latimes--2020-03-07--California man had coronavirus before he boarded Grand Princess, cruise ship official says

As thousands remained on a cruise ship held off the coast of San Francisco amid a coronavirus outbreak , a cruise line medical officer said Saturday that the California passenger who died of the virus this week brought it on board the Grand Princess .
Dr. Grant Tarling , the cruise ’ s medical officer , said the man — who died in Placer County after leaving the cruise — sought medical care on the ship Feb. 20 and had been sick for several days .
Tarling said two waiters who served the man multiple times were subsequently infected .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ was so-called community spread of the virus in California earlier than authorities have previously disclosed .
California public health officials could not immediately comment .
“ In order to protect patient confidentiality , we can not provide information about specific cases such as this , ” the California Department of Public Health said in a statement .
A Placer County Health officer , however , disputed Tarling ’ s statement and said the passenger likely contracted COVID-19 while on the cruise .
“ Placer County Public Health has been consistent in our message @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the disease during international travel to Mexico , ” Dr. Aimee Sisson said .
“ As is standard public health practice , we have based our assessment on the information learned in our contact investigation as well as what we know to be true about the disease pattern.
” Though Princess Cruises officials indicated the short period between the Placer County man boarding the ship and the onset of symptoms suggested he brought the virus on board , the incubation period for COVID-19 is still under debate .
The World Health Organization puts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most commonly around five days .
Thomas Frieden , former head of the CDC during the Obama Administration , agreed the average incubation period was five to six days , with a range between two days and two weeks .
“ We don ’ t yet know when people who have symptoms are infectious , and for how long , ” said Frieden .
There were cases of coronavirus in California as early as January , tied to travel from China .
The Placer County man self-reported the onset of symptoms to have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , according to Tarling .
Previously , President Trump expressed concern that allowing passengers to leave the ship would put the U.S. at risk of a faster spread of the coronavirus .
Federal and state officials have grappled with how to deal with the cruise ship , where 19 crew members and two passengers have tested positive for the virus .
Vice President Mike Pence said Saturday in a meeting with cruise line executives and port directors in Fort Lauderdale , Fla. , that officials have developed a plan for passengers that will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ passengers and crew will be tested for coronavirus and quarantined as appropriate , ” he said .
“ Those that require additional medical attention will also receive it.
” But few other details have been released about the plan .
Meanwhile , at the Long Beach harbor Saturday , passengers aboard the Carnival Panorama cruise ship were not allowed off the vessel while officials dealt with a “ medical matter , ” according to a Facebook post by the cruise director .
Long Beach city officials said on Twitter that a passenger aboard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and is being tested for the coronavirus .
According to the cruise director , the passenger did not meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ’ s criteria for coronavirus risk .
The ship is docked at a Long Beach terminal , but “ in an abundance of caution , [ the CDC ] has decided to hold passengers on board until the patient can be evaluated , ” the city of Long Beach account tweeted .
Siehara Kennedy , who is aboard the cruise ship , said passengers have been waiting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Passengers are not being isolated in their rooms and have been allowed to gather in the ship ’ s bars and casino , she said .
Across the state , more than 80 people have been infected with the virus .
In the U.S. , there have been at least 439 confirmed cases , with most in Washington state , where 108 people have tested positive and 16 have died .
More than 100,000 people have become infected worldwide , according to the World Health Organization .
But in California , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has been causing worry of a more widespread outbreak .
A state source described conversations about moving passengers and crew members on the Grand Princess as fluid and said discussions on how to proceed by state and federal officials would resume Saturday .
By Saturday , the state said approximately a dozen passengers of the Grand Princess cruise that returned to San Francisco on Feb. 21 had tested positive for the virus .
Local officials reported four cases in Placer County , two in Contra Costa County , two in Sonoma County and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Madera and Alameda counties tied to the cruise .
On Saturday morning , Santa Cruz County public health officials also confirmed a coronavirus case .
The county ’ s public health division said in a news release that the person had been on a cruise from San Francisco to Mexico between Feb. 11 and Feb. 21 .
They are working to determine whether the person came in contact with anyone else .
The Placer County man who died after returning Feb. 21 from the voyage to Mexico is the state ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Princess was then returning from a subsequent cruise to Hawaii when it was held off the California coast .
With testing still underway , officials don ’ t know how many of the more than 3,000 people on board have the virus .
According to a source on the ship who asked not to be identified , the boat had moved just south of San Francisco and closer to shore to allow easier U.S. Coast Guard access .
But on Saturday morning , the ship moved farther offshore , about 50 miles from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and masks were delivered to the cruise ship by helicopter , according to Negin Kamali , a spokeswoman for the Princess Cruises company .
On Saturday morning , a critically ill passenger and their companion were evacuated from the ship by a Coast Guard cutter .
“ They are being transported to a shoreside medical facility for treatment unrelated to COVID-19 , ” Kamali said .
“ The captain of Grand Princess and the Princess Cruises port operations team continue to await specific directives from state and local response operations about where the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that one person aboard the cruise has cancer and needed to be removed to receive chemotherapy treatment .
Pence said the federal government is working with the state of California to bring the cruise ship into a noncommercial port over the weekend and quarantine those aboard as necessary .
Trump said he would ultimately let Pence , who leads the task force in charge of the response , decide whether to allow passengers to leave the ship .
But he said several times that he would be inclined to leave them on board @ @ @ @ @ @ @ number of official cases on American soil .
“ I like the numbers being where they are .
I don ’ t need to have the numbers being doubled because of one ship , ” Trump said .
“ A lot of people think we should do it the other way , ” he said .
“ We have to take care of Americans.
” Karen , a Canadian passenger on the Grand Princess who asked to be identified by only her first name , said she fears what could come next .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ this virus , ” she said .
“ I ’ m terrified of a quarantine on board.
” “ That changes things , ” said another person on the ship .
“ I ’ m not going home anytime soon.
” Passengers on the vessel — both current and those who may have been exposed earlier — told the Los Angeles Times that the response to the outbreak by the company and health officials had been filled with missteps .
In particular , passengers said that Princess Cruises was lax on health screening @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about the risks they faced , even as the ship ’ s situation became international news .
At a White House briefing , federal public health officials could not say precisely how many people have been tested for the virus .
They said 5,861 specimens have been taken by federal , state and local public health labs .
But most patients give at least two samples , one from the nose and a second from the throat .
But Dr. Stephen Hahn , commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration , promised a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coming days .
The CDC has shipped out 75,000 tests to public labs in 48 states and 1.1 million tests to commercial labs , with another 1 million tests going out Monday .
That ’ s enough for roughly 850,000 patients under the current protocols .
Elsewhere in the state , panic over the coronavirus has led to canceled classes and events .
The Elk Grove Unified School District , the largest in Northern California , announced Saturday it would close schools and cancel all student activities — including a prom — for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ next steps .
Supt .
Chris Hoffman said no students have tested positive for the virus , but some parents and family members have .
“ I don ’ t know where this is going , ” he said in a news conference .
“ I don ’ t know that anybody knows where its going.
” Stanford University said that it would shift classes online for the final two weeks of the winter quarter after a faculty member in the School of Medicine tested positive for the coronavirus .
School officials said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was closed over the weekend for cleaning .
USC said it would conduct lectures and seminars online rather than in classrooms for three days next week as a test should the campus be forced to suspend in-person contact .
In Silicon Valley , the film festival Cinequest postponed its second week of events because of coronavirus concerns .
“ In keeping with the health safety directive from the Santa Clara County Public Health Department , and the concerned request from San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo , we are rescheduling the second week of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to occur August 16-30 , ” Cinequest co-founders said in a statement .
Washington state , where 108 people have been infected , appears to be bearing the brunt of the U.S. outbreak .
Fourteen of the state ’ s 16 deaths are connected to the Life Care Center of Kirkland , a long-term care facility , according to Seattle & King County Public Health .
Officials said 15 people in the nursing facility have been hospitalized in the last 24 hours .
In New York , Gov .
Andrew M. Cuomo declared @ @ @ @ @ @ @ number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the state rose to 76 .
Times staff writers Richard Winton , Soumya Karlamangla , Taryn Luna and Richard Read contributed to this report .

Alejandra Reyes-Velarde, Anita Chabria, Melody Gutierrez, Noah Bierman

The California Air National Guard delivered coronavirus test kits to the Grand Princess cruise ship by helicopter off the coast of California on Thursday.
Thousands of passengers remained on a cruise ship held off the coast of San Francisco on Saturday as officials debated the origins of the coronavirus outbreak that has prevented them from disembarking.
The fate of the Grand Princess has become a significant public health challenge, with a dozen coronavirus cases in California linked to passengers who traveled on the ship to Mexico last month. They include a Placer County man who died of COVID-19 on Wednesday.
