latimes--2020-04-29--California reopening: There's a plan but no firm timetable and many questions

California has the beginnings of a framework for slowly reopening , but it ’ s not exactly a timeline .
Gov .
Gavin Newsom released a four-part plan that he said could have some businesses running in weeks and some schools reopened by the summer .
But the outline , officials acknowledge , still has many uncertainties .
It is contingent on improvement in the fight against the coronavirus outbreak and on increased testing to assess how the illness is spreading .
Under Newsom ’ s plan , some retail businesses , manufacturing , schools and open spaces could reopen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Down the line , certain entertainment venues and religious institutions could reopen .
Live sports , concerts and other crowded events would be the last to resume .
What are the four phases ?
Expand testing , make workplaces safe for return , make masks and other personal protective equipment ( PPE ) more widely available Potential opening of some retail , schools , manufacturing , offices and public spaces , with social-distancing rules Potential opening of higher-risk businesses , such as gyms , hair and nail salons , movie theaters , religious @ @ @ @ @ @ @ opening of highest-risk businesses , such as concert venues , convention centers and sports with live audiences What timetables do we know ?
Newsom said some businesses could open “ in weeks , not months.
” The state is in the first phase , marked by ongoing efforts to provide a financial safety net for low-wage earners who might otherwise work when sick and encouraging the use of face coverings by residents when in places where they can not practice safe physical distancing .
This is what officials say is needed to get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ • Provide wage replacement so workers can stay home when sick • Allow employees to continue to work from home when possible • Use safety precautions , such as physical distancing and wearing masks • Support and care for people who are at high risk The second phase , the governor said , would allow select businesses to reopen in communities across California .
Those would be deemed “ lower risk ” and include more curbside options for retail locations , manufacturing sites and small businesses with few in-person customers .
The change @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public spaces , probably including some parks .
Newsom ’ s second phase , notably , might include a plan for allowing some K-12 schools to offer either summer programs or consider an earlier start to the new academic year — sometime in the summer — in order to make up some of the lost educational opportunities .
It also would allow more child-care facilities to resume operations .
The guidelines would require businesses seeking to reopen to keep as many people as possible working from home .
And it envisions that employers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have established safe workplace conditions .
For Phase 2 to kick in , the following things would need to happen : It ’ s unclear when Phases 3 and 4 would kick in .
The proposal does not offer information on who will enforce the rules or how enforcement will take place .
The statewide stay-at-home order issued by the governor last month has relied largely on local government officials to ensure compliance .
Key to the change would be adequate protections for places such as skilled nursing facilities and “ congregate ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The plan requires that officials in the state ’ s 58 counties have the ability to perform robust contact tracing to ensure they can track potential spread of the coronavirus .
Would this happen across the entire state ?
Newsom said not all regions of the state would be allowed to loosen the shutdown rules at the same time .
Local officials across California have barraged Newsom with requests to go their own way , saying they have flattened the coronavirus curve even as other places such as Los Angeles County continue to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ group of California lawmakers , mayors and other elected officials from six counties asked to ease the restrictions and start the process of reopening their economies .
At the same time , six Bay Area counties decided to extend their stay-at-home orders until the end of May .
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed a motion Tuesday establishing an action plan to work with businesses , labor partners and community leaders to ease its coronavirus restrictions .
Supervisor Janice Hahn , echoing an earlier statement by Newsom , said gradually lifting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ switch : “ It ’ s more like a dimmer.
” “ I would caution everyone from thinking that we have an end in sight , or we ’ re nearing the end of this unprecedented tragedy , ” Hahn said .
“ This is not going to just go away .
Coronavirus is going to be around forever , and without a to prevent us from getting the virus or a therapeutic drug to treat you , we need to really be cautious in how we reopen our society.
” The Orange @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The board unanimously approved a set of business guidelines seeking to “ strike a balance between the need for continued protection from the disease and the need for the economy to function again , ” Supervisor Don Wagner said .
“ These guidelines are intended to state clearly the minimum that business owners and operators must do , in addition to following all applicable jurisdictions ’ orders , ” he said .
The hope is to physically reopen some K-12 campuses to offer summer school programs or consider an earlier start to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is going to work , there are some major questions we will have to answer , ” state Supt .
of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said in a statement .
Among them — how to keep everyone on campuses safe and healthy ?
How will schools pay for teachers and resources to facilitate the smaller class sizes that social distancing requires ?
“ Clearly , for now , we still have more questions than answers .
But now is the time for us to problem-solve and plan for the future , ” Thurmond @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the California Department of Public Health , said reopening is also important for parents as they return to work , but facilities will probably operate differently to accommodate safety issues .
Some local officials said they were not expecting Newsom ’ s remarks and were caught off-guard .
An early start , they said , could be complicated logistically , financially and academically — especially with expected budget cuts and concerns about equity among low-income students and those with disabilities .
“ July would be problematic for all school districts that already @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Compton Unified School District Supt .
Darin Brawley said .
Schools use their summer classes to help students with special needs and those who need remedial classes .
Times staff writers Paloma Esquivel , Phil Willon and Taryn Luna contributed to this report .

Melissa Gomez, John Myers, Sonali Kohli, Luke Money, Colleen Shalby

Downtown L.A. shines in the setting sun looking east from MacArthur Park as roadways remain mostly empty during the coronavirus outbreak.
California has the beginnings of a framework for slowly reopening, but it’s not exactly a timeline.
Gov. Gavin Newsom released a four-part plan that he said could have some businesses running in weeks and some schools reopened by the summer.
But the outline, officials acknowledge, still has many uncertainties. It is contingent on improvement in the fight against the coronavirus outbreak and on increased testing to assess how the illness is spreading.
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Under Newsom’s plan, some retail businesses, manufacturing, schools and open spaces could reopen first, with strict social-distancing rules. Down the line, certain entertainment venues and religious institutions could reopen. Live sports, concerts and other crowded events would be the last to resume.
What are the four phases?
Phase 1
Expand testing, make workplaces safe for return, make masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE) more widely available
Phase 2
Potential opening of some retail, schools, manufacturing, offices and public spaces, with social-distancing rules
Phase 3
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Potential opening of higher-risk businesses, such as gyms, hair and nail salons, movie theaters, religious institutions and sports without live audiences
Phase 4
Potential opening of highest-risk businesses, such as concert venues, convention centers and sports with live audiences
What timetables do we know?
Newsom said some businesses could open “in weeks, not months.”
The state is in the first phase, marked by ongoing efforts to provide a financial safety net for low-wage earners who might otherwise work when sick and encouraging the use of face coverings by residents when in places where they cannot practice safe physical distancing.
This is what officials say is needed to get from Phase 1 to Phase 2:
Business actions:
Provide wage replacement so workers can stay home when sick
Implement adaptations to lower-risk workplaces
Allow employees to continue to work from home when possible
Individual actions:
Use safety precautions, such as physical distancing and wearing masks
Avoid all nonessential travel
Support and care for people who are at high risk
The second phase, the governor said, would allow select businesses to reopen in communities across California. Those would be deemed “lower risk” and include more curbside options for retail locations, manufacturing sites and small businesses with few in-person customers. The change also would loosen limits on access to public spaces, probably including some parks.
Newsom’s second phase, notably, might include a plan for allowing some K-12 schools to offer either summer programs or consider an earlier start to the new academic year — sometime in the summer — in order to make up some of the lost educational opportunities. It also would allow more child-care facilities to resume operations.
The guidelines would require businesses seeking to reopen to keep as many people as possible working from home. And it envisions that employers must be able to ensure that they have established safe workplace conditions.
For Phase 2 to kick in, the following things would need to happen:
Hospitalization and ICU trends are stable
Hospital surge capacity can meet demand
There’s sufficient PPE to meet demand
Testing capacity is sufficient to meet demand
There’s contact-tracing capacity statewide
It’s unclear when Phases 3 and 4 would kick in.
What about enforcement?
The proposal does not offer information on who will enforce the rules or how enforcement will take place.
The statewide stay-at-home order issued by the governor last month has relied largely on local government officials to ensure compliance.
Key to the change would be adequate protections for places such as skilled nursing facilities and “congregate” settings, including jails and prisons.
The plan requires that officials in the state’s 58 counties have the ability to perform robust contact tracing to ensure they can track potential spread of the coronavirus.
Would this happen across the entire state?
Newsom said not all regions of the state would be allowed to loosen the shutdown rules at the same time.
Local officials across California have barraged Newsom with requests to go their own way, saying they have flattened the coronavirus curve even as other places such as Los Angeles County continue to struggle.
On Monday, a bipartisan group of California lawmakers, mayors and other elected officials from six counties asked to ease the restrictions and start the process of reopening their economies.
At the same time, six Bay Area counties decided to extend their stay-at-home orders until the end of May.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed a motion Tuesday establishing an action plan to work with businesses, labor partners and community leaders to ease its coronavirus restrictions.
Supervisor Janice Hahn, echoing an earlier statement by Newsom, said gradually lifting restrictions would not be like flipping a switch: “It’s more like a dimmer.”
“I would caution everyone from thinking that we have an end in sight, or we’re nearing the end of this unprecedented tragedy,” Hahn said. “This is not going to just go away. Coronavirus is going to be around forever, and without a vaccine to prevent us from getting the virus or a therapeutic drug to treat you, we need to really be cautious in how we reopen our society.”
The Orange County Board of Supervisors also took up reopening guidelines Tuesday.
The board unanimously approved a set of business guidelines seeking to “strike a balance between the need for continued protection from the disease and the need for the economy to function again,” Supervisor Don Wagner said.
“These guidelines are intended to state clearly the minimum that business owners and operators must do, in addition to following all applicable jurisdictions’ orders,” he said.
What about schools?
The hope is to physically reopen some K-12 campuses to offer summer school programs or consider an earlier start to the next academic year.
“If this is going to work, there are some major questions we will have to answer,” state Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said in a statement. Among them — how to keep everyone on campuses safe and healthy? How will schools pay for teachers and resources to facilitate the smaller class sizes that social distancing requires?
“Clearly, for now, we still have more questions than answers. But now is the time for us to problem-solve and plan for the future,” Thurmond said.
Dr. Sonia Angell, director of the California Department of Public Health, said reopening child-care centers is also important for parents as they return to work, but facilities will probably operate differently to accommodate safety issues.
Some local officials said they were not expecting Newsom’s remarks and were caught off-guard. An early start, they said, could be complicated logistically, financially and academically — especially with expected budget cuts and concerns about equity among low-income students and those with disabilities.
“July would be problematic for all school districts that already have plans to implement summer school,” Compton Unified School District Supt. Darin Brawley said. Schools use their summer classes to help students with special needs and those who need remedial classes.
Times staff writers Paloma Esquivel, Phil Willon and Taryn Luna contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-04-29--California says 40% of coronavirus-related deaths are at nursing homes. Is it higher?

