latimes--2020-05-10--High school performing arts were shut down by coronavirus. Will it derail students' careers?

Inside a wood paneled room , Chris Hunter sits upright , his hands hovering over a keyboard .
About 25 students from the opera company at Los Angeles County High School for the Arts , known as LACHSA , pay heed as the co-director leads them through a typical class warm-up : they stand , inhale deep and let their voices fill the air .
Typical , except they ’ ve tuned in via Zoom .
Like schools all over the country LACHSA is closed to slow the spread of COVID-19 , so instruction is taking place online in students @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their dining room tables .
“ Anyone want to try that scale ?
” Hunter asks , leaning into the camera with a smile .
Silence .
“ I ’ ll do it , ” volunteers one student in this pre-rehearsal warm-up for an opera that can no longer happen as it was planned , with a full cast of students onstage before a live audience .
Talent shows , art exhibitions , dance competitions , concerts and theater productions that students nationwide had been tirelessly preparing before the pandemic have now been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a result , social media has been flooded with students sharing performances with virtual audiences .
More than 1.3 million YouTube viewers and 1 million Facebook users watched Chino Hills High chamber singers perform “ Over the Rainbow ” after their school district ’ s choral festival was called off .
Varsity mariachi musicians from Texas ’ Roma High School individually recorded themselves playing their part of “ El Relampago , ” synchronized the footage and shared it on social media .
And young musicians from Alliance Charter Academy in Oregon City , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a mostly empty Times Square after their scheduled performance in Carnegie Hall was canceled .
Yet for the students of LACHSA and other schools that specialize in dance , theater , music , cinematic and visual arts , their lost performances go beyond the disappointment of not being able to share their work with family and friends .
The arts , after all , are not electives for them but potential careers .
ALSO : The life of an aspiring singer at LACHSA on the day coronavirus canceled everything Performing arts high schools @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cal State Los Angeles and Ramón C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts ( unofficially called Grand Arts High School ) in downtown L.A. have become a pipeline for many to the arts and entertainment world .
They provide rigorous , comprehensive training where young creatives develop their talents for a chance to attend elite conservatories , land gigs in Hollywood or realize their dreams of performing on Broadway .
Some 30 shows and performances were thrown into limbo after LACHSA closed in March because of the pandemic , says principal John @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 21st century version ” of “ West Side Story , ” a production with a budget of more than $ 80,000 that involved more than 80 people , including 50 cast members , 30 orchestra students , plus a stage manager and backstage crew .
Even if the school had been allowed to reopen in May , Lawler says in a phone interview , “ there ’ s no way we ’ re going to get those performances in .
It ’ s just not possible.
” Even so , Lawler says , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ both students and teachers , and in a funny way , this has sort of tapped into their creative spirit because they ’ re coming up with ways to perform and rehearse , and to collaborate , even from these remote locations , ” Students in the visual arts plan to showcase their art on social media and an online gallery .
There ’ s talk in the cinematic arts department of kids putting together a documentary of individual footage detailing their lives while they ’ re home .
The Opera Company ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ -inspired show was replaced with a video-recorded performance of “ Everybody ’ s Free.
” And the musical theater department is currently rehearsing for a virtual version of its big “ West Side Story ” production .
A shortened montage of the musical , prerecorded with green screens from the safety of everyone ’ s homes , will happen May 22 .
When LACHSA senior Alondra Santos first found out that she and her peers might have to perform “ West Side Story ” without an audience , she was heartbroken .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it hit the entire musical theater production hard , just because there were very rigorous auditions for this show , ” says Santos , who plays the lead role of Maria in the musical romance .
“ Every single person in this production , the dancers , the vocalists , the leads , the Sharks , we all put so much blood , sweat and tears into this rehearsal time.
” Erica Robson , LACHSA ’ s chair of musical theater , affirms the students ’ hard work and dedication .
They began @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she says , and by January , they were rehearsing in class three days a week , four hours a day , not counting the extra hours they put in at home .
“ We do have quite a few seniors in our show , ” Robson says , “ so we do want some type of performance.
” For seniors , she adds , it ’ s “ very bittersweet .
I think it ’ s the hardest time for them , finally getting certain roles that they wanted to play and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ m sure there ’ s a true sadness for them.
” “ At the end of the day , you work toward something , and that is your final performance .
That is performing in a front of an audience and feeding off their reaction , feeding off their faces .
There are scenes and certain punchlines that the audience needs to react to , and that ’ s what you feed off of as an actor and as a performer .
It kind of just sucked , ” she says , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to be the case.
” Cinematic arts student and U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts semifinalist Dusan Brown , 18 , has struggled to keep the sadness at bay .
The LACHSA senior was preparing to shoot his 35-minute film thesis — a period piece he ’ d been working on since freshman year — when school was shut down .
“ I won ’ t get the chance to shoot that , ” he says over the phone .
His senior trip to the 2020 South by Southwest film festival was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s already made inroads into Hollywood as an actor — he ’ s been getting TV parts since he was in elementary school and had a role in the Jackie Robinson biopic “ 42 '' as a young Ed Charles , who would go on to be one of the World Series-winning “ Miracle Mets ” of 1969 — but he ’ d like to be known as a filmmaker as well .
In addition , he wonders about a release delay of “ Ma Rainey ’ s Black Bottom , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which Brown was cast alongside Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman .
At Bravo Medical Magnet High School in Boyle Heights , Shahana Ahmed was grappling with similar feelings .
The 18-year-old senior was rehearsing for upcoming pep rally and play productions before the Los Angeles Unified School District , which serves more than half a million students , announced school closures .
“ We were focusing on a play about the high school experience , ” rehearsing up to eight hours a week beginning almost two months ago , says Ahmed , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ The environment in theater is nice because you have a lot of voices together , and everyone was working on this cool project and it felt really great , and I felt that we were all in sync with the vision , ” Ahmed says .
“ Without that to look forward to working on every day , it makes the days very glum.
” But she ’ s feeling optimistic about the new assignment that ’ s replaced it : They ’ re reading Virginia Grise ’ s “ blu ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ d bring to life two elements of play production , be it sound or light , with samples .
Still , some Bravo students got to perform before the closures , albeit in a different setting and to a much smaller audience .
When administrators confirmed that the annual talent show was called off , music teacher Mario Leal transformed his classroom into a rock concert .
Before schools were shuttered , design students at Maywood Center for Enriched Studies Magnet ( MaCES ) were creating artwork that addressed social issues , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Museum of the American West .
With the help of their art teacher Sonia Hanson , the plan was to curate an exhibit called Art and Activism and display it at school in mid-April .
But all of it was canceled .
“ The kids are asking when we are going to display the art , and there were students who said they took my design class specifically for this unit , so there was a lot of disappointment , ” says Hanson , who is also chair of the visual and performing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ m just telling them , ‘ Your art will be shown .
It ’ s a matter of time , but we ’ re going to find some way.
’ ” Estefania Ovalle , a junior at MaCES , was devoting up to eight hours a week on her art project during class , after school and sometimes on the weekends .
“ When I heard [ the art exhibit ] was going to be postponed I was bothered because all of us spent so much time on our art and we were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she said in an email .
But she ’ s still working on it at home , she said , “ because I feel committed to finishing it.
” When Tony-winning actress Laura Benanti heard from her mother , a voice teacher , about canceled shows due to the pandemic , she felt for the young artists .
“ If I , as a grown adult , am struggling through this , I can only image what it feels like to a young person , ” says Benanti , who has also had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
So she decided to do something about it .
On March 13 , she invited high schoolers to post videos of themselves on Twitter singing numbers from their canceled musicals and shows .
“ If you ’ re looking forward to something all year long , and putting all of your love and time and passion into it , and then it ’ s taken away from you and you ’ re scared , that ’ s just a lot to deal with , ” she says in an email .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ videos and footage of shows that were canceled , postponed or only happened once .
But in these uncertain times , the passion and heart of these young , talented artists inspires her .
And they give her hope .
`` [ T ] o see how much joy it ’ s bringing to people at a very dark time .
Well , it makes me feel like we ’ re going to get through this , ” Benanti says .
“ I do feel that we ’ ve been living in this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that now that we have to stay away from each other , we realize how much we actually want to be together .
We are seeking community and these kids are providing that.
” https : //www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2020-05-10/coronavirus-prom-canceled-day-in-life-performing-arts-high-school-student Yet even with students connecting with their classes and finding ways to share their talent online , many are missing in-person interaction with their teachers .
LACHSA senior and trombone player Gael Sanchez Tizo , for instance , was rehearsing for several shows , including the annual spring orchestra concert in which he and about 60 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ perform Antonín Dvorák ’ s Symphony No .
8 .
They ’ re still rehearsing virtually , but Tizo feels he ’ s losing out on vital guidance from his music teacher .
“ Since I practice at home , sometimes I can ’ t tell what I need to improve on .
… Zoom is good , but because there ’ s a lot of reverb , the music sounds different .
It ’ s hard to tell if you ’ re doing it right or wrong .
It ’ s hard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plans to study nursing , he ’ ll still pursue a music minor , and he feels that not performing in front of an audience is an opportunity lost .
“ The shows we were doing , I ’ ve never done them , ” he says .
“ I ’ m not going to have that to look back to when I ’ m older.
” At Ramón C. Cortines , senior Emmanuel Yoque was preparing for the biggest role of his high school musical career when school was closed : The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the musical play “ Rent ” as Tom Collins , a part he was rehearsing for up to 15 hours a week .
On top of that , trips to Monterey Bay and San Francisco with his high school ’ s chamber and vocal jazz choirs were canceled .
And a show he was preparing for with the downtown performing arts Colburn School , where he ’ s also a student , never happened .
“ All of a sudden , we were stripped from these performances we ’ d been working @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ It was kind of really fast .
The time to process it was very short.
” But the canceled “ Rent ” show was the biggest disappointment .
“ As an opera major in college , I believe I needed acting experience ; that ’ s why I joined the musical , ” he says .
“ It just felt like all of my hard work was going down the drain.
” More rehearsals and performances would ’ ve enhanced his acting experience , “ which would then help me in college @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be studying classical voice and opera at USC this fall .
Music is also at the forefront of Santos ’ future .
Ever since she watched “ West Side Story ” in middle school , she ’ s wanted to play Maria .
So when she got the part , she was elated .
“ Maria has been my biggest role at LACHSA , ” she says .
“ It ’ s a role that I could be considered for in the professional world.
” Santos dreams of attending a prestigious music college @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to San Francisco Conservatory of Music ) , earning her master ’ s in vocal performance and becoming a professional singer .
So she ’ s been preparing an aria for several opera department auditions .
It ’ s a piece she was slated to perform with her school ’ s opera company several weeks ago .
“ We were doing a lot of Shakespeare dialogue , and we had to be very specific with it , ” says Santos , who plays one of several Juliets in the Romeo-and-Juliet inspired piece “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to have that practice and focus on those minor details ” at a time when she really needed the practice .
But all is not lost .
Robson wants students to remember that there will always be another show .
“ No matter what we ’ re given in life , we have to make the most beautiful art out of it .
And so that ’ s how we ’ re going to proceed .
”

