latimes--2020-07-11--They worked in the U.S. on visas. But coronavirus and Trump's new order split these Indian families

They worked in the U.S. on visas. But coronavirus and Trump's new order split these Indian families apart

Last March , Poorva Dixit booked an emergency flight to her native India to visit her ailing mother .
The trip was supposed to be quick : She ’ d left behind her family in the East Bay , where Dixit and her husband , both software engineers , have lived for more than a decade while working on H-1B visas .
She didn ’ t imagine the twin hurdles that would keep her from returning to California : a global pandemic and a new executive order by the Trump administration that has restricted the flow of highly skilled workers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sown confusion .
Now , Dixit is one of hundreds of H-1B and similar visa workers -- many from the Indian subcontinent -- who are stranded abroad , uncertain when they ’ ll get back to the United States .
“ I ’ ve already lost my mom , and now I have been kept away from my motherhood , ” the 37-year-old said .
“ It ’ s the worst nightmare that I could never have dreamt up.
” The executive order , which will stay in effect at least until the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ latest sweeping effort by the Trump administration to curtail legal immigration .
Last month , the White House expanded a measure severely restricting visas being issued to temporary foreign employees , many of whom work in California in specialized technology jobs .
The H-1B applies not only to software engineers , but to other high-skilled workers such as doctors , lawyers , architects and academics .
The order also affects H-2B visas , for seasonal employees ; L-1 visas , for corporate executives ; and J-1 visas , for scholars and exchange programs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ protect ” more than 500,000 jobs amid the pandemic .
But many employers in the tech industry and entrepreneurs say that there is no evidence to back the claim that immigrants have taken jobs from Americans who ’ ve been thrown out of work because of the virus .
The proclamation provides exemptions , such as those for many potential agricultural , healthcare and food industry workers .
It does not change the status of immigrants already in the United States .
“ There is a reason why we have H-1 visa @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can bring people who have the skills not available here in the U.S. to this country , ” said Chris Hopfensperger , executive director of Software.org , a nonpartisan research organization based in Washington , D.C. that aims to help policymakers understand software ’ s impact on the economy and society .
“ H-1B is not an industry where you see U.S. workers being displaced .
If anything , by bringing them , we are creating more jobs in the U.S. ” The visa ban has left workers confused about their next steps @ @ @ @ @ @ @ H-1B visa applications , according to data from U.S .
Citizenship and Immigration Services .
The current annual cap for H-1B visas sits at 65,000 , with 20,000 additional visas available for those who earn a master ’ s degree or doctorate from a U.S. institution .
The ban stands to impact tech businesses in the U.S. , especially those in Northern California and Silicon Beach that hire H-1B visa workers from around the world .
“ It ’ s not just Google and Facebook competing for these people ; it ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s Ford Motor Co. and Boeing -- all these companies transforming digitally , they need them too , ” said Todd McKinnon , co-founder of Okta , a San Francisco-based cloud identity provider .
“ So how do we make sure these awesome American companies stay competitive ?
I don ’ t think the answer is telling these people to stay home.
” For Dixit , what was supposed to be a temporary separation from family has become long term .
She has been able to work remotely , picking up overnight shifts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ regularly speaks with her husband over the phone .
He ’ s been forced to work from home due to coronavirus , she said , and now has to manage their girls in quarantine as while being a single parent .
“ I had hoped I would be able to get my visa stamped and go home , ” Dixit said .
While she works , Dixit keeps one headphone plugged in for her kids , who tell her that they like to be able to hear her voice -- even if she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ My kids are going into depression .
They are skipping meals , ” she said .
“ My 3-year-old , she doesn ’ t understand what is going on .
She keeps asking when I am coming back .
I have no answer.
” Research shows that immigrants strengthen the economy and typically don ’ t compete with U.S.-born workers for jobs or lower their wages .
Most employment-based immigration to the United States already requires a labor market test to demonstrate there ’ s no available U.S. citizen to fill the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ industries , as well as Trump officials themselves , have advocated for more immigration , not less .
H-1B workers earn high wages , and often move to the United States when they are young , meaning they contribute to the economy through paying taxes and spending for many years , said Giovanni Peri , a professor of economics and director of the Global Migration Center at UC Davis .
Cutting them out of the economy could have harmful effects in the long run , he said , while also failing to increase @ @ @ @ @ @ @ target high-skilled people , people who innovate , people in science and tech , ” Peri said .
“ This will reduce U.S. companies ’ and labs ’ ability to generate growth and productivity , and the ability of the economy to grow.
” Foreign workers ’ jobs are related to their American colleagues ’ work , he said .
If a company hires a handful of H-1B workers for a new team , it will also hire Americans for other complementary jobs .
And if companies decide to hire the same workers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ U.S. prior to the visa ban , but allow them to work in countries such as India or Canada , additional American jobs could be lost , Peri added .
Immigration attorney Greg Siskind said that his inbox has been overwhelmed with stories of families who have been separated by the new order .
Hundreds of thousands of people will be affected , he said -- especially workers from India , who are hit by both the proclamation and a clogged green card application system that has left more than 500,000 Indian nationals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ residents .
“ With the backlog , the rules are normally that you get six years on a H-1B visa .
But if you have a green card application pending , you can extend it out three years at a time , ” he said .
“ And Indians have backlogs where the waits are 40 to 50 years long.
” As a result , he said , many of the workers who are currently affected by the order may be those who have applied for green cards but have been unable to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The long wait is due in part to caps that were placed before the tech boom of the 1990s drew a large influx of Indian workers to the U.S. At the same time , caps on new H-1B issuances have not changed for 16 years , even though those workers are in high demand from U.S. employers , Peri , the professor , added .
Businesses and tech industry groups immediately pushed back against extending the ban following the Trump administration ’ s announcement , arguing that the move will stymie economic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ least one immigration activist group has said that it is looking to challenge the order with a lawsuit .
While the tussle continues , visa applicants wait anxiously on the other side of the world .
Some said that they have reached out to state and federal officials for help but have not heard back .
Dharmendra dashed for a flight to India in February after he learned his father had died .
He traveled alone , while his wife looked after their 4-year-old-son .
“ I didn ’ t want my son @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ‘ You stay here , ’ ” said Dharmendra , who wanted to be identified by his first name only for fear of putting his visa at risk .
He has lived in the U.S. for nearly eight years and applied for his green card in 2014 .
He doesn ’ t expect to receive it until decades from now .
“ My appointment to stamp my visa was March 16 , but coronavirus started , ” the software engineer said .
“ My wife can ’ t drive .
My son @ @ @ @ @ @ @ speak .
My wife is in mental stress .
I thought when COVID would go down , I would get an appointment .
Now it ’ s not until December .
What do I need to do ?
” Dharmendra stays awake until 3 a.m. , he says , so he can speak to his wife .
He does his best to keep her spirits high , but he fears her mental health is at risk .
“ I don ’ t want her to be lonely .
Sometimes she ’ s crying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” he said .
“ I can ’ t describe how we ’ re doing right now.
” The 40-year-old said he has been speaking with attorneys to determine whether he can come back sooner .
He plans on fighting .
Srinivas Repala has been separated from his wife and three sons since February , when he traveled from Seattle to India to attend his grandmother ’ s funeral .
Like others , his consulate appointment to get a visa stamped was canceled because of the pandemic .
A technology specialist , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doesn ’ t know whether his employer will allow him to work from India once his counterparts in the U.S. go back to working in offices .
Repala said that when he learned of the executive order last month , he felt depressed .
“ My family is in the same mode .
My kids are crying , ” the 38-year-old said .
“ They say , ‘ Papa , I ’ m really missing you.
’ ” He talks to his family each day over the phone or on FaceTime , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 6-year-old twins why he can ’ t come home .
He ’ s found himself educating his children on visas and the immigration system much sooner than he ’ d expected .
“ Each day , years of hard work and family is at risk if I don ’ t go back , ” he said .
Dixit , the software engineer , said she feels guilty being away for so long .
She missed her daughter ’ s sixth birthday .
“ My husband said my kids grew five inches , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ It breaks my heart to have missed those five inches of them growing up.
” A few days ago , she saw that her eldest had taken a family portrait that she ’ d drawn before Dixit left for India and stuck it on the fridge of their Northern California home .
In it , the family stands flanking a bright pink house under a blue sky , one daughter standing next to each parent .
The little girl had covered the crayon Dixit ’ s body with a large Giraffe magnet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I call it , ‘ And they lived sadly ever after , ’ ” she told her mother .