California earlier this week reported , for the first time , that nearly had occurred at skilled nursing facilities and assisted living facilities .
As of April 28 , 578 residents of nursing homes had died .
As of April 25 , 144 deaths had occurred in assisted living facilities .
Additionally , 11 healthcare workers have died after contracting the virus in a nursing home setting .
The state has refused a request to identify where the deaths occurred .
Also , the newly released data are incomplete , a Los Angeles Times analysis found , missing multiple facilities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with six or fewer beds , of which there are hundreds .
Mike Dark , staff attorney at California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform , a San Francisco-based nonprofit that advocates for people in long-term care , said during a town hall Tuesday that he believes the numbers represent an undercount .
While Gov .
Gavin Newsom on Tuesday said there were outbreaks in 192 of 1,224 skilled nursing facilities in the state , Dark said he believes “ the virus is widespread in California facilities.
” The data also only include deaths @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a state spokeswoman .
It may not include deaths that occurred after a resident was transferred to a hospital , a private home or other location .
On Friday , state and local officials announced new measures aimed at tackling the surging fatality rate through more aggressive regulations and help from the California National Guard , which will go into nursing homes to boost staffing levels .
Dr. Barbara Ferrer , the county ’ s public health director , touted an order that expands testing to both symptomatic and asymptomatic staff and residents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and requires staff and residents alike to wear protective equipment .
The moves are designed to get a better sense of how many people in the homes have contracted the coronavirus and to limit access to outsiders who could either bring in the virus or acquire it themselves .
The deployment of California National Guard teams is aimed at bolstering staff , as more and more healthcare workers become infected , are scared to come to work , or are sidelined by self-isolation .
Faced with the mounting toll , industry lobbyists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ liability .
Dark said that removal of liability would remove “ one of the last safety nets residents in these facilities have .
”

National Guard Sgt. Joseph Schlitz enters the Hollywood Premier Healthcare Center last week. The facility has seen 25 cases among staff and 29 among residents.
California earlier this week reported, for the first time, that nearly 40% of coronavirus-related deaths had occurred at skilled nursing facilities and assisted living facilities.
As of April 28, 578 residents of nursing homes had died. As of April 25, 144 deaths had occurred in assisted living facilities. Additionally, 11 healthcare workers have died after contracting the virus in a nursing home setting.
The state has refused a request to identify where the deaths occurred. Also, the newly released data are incomplete, a Los Angeles Times analysis found, missing multiple facilities with known outbreaks and not including facilities with six or fewer beds, of which there are hundreds.
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Mike Dark, staff attorney at California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that advocates for people in long-term care, said during a town hall Tuesday that he believes the numbers represent an undercount.
While Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday said there were outbreaks in 192 of 1,224 skilled nursing facilities in the state, Dark said he believes “the virus is widespread in California facilities.”
The data also only include deaths known by the facility, according to a state spokeswoman. It may not include deaths that occurred after a resident was transferred to a hospital, a private home or other location.
On Friday, state and local officials announced new measures aimed at tackling the surging fatality rate through more aggressive regulations and help from the California National Guard, which will go into nursing homes to boost staffing levels.
Dr. Barbara Ferrer, the county’s public health director, touted an order that expands testing to both symptomatic and asymptomatic staff and residents, bans visitors, suspends communal dining, and requires staff and residents alike to wear protective equipment. The moves are designed to get a better sense of how many people in the homes have contracted the coronavirus and to limit access to outsiders who could either bring in the virus or acquire it themselves.
The deployment of California National Guard teams is aimed at bolstering staff, as more and more healthcare workers become infected, are scared to come to work, or are sidelined by self-isolation.
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Faced with the mounting toll, industry lobbyists have petitioned Newsom to protect them from liability.
Dark said that removal of liability would remove “one of the last safety nets residents in these facilities have.”


latimes--2020-04-29--'You're one of the lucky ones': A nurse and her father say their goodbyes

As Donald Lackowski lay in a hospital bed at the Torrance Memorial Medical Center , a woman covered in protective gear from head to toe , revealing only her eyes , walked into his room .
Lackowski , who suffered from dementia , recognized his daughter , Elizabeth Seyferth , through the layers of protection .
“ I love you , too , Liz , ” he told her .
Seyferth , an operating room nurse , visited her father several times in the next few days during her breaks .
While most families of COVID-19 patients are forced to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or not at all , Lackowski and his daughter were able to say their goodbyes in person .
The 86-year-old Navy veteran died from COVID-19 on April 2 .
After he died , Seyferth sat with him , holding his hands and praying for nearly an hour .
The other nurses cried with her .
“ You ’ re one of the lucky ones , ” they told her .
Lackowski was a captain in the U.S. Navy , serving as an engineer for more than 35 years .
He was stationed at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and was sent to Vietnam in 1962 .
He registered four patents , including one for a weapon stabilizer for Navy ships , his daughter said .
In the 1970s , Lackowski was stationed in San Diego , where he settled for the next chapter of his life .
He and Seyferth ’ s mother divorced , and he met his life partner , Kay Hathaway , while on a Sierra Club trip .
When he retired in 1994 , Lackowski became one of the original docents on the Midway , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was also a volunteer ranger at Alaska ’ s Glacier Bay National Park several summers , kayaking from island to island to check on residents .
He loved to travel the world , but San Diego was his home .
“ He never wanted to leave San Diego because he didn ’ t understand how he could ever live without a Navy base nearby , ” Seyferth said .
But during the Thanksgiving holiday on one of his many drives to see Seyferth , Lackowski got lost .
He was diagnosed with dementia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him move to a Redondo Beach assisted living facility .
Lackowski adjusted well .
He remained active and healthy .
He made many friends and was the first to rise every morning to greet the facility staff .
“ He was holding court , ” Seyferth said .
“ They were calling him captain .
He was loving the happy hour.
” “ One of his complaints about where he was living was , ‘ There ’ s a lot of old people living here !
’ ” Seyferth said .
“ He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for his walk every day.
” Lackowski had been looking forward to his upcoming 86th birthday on March 22 and was disappointed when stay-at-home restrictions led to his party ’ s cancellation .
Seyfreth instead walked the two blocks from her home to see him through his bedroom window .
She delivered his gift — a watch and his favorite cookies , Oreos — and knocked on the glass .
They talked over the phone .
A week later , on March 29 , Lackowski told his daughter , “ I don ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ March 31 .
For Seyferth , working at the same hospital with the knowledge that her sick father was in a room upstairs was difficult .
She felt distracted and emotional until she was able to see him .
When she did , Lackowski seemed to be doing well , even expressing hunger at times .
He was also able to speak with his grandson by phone .
He didn ’ t sound sick .
But doctors and nurses warned Seyferth his oxygen levels were gradually dropping .
Lackowski had wished not to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was given morphine to handle the pain .
When he went to sleep the night of April 1 , he didn ’ t wake up .
Upon reflection , Seyferth knows she was lucky that her father ended up at the hospital where she worked , that he recognized her and that his death was painless .
“ The fact that he turned right around and knew exactly who I was and that we exchanged how we felt about each other — I am beyond blessed , ” Seyferth said .
“ All @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I had that with him.
” Lackowski will be buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii with full military honors once crowd restrictions are lifted .
Lackowski is survived by his children , three grandchildren and partner .

