latimes--2020-04-23--The silent, deadly spread of coronavirus in California began far earlier than first reported

New information emerging in the last week in California paints a very different picture of the spread of the novel coronavirus than the one suggested by the first , official version .
Postmortem testing indicates that two Santa Clara County residents who died in their homes in early to mid-February were infected with the novel coronavirus that now has killed more than 1,400 Californians , the county medical examiner announced Tuesday .
The new information , combined with antibody testing results , suggests that the coronavirus was circulating in California for at least a month before it first came to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so far reported in the United States .
The new testing results mean that a 57-year-old San Jose woman who died Feb. 6 was the first person in the United States known to die of COVID-19 , the disease caused by the coronavirus .
The second would have been a 69-year-old man who died Feb. 17 , according to the new information from the medical examiner .
Those cases push the date of COVID-19 community spread in the United States backward three weeks from the first announced death , that of a man @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who died Feb. 28 .
It was later reported that two residents of a Kirkland nursing home had died two days earlier .
The medical examiner ’ s office also confirmed a Los Angeles Times report on signs of early spread of the virus that included a third early death , a man who died at his San Jose home March 6 .
In addition , The Times found data that showed a Santa Clara County resident of an assisted living facility who tested positive for COVID-19 had fallen ill in mid-February @ @ @ @ @ @ @ iceberg tips ” representing a larger body of undetected cases , said Santa Clara County Health Director Dr. Sara Cody .
“ There must have been somewhat a significant degree of community transmission.
” Cody said she now believes the novel coronavirus was circulating in the San Francisco Bay Area as early as January .
The new information from the coroner holds important keys to understanding the first cases of COVID-19 , which spread silently within communities at a time when health officials still focused entirely on infections from travelers entering the United @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ships .
Researchers at Stanford University and USC are seeking just such historical glimpses of novel coronavirus activity to understand how fast it spreads and how lethal it is .
That information helps build better computer models that public officials such as California Gov .
Gavin Newsom rely on to decide when to ratchet down stay-at-home orders and when it might be safe to allow people to resume a more normal life or go back to work .
Those same models will also factor heavily in decision-making if there is a second wave @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Initial reports from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said COVID-19 cases in the United States were confined to 11 travelers from Wuhan , China , and members of their households , six of them in California .
The earliest of those California cases was not diagnosed until Jan. 27 .
Researchers and health officials now believe that by that time the virus was already circulating through the Bay Area , especially Silicon Valley , and probably had been introduced weeks before .
With influenza hitting hard at the same @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said , it would have been difficult to pick out which of those illnesses were cases of COVID-19 .
Newsom said Wednesday that he had “ directed ” coroners “ beyond Santa Clara ” to screen for COVID-19 cases as early as December .
The Times could not verify such a request .
The California Department of Public Health did not respond to questions .
Nine coroners ’ offices , including the one in Los Angeles , said they did not know of the governor ’ s directive .
Newsom did not directly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would have made differently had the state known a month earlier that COVID-19 was spreading unheeded .
However , he said , “ When this occurred is important forensic information , profoundly significant in terms of understanding of the epidemiology of this disease.
” Cody said that had she known that the virus was spreading through Santa Clara County and that people were dying , the county would have issued public health orders much earlier .
As it was , Santa Clara was the among half a dozen Bay Area counties that were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shelter-in-place orders as the region became one of the nation ’ s first virus hot spots .
The discovery of early Santa Clara County cases is in line with testing that found COVID-19 antibodies among some 3,300 county residents this month , suggesting an infection rate 50 to 85 times greater than the number of confirmed cases at the time .
“ When you start seeing the first death , actually , the number of cases in the population is probably pretty high already .
It ’ s been in the community for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sood , a professor at USC ’ s Price School of Public Policy , coauthor of the Santa Clara County study and lead investigator in a similar COVID-19 serology study in Los Angeles County .
“ And you have to believe that it is contagious , that it ’ s doubling ” every three to four days .
In its calculations of the disease spread rates , Sood said , the study used Jan. 31 as the date when the virus appeared in the Bay Area .
He called that date “ conservative.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ was circulating weeks before the newfound death .
“ I would take three weeks before that [ death ] as the potential first seed , ” Sood said .
The Times confirmed independently that Santa Clara County ’ s Feb. 6 COVID-19 death was that of Patricia Dowd , 57 , a senior quality manager for a global semiconductor company headquartered in Fremont .
Family members said Dowd became unusually sick with flu-like symptoms in late January and was forced to cancel plans to go to a weekend funeral .
But her death @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was working from home , corresponding with a colleague about 8 a.m. the day of her death .
About two hours later , her daughter found her lifeless body .
At first , family members suspected a heart attack , but as news of other COVID-19 deaths spread and knowledge about the symptoms deepened , their suspicions grew .
Family members said Dowd had not gone abroad recently but had a history of foreign travel , as did her co-workers at Lam Research .
Her brother-in-law , Jeff Macias , said Dowd traveled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ global locations.
” “ Where did this come from if it wasn ’ t her traveling ?
” Macias said .
“ We don ’ t know if Patricia was the first .
But this opens up the door to find out.
” Her husband , Dean , works for the Santa Clara County Sheriff ’ s Office .
Past records show he was assigned to the jail staff .
The Sheriff ’ s Office said COVID-19 cases began showing up among jail staff March 22 .
Patricia Dowd ’ s sister is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Macias , who also works at Lam Research , said he did not believe any family members had been offered COVID-19 testing .
A public relations firm hired by Lam Research returned calls seeking comment but offered no statement .
The Santa Clara County medical examiner ’ s office said it could not yet verify that Dowd ’ s death is its Feb. 6 case .
Other county coroners also are testing using nasal swabs and lung scans to screen some deceased for COVID-19 infection , but the policies are widely divergent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ County , north of Santa Clara , is testing those who died with flu-like symptoms and randomly taking swabs of others whose bodies come to the morgue .
None of the tests have come back positive .
To the west , San Mateo County ’ s coroner for several weeks has tested every case it handles for COVID-19 and found no more than six that had the virus .
Coroner Robert Foucrault said his office is still discussing whether it is possible to test those who died as early as February .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ office said it currently tests only those who were known to have had flu-like symptoms before their deaths .
Dr. Michelle Jordan , the county medical examiner , said the office sent autopsy tissue from two February deaths to the CDC for confirmation in mid-March .
The CDC lab results were returned to Santa Clara County ’ s health lab Friday but not forwarded to the medical examiner until Tuesday .
Jordan said she had “ high suspicion ” that these cases could have been COVID-19 and therefore preserved the samples for testing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been sent for testing , she said .
However , Jordan said , her office now has a standing protocol to screen those known to have experienced fever , coughing or other flu-like symptoms before death .
Such was the case of an elderly San Jose resident who died at home March 6 .
Los Angeles County began screening coroner cases for infection on March 11 by testing those who showed any signs of a flu-like illness .
By swabbing nasal cavities and scanning lungs , the agency identified at least three COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tested , said Medical Examiner Dr. Jonathan Lucas .
Each of those three people died at home .
The oldest was 93 , the youngest , 55 .
The capability of extending that testing raises questions Lucas said he can not yet answer , such as how much time the coroner ’ s office has to seek a virus sample before the test would fail on even positive cases .
Los Angeles County has not seen an increase in home deaths , said coroner ’ s office spokeswoman Sarah Ardalani .
But out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ large refrigerator trucks and portable buildings to triple its storage capacity to 1,500 bodies should the pandemic begin to swamp funeral homes and mortuaries .
“ We didn ’ t know what was happening for us ” when planning began in early March , Lucas said .
“ We didn ’ t know what we were going to see.
” In Orange County , postmortem testing for COVID-19 is largely limited to cases that fit the profile of the disease , such as signs of compromised lungs .
Sometimes there is no clue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cases , including a 45-year-old woman found dead March 29 inside her car at a church parking lot .
Fresno County , by contrast , has swabbed a single body for COVID-19 .
Coroner Kelly Matlock said the test came back negative .
The agrarian Central Valley county to date has reported only seven COVID-19 deaths .
San Joaquin County has been testing all apparent natural-cause deaths for COVID-19 since March 11 .
But medical examiners in Sacramento , Tulare , Contra Costa and Stanislaus counties said they had done limited COVID-19 testing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at older cases .
Annette Choi , a graduate student at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism , contributed to this report .