Poorva Dixit and her family pose for a photo in Northern California, where both she and her husband worked prior to being separated by the president’s executive order on visas.
Last March, Poorva Dixit booked an emergency flight to her native India to visit her ailing mother. The trip was supposed to be quick: She’d left behind her family in the East Bay, where Dixit and her husband, both software engineers, have lived for more than a decade while working on H-1B visas.
She didn’t imagine the twin hurdles that would keep her from returning to California: a global pandemic and a new executive order by the Trump administration that has restricted the flow of highly skilled workers into the country, separated families and sown confusion.
Now, Dixit is one of hundreds of H-1B and similar visa workers — many from the Indian subcontinent — who are stranded abroad, uncertain when they’ll get back to the United States.
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“I’ve already lost my mom, and now I have been kept away from my motherhood,” the 37-year-old said. “It’s the worst nightmare that I could ever have dreamt up.”
The executive order, which will stay in effect at least until the end of this year, is the latest sweeping effort by the Trump administration to curtail legal immigration. Last month, the White House expanded a measure severely restricting visas being issued to temporary foreign employees, many of whom work in California in specialized technology jobs.
The H-1B applies not only to software engineers, but also to other high-skilled workers such as doctors, lawyers, architects and academics. The order also affects H-2B visas, for seasonal employees; L-1 visas, for corporate executives; and J-1 visas, for scholars and exchange programs.
Administration officials estimated the move would “protect” more than 500,000 jobs amid the pandemic. But many employers in the tech industry and entrepreneurs say that there is no evidence to back the claim that immigrants have taken jobs from Americans who’ve been thrown out of work because of the virus.
The proclamation provides exemptions, such as those for many potential agricultural, healthcare and food industry workers. It does not change the status of immigrants already in the United States.
“There is a reason why we have the H-1 visa system — it’s so we can bring people who have the skills not available here in the U.S. to this country,” said Chris Hopfensperger, executive director of Software.org, a nonpartisan research organization based in Washington, D.C., that aims to help policymakers understand software’s effect on the economy and society. “H-1B is not an industry where you see U.S. workers being displaced. If anything, by bringing them, we are creating more jobs in the U.S.”
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The visa ban has left workers confused about their next steps. Indian nationals compose 75% of H-1B visa applications, according to data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The current annual cap for H-1B visas sits at 65,000, with 20,000 additional visas available for those who earn a master’s degree or doctorate from a U.S. institution.
The ban stands to affect tech businesses in the U.S., especially those in Northern California and Silicon Beach that hire H-1B visa workers from around the world.
“It’s not just Google and Facebook competing for these people; it’s everybody in the economy. It’s Ford Motor Co. and Boeing — all these companies transforming digitally — they need them too,” said Todd McKinnon, co-founder of Okta, a San Francisco-based cloud identity provider. “So how do we make sure these awesome American companies stay competitive? I don’t think the answer is telling these people to stay home.”
For Dixit, what was supposed to be a temporary separation from family has become long term. She has been able to work remotely, picking up overnight shifts to match West Coast hours, and regularly speaks with her husband over the phone. He’s been forced to work from home due to the coronavirus, she said, and now has to manage their girls in quarantine while being a single parent.
“I had hoped I would be able to get my visa stamped and go home,” Dixit said.
While she works, Dixit keeps one headphone plugged in for her kids, who tell her that they like to be able to hear her voice — even if she is just speaking to her colleagues.
“My kids are going into depression. They are skipping meals,” she said. “My 3-year-old, she doesn’t understand what is going on. She keeps asking when I am coming back. I have no answer.”
Poorva Dixit’s daughter drew a family portrait and pinned it to their refrigerator. She covered Dixit with a magnet, and said she calls the photo “and they lived sadly ever after.” (Poorva Dixit)
Research shows that immigrants strengthen the economy and typically don’t compete with U.S.-born workers for jobs or lower their wages. Most employment-based immigration to the United States already requires a labor market test to demonstrate there’s no available U.S. citizen to fill the position, and many of the affected industries, as well as Trump officials themselves, have advocated for more immigration , not less.
H-1B workers earn high wages, and often move to the United States when they are young, meaning they contribute to the economy through paying taxes and spending for many years, said Giovanni Peri, a professor of economics and director of the Global Migration Center at UC Davis. Cutting them out of the economy could have harmful effects in the long run, he said, while also failing to increase employment for Americans.
“These visas target high-skilled people, people who innovate, people in science and tech,” Peri said. “This will reduce U.S. companies’ and labs’ ability to generate growth and productivity, and the ability of the economy to grow.”
Foreign workers’ jobs are related to their American colleagues’ work, he said. If a company hires a handful of H-1B workers for a new team, it will also hire Americans for other complementary jobs. And if companies decide to hire the same workers that they would have brought to the U.S. prior to the visa ban, but allow them to work in countries such as India or Canada, additional American jobs could be lost, Peri added.
Immigration attorney Greg Siskind said that his inbox has been overwhelmed with stories of families who have been separated by the new order. Hundreds of thousands of people will be affected, he said -- especially workers from India, who are hit by both the proclamation and a clogged green card application system that has left more than 500,000 Indian nationals renewing their visas instead of becoming permanent residents.
“With the backlog, the rules are normally that you get six years on a H-1B visa. But if you have a green card application pending, you can extend it out three years at a time,” he said. “And Indians have backlogs where the waits are 40 to 50 years long.”
As a result, he said, many of the workers who are currently affected by the order may be those who have applied for green cards but have been unable to become residents because of an encumbered system. The long wait is due in part to caps that were placed before the tech boom of the 1990s drew a large influx of Indian workers to the U.S.
At the same time, caps on new H-1B issuances have not changed for 16 years, even though those workers are in high demand from U.S. employers, Peri, the professor, added.
Businesses and tech industry groups immediately pushed back against extending the ban following the Trump administration’s announcement, arguing that the move will stymie economic recovery rather than spark growth. At least one immigration activist group has said that it is looking to challenge the order with a lawsuit.
While the tussle continues, visa applicants wait anxiously on the other side of the world. Some said that they have reached out to state and federal officials for help but have not heard back.
Dharmendra dashed for a flight to India in February after he learned his father had died. He traveled alone, while his wife looked after their 4-year-old-son.
“I didn’t want my son to miss therapy and so I said, ‘You stay here,’” said Dharmendra, who wanted to be identified by his first name only for fear of putting his visa at risk.
He has lived in the U.S. for nearly eight years and applied for his green card in 2014. He doesn’t expect to receive it until decades from now.
“My appointment to stamp my visa was March 16, but coronavirus started,” the software engineer said. “My wife can’t drive. My son is special needs and can’t speak. My wife is in mental stress. I thought when COVID would go down, I would get an appointment. Now it’s not until December. What do I need to do?”
Dharmendra stays awake until 3 a.m., he says, so he can speak to his wife. He does his best to keep her spirits high, but he fears her mental health is at risk.
“I don’t want her to be lonely. Sometimes she’s crying and it’s hard for me,” he said. “I can’t describe how we’re doing right now.”
The 40-year-old said he has been speaking with attorneys to determine whether he can come back sooner. He plans on fighting.
Srinivas Repala has been separated from his wife and three sons since February, when he traveled from Seattle to India to attend his grandmother’s funeral.
Like others, his consulate appointment to get a visa stamped was canceled because of the pandemic. A technology specialist, he is working remotely for now but doesn’t know whether his employer will allow him to work from India once his counterparts in the U.S. go back to working in offices.
Repala said that when he learned of the executive order last month, he felt depressed.
“My family is in the same mode. My kids are crying,” the 38-year-old said. “They say, ‘Papa, I’m really missing you.’ ”
He talks to his family each day over the phone or on FaceTime, and tries to explain to his 10-year-old and 6-year-old twins why he can’t come home. He’s found himself educating his children on visas and the immigration system much sooner than he’d expected.
“Each day, years of hard work and family is at risk if I don’t go back,” he said.
Dixit, the software engineer, said she feels guilty being away for so long. She missed her daughter’s sixth birthday.
“My husband said my kids grew five inches,” she said, her voice shaking. “It breaks my heart to have missed those five inches of them growing up.”
A few days ago, she saw that her eldest had taken a family portrait that she’d drawn before Dixit left for India and stuck it on the fridge of their Northern California home. In it, the family stands flanking a bright pink house under a blue sky, one daughter standing next to each parent.
The little girl had covered Dixit’s body with a large giraffe magnet that reads “Hakuna Matata.”
“I call it, ‘And they lived sadly ever after,’” she told her mother.


latimes--2020-07-11--Amid a national movement to defund the police, LAPD officers rally outside downtown headquarters

In a moment of national reckoning prompted by the killing of George Floyd and street protests against police brutality , Los Angeles police officers rally outside downtown headquarters on Saturday .
Calls to defund the police have been swiftly answered by the City Council , which slashed the LAPD budget by $ 150 million , saying the money will be channeled into services for Black , Latino and disenfranchised communities .
Officers say they are demoralized by the cuts , which will deliver a huge hit to overtime pay and hiring in the 10,000-member department , when they have worked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and are willing to risk their lives to keep people safe .
“ What I ’ m concerned about is that the neighborhoods that will pay the worst price are the most economically depressed neighborhoods , ” said Rusty Redican , an officer with the beach patrol in West L.A. and an 18-year LAPD veteran .
“ Ninety-five percent of the people in South L.A. are great people who just want to live their lives and not be preyed on by gang members and drug dealers.
” Over the July 4th weekend , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at a time when homicides were spiking .
LAPD officials are investigating whether some of the absences were a “ blue flu ” protest , which would be illegal under state law .
Organizers of the rally had promoted it to fellow officers as a legal alternative to a sickout .
As a crowd of about 100 officers and their supporters waved “ Defend the Police ” signs and chanted “ LAPD , ” a handful of counter protesters sought to convey a different message .
“ We don ’ t feel it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who are responsible for the killing of 600 unarmed people , and none of them have been prosecuted , said Tara Perry , 36 , a paralegal and member of Black Pact .
“ You don ’ t get to sit here and tell us our lives don ’ t matter because your family is police , or the police will protect you because of your complexion.
” Ariana Waters , 27 , a researcher at a cancer center , said the LAPD is “ grossly overfunded , ” and the money should @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and homelessness .
“ Because they get so much money and power , they abuse it , ” Waters said .
“ The more cops we have , the more crime we have .
All you have is hammers , so everyone is a nail.
” Some of the LAPD officers ’ discontent has been directed at Mayor Eric Garcetti and Chief Michel Moore , whom they believe have caved too quickly to the activists ’ demands .
“ There ’ s work for us to do , but we ’ re committed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ good to take a moment to remind ourselves of the progress that has been made in areas like diversity , use of force and training , ” Moore told The Times at the rally .
Amid the sign-waving and chanting , a cop and a Black man began a debate about policing .
“ How can we stop this -- the aggression ?
” said Jason Morales , 34 .
He described being pulled over frequently by police officers in his 1991 Toyota Camry .
Another time , he said , he was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him and checked the serial number to see if it was stolen .
“ Our job is to stop bad things from happening while not violating anyone ’ s rights , ” said Douglas Barnhart , an 18-year LAPD veteran who trains officers at the Police Academy .
“ You knew the job was messed up when you signed up for it , ” responded Morales , whose lines of work include auto collision appraisal , auditing and poetry .
The two men exchanged phone numbers , saying they had learned a lot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thinned , a woman was arrested and booked with misdemeanor battery for trying to snatch another protester ’ s sign .

