latimes--2020-12-20--Column: A cancer patient needed critical care. Because of the COVID-19 surge, she died without it

The last words Kim Folsom told her husband over the phone Dec. 7 , as she lay in the emergency room of Hi-Desert Medical Center in Joshua Tree , were terrifyingly simple .
They were the last words that Billy , a retired mechanic for the city of Costa Mesa who was in the parking lot of the small hospital , ever expected his wife to say .
Kim called Billy just as he had returned from their home with some of her clothes .
She was a former nurse with a radiant smile and matronly toughness that could calm @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she and Billy loved to visit .
A three-year bout with pancreatic cancer hadn ’ t diminished her spirit or resolve .
But now , as Billy prepared for a last , desperate dash to save his wife ’ s life , the two faced a sobering reality .
The coronavirus surge was going to kill her .
And she didn ’ t even have COVID-19 .
She had woken up in a pool of blood earlier that day , so Billy had rushed her to Hi-Desert .
The facility didn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kim , he said .
So the attending doctor began to call hospitals across the Inland Empire to see if Kim could be transferred to them .
None could accept her .
They were swamped with COVID-19 cases .
“ The nurses were extremely distraught , and I ’ ve never seen them that way , ” Billy told me five days later .
“ The doctor was getting frustrated.
” That ’ s when Billy volunteered to take Kim in his truck , strap on some off-road lights , and speed down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The plan : “ get pulled over by police so we could get an escort ” to the nearest hospital .
But that Hail Mary never came to pass .
Shortly after their phone conversation , Kim ’ s health quickly deteriorated .
She died at age 60 , in the arms of Billy and her son .
Soon after , Billy went on Facebook , where he had kept friends apprised of what was going on , to post : “ She ’ s gone.
” Nearly 12 hours had passed since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ room .
The pandemic had already hit the couple hard .
Sixteen of their friends had died of COVID-19 , including four of five members of a New Orleans blues group .
Billy lost all of his gigs as a concert photographer in February .
They hadn ’ t seen their grandchildren for months , and a UC Irvine clinical trial Kim had enrolled in for an experimental drug was canceled during the surge in June .
Now , the long-feared cratering of Southern California ’ s healthcare system due to the coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ killing people like Kim , says Billy .
He bears no ill will toward the Hi-Desert staff , whom he described “ to a person [ as ] sympathetic , compassionate and very kind to us .
… They did all they could.
” “ We ’ re never going to know if she could ’ ve been saved , ” said the 68-year-old , his blue eyes weary yet steely .
“ There was a surge because people didn ’ t wear masks .
Those who don ’ t wear it can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that ’ s the way it is .
“ So , yeah , I ’ m angry , ” he concluded .
“ Not just for my wife .
For all of us.
” A representative for the Desert Care Network , which oversees Hi-Desert Medical Center , told me they “ won ’ t be able to provide ” a comment with regard to Kim Folsom ’ s death .
The ICU bed availability in Southern California currently stands at 0 % ; Riverside County , whose hospitals are closer to Joshua @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , just set a new record for deaths reported in one day with 42 .
Reports of ambulances waiting up to six hours to unload patients are becoming commonplace .
In San Bernardino County , ambulances aren ’ t responding to all 911 calls .
They simply can ’ t .
Dr. Mark Ghaly , California ’ s secretary of health and human services , said he ’ s “ concerned ” about stories like that of the Folsoms and worries that similar scenarios will increase as long as the surge continues .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ overwhelmed , then the hospital wards will have similar issues , and then the emergency rooms , ” he said .
“ When hospitals become overwhelmed , it ’ s not just COVID patients that might not receive care , but other emergency issues.
” I met Billy on a crisp , windy Saturday morning at his home , located up the road from the entrance to Joshua Tree National Park .
He and Kim bought it three years ago , around the time she received her cancer diagnosis , so they could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ loved .
“ Look outside my window , ” Billy said from his living room , decorated with multiple guitars he had built .
“ Kim loved to sit here .
There ’ s life all over the place.
” As if on cue , hummingbirds began to flit around one feeder , while pigeons swooped in to nibble from another .
An antelope squirrel scurried across the windowsill to grab some peanuts Billy had left .
The ritual was repeated throughout the two-hour interview ; at one point , when Billy was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to replenish the treat pile , the squirrel knocked over a trinket .
He and Kim had instituted “ germ control ” long before the coronavirus on account of her cancer : hand sanitizer on the bar , disinfecting wipes around the house .
They hunkered down along with Kim ’ s son and expected the United States to easily beat the pandemic .
But as weeks turned into months , and Kim ’ s condition worsened , all Billy could do was turn increasingly angry .
The former Republican ( he quit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Donald Trump ) had to unfriend longtime friends because they derided any lockdown orders , or simply labeled the coronavirus as fake news .
“ They ’ re intelligent people .
They ’ re not stupid , ” he said .
“ But I call them fake patriots .
They ’ ll say , ‘ I ’ ll die for my country against tyranny , but I won ’ t wear a mask for my fellow human being.
’ Well , you don ’ t have a country without caring for others.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ was just worried .
She knew what her nurse friends were going through.
” They traveled out of their home solely for doctor ’ s appointments and cruises through the desert .
It was only in the last week of Kim ’ s life that the two truly experienced how society had changed during their quarantine .
On Dec. 2 , Billy took Kim to Hi-Desert Medical Center for a blood transfusion after she felt woozy .
While they checked in , a man barged in without a mask “ insisting it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Once he tried to shove past a security guard , Billy — whose shoulder-length hair and impressive Van Dyke beard make him look like a Hunter S. Thompson heavy — shot him a stare , and the man harrumphed off .
The following day , the Folsoms went to Kim ’ s oncologist at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach .
Billy had business in San Clemente , so he decided to pass by some old haunts along the coast .
“ All the bars were packed , ” he said .
“ No @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one socially distanced .
No one cared.
” Billy is now more fatigued than angry at a society where people still don ’ t believe the danger of disease “ whose tentacles are now everywhere.
” He had to pick up Kim ’ s body the morning after she passed because more dead were on the way .
A request for her original birth certificate will take six to eight weeks instead of just one .
“ And I don ’ t even know when I ’ m going to get Kim ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He walked me out to show off a large camper he had bought this year in the hopes of traveling with Kim .
Now , he wants to rent it out so others can enjoy it .
I asked him what he wanted people to take from Kim ’ s death .
His eyes watered , but his voice was firm .
“ I hope they learn , ” he said , “ that her last days were chaos .
”

Billy Folsom blames his wife’s death on “maskholes” who ignored pandemic rules. “I’m angry,” he said. “Not just for my wife. For all of us.”
The last words Kim Folsom told her husband over the phone Dec. 7, as she lay in the emergency room of Hi-Desert Medical Center in Joshua Tree, were terrifyingly simple.
“I’m scared.”
They were the last words that Billy, a retired mechanic for the city of Costa Mesa who was in the parking lot of the small hospital, ever expected his wife to say.
Kim called Billy just as he had returned from their home with some of her clothes. She was a former nurse with a radiant smile and matronly toughness that could calm down angry drunks at the biker bars she and Billy loved to visit. A three-year bout with pancreatic cancer hadn’t diminished her spirit or resolve.
Advertisement
Billy and Kim Folsom bought a house in Joshua Tree, Calif., three years ago, around the time she received her cancer diagnosis, so they could fight it together in an area they loved. (Folsom family)
But now, as Billy prepared for a last, desperate dash to save his wife’s life, the two faced a sobering reality.
The coronavirus surge was going to kill her.
And she didn’t even have COVID-19.
She had woken up in a pool of blood earlier that day, so Billy had rushed her to Hi-Desert. The facility didn’t have the equipment to take care of Kim, he said. So the attending doctor began to call hospitals across the Inland Empire to see if Kim could be transferred to them.
None could accept her. They were swamped with COVID-19 cases.
Billy’s last-ditch plan was to take Kim in his truck, speeding down the highway in hopes of being pulled over and then given a police escort to the nearest hospital. It never came to pass. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Everywhere, too full.
“The nurses were extremely distraught, and I’ve never seen them that way,” Billy told me five days later. “The doctor was getting frustrated.”
Advertisement
That’s when Billy volunteered to take Kim in his truck, strap on some off-road lights, and speed down California Route 62 toward Interstate 10. The plan: “get pulled over by police so we could get an escort” to the nearest hospital.
But that Hail Mary never came to pass. Shortly after their phone conversation, Kim’s health quickly deteriorated. She died at age 60, in the arms of Billy and her son.
Soon after, Billy went on Facebook, where he had kept friends apprised of what was going on, to post: “She’s gone.”
Nearly 12 hours had passed since the Folsoms had arrived at the emergency room.
“Kim loved to sit here,” Billy said. “There’s life all over the place.” (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
The pandemic had already hit the couple hard. Sixteen of their friends had died of COVID-19, including four of five members of a New Orleans blues group. Billy lost all of his gigs as a concert photographer in February. They hadn’t seen their grandchildren for months, and a UC Irvine clinical trial Kim had enrolled in for an experimental drug was canceled during the surge in June.
