper forms in the proper time frame and attached a copy of his police report .
Then the bank closed his account , which is where his Social Security checks are deposited .
A spokesperson for Current bank , Erin Bruehl , declined via email to comment on Davis ’ case .
The thief , Davis said , also used his identification to waylay his Social Security payments for three months .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Davis took the bus to a Social Security office in Norwalk to try to straighten the debacle out .
Now federal offices are closed because of the pandemic .
He had been working online and via phone to get things resolved .
A January letter from the Social Security Administration described his situation this way : “ Claimant has just moved back to California and is in dire need .
He has no money due to financial institution issues.
” Davis had been counting on getting his lost money back from Current bank @ @ @ @ @ @ @ motel in Albuquerque , where he thought he could find Section 8 housing .
He reserved a seat on an Amtrak train leaving Union Station on March 31 .
He had to pay for the ticket by Tuesday or lose it .
But on Tuesday , he got the bad news from Current .
He wouldn ’ t get his money , so he couldn ’ t pay for the Albuquerque trip .
On Wednesday night , he and Poppy curled up yet again beside the pillar on the cold , hard airport @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her , trying to keep her warm .
He could not sleep .
He was down to a little more than a dollar .
Thursday his luck began to change .
Some of his prayed-for Social Security money arrived in his new bank account : $ 334.04 .
It was the most money he ’ d had since his wallet was stolen three months earlier .
A friend he ’ d made in adult protective services in Colorado called and invited him to stay .
So he bought the cheapest ticket he could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2942 to Denver .
The plane took off at 10:45 a.m. On the day confirmed coronavirus cases in Los Angeles County reached 1,200 , Davis and Poppy exchanged one kind of uncertainty for another .
“ I made a promise when I got Poppy that I would protect her with my entire life , ” Davis said on a darker day earlier in the week .
“ I just want her to be happy , more than anything in this world .
I just want her to be OK. ” Maybe now , @ @ @ @

Seth Tom Davis realized how serious the coronavirus outbreak was when he went to buy lunch at the Earl of Sandwich at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX.
He sat down and laid his jacket on the seat beside him. Poppy, his seizure-alert dog, jumped up and made herself comfortable. Then the Jack Russell terrier-Dalmatian mix sneezed a very big sneeze for a very little dog. The woman beside him, Davis said, “freaked out.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom had yet to order Californians to stay at home in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus. People were still going to work and traveling. The airport was still bustling; the grocery stores, more or less stocked. But “people got really scared,” the 30-year-old said. “They were scared of my dog. They were afraid because she sneezed.”
Poppy keeps a watchful eye on Seth Davis, who has epilepsy and Asperger syndrome. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
Davis and Poppy have had a rare view of the pandemic’s impact on Southern California air travel. They had been living in Terminal 6 at Los Angeles International Airport since Christmas Eve, when Davis fell asleep during a long layover between Seattle and his home in North Dakota.
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Davis had been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome and epilepsy. He had been in foster care or adult protective services for most of his three decades. He survived on Social Security and food stamps. As Christmas Eve turned into Christmas Day, his wallet was stolen. Then his identity was hijacked and his bank account plundered.
What was already a precarious life began to spin out of control.
Davis and Poppy were not sick, yet the coronavirus hit them hard. The agencies that could help them, he said, had been mostly overwhelmed or closed in recent weeks. On Tuesday evening he had $5 and change. Poppy was out of dog food.
They were homeless and alone.
“I have to find a way to pay for her food,” Davis said. “I have to plan things out.”
He sat on the floor of Terminal 6, legs crossed, Poppy on his lap, his arms wrapped around her slight frame. The black swans tattooed on the backs of his hands peeked out from his plaid jacket sleeves.
“I don’t know what to do.”
“I have to find a way to pay for her food,” Seth Davis said of his support dog, Poppy. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
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On a normal day in Terminal 6 — that is, of course, if being stranded for three months in the world’s fourth-busiest airport is the norm — Davis rose from his makeshift bed at around 8 a.m. He slept beside a tall metal pillar on the ticketing level between Alaska and United airlines.
Davis wasn’t the only person who called LAX home. He had become friendly with Paul Conley, 35, who generally slept a pillar or two away. They watched each others’ bags and backs. Conley said he had slept at the airport for about eight months. He was not inclined to discuss his circumstances further.
The noise was a constant, even with stay-at-home orders meant to halt the virus’s spread imposed in more than half of U.S. states. Arrival and departure boards were lit up with canceled flights. Airline and airport workers appeared to outnumber travelers. Yet machines still whirred, cell phones buzzed, and announcements rang out over the public address systems.
“Smoking is permitted in designated areas only.” “Please take a moment to ensure that the bag you claim is yours.” “Hello, this is Allison Janney,” boomed the Oscar-winner’s recorded voice. “I want to be the first to welcome you to LAX and the city of Los Angeles.”
A new message had been added to the din, instructing travelers how to sneeze without infecting others, how to wash their hands and avoid touching their faces, how to keep their distance. No hugs, no handshakes. Davis called this message “the long one.” It interrupted conversation and sleep. It warned that “we all have a responsibility to reduce the spread of germs.”
The first thing Davis did upon waking was head to the nearby restroom to brush his teeth and wash his hair. Hygiene is important, he said: “I don’t like to look bad or smell bad.” When he had money, he and Poppy took the shuttle to the airport employee parking lot and walked to the nearby Ralphs supermarket. He’d buy ramen. It was cheap, and the baristas at Starbucks gave him hot water for free.
Seth Davis prepares his bed and charges his phone at LAX. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
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Many days, he and Poppy also headed to the Westchester Family YMCA. He’d shower there, maybe wash some clothes in the sink and put them through the swimsuit dryer. But then Mayor Eric Garcetti on March 15 ordered all bars, nightclubs, gyms and other Los Angeles venues closed. No more showers.
That same week, President Trump announced he was suspending all travel from Europe to the U.S. for 30 days beginning March 13.
“In the beginning, it didn’t empty out so much” at the airport, Davis said. “That was later on … In the beginning, it was panic to get back home. Now you can’t get back home.”
::
The creased yellow police report was painfully spare. “Report of: Theft —Petty. Victim: Davis, Seth Tom. Occupation: Unemployed. Type of Property Stolen/Lost/Damaged: Headphone, Wallet, U.S. Currency. Stolen/Lost: $450. Recovered: 0.”
There was a mistake on the terse form, which the investigating officer filled out at the airport at 3:40 a.m. on Christmas Day. The officer checked the box next to “no serious injury to victim.”
By reporting the crime to police, Davis missed his flight back to North Dakota, and he could not afford to pay for the next one. He was supposed to fly to Fargo, then take the bus to Jamestown, population 15,226 , where he lived in a two-story house with rent subsidized by the federal Section 8 program.
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Section 8 housing is hard to come by. Davis’ North Dakota lease was up on Jan. 1. The only reason he was living in the Peace Garden State, he said, was because he could afford it. His family was not there. He was adopted at birth. His adoptive parents divorced when he was 6 or 7.
His adoptive mother died in 2016 in Aurora, Colo., where he spent much of his life. His adoptive father, he said, molested him when he was a child. They are estranged, although Davis receives some Social Security benefits through him.
“Because I never came back home, I lost my [Section 8] voucher,” he said. He also lost everything in that cozy North Dakota house, which he’d filled with thrift-store furniture and books. “I didn’t do anything wrong. All I have to do is reassign to a new voucher wherever I’m at.”
But California is expensive. Vouchers do not often cover housing costs. Cheap rent is hard to find. “So I can’t afford it,” he said.
Seth Davis missed his December flight back to North Dakota and could not afford to pay for the next one. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
Because of his epilepsy, Davis said, he has trouble remembering things. So he’d written his bank account PIN on a sticky note. It was in the bag that was stolen, along with his wallet. The thief used Davis’ ATM card twice in February, according to the claim form he filed with Current bank.
The $353.21 in charges made by the person who stole his wallet wiped Davis out. The bank, Davis said, refused to refund the money, even though he filled out the proper forms in the proper time frame and attached a copy of his police report. Then the bank closed his account, which is where his Social Security checks are deposited.
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A spokesperson for Current bank, Erin Bruehl, declined via email to comment on Davis’ case.
The thief, Davis said, also used his identification to waylay his Social Security payments for three months. Before the world was shut down, Davis took the bus to a Social Security office in Norwalk to try to straighten the debacle out. Now federal offices are closed because of the pandemic. He had been working online and via phone to get things resolved.
After Seth Davis was stranded at LAX, his wallet was stolen and his bank account cleaned out. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
A January letter from the Social Security Administration described his situation this way:
“Claimant has just moved back to California and is in dire need. He has no money due to financial institution issues.”
::
Davis had been counting on getting his lost money back from Current bank. He’d found a long-term-stay motel in Albuquerque, where he thought he could find Section 8 housing. He reserved a seat on an Amtrak train leaving Union Station on March 31. He had to pay for the ticket by Tuesday or lose it.
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But on Tuesday, he got the bad news from Current. He wouldn’t get his money, so he couldn’t pay for the Albuquerque trip.
On Wednesday night, he and Poppy curled up yet again beside the pillar on the cold, hard airport floor. Poppy shivered. Davis hugged her, trying to keep her warm. He could not sleep.
He was down to a little more than a dollar.
Thursday his luck began to change. Some of his prayed-for Social Security money arrived in his new bank account: $334.04. It was the most money he’d had since his wallet was stolen three months earlier. A friend he’d made in adult protective services in Colorado called and invited him to stay.
So he bought the cheapest ticket he could find, $73.40 on Delta flight 2942 to Denver. The plane took off at 10:45 a.m.
On the day confirmed coronavirus cases in Los Angeles County reached 1,200, Davis and Poppy exchanged one kind of uncertainty for another.
“I made a promise when I got Poppy that I would protect her with my entire life,” Davis said on a darker day earlier in the week. “I just want her to be happy, more than anything in this world. I just want her to be OK.”
Maybe now, she will be.
Maybe.
After more than three months at LAX, Seth Davis flies to Colorado to stay with a friend. (Seth Davis)
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Times staff photographer Francine Orr contributed to this story.