In a moment of national reckoning prompted by the killing of George Floyd and street protests against police brutality, Los Angeles police officers and their supporters rallied outside downtown headquarters on Saturday.
Calls to defund the police have been swiftly answered by the City Council, which slashed the LAPD budget by $150 million, saying the money will be channeled into services for Black, Latino and disenfranchised communities.
Officers say they are demoralized by the cuts, which will deliver a huge hit to overtime pay and hiring in the 10,000-member department, when they have worked hard to build ties with community members and are willing to risk their lives to keep people safe.
“What I’m concerned about is that the neighborhoods that will pay the worst price are the most economically depressed neighborhoods,” said Rusty Redican, an officer with the beach patrol in West L.A. and an 18-year LAPD veteran. “Ninety-five percent of the people in South L.A. are great people who just want to live their lives and not be preyed on by gang members and drug dealers.”
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Over the July Fourth weekend, hundreds of officers called in sick, at a time when homicides were spiking. LAPD officials are investigating whether some of the absences were a “blue flu” protest, which would be illegal under state law.
Saturday’s rally was organized by community members and drew a mix of LAPD officers, their families and Angelenos who feel that law enforcement is being unfairly maligned. Within the LAPD, the rally had been promoted to officers as a legal alternative to a sickout.
As a crowd of about 100 officers and their supporters waved “Defend the Police” signs and chanted “LAPD,” a handful of counterprotesters sought to convey a different message.
“You don’t get to sit here and tell us our lives don’t matter because your family is police, or the police will protect you because of your complexion,” said Tara Perry, 36, a paralegal and member of Black Pact.
Ariana Waters, 27, a researcher at a cancer center, said the LAPD is “grossly overfunded,” and the money should be spent on issues like mental illness and homelessness.
“Because they get so much money and power, they abuse it,” Waters said. “The more cops we have, the more crime we have. All you have is hammers, so everyone is a nail.”
Some of the LAPD officers’ discontent has been directed at Mayor Eric Garcetti and Chief Michel Moore, whom they believe have caved too quickly to the activists’ demands.
“There’s work for us to do, but we’re committed to reform, and it’s good to take a moment to remind ourselves of the progress that has been made in areas like diversity, use of force and training,” Moore told The Times at the rally.
Amid the sign-waving and chanting, a cop and a Black man began a debate about policing.
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“How can we stop this — the aggression?” said Jason Morales, 34.
He described being pulled over frequently by police officers in his 1991 Toyota Camry. Another time, he said, he was riding his bicycle when an officer stopped him and checked the serial number to see if it was stolen.
“Our job is to stop bad things from happening while not violating anyone’s rights,” said Douglas Barnhart, an 18-year LAPD veteran who trains officers at the Police Academy.
“You knew the job was messed up when you signed up for it,” responded Morales, whose lines of work include auto collision appraisal, auditing and poetry.
The two men exchanged phone numbers, saying they had learned a lot from each other.
As the crowd thinned, a woman was arrested and booked on suspicion of misdemeanor battery for trying to snatch another protester’s sign.


latimes--2020-07-12--San Gabriel Mission, a symbol of faith, history and oppression, is badly damaged by fire

Anita Chavez joined the hundreds of mourners at San Gabriel Mission Church on Saturday for what many considered a family wake without a body .
They came from across the region to survey the destruction after a fire that ripped through the church of the 249-year-old mission , one of California ’ s most historic landmarks , sacred ground for the Catholic faithful but also a symbol of a system that enslaved and terrorized indigenous peoples .
Hundreds of parishioners from the San Gabriel Mission Roman Catholic community gathered all day in the parking lot to cry , grieve , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ faith .
“ My heart is full of sadness , ” said Chavez , a 70-year-old San Gabriel resident who calls herself a “ lifetime parishioner.
” “ This church has been at the center of my family , my world and my faith , ” she added .
The fire was first reported at 4:24 a.m .
When an engine arrived to investigate , firefighters saw flames and smoke coming from the corner of the mission .
Firefighters tried to save the church .
But portions of the 215-year-old building started to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ battle the fire from outside , said Capt .
Antonio Negrete , public information officer for the San Gabriel Fire Department .
No injuries were reported , but the damage was extensive .
Flames destroyed the roof , most of the just-refurbished pews and portions of the interior , though some statues and other historic items survived .
Most valuable artifacts escaped damage , said Terri Huerta , director of development and communications for the mission .
“ The altar is still intact , the last time that we were able to take @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ It ’ s miraculously intact , including the historical wooden statues that were attached to the altar , and so we have a lot to be grateful for.
” The cause of the fire is under investigation .
The blaze came amid rising anger over California missions and other colonial monuments that for many serve as painful reminders of the nation ’ s racist history .
For that reason , investigators , including a representative from the federal Bureau of Alcohol , Tobacco , Firearms and Explosives , were looking into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
“ Just because it ’ s a church , and I ’ m sure you ’ re aware of the recent vandalism that ’ s been done to the mission churches and the statues of Junípero Serra , ” Negrete said .
“ So that ’ s part of the investigation.
” Founded by Franciscan Father Junípero Serra in 1771 , the San Gabriel Mission has long been seen as an essential link to California ’ s past , as well as to the brutality and racism that played a role @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Considered by historians to be the most important base of operations for the Spanish conquest of California , San Gabriel was the fourth of 21 missions established in the state , and one of the grandest .
At its height in 1829 , the mission had 50,000 livestock , 160,000 grapevines , and 2,300 fruit trees , said Philip Ethington , professor of history and political science and chair of the history department at USC .
But the church amassed those riches on the backs of the Tongva and other indigenous people , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coerced into converting to Catholicism and assimilating to their culture .
“ It was really a labor camp enforced with whipping and stockades and lots of corporal punishment , ” Ethington said .
Thousands are estimated to have died after they were exposed to foreign diseases or suffered other “ comorbidities of conquest , ” said William Deverell , director of the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West and a professor of history at USC .
“ It ’ s still a site of faith and worship , but it ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Deverell said .
“ Because in that parish ground , within the confines of the church , there are thousands of unnamed indigenous dead below what ’ s now a small Catholic cemetery.
” Yve Chavez , an assistant professor at UC Santa Cruz , whose ancestors lived at the mission , helped build it and are buried in its cemetery , also described its legacy as complicated .
“ On the one hand , the news of today is quite devastating because this is something that our ancestors made , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ see these as monuments to Catholicism or Spain , but I think it ’ s important to recognize that this is the product of Native labor.
” Still , she noted , that work was performed under duress and came at an unspeakably high cost .
“ The structure itself is a reminder of our ancestors who sacrificed their lives and their labor to make these missions possible , ” she said .
In addition to destroying the lives of Native Californians , the mission system has deeply tarnished the image of Serra @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been considered one of California ’ s founding fathers .
Serra was made a saint by the Catholic Church in 2015 , fueling outrage from many indigenous activists and others .
Statues of Serra have been targets of vandalism in recent years by activists who point to how the mission system enslaved and killed off Native Californians .
Those protests grew in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd , which ignited a nationwide reckoning over racial justice .
A Serra statue at Olvera Street was toppled , and officials in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Serra that stands outside City Hall .
The San Gabriel Mission also features a statue of Serra , and officials stepped up security around its grounds about two weeks ago , Huerta said .
The mission eventually decided to move the statue into its garden , away from public view , she said .
Julie Sanchez Brehove has been going to the San Gabriel Mission all 27 years of her life .
In November , she and her husband were married there .
On Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. , they stood together @ @ @ @ @ @ @ firefighters and watched their spiritual home smolder .
“ For all of us parishioners , it ’ s our gathering place , it ’ s the center of our spiritual lives , ” Sanchez Brehove said .
She recognizes , though , that it has a history of harm .
“ I understand that there is a lot of anger about the treatment of the indigenous people at the mission , ” Sanchez Brehove said .
“ When I think of the mission , in my personal experience , it ’ s my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ place where people are welcome , and we do try to live the way that Christ taught .
But I do understand … that people in the history of the church have acted unjustly , and that ’ s something that can be very difficult to reconcile.
” She remembers always knowing that the land on which the mission stands belonged to the indigenous people first , and as a Catholic high school English teacher she discusses with her students the racist colonialist themes in 19th century literature , she said .
Thinking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is grateful no one was hurt in this fire .
“ We ’ ll probably still livestream Mass [ on Sunday ] , and we ’ re just praying for healing , praying for peace and praying and thanks-giving that no one was hurt.
” One of the more visible groups to arrive outside the church was a branch of the Knights on Bikes , a motorcycle group affiliated with the Knights of Columbus , a self-described fraternity of “ Catholic men of faith and charitable action.
” Paul Padilla , 50 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ four other black-vested , blue-jeaned , masked members .
They assessed the situation , took photos , spoke with relatives and then pulled out rosaries and prayed .
Fellow member David Sanchez , 59 , grew up in East Los Angeles and remembered field trips as a young student to the mission , while Enrique Bonilla , 39 , a Pasadena resident , said he had attended many mission services .
“ It ’ s sad this happened , ” Sanchez said .
“ This was a place of peace for so many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Gomez toured the fire damage around 10:25 a.m. , while San Gabriel Valley regional Auxiliary Bishop David G. O ’ Connell met and spoke with distressed parishioners and visitors .
“ We ’ re all brokenhearted by this , and this adds another trauma onto the present trauma of the coronavirus and everything else that ’ s happening , ” O ’ Connell said .
“ People love the mission , and many of these families have connections going back generations .
”

