latimes--2020-02-13--Harvey Weinstein is 'an innocent man,'  defense says at closing argument of New York trial

In a scathing closing argument , Harvey Weinstein ’ s lead attorney attacked prosecutors and the media Thursday and implored a New York jury to make what she described as an unpopular choice : to acquit the mogul of five counts of sexual assault .
As she stood before the jury of seven men and five women , Donna Rotunno asked them to use “ New York City common sense ” to guide their decision-making and to focus on the evidence presented at trial rather than the maelstrom of negative press Weinstein received between the start of the # MeToo @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ You may have had a gut feeling that Harvey Weinstein was guilty , ” she said .
“ Throw that gut feeling right out the window.
” Rotunno ’ s remarks came after three weeks of testimony in the Manhattan criminal courthouse .
Weinstein , 67 , faces five felony charges in New York , including rape , criminal sexual assault and predatory sexual assault .
The producer faces a minimum of 25 years in prison and could be locked away for the rest of his life if convicted on the last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Mimi Haley , a former employee of Weinstein ’ s production company who alleges Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her in 2006 , and Jessica Mann , a former aspiring actress who testified that the producer raped her in a New York hotel room in 2013 .
To earn a conviction on the predatory sexual assault charge , prosecutors must convince jurors that Weinstein assaulted Haley or Mann , as well as “ Sopranos ” actress Annabella Sciorra .
Three other women also testified that Weinstein assaulted them , but their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or happened outside the jurisdiction of the Manhattan district attorney ’ s office .
One woman ’ s allegation about an assault in a Los Angeles hotel led prosecutors to file charges against Weinstein in Southern California .
Weinstein has denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to all charges .
On Thursday , Rotunno repeatedly described the prosecution ’ s case as an “ alternate universe ” in which Weinstein “ is a monster , he ’ s unattractive , he ’ s overweight.
” “ In their story , they ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ women of common sense , autonomy and responsibility .
It ’ s offensive , actually , ” she said .
She went on : “ They ’ re not responsible for the parties they attend , the men they flirt with , the choices they make to further their own careers ... the jobs they ask for help to obtain.
” The defense has routinely seized upon the fact that Haley and Mann kept in contact with Weinstein , and in some cases engaged in consensual sex with him , after the dates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ why Haley continued to see Weinstein after the alleged assault in the summer of 2006 , and contended that it was because they were in a romantic relationship , not a professional one , as Haley had told the jury .
“ Seeing Harvey was something that made her happy , ” Rotunno said .
Rotunno and co-counsel Damon Cheronis have painted the women as manipulative liars who controlled their relationships with Weinstein , flipping the narrative of the mogul as a predator on its head .
And the attorneys have emphasized the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s relationships with Weinstein were blurry at best .
During Mann ’ s days-long , emotional testimony , Rotunno confronted the woman with praise-heavy emails and notes she sent the mogul after he allegedly attacked her .
Mann testified that she sought validation from Weinstein and that he was a “ pseudo-father ” to her .
Rotunno argued Thursday that Mann had become a pawn of the Manhattan district attorney ’ s office .
“ I feel sorry for Jessica Mann .
She is a victim of this table , ” Rotunno @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The defense spoke little of Weinstein ’ s character , other than the fact that he was willing to help his accusers when they came to him .
According to trauma experts , there are many reasons why a sexual assault survivor might stay in contact with their abuser .
They might be dependent financially or emotionally on the people who assaulted them , they could fear professional or personal retaliation , or they might blame themselves for the assault .
The Weinstein case is seen as a watershed moment for the # @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the chorus of women who in 2017 began speaking out about the mogul ’ s alleged abuses .
More than 90 women have publicly accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct .
Weinstein ’ s fate will soon be in the hands of the jury .
Prosecutors are expected to deliver their closing arguments Friday .
Dmitriy Shakhnevich , a criminal defense attorney who now teaches at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan , said the success of Weinstein ’ s defense will likely rest more on how jurors received Rotunno and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anything they presented in their direct case .
There are enough instances of reasonable doubt in this case to sway a jury , Shakhnevich said , including Sciorra ’ s inability to remember the date of the alleged assault or Haley ’ s and Mann ’ s continued contact with the mogul after they say they were raped by him .
“ You ’ re gon na try [ this case ] on the fact that these women are , for some reason , not telling the truth .
Maybe even involuntarily not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , referring to the testimony given by psychologist and memory expert Elizabeth Loftus last week .
Rotunno drew on this idea that memory is fallible in her closing arguments .
She noted that the case relies mainly on the accounts of the accusers , whose testimonies were sometimes incomplete or contradictory to what they had told investigators in the past .
And she asserted that their stories were influenced by media coverage and interviews with investigators .
She also argued that Sciorra might have “ changed her memories ” of her alleged encounters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a desperate attempt to gain attention and revive her acting career .
“ She ’ s a star .
She has new agents .
Now she ’ s the darling of the movement of the moment , ” Rotunno said .
Rotunno told jurors that they were the last line of defense against an “ overzealous media , an overzealous prosecutor ” that were caught up in the excitement of the burgeoning # MeToo movement .
“ As Harvey Weinstein sits here , he sits here an innocent man .
He was innocent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he was innocent when each witness took the stand , ” she said .
“ He ’ s innocent as he sits there right now.
” Newberry reported from New York and Queally from Los Angeles .

Harvey Weinstein, 67, walks into court Jan. 6. He faces five felony charges in New York including rape, criminal sexual assault and predatory sexual assault.
In a scathing closing argument, Harvey Weinstein’s lead attorney attacked prosecutors and the media Thursday and implored a New York jury to make what she described as an unpopular choice: to acquit the mogul of five counts of sexual assault.
As she stood before the jury of seven men and five women, Donna Rotunno asked them to use “New York City common sense” to guide their decision-making and to focus on the evidence presented at trial rather than the maelstrom of negative press Weinstein received between the start of the #MeToo movement in 2017 and his trial.
“You may have had a gut feeling that Harvey Weinstein was guilty,” she said. “Throw that gut feeling right out the window.”
Rotunno’s remarks came after three weeks of testimony in the Manhattan criminal courthouse. Weinstein, 67, faces five felony charges in New York, including rape, criminal sexual assault and predatory sexual assault. The producer faces a minimum of 25 years in prison and could be locked away for the rest of his life if convicted on the last charge.
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The charges stem from accusations by Mimi Haley, a former employee of Weinstein’s production company who alleges Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her in 2006, and Jessica Mann, a former aspiring actress who testified that the producer raped her in a New York hotel room in 2013.
To earn a conviction on the predatory sexual assault charge, prosecutors must convince jurors that Weinstein assaulted Haley or Mann, as well as “Sopranos” actress Annabella Sciorra.
Three other women also testified that Weinstein assaulted them, but their crimes were either too old to prosecute or happened outside the jurisdiction of the Manhattan district attorney’s office. One woman’s allegation about an assault in a Los Angeles hotel led prosecutors to file charges against Weinstein in Southern California.
Weinstein has denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to all charges.
