latimes--2020-11-14--The election's over. It's time to unclench our fists and open our ears

Do you despair about the divisions laid bare in the recent election ?
Do you worry that our tendency to demonize those who don ’ t vote the way we do will keep us from moving forward as a country ?
I ’ ve been feeling that way a lot recently — relieved that a message of “ us vs. them ” soon will no longer emanate from our White House but distressed by the failure of our Washington lawmakers to come together on just about anything due to the overpoliticization of just about everything , down to the dangers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the election results came in and I saw that red-blue split and I heard the dire predictions of ever greater governmental gridlock and distrust , I began wondering whether a major national effort could get more of us talking despite our differences .
And as I imagined perhaps signing up to be on a weekly Zoom call , to swap stories about daily life with a farmer from Iowa and an Alabama schoolteacher and an autoworker from Detroit , I began looking around for people who were trying to make such conversations happen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ found myself tilting toward hope — because there are so many projects , from tiny to ambitious in scale , already underway across our great nation to encourage people whose views and votes are different than theirs to listen to and get to know one another .
And they are diverse enough to attract a lot of different types who may start out with little more in common than wanting to change the dynamics of our civic discourse .
There are organizations that formed to get people listening to one another in living @ @ @ @ @ @ @ others that see strength in breaking bread together and sharing life experiences around a table .
Some groups try to gather people to work on a specific national issue or local problem .
Others aim solely to facilitate one-time conversations in which participants listen to different points of view and the stories that shaped them and so begin to widen their perspectives .
COVID-19 has made some of these forms of coming together temporarily untenable , but it ’ s also moved quite a few good conversations aimed at increasing our mutual understanding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this work by sampling the websites of the more than 300-member # ListenFirst Coalition .
I encourage you to do the same , and maybe feel a little heartened and inspired .
The coalition grew out of Pearce Godwin ’ s frustration with the political work he ’ d been doing .
He was tired of political vitriol .
He was tired of family relationships and friendships being torn apart by political disagreements .
He decided he wanted to change the narrative .
Two years ago , Godwin started the National Conversation Project @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of deep talking and listening events across the nation .
He began assembling the coalition , he told me , when he realized how many similar projects had popped up all over and how much they could gain from borrowing and learning from one another and from combining their voices into a movement .
He defines the objective as “ mending the frayed social fabric of America by building relationships and bridging divides , ” and told me he sees a chance to reach many more Americans as President-elect Joe Biden stresses conciliation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a moment here in which the work of this field could align with the messages coming from the bully pulpit in a helpful and useful way , ” said Godwin , who is based in D.C .
It was a different sort of moment , by the way , the 2016 election of President Trump , that simultaneously launched the bulk of these groups .
His victory , and his amplification of our divisions , was the catalyst for the San Francisco-based group Make America Dinner Again , started by two friends who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s win that in their liberal Bay Area bubble they didn ’ t know anyone who had voted for him .
That ’ s a big part of the problem , isn ’ t it ?
We mistrust and fear one another — we buy into fear mongering — because we don ’ t know one another , because we don ’ t live in the same neighborhoods .
So much of fear resides in not knowing or trying to get to know and letting our imaginations run wild .
Justine Lee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , said that her discomfort with the ugliness of her own thoughts pushed her to do more than stew , which has led to hundreds of moderated meals — with ground rules that everyone lead with respect and listen — of six to 10 people with very different lives and world views .
“ I had this moment of realizing I don ’ t want to be caught in these feelings of anger and distrust , or close to disgust .
I don ’ t know if I would call it hatred but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lee told me .
“ I thought , what can I do with this ?
What is something within my control ?
” At first , she said it was difficult to locate conservatives and get them to join in .
It took a lot of legwork , reaching out to local Republican groups .
But then MADA got some attention and people started signing up .
Now there are a dozen MADA chapters around the country .
MADA mostly functions right now in a Facebook group , whose members gathered virtually during @ @ @ @ @ @ @ debates in small groups together .
The dinners , pre-pandemic , were gentle affairs that eased into deep talk .
Sometimes the organizers would pair up people from very different backgrounds to work together to prep parts of the meal , Lee told me .
As they worked , they ’ d begin to get to know one another before they sat down at the table for more serious discussions .
Quite a few of the people I spoke to told me they think activity is key to getting people to start connecting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Movement concentrates mainly on bringing diverse religious leaders together to work on shared local problems such as strained race relations and the opioid crisis , says the partnerships always start with service projects .
“ Before you sit down and talk , you ’ re painting walls together , ” he said .
“ People build connections when they are doing things together.
” Patricia Carmody of Castle Rock , Colo. , who runs an organization called At the Table Colorado , says the ground rules of her gatherings , aimed at strengthening @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or religion .
She ’ s particularly proud of the friendships formed in her “ Common Threads ” meetings , when people talk while doing hands-on work , such as knitting or sewing .
In the pandemic , they ’ ve moved on to service projects such as making masks and cards to cheer up people isolated in nursing homes — and now they mostly do their chatting outside , in the parking lot of the closed library where they used to get together .
“ There ’ s no one way that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people talking and listening .
You just have to do it , ” she told me .
I found the extreme version of that idea when I came upon Undivided Nation , the website of David and Erin Leaverton .
In 2018 , when the couple decided they wanted a broader perspective on how other people in this country thought , they sold their house in Dallas and loaded their three kids into an RV to spend a year seeking out conversations with their fellow Americans .
In a previous life , David @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a job in President George W. Bush ’ s administration .
He was a field director for former Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker .
But he said he grew disillusioned when he saw political disagreements begin to escalate into violence .
He didn ’ t want to be “ a part of what ’ s causing Americans to fear and hate each other.
” He ’ s now taken off his Republican team jersey , he told me .
He mainly identifies as an American .
“ It was a life-changing experience to step @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said of the decision to go in search of a different kind of American story , which the couple told in blog posts and a podcast .
He and his wife met people who described life experiences that completely imploded their long-held views , particularly on the subject of race .
They learned what healthcare was like if you were poor , how discrimination stunted people ’ s lives .
“ To hear about issues of inequality and racism , I really didn ’ t believe before that they were real .
Because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ America where all men are created equal and all people have liberty and justice for all .
Everyone has a pair of boots so they can pull themselves up by their bootstraps and really the opportunities for success are endless , ” he said .
“ I thought that was the same America that everyone lived in and therefore if you were not doing well , it ’ s probably your fault .
It wasn ’ t that I was evil .
That was just all that I knew.
” Two years later @ @ @ @ @ @ @ determine how to use all his newfound knowledge for good .
He thinks it might be to lead small-scale efforts to help companies and communities value everyone within them and open themselves to greater understanding .
His hope , he told me , is that everyone will start to do more of that hard work .
“ I think there are a lot of people who are asking , ` Is there another way ?
There ’ s got to be another way than this left-right fight to the death .
”