Andrew J. Campa, Alex Wigglesworth, Sonali Kohli

Fire destroyed the roof and gutted much of the interior of the San Gabriel Mission Church early Saturday.
Anita Chavez joined the hundreds of mourners at San Gabriel Mission Church on Saturday for what many considered a family wake without a body.
They came from across the region to survey the destruction after a fire that ripped through the church of the 249-year-old mission, one of California’s most historic landmarks, sacred ground for the Catholic faithful but also a symbol of a system that enslaved and terrorized indigenous peoples.
Hundreds of parishioners from the San Gabriel Mission Roman Catholic community gathered all day in the parking lot to cry, grieve, pray, reminisce and talk about their faith.
“My heart is full of sadness,” said Chavez, a 70-year-old San Gabriel resident who calls herself a “lifetime parishioner.”
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“This church has been at the center of my family, my world and my faith,” she added.
Bishop David O’Connell leaves the San Gabriel Mission Church after viewing the fire damage. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
The fire was first reported at 4:24 a.m. When an engine arrived to investigate, firefighters saw flames and smoke coming from the corner of the mission.
Firefighters tried to save the church. But portions of the 215-year-old building started to fall on them and they decided to battle the fire from outside, said Capt. Antonio Negrete, public information officer for the San Gabriel Fire Department.
No injuries were reported, but the damage was extensive.
Flames destroyed the roof, most of the just-refurbished pews and portions of the interior, though some statues and other historic items survived.
Most valuable artifacts escaped damage, said Terri Huerta, director of development and communications for the mission.
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“The altar is still intact, the last time that we were able to take a peek inside,” she said. “It’s miraculously intact, including the historical wooden statues that were attached to the altar, and so we have a lot to be grateful for.”
Sunlight beams through the destroyed roof onto charred pews inside the San Gabriel Mission Church. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
The cause of the fire is under investigation. The blaze came amid rising anger over California missions and other colonial monuments that for many serve as painful reminders of the nation’s racist history. For that reason, investigators, including a representative from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, were looking into whether it was intentionally set, officials said.
“Just because it’s a church, and I’m sure you’re aware of the recent vandalism that’s been done to the mission churches and the statues of Junípero Serra,” Negrete said. “So that’s part of the investigation.”
Founded by Franciscan Father Junípero Serra in 1771, the San Gabriel Mission has long been seen as an essential link to California’s past, as well as to the brutality and racism that played a role in the state’s founding.
Considered by historians to be the most important base of operations for the Spanish conquest of California, San Gabriel was the fourth of 21 missions established in the state, and one of the grandest. At its height in 1829, the mission had 50,000 livestock, 160,000 grapevines, and 2,300 fruit trees, said Philip Ethington, professor of history and political science and chair of the history department at USC.
But the church amassed those riches on the backs of the Tongva and other indigenous people, whom the friars forced into labor and coerced into converting to Catholicism and assimilating to their culture.
“It was really a labor camp enforced with whipping and stockades and lots of corporal punishment,” Ethington said.
Thousands are estimated to have died after they were exposed to foreign diseases or suffered other “comorbidities of conquest,” said William Deverell, director of the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West and a professor of history at USC.
“It’s still a site of faith and worship, but it’s also a site of great sadness,” Deverell said. “Because in that parish ground, within the confines of the church, there are thousands of unnamed indigenous dead below what’s now a small Catholic cemetery.”
Yve Chavez, an assistant professor at UC Santa Cruz, whose ancestors lived at the mission, helped build it and are buried in its cemetery, also described its legacy as complicated.
“On the one hand, the news of today is quite devastating because this is something that our ancestors made,” she said. “Some people might see these as monuments to Catholicism or Spain, but I think it’s important to recognize that this is the product of Native labor.”
Still, she noted, that work was performed under duress and came at an unspeakably high cost.
“The structure itself is a reminder of our ancestors who sacrificed their lives and their labor to make these missions possible,” she said.
Fire destroyed the roof and gutted much of the interior of the church. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
In addition to destroying the lives of Native Californians, the mission system has deeply tarnished the image of Serra, its architect, who has long been considered one of California’s founding fathers. Serra was made a saint by the Catholic Church in 2015, fueling outrage from many indigenous activists and others.
Statues of Serra have been targets of vandalism in recent years by activists who point to how the mission system enslaved and killed off Native Californians. Those protests grew in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd, which ignited a nationwide reckoning over racial justice. A Serra statue at Olvera Street was toppled, and officials in Ventura pledged to move a statue of Serra that stands outside City Hall.
The San Gabriel Mission also features a statue of Serra, and officials stepped up security around its grounds about two weeks ago, Huerta said. The mission eventually decided to move the statue into its garden, away from public view, she said.
Julie Sanchez Brehove has been going to the San Gabriel Mission all 27 years of her life. In November, she and her husband were married there. On Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m., they stood together from beyond the barrier set up by firefighters and watched their spiritual home smolder.
“For all of us parishioners, it’s our gathering place, it’s the center of our spiritual lives,” Sanchez Brehove said. She recognizes, though, that it has a history of harm.
“I understand that there is a lot of anger about the treatment of the indigenous people at the mission,” Sanchez Brehove said. “When I think of the mission, in my personal experience, it’s my gathering place and it’s a place where people are welcome, and we do try to live the way that Christ taught. But I do understand … that people in the history of the church have acted unjustly, and that’s something that can be very difficult to reconcile.”
She remembers always knowing that the land on which the mission stands belonged to the indigenous people first, and as a Catholic high school English teacher she discusses with her students the racist colonialist themes in 19th century literature, she said.
Thinking of her community today, Sanchez Brehove is grateful no one was hurt in this fire.
“We’ll probably still livestream Mass [on Sunday], and we’re just praying for healing, praying for peace and praying and thanks-giving that no one was hurt.”
One of the more visible groups to arrive outside the church was a branch of the Knights on Bikes, a motorcycle group affiliated with the Knights of Columbus, a self-described fraternity of “Catholic men of faith and charitable action.”
Paul Padilla, 50, came from Fontana with a group of four other black-vested, blue-jeaned, masked members.
They assessed the situation, took photos, spoke with relatives and then pulled out rosaries and prayed.
Fellow member David Sanchez, 59, grew up in East Los Angeles and remembered field trips as a young student to the mission, while Enrique Bonilla, 39, a Pasadena resident, said he had attended many mission services.
“It’s sad this happened,” Sanchez said. “This was a place of peace for so many people.”
Los Angeles Archbishop José H. Gomez toured the fire damage around 10:25 a.m., while San Gabriel Valley regional Auxiliary Bishop David G. O’Connell met and spoke with distressed parishioners and visitors.
“We’re all brokenhearted by this, and this adds another trauma onto the present trauma of the coronavirus and everything else that’s happening,” O’Connell said. “People love the mission, and many of these families have connections going back generations.”


latimes--2020-07-12--Robert Fuller's death brings enormous public scrutiny on a brief life of struggle