Now, the long-feared cratering of Southern California’s healthcare system due to the coronavirus is here — and it’s killing people like Kim, says Billy. He bears no ill will toward the Hi-Desert staff, whom he described “to a person [as] sympathetic, compassionate and very kind to us. … They did all they could.”
Instead, Billy lays Kim’s ordeal squarely on “maskholes.”
“We’re never going to know if she could’ve been saved,” said the 68-year-old, his blue eyes weary yet steely. “There was a surge because people didn’t wear masks. Those who don’t wear it can deny it all they want, but that’s the way it is.
“So, yeah, I’m angry,” he concluded. “Not just for my wife. For all of us.”
A representative for the Desert Care Network, which oversees Hi-Desert Medical Center, told me they “won’t be able to provide” a comment with regard to Kim Folsom’s death.
The ICU bed availability in Southern California currently stands at 0%; Riverside County, whose hospitals are closer to Joshua Tree than those in San Bernardino County, just set a new record for deaths reported in one day with 42.
Reports of ambulances waiting up to six hours to unload patients are becoming commonplace. In San Bernardino County, ambulances aren’t responding to all 911 calls. They simply can’t.
Dr. Mark Ghaly, California’s secretary of health and human services, said he’s “concerned” about stories like that of the Folsoms and worries that similar scenarios will increase as long as the surge continues.
“We know once ICUs become too overwhelmed, then the hospital wards will have similar issues, and then the emergency rooms,” he said. “When hospitals become overwhelmed, it’s not just COVID patients that might not receive care, but other emergency issues.”
::
I met Billy on a crisp, windy Saturday morning at his home, located up the road from the entrance to Joshua Tree National Park. He and Kim bought it three years ago, around the time she received her cancer diagnosis, so they could fight it together in an area they loved.
“Look outside my window,” Billy said from his living room, decorated with multiple guitars he had built. “Kim loved to sit here. There’s life all over the place.”
As if on cue, hummingbirds began to flit around one feeder, while pigeons swooped in to nibble from another. An antelope squirrel scurried across the windowsill to grab some peanuts Billy had left. The ritual was repeated throughout the two-hour interview; at one point, when Billy was deep into a point and had forgotten to replenish the treat pile, the squirrel knocked over a trinket.
He and Kim had instituted “germ control” long before the coronavirus on account of her cancer: hand sanitizer on the bar, disinfecting wipes around the house. They hunkered down along with Kim’s son and expected the United States to easily beat the pandemic.
But as weeks turned into months, and Kim’s condition worsened, all Billy could do was turn increasingly angry. The former Republican (he quit the GOP after the 2016 election of Donald Trump) had to unfriend longtime friends because they derided any lockdown orders, or simply labeled the coronavirus as fake news.
“They’re intelligent people. They’re not stupid,” he said. “But I call them fake patriots. They’ll say, ‘I’ll die for my country against tyranny, but I won’t wear a mask for my fellow human being.’ Well, you don’t have a country without caring for others.”
Kim, on the other hand, “was just worried. She knew what her nurse friends were going through.”
They traveled out of their home solely for doctor’s appointments and cruises through the desert. It was only in the last week of Kim’s life that the two truly experienced how society had changed during their quarantine.
On Dec. 2, Billy took Kim to Hi-Desert Medical Center for a blood transfusion after she felt woozy. While they checked in, a man barged in without a mask “insisting it was his right to do so.” Once he tried to shove past a security guard, Billy — whose shoulder-length hair and impressive Van Dyke beard make him look like a Hunter S. Thompson heavy — shot him a stare, and the man harrumphed off.
The following day, the Folsoms went to Kim’s oncologist at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach. Billy had business in San Clemente, so he decided to pass by some old haunts along the coast. “All the bars were packed,” he said. “No one was wearing a mask. No one socially distanced. No one cared.”
Billy is now more fatigued than angry at a society where people still don’t believe the danger of disease “whose tentacles are now everywhere.” He had to pick up Kim’s body the morning after she passed because more dead were on the way. A request for her original birth certificate will take six to eight weeks instead of just one.
“And I don’t even know when I’m going to get Kim’s ashes,” Billy said.
He walked me out to show off a large camper he had bought this year in the hopes of traveling with Kim. Now, he wants to rent it out so others can enjoy it.
I asked him what he wanted people to take from Kim’s death. His eyes watered, but his voice was firm.
“I hope they learn,” he said, “that her last days were chaos.”


latimes--2020-12-20--Santa Monica politics upended by pandemic, George Floyd protests and economic woes

Many of the forces that have shaken America in 2020 — the pandemic , a sharp economic downturn , rising inequities and the protests fueled by the killing of George Floyd — are also upending politics in Santa Monica .
In the last year , the famously liberal city , sometimes seen as a bellwether in local government , has dealt with a series of dramas culminating in a profound shift in power that will likely reshape Santa Monica for years to come .
First the city manager , then the police chief , departed amid withering criticism and a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ elections attracted a slate of newcomers with a platform of slowing development in the wealthy oceanside community .
With that came massive spending from local political action committees , text messages from candidates pinging on voters ’ phones and an all-out push from the city ’ s establishment to hang on to power .
On Nov. 3 , residents voted in three of the four newcomers — a historic shift for a city where elected office has been contingent on incumbency and the support of a single organization , Santa Monicans for Renters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an epic blowback , ” said Oscar de la Torre , 49 , who is founder of the Pico Youth & Family Center and resigned his seat on the school board to join the City Council .
“ We were outgunned , outspent … you name it , we were up against the entire establishment and we beat them in a pretty powerful way.
” De la Torre and the two other winning members of the slate , Phil Brock and Christine Parra , are a powerful minority on the seven-person council after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will have a significant hand in managing an enormous budget shortfall caused by declining tax revenues as coronavirus restrictions devastate local businesses .
They must select a new city manager — the executive who runs the government day to day , while most council members maintain other careers .
They must repair public trust in a Police Department that failed to protect some businesses during street unrest in May while arresting hundreds of peaceful protesters and firing rubber bullets into crowds .
Homelessness , a perennial problem in the city , prompts a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with no easy solutions .
And the new council members ’ slow growth mantra will be put to the test as they try to put the brakes on commercial development yet fulfill a campaign promise of creating more affordable housing in a city where 72 % of residents are renters and real estate prices are sky high .
They have already made an impact .
In their second council meeting last week , they joined with Mayor Sue Himmelrich to end negotiations with the developer of the controversial Plaza project .
“ I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ want our change to be in concert with the residents ’ desires to have a low-rise , diverse , comfortable beachside city , ” said Brock , 66 , a talent manager active in community organizations .
“ We don ’ t want to become Miami Beach .
We don ’ t want to become an extension of downtown Los Angeles .
We want to be uniquely Santa Monica.
” With 22 council candidates on the same ballot as the presidential election , turnout was 79 % in the city of 90,000 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ : Brock came in first with more than 19,000 votes , followed by incumbent Gleam Davis , Parra and De la Torre .
Kristin McCowan ran unopposed for the two remaining years on a seat she filled when a council member resigned .
Incumbents Terry O ’ Day , Ted Winterer and Ana Maria Jara lost , as did a member of the new slate , Mario Fonda-Bonardi .
Himmelrich and Kevin McKeown did not run in this election and remain on the council .
The new council will be the most racially @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to city spokeswoman Constance Farrell .
De la Torre and Parra are Latino , and McCowan is Black .
Davis ’ biological father is Mexican American , and she was adopted at birth by white parents .
Brock , De la Torre and McCowan all grew up in Santa Monica .
In a shift away from tonier parts of the city , De la Torre , McCowan and Parra are residents of the historically Black neighborhood of Pico .
“ It ’ s very simple , ” said Parra , 48 , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ City .
“ The community felt unsafe and really felt unheard , and they were looking for someone — anyone — that would hear them and represent them and be them up on that dais.
” While individual candidates raised cash , the biggest financial push came from a PAC called Santa Monica Forward , which spent more than $ 196,000 on behalf of Davis , McCowan and the three losing incumbents , according to the most recent campaign finance disclosures .
The committee ’ s website states that it is in favor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” more affordable housing and a “ cleaner and greener city .
“ For more than 30 years , a majority of the City Council has been endorsed by Santa Monicans for Renters ’ Rights , according to the group ’ s co-founder and co-chair , Denny Zane .
This year , Davis and McCowan were the only winning candidates backed by the organization , which primarily advocates for tenants and promotes affordable housing .
With Himmelrich and McKeown , who were elected in 2018 , SMRR-supported candidates maintain a narrow 4-3 edge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the renters ’ rights group was not a large player financially , spending nearly $ 44,000 spread out among council , school board and other races .
The only PAC to spend all its money on the newcomers was Santa Monicans for Change 2020 , with about $ 18,000 .
Another local group , Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City , advocated for the newcomers but did not raise money .
Despite all the cash at their disposal , Santa Monica Forward leaders had a hard time developing effective campaign techniques @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to canvas door to door , co-chair Abby Arnold said .