Inside a wood paneled room, Chris Hunter sits upright, his hands hovering over a keyboard. About 25 students from the opera company at Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, known as LACHSA, pay heed as the co-director leads them through a typical class warm-up: they stand, inhale deep and let their voices fill the air.
Typical, except they’ve tuned in via Zoom. Like schools all over the country LACHSA is closed to slow the spread of COVID-19, so instruction is taking place online in students’ living rooms, bedrooms or at their dining room tables.
“Anyone want to try that scale?” Hunter asks, leaning into the camera with a smile. Silence.
“I’ll do it,” volunteers one student in this pre-rehearsal warm-up for an opera that can no longer happen as it was planned, with a full cast of students onstage before a live audience.
Advertisement
Talent shows, art exhibitions, dance competitions, concerts and theater productions that students nationwide had been tirelessly preparing before the pandemic have now been canceled for the school year. As a result, social media has been flooded with students sharing performances with virtual audiences. More than 1.3 million YouTube viewers and 1 million Facebook users watched Chino Hills High chamber singers perform “Over the Rainbow” after their school district’s choral festival was called off. Varsity mariachi musicians from Texas’ Roma High School individually recorded themselves playing their part of “El Relampago,” synchronized the footage and shared it on social media. And young musicians from Alliance Charter Academy in Oregon City, Ore., took their stringed instruments to a mostly empty Times Square after their scheduled performance in Carnegie Hall was canceled.
Here’s a clip of the Varsity mariachi first song from home pic.twitter.com/25zXUlcHpi — Nuevo Santander (@NuevoSantander1) March 25, 2020
Yet for the students of LACHSA and other schools that specialize in dance, theater, music, cinematic and visual arts, their lost performances go beyond the disappointment of not being able to share their work with family and friends. The arts, after all, are not electives for them but potential careers.
× Estefani Lopez is a junior at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. Before the pandemic, she commuted more than three hours from Riverside to East L.A. on a typical day.
ALSO: The life of an aspiring singer at LACHSA on the day coronavirus canceled everything
Performing arts high schools such as LACHSA on the campus of Cal State Los Angeles and Ramón C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts (unofficially called Grand Arts High School) in downtown L.A. have become a pipeline for many to the arts and entertainment world. They provide rigorous, comprehensive training where young creatives develop their talents for a chance to attend elite conservatories, land gigs in Hollywood or realize their dreams of performing on Broadway.
Advertisement
Some 30 shows and performances were thrown into limbo after LACHSA closed in March because of the pandemic, says principal John Lawler. Among them was a “21st century version” of “West Side Story,” a production with a budget of more than $80,000 that involved more than 80 people, including 50 cast members, 30 orchestra students, plus a stage manager and backstage crew.
Senior Metzli Solorzano, junior Imani Preyor and sophomore Margaux Gibson finish their hair and makeup before Los Angeles County High School of the Arts’ pre-pandemic dress rehearsal performance of the rock-opera musical “Jesus Christ Superstar” on Friday, Dec. 6, 2019. (Gabriella Angotti-Jones / Los Angeles Times)
Even if the school had been allowed to reopen in May, Lawler says in a phone interview, “there’s no way we’re going to get those performances in. It’s just not possible.”
Even so, Lawler says, “peopleare rising to the occasion, both students and teachers, and in a funny way, this has sort of tapped into their creative spirit because they’re coming up with ways to perform and rehearse, and to collaborate, even from these remote locations,”
Students in the visual arts plan to showcase their art on social media and an online gallery. There’s talk in the cinematic arts department of kids putting together a documentary of individual footage detailing their lives while they’re home. The Opera Company’s live “Romeo and Juliet”-inspired show was replaced with a video-recorded performance of “Everybody’s Free.”
And the musical theater department is currently rehearsing for a virtual version of its big “West Side Story” production. A shortened montage of the musical, prerecorded with green screens from the safety of everyone’s homes, will happen May 22.
When LACHSA senior Alondra Santos first found out that she and her peers might have to perform “West Side Story” without an audience, she was heartbroken.
Advertisement
Alondra Santos, a senior at Los Angeles County High School of the Arts, rehearses for the role of Maria with cast members of “West Side Story” before schools were closed due to the COVID-19 crisis. The planned $80,000 production would have involved some 80 people to pull off. A shorter, prerecorded performance will launch May 22. (Jessica Chen / Los Angeles Times)
“It not only hit me, but it hit the entire musical theater production hard, just because there were very rigorous auditions for this show,” says Santos, who plays the lead role of Maria in the musical romance. “Every single person in this production, the dancers, the vocalists, the leads, the Sharks, we all put so much blood, sweat and tears into this rehearsal time.”
Erica Robson, LACHSA’s chair of musical theater, affirms the students’ hard work and dedication. They began rehearsing a few weekends in October, she says, and by January, they were rehearsing in class three days a week, four hours a day, not counting the extra hours they put in at home.
Students perform a final dress rehearsal of “When You Wish Upon a Star” at Los Angeles County High School for the Arts on November 15, 2019. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
“We do have quite a few seniors in our show,” Robson says, “so we do want some type of performance.” For seniors, she adds, it’s “very bittersweet. I think it’s the hardest time for them, finally getting certain roles that they wanted to play and not getting to do that. I’m sure there’s a true sadness for them.”
“At the end of the day, you work toward something, and that is your final performance. That is performing in a front of an audience and feeding off their reaction, feeding off their faces. There are scenes and certain punchlines that the audience needs to react to, and that’s what you feed off of as an actor and as a performer. It kind of just sucked,” she says, “knowing that that wasn’t going to be the case.”
Advertisement
For one of the shows performed by students at LACHSA before the pandemic, Archer Isaacson goes through a final dress rehearsal of “When You Wish Upon a Star” on November 15, 2019. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
Cinematic arts student and U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts semifinalist Dusan Brown, 18, has struggled to keep the sadness at bay. The LACHSA senior was preparing to shoot his 35-minute film thesis — a period piece he’d been working on since freshman year — when school was shut down.
LACHSA student Dusan Brown, who has been acting since elementary school, at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards in 2014, which was the year he began voicing AJ in the Nick Jr. show “Blaze and the Monster Machines.” (Frazer Harrison / Getty Images)
“I won’t get the chance to shoot that,” he says over the phone. His senior trip to the 2020 South by Southwest film festival was also canceled, which hurts because he’s already made inroads into Hollywood as an actor — he’s been getting TV parts since he was in elementary school and had a role in the Jackie Robinson biopic “42” as a young Ed Charles, who would go on to be one of the World Series-winning “Miracle Mets” of 1969 — but he’d like to be known as a filmmaker as well. In addition, he wonders about a release delay of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” a film produced by Denzel Washington in which Brown was cast alongside Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman.
At Bravo Medical Magnet High School in Boyle Heights, Shahana Ahmed was grappling with similar feelings.
The 18-year-old senior was rehearsing for upcoming pep rally and play productions before the Los Angeles Unified School District, which serves more than half a million students, announced school closures.
“We were focusing on a play about the high school experience,” rehearsing up to eight hours a week beginning almost two months ago, says Ahmed, the play’s director and cowriter.
“The environment in theater is nice because you have a lot of voices together, and everyone was working on this cool project and it felt really great, and I felt that we were all in sync with the vision,” Ahmed says. “Without that to look forward to working on every day, it makes the days very glum.”
Students from Grand Arts, Ramon Cortines School of Visual Performing Arts, get last-minute instructions from musical director Drew Lewis before they perform in the Holiday Choral Concert at Our Lady Queen of the Angeles Church on December 6, 2019. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
But she’s feeling optimistic about the new assignment that’s replaced it: They’re reading Virginia Grise’s “blu” and are tasked with writing how they’d bring to life two elements of play production, be it sound or light, with samples.
Still, some Bravo students got to perform before the closures, albeit in a different setting and to a much smaller audience. When administrators confirmed that the annual talent show was called off, music teacher Mario Leal transformed his classroom into a rock concert.
Advertisement
Before schools were shuttered, design students at Maywood Center for Enriched Studies Magnet (MaCES) were creating artwork that addressed social issues, a project in partnership with the Autry Museum of the American West. With the help of their art teacher Sonia Hanson, the plan was to curate an exhibit called Art and Activism and display it at school in mid-April.
But all of it was canceled.
“The kids are asking when we are going to display the art, and there were students who said they took my design class specifically for this unit, so there was a lot of disappointment,” says Hanson, who is also chair of the visual and performing arts department. “But I’m just telling them, ‘Your art will be shown. It’s a matter of time, but we’re going to find some way.’”
Daniela Olmedo, a junior at Maywood Center for Enriched Studies Magnet (MaCES), explored her Salvadoran and American identities for her school’s art project. “In the artwork, the girl has the flags in her eyes to show that these two countries make her who she is since the eyes are known to be the window to the soul,” she wrote in her artist statement. (Daniela Olmedo )
Estefania Ovalle, a junior at MaCES, was devoting up to eight hours a week on her art project during class, after school and sometimes on the weekends.
“When I heard [the art exhibit] was going to be postponed I was bothered because all of us spent so much time on our art and we were all looking forward to it,” she said in an email. But she’s still working on it at home, she said, “because I feel committed to finishing it.”
Advertisement
When Tony-winning actress Laura Benanti heard from her mother, a voice teacher, about canceled shows due to the pandemic, she felt for the young artists. “If I, as a grown adult, am struggling through this, I can only image what it feels like to a young person,” says Benanti, who has also had various concerts postponed because of the coronavirus.
So she decided to do something about it. On March 13, she invited high schoolers to post videos of themselves on Twitter singing numbers from their canceled musicals and shows.
“If you’re looking forward to something all year long, and putting all of your love and time and passion into it, and then it’s taken away from you and you’re scared, that’s just a lot to deal with,” she says in an email. The response was overwhelming, with thousands sharing videos and footage of shows that were canceled, postponed or only happened once.
My 12yo was supposed to play at Carnegie Hall on Friday. Then Carnegie closed, so we did a living room concert. No fancy stage or accompanist, but we're grateful for music today. Be safe, everyone. ❤ Full video: https://t.co/z9GJRt4uXB #SunshineSongs #LivingRoomConcerts pic.twitter.com/WQNNV7HL6x — Karina Yan Glaser (@KarinaYanGlaser) March 18, 2020
But in these uncertain times, the passion and heart of these young, talented artists inspires her. And they give her hope.
“[T]o see how much joy it’s bringing to people at a very dark time. Well, it makes me feel like we’re going to get through this,” Benanti says.
“I do feel that we’ve been living in this virtual world and it’s interesting that now that we have to stay away from each other, we realize how much we actually want to be together. We are seeking community and these kids are providing that.”
Advertisement
Yet even with students connecting with their classes and finding ways to share their talent online, many are missing in-person interaction with their teachers. LACHSA senior and trombone player Gael Sanchez Tizo, for instance, was rehearsing for several shows, including the annual spring orchestra concert in which he and about 60 others in his class were preparing to perform Antonín Dvorák’s Symphony No. 8.
They’re still rehearsing virtually, but Tizo feels he’s losing out on vital guidance from his music teacher. “Since I practice at home, sometimes I can’t tell what I need to improve on. … Zoom is good, but because there’s a lot of reverb, the music sounds different. It’s hard to tell if you’re doing it right or wrong. It’s hard to get feedback.”
Gael Sanchez Tizo, a senior at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, plays his trombone at his home in Mid-City. (Gael Sanchez Tizo )
Though the 17-year-old plans to study nursing, he’ll still pursue a music minor, and he feels that not performing in front of an audience is an opportunity lost. “The shows we were doing, I’ve never done them,” he says. “I’m not going to have that to look back to when I’m older.”
At Ramón C. Cortines, senior Emmanuel Yoque was preparing for the biggest role of his high school musical career when school was closed: The 17-year-old from South L.A. landed a lead in the musical play “Rent” as Tom Collins, a part he was rehearsing for up to 15 hours a week. On top of that, trips to Monterey Bay and San Francisco with his high school’s chamber and vocal jazz choirs were canceled. And a show he was preparing for with the downtown performing arts Colburn School, where he’s also a student, never happened.
Advertisement
“All of a sudden, we were stripped from these performances we’d been working tirelessly on,” he says. “It was kind of really fast. The time to process it was very short.”
× High school student Emmanuel Yoque performs Élégie from Les Érinnyes by Jules Massenet.
But the canceled “Rent” show was the biggest disappointment. “As an opera major in college, I believe I needed acting experience; that’s why I joined the musical,” he says. “It just felt like all of my hard work was going down the drain.”
More rehearsals and performances would’ve enhanced his acting experience, “which would then help me in college,” says Yoque, who will be studying classical voice and opera at USC this fall.
Music is also at the forefront of Santos’ future.
Ever since she watched “West Side Story” in middle school, she’s wanted to play Maria. So when she got the part, she was elated. “Maria has been my biggest role at LACHSA,” she says. “It’s a role that I could be considered for in the professional world.”
Senior Alondra Santos rehearsing for the role as Maria in LACHSA’s “West Side Story” before coronavirus closed schools. The live show was canceled, but a digital version will launch May 22. (Jessica Chen / Los Angeles Times)
Advertisement
Santos dreams of attending a prestigious music college (she’s already been accepted to San Francisco Conservatory of Music), earning her master’s in vocal performance and becoming a professional singer.
So she’s been preparing an aria for several opera department auditions. It’s a piece she was slated to perform with her school’s opera company several weeks ago. “We were doing a lot of Shakespeare dialogue, and we had to be very specific with it,” says Santos, who plays one of several Juliets in the Romeo-and-Juliet inspired piece “Star-Crossed Love.”
“It was awesome to have that practice and focus on those minor details” at a time when she really needed the practice.
But all is not lost. Robson wants students to remember that there will always be another show.
LACHSA students Lily Zager, left, and Eugene Boyd during a final dress rehearsal of “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” which was performed in November before the pandemic. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
“No matter what we’re given in life, we have to make the most beautiful art out of it. And so that’s how we’re going to proceed.”
Advertisement


