latimes--2020-04-19--California lessons from the 1918 pandemic: San Francisco dithered; Los Angeles acted and saved lives

The big , striving city on the south coast moved fairly quickly at the first signs of danger — shutting down bars , pool halls , sporting events and more .
Its rival to the north waited at least a week longer to order closures , as its leaders went mask-happy , betting that their best weapon against the onrushing contagion was face coverings , and going slow on what is now referred to as “ social distancing.
” The two great cities charted their disparate paths in the months that followed , straining — amid rudimentary science and massive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ response to the greatest infectious disease emergency in modern memory .
Some 102 years later , this tale of two cities offers some cautionary insights as a few states , responding to President Trump ’ s urging , take steps to open up .
Los Angeles and San Francisco in the early 20th century were vastly different places than they are now .
But they already had distinct cultures and leaders who responded to the great Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 in markedly different ways , thereby producing distinctly different outcomes .
At @ @ @ @ @ @ @ headstrong public health commissioner , who defied the mayor and city council to lock down his city , but only so much .
The other also had a physician as its chief health officer , but one who relied even less on quarantine-style limitations , grasping , instead , for a dubious solution .
Yet Los Angeles , San Francisco and 20 other cities across America shared one common failing , a mistake that would spur a “ double hump ” of contagion .
That second surge of influenza infections in 1918 hit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ killed more people than the first wave in other cities , such as Denver , Kansas City , Milwaukee and St. Louis .
“ The really important lesson of 1918 is to keep interventions in place as long as possible , ” said Alex Navarro , assistant director of the Center for the History of Medicine at the University of Michigan .
“ Because once the controls are removed , it ’ s very difficult to reinstate them.
” The Michigan center , along with the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the 1918 plague .
Their research found “ a strong association between early , sustained and layered use of [ non-pharmaceutical interventions ] and mitigating the consequences of the epidemic.
” In Los Angeles , the first signs of trouble arrived in mid-September 1918 , when sailors aboard a Navy ship in San Pedro fell mysteriously ill. By the end of the month , 55 students at Polytechnic High School in downtown L.A. had the bug , which eventually killed 675,000 in the United States and an estimated 50 million worldwide .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ months would be crafted largely by a headstrong North Carolinian , Dr. Luther Milton Powers .
The doctor managed to remain in power through the tenures of at least half a dozen L.A. mayors .
Publicly , city Health Commissioner Powers called the cases “ alleged influenza , ” but he advised Mayor Frederick T. Woodman in private to prepare a campaign to stop an epidemic in Los Angeles , then a city of fewer than 600,000 souls .
By Oct. 11 , the mayor had declared a state of emergency .
Commissioner @ @ @ @ @ @ @ including movie houses , theaters and pool rooms — closed as of 6 p.m. that night .
Adding a peculiarly L.A. flavor , Powers told the city ’ s ascendant movie moguls they would have to stop filming mob scenes , according to the Michigan archive .
Even though its first influenza cases appeared about the same time as those in L.A. , San Francisco ’ s board of health did not vote to shut down “ all places of public amusement ” until a week later , Oct. 18 .
The city @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , leaving that to their leaders ’ discretion .
The importance of acting promptly might not have been obvious in 1918 .
But this week , UC Berkeley biostatistician Nicholas Jewell and his daughter Britta , also an epidemiologist , calculated the enormous advantage of early social isolation .
In the current pandemic , a one-week advance , nationally , in social distancing could have cut the total United States death count from something around 60,000 to 23,000 , they projected .
In the early-20th-century outbreak , Los Angeles stuck to its more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Religious leaders questioned the constitutionality of closing churches , and the Ninth Church of Christ Scientist , on South New Hampshire Street , reopened , only to see its leaders promptly arrested .
Los Angeles shut down its Liberty Day parade , while many other cities went ahead with the mass gatherings , exposing tens of thousands of people to others who were contagious .
“ In Los Angeles , however , residents had at least one less opportunity for getting sick , ” the University of Michigan researchers concluded .
L.A. theater @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even broader , to stop the virus more quickly .
They demanded the closing of shops and department stores .
But Powers thought such a comprehensive shutdown would be impractical .
The stores remained open .
San Francisco ’ s leaders eventually also closed a significant number of public facilities , but they obsessed on a singular response to the disease : face masks .
That response came courtesy of the city ’ s health officer , Dr. William C. Hassler .
He had first gained acclaim following the Great Earthquake of 1906 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ infestation and fears of bubonic plague that menaced the city .
Hassler came to believe that face masks would help San Francisco tamp down the influenza , which experts theorized had been brought back from Europe by soldiers returning from World War I .
It was later determined that the flu originated from an H1N1 virus , with genes of avian origin .
The doctor began by ordering barbers to wear the coverings , quickly expanding the order to workers at rooming houses , banks , drugstores and shops , the University of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the Board of Supervisors required every resident and visitor to the city to wear a mask .
The Red Cross pronounced that “ the man or woman or child who will not wear a mask now is a dangerous slacker.
” California Gov .
William Stephens concurred , calling it a “ patriotic duty for every American citizen.
” The vast majority complied , with those who did not usually being fined $ 5 .
Eventually , “ slackers ” were jailed , and San Francisco ’ s lockup soon filled with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ restrictions , new influenza cases had declined enough that , by Nov. 13 , 1918 , Hassler recommended reopening San Francisco .
When the ban officially ended on Nov. 16 , pent-up San Franciscans swarmed theaters , movie houses and sports arenas .
They thrilled to an appearance by movie star Roscoe “ Fatty ” Arbuckle .
The city ’ s stringent mask law remained in place , but residents of freewheeling “ Baghdad by the Bay ” had grown well tired of the pesky shrouds .
Then a photographer caught Hassler and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , their masks off .
Hassler said his mask might have slipped off as he smoke a cigar .
He paid $ 5 on the spot .
Rolph agreed to pay the then-hefty fine of $ 50 .
Within a few days , though , the city leaders believed the plague had eased enough to end all restrictions .
At noon on Nov. 21 , a whistle sounded across the city , and many ripped off their masks and threw them into the streets .
Reported the San Francisco Chronicle : “ The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ relics of a torturous month.
” Los Angeles went in a different direction .
Despite repeated attempts by Mayor Woodman and others , the City Council refused to order Angelenos to wear masks , with the exception of health workers and those known to be in contact with influenza patients .
( It didn ’ t hurt that the U.S .
Surgeon General had questioned the usefulness of masks . )
Other issues that moved front and center 100 years ago would be echoed in the L.A. of 2020 .
Church leaders demanded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but the city insisted that indoor services be put off .
And civic groups fought ( somewhat successfully , back then ) to get hotel rooms set aside for the poor and infirm .
Most significant , L.A. had gone into semi-quarantine a week before San Francisco and stayed shuttered longer , reopening public facilities Dec. 2 .
That meant L.A. 's controls ( if not its face masks ) stayed in place 16 days after San Francisco lifted restrictions ; after beginning seven days earlier , it was a 23-day isolation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that they had not be cautious enough .
A quick jump in cases in Los Angeles led to a re-closing of schools , which did not open again until January 1919 .
San Francisco saw its own spike in influenza deaths and ordered the public to put their masks back on as of Jan. 10 .
They could not cast them off again until February .
The media may have been more rudimentary in those days , but politicians already knew something about spin .
San Francisco ’ s Dr. Hassler soon proclaimed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ large city in the entire world to check its epidemic so quickly.
” But the U.S. Public Health Service disagreed .
San Francisco had suffered more than all other major American cities , with a death rate from the Spanish flu approaching 30 per 1,000 people .
The later CDC review showed that both of California ’ s landmark cities suffered “ second humps ” of infection , though San Francisco ’ s was more severe .
The researchers examined “ excess ” death rates in 50 cities , the number who died @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
L.A. ’ s rate was 494 excess deaths per 100,000 residents , lower than that of many other American cities .
With its shortened public distancing requirements and preoccupation with masks , San Francisco suffered 673 excess deaths per 100,000 .
A century later , leaders in Los Angeles and San Francisco continue to act independently , if somewhat more uniformly than their precursors .
After the first COVID-19 death on March 4 , Los Angeles County joined three other counties in declaring states of emergency .
Three days later , San @ @ @ @ @ @ @ city-owned facilities , including City Hall , libraries and piers .
On March 11 , it banned all mass gatherings of 1,000 or more people , prohibiting fans from heading to Golden State Warriors games at the new Chase Center .