On Thursday, Rotunno repeatedly described the prosecution’s case as an “alternate universe” in which Weinstein “is a monster, he’s unattractive, he’s overweight.”
“In their story, they’ve created a universe that strips adult women of common sense, autonomy and responsibility. It’s offensive, actually,” she said.
Advertisement
She went on: “They’re not responsible for the parties they attend, the men they flirt with, the choices they make to further their own careers ... the jobs they ask for help to obtain.”
The defense has routinely seized upon the fact that Haley and Mann kept in contact with Weinstein, and in some cases engaged in consensual sex with him, after the dates of their alleged assaults.
Rotunno questioned why Haley continued to see Weinstein after the alleged assault in the summer of 2006, and contended that it was because they were in a romantic relationship, not a professional one, as Haley had told the jury.
“Seeing Harvey was something that made her happy,” Rotunno said.
Rotunno and co-counsel Damon Cheronis have painted the women as manipulative liars who controlled their relationships with Weinstein, flipping the narrative of the mogul as a predator on its head.
And the attorneys have emphasized the idea that the lines of the women’s relationships with Weinstein were blurry at best. During Mann’s days-long, emotional testimony, Rotunno confronted the woman with praise-heavy emails and notes she sent the mogul after he allegedly attacked her.
Mann testified that she sought validation from Weinstein and that he was a “pseudo-father” to her.
Rotunno argued Thursday that Mann had become a pawn of the Manhattan district attorney’s office.
“I feel sorry for Jessica Mann. She is a victim of this table,” Rotunno said, pointing to the prosecutors.
The defense spoke little of Weinstein’s character, other than the fact that he was willing to help his accusers when they came to him.
According to trauma experts, there are many reasons why a sexual assault survivor might stay in contact with their abuser. They might be dependent financially or emotionally on the people who assaulted them, they could fear professional or personal retaliation, or they might blame themselves for the assault.
The Weinstein case is seen as a watershed moment for the #MeToo movement, which was triggered by the chorus of women who in 2017 began speaking out about the mogul’s alleged abuses. More than 90 women have publicly accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct.
Weinstein’s fate will soon be in the hands of the jury. Prosecutors are expected to deliver their closing arguments Friday.
Dmitriy Shakhnevich, a criminal defense attorney who now teaches at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan, said the success of Weinstein’s defense will likely rest more on how jurors received Rotunno and Cheronis’ cross-examination of the accusers than anything they presented in their direct case.
There are enough instances of reasonable doubt in this case to sway a jury, Shakhnevich said, including Sciorra’s inability to remember the date of the alleged assault or Haley’s and Mann’s continued contact with the mogul after they say they were raped by him.
“You’re gonna try [this case] on the fact that these women are, for some reason, not telling the truth. Maybe even involuntarily not telling the truth,” he said, referring to the testimony given by psychologist and memory expert Elizabeth Loftus last week.
Rotunno drew on this idea that memory is fallible in her closing arguments. She noted that the case relies mainly on the accounts of the accusers, whose testimonies were sometimes incomplete or contradictory to what they had told investigators in the past. And she asserted that their stories were influenced by media coverage and interviews with investigators.
She also argued that Sciorra might have “changed her memories” of her alleged encounters with Weinstein in the early 1990s in a desperate attempt to gain attention and revive her acting career.
“She’s a star. She has new agents. Now she’s the darling of the movement of the moment,” Rotunno said.
Rotunno told jurors that they were the last line of defense against an “overzealous media, an overzealous prosecutor” that were caught up in the excitement of the burgeoning #MeToo movement.
“As Harvey Weinstein sits here, he sits here an innocent man. He was innocent when the D.A. charged him … he was innocent when each witness took the stand,” she said. “He’s innocent as he sits there right now.”
Newberry reported from New York and Queally from Los Angeles.


latimes--2020-02-13--Deadly fires in Australia have made climate change converts, as in California

The turning point came in 2017 , when wind-whipped blazes swept through the foothills , jumped a freeway and burned through thousands of homes and businesses , killing more than 40 people .
The fires in Northern California ’ s wine country — followed by an even more deadly inferno in Paradise the following year — led many Californians to recognize that climate change was not some distant threat but an immediate catalyst of the state ’ s ever-more destructive blazes .
Australia is now going through a similar shift in perspective amid fires that have burned more than 30 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recall an event like this , ” said Nick Clark , a farmer who lost most of his sheep ’ s pasture to a wind-driven fire on Southern Australia ’ s Kangaroo Island in mid-January .
“ And you can say that about a lot of weather events in Australia .
It ’ s hard to say that it ’ s just a cycle ; I think you have to concede that it ’ s more than just that.
” Australia is a fossil fuel-friendly country , with an economy dependent on tourism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fast-growing Asian nations .
In the past , Australians tended to blame fires on natural cycles — wet years , dry years .
But now , even in the country ’ s coal towns , there ’ s a recognition that something is changing .
“ Going back 20 or 30 years , the realization was there but I don ’ t think there was the opportunity to engage in the conversation , ” said Jon Missen , mine closure and rehabilitation officer for one of Australia ’ s biggest brown coal-burning power @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Latrobe Valley , the heart of Victoria ’ s energy industry .
“ Probably 20 years ago , if I said the things I wanted to say that I say now , no one would ’ ve listened .
It ’ s maybe more of a willingness to discuss , rather than change of view , ” he said .
A January Ipsos poll of more than 1,000 Australians revealed the environment was their top concern , with most drawing a connection between climate change , drought and bushfires .
In November , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ biggest fires had erupted , a survey of 1,400 residents by the Australia Institute , a progressive think tank , found two-thirds of participants considered climate change a national emergency .
A survey conducted by the Lowy Institute last summer found that 64 % of Australians considered climate change a “ critical threat ” to the country , the highest percentage since 2006 .
The increased concern has even forced Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison to back away from his denial of prevailing climate change science and state that his government ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ specific policy changes .
The prime minister , in a recent interview , also described the increased federal response to bushfires as the “ new normal.
” “ He started off much too blase about what was going on and , in my opinion , was trying to cover his [ behind ] about the climate change issue , ” Brisbane resident Meredith Jordan , whose niece ’ s wedding was disrupted by the bushfires on Kangaroo Island , said of Morrison ’ s response .
“ His message should ’ ve been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , here is what we are doing with the problem.
’ But he kept saying it ’ s a state issue .
...
It ’ s not what we want to hear.
” Compared to Australia , California has long recognized the threats posed by a warming planet , but it wasn ’ t until the middle of the last decade that the term “ new normal ” became a talking point for the state ’ s governors and firefighters .
A similar transition is happening on the other side of the globe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 64-million question at the moment — is this the ‘ new normal ’ ?
” said Ross Bradstock , director of the Center for Environmental Risk Management of Bushfires at the University of Wollongong in New South Wales .
“ There ’ s been a lot of politics played out in this , but I think the climate change narrative is paramount.
” To be sure , seasonal wildfires have long shaped the landscapes of both California and Australia , and climate change is hardly the only ingredient in their most recent big @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2015 in California , destroying more than 3,000 homes and charring some 216,000 acres , the causes of two of them were faulty hot tub wiring and downed power lines .
