latimes--2020-07-09--'Your life isn't going to be fun': Activists bring protests to L.A. officials' homes

When a lawyer advised the Los Angeles City Council not to adopt a blanket ban on evictions , renters rights activists were furious .
A group of protesters descended on the city lawyer ’ s block days later , honking their car horns and shouting “ Shame on you !
” from a megaphone , according to video of the event .
Organizers posted the attorney ’ s home address on Twitter , along with a map and a photo of his house , and accused him of protecting his “ class interests ” as a homeowner .
“ Nice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one group known as the People ’ s City Council , which is made up of activists from such organizations as Ktown for All , a homeless advocacy group , and NOlympics LA .
“ Would be a real shame if we came and disrupted it.
” Since the coronavirus outbreak began , a growing number of L.A. public officials have seen their homes become the target of protesters — some on foot , others in cars .
Progressive activists have staged a “ die-in ” at Mayor Eric Garcetti ’ s residence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ house homeless residents .
Tenants rights protesters have shown up as early as 7 a.m. outside the homes of City Council members , calling for them to cancel rent payments during the coronavirus shutdown .
Last week , protesters threatened to return to council members ’ homes if they fail to do more to eliminate the Los Angeles Police Department budget .
One activist told council members that protesters have their home addresses , phone numbers and the numbers of their spouses — and are willing to protest at all hours .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to make changes , your life isn ’ t going to be fun , ” said People ’ s City Council organizer Ricci Sergienko , a digital media strategist living in Mid-City .
Mike Madrid , a Republican political consultant , argued that state and local laws are needed to stop a practice being used across the state by “ extremists ” on the left and the right .
At one end of the spectrum , vaccine and mask opponents have shown up at the homes of health officials , he said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ gathered outside officials ’ homes to demand stronger rent restrictions and the defunding of law enforcement agencies , he said .
“ Intimidation should not be part of the policy-making process ever , ” Madrid said .
“ And there ’ s no question that that ’ s what this is.
” Protest organizers say their tactics ensure their message reaches public officials working from home .
The pandemic has created an urgent political moment that demands dramatic action , they argue .
“ This isn ’ t just garden-variety failure of elected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an organizer with the People ’ s City Council and NOlympics LA .
“ This is failure of elected officials in a time when the world is changing , and inaction will lead to death.
” Garcetti ’ s home has been a frequent site of demonstrations for both the left and the right .
Crowds have converged on the mayor ’ s residence to protest stay-at-home orders and demand a reopening of the economy .
The biggest demonstration at his home in recent months came after the death of George Floyd , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of people outside .
Garcetti aides declined to comment .
So did Michaelson , the lawyer who advised against a sweeping eviction ban .
In remarks to the council earlier this year , Michaelson said the city attorney ’ s office has sympathy for tenants , but does not believe such a ban would survive a legal challenge .
Councilman Bob Blumenfield , who has had protesters demonstrate outside his West Valley residence , said he has had to explain to his children why people were standing outside their home shouting from a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ councilman said he opposed a blanket ban on evictions out of concern that such a measure would be overturned in court , forcing the city to make a big financial payout to landlords .
He complained that protesters had “ never even asked for a meeting ” on the issue before showing up at his home .
“ It ’ s their right to do it , ” Blumenfield said , “ but it ’ s not a pleasant experience.
” Protests outside public officials ’ homes were an established tactic even before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ example , activists with Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles and other groups showed up before 6 a.m. at L.A. County Dist .
Atty .
Jackie Lacey ’ s home in Granada Hills .
That episode became infamous after Lacey ’ s husband pointed a gun at the unarmed demonstrators .
But after stay-at-home orders left City Hall and other government buildings largely empty , demonstrations outside politicians ’ homes became much more routine .
Tenant activists and their allies have staged at least a dozen since March .
The practice initially tapered off after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protests against police brutality broke out across L.A .
But demonstrators soon returned to the homes of Garcetti and Lacey .
Dozens assembled outside the home of Westside Councilman Paul Koretz , who has opposed calls for deep cuts to the LAPD .
UCLA student Nina Long said students pushing to defund the police decided to protest there after pleas to Koretz ’ s office were met with an impersonal “ copy-and-pasted ” message .
“ We believe this was really the only way to make it personal to Paul Koretz , because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” said Long , who helped organize the event .
“ And when folks are being killed on the street , defining what is respectful and civil — it feels no longer relevant.
” Earlier this year , LAPD Chief Michel Moore complained that his department was having to devote a greater amount of resources to patrol the protests outside politicians ’ homes .
Some demonstrators have used language that is “ intimidating , disruptive and interfering with the lives of individuals living in their own private space , ” he said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who is active with the group Sunrise Movement L.A. , said that noise outside politicians ’ homes is nothing compared to the suffering of people unable to make rent .
“ If you ’ re not going to give us what we need , we ’ re not going to let you sleep in in the morning , ” she said .
Some protesters have been cited for noise violations .
In June , after a protest outside Garcetti ’ s home , more than 100 demonstrators were followed by police and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ according to a lawsuit filed on their behalf .
Weeks earlier , South Los Angeles Pastor Sherman Manning was arrested on suspicion of felony stalking after showing up repeatedly outside Garcetti ’ s home .
Manning said he was there to call on the mayor to help people on skid row .
Garcetti and his wife , Amy Wakeland , obtained a temporary restraining order against Manning , arguing that he had engaged in “ disturbing ” behavior , such as filming the family .
They also raised concerns about his criminal history @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Manning says he did nothing to harass the family and was wrongfully convicted in the past .
His attorney is fighting a push for a more permanent restraining order , arguing that Manning ’ s actions were a legitimate , constitutionally protected protest .
When you are elected to public office , “ you sign up for nonviolent protesters being on your street , ” Manning said .
Some activists have also circulated public officials ’ home addresses and phone numbers — both public and private — on social media .
During @ @ @ @ @ @ @ defunding the LAPD repeatedly yelled out the home address of Councilman Paul Krekorian , who heads the council ’ s budget committee .
City Council President Nury Martinez called such behavior “ reckless and dangerous.
” Koretz , who faced protests from activists pushing to defund the Police Department , said calls to his home number were “ nasty and intimidating.
” “ I ’ ve been a progressive Democrat fighting for equality for 30 years as an elected official , and I ’ m getting dozens of calls at home calling me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ It ’ s a little unnerving , but I still don ’ t believe we should get rid of the LAPD.
” Madrid , the Republican political consultant , predicted that confrontations outside public officials ’ homes will eventually lead to violence .
“ That ’ s why I ’ m raising the alarm with legislators , ” he said .
Protest organizers say they do not support violence and argue that politicians ’ home addresses are easily found online .
Ktown for All member Sabrina Johnson said activists circulated the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attorney , to show that he had been “ protecting his class interests ” as a Westside homeowner .
“ He ’ s a rich guy who lives in a rich neighborhood , ” she said .
“ Obviously , he ’ s invested in not giving us renter protections .
”

