latimes--2020-05-27--Runyon Canyon reopens for hiking with new coronavirus safety measures in place

Hikers , rejoice .
Los Angeles ’ popular Runyon Canyon Park has reopened , with additional measures in place to prevent the spread of the coronavirus .
Park officials have reduced how many people can enter at one time , installed cameras and electric counters to monitor crowds , added additional staff and converted the trail into a one-way loop , according to Mayor Eric Garcetti .
“ The new Runyon safety features are not permanent , but will be in place while we live with COVID-19 , ” he wrote Tuesday night on Twitter .
“ If it gets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or close the trail if necessary .
Please use a face covering when near others and ensure six feet of distance with people outside of your home.
” All Los Angeles residents — except for those with certain disabilities and small children — are required to wear masks when going outside .
Recent weeks have seen a gradual reopening of parks , trails and beaches that were shuttered as the coronavirus pandemic began to rage in the city and county of Los Angeles .
At a press briefing Wednesday , Sheriff Alex Villanueva @ @ @ @ @ @ @ practice social distancing so the gradual reopening of Los Angeles County can continue without setbacks .
The Sheriff ’ s Department surveyed the coast from Santa Monica to Malibu over Memorial Day weekend and found that beachgoers were adhering to social distancing rules .
“ It was a success .
Overall , people were respectful , ” Villanueva said .
However , officials have also been willing to shut things back down when conditions warrant .
The L.A. County Department of Parks and Recreation on Sunday closed another popular hiking destination , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ due to overwhelming crowds that were not following the COVID-19 public health requirements.
” Officials have since extended that closure through the end of the month .
“ While we understand that trails are a beloved form of recreation that offers much-needed opportunities for exercise , respite , getting fresh air and connecting with nature , the public did not follow the guidelines required , and it put themselves and staff at risk , ” county officials said in a statement .
People should take advantage of the area ’ s large @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to avoid crowds , Villanueva said .
“ If it looks too crowded where you ’ re going , just turn around and go somewhere else , ” he said .
While many outdoor areas of Los Angeles are now available for public use with limitations , indoor parks and recreation facilities — such as gymnasiums and community , aquatic and senior centers — as well as features like playgrounds , fitness equipment and skate parks remain off-limits .
A full list of what ’ s open and what ’ s closed is @ @ @ @ @ @ @

Richard Henning, left, and other hikers social distance using lanes drawn on the hiking trails. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Ronald Liboro, a ranger for the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, checks to ensure that a portion of the side trail that is connected to Runyon Canyon Park at the north entrance is closed. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Hikers enter Runyon Canyon Park at the north entrance on Mulholland Drive in the Hollywood Hills on Wednesday morning. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Hikers, rejoice. Los Angeles’ popular Runyon Canyon Park has reopened, with additional measures in place to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Park officials have reduced how many people can enter at one time, installed cameras and electric counters to monitor crowds, added additional staff and converted the trail into a one-way loop, according to Mayor Eric Garcetti.
“The new Runyon safety features are not permanent, but will be in place while we live with COVID-19,” he wrote Tuesday night on Twitter. “If it gets too crowded, we will adjust hours or close the trail if necessary. Please use a face covering when near others and ensure six feet of distance with people outside of your home.”
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All Los Angeles residents — except for those with certain disabilities and small children — are required to wear masks when going outside.
Runyon Canyon has reopened for hiking — with many new safety measures in place. We have reduced the number of people that can enter at any point in time, instituted a one-way loop, deployed more staff and installed electronic counters and cameras to monitor crowds. — MayorOfLA (@MayorOfLA) May 27, 2020
Recent weeks have seen a gradual reopening of parks, trails and beaches that were shuttered as the coronavirus pandemic began to rage in the city and county of Los Angeles.
At a press briefing Wednesday, Sheriff Alex Villanueva urged people to wear masks and to practice social distancing so the gradual reopening of Los Angeles County can continue without setbacks.
The Sheriff’s Department surveyed the coast from Santa Monica to Malibu over Memorial Day weekend and found that beachgoers were adhering to social distancing rules.
“It was a success. Overall, people were respectful,” Villanueva said.
However, officials have also been willing to shut things back down when conditions warrant.
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The L.A. County Department of Parks and Recreation on Sunday closed another popular hiking destination, the Eaton Canyon Natural Area in Pasadena, “due to overwhelming crowds that were not following the COVID-19 public health requirements.”
Officials have since extended that closure through the end of the month.
“While we understand that trails are a beloved form of recreation that offers much-needed opportunities for exercise, respite, getting fresh air and connecting with nature, the public did not follow the guidelines required, and it put themselves and staff at risk,” county officials said in a statement.
People should take advantage of the area’s large network of trails and adjust their plans to avoid crowds, Villanueva said.
“If it looks too crowded where you’re going, just turn around and go somewhere else,” he said.
While many outdoor areas of Los Angeles are now available for public use with limitations, indoor parks and recreation facilities — such as gymnasiums and community, aquatic and senior centers — as well as features like playgrounds, fitness equipment and skate parks remain off-limits.
A full list of what’s open and what’s closed is posted on the parks department website.


latimes--2020-05-27--Here is what can now reopen in L.A. County, and here is what is still closed

Los Angeles County has taken another step in reopening its economy .
On Tuesday , officials modified the county ’ s health order to allow in-store shopping at low-risk retail stores as well as the reopening of drive-in movies and other recreational activities with restrictions .
The county , the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in California with more than 2,100 deaths , is still moving slower than other counties in reopening , hoping to avoid a surge in illnesses .
But the new easing of stay-at-home rules represent a major shift .
These are the areas covered by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ organizations can resume services , with the number of congregants limited to 25 % of the building ’ s capacity or a maximum of 100 people , whichever is lower .
• All retail establishments , including those in indoor and outdoor shopping centers , can open for business at 50 % capacity ; flea markets , swap meets and drive-in movie theaters can also resume operations .
• Pools , hot tubs and saunas that are in a multiunit residence or part of a homeowners association can open .
• In-person protests @ @ @ @ @ @ @ limited to 25 % of the area ’ s maximum occupancy or a maximum of 100 attendees , whichever is lower .
These businesses are still covered by the county ’ s stay-at-home order : • Personal grooming businesses such as hair and nail salons Gatherings of people not from the same household are still prohibited , except for faith-based services and in-person protests .
People 65 or older and all people with underlying health conditions should remain in their residences as much as possible , health experts say .
People in these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seek medical care , exercise or obtain food or other necessities .
Telecommuting should continue as much as possible .
Physical distancing requirements , the wearing of face coverings and other safety protocols must still be observed , officials said .
“ Aligning Los Angeles County ’ s health orders with that of the state is going to provide immediate relief to our communities , ” Kathryn Barger , chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors , said in a statement .
“ This important step will enable our residents and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as we continue to take positive steps toward reopening Los Angeles County.
” L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis acknowledged the importance of reopening certain activities but noted that it “ does not mean going back to business as usual.
” “ As long as community members follow safety rules , we can continue to make more progress , ” she said .
“ Our houses of worship can once again welcome people inside .
Shopping malls and communal flea markets can get back to business .
I am so proud of all the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our loved ones from COVID-19 .
Given our resilience and collective sacrifice , we are ready to take the next step to reopen our economy.
” Los Angeles County officials said Tuesday they will ask the state to allow a speedier reopening of restaurants and other businesses shuttered by the coronavirus outbreak .
If approved , the county could allow some in-person dining , Barger said .
Restaurant owners hope to be allowed to seat more patrons outside because many say they can not survive with overly stringent rules limiting capacity , Barger @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plan is approved , barbershops and hair salons would be allowed to reopen in some capacity , as outlined by state health guidelines , but not nail salons .

Shoppers walk around Orange County’s Brea Mall, which reopened Tuesday. Retail establishments in L.A. County are also open for business at 50% capacity.
Los Angeles County has taken another step in reopening its economy.
On Tuesday, officials modified the county’s health order to allow in-store shopping at low-risk retail stores as well as the reopening of drive-in movies and other recreational activities with restrictions.
The county, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in California with more than 2,100 deaths, is still moving slower than other counties in reopening, hoping to avoid a surge in illnesses. But the new easing of stay-at-home rules represent a major shift.
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California A silent coronavirus threat looms large as California reopens businesses At Eaton Canyon, a popular Pasadena hiking area, so many people crowded the trail Saturday morning — many without masks and jammed close together — that rangers shut it down for the rest of the month.
What’s open now?
These are the areas covered by the modified order issued Tuesday.
Faith-based organizations can resume services, with the number of congregants limited to 25% of the building’s capacity or a maximum of 100 people, whichever is lower.
All retail establishments, including those in indoor and outdoor shopping centers, can open for business at 50% capacity; flea markets, swap meets and drive-in movie theaters can also resume operations.
Pools, hot tubs and saunas that are in a multiunit residence or part of a homeowners association can open.
In-person protests are permitted as long as attendance is limited to 25% of the area’s maximum occupancy or a maximum of 100 attendees, whichever is lower.
What restrictions remain?
These businesses are still covered by the county’s stay-at-home order:
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Bars and nightclubs
Gyms and fitness centers
Movie theaters
Live venues, sports stadiums, arenas, festival spaces, etc.
Bowling alleys
Public piers
Public pools
Personal grooming businesses such as hair and nail salons
Indoor museums
Community centers
Gatherings of people not from the same household are still prohibited, except for faith-based services and in-person protests.
People 65 or older and all people with underlying health conditions should remain in their residences as much as possible, health experts say. People in these categories should leave their residences only to seek medical care, exercise or obtain food or other necessities. Telecommuting should continue as much as possible.
Physical distancing requirements, the wearing of face coverings and other safety protocols must still be observed, officials said.
“Aligning Los Angeles County’s health orders with that of the state is going to provide immediate relief to our communities,” Kathryn Barger, chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, said in a statement. “This important step will enable our residents and businesses to have greater clarity and consistency as we continue to take positive steps toward reopening Los Angeles County.”
L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis acknowledged the importance of reopening certain activities but noted that it “does not mean going back to business as usual.”
“As long as community members follow safety rules, we can continue to make more progress,” she said. “Our houses of worship can once again welcome people inside. Shopping malls and communal flea markets can get back to business. I am so proud of all the progress we’ve made to protect our loved ones from COVID-19. Given our resilience and collective sacrifice, we are ready to take the next step to reopen our economy.”
Los Angeles County officials said Tuesday they will ask the state to allow a speedier reopening of restaurants and other businesses shuttered by the coronavirus outbreak.
If approved, the county could allow some in-person dining, Barger said. Restaurant owners hope to be allowed to seat more patrons outside because many say they cannot survive with overly stringent rules limiting capacity, Barger said.
Additionally, if the variance plan is approved, barbershops and hair salons would be allowed to reopen in some capacity, as outlined by state health guidelines, but not nail salons.