Power lines also sparked the 2017 Tubbs fire in Northern California ’ s wine country and the 2018 Camp fire in Paradise , which killed 85 people .
Yet scientists say that record-dry weather contributed to the conditions for deadly conflagrations .
Prior to the 2017 fires , mean temperatures between April and September across Northern California were the warmest in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was the country ’ s warmest and driest year on record .
In both California and Australia , many firefighters sense that the climate has shifted .
Mike Mohler , a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman , said his agency is apolitical , “ but we can tell you that something is different.
” In Australia , the chief of Victoria ’ s Country Fire Authority , Steve Warrington , has a similar view .
“ It ’ s not just the length of the season for us , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Warrington said .
“ So what we found , what we believe is , around the globe we ’ re getting fires … in locations we haven ’ t had before .
We ’ ve seen them in the Arctic Circle , places in Russia that haven ’ t seen them , places in China .
We ’ re also seeing the fires ... in California , in southeast Australia , where fires are far more intense.
” Weather extremes have whipsawed Australia over the last decade .
The years 1997 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on record in southeastern Australia , according to a report by the country ’ s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization .
In 2010 and 2011 , record rainfall hit the continent , breaking the drought .
Then came 2018 and 2019 — Australia ’ s hottest and driest years on record — followed by the record fires .
The extreme swings have continued in 2020 .
Over the last weekend , Sydney received its heaviest rainfall in roughly 20 years , extinguishing some fires but causing flooding and power outages .
Lightning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ blazes , yet it is unclear whether climate change will directly equate to more lightning-caused fires in the future .
A 2016 report from the nonprofit Climate Council of Australia said there is not enough data to map out long-term trends , though global patterns would suggest the potential exists .
Given the size and endurance of the bushfires this year , Clark , the Kangaroo Island wool farmer , doesn ’ t need any more convincing .
“ I ’ m concerned for my kids because that impact is going to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ As more of this sort of thing happens , the more carbon is released into the atmosphere , you know , the more ice caps melt , the whole thing is just ramping up .
It ’ s accelerating the problem.
” Some hope the fires will finally change how Australia addresses both its contribution to climate change and how it adapts .
“ I think there ’ s two conversations .
There ’ s a political conversation — I think we ’ ve got a lot of denialism in this country about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is the conversation they have around dinner tables and barbecues , ” said Greg Noarlunga , a South Australia State Emergency Services worker who was assisting crews on Kangaroo Island last month .
“ Maybe it ’ s those internal conversations that will change the direction of this.
” Yet not every person affected by fire shares the level of alarm .
Sheep and cattle farmer Martine Plowman , 42 , said she , her husband and their kids review their fire plan before every summer to prepare for scenarios like this .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a line of flames approached them from all sides just after the new year , they stood their ground .
The children protected the interior by climbing into the attic with a water gun to extinguish any smoldering embers that blew in through a vent and by patrolling window to window with walkie-talkies , where they announced spot fires in the grass near the home .
Plowman and her husband were outside with buckets , mops and a hose .
The family spent hours fending off the fire and ember siege .
They @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shed , and all but 30 of their 2,000 acres was burned .
But they and their home survived .
The young family has only had the ranch for seven years , but plan on establishing deep roots in Cobungra .
How that future will look in a changing climate isn ’ t a big concern for them , Plowman said .
“ Bushfires are a way of life in this area , ” she said .
“ There ’ s other people that haven ’ t been impacted before that now it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s always going to be an issue here.
” Australia ’ s dependence on coal may also be a hard habit to break , said Rae Mackay , Latrobe Valley ’ s mine rehabilitation commissioner , tasked with helping prepare the region ’ s mines for eventual decommissioning or new uses .
In 2018 , Australia was the world ’ s largest exporter of coal , earning the country roughly $ 47 billion in U.S. dollars .
It also depends on coal for about 70 % of its electricity , making it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ per capita consumers of fossil fuels .
“ Australia has struggled with climatic conditions for a long time , ” Mackay said during a recent tour of the Loy Yang power station , which burns the brown coal that ’ s plentiful in the area .
“ People are sensitized to it , but they do recognize that they like their cars , they like their energy availability and they like to sell very large amounts of coal to the rest of the world.
” Despite its dependence on fossil fuels , Australia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ communities more resilient to extreme fires and weather conditions .
In 2009 , the deadly Black Saturday bushfires prompted the country to update its building codes for new homes in the path of fire and to devise a new strategy for communicating and defending the public .
Some of Australia ’ s home insurance providers are also refusing to issue new policies or accept claims for a specific period of time , forcing communities to grapple with where they will rebuild or allow new housing .
Yet , like California , Australia has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fire-prone areas .
“ What used to be just farming country with the odd house now is full of people ’ s homes , which makes it far more challenging from a fire point of view because you have a lot more assets , ” said Brian Pritchard , a ranger with the state agency Parks Victoria .
Australia is also experiencing an interplay between its coal industry and its fire threats .
In 2014 , an open pit coal mine , Hazelwood , caught fire from wind-blown embers and took 45 days @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the mine ’ s closure and triggered an evaluation of how all mines in the area prepare for an ember attack .
Missen , the closure and rehabilitation officer for the Loy Yang plant , said he and many of his coal-mining colleagues are hoping a blend of technologies — carbon sequestration , using coal to create hydrogen fuel — can keep their industry relevant until long-term solutions are in place .
“ I think the debate about climate change has passed , ” Missen said .
“ It ’ s really about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to deal with it .
It ’ s real , it ’ s happening .
How do we plan for it , and how do we adapt ?
”

The turning point came in 2017, when wind-whipped blazes swept through the foothills, jumped a freeway and burned through thousands of homes and businesses, killing more than 40 people.
The fires in Northern California’s wine country — followed by an even more deadly inferno in Paradise the following year — led many Californians to recognize that climate change was not some distant threat but an immediate catalyst of the state’s ever-more destructive blazes.
Australia is now going through a similar shift in perspective amid fires that have burned more than 30 million acres.
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“No one can recall an event like this,” said Nick Clark, a farmer who lost most of his sheep’s pasture to a wind-driven fire on Southern Australia’s Kangaroo Island in mid-January. “And you can say that about a lot of weather events in Australia. It’s hard to say that it’s just a cycle; I think you have to concede that it’s more than just that.”
Nick Clark lost most of his sheep’s pasture to a wind-driven fire on Southern Australia’s Kangaroo Island in mid-January. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Australia is a fossil fuel-friendly country, with an economy dependent on tourism and shipping coal to China and other fast-growing Asian nations. In the past, Australians tended to blame fires on natural cycles — wet years, dry years. But now, even in the country’s coal towns, there’s a recognition that something is changing.
“Going back 20 or 30 years, the realization was there but I don’t think there was the opportunity to engage in the conversation,” said Jon Missen, mine closure and rehabilitation officer for one of Australia’s biggest brown coal-burning power stations, Loy Yang, in the Latrobe Valley, the heart of Victoria’s energy industry.