latimes--2020-03-29--Amid coronavirus, Army vets fought to mass produce $100 ventilators. They hit roadblocks

For the last month , Army reservist Lt. Col. Kamal Kalsi , an emergency room doctor in New York , has been scrambling to find a way to quickly mass produce ventilators , equipment that could save the lives of thousands of coronavirus victims nationwide .
Two weeks ago , he thought he ’ d found a company in Sacramento with the perfect answer .
But then , as he tells it , necessity took a back seat to business .
The firm Kalsi contacted wanted tens of millions of dollars before it would help him , he said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ little , ” Kalsi said .
“ I understand .
It ’ s a capitalist system.
” In the days since he received that news , he has pleaded , plotted and begged for access to the design plans of a very small , very useful , very inexpensive ventilator .
Kalsi ’ s race to help COVID-19 patients and their families stave off catastrophe comes as the novel coronavirus spreads across the United States and debate sharpens over federal versus state responsibility .
Though President Trump last week ordered General Motors to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hesitant to use the Defense Production Act , a Korean-War-era edict that allows the commander in chief to commandeer resources , and to provide centralized logistics and support that could help states obtain needed supplies .
Instead , the federal government has largely left states to procure supplies such as masks and gowns themselves .
The scramble has left those states , cities and even hospitals competing against one another in a free-market response to the pandemic .
Adding to the tension , state governors , including California Gov .
Gavin Newsom , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ challenge of maintaining harmonious relations with the federal government , including a president who values kind words .
That , said Kalsi , has left him unable to procure a means to make the potentially life-saving devices before they slip into the mass market , where availability could be determined by luck and money .
“ This just needs to happen , ” said Kalsi , a disaster medicine specialist who ran triage hospitals in Afghanistan .
“ If we don ’ t get ventilators in the next week or two in New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be a bloodbath.
” The ventilator Kalsi sees as the solution is the Go2Vent , made by Vortran Medical in Sacramento and sold for about $ 100 each , though there is no proof it could be the panacea that he envisions .
Vortran ’ s founder and chief medical officer , Dr. Gordon Wong , declined to comment , other than to say Friday he was close to inking a mass production deal with a venture capital-backed manufacturer in Chicago .
The Go2Vent looks a bit like an ill-conceived bong : A @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a small chamber that in turn has two pipes , all with electric blue connectors .
But to Kalsi , its value is obvious in part because of its plastic simplicity — which he thinks a 3-D printer could replicate .
“ One of my paramedics actually showed it to me and immediately it struck me that this could be repurposed to fill the ventilator gap that we are facing right now , ” Kalsi said .
The Go2Vent was designed for emergency use and disease outbreaks .
It requires no electricity , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tank , and can fit in a small suitcase and be set up in minutes .
Online marketing materials predict its value in this moment with disturbing precision : “ In the event of a ventilator surge capacity , the stockpiling of full feature ventilators is not economically feasible for any local or regional facility , ” Vortran wrote in a technical bulletin posted during the H1N1 swine flu pandemic in 2009 , which killed more than 12,000 people in the United States .
“ In the event of a pandemic of national @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to expect quick or timely response from the state or federal governments .
The [ Go2Vent ] with monitor , when incorporated with the proper filters , offers a viable solution to your ventilator shortage .
It would free up your full featured ventilators from your ICU to manage your most difficult ... patients.
” Kalsi and a fellow veteran , Matt Zeller , who co-founded a nonprofit to help military translators , quickly put together a plan they thought could get thousands of Go2Vents to hospitals in days .
In early March @ @ @ @ @ @ @ military and policy experts from the Truman National Security Project , a left-leaning network of military and policy wonks of which they are both members .
They quickly put together a loose working group of political and business contacts who thought they had the resources to use 3-D printers to both produce and distribute the ventilators in an open-source , not-for-profit model .
A key part of the plan , said Zeller , was centralized planning that would ensure the ventilators reached hospitals most in need and that would move the units to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Eventually , said Zeller , he wanted the units sent to the national stockpile for future outbreaks .
Their shelf life is five years , according to Vortran .
The “ linchpin ” of the project , said Zeller , was obtaining the design specifications of the device .
So they contacted Vortran and asked for them , Kalsi said .
Despite multiple conversations with company officials last week , the answer , said Zeller , was not what he hoped to hear .
Zeller and Kalsi said they variously talked with Wong @ @ @ @ @ @ @ told them they were not interested in giving the plans away , or even licensing them .
They would , however , sell the company , Zeller said he was told .
Zeller said Wong , one of the Vortran founders , told him “ that if I had called him two weeks ago they would have entertained offers between 30 and 40 million [ dollars ] but now it was significantly north of that.
” Kalsi and Zeller again tapped into their network of state and federal contacts last week , this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the firm to provide access to the design , or even have the Defense Production Act used to force the issue .
Zeller said friends reached out to governors in multiple states for help , including Newsom .
“ Corporate profits should never be placed ahead of human life , and this is exactly why the [ Defense Production Act ] should come in and force these guys to play ball , ” Kalsi said Friday .
“ We ’ ve been working to push the governor of California to push these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Newsom ’ s office wasn ’ t sure it had the power to compel anything .
Legal experts say the issue is clear , noting that Newsom has declared a state of emergency .
“ When there is a proclamation of a state of emergency , the governor of California is vested with the power to commandeer public and private property , ” UC Berkeley constitutional law expert Erwin Chemerinsky said in an email .
If the governor did so , he added , the state would have to pay “ just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not immediately reply to a request for comment .
The governor ’ s approach to the pandemic has been one of putting the carrot before the stick .
Saturday , touring a San Jose factory that was working to get old ventilators ready for use , he announced that the federal government had sent 170 broken ventilators to Los Angeles .
“ And rather than lamenting about it , rather than complaining about it , rather than pointing fingers , rather than generating headlines in order to generate more stress and anxiety , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Newsom said .
“ And we had those 170 brought here to this facility at 8 a.m. this morning , and they are quite literally working on those ventilators right now.
” Newsom also said Saturday that , in total , the state has procured and identified 4,252 ventilators toward a goal of securing 10,000 in response to the coronavirus pandemic .
Meanwhile , as Vortran officials were pushing off Kalsi and his team , the company was looking for compensation in other places : ramping up production of the Go2Vent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Latimer runs a plastic injection molding and manufacturing company in Reno that has produced the Go2Vent for Vortran since 1997 .
Usually , he ’ d make about 10,000 Go2Vents in an order .
A couple of weeks ago , with cases of the novel coronavirus hitting the United States , Latimer said the order was doubled to 30,000 .
Then 50,000 .
Then 100,000 .
Now , “ that order has exponentially increased , ” Latimer said .
“ We are ramping up in a bizarre way right now , trying to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said he is running his factory 24 hours a day , but “ it will take a long time to fulfill ” the orders .
Latimer said he doesn ’ t know who ’ s buying the devices , but “ I am wondering if it might be the government.
” He ’ s committed to getting the ventilators out as fast as he can .
His company is centered on philanthropy , with most profits donated to charitable causes .
Last year , he said , it gave out about $ 800,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ needed as I have now , ” he said .
But Vortran may not need Latimer much longer .
On Friday , the company was in discussions for a deal with Chicago-based 3-D manufacturer and distributor Fast Radius , according to Wong .
On Saturday , Fast Radius founder and CEO Lou Rassey largely declined to comment on the record , saying only that his company was in talks “ to see if we can be one of the partners that really help them scale and bring an important product to market.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t care who produces the Go2Vent , as long as it happens quickly .
“ Whatever solution presents itself and is viable , we should run with it , ” Zeller said .
“ I wish I had called them two weeks ago .
I really wish our government , particularly at the federal level , had prepared for this.
” Times Sacramento Bureau chief John Myers and staff writer Taryn Luna contributed to this report .