Paige St. John, Melanie Mason, Matt Hamilton

Los Angeles County Chief Medical Examiner Jonathan Lucas stands between large refrigerated trucks used to transport the dead. The coroner’s office has tripled its storage space to 1,500 to be ready for a possible COVID-19 surge.
New information emerging in the last week in California paints a very different picture of the spread of the novel coronavirus than the one suggested by the first, official version.
Postmortem testing indicates that two Santa Clara County residents who died in their homes in early to mid-February were infected with the novel coronavirus that now has killed more than 1,400 Californians, the county medical examiner announced Tuesday. The new information, combined with antibody testing results, suggests that the coronavirus was circulating in California for at least a month before it first came to light — the earliest cluster of infection so far reported in the United States.
The new testing results mean that a 57-year-old San Jose woman who died Feb. 6 was the first person in the United States known to die of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. The second would have been a 69-year-old man who died Feb. 17, according to the new information from the medical examiner.
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Those cases push the date of COVID-19 community spread in the United States backward three weeks from the first announced death, that of a man in his 50s in Kirkland, Wash., who died Feb. 28. It was later reported that two residents of a Kirkland nursing home had died two days earlier.
The medical examiner’s office also confirmed a Los Angeles Times report on signs of early spread of the virus that included a third early death, a man who died at his San Jose home March 6. In addition, The Times found data that showed a Santa Clara County resident of an assisted living facility who tested positive for COVID-19 had fallen ill in mid-February.
“They’re really like iceberg tips” representing a larger body of undetected cases, said Santa Clara County Health Director Dr. Sara Cody. “There must have been somewhat a significant degree of community transmission.”
California The pandemic’s toll: Lives lost in California Hundreds of people have died in California due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These are some of their stories.
Cody said she now believes the novel coronavirus was circulating in the San Francisco Bay Area as early as January.
The new information from the coroner holds important keys to understanding the first cases of COVID-19, which spread silently within communities at a time when health officials still focused entirely on infections from travelers entering the United States from abroad, or off cruise ships.
Researchers at Stanford University and USC are seeking just such historical glimpses of novel coronavirus activity to understand how fast it spreads and how lethal it is. That information helps build better computer models that public officials such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom rely on to decide when to ratchet down stay-at-home orders and when it might be safe to allow people to resume a more normal life or go back to work.
Those same models will also factor heavily in decision-making if there is a second wave of virus outbreaks once restrictions are lifted.
Initial reports from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said COVID-19 cases in the United States were confined to 11 travelers from Wuhan, China, and members of their households, six of them in California. The earliest of those California cases was not diagnosed until Jan. 27.
Researchers and health officials now believe that by that time the virus was already circulating through the Bay Area, especially Silicon Valley, and probably had been introduced weeks before.
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With influenza hitting hard at the same time in the Bay Area, Cody said, it would have been difficult to pick out which of those illnesses were cases of COVID-19.
Newsom said Wednesday that he had “directed” coroners “beyond Santa Clara” to screen for COVID-19 cases as early as December. The Times could not verify such a request. The California Department of Public Health did not respond to questions. Nine coroners’ offices, including the one in Los Angeles, said they did not know of the governor’s directive.
Newsom did not directly answer a question about what decisions he would have made differently had the state known a month earlier that COVID-19 was spreading unheeded. However, he said, “When this occurred is important forensic information, profoundly significant in terms of understanding of the epidemiology of this disease.”
Cody said that had she known that the virus was spreading through Santa Clara County and that people were dying, the county would have issued public health orders much earlier. As it was, Santa Clara was the among half a dozen Bay Area counties that were the first in the state to announce shelter-in-place orders as the region became one of the nation’s first virus hot spots.
The discovery of early Santa Clara County cases is in line with testing that found COVID-19 antibodies among some 3,300 county residents this month, suggesting an infection rate 50 to 85 times greater than the number of confirmed cases at the time.
“When you start seeing the first death, actually, the number of cases in the population is probably pretty high already. It’s been in the community for a long time,” said Neeraj Sood, a professor at USC’s Price School of Public Policy, coauthor of the Santa Clara County study and lead investigator in a similar COVID-19 serology study in Los Angeles County. “And you have to believe that it is contagious, that it’s doubling” every three to four days.
In its calculations of the disease spread rates, Sood said, the study used Jan. 31 as the date when the virus appeared in the Bay Area. He called that date “conservative.” Sood said he believes the virus was circulating weeks before the newfound death.
“I would take three weeks before that [death] as the potential first seed,” Sood said.
The Times confirmed independently that Santa Clara County’s Feb. 6 COVID-19 death was that of Patricia Dowd, 57, a senior quality manager for a global semiconductor company headquartered in Fremont.
Family members said Dowd became unusually sick with flu-like symptoms in late January and was forced to cancel plans to go to a weekend funeral. But her death was unexpected. She had improved and was working from home, corresponding with a colleague about 8 a.m. the day of her death. About two hours later, her daughter found her lifeless body. At first, family members suspected a heart attack, but as news of other COVID-19 deaths spread and knowledge about the symptoms deepened, their suspicions grew.
Family members said Dowd had not gone abroad recently but had a history of foreign travel, as did her co-workers at Lam Research. Her brother-in-law, Jeff Macias, said Dowd traveled “multiple times a year to different global locations.”
“Where did this come from if it wasn’t her traveling?” Macias said. “We don’t know if Patricia was the first. But this opens up the door to find out.”
Her husband, Dean, works for the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office. Past records show he was assigned to the jail staff. The Sheriff’s Office said COVID-19 cases began showing up among jail staff March 22.
Patricia Dowd’s sister is a pharmacist at a San Jose hospital. Macias, who also works at Lam Research, said he did not believe any family members had been offered COVID-19 testing.
A public relations firm hired by Lam Research returned calls seeking comment but offered no statement.
The Santa Clara County medical examiner’s office said it could not yet verify that Dowd’s death is its Feb. 6 case.
Other county coroners also are testing using nasal swabs and lung scans to screen some deceased for COVID-19 infection, but the policies are widely divergent and so are the outcomes.
Alameda County, north of Santa Clara, is testing those who died with flu-like symptoms and randomly taking swabs of others whose bodies come to the morgue. None of the tests have come back positive.
To the west, San Mateo County’s coroner for several weeks has tested every case it handles for COVID-19 and found no more than six that had the virus. Coroner Robert Foucrault said his office is still discussing whether it is possible to test those who died as early as February.
The Santa Clara County medical examiner’s office said it currently tests only those who were known to have had flu-like symptoms before their deaths. Dr. Michelle Jordan, the county medical examiner, said the office sent autopsy tissue from two February deaths to the CDC for confirmation in mid-March.
The CDC lab results were returned to Santa Clara County’s health lab Friday but not forwarded to the medical examiner until Tuesday. Jordan said she had “high suspicion” that these cases could have been COVID-19 and therefore preserved the samples for testing. No other such tissue samples have been sent for testing, she said.
However, Jordan said, her office now has a standing protocol to screen those known to have experienced fever, coughing or other flu-like symptoms before death. Such was the case of an elderly San Jose resident who died at home March 6.
Los Angeles County began screening coroner cases for infection on March 11 by testing those who showed any signs of a flu-like illness. By swabbing nasal cavities and scanning lungs, the agency identified at least three COVID-19 cases among some 70 people who were tested, said Medical Examiner Dr. Jonathan Lucas.
California Coronavirus could be leveling off in L.A. County, new more optimistic forecast says Health officials offered slightly rosier projections about the trajectory of the virus in L.A. County but cautioned that the improved outlook was contingent on residents continuing to practice physical distancing.
Each of those three people died at home. The oldest was 93, the youngest, 55. The capability of extending that testing raises questions Lucas said he cannot yet answer, such as how much time the coroner’s office has to seek a virus sample before the test would fail on even positive cases.
Los Angeles County has not seen an increase in home deaths, said coroner’s office spokeswoman Sarah Ardalani. But out of caution, the agency has acquired large refrigerator trucks and portable buildings to triple its storage capacity to 1,500 bodies should the pandemic begin to swamp funeral homes and mortuaries.
“We didn’t know what was happening for us” when planning began in early March, Lucas said. “We didn’t know what we were going to see.”
In Orange County, postmortem testing for COVID-19 is largely limited to cases that fit the profile of the disease, such as signs of compromised lungs. Sometimes there is no clue. The coroner found COVID-19 in five cases, including a 45-year-old woman found dead March 29 inside her car at a church parking lot.
Fresno County, by contrast, has swabbed a single body for COVID-19. Coroner Kelly Matlock said the test came back negative. The agrarian Central Valley county to date has reported only seven COVID-19 deaths.
San Joaquin County has been testing all apparent natural-cause deaths for COVID-19 since March 11. But medical examiners in Sacramento, Tulare, Contra Costa and Stanislaus counties said they had done limited COVID-19 testing. None said they planned to look at older cases.
Annette Choi, a graduate student at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-04-23--'We aren't the dumping ground': Homeless people fleeing coronavirus meet NIMBY resistance