Since the early morning hours of June 10 , when a passerby found the body of a young Black man hanging from a tree near Palmdale City Hall , the brief life of Robert Fuller has come under a microscope .
Local authorities deemed his death a suicide , linking it to isolation brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic .
They walked back the determination days later as residents demanded an investigation , in disbelief that when a Black man was found hanging in a public square , the authorities had so quickly ruled out foul play .
Protests against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ across the nation .
Much of the American public was approaching the word of law enforcement with new skepticism and the circumstances of Black men ’ s deaths with more scrutiny .
Some residents of the Antelope Valley , invoking the region ’ s history of hostility toward Black people , voiced fears that Fuller had been lynched .
Hundreds of thousands of people signed a petition demanding a more thorough investigation .
“ My phone ’ s constantly ringing about concerns about this , ” Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva told @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to a lot of people.
” But for all the fears of what Fuller ’ s death could have been , it became clear last week it came at his own hands .
The Los Angeles County medical examiner-coroner ruled it a suicide , and Sheriff ’ s Department investigators said they recovered medical records documenting a history of suicidal behavior .
A separate autopsy commissioned by Fuller ’ s family found no signs of foul play .
Nor , the family ’ s attorney and the authorities have concluded , was his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Terron Boone , who died in a firefight with sheriff ’ s deputies one week after Fuller ’ s body was found .
With the findings of Sheriff ’ s Department investigators , interviews with Fuller ’ s friends and a review of public records , a portrait emerged of a man whose 24 years of life were never easy , beginning with the death of his mother in childhood and continuing through a series of hospitalizations for apparent mental illness .
It is a story that has been thrust beneath a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Had Fuller not died “ when everything was at a boiling point , ” one of his friends , Victor Adeyokunnu , said in an interview , “ it probably wouldn ’ t have even made the news.
” “ Personally , ” he added , “ I ’ m thankful he didn ’ t go silently.
” Fuller grew up in the Antelope Valley ’ s two biggest cities , Lancaster and Palmdale , about an hour ’ s drive and a mountain range away from Los Angeles proper .
Bordered by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Tehachapis and Sierra Pelona to the west , the Antelope Valley is home to a growing number of Black families who have left Los Angeles for a lower cost of living — and for many , the chance to own a home .
It is sprawling , sun-baked country , where housing developments and strip malls alternate with stretches of desert populated only with gnarled Joshua trees .
Like the air that hangs heavy and shimmering in the heat , there is a sense of stagnancy here , of “ not going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , one of Fuller ’ s friends , said in an interview .
Fuller was just 8 years old when he lost his mother .
In 2004 , she was under anesthetic for a procedure when her heart rate and blood pressure began to plummet , a coroner ’ s report said .
She died within the hour , 43 years old .
Many years later , one of Fuller ’ s sisters would tell investigators he struggled with depression stemming from his mother ’ s death , according to a coroner ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ d tattoo her name — Terri — on his right arm .
Fuller , the youngest of his siblings , lived with his father , then a family friend .
After the family friend died , he was raised by his sisters .
“ Robert was only three years younger than me , ” one of the sisters , Angel Magee , said at his funeral , “ but Robert was definitely my first baby.
” His friends recount a fun , if listless , adolescence : They ranged all over Palmdale @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , although Fuller , doomed by big feet and a lack of coordination , soon gave it up , Bellows said .
They danced at a local church on Tuesday nights — “ that ’ s how bored we were , ” Bellows said — the style changing from break dancing to pop-locking to krumping as they grew up .
RELATED : Here is a list of suicide prevention hotlines from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Fuller went through a number of phases , the most memorable being his punk @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wore studded belts , tight jeans and hoodie shirts , and he straightened his hair and dyed it red .
Magee said her brother “ begged his auntie to perm his hair , ” then refused to swim in the pool for fear of getting it wet .
After finishing high school in 2016 , Fuller wanted to work as a fashion designer or graphic artist , his friends said .
Like most kids from Palmdale , he envisioned leaving it for someplace else .
“ Everybody grows up here with some kind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ always outside of the city , ” said Justice Bryant , a friend of Fuller ’ s who now lives in Houston .
Fuller split time between Nevada , where his father lives ; Arizona , with his sisters ; and California .
It was around this time , according to Sheriff ’ s Department investigators and court records , that Fuller began showing signs of mental illness and got into some trouble with the law .
In January 2017 , Fuller was hospitalized in Arizona and diagnosed with auditory hallucinations after saying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to his head , ” Sheriff ’ s Cmdr .
Chris Marks said .
He reported hearing voices telling him to kill himself in 2019 , and he was treated that year at hospitals in California and Nevada .
During this same time period , Fuller served brief stints in Los Angeles County jails after being convicted of vandalizing a church and obstructing a police officer , court records show .
For a year , he lived off and on at a shelter for homeless youths in Las Vegas , Marks said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Shannon West Homeless Youth Center , told an investigator that Fuller “ would attempt to live with his father , but when it didn ’ t work out , he would return to the shelter , ” a coroner ’ s report said .
A representative for the shelter declined to comment , citing medical privacy laws .
In February , Fuller tried to light himself on fire in Las Vegas , Marks said .
He left the Las Vegas shelter for good and was later reported living in Reno , homeless , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He traveled to Arizona to see his sisters and returned to California on June 4 , coroner ’ s records say .
RELATED : The need for mental health help during the pandemic Fuller was last seen alive at a 7-Eleven store around 8 p.m. on June 9 .
He was wearing a purple sweatshirt and a red backpack , filled with clothes and toiletries .
At 3:40 a.m. the next morning , a homeless person walked into a fire station near Palmdale City Hall to report a body in a tree .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a gold casket beneath the pulpit of Living Stone Cathedral of Worship in Littlerock , a tiny community southeast of Palmdale .
Some knew Fuller well ; others , not at all .
Ushers passed out cards with Fuller ’ s life story on the back .
It was brief , as any life story of a 24-year-old would be .
No matter how he died , no matter what the doctors who probed his body or the detectives who scoured his life story found , it does not change this immutable fact @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attorney , said in an interview : “ He was a young man , 24 years old , still trying to find his way.
” If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide , call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at ( 800 ) 273-8255 .
A caller is connected to a certified crisis center near where the call is placed .
The call is free and confidential .

On June 10, Robert Fuller’s body was found hanging from a tree outside Palmdale City Hall. His death came in the middle of the George Floyd protests and a week after Malcolm Harsch, another Black man, was found hanging from a tree in Victorville, less than 50 miles away. Their deaths shed light on the concerning rise in suicides among Black Americans.
Since the early morning hours of June 10, when a passerby found the body of a young Black man hanging from a tree near Palmdale City Hall, the brief life of Robert Fuller has come under a microscope.
Local authorities deemed his death a suicide, linking it to isolation brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. They walked back the determination days later as residents demanded an investigation, in disbelief that when a Black man was found hanging in a public square, the authorities had so quickly ruled out foul play.
Protests against racism were cresting in Southern California and across the nation. Much of the American public was approaching the word of law enforcement with new skepticism and the circumstances of Black men’s deaths with more scrutiny.
RELATED: Suicide prevention resources
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Some residents of the Antelope Valley, invoking the region’s history of hostility toward Black people, voiced fears that Fuller had been lynched. Hundreds of thousands of people signed a petition demanding a more thorough investigation.
A man pays his respects at a memorial for Robert Fuller on June 10. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
“My phone’s constantly ringing about concerns about this,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva told reporters. “It means a lot to a lot of people.”
But for all the fears of what Fuller’s death could have been, it became clear last week it came at his own hands. The Los Angeles County medical examiner-coroner ruled it a suicide, and Sheriff’s Department investigators said they recovered medical records documenting a history of suicidal behavior. A separate autopsy commissioned by Fuller’s family found no signs of foul play.
Nor, the family’s attorney and the authorities have concluded, was his death connected to that of his half-brother, Terron Boone, who died in a firefight with sheriff’s deputies one week after Fuller’s body was found.
With the findings of Sheriff’s Department investigators, interviews with Fuller’s friends and a review of public records, a portrait emerged of a man whose 24 years of life were never easy, beginning with the death of his mother in childhood and continuing through a series of hospitalizations for apparent mental illness.
It is a story that has been thrust beneath a magnifying glass of enormous public scrutiny. Had Fuller not died “when everything was at a boiling point,” one of his friends, Victor Adeyokunnu, said in an interview, “it probably wouldn’t have even made the news.”
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“Personally,” he added, “I’m thankful he didn’t go silently.”
Fuller grew up in the Antelope Valley’s two biggest cities, Lancaster and Palmdale, about an hour’s drive and a mountain range away from Los Angeles proper. Bordered by the San Gabriels to the south and the Tehachapis and Sierra Pelona to the west, the Antelope Valley is home to a growing number of Black families who have left Los Angeles for a lower cost of living — and for many, the chance to own a home.
It is sprawling, sun-baked country, where housing developments and strip malls alternate with stretches of desert populated only with gnarled Joshua trees. Like the air that hangs heavy and shimmering in the heat, there is a sense of stagnancy here, of “not going forward or backward,” Chad Bellows, one of Fuller’s friends, said in an interview.
Like most kids from Palmdale, Robert Fuller envisioned leaving it for someplace else.
Fuller was just 8 years old when he lost his mother. In 2004, she was under anesthetic for a procedure when her heart rate and blood pressure began to plummet, a coroner’s report said. She died within the hour, 43 years old. Many years later, one of Fuller’s sisters would tell investigators he struggled with depression stemming from his mother’s death, according to a coroner’s report. In time, he’d tattoo her name — Terri — on his right arm.
Fuller, the youngest of his siblings, lived with his father, then a family friend. After the family friend died, he was raised by his sisters. “Robert was only three years younger than me,” one of the sisters, Angel Magee, said at his funeral, “but Robert was definitely my first baby.”
His friends recount a fun, if listless, adolescence: They ranged all over Palmdale and ventured into Los Angeles to skateboard, although Fuller, doomed by big feet and a lack of coordination, soon gave it up, Bellows said. They danced at a local church on Tuesday nights — “that’s how bored we were,” Bellows said — the style changing from break dancing to pop-locking to krumping as they grew up.
RELATED: Here is a list of suicide prevention hotlines from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health
Fuller went through a number of phases, the most memorable being his punk rock chapter, Bellows recalled. He wore studded belts, tight jeans and hoodie shirts, and he straightened his hair and dyed it red. Magee said her brother “begged his auntie to perm his hair,” then refused to swim in the pool for fear of getting it wet.
After finishing high school in 2016, Fuller wanted to work as a fashion designer or graphic artist, his friends said. Like most kids from Palmdale, he envisioned leaving it for someplace else. “Everybody grows up here with some kind of dream, but it’s always outside of the city,” said Justice Bryant, a friend of Fuller’s who now lives in Houston.
Fuller split time between Nevada, where his father lives; Arizona, with his sisters; and California. It was around this time, according to Sheriff’s Department investigators and court records, that Fuller began showing signs of mental illness and got into some trouble with the law.
In January 2017, Fuller was hospitalized in Arizona and diagnosed with auditory hallucinations after saying he wanted “to put a gun to his head,” Sheriff’s Cmdr. Chris Marks said. He reported hearing voices telling him to kill himself in 2019, and he was treated that year at hospitals in California and Nevada. During this same time period, Fuller served brief stints in Los Angeles County jails after being convicted of vandalizing a church and obstructing a police officer, court records show.
Attorney Jamon Hicks on Robert Fuller: “He was a young man, 24 years old, still trying to find his way.” (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times)
For a year, he lived off and on at a shelter for homeless youths in Las Vegas, Marks said. A coordinator at the shelter, the Shannon West Homeless Youth Center, told an investigator that Fuller “would attempt to live with his father, but when it didn’t work out, he would return to the shelter,” a coroner’s report said. A representative for the shelter declined to comment, citing medical privacy laws.
In February, Fuller tried to light himself on fire in Las Vegas, Marks said. He left the Las Vegas shelter for good and was later reported living in Reno, homeless, the coroner’s report said. He traveled to Arizona to see his sisters and returned to California on June 4, coroner’s records say.
RELATED: The need for mental health help during the pandemic
Fuller was last seen alive at a 7-Eleven store around 8 p.m. on June 9. He was wearing a purple sweatshirt and a red backpack, filled with clothes and toiletries.
At 3:40 a.m. the next morning, a homeless person walked into a fire station near Palmdale City Hall to report a body in a tree.
Late last month, mourners shuffled past a gold casket beneath the pulpit of Living Stone Cathedral of Worship in Littlerock, a tiny community southeast of Palmdale. Some knew Fuller well; others, not at all. Ushers passed out cards with Fuller’s life story on the back. It was brief, as any life story of a 24-year-old would be.
No matter how he died, no matter what the doctors who probed his body or the detectives who scoured his life story found, it does not change this immutable fact, Hicks, the family’s attorney, said in an interview: “He was a young man, 24 years old, still trying to find his way.”
If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800) 273-8255. A caller is connected to a certified crisis center near where the call is placed. The call is free and confidential.