Dr. Kamal S. Kalsi in 2009, near Saint Joseph’s hospital in Paterson, N.J., where he worked. Kalsi, an Army veteran, is pushing to mass produce ventilators to save coronavirus patients.
For the last month, Army reservist Lt. Col. Kamal Kalsi, an emergency room doctor in New York, has been scrambling to find a way to quickly mass produce ventilators, equipment that could save the lives of thousands of coronavirus victims nationwide.
Two weeks ago, he thought he’d found a company in Sacramento with the perfect answer.
But then, as he tells it, necessity took a back seat to business.
Advertisement
The firm Kalsi contacted wanted tens of millions of dollars before it would help him, he said.
Hearing that “tore me up a little,” Kalsi said. “I understand. It’s a capitalist system.”
In the days since he received that news, he has pleaded, plotted and begged for access to the design plans of a very small, very useful, very inexpensive ventilator. Kalsi’s race to help COVID-19 patients and their families stave off catastrophe comes as the novel coronavirus spreads across the United States and debate sharpens over federal versus state responsibility.
Though President Trump last week ordered General Motors to begin making ventilators, he has been hesitant to use the Defense Production Act, a Korean-War-era edict that allows the commander in chief to commandeer resources, and to provide centralized logistics and support that could help states obtain needed supplies.
Instead, the federal government has largely left states to procure supplies such as masks and gowns themselves. The scramble has left those states, cities and even hospitals competing against one another in a free-market response to the pandemic.
Adding to the tension, state governors, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, are balancing those dire needs with the challenge of maintaining harmonious relations with the federal government, including a president who values kind words.
That, said Kalsi, has left him unable to procure a means to make the potentially life-saving devices before they slip into the mass market, where availability could be determined by luck and money.
“This just needs to happen,” said Kalsi, a disaster medicine specialist who ran triage hospitals in Afghanistan. “If we don’t get ventilators in the next week or two in New York, it’s going to be a bloodbath.”
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The ventilator Kalsi sees as the solution is the Go2Vent, made by Vortran Medical in Sacramento and sold for about $100 each, though there is no proof it could be the panacea that he envisions. Vortran’s founder and chief medical officer, Dr. Gordon Wong, declined to comment, other than to say Friday he was close to inking a mass production deal with a venture capital-backed manufacturer in Chicago.
The Go2Vent looks a bit like an ill-conceived bong: A long clear plastic tube that connects to a small chamber that in turn has two pipes, all with electric blue connectors. But to Kalsi, its value is obvious in part because of its plastic simplicity — which he thinks a 3-D printer could replicate.
“One of my paramedics actually showed it to me and immediately it struck me that this could be repurposed to fill the ventilator gap that we are facing right now,” Kalsi said.
Matt Zeller ran for New York’s 29th Congressional District in 2010. Recently, the U.S. Army veteran has been working with Dr. Kamal S. Kalsi, another vet, to mass produce ventilators in the effort to save virus patients. (Heather Ainsworth / Associated Press)
The Go2Vent was designed for emergency use and disease outbreaks. It requires no electricity, running off the pressure of an oxygen tank, and can fit in a small suitcase and be set up in minutes.
Online marketing materials predict its value in this moment with disturbing precision: “In the event of a ventilator surge capacity, the stockpiling of full feature ventilators is not economically feasible for any local or regional facility,” Vortran wrote in a technical bulletin posted during the H1N1 swine flu pandemic in 2009, which killed more than 12,000 people in the United States.
“In the event of a pandemic of national or global proportion, it is unrealistic to expect quick or timely response from the state or federal governments. The [Go2Vent] with monitor, when incorporated with the proper filters, offers a viable solution to your ventilator shortage. It would free up your full featured ventilators from your ICU to manage your most difficult ... patients.”
Kalsi and a fellow veteran, Matt Zeller, who co-founded a nonprofit to help military translators, quickly put together a plan they thought could get thousands of Go2Vents to hospitals in days.
Tracking the coronavirus in California The latest maps and charts on the spread of COVID-19 in California.
In early March, they tapped a network of former military and policy experts from the Truman National Security Project, a left-leaning network of military and policy wonks of which they are both members. They quickly put together a loose working group of political and business contacts who thought they had the resources to use 3-D printers to both produce and distribute the ventilators in an open-source, not-for-profit model.
A key part of the plan, said Zeller, was centralized planning that would ensure the ventilators reached hospitals most in need and that would move the units to other facilities once that need subsided. Eventually, said Zeller, he wanted the units sent to the national stockpile for future outbreaks. Their shelf life is five years, according to Vortran.
The “linchpin” of the project, said Zeller, was obtaining the design specifications of the device.
So they contacted Vortran and asked for them, Kalsi said.
Despite multiple conversations with company officials last week, the answer, said Zeller, was not what he hoped to hear.
Zeller and Kalsi said they variously talked with Wong and others at the small company who told them they were not interested in giving the plans away, or even licensing them.
They would, however, sell the company, Zeller said he was told.
Zeller said Wong, one of the Vortran founders, told him “that if I had called him two weeks ago they would have entertained offers between 30 and 40 million [dollars] but now it was significantly north of that.”
Kalsi and Zeller again tapped into their network of state and federal contacts last week, this time to try to put political pressure on the firm to provide access to the design, or even have the Defense Production Act used to force the issue.
Zeller said friends reached out to governors in multiple states for help, including Newsom.
“Corporate profits should never be placed ahead of human life, and this is exactly why the [Defense Production Act] should come in and force these guys to play ball,” Kalsi said Friday. “We’ve been working to push the governor of California to push these guys.”
Kalsi said he heard back that Newsom’s office wasn’t sure it had the power to compel anything. Legal experts say the issue is clear, noting that Newsom has declared a state of emergency.
“When there is a proclamation of a state of emergency, the governor of California is vested with the power to commandeer public and private property,” UC Berkeley constitutional law expert Erwin Chemerinsky said in an email.
If the governor did so, he added, the state would have to pay “just compensation.”
Newsom’s office did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
The governor’s approach to the pandemic has been one of putting the carrot before the stick. Saturday, touring a San Jose factory that was working to get old ventilators ready for use, he announced that the federal government had sent 170 broken ventilators to Los Angeles.
“And rather than lamenting about it, rather than complaining about it, rather than pointing fingers, rather than generating headlines in order to generate more stress and anxiety, we got a car and a truck,” Newsom said. “And we had those 170 brought here to this facility at 8 a.m. this morning, and they are quite literally working on those ventilators right now.”
Newsom also said Saturday that, in total, the state has procured and identified 4,252 ventilators toward a goal of securing 10,000 in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Meanwhile, as Vortran officials were pushing off Kalsi and his team, the company was looking for compensation in other places: ramping up production of the Go2Vent and entertaining more lucrative offers.
Greg Latimer runs a plastic injection molding and manufacturing company in Reno that has produced the Go2Vent for Vortran since 1997.
Usually, he’d make about 10,000 Go2Vents in an order. A couple of weeks ago, with cases of the novel coronavirus hitting the United States, Latimer said the order was doubled to 30,000. Then 50,000. Then 100,000.
Now, “that order has exponentially increased,” Latimer said. “We are ramping up in a bizarre way right now, trying to stay ahead of the curve.”
He said he is running his factory 24 hours a day, but “it will take a long time to fulfill” the orders.
Latimer said he doesn’t know who’s buying the devices, but “I am wondering if it might be the government.”
He’s committed to getting the ventilators out as fast as he can. His company is centered on philanthropy, with most profits donated to charitable causes. Last year, he said, it gave out about $800,000.
“Never have I felt so needed as I have now,” he said.
But Vortran may not need Latimer much longer. On Friday, the company was in discussions for a deal with Chicago-based 3-D manufacturer and distributor Fast Radius, according to Wong.
On Saturday, Fast Radius founder and CEO Lou Rassey largely declined to comment on the record, saying only that his company was in talks “to see if we can be one of the partners that really help them scale and bring an important product to market.”
Zeller and Kalsi both said they don’t care who produces the Go2Vent, as long as it happens quickly.
“Whatever solution presents itself and is viable, we should run with it,” Zeller said. “I wish I had called them two weeks ago. I really wish our government, particularly at the federal level, had prepared for this.”
Times Sacramento Bureau chief John Myers and staff writer Taryn Luna contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-03-29--'She hadn't showered in nine days.' L.A. makes it hard to be homeless, avoid coronavirus