“Probably 20 years ago, if I said the things I wanted to say that I say now, no one would’ve listened. It’s maybe more of a willingness to discuss, rather than change of view,” he said.
Surveys back up Missen’s assertion.
A January Ipsos poll of more than 1,000 Australians revealed the environment was their top concern, with most drawing a connection among climate change, drought and bushfires.
Advertisement
In November, before some of the country’s biggest fires had erupted, a survey of 1,400 residents by the Australia Institute, a progressive think tank, found two-thirds of participants considered climate change a national emergency. A survey conducted by the Lowy Institute last summer found that 64% of Australians considered climate change a “critical threat” to the country, the highest percentage since 2006.
The increased concern has even forced Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison to back away from his denial of prevailing climate change science and state that his government’s views are evolving, though without any specific policy changes.
The prime minister, in a recent interview, also described the increased federal response to bushfires as the “new normal.”
“He started off much too blase about what was going on and, in my opinion, was trying to cover his [behind] about the climate change issue,” Brisbane resident Meredith Jordan, whose niece’s wedding was disrupted by the bushfires on Kangaroo Island, said of Morrison’s response. “His message should’ve been, ‘Here is our problem now, here is what we are doing with the problem.’ But he kept saying it’s a state issue.... It’s not what we want to hear.”
Compared with Australia, California has long recognized the threats posed by a warming planet, but it wasn’t until the middle of the last decade that the term “new normal” became a talking point for the state’s governors and firefighters. A similar transition is happening on the other side of the globe.
“That’s the $64-million question at the moment — is this the ‘new normal’?” said Ross Bradstock, director of the Center for Environmental Risk Management of Bushfires at the University of Wollongong in New South Wales. “There’s been a lot of politics played out in this, but I think the climate change narrative is paramount.”
To be sure, seasonal wildfires have long shaped the landscapes of both California and Australia, and climate change is hardly the only ingredient in their most recent big blazes. When multiple deadly fires erupted in 2015 in California, destroying more than 3,000 homes and charring some 216,000 acres, the causes of two of them were faulty hot tub wiring and downed power lines.
All but a few homes in the Pine Grove Mobile Home Park were destroyed in the Nov. 2018 Camp fire that swept through Paradise, Calif. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Power lines also sparked the 2017 Tubbs fire in Northern California’s wine country and the 2018 Camp fire in Paradise, which killed 85 people. Yet scientists say that record-dry weather contributed to the conditions for deadly conflagrations. Before the 2017 fires, mean temperatures between April and September across Northern California were the warmest in 123 years. In Australia, 2019 was the country’s warmest and driest year on record.
In both California and Australia, many firefighters sense that the climate has shifted.
Mike Mohler, a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman, said his agency is apolitical, “but we can tell you that something is different.”
In Australia, the chief of Victoria’s Country Fire Authority, Steve Warrington, has a similar view.
“It’s not just the length of the season for us, it’s the intensity of the fires,” Warrington said. “So what we found, what we believe is, around the globe we’re getting fires … in locations we haven’t had before. We’ve seen them in the Arctic Circle, places in Russia that haven’t seen them, places in China. We’re also seeing the fires ... in California, in southeast Australia, where fires are far more intense.”
Weather extremes have whipsawed Australia over the last decade. The years 1997 to 2009 were the driest period on record in southeastern Australia, according to a report by the country’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization. In 2010 and 2011, record rainfall hit the continent, breaking the drought. Then came 2018 and 2019 — Australia’s hottest and driest years on record — followed by the record fires.
The extreme swings have continued in 2020. Over the last weekend, Sydney received its heaviest rainfall in roughly 20 years, extinguishing some fires but causing flooding and power outages.
Lightning sparked most of Australia’s recent blazes, yet it is unclear whether climate change will directly equate to more lightning-caused fires in the future. A 2016 report from the nonprofit Climate Council of Australia said there is not enough data to map out long-term trends, though global patterns would suggest the potential exists.
Given the size and endurance of the bushfires this year, Clark, the Kangaroo Island wool farmer, doesn’t need any more convincing.
“I’m concerned for my kids because that impact is going to be cumulative,” he said. “As more of this sort of thing happens, the more carbon is released into the atmosphere, you know, the more ice caps melt, the whole thing is just ramping up. It’s accelerating the problem.”
Some hope the fires will finally change how Australia addresses both its contribution to climate change and how it adapts.
“I think there’s two conversations. There’s a political conversation — I think we’ve got a lot of denialism in this country about climate change … and the other kind is the conversation they have around dinner tables and barbecues,” said Greg Smith, a South Australia State Emergency Services worker from Noarlunga who was assisting crews on Kangaroo Island last month. “Maybe it’s those internal conversations that will change the direction of this.”
Yet not every person affected by fire shares the level of alarm.
Sheep and cattle farmer Martine Plowman, left, said she and her family had a fire plan in place and stood their ground. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Sheep and cattle farmer Martine Plowman, 42, said she, her husband and their kids review their fire plan before every summer to prepare for scenarios like this. When embers rained on their home and a line of flames approached them from all sides just after the new year, they stood their ground.
The children protected the interior by climbing into the attic with a water gun to extinguish any smoldering embers that blew in through a vent and by patrolling window to window with walkie-talkies, where they announced spot fires in the grass near the home.
Plowman and her husband were outside with buckets, mops and a hose. The family spent hours fending off the fire and ember siege. They lost a few livestock, their shearing shed, and all but 30 of their 2,000 acres was burned. But they and their home survived.
The young family has only had the ranch for seven years, but plans on establishing deep roots in Cobungra. How that future will look in a changing climate isn’t a big concern for them, Plowman said.
“Bushfires are a way of life in this area,” she said. “There’s other people that haven’t been impacted before that now it’s an issue. But that’s always going to be an issue here.”
Australia’s dependence on coal may also be a hard habit to break, said Rae Mackay, Latrobe Valley’s mine rehabilitation commissioner, tasked with helping prepare the region’s mines for eventual decommissioning or new uses.
The Loy Yang power plant in the Latrobe Valley, the heart of Victoria’s energy industry, is Australia’s biggest brown coal-burning electricity-generating facility. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
In 2018, Australia was the world’s largest exporter of coal, earning the country roughly $47 billion in U.S. dollars. It also depends on coal for about 70% of its electricity, making it one of the world’s largest per capita consumers of fossil fuels.
“Australia has struggled with climatic conditions for a long time,” Mackay said during a recent tour of the Loy Yang power station, which burns the brown coal that’s plentiful in the area. “People are sensitized to it, but they do recognize that they like their cars, they like their energy availability and they like to sell very large amounts of coal to the rest of the world.”
Despite its dependence on fossil fuels, Australia has taken some steps to make its communities more resilient to extreme fires and weather conditions. In 2009, the deadly Black Saturday bushfires prompted the country to update its building codes for new homes in the path of fire and to devise a new strategy for communicating and defending the public.
Some of Australia’s home insurance providers are also refusing to issue new policies or accept claims for a specific period of time, forcing communities to grapple with where they will rebuild or allow new housing.