As Donald Lackowski lay in a hospital bed at the Torrance Memorial Medical Center, a woman covered in protective gear from head to toe, revealing only her eyes, walked into his room.
Lackowski, who suffered from dementia, recognized his daughter, Elizabeth Seyferth, through the layers of protection.
“Liz is that you?”
“Yes Dad, I’m here and I love you.”
“I love you, too, Liz,” he told her.
Seyferth, an operating room nurse, visited her father several times in the next few days during her breaks. While most families of COVID-19 patients are forced to connect through video calls, by phone or not at all, Lackowski and his daughter were able to say their goodbyes in person.
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The 86-year-old Navy veteran died from COVID-19 on April 2. After he died, Seyferth sat with him, holding his hands and praying for nearly an hour. The other nurses cried with her.
“You’re one of the lucky ones,” they told her.
Lackowski was a captain in the U.S. Navy, serving as an engineer for more than 35 years. He was stationed at Pearl Harbor, where he got married, and was sent to Vietnam in 1962. He registered four patents, including one for a weapon stabilizer for Navy ships, his daughter said.
In the 1970s, Lackowski was stationed in San Diego, where he settled for the next chapter of his life. He and Seyferth’s mother divorced, and he met his life partner, Kay Hathaway, while on a Sierra Club trip.
When he retired in 1994, Lackowski became one of the original docents on the Midway, which is docked in San Diego. He was also a volunteer ranger at Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park several summers, kayaking from island to island to check on residents. He loved to travel the world, but San Diego was his home.
“He never wanted to leave San Diego because he didn’t understand how he could ever live without a Navy base nearby,” Seyferth said.
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But during the Thanksgiving holiday on one of his many drives to see Seyferth, Lackowski got lost. He was diagnosed with dementia and in January, his daughter had him move to a Redondo Beach assisted living facility.
Lackowski adjusted well. He remained active and healthy. He made many friends and was the first to rise every morning to greet the facility staff.
“He was holding court,” Seyferth said. “They were calling him captain. He was loving the happy hour.”
“One of his complaints about where he was living was, ‘There’s a lot of old people living here!’” Seyferth said. “He couldn’t wait to get out for his walk every day.”
Lackowski had been looking forward to his upcoming 86th birthday on March 22 and was disappointed when stay-at-home restrictions led to his party’s cancellation.
Seyfreth instead walked the two blocks from her home to see him through his bedroom window. She delivered his gift — a watch and his favorite cookies, Oreos — and knocked on the glass. They talked over the phone.
A week later, on March 29, Lackowski told his daughter, “I don’t feel right.” Lackowski was hospitalized March 31.
For Seyferth, working at the same hospital with the knowledge that her sick father was in a room upstairs was difficult. She felt distracted and emotional until she was able to see him.
When she did, Lackowski seemed to be doing well, even expressing hunger at times. He was also able to speak with his grandson by phone. He didn’t sound sick.
“Mom, Papa said he’s OK!’” Seyferth’s son told her.
But doctors and nurses warned Seyferth his oxygen levels were gradually dropping. Lackowski had wished not to be intubated or resuscitated, so he was given morphine to handle the pain.
When he went to sleep the night of April 1, he didn’t wake up.
Upon reflection, Seyferth knows she was lucky that her father ended up at the hospital where she worked, that he recognized her and that his death was painless.
“The fact that he turned right around and knew exactly who I was and that we exchanged how we felt about each other — I am beyond blessed,” Seyferth said. “All I can say is thank God that I had that with him.”
Lackowski will be buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii with full military honors once crowd restrictions are lifted. Lackowski is survived by his children, three grandchildren and partner.


latimes--2020-04-29--L.A. businesswoman fighting back after police accuse her of breaking stay-at-home rules

In the eyes of the city of Los Angeles , Natali Mishali is a coronavirus scofflaw .
After California Gov .
Gavin Newsom and L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti ordered all non-essential businesses to shut down in mid-March , her DTLA Smoke Shop remained open .
On April 3 , Mishali , 30 , became one of the first four people criminally charged with violating orders meant to slow the spread of the virus .
The other businesses included another smoke shop , a shoe store and a discount electronics retailer .
“ Non-essential businesses remaining open at this time jeopardize @ @ @ @ @ @ @ office is committed to vigorously enforcing the mayor ’ s order , ” Los Angeles City Atty .
Mike Feuer said in a statement .
With that , Mishali became just one part of a growing culture war over the question of when the U.S. economy should be reopened .
There is increasing pressure to end the closure of businesses as people suffer under the strain of millions of lost jobs and lost revenue .
Over the hot weekend , some beaches in Orange County were opened , and Ventura County allowed access @ @ @ @ @ @ @ social distancing was maintained .
The sight of large numbers of people at Southern California beaches provoked angry debates on social media and even a rebuke from Gov .
Gavin Newsom .
Meanwhile , experts say they fear opening too soon could lead to an even worse surge of COVID-19 infections and deaths .
As of Tuesday afternoon , nearly 1,800 people have died in California and more than 57,000 have died in the U.S .
But Mishali maintains that she never should have been part of the debate .
Her business should @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she argues , because it ’ s not just a smoke shop .
Despite its name , her store sells groceries , including single rolls of toilet paper that are especially popular with downtown L.A. 's homeless population .
Last Friday , after being closed for three weeks , Mishali reopened her 6th Street shop on the advice of her lawyer .
Mishali said for the nearly two years since its opening , her smoke shop offered not only cigars , cigarettes and vaping items , but also groceries like cereal and Pop @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , sodas , vitamin water , ice cream and soups .
She also sells individual roles of paper towels along with dishwashing soap , bleach and floor and all-purpose cleaners .
Mishali emailed The Times a receipt for her Los Angeles County-issued food market retail permit , first requested in 2018 , which expires this June and allows her to sell limited pre-packaged grocery items .
Mishali said a copy of this permit is now present at the store ’ s register for inspection .
County officials have verified the validity of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s office was overzealous in enforcing the mayor ’ s emergency , which came at a time when vigilance against businesses flouting COVID-19 guidelines was growing .
“ If the name of my business was Downtown LA Convenience Store and Smoke Shop , ” Mishali says , she thinks she would not have been criminally charged .
“ But ... we only have smoke shop in our name.
” While most of the shop is dedicated to tobacco products , there is an entire back section with three large cabinets , 10 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and cold drinks .
Mishali said LAPD officers found her in compliance of the mayor ’ s order multiple times until April 3 — the day she was criminally charged and closed down .
“ They would come in , either leave the ordinance with me or tell me I had to shut down and I kept showing them that the shop was following the mayor ’ s order , ” Mishali said .
“ I was told I could continue to operate my business and then they would show up again and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” On April 4 , Mishali ’ s legal representative emailed Celina Porras , the city ’ s supervising attorney of tobacco enforcement operations , looking for an explanation behind the charges .
Porras responded two days later with a paragraph from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health ’ s website that noted “ tobacco shops and vape shops do not qualify as ‘ essential ’ businesses and should not be open to the public.
” During the closure , she requested copies of all her permits — business license , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s permit and food market retail permit .
She says she ’ s prepared should city officials stop by .
“ The city insisted on shutting us down , and we spent the last three weeks just working and doing everything we could to get back open , ” Mishali said .
“ We got our confirmations from the county , and we did everything we possibly could to have an answer for anything the city could throw at us.
” Rob Wilcox , a spokesperson for the city attorney ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ while tobacco stores are “ not an essential business , ” those that sell additional items will be evaluated “ on a case-by-case basis , taking into account all of the applicable permit and licenses from the city , county and state.
” Mishali said she was excited about being able to open her shop , but she said she paid a steep price .
She ’ s already spent over $ 20,000 in legal fees and believes she lost much more than that in revenue from two smoke shops she ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the closure , she donated merchandise , but she also threw away some .
To date , the city has not dropped criminal charges against Mishali , whose arraignment is scheduled for July 8 at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown L.A .
The case is still listed as pending .
Non-essential business can be fined up to $ 1,000 , while business owners face up to six months of imprisonment .
“ We are an essential business , ” Mishali said .
“ Some might not like the tobacco @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we have the permits and we sell food , we should be allowed to be open .
”