latimes--2020-05-10--The day coronavirus canceled prom and everything else for an L.A. high school singer

When the sky is still dark with night , Estefani Lopez awakens .
Her mother , Azucena “ Susy ” Lopez , prepares the day ’ s lunch in the kitchen while Lopez , 17 , brushes her teeth in the bathroom and carefully inserts her contacts , her eyes still heavy with sleep .
It is Thursday , March 12 , one day before Los Angeles school officials will announce school shutdowns to slow the spread of COVID-19 and a week before Mayor Eric Garcetti ’ s Safer at Home order .
On this day , like so many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Thursday , at 5:30 a.m. on the dot Lopez and her mother bolt out of their Riverside home and drive 20 miles north to San Bernardino Depot , where Lopez catches the Metrolink to the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts ( LACHSA ) in Los Angeles ’ Eastside .
It ’ s a 1 ½-hour commute to school , and the train is nearly always prompt , departing exactly at 6:03 a.m. Any minor morning delays at home could cause Lopez to miss the train .
And that would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than 50 miles to drop her off at school on time , then drive another 50 miles home .
In traffic .
`` ¿Estamos bien de tiempo ?
” Lopez asks her mother in the car , looking out the window at the dimming stars .
“ Are we OK on time ?
” “ Sí , ” her mother reassures her sweetly .
“ Estamos muy bien de tiempo .
No hay tráfico.
” “ Yes .
We ’ re doing great on time .
There ’ s no traffic.
” Lopez @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a free public high school that offers rigorous , conservatory-style training to students preparing for careers in dance , theater , music ( vocal and instrumental ) , visual art and cinematic arts .
ALSO : High school performing arts were shut down by coronavirus .
Will it derail students ’ careers ?
Four days a week since freshman year , Lopez has set her alarm at 5 a.m. and rushed out the door to attend the distinguished school on the campus of Cal State L.A. , where school starts at 8 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t begin until 10 a.m. , so she relishes a little extra sleep . )
On a normal day , Lopez gets home from school around 7 p.m .
But some days , if she ’ s rehearsing for a performance , she ’ s at school until 6 p.m. And on tech weeks , she doesn ’ t leave campus grounds until 9:30 p.m. , arriving home around midnight .
Every year , about 900 students from more than 90 cities and 40 school districts in L.A. County and beyond audition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for ninth and 10th graders across all the specialties .
Few students , however , commute as far as Lopez .
Before stepping out into the chill of the March morning , Lopez and her mother pray for health and safety .
For frontline workers of the coronavirus .
For those who have fallen ill from COVID-19 to recover .
And Azucena asks God to take care of her daughter .
“ Wherever we go , we pray you ’ re with us , ” she says in Spanish .
Inside the train @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from Banning walk to their usual booth and car , the one that doesn ’ t get too cold in the mornings or too hot in the afternoons , Lopez says .
Plus , the others she says , “ smell weird.
” Lopez has remarkably steady hands .
When she doesn ’ t catch up on homework or squeeze in some sleep during the ride , she does her makeup .
“ It ’ s therapy for me , ” she says .
Glitter is her favorite .
Her eyebrows are always @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to see me with some crazy eyebrows , ” she says laughing , lining her dark brows with a brush .
“ It ’ s just a warning.
” ) Her eyelids come next .
She closes one eye and gently brushes a peach-colored powder on it , talking nostalgically about the 1990s .
“ I wish I was born in 1998 , ” she says , holding up a small cracked mirror .
“ My sister listened to a lot of R & B and that was a good time for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Lopez has long dreamed of being a singer .
At age 7 , she started playing the violin .
When she was 12 , Lopez made it to the final rounds of Telemundo ’ s “ La Voz Kids ” and won third place in “ Tengo Talento , Mucho Talento ” in 2017 .
This year , Lopez and 19 other LACHSA students were invited to perform at the Grammys alongside megastars like Cyndi Lauper , Camila Cabello and Common .
She also won this year ’ s Music Center Spotlight @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and an arts training program for Southern California students that comes with a $ 5,000 reward .
Plus , she has a YouTube channel where she posts videos of herself singing ( mostly ) Spanish songs for her 28,700 subscribers .
“ I make my dad really proud because he wanted to be a musician in Mexico , ” says Lopez , whose father , Joel , abandoned his dream after moving to the United States from San Luis Potosí , Mexico , in 2003 .
Just after 7:20 a.m. , Lopez steps @ @ @ @ @ @ @ short bus ride that drops her off just steps away from her high school .
If she ’ s lucky , she has a few minutes to spare before classes begin .
Then it ’ s musical theater after nutrition , where for the next three hours or so , Lopez and her classmates rehearse for the school ’ s production of “ West Side Story.
” ( The original plan was drastically changed after schools closed because of the coronavirus . )
“ Can we do homework ?
” a student asks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the start of class .
“ Because I really need to catch up.
” Hunter , stern yet loving , points to him and says : “ If you miss one cue , I ’ m going to call every college you applied to and tell them.
” Gathered around a piano inside the theater , music director Cassandra Nickols Gonzalez strikes chords while students warm up their voices , buzzing their lips and meowing octaves .
Then , spread out across the theater , they stretch and do planks and jumping @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” and Miley Cyrus ’ pop hit “ Party in the U.S.A. ” It was shaping up to be a regular day at school , but midway through class a wave of gasps and curse words quietly echoed through the theater : Prom , scheduled for the following day , was canceled .
The seniors were devastated , angry and confused .
Lopez was supposed to go to prom too , but she knew she still had next year .
“ I feel really bad for the seniors , ” she later says @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hunter addresses the prom ’ s cancellation and the uncertainties around the production they ’ ve worked tirelessly on .
“ These are rough and different times , ” she says , “ and we have to be there for each other.
” Standing near her classroom ’ s doorway , opera teacher Suzanna Guzmán hands Lopez and her peers disinfectant wipes .
No way is the coronavirus getting into her classroom .
Guzmán is dynamic and animated , and she expects the best from her singers .
Always .
“ Don ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reminds her students before starting practice for “ Star-Crossed Love , ” a production that was scheduled for last month .
“ Be great.
” For the next several hours , until 6 p.m. , the students do their best , all things considered .
Back on the train , Lopez looks out the window , the sky a vivid pink and orange .
On the ride back home , she often fights the urge to nap .
She fell asleep on the train once and missed her stop ; she won ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the train arrives , she ’ s tired , but she still has mariachi practice .
Inside Arizona Middle School a few blocks from Lopez ’ s home , practice is already in full swing .
Her instructor , “ maestro ” Antonio Castañeda , knows to expect Lopez ’ s tardiness .
The young singer walks hurriedly to the empty chair on stage , picks up her violin , and starts to play “ Aires del Mayab ” with her five band mates , two of whom are her siblings .
For @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the six young musicians fill the auditorium with music , their parents sitting idly by , beaming with pride .
But before sitting at the dining table to eat molletes with her family , Lopez changes into her pajamas and can be heard singing in her room .
“ Sigue cantando .
Todo el dia Estefani esta cantando , ” Azucena says with a smile .
“ She keeps singing .
All day , Estefani sings.
” Still , the long days and nights haven ’ t been easy for Lopez .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ hard , ” she says .
At times she ’ s thought about quitting , about attending a school closer to home .
“ I don ’ t know how I ’ ve been doing it these past years , ” she says , laughing nervously .
“ There ’ s definitely been a lot of emotional stress .
A lot of crying.
” But she ’ s pushed through it .
Because she knows her hard work will pay off and because she ’ s long dreamed of being a singer .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ school is going to help me a lot in my future , ” she says confidently .
Of course , Lopez ’ s daily routine came to a grinding halt on March 16 when schools closed their physical doors and classes moved online to curb the spread of the coronavirus .
These days , her alarm goes off at 7:30 a.m. She has breakfast , brushes her hair and teeth , and only puts on mascara if she feels like it .
She has a full day of Zoom classes , and enjoys @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
She ’ s still rehearsing for a condensed , virtual version of “ West Side Story , ” which she says is “ going relatively well , ” all things considered .
“ We ’ re trying to do our best out of a bad situation , ” she says , and is excited to see how the alternate production plays out .
After school at 4 p.m. , she has more time to do homework and practice her singing .
The mariachi practices and occasional gigs have ceased indefinitely .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the pandemic , Lopez ’ s confidence has flourished .
She ’ s still pursuing her dream of being a mariachi and opera performer , but she ’ s shifted her focus to opera .
“ After winning Spotlight , it has really encouraged me to pursue [ opera ] more , ” she says .
“ Prior to Spotlight , I really thought that because I started so late , I wasn ’ t able to reach those goals .
I just felt like people who started training younger in opera were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prize proved her wrong .
`` [ Winning ] really brought me to my senses , ” she says .
With a newfound confidence , she knows that day will someday come .
Lopez ’ s achievements and big dreams , though , wouldn ’ t be possible without her parents ’ support and the major sacrifices they ’ ve made .
Her mother quit her job working in a store two years ago so she could tend to her three children .
The hours were inflexible and conflicted with their schedules .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It was complicated because I wasn ’ t given permission [ to leave work ] and they wouldn ’ t give me the hours I wanted , so I stopped working , ” Azucena says in Spanish .
Now , two or three times a week , she helps a friend clean houses while her daughter is in school .
The family learned of LACHSA through a friend whose son attended the L.A. school .
When they researched it , they were impressed by its breadth of options and prestige .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ figured that if she ’ s going to prepare [ for a singing career ] then she should be well prepared , ” says Azucena .
“ When we see her with so much ambition , so much enthusiasm for being at the school , we see that it ’ s worth it.
” “ Estoy super , super orgullosa de ella , ” Azucena says enthusiastically , “ I ’ m super , super proud of her.
” And as often as she can , she makes sure to tell her daughter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how much she admires her .
That she ’ s a star .

