latimes--2020-11-30--Santa Ana winds bring 'critical situation for fire weather'

A combination of bone-dry conditions and gusty Santa Ana winds are raising new concerns of elevated fire risk in Southern California this week .
Winds of up to 65 mph in the mountains of Los Angeles and Ventura counties are expected by the end of the week .
Those gusts , coupled with single-digit humidity and little chance of precipitation , could create dangerous fire conditions , said David Sweet , a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard .
“ We ’ re looking at a likely critical situation for fire weather , ” Sweet said .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a tweet Sunday that “ any spark could ... blow up into a large , destructive wildfire ” and urged residents living in high-risk zones to prepare .
More than 8,000 Southern California Edison customers had their power turned off on Thanksgiving evening as high winds led to elevated wildfire risk last week .
Peak Santa Ana wind season runs from November through January , so this latest wind event isn ’ t unusual .
But rainfall is far below normal , adding to fire worries , officials warn .
Earlier this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by similar conditions raged along the California-Nevada border .
The Mountain View fire killed one woman and decimated the small Eastern Sierra town of Walker .
About 88 miles north , the Pinehaven fire ignited the same day and damaged scores of homes in Reno .
“ That ’ s why this is a difficult time of year , ” Sweet said .
“ It ’ s really a race to see whether the rains come in first , or whether the Santa Ana winds come in first .
And when the winds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you have that high fire danger.
” The winds appear to be winning .
Beginning Monday night , winds from the north are predicted to pour over Santa Barbara County , spurred by high pressure in Nevada and lower pressure on the Southern California coast , Sweet said .
By Tuesday night , those winds will likely shift to the northeast , and by Wednesday , the Santa Anas are slated to arrive , increasing over the afternoon and peaking on Thursday or Friday .
“ We ’ re expecting a moderate to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ warnings could go up as the winds pick up , Sweet said .
Valley regions , including the San Gabriel and San Fernando areas , could see gusts up to 60 mph , while coastal regions are expected to experience winds up to 45 mph , Sweet said .
The Hollywood Hills and surrounding areas could get winds as high as 40 mph , he added .
Meanwhile , there ’ s no rain in sight for the next seven days , forecasters say .
Typically , downtown Los Angeles records 1.65 inches @ @ @ @ @ @ @ start of the water year — and the beginning of December .
This year , however , the area has seen only 0.11 of an inch , Sweet said .

A kayaker rows by Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbara in September. Winds from the north are predicted to pour over Santa Barbara County starting Monday night.
A combination of bone-dry conditions and gusty Santa Ana winds are raising new concerns of elevated fire risk in Southern California this week.
Winds of up to 65 mph in the mountains of Los Angeles and Ventura counties are expected by the end of the week. Those gusts, coupled with single-digit humidity and little chance of precipitation, could create dangerous fire conditions, said David Sweet, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.
“We’re looking at a likely critical situation for fire weather,” Sweet said.
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The National Weather Service in Los Angeles warned in a tweet Sunday that “any spark could ... blow up into a large, destructive wildfire” and urged residents living in high-risk zones to prepare.
Vegetation is about as dry as it gets here in #SoCal - with #SantaAnaWinds on the way, any fire spark could grow blow up into a large, destructive #wildfire. Are you READY? @CAL_FIRE's Ready, Set, GO program can help! #CAwx #CAfire pic.twitter.com/4PSrZ0Qrrk — NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) November 30, 2020
More than 8,000 Southern California Edison customers had their power turned off on Thanksgiving evening as high winds led to elevated wildfire risk last week.
Peak Santa Ana wind season runs from November through January, so this latest wind event isn’t unusual. But rainfall is far below normal, adding to fire worries, officials warn.
Earlier this month, a pair of fires sparked by similar conditions raged along the California-Nevada border.
The Mountain View fire killed one woman and decimated the small Eastern Sierra town of Walker. About 88 miles north, the Pinehaven fire ignited the same day and damaged scores of homes in Reno.
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“That’s why this is a difficult time of year,” Sweet said. “It’s really a race to see whether the rains come in first, or whether the Santa Ana winds come in first. And when the winds come in before the rainfall comes, you have that high fire danger.”
The winds appear to be winning.
Beginning Monday night, winds from the north are predicted to pour over Santa Barbara County, spurred by high pressure in Nevada and lower pressure on the Southern California coast, Sweet said. By Tuesday night, those winds will likely shift to the northeast, and by Wednesday, the Santa Anas are slated to arrive, increasing over the afternoon and peaking on Thursday or Friday.
“We’re expecting a moderate to strong event,” and red flag warnings could go up as the winds pick up, Sweet said.
Valley regions, including the San Gabriel and San Fernando areas, could see gusts up to 60 mph, while coastal regions are expected to experience winds up to 45 mph, Sweet said. The Hollywood Hills and surrounding areas could get winds as high as 40 mph, he added.
Meanwhile, there’s no rain in sight for the next seven days, forecasters say.
Typically, downtown Los Angeles records 1.65 inches of rain between Oct. 1 — the start of the water year — and the beginning of December. This year, however, the area has seen only 0.11 of an inch, Sweet said.


latimes--2020-11-30--Newsom warns of regional stay-at-home order as COVID-19 hospitalizations hit record

Gov .
Gavin Newsom on Monday warned that California is again on the brink of a wider coronavirus stay-at-home order as public health officials work desperately to shore up a state hospital system that ’ s contending with record numbers of COVID-19 patients .
Should recent trends continue , officials warn , there ’ s a chance that the viciously resurgent pandemic could overwhelm aspects of the state healthcare system .
Of particular concern is California ’ s intensive care capacity .
Currently , about 75 % of the state ’ s 7,733 ICU beds are occupied — with 1,812 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Unless things change , the state could exhaust its existing ICU capacity by mid-December , according to projections Newsom presented .
“ If these trends continue , we ’ re going to have to take much more dramatic — arguably drastic — actions , ” he said during a briefing .
Those include “ the potential for a stay-at-home order ” for areas in the strictest purple tier of California ’ s coronavirus reopening road map , he said .
Of the state ’ s 58 counties , 51 are in the purple @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t are Sierra , Marin , Amador , Alpine , Mono , Mariposa and Inyo .
Officials have watched with growing alarm as a recent record-setting flood of new coronavirus cases has started to wash over the state ’ s hospital system .
There were 7,787 coronavirus patients hospitalized statewide as of Sunday , according to the latest available data .
That ’ s the highest number recorded during the pandemic and an increase of roughly 89 % from two weeks ago .
Even more sobering is that the current figures largely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of infections — as COVID-19 hospitalizations reflect cases that were identified two to three weeks earlier , according to Dr. Mark Ghaly , California ’ s health and human services secretary .
Given the severity of the surge , Ghaly said Monday , everything “ is on the table in terms of considering how we effectively guide the state through this , ” though he said California is “ working with our local partners to make sure what we do is both impactful and as time-limited as possible.
” The stakes for hospitals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are high .
Newsom said about 59 % of California ’ s hospital beds are currently occupied by patients needing care for all sorts of reasons — but that could rise to 78 % by Christmas Eve .
He emphasized that the alarming numbers would come to pass if “ we just sit back and we are bystanders at this moment and we don ’ t subsequently improve upon our existing efforts.
” “ We intend to bend this proverbial curve and impact these statistics favorably , ” he said .
Still , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the full impact of the current surge is realized .
State health officials have estimated that roughly 12 % of those who have tested positive for the coronavirus have been hospitalized two to three weeks later .
As of Monday , California had averaged 13,937 cases per day over the last week , a nearly 75 % increase from two weeks ago , according to data compiled by The Times .
The specter of additional state-level restrictions comes as some counties are already taking additional steps aimed at tamping down transmission of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ strictest rules in months went into effect Monday , while Santa Clara County has ordered a mandatory 14-day quarantine for virtually anyone coming into the county from more than 150 miles away — with some exceptions , such as for people traveling for medical treatment .
Officials in both counties have warned that unless they can halt the coronavirus surge , hospitals could run out of beds in weeks .
L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer put it bluntly : “ We are at the most difficult moment in the pandemic.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any choice but to use all the tools at hand to stop the surge , ” she said during a briefing Monday .
“ Until there is a vaccine , each of us needs to protect all of those around us — both those we know and those we don ’ t .
The virus is running rampant through almost every part of our county.
” Officials in L.A. County rolled out a “ targeted safer-at-home order ” that is in effect through Dec. 20 .
It closes public playgrounds ; places new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ museums , galleries , zoos and aquariums ; and prohibits all gatherings among people from different households , except for outdoor religious services and political demonstrations .
Those limitations are on top of other restrictions that went into effect last week , including a controversial renewed ban on outdoor dining .
Though she acknowledged the disruption and pain that come with new restrictions , Ferrer said health officials have tried to be more targeted in their efforts to slow the spread of the disease .
But , she said , the county can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ worsen — particularly in terms of the healthcare system .
As of Monday , there were 2,185 COVID-19 patients hospitalized countywide .
A week ago , there were 1,473 .
“ The increases we ’ re seeing now are not sustainable , ” Ferrer said .
“ They ’ re ... going to overwhelm not just our healthcare system , but the entire state ’ s healthcare system .
So we ’ re going to have to do everything we can , and hopefully everyone gets on board with this .
It ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ done this for much longer in the past and with many more restrictions.
” In Santa Clara County , hotel use has been restricted to essential travel only or to people needing medical isolation or quarantine .
Capacity at retail establishments was also further capped .
“ We have come to a place where our cases and our hospitalizations are so high that we must do something to settle things down , ” Dr. Sara Cody , the health officer for Santa Clara County , said Saturday .
“ We are now at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suspended contact sports for professional teams , forcing the San Francisco 49ers to look elsewhere to play their home games scheduled for December .
“ This pandemic is like a high-speed train , and our projections tell us that we are on target to derail by around the third week of December if we don ’ t apply brakes , right now , with all our collective might , ” Cody said .
“ We urge everyone to stay home to the greatest extent that you can .
Please stay home .
Do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ essential reasons or essential purposes.
” While acknowledging that the rules present further challenges to businesses already reeling from months of coronavirus-related limitations , officials have said the restrictions , combined with residents ’ adherence to the practices that can help keep them and their loved ones safe , will help turn back the tide of new infections .
However , given the lagging nature of the virus , it will take weeks before the numbers reflect either the benefits of increased public vigilance and health interventions or the ramifications of a potentially @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as gatherings for the recent Thanksgiving holiday .
“ Yes , we ’ re asking a lot .
Yes , people are going to need to make more sacrifices , ” Ferrer said .
“ But if we don ’ t get this virus under control , it will cost all of us dearly .
”