Angelique McKenna, 25, of Arlington, Va., gets emotional listening to President-elect Joe Biden’s speech, played over a loudspeaker at Black Lives Matter Plaza near the White House on Nov. 7.
Do you despair about the divisions laid bare in the recent election? Do you worry that our tendency to demonize those who don’t vote the way we do will keep us from moving forward as a country?
I’ve been feeling that way a lot recently — relieved that a message of “us versus them” soon will no longer emanate from our White House but distressed by the failure of our Washington lawmakers to come together on just about anything due to the overpoliticization of just about everything, down to the dangers of this brutal pandemic.
So after the election results came in and I saw that red-blue split and I heard the dire predictions of ever greater governmental gridlock and distrust, I began wondering whether a major national effort could get more of us talking despite our differences.
Advertisement
And as I imagined perhaps signing up to be on a weekly Zoom call, to swap stories about daily life with a farmer from Iowa and an Alabama schoolteacher and an autoworker from Detroit, I began looking around for people who were trying to make such conversations happen.
And that’s when I found myself tilting toward hope — because there are so many projects, from tiny to ambitious in scale, already underway across our great nation to encourage people whose views and votes are different than theirs to listen to and get to know one another. And they are diverse enough to attract a lot of different types who may start out with little more in common than wanting to change the dynamics of our civic discourse.
There are organizations that formed to get people listening to one another in living rooms and coffee shops. There are others that see strength in breaking bread together and sharing life experiences around a table.
Some groups try to gather people to work on a specific national issue or local problem. Others aim solely to facilitate one-time conversations in which participants listen to different points of view and the stories that shaped them and so begin to widen their perspectives.
COVID-19 has made some of these forms of coming together temporarily untenable, but it’s also moved quite a few good conversations aimed at increasing our mutual understanding online.
I found a lot of this work by sampling the websites of the more than 300-member #ListenFirst Coalition. I encourage you to do the same, and maybe feel a little heartened and inspired.
Advertisement
The coalition grew out of Pearce Godwin’s frustration with the political work he’d been doing. He was tired of political vitriol. He was tired of family relationships and friendships being torn apart by political disagreements. He decided he wanted to change the narrative.
Two years ago, Godwin started the National Conversation Project, whose centerpiece is an annual week of deep talking and listening events across the nation. He began assembling the coalition, he told me, when he realized how many similar projects had popped up all over and how much they could gain from borrowing and learning from one another and from combining their voices into a movement.
He defines the objective as “mending the frayed social fabric of America by building relationships and bridging divides,” and told me he sees a chance to reach many more Americans as President-elect Joe Biden stresses conciliation and unity.
“There’s a moment here in which the work of this field could align with the messages coming from the bully pulpit in a helpful and useful way,” said Godwin, who is based in North Carolina.
It was a different sort of moment, by the way, the 2016 election of President Trump, that simultaneously launched the bulk of these groups.
His victory, and his amplification of our divisions, was the catalyst for the San Francisco-based group Make America Dinner Again, started by two friends who realized after they were blindsided by Trump’s win that in their liberal Bay Area bubble they didn’t know anyone who had voted for him.
That’s a big part of the problem, isn’t it? We mistrust and fear one another — we buy into fear mongering — because we don’t know one another, because we don’t live in the same neighborhoods. So much of fear resides in not knowing or trying to get to know and letting our imaginations run wild.
Justine Lee, who created MADA with Tria Chang, said that her discomfort with the ugliness of her own thoughts pushed her to do more than stew, which has led to hundreds of moderated meals — with ground rules that everyone lead with respect and listen — of six to 10 people with very different lives and world views.
“I had this moment of realizing I don’t want to be caught in these feelings of anger and distrust, or close to disgust. I don’t know if I would call it hatred but it was in that realm,” Lee told me. “I thought, what can I do with this? What is something within my control?”
At first, she said it was difficult to locate conservatives and get them to join in. It took a lot of legwork, reaching out to local Republican groups. But then MADA got some attention and people started signing up. Now there are a dozen MADA chapters around the country.
MADA mostly functions right now in a Facebook group, whose members gathered virtually during the election season to watch the presidential debates in small groups together. The dinners, pre-pandemic, were gentle affairs that eased into deep talk. Sometimes the organizers would pair up people from very different backgrounds to work together to prep parts of the meal, Lee told me. As they worked, they’d begin to get to know one another before they sat down at the table for more serious discussions.
Quite a few of the people I spoke to told me they think activity is key to getting people to start connecting. Andrew Hanauer, whose One America Movement concentrates mainly on bringing diverse religious leaders together to work on shared local problems such as strained race relations and the opioid crisis, says the partnerships always start with service projects.
“Before you sit down and talk, you’re painting walls together,” he said. “People build connections when they are doing things together.”
Patricia Carmody of Castle Rock, Colo., who runs an organization called At the Table Colorado , says the ground rules of her gatherings, aimed at strengthening local communities, bar talk of politics or religion.
She’s particularly proud of the friendships formed in her “Common Threads” meetings, when people talk while doing hands-on work, such as knitting or sewing. In the pandemic, they’ve moved on to service projects such as making masks and cards to cheer up people isolated in nursing homes — and now they mostly do their chatting outside, in the parking lot of the closed library where they used to get together.
“There’s no one way that’s right or wrong to get people talking and listening. You just have to do it,” she told me.
I found the extreme version of that idea when I came upon Undivided Nation, the website of David and Erin Leaverton.
In 2018, when the couple decided they wanted a broader perspective on how other people in this country thought, they sold their house in Dallas and loaded their three kids into an RV to spend a year seeking out conversations with their fellow Americans.
In a previous life, David worked on Republican campaigns. He had a job in President George W. Bush’s administration. He was a field director for former Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker.
But he said he grew disillusioned when he saw political disagreements begin to escalate into violence. He didn’t want to be “a part of what’s causing Americans to fear and hate each other.” He’s now taken off his Republican team jersey, he told me. He mainly identifies as an American.
“It was a life-changing experience to step outside of that bubble,” he said of the decision to go in search of a different kind of American story, which the couple told in blog posts and a podcast.
He and his wife met people who described life experiences that completely imploded their long-held views, particularly on the subject of race. They learned what healthcare was like if you were poor, how discrimination stunted people’s lives.
“To hear about issues of inequality and racism, I really didn’t believe before that they were real. Because the America I lived in was an America where all men are created equal and all people have liberty and justice for all. Everyone has a pair of boots so they can pull themselves up by their bootstraps and really the opportunities for success are endless,” he said. “I thought that was the same America that everyone lived in and therefore if you were not doing well, it’s probably your fault. It wasn’t that I was evil. That was just all that I knew.”
Two years later, he’s still trying to determine how to use all his newfound knowledge for good. He thinks it might be to lead small-scale efforts to help companies and communities value everyone within them and open themselves to greater understanding.
His hope, he told me, is that everyone will start to do more of that hard work.
“I think there are a lot of people who are asking, ` Is there another way? There’s got to be another way than this left-right fight to the death.”
I hope so.


latimes--2020-11-14--A season of disappointment and depression as COVID-19 rages into holidays