On March 15 , Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti jumped ahead of county health authorities in L.A. , ordering the mandatory closure of bars , nightclubs , movie theaters , bowling alleys , gyms and other facilities , and urging churches to limit large gatherings .
That Monday , San Francisco ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) joined six other counties in ordering residents to “ shelter in place , ” staying at home for all but essential activities .
While the shutdowns , south and north , came in fairly quick succession , the communities had grown worlds apart by the dawn of the great coronavirus outbreak of 2020 .
San Francisco has evolved from a brawling port city and economic hub into an upscale enclave of fewer than 900,000 people , where wealthy tech workers have displaced many older , and poorer , residents .
L.A. County @ @ @ @ @ @ @ define the nation ’ s urban sprawl and an even more sprawling inequality gap .
The county ’ s more than 10 million residents include some of the richest and poorest Americans .
Using a variety of measures , the CDC found , prior to the outbreak , that upscale San Francisco had “ low to moderate ” vulnerability to disease and other public health threats .
Los Angeles County ’ s makeup , in contrast , left it with “ high ” vulnerability to health emergencies .
By Saturday , San Francisco @ @ @ @ @ @ @ County , with 11.5 times the population , had logged nearly 29 times as many deaths : 577 .
Both north and south , leaders shared one benefit : They had been given a chance to learn the lessons of history .
On Tuesday , San Francisco Mayor London Breed told the media she was well aware of the premature celebrations before the end of the 1918 contagion .
She described how the illness “ came back with a vengeance.
” With her eye on the present day , she added : “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not over … We will get through this .
But it is going to require time , and it ’ s going to require patience , like never before .
”

The big, striving city on the south coast moved fairly quickly at the first signs of danger — shutting down bars, pool halls, sporting events and more.
Its rival to the north waited at least a week longer to order closures, as its leaders went mask-happy, betting that their best weapon against the onrushing contagion was face coverings, and going slow on what is now referred to as “social distancing.”
The two great cities charted their disparate paths in the months that followed, straining — amid rudimentary science and massive public pressure — to craft the proper response to the greatest infectious disease emergency in modern memory.
Some 102 years later, this tale of two cities offers some cautionary insights as a few states, responding to President Trump’s urging, take steps to open up.
Advertisement
Los Angeles and San Francisco in the early 20th century were vastly different places than they are now. But they already had distinct cultures and leaders who responded to the great Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 in markedly different ways, thereby producing distinctly different outcomes.
× The 1918 flu was one the worst pandemics in history, infecting one-third of the world’s population. How cities responded to the crisis in 1918 provides lessons on handling COVID-19 today.
At the helm in one city was a headstrong public health commissioner, who defied the mayor and City Council to lock down his city, but only so much. The other also had a physician as its chief health officer, but one who relied even less on quarantine-style limitations, grasping, instead, for a dubious solution.
Yet Los Angeles, San Francisco and 20 other cities across America shared one common failing, a mistake that would spur a “double hump” of contagion. That second surge of influenza infections in 1918 hit both Los Angeles and San Francisco and killed more people than the first wave in other cities, such as Denver, Kansas City, Milwaukee and St. Louis.
“The really important lesson of 1918 is to keep interventions in place as long as possible,” said Alex Navarro, assistant director of the Center for the History of Medicine at the University of Michigan. “Because once the controls are removed, it’s very difficult to reinstate them.”
The Michigan center, along with the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, compiled and analyzed historical accounts of the 1918 plague. Their research found “a strong association between early, sustained and layered use of [non-pharmaceutical interventions] and mitigating the consequences of the epidemic.”
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In Los Angeles, the first signs of trouble arrived in mid-September 1918, when sailors aboard a Navy ship in San Pedro fell mysteriously ill. By the end of the month, 55 students at Polytechnic High School in downtown L.A. had the bug, which eventually killed 675,000 in the United States and an estimated 50 million worldwide.
The city’s response in the coming months would be crafted largely by a headstrong North Carolinian, Dr. Luther Milton Powers. The doctor managed to remain in power through the tenures of at least half a dozen L.A. mayors.
Publicly, city Health Commissioner Powers called the cases “alleged influenza,” but he advised Mayor Frederick T. Woodman in private to prepare a campaign to stop an epidemic in Los Angeles, then a city of fewer than 600,000 souls.
By Oct. 11, the mayor had declared a state of emergency. Commissioner Powers ordered most public gathering places — including movie houses, theaters and pool rooms — closed as of 6 p.m. that night. Adding a peculiarly L.A. flavor, Powers told the city’s ascendant movie moguls they would have to stop filming mob scenes, according to the Michigan archive.
Even though its first influenza cases appeared about the same time as those in L.A., San Francisco’s board of health did not vote to shut down “all places of public amusement” until a week later, Oct. 18. The city did not include churches in the shutdown, leaving that to their leaders’ discretion.
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The importance of acting promptly might not have been obvious in 1918. But this week, UC Berkeley biostatistician Nicholas Jewell and his daughter Britta, also an epidemiologist, calculated the enormous advantage of early social isolation. In the current pandemic, a one-week advance, nationally, in social distancing could have cut the total United States death count from something around 60,000 to 23,000, they projected.
In the early-20th-century outbreak, Los Angeles stuck to its more rigorous response, despite considerable pushback. Religious leaders questioned the constitutionality of closing churches, and the Ninth Church of Christ Scientist, on South New Hampshire Street, reopened, only to see its leaders promptly arrested.
Los Angeles shut down its Liberty Day parade, while many other cities went ahead with the mass gatherings, exposing tens of thousands of people to others who were contagious. “In Los Angeles, however, residents had at least one less opportunity for getting sick,” the University of Michigan researchers concluded.
L.A. theater owners protested that the shutdown should be even broader, to stop the virus more quickly. They demanded the closing of shops and department stores. But Powers thought such a comprehensive shutdown would be impractical. The stores remained open.
San Francisco’s leaders eventually also closed a significant number of public facilities, but they obsessed on a singular response to the disease: face masks. That response came courtesy of the city’s health officer, Dr. William C. Hassler. He had first gained acclaim after the Great Earthquake of 1906, for helping fight off a rat infestation and fears of bubonic plague that menaced the city.
Hassler came to believe that face masks would help San Francisco tamp down the influenza, which experts theorized had been brought back from Europe by soldiers returning from World War I. It was later determined that the flu originated from an H1N1 virus, with genes of avian origin.
The doctor began by ordering barbers to wear the coverings, quickly expanding the order to workers at rooming houses, banks, drugstores and shops, the University of Michigan archive says.
By Oct. 25, the Board of Supervisors required every resident and visitor to the city to wear a mask. The Red Cross pronounced that “the man or woman or child who will not wear a mask now is a dangerous slacker.” California Gov. William Stephens concurred, calling it a “patriotic duty for every American citizen.”
A police officer adjusts a man’s flu mask in San Francisco during the 1918 pandemic. (Hamilton Henry Dobbin / California State Library)
The vast majority complied, with those who did not usually being fined $5. Eventually, “slackers” were jailed, and San Francisco’s lockup soon filled with the malefactors. Even with less rigorous restrictions, new influenza cases had declined enough that, by Nov. 13, 1918, Hassler recommended reopening San Francisco.
When the ban officially ended on Nov. 16, pent-up San Franciscans swarmed theaters, movie houses and sports arenas. They thrilled to an appearance by movie star Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle. The city’s stringent mask law remained in place, but residents of freewheeling “Baghdad by the Bay” had grown well tired of the pesky shrouds.
Then a photographer caught Hassler and Mayor James Rolph at a boxing match, their masks off. Hassler said his mask might have slipped off as he smoked a cigar. He paid $5 on the spot. Rolph agreed to pay the then-hefty fine of $50.
Within a few days, though, the city leaders believed the plague had eased enough to end all restrictions. At noon on Nov. 21, a whistle sounded across the city, and many ripped off their masks and threw them into the streets. Reported the San Francisco Chronicle: “The sidewalks and runnels were strewn with the relics of a torturous month.”
California From the Black Death to AIDS, pandemics have shaped human history. Coronavirus will too From the Plague of Justinian and the Black Death to polio and AIDS, pandemics have violently reshaped civilization since humans first settled into towns thousands of years ago. No one can know exactly how the COVID-19 pandemic will ultimately change the world. But stress cracks are already showing.
Los Angeles went in a different direction. Despite repeated attempts by Mayor Woodman and others, the City Council refused to order Angelenos to wear masks, with the exception of health workers and those known to be in contact with influenza patients. (It didn’t hurt that the U.S. surgeon general had questioned the usefulness of masks.)