Registered nurses at UCLA Medical Center hold a candlelight vigil to alert the public about patient safety concerns as COVID-19 hospitalizations spike across the county.
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday warned that California is again on the brink of a wider coronavirus stay-at-home order as public health officials work desperately to shore up a state hospital system that’s contending with record numbers of COVID-19 patients.
Should recent trends continue, officials warn, there’s a chance that the viciously resurgent pandemic could overwhelm aspects of the state healthcare system.
Of particular concern is California’s intensive care unit capacity. Currently, about 75% of the state’s 7,733 ICU beds are occupied — with 1,812 of them filled by coronavirus patients.
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Unless things change, the state could exhaust its existing ICU capacity by mid-December, according to projections Newsom presented.
The rural counties of Northern California could exceed ICU capacity by early December; Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley by mid-December, the Sacramento area by late December and the Bay Area by early January.
“If these trends continue, we’re going to have to take much more dramatic — arguably drastic — actions,” Newsom said during a briefing.
‘Potential for a stay-at-home order’
Those include “the potential for a stay-at-home order” for areas in the strictest purple tier of California’s coronavirus reopening road map, he said. It’s possible such a stay-at-home order would be imposed only on counties in the worst shape among those in the purple tier. “We will be coming out with some additional information, some additional recommendations in the very, very near future,” Newsom said.
Of the state’s 58 counties, 51 are in the purple tier — comprising 99% of California’s population. The only ones that aren’t are Sierra, Marin, Amador, Alpine, Mono, Mariposa and Inyo.
California California sets record with most COVID-19 hospitalizations since pandemic began There are more COVID patients in California hospitals than ever before, sparking a race to tamp down the increase before the healthcare system is overwhelmed.
Officials have watched with growing alarm as a recent record-setting flood of new coronavirus cases has started to wash over the state’s hospital system.
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There were 7,787 coronavirus patients hospitalized statewide as of Sunday, according to the latest available data. That’s the highest number recorded during the pandemic — the second consecutive day the record for COVID-19 hospitalizations has been broken. That’s a tripling of hospitalizations since Nov. 2, when 2,602 people were in the hospital with coronavirus infections.
COVID-19 cases requiring intensive care have tripled since Oct. 14, when 600 people were in ICU beds, to 1,812 reported on Sunday.
‘Seriously bad numbers’
“It’s brutal. It’s astoundingly bad. ... They’re seriously, seriously bad numbers,” said Dr. George Rutherford, epidemiologist and infectious-diseases control expert at UC San Francisco. “We don’t have any place to decompress patients, because stuff that’s just as bad is going on in Oregon and Nevada and Arizona.
“We are here on our own, and this is a natural disaster. And we need to be able to avoid the worst parts of this as much as possible. And if there were ever a time for prevention and heeding advice, this is it,” Rutherford said.
So far, the stricter approach California has taken — to err on the side of saving lives — has kept the death toll from exploding as much as it has in other states on a per capita basis.
But the current figures largely don’t include the recent deluge of infections — as COVID-19 hospitalizations reflect cases that were identified two to three weeks earlier, according to Dr. Mark Ghaly, California’s health and human services secretary.
Record high coronavirus cases
On Monday, California broke the single-day record for coronavirus cases: 21,848, surpassing a high set the previous Monday, when 20,654 cases were recorded. By Monday night, California was averaging about 14,000 coronavirus cases a day over a seven-day period, a record, and about 63 deaths a day.
“This is exactly the trendline we most feared, and one we most fear going forward,” Newsom said. “The red flags are flying in terms of the trajectory and our projections of growth.”
That trajectory is a tripling of daily coronavirus cases since Halloween and more than a 50% increase in daily deaths since election day.
Given the severity of the surge, Ghaly said Monday, everything “is on the table in terms of considering how we effectively guide the state through this,” though he said California is “working with our local partners to make sure what we do is both impactful and as time-limited as possible.”
The stakes for hospitals are high.
Possible crisis by Christmas Eve
Newsom said about 59% of California’s hospital beds are currently occupied by patients needing care for all sorts of reasons — but that could rise to 78% by Christmas Eve.
He emphasized that the alarming numbers would come to pass if “we just sit back and we are bystanders at this moment and we don’t subsequently improve upon our existing efforts.”
“We intend to bend this proverbial curve and impact these statistics favorably,” he said.
Still, it will be a few weeks before the full impact of the current surge is realized.
State health officials have estimated that roughly 12% of those who have tested positive for the coronavirus have been hospitalized two to three weeks later.
Daily death toll could rise into 2021
A surge in transmission over the Thanksgiving weekend, for example, would only be reflected in a jump in positive cases by mid-December, and then a surge in hospitalizations around Christmas and New Year’s Day, followed by a rise in daily deaths in early to mid-January.
The specter of additional state-level restrictions comes as some counties are already taking additional steps aimed at tamping down transmission of the coronavirus.
Los Angeles County’s strictest rules in months went into effect Monday, while Santa Clara County has ordered a mandatory 14-day quarantine for virtually anyone coming into the county from more than 150 miles away — with some exceptions, such as for people traveling for medical treatment.
Officials in both counties have warned that unless they can halt the coronavirus surge, hospitals could run out of beds in weeks.
The L.A. County director of public health, Barbara Ferrer, put it bluntly: “We are at the most difficult moment in the pandemic.” On Monday, L.A. County surpassed another milestone of tallying more than 400,000 cumulative coronavirus cases, and more than 7,650 deaths.
Daily deaths have tripled in L.A. County
The county is now averaging more than 4,000 new coronavirus cases a day on a weekly basis, quadruple the number from mid-October, and averaging about 30 deaths a day, triple the rate from the beginning of November.
According to state data released Monday, L.A. County broke a new record for COVID-19 hospitalizations — surpassing its previous all-time high of 2,232 set on July 18, and on Sunday, posted a total of 2,316 people in its hospitals with confirmed coronavirus infections.
The rate of increasing hospitalizations in L.A. County has been breathtaking: tripling from a total of 777 recorded on Halloween.
“The increases we’re seeing now are not sustainable. They’re not sustainable because they’re gonna overwhelm not just our healthcare system, but the entire state’s healthcare system,” Ferrer said. “We are very worried. And I easily anticipate seeing even higher numbers out before this week is over.”
Officials in L.A. County rolled out a “targeted safer-at-home order” that is in effect through Dec. 20. It closes public playgrounds; places new capacity limits on retail stores, outdoor museums, galleries, zoos and aquariums; and prohibits all gatherings among people from different households, except for outdoor religious services and political demonstrations.
Those limitations are on top of other restrictions that went into effect last week, including a controversial renewed ban on outdoor dining.
Many people aren’t wearing masks at gatherings
Though she acknowledged the disruption and pain that come with new restrictions, Ferrer said health officials have tried to be more targeted in their efforts to slow the spread of the disease.
But, she said, the county can’t sit idly by as conditions worsen — particularly in terms of the healthcare system. Ferrer said the county and the state Department of Public Health are working to map out a strategy to get the pandemic back under control, although she holds out hope that the strategy can be done without needing to have people completely stay home.
“We’re going to have to do everything we can, and hopefully everyone gets on board with this. It’s three weeks. We’ve done this for much longer in the past and with many more restrictions,” Ferrer said of the existing health order.
Ferrer disagreed with criticism that L.A. County’s approach hasn’t worked. “If we hadn’t done anything, we’d be in much worse shape,” Ferrer said, pointing out to other areas around the country whose hospital systems are already overwhelmed.
Ferrer said one reason why L.A. County decided to ban outdoor gatherings in a new health order that went into effect Monday was because many people weren’t actually following state requirements to wear masks and keep six feet away from each other. “In fact, they were in places where people were often eating and drinking, without their masks on,” Ferrer said.
Ferrer said she understands that the three-week closure of playgrounds creates hardship for families. But she said her agency has heard of issues from parks officials that playgrounds have been extraordinarily crowded; it’s hard to do significant infection control; and many children are often seen at the playgrounds without wearing a face covering and interacting with people who aren’t in their households.
Travel quarantine in effect in Santa Clara County
In Santa Clara County, hotel use has been restricted to essential travel only or to people needing medical isolation or quarantine. Capacity at retail establishments was also further capped.
“We have come to a place where our cases and our hospitalizations are so high that we must do something to settle things down,” Dr. Sara Cody, the health officer for Santa Clara County, said Saturday. “We are now at a critical inflection point.”
Authorities also suspended contact sports for professional teams, forcing the San Francisco 49ers to look elsewhere to play their home games scheduled for December.
“This pandemic is like a high-speed train, and our projections tell us that we are on target to derail by around the third week of December if we don’t apply brakes, right now, with all our collective might,” Cody said. “We urge everyone to stay home to the greatest extent that you can. Please stay home. Do not go out unless it is for essential reasons or essential purposes.”
While acknowledging that the rules present further challenges to businesses already reeling from months of coronavirus-related limitations, officials have said the restrictions, combined with residents’ adherence to the practices that can help keep them and their loved ones safe, will help turn back the tide of new infections.
However, given the lagging nature of the virus, it will take weeks before the numbers reflect either the benefits of increased public vigilance and health interventions or the ramifications of a potentially significant source of new infections — such as gatherings for the recent Thanksgiving holiday.
“Yes, we’re asking a lot. Yes, people are going to need to make more sacrifices,” Ferrer said. “But if we don’t get this virus under control, it will cost all of us dearly.”
Times staff writers Alex Wigglesworth and Ryan Menezes contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-11-30--Riverside County election workers quarantined after some test positive for the coronavirus