latimes--2020-07-11--After four days, search for Naya Rivera will continue Sunday: 'Our goal is to bring the family closu

After four days, search for Naya Rivera will continue Sunday: 'Our goal is to bring the family closure'

Search teams on Saturday were unable to locate the body of “ Glee ” star Naya Rivera , who authorities believe drowned Wednesday afternoon while boating with her young son on Lake Piru in Ventura County .
The search will resume Sunday morning , according to a Twitter post Saturday evening by the Ventura County Sheriff ’ s Department .
Divers , helicopters , drone aircraft and cadaver dogs have been trying to locate Rivera for four days .
Officials said Saturday they have also used sonar equipment but said visibility in the lake has been poor .
The depths @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 90 feet , creating other challenges .
“ Our goal is to bring the family closure , ” Ventura County Sheriff Sgt .
Marta Bugarin told reporters .
“ It ’ s a traumatic time for them .
They ’ re devastated , obviously.
” The 33-year-old Rivera was reported missing Wednesday afternoon after her 4-year-old son was found in a rental boat on the lake by himself .
The Santa Clarita native gained praise for her performance as a gay cheerleader in the high school musical drama .
Security video footage released @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Office showed the actress and her son boarding the rental boat by themselves and heading out onto the lake about 1 p.m. Wednesday .
The pontoon boat soon became a spot on the lake ’ s horizon .
Hours later , after she hadn ’ t returned the boat on time , staff of the rental business went out to search for her .
At 4:47 p.m. , 911 dispatchers received a call from a woman who said , “ We have a missing person .
We found a little girl in one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mom is nowhere to be found.
” The girl the woman spoke of was in fact Rivera ’ s little boy .
Sheriff ’ s officials said the boy was found asleep on the boat , wearing his life vest .
They later learned that Rivera and her son were swimming together in the lake and that he was able to get back on the boat , but she was not .

Jake Sheridan, Alejandra Reyes-Velarde, Ben Poston

A Coast Guard helicopter assisting in the search for Naya Rivera flies over Lake Piru on Thursday.
Search teams on Saturday were unable to locate the body of “Glee” star Naya Rivera, who authorities believe drowned Wednesday afternoon while boating with her young son on Lake Piru in Ventura County.
The search will resume Sunday morning, according to a Twitter post Saturday evening by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.
Divers, helicopters, drone aircraft and cadaver dogs have been trying to locate Rivera for four days. Officials said Saturday they have also used sonar equipment but said visibility in the lake has been poor. The depths of Lake Piru range from 10 to 90 feet, creating other challenges.
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“Our goal is to bring the family closure,” Ventura County Sheriff Sgt. Marta Bugarin told reporters. “It’s a traumatic time for them. They’re devastated, obviously.”
The 33-year-old Rivera was reported missing Wednesday afternoon after her 4-year-old son was found in a rental boat on the lake by himself.
The Santa Clarita native gained praise for her performance as a gay cheerleader in the high school musical drama.
Security video footage released by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office showed the actress and her son boarding the rental boat by themselves and heading out onto the lake about 1 p.m. Wednesday.
The pontoon boat soon became a spot on the lake’s horizon.
Hours later, after she hadn’t returned the boat on time, staff of the rental business went out to search for her. At 4:47 p.m., 911 dispatchers received a call from a woman who said, “We have a missing person. We found a little girl in one of the boats by herself and her mom is nowhere to be found.” The girl the woman spoke of was in fact Rivera’s little boy.
Sheriff’s officials said the boy was found asleep on the boat, wearing his life vest. They later learned that Rivera and her son were swimming together in the lake and that he was able to get back on the boat, but she was not.


latimes--2020-07-12--Starbucks barista who got $100,000 over face mask dust-up: 'This is so mind-blowing'

They brought him the money in a silver metal briefcase and placed it on a picnic table at Miramar Reservoir .
Up came the lid : $ 100,000 in paper-strapped stacks of $ 50 bills .
All those greenbacks beside all that blue water — no wonder Lenin Gutierrez ’ s eyes got big .
“ I [ have ] never seen anything like this except in the movies , ” he said .
Three weeks ago , the 24-year-old college student was working at a Starbucks in Clairemont when a customer came in without wearing a face mask .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ she left , and then criticized him on Facebook for refusing to serve her .
That caught the eye of Matt Cowan , an Irvine marketing and brand strategist , who thinks masks are a good idea and internet bullying a bad one .
So he started a “ Tips for Lenin for Standing Up to a San Diego Karen , ” using a social media label for overly entitled people who boil over in public .
He was hoping for $ 1,000 .
The campaign reached that within hours , then hit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about it struck a nerve , vibrating along the political and cultural fault lines that rupture so much of American life these days , even during a public health crisis .
Newspapers and TV stations in San Diego and elsewhere spread the word and brought interest from donors as far as Australia .
Most people gave small sums , $ 10 or $ 20 , but there were a lot of them — almost 8,000 — and as the cash poured in , Cowan said he realized his virtual tip jar wasn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was changing a life .
Gutierrez grew up in Chula Vista in a family without much money .
He said they ate a lot of rice and beans .
At Christmas , the boxes under the tree were prettily wrapped , but mostly empty .
So when the GoFundMe drive hit $ 10,000 , he was ecstatic .
When it hit $ 50,000 , he was stunned .
One hundred thousand ?
He doesn ’ t have the words .
“ It ’ s more money than anyone in my family has ever @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , what once seemed like dreams are goals — and attainable .
He plans to move from community college to Cal State Fullerton and study kinesiology , the mechanics of human movement .
His passion is hip-hop-infused dancing , and he wants to apply what he learns to that art form , and share it with others as an athletic trainer .
“ I feel like I ’ ve been given this incredible opportunity that I never saw coming , ” he said , “ and I don ’ t want to waste @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first time a customer came into Starbucks without a mask , Gutierrez said .
It wasn ’ t the last time , either .
“ I would say about 80 % of the people are cooperative and wear masks , ” he said .
“ Another 10 % just forgot and are apologetic about not having one .
And then there are maybe 10 % who just don ’ t want to wear one.
” His experience dovetails with public polling on the issue .
A report from late June found that 80 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ least some of the time while in stores , and 65 % have worn them all or most of the time .
Seven percent said they never wear a mask .
Gutierrez wasn ’ t expecting to get the money in cash .
Cowan and a colleague , Will Collette , brought it to him last week .
They did it so they could videotape the whole thing and post it on YouTube .
It was also a way to show donors the campaign was legitimate ; there have been fundraising scandals involving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and then pocketing the proceeds .
“ Great day to change somebody ’ s life , ” Cowan said at one point in the video , just before he parked his car at Miramar Reservoir and walked toward Gutierrez with the metal briefcase .
“ I don ’ t know what to say , ” Gutierrez said when he opened the case and saw the stacks of bills .
“ This is so mind-blowing right now.
” He lives in Clairemont with one of his sisters , who was with him at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there too .
So was his lawyer .
He ’ s had to get smarter about a lot of things since all of this happened , he said .
What ’ s legal .
What ’ s wise .
He ’ s been talking with a financial advisor too .
“ A lot of doors are opening up for me because of this , ” Gutierrez said .
“ I want to make sure I ’ m doing the right thing , setting myself up for my life down the road.
” That @ @ @ @ @ @ @ went after he left the reservoir was to the bank .
All that cash in hand made him nervous .
He deposited the money , and is trying now to settle back into something approaching normalcy , even as his co-workers at Starbucks sometimes rib him about being “ famous.
” He ’ s been working part time for the coffee retailer for about three years and has no plans to quit .
“ I ’ m not viewing this as something that means I can take a break from life , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to keep going as if the money never existed.
” “ It ’ s the least we can do , ” he said .
“ If all the doctors and health experts are right , we can help stop the spread of the virus .
And if they ’ re wrong , it ’ s just a mask on your face .
It ’ s not that big of a deal.
” Unless , of course , someone makes it one .