As the council campaign was getting underway , city leaders were struggling with budget and policing issues .
Amid heated debates about cutting city personnel and community programs , City Manager Rick Cole resigned in April .
The city has since eliminated more than 400 positions .
This year ’ s operating budget shrank nearly 24 % to resolve a projected deficit of $ 102 million .
“ It ’ s easy to be critical .
What ’ s difficult is to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ facing communities , ” Cole said .
“ The community will suffer if people don ’ t put aside the divisions of this election and work together for the common good.
” A pivotal moment that turned many residents against city leaders came on May 31 , when the racial justice protests that were sweeping the country and the region came to Santa Monica .
McKeown and then-police Chief Cynthia Renaud took a knee in solidarity with protesters .
But that did not erase the harsh tactics that police officers had used .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ break into stores and steal merchandise without a police officer in sight .
Council members tried to distance themselves from the no-win situation , saying it was not within their power to give the police chief orders that day .
They promised to do a post-mortem review , form a Racial Equity Committee and create a commission to oversee the Police Department .
Renaud retired in October , after a petition calling for her removal attracted more than 66,000 signatures .
Brock , who participated in a peaceful march down Ocean Avenue , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ better prepared for civil unrest , and the City Council did not do enough to reach out to business owners whose stores were damaged .
Known as much for its outdoor Third Street Promenade mall as its old-school pier and Ferris wheel , Santa Monica has long wrestled with how much revenue-generating commercial development to allow without sacrificing its beachy , slightly bohemian character .
Bobby Shriver , who was a councilman and mayor from 2004 to 2012 , looks back wistfully at the independent bookstores and coffee shops that have given way @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to have just gotten overwhelmed by the volume of things that have been approved , ” said Shriver , who now lives in Wyoming .
“ You could read this vote as a scream by the residents to put a moratorium on this , or ‘ Stop it , we ’ re going to lose the character of our community.
’ ” De la Torre , Brock and Parra campaigned against the Plaza project , which would be a hotel and workspace on what is now mostly occupied by a parking lot at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Arizona Avenue .
The lot , which is public land , should be used either for a park or apartments , the newcomers say .
Tuesday ’ s 4-3 vote stopped talks with the developer , and the council will eventually decide what to do with the property .
The newcomers say the city needs more affordable housing .
But they plan to challenge what Brock calls an “ unrealistic ” goal set by state and regional authorities to build almost 9,000 new housing units , including about 70 % for low-income households @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Parra said the numbers don ’ t add up .
Santa Monica already has thousands of vacant units that could be used for affordable housing , while lacking the infrastructure , such as water and sewer lines , to support so much new construction , she said .
Richard Orton , a retired graphic designer who has lived in Santa Monica for 50 years , supported the newcomers slate .
For nearly a month leading up to the election , he helped the candidates by designing fliers advocating for “ new blood in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the City Council , but you get the feeling that they ’ re kind of indifferent to you , ” said Orton , who is in his 70s .
“ They never vote in your direction .
They always seem to vote for the developer.
” But some establishment politicians question whether the election amounted to a significant mandate or was mostly emotional fallout from an unprecedented year .
“ I think the effect of the COVID pandemic made for an electorate that was looking to send a message , ” said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ council since 2009 .
“ Not sure I know what the message was , other than , ‘ We ’ re unhappy .
’ ”

Phil Brock, who was sworn into office last week, is among the newcomers on the Santa Monica City Council who ran on a platform of slow development growth.
Many of the forces that have shaken America in 2020 — the pandemic, a sharp economic downturn, rising inequities and the protests fueled by the killing of George Floyd — are also upending politics in Santa Monica.
In the last year, the famously liberal city, sometimes seen as a bellwether in local government, has dealt with a series of dramas culminating in a profound shift in power that will likely reshape Santa Monica for years to come.
For the record: This article incorrectly states that Oscar de la Torre resigned from the Santa Monica-Malibu Board of Education after being elected to the Santa Monica City Council. De la Torre has not resigned from the school board, although school district officials believe the two offices are incompatible and have advertised the board vacancy.
An earlier version of this article said that Santa Monica’s operating budget shrank nearly 24% this year, with a projected deficit of $102 million. The budget is balanced after being cut by nearly 24% to resolve the projected deficit.
First the city manager, then the police chief, departed amid withering criticism and a yawning budget deficit. The City Council elections attracted a slate of newcomers with a platform of slowing development in the wealthy oceanside community.
Advertisement
With that came massive spending from local political action committees, text messages from candidates pinging on voters’ phones and an all-out push from the city’s establishment to hang on to power.
On Nov. 3, residents voted in three of the four newcomers — a historic shift for a city where elected office has been contingent on incumbency and the support of a single organization, Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights.
“It’s an epic blowback,” said Oscar de la Torre, 49, who is founder of the Pico Youth & Family Center and resigned his seat on the school board to join the City Council. “We were outgunned, outspent … you name it, we were up against the entire establishment and we beat them in a pretty powerful way.”
Newly minted Santa Monica Councilman Oscar de la Torre, at a mural near his home in the Pico neighborhood, argued during his campaign that too much development was being allowed in the coastal city. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
De la Torre and the two other winning members of the slate, Phil Brock and Christine Parra, are a powerful minority on the seven-person council after being sworn in Dec. 8.
They will have a significant hand in managing an enormous budget shortfall caused by declining tax revenues as coronavirus restrictions devastate local businesses.
They must select a new city manager — the executive who runs the government day to day, while most council members maintain other careers.
They must repair public trust in a Police Department that failed to protect some businesses during street unrest in May while arresting hundreds of peaceful protesters and firing rubber bullets into crowds.
Homelessness, a perennial problem in the city, prompts a constant barrage of complaints from residents, with no easy solutions.
Advertisement
And the new council members’ slow growth mantra will be put to the test as they try to put the brakes on commercial development yet fulfill a campaign promise of creating more affordable housing in a city where 72% of residents are renters and real estate prices are sky high.
They have already made an impact. In their second council meeting last week, they joined with Mayor Sue Himmelrich to end negotiations with the developer of the controversial Plaza project.
“I have nothing against progress. But I want our change to be in concert with the residents’ desires to have a low-rise, diverse, comfortable beachside city,” said Brock, 66, a talent manager active in community organizations. “We don’t want to become Miami Beach. We don’t want to become an extension of downtown Los Angeles. We want to be uniquely Santa Monica.”
With 22 council candidates on the same ballot as the presidential election, turnout was 79% in the city of 90,000. Four seats went to the top vote-getters: Brock came in first with more than 19,000 votes, followed by incumbent Gleam Davis, Parra and De la Torre. Kristin McCowan ran unopposed for the two remaining years on a seat she filled when a council member resigned.
Incumbents Terry O’Day, Ted Winterer and Ana Maria Jara lost, as did a member of the new slate, Mario Fonda-Bonardi.
Himmelrich and Kevin McKeown did not run in this election and remain on the council.
The new council will be the most racially diverse in Santa Monica history, according to city spokeswoman Constance Farrell. De la Torre and Parra are Latino, and McCowan is Black. Davis’ biological father is Mexican American, and she was adopted at birth by white parents.
Brock, De la Torre and McCowan all grew up in Santa Monica. In a shift away from tonier parts of the city, De la Torre, McCowan and Parra are residents of the historically Black neighborhood of Pico.
“It’s very simple,” said Parra, 48, who is the emergency preparedness coordinator for Culver City. “The community felt unsafe and really felt unheard, and they were looking for someone — anyone — that would hear them and represent them and be them up on that dais.”
“The community felt unsafe and really felt unheard, and they were looking for someone — anyone — that would hear them and represent them,” says Christine Parra, a newcomer to the Santa Monica City Council. (Christine Parra)
In Santa Monica, city politics involves fairly big money.
While individual candidates raised cash, the biggest financial push came from a PAC called Santa Monica Forward, which spent more than $196,000 on behalf of Davis, McCowan and the three losing incumbents, according to the most recent campaign finance disclosures.
The committee’s website states that it is in favor of “a thriving local economy,” more affordable housing and a “cleaner and greener city. “
For more than 30 years, a majority of the City Council has been endorsed by Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights, according to the group’s co-founder and co-chair, Denny Zane.
This year, Davis and McCowan were the only winning candidates backed by the organization, which primarily advocates for tenants and promotes affordable housing. With Himmelrich and McKeown, who were elected in 2018, SMRR-supported candidates maintain a narrow 4-3 edge on the council.
Though politically influential, the renters’ rights group was not a large player financially, spending nearly $44,000 spread out among council, school board and other races.
The only PAC to spend all its money on the newcomers was Santa Monicans for Change 2020, with about $18,000. Another local group, Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City, advocated for the newcomers but did not raise money.
Despite all the cash at their disposal, Santa Monica Forward leaders had a hard time developing effective campaign techniques, with the pandemic limiting their ability to canvas door to door, co-chair Abby Arnold said.