Days ahead of its election certification deadline , the Riverside County registrar of voters said dozens of employees are in quarantine after more than one staff member tested positive for the coronavirus .
The county is still on target to meet its Thursday deadline , Riverside County Registrar of Voters Rebecca Spencer said in a news release .
County spokeswoman Brooke Federico said that because of patient privacy , she could not disclose how many staffers have been infected with the virus but said that after the positive results were confirmed , the county immediately tested the entire workforce and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and vote-by-mail ballots in Riverside County remain to be researched , verified and counted , according to the most recent numbers issued by the California secretary of state .
Spencer said the county ’ s quick response to the confirmed cases , which were announced Wednesday , will help the office meet the state ’ s deadline .
“ It is key to our election process to ensure the registrar of voters employees are safe and healthy , ” she said .
All counties in California must finalize and certify their presidential election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state and federal election results by Thursday , in accordance with official procedure .
Results must be reported to the secretary of state no later than Friday .
The secretary of state will certify and publish official results on Dec. 11 .
According to the news release , Riverside County is also conducting a manual audit of 1 % of its ballots to confirm the accuracy of its ballot-counting machines .
In addition , voters whose signature did not match their registration have until Tuesday to return a signature-curing form .

A voter drops off a ballot at the registrar of voters office in Riverside on Oct. 30. Dozens of Riverside County election workers have been quarantined after an unknown number of staffers tested positive for the coronavirus.
Days ahead of its election certification deadline, the Riverside County registrar of voters said dozens of employees are in quarantine after more than one staff member tested positive for the coronavirus.
The county is still on target to meet its Thursday deadline, Riverside County Registrar of Voters Rebecca Spencer said in a news release.
County spokeswoman Brooke Federico said that because of patient privacy, she could not disclose how many staffers have been infected with the virus but said that after the positive results were confirmed, the county immediately tested the entire workforce and disinfected office spaces.
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Approximately 4,000 provisional and vote-by-mail ballots in Riverside County remain to be researched, verified and counted, according to the most recent numbers issued by the California secretary of state.
Spencer said the county’s quick response to the confirmed cases, which were announced Wednesday, will help the office meet the state’s deadline.
“It is key to our election process to ensure the registrar of voters employees are safe and healthy,” she said.
All counties in California must finalize and certify their presidential election results by Tuesday, and all other state and federal election results by Thursday, in accordance with official procedure. Results must be reported to the secretary of state no later than Friday.
The secretary of state will certify and publish official results on Dec. 11.
According to the news release, Riverside County is also conducting a manual audit of 1% of its ballots to confirm the accuracy of its ballot-counting machines. In addition, voters whose signature did not match their registration have until Tuesday to return a signature-curing form.


latimes--2020-11-30--L.A. County tightens COVID-19 restrictions today: What you need to know

Sweeping new restrictions go into effect Monday in Los Angeles County as officials battle an unprecedented surge in coronavirus cases .
The rules , though less severe than the stay-at-home order initiated in the spring , are still the strongest restrictions in months .
Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said officials hope the more narrowly tailored restrictions will be sufficient to slow the spread of the coronavirus without having to give way to stricter measures .
The county is “ at a different place now than we were in March and April when we didn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” she said .
“ Now that we do , it offers us a slightly different path forward , ” she added .
“ But I ’ ll be honest : It only offers us a different path forward if everyone ’ s doing it.
” If people don ’ t follow safety precautions , she said , it ’ s possible the county could find itself back where it was in the early spring .
“ If this doesn ’ t work , and two to three weeks from now we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we are , we ’ re going to have to go back and look at what else do we have as options , because we can not continue to risk overwhelming the healthcare system , ” Ferrer said .
Here is a rundown on the new restrictions : PLAYGROUNDS : Playgrounds that are not part of a school or child-care center must close under the county ’ s new order .
OUTDOOR RECREATION : Beaches , trails and parks remain open , as do golf courses , tennis courts , pickleball courts , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ parks and community gardens .
Visitors must wear masks and stay at least six feet away from people from other households .
Outdoor swimming pools that serve more than one household are restricted to regulated lap swimming , with one person per lane .
STORES : Essential retail stores are limited to 35 % of capacity ; for grocery stores , that is a reduction from the current cap of 50 % capacity .
Nonessential retail stores , malls , libraries and personal care establishments such as hair salons , barbershops , nail @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and massage therapy are limited to 20 % of capacity ; previously , they operated at 25 % capacity .
GATHERINGS : For the first time since early October , most gatherings among people from different households in L.A. County are again officially prohibited , with the exception of outdoor religious gatherings and outdoor political protests .
This supersedes the previous rule that allowed for only small , outdoor gatherings of 15 or fewer people from up to three households , for a duration of no more than two hours .
GYMS : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and go-kart racing establishment capacity remains unchanged at 50 % of maximum capacity .
ZOOS/MUSEUMS : A 50 % capacity limit applies to outdoor museums , galleries , zoos and aquariums .
Previous rules allowed as many patrons as could be accommodated while maintaining six feet of distance from people from other households .
SCHOOLS/CHILD CARE : Schools and child-care rules are largely unchanged .
Child-care centers , schools and day camps that have remained open under current protocols can continue operating with one new requirement : a mandatory closure for 14 days @ @ @ @ @ @ @ defined as three or more cases over a two-week period .
CARDROOMS : Outdoor cardrooms , which under existing rules have been able to operate , must close .
RESTAURANTS : Under a different order that went into effect Wednesday , restaurants in most of L.A. County can offer only takeout and pickup service ; outdoor dining areas were ordered shut Wednesday night , except in the city of Pasadena , which has its own independent public health department .

People participate in a weekly tai chi class at Dr. Paul Carlson Memorial Park in Culver City on Sunday. Los Angeles County’s new stay-at-home order goes into effect Monday, but socially distanced outdoor recreation is still allowed.
Sweeping new restrictions go into effect Monday in Los Angeles County as officials battle an unprecedented surge in coronavirus cases.
The rules, though less severe than the stay-at-home order initiated in the spring, are still the strongest restrictions in months.
Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said officials hope the more narrowly tailored restrictions will be sufficient to slow the spread of the coronavirus without having to give way to stricter measures. The county is “at a different place now than we were in March and April when we didn’t have the science around masking and distancing,” she said.
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“Now that we do, it offers us a slightly different path forward,” she added. “But I’ll be honest: It only offers us a different path forward if everyone’s doing it.”
If people don’t follow safety precautions, she said, it’s possible the county could find itself back where it was in the early spring.
“If this doesn’t work, and two to three weeks from now we find ourselves in a worse place than we are, we’re going to have to go back and look at what else do we have as options, because we cannot continue to risk overwhelming the healthcare system,” Ferrer said.
California California sets record with most COVID-19 hospitalizations since pandemic began There are more COVID patients in California hospitals than ever before, sparking a race to tamp down the increase before the healthcare system is overwhelmed.
Here is a rundown on the new restrictions:
PLAYGROUNDS: Playgrounds that are not part of a school or child-care center must close under the county’s new order.
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OUTDOOR RECREATION: Beaches, trails and parks remain open, as do golf courses, tennis courts, pickleball courts, archery ranges, skate parks, bike parks and community gardens. Visitors must wear masks and stay at least six feet away from people from other households. Outdoor swimming pools that serve more than one household are restricted to regulated lap swimming, with one person per lane.
STORES: Essential retail stores are limited to 35% of capacity; for grocery stores, that is a reduction from the current cap of 50% capacity. Nonessential retail stores, malls, libraries and personal care establishments such as hair salons, barbershops, nail salons, piercing shops, tanning services and massage therapy are limited to 20% of capacity; previously, they operated at 25% capacity.
GATHERINGS: For the first time since early October, most gatherings among people from different households in L.A. County are again officially prohibited, with the exception of outdoor religious gatherings and outdoor political protests. This supersedes the previous rule that allowed for only small, outdoor gatherings of 15 or fewer people from up to three households, for a duration of no more than two hours.
GYMS: Outdoor gyms and mini-golf, batting cages and go-kart racing establishment capacity remains unchanged at 50% of maximum capacity.
ZOOS/MUSEUMS: A 50% capacity limit applies to outdoor museums, galleries, zoos and aquariums. Previous rules allowed as many patrons as could be accommodated while maintaining six feet of distance from people from other households.
SCHOOLS/CHILD CARE: Schools and child-care rules are largely unchanged. Child-care centers, schools and day camps that have remained open under current protocols can continue operating with one new requirement: a mandatory closure for 14 days should an outbreak occur, which is defined as three or more cases over a two-week period.
CARDROOMS: Outdoor cardrooms, which under existing rules have been able to operate, must close.
RESTAURANTS: Under a different order that went into effect Wednesday, restaurants in most of L.A. County can offer only takeout and pickup service; outdoor dining areas were ordered shut Wednesday night, except in the city of Pasadena, which has its own independent public health department.