When officials in the South Bay city of Lawndale learned that a hotel on its main drag had been leased to Los Angeles County to house homeless people at high risk for the coronavirus , their reaction wasn ’ t to put out a welcome mat .
Rather , in an April 14 letter to the hotel ’ s owner , the city attorney said that if he did not break the lease by the next day , a hearing would be called to consider revoking the hotel ’ s operating permit .
Such opposition at the local level has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ multiplied in recent weeks and a statewide program to move thousands of homeless people into vacant hotels and motels has gotten off the ground .
Gov .
Gavin Newsom raised the issue last weekend while announcing that the Motel 6 chain had offered to house homeless people in 47 motels in 19 counties throughout California .
“ Cities that are blocking those efforts , ” he said , without naming names , “ please consider the morality of those decisions.
” In Los Angeles County , which the governor has singled out as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2,000 hotel rooms are now under lease and a team of negotiators is working on deals with dozens of other owners in communities large and small .
Officials have set an aggressive goal of getting 15,000 people into hotel rooms — a figure that would match in a single county the statewide goal set by Newsom for what he calls Project Roomkey .
About half of the 12 hotels now operating in the county are in the city of Los Angeles , where Mayor Eric Garcetti is recruiting participation .
Half a dozen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — also have welcomed , or at least not opposed , hotels temporarily hosting people with nowhere else to go .
But it hasn ’ t all gone that smoothly .
Sometimes the deals to lease hotels , which are typically conducted without formal public proceedings , have run into fears that homeless people will be brought in from other cities , disrupt neighborhoods and then be freed to wander local streets after the COVID-19 pandemic passes .
Neighborhood groups have come out in opposition when word of a lease has spread .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ for example , protesters from a gated Orange County retirement community successfully shot down a plan to house homeless residents in a nearby hotel .
Also in Orange County , the city of Laguna Hills sued to try to block county officials from signing a contract with a hotel to house at-risk homeless residents , contending that the building would be a public nuisance .
A judge rejected their argument this week and ruled the contract should go forward during the state of emergency declared for the coronavirus .
In the Inland Empire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that any hotel that agrees to house homeless people who are at risk for the coronavirus must erect a fence .
Dan Bell , a spokesman for the city , said the plan is to control access to any such hotel-turned-shelter , not to block it from opening .
In Norwalk , city officials passed a moratorium to prohibit hotels and motels from being used for homeless housing or coronavirus patients “ without prior city approval.
” Los Angeles County filed a complaint against the city on Thursday , seeking to overturn the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at a specific hotel that had already signed a lease .
Skip Miller , an attorney hired to file the complaint in L.A. County Superior Court , called the city ’ s attempt to block Project Roomkey outrageous .
“ I don ’ t know who they think they are , ” he said .
In San Bernardino County , officials reached a deal with a 50-room hotel along a commercial strip in the city of San Bernardino and are housing homeless people there .
But City Council members have reacted angrily to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contending that the county is singling out their city to bring in more homeless people .
“ We aren ’ t the dumping ground , ” City Councilwoman Bessine Richard said at a recent meeting .
Some wealthier neighborhoods in Los Angeles also are protesting initiatives to shelter homeless people .
In Pacific Palisades , a resident has filed a lawsuit seeking to block city officials from moving homeless people into the Palisades Recreation Center , saying that such a shelter would create a public nuisance and could violate laws regulating the disclosure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ offenders , according to the filing .
Also , residents in Cheviot Hills on Wednesday submitted a petition with more than 1,000 signatures to Garcetti , voicing concerns about the use of RVs for homeless people in the parking lot of a recreation center that ’ s already being used as a temporary shelter .
In Lawndale , Mayor Robert Pullen-Miles defended the city ’ s actions , saying it has a record of providing services and being sensitive to the homeless population .
“ On this particular project , ” he said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is we feel there are other communities where this type of program is probably more fitting.
” In its letter to the hotel ’ s owner , the city said the 90-day lease with the county would invalidate its use permit , which limits renting rooms in Lawndale to 30 days .
Doing so , the city wrote , would be “ detrimental to health , safety or general welfare of residents and businesses surrounding the property ” — an insinuation that L.A. County Counsel Mary Wickham called “ disheartening and untrue.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lawndale officials appeared in federal court to defend their position .
U.S. District Judge David O. Carter , who is presiding over unrelated litigation claiming the city and county of Los Angeles are not doing enough for homeless people , issued an order over the weekend “ respectfully inviting ” city officials to pay him a visit .
Carter also invited Bell Gardens officials because the city had threatened legal action against the owner of a hotel if he failed to transfer about 70 people in quarantine or isolation “ to other available @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one from the city showed up Thursday , and instead the city filed a lawsuit in L.A. County Superior Court asking for an injunction and contending that the hotel ’ s use as a medical facility is prohibited by its operating permit .
Last week , Wickham had petitioned Carter to intervene , warning that Project Roomkey had been “ stymied by objections from several cities in the county.
” She did not name any cities , but suggested that Bell Gardens and Lawndale could set an example .
“ It is very @ @ @ @ @ @ @ impede Project Roomkey and other programs designed to secure hotel and motel rooms in local communities , ” she wrote .
Because Lawndale and Bell Gardens are not defendants in the federal lawsuit involving the city and county of L.A. , it was unclear whether Carter had the legal standing to order changes .
If it ’ s decided that the county has the emergency authority to override Lawndale ’ s zoning rules , Pullen-Miles said earlier this week , his city would still want assurances to protect its interests .
“ At @ @ @ @ @ @ @ using his persuasive authority to bring the parties together , ” he said .
On Thursday , as L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger looked on , Pullen-Miles told Carter that Lawndale had been blindsided by the county ’ s attempt to use the hotel .
He said his city ’ s top concerns were whether the homeless residents would be free to roam the surrounding neighborhood and whether they would be transported out of the city after the lease ended .
Lawndale , the mayor said , didn ’ t want the homeless @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He added that the county had not answered his questions about the logistics .
A city attorney then handed Barger a written list of concerns , and Carter sent the city and county officials into the hallway to work out a deal .
As they left the room , Carter suggested that this week ’ s ruling against Laguna Hills showed that city officials would have trouble getting what they wanted if they chose to sue to stop the hotel from being used to house homeless people during the pandemic .
L.A. County @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lawndale , said that he had “ reasonable ” conversations with Pullen-Miles , but that they had failed to come to an agreement .
Getting folks into hotels and motels is a no-brainer on several fronts , Ridley-Thomas said , among them providing an economic lifeline to struggling hotels .
“ I am frankly surprised by it , ” he said of the opposition .
“ This is when people ’ s values are put to the test and this is when you learn who is willing to help address this crisis in @ @ @ @ @ @ @