Business is booming for Maria Mir .
Under normal circumstances , she takes little time off in November and December ; the holidays are her busy season .
But this is 2020 .
Nothing is normal .
And everyone seems to need her at once .
Mir is a licensed marriage and family therapist .
She ’ s used to patients feeling lonely and depressed as Thanksgiving and Christmas near .
But “ this particular time is different , ” she says .
“ Even people who haven ’ t felt lonely in the past are now feeling that isolation.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ its toll on psyches and pocketbooks .
We ’ ve been cooped up for the better part of nine months , but instead of drawing up lists of guests and gifts , we ’ re cataloging the things we can not do as temperatures drop and coronavirus cases soar across the country .
Like visit far-flung family and friends .
On Friday , the governors of the three West Coast states issued “ travel advisories ” recommending against nonessential travel and urging people entering California , Oregon and Washington to self-quarantine for two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Or buy those loved ones holiday gifts .
A second round of stimulus money to help hard-hit consumers is a distant dream because of a deadlocked Congress .
And even if shoppers have money in their pockets , malls are what health experts warn against : closed-in spaces with the possibility of crowds .
Or even , for the high school seniors among us , apply for college in any normal fashion .
Campuses are largely on lockdown .
Learning is remote .
The extracurricular activities that burnish an application are on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bump into your counselor in the hall for a little extra guidance .
One of Mir ’ s patients is so distressed about being unable to see her extended family that she doesn ’ t plan on celebrating Thanksgiving at all .
She hasn ’ t seen out-of-town relatives since last Christmas .
She doesn ’ t know when she ’ ll see them again .
“ The client is hoping somehow to have the power to order food or cook a small Thanksgiving dinner , ” said Mir , a lifelong Southern @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Francisco Bay Area and has practiced remotely since her daughter was born four years ago .
“ But emotionally , she ’ s decided it ’ s just too hard to celebrate the holiday … too hard to be away from family.
” Even Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer is feeling the sting of the first coronavirus Christmas season .
Her grandchildren live in another state , and she won ’ t be able to see them for the holidays .
“ Like all of you , I wish things @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re not , ” she said at a media briefing Thursday .
“ And my feeling is , I don ’ t want to be one of the people that ’ s contributing to not only increasing cases that restrict our ability to continue with our recovery journey , but increasing cases that could result in other people getting sick and even dying.
” For months now , Sharnell Blevins has had a full house .
Because of the coronavirus , Blevins and her husband work from their South Bay home —along with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ undergrads still home because of the pandemic .
One is a freshman at an East Coast university and wakes up at 5 a.m. for class .
The other three are in high school .
“ Sharing the internet can get tricky , ” Blevins said .
“ We sometimes have trouble with connectivity , but space is the biggest issue .
We ’ ve all claimed different corners of the house.
” Her fraternal twins are in 12th grade in the Los Angeles Unified School District .
Her daughter has been playing basketball @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the varsity team all through high school .
The California Interscholastic Federation , which governs student sports , planned to have the season start in January .
But coronavirus cases are on the rise , and basketball is on hold .
“ We always knew that the rates would probably spike in the fall , ” said Blevins , “ but the latest news certainly puts a damper on everything .
I was hoping that January would be when my kids would be able to go back to school , that we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It ’ s scary .
We could still be like this next year.
” On a typical Thanksgiving , said Blevins , there are as many as 20 people in her home .
This year , she still has not made plans .
At most , the immediate family will probably share a meal — without her and her husband ’ s elderly parents , whom they fear putting in coronavirus danger .
“ You know , I thought about having a Zoom dinner to include them , but that feels a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ It ’ s just not very intimate.
” Downtown Santa Monica was a subdued shadow of its usual self Friday , 24 hours or so after California hit a terrible milestone : more than 1 million people in the Golden State have been confirmed to be infected with COVID-19 .
Longtime friends Regina Mitchell , Lakisha Johnson and Angela Robertson-Jones took a girls trip south from the Bay Area , hoping to beat store closures they expected to encounter with the pandemic ’ s third wave .
Johnson was planning to get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Street , but she and her friends said they wouldn ’ t be doing any holiday shopping there — or anywhere — the way they ’ d done in previous years .
“ I ’ m ordering a lot online .
And I ’ m only ordering essential gifts — a cute flashlight , maybe even gift cards to the grocery store , ” Mitchell said .
Robertson-Jones agreed .
“ My son is 2 , he doesn ’ t need anything , ” she said .
“ Last year was definitely different @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for essential things.
” Patricia Santiago lost her food service job when the pandemic hit in the spring , and since then , work in her former industry has been scarce .
Retail bounced back faster , and these days she works as a clerk at a discount clothing store on Santa Monica ’ s Third Street Promenade .
But she makes just $ 13.50 an hour .
And it costs her $ 20 a day to park near her new job .
The alternative — two hours each way on the bus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ did when she started four months ago .
The future feels just as precarious .
In October , her boss began cutting hours in response to disappointing sales .
The anemic start to what is normally the busiest shopping season of the year has her worried .
“ A lot of us ended up without jobs ” because of the virus , she said .
“ We have to look for another way to provide for our families.
” But she also understands why shoppers are staying home .
“ We have to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we don ’ t need it , we don ’ t buy it , ” Santiago said .
“ Not this year.
” Twenty or so miles south , business is down at the coffee shop Jenny Maddox owns with her sister .
On Friday afternoon , she was pulling shots and greeting regulars at Old Torrance Coffee & Tea and wondering whether her Thanksgiving plans would fall apart .
The year 2020 hasn ’ t been all bad for the 29-year-old Gardena woman .
In January , she got married in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ since college .
Now she , husband J Lee Maddox and her 5-year-old daughter , Kennedy Anne Coen , were hoping to fly to Indiana to spend Thanksgiving with her in-laws .
“ But Indiana is having a spike ” in virus cases , she said .
“ We ’ d have to fly into O ’ Hare , and Illinois has travel restrictions .
Indiana doesn ’ t as of yesterday , but who knows.
” And now , California does .
As a small-business owner , she said , she can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weeks on her return .
But she wasn ’ t all that worried by the new regulations : “ Nothing ’ s ever for sure , ” she said .
“ People just like to pretend it is .
And now they can ’ t. ” And Kennedy was downright giddy at Gov .
Gavin Newsom ’ s announcement that “ travel increases the risk of spreading COVID-19 , and we must all collectively increase our efforts at this time to keep the virus at bay and save lives.
” She loves the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the governor of California .
Given the recent backlash against Newsom ’ s efforts to stanch the virus , the protests , the recall petitions , Kennedy might be part of a very small fan club .
“ Gavin Newsom gave new advice for traveling , ” Maddox told her daughter , who was building something or other with a set of wooden chess pieces .
“ That means he ’ ll probably have a picture in the newspaper.
” Kennedy collects pictures of Newsom and pastes them into a pink scrapbook she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
On the first page , she drew a picture of the governor with his name above his head in brown marker .
In pencil at the top of the page she wrote : “ I love my favorite person .
”