latimes--2020-11-30--L.A.'s outdoor dining ban came from the county. Garcetti is still facing heat for it

Mayor Eric Garcetti has long celebrated the Los Angeles restaurant industry , appearing alongside big-name chefs at ribbon-cuttings and promoting neighborhood spots .
Now he finds himself caught up in the anger over the county order to temporarily halt outdoor dining , a directive that followed a surge in coronavirus cases .
The order came from Los Angeles County health officials , not Garcetti .
But that hasn ’ t stopped restaurant owners across the city from taking to social media to vent their frustration and urge the public to contact the mayor to ask him to help overturn the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ political land mine for Garcetti and other elected officials as they struggle to navigate allowing businesses to operate at a time of sharply rising coronavirus infections .
In the spring , political leaders faced pressure from business groups to reopen as the infection curve flattened .
Officials believed it was safe to allow the reopenings , but a resurgence of the coronavirus followed in June .
Garcetti later said those openings “ happened too quickly.
” When it comes to challenging orders handed down by the county , Garcetti can use the bully @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can issue closure and stay-at-home restrictions that are stricter than those issued by the county or state , but they can not make the rules more lenient .
Some restaurant owners say they are frustrated with what they contend is Garcetti ’ s inconsistent messaging on restaurants and the virus .
The owners of Beverly Grove restaurant AOC urged their social media followers to contact the mayor last week after the ban passed .
In an interview , co-owner Caroline Styne pointed to comments the mayor made in an interview with KNBC-TV Channel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which he suggested that outdoor dining wasn ’ t contributing to the spread of the virus .
“ I would like the mayor to actually support restaurants , ” Styne said .
“ And say , ‘ I don ’ t believe the spread is coming from restaurants.
’ ” Garcetti said last week that Los Angeles has been able to reduce infections by listening to public health experts and that he supports temporarily pausing outdoor dining .
Health experts “ have made clear that this step is necessary right now in order @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from overflowing with patients , ” Garcetti told The Times .
“ I have never wavered in following their advice , and I urge every Angeleno to heed it now so that we can keep our communities safe and open more of our businesses again as quickly as possible.
” With coronavirus cases continuing to soar locally and across the state , the county order banning outdoor dining took effect Wednesday night and will remain for at least three weeks .
Two members of the L.A. County Board of Supervisors sought unsuccessfully Tuesday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ arguing that it ’ s unclear whether the virus is spreading at outdoor restaurant areas .
The City Council voted last week to support overturning the ban , a symbolic move because the county ’ s actions override those of the city .
It ’ s unclear whether Garcetti will support the resolution approved by the council or send it back unsigned .
Garcetti said he “ absolutely ” shares the frustration expressed by some members of the Board of Supervisors and City Council about the decision to pause outdoor dining .
He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in ordering takeout from restaurants .
Suzanne Tracht , owner and chef of Beverly Boulevard ’ s Jar restaurant , said the ban will force her to lay off about 10 employees .
She questioned why the city isn ’ t doing more to enforce mask-wearing and predicted that closing outdoor dining will prompt people to hold indoor parties .
“ He ’ s the mayor ; he needs to speak out and speak up for us , ” Tracht said .
Garcetti also faced pushback from the restaurant industry in 2015 during @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the minimum wage .
Still , he ’ s promoted the industry throughout his political career , at points even using it to bolster his own image .
When he was considering a presidential run in 2018 , his political team released a video of the mayor meeting with restaurant owners Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo at their Jon & Vinny ’ s restaurant on Fairfax Avenue .
More recently , the mayor featured a struggling Silver Lake restaurant owner in his Democratic National Convention address in August and helped publicize the city @ @ @ @ @ @ @ challenge is that people don ’ t realize which government agencies are behind the closures , so they instinctively blame Garcetti or Gov .
Gavin Newsom , said Nancy Hoffman Vanyek , chief executive of the Greater San Fernando Valley Chamber of Commerce .
At the same time , restaurants are losing faith after more than eight months of living through the pandemic and enduring various government orders .
“ People are just very distrustful at this point , ” she said .

A sign is reflected in the window of a Westwood restaurant last week ahead of the countywide ban on outdoor dining.
Mayor Eric Garcetti has long celebrated the Los Angeles restaurant industry, appearing alongside big-name chefs at ribbon-cuttings and promoting neighborhood spots.
Now he finds himself caught up in the anger over the county order to temporarily halt outdoor dining, a directive that followed a surge in coronavirus cases.
The order came from Los Angeles County health officials, not Garcetti. But that hasn’t stopped restaurant owners across the city from taking to social media to vent their frustration and urge the public to contact the mayor to ask him to help overturn the ban.
Advertisement
The pandemic has become a political land mine for Garcetti and other elected officials as they struggle to navigate allowing businesses to operate at a time of sharply rising coronavirus infections.
In the spring, political leaders faced pressure from business groups to reopen as the infection curve flattened. Officials believed it was safe to allow the reopenings, but a resurgence of the coronavirus followed in June.
Garcetti later said those openings “happened too quickly.”
When it comes to challenging orders handed down by the county, Garcetti can use the bully pulpit but little else. City leaders can issue closure and stay-at-home restrictions that are stricter than those issued by the county or state, but they cannot make the rules more lenient.
Some restaurant owners say they are frustrated with what they contend is Garcetti’s inconsistent messaging on restaurants and the virus.
The owners of Beverly Grove restaurant AOC urged their social media followers to contact the mayor last week after the ban passed. In an interview, co-owner Caroline Styne pointed to comments the mayor made in an interview with KNBC-TV Channel 4 that aired two weeks ago in which he suggested that outdoor dining wasn’t contributing to the spread of the virus.
“I would like the mayor to actually support restaurants,” Styne said. “And say, ‘I don’t believe the spread is coming from restaurants.’”
Advertisement
Garcetti said last week that Los Angeles has been able to reduce infections by listening to public health experts and that he supports temporarily pausing outdoor dining.
Health experts “have made clear that this step is necessary right now in order to save more lives and keep hospitals from overflowing with patients,” Garcetti told The Times. “I have never wavered in following their advice, and I urge every Angeleno to heed it now so that we can keep our communities safe and open more of our businesses again as quickly as possible.”
With coronavirus cases continuing to soar locally and across the state, the county order banning outdoor dining took effect Wednesday night and will remain for at least three weeks.
Two members of the L.A. County Board of Supervisors sought unsuccessfully Tuesday to repeal the ban, with supervisors arguing that it’s unclear whether the virus is spreading at outdoor restaurant areas.
Tracking the coronavirus in L.A. County The latest maps and charts on the spread of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County, including cases, deaths, closures and restrictions.
The City Council voted last week to support overturning the ban, a symbolic move because the county’s actions override those of the city.
It’s unclear whether Garcetti will support the resolution approved by the council or send it back unsigned.
Garcetti said he “absolutely” shares the frustration expressed by some members of the Board of Supervisors and City Council about the decision to pause outdoor dining. He also encouraged the public to join him in ordering takeout from restaurants.
Suzanne Tracht, owner and chef of Beverly Boulevard’s Jar restaurant, said the ban will force her to lay off about 10 employees. She questioned why the city isn’t doing more to enforce mask-wearing and predicted that closing outdoor dining will prompt people to hold indoor parties.
“He’s the mayor; he needs to speak out and speak up for us,” Tracht said.
Garcetti also faced pushback from the restaurant industry in 2015 during the city’s efforts to raise the minimum wage.
Still, he’s promoted the industry throughout his political career, at points even using it to bolster his own image.
When he was considering a presidential run in 2018, his political team released a video of the mayor meeting with restaurant owners Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo at their Jon & Vinny’s restaurant on Fairfax Avenue.
More recently, the mayor featured a struggling Silver Lake restaurant owner in his Democratic National Convention address in August and helped publicize the city’s outdoor dining program.
One challenge is that people don’t realize which government agencies are behind the closures, so they instinctively blame Garcetti or Gov. Gavin Newsom, said Nancy Hoffman Vanyek, chief executive of the Greater San Fernando Valley Chamber of Commerce.
At the same time, restaurants are losing faith after more than eight months of living through the pandemic and enduring various government orders.
“People are just very distrustful at this point,” she said.


latimes--2020-11-27--City Beat: Who has it harder than homeless people when the pandemic closes indoor spaces?