Estefani Lopez is a junior at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. Before the pandemic, she commuted more than three hours from Riverside to East L.A. on a typical day.
When the sky is still dark with night, Estefani Lopez awakens.
Her mother, Azucena “Susy” Lopez, prepares the day’s lunch in the kitchen while Lopez, 17, brushes her teeth in the bathroom and carefully inserts her contacts, her eyes still heavy with sleep. It is Thursday, March 12, one day before Los Angeles school officials will announce school shutdowns to slow the spread of COVID-19 and a week before Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Safer at Home order.
On this day, like so many others during the school year from Monday to Thursday, at 5:30 a.m. on the dot Lopez and her mother bolt out of their Riverside home and drive 20 miles north to San Bernardino Depot, where Lopez catches the Metrolink to the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (LACHSA) in Los Angeles’ Eastside.
It’s a 1 ½-hour commute to school, and the train is nearly always prompt, departing exactly at 6:03 a.m. Any minor morning delays at home could cause Lopez to miss the train. And that would mean her mother has to drive more than 50 miles to drop her off at school on time, then drive another 50 miles home. In traffic.
Advertisement
So sometimes, Lopez worries.
“¿Estamos bien de tiempo?” Lopez asks her mother in the car, looking out the window at the dimming stars. “Are we OK on time?”
“Sí,” her mother reassures her sweetly. “Estamos muy bien de tiempo. No hay tráfico.” “Yes. We’re doing great on time. There’s no traffic.”
Lopez is a junior studying music at LACHSA, a free public high school that offers rigorous, conservatory-style training to students preparing for careers in dance, theater, music (vocal and instrumental), visual art and cinematic arts.
ALSO: High school performing arts were shut down by coronavirus. Will it derail students’ careers?
Four days a week since freshman year, Lopez has set her alarm at 5 a.m. and rushed out the door to attend the distinguished school on the campus of Cal State L.A., where school starts at 8 a.m. (On Fridays, classes don’t begin until 10 a.m., so she relishes a little extra sleep.)
On a normal day, Lopez gets home from school around 7 p.m. But some days, if she’s rehearsing for a performance, she’s at school until 6 p.m. And on tech weeks, she doesn’t leave campus grounds until 9:30 p.m., arriving home around midnight.
Before the pandemic, Estefani Lopez performs during a final dress rehearsal of “Amahl and the Night Visitors” at Los Angeles County High School for the Arts on November 15, 2019. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
Every year, about 900 students from more than 90 cities and 40 school districts in L.A. County and beyond audition and submit portfolios for about 150 spots for ninth and 10th graders across all the specialties.
Few students, however, commute as far as Lopez.
Before stepping out into the chill of the March morning, Lopez and her mother pray for health and safety. For frontline workers of the coronavirus. For those who have fallen ill from COVID-19 to recover. And Azucena asks God to take care of her daughter.
Advertisement
“Wherever we go, we pray you’re with us,” she says in Spanish.
Inside the train, Lopez and LACHSA freshman Aydalet Ramirez from Banning walk to their usual booth and car, the one that doesn’t get too cold in the mornings or too hot in the afternoons, Lopez says. Plus, the others she says, “smell weird.”
Lopez has remarkably steady hands. When she doesn’t catch up on homework or squeeze in some sleep during the ride, she does her makeup. “It’s therapy for me,” she says. Glitter is her favorite.
Her eyebrows are always first. (“You’re going to see me with some crazy eyebrows,” she says laughing, lining her dark brows with a brush. “It’s just a warning.”) Her eyelids come next. She closes one eye and gently brushes a peach-colored powder on it, talking nostalgically about the 1990s. “I wish I was born in 1998,” she says, holding up a small cracked mirror. “My sister listened to a lot of R&B and that was a good time for that. Those were the good days.”
Lopez has long dreamed of being a singer.
At age 7, she started playing the violin. When she was 12, Lopez made it to the final rounds of Telemundo’s “La Voz Kids” and won third place in “Tengo Talento, Mucho Talento” in 2017. This year, Lopez and 19 other LACHSA students were invited to perform “I Sing the Body Electric” at the Grammys alongside megastars like Cyndi Lauper, Camila Cabello and Common. She also won this year’s Music Center Spotlight Award in classical voice, a scholarship and an arts training program for Southern California students that comes with a $5,000 reward. Plus, she has a YouTube channel where she posts videos of herself singing (mostly) Spanish songs for her 28,700 subscribers.
“I make my dad really proud because he wanted to be a musician in Mexico,” says Lopez, whose father, Joel, abandoned his dream after moving to the United States from San Luis Potosí, Mexico, in 2003.
Just after 7:20 a.m., Lopez steps off the train and hops on a short bus ride that drops her off just steps away from her high school. If she’s lucky, she has a few minutes to spare before classes begin.
First stop: French class.
Then it’s musical theater after nutrition, where for the next three hours or so, Lopez and her classmates rehearse for the school’s production of “West Side Story.” (The original plan was drastically changed after schools closed because of the coronavirus.)
Alondra Santos in the role of Maria and more cast members of “West Side Story” rehearse inside Caroline’s Loft at LACHSA before the coronavirus closed the school and online classes began. A shorter, prerecorded performance of the show will launch May 22. (Jessica Chen / Los Angeles Times)
“Can we do homework?” a student asks theater chair Lois Hunter from the bleachers at the start of class. “Because I really need to catch up.”
Hunter, stern yet loving, points to him and says: “If you miss one cue, I’m going to call every college you applied to and tell them.”
Gathered around a piano inside the theater, music director Cassandra Nickols Gonzalez strikes chords while students warm up their voices, buzzing their lips and meowing octaves. Then, spread out across the theater, they stretch and do planks and jumping jacks to Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” and Miley Cyrus’ pop hit “Party in the U.S.A.”
It was shaping up to be a regular day at school, but midway through class a wave of gasps and curse words quietly echoed through the theater: Prom, scheduled for the following day, was canceled. The seniors were devastated, angry and confused.
Lopez was supposed to go to prom too, but she knew she still had next year. “I feel really bad for the seniors,” she later says.
Estefani Lopez, right, with fellow LACHSA students Drew Harris, left, Alondra Santos, center. They were rehearsing for the “Romeo and Juliet”-inspired piece “Star-Crossed Love” before the pandemic forced schools to close. (Jessica Chen / Los Angeles Times)
Before dismissing students for lunch, Hunter addresses the prom’s cancellation and the uncertainties around the production they’ve worked tirelessly on. “These are rough and different times,” she says, “and we have to be there for each other.”
Standing near her classroom’s doorway, opera teacher Suzanna Guzmán hands Lopez and her peers disinfectant wipes. No way is the coronavirus getting into her classroom. Guzmán is dynamic and animated, and she expects the best from her singers. Always.
LACHSA co-director of the performing arts high school opera company is Suzanna Guzmán, a mezzo-soprano who has perfromed around the world. Above, she performs in Yuval Sharon’s 2015 opera “Hopscotch.” (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)
“Don’t settle for fine,” she reminds her students before starting practice for “Star-Crossed Love,” a production that was scheduled for last month. “Be great.”
For the next several hours, until 6 p.m., the students do their best, all things considered.
Back on the train, Lopez looks out the window, the sky a vivid pink and orange. On the ride back home, she often fights the urge to nap. She fell asleep on the train once and missed her stop; she won’t let it happen again.
When the train arrives, she’s tired, but she still has mariachi practice.
Inside Arizona Middle School a few blocks from Lopez’s home, practice is already in full swing. Her instructor, “maestro” Antonio Castañeda, knows to expect Lopez’s tardiness.
The young singer walks hurriedly to the empty chair on stage, picks up her violin, and starts to play “Aires del Mayab” with her five band mates, two of whom are her siblings. For the next hour, until 9:30 p.m., the six young musicians fill the auditorium with music, their parents sitting idly by, beaming with pride.
By 9:45 p.m., Lopez is finally home.
But before sitting at the dining table to eat molletes with her family, Lopez changes into her pajamas and can be heard singing in her room.
“Sigue cantando. Todo el dia Estefani esta cantando,” Azucena says with a smile. “She keeps singing. All day, Estefani sings.”
Still, the long days and nights haven’t been easy for Lopez. “It’s really, really hard,” she says. At times she’s thought about quitting, about attending a school closer to home.
“I don’t know how I’ve been doing it these past years,” she says, laughing nervously. “There’s definitely been a lot of emotional stress. A lot of crying.”
But she’s pushed through it. Because she knows her hard work will pay off and because she’s long dreamed of being a singer. “Honestly, I feel like that school is going to help me a lot in my future,” she says confidently.
Of course, Lopez’s daily routine came to a grinding halt on March 16 when schools closed their physical doors and classes moved online to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
These days, her alarm goes off at 7:30 a.m. She has breakfast, brushes her hair and teeth, and only puts on mascara if she feels like it.
She has a full day of Zoom classes, and enjoys homemade lunches with her mom and sister. She’s still rehearsing for a condensed, virtual version of “West Side Story,” which she says is “going relatively well,” all things considered.
“We’re trying to do our best out of a bad situation,” she says, and is excited to see how the alternate production plays out.
After school at 4 p.m., she has more time to do homework and practice her singing. The mariachi practices and occasional gigs have ceased indefinitely.
But despite the many disappointments brought on by the pandemic, Lopez’s confidence has flourished. She’s still pursuing her dream of being a mariachi and opera performer, but she’s shifted her focus to opera.
“After winning Spotlight, it has really encouraged me to pursue [opera] more,” she says. “Prior to Spotlight, I really thought that because I started so late, I wasn’t able to reach those goals. I just felt like people who started training younger in opera were going to be more successful.”
The prize proved her wrong. “[Winning] really brought me to my senses,” she says.
With a newfound confidence, she knows that day will someday come.
Lopez’s achievements and big dreams, though, wouldn’t be possible without her parents’ support and the major sacrifices they’ve made.
Her mother quit her job working in a store two years ago so she could tend to her three children. The hours were inflexible and conflicted with their schedules.
“I couldn’t work sometimes. It was complicated because I wasn’t given permission [to leave work] and they wouldn’t give me the hours I wanted, so I stopped working,” Azucena says in Spanish. Now, two or three times a week, she helps a friend clean houses while her daughter is in school.
The family learned of LACHSA through a friend whose son attended the L.A. school. When they researched it, they were impressed by its breadth of options and prestige.
“The school seemed great … and we figured that if she’s going to prepare [for a singing career] then she should be well prepared,” says Azucena. “When we see her with so much ambition, so much enthusiasm for being at the school, we see that it’s worth it.”
“Estoy super, super orgullosa de ella,” Azucena says enthusiastically, “I’m super, super proud of her.” And as often as she can, she makes sure to tell her daughter that. She wants her to know how much she admires her. That she’s a star.


