latimes--2020-08-29--When can schools reopen under new state rules? It's all about color-coded tiers and waivers

As coronavirus caseloads drop , the prospect of reopening schools improves , although new state guidelines will not lead to a quicker return to campus .
In most counties , including Los Angeles , the new rules have no immediate effect on schools because disease rates remain too high .
The new rules do not affect the state ’ s waiver application guidelines , which allow elementary schools to open under certain circumstances .
What will it take to reopen all elementary , middle and high schools in your county ?
What are the rules for waivers ?
Here ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ California ’ s school reopening requirements .
Schools can not open in counties with widespread COVID-19 , the state ’ s purple tier Until Friday , the deciding factor for whether campuses could reopen was the state ’ s watchlist .
Counties on that list had to keep campuses closed — except under a waiver process for elementary schools .
More on that coming up .
Under the new process that begins on Monday , the state assigns a color-code tier to each county based on its level of coronavirus cases .
For @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the prior watchlist , including L.A. County , have moved to the purple category , the worst one .
K-12 campuses located in counties in the purple level can not reopen for in-person classes , including all public , private , charter and faith-based schools .
Counties in the purple level have : • More than seven daily new cases per 100,000 people per day • More than 8 % of coronavirus-infection tests are positive Some educators said the effect of new rules will delay how soon schools can reopen .
When @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state ’ s new color-coded structure to “ substantial , ” “ moderate ” or “ minimal ” levels for at least 14 days , schools can open with limited in-person instruction with local health official approval .
A waiver process for elementary schools to open earlier remains in place The rules that allow for waivers are unchanged in the state ’ s latest guidelines .
They allow for a school district superintendent or director of a charter or private school to apply through their local health agency for a waiver to reopen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ waivers acknowledge the difficulties young children encounter with online learning .
One key waiver metric calls for the county ’ s 14-day COVID-19 case rate to be at or below 200 per 100,000 residents .
Although the case rate in L.A. County has fallen below 200 , county health officials have said they are not yet ready to issue waivers .
According to guidelines laid out by the California Department of Public Health , waiver applicants must consult with labor , parent groups and community-based organizations .
They must also submit plans that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rules for social distancing ; protocols for how to handle outbreaks ; a plan for testing if exposures do occur ; and criteria for when to close , among other information .
District approval would be required for any school that seeks the waiver .
The plans must be posted publicly .
Local health officers must review epidemiological data and consult with the state before granting a school its waiver .
When the governor issued new guidelines , some education officials were concerned about whether their waiver plans would be affected .
So @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be the case .
K-12 schools can open only after their county moves to the red tier A school district , charter schools and private campuses can consider reopening when their county moves out of the purple category and into any of three lower levels .
Red , signifying substantial transmission , follows purple and is defined by : • Infections of four to seven COVID cases per day per 100,000 people Once a county moves into the red zone , or lower tiers , it must stay there at least 14 consecutive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any county can impose standards stricter than the state ’ s .
And even when campuses can reopen , there will not be a return to the pre-COVID-19 days — at least not for some time .
Schools that do reopen must have COVID-19 prevention and response plans in place , including promoting healthy hand hygiene , requiring face coverings for all staff and students in the third grade and above , maintaining distance inside and outside of the classroom , checking for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 , and having a plan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Can a school be re-closed if there is a campus outbreak ?
Yes .
The threshold for re-closing a campus depends on the number of COVID-19 cases at a school — and on guidance from the local health agency .
The state guidelines say that if a teacher or student in a classroom tests positive , those exposed — likely the entire class — should be sent home and the classroom closed for cleaning and disinfection .
According to L.A. County guidelines , a home quarantine of 14 days is mandatory for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ close contact with someone diagnosed with or suspected to have COVID-19 .
“ Close contact ” is defined as being within 6 feet for more than 10 minutes with someone who has tested positive for the coronavirus , or is suspected to have COVID-19 .
The state guidelines say school closure “ may be appropriate ” when there are multiple cases in multiple cohorts at the school , or when cases within a 14-day period hit at least 5 % of the total number of teachers , students and staff , depending on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ school .
A school district should close if 25 % of its schools have closed due to COVID-19 within 14 days .

Cerritos Elementary School Principal Perla Chavez-Fritz, right, gives a tour of the Glendale campus to Los Angeles County Office of Education Supt. Debra Duardo. New state rules were released on Friday about when schools and businesses can reopen.
As coronavirus caseloads drop, the prospect of reopening schools improves, although new state guidelines will not lead to a quicker return to campus. In most counties, including Los Angeles, the new rules have no immediate effect on schools because disease rates remain too high.
The new rules do not affect the state’s waiver application guidelines, which allow elementary schools to open under certain circumstances.
What will it take to reopen all elementary, middle and high schools in your county? What are the rules for waivers?
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Here’s what you need to know about California’s school reopening requirements.
Schools cannot open in counties with widespread COVID-19, the state’s purple tier
Until Friday, the deciding factor for whether campuses could reopen was the state’s watchlist. Counties on that list had to keep campuses closed — except under a waiver process for elementary schools. More on that coming up.
Under the new process that begins on Monday, the state assigns a color-code tier to each county based on its level of coronavirus cases. For the most part, counties that were on the prior watchlist, including L.A. County, have moved to the purple category, the worst one.
K-12 campuses located in counties in the purple level cannot reopen for in-person classes, including all public, private, charter and faith-based schools. Counties in the purple level have:
More than seven daily new cases per 100,000 people per day
More than 8% of coronavirus-infection tests are positive
Some educators said the effect of new rules will delay how soon schools can reopen.
When county infection numbers come down in the state’s new color-coded structure to “substantial,” “moderate” or “minimal” levels for at least 14 days, schools can open with limited in-person instruction with local health official approval.
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A waiver process for elementary schools to open earlier remains in place
The rules that allow for waivers are unchanged in the state’s latest guidelines. They allow for a school district superintendent or director of a charter or private school to apply through their local health agency for a waiver to reopen school for grades K-6 only. The waivers acknowledge the difficulties young children encounter with online learning.
One key waiver metric calls for the county’s 14-day COVID-19 case rate to be at or below 200 per 100,000 residents. Although the case rate in L.A. County has fallen below 200, county health officials have said they are not yet ready to issue waivers.
According to guidelines laid out by the California Department of Public Health, waiver applicants must consult with labor, parent groups and community-based organizations.
They must also submit plans that include small, stable class sizes; rules for social distancing; protocols for how to handle outbreaks; a plan for testing if exposures do occur; and criteria for when to close, among other information. District approval would be required for any school that seeks the waiver. The plans must be posted publicly.
Local health officers must review epidemiological data and consult with the state before granting a school its waiver.
When the governor issued new guidelines, some education officials were concerned about whether their waiver plans would be affected. So far, that does not appear to be the case.
K-12 schools can open only after their county moves to the red tier
A school district, charter schools and private campuses can consider reopening when their county moves out of the purple category and into any of three lower levels. Red, signifying substantial transmission, follows purple and is defined by:
Infections of four to seven COVID cases per day per 100,000 people
A positivity rate between 5% and 8%
Once a county moves into the red zone, or lower tiers, it must stay there at least 14 consecutive days before campuses can open. But any county can impose standards stricter than the state’s.
And even when campuses can reopen, there will not be a return to the pre-COVID-19 days — at least not for some time.
Schools that do reopen must have COVID-19 prevention and response plans in place, including promoting healthy hand hygiene, requiring face coverings for all staff and students in the third grade and above, maintaining distance inside and outside of the classroom, checking for signs and symptoms of COVID-19, and having a plan in place for when someone becomes sick.
Can a school be re-closed if there is a campus outbreak?
Yes. The threshold for re-closing a campus depends on the number of COVID-19 cases at a school — and on guidance from the local health agency. The state guidelines say that if a teacher or student in a classroom tests positive, those exposed — likely the entire class — should be sent home and the classroom closed for cleaning and disinfection.
According to L.A. County guidelines, a home quarantine of 14 days is mandatory for any students or staff who were in close contact with someone diagnosed with or suspected to have COVID-19. “Close contact” is defined as being within 6 feet for more than 10 minutes with someone who has tested positive for the coronavirus, or is suspected to have COVID-19.
The state guidelines say school closure “may be appropriate” when there are multiple cases in multiple cohorts at the school, or when cases within a 14-day period hit at least 5% of the total number of teachers, students and staff, depending on the size and physical layout of the school.
A school district should close if 25% of its schools have closed due to COVID-19 within 14 days.
Times staff writer Nina Agrawal contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-08-29--Column: Fired as a hotel housekeeper when she got COVID-19, she now has no income or healthcare