Harry Sanchez knows how important it is to wash your hands these days , but he ’ s never certain when he ’ ll have access to soap and water .
Tinkering with a hand-held radio while his belongings sat in a bag leaning against a mountain bike in Lincoln Park last week , the 58-year-old maintenance man was as concerned as anyone about catching the novel coronavirus .
Homeless since 2014 , Sanchez says he usually tries to keep clean by visiting businesses with public restrooms or cobbling together enough change to buy hand wipes .
But with more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of coronavirus cases in L.A. County balloons , Sanchez says his already short list of options to maintain basic hygiene has dwindled toward none .
“ Everything is closed that people would normally use ... and there ’ s a lot of chances to catch it when you ’ re dirty and outside , ” he said .
As dangerous as the novel coronavirus has already proved to be , many fear that an outbreak among L.A. County ’ s vulnerable homeless population could prove especially deadly , putting even more stress on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ preventing that outcome , people in Sanchez ’ s situation are becoming even more reliant on a network of mobile showers and public washing stations staffed , in part , by volunteers willing to risk their own health to help others .
“ What we ’ ve told the staff is this thing is a beast , it spreads like nothing else … everyone has been advised if they want to take a leave , it ’ s nothing personal , ” said Mel Tillekeratne , the founder of Shower of Hope , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that operates across L.A. County .
“ I really thought we would not be operating , I thought our guys would break out , but they were like , no , we need it now more than ever.
” There have been no confirmed cases of coronavirus infection among L.A. 's homeless population .
But with at least six Los Angeles police officers testing positive in the LAPD ’ s Central Division — which patrols skid row and downtown L.A. among other areas — and the true extent of the virus ’ spread @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , some activists worry that it ’ s only a matter of time .
Already , several homeless people with flu-like symptoms are in isolation and awaiting test results .
A new study found that as many as 2,600 homeless people in the L.A. area could require hospitalization if the virus were to spread among those living in encampments .
City and county officials have announced expansive measures to help get homeless people off the street as part of a larger effort to combat the virus .
The city is opening shelters in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a total of 360 hand-washing stations in various neighborhoods and rolling out a dozen mobile shower trucks , according to a March 23rd court filing connected to a lawsuit about homelessness in L.A. County .
Advocates , however , have said some of the hand-washing stations have already run out of water or become too dirty to use .
With the city still rolling out its crisis response , long-standing resources such as Shower of Hope and the Skid Row Community Refresh Spot are likely to prove even more essential in stemming the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
On Thursday , several homeless people hurried out of an encampment in Lincoln Park in Lincoln Heights , and a row of nearby cars-turned-homes on Valley Boulevard , toward a Shower of Hope trailer .
An hour later , the line to use the Refresh Spot spilled out onto Crocker Street , partially blocking traffic .
“ I saw it this morning and said , ‘ Oh , thank God , they ’ re back , ’ ” said 25-year-old Rita Rios , who seized the opportunity to wash up at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ daughter , Shailene .
The pair live in a car nearby and said it ’ s been especially difficult to stay clean with the rainy weather in recent weeks .
Shower of Hope ’ s trailers operate at least once per week in Highland Park , Lincoln Heights , Hollywood , Koreatown , MacArthur Park , El Monte and Pasadena , Tillekeratne said .
Although it started as a volunteer effort , the nonprofit group began receiving funding and partnering with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority and the office of L.A. City @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said social distancing measures and the public ’ s reaction to the coronavirus have had an outsize effect on the homeless population .
In addition to the closing of businesses that might offer them a bathroom or at least brief shelter , the hoarding of supplies from grocery and big-box stores has also affected homeless people , who can ’ t afford to stock up and lack a safe space to store provisions .
A woman who usually visits the group ’ s Highland Park location left a desperate message on Tillekeratne ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
“ She went on one of our pages and put this heartbreaking post … saying she hadn ’ t showered in nine days , a gas station was barring her from using bathrooms , ” he said .
“ She couldn ’ t buy toilet paper anywhere.
” Pete White , executive director of the skid row-based Los Angeles Community Action Network , said that though he applauds Angelenos for largely abiding by Mayor Eric Garcetti ’ s “ Safer at Home ” order to reduce the spread of the coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had unintended consequences .
“ As a result of self-isolation and stay-at-home orders , what we ’ re seeing is a drop in charitable food giving.… Those church programs that would come out and supplement both food stamps and other ways that people were getting food are now no longer there , ” he said .
The problem has been made worse by the crowded , cramped and unsanitary conditions on skid row , where social distancing and basic hygiene are nearly impossible .
Four of the six hand-washing stations the city placed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of water and not refilled , White said .
Alex Comisar , a spokesman for Garcetti , said sanitation workers are cleaning the hand-washing stations daily and informing the city when the soap and water needs to be replenished .
The city then relays that information to United Site Services , the vendor in charge of refilling the stations , he said .
Comisar did not respond to questions about how many washing stations have actually been deployed or the city ’ s plans to roll out mobile shower trailers .
White said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hope and other volunteer-driven groups that have embraced a “ DIY spirit ” to plug some of the gaps in the city ’ s response .
He and other members of a “ skeleton crew ” who are still going to L.A. CAN ’ s skid row office have begun building 20-gallon containers to hold soap and water in the downtown area .
But that work comes with a cost , White said .
“ I haven ’ t been able to see my mother , I haven ’ t been able to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ m in the thick of it , ” said White , who doesn ’ t want to risk infecting them .
In Lincoln Heights , 58-year-old Daniel Monreal put on a fresh pair of gloves before wiping down a stall inside a Shower of Hope trailer .
He decided to volunteer for the first time on Thursday while on furlough from his job as a plumber at a Pasadena school .
Monreal said he was confident that he ’ d taken proper measures to protect himself from exposure , and thought it was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Maybe one day , God forbid , we might be in the same position .
Where we ’ ll be homeless because we couldn ’ t pay our rent because we don ’ t have a job because of this whole thing , ” he said .
“ How would we feel if there ’ s nobody to help us ?
” Times staff writers Benjamin Oreskes and Emily Alpert Reyes contributed to this report .

After showering Rita Rios, 25, left, and her daughter Shailene Rios, 8, stand outside in Lincoln Park. Orders to close most businesses and public restrooms to slow the spread of the coronavirus have made it more difficult for homeless people to find places to keep clean.
Harry Sanchez knows how important it is to wash your hands these days, but he’s never certain when he’ll have access to soap and water.
Tinkering with a hand-held radio while his belongings sat in a bag leaning against a mountain bike in Lincoln Park last week, the 58-year-old maintenance man was as concerned as anyone about catching the novel coronavirus. Homeless since 2014, Sanchez says he usually tries to keep clean by visiting businesses with public restrooms or cobbling together enough change to buy hand wipes.
But with more and more businesses closing as the number of coronavirus cases in L.A. County balloons, Sanchez says his already short list of options to maintain basic hygiene has dwindled toward none.
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“Everything is closed that people would normally use ... and there’s a lot of chances to catch it when you’re dirty and outside,” he said.
As dangerous as the novel coronavirus has already proved to be, many fear that an outbreak among L.A. County’s vulnerable homeless population could prove especially deadly, putting even more stress on overwhelmed hospitals. With hygiene crucial to preventing that outcome, people in Sanchez’s situation are becoming even more reliant on a network of mobile showers and public washing stations staffed, in part, by volunteers willing to risk their own health to help others.
“What we’ve told the staff is this thing is a beast, it spreads like nothing else … everyone has been advised if they want to take a leave, it’s nothing personal,” said Mel Tillekeratne, the founder of Shower of Hope, a network of trailers with washing stations that operates across L.A. County. “I really thought we would not be operating, I thought our guys would break out, but they were like, no, we need it now more than ever.”
A man walks into a shower in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles on Thursday. Shower of Hope provides services for homeless people at a time when strategies to slow the coronavirus have limited access to such facilities. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
There have been no confirmed cases of coronavirus infection among L.A.’s homeless population. But with at least six Los Angeles police officers testing positive in the LAPD’s Central Division — which patrols skid row and downtown L.A. among other areas — and the true extent of the virus’ spread unknown because of the lack of testing, some activists worry that it’s only a matter of time. Already, several homeless people with flu-like symptoms are in isolation and awaiting test results.
A new study found that as many as 2,600 homeless people in the L.A. area could require hospitalization if the virus were to spread among those living in encampments.
Advertisement
City and county officials have announced expansive measures to help get homeless people off the street as part of a larger effort to combat the virus. The city is opening shelters in recreation centers across Los Angeles, placing a total of 360 hand-washing stations in various neighborhoods and rolling out a dozen mobile shower trucks, according to a March 23rd court filing connected to a lawsuit about homelessness in L.A. County.
Advocates, however, have said some of the hand-washing stations have already run out of water or become too dirty to use. With the city still rolling out its crisis response, long-standing resources such as Shower of Hope and the Skid Row Community Refresh Spot are likely to prove even more essential in stemming the spread of the coronavirus, advocates say.
Update: Day 3 of monitoring this handwashing station at Maryland and Alvarado. Still no soap. This handwashing station has been without soap and/or water for the past three days. Still no response from the mayor's office. @invisiblepeople @StreetWatchLA @LACANetwork @shaylarmyers pic.twitter.com/kzh6KtFIbK — Lexis-Olivier Ray (@ShotOn35mm) March 27, 2020
On Thursday, several homeless people hurried out of an encampment in Lincoln Park in Lincoln Heights, and a row of nearby cars-turned-homes on Valley Boulevard, toward a Shower of Hope trailer. An hour later, the line to use the Refresh Spot spilled out onto Crocker Street, partially blocking traffic.
“I saw it this morning and said, ‘Oh, thank God, they’re back,’” said 25-year-old Rita Rios, who seized the opportunity to wash up at the Shower of Hope trailer with her 8-year-old daughter, Shailene. The pair live in a car nearby and said it’s been especially difficult to stay clean with the rainy weather in recent weeks.
Shower of Hope’s trailers operate at least once per week in Highland Park, Lincoln Heights, Hollywood, Koreatown, MacArthur Park, El Monte and Pasadena, Tillekeratne said. Although it started as a volunteer effort, the nonprofit group began receiving funding and partnering with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority and the office of L.A. City Councilman Gil Cedillo in 2018.
Tillekeratne said social distancing measures and the public’s reaction to the coronavirus have had an outsize effect on the homeless population.
In addition to the closing of businesses that might offer them a bathroom or at least brief shelter, the hoarding of supplies from grocery and big-box stores has also affected homeless people, who can’t afford to stock up and lack a safe space to store provisions.
A woman who usually visits the group’s Highland Park location left a desperate message on Tillekeratne’s Facebook page this month, he said.
“She went on one of our pages and put this heartbreaking post … saying she hadn’t showered in nine days, a gas station was barring her from using bathrooms,” he said. “She couldn’t buy toilet paper anywhere.”
Pete White, executive director of the skid row-based Los Angeles Community Action Network, said that though he applauds Angelenos for largely abiding by Mayor Eric Garcetti’s “Safer at Home” order to reduce the spread of the coronavirus and COVID-19 cases, the shutdown has had unintended consequences.
“As a result of self-isolation and stay-at-home orders, what we’re seeing is a drop in charitable food giving.… Those church programs that would come out and supplement both food stamps and other ways that people were getting food are now no longer there,” he said.
The problem has been made worse by the crowded, cramped and unsanitary conditions on skid row, where social distancing and basic hygiene are nearly impossible. Four of the six hand-washing stations the city placed in skid row also had been drained of water and not refilled, White said.
Volunteer Daniel Monreal, 58, cleans the showers at Lincoln Park in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles. Monreal is a plumber on leave because of the cornavirus epidemic. Shower of Hope provides showers for homeless people. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
Alex Comisar, a spokesman for Garcetti, said sanitation workers are cleaning the hand-washing stations daily and informing the city when the soap and water needs to be replenished. The city then relays that information to United Site Services, the vendor in charge of refilling the stations, he said.
Comisar did not respond to questions about how many washing stations have actually been deployed or the city’s plans to roll out mobile shower trailers.
White said he’s thankful for Shower of Hope and other volunteer-driven groups that have embraced a “DIY spirit” to plug some of the gaps in the city’s response. He and other members of a “skeleton crew” who are still going to L.A. CAN’s skid row office have begun building 20-gallon containers to hold soap and water in the downtown area.
But that work comes with a cost, White said.
“I haven’t been able to see my mother, I haven’t been able to see my son, because I’m in the thick of it,” said White, who doesn’t want to risk infecting them.
In Lincoln Heights, 58-year-old Daniel Monreal put on a fresh pair of gloves before wiping down a stall inside a Shower of Hope trailer. He decided to volunteer for the first time on Thursday while on furlough from his job as a plumber at a Pasadena school.
A couple hug at an encampment at Lincoln Park, where many homeless people use mobile showers and hand-washing stations provided by volunteer groups such as Shower of Hope. At a time when frequent hand washing is considered a key to preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus, the closure of many businesses during stay-at-home orders has limited access to soap and water for homeless people. (Francine Orr/Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times)
Monreal said he was confident that he’d taken proper measures to protect himself from exposure, and thought it was important to help during the pandemic.
“Maybe one day, God forbid, we might be in the same position. Where we’ll be homeless because we couldn’t pay our rent because we don’t have a job because of this whole thing,” he said. “How would we feel if there’s nobody to help us?”
Times staff writers Benjamin Oreskes and Emily Alpert Reyes contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-03-28--If a warm U.S. winter was 'a preview of global warming,' what part did a polar vortex play?