At least 21 of the nearly 3,000 people who subsequently took the same ship to Hawaii have tested positive for the virus. All of those passengers remain on board, and many more still need to be tested. It’s unclear what will happen to those who are found to be sick.
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A cruise line medical officer said Saturday that the man who died brought the virus with him when he boarded the Grand Princess — a point public health officials disputed.
Dr. Grant Tarling, the cruise’s medical officer, said the man — who died at Kaiser Permanente Roseville Medical Center after leaving the ship — sought onboard medical care Feb. 20 and had been sick for several days. Tarling said two waiters who served the man multiple times were subsequently infected.
If true, it could mean there was so-called community spread of the virus in California earlier than had previously been detected.
Placer County’s health officer, however, questioned Tarling’s statement and said the passenger probably contracted the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 while on the cruise.
“Placer County Public Health has been consistent in our message that our first COVID-19-related fatality likely contracted the disease during international travel to Mexico,” Dr. Aimee Sisson said. “As is standard public health practice, we have based our assessment on the information learned in our contact investigation as well as what we know to be true about the disease pattern.”
Though Princess Cruises officials indicated the short period between the Placer County man boarding the ship and the onset of his symptoms suggested he brought the virus on board, the incubation period for COVID-19 is still unknown. The World Health Organization puts it between one and 14 days, most commonly around five days.
Dr. Thomas Frieden, former head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the Obama administration, agreed the average incubation period was five to six days, with a range between two days and two weeks.
“We don’t yet know when people who have symptoms are infectious, and for how long,” Frieden said.
Tarling said he was basing his assertion that the Placer County man contracted the virus in California before boarding the ship on the five- to six-day average incubation period.
The 75-year-old Placer County man said his symptoms began two to three days after boarding the Grand Princess, according to Tarling.
Coronavirus cases had been confirmed in California as early as January, tied to travel from China.
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President Trump has expressed concern that allowing passengers to leave the ship would put the U.S. at risk of accelerating the coronavirus’ spread. Federal and state officials have grappled with how to deal with the cruise ship, where 19 crew members and two passengers have tested positive for the virus.
Vice President Mike Pence said Saturday that officials have developed a plan for passengers that will be implemented this weekend.
“All passengers and crew will be tested for coronavirus and quarantined as appropriate,” he said in a meeting with cruise line executives and port directors in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. “Those that require additional medical attention will also receive it.”
World & Nation Seattle-area nursing home deaths jump to 13 with COVID-19 and 11 of unknown causes A spokesman for Life Care Center of Kirkland said Saturday that 13 residents who have died tested positive for COVID-19. Eleven more residents died, he said, but autopsy results are not yet available to determine whether they had coronavirus.
But few other details have been released about the plan.
Across the state, 88 people had been infected with the virus as of Saturday morning. In the U.S., there have been at least 428 confirmed cases, with most in Washington state, where 108 people have tested positive and 16 have died. More than 100,000 people have been infected worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.
In California, it is the Grand Princess cruise ship that has been causing worry of a more widespread outbreak.
By Saturday, the state said a dozen passengers of the Grand Princess cruise that returned to San Francisco on Feb. 21 had tested positive for the virus. Local officials reported four cases in Placer County, two in Contra Costa County, two in Sonoma County and one each in Santa Cruz, Ventura, Madera and Alameda counties tied to the cruise.
The Placer County man who sailed to Mexico is the state’s only confirmed COVID-19 fatality.
The Grand Princess was returning from Hawaii when it was held off the California coast. With testing still underway, officials don’t know how many of the more than 3,000 people on board have the virus.
Friday evening, gloves and masks were delivered to the cruise ship by helicopter, according to Negin Kamali, a spokeswoman for the Princess Cruises company. On Saturday morning, a critically ill passenger and their companion were evacuated from the ship by a Coast Guard cutter.
“They are being transported to a shoreside medical facility for treatment unrelated to COVID-19,” Kamali said. “The captain of Grand Princess and the Princess Cruises port operations team continue to await specific directives from state and local response operations about where the ship will proceed.”
Pence, who leads the task force in charge of the response, said the federal government is working with the state of California to bring the cruise ship into a noncommercial port over the weekend and quarantine those on board as necessary.
Trump said he would ultimately let Pence decide whether to allow passengers to leave the ship. But he said several times that he would be inclined to leave them on board because bringing them ashore would increase the number of official cases on American soil.
Passengers on the vessel — both current and those who may have been exposed earlier — told the Los Angeles Times that the response to the outbreak by the company and health officials had been filled with missteps.
In particular, passengers said Princess Cruises was lax on health screening protocols prior to boarding and withheld information about the risks they faced, even as the ship’s situation became international news.
At a White House briefing, federal public health officials could not say precisely how many people have been tested for the virus.
They said 5,861 specimens have been taken by federal, state and local public health labs. Most patients give at least two samples, one from the nose and a second from the throat.
Dr. Stephen Hahn, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, promised a massive expansion of testing availability in the coming days. The CDC has shipped out 75,000 tests to public labs in 48 states and 1.1 million tests to commercial labs, with another 1 million tests going out Monday.
That’s enough for roughly 850,000 patients under the current protocols.
Meanwhile, at the Long Beach harbor Saturday, passengers aboard the Carnival Panorama cruise ship were not allowed off the vessel while officials dealt with a “medical matter,” according to a Facebook post by the cruise director.
Long Beach city officials said on Twitter that a passenger aboard the ship was taken to a hospital and is being tested for the coronavirus. According to the cruise director, the passenger did not meet the CDC criteria for coronavirus risk.
The ship is docked at a Long Beach terminal, but “in an abundance of caution, [the CDC] has decided to hold passengers on board until the patient can be evaluated,” the city of Long Beach account tweeted.
Siehara Kennedy, who is aboard the cruise ship, said passengers have been waiting more than three hours to get off. Passengers are not being isolated in their rooms and have been allowed to gather in the ship’s bars and casino, she said.
Elsewhere in the state, concerns over the coronavirus have led to canceled classes and events. The Elk Grove Unified School District, the largest in Northern California, announced Saturday it would close schools and cancel all student activities — including a prom — for a week to buy time and decide next steps.
Supt. Chris Hoffman said no students have tested positive for the virus, but some parents and family members have.
“I don’t know where this is going,” he said in a news conference. “I don’t know that anybody knows where it’s going.”
Washington state, where 108 people have been infected, appears to be bearing the brunt of the U.S. outbreak. Fourteen of the state’s 16 deaths are connected to the Life Care Center of Kirkland, a long-term care facility, according to Seattle & King County Public Health. Officials said 15 people in the nursing facility have been hospitalized in the last 24 hours.
In New York, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo declared a state of emergency Saturday after the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the state rose to 76.
Times staff writers Richard Winton, Soumya Karlamangla, Taryn Luna and Richard Read contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-03-07--UC graduate students threaten more strikes as movement grows

A growing number of students and faculty members across University of California campuses walked out of class , held rallies and signed letters this week , as a systemwide movement takes hold in support of graduate students demanding cost-of-living adjustments to their salaries .
During widespread UC campus demonstrations , students filled the Janss Steps at UCLA , Sproul Plaza at UC Berkeley and Cheadle Hall at UC Santa Barbara on Thursday and other pickets unfolded on Friday .
At Santa Cruz — where the protests began three months ago with a wildcat grading strike that ended in the dismissal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ entrances to campus .
At UC Riverside and UC Irvine crowds marched .
“ Out of the labs , into the streets !
” they chanted , and “ Give us COLA , we demand it !
” “ It seems to be growing like crazy within the UC , ” said Sherry Ortner , professor of anthropology at UCLA .
“ I think this could really become a national issue .
Students at UC San Diego voted to begin a grading strike next Monday .
Those gathered at UCLA voted to go @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as next week if graduate students in at least 10 departments vote in favor .
The movement began with UC Santa Cruz “ wildcat ” strikes , so named because they were done without union authorization .
Teaching assistants went on grading strike in December , seeking a $ 1,412-per-month cost of living increase .
That escalated to a full teaching strike last month , during which students and police clashed .
Approximately 80 students who participated in the strike were later dismissed from their teaching assistant positions or told they would no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In response , more than 500 Santa Cruz graduate students across 22 departments pledged not to accept teaching assistant positions made available through the terminations of others .
“ The University of California values all our graduate students , including academic student employees ( ASEs ) who are essential to UC ’ s teaching mission , supporting the University as teaching assistants , readers and tutors .
However , that mission is in jeopardy when ASEs refuse to fulfill their teaching obligations , ” Andrew Gordon , associate director of media relations for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , said in an emailed statement .
The statement said teaching assistants who refuse to submit grades or teach are in violation of the university ’ s contract with their union , which includes a no-strike clause .
And , it said , that contract includes “ fair pay and excellent benefits , ” including 100 % tuition reimbursement , annual wage increases of 3 % over four years , remission of healthcare premiums and campus fees , and a childcare subsidy .