Liz Mejia , temporarily laid off from her job as a restaurant server at Los Angeles International Airport in March , knew her family had to cut costs .
So she and her husband added vegetables and fruit to their garden in South L.A. , and they bought a cow , had it butchered , and shared the meat with relatives to bring down grocery costs .
Elvia Martinez , who lives in a garage with her two children and her mother , was laid off for two month from her airport restaurant job .
She ’ s back at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus from customers and taking the infection home to her family .
Socorro Ponce , a 67-year-old housekeeper at the W. Hotel in Hollywood , takes a deep breath when she has to clean a suite where there ’ s just been a party .
She opens the small window in the room and props the door open with her service cart , hoping the draft will blow out any bad air and keep her free of the coronavirus .
On and on and on it drags , six months and counting , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — the backbone of the local economy — continue to cope with reduced hours , lost jobs and fears of getting sick and infecting their relatives .
Those who apply for unemployment insurance often wait weeks while claims are processed and bills mount .
“ They are caught in a Catch-22 — do I stay home and try to stay safe but risk not being able to pay the rent , or do I go to work and risk being exposed to the pandemic ?
” said Kurt Petersen , co-president of Unite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hospitality industry employees in Southern California and Arizona .
“ We find that most hotels put profits over safety and don ’ t want to do enough to keep things safe for employees and guests , ” Petersen said .
“ That ’ s a problem .
And the mantra in hotel management is that the guest is always right .
Well , that ’ s a big problem these days , because guests aren ’ t wearing masks all the time , they don ’ t social distance , and there are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Petersen and members of Local 11 rallied outside JW Marriott Santa Monica Le Merigot , demanding that a housekeeper who was fired after getting COVID-19 be given her job back .
“ The company claimed I was fired because I worked and failed to notify management of potential symptoms I experienced days before , ” 63-year-old Margarita Santos said when she stepped to the lectern on Ocean Avenue to plead her case .
“ But I believe my firing was unfair.
” Santos told me she informed a manager one day last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ She says the manger told her to take some painkillers , and Santos continued working .
Except for problems with asthma , she said she felt fine a few days later when she went to work , but took ill again and was sent home .
She went for a COVID-19 test , and when it came back positive , Santos said , she called to inform her manager .
A few days later , she got a termination notice claiming she knew she was sick and had gone to work anyway because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bills .
Santos disputes this , as does the union , but the termination letter from Le Merigot General Manager Damien Hirsch left no room for discussion .
“ You knowingly put our guests and your coworkers at considerable risk of being infected with COVID-19 , ” he wrote .
“ Your egregious behavior and conscious disregard for the health and safety of others is completely unacceptable .
For these reasons , we are terminating your employment…effective July 31.
” Hirsch told me he had nothing to add to what was in his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if there might have been a better way to address a dispute involving someone who ’ d worked for the hotel for more than a decade other than kicking her to the curb when she was sick .
In the letter , Hirsch did not inquire how she was feeling , and Santos believes she was targeted because she had been a union organizer .
Santos , who ’ s feeling better now , lives in a Porter Ranch house with her brother and sister .
The three are caretakers of the property @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to worry about rent for now .
But losing her paycheck and her healthcare hurt , she said , and she ’ d like to have her job back .
We ’ ve given a lot of consideration in recent months to first responders and healthcare workers , and rightly so .
But we ’ ve sometimes taken other essential employees , including supermarket employees , for granted .
As Laura Nelson reported , a Metro bus driver just died of COVID-19 , the second death at Metro , which has had 341 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the LAX restaurant employee , told me she and her husband Arturo , a jet mechanic whose hours have been reduced , fear losing the house they bought five years ago if the pandemic goes on much longer .
The house is not in the best or safest neighborhood of South-Central L.A. A homeless encampment is two doors away and traffic rumbles by on the I-110 Harbor Freeway , but the young couple ’ s pride in what they ’ ve built was on full display as they showed me their home @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their two grade-school daughters have an inflatable pool in the backyard under a lovely redwood terrace Arturo built .
Strawberries and squash are ripening on the vine , along with peaches and citrus fruit , and the young chickens will provide a regular supply of eggs when they ’ re older .
The Mejias have eliminated all nonessential expenses and , before they bought the cow , they had their pet goat slaughtered to feed themselves and relatives who are struggling more than they are .
“ Our whole thing is , ‘ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ’ ” said Liz .
They had thought about buying in the Inland Empire and getting more house for their money before settling in South-Central L.A. , “ but we both work at LAX , ” Liz said , and they didn ’ t want to lose time with their kids because they were making long commutes .
Martinez , the airport food server who lives in a garage , said she delayed paying rent to her sister , who owns and lives in the main house .
Martinez is glad to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fast-food restaurant in the international terminal , but she worries about not having her phone with her .
She leaves it at home because her daughter needs it to get online with her tablet for virtual classes in L.A. Unified .
And she fears getting sick at work .
“ It ’ s scary , ” she said .
“ You don ’ t know if the person you ’ re close to has been exposed , and some people don ’ t want to wear masks .
I tell them they have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like , ‘ Why are you telling me this ?
’ ” Ponce , who lives near downtown L.A. , removes her uniform after getting off work at her Hollywood hotel and showers immediately when she gets home .
She said she ’ s assigned to suites at the hotel , and tips have been rare .
She holds her breath when she walks into rooms that can take up to 90 minutes to clean , and she ’ s disgusted at times by what guests have left behind .
“ I remember @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the trash bin , discarded masks and a mountain of condoms , ” Ponce said .
At the Le Merigot rally Wednesday morning , Kristin McCowan of the Santa Monica City Council spoke up in defense of Santos .
She later told me she believes Santos was unfairly dismissed .
“ I feel for workers who are in a position where they can ’ t even afford to get sick , ” McCowan said , and she doesn ’ t think hotels are doing enough to protect their employees .
“ They ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ every day .
That ’ s what they have to do to make a living.
” At the rally , Rabbi Neil Comess-Daniels of Beth Shir Shalom stood before Santos and led a blessing for her .
Santos and others held hands aloft in prayer as the rabbi asked that she find strength in dark times .
“ They could have been decent with her , ” Comess-Daniels told me , saying there were multiple humane options the hotel could have considered .
He was there , Comess-Daniels told me , because we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , many of them people of color , who have been disproportionately impacted by the virus .
In the last words of her speech , Santos said of her employers : “ At a time when I needed them to help me , they let me down .
”

Arturo Mejia, from left, with wife Liz, both 30, and daughters Zoe, 7, and Eva, 5, at their house in South-Central L.A. The Mejias are saving money by growing vegetables and raising hens for eggs. But with fewer work hours, Liz and Arturo Mejia, both airport employees, worry about losing their home.
Liz Mejia, temporarily laid off from her job as a restaurant server at Los Angeles International Airport in March, knew her family had to cut costs. So she and her husband added vegetables and fruit to their garden in South L.A., and they bought a cow, had it butchered and shared the meat with relatives to bring down grocery costs.
Elvia Martinez, who lives in a garage with her two children and her mother, was laid off for two months from her airport restaurant job. She’s back at work now but worries about getting the coronavirus from customers and taking the infection home to her family.
Socorro Ponce, a 67-year-old housekeeper at the W Hotel in Hollywood, takes a deep breath when she has to clean a suite where there’s just been a party. She opens the small window in the room and props the door open with her service cart, hoping the draft will blow out any bad air and keep her free of the coronavirus.
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On and on and on it drags, six months and counting, and the working people of Los Angeles — the backbone of the local economy — continue to cope with reduced hours, lost jobs and fears of getting sick and infecting their relatives. Those who apply for unemployment insurance often wait weeks while claims are processed and bills mount.
“They are caught in a Catch-22 — do I stay home and try to stay safe but risk not being able to pay the rent, or do I go to work and risk being exposed to the pandemic?” said Kurt Petersen, co-president of Unite Here Local 11, which represents 30,000 hospitality industry employees in Southern California and Arizona.
“We find that most hotels put profits over safety and don’t want to do enough to keep things safe for employees and guests,” Petersen said. “That’s a problem. And the mantra in hotel management is that the guest is always right. Well, that’s a big problem these days, because guests aren’t wearing masks all the time, they don’t social distance, and there are parties in the pools.”
On Wednesday, Petersen and members of Local 11 rallied outside JW Marriott Santa Monica Le Merigot, demanding that a housekeeper who was fired after getting COVID-19 be given her job back.
“The company claimed I was fired because I worked and failed to notify management of potential symptoms I experienced days before,” 63-year-old Margarita Santos said when she stepped to the lectern on Ocean Avenue to plead her case. “But I believe my firing was unfair.”
Rabbi Neil Comess-Daniels demonstrates for Margarita Santos, 62, left, in hopes of getting her job back at Le Merigot Hotel in Santa Monica. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
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Santos told me she informed a manager one day last month that she had a headache. She says the manager told her to take some painkillers, and Santos continued working. Except for problems with asthma, she said, she felt fine a few days later when she went to work but took ill again and was sent home. She went for a coronavirus test, and when it came back positive, Santos said, she called to inform her manager.
A few days later, she got a termination notice claiming she knew she was sick and had gone to work anyway because she needed the hours to pay her bills. Santos disputes this, as does the union, but the termination letter from Le Merigot General Manager Damien Hirsch left no room for discussion.
“You knowingly put our guests and your coworkers at considerable risk of being infected with COVID-19,” he wrote. “Your egregious behavior and conscious disregard for the health and safety of others is completely unacceptable. For these reasons, we are terminating your employment…effective July 31.”
Hirsch told me he had nothing to add to what was in his letter, but one has to wonder if there might have been a better way to address a dispute involving someone who’d worked for the hotel for more than a decade other than kicking her to the curb when she was sick. In the letter, Hirsch did not inquire how she was feeling, and Santos believes she was targeted because she had been a union organizer.
Santos, who’s feeling better now, lives in a Porter Ranch house with her brother and sister. The three are caretakers of the property, so she doesn’t have to worry about rent for now. But losing her paycheck and her healthcare hurt, she said, and she’d like to have her job back.
We’ve given a lot of consideration in recent months to first responders and healthcare workers, and rightly so. But we’ve sometimes taken other essential employees, including supermarket employees, for granted. As Laura Nelson reported, a Metro bus driver just died of COVID-19, the second death at Metro, which has had 341 cases of positive coronavirus tests.
Mejia, the LAX restaurant employee, told me she and her husband, Arturo, a jet mechanic whose hours have been reduced, fear losing the house they bought five years ago if the pandemic goes on much longer.
The house is not in the best or safest part of Historic South-Central. A homeless encampment is two doors away and traffic rumbles by on the 110 Freeway, but the young couple’s pride in what they’ve built was on full display as they showed me their home.
Zoe Mejia, 7, holds the horns of the family’s pet goat, as her sister Eva, 5, looks on in the backyard of her family’s home where they are growing squash, peppers, tomatoes and herbs. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
The garden is thriving, and their two grade-school daughters have an inflatable pool in the backyard under a lovely redwood terrace Arturo built. Strawberries and squash are ripening on the vine, along with peaches and citrus fruit, and the young chickens will provide a regular supply of eggs when they’re older.
The Mejias have eliminated all nonessential expenses and, before they bought the cow, they had their pet goat slaughtered to feed themselves and relatives who are struggling more than they are.
“Our whole thing is, ‘We have to hold on to the house,’” said Liz. They had thought about buying in the Inland Empire and getting more house for their money before settling in Historic South-Central, “but we both work at LAX,” Liz said, and they didn’t want to lose time with their kids because they were making long commutes.
Martinez, the airport food server who lives in a garage, said she delayed paying rent to her sister, who owns and lives in the main house. Martinez is glad to be back at work now at a fast-food restaurant in the international terminal, but she worries about not having her phone with her. She leaves it at home because her daughter needs it to get online with her tablet for virtual classes in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
And she fears getting sick at work.
“It’s scary,” she said. “You don’t know if the person you’re close to has been exposed, and some people don’t want to wear masks. I tell them they have to, and they look at me like, ‘Why are you telling me this?’”
Ponce, who lives near downtown L.A., removes her uniform after getting off work at her Hollywood hotel and showers immediately when she gets home. She said she’s assigned to suites at the hotel, and tips have been rare. She holds her breath when she walks into rooms that can take up to 90 minutes to clean, and she’s disgusted at times by what guests have left behind.
“I remember walking into a room with needles in the trash bin, discarded masks and a mountain of condoms,” Ponce said.
At the Le Merigot rally Wednesday morning, Kristin McCowan of the Santa Monica City Council spoke up in defense of Santos. She later told me she believes Santos was unfairly dismissed.
“I feel for workers who are in a position where they can’t even afford to get sick,” McCowan said, and she doesn’t think hotels are doing enough to protect their employees. “They’re put in harm’s way every day. That’s what they have to do to make a living.”
Rabbi Neil Comess-Daniels, left, prays over Margarita Santos, 62,in pink top, as others join in at the end of the demonstration in support of Santos in front of Le Merigot Hotel in Santa Monica. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
At the rally, Rabbi Neil Comess-Daniels of Beth Shir Shalom stood before Santos and led a blessing for her. Santos and others held hands aloft in prayer as the rabbi asked that she find strength in dark times.
“They could have been decent with her,” Comess-Daniels told me, saying there were multiple humane options the hotel could have considered. He was there, Comess-Daniels told me, because we need to stand up for low-wage workers, many of them people of color, who have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.
In the last words of her speech, Santos said of her employers:
“At a time when I needed them to help me, they let me down.”
steve.lopez@latimes.com