The winter that just ended was the sixth-warmest on record in the contiguous United States , according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration .
And one feature of that winter was a strong zonal , west-to-east flowing polar vortex .
Usually when we hear about a polar vortex , it ’ s in news stories about frigid temperatures enveloping the U.S. “ Polar vortex ” became a weather buzzword back in 2014 , but it ’ s not the strong polar vortex that brings Arctic cold down into southern latitudes of the continental U.S.
It ’ s the unstable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stable polar vortex has been described as a spinning bowl of low pressure over the Arctic region .
The edge of that bowl is defined by the jet stream , kind of like salt on the rim of a margarita glass .
The polar jet stream consists of strong , upper-level winds in the mid-latitudes that blow from west to east around the globe .
As the jet stream spins around the rim of this bowl , it confines the frigid air to the Arctic .
The jet stream tends to remain farther @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with warmer air to the south .
That ’ s what happened a lot during the winter of 2019-20 , resulting in warm temperatures for the continental U.S .
The jet stream and this cold bowl are in the troposphere , the lowest , densest layer of the atmosphere — roughly the first 6 to 12 miles above the Earth ’ s surface — where nearly all the weather happens .
There ’ s also a polar vortex in the stratosphere , the next higher level of the atmosphere , which is also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
This stratospheric vortex and its winds spend their time essentially making concentric circles around the pole .
( These polar vortexes also occur around the South Pole , affecting the Southern Hemisphere . )
Both of these Northern Hemisphere polar vortexes were especially strong this winter , but we ’ re mainly concerned with the tropospheric polar vortex here , the one that ’ s in the layer closest to the surface of the Earth .
How can we measure the strength of this polar vortex ?
One way is the strength @ @ @ @ @ @ @ AO ) .
The Arctic Oscillation is a measure of the stability or instability of the polar vortex .
Twice in the month of February , the AO index reached all-time daily highs for strength and stability .
The AO for the December-February period was the second-highest since 1950 .
Such a strong AO means the polar jet stream stays farther to the north , and it is “ tight , not wavy , ” as climatologist Bill Patzert describes it .
This configuration resulted in a colder-than-average winter in Alaska and northwestern @ @ @ @ @ @ @ winter in the contiguous United States , said Patzert .
“ The frigid polar air is locked in the Arctic.
” Farther to the south , the subtropical jet stream works hand in hand with the polar jet .
Like the polar jet , the subtropical jet stream shifted farther north this year — into northern Mexico , north-central Texas and the northern portions of the Southeastern U.S. , Patzert explained .
“ This is a preview of global warming .
In a warming world , these patterns shift north , ” said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which comes out of Southeast Asia and usually peters out around the international dateline , also is a little more active and moves farther north .
This year it behaved somewhat like in an El Niño year , ” Patzert said .
“ In an El Niño year , it shifts even more to the north.
” El Niño , also called the El Niño-Southern Oscillation ( ENSO ) , is a periodic warming of sea surface temperatures in the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean .
Since the Pacific is so big , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of global weather , and such a warming phase affects the whole planet , including , usually , causing a reduction of hurricanes in the Atlantic .
It often — but certainly not always — spells a wet winter for California .
Even though this year was neutral — not an El Niño or a La Niña — the subtropical jet plowed into northern Mexico and continued on into the Southeastern U.S. , where heavy rain was accompanied by tornadoes and flash flooding .
This is behavior that ’ s more like an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ strong El Niño when the subtropical jet shifted north is the 1997-98 season , Patzert points out .
It was like a fire hose .
Downtown Los Angeles received slightly more than 31 inches of rain — more than twice the average rainfall .
The 2015-16 season was also a strong El Niño year , but Los Angeles got only 9.6 inches .
“ That El Niño had all the prerequisites .
Based on previous years , it should have been a no-brainer ” that L.A. and California would have a wet year @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this year ’ s subtropical jet stream , moisture in 2015-16 streamed to the south toward Mexico .
By all appearances , the setup looked like it would be a wet year in California ; instead , the rain went deep into the heart of Texas .
“ It was the wettest winter and spring in Texas history , ” said Patzert .
The most recent U.S. Drought Monitor reflects the subtropical jet stream pattern seen this winter .
Drought conditions are widespread and expanding up and down the rain-deprived West Coast — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2019 Southwest monsoon season was one of the hottest and driest on record , according to the National Weather Service , and there ’ s now severe drought in the Four Corners region , which is part of the Colorado River watershed .
But there ’ s a swath of drought-free territory through central Texas into the Southeast , even as drought conditions have worsened in south Texas , through the Rio Grande Valley , along the Gulf Coast and into much of Florida .
As Brad Rippey of the U.S. Department of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Drought Monitor , “ The Southeast remains a tale of two landscapes : wet to the north in recent weeks , except in some locations across the coastal plain and along the Atlantic Coast , but dry along the Gulf Coast and in Florida.
” The 2019-20 winter season was on-again , off-again .
It started out promising , then turned dry as the polar vortex strengthened .
As Jay Lund of UC Davis writes , midwinter turned into a “ Flatline February ” followed by a “ Meh March.
” He adds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wet season , California ’ s 2020 water year is and will be dry.
” While the subtropical jet settled in south of the border this winter , high pressure established itself in the eastern Pacific , blocking the storm track and routing storms into the Pacific Northwest or southern British Columbia , then channeling them down into the Rockies .
The systems that managed to come down from the Pacific Northwest farther to the west and closer to the coast were over land , and were dry “ inside sliders.
” When @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the Gulf of Alaska , as was the case right after Thanksgiving , the classic pattern sets up for low-pressure systems to tap into a plume of tropical or subtropical moisture and power it into the California coast .
Another way to look at it is viewing the upper-level low and the moisture plume , which is usually congruent with the subtropical jet stream , working together .
“ All wet winter storms have some of that , ” said Eric Boldt of the National Weather Service in Oxnard .
“ They @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interplay to a river , where a little eddy near shore moves out into the channel and joins another strand of the current .
But a blocking high did set up , and in early January meteorologist Jan Null of Golden Gate Weather Services in the Bay Area had begun compiling data comparing midwinter dry spells .
After a record dry February in most of California , especially Northern California , March showed some promise , but persistent drought was clearly returning .
A March 10-11 storm featured a cutoff low coming down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into an atmospheric river and hose down Southern California .
The atmospheric river shifted south into Baja California , but the low still managed to pull in some moisture .
Hopes of a “ March Miracle ” were dashed again .
If the strong , stable polar vortex with the shifting jet streams are a foretaste of things to come with climate change , it doesn ’ t paint a promising picture .
As Patzert points out , the “ snowpack comes later and leaves earlier , which has implications for our water @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shifts to the north and feeds into California , it will be warm and will usually provide precipitation in the form of heavy rain — which will mostly flush out to sea without being captured because it comes so fast .
In addition , warm rains will melt any snow on the ground in higher elevations .
With such a shift , there will be fewer cold storms that arrive on a polar jet stream from the Gulf of Alaska .
Such cold storms bring snow , which is stored in the state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as Patzert calls the Sierra Nevada .
That allows snowmelt to run off gradually , filling reservoirs and streams throughout the warmer months .
“ As for this rain and snow year , the polar vortex seems to have been a spoiler , and it will take more than a miracle to make up for that in April , ” said Patzert .