Despite the wildcat job actions , the movement got a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s bargaining team , which announced it would hold a vote in early April on whether to authorize a statewide unfair labor practice strike over the discipline of the Santa Cruz workers and other issues .
“ We have been calling for the University to come to the table and negotiate a Cost of Living Adjustment for months now … They continue to refuse , ” Kavitha Iyengar , president of the UAW Local 2865 , said in a statement .
The union said it represents more than 19,000 academic workers across the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ UC earn an average monthly salary of $ 2,400 per month .
Those on strike said that amount is vastly out of step with their cost of living .
In Santa Cruz , monthly rent and utilities averages about $ 1,340 .
Students at UC Santa Cruz said they had hoped for some relief from their union , a city rent control measure or intervention by the campus chancellor , but none came .
“ The wildcat was our best option , ” said Marcelo Mendez , a PhD student of sociology at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his teaching assistant position .
He ’ s not sure he has the means to return as a student in the next term .
“ Realistically there ’ s no way of getting an education next quarter without incurring massive debt , ” Mendez said .
At UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara , some graduate students are on strike as well , although the number is unclear .
At San Diego they will begin a grading strike Monday , and at Berkeley the graduate students in five departments have declared themselves “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ support nationwide and even abroad , with students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Notre Dame , University of Mississippi and University of Sussex expressing solidarity online .
Faculty , too , have joined .
The UC ’ s Academic Council issued a letter to President Janet Napolitano calling on UC not to retaliate against graduate students and to roll back the police presence at Santa Cruz .
At UCLA , 300 faculty members across disciplines signed an open letter to graduate students promising not to retaliate against any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ The undersigned faculty wants you to know that we support our graduate and undergraduate students , ” the letter reads .
“ We understand that a graduate student Cost of Living Adjustment ( COLA ) would benefit graduate students ’ well-being .
We are generally concerned that while ASE wages have risen by merely 3 % , the cost of living in Los Angeles and beyond has risen much more.
” Hundreds of faculty members at Berkeley and Davis signed similar letters .
“ Teachers do not live on apples alone , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Shame on UCOP .
Reinstate the fired grad students , ” wrote another , referring to UC ’ s Office of the President .
Many who signed on teach about homelessness , food insecurity , and gender and race inequities .
But the support extended beyond those departments .
“ For the UC system to thrive ... it ’ s essential to recruit the best and brightest students , ” Paul Barber , professor of ecology and evolutionary biology , wrote in an email .
“ It ’ s really important that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ UCLA ...
Addressing this issue is critical to ensure equal access to California students from all socio-economic backgrounds.
” Sucharita Kanjilal , a PhD student in anthropology and organizer at UCLA , said support from the faculty is particularly meaningful and called them “ our closest allies.
” “ They ’ re the ones who brought us here , they care about our research , they care about our work , ” she said .
The UCLA graduate students assembled Thursday were demanding reinstatement of the dismissed workers at Santa Cruz as well @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 2,600 per month , Kanjilal said .
Kanjilal , an international student from India , said she spends 50 % of her salary to rent a room in a three-bedroom house in Palms .
Her visa strictly limits where and how much she can work .
“ In some ways our financial situation is even more precarious , ” she said .
“ You ’ re stuck with that money .
”

Students and faculty at UCLA demonstrate on campus on March 5 to support graduate students across the university system who are demanding a cost-of-living salary increase.
A growing number of students and faculty members across University of California campuses walked out of class, held rallies and signed letters this week, as a systemwide movement takes hold in support of graduate students demanding cost-of-living adjustments to their salaries.
During widespread UC campus demonstrations, students filled the Janss Steps at UCLA, Sproul Plaza at UC Berkeley and Cheadle Hall at UC Santa Barbara on Thursday and other pickets unfolded on Friday. At Santa Cruz — where the protests began three months ago with a wildcat grading strike that ended in the dismissal of some student workers — students blocked entrances to campus. At UC Riverside and UC Irvine crowds marched.
“Out of the labs, into the streets!” they chanted, and “Give us COLA, we demand it!”
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“It seems to be growing like crazy within the UC,” said Sherry Ortner, professor of anthropology at UCLA. “I think this could really become a national issue.”
Students at UC San Diego voted to begin a grading strike next Monday. Those gathered at UCLA voted to go on a full teaching strike as early as next week if graduate students in at least 10 departments vote in favor.
Brave and inspiring #UCB graduate students striking today in solidarity with #UCSC grad student strikers. They demand cost of living adjustment across the UC system and an end to excessive police response to student civil action #cola4all 1/ pic.twitter.com/t2OqA3Ccka — Elena Schneider (@ElenaSchneid) March 5, 2020
The movement began with UC Santa Cruz “wildcat” strikes, so named because they were done without union authorization. Teaching assistants went on grading strike in December, seeking a $1,412-per-month cost of living increase. That escalated to a full teaching strike last month, during which students and police clashed.
Approximately 80 students who participated in the strike were later dismissed from their teaching assistant positions or told they would no longer be considered for spring appointments. In response, more than 500 Santa Cruz graduate students across 22 departments pledged not to accept teaching assistant positions made available through the terminations of others.
“The University of California values all our graduate students, including academic student employees (ASEs) who are essential to UC’s teaching mission, supporting the University as teaching assistants, readers and tutors. However, that mission is in jeopardy when ASEs refuse to fulfill their teaching obligations,” Andrew Gordon, associate director of media relations for UC’s Office of the President, said in an emailed statement.
The statement said teaching assistants who refuse to submit grades or teach are in violation of the university’s contract with their union, which includes a no-strike clause. And, it said, that contract includes “fair pay and excellent benefits,” including 100% tuition reimbursement, annual wage increases of 3% over four years, remission of healthcare premiums and campus fees, and a child-care subsidy.
Despite the wildcat job actions, the movement got a boost this week from the union’s bargaining team, which announced it would hold a vote in early April on whether to authorize a statewide unfair labor practice strike over the disciplining of the Santa Cruz workers and other issues.
“We have been calling for the University to come to the table and negotiate a Cost of Living Adjustment for months now.… They continue to refuse,” Kavitha Iyengar, president of UAW Local 2865, said in a statement. The union said it represents more than 19,000 academic workers across the UC system.
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Graduate teaching assistants at UC earn an average monthly salary of $2,400 per month. Those on strike said that amount is vastly out of step with their cost of living. In Santa Cruz, monthly rent and utilities averages about $1,340.
Students at UC Santa Cruz said they had hoped for some relief from their union, a city rent control measure or intervention by the campus chancellor, but none came.
“The wildcat was our best option,” said Marcelo Mendez, a sociology doctoral candidate at UC Santa Cruz who was dismissed from his teaching assistant position. He’s not sure he has the means to return as a student in the next term.
“Realistically there’s no way of getting an education next quarter without incurring massive debt,” Mendez said.
At UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara, some graduate students are on strike as well, although the number is unclear. At San Diego they will begin a grading strike Monday, and at Berkeley the graduate students in five departments have declared themselves “strike ready.”
The strikers have garnered support nationwide and even abroad, with students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Notre Dame, University of Mississippi and University of Sussex expressing solidarity online.
Faculty, too, have joined. The UC’s Academic Council issued a letter to President Janet Napolitano calling on UC not to retaliate against graduate students and to roll back the police presence at Santa Cruz. At UCLA, 300 faculty members across disciplines signed an open letter to graduate students promising not to retaliate against any who demonstrate for a pay increase.
“The undersigned faculty wants you to know that we support our graduate and undergraduate students,” the letter reads. “We understand that a graduate student Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) would benefit graduate students’ well-being. We are generally concerned that while ASE wages have risen by merely 3%, the cost of living in Los Angeles and beyond has risen much more.”
Hundreds of faculty members at Berkeley and Davis signed similar letters.
“Teachers do not live on apples alone,” one commented alongside her name.
“Shame on UCOP. Reinstate the fired grad students,” wrote another, referring to UC’s Office of the President.
Many who signed on teach about homelessness, food insecurity, and gender and race inequities. But the support extended beyond those areas.
“For the UC system to thrive ... it’s essential to recruit the best and brightest students,” Paul Barber, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, wrote in an email. “It’s really important that our students can afford to come to UCLA.... Addressing this issue is critical to ensure equal access to California students from all socioeconomic backgrounds.”
Sucharita Kanjilal, a doctoral candidate in anthropology and an organizer at UCLA, said support from the faculty is particularly meaningful and called them “our closest allies.”
“They’re the ones who brought us here, they care about our research, they care about our work,” she said.
The UCLA graduate students assembled Thursday were demanding reinstatement of the dismissed workers at Santa Cruz as well as their own cost-of-living increase of about $2,600 per month, Kanjilal said.
Kanjilal, an international student from India, said she spends 50% of her salary to rent a room in a three-bedroom house in Palms. Her visa strictly limits where and how much she can work.