latimes--2020-08-29--Summer at the Hollywood Bowl, 2020: No concerts but food boxes for the hungry

When summertime is a simpler time , so many of us find sustenance at the Hollywood Bowl .
Whether we come for symphonies or reggae or to sing along to “ The Sound of Music , ” to fill benches in the back or boxes right up front , to eat paté or popcorn , sip champagne or soda pop , music has a way of bringing us together .
So too , right now , does need .
On Thursday , cars snaked into the Bowl ’ s parking lot , with a long line stretching for blocks down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ once so familiar and so jarring , so crushing and also so comforting .
Because it was the morning , not the evening , and no concert was happening .
People were lining up to receive free boxes of food .
They came to the drive-through food giveaway , organized by the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank in partnership with L.A. County , in BMWs and Audis , in rattling old cars and in shiny new ones , in minivans loaded up with children and family pets , in pickups loaded up with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Hollywood Bowl , its entire season canceled by COVID-19 , once again got to do what it has done for 99 years : play gracious host to a diverse and grateful crowd .
Public gathering spots and their uses are being reimagined right now .
So are the ways we work and the ways we help one another , both practically and in sustaining hope .
In the food giveaway and within the complex ecosystem of the Hollywood Bowl — an L.A. County park whose operations are managed by the Los Angeles @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shifting .
All 109,000 or so L.A. County workers are disaster service workers .
In a disaster , they can be redeployed , and many have been in recent months .
Gary Gero , who oversees the county ’ s food distribution , was until March its chief sustainability officer .
Then he became director of the county ’ s food security branch — and went from being immersed in long-term policy on issues he described as at “ the intersection of the environment , social justice and the economy ” to a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are immediate .
The county has worked with the food bank on around 30 giveaways since April , he told me .
They ’ ve been held all over , often at shutdown county facilities .
He told me about the first one he went to , at the Downey public library headquarters , where cars lined up for more than a mile .
“ I ’ m a policy guy so this is emotional for me to see that what I ’ m leading is providing something so vital , ” Gero @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , people stay in their vehicles .
At the Bowl , as they put them in park and sat wearing masks , food bank and county employees and volunteers placed the boxes in their trunks .
I met workers from closed county parks and libraries now lifting the heavy boxes .
Patti Jack , a West Hollywood library aide , now splits her time between sidewalk service at the library and this distribution work .
“ There ’ s not one time that I haven ’ t shed tears ” at a food @ @ @ @ @ @ @ household that came to the Bowl drove away with 80 pounds of food — potatoes and onions and apples , shelf-stable pantry items and meat .
Michael Flood , president and CEO of the food bank , told me that the amount of food it now distributes has more than doubled since the pandemic began .
The county has allocated $ 10 million to pay for the pantry items .
So much is off-kilter in our world right now .
Countless steady livelihoods have grown wobbly .
In the drive-through line , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Martin Henry of West Hollywood , who had been worried about where his next meals were coming from .
He ’ s a personal trainer who has had no work since late March .
Gyms are closed , and his clients are afraid to have him come to their homes .
At 58 , he now has spent his savings and has the next three months ’ rent only because he received a grant .
“ It ’ s the difference between being homeless and not , ” he told me .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ ve found myself in a situation that I didn ’ t expect.
” I met Aracely Rendon , who does office work at a law firm and has yet to be called back in .
Her husband was unemployed for two months .
Her daughter hasn ’ t been able to go back to working rides at Knott ’ s Berry Farm .
She and her friend , Gilda Martinez , a housekeeper who hasn ’ t earned in two months , made the trip in from Paramount with Martinez ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to one car , I noticed an L.A. Phil parking tag hanging from the rearview mirror .
The driver was Venezuelan trumpeter Gaudy Sánchez , an advisor to YOLA , Youth Orchestra Los Angeles , founded by his compatriot Gustavo Dudamel .
Like the L.A. Phil ’ s music and artistic director , Sánchez comes out of El Sistema , the Venezuelan national youth orchestra on which YOLA is modeled .
He was in line , he told me , with his wife and daughter in tow , to pick up food for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is sick .
The mother is taking care of the kids .
Three of the kids play with YOLA , which provides free instruments , music instruction , leadership training and academic support to 1,300 young L.A. musicians .
Sánchez told me his salary has been cut by 20 % at the L.A. Phil , which has been hard hit without performance revenue .
The L.A. Phil has canceled concerts through the end of the year .
No one can say what comes after .
The economic impact on the organization already has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Phil CEO Chad Smith and Chief Operating Officer Gail Samuel , who also is president of the Hollywood Bowl .
The shutdown “ kind of hit like a truck when it hit , ” Smith told me .
Right away , canceling the remainder of the L.A. Phil ’ s 2019-20 season meant a loss of $ 9 million to $ 10 million .
Subtract $ 80 million more from having to cancel the Bowl season , then an additional $ 10 million for the scrapped fall L.A. Phil schedule .
To help @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nearly $ 21 million out of its endowment .
A lot of part-time employees lost their jobs .
Fifty full-time employees were furloughed , along with the entire Hollywood Bowl Orchestra .
The Bowl usually hires about 1,000 seasonal employees , many of whom return year after year .
Sadly not this year , said Samuel .
On Thursday , I stood in the empty amphitheater with Ed Tom , the Bowl ’ s director of operations , who started as a teenage usher 48 years ago .
Coyotes , he told me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ night .
I wondered if they ever take to the stage for an echoing chorus of howls .
Tom ’ s summertime staff of 500 is down to 17 , he said , but he works daily to keep the Bowl ready to go the minute it can welcome us back in .
All L.A. Phil salaries have been cut .
Orchestra musicians now earn 65 % of weekly minimum scale .
When I talked to musicians and others in the L.A. Phil family this week , I heard about plenty of strain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the future .
Victoria Dinu , furloughed from the job she has held for two years as a corporate sponsorships coordinator , was visiting New York ’ s Hudson River Valley when I reached her , enjoying the outdoors .
She said she ’ d learned L.A. from working events at the Bowl , encountering people who ’ d been coming for decades , couples who ’ d met there , workers of all ages swapping stories .
Once the pandemic hit , she and her roommates couldn ’ t swing their apartment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ partner .
She ’ s learning to cook .
Before she ate out and didn ’ t even own plates .
She ’ s proud of herself for adapting , and already dreaming of “ the rumble and excitement ” of a peopled Bowl .
“ I think it will be almost a spiritual , religious experience , ” she told me .
Akiko Tarumoto and her husband , Nathan Cole , both are violinists in the L.A. Phil Orchestra .
This week , their 7-year-old and 5-year-old twins started virtual school — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ challenging .
Some orchestra members have had to sell their houses , she told me .
A few are thinking of leaving .
All long to exercise the expertise they have spent their lives honing .
“ When it hits you , we can ’ t even do our profession , we can ’ t perform , we can ’ t as an orchestra make music ... We ’ ve gone through a lot of stages , ” she said .
Still , Tarumoto feels lucky — for the extra family time , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to play duos with Cole , whose online teaching has softened the cuts .
So has the online and socially distance teaching of Mindy Ball , principal harp for the furloughed Hollywood Bowl Orchestra , which she ’ s played in for 25 years .
She hasn ’ t lost a student yet , she told me , and she ’ s continuing to get paid through September by the Pacific Symphony Orchestra , her other musical home for 41 years .
She has a place in Lake Arrowhead to escape to and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ I was just thinking about how darkened and silenced we ’ ve all been , ” she said .
“ To try to get through this , we really need to look forward with hope and a feeling of joy.
” The Bowl family wants to help us do that — as best we can right now — by finding new ways to share the experience .
In June , Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne , who run Hollywood Bowl Food + Wine , started offering take-out versions of the meals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Thursday through Saturday nights from the Bowl ’ s now empty main parking lot .
On the menu are favorites such as Spanish fried chicken and barbecue for two , as well as three-course themed meals .
“ We just wanted to keep the spirit of the Bowl alive , and to keep our core team working , ” said Goin , who has been busy reconfiguring her restaurants , navigating safety protocols and Paycheck Protection Program loans , and advocating through the Independent Restaurant Coalition for help to keep local restaurants and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what so many of us are having to do right now — to keep changing and shifting and adapting to try to figure this out , ” she said .
So too at the L.A. Phil , which recently announced an on-air series with KCRW that will broadcast previously recorded concerts from KCRW ’ s World Festival .
Last week , KCET launched a new weekly TV show , “ In Concert at the Hollywood Bowl , ” also airing past concerts , with Dudamel as host .
Members of the orchestra actually @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two weeks to record a new concert series called “ Sound/Stage ” tailored to this moment we ’ re in — that will start streaming Sept. 25 .
Musicians were spaced out on the Bowl ’ s stage , each six feet apart from the next person , most masked .
The wind and brass players were behind layers of plexiglass .
“ It was kind of like giving somebody a hug through a garbage bag , ” joked Tom Hooten , principal trumpet , who said more seriously that “ it was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a hug from the Bowl , however distant and awkward , I think a lot of us right now would open our arms wide for it .