latimes--2020-05-27--California is reopening too quickly, posing 'very serious risk,' health officer warns

A key architect of the nation ’ s first coronavirus shelter-in-place order is criticizing California ’ s increasingly fast pace of lifting stay-at-home restrictions .
In particular , Dr. Sara Cody , health officer for Santa Clara County — home to Silicon Valley and Northern California ’ s most populous county — said she was concerned by the decision to allow gatherings of up to 100 people for religious , political and cultural reasons .
“ This announcement to authorize county health officers to allow religious , cultural and political gatherings of 100 people poses a very serious risk of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ told the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday .
Even if just one infected person showed up to such an event , the virus could easily be transmitted to many people and overwhelm local health officials ’ ability to investigate all related cases , she warned .
Cody has been credited with helping to spearhead the San Francisco Bay Area ’ s regional shelter-in-place order .
Issued March 16 , the mandate that affected 6.6 million people in six counties initially stunned the nation .
But it quickly became a model @ @ @ @ @ @ @ states , with Gov .
Gavin Newsom enacting a stay-at-home order statewide on March 19 and New York state following suit three days later .
Santa Clara County , with a population of 1.9 million people , is not required to relax its order — among the strictest in California — to the state standard .
When local and state orders differ , the stricter standard applies .
But Cody expressed concerns that California risks a surge in cases if it reopens up too many sectors of society too quickly .
Since early @ @ @ @ @ @ @ away from the stay-at-home model and has made significant modifications with increasing frequency , ” Cody said .
“ The pace at which the state has made these modifications is concerning to me.
” Cody said it ’ s important to wait at least 14 days — the time it can take for an infected person to show symptoms — after easing restrictions to see what effects the relaxed policy has on increased coronavirus illnesses .
It would be even better to wait 21 days , she added .
Reopening so fast , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t enough time to implement new procedures to make reopened activities safe .
Within hours after Newsom ’ s announcement Tuesday allowing counties to reopen hair salons and barbershops , some stylists already had customers in their chairs .
“ Making changes too frequently leaves us blind .
We can ’ t see the effect of what we just did , ” Cody said .
“ Our social and economic well-being are best served by a more phased approach that allows activities to resume in a manner that allows people to actually be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ open activity.
” Experts say the Bay Area ’ s early action dramatically slowed the spread of the highly infectious coronavirus in the region , which had been one of the nation ’ s earliest epicenters for the virus .
As of Tuesday night , the six Bay Area counties had reported a coronavirus death rate of six fatalities per 100,000 residents ; Los Angeles County has a death rate of 21 fatalities per 100,000 residents .
Statewide , California has a death rate of about 10 fatalities per 100,000 residents .
Across @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is 126 fatalities per 100,000 residents , while New York ’ s is 149 fatalities per 100,000 residents .
The latest rules issued by the California Department of Public Health this week say churches that choose to reopen and in-person political protests must limit attendance to 25 % of building capacity or a maximum of 100 attendees , whichever is lower .
New Jersey , by contrast , limits such gatherings to 25 people , and New York , 10 , Cody said .
Newsom said Tuesday that he understood he would be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to resume on a restricted basis .
“ I know some people think that ’ s too much too fast too soon .
Others think , frankly , that it didn ’ t go far enough , ” the governor said .
“ But suffice it to say , at a statewide level , we now are affording this opportunity again with a deep realization of the fact that people will start to mix ... and that is incumbent upon us to practice that physical distancing within these places of worship.
” Newsom @ @ @ @ @ @ @ churches to reopen .
On May 18 , he said rules to allow church congregations to meet was “ a few weeks away ... if everything holds.
” Later that week , the U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter to the Newsom administration warning that the state ’ s stay-at-home order may discriminate against religious groups and violate their constitutional rights .
Also last week , more than 1,200 pastors vowed to hold in-person services on May 31 , Pentecost Sunday , intending to defy Newsom ’ s stay-at-home order .
President @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he was designating churches “ essential ” businesses so they could immediately reopen .
Hours after Trump ’ s comments , Newsom vowed Friday to provide plans on Memorial Day that would allow in-person religious services .
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that large gatherings played a major role in the early widespread transmission of the virus across the nation .
In particular , the CDC said Mardi Gras celebrations in Louisiana , a biotech conference in Boston with about 175 attendees and a funeral with more than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ County in Georgia played an outsized role in the illness ’ spread .
Churches have also been the site of outbreaks large and small .
In Washington state ’ s Skagit County , one symptomatic person attended a 2½-hour choir practice at a church attended by 60 other people ; local officials later documented that 52 people fell ill , including two who died — a virus attack rate of 87 % , according to the CDC .
Singing can easily spread infected droplets from one person to another .
In another outbreak @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — the global epicenter of the pandemic — visited a church in Singapore on Jan. 19 and started showing symptoms several days later .
Three other people who attended the same church on the same day also got sick , including one who sat in the same seat as the tourists , according to the CDC .
Newsom defended his administration ’ s actions in moving quicker than the pace Cody suggested .
The governor said he was guided by what his health officials were telling him was appropriate .
He said the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ theory behind the relaxed orders and “ to make adjustments if , indeed , we need to dial it back , or loosen them more into the future.
” But Santa Clara County and its neighbors in the Bay Area have chosen a different approach .
After the Bay Area counties of Alameda , Contra Costa , Marin , San Francisco , San Mateo and Santa Clara jointly decided to allow the resumption of all construction and businesses such as gardening and landscaping to resume May 4 , the counties waited a full @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many retail businesses for pickup service in the week of May 18 .
By contrast , most other California counties have moved more quickly to reopen businesses as soon as Newsom has allowed it .
Los Angeles County , for instance , joined most other California counties in reopening retail businesses for pickup service on May 8 , the first day it was allowed .
Cody also noted that the pandemic is disproportionately affecting communities of color and those who are most affected by poverty and overcrowded housing .
For example , Latinos @ @ @ @ @ @ @ County ’ s population , but comprise 40 % of its coronavirus cases and 32 % of deaths .
Disease rates are particularly high in East San Jose , which is lower income and largely Latino .
Blacks make up 2 % of Santa Clara County ’ s population and account for 6 % of the county ’ s coronavirus deaths .
“ COVID-19 has unmasked some very severe preexisting inequities in our community .
If we let the virus just go and don ’ t stay on top of it , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the most are people who are living in places where they ’ re working low-wage jobs , they live in crowded households , they may have less access to care , ” Cody added in remarks broadcast Wednesday on Facebook Reopening too quickly will disproportionately risk the lives of people of color and those with lower incomes , Cody said .
“ That is the group of people that will be disproportionately in the hospital and that will see disproportionate numbers of deaths .
And that ’ s not acceptable.
” “ We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ transmission to the lowest levels that we can , with every ounce of our energy , and we are going to stay at it .
We ’ re going to go slow , and we ’ re going to be safe , and we ’ re going to protect the people that most need to be protected , ” Cody said .
She said if the overall rate of disease transmission remains stable in the Bay Area , officials will be able to continue easing restrictions on a regular schedule with at least @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We wall want to reopen our economy , get back to our lives , get back to work , ” Cody said .
“ But the truth is : We are in the greatest global crisis since the Second World War .
... We want to be able to reopen safely.
” Times staff writers Phil Willon , Eli Stokols , Matthew Ormseth and Alex Wigglesworth contributed to this report .