“In some ways our financial situation is even more precarious,” she said. “You’re stuck with that money.”


latimes--2020-03-07--Truckers, dockworkers suffer as coronavirus chokes L.A., Long Beach ports cargo

On a bright morning early this week , Eugene Seroka , executive director of the Port of Los Angeles , gazed through the big picture window of his office at the sprawling docks below .
Where he would normally see as many as a dozen ships in the harbor with giant cranes hoisting one container of goods after another , just four had docked .
“ It ’ s very quiet , ” he said .
The nation ’ s largest port is hurting .
That may be a leading indicator of the pain that ’ s in store for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ businesses hunker down to deal with the rapidly expanding new coronavirus .
Many American companies had bulked up inventories last year in advance of the Trump administration ’ s steep tariffs on Chinese imports , and have plenty of goods on hand .
But they could soon face serious consequences of the virus : a dearth of crucial parts for American factories , shortages of consumer products on store shelves and less demand for U.S. exports .
Trade with China normally accounts for roughly half of the containerized goods flowing through the twin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Now , with Chinese factories operating at about 40 % of capacity , business at the San Pedro Bay complex is dwindling .
The two ports project a 15 % to 17 % plunge in cargo volumes in the first quarter of this year , as compared with the first three months of 2019 — a drop of more than 500,000 container units .
Imports usually slow around the Chinese New Year , but shippers have canceled 60 vessel sailings for the first quarter of this year —nearly twice the normal number @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ports have been shutting down for days at a time .
“ The overall impact is not only on the regional economy , it is on the national economy , ” said Mario Cordero , executive director of the Port of Long Beach .
“ We are ground zero for Asian imports .
We were already down because of the trade war .
With the coronavirus , we ’ ve gone from uncertainty to potential chaos.
” In the Los Angeles region , the pain is already acute .
Seroka pointed out that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tied to the ports , including people who work on the docks , drive trucks and move boxes in warehouses .
“ That ’ s a million jobs , ” he said .
“ Less cargo means fewer jobs .
The truck drivers are not pulling as much freight .
The longshoremen are not being called out to work as frequently as they normally would be.
” At a time when job growth is already slowing in California — after a decade of expansion — the coronavirus threatens to make things worse .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ down by a fifth in the first 10 weeks of this year , compared with 2019 , according to the Pacific Maritime Assn.
, an industry trade group , although the trade war and competition from East and Gulf Coast ports are also factors .
Strong contracts with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union prevent layoffs among the 8,600 members staffing the twin ports : They are paid 40 hours a week regardless of the drop in shifts .
But the slowdown has dramatically affected a group of some 3,500 dockworkers known as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have yet to become regular longshore workers .
Their shifts have dropped from more than 2,000 a week to about 200 .
The crisis is most severe for the 13,000 truckers who ferry goods from ships to warehouses and rail yards across Southern California .
Some 80 % are independent contractors who own their trucks and get paid per load .
As cargo has dwindled and work has dried up , they are panicking .
A Facebook page with 5,800 drivers , mostly Latino immigrants , is filled with photos of locked terminal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sale because the owners are unable to meet mortgage payments .
“ We are in a state of emergency , ” said Ron Herrera , president of the Los Angeles County Labor Federation .
“ If there ’ s no cargo , no one gets paid .
For independent contractors , it is especially devastating .
They are not eligible for unemployment , unlike employee drivers.
” But even the 300 Teamsters who serve the ports are not immune .
On Feb 25 , Carson-based Shippers Transport Express texted its 145 unionized drivers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ off two days later .
Nicolasa Huerta and her partner , Benny Cruz , who drove night shifts for Shippers , are among those who lost their jobs .
“ They had us working two days a week , ” said Huerta , 47 .
“ Then it was one day .
Then they told us to stay home a week .
Then we got the text.
” Huerta was earning $ 29 an hour .
Unemployment benefits won ’ t pay as much , and she is afraid she will be unable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her small Compton home , not to mention a $ 315 monthly car loan and $ 600 in monthly credit card bills .
“ Oh my goodness , I worked so hard to get the house , ” she said .
“ I don ’ t want to lose it because of this virus.
” For her daughters , ages 16 and 9 , Huerta tries to remain calm .
“ My kids need to see me strong , ” she said .
“ I can not just collapse .
This is happening @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s no ships coming in , there ’ s no work , so companies have no choice .
We ’ re holding on in hopes they will call us back.
” Weston LaBar , chief executive of the Harbor Trucking Assn.
, a trade group for about 100 large drayage companies , estimates “ business is down 60 % to 70 % for the last week of February and into March .
The coronavirus has already cost our industry millions upon millions of dollars in lost productivity and administrative costs.
” Terminal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ empty containers and chassis , the flat steel beds they sit on .
“ Every terminal has an appointment system that regulates what containers you pick up and drop off , ” LaBar said .
“ If your appointments are at a closed terminal , then you can ’ t operate.
” Trucking companies are being charged daily fees for late returns , leading to fights with ocean carriers and customers over who should pay .
“ They ’ re facing six- and seven-figure equipment bills , ” he added .
“ Everything @ @ @ @ @ @ @ goes on , certain companies may go out of business.
” The snafus exceed what the ports experienced during a 2014 slowdown amid contentious union negotiations or in 2018 , when docks were clogged with extra cargo in anticipation of Trump ’ s China tariffs , LaBar said .
“ I ’ ve never seen such disruption , ” he added .
“ We ’ re in an unprecedented situation.
” Big companies aren ’ t the only victims of the spread of the coronavirus .
Thousands of small businesses depend on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ warehouse owners to trucking brokers .
At his office in Santa Fe Springs this week , Michael Marchica , the owner of MFB Transportation , a small logistics agency , stared disconsolately at a live feed from the ports on his desktop monitor .
It displayed five open and five closed terminals .
Even the open ones showed few trucks in line .
In the past , he said , the feed would show “ pictures where you couldn ’ t even see the streets because of so many trucks.
” Before the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to 60 truckers a day to pick up imports from China — pressure cookers , shoes , clothing , even paddle surfboards .
Now , he said , “ we ’ re deader than a doornail .
I haven ’ t seen anything from my customers in three weeks .
The factories in China have shut down or the sailings have been canceled.
” Two weeks ago , Marchica laid off one of his three dispatchers and one of his two billing clerks .
He has cut the hours of the others .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , “ are hurting .
They ’ re back on their rent .
I know a couple of guys are doing Uber.
” Meanwhile , he added , “ Drivers I haven ’ t talked to in years are calling me day and night asking me if I have business for them.
” Marchica figures his company has lost as much as $ 200,000 in revenue since January .
He has dipped into personal savings to support his family of four , at the same time as he faces medical bills for his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ It ’ s really , really , really bad , ” he said .
“ It ’ s wiping me out , quick .
But everyone ’ s in the same boat.
” Exporters are also affected by the closures and snarled supply chain .
National companies that ship meat , poultry and hay to China through California ports , along with California farmers who export oranges and other produce , report that refrigerated containers are in short supply and cold storage facilities are overflowing with inventory .
“ Our farmers have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Seroka said .
“ We ’ re working diligently with the liner companies to put vessel services in place so we can move the exports and evacuate the empty containers.
” But even as port officials scramble to cope with the current disruption , they are also worrying about what happens when the virus subsides , Chinese factories ramp up , and delayed cargo floods through the ports .
“ We ’ re going to witness a really big pendulum swing , ” Seroka said .
“ It will mean a strong wave @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all hands on deck to capture those and push them through the port with high velocity.
” Railroad executives , trucking company owners , terminal operators and ship operators are meeting with port officials to discuss what might happen next .
That includes , he said , “ when we ’ re going to schedule ships , how sailings are going to come into place .
We ’ ve got a lot of empty containers and more importantly , a lot of exports that have to move from these docks.
” For the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 200,000 businesses shipping some $ 500 billion in cargo , the fear , Cordero acknowledged , is “ a repetition of what we experienced in the last quarter of 2018 , ” when importers front-loaded orders to avoid tariffs .
“ There weren ’ t enough dockworkers to unload all the containers , ” he recalled .
“ There weren ’ t enough trucks to get this stuff off the docks .
We have to prepare to recuperate from the coronavirus situation .
”

Empty berths and idle cranes at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach on March 6.
On a bright morning early this week, Eugene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, gazed through the big picture window of his office at the sprawling docks below.
Where he would normally see as many as a dozen ships in the harbor with giant cranes hoisting one container of goods after another, just four had docked.
“It’s very quiet,” he said.
The nation’s largest port is hurting. That may be a leading indicator of the pain that’s in store for Southern California and the U.S. economy as businesses hunker down to deal with the rapidly expanding new coronavirus.