latimes--2020-05-10--Projections show California COVID-19 cases and deaths rising more than expected

California is one of a handful of states where coronavirus cases and deaths are rising faster than researchers expected , according to the latest calculations in a widely relied-upon model of the COVID-19 outbreak .
Christopher Murray , director of the University of Washington ’ s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation , said Sunday on CBS ’ “ Face the Nation ” that the institute ’ s latest projections suggested the nationwide fatality count would reach 137,000 by Aug. 4 .
It stands now at nearly 80,000 .
The picture is mixed in some of the country ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Some good-ish news coming out of New York and New Jersey and Michigan , where the death cases and death numbers are coming down faster than expected , ” he said .
“ Some other states where cases and deaths are going up more than we expected — Illinois and then Arizona , Florida , California as examples of that.
” The researchers are now predicting that California could see more than 6,000 COVID-19 deaths by the end of August , up about 1,420 from projections they released on Monday .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ death tolls among the U.S. states , after Pennsylvania , Illinois , Arizona and Florida .
The upward revisions “ are a result of a combination of updated daily death and case data , recent actions to ease previously implemented social distancing measures , and steadily rising levels of mobility in many places , ” the researchers said in notes released with the data .
California added 2,244 coronavirus cases and 64 related deaths on Saturday .
About 40 % of the new cases — 907 — were reported by Los Angeles County @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deaths , or about 70 % of the statewide death toll .
The state had recorded 826 more cases and 23 more deaths by Sunday afternoon , bringing its total to more than 67,500 cases and 2,700 deaths .
In L.A. County , the toll rose to 31,703 coronavirus cases and 1,531 related deaths .
The continued increase has prompted public health officials to urge caution even as some recreation areas and businesses are permitted to reopen .
“ The virus has not changed , ” Barbara Ferrer , the county public health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can still spread easily , and it can still result in serious illness and death.
” In the latest step toward easing restrictions , Long Beach will reopen beach bike and pedestrian paths , as well as tennis courts and the parking lots of public parks , on Monday .
Beaches and beach parking lots will remain closed .
People who use the parks , paths and tennis courts will be required to stay six feet apart and refrain from lingering or gathering in groups .
Gatherings and picnics remain prohibited .
San @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in new cases Saturday , adding 273 cases and three deaths for a total of 2,902 cases and 114 deaths .
Some of the new cases are linked to an outbreak at the California Institution for Men in Chino , where at least 386 inmates had been infected and four had died as of Sunday , according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation .
Case counts also have shot up in Santa Barbara County , where an outbreak at Federal Correctional Institution Lompoc has sickened 862 inmates and 14 staff .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ same grounds , 114 inmates and 20 staff have become infected , officials said .
Two inmates have died after contracting the virus there .
Combined , the two federal prisons in Lompoc have 976 infected inmates , making it the largest federal penitentiary outbreak in the nation , according to the federal Bureau of Prisons .
That accounts for roughly 75 % of the 1,308 cases reported by Santa Barbara County to date .
Of the 58 new cases the county reported on Sunday , 56 were associated with the federal prison @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The country ’ s second-largest outbreak at a federal prison was at Terminal Island in San Pedro , where on Saturday a 70-year-old man became the seventh inmate to die after testing positive for the virus .
Scott Cutting , who was serving a 26-month sentence for aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns , had been hospitalized since April 14 , officials said .
A total of 699 inmates and 15 staff members at the Terminal Island federal prison had tested positive for the coronavirus as of Sunday , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The virus continues to spread in Orange County , where the number of new cases is doubling every 18.5 days , compared with every 22.8 days in Los Angeles County and every 24.3 days in Riverside County .
Orange County recorded 122 more cases and two new deaths Sunday , bringing its total to 3,502 cases and 76 deaths .
There were 178 COVID-19 patients in county hospitals , including 59 in intensive care .
The county has been the site of numerous acts of resistance against statewide stay-at-home orders since they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on March 19 .
Demonstrators have been gathering regularly in Huntington Beach to protest the rules , most recently on Saturday , when a crowd of about 1,500 people amassed to call for the state and nation to fully reopen .
Similar protests also have taken place in San Clemente , Newport Beach and Laguna Beach .
Some businesses have chosen to reopen in defiance of the orders , including a surf-themed restaurant in San Clemente that reportedly became so busy that it ran out of food .
The county ’ s beaches @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , when Newsom ordered their temporary closure after some became crowded with visitors during a heat wave .
Many local officials publicly challenged the decision , saying beachgoers were following social distancing rules and news photographs that showed crowding were misleading .
The beaches reopened this week after local officials agreed to permit active use only , but the city of Huntington Beach is moving forward with a lawsuit challenging Newsom ’ s temporary closure .
The city of Newport Beach filed an amicus brief in support of the action .
Though urban @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hardest by the virus , there were also signs it was spreading to some rural areas .
Trinity County reported its first case of the coronavirus on Friday , the county public health department said in a news release .
Officials released few details but said they were working on identifying others who might have been exposed .
Murray , of the University of Washington , also said Sunday that scientists were tracking how much people were moving about in states where businesses were reopening — and that the additional movement would translate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in about the next week and a half .
“ We ’ re just seeing explosive increases in mobility , ” he said , “ in a number of states that we expect will translate into more cases and deaths , you know , in 10 days from now.
” That is particularly true , he said , in states such as Georgia , which moved more quickly than most to ease shutdowns .
“ Somewhere like Georgia , which was one of the first — it is in the category of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Other emerging hot spots , he said , include Montana , North Dakota , South Dakota and Minnesota .