A key architect of the nation’s first coronavirus shelter-in-place order is criticizing California’s increasingly fast pace of lifting stay-at-home restrictions.
In particular, Dr. Sara Cody, health officer for Santa Clara County — home to Silicon Valley and Northern California’s most populous county — said she was concerned by the decision to allow gatherings of up to 100 people for religious, political and cultural reasons.
“This announcement to authorize county health officers to allow religious, cultural and political gatherings of 100 people poses a very serious risk of the spread of COVID-19,” Cody told the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
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Even if just one infected person showed up to such an event, the virus could easily be transmitted to many people and overwhelm local health officials’ ability to investigate all related cases, she warned.
Cody has been credited with helping to spearhead the San Francisco Bay Area’s regional shelter-in-place order. Issued March 16, the mandate that affected 6.6 million people in six counties initially stunned the nation. But it quickly became a model for the rest of California and other states, with Gov. Gavin Newsom enacting a statewide stay-at-home order March 19 and New York state following suit three days later.
Santa Clara County, with a population of 1.9 million people, is not required to relax its order — among the strictest in California — to the state standard. When local and state orders differ, the stricter standard applies. But Cody expressed concerns that California risks a surge in cases if it reopens too many sectors of society too quickly.
Since early May, “the state has shifted away from the stay-at-home model and has made significant modifications with increasing frequency,” Cody said. “The pace at which the state has made these modifications is concerning to me.”
Cody said it’s important to wait at least 14 days — the time it can take for an infected person to show symptoms — after easing restrictions to see what effects the relaxed policy has on increased coronavirus illnesses. It would be even better to wait 21 days, she added.
Reopening so fast, she said, means there isn’t enough time to implement new procedures to make reopened activities safe.
Advertisement
Within hours of Newsom’s announcement Tuesday allowing counties to reopen hair salons and barbershops, some stylists already had customers in their chairs.
“Making changes too frequently leaves us blind. We can’t see the effect of what we just did,” Cody said. “Our social and economic well-being are best served by a more phased approach that allows activities to resume in a manner that allows people to actually be relatively safe while engaging in the newly open activity.”
Experts say the Bay Area’s early action dramatically slowed the spread of the highly infectious coronavirus in the region, which had been one of the nation’s earliest hot spots of the virus.
As of Tuesday night, the six Bay Area counties had reported a coronavirus death rate of six fatalities per 100,000 residents; Los Angeles County has a death rate of 21 fatalities per 100,000 residents. Statewide, California has a death rate of about 10 fatalities per 100,000 residents. Across the nation, New Jersey’s rate is 126 fatalities per 100,000 residents, while New York’s is 149 fatalities per 100,000 residents.
The latest rules issued by the California Department of Public Health this week say churches that choose to reopen and in-person political protests must limit attendance to 25% of building capacity or a maximum of 100 attendees, whichever is lower.
New Jersey, by contrast, limits such gatherings to 25 people, and New York, 10, Cody said.
Newsom said Tuesday that he understood he would be criticized in deciding to allow religious gatherings to resume on a restricted basis.
“I know some people think that’s too much too fast too soon. Others think, frankly, that it didn’t go far enough,” the governor said. “But suffice it to say, at a statewide level, we now are affording this opportunity again with a deep realization of the fact that people will start to mix … and that is incumbent upon us to practice that physical distancing within these places of worship.”
Newsom has come under political pressure to allow churches to reopen. On May 18, he said rules to allow church congregations to meet were “a few weeks away … if everything holds.” Later that week, the U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter to the Newsom administration warning that the state’s stay-at-home order may discriminate against religious groups and violate their constitutional rights.
Also last week, more than 1,200 pastors vowed to hold in-person services May 31, Pentecost Sunday, intending to defy Newsom’s stay-at-home order.
President Trump then made an unexpected announcement that he was designating churches “essential” businesses so they could immediately reopen. Hours after Trump’s comments, Newsom vowed Friday to provide plans on Memorial Day that would allow in-person religious services.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that large gatherings played a major role in the early widespread transmission of the virus across the nation. In particular, the CDC said Mardi Gras celebrations in Louisiana, a biotech conference in Boston with about 175 attendees and a funeral with more than 100 attendees in small, rural Dougherty County in Georgia played an outsize role in the illness’ spread.
Churches have also been the site of outbreaks large and small. In Washington state’s Skagit County, one symptomatic person attended a 2½-hour choir practice at a church attended by 60 other people; local officials later documented that 52 people fell ill, including two who died — a virus attack rate of 87%, according to the CDC. Singing can easily spread infected droplets from one person to another.
In another outbreak, pre-symptomatic tourists from Wuhan, China — the global epicenter of the pandemic — visited a church in Singapore on Jan. 19 and started showing symptoms several days later. Three other people who attended the same church on the same day also got sick, including one who sat in the same seat as the tourists, according to the CDC.
Newsom defended his administration’s actions in moving quicker than the pace Cody suggested. The governor said he was guided by what his health officials were telling him was appropriate. He said the state has the time to test the theory behind the relaxed orders and “to make adjustments if, indeed, we need to dial it back, or loosen them more into the future.”
But Santa Clara County and its neighbors in the Bay Area have chosen a different approach. After the Bay Area counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara jointly decided to allow the resumption of all construction and businesses such as gardening and landscaping to resume May 4, the counties waited a full two weeks before allowing the reopening of many retail businesses for pickup service in the week of May 18.
By contrast, most other California counties have moved more quickly to reopen businesses as soon as Newsom has allowed it. Los Angeles County, for instance, joined most other California counties in reopening retail businesses for pickup service on May 8, the first day it was allowed.
Los Angeles County has also begun allowing the reopening of houses of worship and in-person political protests, shortly after state rules were relaxed. Retail stores and malls got the green light to in-person shopping in L.A. County but must operate at 50% of capacity.
By contrast, the six core Bay Area counties are still allowing retail stores to be open for pickup service only.
Cody also noted that the pandemic is disproportionately affecting communities of color and those who are most affected by poverty and overcrowded housing. For example, Latinos make up 26% of Santa Clara County’s population but comprise 40% of its coronavirus cases and 32% of deaths. Disease rates are particularly high in East San Jose, which is lower income and largely Latino.
Black people make up 2% of Santa Clara County’s population and account for 6% of the county’s coronavirus deaths.
“COVID-19 has unmasked some very severe preexisting inequities in our community. If we let the virus just go and don’t stay on top of it, the people that are going to be hurt the most are people who are living in places where they’re working low-wage jobs, they live in crowded households, they may have less access to care,” Cody added in remarks broadcast Wednesday on Facebook.
Reopening too quickly will disproportionately risk the lives of people of color and those with lower incomes, Cody said. “That is the group of people that will be disproportionately in the hospital and that will see disproportionate numbers of deaths. And that’s not acceptable.”
“We are going to suppress the level of transmission to the lowest levels that we can, with every ounce of our energy, and we are going to stay at it. We’re going to go slow, and we’re going to be safe, and we’re going to protect the people that most need to be protected,” Cody said.
She said if the overall rate of disease transmission remains stable in the Bay Area, officials will be able to continue easing restrictions on a regular schedule with at least two weeks between each phase.
“We all want to reopen our economy, get back to our lives, get back to work,” Cody said. “But the truth is: We are in the greatest global crisis since the Second World War…. We want to be able to reopen safely.”
Times staff writers Phil Willon, Eli Stokols, Matthew Ormseth and Alex Wigglesworth contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-05-27--Shooting leaves 5 wounded outside South L.A. apartment complex

Five people were wounded in a shooting outside an apartment complex in an unincorporated area of South Los Angeles late @ @ @ @ @ sheriff ’ s deputies responded to gunfire in the 11800 block of Berendo Avenue near @ @ @ @ @ , authorities said .
Five people were taken by paramedics to hospitals , according to @ @ @ @ @ Department .
The extent of their injuries was not immediately clear .
Authorities could not @ @ @ @ @ the shooter or say whether any arrests had been made .

Five people were hospitalized following a shooting May 26 outside a South Los Angeles apartment complex.
Five people were wounded in a shooting outside an apartment complex in an unincorporated area of South Los Angeles late Tuesday.
Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies responded to gunfire in the 11800 block of Berendo Avenue near 119th Street about 10:40 p.m., authorities said.
Five people were taken by paramedics to hospitals, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The extent of their injuries was not immediately clear.
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Authorities could not immediately provide a description of the shooter or say whether any arrests had been made.
City News Service contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-05-27--Mourning the Hollywood Bowl: 24 artists on what the Bowl means to L.A., and to them