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Many American companies had bulked up inventories last year in advance of the Trump administration’s steep tariffs on Chinese imports, and have plenty of goods on hand. But they could soon face serious consequences of the virus: a dearth of crucial parts for American factories, shortages of consumer products on store shelves and less demand for U.S. exports.
Trade with China normally accounts for roughly half of the containerized goods flowing through the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Now, with Chinese factories operating at about 40% of capacity, business at the San Pedro Bay complex is dwindling. The two ports project a 15% to 17% plunge in cargo volumes in the first quarter of this year, as compared with the first three months of 2019 — a drop of more than 500,000 container units.
The L.A. and Long Beach ports project a 15% to 17% plunge in cargo volumes in the first quarter of this year, compared with the first three months of 2019. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
Imports usually slow around the Chinese New Year, but shippers have canceled 60 vessel sailings for the first quarter of this year —nearly twice the normal number. The 12 terminals across the two ports have been shutting down for days at a time.
“The overall impact is not only on the regional economy, it is on the national economy,” said Mario Cordero, executive director of the Port of Long Beach. “We are ground zero for Asian imports. We were already down because of the trade war. With the coronavirus, we’ve gone from uncertainty to potential chaos.”
In the Los Angeles region, the pain is already acute. Seroka pointed out that 1 in 9 Southern California jobs are tied to the ports, including people who work on the docks, drive trucks and move boxes in warehouses.
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“That’s a million jobs,” he said. “Less cargo means fewer jobs. The truck drivers are not pulling as much freight. The longshoremen are not being called out to work as frequently as they normally would be.”
At a time when job growth is already slowing in California — after a decade of expansion — the coronavirus threatens to make things worse.
On the docks, work shifts are down by a fifth in the first 10 weeks of this year, compared with 2019, according to the Pacific Maritime Assn., an industry trade group, although the trade war and competition from East and Gulf Coast ports are also factors.
Strong contracts with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union prevent layoffs among the 8,600 members staffing the twin ports: They are paid 40 hours a week regardless of the drop in shifts. But the slowdown has dramatically affected a group of some 3,500 dockworkers known as “casuals,” contingency workers who have yet to become regular longshore workers. Their shifts have dropped from more than 2,000 a week to about 200.
The crisis is most severe for the 13,000 truckers who ferry goods from ships to warehouses and rail yards across Southern California. Some 80% are independent contractors who own their trucks and get paid per load. As cargo has dwindled and work has dried up, they are panicking. A Facebook page with 5,800 drivers, mostly Latino immigrants, is filled with photos of locked terminal gates and posts offering big rigs for sale because the owners are unable to meet mortgage payments.
“We are in a state of emergency,” said Ron Herrera, president of the Los Angeles County Labor Federation. “If there’s no cargo, no one gets paid. For independent contractors, it is especially devastating. They are not eligible for unemployment, unlike employee drivers.”
But even the 300 Teamsters who serve the ports are not immune. On Feb 25, Carson-based Shippers Transport Express texted its 145 unionized drivers, telling them they would be laid off two days later.
Nicolasa Huerta, 47, was laid off from her job as a truck driver transporting goods from China. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Nicolasa Huerta and her partner, Benny Cruz, who drove night shifts for Shippers, are among those who lost their jobs. “They had us working two days a week,” said Huerta, 47. “Then it was one day. Then they told us to stay home a week. Then we got the text.”
Huerta was earning $29 an hour. Unemployment benefits won’t pay as much, and she is afraid she will be unable to afford the $2,000-a-month mortgage on her small Compton home, not to mention a $315 monthly car loan and $600 in monthly credit card bills.
“Oh my goodness, I worked so hard to get the house,” she said. “I don’t want to lose it because of this virus.”
For her daughters, ages 16 and 9, Huerta tries to remain calm. “My kids need to see me strong,” she said. “I cannot just collapse. This is happening to all of us. If there’s no ships coming in, there’s no work, so companies have no choice. We’re holding on in hopes they will call us back.”
Weston LaBar, chief executive of the Harbor Trucking Assn., a trade group for about 100 large drayage companies, estimates “business is down 60% to 70% for the last week of February and into March. The coronavirus has already cost our industry millions upon millions of dollars in lost productivity and administrative costs.”
Terminal closures mean truckers can’t return empty containers and chassis, the flat steel beds they sit on. “Every terminal has an appointment system that regulates what containers you pick up and drop off,” LaBar said. “If your appointments are at a closed terminal, then you can’t operate.”
Trucking companies are being charged daily fees for late returns, leading to fights with ocean carriers and customers over who should pay. “They’re facing six- and seven-figure equipment bills,” he added. “Everything is going downhill. The longer this goes on, certain companies may go out of business.”
The snafus exceed what the ports experienced during a 2014 slowdown amid contentious union negotiations or in 2018, when docks were clogged with extra cargo in anticipation of Trump’s China tariffs, LaBar said.
“I’ve never seen such disruption,” he added. “We’re in an unprecedented situation.”
Big companies aren’t the only victims of the spread of the coronavirus. Thousands of small businesses depend on the twin ports, from freight forwarders to warehouse owners to trucking brokers.
At his office in Santa Fe Springs this week, Michael Marchica, the owner of MFB Transportation, a small logistics agency, stared disconsolately at a live feed from the ports on his desktop monitor. It displayed five open and five closed terminals. Even the open ones showed few trucks in line.
In the past, he said, the feed would show “pictures where you couldn’t even see the streets because of so many trucks.”
Michael Marchica, owner of MFB Transportation, has lost as much as $200,000 in revenue since January because of a decline in cargo shipments at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Before the coronavirus hit, Marchica was dispatching up to 60 truckers a day to pick up imports from China — pressure cookers, shoes, clothing, even paddle surfboards. Now, he said, “we’re deader than a doornail. I haven’t seen anything from my customers in three weeks. The factories in China have shut down or the sailings have been canceled.”
Two weeks ago, Marchica laid off one of his three dispatchers and one of his two billing clerks. He has cut the hours of the others. His out-of-work truckers, all independent owner-operators, “are hurting. They’re back on their rent. I know a couple of guys are doing Uber.”
Meanwhile, he added, “Drivers I haven’t talked to in years are calling me day and night asking me if I have business for them.”
Marchica figures his company has lost as much as $200,000 in revenue since January. He has dipped into personal savings to support his family of four, at the same time as he faces medical bills for his wife’s breast cancer treatments.
“It’s really, really, really bad,” he said. “It’s wiping me out, quick. But everyone’s in the same boat.”
Exporters are also affected by the closures and snarled supply chain. National companies that ship meat, poultry and hay to China through California ports, along with California farmers who export oranges and other produce, report that refrigerated containers are in short supply and cold storage facilities are overflowing with inventory.
“Less cargo means fewer jobs,” said Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
“Our farmers have product stuck on the docks,” Seroka said. “We’re working diligently with the liner companies to put vessel services in place so we can move the exports and evacuate the empty containers.”
But even as port officials scramble to cope with the current disruption, they are also worrying about what happens when the virus subsides, Chinese factories ramp up, and delayed cargo floods through the ports.
“We’re going to witness a really big pendulum swing,” Seroka said. “It will mean a strong wave of imports. We need to have all hands on deck to capture those and push them through the port with high velocity.”
Railroad executives, trucking company owners, terminal operators and ship operators are meeting with port officials to discuss what might happen next. That includes, he said, “when we’re going to schedule ships, how sailings are going to come into place. We’ve got a lot of empty containers and more importantly, a lot of exports that have to move from these docks.”
For the twin ports, which serve more than 200,000 businesses shipping some $500 billion in cargo a year, the fear, Cordero acknowledged, is “a repetition of what we experienced in the last quarter of 2018,” when importers front-loaded orders to avoid tariffs.
“There weren’t enough dockworkers to unload all the containers,” he recalled. “There weren’t enough trucks to get this stuff off the docks. We have to prepare to recuperate from the coronavirus situation.”


latimes--2020-03-07--Lopez: Readers weren't happy with what I had to say about D.A. Jackie Lacey — and neither was she

They weighed in quickly and their message was clear .
With only a few exceptions , the readers who bothered to write did not like my recent column on Jackie Lacey ’ s husband pointing a gun at protesters who knocked on the door of the L.A. County district attorney ’ s on the eve of the election .
Lacey wasn ’ t too thrilled with my work , either .
When I asked her if she wanted to talk about it , she said yes .
Don ’ t get the idea here that I ’ m ready and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
That would take decades .
But I respect Lacey , the first woman and first African American leader of the D.A.
’ s office , and so I paid her a visit Wednesday afternoon .
At that point , the two-term incumbent led two challengers in her bid for reelection , taking about 50 % of the votes while the others split the rest .
But it was not yet clear — and still isn ’ t — whether Lacey will finish the race above 50 % and thereby avoid a November @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it takes so long to count votes in the state that invented technology is beyond me , and I ’ m wondering if messenger pigeons would be an improvement .