I have a roof over my head .
I have heat .
I have electricity .
I have more than one bathroom to choose from .
I have a kitchen full of food .
This past week , I set out to check up on people living on the streets of my Hollywood neighborhood because I couldn ’ t stop thinking about the extent of that privilege .
I couldn ’ t stop thinking in this time of Thanksgiving about how thankful I should be for my warm home , even if the COVID-19 pandemic sometimes makes me feel stir-crazy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ us chafe right now at the inability because of pandemic restrictions to eat inside a restaurant or sip a coffee in a cafe or go browse the shelves of a public library .
But I couldn ’ t stop thinking about how much harder having such communal indoor spaces closed is on those of us who don ’ t have any indoors to call our own .
The people living on our streets used to be able to go inside public libraries and coffee shops to use bathrooms , to charge cellphones and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ respite from the harshness of living outside .
Some got cheap gym memberships for ready access to showers , especially helpful when you have a job but no home .
Now temperatures are dropping and rainy days are ahead , and most of those options are unavailable — while shelter , as well as public toilets and hand-washing stations , remains in far too short supply .
P.J .
Butters , 44 , whose tent is clustered with others in a tight community on a block perpendicular to Vine Street , said he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ outlets to charge his phone and uses a bucket to clean up as best he can at a spigot he found in a nearby alley .
Tom Ponzo , 51 , camping on a side street just north of Hollywood Boulevard , said nearby restaurants that are still open won ’ t let homeless people come inside to use their facilities .
He can book appointments for showers at a church a few blocks away .
But because there aren ’ t any public toilets close at hand , he and his unhoused @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and buckets when they need to go to the bathroom .
“ Hopefully no one ’ s around when we do it .
It ’ s embarrassing , ” he told me .
These are people who also have to worry , as all of us do , about staying well in a deadly pandemic .
But unlike many of us , they often can ’ t even easily wash their hands , and they have at best a thin membrane of tent to protect them from everyone else .
My neighborhood always @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it has more services available to them .
Naturally , it ’ s helpful to camp near where you can get a helping hand .
But the already sizable number of people living on my neighborhood ’ s streets before the pandemic appears to my eye to have been growing steadily .
It ’ s a challenge for the rest of the neighborhood — the other residents , the business owners — who often vent their frustration when trash piles up at encampments and sidewalks are blocked by tents .
And there certainly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , they stretch , one after another , down the sidewalks of whole blocks and then around the corners onto other ones .
What I ’ ve come to understand though is that seeing more tents right now may be a good sign — because a lot of them have been handed out by outreach teams working as hard as they can to try to keep those who lack housing well .
These teams are out daily checking on people , testing them , handing out sanitizer and masks , and distributing tents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at Home sequestering even when home is the street .
If there is no bed or room available for someone who tests positive for the virus , “ at least they can isolate in a tent , ” said Nathan Sheets , director of the Center in Hollywood , a nonprofit with the aim of ending isolation and homelessness , which has been running one of the outreach teams with medical staff from the Saban Community Clinic .
Obviously , isolating in a tent is not ideal , he said , but it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has not had the high number of coronavirus cases in the homeless population that many people feared at the start of the pandemic .
Some of those who live on the streets of my neighborhood don ’ t even have tents .
They stretch out on hard sidewalk under thin sheets or blankets .
They build lean-tos out of cardboard boxes and black garbage bags and tarps .
Right under the 101 , a few blocks from my home , on a crumbly dirt slope that will turn to mud when it rains @ @ @ @ @ @ @ privacy out of palm fronds and scraps of wood .
I find it awkward sometimes , by the way , to approach such a dwelling , to call out “ hello ” to a zipped-up tent or a shelter of strung-together tarps .
Often I have to steel myself to so abruptly invade the space of someone who has few means to fend off that invasion .
I feel that vulnerability deeply when I see a padlocked tent because a padlock on the zipper of a mesh tent door clearly offers so little @ @ @ @ @ @ @ why you have to find yourself a good community out here , ” said Ruben A. Colon , 37 , whose immaculate encampment — with great views of the Hollywood sign and the Capitol Records building — I found a half-dozen blocks from my home .
Colon prefers to refer to himself not as a homeless person but as an “ urban pilgrim , ” he told me .
And he loves to read and learn and used to spend whole days , especially the rainy ones , in various libraries .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ read a book , charge up , hang out with some friends , keep it low , ” he said .
Now he walks the neighborhood , bundles up on colder days and picks up books to read at the Little Free Libraries he finds on residential streets .
I was expecting when I went out on the streets to ask people about how it feels to be unhoused during this time to hear that they felt more isolated than ever .
Because this year , it ’ s not just that they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Starbucks or a McDonald ’ s or spend a day in a library .
Even the usual turkey dinners were to-go this week because the organizations that are dedicated to helping them often can ’ t easily welcome them safely inside .
The Center , for instance , normally would invite all comers onto its patio most weekdays for Coffee Hour .
It ’ s meant to be a time for those living on the streets to be able to connect with others , to relax and feel a sense of community — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that ’ s what they want .
These days , Sheets told me , more and more people are “ showing up at our gates with complicated and complex needs .
Some have lost their incomes and are living out of their cars or maybe they ’ re still precariously housed but they don ’ t have enough money for food.
” There ’ s no easy way , though , to set up the patio safely during the pandemic , when the staff is trying to serve a large number of people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gate , blocked by a table , where gloved and masked staffers use a box to pass them cups of coffee , food and their mail if they ’ re using the Center as a mailing address , and take in their devices for an hour of charging .
I met Adam Montas , 31 , outside the Center one morning and he told me that the charging at the Center helped because otherwise he had to take the bus to Beverly Hills where ’ s he found some outdoor outlets hidden away @ @ @ @ @ @ @ man who didn ’ t want to give his name but told me he was a union plumber without work for months and was struggling to make ends meet and hold on to his housing .
They seemed grateful enough for Coffee Hour in its current form , even if it ’ s not quite the communal experience it used to be .
And as I wandered the streets of the neighborhood stopping at little clumps of tents to talk to people , I heard something else I wasn ’ t quite expecting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ me , there ’ s less harassment now with fewer people competing for use of the sidewalks , and more people who live in apartments and houses nearby are stopping to offer food and water and check up on him and his friends .
One of those friends , Cece McNeil , 28 , wheeled up on a bike as we were talking about that — and said she thought the pandemic experience might have softened people .
She ’ s been on and off the streets , she told me , since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Compton when she was 14 .
“ Before , they wasn ’ t worried about us .
They see us out here every day and they think , ‘ they ’ re making it , they know what to do.
’ A lot of people , they didn ’ t have hearts like that before , ” she said .
“ Now a lot of people are bringing us stuff , and they ’ re doing it out of the goodness of their hearts , not even looking for pretty much anything in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them , you never know.
” I heard comments like that again and again as I talked to people .
And I also took in other things that made me feel a little more thankful .
Sheets told me that people who live near the Center have been “ coming out of the woodwork , ” offering to volunteer .
Some have more time available because they ’ re not commuting .
Others may be seeing their surroundings more clearly as they spend more time confined to a small area .
“ I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and I think people are seeking something to fill the void or the isolation that they ’ re feeling , to do something more , ” he said .
“ Their eyes have been opened that there ’ s an immense need on the streets in their neighborhood.
” I sense that , too , in my neighborhood chat rooms , where those angry at the large homeless presence often have shouted down those who dared to speak about helping them .
Now more people seem to be asking what they can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re all struggling in our own ways right now .
And we all know there are more people on the streets than we have places to put them .
And jobs and affordable housing are hard to find , even when you have all your ducks in a row — which , for myriad reasons , a lot of people on the streets don ’ t .
And there ’ s the pandemic , which still rages on .
I ’ d like to think we all understand a bit better , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ between any of us and danger is thin , but thinner still if you are living on the street in a tent .