Doug Smith, Liam Dillon, Benjamin Oreskes

Karen Litfin of Laguna Hills protests outside the site of a former Comfort Inn on Thursday. The city sued to try to block Orange County officials from housing at-risk homeless residents at the motel.
When officials in the South Bay city of Lawndale learned that a hotel on its main drag had been leased to Los Angeles County to house homeless people at high risk for the coronavirus, their reaction wasn’t to put out a welcome mat.
Rather, in an April 14 letter to the hotel’s owner, the city attorney said that if he did not break the lease by the next day, a hearing would be called to consider revoking the hotel’s operating permit.
Such opposition at the local level has become more common as coronavirus cases have multiplied in recent weeks and a statewide program to move thousands of homeless people into vacant hotels and motels has gotten off the ground.
Advertisement
Gov. Gavin Newsom raised the issue last weekend while announcing that the Motel 6 chain had offered to house homeless people in 47 motels in 19 counties throughout California.
“Cities that are blocking those efforts,” he said, without naming names, “please consider the morality of those decisions.”
In Los Angeles County, which the governor has singled out as doing a good job, more than 2,000 hotel rooms are now under lease and a team of negotiators is working on deals with dozens of other owners in communities large and small. Officials have set an aggressive goal of getting 15,000 people into hotel rooms — a figure that would match in a single county the statewide goal set by Newsom for what he calls Project Roomkey.
About half of the 12 hotels now operating in the county are in the city of Los Angeles, where Mayor Eric Garcetti is recruiting participation. Half a dozen smaller cities — from Lancaster to Lomita — also have welcomed, or at least not opposed, hotels temporarily hosting people with nowhere else to go.
But it hasn’t all gone that smoothly. Sometimes the deals to lease hotels, which are typically conducted without formal public proceedings, have run into fears that homeless people will be brought in from other cities, disrupt neighborhoods and then be freed to wander local streets after the COVID-19 pandemic passes.
Neighborhood groups have come out in opposition when word of a lease has spread. In the city of Laguna Woods, for example, protesters from a gated Orange County retirement community successfully shot down a plan to house homeless residents in a nearby hotel.
Also in Orange County, the city of Laguna Hills sued to try to block county officials from signing a contract with a hotel to house at-risk homeless residents, contending that the building would be a public nuisance. A judge rejected their argument this week and ruled the contract should go forward during the state of emergency declared for the coronavirus.
In the Inland Empire, the city of Ontario is mandating that any hotel that agrees to house homeless people who are at risk for the coronavirus must erect a fence. Dan Bell, a spokesman for the city, said the plan is to control access to any such hotel-turned-shelter, not to block it from opening.
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In Norwalk, city officials passed a moratorium to prohibit hotels and motels from being used for homeless housing or coronavirus patients “without prior city approval.” Los Angeles County filed a complaint against the city on Thursday, seeking to overturn the moratorium and arguing that it was aimed at a specific hotel that had already signed a lease.
Skip Miller, an attorney hired to file the complaint in L.A. County Superior Court, called the city’s attempt to block Project Roomkey outrageous.
“I don’t know who they think they are,” he said.
In San Bernardino County, officials reached a deal with a 50-room hotel along a commercial strip in the city of San Bernardino and are housing homeless people there. But City Council members have reacted angrily to any attempt to expand the effort, contending that the county is singling out their city to bring in more homeless people.
“We aren’t the dumping ground,” City Councilwoman Bessine Richard said at a recent meeting.
Some wealthier neighborhoods in Los Angeles also are protesting initiatives to shelter homeless people.
In Pacific Palisades, a resident has filed a lawsuit seeking to block city officials from moving homeless people into the Palisades Recreation Center, saying that such a shelter would create a public nuisance and could violate laws regulating the disclosure of information about the movements of sex offenders, according to the filing. Also, residents in Cheviot Hills on Wednesday submitted a petition with more than 1,000 signatures to Garcetti, voicing concerns about the use of RVs for homeless people in the parking lot of a recreation center that’s already being used as a temporary shelter.
In Lawndale, Mayor Robert Pullen-Miles defended the city’s actions, saying it has a record of providing services and being sensitive to the homeless population.
“On this particular project,” he said of the hotel, “our position is we feel there are other communities where this type of program is probably more fitting.”
In its letter to the hotel’s owner, the city said the 90-day lease with the county would invalidate its use permit, which limits renting rooms in Lawndale to 30 days. Doing so, the city wrote, would be “detrimental to health, safety or general welfare of residents and businesses surrounding the property” — an insinuation that L.A. County Counsel Mary Wickham called “disheartening and untrue.”
In an unusual proceeding on Thursday, Lawndale officials appeared in federal court to defend their position. U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, who is presiding over unrelated litigation claiming the city and county of Los Angeles are not doing enough for homeless people, issued an order over the weekend “respectfully inviting” city officials to pay him a visit.
Carter also invited Bell Gardens officials because the city had threatened legal action against the owner of a hotel if he failed to transfer about 70 people in quarantine or isolation “to other available facilities as soon as possible.” No one from the city showed up Thursday, and instead the city filed a lawsuit in L.A. County Superior Court asking for an injunction and contending that the hotel’s use as a medical facility is prohibited by its operating permit.
Last week, Wickham had petitioned Carter to intervene, warning that Project Roomkey had been “stymied by objections from several cities in the county.” She did not name any cities, but suggested that Bell Gardens and Lawndale could set an example.
“It is very possible that more cities may delay or impede Project Roomkey and other programs designed to secure hotel and motel rooms in local communities,” she wrote.
Because Lawndale and Bell Gardens are not defendants in the federal lawsuit involving the city and county of L.A., it was unclear whether Carter had the legal standing to order changes. If it’s decided that the county has the emergency authority to override Lawndale’s zoning rules, Pullen-Miles said earlier this week, his city would still want assurances to protect its interests.
“At this point it would be the judge using his persuasive authority to bring the parties together,” he said.
On Thursday, as L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger looked on, Pullen-Miles told Carter that Lawndale had been blindsided by the county’s attempt to use the hotel. He said his city’s top concerns were whether the homeless residents would be free to roam the surrounding neighborhood and whether they would be transported out of the city after the lease ended.
California Coronavirus prompts Gov. Gavin Newsom to suspend California’s plastic bag ban Newsom announced Thursday that he signed an executive order to suspend the 2016 plastic bag ban for 60 days after hearing concerns from the California Grocers Assn. about shoppers bringing reusable bags from home.
Lawndale, the mayor said, didn’t want the homeless people “to become a nuisance.”
He added that the county had not answered his questions about the logistics. A city attorney then handed Barger a written list of concerns, and Carter sent the city and county officials into the hallway to work out a deal.
As they left the room, Carter suggested that this week’s ruling against Laguna Hills showed that city officials would have trouble getting what they wanted if they chose to sue to stop the hotel from being used to house homeless people during the pandemic.
L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, whose district includes Lawndale, said that he had “reasonable” conversations with Pullen-Miles, but that they had failed to come to an agreement.
Getting folks into hotels and motels is a no-brainer on several fronts, Ridley-Thomas said, among them providing an economic lifeline to struggling hotels.
“I am frankly surprised by it,” he said of the opposition. “This is when people’s values are put to the test and this is when you learn who is willing to help address this crisis in a constructive and humanitarian way.”
Times staff writer Patrick McGreevy contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-04-23--Skelton: Give Newsom credit. He's trying it all to fight coronavirus and California's economic colla

Skelton: Give Newsom credit. He's trying it all to fight coronavirus and California's economic collapse

Gov .
Gavin Newsom has been throwing lots of stuff on the wall and hoping it sticks — sort of like FDR during the Great Depression .
No , I ’ m not really equating Newsom with Franklin D. Roosevelt , the greatest president of the 20th century .
For one thing , Roosevelt was one of history ’ s most inspiring and comforting orators .
Newsom tries , but he ’ s long-winded , repetitive and jargon-prone : “ Meet this moment.
” “ In real time.
” But California ’ s governor deserves lots of credit for — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the state staggers through a health pandemic and economic collapse .
Newsom is announcing a new project virtually every day .
Some of the Democratic governor ’ s ventures may not work .
Others will and they ’ ll help get us through this awful time .
“ I don ’ t think anyone could do any better , ” says Allan Zaremberg , president of the California Chamber of Commerce and a former top advisor to the late Republican Gov .
George Deukmejian .
The most high-profile and potentially productive thing Newsom @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Force on Business and Jobs Recovery.
” Its task , the governor ’ s announcement read , is “ to develop recommendations for a plan that works for all Californians , with a focus on the regions and communities hardest hit by the pandemic… .
“ The task force will craft ideas for short , medium and long-term solutions that … emphasize a fair and equitable recovery.
” OK , that ’ s typical eye-glazing government-speak , but this “ blue ribbon ” commission is truly top of the line , loaded with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ successes .
Many could be successful governors , if they ever had the desire to become politicians .
In fact , four “ honorary ” members were governors : Democrats Jerry Brown and Gray Davis , and Republicans Arnold Schwarzenegger and Pete Wilson .
It ’ ll be interesting to learn what they contribute , if anything .
Brown and Schwarzenegger , in particular , are used to running the show and aren ’ t really committee types .
One huge hurdle is that the task force is gigantic .
I count 93 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , representing a wide swath of business and labor , ever reach a consensus on anything meaningful ?
Maybe they won ’ t .
Maybe they ’ ll merely reach consensus by subcommittees .
It reminds me of the old line about what a camel is : It ’ s a horse designed by a committee .
But this committee is truly promising .
It ’ s co-chaired by former Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer , a billionaire who made his fortune by managing a hedge fund .
The other co-chair is Newsom @ @ @ @ @ @ @ O ’ Leary , who once worked for Steyer at his Center for the Next Generation , a nonprofit that focused on economic issues .
There are 14 union leaders , including Art Pulaski , executive secretary-treasurer of the California Labor Federation .
Newsom also wisely placed on the commission the four legislative leaders — two Democrats , two Republicans — and Lt. Gov .
Eleni Kounalakis , whose family made a fortune in housing development and knows much about the business .
My cynical nature tells me one reason Newsom created this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ insulate himself from their possible criticisms of his performance .
These are people a governor needs on his side .
It was a smart move .
Practically the only people left off the task force are large growers and owners of major sports teams .
Too bad .
What ’ s another dozen members ?
The committee ’ s usefulness in helping Newsom chart a path out of the economic disaster will depend on the practicality of their solutions — no pie-in-the-sky fantasies — and whether the governor listens .
Newsom showed his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the co-chair and placing seven other high administration officials on the committee .
They include his Cabinet secretary Ana Matosantos , a former state finance director and another ex-Steyer aide .
An unknown : Will these VIPs actually participate in the deliberations or shuck off their duties to underlings ?
For enlightenment , I called Steyer , a climate change and “ impeach Trump ” activist .
But he didn ’ t want to speak on the record , fearful of upstaging the governor .
I emailed the governor ’ s office twice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ We need to find a way to get out of this shutdown , ” he said .
“ We ’ re not going to get out of this until we allow public contact .
Not just in restaurants , but airport concessions , dentists , tourism .
… We have to mitigate the risks by other ways than staying apart .
The only solution can not be keeping our distance .
“ Science is going to have to lead us out of this.
” Zaremberg says the state must put heavy emphasis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Newsom says he ’ s trying .
I also called the other end of the economic spectrum : Robbie Hunter , president of the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California .
He ’ s a powerful labor lobbyist .
Hunter offered some hope .
He talked about compromising on a longtime developer bugaboo : the California Environmental Quality Act , which often slows down projects because of long , drawn-out lawsuits .
He suggested streamlining the CEQA appeals process for major projects — just as the Legislature has previously done for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s hope this task force lives up to its promise — and its report isn ’ t merely tossed on a shelf to collect dust , as has happened to so many previous “ blue ribbon ” commissions .