Two people, one with a hammer and the other with a skateboard, smash windows at the Converse store in Santa Monica as racial justice protests swept the country and the region. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
As the council campaign was getting underway, city leaders were struggling with budget and policing issues.
Amid heated debates about cutting city personnel and community programs, City Manager Rick Cole resigned in April. The city has since eliminated more than 400 positions. This year’s operating budget shrank nearly 24% to resolve a projected deficit of $102 million.
“It’s easy to be critical. What’s difficult is to find common answers to the real challenges facing communities,” Cole said. “The community will suffer if people don’t put aside the divisions of this election and work together for the common good.”
A pivotal moment that turned many residents against city leaders came on May 31, when the racial justice protests that were sweeping the country and the region came to Santa Monica.
McKeown and then-police Chief Cynthia Renaud took a knee in solidarity with protesters. But that did not erase the harsh tactics that police officers had used. Others lambasted Renaud for allowing people to break into stores and steal merchandise without a police officer in sight.
Council members tried to distance themselves from the no-win situation, saying it was not within their power to give the police chief orders that day. They promised to do a post-mortem review, form a Racial Equity Committee and create a commission to oversee the Police Department. Renaud retired in October, after a petition calling for her removal attracted more than 66,000 signatures.
Brock, who participated in a peaceful march down Ocean Avenue, said the Police Department should have been better prepared for civil unrest, and the City Council did not do enough to reach out to business owners whose stores were damaged.
Santa Monica leaders voted last week to end negotiations with the developer of the controversial Plaza project, a proposed hotel and workspace at 4th Street and Arizona Avenue. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Known as much for its outdoor Third Street Promenade mall as its old-school pier and Ferris wheel, Santa Monica has long wrestled with how much revenue-generating commercial development to allow without sacrificing its beachy, slightly bohemian character.
Bobby Shriver, who was a councilman and mayor from 2004 to 2012, looks back wistfully at the independent bookstores and coffee shops that have given way to national chains.
“People appear to have just gotten overwhelmed by the volume of things that have been approved,” said Shriver, who now lives in Wyoming. “You could read this vote as a scream by the residents to put a moratorium on this, or ‘Stop it, we’re going to lose the character of our community.’”
De la Torre, Brock and Parra campaigned against the Plaza project, which would be a hotel and workspace on what is now mostly occupied by a parking lot at the busy intersection of 4th Street and Arizona Avenue.
The lot, which is public land, should be used either for a park or apartments, the newcomers say.
Tuesday’s 4-3 vote stopped talks with the developer, and the council will eventually decide what to do with the property.
The newcomers say the city needs more affordable housing. But they plan to challenge what Brock calls an “unrealistic” goal set by state and regional authorities to build almost 9,000 new housing units, including about 70% for low-income households, by the end of 2029.
Parra said the numbers don’t add up. Santa Monica already has thousands of vacant units that could be used for affordable housing, while lacking the infrastructure, such as water and sewer lines, to support so much new construction, she said.
Leading up to the election, retired graphic artist Richard Orton designed flyers for a slate of challengers vying for seats on the Santa Monica City Council. (Richard Orton)
Richard Orton, a retired graphic designer who has lived in Santa Monica for 50 years, supported the newcomers slate.
For nearly a month leading up to the election, he helped the candidates by designing fliers advocating for “new blood in the City Council.”
“You talk to the City Council, but you get the feeling that they’re kind of indifferent to you,” said Orton, who is in his 70s. “They never vote in your direction. They always seem to vote for the developer.”
But some establishment politicians question whether the election amounted to a significant mandate or was mostly emotional fallout from an unprecedented year.
“I think the effect of the COVID pandemic made for an electorate that was looking to send a message,” said Davis, who has served on the council since 2009. “Not sure I know what the message was, other than, ‘We’re unhappy.’”
Times staff writer Maloy Moore contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-12-20--Supermarkets in L.A. County see unprecedented coronavirus infection rates

Supermarkets have been hit hard by the unprecedented explosion of the coronavirus in Los Angeles County , further straining an essential service that needs to remain open despite the new stay-at-home order .
Outbreaks are increasing at an alarming rate across industries , officials say — an unavoidable consequence of so many people falling sick in the region .
But those at grocery stores and other essential retailers pose a unique challenge for officials attempting to reduce coronavirus transmission , as well as for county residents trying to pare down their activities to only what is necessary .
L.A. County @ @ @ @ @ @ @ businesses , compared with 173 a month ago , according to county data .
The increase in outbreaks drives home officials ’ warnings that the only way to stay safe is to stay home , even as many businesses remain open .
“ Many things are permitted still , but they may not be wise , and they carry immense risks for you and the people around you , ” Dr. Christina Ghaly , the county health services director , said last week .
Barbara Hughes , a cashier at a Food 4 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to put in 70 hours last week because so many of her colleagues are out with COVID-19 .
Twenty-one employees have recently tested positive for the virus , according to county records .
“ Every single one of my managers has COVID — one of them is really sick , ” said Hughes , 61 .
“ It ’ s stressful , but I just tell myself : ‘ You got ta go .
You got ta work.
’ ” Hughes wears two sets of gloves and two masks throughout her shift .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ customers during the pandemic , the risks have never been higher .
County officials estimate that 1 in 80 people in the county are infectious with the coronavirus , the highest prevalence yet recorded .
With so many people infected , it ’ s likelier than ever that a co-worker or customer could be ill , and that a single case could multiply into dozens .
“ The number of outbreaks is extraordinary — we ’ ve just never had this many , ” said Dr. Jeffrey Gunzenhauser , L.A. County chief medical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Food 4 Less locations reported to the county during the pandemic , three — including the one at Hughes ’ store — were first logged this month , linked to the current surge , according to a Times analysis of outbreaks posted on An outbreak is defined as three or more cases among staff in a 14-day period .
There have also been new outbreaks reported in December at three Trader Joe ’ s locations , two Whole Foods Market stores , three Sprouts Farmers Market branches and several smaller grocery chains , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ environments where people are often in close , prolonged contact can become hotbeds for the coronavirus , especially when the pathogen is so widespread , experts say .
The Times analysis also found a jump in outbreaks this month at banks , postal outlets , pharmacies , hardware stores and many nonessential businesses .
“ Everything becomes more dangerous than it was last month — every type of activity , ” said Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo , an epidemiologist at UC San Francisco .
“ When 1 in 80 people in L.A. are infected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to the grocery store … there ’ s a higher chance today than there was two weeks ago that you ’ ll be exposed to COVID-19.
” Gunzenhauser recommended consolidating trips to businesses , perhaps visiting the grocery store every other week instead of weekly , if possible .
People should also be prepared to leave and return another time if the store is too crowded , lines are long or shoppers aren ’ t wearing masks .
“ You should have a Plan A and a Plan B , ” he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as they should , I ’ m comfortable with that — people shouldn ’ t have an irrational fear that just walking in the building is a problem.
” He pointed out that customers are more likely to be in close contact with other shoppers than with employees , so community prevalence may be a better indicator of risk than whether a store recently suffered an outbreak among staff .
County officials have tried to limit the potential for outbreaks at stores and last month dropped the maximum capacity allowed at grocery stores @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and to 20 % at all other retailers as part of a stay-at-home order .
Officials so far have said they are not planning to further tighten restrictions .
Hughes said it felt as though COVID-19 started coming for the Palmdale store ’ s employees one by one last month .
First it was one store manager , then another and another .
The entire meat department is out , as well as a handful of people from the produce and deli sections , Hughes said .
“ I worry every day that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virus home to my grandsons that live with me , ” said Hughes , who has worked at Food 4 Less for 26 years .
“ This is really the worst I ’ ve ever been through.
” Hughes says some of her regular customers have fallen sick as well ; one of them , a mother of young children , died from the virus .
Vendors who drop off goods at the store also have come down with COVID-19 , she said .
It remains unclear where these shoppers and vendors became @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the store ’ s outbreak originated .
County health officials say it is extremely difficult to pinpoint the sources of infections when so many infected people are asymptomatic .
On Friday , Hughes and her colleagues demonstrated outside the store to advocate for hazard pay .
She received a $ 2-per-hour bonus in the spring , but it ended after six weeks , she said .
She put the funds aside along with her stimulus check and told her kids : “ If anything happens to me through COVID , this is the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rosales said the chain had invested $ 1.3 billion to reward associates and implement safety measures throughout the pandemic .
She said that they were proud of their staff for serving the public “ when they need us the most.
” “ Our most urgent priority throughout this pandemic has been to provide a safe environment for our associates and customers , ” Rosales said in an email .
“ We would not operate stores that are hazardous.
” The county health department has fined more than 200 businesses since August for violating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been grocery stores , according to county records .
However , Gunzenhauser , of the health department , said that less serious violations were common .
Half of the businesses visited by county investigators last week were found to have some kind of safety lapse , such as people not properly wearing masks or distancing , he said .
Still , he said that business owners were largely becoming more compliant and often found themselves in a tough position , as cases linked to their workplace don ’ t necessarily originate there .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ together in close quarters after their shift ends , he said .