For the first time in nearly a century , the Hollywood Bowl will be silent this summer .
Which means no strolls up Highland with picnic baskets , no stacked parking , no encounters with puppeteer Dave Liebe Hart , no magic-hour mingling or shared sushi in terrace boxes .
Music fans who would otherwise be flying in from around the world are staying home .
Most pointedly , no musicians will stand on one of the most hallowed stages in the world and feel the sense of accomplishment and rush of energy that comes with a Bowl appearance .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ supported artists including Nina Simone , Frank Sinatra , Barbra Streisand , Thelonious Monk , Judy Garland , the Beatles and Bob Dylan .
On one single evening in 1961 , Johnny Cash , “ Mother ” Maybelle Carter , June Carter Cash , Flatt and Scruggs and Patsy Cline did back-to-back sets .
As the decades have passed , the Bowl ’ s lineup has reflected the musical times .
Whether with jazz , rock , soul , folk , R & B , funk or , of course , classical music @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a career marker for the artists lucky enough to have performed there .
The Times asked entertainers from across disciplines to reflect on their most memorable performances at the Hollywood Bowl .
The Hollywood Bowl is one of the great iconic spots of Los Angeles .
Its outdoor setting celebrating the Southern California climate , its proximity to downtown Hollywood , its rustic/urban atmosphere , and its history dating back to the early 1920s , all resonate with the spirit of the city .
My favorite experience at the Bowl was in 2013 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ At that time we ’ d been together for nearly 40 years , and the passage of time had finally allowed us the clarity to see that we ’ d done our job properly and had perhaps become a bit iconic ourselves .
With that awareness , playing the Hollywood Bowl — such a great part of the legacy of the city we love — made for a magical night .
Nile Rodgers , producer and Chic bandleader July 4th last year playing with the L.A. Phil was maybe one of my greatest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ three nights in a row there , and by the time we got to the 4th , it was complete pandemonium , in such a wonderful way .
I went to elementary school and junior high in L.A. , and we ’ d go hang out on the hill above the Bowl .
It ’ s an awesome sight from the stage .
I ’ m used to it now but if you ’ re not accustomed to that , seeing it for the first time , the crowd feels like it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to break over you .
Kathy Valentine , Go-Go ’ s In the summer of 2018 , the Go-Go ’ s were featured as the annual July 4th Fireworks Spectacular musical guest .
This meant three consecutive nights performing at the Bowl , with the L.A. Philharmonic accompanying us on many songs .
Our band had played at the Bowl several times over the years , but this was an exceptional honor .
So much tradition , prestige , history — For a band that got its start as punk rockers from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all felt both humbled and proud .
The funniest part for me was the dichotomy of looking out and seeing close to 20,000 people , dancing , going nuts , cheering and singing all the words — then looking back and wondering if the violinists were just hating this gig , wishing they were playing Sibelius or Beethoven instead of “ We Got the Beat.
” Rodrigo Sánchez , Rodrigo & Gabriela The last time we played was two years ago .
We ’ d been working on a new album for three @ @ @ @ @ @ @ long process for us .
Our management and the labels were there that night and we decided to play a long cover of Pink Floyd ‘ s “ Echoes.
” We weren ’ t actually sure we were going to do that at the Bowl after playing with the orchestra [ during the first half of the set ] .
But we wanted to put this song on the record and the only way to convince the label , and especially management , was to test it there right on the spot .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ so we sat on the little steps and started playing “ Echoes ” — 20 minutes long .
It was an incredible response .
When management came back after they said , “ Okay , that has to be on the record.
” And “ Echoes ” became the first single on that album , which eventually got the Grammy .
Everything is connected to it .
Lionel Richie , singer-songwriter In 1971 , the Commodores were the opening act for the Jackson 5 .
That particular day will ring in my head @ @ @ @ @ @ @ show in San Francisco at the Cow Palace , and it was an amazing success .
The next night was the Hollywood Bowl .
We ’ d been waiting to play the Hollywood Bowl because this was our great opportunity to maybe , just maybe , be discovered by someone like the Motown family .
The thing that we didn ’ t realize was when they packed up the show [ in San Francisco ] , they left our equipment on the side of the backstage area , so when we came to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had no equipment .
We had to borrow the amplifier from the Jackson 5 .
We had to borrow the guitar .
But more than anything I remember that the tops to our uniforms made it , but the bottoms didn ’ t .
So we played the show in the tops — the kind that snap underneath so they stay tucked in your pants .
And bare feet .
So an afro , bare feet and a top .
We played our set , and members of the Gordy family saw us @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Commodores .
Let me tell you something : The only reason I ’ m here today is that I actually had enough guts to go out on stage armed with an afro and a top .
Margo Price , singer-songwriter It ’ s absolutely surreal , standing on that stage where Dylan and the Jimi Hendrix Experience played .
I was a part of the Outlaw Music Festival that Willie Nelson put on , and that was one of the stops .
It was a killer lineup : Willie , Sturgill Simpson , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kid and myself .
I was actually expecting , but I had not told anyone that I was pregnant yet during that show .
I was having morning sickness down in my dressing room .
I was supposed to go up and sing with Lukas and I was throwing up .
I missed my queue .
He called me to come out there and I didn ’ t make it .
I felt really bad .
As Phil Lesh took the stage , my booking agent asked me if maybe I would want @ @ @ @ @ @ @ let me look at the setlist and I was like , “ All right , I ’ m singing ‘ Turn on Your Love Light.
’ I went up there and sang with him and really had a blast .
I ’ m pregnant .
I ’ m hiding it from everyone .
I mean , I had butterflies anyway , but it was really memorable .
I got up there and sang gospel songs with Willie afterward , and me and Phil walked out arm-in-arm to back up Willie .
It was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Taylor Goldsmith , Dawes ( On backing up Kris Kristofferson during a tribute to Glen Campbell ) Just being around Kris Kristofferson was so great , but he hadn ’ t played with a band in a long time so keeping up and playing guitar along to a drummer was kind of a foreign for him .
He was worried about missing his cue , so during soundcheck I sang for him when to come in , but I didn ’ t know if he was going to want me to do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ After , I decided to go find his dressing room and ask him .
I thought , “ I ’ ll take this opportunity to let him know that he ’ s one of my all-time heroes.
” He comes out and I said , “ Kris , do you want me to sing along to that one section ?
” Kris very sweetly said , “ Taylor , I ’ ll take all the help I can get.
” I said , “ Well , I also wanted to tell you — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ‘ Hold on .
Your fly ’ s down.
” I looked down , and sure enough my fly is down .
I ’ m trying to tell my hero how I feel about him .
He [ said ] , “ I would hope you would say the same thing to me .
Now what was it you wanted to say ?
” At that point I was so embarrassed that I was like , “ Oh it ’ s all good , I ’ m a big fan and it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” I got out of there as fast as I could .
The one I loved was the one we most recently did , in September 2019 , with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and Thomas Wilkins conducting and two sold-out nights there .
The first time in 2013 , Maurice [ White ] came to that particular concert and got on stage with us .
It was in September and it was fantastic .
When I was first approached to do “ The Nightmare Before Christmas ” live at the Bowl I rejected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s just too big and it ’ s outdoors , ” I thought , two strikes against any feeling of intimacy .
Though skeptical I finally agreed .
After the first performance , however , I was completely converted .
There is some kind of weird effect up there that is quite unique and magical .
Although it ’ s very large it doesn ’ t feel that way .
I was shocked how intimate the experience actually felt .
Needless to say I loved it and I very much look forward to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Addiction at the Hollywood Bowl in 2001 , it had ended badly .
I ’ d been blasé about the ( very serious , very early ) curfew , and ended up being dragged off by two goons .
Dramatic .
Upon returning to the Bowl with Lana Del Rey in 2015 , I wasn ’ t headlining , so “ redemption ” wasn ’ t what I was seeking .
Just a good show .
But as a Californian , an Angeleno , I couldn ’ t help but feel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the slope to the stage .
I sang Leonard Cohen ’ s deceptive simple “ Take This Longing ” and gave myself to the moment , to all the Lana fans in flower crowns , beautifully lit , with the May Jasmine breeze… you know , the reasons we live here .
LDR took headlining the Bowl very seriously .
Afterward , her eyes were just alive .
It had been a real triumph for her .
After the show , I got out past the parking and buses , took a shortcut @ @ @ @ @ @ @ walking back to the Chateau Marmont .
I usually love my post-show solitudes , but on this night I didn ’ t .
I still drank then and had a bottle of something in my cotton coat .
I felt like the biggest cliche in the history of this town .
But then a town car pulled up next to me .
A man I ’ ve always loved and didn ’ t know was in town rolled down the window .
“ Hey toots , ” he said .
“ That was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ na ride ?
” I smiled wide .
It was that sort of evening .
Growing up in Southern California , the Hollywood Bowl was always just a fantasy , like , one day I could ever perform there .
When I got the opportunity to perform , I was partnered by Marcelo Gomes and we did a Tchaikovsky theme .
The love that I felt from the audience — I remember I walked out onto the stage to do my variation , the white swan from Swan Lake , and I couldn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ started because the cheers were so loud .
Being a California girl , it was such a proud moment .
I kept saying that evening I wish I would have been in the audience watching .
Alan Menken , composer The first time I played the Hollywood Bowl , I went on before the sun set .
People were still arriving in their boxes , talking , setting up picnics , rolling wine bottles down the steps .
It was like playing the world ’ s largest and noisiest dinner theatre .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the encore late into the darkness of the evening ... a much more magical experience .
Richard Kraft , concert director/producer I stumbled into doing extravagant shows like “ The Little Mermaid , ” “ Beauty and the Beast , ” “ Willy Wonka ” “ The Nightmare Before Christmas ” and “ La La Land ” at the Hollywood Bowl without letting anyone know I had zero prior experience even directing community theatre .
I kept waiting for the showbiz police to show up and cart me away .
Instead , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ really felt like I belonged when the security guard at the Artists ’ Entrance stopped asking to see my backstage laminate .
For the audiences and those putting on the shows , the Hollywood Bowl is both massive and intimate , communal and personal .
Laura Engel , producer Producing live-to-film concerts experiences like “ The Nightmare Before Christmas ” is magical .
It transforms the place into a giant outdoor movie theatre crossbred with an enormous concert venue .
The box seats feel like a family picnic and elsewhere like a tailgate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have an absolute curfew time policy at the Bowl for the end of the show .
I remember always having anxiety attacks during the encores frantically checking my watch on the side of the stage .
With that said , the Bowl shows are some of the most magical nights of my life .
Jesse Tyler Ferguson , actor I was honored to be a part of the “ Sondheim on Sondheim ” concert a few years ago with the Los Angeles Philharmonic .
As a musical theater nerd it has always been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s most notoriously tricky songs , “ Franklin Shepard , Inc. , ” and to perform it at the Bowl with Gustavo Dudamel conducting was beyond my wildest imagination .
I drilled the lyrics to that song every day for a month to get ready .
On the afternoon of the final dress rehearsal , I messed up the lyrics badly .
Relieved that it happened in rehearsal but terrified that it would happen again that night in front of 18,000 people , I spent that next six hours maniacally going over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some of them on my palm right before going out on stage .
I looked to Dudamel , who gave me a nod of confidence before we all launched into the song .
I never looked down at the prompts I had written on my hand .
Thank god I didn ’ t need them because I had sweated them off anyhow !
I made two debuts with two maestros , Gustavo [ Dudamel ] and Esa-Pekka [ Salonen ] .
It ’ s as close to a rock concert a classical venue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , with 18,000 people .
And it ’ s an artistic landmark that I look forward to returning to each year .
It ’ s like a West Coast Carnegie Hall for me .
Inara George , the Bird and the Bee Playing Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl are totally bucket-list things to me .
But where Carnegie Hall is an insane sonic experience , the Bowl is more of a spatial experience .
To be onstage there , it feels like an intimate space , which is so rare in such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is true in the audience .
If you go to a show at the Staples Center and you know that 200 of your friends are there , there ’ s no way you ’ re going to see them .
But when you go the Bowl and you walk the pathway between the boxes and the upper area , you ’ ll run into 10 people you know .
It feels so communal .
Gaten Matazzaro , actor I remember what it felt like to walk on that stage for opening night of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hadn ’ t quite gone down yet , so I could see everyone in the entire venue and this immediate fear overtook me .
Then I looked quickly to my right , trying my best to stay in character , and I noticed for the first time how insane it was that I was getting to experience something of this magnitude with this group of people I had grown to love so much over the course of just three weeks .
To see that nobody is going to feel that same magic this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ my best memories of performing are from the Hollywood Bowl .
Looking at the audience , from the smiling faces in the boxes all the way up to the twinkling flashes of lights in the uppermost rows , I take great pride in having performed on that hallowed stage many times .
I look forward to getting back there soon !
Michael McDonald , Doobie Brothers First time I ever drove by the place after moving to L.A. , I could feel its cultural importance .
And when I drive by now , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first time I played there with the Doobies — a reunion show [ in 1987 ] for the Vietnam Veterans Aid Foundation .
But my favorite gigs I ’ ve done there were with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra [ most recently in 2018 ] .
In so many cases , it ’ s a difficult situation to play these pops programs because the orchestra has to hear the band from behind .
And I don ’ t care who you are — no band sounds great from behind .
It ’ s just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But how that stage is set up , with the orchestra like 10 feet above the band , it makes so much sonic sense .
You ’ re getting the ambiance of an enclosure , but an enclosure that ’ s open to infinity .
Johnny Mathis , singer You know what it feels like to play the Hollywood Bowl ?
Absolutely top of the world .
Nothing beats it for atmosphere , for old history .
I could never believe how comfortable it was , because the stage is relatively small @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stage to the first seats .
It ’ s very cozy — not vast at all .
I have a lot of friends in the business who have performed there over the years .
I always wait till everybody is inside and then sneak in .
Fortunately , the people there remember me , so they let me park in the back .
Pete Tong , DJ and radio presenter Playing at the Hollywood Bowl in November of 2017 with my Ibiza Classics show is undoubtedly a career highlight , and writing this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t quite believe actually happened .
But it did , I have the poster on my wall .
I remember being backstage and praying for time to slow down so I could savor the history seeping through the walls .
Given the scale and worldwide reputation of the venue , behind the scenes it ’ s much smaller and simpler than you can imagine , but that just adds to the history and the vibe .
The Beatles , the Stones , the Doors , Prince , Monty Python — the legacy is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to end .
Dean Spunt , No Age When our band got offered to open the Bowl show with Sonic Youth and Pavement it was a real glorious feeling .
Coming from playing to 50 people at galleries to playing on the stage that my mother saw Earth , Wind & Fire as a young girl felt like a pretty big moment .
My parents made a bootleg shirt of the show and my father actually sold them out front of the Bowl after our set .
My favorite gig was my last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by myself , but then I had an orchestra and a great band .
It was like sitting in a comfortable chair .
The orchestra was conducted by my cousin David Newman , and I got such a kick out of watching him .
When you have a show that goes well at home , it ’ s quite a kick .
The Bowl is one of the most famous locales in the city .
A place like that draws people here .
I have season tickets and go every year for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ right thing obviously , but it reminds you how long performing live is going to be out .
It ’ ll be so good to get back .

