latimes--2020-06-26--Drive-through graduation ceremonies are the rite of passage in the coronavirus era

Graduation is not quite the same this year .
At high school and college processions , the annual rite is @ @ @ @ @ the time of the coronavirus .
COVID versions of commencements were on display recently from @ @ @ @ @ Beach to San Gabriel Valley ’ s Rowland High to charter schools and historic Fairfax @ @ @ @ @ the scramble for tickets and fighting long lines , and instead they are celebrating with @ @ @ @ @ .
Diplomas are handed out from a safe distance , handshakes are gone , air @ @ @ @ @ and graduation parties are put on hold as the Class of 2020 celebrates in new @ @ @ @

Graduation is not quite the same this year.
At high school and college processions, the annual rite is now done by car in the time of the coronavirus.
COVID versions of commencements were on display recently from Mira Costa High in Manhattan Beach to San Gabriel Valley’s Rowland High to charter schools and historic Fairfax High.
Parents are foregoing the scramble for tickets and fighting long lines, and instead they are celebrating with drive-through graduations and distanced gift-giving. Diplomas are handed out from a safe distance, handshakes are gone, air hugs are the norm, and graduation parties are put on hold as the Class of 2020 celebrates in new and various ways.
Mira Costa High School
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Mira Costa High grads celebrate with family and friends along the Strand in Manhattan Beach.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
The Strand celebration continues for Mira Costa High’s Class of 2020. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
The Mira Costa High commencement procession moves along the Strand in Manhattan Beach. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Mira Costa High graduates Sophia Strauss, left, and Sarah Hoffmeister, both 17, celebrate on the beach.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Rowland High School
Rowland High graduate Kloei Amper, 18, puts on her mask before receiving her diploma in a drive-through ceremony in Rowland Heights. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
From left, Rowland High grad Nastasya Billesbach, 18, celebrates with grandmother Mimi Yang, aunt Wendy Wu and mother Stacy Wu after receiving her diploma in a drive-through ceremony.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
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Michael Flores, 18, walks alongside his family’s car at the drive-through commencement. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
Fairfax High School
Fairfax High grad Calixte Beohourou, 18, at a drive-through ceremony.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Fairfax High grad Jordan Reed, 18, gets a congratulatory fist bump.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Jaimy Lujan, 18, holds her diploma and a bouquet of roses after the commencement. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Addam Saavedra, 19, left, and Jordan Reed, 18, pose for a graduation photo. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
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Chaffey College
Melissa Gomes helps Chaffey College grad Sarah Anggraini prepare for a photo in Rancho Cucamonga.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Jessica Reyes during Chaffey College’s drive-through commencement. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Sarah Anggraini tosses her graduation cap at the Chaffey College ceremony.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Grads James Jarvoe, in passenger’s seat, and Emily Van Riel receive their “grad bags” from faculty member Myra Andrade at the Chaffey College commencement. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Riverside Poly High School
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Emily Rose McCorkle cheers for a fellow graduate during the ceremony at Poly High School in Riverside. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Ethan Kyle McDonald celebrates in the Poly High School parking lot in Riverside. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Poly High grad Jacob McBride’s godmother, Rosann Rozzi, and father, Chris McBride, ride along during the drive-through ceremony.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Compton Early College High School
Compton Early College High School teacher Kimberly Ponce puts Janiya Gray’s cap in place before a drive-through commencement held at Compton Community College.
(Gabriella Angotti-Jones / Los Angeles Times)
A balloon-carrying family member waits in line during the Compton Early College High School graduation ceremony.
(Gabriella Angotti-Jones / Los Angeles Times)
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Evelyn Favela chooses a lei at her graduation ceremony.
(Gabriella Angotti-Jones / Los Angeles Times)
New West Charter School
New West Charter School grad Kate Zamos receives her diploma from Vice Principal Mark Herrera at a drive-through commencement in Los Angeles.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Vice Principal Mark Herrera exults as graduate Joe Reid, 17, arrives in his vehicle.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Naomi Shacham receives her diploma from Principal Sharon Weir.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Venice High School
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Venice High graduate Joseph Silva, 18, rides in his family’s Cadillac for his drive-through commencement.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Venice High graduate Hiromi Maeda, 18, sends an air hug to a teacher during her commencement.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Venice High School graduate Nathan Reyes, 18, waves to faculty during the ceremony. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Ana Martinez, 17, prepares for a photo at her graduation ceremony. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)


latimes--2020-06-26--California program to assist immigrants affected by coronavirus continues to be plagued by delays

Two months after Gov .
Gavin Newsom pledged money to help as many as 150,000 immigrants without legal status who have lost work or wages during the coronavirus crisis , fewer than half that number have received the $ 500 payments , officials say as the program nears its original end date .
The state deadline to apply for the funds is Tuesday and only 69,000 debit cards providing the cash have been issued as of Thursday .
In all , about $ 33 million has been paid out from a total of $ 75 million allocated by Newsom , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for immigrants have also called on the state to extend the deadline to help workers who have been out of work for months .
The slow progress in handing out the money already approved has left many Californians , whose immigration status makes them ineligible for regular state unemployment benefits , without help while being out of work for months , said Kim Ouillette , an attorney for the group Legal Aid at Work , which helps immigrants .
“ It ’ s hard to overstate how extreme it has been , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about workers who are rationing food for themselves and their children to get by , people who have lost housing.
” Advocates for immigrants said 12 nonprofit groups tasked with processing applications and distributing millions of dollars have made herculean efforts though they lack the bandwidth to handle such a large and complicated program .
As a result , many immigrants have been stymied by jammed phone lines when they tried to call the groups , which the state contracted with to hand out debit cards .
When they did get through , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ proof of their qualification for the funds to be verified by the nonprofits , which can further delay payments .
“ The nonprofits have never done this before and are building their capacity to answer the phone calls and process those claims , ” said state Sen. María Elena Durazo ( D-Los Angeles ) , who called for the state to give the organizations more time to complete the work .
Newsom was asked this week about the mixed record of various coronavirus-related aid programs , including the one providing assistance to immigrants @ @ @ @ @ @ @ under very challenging circumstances , ” he told reporters during a news conference Monday .
State officials said they are confident that all $ 75 million will eventually be distributed .
“ We expect that all applications will be submitted to nonprofits by June 30 , ” said Scott Murray , a spokesman for the state Department of Social Services , which is administering the program .
“ We expect some additional time beyond June 30 for nonprofits to finish processing the remaining applications and distribute the remaining prepaid cards.
” About 134,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some 86,000 have been approved , Murray said .
The rest have yet to be processed , and few — only five in Los Angeles and Orange counties — have been rejected , according to representatives of nonprofits operating in the area .
Murray said it was important for the nonprofits to distribute the money because they are trusted in the immigrant community , in which concerns have been raised about the confidentiality of personal information at a time of stepped-up immigration enforcement by the federal government .
“ We appreciate the public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hard to process , verify and approve applications as quickly as possible , ” Murray said .
One of the biggest state contracts is with the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights , which was asked to distribute 36,500 debit cards in Los Angeles and Orange counties .
The group has 27,015 completed applications and has sent out payments to about 10,000 people , Executive Director Angelica Salas said .
The coalition has gradually improved its response , but learning how to handle such a large program has been like “ flying a plane @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Salas said .
The goal now is to get money to all the applicants by July 15 , she said .
Once an application is filed , a person has five days to submit proof of identity , immigration status and that they have been affected financially by COVID-19 .