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Other issues that moved front and center 100 years ago would be echoed in the L.A. of 2020. Church leaders demanded to be able to restore group worship, but the city insisted that indoor services be put off. And civic groups fought (somewhat successfully, back then) to get hotel rooms set aside for the poor and infirm.
Most significant, L.A. had gone into semi-quarantine a week before San Francisco and stayed shuttered longer, reopening public facilities Dec. 2. That meant L.A.’s controls (if not its face masks) stayed in place 16 days after San Francisco lifted restrictions; after beginning seven days earlier, it was a 23-day isolation advantage.
Both locales would soon learn that they had not been cautious enough. A quick jump in cases in Los Angeles led to a re-closing of schools, which did not open again until January 1919. San Francisco saw its own spike in influenza deaths and ordered the public to put their masks back on as of Jan. 10. They could not cast them off again until February.
The media may have been more rudimentary in those days, but politicians already knew something about spin. San Francisco’s Dr. Hassler soon proclaimed that San Francisco “was the only large city in the entire world to check its epidemic so quickly.”
But the U.S. Public Health Service disagreed. San Francisco had suffered more than all other major American cities, with a death rate from the Spanish flu approaching 30 per 1,000 people. The later CDC review showed that both of California’s landmark cities suffered “second humps” of infection, though San Francisco’s was more severe.
The researchers examined “excess” death rates in 50 cities, the number who died of influenza above the normal yearly expectation. L.A.’s rate was 494 excess deaths per 100,000 residents, lower than that of many other American cities. With its shortened public distancing requirements and preoccupation with masks, San Francisco suffered 673 excess deaths per 100,000.
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Volunteer nurses from the American Red Cross tend to influenza patients in the Oakland Municipal Auditorium, used as a temporary hospital, in 1918. (Edward A. “Doc” Rogers / Associated Press)
A century later, leaders in Los Angeles and San Francisco continue to act independently, if somewhat more uniformly than their precursors.
After the first COVID-19 death on March 4, Los Angeles County joined three other counties in declaring states of emergency. Three days later, San Francisco shut down nonessential group activities in city-owned facilities, including City Hall, libraries and piers. On March 11, it banned all mass gatherings of 1,000 or more people, prohibiting fans from heading to Golden State Warriors games at the new Chase Center.
On March 15, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti jumped ahead of county health authorities in L.A., ordering the mandatory closure of bars, nightclubs, movie theaters, bowling alleys, gyms and other facilities, and urging churches to limit large gatherings. That Monday, San Francisco (where county and city government are one) joined six other counties in ordering residents to “shelter in place,” staying at home for all but essential activities.
While the shutdowns, south and north, came in fairly quick succession, the communities had grown worlds apart by the dawn of the great coronavirus outbreak of 2020.
San Francisco has evolved from a brawling port city and economic hub into an upscale enclave of fewer than 900,000 people, where wealthy tech workers have displaced many older, and poorer, residents. L.A. County, in contrast, has come to define the nation’s urban sprawl and an even more sprawling inequality gap. The county’s more than 10 million residents include some of the richest and poorest Americans.
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Using a variety of measures, the CDC found, prior to the outbreak, that upscale San Francisco had “low to moderate” vulnerability to disease and other public health threats. Los Angeles County’s makeup, in contrast, left it with “high” vulnerability to health emergencies. By Saturday, San Francisco had recorded 20 deaths, while L.A. County, with 11.5 times the population, had logged nearly 29 times as many deaths: 577.
Both north and south, leaders shared one benefit: They had been given a chance to learn the lessons of history.
On Tuesday, San Francisco Mayor London Breed told the media she was well aware of the premature celebrations before the end of the 1918 contagion. She described how the illness “came back with a vengeance.”
With her eye on the present day, she added: “The fact is, it’s not over.… We will get through this. But it is going to require time, and it’s going to require patience, like never before.”


latimes--2020-04-19--Advocates say hundreds of immigrants detained in California are on hunger strike. ICE says only two

On April 8 , Jose Mendez , an immigrant held at Adelanto ICE Processing Center near Victorville , said things had noticeably changed at the facility : some guards had started wearing masks , detainees could no longer leave their cells for yard time and meals were delivered to them .
Mendez said detainees had asked for their own masks , gloves and cleaning supplies to protect against the novel coronavirus , and facility staff promised they ’ d get some .
But they never delivered , he said .
The 38-year-old had grown increasingly concerned about the virus , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and diabetes .
He wanted to get out but didn ’ t have a lawyer .
Two days later , Mendez and other detainees in his pod complained to guards who weren ’ t wearing masks about lack of protection against the virus .
He said their complaints were never addressed .
“ We all collectively decided that we ’ d start a hunger strike if they won ’ t change , ” Mendez said .
“ If one person becomes infected , we all do.
” Advocates say hundreds of immigrants detained @ @ @ @ @ @ @ strike over conditions that leave them vulnerable to contracting COVID-19 .
But officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Friday that two detainees are on hunger strike at Adelanto and none at any other facility .
According to ICE policy , facility staff must record detainees not eating for 72 hours before designating a hunger strike .
“ ICE does not retaliate in any way against hunger strikers , ” the agency said .
“ ICE explains the negative health effects of not eating to our detainees .
For their health and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and water intake of those detainees identified as being on a hunger strike.
” Across the country , 124 immigrants and 30 ICE employees at detention centers have tested positive for the virus .
With 18 confirmed cases , the second-largest outbreak among ICE detainees at any facility is at Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego .
Detainees have confirmed hunger strikes at Adelanto , Mesa Verde ICE Processing Facility in Bakersfield and Otay Mesa .
Their demands include that ICE stop booking in new people , that all staff wear masks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with adequate hygiene supplies and that those experiencing coronavirus symptoms be tested .
ICE says detainees are regularly provided with soap and cleaning supplies .
Facilities have increased social distancing by introducing staggered meals and recreation times and suspending community service projects and social visits .
The agency has released nearly 700 people deemed vulnerable and limited intake of new detainees .
Nationwide , the detained population has dropped by 4,000 people since March 1 — a 60 % decrease in book-ins compared to the same time last year — to 32,300 people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ICE ’ s assertions about prevention and containment efforts , saying they remain fearful for their lives .
Lawyers have petitioned federal courts for the release of dozens of medically vulnerable detainees in California .
Others have been released on bond or through humanitarian parole , which is free to people with a compelling emergency .
Citing violations of the 5th Amendment , the American Civil Liberties Union last week filed a class-action lawsuit against ICE to demand a drastic reduction in the number of detainees held at Adelanto amid the virus outbreak @ @ @ @ @ @ @ detainees , Adelanto is one of the largest detention facilities in the country .
“ ICE ’ s failure to take action to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at Adelanto puts immigrants detained there at grave risk of death or serious injury , ” said Jessica Karp Bansal , senior staff attorney at the ACLU SoCal .
“ It also threatens the surrounding communities , which are simply not equipped to handle a mass outbreak of COVID-19 at Adelanto.
” Jose Topete , a 51-year-old from Mexico , said he was moved a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ older and medically compromised detainees at Adelanto .
He has diabetes , thyroid issues , ulcers and high blood pressure .
Topete said he is in charge of cleaning the floors of his dorm but hadn ’ t been provided with cleaning supplies .
“ I ’ ve been mopping the floors with water only , ” he said .
“ The situation is bad .
They know my defenses are low.
” Also last week , California Atty .
Gen. Xavier Becerra sent a letter to Chad Wolfe , the acting secretary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ urging the Trump administration to act immediately to minimize the spread of COVID-19 in immigration detention facilities and prevent “ unnecessary loss of life.
” Detainees on strike at Mesa Verde responded with their own letter to Becerra and California Gov .
Gavin Newsom on Friday , asking them to inspect facilities across the state and document the conditions placing detainees at risk of contracting the virus .
In its initial denial that a hunger strike was taking place at Mesa Verde , ICE called the claims a “ shameful , coordinated campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ propaganda being perpetrated by so-called advocacy groups under the premise of helping detainees does nothing more than spread misinformation that incites unnecessary fear throughout the community and among detainees , ” spokesman Jonathan Moor said in a statement April 10 .
Donovan Grant , a 44-year-old from Jamaica held at Mesa Verde , said his dorm of 100 men started their strike April 10 after breakfast .
As of last Monday afternoon , Grant had missed nine meals .