I have a roof over my head. I have heat. I have electricity. I have more than one bathroom to choose from. I have a kitchen full of food.
This past week, I set out to check up on people living on the streets of my Hollywood neighborhood because I couldn’t stop thinking about the extent of that privilege.
I couldn’t stop thinking in this time of Thanksgiving about how thankful I should be for my warm home, even if the COVID-19 pandemic sometimes makes me feel stir-crazy inside of it.
So many of us chafe right now at the inability because of pandemic restrictions to eat inside a restaurant or sip a coffee in a cafe or go browse the shelves of a public library.
Advertisement
But I couldn’t stop thinking about how much harder having such communal indoor spaces closed is on those of us who don’t have any indoors to call our own.
The people living on our streets used to be able to go inside public libraries and coffee shops to use bathrooms, to charge cellphones and hop on Wi-Fi, to find some respite from the harshness of living outside. Some got cheap gym memberships for ready access to showers, especially helpful when you have a job but no home.
Now temperatures are dropping and rainy days are ahead, and most of those options are unavailable — while shelter, as well as public toilets and hand-washing stations, remains in far too short supply.
P.J. Butters, 44, whose tent is clustered with others in a tight community on a block perpendicular to Vine Street, said he now sneaks into parking lots that have outlets to charge his phone and uses a bucket to clean up as best he can at a spigot he found in a nearby alley.
People who live in tents have found a quiet spot among residential developments on Homewood Avenue in Hollywood. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Tom Ponzo, 51, camping on a side street just north of Hollywood Boulevard, said nearby restaurants that are still open won’t let homeless people come inside to use their facilities. He can book appointments for showers at a church a few blocks away. But because there aren’t any public toilets close at hand, he and his unhoused neighbors often have to resort to bags and buckets when they need to go to the bathroom.
“Hopefully no one’s around when we do it. It’s embarrassing,” he told me.
These are people who also have to worry, as all of us do, about staying well in a deadly pandemic. But unlike many of us, they often can’t even easily wash their hands, and they have at best a thin membrane of tent to protect them from everyone else.
Advertisement
My neighborhood always has more homeless people than most because it has more services available to them. Naturally, it’s helpful to camp near where you can get a helping hand.
But the already sizable number of people living on my neighborhood’s streets before the pandemic appears to my eye to have been growing steadily.
It’s a challenge for the rest of the neighborhood — the other residents, the business owners — who often vent their frustration when trash piles up at encampments and sidewalks are blocked by tents.
And there certainly are more tents. In some areas, they stretch, one after another, down the sidewalks of whole blocks and then around the corners onto other ones.
What I’ve come to understand though is that seeing more tents right now may be a good sign — because a lot of them have been handed out by outreach teams working as hard as they can to try to keep those who lack housing well. These teams are out daily checking on people, testing them, handing out sanitizer and masks, and distributing tents to allow for some semblance of Safer at Home sequestering even when home is the street.
If there is no bed or room available for someone who tests positive for the virus, “at least they can isolate in a tent,” said Nathan Sheets, director of the Center in Hollywood, a nonprofit with the aim of ending isolation and homelessness, which has been running one of the outreach teams with medical staff from the Saban Community Clinic.
Obviously, isolating in a tent is not ideal, he said, but it’s worth noting that L.A. mercifully has not had the high number of coronavirus cases in the homeless population that many people feared at the start of the pandemic.
Some of those who live on the streets of my neighborhood don’t even have tents. They stretch out on hard sidewalk under thin sheets or blankets. They build lean-tos out of cardboard boxes and black garbage bags and tarps. Right under the 101, a few blocks from my home, on a crumbly dirt slope that will turn to mud when it rains, someone has patched together a little privacy out of palm fronds and scraps of wood.
I find it awkward sometimes, by the way, to approach such a dwelling, to call out “hello” to a zipped-up tent or a shelter of strung-together tarps. Often I have to steel myself to so abruptly invade the space of someone who has few means to fend off that invasion.
I feel that vulnerability deeply when I see a padlocked tent because a padlock on the zipper of a mesh tent door clearly offers so little real protection.
Ruben A. Colon, who lives in a tent on Carlos Avenue in Hollywood and describes himself as an “urban pilgrim,” said he misses reading and spending time with friends in libraries. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
“That’s why you have to find yourself a good community out here,” said Ruben A. Colon, 37, whose immaculate encampment — with great views of the Hollywood sign and the Capitol Records building — I found a half-dozen blocks from my home. Colon prefers to refer to himself not as a homeless person but as an “urban pilgrim,” he told me. And he loves to read and learn and used to spend whole days, especially the rainy ones, in various libraries.
“I’d usually go online, read a book, charge up, hang out with some friends, keep it low,” he said. Now he walks the neighborhood, bundles up on colder days and picks up books to read at the Little Free Libraries he finds on residential streets.
I was expecting when I went out on the streets to ask people about how it feels to be unhoused during this time to hear that they felt more isolated than ever. Because this year, it’s not just that they can’t go sit in a Starbucks or a McDonald’s or spend a day in a library. Even the usual turkey dinners were to-go this week because the organizations that are dedicated to helping them often can’t easily welcome them safely inside.
The Center, for instance, normally would invite all comers onto its patio most weekdays for Coffee Hour. It’s meant to be a time for those living on the streets to be able to connect with others, to relax and feel a sense of community — and to start to get help if that’s what they want. These days, Sheets told me, more and more people are “showing up at our gates with complicated and complex needs. Some have lost their incomes and are living out of their cars or maybe they’re still precariously housed but they don’t have enough money for food.”
There’s no easy way, though, to set up the patio safely during the pandemic, when the staff is trying to serve a large number of people. So people line up outside the gate, blocked by a table, where gloved and masked staffers use a box to pass them cups of coffee, food and their mail if they’re using the Center as a mailing address, and take in their devices for an hour of charging.
I met Adam Montas, 31, outside the Center one morning and he told me that the charging at the Center helped because otherwise he had to take the bus to Beverly Hills where’s he found some outdoor outlets hidden away in parks. I also met a man who didn’t want to give his name but told me he was a union plumber without work for months and was struggling to make ends meet and hold on to his housing.
They seemed grateful enough for Coffee Hour in its current form, even if it’s not quite the communal experience it used to be.
And as I wandered the streets of the neighborhood stopping at little clumps of tents to talk to people, I heard something else I wasn’t quite expecting. Off Vine Street, Butters told me, there’s less harassment now with fewer people competing for use of the sidewalks, and more people who live in apartments and houses nearby are stopping to offer food and water and check up on him and his friends.
One of those friends, Cece McNeil, 28, wheeled up on a bike as we were talking about that — and said she thought the pandemic experience might have softened people. She’s been on and off the streets, she told me, since she left a bad family situation in Compton when she was 14.
“Before, they wasn’t worried about us. They see us out here every day and they think, ‘they’re making it, they know what to do.’ A lot of people, they didn’t have hearts like that before,” she said. “Now a lot of people are bringing us stuff, and they’re doing it out of the goodness of their hearts, not even looking for pretty much anything in return. Because soon it could be them, you never know.”
I heard comments like that again and again as I talked to people. And I also took in other things that made me feel a little more thankful.
Sheets told me that people who live near the Center have been “coming out of the woodwork,” offering to volunteer. Some have more time available because they’re not commuting. Others may be seeing their surroundings more clearly as they spend more time confined to a small area.
“I think that appetite to help is there, and I think people are seeking something to fill the void or the isolation that they’re feeling, to do something more,” he said. “Their eyes have been opened that there’s an immense need on the streets in their neighborhood.”
I sense that, too, in my neighborhood chat rooms, where those angry at the large homeless presence often have shouted down those who dared to speak about helping them. Now more people seem to be asking what they can do to join in.
Because we’re all struggling in our own ways right now. And we all know there are more people on the streets than we have places to put them. And jobs and affordable housing are hard to find, even when you have all your ducks in a row — which, for myriad reasons, a lot of people on the streets don’t.
And there’s the pandemic, which still rages on.
I’d like to think we all understand a bit better, living through it, that the membrane between any of us and danger is thin, but thinner still if you are living on the street in a tent.


latimes--2020-12-01--As virus again surges in California, race is a defining factor in nursing facilities, research shows

As COVID-19 once again surges across California , skilled nursing facilities with more Black and Latino residents are being hit harder than those with fewer residents of color , according to a new study .
Facilities with the highest number of Latino residents had coronavirus case rates 57 % greater than those with few Latino residents .
In facilities where more than 2 % of the residents were Black , case rates were as much as 40 % higher than those without a significant number of Black patients , according to the research released Tuesday , which was commissioned by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ examined data from May and August .
The reasons for the disparities are unclear .
One factor could be that more Black and Latino people live in lower-quality facilities , which are less equipped to deal with an infectious disease like COVID-19 .
“ We know from other research that nursing homes with high minority populations tend to have lower staffing and lower quality , and we know those are factors ” for controlling diseases , said Charlene Harrington , a UCSF professor emeritus and co-author of the study .
Outside of nursing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at much higher rates than their share of the population .
Nearly 60 % of Californians who tested positive for the coronavirus have been Latino , while about 39 % of the state ’ s population is Latino .
Black residents , on the other hand , are about 6 % of the population and 4 % of positive cases statewide .
The racial disparities in nursing home coronavirus rates are occurring independently of trends in the larger community .
And the disparities have grown larger as the pandemic has progressed , despite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ residents , including increased testing , the researchers found .
The demographic data for the study were gathered by facility and not by individual residents , due to privacy rules .
The study did not name any facilities .
“ I think we have a lot of hypotheses and guessing but no real reasons , ” said Bruce Spurlock , a co-author of the study and executive director of the nonprofit Cynosure Health , of the disparities .
The California Department of Public Health has used a predictive model to pinpoint high-risk facilities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with other mitigation tactics including training and access to personal protective equipment , a spokesman said .
But the stark evidence of the pandemic ’ s inequitable toll comes as another wave of coronavirus hits elder care homes across California and the country .
Since the start of November , cases inside skilled nursing facilities have shot up , averaging nearly 230 new positives reported each day statewide — close to spring numbers when daily cases peaked .
“ It is worse than it was six months ago , if for no other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” said April Verrett , president of SEIU Local 2015 , which represents nearly 400,000 healthcare workers statewide .
“ To find ourselves in the same place — I think it is unconscionable.
” In May , a quarter of the 800 skilled nursing facilities examined in the study had at least one resident who tested positive , and 16 % had at least one death .
By August , the percentage of facilities with positive cases ballooned to nearly two-thirds , and 37 % had at least one resident die from COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ found that larger facilities and those operated for profit had more deadly outbreaks .
Facilities with older patients over age 85 also had worse outcomes , as did facilities with more than 49 % male residents , according to the study .
But one of the key factors determining the safety of a facility is staffing levels , Harrington said .
Long a contentious issue in the elder care industry , the number of nurses , aides and other caregivers a facility is required to have is a proven predictor of its ability @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The study found that facilities with the highest nurse staffing had half the rate of coronavirus cases earlier in the pandemic and have continued to see that benefit .
But as more nursing home workers come down with COVID-19 , dozens of providers across the state have been granted state waivers to lower staffing ratios — much to the chagrin of advocates who contend the decreases are detrimental to outcomes .
The federal government has provided billions in aid to the industry in part to provide more money for staffing , the advocates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ healthcare workers have tested positive for the virus , and 158 have died , according to state data .
Some are dealing with sick family members or child-care issues .
“ Staff is incredibly hard to find now because there are so many outbreaks , ” Deborah Pacyna , public affairs director for industry group California Assn .
of Health Facilities , said in a statement .
Harrington said that low wages are a driver of staffing problems , pointing out that the average aide in California makes about $ 15 an hour @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pay nursing assistants less than they can get as a janitor or in a fast-food place , why shouldn ’ t they work in a place that has less risk ?
” she said .
Verrett , the union leader , said that working conditions are also a factor , with workers reporting shortages of protective gear and some being asked to share or ration equipment .
She believes that tougher statewide regulations are needed , rather than the patchwork of county remedies currently in place .
“ All facilities are not created @ @ @ @ @ @ @ You have some operators who are doing the right thing , and you have some who don ’ t. ” The racial disparities and other risk factors uncovered by the study should prompt state officials to increase oversight at certain facilities and ensure that testing and other protective measures are in place , Spurlock said .
“ This is really a clarion call to think about monitoring , oversight and quality improvement in nursing homes in a completely different way , ” he said .
“ We have to be more proactive .
@