“ When you get to 15,000 cases that we ’ re diagnosing [ each day ] and you just look at where those people are , you ’ re going to suddenly realize a lot of them work , ” he said .
“ It ’ s just because there are so many cases — whether they get it at the workplace or they got it at the community.
” Other food retailers that reported outbreaks recently included Gelson ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A Foods in Glassell Park and Superior Grocers in City of Industry .
Three outbreaks at Vallarta Supermarkets were reported this month .
Five of the 10 outbreaks at L.A. County Target locations since the pandemic began were reported in December .
Companies told The Times that they had closely followed protocols and that many of their employees had become infected outside work .
A Target spokeswoman said in a statement : “ Trends in cases within our team are consistent with the trends reported for the U.S. population and the communities in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Shira Shafir reiterated that people entering stores should wear masks , keep six feet from others , plan to go when stores might be less crowded and spend as little time inside as possible .
The longer a person spends in close contact with an infected person , the more likely they are to catch the virus — even if both are wearing masks .
“ There is no safe activity that involves being within six feet of another person that you do not live with , ” she said .
“ I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lot of people might want to linger and browse and be out shopping , particularly when it comes to Christmas gifts , but we really want people to be as expedient and efficient as possible .
”

Barbara Hughes, a cashier at Food 4 Less in Palmdale, hands a flier to customer Rona Millage of Palmdale on Friday, notifying her about coronavirus cases at the store.
Supermarkets have been hit hard by the unprecedented explosion of the coronavirus in Los Angeles County, further straining an essential service that needs to remain open despite the new stay-at-home order.
Outbreaks are increasing at an alarming rate across industries, officials say — an unavoidable consequence of so many people falling sick in the region. But those at grocery stores and other essential retailers pose a unique challenge for officials attempting to reduce coronavirus transmission, as well as for county residents trying to pare down their activities to only what is necessary.
L.A. County is investigating ongoing coronavirus outbreaks at 490 businesses, compared with 173 a month ago, according to county data. The increase in outbreaks drives home officials’ warnings that the only way to stay safe is to stay home, even as many businesses remain open.
Advertisement
“Many things are permitted still, but they may not be wise, and they carry immense risks for you and the people around you,” Dr. Christina Ghaly, the county health services director, said last week.
Barbara Hughes, a cashier at a Food 4 Less in Palmdale, said she had to put in 70 hours last week because so many of her colleagues are out with COVID-19. Twenty-one employees have recently tested positive for the virus, according to county records.
“Every single one of my managers has COVID — one of them is really sick,” said Hughes, 61. “It’s stressful, but I just tell myself: ‘You gotta go. You gotta work.’”
Hughes wears two sets of gloves and two masks throughout her shift. In her nine months of ringing up customers during the pandemic, the risks have never been higher.
County officials estimate that 1 in 80 people in the county are infectious with the coronavirus, the highest prevalence yet recorded. With so many people infected, it’s likelier than ever that a co-worker or customer could be ill, and that a single case could multiply into dozens.
“The number of outbreaks is extraordinary — we’ve just never had this many,” said Dr. Jeffrey Gunzenhauser, L.A. County chief medical officer.
Of the six outbreaks at Food 4 Less locations reported to the county during the pandemic, three — including the one at Hughes’ store — were first logged this month, linked to the current surge, according to a Times analysis of outbreaks posted on the county’s website. An outbreak is defined as three or more cases among staff in a 14-day period.
Advertisement
There have also been new outbreaks reported in December at three Trader Joe’s locations, two Whole Foods Market stores, three Sprouts Farmers Market branches and several smaller grocery chains, county and company records show.
Indoor environments where people are often in close, prolonged contact can become hotbeds for the coronavirus, especially when the pathogen is so widespread, experts say. The Times analysis also found a jump in outbreaks this month at banks, postal outlets, pharmacies, hardware stores and many nonessential businesses.
“Everything becomes more dangerous than it was last month — every type of activity,” said Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, an epidemiologist at UC San Francisco. “When 1 in 80 people in L.A. are infected, even if you’re just going to the grocery store … there’s a higher chance today than there was two weeks ago that you’ll be exposed to COVID-19.”
Gunzenhauser recommended consolidating trips to businesses, perhaps visiting the grocery store every other week instead of weekly, if possible. People should also be prepared to leave and return another time if the store is too crowded, lines are long or shoppers aren’t wearing masks.
“You should have a Plan A and a Plan B,” he said. “If things are operating as they should, I’m comfortable with that — people shouldn’t have an irrational fear that just walking in the building is a problem.”
He pointed out that customers are more likely to be in close contact with other shoppers than with employees, so community prevalence may be a better indicator of risk than whether a store recently suffered an outbreak among staff.
County officials have tried to limit the potential for outbreaks at stores and last month dropped the maximum capacity allowed at grocery stores and other essential retailers to 35% and to 20% at all other retailers as part of a stay-at-home order. Officials so far have said they are not planning to further tighten restrictions.
Hughes said it felt as though COVID-19 started coming for the Palmdale store’s employees one by one last month. First it was one store manager, then another and another. The entire meat department is out, as well as a handful of people from the produce and deli sections, Hughes said.
“I worry every day that I’m going to bring this virus home to my grandsons that live with me,” said Hughes, who has worked at Food 4 Less for 26 years. “This is really the worst I’ve ever been through.”
Hughes says some of her regular customers have fallen sick as well; one of them, a mother of young children, died from the virus. Vendors who drop off goods at the store also have come down with COVID-19, she said.
It remains unclear where these shoppers and vendors became infected, as well as with whom the store’s outbreak originated. County health officials say it is extremely difficult to pinpoint the sources of infections when so many infected people are asymptomatic.
On Friday, Hughes and her colleagues demonstrated outside the store to advocate for hazard pay. She received a $2-per-hour bonus in the spring, but it ended after six weeks, she said. She put the funds aside along with her stimulus check and told her kids: “If anything happens to me through COVID, this is the money.”
Food 4 Less spokeswoman Vanessa Rosales said the chain had invested $1.3 billion to reward associates and implement safety measures throughout the pandemic. She said that they were proud of their staff for serving the public “when they need us the most.”
“Our most urgent priority throughout this pandemic has been to provide a safe environment for our associates and customers,” Rosales said in an email. “We would not operate stores that are hazardous.”
The county health department has fined more than 200 businesses since August for violating COVID-19 precautions, none of which have been grocery stores, according to county records.
However, Gunzenhauser, of the health department, said that less serious violations were common. Half of the businesses visited by county investigators last week were found to have some kind of safety lapse, such as people not properly wearing masks or distancing, he said.
Still, he said that business owners were largely becoming more compliant and often found themselves in a tough position, as cases linked to their workplace don’t necessarily originate there. Sometimes cases spread when workers spend time together in close quarters after their shift ends, he said.
“When you get to 15,000 cases that we’re diagnosing [each day] and you just look at where those people are, you’re going to suddenly realize a lot of them work,” he said. “It’s just because there are so many cases — whether they get it at the workplace or they got it at the community.”
Other food retailers that reported outbreaks recently included Gelson’s Markets in Marina del Rey, Super A Foods in Glassell Park and Superior Grocers in City of Industry. Three outbreaks at Vallarta Supermarkets were reported this month. Five of the 10 outbreaks at L.A. County Target locations since the pandemic began were reported in December.
Companies told The Times that they had closely followed protocols and that many of their employees had become infected outside work. A Target spokeswoman said in a statement: “Trends in cases within our team are consistent with the trends reported for the U.S. population and the communities in which we operate.”
UCLA epidemiology professor Shira Shafir reiterated that people entering stores should wear masks, keep six feet from others, plan to go when stores might be less crowded and spend as little time inside as possible. The longer a person spends in close contact with an infected person, the more likely they are to catch the virus — even if both are wearing masks.
“There is no safe activity that involves being within six feet of another person that you do not live with,” she said. “I know this is the time when a lot of people might want to linger and browse and be out shopping, particularly when it comes to Christmas gifts, but we really want people to be as expedient and efficient as possible.”


latimes--2020-12-20--The pandemic fuels long-shot recall effort against Gov. Gavin Newsom

Among the many catchphrases coined by Gov .
Gavin Newsom during his livestreamed briefings about California ’ s COVID-19 emergency is his promise to point out “ trend lines before they become headlines ” — a reminder that warning signs often appear long before things reach a crisis point .
It ’ s an observation that could also apply to Newsom ’ s political fortunes .
As he slogs through an unparalleled crisis , the 53-year-old Democrat finds himself staring at the most unexpected of trend lines : the very real chance of a special statewide election in 2021 in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Only once has a California governor faced a recall : the 2003 election that cut short the tenure of Gov .
Gray Davis .
By most measures , the current circumstances make for an ill-fitting comparison — whereas Davis had narrowly won reelection the year before and was widely unpopular , Newsom won the governorship in 2018 by the largest margin in modern history and has maintained a strong job approval rating .
But public reaction to recent events has caught Democrats by surprise .
As Californians reel from a sharp rise @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , some have taken aim at Newsom over his administration ’ s restrictions that have closed businesses , implemented overnight curfews and limited family and faith traditions .