That day , he said , the warden and other officials told the strikers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lunch , they would revoke their commissary .
By that evening , officials told the strikers that they ’ d supply some of what they were asking , including paper towels and more soap .
Grant said they put in one more soap dispenser but nothing else .
Feeling hopeful , a few men decided to eat dinner Monday night , Grant said .
He didn ’ t .
“ I woke up this morning and there was a new guy that came in , ” Grant said Tuesday .
“ We ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ move we should take.
” At Otay Mesa , a facility that holds immigrants for the purposes of deportation based on civil violations as well as inmates charged with federal immigration-related crimes , at least 18 ICE detainees and nine U.S .
Marshals Service inmates have tested positive for coronavirus , the San Diego Union-Tribune reported .
On April 10 , detainees there were told to sign contracts written only in English before receiving surgical masks .
Some refused to sign .
Facility staff later did away with the waivers .
Sen. Kamala @ @ @ @ @ @ @ investigation into the treatment of detainees at Otay Mesa after that incident was reported by the Union-Tribune .
Detainees throughout the facility protested and began hunger strikes last week , including a unit that holds women prisoners of the U.S .
Marshals Service .
The women spent several hours last Wednesday sitting on the floor to demand safeguards against coronavirus .
Ivan Nuñez Guadian , 44 , is being held at Otay Mesa on a drug charge .
Nuñez , a lawyer in his native Mexico , helped organize a hunger strike among @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wednesday .
He and other inmates who work in the kitchen refused to go after realizing that some of the plates they cleaned came from pods where there were confirmed COVID-19 cases .
He knew the virus could survive for hours on plastic surfaces and asked that they begin serving food on disposable plates .
Officials said no .
Nuñez , who has diabetes and heart issues and has been sick with flu-like symptoms , was among those who signed the contract for a surgical mask , saying he was afraid to defy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ learn that the thin mask was supposed to last two weeks .
“ We live shoulder to shoulder , skin against skin , ” he said .
“ I have a cough .
I want to know if I have the virus or not.
” Nuñez ’ s lawyer Marcus Bourassa of the Federal Defenders of San Diego said Saturday that his client ’ s pod was placed on a lockdown shortly after he spoke to The Times on Wednesday .
Nuñez missed a court hearing Friday because Otay Mesa staff took him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about new COVID-19 symptoms he was experiencing .
They returned him to the facility later Friday afternoon , Bourassa said .

On April 8, Jose Mendez, an immigrant held at Adelanto ICE Processing Center near Victorville, said things had noticeably changed at the facility: Some guards had started wearing masks, detainees could no longer leave their cells for yard time and meals were delivered to them.
Mendez said detainees had asked for their own masks, gloves and cleaning supplies to protect against the novel coronavirus, and facility staff promised they’d get some. But they were never delivered, he said. The 38-year-old had grown increasingly concerned about the virus, particularly because he has high blood pressure and diabetes. He wanted to get out but didn’t have a lawyer.
Two days later, Mendez and other detainees in his pod complained to guards who weren’t wearing masks about the lack of protection against the virus. He said their complaints were never addressed.
“We all collectively decided that we’d start a hunger strike if they won’t change,” Mendez said. “If one person becomes infected, we all do.”
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Advocates say hundreds of immigrants detained in California facilities are now on hunger strike over conditions that leave them vulnerable to contracting COVID-19.
California ‘I am afraid for my life’: Immigrant detainees plead to be released In court filings, ICE has argued that concern about detainees contracting coronavirus is “based on mere speculation” and that releasing large numbers of them would set a precedent that would persist even after the virus subsides. But ICE is instructing field offices to assess and consider for release those who were deemed to be at greater risk of exposure.
But officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Friday that two detainees are on hunger strike at Adelanto and none at any other facility. According to ICE policy, facility staff must record detainees not eating for 72 hours before designating a hunger strike.
“ICE does not retaliate in any way against hunger strikers,” the agency said. “ICE explains the negative health effects of not eating to our detainees. For their health and safety, ICE closely monitors the food and water intake of those detainees identified as being on a hunger strike.”
Across the country, 124 immigrants and 30 ICE employees at detention centers have tested positive for the virus. With 18 confirmed cases, the second-largest outbreak among ICE detainees at any facility is at Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego.
Detainees have confirmed hunger strikes at Adelanto, Mesa Verde ICE Processing Facility in Bakersfield and Otay Mesa. Their demands include that ICE stop booking in new people, that all staff members wear masks and gloves, that detainees be provided with adequate hygiene supplies and that those experiencing coronavirus symptoms be tested.
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ICE says detainees are regularly provided with soap and cleaning supplies. Facilities have increased social distancing by introducing staggered meals and recreation times, and suspending community service projects and social visits. The agency has released nearly 700 people deemed vulnerable and limited intake of new detainees. Nationwide, the detained population has dropped by 4,000 people since March 1 — a 60% decrease in book-ins compared with the same time last year — to 32,300 people, according to ICE.
Detainees dispute ICE’s assertions about prevention and containment efforts, saying they remain fearful for their lives. Lawyers have petitioned federal courts for the release of dozens of medically vulnerable detainees in California. Others have been released on bond or through humanitarian parole, which is free to people with a compelling emergency.
Citing violations of the 5th Amendment, the American Civil Liberties Union last week filed a class-action lawsuit against ICE to demand a drastic reduction in the number of detainees held at Adelanto amid the virus outbreak. With a capacity for nearly 2,000 detainees, Adelanto is one of the largest detention facilities in the country.
“ICE’s failure to take action to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at Adelanto puts immigrants detained there at grave risk of death or serious injury,” said Jessica Karp Bansal, senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Southern California. “It also threatens the surrounding communities, which are simply not equipped to handle a mass outbreak of COVID-19 at Adelanto.”
Jose Topete, a 51-year-old from Mexico, said he was moved a few weeks ago to a dorm with older and medically compromised detainees at Adelanto. He has diabetes, thyroid issues, ulcers and high blood pressure.
Topete said he is in charge of cleaning the floors of his dorm but hadn’t been provided with cleaning supplies.
“I’ve been mopping the floors with water only,” he said. “The situation is bad. They know my defenses are low.”
Also last week, California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra sent a letter to Chad Wolfe, the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, urging the Trump administration to act immediately to minimize the spread of COVID-19 in immigration detention facilities and prevent “unnecessary loss of life.”
Detainees on strike at Mesa Verde responded with their own letter to Becerra and California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday, asking them to inspect facilities across the state and document the conditions placing detainees at risk of contracting the virus.
Folks are outside Mesa Verde NOW, demanding a swifter response to #COVID19. @GavinNewsom, we need BOLD leadership in this pandemic! #FreeThemAll #FreeThemAllMesaVerde pic.twitter.com/6HFZsrIcib — CA Immigrant Youth (@CIYJA) April 17, 2020
In its initial denial that a hunger strike was taking place at Mesa Verde, ICE called the claims a “shameful, coordinated campaign against truth.”
“This disgusting false propaganda being perpetrated by so-called advocacy groups under the premise of helping detainees does nothing more than spread misinformation that incites unnecessary fear throughout the community and among detainees,” spokesman Jonathan Moor said in a statement April 10.
Donovan Grant, a 44-year-old from Jamaica held at Mesa Verde, said his dorm of 100 men started their strike April 10 after breakfast. As of last Monday afternoon, Grant had missed nine meals.
That day, he said, the warden and other officials told the strikers that if they didn’t eat lunch, they would revoke their commissary. By that evening, officials told the strikers that they’d supply some of what they were asking, including paper towels and more soap. Grant said they put in one more soap dispenser but nothing else.
Feeling hopeful, a few men decided to eat dinner Monday night, Grant said. He didn’t.
“I woke up this morning and there was a new guy that came in,” Grant said Tuesday. “We’re trying to figure out the next move we should take.”
At Otay Mesa, a facility that holds immigrants for the purposes of deportation based on civil violations as well as inmates charged with federal immigration-related crimes, at least 18 ICE detainees and nine U.S. Marshals Service inmates have tested positive for coronavirus, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
On April 10, detainees there were told to sign contracts written only in English before receiving surgical masks. Some refused to sign. Facility staff members later did away with the waivers.
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-California) called for an investigation into the treatment of detainees at Otay Mesa after that incident was reported by the Union-Tribune.
Detainees throughout the facility protested and began hunger strikes last week, including a unit that holds female prisoners of the U.S. Marshals Service. The women spent several hours on Wednesday sitting on the floor to demand safeguards against coronavirus.