Maria L. La Ganga, Sonja Sharp, Julia Barajas

Business is booming for Maria Mir. Under normal circumstances, she takes little time off in November and December; the holidays are her busy season. But this is 2020. Nothing is normal. And everyone seems to need her at once.
Mir is a licensed marriage and family therapist. She’s used to patients feeling lonely and depressed as Thanksgiving and Christmas near. But “this particular time is different,” she says. “Even people who haven’t felt lonely in the past are now feeling that isolation.”
Pandemic Holiday Season 1.0 is taking its toll on psyches and pocketbooks. We’ve been cooped up for the better part of nine months, but instead of drawing up lists of guests and gifts, we’re cataloging the things we cannot do as temperatures drop and coronavirus cases soar across the country.
Like visit far-flung family and friends. On Friday, the governors of the three West Coast states issued “travel advisories” recommending against nonessential travel and urging people entering California, Oregon and Washington to self-quarantine for two weeks to slow the virus’ spread.
Or buy those loved ones holiday gifts. A second round of stimulus money to help hard-hit consumers is a distant dream because of a deadlocked Congress. And even if shoppers have money in their pockets, malls are what health experts warn against: closed-in spaces with the possibility of crowds.
Advertisement
Or even, for the high school seniors among us, apply for college in any normal fashion. Campuses are largely on lockdown. Learning is remote. The extracurricular activities that burnish an application are on hold. And you can’t bump into your counselor in the hall for a little extra guidance.
Travelers wearing full body suits and masks prepare to head to their gate in Terminal 2 at LAX on Friday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
One of Mir’s patients is so distressed about being unable to see her extended family that she doesn’t plan on celebrating Thanksgiving at all. She hasn’t seen out-of-town relatives since last Christmas. She doesn’t know when she’ll see them again.
“The client is hoping somehow to have the power to order food or cook a small Thanksgiving dinner,” said Mir, a lifelong Southern Californian who now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and has practiced remotely since her daughter was born four years ago. “But emotionally, she’s decided it’s just too hard to celebrate the holiday … too hard to be away from family.”
Even Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer is feeling the sting of the first coronavirus Christmas season. Her grandchildren live in another state, and she won’t be able to see them for the holidays.
“Like all of you, I wish things were really different. But they’re not,” she said at a media briefing Thursday. “And my feeling is, I don’t want to be one of the people that’s contributing to not only increasing cases that restrict our ability to continue with our recovery journey, but increasing cases that could result in other people getting sick and even dying.”
Advertisement
For months now, Sharnell Blevins has had a full house. Because of the coronavirus, Blevins and her husband work from their South Bay home —along with their six children. Three are college undergrads still home because of the pandemic. One is a freshman at an East Coast university and wakes up at 5 a.m. for class. The other three are in high school.
“Sharing the internet can get tricky,” Blevins said. “We sometimes have trouble with connectivity, but space is the biggest issue. We’ve all claimed different corners of the house.”
A traveler enters Terminal 1 at LAX on Friday. Gov. Gavin Newsom is urging people to restrict traveling because of the increase in COVID-19 cases. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Her fraternal twins are in 12th grade in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Her daughter has been playing basketball since she was 4 and has been on the varsity team all through high school. The California Interscholastic Federation, which governs student sports, planned to have the season start in January. But coronavirus cases are on the rise, and basketball is on hold.
“We always knew that the rates would probably spike in the fall,” said Blevins, “but the latest news certainly puts a damper on everything. I was hoping that January would be when my kids would be able to go back to school, that we’d all get our lives back. It’s scary. We could still be like this next year.”
On a typical Thanksgiving, said Blevins, there are as many as 20 people in her home. This year, she still has not made plans. At most, the immediate family will probably share a meal — without her and her husband’s elderly parents, whom they fear putting in coronavirus danger.
Advertisement
“You know, I thought about having a Zoom dinner to include them, but that feels a little weird,” Blevins said. “It’s just not very intimate.”
Visitors walk past a holiday-decorated window at Anthropologie in Santa Monica on Friday. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
Downtown Santa Monica was a subdued shadow of its usual self Friday, 24 hours or so after California hit a terrible milestone: more than 1 million people in the Golden State have been confirmed to be infected with COVID-19.
Longtime friends Regina Mitchell, Lakisha Johnson and Angela Robertson-Jones took a girls trip south from the Bay Area, hoping to beat store closures they expected to encounter with the pandemic’s third wave. Johnson was planning to get a coat at the Zara on 3rd Street, but she and her friends said they wouldn’t be doing any holiday shopping there — or anywhere — the way they’d done in previous years.
“I’m ordering a lot online. And I’m only ordering essential gifts — a cute flashlight, maybe even gift cards to the grocery store,” Mitchell said.
Robertson-Jones agreed. “My son is 2, he doesn’t need anything,” she said. “Last year was definitely different. But right now, money is for essential things.”
Patricia Santiago lost her food service job when the pandemic hit in the spring, and since then, work in her former industry has been scarce. Retail bounced back faster, and these days she works as a clerk at a discount clothing store on Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade.
Advertisement
But she makes just $13.50 an hour. And it costs her $20 a day to park near her new job. The alternative — two hours each way on the bus — feels more dangerous now than it did when she started four months ago.
The future feels just as precarious. In October, her boss began cutting hours in response to disappointing sales. The anemic start to what is normally the busiest shopping season of the year has her worried.
“A lot of us ended up without jobs” because of the virus, she said. “We have to look for another way to provide for our families.”
Jenny Maddox, her daughter Kennedy Coen 5, and her new husband, J Lee Maddox, were planning on flying to Indiana to spend time with his family at Thanksgiving. But the surge in COVID-19 cases means their travel plans are up in the air. (Maria L. La Ganga / Los Angeles Times)
But she also understands why shoppers are staying home.
“We have to pay rent and the car — if we don’t need it, we don’t buy it,” Santiago said. “Not this year.”
Twenty or so miles south, business is down at the coffee shop Jenny Maddox owns with her sister. On Friday afternoon, she was pulling shots and greeting regulars at Old Torrance Coffee & Tea and wondering whether her Thanksgiving plans would fall apart.
Advertisement
The year 2020 hasn’t been all bad for the 29-year-old Gardena woman. In January, she got married in the coffee house where she’d worked since college. Now she, husband J Lee Maddox and her 5-year-old daughter, Kennedy Anne Coen, were hoping to fly to Indiana to spend Thanksgiving with her in-laws.
“But Indiana is having a spike” in virus cases, she said. “We’d have to fly into O’Hare, and Illinois has travel restrictions. Indiana doesn’t as of yesterday, but who knows.”
And now, California does. As a small-business owner, she said, she can’t afford to quarantine for two weeks on her return. But she wasn’t all that worried by the new regulations: “Nothing’s ever for sure,” she said. “People just like to pretend it is. And now they can’t.”
And Kennedy was downright giddy at Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement that “travel increases the risk of spreading COVID-19, and we must all collectively increase our efforts at this time to keep the virus at bay and save lives.”
She loves the color pink. And unicorns. And the governor of California.
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Given the recent backlash against Newsom’s efforts to stanch the virus, the protests, the recall petitions, Kennedy might be part of a very small fan club.
“Gavin Newsom gave new advice for traveling,” Maddox told her daughter, who was building something or other with a set of wooden chess pieces. “That means he’ll probably have a picture in the newspaper.”
Kennedy collects pictures of Newsom and pastes them into a pink scrapbook she put together in honor of the politician. On the first page, she drew a picture of the governor with his name above his head in brown marker.
In pencil at the top of the page she wrote: “I love my favorite person.”


latimes--2020-11-13--Sunday and Monday will begin 'a quick trip back to summer' in L.A. region, forecasters say

Like some indestructible monster in a horror flick , summer-like heat in Southern California just keeps coming back .
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ’ s temperature outlook for Nov. 19-23 favors above-normal temperatures in Southern California and the Southwest .
The National Weather Service office in Oxnard tweeted , “ Sorry fall lovers , we ’ re going to take a quick trip back to summer temporarily !
” The weather service predicts much warmer conditions on Sunday and Monday with gusty offshore winds .
Gusts could be 20 to 40 mph Monday , the warmest day , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ degrees down to the beaches .
The dry air will also result in elevated fire weather conditions , the weather service said .
August and September were the hottest on record , and preliminary data suggest that October 2020 will also go into the record books as the hottest October in the region , according to climate scientist Daniel Swain .
Arizona and California both experienced their warmest April-to-September period in 126 years , according to the U.S. Drought Monitor .
This summer was also the most destructive wildfire season on record in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the last week , it might feel like a return to summer , ” said Kathy Hoxie , a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Oxnard .
“ The above-normal temperatures will probably remind people of summer , ” when temperatures were 10 to 15 degrees above normal .
Some places will be 20 degrees above normal on Monday , she said .
Unlike summer , though , Hoxie pointed out that nighttime temperatures will cool off .
Sunday night will be in the low to mid-50s .
She said that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as the sun sets at this time of year .
Although a Pacific storm brought significant and widespread precipitation to parts of the Northwest , conditions deteriorated in Northern California and in a broad swath from southwestern California through New Mexico , according to the latest data from the U.S. Drought Monitor released Thursday .
Drought persisted or intensified throughout much of the Southwest and Four Corners .
Also Thursday , NOAA said that La Niña strengthened during October .
Forecasters put the chances of La Niña lasting through the winter at 95 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % chance of persisting through the spring .
Although it ’ s early for clear La Niña impacts , NOAA said October did reveal some hints , including more rain in Indonesia , drier conditions in southeastern China and the U.S. Southwest , as well as cooler weather in Canada and the Northern Plains .
A La Niña occurs when the sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific are below average .
Easterly winds over that region strengthen , and rainfall usually decreases over the central and eastern tropical Pacific @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Indonesia and the Philippines .
There are numerous global climate factors involved in predicting precipitation , but La Niñas are typically associated with colder , stormier-than-average conditions and increased precipitation across the northern parts of the United States , and warmer , drier and less stormy conditions in the southern portions of the country .
A La Niña is no guarantee of a dry winter , but La Niñas are statistically more likely to be dry than wet , Hoxie said .
If that warm , dry scenario plays out , the summertime @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , with all that portends for the expanding Western drought and the wildfire outlook in the remainder of 2020 and into 2021 .

Like some indestructible monster in a horror flick, summer-like heat in Southern California just keeps coming back.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s temperature outlook for Nov. 19-23 favors above-normal temperatures in Southern California and the Southwest. The National Weather Service office in Oxnard tweeted, “Sorry fall lovers, we’re going to take a quick trip back to summer temporarily!”
The weather service predicts much warmer conditions on Sunday and Monday with gusty offshore winds. Gusts could be 20 to 40 mph Monday, the warmest day, with high temperatures between 82 and 92 degrees down to the beaches. The dry air will also result in elevated fire weather conditions, the weather service said.
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August and September were the hottest on record, and preliminary data suggest that October 2020 will also go into the record books as the hottest October in the region, according to climate scientist Daniel Swain.
Arizona and California both experienced their warmest April-to-September period in 126 years, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. This summer was also the most destructive wildfire season on record in California.
“After the cold temperatures of the last week, it might feel like a return to summer,” said Kathy Hoxsie, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Oxnard. “The above-normal temperatures will probably remind people of summer,” when temperatures were 10 to 15 degrees above normal. Some places will be 20 degrees above normal on Monday, she said.
Unlike summer, though, Hoxsie pointed out that nighttime temperatures will cool off. Sunday night will be in the low to mid-50s. She said that temperatures take a noticeable dip as soon as the sun sets at this time of year.
Latest U.S. Drought Monitor data released Thursday. (Paul Duginski / Los Angeles Times)
Although a Pacific storm brought significant and widespread precipitation to parts of the Northwest, conditions deteriorated in Northern California and in a broad swath from southwestern California through New Mexico, according to the latest data from the U.S. Drought Monitor released Thursday. Drought persisted or intensified throughout much of the Southwest and Four Corners.
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Also Thursday, NOAA said that La Niña strengthened during October. Forecasters put the chances of La Niña lasting through the winter at 95%, and give it a 65% chance of persisting through the spring.
Although it’s early for clear La Niña impacts, NOAA said October did reveal some hints, including more rain in Indonesia, drier conditions in southeastern China and the U.S. Southwest, as well as cooler weather in Canada and the Northern Plains.
A La Niña occurs when the sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific are below average. Easterly winds over that region strengthen, and rainfall usually decreases over the central and eastern tropical Pacific and increases over the western Pacific, Indonesia and the Philippines.
La Niña conditions are expected to last through the winter. (Paul Duginski / Los Angeles Times)
There are numerous global climate factors involved in predicting precipitation, but La Niñas are typically associated with colder, stormier-than-average conditions and increased precipitation across the northern parts of the United States, and warmer, drier and less stormy conditions in the southern portions of the country.
A La Niña is no guarantee of a dry winter, but La Niñas are statistically more likely to be dry than wet, Hoxsie said.
If that warm, dry scenario plays out, the summertime monster may continue to prowl the landscape, with all that portends for the expanding Western drought and the wildfire outlook in the remainder of 2020 and into 2021.