Yet, like California, Australia has been reluctant to restrict new development in fire-prone areas. “What used to be just farming country with the odd house now is full of people’s homes, which makes it far more challenging from a fire point of view because you have a lot more assets,” said Brian Pritchard, a ranger with the state agency Parks Victoria.
Australia is also experiencing an interplay between its coal industry and its fire threats. In 2014, an open pit coal mine, Hazelwood, caught fire from wind-blown embers and took 45 days to extinguish.
As global warming becomes of greater concern, some see the burning of coal as a major emissions problem. But brown coal still provides 70% of energy in Victoria, Australia. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
The Hazelwood fire forced the mine’s closure and triggered an evaluation of how all mines in the area prepare for an ember attack.
Missen, the closure and rehabilitation officer for the Loy Yang plant, said he and many of his coal-mining colleagues are hoping a blend of technologies — carbon sequestration, using coal to create hydrogen fuel — can keep their industry relevant until long-term solutions are in place.
“I think the debate about climate change has passed,” Missen said. “It’s really about thinking about how we’re going to deal with it. It’s real, it’s happening. How do we plan for it, and how do we adapt?”


latimes--2020-02-13--Two-thirds of California students didn't meet science standards. Here's why

Adults who took high school biology might remember a lecture on cell structure , then a test asking to identify its parts , plus an assignment to build a cell , perhaps with papier mâché and dry macaroni .
Today , California students are supposed to learn about science in a whole new way .
A teacher might start the lesson by posing a question : How does a wound heal ?
Well , that involves cell reproduction .
So to understand how a wound heals , the teacher might say , we must first learn how a cell works @ @ @ @ @ @ @ elements do you think a cell must have to help heal the wound ?
How about making a model and discussing your hypotheses with each other ?
This approach is aimed at leading students , ideally , to the right answer , with the teacher as a guide .
The method is embedded in the “ Next Generation Science Standards , ” which California adopted in 2013 .
Students were tested for the first time on the new standards last spring , even though some districts have yet to introduce the new curricula @ @ @ @ @ @ @ school students in grades 5 , 8 , and 10-12 — and California students got far more answers wrong than right .
Less than a third of students met standards Across the state , 29.9 % of students met or exceeded the new science standards on this first test , with fluctuations according to grade level .
High school students must take the test once between 10th and 12th grade .
There was a spike in 11th grade scores , with about 30 % proficiency , but overall high school students did worse @ @ @ @ @ @ @ black students had especially low scores , a pattern also seen in the state ’ s math and English assessments .
On the science test , only about 3 % of English learners and 8 % of students with disabilities demonstrated proficiency .
“ The scores show that we ’ re continuing to fail students and we ’ re failing the same students who historically we always have , ” said Elisha Smith Arrillaga , executive director of the Oakland-based research and advocacy nonprofit Education Trust-West .
“ What actually makes it more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a state that is this bastion of technological advancement .
… We ’ re not connecting the dots between the tech world and what we see in classrooms.
” So why the low scores ?
It ’ s the first year of the test Typically , the first year of a new standardized test does not yield stellar results .
In 2015 , the first year of new English and math tests in California , scores showed an overall proficiency of 44 % in English and 34 % in math in grades 3 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by three to four percentage points the following year and have continued to go up , though by a smaller margin .
But five years into those same tests , only half of students met state English standards and 40 % met math standards .
The so-called Smarter Balance Summative Assessments , based on Common Core English and math standards , are designed to measure how well students have met learning goals set by the state and create statistical snapshots of learning at their schools , their district and California .
Students took @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they may not have used before .
The test requires students to read , comprehend and analyze questions , some of which build on each other or require written explanations .
“ I think these test results should be taken with a grain of salt , ” said Bill Sandoval , a UCLA education professor who studies how children learn science and observed teachers who used the “ healing a wound ” approach to teaching students about cells .
Instead of “ summative ” assessments like this , Sandoval said , it would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ throughout the school year that are more closely aligned to what they are learning in each classroom , and enable teachers to figure out what students need .
“ It ’ s not that clear ” what these test results say about how to improve or what to improve on , Sandoval said .
Although the standards are challenging , when implemented well , research suggests that the new approach can help students learn and retain concepts better than they would through rote memorization , he said .
Yet the real-world challenge lies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ teach to the standards .
There is a shortage of teachers in California , especially in math , science and special education .
New teachers may be long-term substitutes or working with emergency teaching permits , and many veteran teachers are not well-trained in the new standards , explained State Board of Education President Linda Darling-Hammond .
Convincing college students in STEM majors to teach science can be a hard sell because they can pursue much higher-paying careers .
Also , earning a full teaching credential in a single subject can be expensive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ classroom hours without pay .
“ About half of the folks coming into science teaching are not fully prepared , ” Darling-Hammond said .
What California students need most when learning science , she said , are “ well prepared teachers who have the materials.
” But the new standards call on even experienced science teachers to change their approach , relying less on their own authority and more on scientific method and classroom engagement .
Gov .
Newsom ’ s proposed budget includes $ 900 million for teacher training and retention , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ professional development .
“ When you bring the standards out you also have to develop teachers ’ capacity to teach the standards , ” Darling-Hammond said .
“ The standards do not teach themselves.
” Memorization alone wouldn ’ t be enough to pass the test , which requires students to engage in tasks that include — on a fifth-grade practice exam , for example — ordering the stages of a plant ’ s life cycle on a diagram , and explaining how a hare ’ s changing fur color protects it in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , from around 2009 until 2014 , “ a lot of science programs got really decimated , ” Darling-Hammond said .
That ’ s especially true in elementary schools and in high-poverty schools .
“ The idea is to learn the core scientific concepts through doing scientific work — so doing versions of modeling and experimentation , ” Sandoval explained .
“ If you don ’ t really have the capacity in the classroom to do legitimate versions of scientific work , then you ’ re not going to meet those goals .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” In one L.A. County high school where Sandoval and colleagues were helping a group of teachers implement the new science standards from 2015-2018 , about 40 students crowded into a science class , and the tight space and lack of materials prevented them from conducting experiments .
There were not enough computers for the students , so virtual labs were out too .
Sandoval was able to help secure a grant for some materials , “ but it doesn ’ t go that far , ” he said .
He could not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in his research , but it was in a majority low-income and Latino school district , he said .
Schools could look to the booming technology industry in California for assistance , student advocates say .
Smith Arrillaga said such classroom scenarios “ should just not be possible in a state this diverse and with this much science .
... We as a state should be able to come together across sectors and figure out some solutions.
” But school involvement shouldn ’ t end with a one-time donation of a 3D printer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ need to engage with educators and classrooms to better understand what students need to succeed in the workforce , remain invested in schools and help fund teacher preparation programs .
Smith-Arrillaga said .
Teachers need to better connect with black and Latino students Another problem that may contribute to achievement gaps is that teachers do not fully understand the communities in which they ’ re teaching , said A.Dee Williams , associate chair of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Cal State L.A. Williams directs a teacher residency program for math , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Angeles .