Ivan Nuñez Guadian, 44, is being held at Otay Mesa on a drug charge. Nuñez, a lawyer in his native Mexico, helped organize a hunger strike among about 100 inmates in his pod that started Wednesday.
He and other inmates who work in the kitchen refused to go after realizing that some of the plates they cleaned came from pods where there were confirmed COVID-19 cases. He knew the virus could survive for hours on plastic surfaces and asked that they begin serving food on disposable plates. Officials said no.
Nuñez, who has diabetes and heart issues and has been sick with flu-like symptoms, was among those who signed the contract for a surgical mask, saying he was afraid to defy authority. But he was disappointed to learn that the thin mask was supposed to last two weeks.
“We live shoulder to shoulder, skin against skin,” he said. “I have a cough. I want to know if I have the virus or not.”
Nuñez’s lawyer, Marcus Bourassa of the Federal Defenders of San Diego, said Saturday that his client’s pod was placed on a lockdown shortly after he spoke to The Times on Wednesday. Nuñez missed a court hearing Friday because the Otay Mesa staff took him to a local hospital out of concern about new COVID-19 symptoms he was experiencing.
They returned him to the facility Friday afternoon, Bourassa said.


latimes--2020-04-19--This federal judge is risking his life to save homeless people from the coronavirus

“ Anybody want to test my accountability by walking with me in a few moments down to skid row ?
” U.S. District Judge David O. Carter leveled the question at a room full of attorneys on a recent Tuesday afternoon .
“ Do you all believe me , or do you want to see it ?
” he pressed .
“ Do you want to see it ?
” At 76 years old , Carter knows he should be at home and away from people , not in a cavernous ballroom in the basement of the Alexandria Hotel surrounded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leading a tour of the largest concentration of homeless people in the country .
Public officials have warned that his age puts him at high risk for contracting the coronavirus and dying of COVID-19 .
But as the pandemic has unfolded , Carter , long known as brash , verbose and stubbornly hands-on , has been on a mission to force changes in the living conditions for the homeless people of L.A .
He is the judge assigned to a lawsuit filed last month against the city and county of Los Angeles by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The group of business owners and downtown residents , among others , is demanding solutions to what they see as unsafe and inhumane conditions in encampments — especially given the pandemic .
On this particular Tuesday , two attorneys representing the county and several others representing advocacy groups decided to take Carter up on his offer to see whether the new hand-washing stations on skid row actually worked .
In court , Carter had been frustrated that the stations the city was touting didn ’ t have water in them .
He knew @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them earlier .
So for two hours , the group marched around the squalor of skid row in the rain .
Carter ’ s determined gait left other , much younger people scrambling to keep up , shivering in their soaked business attire .
He led them from station to station , demonstrating which ones worked and which ones didn ’ t .
He wore gloves , but then shook the hands of several homeless people .
Although he had on an N95 mask , he would pull it back so people could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ closer to others than the recommended distance of six feet .
Carter declined to explain on the record to The Times why he continues to put himself in danger , but he did say he has started getting tested regularly for the coronavirus ( he ’ s negative ) and is taking social distancing seriously , along with wearing a mask and gloves .
His wife , Mary Ellen Carter , said she is sleeping in a separate bedroom as a precaution .
Last month , their grandchildren left him a birthday gift @ @ @ @ @ @ @ behind their picket fence to sing him happy birthday .
But she said those sacrifices were small compared with the size of her husband ’ s mission .
“ The fun thing about Dave is there ’ s always change when he ’ s involved .
He reminded me , everyone [ in government ] says , well , they should be doing this and they should be doing that .
There ’ s no leadership , ” Mary Ellen Carter said .
“ They need some leader to take this on and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what we ’ re going to do.
’ ... Because there ’ s a lawsuit , it gives him a chance to come in and say this is what he needs done.
” Carter ’ s close associates , including a longtime friend from his stint as a Marine , suspect that the judge simply found it unacceptable to sit alone in his chambers or his house as the pandemic is playing out on the street .
Far from being a martyr , they say Carter merely sees the coronavirus as an opportunity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that hasn ’ t happened through decades of public policy and litigation between advocates and the city and county .
“ He ’ s trying to impress on people that they can ’ t be in a bubble when the people out there are not ...
This is real .
This is flesh and blood , ” said Laurie Levenson , a professor at Loyola Law School at Loyola Marymount University .
“ This will be seen as masterful .
As long as nobody [ in his courtroom ] gets sick.
” Carter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the thick of things .
He ’ s rarely content to sit back and just file rulings .
He begins sending emails and making calls to elected officials and business leaders before the sun rises .
In the past , he has convened his courtroom on a Santa Ana riverbed and he regularly visits homeless encampments .
A federal judge since 1999 , Carter made a name for himself in 2018 when he presided over a case brought by homeless advocates in Orange County .
The county and the cities of Anaheim , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ encampments along a three-mile stretch of the Santa Ana River Trail in 2018 .
Advocates sued .
Carter helped oversee a settlement , in which more than a dozen cities in northern Orange County agreed to create enough shelter beds for a specific percentage of the local homeless population .
As a result of the lawsuit , about 1,200 beds have been added or are in the pipeline , even in cities that once resisted shelters , according to attorney Carol Sobel , who worked on behalf of advocates in the Orange County @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Los Angeles case .
About 1,500 units of new permanent housing have been approved , she said .
Separately , Carter also tangled with several wealthy cities in southern Orange County that enforced anti-camping laws by sending homeless people to poorer parts of the county in the north .
Those cities refused to settle , retained lawyers from Jones Day and succeeded in having Carter removed from the case , because he had made comments that could be perceived as biased and because of the way he communicated with public officials .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ County was later dismissed , though the plaintiffs are appealing .
“ The thing about Judge Carter is he ’ s a hands-on judge , ” Sobel said .
“ He ’ s been to skid row numerous times .
He ’ s been to Venice , San Pedro , Eagle Rock .
He ’ s been out and about more than the city officials are.
” Carter , over the years , has made little attempt to disguise his efforts to improve conditions for homeless people .
He sometimes acts more like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that got him in trouble in Orange County .
Whether it ’ s at a function or on skid row , Carter will shake every hand and engage everyone in conversation .
“ People always say to him , ‘ Dave , you aren ’ t running for Congress , you can sit down , ’ ” his wife said .
“ That should ’ ve been his career .
He would ’ ve been perfect at that.
” Yet Sobel credited some of Carter ’ s success to the connections he has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
During a recent hearing in the Los Angeles case , for example , he insisted on getting L.A. City Atty .
Mike Feuer ’ s cellphone number and told lawyers that he and Mayor Eric Garcetti had been exchanging emails since 5:30 a.m. That ’ s on top of meeting with almost all the members of the City Council and every member of the county Board of Supervisors .
“ I ’ m going to call you Eric from now on , OK ?
, ” Carter asked the mayor from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been many appearances .
“ I ’ m Dave.
” These conversations inside and outside the courtroom appear to be having the intended effect , putting pressure on politicians who have long focused on homelessness , but with mixed success .
It was why the plaintiffs initially pushed for Carter to hear the case , and why both city and county officials have willingly come to the table to talk about solutions .
Lately , the judge has taken a particular interest in how homeless people are getting to the city ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how medical care is being provided there .
One recent Sunday , he joined L.A. City Councilman Mike Bonin for a tour of shelters in Westchester and Westwood .
“ He tried to not identify as a judge and told people he was my oldest staff member , ” Bonin said .
Carter practiced social distancing most of the time , Bonin said , but talked to almost everyone at the shelter and even measured the distance between the cots to make sure they were indeed six feet apart to slow the spread @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a few Los Angeles police officers , peppering them with questions about why they were taking people ’ s temperatures .
At first , the officers were reluctant to talk .
“ So he called Michel Moore , ” Bonin said , referring to the LAPD ’ s chief .
The officers opened up , and Carter then joined them on a bus ride to pick up more homeless people .
One of Carter ’ s friends , Al Anderson , isn ’ t surprised the judge is risking his life for homeless @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two met in the Marines during the Vietnam War .
Fifty-two years ago this month , Carter ’ s unit attempted to take a hill in the battle of Khe Sanh .
He was badly wounded and spent the next year in the hospital .
The experience , Anderson said , left Carter scarred , but also defined the rest of his life .
Anderson has watched Carter ’ s star rise , presiding over trials involving the Mexican Mafia and Aryan Brotherhood .