Before I get to what Lacey told me , I have to say , I still think it wasn ’ t the best idea for the husband of the county ’ s top law enforcement official to threaten to shoot Black Lives Matter protesters .
But Lacey has been somewhat circumspect about the incident , and readers came to her husband ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ death threats and harassment .
...
It ’ s a wonder the rudely awakened Mr. Lacey did not shoot anyone , ” said one .
According to Lacey , her husband later apologized for waving his gun .
“ Mr .
Lacey was simply standing his ground , protecting his wife and property .
It ’ s his home and the Black Lives Matter people should have respected that , ” said another reader .
I wrote that Lacey might have avoided the scene if she had met with critics , as promised @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shins on that point , too .
“ As to the notion that she should have met with the Black Lives Matter group , ” said one , “ they lost any right to that when they deprived her of her 1st Amendment right to speech by shouting her down during a campaign debate.
” When I sat face to face with Lacey , she told me she knew she surrendered some of her privacy the moment she became D.A .
And while she defended the 1st Amendment right of free speech , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ used by her vocal critics , some of whom disrupted a candidate forum she participated in , and she thinks her home should be off-limits .
“ I think to call this a protest is mis-categorizing it , ” she said .
Lacey told me she expected that when she was ready to head home on the day we spoke , protesters would be outside her office waving signs and calling for her ouster .
“ I think that ’ s fair , and I even think it ’ s fair if they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ event , ” Lacey said .
But twice now they ’ ve come to her home .
“ They didn ’ t come onto the property ” the first time , Lacey said , but they did startle her .
“ What they do is they beat the drums to wake up everybody in the neighborhood because they ’ re trying to embarrass me.
” Last week , she said , they crossed a line .
“ This time they were on the property and they were ringing the doorbell , ” Lacey @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thing .
Speaking out is one thing .
But bullying is when you are screaming and yelling and trying to embarrass somebody into doing what you want them to do … and what they want me to do is file criminal charges against every police officer who shoots someone in L.A. County .
That ’ s what they want.
” She described another incident that crossed a line for her last May , when she attended a mental health event and art exhibit .
“ I was just in there with my family @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a group rushed toward me and started screaming and yelling at me .
So my security team grabbed me and backed me out of a circle of angry people and … I fell to the ground , ” Lacey said .
“ And you ’ re thinking , are these people going to kick me in the head ?
” As I said in the first column , I get her frustration .
If I were a public official , I wouldn ’ t want people rushing me or marching on my home @ @ @ @ @ @ @ critics are making , even if their tactics are debatable .
As my colleague Sandy Banks wrote , some in the black community celebrated Lacey ’ s rise eight years ago , but soured on her after two terms .
As they see it , mass incarceration of poor young men of color is unconscionable in L.A. and beyond .
They argue that Lacey isn ’ t doing enough about it , even as prosecutors in other parts of the country are embracing criminal justice reform and calling for reduced charges , lower @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the death penalty .
They claim Lacey has dragged her feet or chosen not to file in high-profile police shootings involving victims of color , even when the officers were fired for their actions and millions in settlements were paid .
In one case , even LAPD Chief Charlie Beck urged Lacey to prosecute an officer who killed a homeless man during a tussle in Venice .
She chose not to .
And then there ’ s the case of the white Democratic donor and West Hollywood resident Ed Buck , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ drugs .
Critics screamed for Lacey to prosecute , but it was only last fall , after a second man died at Buck ’ s home , that charges were filed .
Lacey sees it differently , arguing that her decisions on individual cases are guided by laws and not public persuasion .
She grew up in South L.A. , where she sometimes worried about her safety as a child .
Later , her father was shot and wounded after painting over some graffiti .
There ’ s not enough focus , Lacey @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crime .
Lacey ’ s bid for reelection drew national attention because her opponents — former police officer and San Francisco D.A .
George Gascón , and former public defender Rachel Rossi — campaigned as criminal justice reformers .
Lacey said she thinks the early election results reflect an affirmation of her policies .
“ People want to be safe , ” she told me .
And what about the disproportionate number of minorities behind bars ?
“ It ’ s not lost on me , ” Lacey said .
“ But ... @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crime , what is your obligation as a prosecutor ?
I think your obligation is to make sure that whatever your decision is , you make it not based on race.
” “ I don ’ t pretend to have all the answers on this , ” Lacey said , but the way to address poverty is with “ better schools and opportunities , it seems , for African American and brown children.
” Lacey argued that she ’ s been a reformer , too .
She mentioned her role in the dismissal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ critics saw that as politically convenient timing , coming three weeks before an election in which her challengers were running to her left .
Lacey said that she has tried to divert as many mentally ill people as possible into treatment and other programs rather than incarceration , but that there aren ’ t enough options available yet .
And she would like to see her office focus more on diversion for juvenile defendants .
As Lacey predicted , protesters were outside when I left her office .
They included the family of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and killed by sheriff ’ s deputies in a controversial 2018 incident in East Los Angeles .
A Vargas family member , along with two protesters who had gone to Lacey ’ s home last week — Greg Akili and Melina Abdullah — told me they want more accountability from Lacey .
Akili said he ’ d like to see Lacey prosecute the crimes of police with the same zeal she uses in prosecuting citizens .
“ This ‘ lock ‘ em up and throw away the key ’ mentality has made America @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it hasn ’ t proved necessarily to make us any safer , it ’ s only proved to criminalize us , ” Akili said .
He offered no apologies for the protest at Lacey ’ s home .
“ The civil rights movement , the labor movement and the women ’ s movement never would have changed anything if people were polite and respectful , ” Akili said .
So as the rest of the votes are counted , is there any way forward ?
I ’ m going to be optimistic and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ willing to stop being so provocative and engage in constructive conversation , and if Lacey is willing to elaborate on her comments to me about juvenile diversion and other reforms .
“ I can always see a point to a meeting , ” Lacey said , “ as long as there ’ s a mediator .
”

They weighed in quickly and their message was clear.
With only a few exceptions, the readers who bothered to write did not like my recent column on Jackie Lacey’s husband pointing a gun at protesters who knocked on the door of the L.A. County district attorney’s on the eve of the election.
Lacey wasn’t too thrilled with my work, either. When I asked her if she wanted to talk about it, she said yes.
Don’t get the idea here that I’m ready and willing to meet with all my critics. That would take decades. But I respect Lacey, the first woman and first African American leader of the D.A.’s office, and so I paid her a visit Wednesday afternoon.
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At that point, the two-term incumbent led two challengers in her bid for reelection, taking about 50% of the votes while the others split the rest. But it was not yet clear — and still isn’t — whether Lacey will finish the race above 50% and thereby avoid a November runoff against the second-place finisher.
Why it takes so long to count votes in the state that invented technology is beyond me, and I’m wondering if messenger pigeons would be an improvement.
Before I get to what Lacey told me, I have to say, I still think it wasn’t the best idea for the husband of the county’s top law enforcement official to threaten to shoot Black Lives Matter protesters. But Lacey has been somewhat circumspect about the incident, and readers came to her husband’s defense.
“Jackie Lacey has received death threats and harassment. ... It’s a wonder the rudely awakened Mr. Lacey did not shoot anyone,” said one. According to Lacey, her husband later apologized for waving his gun.
“Mr. Lacey was simply standing his ground, protecting his wife and property. It’s his home and the Black Lives Matter people should have respected that,” said another reader.
I wrote that Lacey might have avoided the scene if she had met with critics, as promised. But readers kicked me in the shins on that point, too.
Advertisement
“As to the notion that she should have met with the Black Lives Matter group,” said one, “they lost any right to that when they deprived her of her 1st Amendment right to speech by shouting her down during a campaign debate.”
When I sat face-to-face with Lacey, she told me she knew she surrendered some of her privacy the moment she became D.A. And while she defended the 1st Amendment right to free speech, she said she objects to the tactics used by her vocal critics, some of whom disrupted a candidate forum she participated in, and she thinks her home should be off-limits.
“I think to call this a protest is miscategorizing it,” she said.
Lacey told me she expected that when she was ready to head home on the day we spoke, protesters would be outside her office waving signs and calling for her ouster.
“I think that’s fair, and I even think it’s fair if they want to show up at a public event,” Lacey said.
But twice now they’ve come to her home.
“They didn’t come onto the property” the first time, Lacey said, but they did startle her. “What they do is they beat the drums to wake up everybody in the neighborhood because they’re trying to embarrass me.”
Last week, she said, they crossed a line.
“This time they were on the property and they were ringing the doorbell,” Lacey said. “Peaceful protest is one thing. Speaking out is one thing. But bullying is when you are screaming and yelling and trying to embarrass somebody into doing what you want them to do … and what they want me to do is file criminal charges against every police officer who shoots someone in L.A. County. That’s what they want.”