Staff members at Cedar Mountain Post Acute in Yucaipa spruce up a toppled sign that was put up by members of the community to show their support for the nursing staff.
As COVID-19 once again surges across California, skilled nursing facilities with more Black and Latino residents are being hit harder than those with fewer residents of color, according to a new study.
Facilities with the highest number of Latino residents had coronavirus case rates 57% greater than those with few Latino residents.
In facilities where more than 2% of the residents were Black, case rates were as much as 40% higher than those without a significant number of Black patients, according to the research released Tuesday, which was commissioned by the nonprofit California Health Care Foundation and examined data from May and August.
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The reasons for the disparities are unclear. One factor could be that more Black and Latino people live in lower-quality facilities, which are less equipped to deal with an infectious disease like COVID-19.
“We know from other research that nursing homes with high minority populations tend to have lower staffing and lower quality, and we know those are factors” for controlling diseases, said Charlene Harrington, a UCSF professor emeritus and co-author of the study.
Outside of nursing facilities, Latino residents have contracted COVID-19 at much higher rates than their share of the population. Nearly 60% of Californians who tested positive for the coronavirus have been Latino, while about 39% of the state’s population is Latino.
Black residents, on the other hand, are about 6% of the population and 4% of positive cases statewide.
The racial disparities in nursing home coronavirus rates are occurring independently of trends in the larger community.
And the disparities have grown larger as the pandemic has progressed, despite new mandates intended to protect nursing home residents, including increased testing, the researchers found.
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The demographic data for the study were gathered by facility and not by individual residents, due to privacy rules. The study did not name any facilities.
“I think we have a lot of hypotheses and guessing but no real reasons,” said Bruce Spurlock, a co-author of the study and executive director of the nonprofit Cynosure Health, of the disparities.
The California Department of Public Health has used a predictive model to pinpoint high-risk facilities since May, conducting on-site visits along with other mitigation tactics including training and access to personal protective equipment, a spokesman said.
But the stark evidence of the pandemic’s inequitable toll comes as another wave of coronavirus hits elder care homes across California and the country.
Since the start of November, cases inside skilled nursing facilities have shot up, averaging nearly 230 new positives reported each day statewide — close to spring numbers when daily cases peaked.
“It is worse than it was six months ago, if for no other reason than we should know better,” said April Verrett, president of SEIU Local 2015, which represents nearly 400,000 healthcare workers statewide. “To find ourselves in the same place — I think it is unconscionable.”
In May, a quarter of the 800 skilled nursing facilities examined in the study had at least one resident who tested positive, and 16% had at least one death. By August, the percentage of facilities with positive cases ballooned to nearly two-thirds, and 37% had at least one resident die from COVID-19 or related causes.
The study also found that larger facilities and those operated for profit had more deadly outbreaks.
Facilities with older patients over age 85 also had worse outcomes, as did facilities with more than 49% male residents, according to the study.
But one of the key factors determining the safety of a facility is staffing levels, Harrington said.
Long a contentious issue in the elder care industry, the number of nurses, aides and other caregivers a facility is required to have is a proven predictor of its ability to control infections, Harrington said.
The study found that facilities with the highest nurse staffing had half the rate of coronavirus cases earlier in the pandemic and have continued to see that benefit.
But as more nursing home workers come down with COVID-19, dozens of providers across the state have been granted state waivers to lower staffing ratios — much to the chagrin of advocates who contend the decreases are detrimental to outcomes.
The federal government has provided billions in aid to the industry in part to provide more money for staffing, the advocates point out.
More than 25,000 California healthcare workers have tested positive for the virus, and 158 have died, according to state data. Some are dealing with sick family members or child-care issues.
“Staff is incredibly hard to find now because there are so many outbreaks,” Deborah Pacyna, public affairs director for industry group California Assn. of Health Facilities, said in a statement.
Harrington said that low wages are a driver of staffing problems, pointing out that the average aide in California makes about $15 an hour.
“If you are going to pay nursing assistants less than they can get as a janitor or in a fast-food place, why shouldn’t they work in a place that has less risk?” she said.
Verrett, the union leader, said that working conditions are also a factor, with workers reporting shortages of protective gear and some being asked to share or ration equipment. She believes that tougher statewide regulations are needed, rather than the patchwork of county remedies currently in place.
“All facilities are not created equal,” she said. “You have some operators who are doing the right thing, and you have some who don’t.”
The racial disparities and other risk factors uncovered by the study should prompt state officials to increase oversight at certain facilities and ensure that testing and other protective measures are in place, Spurlock said.
“This is really a clarion call to think about monitoring, oversight and quality improvement in nursing homes in a completely different way,” he said. “We have to be more proactive.”


latimes--2020-12-01--Some Taiwanese immigrants fear Biden will 'Make China Great Again.' Can he win them over?

For Jack Tseng , supporting Donald Trump isn ’ t just about MAGA .
It ’ s about MCGA — “ Make China Great Again , ” a slogan Tseng invented for what he fears Joe Biden will do as president .
Despite living in the U.S. for 40 years , Tseng cast his vote in the presidential election largely based on Taiwan , the island where he grew up , which exists in a precarious limbo under threat of being taken over by China .
Before the election , Tseng , a retired aerospace engineer from Arcadia , handed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ MAGA or MCGA ” to anyone who would take them .
He likes Trump ’ s tough rhetoric on China and pro-Taiwan moves , from taking President Tsai Ing-wen ’ s congratulatory phone call — unprecedented for an American president-elect — to dispatching high-level officials to the island democracy .
He worries that Biden will not defend Taiwan if China attacks .
Like many Trump supporters , he has not yet accepted that Biden won .
“ If Biden is president , the U.S. will become a socialist state controlled by China , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Formosa Republican Assn.
, which promotes conservative and Christian values .
“ Trump will hold his ground in the trade war , but Biden won ’ t. ” Among Southern Californians with roots in Taiwan , there is a strong vein of support for Trump .
Some are single-issue voters who value their homeland ’ s interests above domestic issues .
Other Taiwanese Americans back Biden because of his more measured approach on foreign affairs , his domestic policies or the expectation that he will condemn China ’ s human rights @ @ @ @ @ @ @ western Xinjiang region .
What they all have in common is a deep concern for their native island , which transitioned from martial law to democracy and is de facto independent , with its own government and military , but is not officially recognized by most countries .
China regards Taiwan as a renegade province and vociferously objects to any attempts to place it on an equal footing .
Taiwan can not join the World Health Organization , even after mounting one of the world ’ s most successful responses against the coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ airspace and strident remarks against any friendly gesture toward Taiwan , China has recently grown more aggressive .
It is unclear whether Biden ’ s approach to Taiwan will be substantively different from Trump ’ s , though he is likely to adopt a more low-key diplomatic style with fewer showy gestures that would upset China .
Barney Cheng , whose parents are from Taiwan , voted for Biden because he anticipates that the former vice president will be better at international conflict resolution .
Trump puts his own personal interests first , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for not protecting marginalized communities , including LGBTQ people .
Cheng said he does not believe Trump has done enough to stand up against the Chinese government ’ s imprisonment of Uighurs in Xinjiang .
“ I understand where Taiwan is coming from because they ’ re so threatened every day from China , ” said the filmmaker , 49 , who lives in West Hollywood .
“ It ’ s become a single issue for Taiwanese Americans because their family and homeland is under constant threat.
” Michael Mazza , a fellow @ @ @ @ @ @ @ among the foreign policy experts who predict that Biden will not drastically change course from Trump on Taiwan .
Most nuts-and-bolts diplomacy is done behind the scenes by senior staffers whose approach doesn ’ t usually vary much between administrations , Mazza said .
Despite Trump ’ s attempts to shake things up , his administration ultimately stayed in line with important precedents , including respect for China ’ s bottom line — that there is only one China , which includes Taiwan province , Mazza said .
However , in mid-November , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that “ Taiwan has not been part of China , ” prompting an angry response from a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman .
In the last four years , the Trump administration has stepped up arms sales to Taiwan and increased diplomatic engagement , including sending Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to the island in August to discuss COVID-19 — the highest-level visit since the U.S. cut formal diplomatic ties in favor of China in 1979 .
“ There ’ s no reason why we can ’ t continue on the course @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden administration and continue to pursue incremental improvements with Taiwan , ” Mazza said .
Last week , Biden announced that Antony Blinken , a senior State Department official in the Obama administration , was his pick for secretary of State .
A Biden transition official said the president-elect is committed to both the Taiwan Relations Act , which emphasizes that the future of Taiwan should be settled by peaceful means , and to the one China policy .
“ Once in office , he will continue to support a peaceful resolution of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ best interests of the people of Taiwan , ” the official , who declined to be identified , said in a written statement .
“ He has long said that American support for Taiwan must remain strong , principled , and bipartisan , and he plans to work to ensure that.
” As a former vice president , Biden is probably familiar with standard protocols governing Taiwan relations , which would preclude a phone call such as the 10-minute conversation Trump had with Tsai on Dec. 2 , 2016 .
China regularly issues @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Progressive Party stops short of declaring Taiwanese independence but will not agree to China ’ s preconditions for diplomatic talks .
“ You are stronger because of your free and open society .
The United States should continue strengthening our ties with Taiwan and other like-minded democracies , ” he wrote .
Tsai returned the favor after Biden ’ s victory , attaching his earlier tweet and writing , “ The values on which we have built our relationship could not be stronger .
I look fwd to working together to further our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ l society.
” Such diplomatic niceties are not enough to reassure some Taiwanese Americans .
Vera Yang , a Trump supporter from Pasadena who was born in Taiwan , fears that Biden will focus on domestic issues at the expense of international relations , potentially putting Taiwan in a weak position if China attacks .
“ China doesn ’ t play by the rules .
Trump gets that .
He gave them a difficult time , ” said Yang , 44 , an office manager .
“ I ’ m not sure how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wu , who came to the U.S. as a child in 1991 , voted for Trump because of the president ’ s unorthodox actions in support of Taiwan .
Wu is anxious about China ’ s recent incursions into Taiwanese airspace .
He says his extended family in Taiwan would feel safer with Trump as president .
“ Biden won ’ t escalate the issue to where both countries are at the brink of war , but we need more assurance that we ’ ll see more U.S.-Taiwan relations , ” said Wu @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who is president of the independence-leaning Formosan Assn .
for Public Affairs ’ Los Angeles chapter .
Wu noted that there is a contradiction in Taiwanese people supporting Trump , whose rhetoric domestically has been divisive and sometimes racist , when they themselves suffered under martial law for decades .
John Wu , 46 , a real estate broker from San Gabriel , also voted for Trump — because of the president ’ s economic and domestic policies , not Taiwan .
As a dual citizen , Wu is active in Taiwan ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ties with China .
He thinks Biden will cool the growing cross-straits tensions and will probably try to repair relations with China .
Like Ken Wu , Fred Chang of Rosemead supports Taiwan ’ s Democratic Progressive Party and approves of Trump ’ s tough-on-China approach .
But as a registered Democrat and political moderate , he voted for Biden , alienated by Trump ’ s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and his extreme statements over the last few months .
Chang , 41 , an accountant who came to the U.S. at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the course on Taiwan .
“ I ’ m hopeful that Biden will maintain these relationships , ” he said .
“ I don ’ t think he ’ s going to go back on what Trump has done , and he ’ ll be methodical about his policy .
”