Carter , he said , has always been willing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ way for the right reasons .
“ He has been making a mark , and he is more so doing it now , but in a different way , ” said Anderson , 76 , who can ’ t leave his home because he ’ s had several bouts of pneumonia , putting him at high risk for severe COVID-19 .
“ He ’ s championing that part of society that has been overlooked and would be overlooked more if it wasn ’ t for what he ’ s doing.
” Carter ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ He ’ s always told me , ‘ Mary Ellen , I shouldn ’ t be here .
I fought in the war and I ’ m not afraid like other people , this doesn ’ t frighten me .
I ’ ve been given this second chance.
’ ” Carter wears a Purple Heart Medal pin on the lapel of his suit jacket .
He also earned a Bronze Star .
Back on skid row , staring through the rain at tent after tent , he recounted to the attorneys following @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Khe Sanh , but it was the wet and cold that killed lots of the men in his battalion .
“ When the wind , it hits you , ” he said , “ you die of hypothermia.
” As the rain began to slow , Carter became enraged that the sidewalks were full of tents , making them impassable .
As he walked down 5th Street toward San Pedro Street , homeless people began to come out of their tents and clap .
He waved and smiled and shook some hands .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ on this center of Los Angeles ’ homeless community .
He has already helped facilitate some compromises .
He is working on the broad contours of an agreement that would allow RVs and trailers to be parked near skid row on state-owned land and in a few parking lots that the city might lease .
He also pushed the city to communicate that it wouldn ’ t be issuing citations for sleeping in campers during the pandemic .
Garcetti has repeatedly mentioned Carter during his nightly briefing on the coronavirus , recently giving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that hand-washing stations will now be checked daily to make sure there ’ s water and soap , so homeless people can maintain basic hygiene .
These are all small deals , but they might lead to further cooperation between the city and county , and homeless advocates , some have speculated .
That , in turn , could lead to more agreements that go beyond the response to the coronavirus crisis .
Still , Carter has acknowledged in court that no matter what they do , tens of thousands of people will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ getting sick without adequate medical care and possibly spreading the coronavirus to others .
“ By God , we ’ re going to get criticized for the lives we didn ’ t save .
We ’ re never going to be accountable or known for the lives we did save , ” he said .
“ You have got a chance for us to save an awful lot of lives .
”

“Anybody want to test my accountability by walking with me in a few moments down to skid row?”
U.S. District Judge David O. Carter leveled the question at a room full of attorneys on a recent Tuesday afternoon.
“Do you all believe me, or do you want to see it?” he pressed. “Do you want to see it?”
At 76 years old, Carter knows he should be at home and away from people, not in a cavernous ballroom in the basement of the Alexandria Hotel surrounded by attorneys and journalists, or outside leading a tour of the largest concentration of homeless people in the country. Public officials have warned that his age puts him at high risk for contracting the coronavirus and dying of COVID-19.
U.S. District Judge David Carter, right, and U.S. District Judge Andre Birotte, Jr., leave a closed Federal court hearing to discuss possible immediate solutions to the Skid Row homeless crisis in light of the worsening coronavirus pandemic at the Alexandria Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
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But as the pandemic has unfolded, Carter, long known as brash, verbose and stubbornly hands-on, has been on a mission to force changes in the living conditions for the homeless people of L.A.
He is the judge assigned to a lawsuit filed last month against the city and county of Los Angeles by the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights. The group of business owners and downtown residents, among others, is demanding solutions to what they see as unsafe and inhumane conditions in encampments — especially given the pandemic.
On this particular Tuesday, two attorneys representing the county and several others representing advocacy groups decided to take Carter up on his offer to see whether the new hand-washing stations on skid row actually worked. In court, Carter had been frustrated that the stations the city was touting didn’t have water in them. He knew many were empty because he had checked them earlier.
So for two hours, the group marched around the squalor of skid row in the rain. Carter’s determined gait left other, much younger people scrambling to keep up, shivering in their soaked business attire.
He led them from station to station, demonstrating which ones worked and which ones didn’t. He wore gloves, but then shook the hands of several homeless people. Although he had on an N95 mask, he would pull it back so people could hear him. He also often stood closer to others than the recommended distance of six feet.
U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter and Los Angeles Police Officer Deon Joseph check an empty water dispenser while touring skid row on April 3 in downtown Los Angeles. Joseph said he noticed it was empty about 1 1/2 weeks ago. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
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Carter declined to explain on the record to The Times why he continues to put himself in danger, but he did say he has started getting tested regularly for the coronavirus (he’s negative) and is taking social distancing seriously, along with wearing a mask and gloves.
His wife, Mary Ellen Carter, said she is sleeping in a separate bedroom as a precaution. Last month, their grandchildren left him a birthday gift on the front porch and then ran behind their picket fence to sing him happy birthday.
But she said those sacrifices were small compared with the size of her husband’s mission.
“The fun thing about Dave is there’s always change when he’s involved. He reminded me, everyone [in government] says, well, they should be doing this and they should be doing that. There’s no leadership,” Mary Ellen Carter said. “They need some leader to take this on and say, ‘OK, this is what we’re going to do.’ ...Because there’s a lawsuit, it gives him a chance to come in and say this is what he needs done.”
Carter’s close associates, including a longtime friend from his stint as a Marine, suspect that the judge simply found it unacceptable to sit alone in his chambers or his house as the pandemic is playing out on the street.
Far from being a martyr, they say Carter merely sees the coronavirus as an opportunity to help homeless people in a way that hasn’t happened through decades of public policy and litigation between advocates and the city and county.
Advertisement
“He’s trying to impress on people that they can’t be in a bubble when the people out there are not... This is real. This is flesh and blood,” said Laurie Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School at Loyola Marymount University. “This will be seen as masterful. As long as nobody [in his courtroom] gets sick.”
::
Carter is known for wanting to be in the thick of things.
He’s rarely content to sit back and just file rulings. He begins sending emails and making calls to elected officials and business leaders before the sun rises. In the past, he has convened his courtroom on a Santa Ana riverbed and he regularly visits homeless encampments.
A federal judge since 1999, Carter made a name for himself in 2018 when he presided over a case brought by homeless advocates in Orange County. The county and the cities of Anaheim, Costa Mesa and Orange wanted to clear encampments along a three-mile stretch of the Santa Ana River Trail in 2018. Advocates sued.
Carter helped oversee a settlement, in which more than a dozen cities in northern Orange County agreed to create enough shelter beds for a specific percentage of the local homeless population.
Advertisement
As a result of the lawsuit, about 1,200 beds have been added or are in the pipeline, even in cities that once resisted shelters, according to attorney Carol Sobel, who worked on behalf of advocates in the Orange County case and is now involved in the Los Angeles case. About 1,500 units of new permanent housing have been approved, she said.
Separately, Carter also tangled with several wealthy cities in southern Orange County that enforced anti-camping laws by sending homeless people to poorer parts of the county in the north. Those cities refused to settle, retained lawyers from Jones Day and succeeded in having Carter removed from the case, because he had made comments that could be perceived as biased and because of the way he communicated with public officials.
The case brought by cities in southern Orange County was later dismissed, though the plaintiffs are appealing.
U.S. District Judge David O. Carter greets Shane Allen, 36, who is homeless, while surveying an encampment along the Santa Ana River in Anaheim in 2018. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
“The thing about Judge Carter is he’s a hands-on judge,” Sobel said. “He’s been to skid row numerous times. He’s been to Venice, San Pedro, Eagle Rock. He’s been out and about more than the city officials are.”
Carter, over the years, has made little attempt to disguise his efforts to improve conditions for homeless people. He sometimes acts more like a politician than a jurist — behavior that got him in trouble in Orange County.
Advertisement
Whether it’s at a function or on skid row, Carter will shake every hand and engage everyone in conversation.
“People always say to him, ‘Dave, you aren’t running for Congress, you can sit down,’ ” his wife said. “That should’ve been his career. He would’ve been perfect at that.”
Yet Sobel credited some of Carter’s success to the connections he has cultivated with business leaders and public officials.
During a recent hearing in the Los Angeles case, for example, he insisted on getting L.A. City Atty. Mike Feuer’s cellphone number and told lawyers that he and Mayor Eric Garcetti had been exchanging emails since 5:30 a.m. That’s on top of meeting with almost all the members of the City Council and every member of the county Board of Supervisors.
“I’m going to call you Eric from now on, OK?,” Carter asked the mayor from the bench during the first of what have been many appearances. “I’m Dave.”