For the first time in nearly a century, the Hollywood Bowl will be silent this summer. Which means no strolls up Highland with picnic baskets, no stacked parking, no encounters with puppeteer Dave Liebe Hart, no magic-hour mingling or shared sushi in terrace boxes. Music fans who would otherwise be flying in from around the world are staying home.
Most pointedly, no musicians will stand on one of the most hallowed stages in the world and feel the sense of accomplishment and rush of energy that comes with a Bowl appearance. After all, that same platform has supported artists including Nina Simone, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Thelonious Monk, Judy Garland, the Beatles and Bob Dylan. On one single evening in 1961, Johnny Cash, “Mother” Maybelle Carter, June Carter Cash, Flatt and Scruggs and Patsy Cline did back-to-back sets.
As the decades have passed, the Bowl’s lineup has reflected the musical times. Whether with jazz, rock, soul, folk, R&B, funk or, of course, classical music, a booking at the Bowl remains a career marker for the artists lucky enough to have performed there. The Times asked entertainers from across disciplines to reflect on their most memorable performances at the Hollywood Bowl.
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Lindsey Buckingham, guitarist, formerly of Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac’s John McVie, left, Stevie Nicks, Mick Fleetwood and Lindsey Buckingham perform at the Hollywood Bowl on May 25, 2013. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
The Hollywood Bowl is one of the great iconic spots of Los Angeles. Its outdoor setting celebrating the Southern California climate, its proximity to downtown Hollywood, its rustic/urban atmosphere, and its history dating back to the early 1920s, all resonate with the spirit of the city. My favorite experience at the Bowl was in 2013, when Fleetwood Mac played there. At that time we’d been together for nearly 40 years, and the passage of time had finally allowed us the clarity to see that we’d done our job properly and had perhaps become a bit iconic ourselves. With that awareness, playing the Hollywood Bowl — such a great part of the legacy of the city we love — made for a magical night.
Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac at their concert at the Hollywood Bowl in May of 2013. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
Nile Rodgers, producer and Chic bandleader
July 4th last year playing with the L.A. Phil was maybe one of my greatest experiences ever. We had never played three nights in a row there, and by the time we got to the 4th, it was complete pandemonium, in such a wonderful way. I went to elementary school and junior high in L.A., and we’d go hang out on the hill above the Bowl. It’s an awesome sight from the stage. I’m used to it now but if you’re not accustomed to that, seeing it for the first time, the crowd feels like it’s a wave that’s going to break over you.
Kathy Valentine, Go-Go’s
In the summer of 2018, the Go-Go’s were featured as the annual July 4th Fireworks Spectacular musical guest. This meant three consecutive nights performing at the Bowl, with the L.A. Philharmonic accompanying us on many songs. Our band had played at the Bowl several times over the years, but this was an exceptional honor. So much tradition, prestige, history — For a band that got its start as punk rockers from the streets of Hollywood, I know we all felt both humbled and proud. The funniest part for me was the dichotomy of looking out and seeing close to 20,000 people, dancing, going nuts, cheering and singing all the words — then looking back and wondering if the violinists were just hating this gig, wishing they were playing Sibelius or Beethoven instead of “We Got the Beat.”
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Rodrigo Sánchez, Rodrigo & Gabriela
The last time we played was two years ago. We’d been working on a new album for three years, and it was such a long process for us. Our management and the labels were there that night and we decided to play a long cover of Pink Floyd‘s “Echoes.” We weren’t actually sure we were going to do that at the Bowl after playing with the orchestra [during the first half of the set]. But we wanted to put this song on the record and the only way to convince the label, and especially management, was to test it there right on the spot.
We didn’t have chairs, so we sat on the little steps and started playing “Echoes” — 20 minutes long. It was an incredible response. When management came back after they said, “Okay, that has to be on the record.” And “Echoes” became the first single on that album, which eventually got the Grammy. Everything is connected to it.
Lionel Richie, singer-songwriter
In 1971, the Commodores were the opening act for the Jackson 5. That particular day will ring in my head forever because we just finished doing a show in San Francisco at the Cow Palace, and it was an amazing success. The next night was the Hollywood Bowl. We’d been waiting to play the Hollywood Bowl because this was our great opportunity to maybe, just maybe, be discovered by someone like the Motown family.
The thing that we didn’t realize was when they packed up the show [in San Francisco], they left our equipment on the side of the backstage area, so when we came to rehearsal to do our soundcheck, we had no equipment. We had to borrow the amplifier from the Jackson 5. We had to borrow the guitar.
But more than anything I remember that the tops to our uniforms made it, but the bottoms didn’t. So we played the show in the tops — the kind that snap underneath so they stay tucked in your pants. And bare feet. So an afro, bare feet and a top.
We played our set, and members of the Gordy family saw us there. They wanted to sign the Commodores. Let me tell you something: The only reason I’m here today is that I actually had enough guts to go out on stage armed with an afro and a top.
Margo Price, singer-songwriter
It’s absolutely surreal, standing on that stage where Dylan and the Jimi Hendrix Experience played. I was a part of the Outlaw Music Festival that Willie Nelson put on, and that was one of the stops. It was a killer lineup: Willie, Sturgill Simpson, Phil Lesh, Lukas Nelson, Particle Kid and myself.
I was actually expecting, but I had not told anyone that I was pregnant yet during that show. I was having morning sickness down in my dressing room. I was supposed to go up and sing with Lukas and I was throwing up. I missed my queue. He called me to come out there and I didn’t make it. I felt really bad.
As Phil Lesh took the stage, my booking agent asked me if maybe I would want to sit in with Phil. They let me look at the setlist and I was like, “All right, I’m singing ‘Turn on Your Love Light.’ I went up there and sang with him and really had a blast. I’m pregnant. I’m hiding it from everyone. I mean, I had butterflies anyway, but it was really memorable. I got up there and sang gospel songs with Willie afterward, and me and Phil walked out arm-in-arm to back up Willie. It was something incredible to be a part of.
Taylor Goldsmith, Dawes
(On backing up Kris Kristofferson during a tribute to Glen Campbell)
Just being around Kris Kristofferson was so great, but he hadn’t played with a band in a long time so keeping up and playing guitar along to a drummer was kind of a foreign for him. He was worried about missing his cue, so during soundcheck I sang for him when to come in, but I didn’t know if he was going to want me to do that for the actual show itself.
After, I decided to go find his dressing room and ask him. I thought, “I’ll take this opportunity to let him know that he’s one of my all-time heroes.” He comes out and I said, “Kris, do you want me to sing along to that one section?” Kris very sweetly said, “Taylor, I’ll take all the help I can get.”
I said, “Well, I also wanted to tell you —” and he’s like, ‘Hold on. Your fly’s down.” I looked down, and sure enough my fly is down. I’m trying to tell my hero how I feel about him. He [said], “I would hope you would say the same thing to me. Now what was it you wanted to say?” At that point I was so embarrassed that I was like, “Oh it’s all good, I’m a big fan and it’s a pleasure to play with you.” I got out of there as fast as I could.
Verdine White, Earth, Wind & Fire
From left, Verdine White, Ralph Johnson and Philip Bailey of Earth, Wind & Fire perform with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl in 2013. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
The one I loved was the one we most recently did, in September 2019, with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and Thomas Wilkins conducting and two sold-out nights there. The first time in 2013, Maurice [White]came to that particular concert and got on stage with us. It was in September and it was fantastic.
Danny Elfman, composer
Screens show “The Nightmare Before Christmas” during Danny Elfman’s concert at the Hollywood Bowl on Oct. 31. (Michael Baker / For The Times)
When I was first approached to do “The Nightmare Before Christmas” live at the Bowl I rejected the idea outright. “It’s just too big and it’s outdoors,” I thought, two strikes against any feeling of intimacy. Though skeptical I finally agreed. After the first performance, however, I was completely converted. There is some kind of weird effect up there that is quite unique and magical. Although it’s very large it doesn’t feel that way. I was shocked how intimate the experience actually felt. Needless to say I loved it and I very much look forward to returning.
Courtney Love, singer-songwriter
Courtney Love performs at the Hollywood Bowl, Nov. 27, 2001. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