The winter that just ended was the sixth-warmest on record in the contiguous United States, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. And one feature of that winter was a strong zonal, west-to-east flowing polar vortex.
Wait, what?
Usually when we hear about a polar vortex, it’s in news stories about frigid temperatures enveloping the U.S.
The winter was the sixth-warmest on record across the contiguous United States. (Paul Duginski / Los Angeles Times)
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“Polar vortex” became a weather buzzword back in 2014, but it’s not the strong polar vortex that brings Arctic cold down into southern latitudes of the continental U.S. It’s the unstable, wavy one.
A strong, stable polar vortex has been described as a spinning bowl of low pressure over the Arctic region. The edge of that bowl is defined by the jet stream, kind of like salt on the rim of a margarita glass.
The polar jet stream consists of strong, upper-level winds in the mid-latitudes that blow from west to east around the globe. As the jet stream spins around the rim of this bowl, it confines the frigid air to the Arctic. The jet stream tends to remain farther north than usual in this scenario, with warmer air to the south. That’s what happened a lot during the winter of 2019-20, resulting in warm temperatures for the continental U.S.
The U.S. Southeast was unusually wet, in part because of the subtropical jet stream. (Paul Duginski / Los Angeles Times)
The jet stream and this cold bowl are in the troposphere, the lowest, densest layer of the atmosphere — roughly the first 6 to 12 miles above the Earth’s surface — where nearly all the weather happens. There’s also a polar vortex in the stratosphere, the next higher level of the atmosphere, which is also edged by another, higher-altitude jet stream. This stratospheric vortex and its winds spend their time essentially making concentric circles around the pole. (These polar vortexes also occur around the South Pole, affecting the Southern Hemisphere.)
Both of these Northern Hemisphere polar vortexes were especially strong this winter, but we’re mainly concerned with the tropospheric polar vortex here, the one that’s in the layer closest to the surface of the Earth.
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How can we measure the strength of this polar vortex? One way is the strength of something called the Arctic Oscillation (AO). The Arctic Oscillation is a measure of the stability or instability of the polar vortex. Twice in the month of February, the AO index reached all-time daily highs for strength and stability. The AO for the December-February period was the second-highest since 1950.
Such a strong AO means the polar jet stream stays farther to the north, and it is “tight, not wavy,” as climatologist Bill Patzert describes it. This configuration resulted in a colder-than-average winter in Alaska and northwestern Canada, and contributed to a warmer-than-average winter in the contiguous United States, said Patzert. “The frigid polar air is locked in the Arctic.”
Farther to the south, the subtropical jet stream works hand in hand with the polar jet. Like the polar jet, the subtropical jet stream shifted farther north this year — into northern Mexico, north-central Texas and the northern portions of the Southeastern U.S., Patzert explained.
Typical locations of the polar and subtropical jet streams this winter. “Most of the winter looked like this,” said Patzert. “Strong Arctic Oscillation, dry and warm over much of the U.S.” (Paul Duginski / Los Angeles Times)
“This is a preview of global warming. In a warming world, these patterns shift north,” said Patzert. “The subtropical jet stream, which comes out of Southeast Asia and usually peters out around the international dateline, also is a little more active and moves farther north. This year it behaved somewhat like in an El Niño year,” Patzert said. “In an El Niño year, it shifts even more to the north.”
This winter, the subtropical jet stream behaved more like it might in an El Niño year. (Paul Duginski / Los Angeles Times)
El Niño, also called the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), is a periodic warming of sea surface temperatures in the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean. Since the Pacific is so big, it’s like the 800-pound gorilla of global weather, and such a warming phase affects the whole planet, including, usually, causing a reduction of hurricanes in the Atlantic. It often — but certainly not always — spells a wet winter for California.
El Niño’s opposite, the cooling phase, is La Niña.
Even though this year was neutral — not an El Niño or a La Niña — the subtropical jet plowed into northern Mexico and continued on into the Southeastern U.S., where heavy rain was accompanied by tornadoes and flash flooding. This is behavior that’s more like an El Niño.
An example of a strong El Niño when the subtropical jet shifted north is the 1997-98 season, Patzert points out. It was like a fire hose. Downtown Los Angeles received slightly more than 31 inches of rain — more than twice the average rainfall. The 2015-16 season was also a strong El Niño year, but Los Angeles got only 9.6 inches.
What happened?
“That El Niño had all the prerequisites. Based on previous years, it should have been a no-brainer” that L.A. and California would have a wet year, said Patzert.
As happened with this year’s subtropical jet stream, moisture in 2015-16 streamed to the south toward Mexico. By all appearances, the setup looked like it would be a wet year in California; instead, the rain went deep into the heart of Texas. “It was the wettest winter and spring in Texas history,” said Patzert.
The latest U.S. Drought Monitor data, released Thursday, show dry conditions in the West but an absence of drought in the Southeast, which had an extremely wet winter. (Paul Duginski / Los Angeles Times)
The most recent U.S. Drought Monitor reflects the subtropical jet stream pattern seen this winter. Drought conditions are widespread and expanding up and down the rain-deprived West Coast — even including interior Washington state. The 2019 Southwest monsoon season was one of the hottest and driest on record, according to the National Weather Service, and there’s now severe drought in the Four Corners region, which is part of the Colorado River watershed. But there’s a swath of drought-free territory through central Texas into the Southeast, even as drought conditions have worsened in south Texas, through the Rio Grande Valley, along the Gulf Coast and into much of Florida.
As Brad Rippey of the U.S. Department of Agriculture put it in the most recent Drought Monitor, “The Southeast remains a tale of two landscapes: wet to the north in recent weeks, except in some locations across the coastal plain and along the Atlantic Coast, but dry along the Gulf Coast and in Florida.”
The 2019-20 winter season was on-again, off-again. It started out promising, then turned dry as the polar vortex strengthened. As Jay Lund of UC Davis writes, midwinter turned into a “Flatline February” followed by a “Meh March.” He adds, “With the near-end of its wet season, California’s 2020 water year is and will be dry.”
While the subtropical jet settled in south of the border this winter, high pressure established itself in the eastern Pacific, blocking the storm track and routing storms into the Pacific Northwest or southern British Columbia, then channeling them down into the Rockies.
The systems that managed to come down from the Pacific Northwest farther to the west and closer to the coast were over land, and were dry “inside sliders.”
A classic setup as an upper low drops out of the Gulf of Alaska and taps into a moist subtropical flow. (Paul Duginski / Los Angeles Times)
When high pressure isn’t blocking storms from the Gulf of Alaska, as was the case right after Thanksgiving, the classic pattern sets up for low-pressure systems to tap into a plume of tropical or subtropical moisture and power it into the California coast.
Another way to look at it is viewing the upper-level low and the moisture plume, which is usually congruent with the subtropical jet stream, working together. “All wet winter storms have some of that,” said Eric Boldt of the National Weather Service in Oxnard. “They work in concert.” He likened the interplay to a river, where a little eddy near shore moves out into the channel and joins another strand of the current.
But a blocking high did set up, and in early January meteorologist Jan Null of Golden Gate Weather Services in the Bay Area had begun compiling data comparing midwinter dry spells.
After a record dry February in most of California, especially Northern California, March showed some promise, but persistent drought was clearly returning.
A March 10-11 storm featured a cutoff low coming down the coast that was forecast to tap into an atmospheric river and hose down Southern California. The atmospheric river shifted south into Baja California, but the low still managed to pull in some moisture.
Hopes of a “March Miracle” were dashed again.
If the strong, stable polar vortex with the shifting jet streams are a foretaste of things to come with climate change, it doesn’t paint a promising picture. As Patzert points out, the “snowpack comes later and leaves earlier, which has implications for our water supply.”
If the subtropical jet stream shifts to the north and feeds into California, it will be warm and will usually provide precipitation in the form of heavy rain — which will mostly flush out to sea without being captured because it comes so fast. In addition, warm rains will melt any snow on the ground in higher elevations. With such a shift, there will be fewer cold storms that arrive on a polar jet stream from the Gulf of Alaska. Such cold storms bring snow, which is stored in the state’s “biggest reservoir,” as Patzert calls the Sierra Nevada. That allows snowmelt to run off gradually, filling reservoirs and streams throughout the warmer months.
“As for this rain and snow year, the polar vortex seems to have been a spoiler, and it will take more than a miracle to make up for that in April,” said Patzert.