She described another incident that crossed a line for her last May, when she attended a mental health event and art exhibit.
“I was just in there with my family members looking at artwork, and suddenly a group rushed toward me and started screaming and yelling at me. So my security team grabbed me and backed me out of a circle of angry people and … I fell to the ground,” Lacey said. “And you’re thinking, are these people going to kick me in the head?”
As I said in the first column, I get her frustration. If I were a public official, I wouldn’t want people rushing me or marching on my home.
But I also get the points critics are making, even if their tactics are debatable. As my colleague Sandy Banks wrote, some in the black community celebrated Lacey’s rise eight years ago, but soured on her after two terms.
As they see it, mass incarceration of poor young men of color is unconscionable in L.A. and beyond. They argue that Lacey isn’t doing enough about it, even as prosecutors in other parts of the country are embracing criminal justice reform and calling for reduced charges, lower penalties, more diversion and an end to the death penalty.
They claim Lacey has dragged her feet or chosen not to file in high-profile police shootings involving victims of color, even when the officers were fired for their actions and millions in settlements were paid. In one case, even then-LAPD Chief Charlie Beck urged Lacey to prosecute an officer who killed a homeless man during a tussle in Venice. She chose not to.
And then there’s the case of the white Democratic donor and West Hollywood resident Ed Buck, who allegedly plied young gay black men with drugs. Critics screamed for Lacey to prosecute, but it was only last fall, after a second man died at Buck’s home, that charges were filed.
Lacey sees it differently, arguing that her decisions on individual cases are guided by laws and not public persuasion. She grew up in South L.A., where she sometimes worried about her safety as a child. Later, her father was shot and wounded after painting over some graffiti.
There’s not enough focus, Lacey told me, on the victims of crime.
Lacey’s bid for reelection drew national attention because her opponents — former police officer and San Francisco D.A. George Gascón, and former public defender Rachel Rossi — campaigned as criminal justice reformers.
Lacey said she thinks the early election results reflect an affirmation of her policies.
“People want to be safe,” she told me.
And what about the disproportionate number of minorities behind bars?
“It’s not lost on me,” Lacey said. “But ... when someone of color commits a violent crime, what is your obligation as a prosecutor? I think your obligation is to make sure that whatever your decision is, you make it not based on race.”
“I don’t pretend to have all the answers on this,” Lacey said, but the way to address poverty is with “better schools and opportunities, it seems, for African American and brown children.”
Lacey argued that she’s been a reformer, too. She mentioned her role in the dismissal of 66,000 marijuana convictions, but some critics saw that as politically convenient timing, coming three weeks before an election in which her challengers were running to her left.
Lacey said that she has tried to divert as many mentally ill people as possible into treatment and other programs rather than incarceration, but that there aren’t enough options available yet. And she would like to see her office focus more on diversion for juvenile defendants.
As Lacey predicted, protesters were outside when I left her office. They included the family of Anthony Vargas, a 21-year-old man shot and killed by sheriff’s deputies in a controversial 2018 incident in East Los Angeles.
A Vargas family member, along with two protesters who had gone to Lacey’s home last week — Greg Akili and Melina Abdullah — told me they want more accountability from Lacey. Akili said he’d like to see Lacey prosecute the crimes of police with the same zeal she uses in prosecuting citizens.
“This ‘lock ‘em up and throw away the key’ mentality has made America the largest jailer in the world ... it hasn’t proved necessarily to make us any safer, it’s only proved to criminalize us,” Akili said.
He offered no apologies for the protest at Lacey’s home.
“The civil rights movement, the labor movement and the women’s movement never would have changed anything if people were polite and respectful,” Akili said.
So as the rest of the votes are counted, is there any way forward?
I’m going to be optimistic and say yes, if the protesters are willing to stop being so provocative and engage in constructive conversation, and if Lacey is willing to elaborate on her comments to me about juvenile diversion and other reforms.
“I can always see a point to a meeting,” Lacey said, “as long as there’s a mediator.”
steve.lopez@latimes.com


latimes--2020-03-07--City Beat: A homeless man, a Corgi and a rescue mission on two legs and four

A lot of us see the great need all around and we want to do something useful but we ’ re not sure how .
What can we do for someone who has lost a job and lost housing ?
For someone who is teetering on the edge ?
This is a story about how help need not be huge to be hugely helpful , and about how helping often helps the helpers too .
This is also a story about Corgis , those dogs famously fit for a queen .
Corgis are sweet and smart and known for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inspire in , their people .
Let me start by saying that Ted and Sandy Rogers loved their Corgi as much as it is possible to love .
I know this because I ’ ve known Ted for years on Twitter , and he used to post as many proud photos of the dog as he did entries on his well-read blog about biking .
I came to know and love “ the Corgi ” from a distance through Ted ’ s photos and descriptions .
I smiled when I saw her showing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and costumes .
I was proud of her for the way she took care of Ted .
When diabetes walloped Ted about five years ago , the Corgi somehow learned just how to help him .
He described how she watched over him and prodded him and licked him when his blood sugar plunged dangerously low .
He credited these attentions on multiple occasions with saving him from the ER .
So I knew how devastated Ted was last spring when the Corgi herself became ill .
I was devastated for him too @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Corgi , whose proper name was Sienna , died of cancer in August at age 13 , Ted and Sandy , who have no human children , sank deeply into their grief .
Ted told me that on many a morning he no longer saw a good reason to get out of bed .
Late in the fall , a friend forwarded the couple , who live in Hollywood , a perfectly timed request .
She had spotted it on Craigslist while trying to find them some solace .
A man was looking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ home for a few months .
“ I ’ ve been with him for most of his life , ” he wrote .
“ Although he loves me dearly , soon after meeting you , he ’ ll love you just as much.
” Ted and Sandy weren ’ t ready yet for a new dog .
Still , borrowing one sounded good .
“ We figured it would be kind of us helping him , him helping us , ” Sandy said of the then-stranger ’ s plea .
That the Corgi @ @ @ @ @ @ @ evident to them at first glance .
The two , who had been together since the Corgi , now 11 , was 1 , were obviously deeply bonded .
Ted and Sandy knew better than most how hard it must be for the man to give up his best friend for any reason , even temporarily .
But they didn ’ t want to pry and so they didn ’ t ask a lot of questions .
On Sunday afternoons though , when the man visited their apartment to lie on their carpet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s tummy and toss his dog balls , which the Corgi caught in his mouth , the couple began to learn how much their help mattered .
Bear with me here because this is where telling the story gets tricky .
What has happened to the foster Corgi ’ s person has happened to many people .
It isn ’ t his fault .
He ’ s had a run of bad luck .
But shame is tenacious and the foster Corgi ’ s person can ’ t seem to shed it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ me tell you some things about him , he won ’ t let me tell you his name .
Or even the name of the Corgi .
He ’ s that worried that someone who knows him from his previous life will see how far he ’ s fallen and judge him .
The foster Corgi ’ s person , you see , has a PhD and used to have a great , six-figure job in a company that recruited him here from the Midwest .
Since he lost that job in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ haven ’ t been the same for either him or his dog .
At first he had the padding of severance and savings .
He sold his condo back home for more cash .
He had confidence that he ’ d bounce back .
He didn ’ t immediately comprehend how quickly his circumstances could slide downward .
In short order , however , he went from making more money than he could spend and living in a two-bedroom apartment with two big TVs and a new king-size bedroom set to having roommates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ then to being homeless , going to social-service organizations to seek out short-term emergency housing .
Before long , this highly educated professional in his 50s had joined the masses driving for Uber .
And when he could no longer make his car payments and so lost his car , he started renting the cars he drove for Uber by the hour , working longer hours still to cover the rental fees and so not netting very much at all .
At the same time , he was trying to teach himself new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ science , which offered better job prospects .
And he was doing this as he and his Corgi bumped from place to place .
Short stints all , they spent time in his sister ’ s place in Northern California , a bare-bones Airbnb whose cost a relative footed for a month , a group home in south L.A. , a single-room occupancy hotel on skid row .
The people who ran that skid row SRO were great , by the way , he said .
But his fellow residents were rough .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a nearby Starbucks with his laptop to apply himself to his extraction plan , he ran the few blocks with the Corgi because the environment felt dangerous .
The Corgi was stressed .
The Corgi ’ s person was stressed , especially because , while the Corgi now was his sole comfort , finding places that would accept a dog was proving to be very difficult .
The owner of the first transitional housing he arrived at changed the locks after he showed her the paperwork for his emotional support animal .
They @ @ @ @ @ @ @ car .
He went through an extensive application process for a program that would have given him housing rent-free for two years to help him get back on his feet , but having the Corgi with him proved a sticking point .
Enter Ted and Sandy and the respite they offered .
From the moment they laid eyes on the foster Corgi , they felt the magnitude of their responsibility .
“ You could see how traumatized he was , ” Ted said .