Gov. Gavin Newsom has been throwing lots of stuff on the wall and hoping it sticks — sort of like FDR during the Great Depression.
No, I’m not really equating Newsom with Franklin D. Roosevelt, the greatest president of the 20th century.
For one thing, Roosevelt was one of history’s most inspiring and comforting orators. Newsom tries, but he’s long-winded, repetitive and jargon-prone: “Meet this moment.” “In real time.”
But California’s governor deserves lots of credit for — like Roosevelt — trying many things as the state staggers through a health pandemic and economic collapse.
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Newsom is announcing a new project virtually every day. Some of the Democratic governor’s ventures may not work. Others will and they’ll help get us through this awful time.
“I don’t think anyone could do any better,” says Allan Zaremberg, president of the California Chamber of Commerce and a former top advisor to the late Republican Gov. George Deukmejian.
The most high-profile and potentially productive thing Newsom has done is create a “Task Force on Business and Jobs Recovery.” Its task, the governor’s announcement read, is “to develop recommendations for a plan that works for all Californians, with a focus on the regions and communities hardest hit by the pandemic….
“The task force will craft ideas for short, medium and long-term solutions that … emphasize a fair and equitable recovery.”
OK, that’s typical eye-glazing government-speak, but this “blue ribbon” commission is truly top of the line, loaded with brainy, practical Californians with extraordinary career successes. Many could be successful governors, if they ever had the desire to become politicians.
In fact, four “honorary” members were governors: Democrats Jerry Brown and Gray Davis, and Republicans Arnold Schwarzenegger and Pete Wilson. It’ll be interesting to learn what they contribute, if anything. Brown and Schwarzenegger, in particular, are used to running the show and aren’t really committee types.
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One huge hurdle is that the task force is gigantic. I count 93 members. How can that many people, representing a wide swath of business and labor, ever reach a consensus on anything meaningful? Maybe they won’t. Maybe they’ll merely reach consensus by subcommittees.
It reminds me of the old line about what a camel is: It’s a horse designed by a committee.
But this committee is truly promising. It’s co-chaired by former Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer, a billionaire who made his fortune by managing a hedge fund. The other co-chair is Newsom’s chief of staff, Ann O’Leary, who once worked for Steyer at his Center for the Next Generation, a nonprofit that focused on economic issues.
Other members include Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook, Disney Executive Chairman Bob Iger, Bloom Energy founder Dr. K.R. Sridhar, Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong and Zaremberg.
There are 14 union leaders, including Art Pulaski, executive secretary-treasurer of the California Labor Federation.
Newsom also wisely placed on the commission the four legislative leaders — two Democrats, two Republicans — and Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, whose family made a fortune in housing development and knows much about the business.
My cynical nature tells me one reason Newsom created this colossal committee of California VIPs was to insulate himself from their possible criticisms of his performance. These are people a governor needs on his side. It was a smart move.
Practically the only people left off the task force are large growers and owners of major sports teams. Too bad. What’s another dozen members?
The committee’s usefulness in helping Newsom chart a path out of the economic disaster will depend on the practicality of their solutions — no pie-in-the-sky fantasies — and whether the governor listens.
Newsom showed his sincerity by naming his top advisor as the co-chair and placing seven other high administration officials on the committee. They include his Cabinet secretary Ana Matosantos, a former state finance director and another ex-Steyer aide.
An unknown: Will these VIPs actually participate in the deliberations or shuck off their duties to underlings?
For enlightenment, I called Steyer, a climate change and “impeach Trump” activist. But he didn’t want to speak on the record, fearful of upstaging the governor.
I emailed the governor’s office twice for details and got no response.
So I called Zaremberg, a longtime major player in Sacramento politics.
“We need to find a way to get out of this shutdown,” he said. “We’re not going to get out of this until we allow public contact. Not just in restaurants, but airport concessions, dentists, tourism. … We have to mitigate the risks by other ways than staying apart. The only solution cannot be keeping our distance.
“Science is going to have to lead us out of this.”
Zaremberg says the state must put heavy emphasis on increasing testing and treating the ill. Newsom says he’s trying.
I also called the other end of the economic spectrum: Robbie Hunter, president of the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California. He’s a powerful labor lobbyist.
Hunter offered some hope. He talked about compromising on a longtime developer bugaboo: the California Environmental Quality Act, which often slows down projects because of long, drawn-out lawsuits.
He suggested streamlining the CEQA appeals process for major projects — just as the Legislature has previously done for sports stadiums and arenas.
“I think that’s doable,” Hunter said.
Let’s hope this task force lives up to its promise — and its report isn’t merely tossed on a shelf to collect dust, as has happened to so many previous “blue ribbon” commissions.


latimes--2020-04-22--Street racers are taking over California roads emptied by coronavirus

For the past month , the novel coronavirus has turned normally bustling locales and highways across Los Angeles into yawning , vacant stretches that might be unsettling to some .
The usual mess of costumed characters and tourists dotting the Walk of Fame is nowhere to be found .
The parking-lot-like stretch of the 405 Freeway that traps thousands on daily rush-hour commutes is flowing freely during the day .
But where some see emptiness , others see a speedway .
In recent weeks , police across California say street racers have been quick to turn the state ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
From Southern California to the Bay Area , racers have been challenging one another at dangerous speeds on surface streets or rushing intersections to perform burnouts and other dangerous vehicle stunts , investigators say .
The large gatherings — generally known as “ sideshows ” or “ takeovers ” — are especially troubling in the context of the coronavirus , police say .
In some parts of the state , grocery stores aren ’ t letting more than 50 people inside at one time .
At a takeover scene , authorities say @ @ @ @ @ @ @ proximity at one intersection , with barely anyone wearing masks or gloves .
“ It ’ s 200 people gathered in an intersection , which is not that big of an area .
No one is six feet apart , ” said California Highway Patrol Officer Andrew Swank , who is part of the street racing task force in the agency ’ s Southern Division .
“ The probability of spreading the virus is pretty high if someone is a carrier.
” Street racing is inherently dangerous with or without the added risk @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Times investigation found 179 people had died in speed contests in Los Angeles County from 2000 to 2017 , and investigators have said street racing incidents have become an increasing concern in recent years .
The empty blacktops are drawing in a variety of car enthusiasts , officials say .
CHP Officer Ryann Grimes said groups that engage in “ roll racing ” — referring to packs of cars driving along a freeway before rocketing off chasing their car ’ s top speed — have been more prevalent as the bulk of Californians @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In Sacramento , police and sheriff ’ s officials said they had to deal with several sideshows that drew groups of 100 or more to various locations around the county on Easter Sunday .
In late March , Oakland Police said they made three arrests and towed at least a dozen vehicles after interrupting a sideshow .
The head-to-head drag races most commonly associated with street racing in pop culture have been occurring more frequently in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles , according to investigators , who say the random nature @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pedestrians , no matter how few are out these days .
LAPD Asst .
Chief Robert Arcos , who oversees patrol operations , said he believes officers have been able to force most takeovers off city streets and onto the freeways .
But one law enforcement official , who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss the matter candidly , said Los Angeles-area racers have grown increasingly brazen since the pandemic paralyzed the city .
The younger crews that organize takeovers have begun trying to stage gatherings in popular intersections , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ L.A. , which would have been impossible just a few weeks ago .
“ Activity is actually picking up .
They ’ re taking advantage … they ’ re under the assumption that law enforcement is busy with the whole pandemic situation , that we ’ re too busy to deal with them , ” the official said .
The most brazen street racing incident in recent weeks , however , may have happened about 1,100 miles north on the 405 , when about two dozen cars blocked off a section of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and performed burnouts , according to a statement issued by the Portland Police Bureau .
Donald Galaz , a member of the International Brotherhood of Street Racers , hasn ’ t personally hit the roads since the state advised residents to stay home .
But he ’ s not surprised to see a group as passionate as the car community capitalizing on the situation .
Friends of his who have been organizing drag races have taken some precautions by wearing masks and gloves and trying to keep crowds small .
But as racing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , it ’ s hard to limit who shows up .
“ Once the word gets out … people flock to those locations , ” Galaz said .
“ That ’ s their love and that ’ s their passion.
” Galaz cautioned police against blaming any recent uptick in high-speed activity solely on the street racing community , noting that he ’ s seen everyday drivers pushing the throttle toward the triple-digits in the middle of the day on empty roads as well .
Earlier this month , the city Department of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up by as much as 30 % on some Los Angeles surface streets .
As city and state officials have become more stringent about enforcing social distancing in recent weeks , some police agencies have begun applying those violations to street racers .
In Sacramento , where sideshows earlier this month led to at least one crash involving a law enforcement vehicle , Police Chief Daniel Hahn said his officers would begin citing those detained at racing scenes for violating the county ’ s health order .
Swank and Grimes , the CHP @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is taking similar measures across the state .
Combined with the issuance of a ticket for being a spectator at a speed contest , some investigators hope the financial hit might be enough to deter some people from racing scenes .
The same open streets that have drawn racers out are also making enforcement harder , some investigators said .
Police often struggle to corral drivers and spectators at large takeover scenes because they ’ re severely outmanned — typically a handful of police cruisers will be tasked with breaking up a sideshow @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Now , with nothing but air between the racers and their next destination , Grimes said arrests are becoming more challenging and dangerous .
“ We ’ re more noticeable getting there because the streets are empty .
When we get there the streets are still empty so it ’ s easier for them to flee … and they ’ re going fast on the freeway to get to their second location , ” he said .
“ They ’ re just being incredibly reckless with the situation that they ’ re given @ @