It then takes about a week for the nonprofits to review and verify the documentation , said Luis Perez , an attorney for the coalition .
If the documents submitted are incomplete , more is requested , which extends the process .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ takes more time to match the person with a debit card and send it out by certified mail , he said .
The process takes longer than many people thought , Perez said .
“ People are expecting the operation of a credit card company or a bank , ” he said .
“ These are not financial institutions .
We are nonprofits.
” A separate effort has been launched in the private sector .
Newsom announced in April that the nonprofit Grantmakers Concerned With Immigrants and Refugees would raise an additional $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ status who have been affected by coronavirus .
So far , the group has received pledges from charitable partners for $ 39.7 million and has disbursed nearly $ 10 million of that money , with $ 7.5 million more going out this week , a representative said .
Even if the state provides one-time checks to 150,000 immigrants , it will not be enough to cover all living expenses , so Durazo and more than a dozen other legislators have called for Newsom to provide an additional $ 400 per week for eight @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is not enough to sustain a family , pay rent and provide for other household expenses.
” The proposal for the expanded program was not included in the state budget plan agreed to by Newsom and Democratic legislative leaders , but supporters hope to revisit the issue in the coming weeks .
“ The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented need to bring real dollars to our communities that have contributed to the state but have been left behind without access to a safety net , ” Assemblyman Ash Kalra ( D-San Jose @ @ @ @ @ @ @ intentions , this program needs to be followed by more investment and continuous aid for immigrants .
”

Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed in April to provide one-time checks of $500 to 150,000 immigrants who lack legal status, but so far 73,000 people have received payments.
Two months after Gov. Gavin Newsom pledged money to help as many as 150,000 immigrants without legal status who have lost work or wages during the coronavirus crisis, fewer than half that number have received the $500 payments, officials say as the program nears its original end date.
The state deadline to apply for the funds is Tuesday and only 73,000 debit cards providing the cash have been issued as of Friday. In all, about $36 million has been paid out from a total of $75 million allocated by Newsom, officials said.
State lawmakers and advocates for immigrants have also called on the state to extend the deadline to help workers who have been out of work for months.
The slow progress in handing out the money already approved has left many Californians, whose immigration status makes them ineligible for regular state unemployment benefits, without help while being out of work for months, said Kim Ouillette, an attorney for the group Legal Aid at Work, which helps immigrants.
“It’s hard to overstate how extreme it has been,” Ouillette said. “We have heard about workers who are rationing food for themselves and their children to get by, people who have lost housing.”
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Advocates for immigrants said 12 nonprofit groups tasked with processing applications and distributing millions of dollars have made herculean efforts, though they lack the bandwidth to handle such a large and complicated program.
As a result, many immigrants have been stymied by jammed phone lines when they tried to call the groups, which the state contracted to hand out debit cards. When they did get through, those seeking help were required to provide proof of their qualification for the funds to be verified by the nonprofits, which can further delay payments.
“The nonprofits have never done this before and are building their capacity to answer the phone calls and process those claims,” said state Sen. María Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles), who called for the state to give the organizations more time to complete the work.
Newsom was asked this week about the mixed record of various coronavirus-related aid programs, including the one providing assistance to immigrants.
“We are doing our best under very challenging circumstances,” he told reporters during a news conference Monday.
State officials said they are confident that all $75 million will eventually be distributed.
“We expect that all applications will be submitted to nonprofits by June 30,” said Scott Murray, a spokesman for the state Department of Social Services, which is administering the program. “We expect some additional time beyond June 30 for nonprofits to finish processing the remaining applications and distribute the remaining prepaid cards.”
About 140,000 applications have been submitted, of which some 90,000 have been approved, Murray said Friday. The rest have yet to be processed, and few — only five in Los Angeles and Orange counties — have been rejected, according to representatives of nonprofits operating in the area.
Murray said it was important for the nonprofits to distribute the money because they are trusted in the immigrant community, in which concerns have been raised about the confidentiality of personal information at a time of stepped-up immigration enforcement by the federal government.
Advertisement
“We appreciate the public’s patience as nonprofits are working hard to process, verify and approve applications as quickly as possible,” Murray said.
One of the biggest state contracts is with the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, which was asked to distribute 36,500 debit cards in Los Angeles and Orange counties. The group has 27,015 completed applications and has sent payments to about 10,000 people, Executive Director Angelica Salas said.
The coalition has gradually improved its response, but learning how to handle such a large program has been like “flying a plane even as you are building it,” Salas said.
The goal now is to get money to all the applicants by July 15, she said.
Once an application is filed, a person has five days to submit proof of identity, immigration status and that they have been affected financially by COVID-19. It then takes about a week for the nonprofits to review and verify the documentation, said Luis Perez, an attorney for the coalition. If the documents submitted are incomplete, more is requested, which extends the process.
Once an application is approved, it takes more time to match the person with a debit card and send it out by certified mail, he said.
The process takes longer than many people thought, Perez said.
“People are expecting the operation of a credit card company or a bank,” he said. “These are not financial institutions. We are nonprofits.”
A separate effort has been launched in the private sector. Newsom announced in April that the nonprofit Grantmakers Concerned With Immigrants and Refugees would raise an additional $50 million to help immigrants without legal status who have been affected by the coronavirus crisis. So far, the group has received pledges from charitable partners for $39.7 million and has disbursed nearly $10 million of that money, with $7.5 million more going out this week, a representative said.
Even if the state provides one-time checks to 150,000 immigrants, it will not be enough to cover all living expenses, so Durazo and more than a dozen other legislators have called for Newsom to provide an additional $400 per week for eight weeks.
Durazo said $500 “is not enough to sustain a family, pay rent and provide for other household expenses.”
The proposal for the expanded program was not included in the state budget plan agreed to by Newsom and Democratic legislative leaders, but supporters hope to revisit the issue in the coming weeks.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented need to bring real dollars to our communities that have contributed to the state but have been left behind without access to a safety net,” Assemblyman Ash Kalra (D-San Jose) said. “Despite the best intentions, this program needs to be followed by more investment and continuous aid for immigrants.”


latimes--2020-06-26--Despite alarming California coronavirus spike, don't expect stay-at-home orders to quickly return

Despite an alarming spike in both coronavirus cases and hospitalizations , California health officials appear to have little appetite at least right now for a widespread retreat from reopening of the economy .
Over the last few weeks , California has seen itself go from coronavirus success story to cautionary tale as COVID-19 cases hit new record daily highs and the number of people getting sick enough to require hospitalization spiked .
The increases came as the state permitted stay-at-home rules to be lifted by counties at an increasingly rapid pace and allowed a myriad of businesses as well as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ California ’ s first-in-the-nation stay-at-home order is widely credited with helping prevent the massive death tolls seen in places like New York and New Jersey .
But now , some are wondering whether California reopened too soon .
It ’ s still probably too early to definitively answer that question .
Yet even some of the strongest advocates of stay-at-home orders in local government — the health officials of the San Francisco Bay Area , who crafted the nation ’ s first regional shelter-in-place order — say progress needs to be made in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they argue the economic repercussions of stay-at-home orders are unsustainable for the long haul , and are devastating on their own .
Even before officials began easing the rules , there was evidence people were getting back to their old routines , often without the social distancing and other safety rules experts say is crucial .
“ For many people , this is not sustainable , ” said Dr. Grant Colfax , San Francisco ’ s director of public health .
“ There ’ s a balance here , and we ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ right.
” Newsom and others have said some of the reopening rules will be tweaked in individual counties based on how serious the coronavirus situation gets , but those decisions would be targeted and made locally , not on a statewide basis .