latimes--2020-03-28--She survived wars in El Salvador, became a U.S. citizen and is now battling coronavirus

For relatives of Nora Escalante , the last few days have been difficult .
The Salvadoran immigrant was admitted to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center with symptoms of coronavirus and is struggling to survive .
Now no one can be with her .
“ She went through wars , raised her children — she is a strong woman , we have faith that she will recover , ” said her daughter Noemí Ayala , breathing deeply .
Escalante has been hospitalized since March 19 .
Escalante , 58 , is originally from Cabañas , El Salvador .
In the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thundered , she immigrated to the United States .
She settled in Los Angeles , and most of her life has been devoted to sewing .
“ She designs , cuts and does everything , ” her daughter said .
Throughout the past 10 years , Escalante frequently visited a doctor for problems with her tonsils .
When she developed tonsil pain two weeks ago , her oldest son took her in .
She was prescribed antibiotics and sent home on March 13 .
But the problem persisted .
The next day , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doctor .
She had a high fever .
She was given two injections and given acetaminophen , which is used to manage pain and fever .
Later , Ayala called her mother to find out how she was doing .
“ Here with a little fever still , ” she replied .
Due to work and distance , mother and daughter have been unable to see each other .
Ayala lives in Pomona and her mother in South Los Angeles .
“ She took care of herself well , ” said Ayala , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ El Salvador .
“ She exercised , ate well .
She would get up at 5 in the morning to get ready and put on makeup.
” On Thursday , Escalante celebrated her one-year anniversary of becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen .
That same day marked a week since Ayala had last spoken with her mother .
“ I love you very much , ” Escalante told her daughter a few hours after she entered the hospital , while leaving her as the only person authorized to make medical decisions on her behalf @ @ @ @ @ @ @ assistant , remembers thinking it was strange for her mother to have tonsil pain and fever for three days in a row .
She became more suspicious when on March 15 , Escalante received a call from a hospital where her boss was being treated .
Her boss had tested positive for coronavirus and had given Escalante ’ s name as someone with whom she had had contact in recent days .
The next morning , Ayala said , her mother woke up with a high fever .
They took her to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her for the coronavirus or admit her .
They told her to isolate at home for two weeks .
Meanwhile , her symptoms began to worsen .
By March 17 , her blood pressure increased .
Two days later , a family member went to visit Escalante and found her with breathing problems .
“ We called the paramedics .
They are going to take her to the hospital , ” Ayala ’ s brother wrote to her .
The way the family sees it , four critical days were lost .
Ayala @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accompany her mother to the hospital to have insisted that she be admitted that day .
“ She had fevers that were uncontrolled , more than 102 degrees , ” she said .
Ayala has been calling the hospital two or three times a day to ask about her mother ’ s condition .
Escalante is currently connected to a ventilator .
At first she depended completely on the ventilator to breathe , then only about 40 % .
However , two days ago doctors said her lungs were getting worse .
Before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ daughter : “ If I die , I want to be taken to El Salvador.
” Escalante has a house in Sensuntepeque , Cabañas , the last place she lived before immigrating to Los Angeles .
Her grandmother is also buried there .
The family has not lost faith in her recovery .
But the most painful thing is that no one can be with her in the hospital .
“ We can ’ t see her , touch her , talk to her , ” Ayala said , her voice cracking .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the two people who had the most contact with her , are in isolation .
Relatives have joined in prayer and others have called to find out how Escalante is doing .
As for funeral matters , they have not made any plans and aren ’ t sure if they will be able to carry out Escalante ’ s last wishes .
“ If she can be cremated , we will cremate her and take her there to be with my great-grandmother , ” Ayala said .
But for now , she said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of God and the doctors .
”

For relatives of Nora Escalante, the last few days have been difficult. The Salvadoran immigrant was admitted to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center with symptoms of coronavirus and is struggling to survive.
Now no one can be with her.
“She went through wars, raised her children — she is a strong woman, we have faith that she will recover,” said her daughter Noemí Ayala, breathing deeply. Escalante has been hospitalized since March 19.
Escalante, 58, is originally from Cabañas, El Salvador. In the mid-1980s, while machine guns and rifles thundered, she immigrated to the United States. She settled in Los Angeles, and most of her life has been devoted to sewing.
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“She designs, cuts and does everything,” her daughter said.
Throughout the past 10 years, Escalante frequently visited a doctor for problems with her tonsils. When she developed tonsil pain two weeks ago, her oldest son took her in. She was prescribed antibiotics and sent home on March 13. But the problem persisted.
The next day, her son took her back to the doctor. She had a high fever. She was given two injections and given acetaminophen, which is used to manage pain and fever.
Later, Ayala called her mother to find out how she was doing. “Here with a little fever still,” she replied.
Due to work and distance, mother and daughter have been unable to see each other. Ayala lives in Pomona and her mother in South Los Angeles.
“She took care of herself well,” said Ayala, 38, who was also born in El Salvador. “She exercised, ate well. She would get up at 5 in the morning to get ready and put on makeup.”
On Thursday, Escalante celebrated her one-year anniversary of becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen. That same day marked a week since Ayala had last spoken with her mother.
“I love you very much,” Escalante told her daughter a few hours after she entered the hospital, while leaving her as the only person authorized to make medical decisions on her behalf.
Ayala, a nurse’s assistant, remembers thinking it was strange for her mother to have tonsil pain and fever for three days in a row. She became more suspicious when on March 15, Escalante received a call from a hospital where her boss was being treated.
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Her boss had tested positive for coronavirus and had given Escalante’s name as someone with whom she had had contact in recent days.
The next morning, Ayala said, her mother woke up with a high fever. They took her to the hospital, but doctors did not test her for the coronavirus or admit her. They told her to isolate at home for two weeks.
Meanwhile, her symptoms began to worsen. By March 17, her blood pressure increased. Two days later, a family member went to visit Escalante and found her with breathing problems.
“We called the paramedics. They are going to take her to the hospital,” Ayala’s brother wrote to her.
The way the family sees it, four critical days were lost. Ayala regrets that she was originally unable to accompany her mother to the hospital to have insisted that she be admitted that day.
“She had fevers that were uncontrolled, more than 102 degrees,” she said.
Ayala has been calling the hospital two or three times a day to ask about her mother’s condition. Escalante is currently connected to a ventilator. At first she depended completely on the ventilator to breathe, then only about 40%. However, two days ago doctors said her lungs were getting worse.
Before entering the hospital, Escalante told her daughter: “If I die, I want to be taken to El Salvador.”
Escalante has a house in Sensuntepeque, Cabañas, the last place she lived before immigrating to Los Angeles. Her grandmother is also buried there.
The family has not lost faith in her recovery. But the most painful thing is that no one can be with her in the hospital.
“We can’t see her, touch her, talk to her,” Ayala said, her voice cracking.
Escalante’s son and partner, the two people who had the most contact with her, are in isolation.
Relatives have joined in prayer and others have called to find out how Escalante is doing. As for funeral matters, they have not made any plans and aren’t sure if they will be able to carry out Escalante’s last wishes.
“If she can be cremated, we will cremate her and take her there to be with my great-grandmother,” Ayala said.
But for now, she said, “We are in the hands of God and the doctors.”


latimes--2020-03-28--From helicopters and cruisers, police try to keep public off beaches, trails amid coronavirus