latimes--2020-11-14--L.A. County sees highest number of coronavirus cases in one day since the summer

Los Angeles County public health officials reported 20 new deaths and 3,780 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus on Saturday , the highest number of positive cases in one day since the summertime .
County officials attributed the growth in cases to increased testing across the county — more than 56,000 tests were processed Friday — yet the positivity rate remains high , at nearly 6 % .
The new positive cases reported Saturday are the largest one-day figure since mid-July not associated with a backlog of cases , health officials said .
Additionally , there are 966 people currently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a quarter in the ICU .
That ’ s the highest number of hospitalizations in nearly two months , officials said .
Younger people are driving the increase in new coronavirus cases , with those under 50 comprising nearly three-quarters of the cases reported Saturday .
“ Many younger people are out socializing with non-household members , raising concerns that asymptomatic young people are helping to spread the virus to more vulnerable people at a time when cases are surging dangerously in the county , ” County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ effect of the coronavirus on younger people may not be significantly associated with deaths , younger people definitely act as a transmission connector to individuals at a higher risk.
” While younger people make up most of the new coronavirus cases , deaths are concentrated among the elderly .
Of the 20 deaths from Saturday , nine were over 80 years old , and two were between 30 and 45 , the youngest age range reported .
Three-quarters of the new deaths reported Saturday had underlying health conditions .
To date , county @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the coronavirus across the county and 7,266 deaths .

Los Angeles County public health officials reported 20 new deaths and 3,780 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus on Saturday, the highest number of positive cases in one day since the summertime.
County officials attributed the growth in cases to increased testing across the county — more than 56,000 tests were processed Friday — yet the positivity rate remains high, at nearly 6%. The new positive cases reported Saturday are the largest one-day figure since mid-July not associated with a backlog of cases, health officials said.
Additionally, there are 966 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19, with more than a quarter in the ICU. That’s the highest number of hospitalizations in nearly two months, officials said.
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Younger people are driving the increase in new coronavirus cases, with those under 50 comprising nearly three-quarters of the cases reported Saturday.
“Many younger people are out socializing with non-household members, raising concerns that asymptomatic young people are helping to spread the virus to more vulnerable people at a time when cases are surging dangerously in the county,” County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a statement. “While the effect of the coronavirus on younger people may not be significantly associated with deaths, younger people definitely act as a transmission connector to individuals at a higher risk.”
While younger people make up most of the new coronavirus cases, deaths are concentrated among the elderly. Of the 20 deaths from Saturday, nine were over 80 years old, and two were between 30 and 45, the youngest age range reported. Three-quarters of the new deaths reported Saturday had underlying health conditions.
To date, county health officials have identified 336,549 positive cases of the coronavirus across the county and 7,266 deaths.


latimes--2020-11-14--USC will continue mostly online classes in spring due to coronavirus surge

USC will likely continue to hold classes almost entirely online during the spring semester as coronavirus cases continue to spike in Los Angeles County , the school announced Friday .
“ We regularly meet with county health officials in our efforts to return to some in-person learning , ” Provost Charles Zukoski wrote in a letter to students .
“ In our most recent discussions , it has become increasingly clear that conditions are now likely to require that we begin the Spring semester with the same online and remote instruction that we ’ ve had during the Fall , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ halls.
” School officials had hoped to bring 5,000 students back into campus housing for the spring semester , which begins Jan. 15 , and had teams working to prepare classrooms , develop cleaning protocols and create a testing and contact tracing strategy .
But late last month , L.A. County public health officials began to report an uptick in new coronavirus cases and hospitalizations , indicating that transmission of the virus is on the rise .
The county reported 2,481 new cases of the virus Friday , and there were 966 confirmed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Thursday .
“ The current surge in COVID-19 transmission in L.A. County is alarming , ” Barbara Ferrer , the county public health director , said Friday in a statement urging people to take precautions and to refrain from traveling for the holidays .
“ If we act now , we can prevent increasing rates of illness and death , stressing our healthcare system , and further stalling our recovery.
” The increase mirrors a trend seen across the United States , which notched record-high numbers of new coronavirus cases several days this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of weekly coronavirus cases has doubled in just the last month , prompting health officials to issue a new advisory urging residents to quarantine when returning from travel out of state .
Friday ’ s announcement marked the second time that USC ’ s reopening plans were dashed by a surge in coronavirus infections since the school transitioned to online learning in March .
The university had initially planned to bring all undergraduates back to campus during the fall semester , which began Aug. 17 , for a mix of online and in-person @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reverse the decision in July , when new cases and hospitalizations in L.A. County reached the highest levels seen during the pandemic .
Instead , school officials announced , only 10 % to 20 % of courses would be conducted in person and on campus , including certain labs , studios and performance classes , and research studies that require hands-on work .
Students who needed to live on campus were permitted to do so , provided there was only one student per bedroom .
In the letter Friday , Zukoski wrote that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ might be able to return to campus for in-person and hybrid learning at some point later in the spring semester .
The school is also hoping to offer more on-campus activities and to reopen libraries , research labs , tennis courts and swimming pools , pending the approval of health officials , he said .
Even with limited campus operations , USC reported an increase in coronavirus cases among its students and employees earlier this month .
The school had recorded 29 active cases as of Nov. 6 , compared with a low @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before that , Dr. Sarah Van Orman , chief health officer for USC Student Health , wrote in a memo to students .
The number of cases still remained lower than in late August , when two weeks into the fall semester , there were 43 cases reported over a one-week period .
All of them were related to students living off campus , USC said , where many students remain in private apartments and houses .
In many cases , Van Orman wrote in the most recent memo , the virus was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a small number of people — small gatherings with family and friends , study groups , and travel.
” L.A. County public health officials also have blamed small gatherings as a major driver of the countywide surge , saying that people have tired of coronavirus restrictions and resumed old routines , including visiting family members and friends .
The “ COVID fatigue ” is apparently being felt even by government officials .
On Friday , California Gov .
Gavin Newsom was forced to issue a statement responding to a San Francisco Chronicle report @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Nov. 6 dinner with other households at the French Laundry , a pricey Napa Valley restaurant , to celebrate the birthday of his political advisor .
“ While our family followed the restaurant ’ s health protocols and took safety precautions , we should have modeled better behavior and not joined the dinner , ” Newsom said in the statement .