Even Dr. Anthony Fauci , the U.S. government ’ s top infectious disease expert , said a sudden return to stay-at-home is not the right solution .
“ You don ’ t really need to go back to lockdown , ” Fauci told the Sacramento Press Club this week .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ‘ Wait a minute .
We ’ re starting to open and things aren ’ t going right .
What do we need to do to correct that ?
’ ” California has seen two days of record-breaking daily coronavirus case tallies this week , with the cumulative total passing 200,000 Thursday .
California has also seen a 32 % increase in hospitalizations of patients with confirmed COVID-19 disease , and a 19 % jump in ICU patients with verified infections , over the past 14 days .
The rate at which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the rise .
On Thursday , 5.6 % of coronavirus test results were positive on average over the previous seven days ; a week earlier , 4.6 % were coming back positive for the virus , according to a Los Angeles Times analysis .
Newsom last week ordered all Californians to wear masks when in public places .
He has defended his reopening strategy , emphasizing that the plan was never to be “ in a permanent state of shutdown.
” “ When you have people that are struggling and suffering with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , when people are not attending to their physical and emotional needs , those social determinants of health also must be considered , ” Newsom said last week .
“ We have to recognize you can ’ t be in a permanent state where people are locked away — for months and months and months and months on end — to see lives and livelihoods completely destroyed , without considering the health impact of those decisions as well.
” Because it may take years until an effective vaccine is widely available , some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ periods of stricter social distancing interspersed with periods of loosening — ensuring that only a fraction of the population is infected with the coronavirus at any one time .
And some say a gradual reopening should be done in the summer so officials can figure out what works and what needs to be tweaked before the seasonal flu virus re-emerges in the fall .
Reopening schools is particularly important if it can be done safely , experts say , warning of dangerous long-term effects for children if classes don ’ t resume .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ is but one of many things to consider when going about the business of living , ” Dr. Scott Morrow , health officer for San Mateo County , wrote recently .
“ As we go through time with this pandemic , the balance needs to shift .
In considering the educational , emotional , and developmental needs of children , I believe the balance shifts in that direction.
” “ Early childhood experiences and early education sets the trajectory of your life .
A lower educational experience ... is almost impossible to recover @ @ @ @ @ @ @ remains some debate among health officials about whether the reopening happened too quickly .
“ In retrospect , I think we can say it happened a little sooner than it should have , ” Dr. Sara Cody , the health officer for Silicon Valley , said of the reopening at the Sacramento Press Club .
“ But at the same time , it is understandable , because I think that we are all collectively grieving for the life that we don ’ t have anymore and desperately want to get back to it.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ is reopening safely , and getting more people and businesses to follow safety practices released in recent weeks .
“ Lives versus livelihoods is … a false choice , ” Cody said .
“ It ’ s really about layering various prevention strategies , and trying as best as we can to stay true to each of them.
” There are a number of reasons why experts suspect that a return to a springtime stay-at-home order is not needed in California , based on what ’ s known right now .
For one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus and the way it spreads .
California officials have spent months coming up with detailed documents outlining dramatically new ways in which businesses must operate until a vaccine is widely available .
In Los Angeles County , for instance , officials are requiring office workers to wear cloth face coverings during the workday when likely to come into contact with others .
Elevator capacity is generally restricted to keep six feet of distance between other riders or , when not possible , a maximum of four individuals .
Gyms must keep occupancy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ machines have to be at least six feet apart .
Churches are also at reduced capacity and have been instructed to eliminate in-person singing and self-service food and beverages .
Public adherence to California ’ s statewide mask order will also help , as well as heeding advice on limiting people ’ s interactions with others outside their household .
Although broad majorities said they supported the stay-at-home order — 82 % of respondents in L.A. backed it in a survey taken in early May , according to the U.S. Centers for Disease @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a desire by some people for a faster reopening .
Some became frustrated by an initial lack of a reopening timetable .
In California , more than 1,200 pastors threatened to defy Newsom ’ s stay-at-home order that had kept churches shut .
But before the services could be held on May 31 , Newsom quickly issued new orders on Memorial Day explaining how counties could allow churches to open , albeit with caps on attendance .
If people are determined to do activities that put their health at greater risk , then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on how to reduce that risk , health experts say .
“ We noticed that there was increased polarization in the country between public health people saying , ‘ Don ’ t go to the beaches ’ or ‘ don ’ t go to church , ’ and people saying , ‘ well , we ’ ve had it ... and we just want to go and reclaim the life that we had , ’ ” said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong , a UC San Francisco infectious disease specialist .
“ Our approach was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Chin-Hong said .
Being dogmatic and insisting on staying at home longer was not tenable .
“ The more you tell somebody , ‘ don ’ t do something , ’ the more they ’ re going to do it , ” Chin-Hong said .
“ We ’ re going to be living with this virus for a long time , ” said Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo , chair of UC San Francisco ’ s Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics .
“ We can ’ t be ‘ opened ’ or ‘ closed.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ be more clear that there are some things that have higher risks , some things that have lower risk … and then to move forward toward opening up.
” Health officials also say there are public health consequences if the economy remains severely depressed .
“ We know that poverty and economic turmoil have a devastating impact on the health of individuals and communities , ” Dr. Christina Ghaly , L.A. County ’ s director of health services , said .
“ Over time , poverty itself causes injury .
It causes illness @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
... Reopening is just as important for the health of our society as closing was.
” California ’ s unemployment rate in May was 16.3 % , quadruple what it was a year earlier ; Los Angeles County reported a 20.6 % unemployment rate in May .
Fauci said he thinks California ’ s reopening strategy is sound , with what he describes as “ little bits of surges at the community level ” being observed .
But Fauci added he was concerned that members of the public — particularly younger adults @ @ @ @ @ @ @ significant vector for spreading disease — think reopening means no restrictions , in which people are seen in public not wearing masks and in crowded areas .
“ I don ’ t think it ’ s anything that the state of California is doing wrong , ” Fauci said .
“ It ’ s what the response of the people are to what the opening process is.
” Lin reported from San Francisco , Greene from Thousand Oaks .
Times staff writer Phil Willon contributed to this report .

Morgan Eales posts new signs of opening at Ventura Coast Brewing Company in downtown Ventura on May 21.
Despite an alarming spike in both coronavirus cases and hospitalizations, California health officials appear to have little appetite at least right now for a widespread retreat from reopening of the economy.
Over the last few weeks, California has seen itself go from coronavirus success story to cautionary tale as COVID-19 cases hit new record daily highs and the number of people getting sick enough to require hospitalization spiked.
The increases came as the state permitted stay-at-home rules to be lifted by counties at an increasingly rapid pace and allowed a myriad of businesses as well as churches and other institutions to reopen.
Advertisement
California’s first-in-the-nation stay-at-home order is widely credited with helping prevent the massive death tolls seen in places like New York and New Jersey. But now, some are wondering whether California reopened too soon.
It’s still probably too early to definitively answer that question. Yet even some of the strongest advocates of stay-at-home orders in local government — the health officials of the San Francisco Bay Area, who crafted the nation’s first regional shelter-in-place order — say progress needs to be made in reopening society.
For one thing, they argue the economic repercussions of stay-at-home orders are unsustainable for the long haul, and are devastating on their own. Even before officials began easing the rules, there was evidence people were getting back to their old routines, often without the social distancing and other safety rules experts say is crucial.
“For many people, this is not sustainable,” said Dr. Grant Colfax, San Francisco’s director of public health. “There’s a balance here, and we’re going to try and get that balance right.”