When I opened for Jane’s Addiction at the Hollywood Bowl in 2001, it had ended badly. I’d been blasé about the (very serious, very early) curfew, and ended up being dragged off by two goons. Dramatic. Upon returning to the Bowl with Lana Del Rey in 2015, I wasn’t headlining, so “redemption” wasn’t what I was seeking. Just a good show. But as a Californian, an Angeleno, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of occasion when walking up the slope to the stage. I sang Leonard Cohen’s deceptive simple “Take This Longing” and gave myself to the moment, to all the Lana fans in flower crowns, beautifully lit, with the May Jasmine breeze… you know, the reasons we live here. LDR took headlining the Bowl very seriously. Afterward, her eyes were just alive. It had been a real triumph for her.
After the show, I got out past the parking and buses, took a shortcut down to Hollywood Blvd. and started walking back to the Chateau Marmont. I usually love my post-show solitudes, but on this night I didn’t. I still drank then and had a bottle of something in my cotton coat. I felt like the biggest cliche in the history of this town. But then a town car pulled up next to me. A man I’ve always loved and didn’t know was in town rolled down the window. “Hey toots,” he said. “That was a great Leonard Cohen cover. Wanna ride?” I smiled wide. It was that sort of evening.
Misty Copeland, ballet dancer
Misty Copeland is applauded by Gustavo Dudamel after performing “Odette’s Solo” from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake at Hollywood Bowl. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Growing up in Southern California, the Hollywood Bowl was always just a fantasy, like, one day I could ever perform there. When I got the opportunity to perform, I was partnered by Marcelo Gomes and we did a Tchaikovsky theme. The love that I felt from the audience — I remember I walked out onto the stage to do my variation, the white swan from Swan Lake, and I couldn’t hear the music when it started because the cheers were so loud. Being a California girl, it was such a proud moment. I kept saying that evening I wish I would have been in the audience watching.
Alan Menken, composer
The first time I played the Hollywood Bowl, I went on before the sun set. People were still arriving in their boxes, talking, setting up picnics, rolling wine bottles down the steps. It was like playing the world’s largest and noisiest dinner theatre. The next time I performed there I was the encore late into the darkness of the evening... a much more magical experience.
Richard Kraft, concert director/producer
I stumbled into doing extravagant shows like “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Willy Wonka” “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “La La Land” at the Hollywood Bowl without letting anyone know I had zero prior experience even directing community theatre. I kept waiting for the showbiz police to show up and cart me away. Instead, the Bowl became a second home. I really felt like I belonged when the security guard at the Artists’ Entrance stopped asking to see my backstage laminate. For the audiences and those putting on the shows, the Hollywood Bowl is both massive and intimate, communal and personal.
Laura Engel, producer
Producing live-to-film concerts experiences like “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is magical. It transforms the place into a giant outdoor movie theatre crossbred with an enormous concert venue. The box seats feel like a family picnic and elsewhere like a tailgate party for thousands. However, they have an absolute curfew time policy at the Bowl for the end of the show. I remember always having anxiety attacks during the encores frantically checking my watch on the side of the stage. With that said, the Bowl shows are some of the most magical nights of my life.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, actor
I was honored to be a part of the “Sondheim on Sondheim” concert a few years ago with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. As a musical theater nerd it has always been a dream to sing one of Sondheim’s most notoriously tricky songs, “Franklin Shepard, Inc.,” and to perform it at the Bowl with Gustavo Dudamel conducting was beyond my wildest imagination. I drilled the lyrics to that song every day for a month to get ready. On the afternoon of the final dress rehearsal, I messed up the lyrics badly. Relieved that it happened in rehearsal but terrified that it would happen again that night in front of 18,000 people, I spent that next six hours maniacally going over the lyrics. I ended up writing some of them on my palm right before going out on stage. I looked to Dudamel, who gave me a nod of confidence before we all launched into the song. I never looked down at the prompts I had written on my hand. Thank god I didn’t need them because I had sweated them off anyhow!
Yuja Wang, pianist
Yuja Wang performs at the Hollywood Bowl in July of 2014. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
I made two debuts with two maestros, Gustavo [Dudamel] and Esa-Pekka [Salonen]. It’s as close to a rock concert a classical venue can get. I love the energy, with 18,000 people. And it’s an artistic landmark that I look forward to returning to each year. It’s like a West Coast Carnegie Hall for me.
Inara George, the Bird and the Bee
Playing Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl are totally bucket-list things to me. But where Carnegie Hall is an insane sonic experience, the Bowl is more of a spatial experience. To be onstage there, it feels like an intimate space, which is so rare in such a large venue. And the same is true in the audience. If you go to a show at the Staples Center and you know that 200 of your friends are there, there’s no way you’re going to see them. But when you go the Bowl and you walk the pathway between the boxes and the upper area, you’ll run into 10 people you know. It feels so communal.
Gaten Matazzaro, actor
I remember what it felt like to walk on that stage for opening night of “Into the Woods.” The sun hadn’t quite gone down yet, so I could see everyone in the entire venue and this immediate fear overtook me. Then I looked quickly to my right, trying my best to stay in character, and I noticed for the first time how insane it was that I was getting to experience something of this magnitude with this group of people I had grown to love so much over the course of just three weeks. To see that nobody is going to feel that same magic this year breaks my heart.
Harry Connick Jr., singer and actor
Gloria Esteban and Harry Connick Jr. perform a duet at the Hollywood Bowl. (Los Angeles Times)
Some of my best memories of performing are from the Hollywood Bowl. Looking at the audience, from the smiling faces in the boxes all the way up to the twinkling flashes of lights in the uppermost rows, I take great pride in having performed on that hallowed stage many times. I look forward to getting back there soon!
Michael McDonald, Doobie Brothers
First time I ever drove by the place after moving to L.A., I could feel its cultural importance. And when I drive by now, I immediately go right back to the first time I played there with the Doobies — a reunion show [in 1987] for the Vietnam Veterans Aid Foundation. But my favorite gigs I’ve done there were with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra [most recently in 2018]. In so many cases, it’s a difficult situation to play these pops programs because the orchestra has to hear the band from behind. And I don’t care who you are — no band sounds great from behind. It’s just kind of a horrid, rolling mush. But how that stage is set up, with the orchestra like 10 feet above the band, it makes so much sonic sense. You’re getting the ambiance of an enclosure, but an enclosure that’s open to infinity.
Johnny Mathis, singer
You know what it feels like to play the Hollywood Bowl? Absolutely top of the world. Nothing beats it for atmosphere, for old history. I could never believe how comfortable it was, because the stage is relatively small and because of the proximity from the stage to the first seats. It’s very cozy — not vast at all. I have a lot of friends in the business who have performed there over the years. I always wait till everybody is inside and then sneak in. Fortunately, the people there remember me, so they let me park in the back.
Pete Tong, DJ and radio presenter
Playing at the Hollywood Bowl in November of 2017 with my Ibiza Classics show is undoubtedly a career highlight, and writing this now, something that I can’t quite believe actually happened. But it did, I have the poster on my wall. I remember being backstage and praying for time to slow down so I could savor the history seeping through the walls. Given the scale and worldwide reputation of the venue, behind the scenes it’s much smaller and simpler than you can imagine, but that just adds to the history and the vibe. The Beatles, the Stones, the Doors, Prince, Monty Python — the legacy is insane, we never wanted our performance to end.
Dean Spunt, No Age
When our band got offered to open the Bowl show with Sonic Youth and Pavement it was a real glorious feeling. Coming from playing to 50 people at galleries to playing on the stage that my mother saw Earth, Wind & Fire as a young girl felt like a pretty big moment. My parents made a bootleg shirt of the show and my father actually sold them out front of the Bowl after our set.
Randy Newman, singer-songwriter
Randy Newman performs at the Hollywood Bowl on Aug. 12, 2018. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)
My favorite gig was my last one in 2018. I usually play by myself, but then I had an orchestra and a great band. It was like sitting in a comfortable chair. The orchestra was conducted by my cousin David Newman, and I got such a kick out of watching him. When you have a show that goes well at home, it’s quite a kick. The Bowl is one of the most famous locales in the city. A place like that draws people here. I have season tickets and go every year for the orchestra. They’re doing the right thing obviously, but it reminds you how long performing live is going to be out. It’ll be so good to get back.