California is one of a handful of states where coronavirus cases and deaths are rising faster than researchers expected, according to the latest calculations in a widely relied-upon model of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Christopher Murray, director of the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that the institute’s latest projections suggested the nationwide fatality count would reach 137,000 by Aug. 4. It stands now at nearly 80,000.
The picture is mixed in some of the country’s most populous states, he said.
Advertisement
“Some good-ish news coming out of New York and New Jersey and Michigan, where the death cases and death numbers are coming down faster than expected,” he said. “Some other states where cases and deaths are going up more than we expected — Illinois and then Arizona, Florida, California as examples of that.”
The researchers are now predicting that California could see more than 6,000 COVID-19 deaths by the end of August, up about 1,420 from projections they released on Monday. It’s the fifth-largest increase in projected death tolls among the U.S. states, after Pennsylvania, Illinois, Arizona and Florida.
The upward revisions “are a result of a combination of updated daily death and case data, recent actions to ease previously implemented social distancing measures, and steadily rising levels of mobility in many places,” the researchers said in notes released with the data.
California Coronavirus updates: White House orders staff to wear masks after Pence aide is infected The Los Angeles Times will provide around-the-clock updates on COVID-19 from across Southern California and around the world.Tracking the coronavirus in California: latest numbers | Support our journalism with a subscriptionHave a question about coronavirus? Send us your questions here. | You also can sign up for our newsletterSee latest photo galleryCoronavirus updates for May 8-10 are here
California added 2,244 coronavirus cases and 64 related deaths on Saturday. About 40% of the new cases — 907 — were reported by Los Angeles County, as were 45 of the new deaths, or about 70% of the statewide death toll.
The state had recorded 826 more cases and 23 more deaths by Sunday afternoon, bringing its total to more than 67,500 cases and 2,700 deaths. In L.A. County, the toll rose to 31,703 coronavirus cases and 1,531 related deaths.
The continued increase has prompted public health officials to urge caution even as some recreation areas and businesses are permitted to reopen.
Advertisement
“The virus has not changed,” Barbara Ferrer, the county public health director, said Friday. “It can still spread easily, and it can still result in serious illness and death.”
In the latest step toward easing restrictions, Long Beach will reopen beach bike and pedestrian paths, as well as tennis courts and the parking lots of public parks, on Monday. Beaches and beach parking lots will remain closed.
People who use the parks, paths and tennis courts will be required to stay six feet apart and refrain from lingering or gathering in groups. Gatherings and picnics remain prohibited.
San Bernardino County reported its largest one-day increase in new cases Saturday, adding 273 cases and three deaths for a total of 2,902 cases and 114 deaths. Some of the new cases are linked to an outbreak at the California Institution for Men in Chino, where at least 386 inmates had been infected and four had died as of Sunday, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Case counts also have shot up in Santa Barbara County, where an outbreak at Federal Correctional Institution Lompoc has sickened 862 inmates and 14 staff. At a neighboring medium-security prison on the same grounds, 114 inmates and 20 staff have become infected, officials said. Two inmates have died after contracting the virus there.
Combined, the two federal prisons in Lompoc have 976 infected inmates, making it the largest federal penitentiary outbreak in the nation, according to the federal Bureau of Prisons. That accounts for roughly 75% of the 1,308 cases reported by Santa Barbara County to date. Of the 58 new cases the county reported on Sunday, 56 were associated with the federal prison complex in Lompoc, officials said.
The country’s second-largest outbreak at a federal prison was at Terminal Island in San Pedro, where on Saturday a 70-year-old man became the seventh inmate to die after testing positive for the virus. Scott Cutting, who was serving a 26-month sentence for aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, had been hospitalized since April 14, officials said.
A total of 699 inmates and 15 staff members at the Terminal Island federal prison had tested positive for the coronavirus as of Sunday, according to the federal Bureau of Prisons.
The virus continues to spread in Orange County, where the number of new cases is doubling every 18.5 days, compared with every 22.8 days in Los Angeles County and every 24.3 days in Riverside County.
Orange County recorded 122 more cases and two new deaths Sunday, bringing its total to 3,502 cases and 76 deaths. There were 178 COVID-19 patients in county hospitals, including 59 in intensive care.
The county has been the site of numerous acts of resistance against statewide stay-at-home orders since they were announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom on March 19.
Demonstrators have been gathering regularly in Huntington Beach to protest the rules, most recently on Saturday, when a crowd of about 1,500 people amassed to call for the state and nation to fully reopen. Similar protests also have taken place in San Clemente, Newport Beach and Laguna Beach.
Some businesses have chosen to reopen in defiance of the orders, including a surf-themed restaurant in San Clemente that reportedly became so busy that it ran out of food.
The county’s beaches also became flashpoints for controversy last month, when Newsom ordered their temporary closure after some became crowded with visitors during a heat wave. Many local officials publicly challenged the decision, saying beachgoers were following social distancing rules and news photographs that showed crowding were misleading.
The beaches reopened this week after local officials agreed to permit active use only, but the city of Huntington Beach is moving forward with a lawsuit challenging Newsom’s temporary closure. The city of Newport Beach filed an amicus brief in support of the action.
Though urban and densely populated counties have been hit hardest by the virus, there were also signs it was spreading to some rural areas.
Trinity County reported its first case of the coronavirus on Friday, the county public health department said in a news release. Officials released few details but said they were working on identifying others who might have been exposed.
Murray, of the University of Washington, also said Sunday that scientists were tracking how much people were moving about in states where businesses were reopening — and that the additional movement would translate into more infections, hospitalizations and deaths in about the next week and a half.
“We’re just seeing explosive increases in mobility,” he said, “in a number of states that we expect will translate into more cases and deaths, you know, in 10 days from now.”
That is particularly true, he said, in states such as Georgia, which moved more quickly than most to ease shutdowns. “Somewhere like Georgia, which was one of the first — it is in the category of a big increase,” he said.
Other emerging hot spots, he said, include Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota.
Times staff writer Richard Winton contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-05-10--L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva calls for increased regulation of 'ghost gun' parts

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva calls for increased regulation of “ ghost gun ” parts in an interview to be broadcast Sunday night on CBS ’ “ 60 Minutes.
” Ghost guns , also known as kit guns or 80-percent guns , are virtually untraceable weapons that can be made at home using legally purchased parts to complete the 80 % already assembled .
They are sold at gun shows and online .
The unfinished parts are not required under federal law to have serial numbers or a background check to purchase .
A ghost gun was used in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ High School that killed two students and wounded three others before the 16-year-old shooter turned the gun on himself and later died , Villanueva said shortly after the shooting .
Under a bill signed into law by Gov .
Gavin Newsom on Oct. 11 , the sale of firearm precursor parts would be required to be conducted by or processed through a licensed firearm-precursor-part vendor effective July 1 , 2024 .
Other states also have moved to restrict the sale of ghost gun parts , but Villanueva says that ’ s not the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it by going to another state , ” Villanueva said .
He also told the CBS News magazine the number of ghost guns turning up in investigations by his department had gone up 50 % over the past year .
The report includes an interview with the father of Gracie Muehlberger , a 15-year-old girl killed in the Saugus High School shooting .
“ Up to that day , I never heard the term ‘ ghost gun , ’ so I didn ’ t even know what that was , ” Bryan Muehlberger @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against owning guns , but I also believe strongly that this is a serious problem that ’ s occurring that no one knew about .
“ So , I feel like something needs to be done .
It ’ s just — it ’ s become too easy.
” Law enforcement officers involved in the case said they believed the weapon used in the Saugus shooting had originally belonged to the late father of the shooter , who turned to ghost guns after having his own firearms confiscated after a psychiatric detention .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a year and a half on the investigation , according to CBS , including interviewing local and national law enforcement figures .
They said sales of parts used to complete ghost guns were on the rise , along with traditional firearms , across the nation during the coronavirus pandemic .
“ 60 Minutes ” producers were able to order a kit with everything someone would need to build their own 9mm handgun .
Thomas Chittum , assistant director of field operations for the Bureau of Alcohol , Tobacco , Firearms and Explosives , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ parts made it challenging to keep them out of the hands of people not allowed to possess firearms .
When asked by Whitaker how many of the untraceable guns were on the streets , Chittum responded , “ I have no idea .
”