When a lawyer advised the Los Angeles City Council not to adopt a blanket ban on evictions, renters rights activists were furious.
A group of protesters descended on the city lawyer’s block days later, honking their car horns and shouting “Shame on you!” from a megaphone, according to video of the event. Organizers posted the attorney’s home address on Twitter, along with a map and a photo of his house, and accused him of protecting his “class interests” as a homeowner.
“Nice neighborhood, David Michaelson,” wrote one group known as the People’s City Council, which is made up of activists from such organizations as Ktown for All, a homeless advocacy group, and NOlympics LA. “Would be a real shame if we came and disrupted it.”
Since the coronavirus outbreak began, a growing number of L.A. public officials have seen their homes become the target of protesters — some on foot, others in cars.
Progressive activists have staged a “die-in” at Mayor Eric Garcetti’s residence to demand that he commandeer hotels to house homeless residents. Tenants rights protesters have shown up as early as 7 a.m. outside the homes of City Council members, calling for them to cancel rent payments during the coronavirus shutdown.
Last week, protesters threatened to return to council members’ homes if they fail to do more to eliminate the Los Angeles Police Department budget. One activist told council members that protesters have their home addresses, phone numbers and the numbers of their spouses — and are willing to protest at all hours.
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“If you all don’t want to make changes, your life isn’t going to be fun,” said People’s City Council organizer Ricci Sergienko, a digital media strategist living in Mid-City.
Mike Madrid, a Republican political consultant, argued that state and local laws are needed to stop a practice being used across the state by “extremists” on the left and the right.
At one end of the spectrum, vaccine and mask opponents have shown up at the homes of health officials, he said. At the other end, leftists have gathered outside officials’ homes to demand stronger rent restrictions and the defunding of law enforcement agencies, he said.
“Intimidation should not be part of the policy-making process ever,” Madrid said. “And there’s no question that that’s what this is.”
Protest organizers say their tactics ensure their message reaches public officials working from home. The pandemic has created an urgent political moment that demands dramatic action, they argue.
“This isn’t just garden-variety failure of elected officials,” said Albert Corado, an organizer with the People’s City Council and NOlympics LA. “This is failure of elected officials in a time when the world is changing, and inaction will lead to death.”
Garcetti’s home has been a frequent site of demonstrations for both the left and the right.
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Crowds have converged on the mayor’s residence to protest stay-at-home orders and demand a reopening of the economy. The biggest demonstration at his home in recent months came after the death of George Floyd, with Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles rallying thousands of people outside.
Garcetti aides declined to comment. So did Michaelson, the lawyer who advised against a sweeping eviction ban. In remarks to the council earlier this year, Michaelson said the city attorney’s office has sympathy for tenants, but does not believe such a ban would survive a legal challenge.
Councilman Bob Blumenfield, who has had protesters demonstrate outside his West Valley residence, said he has had to explain to his children why people were standing outside their home shouting from a bullhorn and cursing at him.
The councilman said he opposed a blanket ban on evictions out of concern that such a measure would be overturned in court, forcing the city to make a big financial payout to landlords. He complained that protesters had “never even asked for a meeting” on the issue before showing up at his home.
“It’s their right to do it,” Blumenfield said, “but it’s not a pleasant experience.”
Protests outside public officials’ homes were an established tactic even before the pandemic. In March, for example, activists with Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles and other groups showed up before 6 a.m. at L.A. County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey’s home in Granada Hills. That episode became infamous after Lacey’s husband pointed a gun at the unarmed demonstrators.
But after stay-at-home orders left City Hall and other government buildings largely empty, demonstrations outside politicians’ homes became much more routine. Tenant activists and their allies have staged at least a dozen since March.
The practice initially tapered off after the death of Floyd, when mass protests against police brutality broke out across L.A. But demonstrators soon returned to the homes of Garcetti and Lacey. Dozens assembled outside the home of Westside Councilman Paul Koretz, who has opposed calls for deep cuts to the LAPD.
UCLA student Nina Long said students pushing to defund the police decided to protest there after pleas to Koretz’s office were met with an impersonal “copy-and-pasted” message.
“We believe this was really the only way to make it personal to Paul Koretz, because this issue is personal to us,” said Long, who helped organize the event. “And when folks are being killed on the street, defining what is respectful and civil — it feels no longer relevant.”
Earlier this year, LAPD Chief Michel Moore complained that his department was having to devote a greater amount of resources to patrol the protests outside politicians’ homes. Some demonstrators have used language that is “intimidating, disruptive and interfering with the lives of individuals living in their own private space,” he said.
Cal State L.A. student Astrid Andrea Cota, who is active with the group Sunrise Movement L.A., said that noise outside politicians’ homes is nothing compared to the suffering of people unable to make rent.
“If you’re not going to give us what we need, we’re not going to let you sleep in in the morning,” she said.
Some protesters have been cited for noise violations. In June, after a protest outside Garcetti’s home, more than 100 demonstrators were followed by police and wrongfully arrested a few blocks away, according to a lawsuit filed on their behalf.
Weeks earlier, South Los Angeles Pastor Sherman Manning was arrested on suspicion of felony stalking after showing up repeatedly outside Garcetti’s home. Manning said he was there to call on the mayor to help people on skid row.
Miguel Rios, left, who is homeless, and Pastor Sherman Manning carry protest signs along Wilshire Boulevard in L.A. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
Garcetti and his wife, Amy Wakeland, obtained a temporary restraining order against Manning, arguing that he had engaged in “disturbing” behavior, such as filming the family. They also raised concerns about his criminal history, which includes convictions for sexual assault.
Manning says he did nothing to harass the family and was wrongfully convicted in the past. His attorney is fighting a push for a more permanent restraining order, arguing that Manning’s actions were a legitimate, constitutionally protected protest.
When you are elected to public office, “you sign up for nonviolent protesters being on your street,” Manning said.
Some activists have also circulated public officials’ home addresses and phone numbers — both public and private — on social media. During one recent meeting, an advocate for defunding the LAPD repeatedly yelled out the home address of Councilman Paul Krekorian, who heads the council’s budget committee.
City Council President Nury Martinez called such behavior “reckless and dangerous.” Koretz, who faced protests from activists pushing to defund the Police Department, said calls to his home number were “nasty and intimidating.”
“I’ve been a progressive Democrat fighting for equality for 30 years as an elected official, and I’m getting dozens of calls at home calling me a white supremacist,” Koretz said. “It’s a little unnerving, but I still don’t believe we should get rid of the LAPD.”
Madrid, the Republican political consultant, predicted that confrontations outside public officials’ homes will eventually lead to violence. “That’s why I’m raising the alarm with legislators,” he said.
Protest organizers say they do not support violence and argue that politicians’ home addresses are easily found online. Ktown for All member Sabrina Johnson said activists circulated the home address of Michaelson, the city attorney, to show that he had been “protecting his class interests” as a Westside homeowner.
“He’s a rich guy who lives in a rich neighborhood,” she said. “Obviously, he’s invested in not giving us renter protections.”


latimes--2020-07-09--Bars, indoor dining could remain closed for the foreseeable future amid coronavirus surge

With coronavirus cases surging in California , there are growing doubts that indoor dining and bar service will reopen anytime soon as health officials zero in on how to slow the spread of COVID-19 .
Public health officials say indoor dining and drinking pose more significant public health risks than other retail activities , even with social distancing .
Patrons must take off their masks to eat and drink , they often are engaged in conversation , and they breathe in indoor air that may be contaminated by the virus and circulated by air conditioning — all of which can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the retail economy in many cities , and the reopening of dine-in service followed by the abrupt closures have left the already struggling bar and restaurant industry devastated .
But experts and local , state and federal officials have said in recent days that it ’ s simply too risky for bars and indoor dining rooms to continue operating as the coronavirus surges .
Allowing them to operate as cases spike threatens the wider reopening of the economy and the resumption of school in the fall , they said , and also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pretty much means that we are not going to have indoor dining anytime soon , ” said Dr. Sara Cody , health officer for Santa Clara County , Northern California ’ s most populous county .
Dr. Anthony Fauci , the U.S. government ’ s top infectious disease expert , said this week that closing bars is important to curbing the spread of the virus , because they ’ re often crowded with people not wearing masks .
“ When you are indoor ... in the crowded situation in the bar , that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spread of infection , ” Fauci said in an online conversation hosted by Sen. Doug Jones ( D-Ala. ) .
“ Fundamental things like masking , distancing , washing hands , closing bars : If you do that , I think it will be a giant step towards interfering with the spread in your community.
” There are now at least 27 counties in California that have been subject this month to Gov .
Gavin Newsom ’ s instruction to order bars and indoor dining rooms at restaurants closed for at least three @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they have not been allowed to reopen .
Together , more than 32.9 million Californians live in these counties , which make up 84 % of the state ’ s population .
San Francisco is not one of those counties on the state ’ s monitoring list , but this week decided on its own to call off next week ’ s planned reopening of outdoor bars and indoor dining rooms at restaurants .
And farther south , in Silicon Valley , Santa Clara County officials said bars and indoor dining won ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ foreseeable future — regardless of whether state officials permit the county to make that decision .
“ We have no choice .
We are living in COVID , ” San Francisco Mayor London Breed said this week .
“ We need these numbers to go down.
” The reversal is wrenching for owners , who suffered massive losses during the stay-at-home order and were bracing for even more losses because the social distancing rules limited capacity when they were allowed to reopen .
“ We ’ re getting destroyed , ” said Chad @ @ @ @ @ @ @ & Grill in San Diego ’ s Little Italy .
“ In the past month we just wanted to not sink as fast , and now they ’ ve given us lead weight belts , so we ’ re in this constant state of sinking .
I get there are these experts making these recommendations , but my issue is if a certain industry bears the burden for society ’ s safety , society should be helping with that burden financially.
” When restaurants were allowed to reopen for indoor dine-in service , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many were not following safety rules .
Inspectors found that on June 27 and 28 , 49 % of bars and 33 % of restaurants were not adhering to physical distancing protocols indoors , while 54 % of bars and 44 % of restaurants were not enforcing mask and face shield requirements .
The L.A. County Board of Supervisors this week voted to allow health officials to impose fines or immediately revoke the permits of restaurants not complying with COVID-19 health orders .
Southern California has been hit harder by the surge in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Area .
San Francisco and Santa Clara County have among the fewest coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents of largely populated California counties over the past two weeks ; San Francisco has reported 92 cases per 100,000 residents , and Santa Clara County , 91 cases per 100,000 residents .
By contrast , L.A. County has reported 319 cases per 100,000 residents ; Orange County , 258 cases per 100,000 residents ; and San Diego County , 190 cases per 100,000 residents over the past two weeks , according to the Los Angeles Times @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the Bay Area , which is still generally faring better than Southern California , officials are sounding the alarm .
San Francisco is now in what officials there call a red zone for new cases , reporting more than triple the number of daily diagnosed cases per 100,000 residents than its goal .
And they ’ re warning that any time it seems as if officials have figured out how to control the coronavirus , the virus seems to find a way to spread once people start getting complacent .
“ This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in communities around the country and around the world , that it will come back with a vengeance if you let your guard down , ” said Cody , the health officer in Santa Clara County .
Experts and health officials across the nation are increasingly zeroing in on bars and indoor restaurants as problem spots .
New York City called off its resumption of indoor dining .
Miami-Dade County in Florida this week issued an emergency order closing indoor dining service .
“ It has become clear in watching the pandemic ... @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you at particular risk : there ’ s a higher rate of transmission , ” said Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo , chair of UC San Francisco ’ s Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics .
At restaurants , people aren ’ t wearing masks because they ’ re eating , and “ that means indoor dining is a particularly high-risk activity , ” she said .
Bars are even higher risk because there ’ s lots of close contact , it ’ s crowded , and people are often yelling over the noise .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ breath , as when talking loudly or singing , places others at risk for contracting the virus , she said .
It ’ s also important to recognize the risks bars and indoor restaurants pose to bartenders , waiters and other workers , she added .
“ For me , personally , I will patronize my local restaurants by ordering takeout , ” Bibbins-Domingo said .
Other businesses in Santa Clara County have received the green light to reopen next week under some basic principles : outdoors are safer than indoors ; more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ briefer contacts are safer ; and face coverings should be worn consistently .
Santa Clara County will also not allow other venues to reopen in which the nature of the activity does not lend itself to protective measures like wearing masks , staying outside or keeping away from other people .
These venues include indoor swimming pools and saunas , heated exercise rooms , smoking lounges , nightclubs , theaters , stadiums , arenas , theme parks , indoor playgrounds and amusement centers like bounce centers , ball pits and venues that host @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be allowed to resume next week include hair salons , nail salons , massage parlors and gyms .
“ We ’ re at an inflection point , we ’ re at a point in this pandemic when it ’ s crystal clear that COVID-19 will be with us for a long time , ” Cody said .
“ And so we need to adapt to a new way of living that keeps us all safe.
” Cody warned that it will be hard for California to bring the coronavirus back down to controllable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ California , what we ’ re seeing reflects an exponential growth in transmission that will be extremely difficult to control , and bring back under control , ” Cody said .
Southern California officials had chosen to reopen local economies on a much faster pace than the Bay Area and have recently been forced to backpedal .
L.A. County , for instance , reopened restaurants for in-person dining on May 29 and allowed bars to reopen on June 19 ; Santa Clara County never allowed those settings to reopen .
L.A. County ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 28 , and indoor dining rooms , on July 1 .
Bibbins-Domingo , the UC San Francisco physician and epidemiologist , said California had been a model state for ordering a stay-at-home order earlier than any other state .
But it ’ s now clear that reopening is far more difficult , and Californians are now feeling the consequences of being more complacent in the state ’ s reopening than New York .
We ’ re also learning much more about the virus , Bibbins-Domingo said , with many scientists pushing the World @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s likely the virus stays around in the air in indoor environments where there ’ s little circulation .
And it was only on June 18 that Newsom issued a statewide order to wear masks in public , more than a month after the state began allowing counties to decide on reopening businesses .
“ If I had to point to one thing , I would have loved us to [ have ] a clear awareness that we were not going to be able to open up without masks , ” Bibbins-Domingo said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ experience to understand that indoors is a much riskier environment than outdoors.
” Lin reported from San Francisco , and Lee and Greene from Southern California .
Times staff writer Garrett Snyder as well as Lori Weisberg and Pam Kragen of the San Diego Union-Tribune contributed to this report .