latimes--2020-05-27--Thousands of struggling L.A. residents could get rent relief under $100-million City Council proposa

Thousands of struggling L.A. residents could get rent relief under $100-million City Council proposal

Tens of thousands of renters facing pandemic-related economic struggles in Los Angeles could receive financial assistance under a plan set to be unveiled today from Council President Nury Martinez .
The $ 100 million in proposed rent relief is necessary to keep financially strapped Angelenos in their homes , Martinez said .
“ You can see the desperation in people ’ s eyes about how they ’ re going to feed their families let alone how they ’ re going to pay their rent , ” said Martinez , who represents eastern San Fernando Valley neighborhoods .
The economic devastation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ felt across the region , with the unemployment rate in L.A. County topping 20 % .
Though the funding could assist more than 70,000 renters , that would still be just a fraction of the population struggling to pay rent , according to some estimates .
To qualify , tenants would have to prove that they earn 80 % or less of the area ’ s median income and that they ’ ve faced economic or health effects due to the coronavirus , according to Martinez , who said details of the program @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of four , for instance , would need to make $ 90,100 or less to be eligible .
The rent subsidy would go directly to landlords .
The city has been discussing a rental assistance program for those affected by the coronavirus since April .
One proposal called for the city to cover up to half of tenants ’ rent for up to three months with a maximum grant of $ 3,000 per household .
If $ 100 million were allocated according to that formula , 74,074 L.A. households could receive two months @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1,350 per month , according to an estimate from the city ’ s Housing and Community Investment Department .
That ’ s compared to 33,333 households receiving three months of subsidy if their rent was $ 2,000 a month .
The proposal would siphon off a chunk of the $ 694 million the city is receiving as part of the federal government ’ s $ 2 trillion coronavirus stimulus program that passed in March .
The money must be used to cover direct spending on coronavirus response or secondary economic effects from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ renters .
It ’ s difficult to know how many Angelenos have fallen behind on rent payments .
A report from UC Berkeley ’ s Terner Center for Housing Innovation estimated that nearly 1 million households in the L.A. metropolitan area , which has a substantial number of workers in the service sector and entertainment industries , are likely to have faced coronavirus-related income or job losses .
Recent research from UCLA also found that tenants living in Los Angeles neighborhoods , including MacArthur Park , Pico-Union and Harvard Heights , are among @ @ @ @ @ @ @ facing problems paying their rent due to the pandemic .
City leaders have already passed a moratorium on evictions for those who can ’ t pay due to the economic or health effects of the coronavirus .
Under those regulations , affected tenants have one year following the expiration of the coronavirus state of emergency to repay any past due rent .
Landlords and low-income housing advocates have expressed concern over the anti-eviction rules .
Landlords are worried about having to shoulder unpaid rents for a lengthy period and housing advocates are worried @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trigger a wave of evictions .
Rental assistance programs could alleviate both concerns .
But some renter organizations , including the Los Angeles Tenants Union , have pushed for city , state and federal leaders to go further by cancelling rent and mortgage payments .
They argue that limited budgets for rental assistance programs will necessarily leave out some who would qualify for relief .
The groups have urged tenants to go on a “ rent strike ” and withhold their payments .

Tens of thousands of renters facing pandemic-related economic struggles in Los Angeles could receive financial assistance under a plan set to be unveiled today from Council President Nury Martinez.
The $100 million in proposed rent relief is necessary to keep financially strapped Angelenos in their homes, Martinez said.
“You can see the desperation in people’s eyes about how they’re going to feed their families let alone how they’re going to pay their rent,” said Martinez, who represents eastern San Fernando Valley neighborhoods.
The economic devastation of the novel coronavirus shutdown has been felt across the region, with the unemployment rate in L.A. County topping 20%.
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Though the funding could assist more than 70,000 renters, that would still be just a fraction of the population struggling to pay rent, according to some estimates.
To qualify, tenants would have to prove that they earn 80% or less of the area’s median income and that they’ve faced economic or health effects due to the coronavirus, according to Martinez, who said details of the program are still being negotiated. A family of four, for instance, would need to make $90,100 or less to be eligible. The rent subsidy would go directly to landlords.
The city has been discussing a rental assistance program for those affected by the coronavirus since April. One proposal called for the city to cover up to half of tenants’ rent for up to three months with a maximum grant of $3,000 per household.
If $100 million were allocated according to that formula, 74,074 L.A. households could receive two months of subsidy if their rent was $1,350 per month, according to an estimate from the city’s Housing and Community Investment Department. That’s compared to 33,333 households receiving three months of subsidy if their rent was $2,000 a month.
The proposal would siphon off a chunk of the $694 million the city is receiving as part of the federal government’s $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus program that passed in March. The money must be used to cover direct spending on coronavirus response or secondary economic effects from the shutdown, including impacts to businesses or renters.
It’s difficult to know how many Angelenos have fallen behind on rent payments. A report from UC Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation estimated that nearly 1 million households in the L.A. metropolitan area, which has a substantial number of workers in the service sector and entertainment industries, are likely to have faced coronavirus-related income or job losses. Recent research from UCLA also found that tenants living in Los Angeles neighborhoods, including MacArthur Park, Pico-Union and Harvard Heights, are among the most vulnerable in the county to facing problems paying their rent due to the pandemic.
City leaders have already passed a moratorium on evictions for those who can’t pay due to the economic or health effects of the coronavirus. Under those regulations, affected tenants have one year following the expiration of the coronavirus state of emergency to repay any past due rent.
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Landlords and low-income housing advocates have expressed concern over the anti-eviction rules. Landlords are worried about having to shoulder unpaid rents for a lengthy period and housing advocates are worried that the expiration of rent protections could trigger a wave of evictions. Rental assistance programs could alleviate both concerns.
But some renter organizations, including the Los Angeles Tenants Union, have pushed for city, state and federal leaders to go further by cancelling rent and mortgage payments. They argue that limited budgets for rental assistance programs will necessarily leave out some who would qualify for relief. The groups have urged tenants to go on a “rent strike” and withhold their payments.
Times staff writer Dakota Smith contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-05-27--Six Flags gives a preview of what it'll be like when theme parks reopen