The Cal State L.A. program requires teachers-in-training to learn about and acknowledge their biases , and provides paid classroom residencies where they are paired with mentor teachers in L.A. and Pasadena schools .
Aspiring teachers are encouraged to ground their lessons in what ’ s happening in the community — connecting climate change principles not just to polar ice caps , but to the students ’ own water quality , for instance .
Ideally , Williams said , teachers would return to the communities where they grew up .
He believes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ work may have a stronger understanding of its history , be able to connect with students and relate lesson plans to the community .
This would also help give students teachers who look like them — research suggests that children benefit from having a teacher of the same ethnicity .
Yet in California , white students are much more likely to have that experience than black or Latino students .
In 2018-19 , 21 % of California teachers were Latino compared to 55 % of students , while 61 % of teachers were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ Most of these people who are teaching , most of them have been raised in an environment of subject matter isolation and a lack of grounding in the communities , ” Williams said .
“ They ’ re doing these experiments in their labs ... they ’ ve never been given the resources to go out and do that in their communities.
” A lot of schools haven ’ t started teaching science this way The State Board of Education only released its framework a few years ago .
Experts say @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and many schools have not even adopted the new curriculum in their schools yet .
L.A. Unified , which educates almost one in 10 of the state ’ s public school students , won ’ t roll theirs out completely until next school year .
“ Much of the state is just beginning to implement their new science curriculum , ” Darling-Hammond said .
School districts and teachers looking at this year ’ s test scores should ask themselves — “ What does this tell us about the kinds of resources we need @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to help kids ?
” Sandoval said .
School leaders say they need more information from the state to answer that question .
“ We ’ re looking closer now to the results , with our colleagues from the local districts to try to make some sense of the data and develop an action plan , ” said Ayham Dahi , the secondary science coordinator for the L.A. Unified instruction division .
Dahi hopes the state will share more granular breakdowns of the test results , so the district can see what areas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the more disaggregated the data are , the better we could provide better and more targeted supports for teachers .
”

Science teacher Jeanette Chipps, right, who also trains educators on the state’s new science standards, works with a student at Granada Hills Charter High School in December.
Adults who took high school biology might remember a lecture on cell structure, then a test asking to identify its parts, plus an assignment to build a cell, perhaps with papier mâché and dry macaroni.
Today, California students are supposed to learn about science in a whole new way.
A teacher might start the lesson by posing a question: How does a wound heal? Well, that involves cell reproduction. So to understand how a wound heals, the teacher might say, we must first learn how a cell works. The instructor might ask: What elements do you think a cell must have to help heal the wound? How about making a model and discussing your hypotheses with each other?
This approach is aimed at leading students, ideally, to the right answer, with the teacher as a guide. The method is embedded in the “Next Generation Science Standards,” which California adopted in 2013. Students were tested for the first time on the new standards last spring, even though some districts have yet to introduce the new curricula.
The scores are in for public school students in grades 5, 8, and 10-12 — and California students got far more answers wrong than right.
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Less than a third of students met standards
Across the state, 29.9% of students met or exceeded the new science standards on this first test, with fluctuations according to grade level. High school students must take the test once between 10th and 12th grade.
There was a spike in 11th grade scores, with about 30% proficiency, but overall high school students did worse than younger students.
Low-income students and black students had especially low scores, a pattern also seen in the state’s math and English assessments. On the science test, only about 3% of English learners and 8% of students with disabilities demonstrated proficiency.
“The scores show that we’re continuing to fail students and we’re failing the same students who historically we always have,” said Elisha Smith Arrillaga, executive director of the Oakland-based research and advocacy nonprofit Education Trust-West. “What actually makes it more egregious is that we’re in a state that is this bastion of technological advancement. … We’re not connecting the dots between the tech world and what we see in classrooms.”
So why the low scores?
Advertisement
It’s the first year of the test
Typically, the first year of a new standardized test does not yield stellar results. In 2015, the first year of new English and math tests in California, scores showed an overall proficiency of 44% in English and 34% in math in grades 3 through 8 and 11. Scores improved by three to four percentage points the following year and have continued to go up, though by a smaller margin.
But five years into those same tests, only half of students met state English standards and 40% met math standards. The so-called Smarter Balance Summative Assessments, based on Common Core English and math standards, are designed to measure how well students have met learning goals set by the state and create statistical snapshots of learning at their schools, their district and California.
Students took the science tests on computer programs that they may not have used before. The test requires students to read, comprehend and analyze questions, some of which build on each other or require written explanations.
“I think these test results should be taken with a grain of salt,” said Bill Sandoval, a UCLA education professor who studies how children learn science and observed teachers who used the “healing a wound” approach to teaching students about cells.
Instead of “summative” assessments like this, Sandoval said, it would be more productive to give students assessments throughout the school year that are more closely aligned to what they are learning in each classroom, and enable teachers to figure out what students need. “It’s not that clear” what these test results say about how to improve or what to improve on, Sandoval said.
Although the standards are challenging, when implemented well, research suggests that the new approach can help students learn and retain concepts better than they would through rote memorization, he said.
Yet the real-world challenge lies in the ability of educators to actually teach to the standards.
There aren’t enough teachers
There is a shortage of teachers in California, especially in math, science and special education.
New teachers may be long-term substitutes or working with emergency teaching permits, and many veteran teachers are not well-trained in the new standards, explained State Board of Education President Linda Darling-Hammond.
Convincing college students in STEM majors to teach science can be a hard sell because they can pursue much higher-paying careers. Also, earning a full teaching credential in a single subject can be expensive, and many aspiring teachers must complete classroom hours without pay.
“About half of the folks coming into science teaching are not fully prepared,” Darling-Hammond said. What California students need most when learning science, she said, are “well prepared teachers who have the materials.”
But the new standards call on even experienced science teachers to change their approach, relying less on their own authority and more on scientific method and classroom engagement.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget includes $900 million for teacher training and retention, including a large chunk for STEM teacher professional development.
“When you bring the standards out you also have to develop teachers’ capacity to teach the standards,” Darling-Hammond said. “The standards do not teach themselves.”
Memorization alone wouldn’t be enough to pass the test, which requires students to engage in tasks that include — on a fifth-grade practice exam, for example — ordering the stages of a plant’s life cycle on a diagram, and explaining how a hare’s changing fur color protects it in the winter.
Many schools don’t even offer lab experiments
After the last recession, from around 2009 until 2014, “a lot of science programs got really decimated,” Darling-Hammond said. That’s especially true in elementary schools and in high-poverty schools.
“The idea is to learn the core scientific concepts through doing scientific work — so doing versions of modeling and experimentation,” Sandoval explained. “If you don’t really have the capacity in the classroom to do legitimate versions of scientific work, then you’re not going to meet those goals. It’s not going to happen.”
In one L.A. County high school where Sandoval and colleagues were helping a group of teachers implement the new science standards from 2015 to 2018, about 40 students crowded into a science class, and the tight space and lack of materials prevented them from conducting experiments. There were not enough computers for the students, so virtual labs were out too.