From Southern California to the Bay Area, racers have been challenging one another at dangerous speeds, often with fatal results.
For the past month, the novel coronavirus has turned normally bustling locales and highways across Los Angeles into yawning, vacant stretches that might be unsettling to some.
The usual mess of costumed characters and tourists dotting the Walk of Fame is nowhere to be found. The parking-lot-like stretch of the 405 Freeway that traps thousands on daily rush-hour commutes is flowing freely during the day.
But where some see emptiness, others see a speedway.
In recent weeks, police across California say street racers have been quick to turn the state’s cleared-out roadways into their own personal playgrounds. From Southern California to the Bay Area, racers have been challenging one another at dangerous speeds on surface streets or rushing intersections to perform burnouts and other dangerous vehicle stunts, investigators say.
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The large gatherings — generally known as “sideshows” or “takeovers” — are especially troubling in the context of the coronavirus, police say. In some parts of the state, grocery stores aren’t letting more than 50 people inside at one time. At a takeover scene, authorities say hundreds of people might be in close proximity at one intersection, with barely anyone wearing masks or gloves.
“It’s 200 people gathered in an intersection, which is not that big of an area. No one is six feet apart,” said California Highway Patrol Officer Andrew Swank, who is part of the street racing task force in the agency’s Southern Division. “The probability of spreading the virus is pretty high if someone is a carrier.”
Street racing is inherently dangerous with or without the added risk of the coronavirus. A Los Angeles Times investigation found 179 people had died in speed contests in Los Angeles County from 2000 to 2017, and investigators have said street racing incidents have become an increasing concern in recent years.
The empty blacktops are drawing in a variety of car enthusiasts, officials say. CHP Officer Ryann Grimes said groups that engage in “roll racing” — referring to packs of cars driving along a freeway before rocketing off chasing their car’s top speed — have been more prevalent as the bulk of Californians have taken sheltering at home seriously.
In Sacramento, police and sheriff’s officials said they had to deal with several sideshows that drew groups of 100 or more to various locations around the county on Easter Sunday. In late March, Oakland Police said they made three arrests and towed at least a dozen vehicles after interrupting a sideshow.
The head-to-head drag races most commonly associated with street racing in pop culture have been occurring more frequently in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, according to investigators, who say the random nature of those contests is especially dangerous to pedestrians, no matter how few are out these days. LAPD Asst. Chief Robert Arcos, who oversees patrol operations, said he believes officers have been able to force most takeovers off city streets and onto the freeways.
Advertisement
But one law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss the matter candidly, said Los Angeles-area racers have grown increasingly brazen since the pandemic paralyzed the city. The younger crews that organize takeovers have begun trying to stage gatherings in popular intersections, including near the Staples Center in downtown L.A., which would have been impossible just a few weeks ago.
“Activity is actually picking up. They’re taking advantage … they’re under the assumption that law enforcement is busy with the whole pandemic situation, that we’re too busy to deal with them,” the official said.
The most brazen street racing incident in recent weeks, however, may have happened about 1,100 miles north on the 405, when about two dozen cars blocked off a section of the Fremont Bridge in Portland, Ore., and performed burnouts, according to a statement issued by the Portland Police Bureau.
Donald Galaz, a member of the International Brotherhood of Street Racers, hasn’t personally hit the roads since the state advised residents to stay home. But he’s not surprised to see a group as passionate as the car community capitalizing on the situation.
Friends of his who have been organizing drag races have taken some precautions by wearing masks and gloves and trying to keep crowds small. But as racing groups often organize on social media platforms, it’s hard to limit who shows up.
“Once the word gets out … people flock to those locations,” Galaz said. “That’s their love and that’s their passion.”
Galaz cautioned police against blaming any recent uptick in high-speed activity solely on the street racing community, noting that he’s seen everyday drivers pushing the throttle toward the triple-digits in the middle of the day on empty roads as well. Earlier this month, the city Department of Transportation released a study showing speeds are up by as much as 30% on some Los Angeles surface streets.
As city and state officials have become more stringent about enforcing social distancing in recent weeks, some police agencies have begun applying those violations to street racers.
In Sacramento, where sideshows earlier this month led to at least one crash involving a law enforcement vehicle, Police Chief Daniel Hahn said his officers would begin citing those detained at racing scenes for violating the county’s health order. Swank and Grimes, the CHP task force members, said the agency is taking similar measures across the state.
Combined with the issuance of a ticket for being a spectator at a speed contest, some investigators hope the financial hit might be enough to deter some people from racing scenes.
The same open streets that have drawn racers out are also making enforcement harder, some investigators said.
Police often struggle to corral drivers and spectators at large takeover scenes because they’re severely outmanned — typically a handful of police cruisers will be tasked with breaking up a sideshow involving as many as 300 people. Now, with nothing but air between the racers and their next destination, Grimes said arrests are becoming more challenging and dangerous.
“We’re more noticeable getting there because the streets are empty. When we get there the streets are still empty so it’s easier for them to flee … and they’re going fast on the freeway to get to their second location,” he said. “They’re just being incredibly reckless with the situation that they’re given.”


latimes--2020-04-24--How to dress to save your life: L.A. Times photojournalists take on a whole new danger

Through 36 years at the Los Angeles Times , I ’ ve covered earthquakes , riots , fires , mass shootings and conflict in foreign nations , but the coronavirus is different .
I ’ ve documented the pandemic from Los Angeles International Airport to Union Station , and from the crowded Los Angeles Produce Market to crowds vying for access to grocery stores .
I have photographed empty beaches to boarded-up stores in Beverly Hills .
I ’ ve documented the nation ’ s second-largest school district scramble to reinvent education and feed students with knowledge and food .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a microscopic enemy that will cling to everything you wear or the camera equipment you use , from the soles of your shoes to the face mask you pray won ’ t fail in the process of taking photographs in the emergency rooms at UCLA or on the streets of skid row .
But what makes this event different from others in my years as a photojournalist is that it threatens my family .
Every member of my family is a first responder .
My eldest son is a firefighter/engineer/medic running on COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and has to decontaminate after every run .
My daughter-in-law , his wife , is a physician assistant in the emergency room of a regional hospital on the overnight shift receiving COVID-19 patients and making life-and-death decisions .
My other son is a medical speech pathologist working at a hospital helping and comforting seniors and head-injury patients whose health is already compromised .
They are scared .
My wife is also a speech pathologist working with at-risk seniors in skilled nursing facilities that have become the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ entire family fighting this crisis in a variety of ways .
Together we share stories of our daily experiences : patients we have seen , tragedies we have witnessed .
The conversation turns to which personal protective equipment works best , how to effectively sanitize our clothing , and the safest rotation of face masks we must reuse .
My daughter-in-law ’ s mother sews colorful custom masks for every member of the emergency room to wear for protection and to cheer them up .
These are the photos and stories of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ :

Al Seib, and the photo staff of the Los Angeles Times

Through 36 years at the Los Angeles Times, I’ve covered earthquakes, riots, fires, mass shootings and conflict in foreign nations, but the coronavirus is different.
I’ve documented the pandemic from Los Angeles International Airport to Union Station, and from the crowded Los Angeles Produce Market to crowds vying for access to grocery stores. I have photographed empty beaches to boarded-up stores in Beverly Hills. I’ve documented the nation’s second-largest school district scramble to reinvent education and feed students with knowledge and food. I have feared for my safety from a microscopic enemy that will cling to everything you wear or the camera equipment you use, from the soles of your shoes to the face mask you pray won’t fail in the process of taking photographs in the emergency rooms at UCLA or on the streets of skid row. But what makes this event different from others in my years as a photojournalist is that it threatens my family.
Every member of my family is a frontline responder. My eldest son is a firefighter/engineer/medic running on COVID-19 patient calls every night of his shift, and has to decontaminate after every run. My daughter-in-law, his wife, is a physician assistant in the emergency room of a regional hospital on the overnight shift receiving COVID-19 patients and making life-and-death decisions. My other son is a medical speech pathologist working at a hospital helping and comforting seniors and head-injury patients whose health is already compromised. They are scared. My wife is also a speech pathologist working with at-risk seniors in skilled nursing facilities that have become the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic’s deadly strike.
We are an entire family fighting this crisis in a variety of ways. Together we share stories of our daily experiences: patients we have seen, tragedies we have witnessed. The conversation turns to which personal protective equipment works best, how to effectively sanitize our clothing, and the safest rotation of face masks we must reuse. My daughter-in-law’s mother sews colorful custom masks for every member of the emergency room to wear for protection and to cheer them up.
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These are the photos and stories of the Los Angeles Times photojournalists covering the pandemic:
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
MARCUS YAM
When I first saw myself in the mirror, I thought it was someone else looking through a window into the negative pressure isolation room I was in. I did not recognize myself in the personal protective equipment and full-face powered air-purifying respirator I was wearing. I was there to document healthcare workers inside the intensive care unit at Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista, and a COVID-19 patient had just arrived from the emergency room and needed to be intubated to save her life.
As a photojournalist, I’ve made a life out of navigating the unknown. But this pandemic is unpredictable and nebulous and has challenged my personal equilibrium. Air travel now comes with a risk, global economies are crumbling and everyone is forced to isolate and distance themselves from almost everything and everyone they know. As a publication, we have always been outward looking, but COVID-19 has pushed us into a period of self-reflection, and we now have to look deeper inward. News photographers don’t have much choice of whether to work in isolation from our homes. Our jobs thrust us into the field, often in harm’s way, but it’s imperative for us to be the eyes and ears for our readers and our community as we navigate this crisis.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
GINA FERAZZI
I have been covering the coronavirus pandemic for more than a month now, from documenting the virus’ effect on the Navajo Nation in rural Arizona to my own neighborhood in Southern California.
On this day, April 8, I am wearing an N95 mask and nitrile gloves while standing across the street with a Canon 200-400mm lens. My assignment is to document the evacuation of more than 80 patients at a nursing home in Riverside after 34 tested positive for COVID-19 and the nursing staff stopped showing up for work.
All the patients were being moved to other facilities. Prior to transmitting photos from my laptop in the car, I dispose of the gloves, wipe down my camera gear with disinfectant wipes, spray my shoes with disinfectant, remove my N95 and place it on my dash and clean my hands with sanitizer.
I repeat these steps after shooting each time. When I get home at the end of the day, all my clothes go into a plastic bag and into the laundry. My shoes stay outside. And then I shower. These are the necessary precautions all photojournalists are taking to stay safe.
Francine Orr
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(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
FRANCINE ORR:
In the top selfie, I prepared to cover an assignment inside a local hospital with coronavirus patients.
The lower selfie, I was getting ready to cover two assignments, including a Passover Seder through a window.
I have switched to pulling my hair back and covering it. I have a multi-step cleaning process, which includes a bar of soap and water. I was a Peace Corps volunteer, and I always have a bar of Dial soap with me.
I was out of town on assignment when the coronavirus story broke. I bought gloves, a bar of soap and a thermometer, because I knew by the time I got home a thermometer would be hard to find.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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ALLEN J. SCHABEN
As I begin my 27th year as a member of the Los Angeles Times photo staff, I find myself working in unprecedented times and conditions. However, photographing Southern California’s dynamic news scene requires that I live by the Boy Scout motto: Be prepared.
Covering major news events like fires, floods, protests and crime scenes has kept us on our toes and taught us to always be prepared for just about anything. We keep protective gear in our cars at all times. The coronavirus pandemic has added a tremendous amount of risk. One slip-up in our routine could prove deadly to ourselves, our families or others.
My approach is to not touch anything I don’t have to. I wear gloves, a mask, hat, sunglasses and keep my distance from people. I mostly use long lenses, which helps puts distance between me and subjects. I constantly wash my hands with soap and water, use sanitizer, wipe down camera equipment and car, and change out of my clothes in the garage.
Our family got a new puppy, which has been an absolute joy during these difficult times. To stave off depression, I take walks and bike rides with my wife and puppy, hang out with my teens as much as they will allow, listen to music, pray a lot and rely on my faith in God to get through this.
I am thankful to all of our subjects for taking time to tell their important stories and to all the first responders; grocery, food service workers; and all the other vital/essential workers who help us all survive.
(Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)
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MARIAH TAUGER
A portrait shoot on a day rainy day in Santa Clarita at the home of casting director Sharon Lieblein.
She told me she had learned to bake her own bread during the stay-at-home order. Allowing for social distancing to keep us both safe, we did the shoot outdoors on a covered porch, which had the added bonus of keeping Sharon dry!
(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
CAROLYN COLE
Over the last 30 years, I’ve covered natural and man-made disasters, including Hurricane Katrina, the Haiti earthquake, and the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, but the COVID-19 pandemic is of an even larger scale, affecting millions of people.
My focus is on covering rural California and how the coronavirus has changed lives in less populated places, such as Madera, Eureka and Crescent City.
I’m also interested in nature and how the shutdown has changed the balance between humans and the natural world. The coronavirus has caused immense human suffering, but hopefully the lessons learned will reshape our priorities as we move forward.
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BRIAN VAN DER BRUG
While many people are riding out the coronavirus epidemic at home, many must go out and work. I’m in that group.
As photojournalists, we often need to get close to people to capture images. For their safety and ours during the crisis, we’ve changed the way we work, the way we compose images and interact with people.
Documenting life with the coronavirus means greeting subjects from behind a mask at a distance and taking pictures with longer lenses. It means coming home and disinfecting anything that may have come in contact with the virus, on our clothes or on our equipment.
Our editors tell us often that we can decline to cover something if we don’t want to, but it’s our job to be there for our readers, and one I’m committed to doing.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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IRFAN KHAN
The coronavirus pandemic has surely affected my work life. Every morning, I leave for work with a hope and prayer to not contract the virus. My “normal” mornings used to involve ensuring that my cameras were working and batteries were charged. My new normal has the added task of confirming that I have proper protective equipment like face masks, sanitizing wipes and gloves.
This morning, I photographed a drive-through coronavirus testing site at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton. Abiding by safety guidelines, I wore a face mask and stayed at a distance to decrease my exposure and acknowledge patient privacy. As typical for my photography during the pandemic, I used a long lens.
After completing my assignment, I used sanitizing wipes to clean my cameras, cellphone and portions of my car. While this has proved to be a unique and unsettling experience for all, I am glad I have the opportunity to continue to capture the current reality through the lens of my camera.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
CHRISTINA HOUSE
This is me covering a funeral for a man who died of COVID-19. The service was held indoors for a small group of 10 people. I felt the need to wear my heavier-duty mask after consulting with my fellow photographers at The Times. They suggested it would keep me safest in an enclosed environment.
The story was about a family dealing with the terrible loss of a loved one to the novel coronavirus and what restrictions and safety measures they had to take while grieving their loss. It was an important story to tell our readers because it humanized the pandemic and put a face on the numbers that we all have been hearing every day, with increasing regularity.
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(Gabriella Angotti-Jones / Los Angeles Times)
GABRIELLA ANGOTTI-JONES
I’m finding that most of my images are fueled by anger.
Meanwhile, people are scared. And dying. I’m doing what I can by sanitizing myself every time I go out on assignment and come back to my car (which is exhausting), but I know that by continuously being outside, I’ll eventually become sick or exposed. I worry about passing the virus to other people, even if I’m taking the proper precautions.
DANIA MAXWELL
Evelyn Peña, a South L.A. parent and president of the nonprofit Deaf Latinos y Familias, provided this picture of me photographing her son Darlin in their house.
The story was about how families are having to cope with inadequate resources for their special-needs children at home from school during the coronavirus outbreak. I took the photo standing from their front door, with a mask on and with my shoes removed.
I felt it was important for me not to go into their home because Darlin is immunocompromised. We, as photographers, need to ensure we aren’t putting people at greater risk when they are a part of our coverage.
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GENARO MOLINA
I am standing with members of the Love My Neighbor Foundation after documenting their efforts to feed the homeless in downtown L.A.’s skid row during the novel coronavirus pandemic.
There are so many heroic efforts happening in these precarious times, and I was happy to photograph the Love My Neighbor Foundation helping this vulnerable population. At a moment when community matters more than ever, these brave souls perfectly illustrate the courage and commitment of our concerned citizens.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
KENT NISHIMURA
Our staff of photographers is out in the field every day photographing the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on Los Angeles, California and the world. But being out and about in a time of social distancing and isolation can pose challenges for us.
For me, that includes keeping myself safe when I return home from assignments. Using an assortment of sanitizing wipes, I’ll clean my hands, my cameras, my keys, my backpack, my wallet and the interior of the car to make sure everything that has been exposed or handled outside has been sanitized.
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I’ll also wipe down my shoes with a towel and a diluted bleach solution, and I’ll store them separately from my other footwear. On entering the house, I’ll immediately remove my jacket and place it in a separate laundry bag for clothes that have been used outside that day and immediately go to my shower, then toss the clothes into the wash. Every door knob and surface I touched on the way into the house will be wiped down and sanitized with an alcohol solution.
When I’m out on assignment, some of the items that I carry with me, in addition to my cameras, are a 6000 series respirator with N100 filters, N95 masks, nitrile gloves, safety goggles and, of course, toilet paper. You never know when you’ll need it. That stuff is gold. You could barter with it.
JASON ARMOND
My approach to assignments has changed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Before I even leave my apartment each morning, I suit up in personal protective equipment. I begin my day asking myself, “How do I safely move from my apartment to my car, from my car to my assignment, and return home safely?”
Normally on assignments I tend to spend a lot of time just waiting for moments to unfold. This common practice has changed somewhat for me. My colleague, fellow Times photographer Francine Orr, recently shared with me a great tip. She said that her mantra for assignments during corona is to get in, get out and be safe. I now repeat this mantra several times throughout my day.
I feel I have a duty to protect my health and the health of the people whose stories I’m telling.
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(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
JAY L. CLENDENIN
Me and L.A. Times arts and culture writer Carolina Miranda. We checked in with five L.A. artists (from a distance) to record the ways in which they have continued to work, in a portfolio of portraits. Wearing gloves and masks, I stuck to one strobe on a stand, moving it into position and then asking the subject to step in.
After each shoot, I was wiping all my equipment down with alcohol swabs and stripping down in the garage, before heading straight to shower!
ROBERT GAUTHIER
I’ve been looking for images that reflect the complexities of living in the time of COVID-19. One such image showed teenagers, masked and gloved, playing basketball in a public park that had been closed for nearly a week. They were locked arm in arm on the court, wrestling for the ball. I thought it should alarm people to see such disregard and lack of real understanding of the virus and its virulent nature.
Apparently, the city took notice and cut the baskets’ nets the day the photo was published.
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(Jeff Amlotte / Los Angeles Times)
JEFF AMLOTTE
I’m now required to wear a mask at work, which I am completely OK with, while directing the “L.A. Times Today” show on Spectrum News 1. However, I don’t think these masks (or any masks, for that matter) were designed for people wearing glasses. Because with each breath I take, the foggier my vision becomes.
MYUNG CHUN
I photographed a story about the homeless and residents of downtown L.A.’s skid row receiving meals and masks. Afterward, I went through the steps to disinfect my camera gear and myself, including the bottom of my shoes, and then began editing and transmitting pictures from my laptop in my car.
The biggest challenge working during this time is trying to maintain social distance. Not everyone wears masks or understands the need to keep some distance


latimes--2020-04-24--Coronavirus surpasses cancer, heart disease to become L.A. County's No. 1 killer