Newsom and others have said some of the reopening rules will be tweaked in individual counties based on how serious the coronavirus situation gets, but those decisions would be targeted and made locally, not on a statewide basis.
Even Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government’s top infectious disease expert, said a sudden return to stay-at-home is not the right solution.
Advertisement
“You don’t really need to go back to lockdown,” Fauci told the Sacramento Press Club this week. “You need to pause and say, ‘Wait a minute. We’re starting to open and things aren’t going right. What do we need to do to correct that?’”
California has seen two days of record-breaking daily coronavirus case tallies this week, with the cumulative total passing 200,000 Thursday. California has also seen a 32% increase in hospitalizations of patients with confirmed COVID-19 disease, and a 19% jump in ICU patients with verified infections, over the past 14 days.
The rate at which coronavirus tests are confirming infections is also on the rise. On Thursday, 5.6% of coronavirus test results were positive on average over the previous seven days; a week earlier, 4.6% were coming back positive for the virus, according to a Los Angeles Times analysis.
Newsom last week ordered all Californians to wear masks when in public places. He has defended his reopening strategy, emphasizing that the plan was never to be “in a permanent state of shutdown.”
“When you have people that are struggling and suffering with severe mental health and brain health issues, when people are not attending to their physical and emotional needs, those social determinants of health also must be considered,” Newsom said last week. “We have to recognize you can’t be in a permanent state where people are locked away — for months and months and months and months on end — to see lives and livelihoods completely destroyed, without considering the health impact of those decisions as well.”
Because it may take years until an effective vaccine is widely available, some health experts have said we may need periods of stricter social distancing interspersed with periods of loosening — ensuring that only a fraction of the population is infected with the coronavirus at any one time.
And some say a gradual reopening should be done in the summer so officials can figure out what works and what needs to be tweaked before the seasonal flu virus re-emerges in the fall.
Reopening schools is particularly important if it can be done safely, experts say, warning of dangerous long-term effects for children if classes don’t resume.
“Slowing the spread of the virus is but one of many things to consider when going about the business of living,” Dr. Scott Morrow, health officer for San Mateo County, wrote recently. “As we go through time with this pandemic, the balance needs to shift. In considering the educational, emotional, and developmental needs of children, I believe the balance shifts in that direction.”
“Early childhood experiences and early education sets the trajectory of your life. A lower educational experience ... is almost impossible to recover from,” Morrow said.
There remains some debate among health officials about whether the reopening happened too quickly.
“In retrospect, I think we can say it happened a little sooner than it should have,” Dr. Sara Cody, the health officer for Silicon Valley, said of the reopening at the Sacramento Press Club. “But at the same time, it is understandable, because I think that we are all collectively grieving for the life that we don’t have anymore and desperately want to get back to it.”
She said the focus right now is reopening safely, and getting more people and businesses to follow safety practices released in recent weeks.
“Lives versus livelihoods is … a false choice,” Cody said. “It’s really about layering various prevention strategies, and trying as best as we can to stay true to each of them.”
There are a number of reasons why experts suspect that a return to a springtime stay-at-home order is not needed in California, based on what’s known right now.
For one, far more is known about the coronavirus and the way it spreads. California officials have spent months coming up with detailed documents outlining dramatically new ways in which businesses must operate until a vaccine is widely available.
In Los Angeles County, for instance, officials are requiring office workers to wear cloth face coverings during the workday when likely to come into contact with others. Elevator capacity is generally restricted to keep six feet of distance between other riders or, when not possible, a maximum of four individuals.
Gyms must keep occupancy at 50% or less, and machines have to be at least six feet apart. Churches are also at reduced capacity and have been instructed to eliminate in-person singing and self-service food and beverages.
Public adherence to California’s statewide mask order will also help, as well as heeding advice on limiting people’s interactions with others outside their household.
Although broad majorities said they supported the stay-at-home order — 82% of respondents in L.A. backed it in a survey taken in early May, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — there was also a desire by some people for a faster reopening.
Some became frustrated by an initial lack of a reopening timetable. In California, more than 1,200 pastors threatened to defy Newsom’s stay-at-home order that had kept churches shut. But before the services could be held on May 31, Newsom quickly issued new orders on Memorial Day explaining how counties could allow churches to open, albeit with caps on attendance.
If people are determined to do activities that put their health at greater risk, then it’s important to offer tools on how to reduce that risk, health experts say.
“We noticed that there was increased polarization in the country between public health people saying, ‘Don’t go to the beaches’ or ‘don’t go to church,’ and people saying, ‘well, we’ve had it ... and we just want to go and reclaim the life that we had,’” said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, a UC San Francisco infectious disease specialist.
“Our approach was to meet people where they were,” Chin-Hong said. Being dogmatic and insisting on staying at home longer was not tenable. “The more you tell somebody, ‘don’t do something,’ the more they’re going to do it,” Chin-Hong said.
“We’re going to be living with this virus for a long time,” said Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, chair of UC San Francisco’s Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. “We can’t be ‘opened’ or ‘closed.’ What we have to do is be more clear that there are some things that have higher risks, some things that have lower risk … and then to move forward toward opening up.”
Health officials also say there are public health consequences if the economy remains severely depressed.
“We know that poverty and economic turmoil have a devastating impact on the health of individuals and communities,” Dr. Christina Ghaly, L.A. County’s director of health services, said. “Over time, poverty itself causes injury. It causes illness. It causes premature mortality and death. ... Reopening is just as important for the health of our society as closing was.”
California’s unemployment rate in May was 16.3%, quadruple what it was a year earlier; Los Angeles County reported a 20.6% unemployment rate in May.
Fauci said he thinks California’s reopening strategy is sound, with what he describes as “little bits of surges at the community level” being observed. But Fauci added he was concerned that members of the public — particularly younger adults, who are now seen as a significant vector for spreading disease — think reopening means no restrictions, in which people are seen in public not wearing masks and in crowded areas.
“I don’t think it’s anything that the state of California is doing wrong,” Fauci said. “It’s what the response of the people are to what the opening process is.”
Lin reported from San Francisco, Greene from Thousand Oaks. Times staff writer Phil Willon contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-06-26--California confronts its racist past as tributes to Confederates and colonizers fall

Across California , the massive antiracism protests that have followed the police killing of George Floyd have led to an unprecedented reckoning with public symbols of slavery and oppression .
This month , statues have been toppled .
Mascots have been changed .
A coastal town ’ s Confederate-linked name has been reconsidered .
At this moment of global outcry against racism , Californians are saying en masse that , for too long , the state ’ s history has been whitewashed , the ugly parts ignored .
Marcus Hunter , chair of African American Studies at UCLA , said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ such great numbers and with less pushback than in years past because white people and others who are not Black are joining the protests and helping pull them down .
He also believes that people being forced to stay home during the pandemic could not ignore Floyd ’ s killing and the movement it sparked .
“ I ’ ve been calling this the great pause , ” Hunter said .
“ It wasn ’ t just a slowdown .
It was 90 days of shelter in place .
Either people are going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s going to remain the same.
” In the Antelope Valley , a high school dropped its Rebels mascot , once depicted as a soldier with a Confederate flag .
In Kings Canyon National Park , the name of the 255-foot Robert E. Lee Tree , a giant sequoia that is one of the world ’ s tallest trees , was removed .
Protesters in San Francisco ’ s Golden Gate Park felled statues of Father Junipero Serra and two slave owners : Francis Scott Key , the writer of “ The Star-Spangled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The name of the Squaw Valley Ski Resort near Lake Tahoe is being reconsidered .