Conor Susi takes orders from a dine-in group in downtown Los Angeles on June 6. Indoor restaurants were ordered shut in L.A. County on July 1.
With coronavirus cases surging in California, there are growing doubts that indoor dining and bar service will reopen anytime soon as health officials zero in on how to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Public health officials say indoor dining and drinking pose more significant public health risks than other retail activities, even with social distancing. Patrons must take off their masks to eat and drink, they often are engaged in conversation, and they breathe in indoor air that may be contaminated by the virus and circulated by air conditioning — all of which can spread COVID-19.
Restaurants are the lifeblood of the retail economy in many cities, and the reopening of dine-in service followed by the abrupt closures have left the already struggling bar and restaurant industry devastated.
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But experts and local, state and federal officials have said in recent days that it’s simply too risky for bars and indoor dining rooms to continue operating as the coronavirus surges. Allowing them to operate as cases spike threatens the wider reopening of the economy and the resumption of school in the fall, they said, and also threatens to overwhelm hospitals.
“That pretty much means that we are not going to have indoor dining anytime soon,” said Dr. Sara Cody, health officer for Santa Clara County, Northern California’s most populous county.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government’s top infectious disease expert, said this week that closing bars is important to curbing the spread of the virus, because they’re often crowded with people not wearing masks.
“When you are indoor ... in the crowded situation in the bar, that’s a perfect setup for the spread of infection,” Fauci said in an online conversation hosted by Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.). “Fundamental things like masking, distancing, washing hands, closing bars: If you do that, I think it will be a giant step towards interfering with the spread in your community.”
There are now at least 27 counties in California that have been subject this month to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s instruction to order bars and indoor dining rooms at restaurants closed for at least three weeks or to keep them shut if they have not been allowed to reopen. Together, more than 32.9 million Californians live in these counties, which make up 84% of the state’s population.
San Francisco is not one of those counties on the state’s monitoring list, but this week decided on its own to call off next week’s planned reopening of outdoor bars and indoor dining rooms at restaurants.
And farther south, in Silicon Valley, Santa Clara County officials said bars and indoor dining won’t be allowed to reopen for the foreseeable future — regardless of whether state officials permit the county to make that decision.
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“We have no choice. We are living in COVID,” San Francisco Mayor London Breed said this week. “We need these numbers to go down.”
The reversal is wrenching for owners, who suffered massive losses during the stay-at-home order and were bracing for even more losses because the social distancing rules limited capacity when they were allowed to reopen.
“We’re getting destroyed,” said Chad Cline, co-owner of the Waterfront Bar & Grill in San Diego’s Little Italy. “In the past month we just wanted to not sink as fast, and now they’ve given us lead weight belts, so we’re in this constant state of sinking. I get there are these experts making these recommendations, but my issue is if a certain industry bears the burden for society’s safety, society should be helping with that burden financially.”
When restaurants were allowed to reopen for indoor dine-in service, officials in Los Angeles County found that many were not following safety rules. Inspectors found that on June 27 and 28, 49% of bars and 33% of restaurants were not adhering to physical distancing protocols indoors, while 54% of bars and 44% of restaurants were not enforcing mask and face shield requirements.
The L.A. County Board of Supervisors this week voted to allow health officials to impose fines or immediately revoke the permits of restaurants not complying with COVID-19 health orders.
Southern California has been hit harder by the surge in coronavirus cases than the San Francisco Bay Area.
San Francisco and Santa Clara County have among the fewest coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents of largely populated California counties over the past two weeks; San Francisco has reported 92 cases per 100,000 residents, and Santa Clara County, 91 cases per 100,000 residents.
By contrast, L.A. County has reported 319 cases per 100,000 residents; Orange County, 258 cases per 100,000 residents; and San Diego County, 190 cases per 100,000 residents over the past two weeks, according to the Los Angeles Times’ California coronavirus tracker.
Yet even in the Bay Area, which is still generally faring better than Southern California, officials are sounding the alarm. San Francisco is now in what officials there call a red zone for new cases, reporting more than triple the number of daily diagnosed cases per 100,000 residents than its goal.
And they’re warning that any time it seems as if officials have figured out how to control the coronavirus, the virus seems to find a way to spread once people start getting complacent.
“This virus has proven time and again, in communities around the country and around the world, that it will come back with a vengeance if you let your guard down,” said Cody, the health officer in Santa Clara County.
Experts and health officials across the nation are increasingly zeroing in on bars and indoor restaurants as problem spots. New York City called off its resumption of indoor dining. Miami-Dade County in Florida this week issued an emergency order closing indoor dining service.
“It has become clear in watching the pandemic ... that indoor spaces and close contact put you at particular risk: there’s a higher rate of transmission,” said Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, chair of UC San Francisco’s Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics.
At restaurants, people aren’t wearing masks because they’re eating, and “that means indoor dining is a particularly high-risk activity,” she said. Bars are even higher risk because there’s lots of close contact, it’s crowded, and people are often yelling over the noise.
Which California counties are reopening? To contain the spread of COVID-19, parks, restaurants and stores are slowly reopening.
We already know that people forcefully expelling their breath, as when talking loudly or singing, places others at risk for contracting the virus, she said.
It’s also important to recognize the risks bars and indoor restaurants pose to bartenders, waiters and other workers, she added. “For me, personally, I will patronize my local restaurants by ordering takeout,” Bibbins-Domingo said.
Other businesses in Santa Clara County have received the green light to reopen next week under some basic principles: outdoors are safer than indoors; more physical distance is safer; fewer and briefer contacts are safer; and face coverings should be worn consistently.
Santa Clara County will also not allow other venues to reopen in which the nature of the activity does not lend itself to protective measures like wearing masks, staying outside or keeping away from other people.
These venues include indoor swimming pools and saunas, heated exercise rooms, smoking lounges, nightclubs, theaters, stadiums, arenas, theme parks, indoor playgrounds and amusement centers like bounce centers, ball pits and venues that host laser tag.
But businesses that will be allowed to resume next week include hair salons, nail salons, massage parlors and gyms.
“We’re at an inflection point, we’re at a point in this pandemic when it’s crystal clear that COVID-19 will be with us for a long time,” Cody said. “And so we need to adapt to a new way of living that keeps us all safe.”
Cody warned that it will be hard for California to bring the coronavirus back down to controllable levels. “And especially in Southern California, what we’re seeing reflects an exponential growth in transmission that will be extremely difficult to control, and bring back under control,” Cody said.
Southern California officials had chosen to reopen local economies on a much faster pace than the Bay Area and have recently been forced to backpedal. L.A. County, for instance, reopened restaurants for in-person dining on May 29 and allowed bars to reopen on June 19; Santa Clara County never allowed those settings to reopen. L.A. County’s bars were ordered shut on June 28, and indoor dining rooms, on July 1.
Tracking the coronavirus in L.A. County The latest maps and charts on the spread of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County, including cases, deaths, closures and restrictions.
Bibbins-Domingo, the UC San Francisco physician and epidemiologist, said California had been a model state for ordering a stay-at-home order earlier than any other state. But it’s now clear that reopening is far more difficult, and Californians are now feeling the consequences of being more complacent in the state’s reopening than New York.
We’re also learning much more about the virus, Bibbins-Domingo said, with many scientists pushing the World Health Organization to recognize that it’s likely the virus stays around in the air in indoor environments where there’s little circulation.
And it was only on June 18 that Newsom issued a statewide order to wear masks in public, more than a month after the state began allowing counties to decide on reopening businesses.
“If I had to point to one thing, I would have loved us to [have] a clear awareness that we were not going to be able to open up without masks,” Bibbins-Domingo said. “It has been a learning experience to understand that indoors is a much riskier environment than outdoors.”
Lin reported from San Francisco, and Lee and Greene from Southern California. Times staff writer Garrett Snyder as well as Lori Weisberg and Pam Kragen of the San Diego Union-Tribune contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-07-10--With coronavirus patients filling up Inland Empire hospitals, nurses are desperate for relief