Sandoval was able to help secure a grant for some materials, “but it doesn’t go that far,” he said.
He could not name the school to maintain its privacy in his research, but it was in a majority low-income and Latino school district, he said.
Schools could look to the booming technology industry in California for assistance, student advocates say.
Smith Arrillaga said such classroom scenarios “should just not be possible in a state this diverse and with this much science.... We as a state should be able to come together across sectors and figure out some solutions.”
But school involvement shouldn’t end with a one-time donation of a 3-D printer, she said. Tech industry leaders need to engage with educators and classrooms to better understand what students need to succeed in the workforce, remain invested in schools and help fund teacher preparation programs, Smith-Arrillaga said.
Teachers need to better connect with black and Latino students
Another problem that may contribute to achievement gaps is that teachers do not fully understand the communities in which they’re teaching, said A.Dee Williams, associate chair of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Cal State L.A. Williams directs a teacher residency program for math, special education and science teachers in Los Angeles.
The Cal State L.A. program requires teachers-in-training to learn about and acknowledge their biases, and provides paid classroom residencies where they are paired with mentor teachers in L.A. and Pasadena schools. Aspiring teachers are encouraged to ground their lessons in what’s happening in the community — connecting climate change principles not just to polar ice caps but to the students’ own water quality, for instance.
Ideally, Williams said, teachers would return to the communities where they grew up. He believes teachers with roots in the place they work may have a stronger understanding of its history and be able to connect with students and relate lesson plans to the community. This would also help give students teachers who look like them — research suggests that children benefit from having a teacher of the same ethnicity.
Yet in California, white students are much more likely to have that experience than black or Latino students. In 2018-19, 21% of California teachers were Latino compared with 55% of students, while 61% of teachers were white compared with 23% of students.
“Most of these people who are teaching, most of them have been raised in an environment of subject matter isolation and a lack of grounding in the communities,” Williams said. “They’re doing these experiments in their labs.... They’ve never been given the resources to go out and do that in their communities.”
A lot of schools haven’t started teaching science this way
The State Board of Education released its framework only a few years ago. Experts say this kind of change takes time, and many schools have not even adopted the new curriculum yet.
Officials at L.A. Unified, which educates almost 1 in 10 of the state’s public school students, won’t roll theirs out completely until next school year.
“Much of the state is just beginning to implement their new science curriculum,” Darling-Hammond said.
School districts and teachers looking at this year’s test scores should ask themselves: “What does this tell us about the kinds of resources we need to help teachers do this better and to help kids?” Sandoval said.
School leaders say they need more information from the state to answer that question.
“We’re looking closer now to the results with our colleagues from the local districts to try to make some sense of the data and develop an action plan,” said Ayham Dahi, the secondary science coordinator for the L.A. Unified instruction division. Dahi hopes the state will share more granular breakdowns of the test results, so the district can see what areas students faltered in.
“I think the more disaggregated the data are, the better we could provide better and more targeted supports for teachers.”
Times staff reporter Iris Lee contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-02-13--Coronavirus sparks culture clash in the San Gabriel Valley

Marta Ayala and Chong Taing , both Rosemead residents , couldn ’ t see the threat of the coronavirus more differently .
You can see it on their faces .
While walking out of Superior Grocers supermarket in El Monte , Ayala ’ s face scrunched in annoyance as she spotted an Asian customer wearing a white medical mask coming from the opposite direction .
Despite hearing about the fast-spreading illness , to the 64-year-old Mexican immigrant , the mask is an overreaction that just stokes alarm .
“ I don ’ t believe in using masks and I don @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she said .
“ I know there ’ s a serious disease out there , but who has time to think about that ?
” For the 39-year-old Taing , who wears a mask , the item makes as much sense as wearing long-sleeve shirts or sunglasses to protect from the sun .
The masks aren ’ t just designed to protect the person wearing them from illness , but to protect others as well .
It ’ s a common courtesy in a place he calls “ the 626 '' — the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Valley .
“ People wearing masks are being considerate , ” Taing said .
“ Yes , we ’ re going to wash our hands , but we ’ re going to take extra precautions when we pick up our kids , do our shopping and go outside .
We want to avoid getting sick as much as anyone , and at least we ’ re taking steps to do that.
” The virus , officially named COVID-19 by the World Health Organization , has seen cases worldwide rise to over 60,000 while @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as of Wednesday evening .
In the U.S. , there have been 15 confirmed cases with investigations ongoing in 41 states and territories .
Few places illustrate the parallel reactions to the illness the way the diverse San Gabriel Valley does .
According to 2010 U.S. Census Bureau statistics , Latinos and Asians make up 46 % and 28 % , respectively , of the area ’ s 1.85 million residents .
The two largest groups frequently shop , eat and send their children to the same schools .
But how they have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be more different .
It is among the Asian population that concern over the disease manifests itself most visibly , with changing eating and shopping habits , the cancellation of large public events like Lunar New Year celebrations , avoidance of large family gatherings and the masks .
While the majority of people in the San Gabriel Valley do not wear the masks , those who do wear them — whether as protection against illnesses or pollution — are almost always of Asian descent .
That can provoke misunderstanding and prejudice .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ’ s a little bit like asking why do people wear hats in the U.S. , ” said Emma Teng , a professor of Asian Civilizations at MIT .
Across the Pacific , masks have been worn for everything from disease control to anonymity during pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong , Teng said .
She said masks to protect against illness in Asia may have first emerged in Japan during the influenza pandemic in 1918 that lasted two years and claimed 50 million lives worldwide .
In more recent years , masks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for employees who didn ’ t want to miss work — or infect colleagues .
“ I find it interesting that a lot of American people find it so strange , ” Teng said .
“ Like for us , you ’ re sick and you wouldn ’ t blow your nose into a tissue and leave it on top of someone ’ s desk .
This is just a courtesy.
” Still , Teng said she is selective about where she wears surgical masks .
During a recent trip to Taiwan , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public transportation .
But in the U.S. , including at her job at MIT , she often refrains from wearing a mask .
“ I believe it would make the students very nervous if they saw their teacher wearing a face mask , ” Teng said .
“ So , I think there are some deep cultural differences.
” In the San Gabriel Valley , Latinos and Asians often work in the same places .
Many of the Chinese and Vietnamese restaurants that line streets such as Valley Boulevard and Garvey Avenue have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ yet it ’ s exceedingly rare to see a Latino , or non-Asian , wearing a surgical mask .
News about the coronavirus also doesn ’ t dominate Spanish-language media the way it does Chinese-language media .
“ I think there is a panic too , especially within the Chinese community , ” said Karina Hernandez , 25 , as she shopped at Superior market with her three-year-old daughter Caroline .
She added : “ There needs to be more information out there because I ’ m not hearing anything.
” Many Latino @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virus as “ distant ” and “ nothing to be worried about , ” while some expressed skepticism .
“ I heard the word ‘ contagious ’ with the virus and if I hear it gets bad here , then I ’ ll do it , ” said Elizabeth Robles , 26 , of El Monte , of wearing a mask .
“ But , I haven ’ t seen anything here yet.