L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, shown in 2019, tells “60 Minutes” that the number of ghost guns turning up in his department’s investigations has risen 50% over the last year.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva calls for increased regulation of “ghost gun” parts in an interview to be broadcast Sunday night on CBS’ “60 Minutes.”
Ghost guns, also known as kit guns or 80-percent guns, are virtually untraceable weapons that can be made at home using legally purchased parts to complete the 80% already assembled. They are sold at gun shows and online.
The unfinished parts are not required under federal law to have serial numbers or a background check to purchase.
Advertisement
A ghost gun was used in the Nov. 14 shooting attack at Saugus High School that killed two students and wounded three others before the 16-year-old shooter turned the gun on himself and later died, Villanueva said shortly after the shooting.
Under a bill signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Oct. 11, the sale of firearm precursor parts would be required to be conducted by or processed through a licensed firearm-precursor-part vendor effective July 1, 2024. Other states also have moved to restrict the sale of ghost gun parts, but Villanueva says that’s not the solution.
“You can just defeat it by going to another state,” Villanueva said.
He also told the CBS News magazine the number of ghost guns turning up in investigations by his department had gone up 50% over the past year.
The report includes an interview with the father of Gracie Muehlberger, a 15-year-old girl killed in the Saugus High School shooting.
“Up to that day, I never heard the term ‘ghost gun,’ so I didn’t even know what that was,” Bryan Muehlberger said. “I’m not against owning guns, but I also believe strongly that this is a serious problem that’s occurring that no one knew about.
Advertisement
“So, I feel like something needs to be done. It’s just — it’s become too easy.”
Law enforcement officers involved in the case said they believed the weapon used in the Saugus shooting had originally belonged to the late father of the shooter, who turned to ghost guns after having his own firearms confiscated after a psychiatric detention.
Correspondent Bill Whitaker and his team spent a year and a half on the investigation, according to CBS, including interviewing local and national law enforcement figures. They said sales of parts used to complete ghost guns were on the rise, along with traditional firearms, across the nation during the coronavirus pandemic.
“60 Minutes” producers were able to order a kit with everything someone would need to build their own 9mm handgun.
Thomas Chittum, assistant director of field operations for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, told Whitaker the ease of purchasing the parts made it challenging to keep them out of the hands of people not allowed to possess firearms.
When asked by Whitaker how many of the untraceable guns were on the streets, Chittum responded, “I have no idea.”


latimes--2020-05-10--Authorities investigate fatal construction incident at LAX

Authorities were continuing Sunday to investigate an incident that resulted in the death of a construction worker this weekend at Los Angeles International Airport .
Juan Barajas , 39 , of Bloomington , was killed Saturday morning , the coroner ’ s office said .
The worker was injured on the construction site for an aerial tram project near East and Center ways about 6 a.m. , Los Angeles World Airports said in a statement .
The incident is believed to have involved the collapse of a rebar column , the airport said .
Airport police officers and Los Angeles @ @ @ @ @ @ @ man , but he died at the scene , the airport said .
The so-called people mover project is intended to connect the airport to Los Angeles County ’ s growing mass-transit system .
In 2018 , the City Council approved up to $ 4.9 billion to design , build , operate and maintain the elevated train in one of the largest contracts in city history .
Service is expected to begin in 2023 .
Construction on the transit project was halted for two days while the Los Angeles Police Department investigated Barajas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Occupational Safety & Health also was conducting an investigation .
“ Los Angeles World Airports ’ thoughts and prayers are with the person ’ s family , friends and fellow construction workers during this horrible tragedy , ” the airport said in a statement .
On Saturday night , the airport ’ s pylons were lit in white in memory of Barajas , airport officials said .

Authorities continue to investigate a construction incident that resulted in the death of a worker at Los Angeles International Airport on Saturday.
Authorities were continuing Sunday to investigate an incident that resulted in the death of a construction worker this weekend at Los Angeles International Airport.
Juan Barajas, 39, of Bloomington, was killed Saturday morning, the coroner’s office said.
The worker was injured on the construction site for an aerial tram project near East and Center ways about 6 a.m., Los Angeles World Airports said in a statement. The incident is believed to have involved the collapse of a rebar column, the airport said.
Advertisement
Airport police officers and Los Angeles Fire Department personnel tried to resuscitate the man, but he died at the scene, the airport said.
The so-called people mover project is intended to connect the airport to Los Angeles County’s growing mass-transit system. In 2018, the City Council approved up to $4.9 billion to design, build, operate and maintain the elevated train in one of the largest contracts in city history. Service is expected to begin in 2023.
Construction on the transit project was halted for two days while the Los Angeles Police Department investigated Barajas’ death. The California Division of Occupational Safety & Health also was conducting an investigation.
“Los Angeles World Airports’ thoughts and prayers are with the person’s family, friends and fellow construction workers during this horrible tragedy,” the airport said in a statement.
On Saturday night, the airport’s pylons were lit in white in memory of Barajas, airport officials said.
City News Service contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-05-10--Love your mom, but don't jeopardize her health by visiting today, California officials say

With some coronavirus restrictions lifted this weekend , officials are warning residents to avoid gatherings on Mother ’ s Day that could cause new outbreaks .
Officials are particularly concerned about older moms , who are at higher risk of becoming seriously ill or dying of COVID-19 .
The director of the San Francisco Department of Public Health told residents last week not to visit their mothers on Mother ’ s Day , even if wearing masks and keeping six feet apart .
Unless residents live in the same households with their mothers , “ the greatest gift we can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s Day is to stay away , ” said Dr. Grant Colfax , who formerly worked in the Obama White House on HIV prevention .
“ Don ’ t go visit your mom in person this year.
” In Los Angeles , Mayor Eric Garcetti on Tuesday said he would allow wholesale florists to open as a horticultural exemption for Mother ’ s Day .
The city of Pasadena is warning against Mother ’ s Day gatherings after its Public Health Department recently traced a cluster of at least five COVID-19 cases to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ held after the city stay-at-home orders March 19 and was attended by a large number of extended family members and friends who did not wear face coverings or stay six feet apart , the city said in a news release .
“ One person showed up to the party exhibiting symptoms and joking she may have the virus , ” Lisa Derderian , spokeswoman for the city of Pasadena , said in an email .
“ The aftermath affected several others who became seriously ill because of one person ’ s negligent and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to celebrate Mother ’ s Day the safe way .

Nolan Kennedy picked up gifts of fruit from Edibles Arrangements in La Mesa for Mother’s Day for his wife and daughter-in-law.
With some coronavirus restrictions lifted this weekend, officials are warning residents to avoid gatherings on Mother’s Day that could cause new outbreaks.
Officials are particularly concerned about older moms, who are at higher risk of becoming seriously ill or dying of COVID-19.
The director of the San Francisco Department of Public Health told residents last week not to visit their mothers on Mother’s Day, even if wearing masks and keeping six feet apart.
Advertisement
Unless residents live in the same households with their mothers, “the greatest gift we can give to our mothers this Mother’s Day is to stay away,” said Dr. Grant Colfax, who formerly worked in the Obama White House on HIV prevention. “Don’t go visit your mom in person this year.”
In Los Angeles, Mayor Eric Garcetti on Tuesday said he would allow wholesale florists to open as a horticultural exemption for Mother’s Day.
The city of Pasadena is warning against Mother’s Day gatherings after its Public Health Department recently traced a cluster of at least five COVID-19 cases to a birthday party.
The party was held after the city issued stay-at-home orders March 19 and was attended by a large number of extended family members and friends who did not wear face coverings or stay six feet apart, the city said in a news release.
“One person showed up to the party exhibiting symptoms and joking she may have the virus,” Lisa Derderian, spokeswoman for the city of Pasadena, said in an email. “The aftermath affected several others who became seriously ill because of one person’s negligent and selfish behavior.”
Here are some ways to celebrate Mother’s Day the safe way.


latimes--2020-05-10--Bagpiper's nightly coronavirus serenade sounds a mournful yet hopeful note in Santa Monica park

Palisades Park sits , these days , behind a chain-link fence , courtesy of a pandemic that makes anyplace too tempting for the masses a potentially dangerous place .
With its palm trees , its walking paths , its stunning views of the Pacific , the Santa Monica park has been deserted for weeks .
But each night , a kilted bagpiper slips into a narrow nook in the fencing , turns toward the west , and , just as the sun appears to slip beneath the waves , breaks the silence with a melancholy melody : “ Amazing Grace.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ sound .
That saved a wretch like me .
The legato notes echo in the empty space .
Andrew McGregor , 40 , has been serenading the park alone for about two months , since just before stay-at-home orders were issued and public life in California ground to a halt because of the novel coronavirus .
He lives down the street , and he ’ s at the park every night .
McGregor walks fast from his apartment to the park , not stopping to talk with passersby because he wants to maintain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hard to miss him .
He stands about 6 feet 10 , and he ’ s dressed in a red-and-green plaid kilt and vest and knee-high woolen socks with a sgian-dubh , a small ceremonial dagger worn as part of traditional Scottish Highland dress , tucked inside .
Because of the virus , he wears a blue , gold and white cloth face mask .
McGregor has an eclectic resume : filmmaker , chessboxer , magician , artist , robotics developer .
The pandemic put a halt to all of that .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ life that I ’ ve known despair , ” McGregor said .
“ Despair — to use a Southern California surfing analogy — you can ride the wave of it , or it can crush you .
Sometimes , it ’ ll do both in the same day.
” He started playing on the bluffs near the park a few days before it was completely blocked off , hopping a small fence to reach a space that , he said , had a “ majestic Scotland feel ” — and where it was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the tall chain-link fence went up around the whole expanse , he found an open crevice near the bathrooms where he could squeeze in and quickly play , with the ocean and the closed , empty beaches visible just beyond the barrier .
It feels , he said , like an act of defiance to create something beautiful in the face of such sadness and uncertainty .
He chose “ Amazing Grace ” because the song , especially on the bagpipe , captures the emotion of this uncertain time .
’ Twas grace @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and grace my fears relieved .
“ I know lots of people are suffering , ” McGregor said , “ and it ’ s a funerary song , but also a song of rejoicing.
” Every night , he said , there ’ s a magical moment .
The night a woman told him , through a face mask , that her aunt had just died overseas , and because she couldn ’ t travel to attend her funeral , his song had given her solace .
The night a group of Santa @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , asked for a performance , and flashed their lights in gratitude .
“ There ’ s a strong likelihood that someone needs to hear this song , at sunset , ” he said .
“ You can endure a lot of trauma , but if you have trauma without hope , you have despair.
” On a recent night , McGregor bolted across traffic on Ocean Avenue and slipped into his playing space .
His neighbor , Theresa Karaniko , followed and stood behind him , listening to him play for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ worry , I ’ m six feet away !
” she said , wearing a face mask , her eyes smiling but her mouth not visible .
Just as the sun started to dip , he took a deep breath and started to play .
Through many dangers , toils and snares , we have already come .
’ Twas grace that brought us safe thus far , and grace will lead us home .
The final note hung in the air .
Across the street , the apartment dwellers of Ocean Towers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
McGregor stepped back out to the street , did a quick bow for them , and hustled home .