Arrowhead Regional Medical Center took drastic measures in anticipation of a coronavirus surge following the holiday weekend and statewide reopenings .
In the last few months , administrators set up an outside temporary screening area for emergency patients to open up space in the emergency room within the hospital , and they considered relocating other sections of the hospital to accommodate the growing increase of patients — anything to alleviate the space concerns .
The number of COVID-19 inpatients in the San Bernardino County trauma center nearly tripled from 20 in May to 55 as of Wednesday .
“ On @ @ @ @ @ @ @ us every bed is full , ” said Sharon Brown , associate chief nursing officer .
Two of the hospital ’ s 16 intensive care beds are unoccupied , and the center has additional beds designated if needed .
But nurses said the crowding was worsening .
Inside the COVID unit Wednesday , doctors and nurses moved briskly , performing check-ins , getting medication and drawing labs .
At noon , a team of doctors rushed from room to room to check on every patient in the ICU wing .
Throughout San Bernardino @ @ @ @ @ @ @ increase in coronavirus hospitalizations , rising from about 276 inpatients a month ago to about 579 inpatients Tuesday .
But the trend isn ’ t unique to San Bernardino — each county in the Inland Empire has reported that its licensed ICU hospital beds are nearly full .
And the concerns don ’ t stop there : Nurses in short-staffed hospitals across the Inland Empire said they bear the brunt of the pressure .
Arrowhead Regional Medical Center has hired more nurses to meet growing demands but still struggles to keep up .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ [ an ] agency to help with the staffing , but all the other hospitals are experiencing a surge and they ’ re using the agency to get more staffers as well , so that presents a challenge , ” Brown said .
In Imperial County , 93 suspected and confirmed coronavirus patients were hospitalized Monday , a number that has remained steady for months .
But in just five weeks , 500 coronavirus patients had already been transferred to other counties for treatment — San Francisco , Riverside and Santa Clara among @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the COVID-19 tests administered in Imperial County come back positive , a rate much higher than the threshold of 8 % to be removed from During a news conference June 26 , Gov .
Gavin Newsom singled out Imperial County as the area hit hardest by the coronavirus in all of California .
And in Riverside County , hospital beds have hovered above 90 % capacity each day throughout early July .
The county reached a record high of 518 coronavirus hospitalizations Tuesday .
Hospital officials said they anticipate a surge in hospitalizations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ [ the holiday ] , we will start to feel in one week , two weeks , three weeks .
It ’ s hard to have a crystal ball on that .
That bullet has left the gun , ” said Bruce Barton , Riverside County ’ s emergency management director .
Six of the county ’ s 17 acute-care hospitals have already exceeded their licensed ICU bed capacity , accommodating additional patients in surge bedding .
Michael Ditoro , chief operating officer at Desert Regional Medical Center , says the hospital ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to serve patients as standard ICU beds .
“ There ’ s all this hubbub in the press about running out of ICU beds , ” said Erik Andrews , a rapid response nurse at Riverside Community Hospital .
“ If you ’ ve ever had surgery before , the entire pre-op and post-op area , you can convert those into ICU beds with almost no effort.
” But the hospital doesn ’ t have nearly enough nurses , Andrews said .
California laws prescribe minimum nurse-to-patient ratios in the state , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ during “ this novel , deadly , highly contagious disease , ” Andrews said .
For a while , Riverside Community Hospital had increased its ratio during the pandemic , but it dropped back after a few weeks .
Some COVID-19 patients need additional monitoring , Andrews said .
“ Their vital signs are not really telling .
Sometimes they ’ ll have incredibly low oxygen saturations , but they ’ re not distressed in any way , ” he said .
“ Monitoring somebody remotely isn ’ t that helpful — you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them.
” With Andrews said he hardly gets to take a bathroom or lunch break .
He ’ s gone up to 11 hours wearing one mask .
“ The first thing I do when I show up to work is I fill up my water bottle .
There ’ s definitely been times at the end of the day where I look at it , and I ’ m like , ‘ Holy crap , it ’ s still full.
’ I haven ’ t taken my mask off and taken the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Erin McIntosh , 37 , a rapid response nurse at the Riverside hospital , said she often fears for her and her colleagues ’ mental well-being .
Nearly every shift , she witnesses nurses overwhelmed from the demands of their job .
She often provides a shoulder to cry on as nurses debrief after their shifts .
“ We don ’ t have the adequate staff to take the patient , and I can ’ t leave their bedside , ” McIntosh said .
“ I ’ ll be in a room @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hours .
We don ’ t have support , and it ’ s causing nurses to not want to be nurses anymore .
”

An ICU nurse, center, enters a negative-pressure isolation room to treat a COVID-19 patient Wednesday at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, Calif. Only two of the hospital’s 16 ICU beds are unoccupied.
Arrowhead Regional Medical Center took drastic measures in anticipation of a coronavirus surge following the holiday weekend and statewide reopenings.
In the last few months, administrators set up an outside temporary screening area for emergency patients to open up space in the emergency room within the hospital, and they considered relocating other sections of the hospital to accommodate the growing increase of patients — anything to alleviate the space concerns.
The number of COVID-19 inpatients in the San Bernardino County trauma center nearly tripled from 20 in May to 55 as of Wednesday.
“On the floors, the medics are telling us every bed is full,” said Sharon Brown, associate chief nursing officer.
Two of the hospital’s 16 intensive care beds are unoccupied, and the center has additional beds designated if needed. But nurses said the crowding was worsening.
Inside the COVID unit Wednesday, doctors and nurses moved briskly, performing check-ins, getting medication and drawing labs. At noon, a team of doctors rushed from room to room to check on every patient in the ICU wing.
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Throughout San Bernardino County, hospitals have seen a steep increase in coronavirus hospitalizations, rising from about 276 inpatients a month ago to about 579 inpatients Tuesday.
But the trend isn’t unique to San Bernardino — each county in the Inland Empire has reported that its licensed ICU hospital beds are nearly full. And the concerns don’t stop there: Nurses in short-staffed hospitals across the Inland Empire said they bear the brunt of the pressure.
Arrowhead Regional Medical Center has hired more nurses to meet growing demands but still struggles to keep up.
“We’re trying to get [an] agency to help with the staffing, but all the other hospitals are experiencing a surge and they’re using the agency to get more staffers as well, so that presents a challenge,” Brown said.
In Imperial County, 93 suspected and confirmed coronavirus patients were hospitalized Monday, a number that has remained steady for months. But in just five weeks, 500 coronavirus patients from Imperial County had already been transferred to other counties for treatment — San Francisco, Riverside and Santa Clara among them.
More than 20% of the COVID-19 tests administered in Imperial County come back positive, a rate much higher than the threshold of 8% to be removed from a state watchlist. During a news conference June 26, Gov. Gavin Newsom singled out Imperial County as the area hit hardest by the coronavirus in all of California.
And in Riverside County, hospital beds have hovered above 90% capacity each day throughout early July. The county reached a record high of 518 coronavirus hospitalizations Tuesday.
Hospital officials said they anticipate a surge in hospitalizations following the Fourth of July holiday.
“The effects of [the holiday], we will start to feel in one week, two weeks, three weeks. It’s hard to have a crystal ball on that. That bullet has left the gun,” said Bruce Barton, Riverside County’s emergency management director.
Six of the county’s 17 acute-care hospitals have already exceeded their licensed ICU bed capacity, accommodating additional patients in surge bedding. Michael Ditoro, chief operating officer at Desert Regional Medical Center, says the hospital’s surge beds are just as equipped to serve patients as standard ICU beds.
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“There’s all this hubbub in the press about running out of ICU beds,” said Erik Andrews, a rapid response nurse at Riverside Community Hospital. “If you’ve ever had surgery before, the entire pre-op and post-op area, you can convert those into ICU beds with almost no effort.”
But the hospital doesn’t have nearly enough nurses, Andrews said.
California laws prescribe minimum nurse-to-patient ratios in the state, but those numbers haven’t been sufficient during “this novel, deadly, highly contagious disease,” Andrews said. For a while, Riverside Community Hospital had increased its ratio during the pandemic, but it dropped back after a few weeks.
Some COVID-19 patients need additional monitoring, Andrews said.
“Their vital signs are not really telling. Sometimes they’ll have incredibly low oxygen saturations, but they’re not distressed in any way,” he said. “Monitoring somebody remotely isn’t that helpful — you actually have to be able to visualize them.”
With thin staffing, Andrews said he hardly gets to take a bathroom or lunch break. He’s gone up to 11 hours wearing one mask.
“The first thing I do when I show up to work is I fill up my water bottle. There’s definitely been times at the end of the day where I look at it, and I’m like, ‘Holy crap, it’s still full.’ I haven’t taken my mask off and taken the time to drink,” he said.
Erin McIntosh, 37, a rapid response nurse at the Riverside hospital, said she often fears for her and her colleagues’ mental well-being.
Nearly every shift, she witnesses nurses overwhelmed from the demands of their job. She often provides a shoulder to cry on as nurses debrief after their shifts.
“We don’t have the adequate staff to take the patient, and I can’t leave their bedside,” McIntosh said. “I’ll be in a room with a patient by myself for eight hours. We don’t have support, and it’s causing nurses to not want to be nurses anymore.”