The new coronavirus became the leading cause of death in Los Angeles County on Thursday as the number of fatalities continued to climb across California , leading officials to say conditions are still too volatile to begin lifting the stay-at-home orders that have help slow the spread of the virus .
More than 1,800 people have died across the state , with Wednesday marking the highest daily fatality total .
“ It ’ s a reminder we ’ re not out of the woods yet , ” Gov .
Gavin Newsom said Thursday .
Deaths in Los Angeles County — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ epicenter of the outbreak — are approaching 800 , enough for the novel coronavirus to surpass fatalities from cancer , flu , emphysema and heart disease .
Barbara Ferrer , the county ’ s public health director , confirmed 68 new coronavirus-linked deaths Thursday .
The county also reported 1,081 new COVID-19 cases — pushing the overall number to 17,508 .
Despite the uptick in deaths , public health officials say hospitals are not being overwhelmed , though they continue to see a steady flow of patients .
Models unveiled this week project @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by stay-at-home orders and maintain social distancing when they do venture outside , Los Angeles County should have enough hospital and ICU beds , as well as respirators , to accommodate the expected number of coronavirus patients .
California has experienced only a fraction of the deaths of coronavirus hot spots such as New York and New Jersey , and experts attribute that in part to early orders that forced people to observe social distancing and stay home .
Newsom reiterated Thursday that it is too early to lift those rules and urged @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s heat wave .
The governor said he fears that if people go to beaches and parks , he ’ ll soon be reporting a sizable increase in the number of confirmed cases and possibly hospitalizations .
“ I don ’ t think anybody wants to hear that .
I don ’ t want to share that information .
But that ’ s really less up to me , it ’ s more up to all of you , ” he said .
On Wednesday , Newsom said most of the six @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stay-home order he issued last month have not been met .
The only change the governor has made is to allow some elective surgeries to again be scheduled in hospitals , citing sufficient capacity .
“ It will be those indicators that drive our decision-making , ” he said Thursday .
“ Not dates .
We don ’ t debate dates .
We look at the facts objectively.
” The governor also announced Thursday that more than 1.1 million Californians with student loan debt will now be eligible for three months ’ relief @ @ @ @ @ @ @ loan servicers in the state have agreed to a 90-day forbearance , meaning borrowers may stop repaying their loans without facing penalties such as late fees or fines , debt collection lawsuits or negative impacts to their credit ratings , Newsom said .
Borrowers will also receive support in working out new payment plans .
“ I want to just applaud those ... servicers for their willingness to step up and help support those that are struggling to pay their student loan debts , ” Newsom said .
The state has also suspended @ @ @ @ @ @ @ providing single-use plastic bags amid concerns that clerks may be at risk for exposure to the coronavirus if shoppers are required to supply their own reusable bags .
Newsom announced Thursday that he had signed an executive order to suspend the for 60 days after hearing concerns from the California Grocers Assn .
about shoppers bringing reusable bags from home that are handled by store clerks filling them with groceries .
“ We are being cautious to make sure there is no transmission of the virus , ” said Dave Heylen , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
He said the grocers will go back to abiding by the plastic bag ban when the order expires .
The executive order does not affect the more than 100 cities and counties that adopted their own ordinances banning or regulating single-use plastic bags .
The governor ’ s executive order also approved a 60-day pause in redemption of beverage containers in stores and a mandate for recycling centers to operate a minimum number of hours .
Newsom ’ s order said the suspensions are “ critical to protect the public health and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exposure for workers engaged in essential activities , such as those handling reusable grocery bags or recyclable containers where recycling centers are not available.
” Mark Murray , executive director of Californians Against Waste , which had supported the Legislature ’ s approval of the ban , said the order is unnecessary .
“ Reusable bags are perfectly safe , and pose zero threat to store employees and other customers as long as consumers take responsibility to bag their own groceries , ” he said .
McGreevy and Myers reported from Northern California @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Times staff writers Luke Money , Andrea Castillo , Nina Agrawal and Phil Willon contributed to this report .

Hannah Fry, Patrick McGreevy, John Myers, Sonali Kohli

The new coronavirus became the leading cause of death in Los Angeles County on Thursday as the number of fatalities continued to climb across California, leading officials to say conditions are still too volatile to begin lifting the stay-at-home orders that have helped slow the spread of the virus.
More than 1,800 people have died across the state, with Wednesday marking the highest daily fatality total.
“It’s a reminder we’re not out of the woods yet,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday.
Deaths in Los Angeles County — which has become the state’s epicenter of the outbreak — are approaching 800, enough for the novel coronavirus to surpass fatalities from cancer, flu, emphysema and heart disease.
Barbara Ferrer, the county’s public health director, confirmed 68 new coronavirus-linked deaths Thursday. The county also reported 1,081 new COVID-19 cases — pushing the overall number to 17,508.
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Despite the uptick in deaths, public health officials say hospitals are not being overwhelmed, though they continue to see a steady flow of patients.
Models unveiled this week project that, should residents continue to abide by stay-at-home orders and maintain social distancing when they do venture outside, Los Angeles County should have enough hospital and ICU beds, as well as respirators, to accommodate the expected number of coronavirus patients.
California has experienced only a fraction of the deaths of coronavirus hot spots such as New York and New Jersey, and experts attribute that in part to early orders that forced people to observe social distancing and stay home. Newsom reiterated Thursday that it is too early to lift those rules and urged people to stay home despite this week’s heat wave.
The governor said he fears that if people go to beaches and parks, he’ll soon be reporting a sizable increase in the number of confirmed cases and possibly hospitalizations.
“I don’t think anybody wants to hear that. I don’t want to share that information. But that’s really less up to me, it’s more up to all of you,” he said.
On Wednesday, Newsom said most of the six milestones he set to consider loosening the stay-home order he issued last month have not been met. The only change the governor has made is to allow some elective surgeries to again be scheduled in hospitals , citing sufficient capacity.
“It will be those indicators that drive our decision-making,” he said Thursday. “Not dates. We don’t debate dates. We look at the facts objectively.”
Advertisement
The governor also announced Thursday that more than 1.1 million Californians with student loan debt will now be eligible for three months’ relief.
Twenty-one of the 24 largest student loan servicers in the state have agreed to a 90-day forbearance, meaning borrowers may stop repaying their loans without facing penalties such as late fees or fines, debt collection lawsuits or negative impacts to their credit ratings, Newsom said.
Borrowers will also receive support in working out new payment plans.
“I want to just applaud those ... servicers for their willingness to step up and help support those that are struggling to pay their student loan debts,” Newsom said.
The state has also suspended California’s ban on grocery stores providing single-use plastic bags amid concerns that clerks may be at risk for exposure to the coronavirus if shoppers are required to supply their own reusable bags.
Newsom announced Thursday that he had signed an executive order to suspend the 2016 plastic bag ban for 60 days after hearing concerns from the California Grocers Assn. about shoppers bringing reusable bags from home that are handled by store clerks filling them with groceries.
“We are being cautious to make sure there is no transmission of the virus,” said Dave Heylen, a vice president for the grocers’ group. He said the grocers will go back to abiding by the plastic bag ban when the order expires.
The executive order does not affect the more than 100 cities and counties that adopted their own ordinances banning or regulating single-use plastic bags.
The governor’s executive order also approved a 60-day pause in redemption of beverage containers in stores and a mandate for recycling centers to operate a minimum number of hours.
Newsom’s order said the suspensions are “critical to protect the public health and safety and minimize the risk of COVID-19 exposure for workers engaged in essential activities, such as those handling reusable grocery bags or recyclable containers where recycling centers are not available.”
Mark Murray, executive director of Californians Against Waste, which had supported the Legislature’s approval of the ban, said the order is unnecessary.
“Reusable bags are perfectly safe, and pose zero threat to store employees and other customers as long as consumers take responsibility to bag their own groceries,” he said.
McGreevy and Myers reported from Northern California, Fry and Kohli from Southern California. Times staff writers Luke Money, Andrea Castillo, Nina Agrawal and Phil Willon contributed to this report.