Palisades Park sits, these days, behind a chain-link fence, courtesy of a pandemic that makes anyplace too tempting for the masses a potentially dangerous place.
With its palm trees, its walking paths, its stunning views of the Pacific, the Santa Monica park has been deserted for weeks.
But each night, a kilted bagpiper slips into a narrow nook in the fencing, turns toward the west, and, just as the sun appears to slip beneath the waves, breaks the silence with a melancholy melody: “Amazing Grace.”
Advertisement
Amazing grace! How sweet the sound. That saved a wretch like me.
The legato notes echo in the empty space.
Andrew McGregor, 40, has been serenading the park alone for about two months, since just before stay-at-home orders were issued and public life in California ground to a halt because of the novel coronavirus. He lives down the street, and he’s at the park every night.
McGregor walks fast from his apartment to the park, not stopping to talk with passersby because he wants to maintain social distance.
Andrew McGregor, at the corner of San Vicente Boulevard and Ocean Avenue, makes his way to Palisades Park on Friday. (Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times)
But it’s hard to miss him. He stands about 6 feet 10, and he’s dressed in a red-and-green plaid kilt and vest and knee-high woolen socks with a sgian-dubh, a small ceremonial dagger worn as part of traditional Scottish Highland dress, tucked inside. Because of the virus, he wears a blue, gold and white cloth face mask.
McGregor has an eclectic resume: filmmaker, chessboxer, magician, artist, robotics developer. The pandemic put a halt to all of that.
Advertisement
“This is the first time in my life that I’ve known despair,” McGregor said. “Despair — to use a Southern California surfing analogy — you can ride the wave of it, or it can crush you. Sometimes, it’ll do both in the same day.”
He started playing on the bluffs near the park a few days before it was completely blocked off, hopping a small fence to reach a space that, he said, had a “majestic Scotland feel” — and where it was difficult for crowds to gather.
When the tall chain-link fence went up around the whole expanse, he found an open crevice near the bathrooms where he could squeeze in and quickly play, with the ocean and the closed, empty beaches visible just beyond the barrier.
It feels, he said, like an act of defiance to create something beautiful in the face of such sadness and uncertainty.
Andrew McGregor found a spot where he could stand inside the fence at Palisades Park for a view of the sunset during his performance. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
He chose “Amazing Grace” because the song, especially on the bagpipe, captures the emotion of this uncertain time.
’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved.
“I know lots of people are suffering,” McGregor said, “and it’s a funerary song, but also a song of rejoicing.”
Every night, he said, there’s a magical moment.
The night a woman told him, through a face mask, that her aunt had just died overseas, and because she couldn’t travel to attend her funeral, his song had given her solace. The night a group of Santa Monica firefighters pulled in on a firetruck, asked for a performance, and flashed their lights in gratitude.
“There’s a strong likelihood that someone needs to hear this song, at sunset,” he said.
“You can endure a lot of trauma, but if you have trauma without hope, you have despair.”
On a recent night, McGregor bolted across traffic on Ocean Avenue and slipped into his playing space. His neighbor, Theresa Karaniko, followed and stood behind him, listening to him play for the first time.
“Don’t worry, I’m six feet away!” she said, wearing a face mask, her eyes smiling but her mouth not visible.
Just as the sun started to dip, he took a deep breath and started to play.
Through many dangers, toils and snares, we have already come. ’Twas grace that brought us safe thus far, and grace will lead us home.
The final note hung in the air. Across the street, the apartment dwellers of Ocean Towers, clapped and cheered from their balconies.
McGregor stepped back out to the street, did a quick bow for them, and hustled home.


latimes--2020-05-10--Even as stay-at-home orders ease, protesters say it's not enough

Even as the first weekend of relaxed coronavirus restrictions in California brought people back out to hiking trails , parks and beaches , some protesters took to the streets to argue it wasn ’ t enough .
The changes in restrictions come amid new reminders that the virus is still a major threat .
Los Angeles County public health officials on Saturday reported 1,011 new coronavirus cases and 44 related deaths , pushing the total number of virus-related deaths to more than 1,500 .
Officials say it ’ s crucial to continue practicing physical distancing and frequent handwashing , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ underlying health conditions should continue to stay home .
“ If you are out and about this weekend , please take every precaution since any one of us , even if we are not sick , could be infected with COVID-19 and capable of infecting others , ” Ferrer said Saturday .
That includes staying six feet away from others and wearing a face covering if others are near you , she said .
“ These actions are critically important , ” Ferrer said , “ as we begin the journey of recovery @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ourselves with large increases in hospitalizations and deaths that would require us to reinstitute restrictions.
” An estimated 1,500 demonstrators turned up Saturday in Huntington Beach , city police spokeswoman Angela Bennett said .
They called for both the state and the nation to fully reopen — both economically and socially — and protested precautions that were implemented to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus .
Some demonstrators danced to songs such as Bob Marley ’ s “ Get Up Stand Up ” and Twisted Sister ’ s “ We ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ front of the pier .
Jay Smith of Tustin said this was the second time he had come to Huntington Beach for a protest .
He was motivated to do so because , he said , 1st Amendment freedoms were being taken away .
He brought his three children , and one of his daughters held up a sign that drew attention to the freedoms of religion , speech and the press , as well as the rights to assembly and to petition the government for a redress of grievances .
Smith indicated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ open churches .
“ We hope , first of all , the churches get opened because the pastors need to be the leaders in America , that talk about not only our freedoms in America , but our freedoms from sin , ” Smith said .
“ There ’ s a worse virus that ’ s out there right now most people don ’ t know about , and that virus is a virus of sin , that will kill people not only physically but eternally .
“ These pastors need to open @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pastors are what helped start America , and they need to be leaders now again.
” Chris Young of Lakewood also said he wanted to return to church .
“ I can ’ t go to church right now , ” Young said , “ and I go to church every Sunday .
I worship there , and I can ’ t go right now , so it ’ s kind of hard for that.
” Meanwhile , parks , trails and golf course saw people return enthusiastically .
The reopening of Griffith @ @ @ @ @ @ @ come soon enough for Hector Cervantes , a 35-year-old machinist and avid hiker , who said , “ After three months at home in lockdown , I was starting to feel like a slave in a prison run by dangerous germs .
“ To finally be outdoors again , ” he added , walking along a shady stretch of Vermont Avenue crowded with fellow hikers , “ is like being set free.
” Though trails are open , roads into Griffith Park remained closed to traffic .
Nearby , Porsche O ’ Neil @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Disney Studios in Burbank , was enjoying a seven-mile hike .
He had seen two deer in a glade of oak trees where acorn woodpeckers flitted among the branches .
“ Those deer were happy , beautiful and eating without a care in the world , ” she said .
“ And hikers were respectful .
Everyone oohed and aahed from a respectful distance .
Nobody rushed toward them with cameras .
It ’ s been that kind of a wonderful day .
”

Alex Wigglesworth, Louis Sahagun, Andrew Turner

Wally Thomas of Lake Forest, center, and Denean MacAndrew of Mission Viejo protest at Pier Plaza in Huntington Beach on Saturday.
Even as the first weekend of relaxed coronavirus restrictions in California brought people back out to hiking trails, parks and beaches, some protesters took to the streets to argue it wasn’t enough.
The changes in restrictions come amid new reminders that the virus is still a major threat.
Los Angeles County public health officials on Saturday reported 1,011 new coronavirus cases and 44 related deaths, pushing the total number of virus-related deaths to more than 1,500.
Advertisement
Officials say it’s crucial to continue practicing physical distancing and frequent handwashing, and that those who are older or have underlying health conditions should continue to stay home.
“If you are out and about this weekend, please take every precaution since any one of us, even if we are not sick, could be infected with COVID-19 and capable of infecting others,” Ferrer said Saturday.
That includes staying six feet away from others and wearing a face covering if others are near you, she said.
“These actions are critically important,” Ferrer said, “as we begin the journey of recovery so that we don’t find ourselves with large increases in hospitalizations and deaths that would require us to reinstitute restrictions.”
An estimated 1,500 demonstrators turned up Saturday in Huntington Beach, city police spokeswoman Angela Bennett said. They called for both the state and the nation to fully reopen — both economically and socially — and protested precautions that were implemented to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Some demonstrators danced to songs such as Bob Marley’s “Get Up Stand Up” and Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It” in front of the pier.
Advertisement
Jay Smith of Tustin said this was the second time he had come to Huntington Beach for a protest. He was motivated to do so because, he said, 1st Amendment freedoms were being taken away.
He brought his three children, and one of his daughters held up a sign that drew attention to the freedoms of religion, speech and the press, as well as the rights to assembly and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Smith indicated that a priority for him was to open churches.
“We hope, first of all, the churches get opened because the pastors need to be the leaders in America, that talk about not only our freedoms in America, but our freedoms from sin,” Smith said. “There’s a worse virus that’s out there right now most people don’t know about, and that virus is a virus of sin, that will kill people not only physically but eternally.
“These pastors need to open up the churches and be bold. Pastors are what helped start America, and they need to be leaders now again.”
Chris Young of Lakewood also said he wanted to return to church. “I can’t go to church right now,” Young said, “and I go to church every Sunday. I worship there, and I can’t go right now, so it’s kind of hard for that.”
Meanwhile, parks, trails and golf course saw people return enthusiastically.
The reopening of Griffith Park’s trails Saturday could not come soon enough for Hector Cervantes, a 35-year-old machinist and avid hiker, who said, “After three months at home in lockdown, I was starting to feel like a slave in a prison run by dangerous germs.
“To finally be outdoors again,” he added, walking along a shady stretch of Vermont Avenue crowded with fellow hikers, “is like being set free.” Though trails are open, roads into Griffith Park remained closed to traffic.
Nearby, Porsche O’Neil, 63, an executive at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, was enjoying a seven-mile hike. He had seen two deer in a glade of oak trees where acorn woodpeckers flitted among the branches.
“Those deer were happy, beautiful and eating without a care in the world,” she said. “And hikers were respectful. Everyone oohed and aahed from a respectful distance. Nobody rushed toward them with cameras. It’s been that kind of a wonderful day.”