So is Negro Bar State Recreation Area in Sacramento County .
In downtown Los Angeles ’ Father Serra Park , Indigenous activists tied ropes around a statue of the Franciscan friar — his bronze form holding a cross and bearing a model of a Spanish mission — and yanked it off its pedestal .
In Ventura , where protesters unfurled a banner reading “ Father Genocide , ” local officials agreed to remove a Serra statue outside City @ @ @ @ @ @ @ statues of slave-owning presidents .
A statue of George Washington in Portland , Ore. , was covered with a burning American flag and torn down .
Protesters painted the word “ Killer ” on the base of an Andrew Jackson statue near the White House .
President Trump tweeted that he had authorized the federal government to arrest people who deface monuments on federal property and threatened 10 years in prison .
On Wednesday , the Army activated some 400 National Guard troops to protect monuments in the nation ’ s capital .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ would fall so quickly now — amid protests over the death of Floyd , a Black man killed by a white Minneapolis police officer who knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes , and in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic , which has disproportionately killed nonwhite people .
Gary Orfield , director of the Civil Rights Project at UCLA , said the country is “ in the midst of the largest social movement about rights and racial justice in half a century ” and that many of the people Americans have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ The truth is , we do have a racist history , ” Orfield said .
“ We stole all our land from the Indians , we took half of Mexico over , and we kept African Americans in an extreme form of slavery for generations , followed by extreme segregation using the power of law.
” That this is happening now across a state regarded as a symbol of liberal America is not a surprise , said Kevin Waite , a professor at Durham University in England with a focus on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ I think part of the reason that this history is hidden for a lot of Californians is because it doesn ’ t really sit well with the stories we like to tell ourselves about this free state that ’ s now on the leading edge of cosmopolitan liberalism , ” he said .
“ It seems like anybody with an association with colonial rule and slavery is now a target for removal.
” Earlier this month , Quartz Hill High School in the Antelope Valley dropped its long-debated Rebel mascot after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ young Black man , was found hanging from a tree near Palmdale City Hall , 12 miles away .
Authorities quickly labeled Fuller ’ s death a probable suicide , drawing intense criticism from his family and community members who said they did not do enough to determine whether it was a homicide .
The case remains under investigation .
Amid the George Floyd protests , school officials seemed to take years-long efforts to change the mascot more seriously , said Joshua Collier , former president of the Black Student Union , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , said his group ’ s email account has received numerous racist messages in recent days , as well as messages from angry alumni .
“ They have to realize that times do change and the mascot did change and you have to adapt to the change , ” he said .
California has grappled with symbols of past racism and cruelty for years .
In 2009 , officials changed the name of Malibu ’ s Negrohead Mountain ( which was itself a 1960s refinement of the N-word , which formed its original @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a counterprotester was killed during the white supremacist Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville , Va. — planned in part to protest the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue — a six-foot granite monument to Confederate soldiers in Hollywood Forever Cemetery was carted away in the dark of the night .
No state beyond the South has had as many monuments and place names honoring the Confederacy and its soldiers as California , Waite said .
Though it was a Union state far from the major battlefields of the Civil War , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ basically ran the show in Sacramento , ” passing numerous pro-slavery resolutions , Waite said .
Public monuments popped up decades after the war , as part of a movement known as the Lost Cause , a fictitious rewriting of Civil War history that glosses over slavery as its root cause .
The current protest movement is also confronting California ’ s historic cruelty toward Native Americans , with statues of Serra , the architect of the state ’ s mission system , falling and the removal of a statue of John Sutter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Indigenous people , from a Sacramento hospital named after him .
“ People aren ’ t taking things so much as a given part of the landscape anymore , and they ’ re imagining what places would feel like without this assertion of power , this asserting of dominance over certain people , ” said Beth Piatote , a professor of Native American studies at UC Berkeley .
“ Native people , African American people , Asians , immigrants — people are all coming together and saying , ‘ We don ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ space.
’ ” In Fort Bragg , a Mendocino County town of 7,400 named after Confederate army general and slave owner Braxton Bragg , the City Council this week considered several options for its name , including placing a name change on the November ballot or re-dedicating the town to honor another historical Bragg .
On Monday , the Council decided to create an ad hoc committee to discuss next steps but not to put a name change on the ballot .
Fort Bragg was founded in 1857 by Lt. Horatio G. Gibson @ @ @ @ @ @ @ control the Native American population in Mendocino County .
Gibson named it after Bragg , his former commanding officer in the Mexican-American War .
As the story goes , Bragg never set foot in the town .
A recent who resigned his post under pressure halfway through the war after decisive losses and is regarded as an unsuccessful military leader , is subtitled “ The Most Hated Man of the Confederacy.
” The town ’ s name has been challenged before .
In 2015 , after white supremacist Dylann Roof shot and at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ S.C. , the California Legislative Black Caucus asked city leaders to consider a name change .
They declined .
Ryan Bushnell , who started an online petition to keep the name , said he does not want to see it removed as a “ knee-jerk reaction ” to current events .
The name , he said , ideally could be used to teach the history of the area .
“ This is not about Braxton Bragg .
Those of us who want to keep the name don ’ t go home and worship @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Bushnell told The Times .
“ It ’ s about a tight-knit community .
It ’ s a damn good community , and for the most part we all just get along.
” On Monday , City Councilwoman Tess Albin-Smith said she was pained by the division over a name change and whether it would “ free residents from the albatross and embarrassment of being named after a Confederate general who owned slaves.
” “ No one had any conviction that changing the name of our town would solve racial equality @ @ @ @ @ @ @ simply disassociate us with a racist , ” she added .
City officials estimated it would cost more than $ 271,000 to change the name .
Fort Bragg ’ s economy relies on tourism , which has taken a severe hit because of the pandemic .
The city already has cut staff .
Javier Silva , a member of the Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians , asked the council to listen to tribal members who “ never ceded this land.
” “ I don ’ t like the name myself , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ want it to be a reminder that this was a place of oppression , not because of Bragg , not because of that , but because of the Native Americans that were here , the first peoples here .
“ We have never been given a voice , and when we have gotten a voice , it ’ s never gone anywhere .
”

Across California, the massive antiracism protests that have followed the police killing of George Floyd have led to an unprecedented reckoning with public symbols of slavery and oppression.
This month, statues have been toppled. Mascots have been changed. A coastal town’s Confederate-linked name has been reconsidered.
At this moment of global outcry against racism, Californians are saying en masse that, for too long, the state’s history has been whitewashed, the ugly parts ignored.
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Marcus Hunter, chair of African American Studies at UCLA, said he thinks the statues are falling at such great numbers and with less pushback than in years past because white people and others who are not Black are joining the protests and helping pull them down. He also believes that people being forced to stay home during the pandemic could not ignore Floyd’s killing and the movement it sparked.
In Northern California, the coastal city of Fort Bragg has considered changing its Confederate-linked name. (Robin Epley / Fort Bragg Advocate-News)
“I’ve been calling this the great pause,” Hunter said. “It wasn’t just a slowdown. It was 90 days of shelter in place. Either people are going to change America, or it’s going to remain the same.”
In the Antelope Valley, a high school dropped its Rebels mascot, once depicted as a soldier with a Confederate flag. In Kings Canyon National Park, the name of the 255-foot Robert E. Lee Tree, a giant sequoia that is one of the world’s tallest trees, was removed.