The timing has proved lucky for the angry activists who launched a recall petition against the governor in the early spring , an effort recently joined by a cadre of professional Republican political consultants and fundraisers and boosted last month by a largely unnoticed court ruling .
Not unlike the effort in 2003 , the campaign has tapped into a vein of discontent , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Davis becoming the first and only governor recalled in California history .
Newsom hasn ’ t publicly commented on the recall effort , deflecting a reporter ’ s question Monday by commenting on the state ’ s work in distributing the COVID-19 vaccine .
Nor have most Democrats , seemingly worried about boosting what they see as an unjustified effort .
Others say the situation could become more worrisome if the governor doesn ’ t fight back .
“ Don ’ t just ignore it or engage in wishful thinking that it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” said Garry South , who served as Davis ’ chief political strategist and consulted for Newsom when he briefly ran for governor a decade ago .
Davis tried to ignore the unprecedented campaign launched against him until the special election was called — by which time it had gained enough momentum to attract the candidacy of the celebrity who rode it to victory , Arnold Schwarzenegger , a Republican .
South argues that Newsom should fight back much earlier .
“ He needs to really start constructing a war council that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” he said .
“ With social media , this thing ’ s already caught fire on the right.
” Voters who seek to remove an elected official don ’ t have to prove malfeasance , under rules dating back to the inception of California ’ s recall process more than a century ago .
Any reason will suffice , and , as the California Constitution explicitly states , the justification “ is not reviewable ” by any state officer .
The loose requirements of the process probably explain why so many recall @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — but also why most of them have failed to catch on .
Of 165 attempts against a statewide officer or member of the Legislature , only 10 have qualified for the ballot .
Six of those elections — all of them , other than the Davis recall , involving legislators — were successful .
The most recent resulted in the removal in 2018 of an Orange County state senator , who won his seat back last month .
Half a dozen recalls have been filed against Newsom since 2018 , the first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The recall petition now under consideration lists an assortment of grievances : broad swipes at his stance on issues such as illegal immigration , taxes and homelessness , and specific criticism of his moratorium on the death penalty .
But the pandemic upped the ante for Newsom ’ s foes .
State public health rules dictating which businesses can remain open and which activities are allowed have been assailed as arbitrary .
Legislators have bristled at the governor ’ s use of executive power and the many foibles of California ’ s unemployment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A rising chorus of parents and educators have demanded a statewide policy covering when to reopen school campuses ; so far , those decisions have been left largely to local school districts , a matter particularly galling to those who note that Newsom ’ s four children returned this fall for limited in-person teaching at a private school in Sacramento .
The most flammable moment came last month , when Newsom attended a dinner at a pricey Napa Valley restaurant .
Photos leaked to a Los Angeles TV station showed the governor and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ others , none of whom were wearing masks .
Some conservative critics saw his apology as insincere .
“ That smugness was the straw that broke the camel ’ s back , ” Ray Appleton , who hosts a talk show on KMJ-AM in Fresno , told listeners last week .
“ It ’ s like someone just threw the switch and said , ‘ There it is , we ’ re going to get this guy.
’ ” Doing so will require more than just motivation .
A recall election hinges on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the total ballots cast in the most recent gubernatorial election — in this case , the endorsement of some 1.5 million voters .
Because even the best petition drives end up with a portion of signatures deemed invalid , the assumption is that the Newsom recall effort needs the endorsement of at least 1.6 million voters , perhaps closer to 2 million .
Under the normal election calendar , which allows 160 days to gather signatures , the effort would already be over .
But in the same way the public health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ life , it has prompted an exception to the rules of a recall .
Last month , a Sacramento judge gave recall proponents an additional 120 days — through the middle of March — to gather signatures , pointing to recent rulings that provided extra time for backers of two proposed ballot measures who cited the challenges of circulating voter petitions under California ’ s coronavirus restrictions .
“ I think it was a mistake for Democrats not to appeal that decision , ” South said .
Dave Gilliard , a veteran Republican @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the successful Davis recall petition drive , recently joined the nascent effort .
His group dusted off the name and logo of the 2003 campaign — “ Rescue California ” — and is raising money for signature gathering .
“ I think the timing is right , ” Gilliard said .
“ This frustration with the pandemic — he ’ s the guy in charge.
” Even so , the political odds favor Newsom .
Gilliard acknowledges that there ’ s a narrow window in which to raise enough cash .
His group @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Newt Gingrich and former Arkansas Gov .
Mike Huckabee .
But for every Republican who excites would-be donors , the Newsom political team will see opportunities to paint the recall as a partisan effort to do what GOP candidates haven ’ t been able to do in California since 2006 : win a statewide election .
Dan Newman , a political advisor to Newsom , said the governor is focused on “ getting us through the home stretch of this COVID crisis ” and criticized the recall as “ a dangerous and toxic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , anti-mask , anti-vaccine extremists.
” In the parlance of Newsom , the “ trend line ” of the recall movement is not firmly set .
Though organizers of the campaign say they have collected close to 800,000 signatures , slightly more than half that number have been turned in to elections officials .
And if it does make it to the ballot , some suggest looking not at California ’ s 2003 recall election for a preview but instead at the one that sought to remove Wisconsin Gov .
Scott Walker in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the recall but won reelection two years later .
Newsom , already a national political figure with $ 15 million in campaign cash in the bank , could easily come out of the experience stronger than ever .

Some have taken aim at the restrictions put in place by California Gov. Gavin Newsom amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Among the many catchphrases coined by Gov. Gavin Newsom during his livestreamed briefings about California’s COVID-19 emergency is his promise to point out “trend lines before they become headlines” — a reminder that warning signs often appear long before things reach a crisis point.
It’s an observation that could also apply to Newsom’s political fortunes. As he slogs through an unparalleled crisis, the 53-year-old Democrat finds himself staring at the most unexpected of trend lines: the very real chance of a special statewide election in 2021 in which voters could remove him from office.
Only once has a California governor faced a recall: the 2003 election that cut short the tenure of Gov. Gray Davis. By most measures, the current circumstances make for an ill-fitting comparison — whereas Davis had narrowly won reelection the year before and was widely unpopular, Newsom won the governorship in 2018 by the largest margin in modern history and has maintained a strong job approval rating.
Advertisement
But public reaction to recent events has caught Democrats by surprise. As Californians reel from a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases and a gloomy economy, some have taken aim at Newsom over his administration’s restrictions that have closed businesses, implemented overnight curfews and limited family and faith traditions.
Maggie Assaele of Westlake Village protests against state stay-at-home orders outside Cronies sports bar in Agoura Hills this month. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
The timing has proved lucky for the angry activists who launched a recall petition against the governor in the early spring, an effort recently joined by a cadre of professional Republican political consultants and fundraisers and boosted last month by a largely unnoticed court ruling. Not unlike the effort in 2003, the campaign has tapped into a vein of discontent, a combination of fear and malaise that led to Davis becoming the first and only governor recalled in California history.
Newsom hasn’t publicly commented on the recall effort, deflecting a reporter’s question Monday by commenting on the state’s work in distributing the COVID-19 vaccine. Nor have most Democrats, seemingly worried about boosting what they see as an unjustified effort.
Others say the situation could become more worrisome if the governor doesn’t fight back.
“Don’t just ignore it or engage in wishful thinking that it won’t qualify for the ballot,” said Garry South, who served as Davis’ chief political strategist and consulted for Newsom when he briefly ran for governor a decade ago.
Davis tried to ignore the unprecedented campaign launched against him until the special election was called — by which time it had gained enough momentum to attract the candidacy of the celebrity who rode it to victory, Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican.
South argues that Newsom should fight back much earlier.
“He needs to really start constructing a war council that can help him navigate the process,” he said. “With social media, this thing’s already caught fire on the right.”
Voters who seek to remove an elected official don’t have to prove malfeasance, under rules dating back to the inception of California’s recall process more than a century ago. Any reason will suffice, and, as the California Constitution explicitly states, the justification “is not reviewable” by any state officer.
The loose requirements of the process probably explain why so many recall petitions have been filed over the years — but also why most of them have failed to catch on. Of 165 attempts against a statewide officer or member of the Legislature, only 10 have qualified for the ballot. Six of those elections — all of them, other than the Davis recall, involving legislators — were successful. The most recent resulted in the removal in 2018 of an Orange County state senator, who won his seat back last month.
Advertisement
Half a dozen recalls have been filed against Newsom since 2018, the first only two months after his inauguration. The recall petition now under consideration lists an assortment of grievances: broad swipes at his stance on issues such as illegal immigration, taxes and homelessness, and specific criticism of his moratorium on the death penalty.
But the pandemic upped the ante for Newsom’s foes.
State public health rules dictating which businesses can remain open and which activities are allowed have been assailed as arbitrary. Legislators have bristled at the governor’s use of executive power and the many foibles of California’s unemployment agency, led by his appointees. A rising chorus of parents and educators have demanded a statewide policy covering when to reopen school campuses; so far, those decisions have been left largely to local school districts, a matter particularly galling to those who note that Newsom’s four children returned this fall for limited in-person teaching at a private school in Sacramento.