Students return for the first day of academic instruction for the fall 2020 semester.
USC will likely continue to hold classes almost entirely online during the spring semester as coronavirus cases continue to spike in Los Angeles County, the school announced Friday.
“We regularly meet with county health officials in our efforts to return to some in-person learning,” Provost Charles Zukoski wrote in a letter to students.
“In our most recent discussions, it has become increasingly clear that conditions are now likely to require that we begin the Spring semester with the same online and remote instruction that we’ve had during the Fall, with no additional students in our residence halls.”
School officials had hoped to bring 5,000 students back into campus housing for the spring semester, which begins Jan. 15, and had teams working to prepare classrooms, develop cleaning protocols and create a testing and contact tracing strategy.
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But late last month, L.A. County public health officials began to report an uptick in new coronavirus cases and hospitalizations, indicating that transmission of the virus is on the rise. The county reported 2,481 new cases of the virus Friday, and there were 966 confirmed coronavirus patients in county hospitals as of Thursday.
California California coronavirus surge worsens, prompting new pleas to avoid travel A travel advisory issued Friday encourages Californians to stay local and avoid nonessential travel, and asks those who arrive from another state or country to self-quarantine for 14 days.
“The current surge in COVID-19 transmission in L.A. County is alarming,” Barbara Ferrer, the county public health director, said Friday in a statement urging people to take precautions and to refrain from traveling for the holidays. “If we act now, we can prevent increasing rates of illness and death, stressing our healthcare system, and further stalling our recovery.”
The increase mirrors a trend seen across the United States, which notched record-high numbers of new coronavirus cases several days this week. In California, the number of weekly coronavirus cases has doubled in just the last month, prompting health officials to issue a new advisory urging residents to quarantine when returning from travel out of state.
Friday’s announcement marked the second time that USC’s reopening plans were dashed by a surge in coronavirus infections since the school transitioned to online learning in March.
The university had initially planned to bring all undergraduates back to campus during the fall semester, which began Aug. 17, for a mix of online and in-person classes. But it was forced to reverse the decision in July, when new cases and hospitalizations in L.A. County reached the highest levels seen during the pandemic.
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Instead, school officials announced, only 10% to 20% of courses would be conducted in person and on campus, including certain labs, studios and performance classes, and research studies that require hands-on work. Students who needed to live on campus were permitted to do so, provided there was only one student per bedroom.
In the letter Friday, Zukoski wrote that USC officials remain hopeful that more students might be able to return to campus for in-person and hybrid learning at some point later in the spring semester. The school is also hoping to offer more on-campus activities and to reopen libraries, research labs, tennis courts and swimming pools, pending the approval of health officials, he said.
Even with limited campus operations, USC reported an increase in coronavirus cases among its students and employees earlier this month.
The school had recorded 29 active cases as of Nov. 6, compared with a low of eight average weekly cases two weeks before that, Dr. Sarah Van Orman, chief health officer for USC Student Health, wrote in a memo to students.
The number of cases still remained lower than in late August, when two weeks into the fall semester, there were 43 cases reported over a one-week period. All of them were related to students living off campus, USC said, where many students remain in private apartments and houses.
In many cases, Van Orman wrote in the most recent memo, the virus was transmitted “through close contact with just a small number of people — small gatherings with family and friends, study groups, and travel.”
L.A. County public health officials also have blamed small gatherings as a major driver of the countywide surge, saying that people have tired of coronavirus restrictions and resumed old routines, including visiting family members and friends.
The “COVID fatigue” is apparently being felt even by government officials. On Friday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom was forced to issue a statement responding to a San Francisco Chronicle report that he and his wife had attended a Nov. 6 dinner with other households at the French Laundry, a pricey Napa Valley restaurant, to celebrate the birthday of his political advisor.
“While our family followed the restaurant’s health protocols and took safety precautions, we should have modeled better behavior and not joined the dinner,” Newsom said in the statement.


latimes--2020-11-14--Column: 'I hope you die a miserable death' and other words of encouragement from my readers

As the tally of COVID-19 cases and deaths surged across the United States over the last week , President Trump seemed not to notice because he was too busy insisting he had won reelection .
And through it all , Trump ’ s Jim Jones-like cult of true believers remained as loyal as ever .
I know this because some of them reached out to me .
A bit harsh , perhaps , but like Trump himself , his acolytes across the land insist he has been robbed , and that Joe Biden is an illegitimate president-elect .
They claim @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Philadelphia and Atlanta .
And they beat me like a punching bag for not buying Trump ’ s view of things .
But that ’ s the way it ought to work .
I took my shots at Trump last week in a column titled “ Good riddance , Mr. President.
” So , in the interest of fairness , I will now air the other side , from my readers who continue to stand by their man .
“ This is not over you cheating peace of … ” wrote Steve .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s not nice .
And I think it ’ s “ piece , ” not “ peace , ” especially in this context .
“ Dems can only win by continuing to lie and cheat the American people , ” continued Steve .
No cheating has been proved , despite all the allegations .
But how are we to know that several million undocumented immigrants didn ’ t vote for Biden , as Trump insists they did for Hillary Clinton four years ago ?
Steve must think I ’ m one of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Just let everyone else pay for you and your kind , ” he said .
An email from “ Sunbeam ” was more specific .
“ You , Steve Lopez is the kind of person that we do not want here in the United States of America .
Why don ’ t you go back to whatever third world country you came from so that those of us who have been here for generations do not have to pay for your upkeep welfare.
” Putting aside that I was born in California , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ll be pleased to hear , Sunbeam , that if Trump runs again in four years and wins , I ’ m entirely open to leaving the country .
“ Trump maybe lost , ” a reader named Thomas wrote , but “ so did america.
” Okay , at least this guy is admitting defeat , so he might be more level-headed than some of the other Trump supporters .
Let ’ s see what else he has to say : “ It ’ s a shame scum like you who are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ posting all that hate you wrothless spic inbreed , ” Thomas continued .
OK , maybe I spoke too soon .
And actually , Thomas , I ’ m not illgeal , as far as I know , whatever that is .
Wrothless ?
Maybe .
But I am shocked , shocked , shocked that Trump supporters would express themselves with such hateful , bigoted language .
Where did they learn that , I wonder ?
Here ’ s a letter from a reader named Dorothy .
Maybe she ’ ll have something @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not going to go away and we will make Biden ’ s political life very miserable… .
There were 70 million of us Mr. Lopez , ” said Dorothy , dashing my hopes .
“ You in return are an ignorant fake news hack.
” I have no idea how old Dorothy is , but she said her husband fought in World War II to defend “ republicans ” and “ SANE Truman democrats , ” not “ anti-American communists.
” This comes up a lot with Trump supporters .
If you have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ times a day , acts like a bully and blames everyone else for his failures , you are anti-American .
I ’ ve heard it often enough that it must be true .
A lot of them also told me they ’ re willing to put up with Trump ’ s crass bully schtick because he has done a good job in a number of areas , namely in his handling of the economy .
Which , by the way , has collapsed as more than 244,000 Americans have died of COVID-19 while @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ Who saved our country by taking care of a huge trade imbalance ?
” asked Lynda .
Not Trump .
The trade deficit hit a 14-year high last month .
Other readers said Trump ’ s conservative judicial appointees were reason enough to cheer , and I will admit that he hit a grand slam in that department .
Others said they can ’ t fathom the country being run by radicals like Biden and Kamala Harris .
Biden , in fact , won the nomination largely because he was a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ radical , what a shame that she wasted all those years working as a prosecutor .
Still others said they like having a “ law and order ” president like Trump .
This overlooks the fact that eight of Trump ’ s associates have been criminally charged or convicted , and that the president himself — whose documented lies while in office number in the thousands — is the target of an ongoing criminal investigation in New York .
We live in distinct and separate worlds , as I ’ ve been saying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mission today was to hand a megaphone to Trump supporters , so let ’ s hear a few more soaring thoughts from them .
“ You are pathetic !
!
Trump will win and I hope you get fired !
!
You jerk !
!
” wrote Michael .
Bob said my “ good riddance ” column was the “ worse piece of crap ” he ’ s read in a while and suggested I look for work at Wendy ’ s , because the journalism thing isn ’ t going to work @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wavelength , writing to say , “ I don ’ t read the LA Times for your opinion , so keep it to yourself.
” And for anyone who doubts that Trump was a hero to those who see everything in black and white , there ’ s this : “ The Anglo-Saxon created Britain , America , Canada , Australia , New Zealand , Singapore and Hong Kong , ” wrote W. Lindsay .
“ What do you produce ?
Communists in Cuba .
Communists in Venezuela .
Crime-ridden , Cartel-Owned Mexico @ @ @ @ @ @ @ … Anglo-Saxons alone.
” Unsurprising but quite disturbing , so I thought I ’ d end on a note of harmony .
“ When the FINAL — CERTIFIED — votes are counted , it won ’ t even be close , ” wrote Trump supporter Susan .