Protesters in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park felled statues of Father Junipero Serra and two slave owners: Francis Scott Key, the writer of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and President Grant. The name of the Squaw Valley Ski Resort near Lake Tahoe is being reconsidered. So is Negro Bar State Recreation Area in Sacramento County.
In downtown Los Angeles’ Father Serra Park, Indigenous activists tied ropes around a statue of the Franciscan friar — his bronze form holding a cross and bearing a model of a Spanish mission — and yanked it off its pedestal. In Ventura, where protesters unfurled a banner reading “Father Genocide,” local officials agreed to remove a Serra statue outside City Hall.
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Nationwide, protesters are targeting statues of slave-owning presidents. A statue of George Washington in Portland, Ore., was covered with a burning American flag and torn down. Protesters painted the word “Killer” on the base of an Andrew Jackson statue near the White House.
Activists gather near the toppled statue of Father Junipero Serra in Los Angeles’ Olvera Street. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
President Trump tweeted that he had authorized the federal government to arrest people who deface monuments on federal property and threatened 10 years in prison. On Wednesday, the Army activated some 400 National Guard troops to protect monuments in the nation’s capital.
Scholars say it is fitting that statues would fall so quickly now — amid protests over the death of Floyd, a Black man killed by a white Minneapolis police officer who knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes, and in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disproportionately killed nonwhite people.
Gary Orfield, director of the Civil Rights Project at UCLA, said the country is “in the midst of the largest social movement about rights and racial justice in half a century” and that many of the people Americans have long held up as heroes are flawed.
“The truth is, we do have a racist history,” Orfield said. “We stole all our land from the Indians, we took half of Mexico over, and we kept African Americans in an extreme form of slavery for generations, followed by extreme segregation using the power of law.”
That this is happening now across a state regarded as a symbol of liberal America is not a surprise, said Kevin Waite, a professor at Durham University in England with a focus on the American West, slavery and imperialism.
Quartz Hill High School in the Antelope Valley is dropping “Rebels” as its mascot as the nation comes to grips with racial and social issues in the wake of recent events. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
“I think part of the reason that this history is hidden for a lot of Californians is because it doesn’t really sit well with the stories we like to tell ourselves about this free state that’s now on the leading edge of cosmopolitan liberalism,” he said. “It seems like anybody with an association with colonial rule and slavery is now a target for removal.”
Earlier this month, Quartz Hill High School in the Antelope Valley dropped its long-debated Rebel mascot after the body of Robert Fuller, a young Black man, was found hanging from a tree near Palmdale City Hall, 12 miles away.
Authorities quickly labeled Fuller’s death a probable suicide, drawing intense criticism from his family and community members who said they did not do enough to determine whether it was a homicide. The case remains under investigation.
Amid the George Floyd protests, school officials seemed to take years-long efforts to change the mascot more seriously, said Joshua Collier, former president of the Black Student Union, who graduated this month. Collier, 18, said his group’s email account has received numerous racist messages in recent days, as well as messages from angry alumni.
“They have to realize that times do change and the mascot did change and you have to adapt to the change,” he said.
Jack Rose, 15, jogs past the bronze statue of Father Junipero Serra as it stands in front of Ventura City Hall. A joint statement was issued from local political, indigenous and Catholic leaders pledging to remove the monument, originally commissioned in the 1930s but replaced in 1989. “The time has come for the statue to be taken down and moved to a more appropriate nonpublic location,” read the statement, issued by Ventura Mayor Matt LaVere. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times)
California has grappled with symbols of past racism and cruelty for years.
In 2009, officials changed the name of Malibu’s Negrohead Mountain (which was itself a 1960s refinement of the N-word, which formed its original name). In 2017, after a counterprotester was killed during the white supremacist Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va. — planned in part to protest the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue — a six-foot granite monument to Confederate soldiers in Hollywood Forever Cemetery was carted away in the dark of the night.
No state beyond the South has had as many monuments and place names honoring the Confederacy and its soldiers as California, Waite said. Though it was a Union state far from the major battlefields of the Civil War, white Southerners flocked to California and “basically ran the show in Sacramento,” passing numerous pro-slavery resolutions, Waite said. Public monuments popped up decades after the war, as part of a movement known as the Lost Cause, a fictitious rewriting of Civil War history that glosses over slavery as its root cause.
The current protest movement is also confronting California’s historic cruelty toward Native Americans, with statues of Serra, the architect of the state’s mission system, falling and the removal of a statue of John Sutter, a Gold Rush colonizer who enslaved Indigenous people, from a Sacramento hospital named after him.
“People aren’t taking things so much as a given part of the landscape anymore, and they’re imagining what places would feel like without this assertion of power, this asserting of dominance over certain people,” said Beth Piatote, a professor of Native American studies at UC Berkeley. “Native people, African American people, Asians, immigrants — people are all coming together and saying, ‘We don’t want that message asserted in our public space.’”
Local activist, Sierra Wooten, takes her turn to speak in front of the Fort Bragg City Council. (Robin Epley/Advocate-News)
In Fort Bragg, a Mendocino County town of 7,400 named after Confederate army general and slave owner Braxton Bragg, the City Council this week considered several options for its name, including placing a name change on the November ballot or re-dedicating the town to honor another historical Bragg.
On Monday, the Council decided to create an ad hoc committee to discuss next steps but not to put a name change on the ballot.
Fort Bragg was founded in 1857 by Lt. Horatio G. Gibson, who established a military post to control the Native American population in Mendocino County. Gibson named it after Bragg, his former commanding officer in the Mexican-American War. As the story goes, Bragg never set foot in the town.
A recent biography of the general, who resigned his post under pressure halfway through the war after decisive losses and is regarded as an unsuccessful military leader, is subtitled “The Most Hated Man of the Confederacy.”
The town’s name has been challenged before. In 2015, after white supremacist Dylann Roof shot and killed nine Black worshipers at the Emanuel AME church in Charleston, S.C., the California Legislative Black Caucus asked city leaders to consider a name change. They declined.
Ryan Bushnell, who started an online petition to keep the name, said he does not want to see it removed as a “knee-jerk reaction” to current events. The name, he said, ideally could be used to teach the history of the area.
“This is not about Braxton Bragg. Those of us who want to keep the name don’t go home and worship a statue of Braxton Bragg each night,” Bushnell told The Times. “It’s about a tight-knit community. It’s a damn good community, and for the most part we all just get along.”
On Monday, City Councilwoman Tess Albin-Smith said she was pained by the division over a name change and whether it would “free residents from the albatross and embarrassment of being named after a Confederate general who owned slaves.”
“No one had any conviction that changing the name of our town would solve racial equality either locally or globally. It would simply disassociate us with a racist,” she added.
City officials estimated it would cost more than $271,000 to change the name. Fort Bragg’s economy relies on tourism, which has taken a severe hit because of the pandemic. The city already has cut staff.
Javier Silva, a member of the Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians, asked the council to listen to tribal members who “never ceded this land.”
“I don’t like the name myself,” he said. “But I just want it to be a reminder that this was a place of oppression, not because of Bragg, not because of that, but because of the Native Americans that were here, the first peoples here.
“We have never been given a voice, and when we have gotten a voice, it’s never gone anywhere.”


latimes--2020-06-26--During the pandemic, groups that help kids are hurting. Kids are, too

Things were starting to look up for Kayla Diaz .
After two years of struggling with the cancer that ravaged her bones , limited her mobility , and required regular hospital visits , her wish was about to be granted .
Preparations were being made for an April trip to Oahu where she and her family would stay in a hotel for a week .