The most flammable moment came last month, when Newsom attended a dinner at a pricey Napa Valley restaurant. Photos leaked to a Los Angeles TV station showed the governor and his wife sitting in tight quarters with others, none of whom were wearing masks.
Some conservative critics saw his apology as insincere.
“That smugness was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” Ray Appleton, who hosts a talk show on KMJ-AM in Fresno, told listeners last week. “It’s like someone just threw the switch and said, ‘There it is, we’re going to get this guy.’”
Doing so will require more than just motivation. A recall election hinges on collecting voter signatures equal to 12% of the total ballots cast in the most recent gubernatorial election — in this case, the endorsement of some 1.5 million voters. Because even the best petition drives end up with a portion of signatures deemed invalid, the assumption is that the Newsom recall effort needs the endorsement of at least 1.6 million voters, perhaps closer to 2 million.
Under the normal election calendar, which allows 160 days to gather signatures, the effort would already be over. But in the same way the public health crisis has upended the norms of everyday life, it has prompted an exception to the rules of a recall.
Last month, a Sacramento judge gave recall proponents an additional 120 days — through the middle of March — to gather signatures, pointing to recent rulings that provided extra time for backers of two proposed ballot measures who cited the challenges of circulating voter petitions under California’s coronavirus restrictions.
“I think it was a mistake for Democrats not to appeal that decision,” South said.
Dave Gilliard, a veteran Republican strategist and one of the architects of the successful Davis recall petition drive, recently joined the nascent effort. His group dusted off the name and logo of the 2003 campaign — “Rescue California” — and is raising money for signature gathering.
“I think the timing is right,” Gilliard said. “This frustration with the pandemic — he’s the guy in charge.”
Even so, the political odds favor Newsom.
Gilliard acknowledges that there’s a narrow window in which to raise enough cash. His group recently touted endorsements from former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. But for every Republican who excites would-be donors, the Newsom political team will see opportunities to paint the recall as a partisan effort to do what GOP candidates haven’t been able to do in California since 2006: win a statewide election.
Dan Newman, a political advisor to Newsom, said the governor is focused on “getting us through the home stretch of this COVID crisis” and criticized the recall as “a dangerous and toxic brew of ambitious Republican politicians and pro-Trump, anti-mask, anti-vaccine extremists.”
In the parlance of Newsom, the “trend line” of the recall movement is not firmly set. Though organizers of the campaign say they have collected close to 800,000 signatures, slightly more than half that number have been turned in to elections officials.
And if it does make it to the ballot, some suggest looking not at California’s 2003 recall election for a preview but instead at the one that sought to remove Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in 2012. Walker not only beat back the recall but won reelection two years later. Newsom, already a national political figure with $15 million in campaign cash in the bank, could easily come out of the experience stronger than ever.


latimes--2020-12-21--California dropped its guard before it was hit with $2 billion in unemployment fraud

As California grapples with staggering levels of unemployment benefit fraud — $ 2 billion or more by one estimate — lawmakers and security experts say the state let its guard down well before the COVID-19 pandemic began in March , failing to keep up with what other states have done to flag bogus claims .
Now , faced with what officials describe as the largest fraud scheme against taxpayers in state history , the state Employment Development Department is scrambling to fix past mistakes as prosecutors , government auditors and legislators say their early warnings about vulnerabilities in the unemployment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the phony claims were preventable , they say , if California had taken precautions implemented in other states , including using sophisticated software to identify suspect applications , keeping Social Security numbers out of official mail and cross-checking benefit claims against personal data on state prison inmates .
Cross-checking is routine in 35 other states .
Adding to the problems , there have been delays in trying to address long-standing issues at the agency that have undercut attempts to safeguard against fraud .
State prison officials had maintained that they could not legally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the EDD , an assertion that was knocked down this month by a legal opinion from the state Department of Justice .
The controversy hindered the ability of investigators outside the prison system to discover rampant fraud , some officials said .
“ Months of dithering have cost California taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars , ” said Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris ( D-Laguna Beach ) , chairwoman of the Assembly Committee on Accountability and Administrative Review .
The EDD also has not acted swiftly enough on warnings from March 2019 that it was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fraud by sending them in the mail , according to the state auditor , who said Washington and Texas are among states that do not include full numbers in mail .
In addition , legislators are questioning why the EDD canceled a contract five years ago with a firm that was using sophisticated software to help ferret out bogus claims .
The firm is being used in dozens of federal and state agencies , including in Nevada and Wisconsin .
“ On the face of it , the cancellation of a fraud detection @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
As fraud totals continue to balloon — one prosecutor says there is unverified evidence it may total $ 4 billion — the state is playing catch-up to right past wrongs in the unemployment system .
Bolstered by the new legal opinion , it has finally begun cross-checking prison inmate data with unemployment claims , and it has rehired the antifraud contractor .
In addition , lawmakers have introduced several bills this month to fight fraud , including a measure by Petrie-Norris that would require EDD to cross-check prisoners ’ data with unemployment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than $ 110 billion on jobless claims since the state began restricting business operations and urging residents to stay home to reduce the spread of the coronavirus .
The volume of claims has overwhelmed the EDD , which still has a backlog of 683,000 claims that have not been approved , while it has made payments on many fraudulent claims .
“ EDD was woefully unprepared for the unparalleled demands created by COVID-19 , ” state Labor Secretary Julie A. Su said last week .
Bank of America , which has a contract @ @ @ @ @ @ @ benefits , recently warned that fraud in California ’ s unemployment benefits system could total $ 2 billion .
The bank said it has identified 640,000 accounts as being associated with with suspicious activity , including claims filed in the names of infants , children , centenarians and people living in other states .
Separately , a task force of district attorneys said EDD paid $ 400 million on some 21,000 claims in the names of prison inmates , including Scott Peterson , who was convicted of murdering his wife .
The widespread @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Talcove , chief executive of the Government group at LexisNexis Risk Solutions , which warned states and federal agencies that trouble was brewing before it sent out $ 2 trillion in economic relief that was part of the CARES Act approved by Congress in March .
“ We warned them that this was going to be like taking candy from a baby , that this was going to be Christmas for the fraudsters if they didn ’ t do some basic identity screening , ” Talcove said .
Lawmakers are particularly alarmed by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a contract with a fraud-detection firm after a one-year $ 1.75-million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor expired .
Pondera Solutions , a Sacramento-area firm , used Google technology and publicly available data to flag claims that might be fraudulent .
The firm was “ very successful ” at identifying problem claims , said Patrick W. Henning Jr. , who was director of the EDD from 2014 through the end of last year and an appointee of former Gov .
Jerry Brown .
“ The federal grant ran out and at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what we ’ re seeing today , ” Henning said .
“ We asked the [ federal officials ] if they would re-up it and they said no.
” With no federal funds available , EDD did explore other ways to fund the contract “ but it was determined at the time that it was not needed given the decrease in claims ” as the economy improved , said Loree Levy , a spokeswoman for the EDD .
El Dorado County Dist .
Atty .
Vern Pierson , who is part of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said he told EDD officials five years ago that he would like to get information that the contractor gathered that could help identify people who were incarcerated and claiming benefits , but the contract ended before he could obtain any data .
Pierson also questioned the state ’ s decision not to continue funding the Pondera contract back then .
“ It appears as though they chose to save a few million dollars while risking losing hundreds of millions of dollars , ” said Pierson , who is president of the California District @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the fraud would have been prevented.
” Levy said Thursday that the agency has signed a new contract with Thomson Reuters , the firm that bought Pondera , and resumed using its software on Oct. 1 .
The service , she said , provides “ access to unique data not available within civil service.
” Also in October , the EDD started using another new contractor , ID.me , that verifies the identity of claimants before benefits are sent out .
The EDD had been following federal guidance to allow many claimants @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out faster , officials said .
The contractor estimates up to 30 % of attempts to use the ID.me system since early October in California are possible scammers who were blocked from filing a claim .
The massive fraud has also forced a change in the state prison agency ’ s practice of not sharing the Social Security numbers of inmates with the EDD .
The task force of nine district attorneys complained last month that the ability to identify prison fraud had been hampered by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of prisoners with EDD .
The prison agency said state law only allowed it to share data on inmates with law enforcement agencies and it said EDD did not qualify .
As a result , the U.S. attorney ’ s office had to file a subpoena on behalf of the U.S. Department of Labor to compel the state prison agency to provide information on inmates , but only for the investigation .
The state Department of Justice has in the last few weeks issued a legal opinion rejecting the CDCR ’ s interpretation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are peace officers authorized under Penal Code section 11105 to receive criminal offender record information in the course and scope of an investigation related to violations of the Unemployment Insurance Code , ” the Department of Justice said in a statement to The Times last week .
Another crack in the system was identified in March 2019 , a year before the pandemic began , when State Auditor Elaine Howle issued a report warning that the EDD was risking fraud by sending mail containing Social Security numbers to claimants .