Aracely Rendon, 42, with Max, her friend’s dog, waits in line Thursday at the Hollywood Bowl, which has been transformed into a drive-through food giveaway site after the coronavirus ended its summer season.
When summertime is a simpler time, so many of us find sustenance at the Hollywood Bowl.
Whether we come for symphonies or reggae or to sing along to “The Sound of Music,” to fill benches in the back or boxes right up front, to eat paté or popcorn, sip champagne or soda pop, music has a way of bringing us together.
So too, right now, does need.
On Thursday, cars snaked into the Bowl’s parking lot, with a long line stretching for blocks down Highland Avenue.
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The sight was at once so familiar and so jarring, so crushing and also so comforting.
Because it was the morning, not the evening, and no concert was happening.
People were lining up to receive free boxes of food.
They came to the drive-through food giveaway, organized by the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank in partnership with L.A. County, in BMWs and Audis, in rattling old cars and in shiny new ones, in minivans loaded up with children and family pets, in pickups loaded up with paint cans and lawn mowers.
Volunteer Grady Silberman, right, and Beatrice Quesnot, who usually works for the L.A. County Parks and Recreation Department, load food into vehicles at the Hollywood Bowl, which is serving as a food distribution site. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
And the Hollywood Bowl, its entire season canceled by COVID-19, once again got to do what it has done for 99 years: play gracious host to a diverse and grateful crowd.
Public gathering spots and their uses are being reimagined right now. So are the ways we work and the ways we help one another, both practically and in sustaining hope.
In the food giveaway and within the complex ecosystem of the Hollywood Bowl — an L.A. County park whose operations are managed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic — examples abound of such shape shifting. All 109,000 or so L.A. County workers are disaster service workers. In a disaster, they can be redeployed, and many have been in recent months.
Gary Gero, who oversees the county’s food distribution, was until March its chief sustainability officer. Then he became director of the county’s food security branch — and went from being immersed in long-term policy on issues he described as at “the intersection of the environment, social justice and the economy” to a hands-on effort whose payoffs for the public are immediate.
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The county has worked with the food bank on around 30 giveaways since April, he told me. They’ve been held all over, often at shutdown county facilities. He told me about the first one he went to, at the Downey public library headquarters, where cars lined up for more than a mile.
“I’m a policy guy so this is emotional for me to see that what I’m leading is providing something so vital,” Gero told me.
Christopher Escoto, who works for the L.A. County Department of Public Works, directs motorists lining up for food boxes at the Hollywood Bowl. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
In the drive-through giveaways, people stay in their vehicles. At the Bowl, as they put them in park and sat wearing masks, food bank and county employees and volunteers placed the boxes in their trunks. I met workers from closed county parks and libraries now lifting the heavy boxes.
Patti Jack, a West Hollywood library aide, now splits her time between sidewalk service at the library and this distribution work. “There’s not one time that I haven’t shed tears” at a food giveaway, she told me.
Each household that came to the Bowl drove away with 80 pounds of food — potatoes and onions and apples, shelf-stable pantry items and meat.
Michael Flood, president and CEO of the food bank, told me that the amount of food it now distributes has more than doubled since the pandemic began. The county has allocated $10 million to pay for the pantry items.
So much is off-kilter in our world right now. Countless steady livelihoods have grown wobbly.
In the drive-through line, which formed before 6:30 a.m., I met Martin Henry of West Hollywood, who had been worried about where his next meals were coming from. He’s a personal trainer who has had no work since late March. Gyms are closed, and his clients are afraid to have him come to their homes. At 58, he now has spent his savings and has the next three months’ rent only because he received a grant.
“It’s the difference between being homeless and not,” he told me. “Like a lot of people, I’ve found myself in a situation that I didn’t expect.”
I met Aracely Rendon, who does office work at a law firm and has yet to be called back in. Her husband was unemployed for two months. Her daughter hasn’t been able to go back to working rides at Knott’s Berry Farm. She and her friend, Gilda Martinez, a housekeeper who hasn’t earned in two months, made the trip in from Paramount with Martinez’s dog Max.
When I went up to one car, I noticed an L.A. Phil parking tag hanging from the rearview mirror. The driver was Venezuelan trumpeter Gaudy Sánchez, an advisor to YOLA, Youth Orchestra Los Angeles, founded by his compatriot Gustavo Dudamel. Like the L.A. Phil’s music and artistic director, Sánchez comes out of El Sistema, the Venezuelan national youth orchestra on which YOLA is modeled. He was in line, he told me, with his wife and daughter in tow, to pick up food for a struggling YOLA family. The grandmother is sick. The mother is taking care of the kids. Three of the kids play with YOLA, which provides free instruments, music instruction, leadership training and academic support to 1,300 young L.A. musicians.
Sánchez told me his salary has been cut by 20% at the L.A. Phil, which has been hard hit without performance revenue.
The L.A. Phil has canceled concerts through the end of the year. No one can say what comes after. The economic impact on the organization already has been severe, I learned from L.A. Phil CEO Chad Smith and Chief Operating Officer Gail Samuel, who also is president of the Hollywood Bowl.
The shutdown “kind of hit like a truck when it hit,” Smith told me. Right away, canceling the remainder of the L.A. Phil’s 2019-20 season meant a loss of $9 million to $10 million. Subtract $80 million more from having to cancel the Bowl season, then an additional $10 million for the scrapped fall L.A. Phil schedule. To help fill the hole, the organization took nearly $21 million out of its endowment.
A lot of part-time employees lost their jobs. Fifty full-time employees were furloughed, along with the entire Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. The Bowl usually hires about 1,000 seasonal employees, many of whom return year after year. Sadly not this year, said Samuel.
Ed Tom, director of operations at the Hollywood Bowl, started as a teenage usher 48 years ago. He says his summertime staff of 500 is down to 17, but he’s working to keep the venue ready to go the minute it can welcome guests back in. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
On Thursday, I stood in the empty amphitheater with Ed Tom, the Bowl’s director of operations, who started as a teenage usher 48 years ago. Coyotes, he told me, sometimes roam the empty seats at night. I wondered if they ever take to the stage for an echoing chorus of howls.
Tom’s summertime staff of 500 is down to 17, he said, but he works daily to keep the Bowl ready to go the minute it can welcome us back in.
All L.A. Phil salaries have been cut. Orchestra musicians now earn 65% of weekly minimum scale.
When I talked to musicians and others in the L.A. Phil family this week, I heard about plenty of strain but also unexpected pleasures and anticipation for the future.
Victoria Dinu, furloughed from the job she has held for two years as a corporate sponsorships coordinator, was visiting New York’s Hudson River Valley when I reached her, enjoying the outdoors. She said she’d learned L.A. from working events at the Bowl, encountering people who’d been coming for decades, couples who’d met there, workers of all ages swapping stories.
Once the pandemic hit, she and her roommates couldn’t swing their apartment rent. She moved in with her partner. She’s learning to cook. Before she ate out and didn’t even own plates. She’s proud of herself for adapting, and already dreaming of “the rumble and excitement” of a peopled Bowl. “I think it will be almost a spiritual, religious experience,” she told me.
Akiko Tarumoto and her husband, Nathan Cole, both are violinists in the L.A. Phil Orchestra. This week, their 7-year-old and 5-year-old twins started virtual school — and virtual kindergarten is sure to be challenging. Some orchestra members have had to sell their houses, she told me. A few are thinking of leaving. All long to exercise the expertise they have spent their lives honing.
“When it hits you, we can’t even do our profession, we can’t perform, we can’t as an orchestra make music... We’ve gone through a lot of stages,” she said.
Still, Tarumoto feels lucky — for the extra family time, the extra practice time, the opportunity to play duos with Cole, whose online teaching has softened the cuts.
So has the online and socially distance teaching of Mindy Ball, principal harp for the furloughed Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, which she’s played in for 25 years. She hasn’t lost a student yet, she told me, and she’s continuing to get paid through September by the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, her other musical home for 41 years. She has a place in Lake Arrowhead to escape to and float in a boat on the water.
“I was just thinking about how darkened and silenced we’ve all been,” she said. “To try to get through this, we really need to look forward with hope and a feeling of joy.”
The Bowl family wants to help us do that — as best we can right now — by finding new ways to share the experience.
In June, Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne, who run Hollywood Bowl Food + Wine, started offering take-out versions of the meals usually prepared for concerts for pickup on Thursday through Saturday nights from the Bowl’s now empty main parking lot. On the menu are favorites such as Spanish fried chicken and barbecue for two, as well as three-course themed meals.
“We just wanted to keep the spirit of the Bowl alive, and to keep our core team working,” said Goin, who has been busy reconfiguring her restaurants, navigating safety protocols and Paycheck Protection Program loans, and advocating through the Independent Restaurant Coalition for help to keep local restaurants and bars alive.
“It’s what so many of us are having to do right now — to keep changing and shifting and adapting to try to figure this out,” she said.
So too at the L.A. Phil, which recently announced an on-air series with KCRW that will broadcast previously recorded concerts from KCRW’s World Festival. Last week, KCET launched a new weekly TV show, “In Concert at the Hollywood Bowl,” also airing past concerts, with Dudamel as host.
Members of the orchestra actually came together at the Bowl recently over two weeks to record a new concert series called “Sound/Stage” tailored to this moment we’re in — that will start streaming Sept. 25. Musicians were spaced out on the Bowl’s stage, each six feet apart from the next person, most masked. The wind and brass players were behind layers of plexiglass.
“It was kind of like giving somebody a hug through a garbage bag,” joked Tom Hooten, principal trumpet, who said more seriously that “it was great to make music.”
As for a hug from the Bowl, however distant and awkward, I think a lot of us right now would open our arms wide for it.