Starbucks barista Lenin Gutierrez at Miramar Reservoir in San Diego, days after receiving the proceeds of a GoFundMe campaign: “I feel like I’ve been given this incredible opportunity that I never saw coming.”
They brought him the money in a silver metal briefcase and placed it on a picnic table at Miramar Reservoir. Up came the lid: $100,000 in paper-strapped stacks of $50 bills.
All those greenbacks beside all that blue water — no wonder Lenin Gutierrez’s eyes got big.
“I [have] never seen anything like this except in the movies,” he said.
Three weeks ago, the 24-year-old college student was working at a Starbucks in Clairemont when a customer came in without wearing a face mask. He pointed out the coronavirus rules, she left, and then criticized him on Facebook for refusing to serve her.
That caught the eye of Matt Cowan, an Irvine marketing and brand strategist, who thinks masks are a good idea and internet bullying a bad one. So he started a “Tips for Lenin for Standing Up to a San Diego Karen,” using a social media label for overly entitled people who boil over in public.
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He was hoping for $1,000.
The campaign reached that within hours, then hit $5,000 and kept growing. Something about it struck a nerve, vibrating along the political and cultural fault lines that rupture so much of American life these days, even during a public health crisis.
Newspapers and TV stations in San Diego and elsewhere spread the word and brought interest from donors as far as Australia.
Most people gave small sums, $10 or $20, but there were a lot of them — almost 8,000 — and as the cash poured in, Cowan said he realized his virtual tip jar wasn’t just making a statement. It was changing a life.
Gutierrez grew up in Chula Vista in a family without much money. He said they ate a lot of rice and beans. At Christmas, the boxes under the tree were prettily wrapped, but mostly empty.
So when the GoFundMe drive hit $10,000, he was ecstatic. When it hit $50,000, he was stunned. One hundred thousand? He doesn’t have the words.
“It’s more money than anyone in my family has ever had,” he said.
Now, what once seemed like dreams are goals — and attainable. He plans to move from community college to Cal State Fullerton and study kinesiology, the mechanics of human movement. His passion is hip-hop-infused dancing, and he wants to apply what he learns to that art form, and share it with others as an athletic trainer.
“I feel like I’ve been given this incredible opportunity that I never saw coming,” he said, “and I don’t want to waste it.”
This wasn’t the first time a customer came into Starbucks without a mask, Gutierrez said. It wasn’t the last time, either.
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“I would say about 80% of the people are cooperative and wear masks,” he said. “Another 10% just forgot and are apologetic about not having one. And then there are maybe 10% who just don’t want to wear one.”
His experience dovetails with public polling on the issue. A Pew Research report from late June found that 80% of Americans have worn masks at least some of the time while in stores, and 65% have worn them all or most of the time. Seven percent said they never wear a mask.
Gutierrez wasn’t expecting to get the money in cash. Cowan and a colleague, Will Collette, brought it to him last week. They did it so they could videotape the whole thing and post it on YouTube. It was also a way to show donors the campaign was legitimate; there have been fundraising scandals involving people raising money for supposedly worthy causes and then pocketing the proceeds.
“Great day to change somebody’s life,” Cowan said at one point in the video, just before he parked his car at Miramar Reservoir and walked toward Gutierrez with the metal briefcase.
“I don’t know what to say,” Gutierrez said when he opened the case and saw the stacks of bills. “This is so mind-blowing right now.”
He lives in Clairemont with one of his sisters, who was with him at the picnic table. His other sister was there too. So was his lawyer.
He’s had to get smarter about a lot of things since all of this happened, he said. What’s legal. What’s wise. He’s been talking with a financial advisor too.
“A lot of doors are opening up for me because of this,” Gutierrez said. “I want to make sure I’m doing the right thing, setting myself up for my life down the road.”
That’s why the first place he went after he left the reservoir was to the bank. All that cash in hand made him nervous.
He deposited the money, and is trying now to settle back into something approaching normalcy, even as his co-workers at Starbucks sometimes rib him about being “famous.”
He’s been working part time for the coffee retailer for about three years and has no plans to quit. “I’m not viewing this as something that means I can take a break from life,” he said. “I’m going to keep going as if the money never existed.”
That includes masks too.
“It’s the least we can do,” he said. “If all the doctors and health experts are right, we can help stop the spread of the virus. And if they’re wrong, it’s just a mask on your face. It’s not that big of a deal.”
Unless, of course, someone makes it one.
Wilkens writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.


latimes--2020-07-12--Street vendor hailed as hero after helping to apprehend carjacker

As Fredy Hernández and his family know all too well , the life of a street vendor is hard work .
Long hours in the summer heat can be grueling .
The work can also be dangerous .
Hernández ’ s mother Amalia , 57 , and sister Fatima , 23 , said they were robbed at gunpoint last year while working at the Tejuino beverage and ice cream stand that the family has operated for years on a desolate stretch of Rosemead Boulevard near Montebello .
“ This is what we do to make money , ” said Hernández @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who said he ’ s had to fight off other attempted robberies , including one against a man wielding a large knife .
“ It ’ s not easy , you know , but you have to survive.
” On the afternoon of July 5 , Hernandez found himself at the center of another violent drama as he confronted a suspected carjacker after the man tried to steal the vehicle of a customer , whose wife and young child were inside .
The incident began moments earlier when Jose Elias Aguilar stole a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ children inside , sheriff ’ s officials said .
The children were waiting in the running vehicle for their parents to pick up food at a nearby restaurant .
As Aguilar sped away , all four children either jumped , were pushed or fell out of the vehicle , authorities said .
One of them , 13-year-old Isabella Cortes , was killed when she struck an object in the street after she was ejected .
Aguilar was driving about 60 mph , according to one witness , when he smashed into another vehicle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ boulevards , before continuing north on Rosemead .
The minivan eventually broke down in the center divider near Hernández ’ s two tents .
Aguilar emerged from the vehicle shouting and acting crazy , according to witnesses , before attempting to steal the vehicle of Hernandez ’ s customer .
Pablo Peña had just pulled up to buy some refreshments and left the keys inside his running 2018 Nissan Sentra , with his wife and 2-year-old son , Julian , inside Aguilar jumped into the driver ’ s seat and attempted to speed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rear passenger door and managed to leap into the back seat .
“ I panicked .
I didn ’ t know what to do , ” Peña said .
“ I begged him to take the car and leave my family , but he didn ’ t listen , so I tried to choke him and get him to stop.
” Aguilar drove about 100 yards before crashing the vehicle .
He staggered away , while Peña tended to his wife and child .
Aguilar first tried to flag down a couple of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he abandoned .
But Hernández caught up with him and delivered several crushing blows .
“ Bro , I threw everything at him , I was just beating him down , but nothing was stopping him , ” Hernández said .
“ He was on something because he didn ’ t feel anything.
” Hernández eventually wrestled Aguilar to the ground , with Peña joining in .
Another street vendor rushed over to help , while patrons from other stands hurried to assist .
“ We didn ’ t even know what this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we knew we had to stop him , ” Hernández said .
“ Enough was enough .
This time we were going to get justice.
” Sheriff ’ s deputies arrested Aguilar , who in 2017 was convicted of first-degree burglary and was out on zero bail for a felony possession of a dagger and vandalism earlier this year .
He has since been charged with murder , carjacking , corporal injury to a child and kidnapping in connection with the July 5 incident .
“ He should have never been on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reports praised Hernández for his role in helping apprehend Aguilar .
“ I punched a guy because I was angry , but Pablo was fighting for his wife and kid , ” Hernández said .
“ That ’ s the real hero .
He stopped that guy.
” Peña ’ s car was declared a total loss .
But he knows it could have been a lot worse .
“ I thank Fredy and everyone who came together to stop this man and help save my family , ” Peña said .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who knows how many more people he would have killed.
” “ Man , we ’ re just selling food , ” he said .
“ We ’ re not heroes .
”

Fredy Hernández, second from left, with mother Amalia, sister Fatima and niece Dulce Paredes outside their beverage and ice stand on Rosemead Boulevard. At left is Pablo Peña.
As Fredy Hernández and his family know all too well, the life of a street vendor is hard work. Long hours in the summer heat can be grueling.
The work can also be dangerous.
Fredy Hernández sells tejuino con nieve -- a drink from Guadalajara --and other cold treats at one of the two stands he helps run with his niece Dulce Maria Paredes, middle, and mother Amalia, right. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
Hernández’s mother Amalia, 57, and sister Fatima, 23, said they were robbed at gunpoint last year while working at the tejuino beverage and ice cream stand that the family has operated for years on a desolate stretch of Rosemead Boulevard near Montebello.
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“This is what we do to make money,” said Hernández, 36, a onetime amateur boxer who said he’s had to fight off other attempted robberies, including one by a man wielding a large knife. “It’s not easy, you know, but you have to survive.”
On the afternoon of July 5, Hernandez found himself at the center of another violent drama as he confronted a suspected carjacker after the man tried to steal the vehicle of a customer, whose wife and young child were inside.
The incident began moments earlier when Jose Elias Aguilar stole a minivan in nearby Pico Rivera with four children inside, sheriff’s officials said. The children were waiting in the running vehicle for their parents to pick up food at a nearby restaurant.
As Aguilar sped away, all four children either jumped, were pushed or fell out of the vehicle, authorities said. One of them, 13-year-old Isabella Cortes, was killed when she struck an object in the street after she was ejected.
Isabella Cortes, 13, died in a violent carjacking in Pico Rivera. (Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department)
Aguilar was driving about 60 mph, according to one witness, when he smashed into another vehicle at the intersection of Whittier and Rosemead boulevards, before continuing north on Rosemead.
The minivan eventually broke down in the center divider near Hernández’s two tents.
Aguilar emerged from the vehicle shouting and acting crazy, witnesses said, before attempting to steal the vehicle of Hernandez’s customer.
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Pablo Peña had just pulled up to buy some refreshments and left the keys inside his running 2018 Nissan Sentra, with his wife and 2-year-old son, Julian, inside.
Pablo Peña helped stop a carjacking suspect outside a tejuino stand owned by the Hernández family. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
As Aguilar jumped into the driver’s seat and attempted to speed away, Peña lunged for the rear passenger door and managed to leap into the back seat.
“I panicked. I didn’t know what to do,” Peña said. “I begged him to take the car and leave my family, but he didn’t listen, so I tried to choke him and get him to stop.”
Aguilar drove about 100 yards before crashing the vehicle. He staggered away, while Peña tended to his wife and child.
Aguilar first tried to flag down a couple of vehicles before jogging back toward the minivan he abandoned.
But Hernández caught up with him and delivered several crushing blows.
The tejuino stand run by Fredy Hernández and his family on Rosemead Boulevard near Montebello.
(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
“Bro, I threw everything at him, I was just beating him down, but nothing was stopping him,” Hernández said. “He was on something because he didn’t feel anything.”
Hernández eventually wrestled Aguilar to the ground, with Peña joining in. Another vendor rushed over to help, while patrons from other stands hurried to assist.
“We didn’t even know what this guy did in Pico Rivera, but we knew we had to stop him,” Hernández said. “Enough was enough. This time we were going to get justice.”
Sheriff’s deputies arrested Aguilar, who in 2017 was convicted of first-degree burglary and was out on zero bail for a felony possession of a dagger and vandalism earlier this year. He has since been charged with murder, carjacking, corporal injury to a child and kidnapping in connection with the July 5 incident.
“He should have never been on the streets,” Peña said.
Media reports praised Hernández for his role in helping apprehend Aguilar.
“I punched a guy because I was angry, but Pablo was fighting for his wife and kid,” Hernández said. “That’s the real hero. He stopped that guy.”
Peña’s car was declared a total loss. But he knows it could have been a lot worse.
Customers at the tejuino beverage and ice cream stand that the Hernández family has operated for years on a desolate stretch of Rosemead Boulevard near Montebello. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
“I thank Fredy and everyone who came together to stop this man and help save my family,” Peña said. “They’re heroes, and without them who knows how many more people he would have killed.”
Hernández shrugged off any praise.
“Man, we’re just selling food,” he said. “We’re not heroes.”