In the eyes of the city of Los Angeles, Natali Mishali is a coronavirus scofflaw.
After California Gov. Gavin Newsom and L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti ordered all non-essential businesses to shut down in mid-March, her DTLA Smoke Shop remained open. On April 3, Mishali, 30, became one of the first four people criminally charged with violating orders meant to slow the spread of the virus. The other businesses included another smoke shop, a shoe store and a discount electronics retailer.
“Non-essential businesses remaining open at this time jeopardize public health and safety, and my office is committed to vigorously enforcing the mayor’s order,” Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer said in a statement.
With that, Mishali became just one part of a growing culture war over the question of when the U.S. economy should be reopened.
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There is increasing pressure to end the closure of businesses as people suffer under the strain of millions of lost jobs and lost revenue. Over the hot weekend, some beaches in Orange County were opened, and Ventura County allowed access to parks and beaches as long as social distancing was maintained. The sight of large numbers of people at Southern California beaches provoked angry debates on social media and even a rebuke from Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Meanwhile, experts say they fear opening too soon could lead to an even worse surge of COVID-19 infections and deaths. As of Tuesday afternoon, nearly 1,800 people have died in California and more than 57,000 have died in the U.S.
But Mishali maintains that she never should have been part of the debate. Her business should have been allowed to remain open, she argues, because it’s not just a smoke shop. Despite its name, her store sells groceries, including single rolls of toilet paper that are especially popular with downtown L.A.’s homeless population.
Last Friday, after being closed for three weeks, Mishali reopened her 6th Street shop on the advice of her lawyer.
Mishali said for the nearly two years since its opening, her smoke shop offered not only cigars, cigarettes and vaping items, but also groceries like cereal and Pop Tarts, cookies, candies, chips, sodas, vitamin water, ice cream and soups. She also sells individual roles of paper towels along with dishwashing soap, bleach and floor and all-purpose cleaners.
We are an essential business. Some might not like the tobacco aspect of our business, but if we have the permits and we sell food, we should be allowed to be open. — DTLA Smoke Shop owner Natali Mishali
Mishali emailed The Times a receipt for her Los Angeles County-issued food market retail permit, first requested in 2018, which expires this June and allows her to sell limited pre-packaged grocery items. Mishali said a copy of this permit is now present at the store’s register for inspection. County officials have verified the validity of the permit.
Mishali believes the city attorney’s office was overzealous in enforcing the mayor’s emergency, which came at a time when vigilance against businesses flouting COVID-19 guidelines was growing.
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“If the name of my business was Downtown LA Convenience Store and Smoke Shop,” Mishali says, she thinks she would not have been criminally charged. “But ... we only have smoke shop in our name.”
While most of the shop is dedicated to tobacco products, there is an entire back section with three large cabinets, 10 wall-mounted shelves and three coolers with food and cold drinks. Mishali said LAPD officers found her in compliance of the mayor’s order multiple times until April 3 — the day she was criminally charged and closed down.
“They would come in, either leave the ordinance with me or tell me I had to shut down and I kept showing them that the shop was following the mayor’s order,” Mishali said. “I was told I could continue to operate my business and then they would show up again and drop the same order the next day.”
On April 4, Mishali’s legal representative emailed Celina Porras, the city’s supervising attorney of tobacco enforcement operations, looking for an explanation behind the charges.
Porras responded two days later with a paragraph from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health’s website that noted “tobacco shops and vape shops do not qualify as ‘essential’ businesses and should not be open to the public.”
During the closure, she requested copies of all her permits — business license, seller’s permit, tobacco retailer’s permit and food market retail permit.
Natali Mishali, 30, stands outside her closed DTLA Smoke Shop in Los Angeles. It has since reopened, after she spent more than $20,000 in legal fees. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
She says she’s prepared should city officials stop by.
“The city insisted on shutting us down, and we spent the last three weeks just working and doing everything we could to get back open,” Mishali said. “We got our confirmations from the county, and we did everything we possibly could to have an answer for anything the city could throw at us.”
Rob Wilcox, a spokesperson for the city attorney’s office, said in an email that while tobacco stores are “not an essential business,” those that sell additional items will be evaluated “on a case-by-case basis, taking into account all of the applicable permit and licenses from the city, county and state.”
Mishali said she was excited about being able to open her shop, but she said she paid a steep price. She’s already spent over $20,000 in legal fees and believes she lost much more than that in revenue from two smoke shops she’s closed over a three-week period. During the closure, she donated merchandise, but she also threw away some.
To date, the city has not dropped criminal charges against Mishali, whose arraignment is scheduled for July 8 at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown L.A. The case is still listed as pending.
Non-essential business can be fined up to $1,000, while business owners face up to six months of imprisonment.
“We are an essential business,” Mishali said. “Some might not like the tobacco aspect of our business, but if we have the permits and we sell food, we should be allowed to be open.”


latimes--2020-04-29--With laboratories shut, coronavirus forces scientists to 'stop cold'

Dr. Nader Pouratian implanted matchbook-sized devices into the brains of four blind volunteers more than two years ago .
Since then , the participants in the neurosurgeon ’ s pioneering study have visited his UCLA lab each week to let him hone a system that could give them a rudimentary form of vision .
Pouratian hoped to expand his experiment next year to include dozens of people around the country , and eventually make the treatment available to blind people everywhere .
Then the coronavirus came along .
Now seven years of work have ground to a sudden halt .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pouratian ’ s project may not .
“ Our first concern obviously has to be the well-being of the people we work with , ” he said .
“ But as a scientist , it is hard to just stop cold like this.
” Hardly a facet of life remains untouched by the sweeping effort to slow the coronavirus ’ spread .
Researchers like Pouratian are facing more than lost income and social isolation .
The abrupt stoppage of a vast array of exploration and experimentation at universities and other research institutions has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ may never be made , the sick people who will miss the chance at a breakthrough cure and the careers that may never be launched .
The longer the emergency measures remain in place , the more scientists stand to lose .
Cell lines specially engineered for particular experiments get older every day .
Distant stars cycle out of view of even the largest telescopes .
Valuable data is lost before it can be collected .
When the orders came down to close their laboratories , scientists scrambled to mothball their experiments in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being revived .
Those who need only a computer and an internet connection to run simulations or crunch complex numbers continued their work from home .
Now almost everyone is barred from their labs .
Exceptions have been granted to the relatively few scientists who could show they ’ d lose irreplaceable work if their research couldn ’ t continue and those running clinical trials that provided critical care to patients .
The rest have relied on skeletal staffs to tend to the animals , cells and expensive equipment that were suddenly abandoned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus or possible treatments for COVID-19 , the disease it causes , were exempt from the shutdown orders .
A hiatus of several weeks isn ’ t likely to result in irreparable harm , said Randy Katz , vice chancellor for research at UC Berkeley .
If the restrictions stay in place for months , however , losses will become increasingly difficult to avoid .
For example , mice that have been bred to have a particular genetic condition or disease must begin an experiment at a particular age , giving scientists a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ California ’ s stay-at-home order has complicated efforts by Berkeley scientists to measure the state ’ s snowpack at field stations in the Sierra Nevada , Katz said .
State officials rely on that data to determine how much water will be available for drinking and for irrigating crops .
“ We obviously need to go when there is snow , ” Katz said .
“ If we wait too long , the opportunity is lost.
” UC Berkeley astronomer Alex Filippenko figured he was in the clear when he got special dispensation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ objects , including a group of supernovas that could help scientists determine the current expansion rate of the universe .
He settled in at a remote observing room on campus that connected to one of the 10-meter telescopes at the W.M .
Keck Observatory on Hawaii ’ s Mauna Kea .
But on the first night of his observing run , he got the news : The telescope was shutting down .
Filippenko scrambled to reprioritize .
He dropped plans to watch another type of supernova that could reveal more about how stars @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
By the time he ’ s able to look again , these stellar phenomena will have long since faded away , he said .
Caltech geobiologist Victoria Orphan had recently returned from a research cruise with a trove of deep-sea microbes when word came down that nonessential experiments would have to stop .
Orphan ’ s work with extremophiles — organisms that survive under extreme conditions like high pressure or a complete lack of sunlight — could shed light on the origins of life on Earth and the potential for life on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And because these microbes live in these extreme environments , they ’ re not easy to collect .
Orphan didn ’ t want to lose them .
Handling the delicate microbes in the oxygen-free conditions they ’ re used to can be tricky , she said , so one of her grad students wrote out detailed instructions for a lab manager who is still going on campus to take care of the living things left behind .
Some of the high-pressure experiments she had in mind were moved to the back burner since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ home , but if the microbes are still hearty when the stay-at-home order ends , she ’ ll give them a try then , she said .
And Saul Villeda , a neuroscientist and stem cell biologist at UC San Francisco , said his “ head is still kind of spinning ” after he was told last month that all nonessential work would be suspended within about 72 hours .
“ It was incredibly fast , ” he said .
Villeda ’ s research on aging has turned up compounds in the blood @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cognitive decline in older animals .
When the shutdown order came , he gathered his team on a video conference to make quick decisions no scientist ever wants to consider : What tissues could they harvest ?
Which ones could be preserved , and which would have to be discarded ?
“ It was just this overwhelming feeling because you ’ re not sure how you ’ re going to make it work , ” said Villeda , who managed to freeze his most precious samples .
`` And then , of course @ @ @ @ @ @ @ running trials on experimental medical treatments have been granted reprieves if participants in their studies are dependent on the treatments .
Pouratian ’ s work at UCLA did not meet this high bar , so it had to shut down .
The system to create a type of artificial vision , which he helped a medical technology company develop , requires subjects to wear special glasses with small embedded video cameras that connect wirelessly to the brain implants .
The implants then translate the video footage into patterns of stimulation that the brain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the person to discern motion such as whether someone is approaching them or walking away .
Much work remains to fully understand how a brain ’ s visual cortex and the device interact .
After being designated a “ breakthrough device ” by the Food and Drug Administration , the invention had been on an expedited track toward regulatory approval for widespread use .
But now everything is on hold , and the company that produced the device is shutting down , an economic casualty of of the pandemic .
There is confusion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Government agencies and private groups dole out billions of dollars in grant money each year — but it usually has to be spent during a limited period of time and requires researchers to finish projects on a strict schedule .
Matthew Fenton , director of the extramural activities division for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases , said his agency has been fielding urgent questions from anxious researchers who fear their end-of-year reports won ’ t show enough progress .
“ We assure them that that is not the case @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ We ’ re there to support them as much as we can to get through this.
” In a bipartisan push , more than 180 members of Congress this week called for $ 26 billion in coronavirus relief funding to be set aside for scientists and medical researchers affected by the pandemic .
“ These researchers are essential to protecting our nation ’ s public health , national security , economic growth and international competitiveness , ” the lawmakers wrote to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ( D-San Francisco ) and Minority Leader @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the most vulnerable researchers are those just starting out in their careers who don ’ t have a track record of success to fall back on .
For newly minted doctorates , advancing up the scientific ranks is a challenge in normal times .
Now many fear it will be all but impossible as their laboratory work — and the coveted academic publications that should follow — enters a sort of purgatory it may never escape .
Karla Satchell , a microbiologist studying cholera and cancers at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ three of the graduate students working in her lab .
One of them was set to get his doctorate this summer but can ’ t complete experiments he needs for his thesis .
“ It ’ s really tough on these trainees , ” Satchell said .
“ You sort of get a momentum in graduate school and you keep that momentum going.
” To be sure , many scientists whose work is primarily computer-based have been able to continue analyzing their data and running simulations as they shelter at home , albeit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s little consolation for people like Pouratian , who sees a promising breakthrough possibly slip away .
His thoughts keep returning to the four volunteers who agreed to have brain surgery for the sake of his experiment .
“ They did it not only for themselves , but because it might help others down the road , ” he said .
“ And , now , they ’ re just sitting at home .
”