latimes--2020-07-10--Should you send your child back to school? Parents are stressed and divided

Weeks before the start of school , Californians are deeply split over whether campuses can safely reopen amid the ongoing coronavirus surge — caught in a collective moment of uncertainty and anxiety also reflected among teachers and education leaders .
Parents , as indicated in a new statewide poll , are grappling with the prospect of stressful , less effective learning at home — not to mention continued child care woes — and fears that children exposed at school could bring COVID-19 and its potentially deadly risks into their home .
Similar concerns among school workers are expected to crystallize @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the teachers union will recommend a delay in reopening campuses tentatively planned for Aug. 18 .
For now , learning from home — in place since mid-March — should continue , union leaders said .
The California Teachers Assn .
on Thursday made a similar but less explicit statement , saying that conditions for keeping students safe have not been satisfied statewide .
L.A. school officials have not yet made a final decision other than to say that instruction will begin on the first day of school , one way or another .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ 8-year-old granddaughter , exemplifies the angst .
“ I do think she needs to go back at least some of the time , ” said Ford-Swinton , whose granddaughter attends Cowan Avenue Elementary in the Westchester neighborhood of Los Angeles .
“ But I ’ m so afraid because I don ’ t know what ’ s going to be in place.
” “ Will everyone be tested for COVID-19 when they enter ?
If they have a fever , will they be sent home ?
Will there be a full-time nursing staff @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stress.
” Overall , Californians are closely split on whether to continue with distance learning or go ahead with a limited reopening , according to the poll , which was conducted in consultation with The Times .
About 4 in 10 California adults want to stick with full-time distance learning this fall .
A similarly sized group favors a limited reopening with students in school on alternating days or on half-day schedules .
The staggered schedule would allow schools to comply with social distancing requirements , which typically require students to remain six @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 10 support having students attend classes full time in person on a daily basis — even if they follow social distancing guidelines , the poll found .
Respondents took part online in the California Community Poll from June 26 through July 6 .
The survey was commissioned by the Center for Asian Americans United for Self Empowerment , Hispanas Organized for Political Equality and the Los Angeles Urban League .
Strategies 360 , a California-based polling and political strategy firm , polled 1,184 adult citizens .
The margin of sampling error is 3 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and how to reopen campuses has divided experts and roiled politics up to the White House , with President Trump this week threatening to withhold funding for schools that don ’ t open and challenging the advice of his own experts .
He questioned the need for social distancing and labeled the safety guidelines from the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as too tough , expensive and impractical .
The CDC on Thursday refused to change its guidance .
“ It ’ s clear that most Americans are much more conflicted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s about wearing a mask or sending their children to school — given the wide range of messages they ’ re hearing from their elected leaders , ” poll director Dan Schnur said .
California officials are contemplating , at best , a hybrid format , with students combining online sessions and work-at-home materials with part-time classes on campuses in small groups .
Her 15-year-old son was “ having the time of his life ” at Dorsey High School , playing soccer , earning almost all A ’ s and making friends @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deficit hyperactivity and a speech disorder .
Since the pandemic , he ’ s had only three speech sessions , and none of his online instruction has been live : “ My son really needs some kind of social engagement.
” “ But I ’ m a realist — we have to see what the numbers are , ” she added , referring to the county ’ s spike in coronavirus infections .
Moore , 58 , has diabetes and high blood pressure , and she recently received radiation treatment for breast cancer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that — something happens , it ’ s not just gon na be a sniffle , ” she said .
In the poll , undertaken before Trump began touting reopening schools , residents of Los Angeles , Orange and San Diego counties — where the toll from COVID-19 has been heaviest — were significantly more in favor of keeping students off campus than residents of other parts of the state .
The poll found only small differences between parents and non-parents on the issue , but significant differences among different groups of parents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 75,000 , about 3 in 10 supported a full reopening this fall .
Among parents earning less than $ 75,000 , only half as many supported reopening .
Black and Asian Pacific American parents were especially supportive of sticking with distance learning , with half or more in those groups in favor .
Latino parents were most in favor of a partial reopening , with nearly half supporting that option .
Whites , who have been less likely than Black people or Latinos to be hit by the virus , were the most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 5 backing a full reopening .
Moreover , the political polarization that has divided Americans on nearly everything in recent years reinforces an urban-rural split , the poll found .
Self-identified Republicans and conservatives , who are more likely to live in non-urban parts of the state , were much more likely to back reopening than were Democrats and liberals .
“ These poll numbers show that Trump ’ s call for a full reopening is most popular with men , seniors and rural white voters , ” Schnur said .
“ Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ November , but the demographic groups that are most supportive of opening the schools are the voters he needs to win in more competitive states.
” But for most — including education leaders — the issues are more pragmatic than political .
“ It seems to me that we are ill-prepared for the reopening of schools , ” said Lynwood Supt .
Gudiel R. Crosthwaite .
“ Given the increase in rates not only in Southern California but throughout the country , it seems almost irresponsible for schools to open.
” Lennox School @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s been involved in discussions with leaders of other school systems and some expect they ’ ll be ready with some form of hybrid learning , while others say they probably will need to start the school year using distance learning .
His school system is working out its strategy for the fall .
Las Virgenes Unified , which straddles the border of Ventura and L.A. counties , announced Thursday that it would offer both a hybrid schedule and online-only instruction — not that it will be easy .
The district already @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health enhancements , while cutting its districtwide budget .
“ We ’ re still running about 70 % to 30 % in favor of being on campus.
” Supt .
Dan Stepenosky said .
“ Schools are critical for both public health and the economy .
...
If we don ’ t open or don ’ t do it right , both the public health and economy will struggle.
” Antonio Mendez can attest to the economic hardship .
An independent trucker who lives in the San Diego area , Mendez took on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ studies while his wife holds onto her credit union job .
He doesn ’ t have anyone besides his mother to watch his sons , ages 7 and 12 , and he doesn ’ t want to risk exposing her .
“ I don ’ t want to send my kids to school if there ’ s any threat of them catching this , ” Mendez said .
For now , he wouldn ’ t feel comfortable even with a partial reopening of schools : “ When I go pick up the groceries @ @ @ @ @ @ @ masks on .
Those people might have kids .
If they ’ re acting that irresponsibly … and I ’ ve got ta send my kids to school with those children , I ’ m not doing that.
” But Danielle Simmons , of San Bernardino , says her children , ages 7 and 10 , need to get back to something as close to normal as possible .
“ The distance learning , ” Simmons said , “ it really is a headache.
” Though Del Rosa Elementary provided a laptop and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into Google Classroom and muting microphones , eating up time and causing frustration .
Besides , her children “ need that interaction .
...
They need to get out of the house and go back to what they ’ re familiar to , ” she said .
But she will also consider whether the school is operating safely and will keep watch for spikes in the virus , she said .
“ Remote education doesn ’ t work very well for very many kids , ” especially for young children and low-income families @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of public policy and economics at UC Berkeley , who ’ s had to help manage schoolwork for his own children at home .
All the same , “ you can ’ t go to schools if it ’ s not safe.
” And when it comes to the coronavirus , “ there ’ s a lot of science that we don ’ t understand .
”