latimes--2020-07-12--Los Angeles County records 3,322 new coronavirus cases, 18 deaths

Los Angeles County continued to report a surge in coronavirus cases Sunday , tallying 3,322 new cases of the virus and 18 related deaths .
With that , the county has now recorded a total of more than 133,700 cases and 3,800 deaths .
The continued rise comes as the death toll from the coronavirus in California soared above 7,000 this weekend , with the infection rate continuing to worsen .
Hospitalizations also continue to climb , both statewide and in L.A. County .
As of Sunday , there were 2,093 confirmed coronavirus patients in county hospitals , with 26 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on ventilators , officials said .
About a month ago , hospitalizations were ranging from 1,350 to 1,450 each day .
The most recent three-day average of the daily number of hospitalized patients represented an increase of about 24 % , according to the Department of Public Health dashboard that tracks reopening metrics .
The percentage of test results coming back positive also has increased , which experts say indicates an uptick in community transmission .
As of Sunday , 1,336,000 people had been tested , with 9 % testing positive .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ daily test positivity rate has risen to 10 % , officials said Friday .
The increases have alarmed public health officials and prompted concern that the hospital system could become overwhelmed .
“ We have been battling this virus for several months and I know that ‘ COVID fatigue ’ is a very real thing , ” Barbara Ferrer , the county health director , said in a statement .
“ I want to encourage everyone to remain vigilant and continue to use all the tools we have to prevent further transmission of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , wearing face coverings and washing hands frequently , she said .
Officials believe the increase in transmission started around the week of Memorial Day and have attributed it to more people being in contact with one another due to more workplaces reopening and more social gatherings taking place .
In an attempt to limit the increase , the county partially rolled back its economic reopening on orders from the state .
Bars were made to shut down again June 28 , and restaurants were told to stop offering in-person dining July 1 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has warned that the city could reimpose a mandatory stay-at-home order if conditions continue to worsen .

Hannah Mikus, right, demonstrates how to self-administer a coronavirus test to drivers at the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in South Los Angeles on July 8.
Los Angeles County continued to report a surge in coronavirus cases Sunday, tallying 3,322 new cases of the virus and 18 related deaths.
With that, the county has now recorded a total of more than 133,700 cases and 3,800 deaths.
The continued rise comes as the death toll from the coronavirus in California soared above 7,000 this weekend, with the infection rate continuing to worsen.
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Hospitalizations also continue to climb, both statewide and in L.A. County. As of Sunday, there were 2,093 confirmed coronavirus patients in county hospitals, with 26% in intensive care and 19% on ventilators, officials said. About a month ago, hospitalizations were ranging from 1,350 to 1,450 each day.
The most recent three-day average of the daily number of hospitalized patients represented an increase of about 24%, according to the Department of Public Health dashboard that tracks reopening metrics.
The percentage of test results coming back positive also has increased, which experts say indicates an uptick in community transmission. As of Sunday, 1,336,000 people had been tested, with 9% testing positive. The seven-day average of the county’s daily test positivity rate has risen to 10%, officials said Friday.
The increases have alarmed public health officials and prompted concern that the hospital system could become overwhelmed.
“We have been battling this virus for several months and I know that ‘COVID fatigue’ is a very real thing,” Barbara Ferrer, the county health director, said in a statement. “I want to encourage everyone to remain vigilant and continue to use all the tools we have to prevent further transmission of the virus.”
Those include physical distancing, wearing face coverings and washing hands frequently, she said.
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Officials believe the increase in transmission started around the week of Memorial Day and have attributed it to more people being in contact with one another due to more workplaces reopening and more social gatherings taking place.
In an attempt to limit the increase, the county partially rolled back its economic reopening on orders from the state. Bars were made to shut down again June 28, and restaurants were told to stop offering in-person dining July 1.
Meanwhile, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti has warned that the city could reimpose a mandatory stay-at-home order if conditions continue to worsen.


latimes--2020-07-12--Search for Naya Rivera continues as teams double-check cabins around Lake Piru

Authorities are continuing to search for the body of actress Naya Rivera , who is believed to have drowned Wednesday afternoon while boating with her young son on Lake Piru in Ventura County .
Search teams on Sunday were checking cabins and outbuildings surrounding the lake , as well as the shoreline , officials said .
All of those areas were already searched the afternoon Rivera went missing , they said .
“ They ’ re just doubling back and checking those areas one more time to be sure , but there ’ s no indication that she got out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Eric Buschow of the Ventura County Sheriff ’ s Department .
Divers , helicopters , drone aircraft and cadaver dogs have been trying to find Rivera for five days .
The 33-year-old actress , who gained fame for her role on “ Glee , ” was reported missing Wednesday after her 4-year-old son was found in a rental boat on the lake by himself .
Sheriff ’ s officials said the boy was found asleep on the boat , wearing his life vest .
They later learned that Rivera and her son @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that he was able to get back on the boat , but she had not .
On Thursday , crews transitioned from rescue to recovery efforts , officials said .
The protracted , high-profile search has drawn an enormous amount of interest from the public , prompting officials to warn people not to try to assist with the efforts .
That came after the Sheriff ’ s Department received multiple phone calls , and saw social media posts , that people were organizing independent search parties , Buschow said .
“ We ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” he said .
“ I think anybody that goes up there will quickly realize it ’ s not a friendly environment to be out there searching.
” He noted that the lake sat in a steep canyon and was surrounded by inhospitable terrain , and that temperatures were already in the 90s Sunday morning and set to rise as the day went on .
Most people lack the proper training and equipment to carry out such a search , and they don ’ t adhere to the methodical protocols used by authorities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and it ’ s happened before , is where people show up and go off on their own , then get themselves into trouble , whether it ’ s heat exhaustion or dehydration … and now we have to deviate resources away from searching to rescuing them , ” he said .
“ They become more part of the problem than part of the solution , and that ’ s what we don ’ t want.
” Times staff writers Jake Sheridan and Alejandra Reyes-Velarde contributed to this report .

Naya Rivera is believed to have drowned while boating with her young son in Ventura County.
Authorities are continuing to search for the body of actress Naya Rivera, who is believed to have drowned Wednesday afternoon while boating with her young son on Lake Piru in Ventura County.
Search teams on Sunday were checking cabins and outbuildings surrounding the lake, as well as the shoreline, officials said. All of those areas were already searched the afternoon Rivera went missing, they said.
“They’re just doubling back and checking those areas one more time to be sure, but there’s no indication that she got out of the water,” said Capt. Eric Buschow of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.
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Divers, helicopters, drone aircraft and cadaver dogs have been trying to find Rivera for five days. The 33-year-old actress, who gained fame for her role on “Glee,” was reported missing Wednesday after her 4-year-old son was found in a rental boat on the lake by himself.
Sheriff’s officials said the boy was found asleep on the boat, wearing his life vest. They later learned that Rivera and her son were swimming together in the lake and that he was able to get back on the boat, but she had not.
On Thursday, crews transitioned from rescue to recovery efforts, officials said.
The protracted, high-profile search has drawn an enormous amount of interest from the public, prompting officials to warn people not to try to assist with the efforts.
That came after the Sheriff’s Department received multiple phone calls, and saw social media posts, that people were organizing independent search parties, Buschow said.
“We’re just cautioning people against it,” he said. “I think anybody that goes up there will quickly realize it’s not a friendly environment to be out there searching.”
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He noted that the lake sat in a steep canyon and was surrounded by inhospitable terrain, and that temperatures were already in the 90s Sunday morning and set to rise as the day went on. Most people lack the proper training and equipment to carry out such a search, and they don’t adhere to the methodical protocols used by authorities, he said.
“The concern, and it’s happened before, is where people show up and go off on their own, then get themselves into trouble, whether it’s heat exhaustion or dehydration … and now we have to deviate resources away from searching to rescuing them,” he said. “They become more part of the problem than part of the solution, and that’s what we don’t want.”
Times staff writers Jake Sheridan and Alejandra Reyes-Velarde contributed to this report.