Ken Wu is among the Taiwanese Americans who voted for President Trump because of his support for Taiwan and toughness on China.
For Jack Tseng, supporting Donald Trump isn’t just about MAGA.
It’s about MCGA — “Make China Great Again,” a slogan Tseng invented for what he fears Joe Biden will do as president.
For the record: This article incorrectly paraphrases American Enterprise Institute fellow Michael Mazza as saying that the Trump administration respects the one China policy. In fact, Mazza said the current administration’s approach to China was consistent with precedent and the one China policy.
This article incorrectly paraphrases American Enterprise Institute fellow Michael Mazza as saying that nuts-and-bolts diplomacy is done behind the scenes by senior staffers whose approach doesn’t usually vary much between administrations. The only statement Mazza made about senior staffers concerned their role in Taiwan policy during Trump’s presidency.
Despite living in the U.S. for 40 years, Tseng cast his vote in the presidential election largely based on Taiwan, the island where he grew up, which exists in a precarious limbo under threat of being taken over by China.
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Before the election, Tseng, a retired aerospace engineer from Arcadia, handed out shirts and hats emblazoned with “MAGA or MCGA” to anyone who would take them.
He likes Trump’s tough rhetoric on China and pro-Taiwan moves, from taking President Tsai Ing-wen’s congratulatory phone call — unprecedented for an American president-elect — to dispatching high-level officials to the island democracy. He worries that Biden will not defend Taiwan if China attacks. Like many Trump supporters, he has not yet accepted that Biden won.
“If Biden is president, the U.S. will become a socialist state controlled by China,” said Tseng, 67, head of the Formosa Republican Assn., which promotes conservative and Christian values. “Trump will hold his ground in the trade war, but Biden won’t.”
Among Southern Californians with roots in Taiwan, there is a strong vein of support for Trump. Some are single-issue voters who value their homeland’s interests above domestic issues.
Other Taiwanese Americans back Biden because of his more measured approach on foreign affairs, his domestic policies or the expectation that he will condemn China’s human rights violations against Muslim Uighurs in the far western Xinjiang region.
What they all have in common is a deep concern for their native island, which transitioned from martial law to democracy and is de facto independent, with its own government and military, but is not officially recognized by most countries.
China regards Taiwan as a renegade province and vociferously objects to any attempts to place it on an equal footing. Taiwan cannot join the World Health Organization, even after mounting one of the world’s most successful responses against the coronavirus.
Advertisement
With fighter jet sorties into Taiwanese airspace and strident remarks against any friendly gesture toward Taiwan, China has recently grown more aggressive.
It is unclear whether Biden’s approach to Taiwan will be substantively different from Trump’s, though he is likely to adopt a more low-key diplomatic style with fewer showy gestures that would upset China.
Barney Cheng at the Wattles Farm Community Garden in Hollywood. Cheng’s parents are from Taiwan, which is under constant threat from China. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
Barney Cheng, whose parents are from Taiwan, voted for Biden because he anticipates that the former vice president will be better at international conflict resolution. Trump puts his own personal interests first, Cheng said.
Cheng also criticized Trump for not protecting marginalized communities, including LGBTQ people. Cheng said he does not believe Trump has done enough to stand up against the Chinese government’s imprisonment of Uighurs in Xinjiang.
“I understand where Taiwan is coming from because they’re so threatened every day from China,” said the filmmaker, 49, who lives in West Hollywood. “It’s become a single issue for Taiwanese Americans because their family and homeland is under constant threat.”
Michael Mazza, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, is among the foreign policy experts who predict that Biden will not drastically change course from Trump on Taiwan.
Most nuts-and-bolts diplomacy is done behind the scenes by senior staffers whose approach doesn’t usually vary much between administrations, Mazza said.
Despite Trump’s attempts to shake things up, his administration ultimately stayed in line with important precedents, including respect for China’s bottom line — that there is only one China, which includes Taiwan province, Mazza said.
However, in mid-November, Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo said that “Taiwan has not been part of China,” prompting an angry response from a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman.
In the last four years, the Trump administration has stepped up arms sales to Taiwan and increased diplomatic engagement, including sending Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to the island in August to discuss COVID-19 — the highest-level visit since the U.S. cut formal diplomatic ties in favor of China in 1979.
“There’s no reason why we can’t continue on the course we’ve been on in a Biden administration and continue to pursue incremental improvements with Taiwan,” Mazza said.
Last week, Biden announced that Antony Blinken, a senior State Department official in the Obama administration, was his pick for secretary of State.
A Biden transition official said the president-elect is committed to both the Taiwan Relations Act, which emphasizes that the future of Taiwan should be settled by peaceful means, and to the one China policy.
“Once in office, he will continue to support a peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues consistent with the wishes and best interests of the people of Taiwan,” the official, who declined to be identified, said in a written statement. “He has long said that American support for Taiwan must remain strong, principled, and bipartisan, and he plans to work to ensure that.”
As a former vice president, Biden is probably familiar with standard protocols governing Taiwan relations, which would preclude a phone call such as the 10-minute conversation Trump had with Tsai on Dec. 2, 2016.
China regularly issues harsh statements condemning Tsai, whose Democratic Progressive Party stops short of declaring Taiwanese independence but will not agree to China’s preconditions for diplomatic talks.
When Tsai won reelection in January, Biden tweeted congratulations:
“You are stronger because of your free and open society. The United States should continue strengthening our ties with Taiwan and other like-minded democracies,” he wrote.
Tsai returned the favor after Biden’s victory, attaching his earlier tweet and writing, “The values on which we have built our relationship could not be stronger. I look fwd to working together to further our friendship, & contributions to int’l society.”
Such diplomatic niceties are not enough to reassure some Taiwanese Americans.
Vera Yang, a Trump supporter from Pasadena who was born in Taiwan, fears that Biden will focus on domestic issues at the expense of international relations, potentially putting Taiwan in a weak position if China attacks.
“China doesn’t play by the rules. Trump gets that. He gave them a difficult time,” said Yang, 44, an office manager. “I’m not sure how Biden will deal with that.”
Ken Wu is anxious about China’s fighter jet incursions into Taiwanese airspace and says his family in Taiwan would feel safer with Trump as president. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
Ken Wu, who came to the U.S. as a child in 1991, voted for Trump because of the president’s unorthodox actions in support of Taiwan.
Wu is anxious about China’s recent incursions into Taiwanese airspace. He says his extended family in Taiwan would feel safer with Trump as president.
“Biden won’t escalate the issue to where both countries are at the brink of war, but we need more assurance that we’ll see more U.S.-Taiwan relations,” said Wu, 40, of South Pasadena, who is president of the independence-leaning Formosan Assn. for Public Affairs’ Los Angeles chapter.
Wu noted that there is a contradiction in Taiwanese people supporting Trump, whose rhetoric domestically has been divisive and sometimes racist, when they themselves suffered under martial law for decades.
John Wu, 46, a real estate broker from San Gabriel, also voted for Trump — because of the president’s economic and domestic policies, not Taiwan.
As a dual citizen, Wu is active in Taiwan’s Kuomintang party, which favors closer ties with China. He thinks Biden will cool the growing cross-straits tensions and will probably try to repair relations with China.
Like Ken Wu, Fred Chang of Rosemead supports Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party and approves of Trump’s tough-on-China approach.
But as a registered Democrat and political moderate, he voted for Biden, alienated by Trump’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and his extreme statements over the last few months.
Chang, 41, an accountant who came to the U.S. at age 13, expects Biden to stay the course on Taiwan.
“I’m hopeful that Biden will maintain these relationships,” he said. “I don’t think he’s going to go back on what Trump has done, and he’ll be methodical about his policy.”