Dr. Nader Pouratian, a neurosurgeon and researcher at UCLA, has had his work on an system to help blind people put on hold by the coronavirus outbreak — maybe forever.
Dr. Nader Pouratian implanted matchbook-sized devices into the brains of four blind volunteers more than two years ago.
Since then, the participants in the neurosurgeon’s pioneering study have visited his UCLA lab each week to let him hone a system that could give them a rudimentary form of vision. Pouratian hoped to expand his experiment next year to include dozens of people around the country, and eventually make the treatment available to blind people everywhere.
Then the coronavirus came along.
Now seven years of work have ground to a sudden halt. Regular life will resume someday, but Pouratian’s project may not.
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“Our first concern obviously has to be the well-being of the people we work with,” he said. “But as a scientist, it is hard to just stop cold like this.”
Hardly a facet of life remains untouched by the sweeping effort to slow the coronavirus’ spread. Researchers like Pouratian are facing more than lost income and social isolation.
The abrupt stoppage of a vast array of exploration and experimentation at universities and other research institutions has left scientists wondering about the discoveries that may never be made, the sick people who will miss the chance at a breakthrough cure and the careers that may never be launched.
The longer the emergency measures remain in place, the more scientists stand to lose. Cell lines specially engineered for particular experiments get older every day. Distant stars cycle out of view of even the largest telescopes. Valuable information is lost before it can be collected.
When the orders came down to close their laboratories, scientists scrambled to mothball their experiments in ways that would maximize their chances of being revived. Those who need only a computer and an internet connection to run simulations or crunch complex numbers continued their work from home.
Now almost everyone is barred from their labs. Exceptions have been granted to the relatively few scientists who could show they’d lose irreplaceable work if their research couldn’t continue and those running clinical trials that provided critical care to patients. The rest have relied on skeletal staffs to tend to the animals, cells and expensive equipment that were suddenly abandoned.
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People who were investigating the new coronavirus or possible treatments for COVID-19, the disease it causes, were exempt from the shutdown orders.
A hiatus of several weeks isn’t likely to result in irreparable harm, said Randy Katz, vice chancellor for research at UC Berkeley. If the restrictions stay in place for months, however, losses will become increasingly difficult to avoid.
For example, mice that have been bred to have a particular genetic condition or disease must begin an experiment at a particular age, giving scientists a narrow window for conducting their studies.
“Animals don’t live forever,” Katz said.
California’s stay-at-home order has complicated efforts by Berkeley scientists to measure the state’s snowpack at field stations in the Sierra Nevada, Katz said. State officials rely on that data to determine how much water will be available for drinking and for irrigating crops.
“We obviously need to go when there is snow,” Katz said. “If we wait too long, the opportunity is lost.”
UC Berkeley astronomer Alex Filippenko collaborates with remote colleagues on their last night of observing supernovae before the coronavirus forced the W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii to close. (Alex Filippenko)
UC Berkeley astronomer Alex Filippenko figured he was in the clear when he got special dispensation for a last look at several celestial objects, including a group of supernovas that could help scientists determine the current expansion rate of the universe.
He settled in at a remote observing room on campus that connected to one of the 10-meter telescopes at the W.M. Keck Observatory on Hawaii’s Mauna Kea. But on the first night of his observing run, he got the news: The telescope was shutting down.
Filippenko scrambled to reprioritize. He dropped plans to watch another type of supernova that could reveal more about how stars explode and the chemical elements they forge. By the time he’s able to look again, these stellar phenomena will have long since faded away, he said.
Caltech geobiologist Victoria Orphan had recently returned from a research cruise with a trove of deep-sea microbes when word came down that nonessential experiments would have to stop.
Orphan’s work with extremophiles — organisms that survive under extreme conditions like high pressure or a complete lack of sunlight — could shed light on the origins of life on Earth and the potential for life on other worlds, among other things. And because these microbes live in these extreme environments, they’re not easy to collect. Orphan didn’t want to lose them.
Handling the delicate microbes in the oxygen-free conditions they’re used to can be tricky, she said, so one of her grad students wrote out detailed instructions for a lab manager who is still going on campus to take care of the living things left behind.
Some of the high-pressure experiments she had in mind were moved to the back burner since they couldn’t be monitored from home, but if the microbes are still hardy when the stay-at-home order ends, she’ll give them a try then, she said.
Caltech geobiologist Victoria Orphan had just collected rare deep-sea microbes when the coronavirus forced her lab to close. She worries about whether they’ll survive without her. (John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation )
And Saul Villeda, a neuroscientist and stem cell biologist at UC San Francisco, said his “head is still kind of spinning” after he was told last month that all nonessential work would be suspended within about 72 hours. “It was incredibly fast,” he said.
Villeda’s research on aging has turned up compounds in the blood of young mice that may help reverse cognitive decline in older animals. When the shutdown order came, he gathered his team on a videoconference to make quick decisions no scientist ever wants to consider: What tissues could they harvest? Which ones could be preserved, and which would have to be discarded?
“It was just this overwhelming feeling because you’re not sure how you’re going to make it work,” said Villeda, who managed to freeze his most precious samples. “And then, of course, you make it work.”
Dr. Nader Pouratian’s subjects aren’t dependent on their treatments, so his promising artificial sight research had to shut down. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Researchers running trials on experimental medical treatments have been granted reprieves if participants in their studies are dependent on the treatments. Pouratian’s work at UCLA did not meet this high bar, so it had to shut down.
The system to create a type of artificial vision, which he helped a medical technology company develop, requires subjects to wear special glasses with small embedded video cameras that connect wirelessly to the brain implants. The implants then translate the video footage into patterns of stimulation that the brain interprets as flashes of light, allowing the person to discern motion such as whether someone is approaching them or walking away. Much work remains to fully understand how a brain’s visual cortex and the device interact.
After being designated a “breakthrough device” by the Food and Drug Administration, the invention had been on an expedited track toward regulatory approval for widespread use. But now everything is on hold, and the company that produced the device is shutting down, an economic casualty of the pandemic.
There is confusion about other sources of funding as well. Government agencies and private groups dole out billions of dollars in grant money each year — but it usually has to be spent during a limited period of time and requires researchers to finish projects on a strict schedule.
Matthew Fenton, director of the extramural activities division for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said his agency has been fielding urgent questions from anxious researchers who fear their end-of-year reports won’t show enough progress.
“We assure them that that is not the case at all,” Fenton said. “We’re there to support them as much as we can to get through this.”
In a bipartisan push, more than 180 members of Congress this week called for $26billion in coronavirus relief funding to be set aside for scientists and medical researchers affected by the pandemic.
“These researchers are essential to protecting our nation’s public health, national security, economic growth and international competitiveness,” the lawmakers wrote to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield).
Perhaps the most vulnerable researchers are those just starting out in their careers who don’t have a track record of success to fall back on. For newly minted doctorates, advancing up the scientific ranks is a challenge in normal times. Now many fear it will be all but impossible as their laboratory work — and the coveted academic publications that should follow — enters a sort of purgatory it may never escape.
Karla Satchell, a microbiologist studying cholera and cancers at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said she was particularly concerned for three of the graduate students working in her lab. One of them was set to get his doctorate this summer but can’t complete experiments he needs for his thesis.
“It’s really tough on these trainees,” Satchell said. “You sort of get a momentum in graduate school and you keep that momentum going.”
But many scientists whose work is primarily computer-based have been able to continue analyzing their data and running simulations as they shelter at home, albeit with more distractions than usual.
That’s little consolation for people like Pouratian, who sees a promising breakthrough possibly slipping away.
His thoughts keep returning to the four volunteers who agreed to have brain surgery for the sake of his experiment.
“They did it not only for themselves, but because it might help others down the road,” he said. “And, now, they’re just sitting at home.”


latimes--2020-04-29--Earthquake: Magnitude 3.7 quake hits near Reedley, Calif.