They were scheduled to visit the Dole Plantation and attend a luau , but the highlight — the thing Kayla dreamed about — was a chance to swim with dolphins .
The moment promised to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ used to play softball and soccer .
Like any healthy child , Kayla always took her mobility for granted before she was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma — a rare cancer that forms in bones or soft issue — at the age of 10 .
The trip would have also been a vacation for her mother , Marlene Diaz , who ’ d stepped up as her caretaker while taking of her three other children and dealing with her own health issues related to lupus , a disease that causes the body ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But when the coronavirus outbreak upended the lives of millions , crippled the economy and put an end to nonessential travel and outings , the hopes of a 12-year-old girl didn ’ t stand a chance .
Kayla ’ s trip had been arranged by the Make-A-Wish Foundation , one of thousands of nonprofits that serve the needs of minors and their families nationwide .
Some of the children are ill or unsheltered ; some of them need to escape abusive situations .
All of them are facing a tentative future — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Even if donations are continuing to flow , volunteers and staff still have to figure out what it means to be a service organization amid a pandemic .
Kayla is among more than 5,000 children , some with terminal illnesses , who had their trips and meet-ups and home transformations put on hold indefinitely .
Diaz broke the news to Kayla in March , two weeks into their self-isolation in their Torrance home .
“ She was bummed and kind of sad and she hated it , but at least she thought @ @ @ @ @ @ @ happen ] at the end of the year or next year , ’ ” the mother said .
Kayla will need to hold on to her optimism .
Countywide , the Los Angeles chapter of Make-A-Wish has granted over 10,000 wishes — funded by donations and grants — since it was founded in 1983 .
It staged its largest fundraising gala in November , pulling in $ 1.5 million , and has received $ 5,000 in donations through another fundraiser , half of what it usually garners under normal circumstances .
But even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some businesses the green light to reopen , it ’ s going to be a while before the organization is functioning at a pre-pandemic level .
Each wish — many of which involve a trip — costs an average of $ 11,000 , and more than half of the requests include air travel .
“ You don ’ t really know for sure what the kids are going through in their head , ” said Mike Kallhoff , chief executive of Make-A-Wish Greater Los Angeles .
He is also the father of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the age of 4 , and his family was granted a Make-A-Wish Trip to Walt Disney World in 2008 .
His understanding of what such a trip can do is profound .
“ They ’ re going through so much more than we are .
It hurts me to take one more thing away from them right now.
” For social workers and attorneys working with minors and their families through various nonprofits , the pandemic has added an extra layer of complexity .
Routine checkups to ensure minors are receiving educational and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Adoptions and reunifications between parents and children were postponed and are slowly being rescheduled , via videoconferencing only .
With courts closed to all but essential functions for several weeks , only emergency cases were being heard via video services in a limited number of courtrooms ; more courtrooms have opened in the last few days .
“ My folks , social workers and attorneys and people who have come into this work … when they can ’ t do their jobs correctly , it feels difficult , ” said Wende Nichols-Julien , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Advocates ) Los Angeles , an organization that advocates for children in foster care .
Many of CASA of L.A. ’ s 1,000-plus volunteers , who accompany minors to court , are retired .
Some of them are in their 70s and 80s — at greater risk of contracting the coronavirus — which prompted CASA in February to modify the way it operates .
CASA also was forced to rethink its fundraising after it postponed its annual April gala , an event that organizers predicted would raise $ 1.1 million , a quarter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on individual donors and events , plus state and federal funding , to offer its services .
It hosted its first annual virtual fundraiser — which raised $ 645,488 — a month later .
With help from a small business loan , CASA was able to maintain its staff for the remainder of the fiscal year through June .
But financial uncertainty still looms .
“ That is a really long-term and very serious concern , ” Nichols-Julien said .
“ We ’ ll see whether we can hold events , whether people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a lot of questions that remain unanswered .
That ’ s our biggest risk , I think , to our services , the long-term fundraising.
” Volunteer Dave Stein has been working with 19-year-old Ja ’ quest Jones , a CASA client , for the last seven years , and the two of them appear to have a strong bond .
Jones , who says he is often distrustful of anyone who ’ s been paid to help him , believes Stein has been the only person he can count on for large @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years ago , when Jones was 15 , he was standing in front of a judge who was scheduled to release him from juvenile detention and place him back into a group home .
Instead , Jones was ordered back to detention , because the judge realized the necessary paperwork hadn ’ t been completed .
Stein pushed back , arguing that it wasn ’ t Jones ’ fault , Then he was asked to leave the courtroom .
“ This dude got kicked out of court for me , ” Jones said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s not a lot of people sitting next to the judge … in their face , telling them what they want , ” he added .
Stein said he apologized to Jones for making a scene ; Jones responded with a hug and a thank you .
“ I think he keeps making mistakes , and I keep coming back , and I think that ’ s what the bond becomes about , ” Stein said .
“ I ’ m not going to leave him because he does things wrong.
” When @ @ @ @ @ @ @ considered to be a minor , the frequency of their meetings slowed , but they remain in touch .
Jones understands Stein , 70 , is being cautious about in-person visits because of his health , but he hasn ’ t forgotten that Stein has been a person he can always count on .
Volunteers for other nonprofits have had to learn how to remain emotionally close while being physically distant to help limit the spread of the coronavirus .
The change has taken a toll on everyone involved .
Guadalupe , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a nonprofit that describes itself as an “ organization dedicated to ending the cycle of family homelessness and chronic poverty , ” has nothing but praise for the mentors who have been working with four of her six children .
Before she successfully renegotiated the rent on her South Los Angeles home , Guadalupe , who asked to be identified only by her middle name , and her family lived out of her car for nearly half a year .
Sometimes they ’ d stay in hotels .
An organization dedicated to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The mentors who worked with her family “ were able to take them to places that I would never have been able to afford , ” she said .
“ They ’ re like , ‘ Mom , I went to the aquarium , ’ and it makes my heart warm.
” The mentors also made it possible for Guadalupe to have down time and to focus on her schooling to become a nurse .
During the pandemic , there ’ s no quiet time in the household of seven where they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s been impossible for her kids to complete their homework .
And they ’ re still living paycheck to paycheck .
But after all they ’ ve gone through already , Guadalupe sees this time as another hurdle that she will eventually be able to surmount .
“ Everything will happen , I guess , in God ’ s timing , ” she said , “ but I just really want to be able to be out of poverty.
” Back in Torrance , Kayla has kept herself busy with schoolwork and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time .
Sometimes she dreams of starting her own YouTube channel .
After many weeks in quarantine , Kayla said she no longer feels angry or sad about missing her trip to Hawaii .
“ I think if you ’ re being more positive , you ’ ll be more happy , ” she said .
“ If you ’ re negative , you ’ re stressed out with it.
” For now , she travels vicariously to tropical destinations such as Bali and Dubai through the help of her computer screen , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hoping she will one day swim off the coast of Oahu .

Things were starting to look up for Kayla Diaz.
After two years of struggling with the cancer that ravaged her bones, limited her mobility, and required regular hospital visits, her wish was about to be granted.
For the record: An earlier version of this post stated that CASA volunteer Dave Stein is 70. He is 66.
Preparations were being made for an April trip to Oahu where she and her family would stay in a hotel for a week. They were scheduled to visit the Dole Plantation and attend a luau, but the highlight — the thing Kayla dreamed about — was a chance to swim with dolphins.