Howard Blume, David Lauter, Nina Agrawal

Natalie Burge, a teacher at Giano Intermediate School in West Covina, sits in her empty classroom. Officials are debating whether to reopen campuses in the fall.
Weeks before the start of school, Californians are deeply split over whether campuses can safely reopen amid the ongoing coronavirus surge — caught in a collective moment of uncertainty and anxiety also reflected among teachers and education leaders.
Parents, as indicated in a new statewide poll, are grappling with the prospect of stressful, less effective learning at home — not to mention continued child care woes — and fears that children exposed at school could bring COVID-19 and its potentially deadly risks into their home.
Similar concerns among school workers are expected to crystallize in Los Angeles on Friday morning when the teachers union will recommend a delay in reopening campuses tentatively planned for Aug. 18. For now, learning from home — in place since mid-March — should continue, union leaders said.
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The California Teachers Assn. on Thursday made a similar but less explicit statement, saying that conditions for keeping students safe have not been satisfied statewide.
L.A. school officials have not yet made a final decision other than to say that instruction will begin on the first day of school, one way or another.
Yolanda Ford-Swinton, who cares for an 8-year-old granddaughter, exemplifies the angst.
“I do think she needs to go back at least some of the time,” said Ford-Swinton, whose granddaughter attends Cowan Avenue Elementary in the Westchester neighborhood of Los Angeles. “But I’m so afraid because I don’t know what’s going to be in place.”
“Will everyone be tested for COVID-19 when they enter? If they have a fever, will they be sent home? Will there be a full-time nursing staff? It just creates a level of stress.”
Overall, Californians are closely split on whether to continue with distance learning or go ahead with a limited reopening, according to the poll, which was conducted in consultation with The Times.
About 4 in 10 California adults want to stick with full-time distance learning this fall. A similarly sized group favors a limited reopening with students in school on alternating days or on half-day schedules. The staggered schedule would allow schools to comply with social distancing requirements, which typically require students to remain six feet apart.
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Fewer than 2 in 10 support having students attend classes full time in person on a daily basis — even if they follow social distancing guidelines, the poll found.
Respondents took part online in the California Community Poll from June 26 through July 6. The survey was commissioned by the Center for Asian Americans United for Self Empowerment, Hispanas Organized for Political Equality and the Los Angeles Urban League. Strategies 360, a California-based polling and political strategy firm, polled 1,184 adult citizens. The margin of sampling error is 3 percentage points.
The question of when and how to reopen campuses has divided experts and roiled politics up to the White House, with President Trump this week threatening to withhold funding for schools that don’t open and challenging the advice of his own experts. He questioned the need for social distancing and labeled the safety guidelines from the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as too tough, expensive and impractical. The CDC on Thursday refused to change its guidance.
“It’s clear that most Americans are much more conflicted about how to proceed — whether it’s about wearing a mask or sending their children to school — given the wide range of messages they’re hearing from their elected leaders,” poll director Dan Schnur said.
California officials are contemplating, at best, a hybrid format, with students combining online sessions and work-at-home materials with part-time classes on campuses in small groups.
Alberta Brinson Moore of Leimert Park explained her conflicted sentiments.
Her 15-year-old son was “having the time of his life” at Dorsey High School, playing soccer, earning almost all A’s and making friends, despite having to work through attention deficit hyperactivity and a speech disorder.
Since the pandemic, he’s had only three speech sessions, and none of his online instruction has been live: “My son really needs some kind of social engagement.”
“But I’m a realist — we have to see what the numbers are,” she added, referring to the county’s spike in coronavirus infections.
Moore, 58, has diabetes and high blood pressure, and she recently received radiation treatment for breast cancer.
“I’m the person that — something happens, it’s not just gonna be a sniffle,” she said.
In the poll, undertaken before Trump began touting reopening schools, residents of Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties — where the toll from COVID-19 has been heaviest — were significantly more in favor of keeping students off campus than residents of other parts of the state.
The poll found only small differences between parents and non-parents on the issue, but significant differences among different groups of parents. Among parents earning more than $75,000, about 3 in 10 supported a full reopening this fall. Among parents earning less than $75,000, only half as many supported reopening.
Black and Asian Pacific American parents were especially supportive of sticking with distance learning, with half or more in those groups in favor. Latino parents were most in favor of a partial reopening, with nearly half supporting that option. Whites, who have been less likely than Black people or Latinos to be hit by the virus, were the most evenly divided, with about 1 in 5 backing a full reopening.
Moreover, the political polarization that has divided Americans on nearly everything in recent years reinforces an urban-rural split, the poll found. Self-identified Republicans and conservatives, who are more likely to live in non-urban parts of the state, were much more likely to back reopening than were Democrats and liberals.
“These poll numbers show that Trump’s call for a full reopening is most popular with men, seniors and rural white voters,” Schnur said. “Trump will almost certainly not win California in November, but the demographic groups that are most supportive of opening the schools are the voters he needs to win in more competitive states.”
But for most — including education leaders — the issues are more pragmatic than political.
“It seems to me that we are ill-prepared for the reopening of schools,” said Lynwood Supt. Gudiel R. Crosthwaite. “Given the increase in rates not only in Southern California but throughout the country, it seems almost irresponsible for schools to open.”
Lennox School District Supt. Scott Price said he’s been involved in discussions with leaders of other school systems and some expect they’ll be ready with some form of hybrid learning, while others say they probably will need to start the school year using distance learning. His school system is working out its strategy for the fall.
Las Virgenes Unified, which straddles the border of Ventura and L.A. counties, announced Thursday that it would offer both a hybrid schedule and online-only instruction — not that it will be easy. The district already has spent $850,000 on safety and health enhancements, while cutting its districtwide budget.
“We’re still running about 70% to 30% in favor of being on campus.” Supt. Dan Stepenosky said. “Schools are critical for both public health and the economy. ... If we don’t open or don’t do it right, both the public health and economy will struggle.”
Antonio Mendez can attest to the economic hardship.
An independent trucker who lives in the San Diego area, Mendez took on responsibility for supervising his children’s studies while his wife holds onto her credit union job. He doesn’t have anyone besides his mother to watch his sons, ages 7 and 12, and he doesn’t want to risk exposing her.
“I don’t want to send my kids to school if there’s any threat of them catching this,” Mendez said.
For now, he wouldn’t feel comfortable even with a partial reopening of schools: “When I go pick up the groceries, I see people outside with no masks on. Those people might have kids. If they’re acting that irresponsibly … and I’ve gotta send my kids to school with those children, I’m not doing that.”
But Danielle Simmons, of San Bernardino, says her children, ages 7 and 10, need to get back to something as close to normal as possible.
“The distance learning,” Simmons said, “it really is a headache.”
Though Del Rosa Elementary provided a laptop and iPad, the family had problems signing into Google Classroom and muting microphones, eating up time and causing frustration.
Besides, her children “need that interaction. ... They need to get out of the house and go back to what they’re familiar to,” she said.
But she will also consider whether the school is operating safely and will keep watch for spikes in the virus, she said.
“Remote education doesn’t work very well for very many kids,” especially for young children and low-income families, said Jesse Rothstein, a professor of public policy and economics at UC Berkeley, who’s had to help manage schoolwork for his own children at home. All the same, “you can’t go to schools if it’s not safe.”
And when it comes to the coronavirus, “there’s a lot of science that we don’t understand.”


latimes--2020-07-10--Coronavirus deaths are now rising along with cases and hospitalizations. When will the wave crest?

The surge of the coronavirus in California over the last month started with an explosion of new cases , then moved into hospitals that rapidly filled with patients and is now beginning to bring an increase in COVID-19 deaths .
The question now is how big the wave will get before it crests .
June turned out to be a grim month in the COVID-19 battle , with people beginning to socialize again in ways that allowed the virus to spread rapidly across communities .
Hospitals are being hit hard as patients who were infected weeks ago are now getting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Officials are hoping public behavior changed toward the end of June and early July , but they won ’ t know how that plays out for several more weeks .
California this week hit another troubling milestone Wednesday , recording the highest single-day COVID-19 death toll so far in the pandemic , with 149 fatalities reported , according to The Times ’ California coronavirus tracker .
An additional 137 deaths were reported Thursday , which would be the second-highest daily death toll in the pandemic .
Experts say deaths are a lagging indicator @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the virus that occurred four or five weeks earlier .
Los Angeles County reported 48 deaths on Thursday , 61 on Wednesday , 45 on Tuesday and 50 on Monday .
That ’ s substantially higher than the average of about 34 deaths per day reported in June .
Yet there are also a few signs of hope on the horizon .
Even as coronavirus-related hospitalizations reached all-time highs this week in L.A. County , they ’ ve been increasing at a slower rate in recent days , said Dr. Christine Ghaly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health services .
Hospitalizations in the county topped out at a high of 2,037 on Tuesday before dropping to 1,995 Wednesday — a decline of 2 % .
L.A. County officials began sounding the alarm last month , when the effective transmission rate of the coronavirus rose above 1 , which means that , on average , each person infected with the virus transmitted it to more than one other person — setting the stage for a dramatic worsening of the pandemic .
The transmission rate has now fallen back to around 1 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and if that rate remains steady , it ’ s likely that Los Angeles County will have an adequate supply of hospital beds through early August .
The hope is that actions taken by state and local governments over the last few weeks — closing down indoor dining and bars in most parts of California , requiring masks in public settings and shutting the beaches during the Fourth of July weekend — have slowed the outbreak .
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti warned this week that if the trend isn ’ t reversed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rules once again .
Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer struck a more hopeful note .
“ Nothing can be off the table in the pandemic , ” she said .
But , she added , “ I hope we never have to go back to ‘ safer at home.
’ ” She said there are sensible strategies that can be effective but offer far fewer negative impacts than reverting back to the strictest version of the stay-at-home order .
“ We don ’ t have to be in crowds .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a party .
We don ’ t have to get in a congested area .
We don ’ t have to have close contact with people who aren ’ t in our household , unless it ’ s something that ’ s related to our work , ” Ferrer said .
“ And I think if we can try to take those steps , it allows us to slow the spread.
” But for the short term , L.A. County should expect more bad news .
Ferrer said it ’ s likely that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ back up — a reflection of the worsened hospitalization numbers seen in recent weeks .
While hospitalizations of confirmed coronavirus patients have risen by 35 % in L.A. County — and 28 % in San Diego County — since Memorial Day , they ’ ve more than doubled in the suburban counties of Orange , Riverside and Ventura , and more than tripled in San Bernardino County .
The deteriorating conditions in Orange County have officials and health experts increasingly alarmed .
On Wednesday , 691 people with confirmed coronavirus infections were hospitalized @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Day .
The spike has prompted hospitals countywide to begin to prepare for a surge of sick patients , said Orange County Health Care Agency Director Dr. Clayton Chau .
“ These trends are very concerning , and we can expect the impact on our healthcare system to get worse in the coming days and weeks , ” Chau said .
“ If the surge goes up to — or beyond — their capacity to mobilize resources , that will cause a real strain .
A strain on the hospital systems means a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all patients , both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 folks.
” The increase in hospitalizations comes as the number of new infections continues to rise in Orange County .
On Thursday , health officials reported 1,292 new coronavirus cases , bringing the total number of infections to 21,517 .
Officials also reported 26 fatalities , pushing the county ’ s death toll past 400 .
While those numbers help paint an overall picture of the virus ’ toll on the region , Dr. Shruti Gohil , associate medical director of epidemiology and infection prevention at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trained specifically on hospitalization numbers , which experts say is a better indicator of severe cases in the community .
“ If you look at the number of people who are requiring hospitalization , it gives you a better sense of the tip of the iceberg , ” Gohil said .
“ There ’ s a larger portion of the population under that tip that indicates widespread community transmission.
” The number of people in intensive care units has also continued to climb steadily countywide , though not as quickly as overall hospitalizations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were being treated in intensive care units .
On Memorial Day , there were 119 patients in Orange County ’ s ICUs .
Gohil noted that Orange County ’ s increasing hospitalization numbers correlate directly with the loosening of stay-at-home restrictions that allowed indoor dining at restaurants to resume and bars to reopen last month .
“ If you look carefully , it ’ s right within that incubation period , ” Gohil said .
“ In my mind , the restaurants and bars reopening really sent this psychological message that things were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and it provided a more level playing field for this virus to infect people.
” Orange County reopened in-restaurant dining on May 23 and bars on June 12 ; Los Angeles County allowed indoor dining on May 29 and let bars reopen on June 19 .
Both counties were ordered by Gov .
Gavin Newsom to close bars and indoor dining last week .
Orange County has been a hotbed of resistance to wearing masks , which might have also played a role .
Local officials rescinded a mandatory mask-wearing rule on June @ @ @ @ @ @ @ issued a statewide order to wear masks in public .
One big unanswered question is how much deaths will spike in the state .
In L.A. County , the number of coronavirus-related deaths out of nursing homes has declined , thanks to better infection control practices and testing .
A greater percentage of infected people are younger adults , who are less likely to need hospitalization .
But they could also end up spreading the infection to people highly susceptible to severe illness .
Garcetti said Wednesday that “ more than 50 % @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Los Angeles County are between 18 and 40 years of age.
” While “ most young people are doing the right thing , ” he said , “ it ’ s clear that a lot of them are not.
” “ This isn ’ t complicated : Do not get together with someone who ’ s not in your household , ” he said .
“ These weeks are absolutely critical — critical to whether schools open , whether our economy and our economic recovery path continues .
These weeks are critical @ @ @ @ @