I heard from Trump supporters, and for some reason, they weren’t happy with me.
As the tally of COVID-19 cases and deaths surged across the United States over the last week, President Trump seemed not to notice because he was too busy insisting he had won reelection. And through it all, Trump’s Jim Jones-like cult of true believers remained as loyal as ever.
I know this because some of them reached out to me.
“I hope you die a miserable death very soon!” wrote a reader named David.
A bit harsh, perhaps, but like Trump himself, his acolytes across the land insist he has been robbed, and that Joe Biden is an illegitimate president-elect. They claim there was widespread cheating in places like Philadelphia and Atlanta. And they beat me like a punching bag for not buying Trump’s view of things.
But that’s the way it ought to work. I took my shots at Trump last week in a column titled “Good riddance, Mr. President.” So, in the interest of fairness, I will now air the other side, from my readers who continue to stand by their man.
“This is not over you cheating peace of …” wrote Steve.
OK, first of all, that’s not nice. And I think it’s “piece,” not “peace,” especially in this context.
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“Dems can only win by continuing to lie and cheat the American people,” continued Steve.
No cheating has been proved, despite all the allegations. But how are we to know that several million undocumented immigrants didn’t vote for Biden, as Trump insists they did for Hillary Clinton four years ago?
Steve must think I’m one of them, by the way.
“Just let everyone else pay for you and your kind,” he said.
My kind?
An email from “Sunbeam” was more specific. “You, Steve Lopez is the kind of person that we do not want here in the United States of America. Why don’t you go back to whatever third world country you came from so that those of us who have been here for generations do not have to pay for your upkeep welfare.”
Putting aside that I was born in California, as were my parents, you’ll be pleased to hear, Sunbeam, that if Trump runs again in four years and wins, I’m entirely open to leaving the country.
“Trump maybe lost,” a reader named Thomas wrote, but “so did america.”
Okay, at least this guy is admitting defeat, so he might be more level-headed than some of the other Trump supporters. Let’s see what else he has to say:
“It’s a shame scum like you who are in this country illgeal get away with posting all that hate you wrothless spic inbreed,” Thomas continued.
OK, maybe I spoke too soon.
And actually, Thomas, I’m not illgeal, as far as I know, whatever that is. Wrothless? Maybe.
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But I am shocked, shocked, shocked that Trump supporters would express themselves with such hateful, bigoted language. Where did they learn that, I wonder?
Here’s a letter from a reader named Dorothy. Maybe she’ll have something nice to say.
“We are not going to go away and we will make Biden’s political life very miserable…. There were 70 million of us Mr. Lopez,” said Dorothy, dashing my hopes. “You in return are an ignorant fake news hack.”
I have no idea how old Dorothy is, but she said her husband fought in World War II to defend “republicans” and “SANE Truman democrats,” not “anti-American communists.”
This comes up a lot with Trump supporters. If you have problems with a president who lies eight times a day, acts like a bully and blames everyone else for his failures, you are anti-American. I’ve heard it often enough that it must be true.
A lot of them also told me they’re willing to put up with Trump’s crass bully schtick because he has done a good job in a number of areas, namely in his handling of the economy. Which, by the way, has collapsed as more than 244,000 Americans have died of COVID-19 while the president refused to wear a mask.
“Who saved our country by taking care of a huge trade imbalance?” asked Lynda.
Not Trump. The trade deficit hit a 14-year high last month.
Other readers said Trump’s conservative judicial appointees were reason enough to cheer, and I will admit that he hit a grand slam in that department.
Others said they can’t fathom the country being run by radicals like Biden and Kamala Harris. Biden, in fact, won the nomination largely because he was a moderate. And if Harris is a radical, what a shame that she wasted all those years working as a prosecutor.
Still others said they like having a “law and order” president like Trump. This overlooks the fact that eight of Trump’s associates have been criminally charged or convicted, and that the president himself — whose documented lies while in office number in the thousands — is the target of an ongoing criminal investigation in New York.
We live in distinct and separate worlds, as I’ve been saying for several years now. But my mission today was to hand a megaphone to Trump supporters, so let’s hear a few more soaring thoughts from them.
“You are pathetic!! Trump will win and I hope you get fired!! You jerk!!” wrote Michael.
Bob said my “good riddance” column was the “worse piece of crap” he’s read in a while and suggested I look for work at Wendy’s, because the journalism thing isn’t going to work out.
Keith was on the same wavelength, writing to say, “I don’t read the LA Times for your opinion, so keep it to yourself.”
And for anyone who doubts that Trump was a hero to those who see everything in black and white, there’s this:
“The Anglo-Saxon created Britain, America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Hong Kong,” wrote W. Lindsay. “What do you produce? Communists in Cuba. Communists in Venezuela. Crime-ridden, Cartel-Owned Mexico … JOIN LA RAZA … and LEAVE … Anglo-Saxons alone.”
Unsurprising but quite disturbing, so I thought I’d end on a note of harmony.
“When the FINAL — CERTIFIED — votes are counted, it won’t even be close,” wrote Trump supporter Susan.
I couldn’t agree more.


latimes--2020-11-14--A year after Saugus shooting, students look back as they move forward

Lexi Renolds remembers everything about that morning one year ago at Saugus High School — barricading the classroom door , crowding into the small closet with classmates , hiding in the dark .
Cell service in the cramped space filled with props used by her TV production class was bad , and she had only a vague idea of what was happening outside .
It would be hours before she would learn the full story : A 16-year-old student had opened fire on the quad of the Santa Clarita school , killing two teenagers and wounding three others before turning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ horrors of that day , Lexi said she feels safe in that room .
The good memories outweigh the bad .
The classroom is where she gets to do the work she loves , with the people she loves .
“ This room is basically like my second home , ” said Lexi , a junior at Saugus High .
When the COVID-19 pandemic forced classes to be moved online in the spring , the 16-year-old temporarily lost that home .
But in August , she and other video production students began visiting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ remembrance for the students who were killed : Gracie Anne Muehlberger , 15 , and Dominic Blackwell , 14 .
The 90-minute video premieres Nov. 14 , the one-year anniversary of the shooting .
A link to the viewing will be published on the school ’ s website at 6 p.m. Saturday .
Simple things , like seeing an old friend , working the control room or setting up a camera , take Lexi back to the world she knew before “ everything happened , ” including the shooting and the coronavirus outbreak @ @ @ @ @ @ @ current project is heavy , the routine is welcome .
“ It really makes you feel good when you come in and you leave just knowing that you have something normal , ” she said .
For Wade Williams , Saugus ’ video teacher , throwing himself into the project has also been a way to sublimate difficult feelings .
Gracie was in his sixth-period video production class last year , a “ very happy kid ” who lit up when she was filming .
While searching for footage for the remembrance project @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he found a school project Gracie wasn ’ t able to finish — a video rendition of Lewis Carroll ’ s “ Jabberwocky.
” “ There was promise right there .
And it ’ s gone .
So that ’ s hard .
It ’ s been hard for me to watch it .
It ’ s been hard for me to watch it over and over and over again .
It ’ s kind of like picking a scab and not letting it heal , ” Williams said .
“ But I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and it will prove to be helpful .
We can ’ t just put our heads in the sand and say it never happened.
” Rick Hand , a senior and one of the project leads , agreed that working on the video has helped him process his own feelings about the shooting .
Hand , 18 , was with Gracie ’ s older brother when he learned the boy ’ s sister had been killed .
“ Working on a project like this — where I can feel like we ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about this — that alleviates the guilt a little bit , ” Hand said .
It ’ s also given the students ’ insight into the lives of the victims and the survivors , whom they interviewed for the project .
Marie Marcos , a sophomore who worked on the video collection , said Dominic once approached her in junior high out of the blue to ask if anything was wrong .
She was having a bad day , and it showed .
She was struck by his candid , caring nature , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Though Hand never interacted with Dominic , he said that based on listening to the boy ’ s friends and family as part of the project , “ that fits 100 % in line with anything I ’ ve ever heard.
” Santa Clarita Councilwoman Marsha McLean said the Santa Clarita community was tight knit before the shooting , but the tragedy forged even stronger bonds .
Days after the violence , more than 10,000 people gathered at Central Park to unite in mourning .
“ Saugus strong ” began trending on Twitter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appeared on cars all over town .
“ If there ’ s one thing we can remember , it ’ s the way everyone came together afterward , ” Hand said , even though he felt like some of the sentiments were performative .
The pre-pandemic plan had been to hold another in-person gathering to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the shooting .
That is still not off the table , with cautious hopes of an event in May , Williams said .
For now , the city is working with the Muehlberger @ @ @ @ @ @ @ intended for installation in the spring , said McLean , whose granddaughter is a Saugus High student .
In the wake of the shooting , officials at the William S. Hart Union School District , which includes Saugus , didn ’ t focus on beefing up security .
Instead , the district doubled down on a mental health initiative created last year , spokesman Dave Caldwell said .
The district , which serves more than 20,000 students , has almost reached its goal of opening a wellness center at each campus , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the anniversary , there was a full slate of online programming around mental and emotional health .
Ciara Wilkins , McLean ’ s granddaughter , said she visited the wellness center with friends a couple of times before school closed earlier in the spring during the COVID-19 pandemic , “ when we couldn ’ t handle a day.
” Games and coloring materials helped ease her anxiety .
“ It was definitely a hard road , a lot of ups and downs , dealing with it , ” the 16-year-old said of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Coming up on the one year is definitely challenging because you have to face everything that happened , when you kind of want to push it out of your mind , ” she said , adding that it ’ s hard to walk around campus when she needs to pick up or drop something off .
Like many of her peers , Ciara is focused on just getting through the rest of this unprecedented year .
She plans to head out of state for college in the fall — if campuses have reopened @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has two years before graduation , says while the future is muddled by uncertainty , last year ’ s tragedy has underscored the importance of savoring the here and now .
Last week , Marie and Lexi found themselves in the same closet they had barricaded themselves in one year ago .
They were laughing and having fun with several other students as they tried to find the cords for a wireless microphone .
Marie reflected on the moment : “ What happened on the 14th — what happened in there — just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only have four years of high school compared to the rest of our lives .
So we really have to cherish everything , ” she said .
“ And I just feel bad that Gracie and Dominic don ’ t have the privilege that we do , that we can make more memories .
We really need to take advantage of that and really need to be aware of the fact that we only live one life , so we need to live it to its fullest .
”