Marlene Diaz listens to her daughter Kayla play the trumpet at their home in Torrance. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
The moment promised to be extra sweet for the sixth-grader who used to play softball and soccer. Like any healthy child, Kayla always took her mobility for granted before she was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma — a rare cancer that forms in bones or soft issue — at the age of 10.
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The trip would have also been a vacation for her mother, Marlene Diaz, who’d stepped up as her caretaker while taking care of her three other children and dealing with her own health issues related to lupus, a disease that causes the body’s immune system to attack its own tissues.
But when the coronavirus outbreak upended the lives of millions, crippled the economy and put an end to nonessential travel and outings, the hopes of a 12-year-old girl didn’t stand a chance.
Kayla’s trip had been arranged by the Make-A-Wish Foundation, one of thousands of nonprofits that serve the needs of minors and their families nationwide. Some of the children are ill or unsheltered; some of them need to escape abusive situations. All of them are facing a tentative future — just like the agencies that help them. Even if donations are continuing to flow, volunteers and staff still have to figure out what it means to be a service organization amid a pandemic.
Kayla is among more than 5,000 children, some with terminal illnesses, who had their trips and meet-ups and home transformations put on hold indefinitely.
Diaz broke the news to Kayla in March, two weeks into their self-isolation in their Torrance home.
“She was bummed and kind of sad and she hated it, but at least she thought, ‘Maybe it’ll [happen] at the end of the year or next year,’” the mother said.
Kayla’s planned trip to Hawaii organized by the Make-A-Wish Foundation was upended by the coronavirus outbreak. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
Kayla will need to hold on to her optimism.
Countywide, the Los Angeles chapter of Make-A-Wish has granted over 10,000 wishes — funded by donations and grants — since it was founded in 1983. It staged its largest fundraising gala in November, pulling in $1.5 million, and has received $5,000 in donations through another fundraiser, half of what it usually garners under normal circumstances.
But even as government officials ease restrictions and give some businesses the green light to reopen, it’s going to be a while before the organization is functioning at a pre-pandemic level.
Each wish — many of which involve a trip — costs an average of $11,000, and more than half of the requests include air travel.
“You don’t really know for sure what the kids are going through in their head,” said Mike Kallhoff, chief executive of Make-A-Wish Greater Los Angeles. He is also the father of a child who was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 4, and his family was granted a Make-A-Wish Trip to Walt Disney World in 2008. His understanding of what such a trip can do is profound. “They’re going through so much more than we are. It hurts me to take one more thing away from them right now.”
For social workers and attorneys working with minors and their families through various nonprofits, the pandemic has added an extra layer of complexity.
Routine checkups to ensure minors are receiving educational and mental health services have been delayed. Adoptions and reunifications between parents and children were postponed and are slowly being rescheduled, via videoconferencing only. With courts closed to all but essential functions for several weeks, only emergency cases were being heard via video services in a limited number of courtrooms; more courtrooms have opened in the last few days.
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“My folks, social workers and attorneys and people who have come into this work … when they can’t do their jobs correctly, it feels difficult,” said Wende Julien, CEO of CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) Los Angeles, an organization that advocates for children in foster care.
Many of CASA of L.A.’s 1,000-plus volunteers, who accompany minors to court, are retired. Some of them are in their 70s and 80s — at greater risk of contracting the coronavirus — which prompted CASA in February to modify the way it operates.
CASA also was forced to rethink its fundraising after it postponed its annual April gala, an event that organizers predicted would raise $1.1 million, a quarter of its revenue. The organization relies on individual donors and events, plus state and federal funding, to offer its services.
It hosted its first annual virtual fundraiser — which raised $645,488 — a month later. With help from a small business loan, CASA was able to maintain its staff for the remainder of the fiscal year through June.
But financial uncertainty still looms.
“That is a really long-term and very serious concern,” Nichols-Julien said. “We’ll see whether we can hold events, whether people will feel like donating. Those are a lot of questions that remain unanswered. That’s our biggest risk, I think, to our services, the long-term fundraising.”
Ja’quest Jones, 19, stands for a portrait across the street from the Long Beach apartment where he sometimes stays with his mom. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
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CASA volunteer Dave Stein has been working with Jones for the last seven years. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
Volunteer Dave Stein has been working with 19-year-old Ja’quest Jones, a CASA client, for the last seven years, and the two of them appear to have a strong bond. Jones, who says he is often distrustful of anyone who’s been paid to help him, believes Stein has been the only person he can count on for large portions of his young life.
Four years ago, when Jones was 15, he was standing in front of a judge who was scheduled to release him from juvenile detention and place him back into a group home. Instead, Jones was ordered back to detention, because the judge realized the necessary paperwork hadn’t been completed. Stein pushed back, arguing that it wasn’t Jones’ fault, Then he was asked to leave the courtroom.
“This dude got kicked out of court for me,” Jones said with a chuckle.
“There’s not a lot of people sitting next to the judge … in their face, telling them what they want,” he added.
Stein said he apologized to Jones for making a scene; Jones responded with a hug and a thank you.
Ja’quest Jones talks on the phone to Dave Stein. When Jones turned 18, the frequency of their meetings slowed, but they stayed in touch. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
“I think he keeps making mistakes, and I keep coming back, and I think that’s what the bond becomes about,” Stein said. “I’m not going to leave him because he does things wrong.”
When Jones turned 18 and was no longer considered to be a minor, the frequency of their meetings slowed, but they remain in touch. Jones understands Stein, 66, is being cautious about in-person visits because of his health, but he hasn’t forgotten that Stein has been a person he can always count on.
Volunteers for other nonprofits have had to learn how to remain emotionally close while being physically distant to help limit the spread of the coronavirus.
The change has taken a toll on everyone involved.
Guadalupe, a mother who sought assistance from Imagine LA, a nonprofit that describes itself as an “organization dedicated to ending the cycle of family homelessness and chronic poverty,” has nothing but praise for the mentors who have been working with four of her six children.
Guadalupe sits on the porch of her South L.A. home with two of her children. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
Before she successfully renegotiated the rent on her South Los Angeles home, Guadalupe, who asked to be identified only by her middle name, and her family lived out of her car for nearly half a year. Sometimes they’d stay in hotels. An organization dedicated to ending homelessness connected her with Imagine LA.
The mentors who worked with her family “were able to take them to places that I would never have been able to afford,” she said. “They’re like, ‘Mom, I went to the aquarium,’ and it makes my heart warm.”
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The mentors also made it possible for Guadalupe to have down time and to focus on her schooling to become a nurse.
During the pandemic, there’s no quiet time in the household of seven where they have to share two laptops. It’s been impossible for her kids to complete their homework. And they’re still living paycheck to paycheck.
Two of Guadalupe’s children, Manuel and Elese, on the porch of their home. The Imagine LA mentors who worked with her family “were able to take them to places that I would never have been able to afford,” Guadalupe said. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
But after all they’ve gone through already, Guadalupe sees this time as another hurdle that she will eventually be able to surmount.
“Everything will happen, I guess, in God’s timing,” she said, “but I just really want to be able to be out of poverty.”
Back in Torrance, Kayla has kept herself busy with schoolwork and recording videos for TikTok during her free time. Sometimes she dreams of starting her own YouTube channel.
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After many weeks in quarantine, Kayla said she no longer feels angry or sad about missing her trip to Hawaii.
“I think if you’re being more positive, you’ll be more happy,” she said. “If you’re negative, you’re stressed out with it.”
For now, she travels vicariously to tropical destinations such as Bali and Dubai through the help of her computer screen, imagining herself swimming in the ocean and hoping she will one day swim off the coast of Oahu.