Hannah Fry, Rong-Gong Lin II, Luke Money

A masked driver with a vintage Volkswagen in Old Towne Orange. In Orange County, where many have refused to wear masks, COVID infections have jumped.
The surge of the coronavirus in California over the last month started with an explosion of new cases, then moved into hospitals that rapidly filled with patients and is now beginning to bring an increase in COVID-19 deaths.
The question now is how big the wave will get before it crests.
June turned out to be a grim month in the COVID-19 battle, with people beginning to socialize again in ways that allowed the virus to spread rapidly across communities. Hospitals are being hit hard as patients who were infected weeks ago are now getting sick enough to require medical care. Officials are hoping public behavior changed toward the end of June and early July, but they won’t know how that plays out for several more weeks.
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California this week hit another troubling milestone Wednesday, recording the highest single-day COVID-19 death toll so far in the pandemic, with 149 fatalities reported, according to The Times’ California coronavirus tracker. An additional 137 deaths were reported Thursday, which would be the second-highest daily death toll in the pandemic.
Experts say deaths are a lagging indicator of coronavirus spread and probably reflect exposures to the virus that occurred four or five weeks earlier. Los Angeles County reported 48 deaths on Thursday, 61 on Wednesday, 45 on Tuesday and 50 on Monday. That’s substantially higher than the average of about 34 deaths per day reported in June.
Yet there are also a few signs of hope on the horizon.
Even as coronavirus-related hospitalizations reached all-time highs this week in L.A. County, they’ve been increasing at a slower rate in recent days, said Dr. Christine Ghaly, the county’s director of health services. Hospitalizations in the county topped out at a high of 2,037 on Tuesday before dropping to 1,995 Wednesday — a decline of 2%.
L.A. County officials began sounding the alarm last month, when the effective transmission rate of the coronavirus rose above 1, which means that, on average, each person infected with the virus transmitted it to more than one other person — setting the stage for a dramatic worsening of the pandemic.
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The transmission rate has now fallen back to around 1. That’s good news, and if that rate remains steady, it’s likely that Los Angeles County will have an adequate supply of hospital beds through early August.
Los Angeles County’s coronavirus transmission rate increased in early June, setting the stage for a surge in hospitalizations in late June. (Los Angeles County Department of Health Services)
The hope is that actions taken by state and local governments over the last few weeks — closing down indoor dining and bars in most parts of California, requiring masks in public settings and shutting the beaches during the Fourth of July weekend — have slowed the outbreak.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti warned this week that if the trend isn’t reversed soon, he would consider imposing stay-at-home rules once again. Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer struck a more hopeful note.
“Nothing can be off the table in the pandemic,” she said. But, she added, “I hope we never have to go back to ‘safer at home.’”
She said there are sensible strategies that can be effective but offer far fewer negative impacts than reverting back to the strictest version of the stay-at-home order.
“We don’t have to be in crowds. We don’t have to have a party. We don’t have to get in a congested area. We don’t have to have close contact with people who aren’t in our household, unless it’s something that’s related to our work,” Ferrer said. “And I think if we can try to take those steps, it allows us to slow the spread.”
With the transmission rate of the coronavirus stabilizing, it’s now more likely that L.A. County will have an adequate supply of hospital beds through early August. (Los Angeles County Department of Health Services)
But for the short term, L.A. County should expect more bad news. Ferrer said it’s likely that daily coronavirus deaths will continue to go back up — a reflection of the worsened hospitalization numbers seen in recent weeks.
While hospitalizations of confirmed coronavirus patients have risen by 35% in L.A. County — and 28% in San Diego County — since Memorial Day, they’ve more than doubled in the suburban counties of Orange, Riverside and Ventura, and more than tripled in San Bernardino County.
The deteriorating conditions in Orange County have officials and health experts increasingly alarmed. On Wednesday, 691 people with confirmed coronavirus infections were hospitalized there; there were 300 on Memorial Day.
The spike has prompted hospitals countywide to begin to prepare for a surge of sick patients, said Orange County Health Care Agency Director Dr. Clayton Chau.
“These trends are very concerning, and we can expect the impact on our healthcare system to get worse in the coming days and weeks,” Chau said. “If the surge goes up to — or beyond — their capacity to mobilize resources, that will cause a real strain. A strain on the hospital systems means a strain on the ability to care for all patients, both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 folks.”
California Coronavirus hospitalizations jump 97% in Orange County in less than a month The increase has prompted hospitals in the region to begin to prepare for a surge of sick patients, according to the director of the Orange County Health Care Agency.
The increase in hospitalizations comes as the number of new infections continues to rise in Orange County. On Thursday, health officials reported 1,292 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of infections to 21,517. Officials also reported 26 fatalities, pushing the county’s death toll past 400.
While those numbers help paint an overall picture of the virus’ toll on the region, Dr. Shruti Gohil, associate medical director of epidemiology and infection prevention at UC Irvine, has kept her eye trained specifically on hospitalization numbers, which experts say is a better indicator of severe cases in the community.
“If you look at the number of people who are requiring hospitalization, it gives you a better sense of the tip of the iceberg,” Gohil said. “There’s a larger portion of the population under that tip that indicates widespread community transmission.”
The number of people in intensive care units has also continued to climb steadily countywide, though not as quickly as overall hospitalizations. As of Wednesday, 234 patients were being treated in intensive care units. On Memorial Day, there were 119 patients in Orange County’s ICUs.
Gohil noted that Orange County’s increasing hospitalization numbers correlate directly with the loosening of stay-at-home restrictions that allowed indoor dining at restaurants to resume and bars to reopen last month.
“If you look carefully, it’s right within that incubation period,” Gohil said. “In my mind, the restaurants and bars reopening really sent this psychological message that things were OK. People started going out more, and it provided a more level playing field for this virus to infect people.”
Orange County reopened in-restaurant dining on May 23 and bars on June 12; Los Angeles County allowed indoor dining on May 29 and let bars reopen on June 19. Both counties were ordered by Gov. Gavin Newsom to close bars and indoor dining last week.
Hospitalizations noticeably worsened statewide starting in mid-June.
Orange County has been a hotbed of resistance to wearing masks, which might have also played a role. Local officials rescinded a mandatory mask-wearing rule on June 11; a week later, Newsom issued a statewide order to wear masks in public.
One big unanswered question is how much deaths will spike in the state. In L.A. County, the number of coronavirus-related deaths out of nursing homes has declined, thanks to better infection control practices and testing.
A greater percentage of infected people are younger adults, who are less likely to need hospitalization. But they could also end up spreading the infection to people highly susceptible to severe illness.
Garcetti said Wednesday that “more than 50% of the people who are testing positive in Los Angeles County are between 18 and 40 years of age.”
While “most young people are doing the right thing,” he said, “it’s clear that a lot of them are not.”
“This isn’t complicated: Do not get together with someone who’s not in your household,” he said. “These weeks are absolutely critical — critical to whether schools open, whether our economy and our economic recovery path continues. These weeks are critical for saving lives.”
Times staff writer Ryan Murphy contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-07-10--Op-Ed: Why is UC San Francisco threatening to destroy a monument to California's Black history?