“ And from that point our goal became to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ happy.
” And also , he said , to give the foster Corgi ’ s person “ a better dog than we took over.
” Ted said this on the first day I actually met him in person — along with Sandy and the foster Corgi and the foster Corgi ’ s person , who responded gratefully , saying of his dog , “ It ’ s been a rough year , a very rough year for him.
” The Corgi ’ s foster people soothed him .
They took him on adventures @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
They ’ d been warned that he had trouble with other dogs , so Ted , who had trained Sienna , trained the foster Corgi to focus rather than panic at the sight of them and got the foster Corgi to make his first four-legged friends .
I was with Ted the other day when he took the foster Corgi ’ s person out to show him — and to show him the ropes .
When the foster Corgi calmly sniffed one dog while another dog sniffed him , we all kvelled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I frequently mention , one of the hardest things , people tell me , about falling on hard times is the isolation that often follows .
The foster Corgi ’ s person , now in a group home in the Valley , has felt alone and lonely and depressed .
He ’ s felt hopeless at times thinking of other men he ’ s known in his life who lost their jobs in their 50s and never recovered .
Ted and Sandy understand hardship .
They ’ ve had to downsize their lives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health .
Talking to them , getting their encouragement , has helped the foster Corgi ’ s person keep the faith in a better future , just as the Corgi ’ s presence has helped Ted and Sandy ready themselves to take the big step of welcoming another dog into their lives .
With any luck , the foster Corgi and his person will be living together again soon .
The Corgi ’ s foster people will find a wonderful new dog of their own .
Which leads me back to that question @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and highly motivated data scientist ?
Anyone know of a good home that will welcome a man and his dog trying to catch a break ?
If you met the foster Corgi ’ s person , you ’ d see his worth right away .
And as for the foster Corgi , each time I have visited him and his extended family of people , he has made the rounds , offering himself up to everyone in the room .
As I ’ ve tried to take notes , he has nuzzled my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ my heart .

A corgi staying with a foster family in Hollywood nuzzles up to his visiting owner, who is homeless.
A lot of us see the great need all around and we want to do something useful but we’re not sure how. What can we do for someone who has lost a job and lost housing? For someone who is teetering on the edge?
This is a story about how help need not be huge to be hugely helpful, and about how helping often helps the helpers too.
This is also a story about corgis, those dogs famously fit for a queen.
Advertisement
Corgis are sweet and smart and known for the utter devotion they show to, and inspire in, their people. Let me start by saying that Ted and Sandy Rogers loved their corgi as much as it is possible to love.
I know this because I’ve known Ted for years on Twitter, and he used to post as many proud photos of the dog as he did entries on his well-read blog about biking. I came to know and love “the corgi” from a distance through Ted’s photos and descriptions. I smiled when I saw her showing off her belly and wearing her bandannas and costumes. I was proud of her for the way she took care of Ted.
When diabetes walloped Ted about five years ago, the corgi somehow learned just how to help him. He described how she watched over him and prodded him and licked him when his blood sugar plunged dangerously low. He credited these attentions on multiple occasions with saving him from the ER.
So I knew how devastated Ted was last spring when the corgi herself became ill. I was devastated for him too, from a distance.
After the corgi, whose proper name was Sienna, died of cancer in August at age 13, Ted and Sandy, who have no human children, sank deeply into their grief. Ted told me that on many a morning he no longer saw a good reason to get out of bed.
The foster corgi’s person takes him for a walk along with Ted Rogers. ( Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
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Late in the fall, a friend forwarded the couple, who live in Hollywood, a perfectly timed request. She had spotted it on Craigslist while trying to find them some solace.
A man was looking to get his corgi an emergency foster home for a few months. “I’ve been with him for most of his life,” he wrote. “Although he loves me dearly, soon after meeting you, he’ll love you just as much.”
Ted and Sandy weren’t ready yet for a new dog. Still, borrowing one sounded good.
“We figured it would be kind of us helping him, him helping us,” Sandy said of the then-stranger’s plea.
That the corgi and his person loved each other was evident to them at first glance. The two, who had been together since the corgi, now 11, was 1, were obviously deeply bonded.
Ted and Sandy knew better than most how hard it must be for the man to give up his best friend for any reason, even temporarily.
But they didn’t want to pry and so they didn’t ask a lot of questions.
On Sunday afternoons though, when the man visited their apartment to lie on their carpet with his dog and rub his dog’s tummy and toss his dog balls, which the corgi caught in his mouth, the couple began to learn how much their help mattered.
Bear with me here because this is where telling the story gets tricky.
What has happened to the foster corgi’s person has happened to many people. It isn’t his fault. He’s had a run of bad luck.
The foster corgi and his person on a Sunday visit. (Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
But shame is tenacious and the foster corgi’s person can’t seem to shed it. So while he’ll let me tell you some things about him, he won’t let me tell you his name. Or even the name of the corgi. He’s that worried that someone who knows him from his previous life will see how far he’s fallen and judge him.
The foster corgi’s person, you see, has a PhD and used to have a great, six-figure job in a company that recruited him here from the Midwest. Since he lost that job in a specialized field four years ago, things haven’t been the same for either him or his dog.
At first he had the padding of severance and savings. He sold his condo back home for more cash. He had confidence that he’d bounce back. He didn’t immediately comprehend how quickly his circumstances could slide downward.
In short order, however, he went from making more money than he could spend and living in a two-bedroom apartment with two big TVs and a new king-size bedroom set to having roommates and then to being a roommate and then to being homeless, going to social-service organizations to seek out short-term emergency housing.
Before long, this highly educated professional in his 50s had joined the masses driving for Uber. And when he could no longer make his car payments and so lost his car, he started renting the cars he drove for Uber by the hour, working longer hours still to cover the rental fees and so not netting very much at all.
At the same time, he was trying to teach himself new skills to enter the field of data science, which offered better job prospects.
And he was doing this as he and his corgi bumped from place to place. Short stints all, they spent time in his sister’s place in Northern California, a bare-bones Airbnb whose cost a relative footed for a month, a group home in south L.A., a single-room occupancy hotel on skid row.
The people who ran that skid row SRO were great, by the way, he said. But his fellow residents were rough. And each morning when he headed to a nearby Starbucks with his laptop to apply himself to his extraction plan, he ran the few blocks with the corgi because the environment felt dangerous.
The corgi was stressed. The corgi’s person was stressed, especially because, while the corgi now was his sole comfort, finding places that would accept a dog was proving to be very difficult.
The owner of the first transitional housing he arrived at changed the locks after he showed her the paperwork for his emotional support animal. They had to sleep that night in the car. He went through an extensive application process for a program that would have given him housing rent-free for two years to help him get back on his feet, but having the corgi with him proved a sticking point.
Enter Ted and Sandy and the respite they offered. From the moment they laid eyes on the foster corgi, they felt the magnitude of their responsibility.
Ted and Sandy Rogers of Hollywood enjoy time with their foster corgi. (Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
“You could see how traumatized he was,” Ted said. “And from that point our goal became to make him comfortable again to make him happy.” And also, he said, to give the foster corgi’s person “a better dog than we took over.”
Ted said this on the first day I actually met him in person — along with Sandy and the foster corgi and the foster corgi’s person, who responded gratefully, saying of his dog, “It’s been a rough year, a very rough year for him.”
The corgi’s foster people soothed him. They took him on adventures. They took him to The Grove. They’d been warned that he had trouble with other dogs, so Ted, who had trained Sienna, trained the foster corgi to focus rather than panic at the sight of them and got the foster corgi to make his first four-legged friends.
I was with Ted the other day when he took the foster corgi’s person out to show him — and to show him the ropes. When the foster corgi calmly sniffed one dog while another dog sniffed him, we all kvelled.
The we is important. As I frequently mention, one of the hardest things, people tell me, about falling on hard times is the isolation that often follows.
The foster corgi’s person, now in a group home in the Valley, has felt alone and lonely and depressed. He’s felt hopeless at times thinking of other men he’s known in his life who lost their jobs in their 50s and never recovered. Ted and Sandy understand hardship. They’ve had to downsize their lives a lot because of Ted’s health.
Talking to them, getting their encouragement, has helped the foster corgi’s person keep the faith in a better future, just as the corgi’s presence has helped Ted and Sandy ready themselves to take the big step of welcoming another dog into their lives.
With any luck, the foster corgi and his person will be living together again soon. The corgi’s foster people will find a wonderful new dog of their own. Which leads me back to that question of help. Anyone need a smart and highly motivated data scientist? Anyone know of a good home that will welcome a man and his dog trying to catch a break?
If you met the foster corgi’s person, you’d see his worth right away. And as for the foster corgi, each time I have visited him and his extended family of people, he has made the rounds, offering himself up to everyone in the room. As I’ve tried to take notes, he has nuzzled my arm, skewing my letters but winning my heart.