latimes--2020-08-30--Foster Farms to temporarily close poultry plant after 8 workers die of COVID-19

Foster Farms announced Saturday that it will comply with a Merced County health department order and temporarily close one of its poultry plants in Livingston , Calif. , the site of a coronavirus outbreak that has left eight workers dead .
The outbreak at the Central Valley facility has persisted for at least two months , according to the county health department .
Officials said the company did not complete the widespread testing of employees that the county first recommended and then ordered .
The company said in a statement that it will close the plant Tuesday evening and will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sept. 7 , following a deep cleaning of the facility and new rounds of testing for all 1,400 employees .
In addition to the eight workers who have died of complications from COVID-19 , at least 392 plant employees have tested positive , health officials said , making the outbreak one of the worst in the state .
Outbreaks are ongoing and widespread throughout multiple separate buildings at the Livingston facility , Merced County officials said .
Of about 2,600 workers at the Livingston facility , 13.7 % of workers have received a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Authorities expressed concerns that the outbreak could be much worse , since universal testing of workers has not been completed .
An earlier order issued by the county health officer required the Foster Farms processing plant to close until it was able to reopen safely , but the county delayed enforcement for 48 hours after receiving a call from the U.S. Department of Agriculture .
A revised order , made public Saturday , said the plant building will be shut for at least six days starting Tuesday , but parts of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ remain open .
Before any employees can return to work in the building , they will need to test negative twice within seven days , according to the county .
“ We agree that the best approach to ensuring the future safety of our Livingston plant workers is to begin anew with a clean slate , ” Foster Farms said in its statement .
“ The testing program will ensure that all workers first reentering the plant on Sept. 7 will be free of COVID-19.
” The company said it will continue to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ distancing and other safety measures at the plant .
It noted that the fatal outbreak occurred despite Foster Farms “ having promptly implemented a comprehensive set of employee protective measures that strictly adhere to [ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ] guidance.
” “ We are gratified that 239 of our coworkers have been cleared to return to work and grieve with the families and loved ones of those who died , ” the statement said .
The acting state health officer , Dr. Erica Pan , said there are other Foster @ @ @ @ @ @ @ outbreaks .
Workers have been worried about how the outbreak has been handled and the delays in closing the facility , according to Edward Flores , a sociology professor with the UC Merced Community and Labor Center .
“ Where is [ the Occupational Safety and Health Administration ] in all of this ?
” Flores said .
“ The hundreds of cases and the eight deaths constitute an imminent hazard , and that ’ s grounds for shutting down the facility .
Why did it take this many people getting infected and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re delaying the closing of the plant ?
” There has also been criticism of the county ’ s transparency in managing this outbreak .
Earlier this month , The Times requested an update on the number of cases related to the Foster Farms outbreak , and a spokesman said the county was not releasing those numbers “ to avoid potentially violating [ Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ] laws.
” Ana Padilla , executive director of the UC Merced Community and Labor Center , said it was disappointing that the county @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after issuing the public health order .
The changing and conflicting messages from authorities worried workers and contributed “ to an already precarious environment that workers are constantly finding themselves in , ” Padilla said .
The Merced County Department of Public Health said that throughout July , it told Foster Farms that widespread testing was needed to control the outbreak , “ particularly within the two departments with the highest number of cases.
” In late July , the company tested less than 10 % of a department with the largest outbreak @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 25 % of the employees tested were positive , according to the county .
“ However , expanded testing within the department was not completed for an additional three weeks , and subsequently , three fatalities were linked to that department alone , ” the county said .
On Aug. 5 and Aug. 11 , the county issued directives requiring immediate COVID-19 testing of all permanent , volunteer and temporary employees who share air within a facility that had an outbreak .
A statement issued by the county Thursday said the spread of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contained , “ and active outbreaks continue to exist , posing a significant threat to Foster Farms employees and the surrounding community .
Furthermore , testing as required by the health directive had not been completed , and it is unclear whether the temporary workers were included in testing.
” On Thursday , Dr. Salvador Sandoval , the Merced County health officer , ordered the plant closed .
“ In view of increasing deaths and uncontrolled COVID-19 cases , the decision was made to order the Livingston plant within the Foster Farms Livingston @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in place , ” Sandoval said in a statement .
“ Our charge is to protect the public ’ s health , even in the face of difficult decisions.
” Despite the public statement by county officials , Foster Farms employees received emails late Thursday instructing them to show up to work for shifts Thursday night and Friday if they were scheduled to do so .
“ All active status employees should report to work for their regular shift tonight or tomorrow as scheduled .
The plant and all other facilities on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said the letter , which was reviewed by The Times .
“ Please continue to wear your face covering and follow other safe practices at work and outside of work.
” Later Thursday night , Mike North , a spokesman for Merced County , said enforcement of the shutdown order was delayed by 48 hours after the county received a call from the U.S. Department of Agriculture ’ s undersecretary for food safety .
The delay , North said in an email , would “ help facilitate logistics associated with any necessary closure.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Foster Farms did not address the shutdown order .
The company , which is based in Livingston , has described itself as the West Coast ’ s leading poultry producer .
The workers at the Livingston plant are predominantly Latino and Punjabi Sikh , said Naindeep Singh , executive director of the Jakara Movement , a Central Valley nonprofit aimed at the Punjabi Sikh community .
Many of his group ’ s members work at the Foster Farms plant .
A found that of the 12 California counties with the worst COVID-19 case @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weeks , eight are in the San Joaquin Valley .
Merced County has one of the worst rates statewide , reporting 414 cases per 100,000 residents in the last 14 days .
By contrast , L.A. County has about 196 cases per 100,000 residents ; Orange County , 156 ; San Francisco County , 134 ; and San Diego County , 113 .
In its statement Saturday , Foster Farms praised Merced County health officials and said , “ COVID-19 is not the product of a company any more than it is the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It is a scourge that companies like Foster Farms and communities like Merced County can work together to defeat .
”