Senior Jacob Conard is the primary editor on a virtual remembrance that will be released for the community on the anniversary of the Saugus High School shooting.
Lexi Renolds remembers everything about that morning one year ago at Saugus High School — barricading the classroom door, crowding into the small closet with classmates, hiding in the dark.
Cell service in the cramped space filled with props used by her TV production class was bad, and she had only a vague idea of what was happening outside. It would be hours before she would learn the full story: A 16-year-old student had opened fire on the quad of the Santa Clarita school, killing two teenagers and wounding three others before turning the gun on himself.
Despite the horrors of that day, Lexi said she feels safe in that room.
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Lexi Renolds, 16, works on a remembrance project at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
The good memories outweigh the bad. The classroom is where she gets to do the work she loves, with the people she loves.
“This room is basically like my second home,” said Lexi, a junior at Saugus High.
When the COVID-19 pandemic forced classes to be moved online in the spring, the 16-year-old temporarily lost that home. But in August, she and other video production students began visiting campus periodically to work on a virtual remembrance for the students who were killed: Gracie Anne Muehlberger, 15, and Dominic Blackwell, 14. The 90-minute video premieres Nov. 14, the one-year anniversary of the shooting. A link to the viewing will be published on the school’s website at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Simple things, like seeing an old friend, working the control room or setting up a camera, take Lexi back to the world she knew before “everything happened,” including the shooting and the coronavirus outbreak. And though the material of the current project is heavy, the routine is welcome.
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“It really makes you feel good when you come in and you leave just knowing that you have something normal,” she said.
For Wade Williams, Saugus’ video teacher, throwing himself into the project has also been a way to sublimate difficult feelings. Gracie was in his sixth-period video production class last year, a “very happy kid” who lit up when she was filming.
Teacher Wade Williams speaks with students at Saugus High School on Thursday in Santa Clarita. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
While searching for footage for the remembrance project, Williams was flooded with emotions when he found a school project Gracie wasn’t able to finish — a video rendition of Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky.”
“There was promise right there. And it’s gone. So that’s hard. It’s been hard for me to watch it. It’s been hard for me to watch it over and over and over again. It’s kind of like picking a scab and not letting it heal,” Williams said. “But I think it’s also cathartic, and it will prove to be helpful. We can’t just put our heads in the sand and say it never happened.”
Rick Hand, a senior and one of the project leads, agreed that working on the video has helped him process his own feelings about the shooting.
Hand, 18, was with Gracie’s older brother when he learned the boy’s sister had been killed.
Senior Rick Hand, 18, is one of the remembrance project leads. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
“Working on a project like this — where I can feel like we’re helping somebody, somehow, feel better about this — that alleviates the guilt a little bit,” Hand said.
It’s also given the students’ insight into the lives of the victims and the survivors, whom they interviewed for the project.
Marie Marcos, a sophomore who worked on the video collection, said Dominic once approached her in junior high out of the blue to ask if anything was wrong. She was having a bad day, and it showed. She was struck by his candid, caring nature, which she recalled after his death.
Though Hand never interacted with Dominic, he said that based on listening to the boy’s friends and family as part of the project, “that fits 100% in line with anything I’ve ever heard.”
Santa Clarita Councilwoman Marsha McLean said the Santa Clarita community was tight knit before the shooting, but the tragedy forged even stronger bonds.
Days after the violence, more than 10,000 people gathered at Central Park to unite in mourning. “Saugus strong” began trending on Twitter. Tickers bearing the statement of solidarity appeared on cars all over town.
Saugus High School freshman Haley Stuart hugs her family at a memorial at Saugus High School on Nov. 15, 2019. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
“If there’s one thing we can remember, it’s the way everyone came together afterward,” Hand said, even though he felt like some of the sentiments were performative.
The pre-pandemic plan had been to hold another in-person gathering to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the shooting. That is still not off the table, with cautious hopes of an event in May, Williams said.
For now, the city is working with the Muehlberger and Blackwell families to create a memorial intended for installation in the spring, said McLean, whose granddaughter is a Saugus High student.
In the wake of the shooting, officials at the William S. Hart Union School District, which includes Saugus, didn’t focus on beefing up security. Instead, the district doubled down on a mental health initiative created last year, spokesman Dave Caldwell said. The district, which serves more than 20,000 students, has almost reached its goal of opening a wellness center at each campus, he said. And this week, prior to the anniversary, there was a full slate of online programming around mental and emotional health.
Assistant editor Ubaed Muhammad, 17, helped produce a virtual remembrance that will be released to the community on the one-year anniversary of the Saugus High School shooting. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
Ciara Wilkins, McLean’s granddaughter, said she visited the wellness center with friends a couple of times before school closed earlier in the spring during the COVID-19 pandemic, “when we couldn’t handle a day.” Games and coloring materials helped ease her anxiety.
“It was definitely a hard road, a lot of ups and downs, dealing with it,” the 16-year-old said of the aftermath of the shooting. “Coming up on the one year is definitely challenging because you have to face everything that happened, when you kind of want to push it out of your mind,” she said, adding that it’s hard to walk around campus when she needs to pick up or drop something off.
Like many of her peers, Ciara is focused on just getting through the rest of this unprecedented year. She plans to head out of state for college in the fall — if campuses have reopened by then. Marie, who still has two years before graduation, says while the future is muddled by uncertainty, last year’s tragedy has underscored the importance of savoring the here and now.
Last week, Marie and Lexi found themselves in the same closet they had barricaded themselves in one year ago. They were laughing and having fun with several other students as they tried to find the cords for a wireless microphone. Marie reflected on the moment: “What happened on the 14th — what happened in there — just blew over our heads.
“We only have four years of high school compared to the rest of our lives. So we really have to cherish everything,” she said. “And I just feel bad that Gracie and Dominic don’t have the privilege that we do, that we can make more memories. We really need to take advantage of that and really need to be aware of the fact that we only live one life, so we need to live it to its fullest.”