The EDD has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to stop the practice , which Howle has called dangerous .
Since the pandemic began , the EDD has mailed out 38 million pieces of mail containing claimants ’ Social Security numbers and “ has continued to place Californians at risk of identity theft , ” Howle said in a letter to the governor last month .
That inaction by EDD was costly , said Assemblyman Jim Patterson ( R-Fresno ) , vice-chair of the administrative review panel , who believes it contributed to the fraud problem .
“ They have been reckless @ @ @ @ @ @ @ millions of Californians , ” he said .
EDD officials said they have removed Social Security numbers from some documents mailed out , but need more time to change other department documents to end the practice .
Meanwhile , observers say the $ 2-billion estimate of fraud may end up being low when the dust settles .
Pierson said the district attorneys task force has seen unverified information indicating it could be closer to $ 4 billion .
If past years ’ fraud rates are applied to claims paid this year , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ billion “ but likely higher , ” according to a report by the California Center for Jobs and the Economy .
“ We won ’ t know until EDD catches up and can do some real audits — a time that is likely more than six months and perhaps as much as a year away , ” said Michael A. Shires , associate professor of public policy at Pepperdine University .
“ At that time , don ’ t be surprised if the number dwarfs even these estimates .
”

Well before the pandemic, California failed to take steps to head off fraud in the state’s unemployment benefit system, which some estimate is $2 billion and rising.
As California grapples with staggering levels of unemployment benefit fraud — $2 billion or more by one estimate — lawmakers and security experts say the state let its guard down well before the COVID-19 pandemic began in March, failing to keep up with what other states have done to flag bogus claims.
Now, faced with what officials describe as the largest fraud scheme against taxpayers in state history, the state Employment Development Department is scrambling to fix past mistakes as prosecutors, government auditors and legislators say their early warnings about vulnerabilities in the unemployment benefit system went unheeded.
Many of the phony claims were preventable, they say, if California had taken precautions implemented in other states, including using sophisticated software to identify suspect applications, keeping Social Security numbers out of official mail and cross-checking benefit claims against personal data on state prison inmates. Cross-checking is routine in 35 other states.
Advertisement
Adding to the problems, there have been delays in trying to address long-standing issues at the agency that have undercut attempts to safeguard against fraud. State prison officials had maintained that they could not legally share prisoners’ Social Security information with the EDD, an assertion that was knocked down this month by a legal opinion from the state Department of Justice.
The controversy hindered the ability of investigators outside the prison system to discover rampant fraud, some officials said.
“Months of dithering have cost California taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars,” said Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Laguna Beach), chairwoman of the Assembly Committee on Accountability and Administrative Review.
The EDD also has not acted swiftly enough on warnings from March 2019 that it was exposing claimants’ Social Security numbers to fraud by sending them in the mail, according to the state auditor, who said Washington and Texas are among states that do not include full numbers in mail.
In addition, legislators are questioning why the EDD canceled a contract five years ago with a firm that was using sophisticated software to help ferret out bogus claims. The firm is being used in dozens of federal and state agencies, including in Nevada and Wisconsin.
“On the face of it, the cancellation of a fraud detection system seems shortsighted,” Petrie-Norris said.
As fraud totals continue to balloon — one prosecutor says there is unverified evidence it may total $4 billion — the state is playing catch-up to right past wrongs in the unemployment system. Bolstered by the new legal opinion, it has finally begun cross-checking prison inmate data with unemployment claims, and it has rehired the antifraud contractor.
In addition, lawmakers have introduced several bills this month to fight fraud, including a measure by Petrie-Norris that would require EDD to cross-check prisoners’ data with unemployment claims.
California has paid out more than $110 billion on jobless claims since the state began restricting business operations and urging residents to stay home to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. The volume of claims has overwhelmed the EDD, which still has a backlog of 683,000 claims that have not been approved, while it has made payments on many fraudulent claims.
“EDD was woefully unprepared for the unparalleled demands created by COVID-19,” state Labor Secretary Julie A. Su said last week.
Bank of America, which has a contract with EDD to issue debit cards containing benefits, recently warned that fraud in California’s unemployment benefits system could total $2 billion.
Advertisement
California Some California prosecutors say ‘tsunami’ of prison unemployment fraud fuels street crime Some district attorneys and investigators say that top California leaders are not doing enough to stop unemployment fraud, even after abuses of EDD jobless benefits were exposed.
The bank said it has identified 640,000 accounts as being associated with suspicious activity, including claims filed in the names of infants, children, centenarians and people living in other states.
Separately, a task force of district attorneys said EDD paid $400 million on some 21,000 claims in the names of prison inmates, including Scott Peterson, who was convicted of murdering his wife.
The widespread fraud is not a surprise to Haywood Talcove, chief executive of the Government group at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, which warned states and federal agencies that trouble was brewing before it sent out $2 trillion in economic relief that was part of the CARES Act approved by Congress in March.
“We warned them that this was going to be like taking candy from a baby, that this was going to be Christmas for the fraudsters if they didn’t do some basic identity screening,” Talcove said.
Lawmakers are particularly alarmed by a decision five years ago to end a contract with a fraud-detection firm after a one-year $1.75-million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor expired.
Pondera Solutions, a Sacramento-area firm, used Google technology and publicly available data to flag claims that might be fraudulent. The firm was “very successful” at identifying problem claims, said Patrick W. Henning Jr., who was director of the EDD from 2014 through the end of last year and an appointee of former Gov. Jerry Brown.
“The federal grant ran out and at the time the fraud rate was nowhere near what we’re seeing today,” Henning said. “We asked the [federal officials] if they would re-up it and they said no.”
With no federal funds available, EDD did explore other ways to fund the contract “but it was determined at the time that it was not needed given the decrease in claims” as the economy improved, said Loree Levy, a spokeswoman for the EDD.
El Dorado County Dist. Atty. Vern Pierson, who is part of the task force investigating the prison fraud, said he told EDD officials five years ago that he would like to get information that the contractor gathered that could help identify people who were incarcerated and claiming benefits, but the contract ended before he could obtain any data. Pierson also questioned the state’s decision not to continue funding the Pondera contract back then.
“It appears as though they chose to save a few million dollars while risking losing hundreds of millions of dollars,” said Pierson, who is president of the California District Attorneys Assn. “A large percentage of the fraud would have been prevented.”
Levy said Thursday that the agency has signed a new contract with Thomson Reuters, the firm that bought Pondera, and resumed using its software on Oct. 1.
The service, she said, provides “access to unique data not available within civil service.”
Also in October, the EDD started using another new contractor, ID.me, that verifies the identity of claimants before benefits are sent out.
The EDD had been following federal guidance to allow many claimants to self-certify so benefits could be sent out faster, officials said.
The contractor estimates up to 30% of attempts to use the ID.me system since early October in California are possible scammers who were blocked from filing a claim.
The massive fraud has also forced a change in the state prison agency’s practice of not sharing the Social Security numbers of inmates with the EDD.
The task force of nine district attorneys complained last month that the ability to identify prison fraud had been hampered by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s refusal to share personal data of prisoners with EDD.
The prison agency said state law only allowed it to share data on inmates with law enforcement agencies and it said EDD did not qualify.
As a result, the U.S. attorney’s office had to file a subpoena on behalf of the U.S. Department of Labor to compel the state prison agency to provide information on inmates, but only for the investigation.
The state Department of Justice has in the last few weeks issued a legal opinion rejecting the CDCR’s interpretation of the law.
“EDD investigators are peace officers authorized under Penal Code section 11105 to receive criminal offender record information in the course and scope of an investigation related to violations of the Unemployment Insurance Code,” the Department of Justice said in a statement to The Times last week.
Another crack in the system was identified in March 2019, a year before the pandemic began, when State Auditor Elaine Howle issued a report warning that the EDD was risking fraud by sending mail containing Social Security numbers to claimants.
The EDD has failed to follow through on a recommendation to stop the practice, which Howle has called dangerous.
Since the pandemic began, the EDD has mailed out 38 million pieces of mail containing claimants’ Social Security numbers and “has continued to place Californians at risk of identity theft,” Howle said in a letter to the governor last month.
That inaction by EDD was costly, said Assemblyman Jim Patterson (R-Fresno), vice-chair of the administrative review panel, who believes it contributed to the fraud problem.
“They have been reckless and careless with the personal information of millions of Californians,” he said.
EDD officials said they have removed Social Security numbers from some documents mailed out, but need more time to change other department documents to end the practice.
Meanwhile, observers say the $2-billion estimate of fraud may end up being low when the dust settles. Pierson said the district attorneys task force has seen unverified information indicating it could be closer to $4 billion.
If past years’ fraud rates are applied to claims paid this year, the level of fraud could be $2.8 billion “but likely higher,” according to a report by the California Center for Jobs and the Economy.
“We won’t know until EDD catches up and can do some real audits — a time that is likely more than six months and perhaps as much as a year away,” said Michael A. Shires, associate professor of public policy at Pepperdine University. “At that time, don’t be surprised if the number dwarfs even these estimates.”