Foster Farms announced Saturday that it would comply with a Merced County health department order and temporarily close one of its poultry plants in Livingston, Calif., the site of a coronavirus outbreak that has left eight workers dead.
The outbreak at the Central Valley facility has persisted for at least two months, according to the Department of Public Health. Officials said the company did not complete the widespread testing of employees that the county first recommended and then ordered.
The company said in a statement that it would close the plant Tuesday evening and not resume operations until the evening of Sept. 7, following a deep cleaning of the facility and new rounds of testing for all employees. In addition to the eight workers who have died of complications from COVID-19, at least 392 plant employees have tested positive for the coronavirus, health officials said, making the outbreak one of the worst in the state.
Outbreaks are ongoing and widespread throughout multiple buildings at the Livingston facility, Merced County officials said. Of about 2,600 workers at the Livingston facility, 13.7% have received a positive test result based on worker self-reporting. Authorities expressed concerns that the outbreak could be much worse because universal testing of workers has not been completed.
An earlier order issued by the county health officer required the Foster Farms processing plant to close until it was able to reopen safely, but the county delayed enforcement for 48 hours after receiving a call from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. A revised order, made public Saturday, said the plant building would be shut for at least six days starting Tuesday, but parts of the complex that are not experiencing outbreaks can remain open.
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Before any employees can return to work in the building, they will need to test negative twice within seven days, according to the county.
“We agree that the best approach to ensuring the future safety of our Livingston plant workers is to begin anew with a clean slate,” Foster Farms said in its statement. “The testing program will ensure that all workers first reentering the plant on Sept. 7 will be free of COVID-19.”
The company said it would continue to work with health officials to improve physical distancing and other safety measures at the plant. It noted that the fatal outbreak occurred despite Foster Farms “having promptly implemented a comprehensive set of employee protective measures that strictly adhere to [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] guidance.”
“We are gratified that 239 of our coworkers have been cleared to return to work and grieve with the families and loved ones of those who died,” the statement said.
The acting state health officer, Dr. Erica Pan, said other Foster Farms facilities in multiple counties were also experiencing outbreaks.
Workers have been worried about how the outbreak has been handled and the delays in closing the facility, said Edward Flores, a sociology professor with the UC Merced Community and Labor Center.
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“Where is [the Occupational Safety and Health Administration] in all of this?” Flores said. “The hundreds of cases and the eight deaths constitute an imminent hazard, and that’s grounds for shutting down the facility. Why did it take this many people getting infected and dying, and still, they’re delaying the closing of the plant?”
The county’s transparency in managing this outbreak has also faced criticism. When the Los Angeles Times requested an update this month on the number of cases related to the Foster Farms outbreak, a spokesman said the county was not releasing those numbers “to avoid potentially violating [Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act] laws.”
Ana Padilla, executive director of the UC Merced Community and Labor Center, said it was disappointing that the county did not immediately shut down the facility after issuing the public health order. The changing and conflicting messages from authorities worried workers and contributed “to an already precarious environment that workers are constantly finding themselves in,” Padilla said.
The Merced County Department of Public Health said that, throughout July, it told Foster Farms that widespread testing was needed to control the outbreak, “particularly within the two departments with the highest number of cases.” In late July, the company tested less than 10% of a department with the largest outbreak within the facility, and more than 25% of the employees tested were positive, according to the county.
“However, expanded testing within the department was not completed for an additional three weeks, and subsequently, three fatalities were linked to that department alone,” the county said. On Aug. 5 and 11, the county issued directives requiring immediate coronavirus testing of all permanent, volunteer and temporary employees who shared air within a facility that had an outbreak.
A statement issued by the county Thursday said the spread of the highly infectious disease had not been contained, “and active outbreaks continue to exist, posing a significant threat to Foster Farms employees and the surrounding community. Furthermore, testing as required by the health directive had not been completed, and it is unclear whether the temporary workers were included in testing.”
On Thursday, Dr. Salvador Sandoval, the Merced County health officer, ordered the plant closed.
“In view of increasing deaths and uncontrolled COVID-19 cases, the decision was made to order the Livingston plant within the Foster Farms Livingston complex closed until acceptable safety measures are in place,” Sandoval said in a statement. “Our charge is to protect the public’s health, even in the face of difficult decisions.”
Despite the public statement by county officials, Foster Farms employees received emails late Thursday instructing them to show up to work for shifts Thursday night and Friday if they were scheduled to do so.
“All active status employees should report to work for their regular shift tonight or tomorrow as scheduled. The plant and all other facilities on the Livingston complex are safely operating,” said the letter, which was reviewed by The Times. “Please continue to wear your face covering and follow other safe practices at work and outside of work.”
Later Thursday night, Mike North, a spokesman for Merced County, said enforcement of the shutdown order was delayed by 48 hours after the county received a call from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s undersecretary for food safety.
The delay, North said in an email, would “help facilitate logistics associated with any necessary closure.”
In a statement issued Friday, Foster Farms did not address the shutdown order. The company, which is based in Livingston, has described itself as the West Coast’s leading poultry producer.
The workers at the Livingston plant are predominantly Latino and Punjabi, said Naindeep Singh, executive director of the Jakara Movement, a Central Valley nonprofit aimed at the Punjabi Sikh community. Many of his group’s members work at the Foster Farms plant.
A Times analysis found that of the 12 California counties with the worst coronavirus case rates per capita over the last two weeks, eight are in the San Joaquin Valley. Merced County has one of the worst rates statewide, reporting 414 cases per 100,000 residents in the last 14 days. By contrast, L.A. County has about 196 cases per 100,000 residents; Orange County, 156; San Francisco County, 134; and San Diego County, 113.
In its statement Saturday, Foster Farms praised Merced County health officials and said: “COVID-19 is not the product of a company any more than it is the fault of a people or a community. It is a scourge that companies like Foster Farms and communities like Merced County can work together to defeat.”


latimes--2020-08-30--Fans turn out for vigil in Leimert Park for actor Chadwick Boseman

Fans gathered in Leimert Park in South Los Angeles on Saturday evening to celebrate the life of “ Black Panther ” actor Chadwick Boseman , who died Friday after a four-year battle with colon cancer .
About a dozen fans of the 43-year-old actor , who was most famous for his role as King T ’ Challa in Marvel ’ s first Black superhero film , met at the park , which has long been a popular gathering spot for L.A. 's Black community .
The event was held by Project Islamic Hope , a Los Angeles civil rights group @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but we had to do something , ” said the group ’ s leader Najee Ali , who was wearing a “ Black Panther ” T-shirt .
“ Our community , locally , we lost Nipsey [ Hussle ] last year .
We just lost Kobe [ Bryant ] a few months ago and now to lose Chadwick Boseman while we ’ re undergoing this global pandemic , which clearly has to be the worst year in everyone ’ s lifetime , ” Ali said .
“ For African Americans , we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to take a while for us to get over this because no one saw it coming.
” News of Boseman ’ s sudden death stunned fans who were unaware that he was ill. “ It only adds to his scale to know that he was sick the entire time and what he was going through personally , ” said McCall Jones , 56 .
“ And those were not easy movies to do and he carried it amazingly.
” Ali said his 12-year-old daughter , Jurnee , who dressed up as Black @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ devastated ” by Boseman ’ s death .
He said the film was inspiring to a lot of Black children .
“ I ’ m concerned about our youth because they ’ re grieving , ” Ali said .
Thirteen-year-old Leilah Elkholy of Los Feliz , who attended the event with her mother , was the only child at the memorial .
She recalled going to a movie theater to see “ Black Panther , ” which she said was her favorite Marvel film .
“ It was much different than most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” she said .
“ I just felt like it was much more diverse and cultured , and I really enjoyed it.
” “ I just love him , ” she said of Boseman .
“ He just was so bright , and he seemed kind of like a sunshine in a way .
When I watched him , it made me feel happy.
” Boseman made a career out of playing historic Black figures , including the “ Godfather of Soul ” James Brown , Dodgers great Jackie Robinson and Supreme @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Santa Monica , Boseman ’ s death in the midst of so much racial tension in the country serves as reminder to keep fighting for racial justice like he did .
In this moment , Jones said , “ we ’ re all reminded of what he represented .
And he represented rising above .
He represented perseverance .
He represented getting it done anyway.
” “ So in a sense , his loss becomes a message to remind us that , yes , we can still fight on .
We still @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And he reminded us through making this statement , if you will now , that an individual can make a difference .
...
It ’ s our turn literally to fight to make that difference that he started the ball rolling on.
” Later , Ali lit two candles in front of a photo of Boseman set up at the memorial .
He said he hopes other people will continue adding candles , flowers and pictures in tribute to the actor whose work lives on .
As Ali and attendees left Leimert @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their chest in the shape of an X and chanted , “ Wakanda Forever !
”

Fans of Chadwick Boseman chant “Wakanda Forever” in reference to the movie “Black Panther” during a memorial for the late actor at Leimert Park on Saturday.
Fans gathered in Leimert Park in South Los Angeles on Saturday evening to celebrate the life of “Black Panther” actor Chadwick Boseman, who died Friday after a four-year battle with colon cancer.
About a dozen fans of the 43-year-old actor, who was most famous for his role as King T’Challa in Marvel’s first Black superhero film, met at the park, which has long been a popular gathering spot for L.A.’s Black community. The event was held by Project Islamic Hope, a Los Angeles civil rights group.
“It was so last minute, but we had to do something,” said the group’s leader Najee Ali, who was wearing a “Black Panther” T-shirt.
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“Our community, locally, we lost Nipsey [Hussle] last year. We just lost Kobe [Bryant] a few months ago and now to lose Chadwick Boseman while we’re undergoing this global pandemic, which clearly has to be the worst year in everyone’s lifetime,” Ali said. “For African Americans, we’re distraught and it’s going to take a while for us to get over this because no one saw it coming.”
News of Boseman’s sudden death stunned fans who were unaware that he was ill.
“It only adds to his scale to know that he was sick the entire time and what he was going through personally,” said McCall Jones, 56. “And those were not easy movies to do and he carried it amazingly.”
Ali said his 12-year-old daughter, Jurnee, who dressed up as Black Panther for Halloween last year, was “devastated” by Boseman’s death. He said the film was inspiring to a lot of Black children.
“I’m concerned about our youth because they’re grieving,” Ali said.
Thirteen-year-old Leilah Elkholy of Los Feliz, who attended the event with her mother, was the only child at the memorial. She recalled going to a movie theater to see “Black Panther,” which she said was her favorite Marvel film.
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“It was much different than most Marvel movies that I’ve seen,” she said. “I just felt like it was much more diverse and cultured, and I really enjoyed it.”
“I just love him,” she said of Boseman. “He just was so bright, and he seemed kind of like a sunshine in a way. When I watched him, it made me feel happy.”
Boseman made a career out of playing historic Black figures, including the “Godfather of Soul” James Brown, Dodgers great Jackie Robinson and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.
For Jones of Santa Monica, Boseman’s death in the midst of so much racial tension in the country serves as reminder to keep fighting for racial justice like he did.
In this moment, Jones said, “we’re all reminded of what he represented. And he represented rising above. He represented perseverance. He represented getting it done anyway.”
“So in a sense, his loss becomes a message to remind us that, yes, we can still fight on. We still have a chance to make a difference. And he reminded us through making this statement, if you will now, that an individual can make a difference. ... It’s our turn literally to fight to make that difference that he started the ball rolling on.”
Later, Ali lit two candles in front of a photo of Boseman set up at the memorial. He said he hopes other people will continue adding candles, flowers and pictures in tribute to the actor whose work lives on.
As Ali and attendees left Leimert Park, they crossed their arms on their chest in the shape of an X and chanted, “Wakanda Forever!”


latimes--2020-08-30--Trump supporters and counter-protesters shut down traffic in Beverly Hills

Supporters of President Trump took to the streets of Beverly Hills on Saturday and faced off with a small group of counter-protesters in a skirmish that ended with one person being arrested , the latest in a series of demonstrations in the city .
Around 3 p.m. , about 100 of the president ’ s backers gathered in a park along Santa Monica Boulevard at the iconic sign of the city ’ s name , Beverly Hills police Lt. Max Subin said .
They were met there by a small group of counter-protesters .
As the two sides jeered and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ park area and closed the thoroughfare to traffic when a suspicious item was discovered , Subin said .
Members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’ s Department later determined the item was not dangerous .
People moved a few blocks away to the intersection at Rodeo Drive , the centerpiece of the city ’ s luxury shopping area .
When a small skirmish broke out and someone from the counter-protest group threw an object at officers , police declared the gathering unlawful and ordered people to disperse , Subin said .
One @ @ @ @ @ @ @ language or behavior while interfering with police efforts to break up the crowd — a felony crime , Subin said .
Some in the group splintered off and went to protest in front of the house of Mayor Lester Friedman but remained peaceful , according to police .
No injuries were reported throughout the protests , Subin said .
Beverly Hills has come under scrutiny for the hard line it has taken with a few dozen people who were arrested for allegedly violating a city curfew at a protest against police abuses in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ district attorney and the L.A. city attorney , who announced they would not prosecute protesters arrested on these types of minor violations , attorneys for Beverly Hills have pressed ahead with the criminal charges .