A magnitude 3.7 earthquake was reported Wednesday at 5:10 a.m. Pacific time 75 miles from Reedley , Calif. , according to the U.S. Geological Survey .
The earthquake occurred 77 miles from Clovis , 77 miles from Dinuba , 78 miles from Sanger , and 80 miles from Fresno .
In the past 10 days , there have been three earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater centered nearby .
An average of 234 earthquakes with magnitudes between 3.0 and 4.0 occur per year in California and Nevada , according to a recent three year data sample .
The earthquake occurred @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Did you feel this earthquake ?
Consider reporting what you felt to the USGS .
Even if you didn ’ t feel this small earthquake , you never know when the Big One is going to strike .
Ready yourself by following our five-step earthquake preparedness guide and building your own emergency kit .
This story was automatically generated by Quakebot , a computer application that monitors the latest earthquakes detected by the USGS .
A Times editor reviewed the post before it was published .
If you ’ re interested in learning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ list of frequently asked questions .

A magnitude 3.7 earthquake was reported Wednesday at 5:10 a.m. Pacific time 75 miles from Reedley, Calif., according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The earthquake occurred 77 miles from Clovis, 77 miles from Dinuba, 78 miles from Sanger, and 80 miles from Fresno.
In the past 10 days, there have been three earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater centered nearby.
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An average of 234 earthquakes with magnitudes between 3.0 and 4.0 occur per year in California and Nevada, according to a recent three year data sample.
The earthquake occurred at a depth of 6.0 miles. Did you feel this earthquake? Consider reporting what you felt to the USGS.
Even if you didn’t feel this small earthquake, you never know when the Big One is going to strike. Ready yourself by following our five-step earthquake preparedness guide and building your own emergency kit.
This story was automatically generated by Quakebot, a computer application that monitors the latest earthquakes detected by the USGS. A Times editor reviewed the post before it was published. If you’re interested in learning more about the system, visit our list of frequently asked questions.


latimes--2020-04-29--Expecting deep cuts due to coronavirus, L.A. County OKs $35.5-billion budget

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a recommended $ 35.5-billion budget for the coming fiscal year — a spending plan that is expected to change substantially over the next few months as the county continues to navigate the coronavirus outbreak and its significant drain on funds .
Already , the county is projecting that it will lose $ 2 billion in tax revenue — $ 1 billion by the end of the fiscal year in June and an additional $ 1 billion in revenue in 2020-21 , according to the county executive ’ s office .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sachi A. Hamai , predicted a budget process “ unlike any we ’ ve ever faced.
” “ We are in a profoundly challenging economic environment that may get worse before it gets better , ” Hamai said in a statement .
“ There are many factors outside the county ’ s control , including the length and severity of the COVID-19 crisis , and the amount of assistance we will receive from the state and federal governments.
” Compared with the previous year ’ s adopted budget , the proposed 2020-21 budget @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of $ 594 million in total requirements .
• Provide $ 50 million in one-time funding to set aside a total of $ 100 million for affordable housing for “ extremely low-income or homeless households .
The money also will pay for rental assistance , rapid re-housing , home-ownership services and move-in assistance .
• Provide $ 430 million for homeless services , although , the county noted , there likely will be less money from Measure H available going forward because of the pandemic ’ s impact on sales tax revenue .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ planning and development of additional mental health beds and services .
The approval of the budget by the supervisors is the first step in the county ’ s annual process .
Public hearings start May 13 , and the board is expected to have final deliberations and adopt a budget by June 29 .
Despite the coming challenges , Supervisor Sheila Kuehl said Tuesday that the county shouldn ’ t lose its focus on expanding affordable housing and financing alternatives to jail and prison .
“ Affordable housing can not be something we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ good , ” she said .
County officials also must think about the post-pandemic world , Kuehl said , adding that this isn ’ t the time to back off of sustainability initiatives .
Although Hamai has already imposed hard freezes on hiring and purchasing and directed county department heads to prepare for “ a range of potential program reductions in the coming fiscal year , ” Supervisor Janice Hahn said the county must avoid layoffs and furloughs whenever possible .
The county must remember that it ’ s the safety net , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ responsible for helping people in need who have nowhere else to turn , whether they ’ re poor , sick , hungry , homeless , ” she said .
“ And I think what we ’ ve found through this crisis is there are more and more and more and more people who have felt like they have nowhere else to turn .
”

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a recommended $35.5-billion budget for the coming fiscal year — a spending plan that is expected to change substantially over the next few months as the county continues to navigate the coronavirus outbreak and its significant drain on funds.
Already, the county is projecting that it will lose $2 billion in tax revenue — $1 billion by the end of the fiscal year in June and an additional $1 billion in revenue in 2020-21, according to the county executive’s office.
The county’s chief executive, Sachi A. Hamai, predicted a budget process “unlike any we’ve ever faced.”
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“We are in a profoundly challenging economic environment that may get worse before it gets better,” Hamai said in a statement. “There are many factors outside the county’s control, including the length and severity of the COVID-19 crisis, and the amount of assistance we will receive from the state and federal governments.”
Compared with the previous year’s adopted budget, the proposed 2020-21 budget of $35.5 billion reflects a decrease of $594 million in total requirements.
Among its recommendations:
Provide $50 million in one-time funding to set aside a total of $100 million for affordable housing for “extremely low-income or homeless households. The money also will pay for rental assistance, rapid re-housing, home-ownership services and move-in assistance.
Provide $430 million for homeless services, although, the county noted, there likely will be less money from Measure H available going forward because of the pandemic’s impact on sales tax revenue.
Provide $28.4 million for the planning and development of additional mental health beds and services.
The approval of the budget by the supervisors is the first step in the county’s annual process. Public hearings start May 13, and the board is expected to have final deliberations and adopt a budget by June 29.
Despite the coming challenges, Supervisor Sheila Kuehl said Tuesday that the county shouldn’t lose its focus on expanding affordable housing and financing alternatives to jail and prison.
“Affordable housing cannot be something we only support when our balance sheet looks good,” she said.
County officials also must think about the post-pandemic world, Kuehl said, adding that this isn’t the time to back off of sustainability initiatives.
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Although Hamai has already imposed hard freezes on hiring and purchasing and directed county department heads to prepare for “a range of potential program reductions in the coming fiscal year,” Supervisor Janice Hahn said the county must avoid layoffs and furloughs whenever possible.
The county must remember that it’s the safety net, Hahn said.
“We’re responsible for helping people in need who have nowhere else to turn, whether they’re poor, sick, hungry, homeless,” she said. “And I think what we’ve found through this crisis is there are more and more and more and more people who have felt like they have nowhere else to turn.”


latimes--2020-04-29--Criticism grows over Gov. Gavin Newsom's management of the coronavirus crisis