” As he shopped at Superior market , 23-year-old Van Yin said he didn ’ t understand why some non-Asians @ @ @ @ @ @ @ masks .
Yin did not wear one , but he said he understood why many people did .
“ If you live in the San Gabriel Valley , you ’ re just going to see a lot of masks , ” he said .
“ It ’ s not a big deal.
” What worried Yin was that social media might be stoking fears of coronavirus to unnecessary levels .
“ A lot of the news has been blown out of proportion and it ’ s scared a lot of people , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ San Gabriel Valley Lunar festival , a smaller-than-normal crowd showed up .
Most people , regardless of their background , did not wear masks .
Gabrielino High School junior Kevin He said he felt totally comfortable chatting with hundreds of people as an information booth volunteer without wearing a mask .
Not that the 16-year-old begrudged anyone wearing the facial covering .
“ I ’ m not going to criticize those who wear masks because they ’ re just trying to stay safe and healthy and not spread anything , ” he said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enough people understand that.
” Outside the San Gabriel Mission after evening mass , 73-year-old Dora Oros of Alhambra said she was both confused and intrigued by the masks .
“ I see people wearing them , but I don ’ t know what that means , ” she said .
“ I don ’ t know if that means they ’ re sick or they ’ re trying to prevent others from getting sick.
” Oros said she considered purchasing a mask , but was told by her daughter that the nearest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weeks .
“ I guess I ’ ll just wait , ” she said with resignation .
“ I haven ’ t seen anyone I know getting sick yet , so I won ’ t worry .
”

Marta Ayala and Chong Taing, both Rosemead residents, couldn’t see the threat of the coronavirus more differently. You can see it on their faces.
While walking out of Superior Grocers supermarket in El Monte, Ayala’s face scrunched in annoyance as she spotted an Asian customer wearing a white medical mask coming from the opposite direction. Despite hearing about the fast-spreading illness, to the 64-year-old Mexican immigrant, the mask is an overreaction that just stokes alarm.
“I don’t believe in using masks and I don’t understand the need,” she said. “I know there’s a serious disease out there, but who has time to think about that?”
For the 39-year-old Taing, who wears a mask, the item makes as much sense as wearing long-sleeve shirts or sunglasses to protect from the sun. The masks aren’t just designed to protect the person wearing them from illness, but to protect others as well. It’s a common courtesy in a place he calls “the 626” — the area code-based nickname for the San Gabriel Valley.
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“People wearing masks are being considerate,” Taing said. “Yes, we’re going to wash our hands, but we’re going to take extra precautions when we pick up our kids, do our shopping and go outside. We want to avoid getting sick as much as anyone, and at least we’re taking steps to do that.”
The virus, officially named COVID-19 by the World Health Organization, has seen cases worldwide rise to over 60,000 while the death toll has surpassed 1,300, as of Wednesday evening. In the U.S., there have been 15 confirmed cases with investigations ongoing in 41 states and territories.
Few places illustrate the parallel reactions to the illness the way the diverse San Gabriel Valley does. According to 2010 U.S. Census Bureau statistics, Latinos and Asians make up 46% and 28%, respectively, of the area’s 1.85 million residents. The two largest groups frequently shop, eat and send their children to the same schools. But how they have responded to the virus couldn’t be more different.
It is among the Asian population that concern over the disease manifests itself most visibly, with changing eating and shopping habits, the cancellation of large public events like Lunar New Year celebrations, avoidance of large family gatherings and the masks.
While the majority of people in the San Gabriel Valley do not wear the masks, those who do wear them — whether as protection against illnesses or pollution — are almost always of Asian descent. That can provoke misunderstanding and prejudice.
“Asking why people wear face masks... it’s a little bit like asking why do people wear hats in the U.S.,” said Emma Teng, a professor of Asian Civilizations at MIT.
Across the Pacific, masks have been worn for everything from disease control to anonymity during pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, Teng said.
She said masks to protect against illness in Asia may have first emerged in Japan during the influenza pandemic in 1918 that lasted two years and claimed 50 million lives worldwide.
In more recent years, masks in Japan have served as a compromise for employees who didn’t want to miss work — or infect colleagues.
“I find it interesting that a lot of American people find it so strange,” Teng said. “Like for us, you’re sick and you wouldn’t blow your nose into a tissue and leave it on top of someone’s desk. This is just a courtesy.”
Still, Teng said she is selective about where she wears surgical masks. During a recent trip to Taiwan, she wore one, particularly while taking public transportation. But in the U.S., including at her job at MIT, she often refrains from wearing a mask.
“I believe it would make the students very nervous if they saw their teacher wearing a face mask,” Teng said. “So, I think there are some deep cultural differences.”
Advertisement
In the San Gabriel Valley, Latinos and Asians often work in the same places. Many of the Chinese and Vietnamese restaurants that line streets such as Valley Boulevard and Garvey Avenue have kitchens manned by Latino immigrants. And yet it’s exceedingly rare to see a Latino, or non-Asian, wearing a surgical mask.
News about the coronavirus also doesn’t dominate Spanish-language media the way it does Chinese-language media.
“I think there is a panic too, especially within the Chinese community,” said Karina Hernandez, 25, as she shopped at Superior market with her three-year-old daughter Caroline. She added: “There needs to be more information out there because I’m not hearing anything.”
Many Latino residents interviewed by The Times described the virus as “distant” and “nothing to be worried about,” while some expressed skepticism.
“I heard the word ‘contagious’ with the virus and if I hear it gets bad here, then I’ll do it,” said Elizabeth Robles, 26, of El Monte, of wearing a mask. “But, I haven’t seen anything here yet.”
As he shopped at Superior market, 23-year-old Van Yin said he didn’t understand why some non-Asians were taken aback by the wearing of masks. Yin did not wear one, but he said he understood why many people did.
“If you live in the San Gabriel Valley, you’re just going to see a lot of masks,” he said. “It’s not a big deal.” What worried Yin was that social media might be stoking fears of coronavirus to unnecessary levels.
“A lot of the news has been blown out of proportion and it’s scared a lot of people,” he said.
At Saturday’s San Gabriel Valley Lunar festival, a smaller-than-normal crowd showed up. Most people, regardless of their background, did not wear masks.
Gabrielino High School junior Kevin He said he felt totally comfortable chatting with hundreds of people as an information booth volunteer without wearing a mask. Not that the 16-year-old begrudged anyone wearing the facial covering.
“I’m not going to criticize those who wear masks because they’re just trying to stay safe and healthy and not spread anything,” he said. “I don’t think enough people understand that.”
Outside the San Gabriel Mission after evening mass, 73-year-old Dora Oros of Alhambra said she was both confused and intrigued by the masks.
“I see people wearing them, but I don’t know what that means,” she said. “I don’t know if that means they’re sick or they’re trying to prevent others from getting sick.”
Oros said she considered purchasing a mask, but was told by her daughter that the nearest Rite Aid had been sold out for weeks.
“I guess I’ll just wait,” she said with resignation. “I haven’t seen anyone I know getting sick yet, so I won’t worry.”