Supporters of President Trump took to the streets of Beverly Hills on Saturday and faced off with a small group of counter-protesters in a skirmish that ended with one person being arrested, the latest in a series of demonstrations in the city.
Around 3 p.m., about 100 of the president’s backers gathered in a park along Santa Monica Boulevard at the iconic sign of the city’s name, Beverly Hills police Lt. Max Subin said. They were met there by a small group of counter-protesters.
As the two sides jeered and hurled insults, police shut down the park area and closed the thoroughfare to traffic when a suspicious item was discovered, Subin said. Members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department later determined the item was not dangerous.
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People moved a few blocks away to the intersection at Rodeo Drive, the centerpiece of the city’s luxury shopping area. When a small skirmish broke out and someone from the counter-protest group threw an object at officers, police declared the gathering unlawful and ordered people to disperse, Subin said. One person was arrested for allegedly using threatening language or behavior while interfering with police efforts to break up the crowd — a felony crime, Subin said.
Some in the group splintered off and went to protest in front of the house of Mayor Lester Friedman but remained peaceful, according to police.
No injuries were reported throughout the protests, Subin said.
Beverly Hills has come under scrutiny for the hard line it has taken with a few dozen people who were arrested for allegedly violating a city curfew at a protest against police abuses in June. Unlike the Los Angeles County district attorney and the L.A. city attorney, who announced they would not prosecute protesters arrested on these types of minor violations, attorneys for Beverly Hills have pressed ahead with the criminal charges.


latimes--2020-08-28--Clancy Imislund, longtime director of L.A.'s Midnight Mission, dies at 93

Restoring his faith in a higher power was the hardest step for Clancy Imislund .
So when the day finally came in October 1958 , to take that step , he put his faith in Bob .
“ I ’ ll try to do what Bob says , ” he recounted decades later .
That wasn ’ t Dr. Bob , co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous , but just Bob , a run-of-the-mill actor who became his sponsor in the latest of many episodes of sobriety .
After several weeks of tagging along with Bob to grab food at AA meetings @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I began to get the sense that Bob knew how I felt , ” he said , a sense he had never gotten before from father , friend or therapist .
“ I never knew anybody who knew how I felt , ” he said .
“ People like us are magnets for advice from everybody that we know .
But if you can find someone you believe knows how you feel , that advice becomes meaningful information.
” Imislund stayed sober that time , and for the next 62 years he carried @ @ @ @ @ @ @ talks almost weekly at AA meetings from South Dakota to Reykjavik , Iceland , and becoming a sponsor to thousands of others .
Along the way , he left a lucrative career with a Beverly Hills marketing firm to become managing director of the Midnight Mission in downtown ’ s skid row , returning as a transformative leader to an institution that had once kicked him out for bad behavior .
Under his hand , the soup kitchen and housing facilities grew with programs to address the social needs of skid row , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Arnold .
“ He ’ s probably the first person to bring substance use treatment to people living on skid row , ” Arnold said .
Evolving from executive to ambassador at-large , Imislund held the title of managing director for the next 46 years until his death Monday at 93 .
He left a legacy in the quasi-secret world of AA unmatched by any but founders Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob , said Stephen Watson , a Midnight Mission board member and one of the roughly 170 people Imislund was sponsoring up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an undetermined cause while in isolation following a positive test for COVID-19 , his daughter Mary Imislund Dougherty said .
He was undergoing rehabilitation for a broken hip and was at the end of the isolation period when the rehabilitation center informed her of his death , she said .
Growing up in a Norwegian Lutheran family in Eau Claire , Wis. , Imislund discovered , as he would later confess , that , “ I seem to need more fun than other Lutherans somehow.
” By the time he was 15 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ behind him .
“ I have a flair for doing the wrong thing , to almost instantly do the worst thing I could have done , ” he said .
The attack on Pearl Harbor offered an escape .
He hitch-hiked to San Francisco intending to make something of himself as a war hero .
Stints in the merchant marine , then the Navy introduced him to whiskey and tobacco to the betterment of his self-image if not his character .
“ I felt like men looked , ” he said of his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ war Imislund returned to Wisconsin , enrolled in college , married Charlotte , “ this girl with flashing black eyes and black hair , ” and settled into what he would later recognize to be the normal life of an alcoholic .
Nights with family punctuated by nights in jail culminated in a vow of sobriety , made over the coffin of his first son , who died on a frigid winter night when Imislund was jailed and didn ’ t make it home to restart a finicky heater .
“ John Imislund @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It was a vow made to be broken .
The family moved a lot .
The time in El Paso stands out as the pleasantest of her life , his daughter said .
Her father , a talented self-taught musician , partied at home with the city ’ s marijuana-smoking jazz musicians .
“ My happiest memories are laying in my bed , smelling that smell , hearing that music , ” she said .
“ They would sit all night and play the most amazing incredible music .
He just gathers these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had great jobs , Mary said , among them even directing the Grand Opera at the University of Texas .
But he always lost them , falling victim to what he would describe as the recurring “ spring in my gut ” that made him restless , eventually turning the world from “ technicolor to black and white.
” A nearly successful suicide attempt led to a mental commitment and electric shock therapy .
Thorazine and tequila followed .
The night he went out to buy food for his new daughter Susan and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ packed up the kids and resettled in a one-bedroom apartment .
After being ejected from the Midnight Mission , Imislund made the most important trip of his life , walking miles to the AA club at Wilshire and Fairfax where he fell under Bob ’ s sway .
“ He found me ways not to quit jobs , ” Imislund would say .
“ A terrible process .
I finally held a job for four months before I got fired.
” Gradually , Bob broke through to Imislund ’ s faith which had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ took his son ’ s life to pay for his sins .
“ Kid , you ’ re not important enough for God to hate , ” Bob told him .
“ By the time he died , I believed in AA as the higher power , ” Imislund would say .
It took five years to regain Charlotte ’ s trust .
He got a job in advertising , became head of a family again and founded the Pacific Group , held in a Westside synagogue , that has grown into one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and largest AA meetings , said Watson , the Midnight Mission board member .
Within AA , Pacific Group has its detractors who find it cultish and doctrinally severe .
“ I don ’ t like the Pacific and avoid them , ” said Sarah D. of Dallas in an email to The Times .
But not Imislund .
“ Clancy inspired the masses , ” she wrote .
“ I see in my mind ’ s eye ... so many rooms , so many people crowded into the back , outside , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ words .
I hear the laughter .
And i am grateful.
” He became what Watson would describe a 12-step “ rock star , ” becoming sponsor to Hollywood elites , judges and business executives along with the people he picked up off the street .
“ If you asked Clancy how many people he had sponsored he would say , ‘ One too few , ’ ” Watson said .
He estimates the number at 10,000 with the ripple effect touching tens of thousands of lives .
Family ties with his four @ @ @ @ @ @ @ distant , Susan Imislund Yodice , the daughter born in Texas , said .
The daughters understood his absences as necessary amends for “ things you can never undo.
” After Charlotte died in 2012 , their father became more spiritual and a more attentive father .
“ He became this accessible , very loving dad , ” she said .
“ I feel grateful that in my 50s I got this dad .
And that ’ s been a joy.
” It was in 1974 that Imislund returned to the Midnight Mission @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to embrace treatment , work and housing services .
He built its financial base with his pen , president and CEO Arnold said .
“ He would open the phone book and start writing letters to people in the phone directory , ” Arnold said .
“ He could create some of the most compelling stories about both recovery and the work of the Midnight Mission , ” Arnold said .
“ It ’ s hard to separate Clancy from either the Midnight Mission or the AA .
He dedicated the last 46 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do good with those two messages.
” In his talks , Imislund spoke of AA as a mystery with a practical goal .
“ Nobody knows why it works , ” he said .
“ The purpose of AA is not to make you dry longer and longer .
The purpose of AA is to do very slowly what alcohol did fast .
To change my perception of reality .
”