Advocates for seniors and people with disabilities blasted Gov .
Gavin Newsom ’ s administration last week for advising hospitals to prioritize younger people with greater life expectancy for care during the coronavirus outbreak , saying the state ’ s medical shortage guidelines were discriminatory and crafted without their input .
“ The disability , aging and older-adults community had reached out a number of times to the state of California sharing our concerns ahead of time and offering to meet , ” said Claudia Center , legal director for the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund .
“ We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ quietly as the guidelines were initially posted online , the document was removed and replaced with another version stating California ’ s commitment to prohibiting discrimination and promising that the administration would revise what had been previously labeled as the final recommendations “ to ensure that they reflect our values as a state.
” Initially applauded for his approach early in the coronavirus crisis , Newsom was the first governor to impose a statewide stay-at-home order , a move that health experts have credited with slowing the spread of the coronavirus and helping @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spots such as New York .
He ’ s also become a fixture on cable TV , touting how California bent the curve .
But Newsom ’ s recent waffling on the life-and-death decision and other actions have renewed critiques of the impatient , and at times chaotic , governing style that dogged Newsom in his first year in office .
Though state lawmakers and advocates for businesses , nonprofits , seniors , healthcare and other groups waited their turn for aid or hesitated to speak out during the first few weeks of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with immediate needs to slow the spread of the virus , that patience is running out .
Legislators and advocacy groups want more input , while others criticize the governor ’ s decisions or say he needs to do more to help their communities .
“ We ’ re just not getting answers to what we need , but I also think that we ’ re seeing some missteps , ” said Jan Masaoka , chief executive of the California Assn .
of Nonprofits .
Nathan Click , a spokesman for Newsom , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a pandemic .
“ Gov .
Newsom has moved swiftly to protect human life , and he has taken aggressive and urgent actions to help Californians get through these challenging times , ” Click said .
“ Because of those efforts and the actions of millions of Californians who are staying home , California has both flattened the curve and helped millions of its most vulnerable residents as they tackle the unprecedented challenges of this crisis.
” Newsom took office with flush cash reserves and the wind at his back , allowing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to cap rent increases for the first time , expand Medi-Cal to young immigrants living in California without legal status , expand preschool and make strides on other progressive causes .
The outbreak has quickly thwarted any hopes that a rosy economy would continue to buoy his first term .
Now the list of problems for the Democratic governor to solve is growing by the day as a record number of Californians seek unemployment benefits , revenue is sliding and officials peg an at least $ 7-billion price tag on state efforts to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ projection that will grow should the state remain in the throes of the pandemic into the fall .
“ With a situation like this , there ’ s so many crosswinds .
He ’ s got people begging him to reopen .
He ’ s got other people begging him to do things on the health front , on the economic front , ” said Steve Maviglio , a Democratic strategist and former press secretary for Gov .
Gray Davis .
“ There ’ s so many constituencies that it ’ s really @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” As the economy plunges , companies are looking to Newsom — who has often reminded the public of his small-business background — to allow businesses to operate normally again and help them get back on their feet .
But the governor angered many in the business community when his administration floated potential changes to workers ’ compensation that could allow employees to qualify for financial support even if they didn ’ t contract COVID-19 on the job , a shift estimated to cost up to $ 33.6 billion annually .
Meanwhile , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Newsom ease his stay-at-home order — or at least provide more details on his plan to return to normalcy .
When Newsom announced a 100-member task force of business executives , heads of labor unions and former government leaders tapped to develop a plan to jump-start the economy , some questioned what it might accomplish .
The group of power players , led by former presidential candidate and major Democratic donor Tom Steyer , is meeting twice a month , which some say isn ’ t frequently enough to devise strategies to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ workers .
“ We ’ re coming to a point where people ’ s fear for feeding their families supersedes the fear of the virus , ” said Rob Lapsley , president of the California Business Roundtable .
“ He ’ s working hard and his actions have unquestionably protected the public health .
But we have to have a more urgent discussion about the economy.
” Lapsley said the governor has not responded to multiple coalition letters highlighting problems that businesses anticipate as they attempt to recover .
In addition , lawmakers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the governor and his refusal to release details on a nearly $ 1-billion deal to buy masks from Chinese electric automaker BYD .
Others have lamented Newsom ’ s frequent use of his executive authority since the Legislature left the state Capitol last month .
“ The problem that my members have is the lack of lead time , ” Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon ( D-Lakewood ) said of Newsom ’ s executive action announcements .
“ They feel like they are being told just before the public is told , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ feedback.
” When asked about the secrecy around the contract , Newsom brushed off the concerns and repeated a familiar defense : He should be judged by outcomes , not the means to those ends .
“ Some are consumed by process , personality , intrigue , who ’ s up , who ’ s down ?
” the governor said .
“ We are for actually solving a major , major problem.
” Newsom has revealed new policy initiatives at almost all of his daily news conferences , keeping a quick pace @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some of his plans .
The governor declared on April 22 that surgeries in California would resume , a move largely perceived as the first sign of a return to normalcy in the state , where nearly 40 million people have been ordered to remain at home for more than a month .
“ We are in a position today to begin to pull back and lean in by beginning to schedule surgeries , once again , throughout not only our hospital system , but our broader healthcare delivery system , ” Newsom @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the curve enabled the state to “ move more formally with our partners at a local level and throughout the healthcare delivery system to once again schedule surgeries.
” But at the time of his announcement and for several days after , the state had not set any guidelines or policies advising hospitals to resume services .
In response to a request the day after the announcement for details on which services would resume and which procedures had been previously allowed , California Health and Human Services spokeswoman Kate Folmar said state officials @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and will be producing more specific guidance on this.
” California Hospital Assn .
President Carmela Coyle said in a email to some in her group that the administration wasn ’ t moving to immediately restart surgeries , and she acknowledged frustrations among hospitals over Newsom ’ s “ mixed message.
” On Monday , the state released formal guidelines that described which services should be prioritized and resumed “ as soon as practicable , ” and the preparations hospitals should make before doing so .
“ These guidelines were developed rapidly following @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that hospitals would be restarting many health care services , ” Coyle said in another email to members after the guidelines were released .
Days after announcing that surgeries would resume , Newsom boasted that 26,000 Californians had heeded a call he issued for volunteers to work at food banks , make phone calls to seniors and provide help to nonprofits under a new service initiative called “ Californians For All ” led by the state ’ s Chief Service Officer Josh Fryday and the governor ’ s wife , First Partner Jennifer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to thank all of those that have done so and extend a heartfelt expression of appreciation to help others , ” Newsom said on Friday .
But Masaoka of CalNonprofits said her association suggested a better way to roll out the initiative and the advice was ignored .
“ The fact is that we in the nonprofit community know how to recruit volunteers , so why not ask us ?
Why not use the mechanisms that are in place to already do that ?
” said Masaoka of CalNonprofits .
“ They were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and it doesn ’ t seem that they gave it the thought that a project like that needs.
” CalVolunteers approached her organization , which represents nearly 10,000 charitable groups in California , and asked if they would team up on the campaign , she said .
The association agreed to help and suggested the administration also work with VolunteerMatch , an Oakland organization that many of California ’ s nonprofits use to recruit volunteers by posting detailed listings for the roles that they need to fill , Masaoka said .
“ They @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one of us , and days later they announced it , ” Masaoka said .
“ Our feeling is that yes , not all nonprofits need volunteers , but many nonprofits do need volunteers , but giving names and emails in an undifferentiated way ... isn ’ t the way to do it.
” A week after introducing the initiative , the state changed course and is now working with VolunteerMatch .
At the same time , Masaoka said the administration hasn ’ t helped nonprofits with more pressing concerns .
CalNonprofits has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contractors to continue to pay nonprofits even if the COVID-19 crisis prevents them from reaching certain benchmarks in their contracts for government funds .
The restrictions , for example , may prevent childcare facilities from serving as many children as usual , or healthcare clinics from providing a set number of tests given that regular care is limited .
Without such assurances , which San Francisco and the federal government have addressed , she said , nonprofits could have to shut their doors .
More than 1,000 nonprofits signed a letter to Newsom @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for help , and 30 Assembly members followed with their own letter on March 31 .
“ Nonprofits are actually on the front line during the pandemic and we seem to be at the back of the line in terms of any policy support in Sacramento , ” Masaoka said .
Newsom also frustrated some nurse practitioners after he touted an executive order at a March 30 press conference that he said would help the state “ utilize our existing resources in a more resourceful way ” through scope of practice reforms .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ long-simmering debate in the Legislature , where nurse practitioners have for years battled with the powerful physicians ’ lobby for changes that would allow them to work without a doctor ’ s supervision .
“ I want to thank all representatives for putting aside , again , those differences and meeting this moment head-on to provide the flexibility that is required , ” Newsom said .
“ An executive order that went out ... will provide flexibility through June 30 .
This is temporary flexibility on staffing ratios , on scope of practice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” But it was unclear precisely what the order would do , and it did not take effect immediately .
The order ultimately allowed the Department of Consumer Affairs and licensing boards to lead decision-making on scope of practice .
Two weeks later , action was taken to increase the number of nurse practitioners a doctor can oversee — without the scope of practice changes advocates had expected .
Center , the legal director of the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund said she is awaiting new guidelines and appreciates that the state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but she noted that the early directives on rationing care won ’ t be easily forgotten .
The 38-page document by the California Department of Public Health , which is now being revised , prescribed a method to prioritize patients if an outbreak overwhelms hospitals , preserving intensive care beds and ventilators for people with the greatest likelihood of surviving with treatment over those with serious chronic conditions that limit their life expectancy .
If necessary , younger people and workers who are “ vital to the acute care response ” would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
“ It , as a document , communicates what the medical establishment and state government think about disabled people and older adults , ” Center said .
“ We know what this means , and we remember , and it ’ s hurtful.
” Staff writers Melody Gutierrez and John Myers contributed to this report .