As antiracist activists topple statues of slaveholders across the country , UC San Francisco threatens to demolish a very different kind of monument : a mural depicting a celebrated former slave .
The work shows Biddy Mason , an African American midwife who rose to fortune in Los Angeles after winning her freedom in the mid-1850s .
Since the Great Depression , the mural has been displayed alongside nine others in UC Hall on the university ’ s main campus .
But now the building and its artwork are slated for demolition to make way for new office , medical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , UC San Francisco commissioned the Polish-born artist Bernard Zakheim to paint a set of murals of California ’ s medical history .
Zakheim , who studied with Diego Rivera , had become regarded as one of the state ’ s major artistic figures .
Like his murals in San Francisco ’ s Coit Tower , his UC San Francisco works are landmarks in the bold , modern style of the New Deal era .
They have been hailed as “ the jewel of the University ’ s art collection.
” The panel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ historically significant of the 10 murals .
In it , Mason tends to a malaria patient alongside Dr. John Griffin , one of Los Angeles ’ preeminent early medical authorities .
Below , other patients await treatment from Griffin and Mason , who formed a renowned medical partnership in mid-19th century Los Angeles .
What makes the mural unique is its composition .
Mason occupies center stage .
She ’ s surrounded by a group of white men — soldiers , patients , doctors , city officials — but she ’ s not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tends to the patient directly as a medical authority in her own right .
Zakheim depicts Mason as she was : a healing presence and a pillar of early Los Angeles .
Biddy Mason began her days in radically different circumstances .
Born into slavery in the Georgia cotton belt in 1818 , she was seemingly destined for a life of hard labor and a death in obscurity .
Like other enslaved African Americans , she lacked a legal family name .
She was simply Bridget , or Biddy .
In the late @ @ @ @ @ @ @ strange trip — one that took her out of the South and across the continent .
She went as a slave , forcibly transported by her master , along with several other Black women and children .
They arrived first in Utah before moving to a small Mormon colony in San Bernardino , Calif. , in 1851 .
Although California was technically a free state , authorities turned a blind eye to slaveholding settlers in their midst .
Several dozen slaves worked in San Bernardino alone .
Only in 1856 — six years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biddy , along with 13 other African American women and children , win their freedom in a Los Angeles courtroom .
Once free , Biddy took the last name Mason and began an improbable rise through the social ranks of early Los Angeles .
She used money earned as Dr. Griffin ’ s assistant to invest in real estate , just as L.A. was beginning to boom .
Although illiterate and subject to both racial and gender discrimination , Mason amassed a tremendous fortune .
Some estimates place her total wealth at $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ today ) .
Mason is remembered not only for her uncanny business acumen , but also for her philanthropy .
She gave liberally — of her time , money and medical expertise — to those in need around Los Angeles .
She also co-founded the first African American house of worship in the city .
First African Methodist Episcopal Church remains a mainstay of L.A. ’ s Black community to this day .
Now , a piece of Mason ’ s legacy — the oldest known artistic representation of the famous freedwoman — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ UC San Francisco is unable to cover the costs of removing and preserving the murals , estimated at $ 8 million .
If the price of saving 10 frescoes is prohibitive , one wonders where the university will find the funds for its proposed 1.5 million-square-foot expansion project .
Perhaps the university could start by dipping into its nearly $ 4-billion endowment .
Local residents have already begun to protest the development project , set to break ground in 2023 .
They argue that the expansion will add thousands of workers to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ community ’ s overtaxed transit systems and housing options .
Critics can add the university ’ s destruction of history to their list of grievances .
The artist ’ s son , Nathan Zakheim , has been given three months to propose a plan to remove the murals at the family ’ s expense .
After that , the university will solicit proposals from the public to adopt the murals — again without financial support from UC San Francisco .
If no one comes forward : demolition .
UC San Francisco proposes a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the murals , which would later be featured in a virtual reality display .
Through goggles , visitors would get a secondhand look at art destroyed by the university .
The timing could not be worse .
During a crossroads in race relations , when Black American voices are finding new purchase , the university threatens an important piece of Black women ’ s history .
The United States boasts vanishingly few monuments to women of color .
Fewer still if the university is allowed to go forward with its ill-considered plans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with nine others .
Black Lives Matter .
And so does Black history .
Jackie Broxton is the executive director of the Biddy Mason Charitable Foundation , which provides services and support to L.A. ’ s foster youth population .
Kevin Waite is an assistant professor of history at Durham University and co-director of an National Endowment for the Humanities-funded project on the life and times of Biddy Mason .

Artist Bernard Zakheim showed African American Biddy Mason as an equal among medical authorities in a mural commissioned by UC San Francisco in the 1930s.
As antiracist activists topple statues of slaveholders across the country, UC San Francisco threatens to demolish a very different kind of monument: a mural depicting a celebrated former slave.
The work shows Biddy Mason, an African American midwife who rose to fortune in Los Angeles after winning her freedom in the mid-1850s. Since the Great Depression, the mural has been displayed alongside nine others in UC Hall on the university’s main campus. But now the building and its artwork are slated for demolition to make way for new office, medical and research space.
In the mid-1930s, UC San Francisco commissioned the Polish-born artist Bernard Zakheim to paint a set of murals of California’s medical history. Zakheim, who studied with Diego Rivera, had become regarded as one of the state’s major artistic figures. Like his murals in San Francisco’s Coit Tower, his UC San Francisco works are landmarks in the bold, modern style of the New Deal era. They have been hailed as “the jewel of the University’s art collection.”
The panel featuring Biddy Mason is perhaps the most historically significant of the 10 murals. In it, Mason tends to a malaria patient alongside Dr. John Griffin, one of Los Angeles’ preeminent early medical authorities. Below, other patients await treatment from Griffin and Mason, who formed a renowned medical partnership in mid-19th century Los Angeles.
What makes the mural unique is its composition. Mason occupies center stage. She’s surrounded by a group of white men — soldiers, patients, doctors, city officials — but she’s not subordinate to them. Rather, she tends to the patient directly as a medical authority in her own right. Zakheim depicts Mason as she was: a healing presence and a pillar of early Los Angeles.
Biddy Mason began her days in radically different circumstances. Born into slavery in the Georgia cotton belt in 1818, she was seemingly destined for a life of hard labor and a death in obscurity. Like other enslaved African Americans, she lacked a legal family name. She was simply Bridget, or Biddy.
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In the late 1840s, Biddy began a long, strange trip — one that took her out of the South and across the continent. She went as a slave, forcibly transported by her master, along with several other Black women and children. They arrived first in Utah before moving to a small Mormon colony in San Bernardino, Calif., in 1851.
Although California was technically a free state, authorities turned a blind eye to slaveholding settlers in their midst. Several dozen slaves worked in San Bernardino alone. Only in 1856 — six years after California outlawed human bondage — did Biddy, along with 13 other African American women and children, win their freedom in a Los Angeles courtroom.
Once free, Biddy took the last name Mason and began an improbable rise through the social ranks of early Los Angeles. She used money earned as Dr. Griffin’s assistant to invest in real estate, just as L.A. was beginning to boom. Although illiterate and subject to both racial and gender discrimination, Mason amassed a tremendous fortune. Some estimates place her total wealth at $300,000 (equivalent to $8.5 million today).
Mason is remembered not only for her uncanny business acumen, but also for her philanthropy. She gave liberally — of her time, money and medical expertise — to those in need around Los Angeles. She also co-founded the first African American house of worship in the city. First African Methodist Episcopal Church remains a mainstay of L.A.’s Black community to this day.
Now, a piece of Mason’s legacy — the oldest known artistic representation of the famous freedwoman — faces demolition.
University spokespeople claim that UC San Francisco is unable to cover the costs of removing and preserving the murals, estimated at $8 million. If the price of saving 10 frescoes is prohibitive, one wonders where the university will find the funds for its proposed 1.5 million-square-foot expansion project. Perhaps the university could start by dipping into its nearly $4-billion endowment.
Local residents have already begun to protest the development project, set to break ground in 2023. They argue that the expansion will add thousands of workers to the Parnassus Heights campus, further straining the community’s overtaxed transit systems and housing options. Critics can add the university’s destruction of history to their list of grievances.
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The artist’s son, Nathan Zakheim, has been given three months to propose a plan to remove the murals at the family’s expense. After that, the university will solicit proposals from the public to adopt the murals — again without financial support from UC San Francisco. If no one comes forward: demolition.
UC San Francisco proposes a Silicon Valley solution: a digital re-creation of the murals, which would later be featured in a virtual reality display. Through goggles, visitors would get a secondhand look at art destroyed by the university.
The timing could not be worse. During a crossroads in race relations, when Black American voices are finding new purchase, the university threatens an important piece of Black women’s history.
The United States boasts vanishingly few monuments to women of color. Fewer still if the university is allowed to go forward with its ill-considered plans to bulldoze the Biddy Mason mural along with nine others. Black Lives Matter. And so does Black history.
Jackie Broxton is the executive director of the Biddy Mason Charitable Foundation, which provides services and support to L.A.’s foster youth population. Kevin Waite is an assistant professor of history at Durham University and co-director of an National Endowment for the Humanities-funded project on the life and times of Biddy Mason.