Clancy Imislund left a lucrative career with a Beverly Hills marketing firm to become managing director of the Midnight Mission in downtown’s skid row, returning as a transformative leader to an institution that had once kicked him out for bad behavior.
Restoring his faith in a higher power was the hardest step for Clancy Imislund.
So when the day finally came in October 1958, to take that step, he put his faith in Bob.
“I’ll try to do what Bob says,” he recounted decades later.
That wasn’t Dr. Bob, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, but just Bob, a run-of-the-mill actor who became his sponsor in the latest of many episodes of sobriety. After several weeks of tagging along with Bob to grab food at AA meetings, Imislund had an awakening.
“I began to get the sense that Bob knew how I felt,” he said, a sense he had never gotten before from father, friend or therapist.
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“I never knew anybody who knew how I felt,” he said. “People like us are magnets for advice from everybody that we know. But if you can find someone you believe knows how you feel, that advice becomes meaningful information.”
Imislund stayed sober that time, and for the next 62 years he carried the message around the world, giving talks almost weekly at AA meetings from South Dakota to Reykjavik, Iceland, and becoming a sponsor to thousands of others.
Along the way, he left a lucrative career with a Beverly Hills marketing firm to become managing director of the Midnight Mission in downtown’s skid row, returning as a transformative leader to an institution that had once kicked him out for bad behavior. Under his hand, the soup kitchen and housing facilities grew with programs to address the social needs of skid row, said its president and CEO G. Michael Arnold.
“He’s probably the first person to bring substance use treatment to people living on skid row,” Arnold said.
Evolving from executive to ambassador at-large, Imislund held the title of managing director for the next 46 years until his death Monday at 93.
He left a legacy in the quasi-secret world of AA unmatched by any but founders Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob, said Stephen Watson, a Midnight Mission board member and one of the roughly 170 people Imislund was sponsoring up to his death.
Imislund died of an undetermined cause while in isolation following a positive test for COVID-19, his daughter Mary Imislund Dougherty said. He was undergoing rehabilitation for a broken hip and was at the end of the isolation period when the rehabilitation center informed her of his death, she said.
Advertisement
Growing up in a Norwegian Lutheran family in Eau Claire, Wis., Imislund discovered, as he would later confess, that, “I seem to need more fun than other Lutherans somehow.”
By the time he was 15, straight A’s and self-discipline were behind him.
“I have a flair for doing the wrong thing, to almost instantly do the worst thing I could have done,” he said.
The attack on Pearl Harbor offered an escape. He hitch-hiked to San Francisco intending to make something of himself as a war hero. Stints in the merchant marine, then the Navy introduced him to whiskey and tobacco to the betterment of his self-image if not his character.
“I felt like men looked,” he said of his emotional reaction to alcohol.
After the war Imislund returned to Wisconsin, enrolled in college, married Charlotte, “this girl with flashing black eyes and black hair,” and settled into what he would later recognize to be the normal life of an alcoholic.
Nights with family punctuated by nights in jail culminated in a vow of sobriety, made over the coffin of his first son, who died on a frigid winter night when Imislund was jailed and didn’t make it home to restart a finicky heater.
“John Imislund, this will never happen again.” It was a vow made to be broken.
The family moved a lot. The time in El Paso stands out as the pleasantest of her life, his daughter said.
Her father, a talented self-taught musician, partied at home with the city’s marijuana-smoking jazz musicians.
“My happiest memories are laying in my bed, smelling that smell, hearing that music,” she said. “They would sit all night and play the most amazing incredible music. He just gathers these incredible people.”
In Texas, Imislund had great jobs, Mary said, among them even directing the Grand Opera at the University of Texas. But he always lost them, falling victim to what he would describe as the recurring “spring in my gut” that made him restless, eventually turning the world from “technicolor to black and white.”
A nearly successful suicide attempt led to a mental commitment and electric shock therapy.
Thorazine and tequila followed. The night he went out to buy food for his new daughter Susan and didn’t come back, Charlotte packed up the kids and resettled in a one-bedroom apartment.
Imislund eventually headed for Los Angeles.
After being ejected from the Midnight Mission, Imislund made the most important trip of his life, walking miles to the AA club at Wilshire and Fairfax where he fell under Bob’s sway.
“He found me ways not to quit jobs,” Imislund would say. “A terrible process. I finally held a job for four months before I got fired.”
Gradually, Bob broke through to Imislund’s faith which had been devastated by the belief that God took his son’s life to pay for his sins.
“Kid, you’re not important enough for God to hate,” Bob told him. “By the time he died, I believed in AA as the higher power,” Imislund would say.
It took five years to regain Charlotte’s trust. He got a job in advertising, became head of a family again and founded the Pacific Group, held in a Westside synagogue, that has grown into one of the world’s longest standing and largest AA meetings, said Watson, the Midnight Mission board member.
Within AA, Pacific Group has its detractors who find it cultish and doctrinally severe.
“I don’t like the Pacific and avoid them,” said Sarah D. of Dallas in an email to The Times. But not Imislund.
“Clancy inspired the masses,” she wrote. “I see in my mind’s eye ... so many rooms, so many people crowded into the back, outside, in adjoining rooms. I remember his words. I hear the laughter. And i am grateful.”
He became what Watson would describe a 12-step “rock star,” becoming sponsor to Hollywood elites, judges and business executives along with the people he picked up off the street.
“If you asked Clancy how many people he had sponsored he would say, ‘One too few,’ ” Watson said. He estimates the number at 10,000 with the ripple effect touching tens of thousands of lives.
Family ties with his four daughters and surviving son were stable but distant, Susan Imislund Yodice, the daughter born in Texas, said. The daughters understood his absences as necessary amends for “things you can never undo.” After Charlotte died in 2012, their father became more spiritual and a more attentive father.
“He became this accessible, very loving dad,” she said. “I feel grateful that in my 50s I got this dad. And that’s been a joy.”
It was in 1974 that Imislund returned to the Midnight Mission. Under his leadership its mission expanded to embrace treatment, work and housing services. He built its financial base with his pen, president and CEO Arnold said.
“He would open the phone book and start writing letters to people in the phone directory,” Arnold said.
“He could create some of the most compelling stories about both recovery and the work of the Midnight Mission,” Arnold said. “It’s hard to separate Clancy from either the Midnight Mission or the AA. He dedicated the last 46 years of his life to trying to do good with those two messages.”
In his talks, Imislund spoke of AA as a mystery with a practical goal.
“Nobody knows why it works,” he said. “The purpose of AA is not to make you dry longer and longer. The purpose of AA is to do very slowly what alcohol did fast. To change my perception of reality.”


latimes--2020-08-30--Anaheim police fatally shoot man sought on arrest warrant

An Anaheim man who was shot by police died from his injuries Sunday .
Jesse David Nava , 25 , @ @ @ @ @ at UCI Medical Center after undergoing emergency surgery , the Anaheim Police Department said in @ @ @ @ @ Police officers had engaged Nava in the 2500 block of East Ward Terrace shortly after @ @ @ @ @ attempt to arrest him on a warrant for felony sexual assault , the Police Department @ @ @ @ @ himself with a kitchen knife , prompting one or more officers to open fire , @ @ @ @ @ involved in the shooting were wearing body cameras , and the footage was provided to @ @ @ @ @ ’ s office , which is conducting a criminal investigation , police said .
The @ @ @ @ @ review team is handling an internal investigation into the shooting with oversight from the Office @ @ @ @

An Anaheim man who was shot by police died from his injuries Sunday.
Jesse David Nava, 25, died at about 9:30 a.m. at UCI Medical Center after undergoing emergency surgery, the Anaheim Police Department said in a news release.
Jesse David Nava, 25. (Anaheim Police Department)
Anaheim Police officers had engaged Nava in the 2500 block of East Ward Terrace shortly after 9:30 p.m. Saturday in an attempt to arrest him on a warrant for felony sexual assault, the Police Department said. He allegedly armed himself with a kitchen knife, prompting one or more officers to open fire, investigators said.
The officers involved in the shooting were wearing body cameras, and the footage was provided to the Orange County district attorney’s office, which is conducting a criminal investigation, police said. The Police Department’s major review team is handling an internal investigation into the shooting with oversight from the Office of Independent Review.


latimes--2020-08-30--L.A. County reports 1,030 new COVID-19 cases, while hospitalizations continue dropping

Los Angeles County public health officials on Sunday reported 1,030 new coronavirus cases and 10 related deaths , but said hospitalizations continue to decline .
To date , the county has recorded 240,749 positive cases of COVID-19 and 5,769 deaths .
There were 1,089 confirmed coronavirus patients in county hospitals as of Sunday — the lowest number since early May — with 32 % in intensive care .
That represented a decline of about 50 % from mid-July , when hospitalizations reached 2,200 , officials said .
“ It is evident we are making progress , and this is a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many , ” Barbara Ferrer , the county health director , said in a statement .
“ As we evaluate how to best continue our recovery journey without experiencing the spikes we saw in July , we need to consider the magnitude of increased exposures created with each sector re-opening.
” Though progress is being made , the county must slow its transmission rate considerably in order for more businesses to reopen and activities to resume .
On Friday , Gov .
Gavin Newsom that requires counties to show consistent success in stemming @ @ @ @ @ @ @ businesses greater flexibility to reopen .
Los Angeles and most other counties in Southern California were placed in the most restrictive category , Tier 1 , which means that transmission of the virus is widespread and most nonessential businesses must be closed .
In order to move into a less restrictive tier , a county must have no more than seven new cases per 100,000 people per day and a test positivity rate of 8 % or less .
The county must meet those benchmarks for two consecutive weeks before progressing .
For @ @ @ @ @ @ @ County reported a daily average of 12.7 cases per 100,000 residents and a test positivity rate of 5 % , according to the state .

Melanie Olmeda and her son Mason Gutierrez, 6, who are zoo members, drove from Chino for the reopening of the L.A. Zoo last week. Although progress is being made on the coronavirus front, L.A. County must slow its transmission rate considerably in order for more businesses to reopen.
Los Angeles County public health officials on Sunday reported 1,030 new coronavirus cases and 10 related deaths but said hospitalizations continue to decline.
To date, the county has recorded 240,749 positive coronavirus cases and 5,769 deaths.
There were 1,089 confirmed coronavirus patients in county hospitals as of Sunday — the lowest number since early May — with 32% in intensive care. That represented a decline of about 50% from mid-July, when hospitalizations reached 2,200, officials said.
“It is evident we are making progress, and this is a testament to the collective efforts of so many,” Barbara Ferrer, the county health director, said in a statement. “As we evaluate how to best continue our recovery journey without experiencing the spikes we saw in July, we need to consider the magnitude of increased exposures created with each sector reopening.”
Though progress is being made, the county must slow its transmission rate considerably in order for more businesses to reopen and activities to resume. On Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled a new four-tier system that requires counties to show consistent success in stemming the transmission of the coronavirus before allowing businesses greater flexibility to reopen.
Los Angeles and most other counties in Southern California were placed in the most restrictive category, Tier 1, which means that transmission of the virus is widespread and most nonessential businesses must be closed. In order to move into a less restrictive tier, a county must have no more than seven new cases per 100,000 people per day and a test positivity rate of 8% or less. The county must meet those benchmarks for two consecutive weeks before progressing.
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For the week ending Aug. 18, L.A. County reported a daily average of 12.7 cases per 100,000 residents and a test positivity rate of 5%, according to the state.