Six Flags Entertainment Corp. became the first major U.S. theme park company to release a set of safety protocols for the reopening of all its U.S. parks , saying it will limit the number of people allowed in , check guests ’ temperatures and require everyone to wear masks and spread out in lines and on rides .
The new protocols offer a preview of how theme park fans are likely to experience U.S. parks in the COVID-19 era .
“ It ’ s a new wave , ” said Dennis Speigel , president of the consulting firm International Theme @ @ @ @ @ @ @ way we are going to live in the future.
” On Wednesday , Walt Disney Co. is expected to tell a government task force in Florida when its Florida theme parks will open , though the Disneyland resort in Anaheim is not expected to be discussed .
No protocols for Disney ’ s U.S. parks have been disclosed .
Universal Orlando Resort released protocols to open its three parks in Florida starting June 5 but not Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles .
“ We will be focused on aggressive protocols around spacing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Thomas Schroder , a spokesman for Universal Orlando .
Cedar Fair Entertainment Co. , which owns Knott ’ s Berry Farm in Buena Park , has yet to release details of protocols for its U.S. theme parks .
Industry experts predict most theme park companies will adopt measures similar to those outlined by Six Flags , including the requirements that guests wear masks and not cram together in queues or on rides .
How soon the parks open will be decided by the governor and local lawmakers in each park ’ s state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Human Services spokesperson said Tuesday that theme parks could be allowed to open late in the third phase of Gov .
Gavin Newsom ’ s four-phase reopening plan .
Six Flags , which operates Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia and 25 other parks in the U.S. , Mexico and Canada , plans to debut its new protocols when it opens Frontier City in Oklahoma City on June 5 .
For the first two days , the Oklahoma park will open only to monthly membership and season-pass holders .
Afterward the attendance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ month , with capacity limits imposed by state officials .
The protocols for Six Flags parks include : — Employees and guests will be required to wear masks .
If guests don ’ t bring masks , they will be asked to buy them at the front gate .
Guests can remove masks while eating or drinking .
— Guests must make reservations so the park can limit attendance .
— Rather than physically searching guests ’ bags , the park will use new no-touch screening devices at the gates .
— Thermal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ guests before they enter the park .
— Guests will be separated by empty rows or seats on rides to maintain some distance between riders .
— Markers on the ground will encourage visitors to maintain distancing in lines for rides and restaurants .
— Rides , restraints , rails , tables , doors , trash cans and other “ high-touch points ” will be cleaned frequently .
“ This new normal will be very different , but we believe these additional measures are appropriate in the current environment , ” Six Flags @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a statement Tuesday .
Six Flags officials said they expect the protocols to exceed state and local officials ’ safety requirements and are willing to adjust if necessary .
Dr. Dean Winslow , an infectious disease specialist and professor at Stanford University , said the risk of infection is lower in outdoor theme parks than in crowded enclosed spaces because the open air can dilute the particles that people emit when they talk or cough .
But he added that it is still important for guests at theme parks to wear masks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ queues and when eating .
“ It sounds like with this particular set of operational instructions they have done their homework , ” he said about the Six Flags protocols that were described to him .
In its earnings report for the first three months of the year , Six Flags Entertainment announced a $ 26-million drop in revenue , or 20 % compared with the same period last year , primarily because of the closure of its parks on March 13 .
Before the parks were closed , attendance had jumped 19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
Shanghai Disneyland in China reopened May 11 with an attendance limit of 30 % of its 80,000-visitor capacity per day .
Reservations had to be made online a week in advance , and visitors were allowed only if a government-backed tracking app on their phones indicated they hadn ’ t been near people suspected of having the virus .
Employees and guests must wear masks .
This month , Disney ’ s chief medical officer , Dr. Pamela Hymel , issued an online message saying Disney is evaluating safety measures for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , including extra cleaning , distancing between park visitors and the use of masks .
Most U.S. theme parks have been closed since mid-March and have laid off or furloughed thousands of employees .
Although Six Flags ’ reopening protocols lay the road map for eventually returning to normal operations , industry experts say the capacity limits and cost of the extra health measures will mean theme parks will continue to lose money for a while .
Reopening is “ a question of losing less money than they are losing now , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ professor and theme park expert from Farmingdale State College in New York .
Some Americans have shown frustration with the health safety rules brought on by the pandemic , and Lewison said he expects some park guests will rebel against theme parks ’ distancing and mask requirements .
“ I think there will be a little tension , ” he said .
“ It seems to me a lot of the public is ready to cast off any sort of restrictions.
” Speigel , the consulting firm president , noted that at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Orlando Resorts announced its plans to reopen , a message warns potential guests that exposure to the virus is inherent in any public place and “ we can not guarantee you will not be exposed during your visit.
” The biggest concern among theme park operators , he said , is that the parks will face legal liability if the number of coronavirus cases jumps after they reopen .
“ This is what is scaring everybody , ” he said .
“ What if we reopen and get a relapse ?
” Speigel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can be protected from liability by posting such warnings .

Guests at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia ride the Riddler’s Revenge coaster before the pandemic.
Six Flags Entertainment Corp. became the first major U.S. theme park company to release a set of safety protocols for the reopening of all its U.S. parks, saying it will limit the number of people allowed in, check guests’ temperatures and require everyone to wear masks and spread out in lines and on rides.
The new protocols offer a preview of how theme park fans are likely to experience U.S. parks in the COVID-19 era.
“It’s a new wave,” said Dennis Speigel, president of the consulting firm International Theme Park Services. “That is the way we are going to live in the future.”
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On Wednesday, Walt Disney Co. is expected to tell a government task force in Florida when its Florida theme parks will open, though the Disneyland resort in Anaheim is not expected to be discussed. No protocols for Disney’s U.S. parks have been disclosed.
Universal Orlando Resort released protocols to open its three parks in Florida starting June 5 but not Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles. “We will be focused on aggressive protocols around spacing, screening and sanitation,” said Thomas Schroder, a spokesman for Universal Orlando.
Cedar Fair Entertainment Co., which owns Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, has yet to release details of protocols for its U.S. theme parks.
Industry experts predict most theme park companies will adopt measures similar to those outlined by Six Flags, including the requirements that guests wear masks and not cram together in queues or on rides.
How soon the parks open will be decided by the governor and local lawmakers in each park’s state. In California, a state Health and Human Services spokesperson said Tuesday that theme parks could be allowed to open late in the third phase of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s four-phase reopening plan.
Six Flags, which operates Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia and 25 other parks in the U.S., Mexico and Canada, plans to debut its new protocols when it opens Frontier City in Oklahoma City on June 5.
Advertisement
For the first two days, the Oklahoma park will open only to monthly membership and season-pass holders. Afterward the attendance limit will be increased gradually throughout the month, with capacity limits imposed by state officials.
The protocols for Six Flags parks include:
— Employees and guests will be required to wear masks. If guests don’t bring masks, they will be asked to buy them at the front gate. Guests can remove masks while eating or drinking.
— Guests must make reservations so the park can limit attendance.
— Rather than physically searching guests’ bags, the park will use new no-touch screening devices at the gates.
— Thermal imaging cameras will take the temperatures of guests before they enter the park.
— Guests will be separated by empty rows or seats on rides to maintain some distance between riders.
— Markers on the ground will encourage visitors to maintain distancing in lines for rides and restaurants.
— Rides, restraints, rails, tables, doors, trash cans and other “high-touch points” will be cleaned frequently.
“This new normal will be very different, but we believe these additional measures are appropriate in the current environment,” Six Flags President and Chief Executive Mike Spanos said in a statement Tuesday.
https://twitter.com/SixFlags/status/1265251336443949059
Six Flags officials said they expect the protocols to exceed state and local officials’ safety requirements and are willing to adjust if necessary.
Dr. Dean Winslow, an infectious disease specialist and professor at Stanford University, said the risk of infection is lower in outdoor theme parks than in crowded enclosed spaces because the open air can dilute the particles that people emit when they talk or cough. But he added that it is still important for guests at theme parks to wear masks and maintain distance on rides, in queues and when eating.
“It sounds like with this particular set of operational instructions they have done their homework,” he said about the Six Flags protocols that were described to him.
In its earnings report for the first three months of the year, Six Flags Entertainment announced a $26-million drop in revenue, or 20% compared with the same period last year, primarily because of the closure of its parks on March 13. Before the parks were closed, attendance had jumped 19% from the year-earlier period, it said.
Shanghai Disneyland in China reopened May 11 with an attendance limit of 30% of its 80,000-visitor capacity per day. Reservations had to be made online a week in advance, and visitors were allowed only if a government-backed tracking app on their phones indicated they hadn’t been near people suspected of having the virus. Employees and guests must wear masks.
This month, Disney’s chief medical officer, Dr. Pamela Hymel, issued an online message saying Disney is evaluating safety measures for reopening the company’s U.S. parks, including extra cleaning, distancing between park visitors and the use of masks.
Most U.S. theme parks have been closed since mid-March and have laid off or furloughed thousands of employees. Although Six Flags’ reopening protocols lay the road map for eventually returning to normal operations, industry experts say the capacity limits and cost of the extra health measures will mean theme parks will continue to lose money for a while.
Reopening is “a question of losing less money than they are losing now,” said Martin Lewison, a business administration professor and theme park expert from Farmingdale State College in New York.
Some Americans have shown frustration with the health safety rules brought on by the pandemic, and Lewison said he expects some park guests will rebel against theme parks’ distancing and mask requirements.
“I think there will be a little tension,” he said. “It seems to me a lot of the public is ready to cast off any sort of restrictions.”
Speigel, the consulting firm president, noted that at the top of the web pages where Universal Orlando Resorts announced its plans to reopen, a message warns potential guests that exposure to the virus is inherent in any public place and “we cannot guarantee you will not be exposed during your visit.”
The biggest concern among theme park operators, he said, is that the parks will face legal liability if the number of coronavirus cases jumps after they reopen.
“This is what is scaring everybody,” he said. “What if we reopen and get a relapse?”
Speigel said it is unclear whether theme parks can be protected from liability by posting such warnings.