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U.S. District Judge David O. Carter surveys a homeless encampment along the Santa Ana River in Anaheim in 2018. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
These conversations inside and outside the courtroom appear to be having the intended effect, putting pressure on politicians who have long focused on homelessness, but with mixed success. It was why the plaintiffs initially pushed for Carter to hear the case, and why both city and county officials have willingly come to the table to talk about solutions.
Lately, the judge has taken a particular interest in how homeless people are getting to the city’s new shelters in city recreation centers and how medical care is being provided there. One recent Sunday, he joined L.A. City Councilman Mike Bonin for a tour of shelters in Westchester and Westwood.
“He tried to not identify as a judge and told people he was my oldest staff member,” Bonin said.
Carter practiced social distancing most of the time, Bonin said, but talked to almost everyone at the shelter and even measured the distance between the cots to make sure they were indeed six feet apart to slow the spread of the coronavirus. He then buttonholed a few Los Angeles police officers, peppering them with questions about why they were taking people’s temperatures.
At first, the officers were reluctant to talk. “So he called Michel Moore,” Bonin said, referring to the LAPD’s chief.
The officers opened up, and Carter then joined them on a bus ride to pick up more homeless people.
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::
Al Andersonn sent this art work to Carter aned his Marine friends. Anderson and carter met in the Marines during the Vietnam War.Carter’s unit attempted to take a hill in the battle of Khe Sanh. He was badly wounded and spent the next year in the hospital. The experience, Anderson said, left Carter scarred, but also defined the rest of his life.. (AL ANDERSON)
One of Carter’s friends, Al Anderson, isn’t surprised the judge is risking his life for homeless people during the coronavirus pandemic.
The two met in the Marines during the Vietnam War. Fifty-two years ago this month, Carter’s unit attempted to take a hill in the battle of Khe Sanh. He was badly wounded and spent the next year in the hospital. The experience, Anderson said, left Carter scarred, but also defined the rest of his life.
Anderson has watched Carter’s star rise, presiding over trials involving the Mexican Mafia and Aryan Brotherhood. Carter, he said, has always been willing to put himself in harm’s way for the right reasons.
“He has been making a mark, and he is more so doing it now, but in a different way,” said Anderson, 76, who can’t leave his home because he’s had several bouts of pneumonia, putting him at high risk for severe COVID-19. “He’s championing that part of society that has been overlooked and would be overlooked more if it wasn’t for what he’s doing.”
Carter’s wife echoed that, saying, “He’s always told me, ‘Mary Ellen, I shouldn’t be here. I fought in the war and I’m not afraid like other people, this doesn’t frighten me. I’ve been given this second chance.’”
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Carter wears a Purple Heart Medal pin on the lapel of his suit jacket. He also earned a Bronze Star.
U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter tours skid row with Los Angeles Police Officer Deon Joseph in downtown Los Angeles. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
Back on skid row, staring through the rain at tent after tent, he recounted to the attorneys following him how bullets killed many people in Khe Sanh, but it was the wet and cold that killed lots of the men in his battalion.
“When the wind, it hits you,” he said, “you die of hypothermia.”
As the rain began to slow, Carter became enraged that the sidewalks were full of tents, making them impassable.
As he walked down 5th Street toward San Pedro Street, homeless people began to come out of their tents and clap. He waved and smiled and shook some hands.
Advertisement
Carter has focused much of his attention on this center of Los Angeles’ homeless community.
He has already helped facilitate some compromises. He is working on the broad contours of an agreement that would allow RVs and trailers to be parked near skid row on state-owned land and in a few parking lots that the city might lease. He also pushed the city to communicate that it wouldn’t be issuing citations for sleeping in campers during the pandemic.
Garcetti has repeatedly mentioned Carter during his nightly briefing on the coronavirus, recently giving the judge some credit as he explained that hand-washing stations will now be checked daily to make sure there’s water and soap, so homeless people can maintain basic hygiene.
These are all small deals, but they might lead to further cooperation between the city and county, and homeless advocates, some have speculated. That, in turn, could lead to more agreements that go beyond the response to the coronavirus crisis.
Still, Carter has acknowledged in court that no matter what they do, tens of thousands of people will continue to live on the streets, getting sick without adequate medical care and possibly spreading the coronavirus to others.
“By God, we’re going to get criticized for the lives we didn’t save. We’re never going to be accountable or known for the lives we did save,” he said. “You have got a chance for us to save an awful lot of lives.”
Advertisement
Times staff writer Doug Smith contributed to this story.


latimes--2020-04-19--L.A. County reaches 'very sad milestone' as coronavirus deaths rise

Los Angeles County on Saturday ended a grim week in the battle against the coronavirus , announcing 81 new deaths and setting another record for single-day fatalities .
Deaths have increased significantly in the last week in Los Angeles County , even as there are growing signs that the number of new coronavirus cases across California is beginning to level off and decline in some places .
The county already accounts for a disproportionate number of coronavirus deaths in the state .
In the last week , deaths among L.A. County residents have roughly doubled and now stand at more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the county ’ s public health director .
“ Today marks a very sad milestone for our county , ” Ferrer said in a statement Saturday .
“ We are reporting the highest number of COVID-19 deaths for any one day since the beginning of the pandemic , and our deepest condolences go out to each and every person grieving the loss of their loved ones.
” Los Angeles has recorded far fewer death than New York , but officials said the recent rise in fatalities is troubling .
Ferrer said Friday that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it comes to deaths .
“ You tend to see the deaths continue to rise after your cases may have leveled off , ” she said .
Of the people who most recently died , 56 were older than 65 , 18 were 41 to 65 , and one person was 18 to 40 , Ferrer said .
Sixty-three of the people had underlying health conditions .
The county also announced 642 additional coronavirus cases Saturday .
Long Beach , which has its own health department , reported an additional death and 30 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of 12,051 cases and 577 deaths in L.A. County .
“ We are especially concerned about the overwhelming number of residents residing in our nursing homes who have passed away , ” Ferrer said , noting that she ’ s asked for state and federal support to help ensure that nursing homes are safe .
“ This includes asking for supplementary staffing and PPE [ personal protective equipment ] , increased ability to test residents and employees , and improvements in infection control capacity at nursing homes , ” she said .
have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus pandemic , with their elderly residents , many of whom have underlying health conditions , accounting for a large percentage of COVID-19 deaths across the country .
The rise in cases in L.A. County comes as officials continue to ramp up efforts to improve access to testing .
More than 76,000 residents had been tested and had received their results as of Saturday , with about 14 % testing positive , Ferrer said .
New testing sites will open Monday in Bell , at Beverly Community Hospital in Montebello , and at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Park , county Supervisor Hilda Solis said .
A drive-up testing site at PIH Health Whittier Hospital also will open Monday , county officials announced Saturday .
Any resident with symptoms of COVID-19 can make an appointment , they said .
People will stay in their cars for tests , which they will administer themselves by swabbing their own throats using instructions provided onsite , officials said .
Results will be provided within two to three days , the county said .
“ Expanding our testing capacity and ensuring residents have easy access @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spread of this virus and will be critical to easing restrictions when that time comes , ” county Supervisor Janice Hahn said in a statement .
For now , the county ’ s stay-at-home order remains in effect , and officials say it ’ s critical for residents to continue to comply in order to slow the virus ’ spread .
In the city of Los Angeles and many others , residents are also required to wear masks when leaving their homes to visit grocery stores , pharmacies and other establishments to take @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Orange County have passed similar rules requiring face coverings .
In Brea , a drive-through face mask giveaway led to so much traffic congestion on Saturday that police shut down turn lanes and advised people to take alternate routes .
The giveaway took place at AST Sportswear on Imperial Highway near Kraemer Boulevard , the Brea Police Department said on Twitter .
The company was reportedly giving away 20,000 masks .
Orange County recorded four additional deaths and 63 new cases on Saturday , for a total of 1,556 cases , including @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people were hospitalized , with 59 of them in ICUs .
As of Saturday , 17,616 people had been tested , with 1,245 of them tested between Friday and Saturday alone , the county reported .
In Riverside County , people are required to wear face coverings when leaving their homes for any reason .
The county reported five more deaths and 145 more cases of the coronavirus on Saturday for a total of 72 deaths and 2,602 cases .
Of those , 215 people were hospitalized , with 69 of them in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had been tested , as of Saturday .
Officials there have also banned public and private gatherings of any size and prohibited short-term lodging facilities from operating until June 19 .