Advocates for seniors and people with disabilities blasted Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration last week for advising hospitals to prioritize younger people with greater life expectancy for care during the coronavirus outbreak, saying the state’s medical shortage guidelines were discriminatory and crafted without their input.
“The disability, aging and older-adults community had reached out a number of times to the state of California sharing our concerns ahead of time and offering to meet,” said Claudia Center, legal director for the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund. “We got no response.”
Then, as quietly as the guidelines were initially posted online, the document was removed and replaced with another version stating California’s commitment to prohibiting discrimination and promising that the administration would revise what had been previously labeled as the final recommendations “to ensure that they reflect our values as a state.”
1 / 9 Sarah Mason, of Covina, rallied in Huntington Beach against the stay-at-home orders due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times) 2 / 9 Conservative activist rally on Main Street in Huntington Beach against business closures due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times) 3 / 9 Kira Beattie, center, joins rally in Huntington Beach against the lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times) 4 / 9 Police keep an eye on Trump supporters at a rally on Main Street against business closure due to COVID-19 pandemic. Huntington Beach, CA. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times) 5 / 9 Conservative activist rally on Main Street in Huntington Beach against business closures due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times) 6 / 9 A big number of Trump supporters rally on Main Street against business closure due to COVID-19 pandemic. Huntington Beach. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times) 7 / 9 Conservative activist rally on Main Street in Huntington Beach against business closures due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times) 8 / 9 A big number of Trump supporters rally on Main Street against business closure due to COVID-19 pandemic. Huntington Beach. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times) 9 / 9 A driver takes a picture of the rally on Main Street in Huntington Beach against business closures due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)
Initially applauded for his approach early in the coronavirus crisis, Newsom was the first governor to impose a statewide stay-at-home order, a move that health experts have credited with slowing the spread of the coronavirus and helping California record far fewer deaths than hot spots such as New York. He’s also become a fixture on cable TV, touting how California bent the curve. But Newsom’s recent waffling on the life-and-death decision and other actions have renewed critiques of the impatient, and at times chaotic, governing style that dogged Newsom in his first year in office.
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Though state lawmakers and advocates for businesses, nonprofits, seniors, healthcare and other groups waited their turn for aid or hesitated to speak out during the first few weeks of the unprecedented crisis as the governor grappled with immediate needs to slow the spread of the virus, that patience is running out. Legislators and advocacy groups want more input, while others criticize the governor’s decisions or say he needs to do more to help their communities.
“We’re just not getting answers to what we need, but I also think that we’re seeing some missteps,” said Jan Masaoka, chief executive of the California Assn. of Nonprofits.
Nathan Click, a spokesman for Newsom, defended the governor for keeping Californians safe in a pandemic.
“Gov. Newsom has moved swiftly to protect human life, and he has taken aggressive and urgent actions to help Californians get through these challenging times,” Click said. “Because of those efforts and the actions of millions of Californians who are staying home, California has both flattened the curve and helped millions of its most vulnerable residents as they tackle the unprecedented challenges of this crisis.”
Newsom took office with flush cash reserves and the wind at his back, allowing him to work with the Democratic Legislature to cap rent increases for the first time, expand Medi-Cal to young immigrants living in California without legal status, expand preschool and make strides on other progressive causes.
The outbreak has quickly thwarted any hopes that a rosy economy would continue to buoy his first term. Now the list of problems for the Democratic governor to solve is growing by the day as a record number of Californians seek unemployment benefits, revenue is sliding and officials peg an at least $7-billion price tag on state efforts to fight the virus through June, a projection that will grow should the state remain in the throes of the pandemic into the fall.
“With a situation like this, there’s so many crosswinds. He’s got people begging him to reopen. He’s got other people begging him to do things on the health front, on the economic front,” said Steve Maviglio, a Democratic strategist and former press secretary for Gov. Gray Davis. “There’s so many constituencies that it’s really difficult to keep all of them happy.”
As the economy plunges, companies are looking to Newsom — who has often reminded the public of his small-business background — to allow businesses to operate normally again and help them get back on their feet. But the governor angered many in the business community when his administration floated potential changes to workers’ compensation that could allow employees to qualify for financial support even if they didn’t contract COVID-19 on the job, a shift estimated to cost up to $33.6 billion annually.
Meanwhile, several local officials across California are demanding that Newsom ease his stay-at-home order — or at least provide more details on his plan to return to normalcy.
When Newsom announced a 100-member task force of business executives, heads of labor unions and former government leaders tapped to develop a plan to jump-start the economy, some questioned what it might accomplish. The group of power players, led by former presidential candidate and major Democratic donor Tom Steyer, is meeting twice a month, which some say isn’t frequently enough to devise strategies to provide immediate help to struggling companies and workers.
“We’re coming to a point where people’s fear for feeding their families supersedes the fear of the virus,” said Rob Lapsley, president of the California Business Roundtable. “He’s working hard and his actions have unquestionably protected the public health. But we have to have a more urgent discussion about the economy.”
Lapsley said the governor has not responded to multiple coalition letters highlighting problems that businesses anticipate as they attempt to recover.
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In addition, lawmakers are upset over a lack of transparency from the governor and his refusal to release details on a nearly $1-billion deal to buy masks from Chinese electric automaker BYD. Others have lamented Newsom’s frequent use of his executive authority since the Legislature left the state Capitol last month.
“The problem that my members have is the lack of lead time,” Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) said of Newsom’s executive action announcements. “They feel like they are being told just before the public is told, but without enough time to provide any meaningful feedback.”
When asked about the secrecy around the contract, Newsom brushed off the concerns and repeated a familiar defense: He should be judged by outcomes, not the means to those ends.
“Some are consumed by process, personality, intrigue, who’s up, who’s down?” the governor said. “We are for actually solving a major, major problem.”
Newsom has revealed new policy initiatives at almost all of his daily news conferences, keeping a quick pace that has led to premature introductions of some of his plans.
The governor declared on April 22 that surgeries in California would resume, a move largely perceived as the first sign of a return to normalcy in the state, where nearly 40 million people have been ordered to remain at home for more than a month.
“We are in a position today to begin to pull back and lean in by beginning to schedule surgeries, once again, throughout not only our hospital system, but our broader healthcare delivery system,” Newsom said, noting that efforts to flatten the curve enabled the state to “move more formally with our partners at a local level and throughout the healthcare delivery system to once again schedule surgeries.”
But at the time of his announcement and for several days after, the state had not set any guidelines or policies advising hospitals to resume services. In response to a request the day after the announcement for details on which services would resume and which procedures had been previously allowed, California Health and Human Services spokeswoman Kate Folmar said state officials were talking to “a stakeholder work-group and will be producing more specific guidance on this.”
California Hospital Assn. President Carmela Coyle said in a email to some in her group that the administration wasn’t moving to immediately restart surgeries, and she acknowledged frustrations among hospitals over Newsom’s “mixed message.”
On Monday, the state released formal guidelines that described which services should be prioritized and resumed “as soon as practicable,” and the preparations hospitals should make before doing so.
“These guidelines were developed rapidly following the governor’s announcement last week that hospitals would be restarting many health care services,” Coyle said in another email to members after the guidelines were released.
Days after announcing that surgeries would resume, Newsom boasted that 26,000 Californians had heeded a call he issued for volunteers to work at food banks, make phone calls to seniors and provide help to nonprofits under a new service initiative called “Californians For All” led by the state’s Chief Service Officer Josh Fryday and the governor’s wife, First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom.
“I just want to thank all of those that have done so and extend a heartfelt expression of appreciation to help others,” Newsom said on Friday.
But Masaoka of CalNonprofits said her association suggested a better way to roll out the initiative and the advice was ignored.
“The fact is that we in the nonprofit community know how to recruit volunteers, so why not ask us? Why not use the mechanisms that are in place to already do that?” said Masaoka of CalNonprofits. “They were in a hurry to do something, and it doesn’t seem that they gave it the thought that a project like that needs.”
CalVolunteers approached her organization, which represents nearly 10,000 charitable groups in California, and asked if they would team up on the campaign, she said. The association agreed to help and suggested the administration also work with VolunteerMatch, an Oakland organization that many of California’s nonprofits use to recruit volunteers by posting detailed listings for the roles that they need to fill, Masaoka said.
“They didn’t get back to either one of us, and days later they announced it,” Masaoka said. “Our feeling is that yes, not all nonprofits need volunteers, but many nonprofits do need volunteers, but giving names and emails in an undifferentiated way ...isn’t the way to do it.”
A week after introducing the initiative, the state changed course and is now working with VolunteerMatch.
At the same time, Masaoka said the administration hasn’t helped nonprofits with more pressing concerns.
CalNonprofits has asked Newsom to direct state agencies and contractors to continue to pay nonprofits even if the COVID-19 crisis prevents them from reaching certain benchmarks in their contracts for government funds. The restrictions, for example, may prevent childcare facilities from serving as many children as usual, or healthcare clinics from providing a set number of tests given that regular care is limited. Without such assurances, which San Francisco and the federal government have addressed, she said, nonprofits could have to shut their doors.
More than 1,000 nonprofits signed a letter to Newsom and legislative leaders on March 21 asking for help, and 30 Assembly members followed with their own letter on March 31.
“Nonprofits are actually on the front line during the pandemic and we seem to be at the back of the line in terms of any policy support in Sacramento,” Masaoka said.
Newsom also frustrated some nurse practitioners after he touted an executive order at a March 30 press conference that he said would help the state “utilize our existing resources in a more resourceful way” through scope of practice reforms.
The announcement drew immediate attention to a long-simmering debate in the Legislature, where nurse practitioners have for years battled with the powerful physicians’ lobby for changes that would allow them to work without a doctor’s supervision.
“I want to thank all representatives for putting aside, again, those differences and meeting this moment head-on to provide the flexibility that is required,” Newsom said. “An executive order that went out ... will provide flexibility through June 30. This is temporary flexibility on staffing ratios, on scope of practice for nurse practitioners, EMTs and others.”
But it was unclear precisely what the order would do, and it did not take effect immediately. The order ultimately allowed the Department of Consumer Affairs and licensing boards to lead decision-making on scope of practice. Two weeks later, action was taken to increase the number of nurse practitioners a doctor can oversee — without the scope of practice changes advocates had expected.
Center, the legal director of the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund, said she is awaiting new guidelines and appreciates that the state is now accepting input from advocacy groups, but she noted that the early directives on rationing care won’t be easily forgotten.
The 38-page document by the California Department of Public Health, which is now being revised, prescribed a method to prioritize patients if an outbreak overwhelms hospitals, preserving intensive care beds and ventilators for people with the greatest likelihood of surviving with treatment over those with serious chronic conditions that limit their life expectancy. If necessary, younger people and workers who are “vital to the acute care response” would receive care before others, the document said.
“It, as a document, communicates what the medical establishment and state government think about disabled people and older adults,” Center said. “We know what this means, and we remember, and it’s hurtful.”
Staff writers Melody Gutierrez and John Myers contributed to this report.