Authorities were out in force Saturday enforcing orders to keep beaches , parks and hiking trails clear as part of unprecedented restrictions on public movements to slow the spread of the coronavirus .
Most beaches , trails , recreation facilities as well as nonessential businesses were closed because of the state and local orders , and many obeyed .
A Ventura County Sheriff ’ s Department cruiser could be seen guarding the entrance to a popular trail in Wildwood Regional Park in Thousand Oaks , upon which hundreds of hikers and families descended on Saturday .
In Venice , announcing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ area would be “ arrested for trespassing.
” Despite park and trail closures in Santa Monica , Amy Weber managed to spend her Saturday morning outdoors at a farmers market .
Weber said organizers did a good job maintaining enough distance between people inside the market .
Waiting in line outside , people smiled and chatted .
“ There ’ s just something about being outside that makes you feel a little bit fresher , cleaner , ” she said .
Afterward , Weber walked to Palisades Park , where she spent the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ocean .
She got to the bottom of the California Incline walkway to the beach and saw a wire chain with a sign saying it was temporarily closed .
Below , she saw people biking and walking on the beach path .
By 1 p.m. , police vehicles making their way south were slowing near her .
Officers announced over an intercom : “ We would like to remind you that Palisades Park is closed .
Please practice social distancing as you ’ re exiting the park.
” Weber was glad for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ things down will mean the country recovers from the coronavirus quicker .
“ If we keep doing this in tiny little bits and nobody ’ s adhering to it , I ’ m just afraid it ’ s going to continue , ” she said .
For now , Weber said she ’ s content with looking at the beach from afar , smelling the salty air and feeling the ocean breeze .
Residents of other West L.A. neighborhoods were less tranquil Saturday , as power outages continued to cause headaches in parts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ City , Pico-Robertson and Westwood .
Stella Gardiner , a legal assistant who lives in Pico-Robertson , said she had been dealing with sporadic power outages since Thursday and was growing concerned about how the loss of electricity might affect older residents in her area .
“ There are people with health problems , ” she said .
“ God knows they may have medical equipment they need.
” Most beaches , trails , recreation areas and other points of interest , including in Los Angeles .
The state has also ordered parking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and parks .
But L.A. officials said it ’ s fine to walk or jog in your neighborhood or through neighborhood parks as long as people adhere to social-distancing guidelines

Authorities were out in force Saturday enforcing orders to keep beaches, parks and hiking trails clear as part of unprecedented restrictions on public movements to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Most beaches, trails, recreation facilities as well as nonessential businesses were closed because of the state and local orders, and many obeyed.
A Ventura County Sheriff’s Department cruiser could be seen guarding the entrance to a popular trail in Wildwood Regional Park in Thousand Oaks, upon which hundreds of hikers and families descended on Saturday. In Venice, a Los Angeles Police Department helicopter was seen circling a skate park, announcing that people who did not leave the area would be “arrested for trespassing.”
1 / 21 An unidentified worker with Absolute Intl. Security, lets people know that the Strand in Hermosa Beach is closed. (Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times) 2 / 21 A drone’s view of Hermosa Beach as the Strand walking path and all beaches of Los Angeles county are closed in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus, (Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times) 3 / 21 A man works out in Santa Monica even as all beaches and beach paths of Los Angeles county are closed. (Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times) 4 / 21 A drone’s view of surfers off Venice during the first morning of closures of all beaches of Los Angeles county. (Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times) 5 / 21 Mark Gregorio finds plenty of social distancing at a sunny spot on Ratner Beach in the midst of coronavirus-related closures in Pacific Palisades, Calif. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times) 6 / 21 More than 100 recreational vehicles are parked in a lot at Dockweiler State Beach in Los Angeles, and are being used to house people who have tested positive or have symptions of the coronavirus. Many of the camp’s patients are homeless. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times) 7 / 21 Dozens of people were out on the center median along San Vicente Blvd. in the midst of coronavirus-related closures in Santa Monica. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times) 8 / 21 Shauna Jin, of Los Angeles, with dog Bodhi, practices social distancing with John Kiss, of Los Angeles, at the front entrance of Runyun Canyon Park Saturday. They were turned away beause the park was closed. (Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times) 9 / 21 Westchester resident Eddie Fonseca walks dogs on the center median along San Vicente Blvd. in the midst of coronavirus-related closures in Santa Monica. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times) 10 / 21 A woman wearing a face mask walks along the bike path in Santa Monica. (Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times) 11 / 21 Surfers head to the water in Venice Beach. (Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times) 12 / 21 A couple find plenty of social distancing for a walk in the surf at Ratner Beach in Pacific Palisades Saturday. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times) 13 / 21 A young man heads to the water in Venice Beach, despite all beaches and beach paths of Los Angeles county are closed. (Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times) 14 / 21 An unidentified worker with Absolute Intl. Security, walks The Strand, while providing security for the Hermosa Beach Police Department in closing off The Strand. (Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times) 15 / 21 Marcos Ayala with Absolute Intl. Security, provides security for the Hermosa Beach Police Department in closing off The Strand. (Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times) 16 / 21 A runner crosses Pier Plaza early Saturday morning, as The Strand and beach of Hermosa Beach, CA, are closed. (Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times) 17 / 21 Hikers walk on a paved road in Griffith Park near the Hollywood sign. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times) 18 / 21 Mong Noiboonsok, left, and Rena Chastan, after a morning run have lunch on a sunny Saturday at Crystal Springs Picnic area in Griffith Park (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times) 19 / 21 Ola, left, and Vlad Ponomarenko play at Crystal Springs Picnic area in Griffith Park Saturday. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times) 20 / 21 Shops are closed along the Venice Beach boardwalk. (Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times) 21 / 21 Los Angeles resident Fanny Vences, 31, takes a selfie in Griffith Park overlooking the Hollywood sign. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)
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Despite park and trail closures in Santa Monica, Amy Weber managed to spend her Saturday morning outdoors at a farmers market. Weber said organizers did a good job maintaining enough distance between people inside the market. Waiting in line outside, people smiled and chatted.
“There’s just something about being outside that makes you feel a little bit fresher, cleaner,” she said.
Afterward, Weber walked to Palisades Park, where she spent the late morning taking in views of the ocean. She got to the bottom of the California Incline walkway to the beach and saw a wire chain with a sign saying it was temporarily closed. Below, she saw people biking and walking on the beach path.
By 1 p.m., police vehicles making their way south were slowing near her. Officers announced over an intercom: “We would like to remind you that Palisades Park is closed. Please practice social distancing as you’re exiting the park.”
Weber was glad for the enforcement, saying she hopes that shutting things down will mean the country recovers from the coronavirus quicker.
“If we keep doing this in tiny little bits and nobody’s adhering to it, I’m just afraid it’s going to continue,” she said.
For now, Weber said she’s content with looking at the beach from afar, smelling the salty air and feeling the ocean breeze.
Residents of other West L.A. neighborhoods were less tranquil Saturday, as power outages continued to cause headaches in parts of Beverlywood, Cheviot Hills, Century City, Pico-Robertson and Westwood. Stella Gardiner, a legal assistant who lives in Pico-Robertson, said she had been dealing with sporadic power outages since Thursday and was growing concerned about how the loss of electricity might affect older residents in her area.
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“There are people with health problems,” she said. “God knows they may have medical equipment they need.”
Most beaches, trails, recreation areas and other points of interest are closed , including trails in Griffith Park and Runyon Canyon Park in Los Angeles. The state has also ordered parking lots closed at dozens of state beaches and parks.


latimes--2020-03-28--Orange County releases list of all communities with coronavirus cases

Orange County is continuing to see a dramatic uptick in coronavirus cases — with confirmed infections swelling more than threefold over the course of less than a week .
— Orange County reported 403 cases of coronavirus infection on Saturday , up from 256 Thursday and 95 the previous weekend .
— Four deaths have been confirmed so far .
One was a county resident in his 70s who had underlying health conditions .
Officials have not released information about the others .
Health officials have said the county ’ s caseload will probably continue to increase as more people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to know that we expect more cases and , unfortunately , more deaths in the coming days and weeks , ” said county Health Officer Dr. Nichole Quick .
The county started releasing the number of cases by city on Friday , but officials warn that the counts don ’ t mean one location is more or less safe than another .
“ There is risk countywide , and we need all individuals to listen to the recommendations of state and local health officials , ” Quick said .
*Includes unincorporated areas and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 25,000 .

Dr. Dallas Weaver, 79, and his wife, Janet Weaver, 75, of Huntington Beach walked along the Huntington Beach pier on March 18. Officials have since closed the pier.
Orange County is continuing to see a dramatic uptick in coronavirus cases — with confirmed infections swelling more than threefold over the course of less than a week.
The numbers
— Orange County reported 403 cases of coronavirus infection on Saturday, up from 256 Thursday and 95 the previous weekend.
— Four deaths have been confirmed so far. One was a county resident in his 70s who had underlying health conditions. Officials have not released information about the others.
Analysis
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Health officials have said the county’s caseload will probably continue to increase as more people are tested.
“Community members need to know that we expect more cases and, unfortunately, more deaths in the coming days and weeks,” said county Health Officer Dr. Nichole Quick.
The county started releasing the number of cases by city on Friday, but officials warn that the counts don’t mean one location is more or less safe than another.
“There is risk countywide, and we need all individuals to listen to the recommendations of state and local health officials,” Quick said.
Cases by city:
Aliso Viejo: 3
Anaheim: 37
Brea: 3
Buena Park: 12
Costa Mesa: 9
Cypress: 7
Dana Point: 6
Fountain Valley: 6
Fullerton: 8
Garden Grove: 7
Huntington Beach: 32
Irvine: 36
La Habra: 2
Laguna Niguel: 13
Lake Forest: 7
Mission Viejo: 7
Newport Beach: 36
Orange: 11
Placentia: 6
Rancho Santa Margarita: 4
San Clemente: 11
San Juan Capistrano: 9
Santa Ana: 20
Seal Beach: 1
Stanton: 1
Tustin: 7
Westminster: 5
Yorba Linda: 12
Other: 39*
Unknown: 46
*Includes unincorporated areas and cities with a population of less than 25,000.