County officials issued a reminder Friday for people to avoid recreational travel to mountain communities .
In particular , they warned that sheriff ’ s deputies would be keeping a close eye on the town of Idyllwild over the weekend after county Supervisor Chuck Washington ’ s office received complaints from residents who witnessed visitors the weekend before .
Statewide , another @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ending Friday night , Gov .
Gavin Newsom said Saturday .
As of Saturday night , more than 1,100 had died in California .
“ For those who think we are out of the woods … I caution you on the basis of that 87 number , ” Newsom said .
“ That represents one of the highest number of deaths the state has experienced since the beginning of this process.
” As of Friday night , the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in California had grown to 3,221 , a 1.3 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A total of 1,173 of those patients were in intensive care units , a decline of .1 % from the day before , Newsom said .
Officials consider those statistics to be key indicators of whether the state ’ s social distancing rules are making a difference and how soon they can be relaxed .
“ I reference hospitalization and ICU numbers as very , very important numbers in terms of our determination of when we can start loosening up the stay-at-home orders , ” Newsom said .
“ We ’ ve certainly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is when are we going to see those numbers start to decline on a consistent basis as opposed to an episodic basis as we have seen over the last week or so.
” Newsom had some advice Saturday for people upset over the orders , some of whom have started holding public protests , including one Friday in Huntington Beach .
“ I just want to encourage people that when you practice your free speech , which I don ’ t [ just ] embrace , I celebrate , just do so safely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virus knows no political ideology .
It doesn ’ t know if you are Republican or Democrat , supporting the president , opposing the president , so practice physical distancing.
” The governor said he will not be swayed by public protests in deciding when to reopen the state .
“ We are going to do the right thing , not judge by politics , not judge by protests , but by science , ” he said .
At least one county already was reversing some closures forced by the pandemic .
County @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they were able to reopen the public spaces because residents “ have been very cooperative in complying ” with public health orders that they stay at home .
“ This is one step on the road to reopening , ” Mike Powers , the county ’ s chief executive , said in a statement .
Ventura County had reported 396 cases and 13 deaths as of Friday afternoon .

L.A. County public health Director Barbara Ferrer, pictured last month, says more than 570 residents have died of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
Los Angeles County on Saturday ended a grim week in the battle against the coronavirus, announcing 81 new deaths and setting another record for single-day fatalities.
Deaths have increased significantly in the last week in Los Angeles County, even as there are growing signs that the number of new coronavirus cases across California is beginning to level off and decline in some places. The county already accounts for a disproportionate number of coronavirus deaths in the state.
In the last week, deaths among L.A. County residents have roughly doubled and now stand at more than 570, said Barbara Ferrer, the county’s public health director.
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“Today marks a very sad milestone for our county,” Ferrer said in a statement Saturday. “We are reporting the highest number of COVID-19 deaths for any one day since the beginning of the pandemic, and our deepest condolences go out to each and every person grieving the loss of their loved ones.”
Los Angeles has recorded far fewer death than New York, but officials said the recent rise in fatalities is troubling.
Ferrer said Friday that there is a natural lag time when it comes to deaths.
“You tend to see the deaths continue to rise after your cases may have leveled off,” she said.
Of the people who most recently died, 56 were older than 65, 18 were 41 to 65, and one person was 18 to 40, Ferrer said. Sixty-three of the people had underlying health conditions.
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The county also announced 642 additional coronavirus cases Saturday. Long Beach, which has its own health department, reported an additional death and 30 new cases Saturday, for a total of 12,051 cases and 577 deaths in L.A. County.
“We are especially concerned about the overwhelming number of residents residing in our nursing homes who have passed away,” Ferrer said, noting that she’s asked for state and federal support to help ensure that nursing homes are safe.
“This includes asking for supplementary staffing and PPE [personal protective equipment], increased ability to test residents and employees, and improvements in infection control capacity at nursing homes,” she said.
Nursing homes have become a tragic focal point of the coronavirus pandemic, with their elderly residents, many of whom have underlying health conditions, accounting for a large percentage of COVID-19 deaths across the country.
The rise in cases in L.A. County comes as officials continue to ramp up efforts to improve access to testing. More than 76,000 residents had been tested and had received their results as of Saturday, with about 14% testing positive, Ferrer said.
New testing sites will open Monday in Bell, at Beverly Community Hospital in Montebello, and at PIH Health Good Samaritan Hospital in MacArthur Park, county Supervisor Hilda Solis said.
A drive-up testing site at PIH Health Whittier Hospital also will open Monday, county officials announced Saturday. Any resident with symptoms of COVID-19 can make an appointment, they said.
People will stay in their cars for tests, which they will administer themselves by swabbing their own throats using instructions provided onsite, officials said. Results will be provided within two to three days, the county said.
“Expanding our testing capacity and ensuring residents have easy access to testing is helping us understand the spread of this virus and will be critical to easing restrictions when that time comes,” county Supervisor Janice Hahn said in a statement.
For now, the county’s stay-at-home order remains in effect, and officials say it’s critical for residents to continue to comply in order to slow the virus’ spread. In the city of Los Angeles and many others, residents are also required to wear masks when leaving their homes to visit grocery stores, pharmacies and other establishments to take advantage of essential services.
Several cities in Orange County have passed similar rules requiring face coverings.
In Brea, a drive-through face mask giveaway led to so much traffic congestion on Saturday that police shut down turn lanes and advised people to take alternate routes.
The giveaway took place at AST Sportswear on Imperial Highway near Kraemer Boulevard, the Brea Police Department said on Twitter. The company was reportedly giving away 20,000 masks.
Orange County recorded four additional deaths and 63 new cases on Saturday, for a total of 1,556 cases, including 32 deaths. A total of 155 people were hospitalized, with 59 of them in ICUs. As of Saturday, 17,616 people had been tested, with 1,245 of them tested between Friday and Saturday alone, the county reported.
In Riverside County, people are required to wear face coverings when leaving their homes for any reason. The county reported five more deaths and 145 more cases of the coronavirus on Saturday for a total of 72 deaths and 2,602 cases. Of those, 215 people were hospitalized, with 69 of them in ICUs. A total of 32,779 residents had been tested, as of Saturday.
Officials there have also banned public and private gatherings of any size and prohibited short-term lodging facilities from operating until June 19.
County officials issued a reminder Friday for people to avoid recreational travel to mountain communities. In particular, they warned that sheriff’s deputies would be keeping a close eye on the town of Idyllwild over the weekend after county Supervisor Chuck Washington’s office received complaints from residents who witnessed visitors the weekend before.
Statewide, another 87 people died in the 24-hour period ending Friday night, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Saturday. As of Saturday night, more than 1,100 had died in California.
“For those who think we are out of the woods … I caution you on the basis of that 87 number,” Newsom said. “That represents one of the highest number of deaths the state has experienced since the beginning of this process.”
As of Friday night, the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in California had grown to 3,221, a 1.3% rise from the day before. A total of 1,173 of those patients were in intensive care units, a decline of .1% from the day before, Newsom said.
Officials consider those statistics to be key indicators of whether the state’s social distancing rules are making a difference and how soon they can be relaxed.
“I reference hospitalization and ICU numbers as very, very important numbers in terms of our determination of when we can start loosening up the stay-at-home orders,” Newsom said. “We’ve certainly flattened the curve.
“The question is when are we going to see those numbers start to decline on a consistent basis as opposed to an episodic basis as we have seen over the last week or so.”
Newsom had some advice Saturday for people upset over the orders, some of whom have started holding public protests, including one Friday in Huntington Beach.
“I just want to encourage people that when you practice your free speech, which I don’t [just] embrace, I celebrate, just do so safely,” he said. “This virus knows no political ideology. It doesn’t know if you are Republican or Democrat, supporting the president, opposing the president, so practice physical distancing.”
The governor said he will not be swayed by public protests in deciding when to reopen the state.
“We are going to do the right thing, not judge by politics, not judge by protests, but by science,” he said.
At least one county already was reversing some closures forced by the pandemic.
Ventura County reopened county parks at 5 p.m. Friday. Playgrounds, tennis courts, community centers, campgrounds and golf courses remained closed.
County officials said in a news release that they were able to reopen the public spaces because residents “have been very cooperative in complying” with public health orders that they stay at home.
“This is one step on the road to reopening,” Mike Powers, the county’s chief executive, said in a statement.
Ventura County had reported 396 cases and 13 deaths as of Friday afternoon.