Metropolitan News-Enterprise Tuesday, August 10, 2021 Page 1 California Supreme Court:Judge’s Order to Oust County Lawmaker Automatically StayedAppeal From Mandatory Injunction Requiring San Bernardino Board ofSupervisors to Rescind Appointment to Vacancy on the Board Put Matteron Hold, Kruger Writes; C.A. Should Have Issued Writ of Supersedeas By a MetNews Staff Writer

A woman whose appointment to a vacancy on the San BernardinoBoard of Supervisors was declared unlawful by a Superior Court judgebecause preliminary decision-making was made via emailedcommunications rather than in open session, in violation of the Ralph M.Brown Act, was entitled to retain the seat during the appeals process, theCalifornia Supreme Court held yesterday.

A preliminary injunction issued by the San Bernardino Superior Courtrequiring the board to rescind the appointment and call upon the governorto fill the vacancy was mandatory in nature, Justice Leondra Kruger saidin an opinion for a unanimous court, and a stay of the order was automatic.

“An injunction that requires no action and merely preserves the statusquo (a so-called prohibitory injunction) ordinarily takes effectimmediately, while an injunction requiring the defendant to takeaffirmative action (a so-called mandatory injunction) is automaticallystayed during the pendency of the appeal,” she recited.

The Board of Supervisors and its appointee, Dawn Rowe, “wereentitled to a writ of supersedeas effectuating such a stay,” Kruger wrote.Her opinion reverses a Jan. 8, 2020 order by Div. Two of the FourthDistrict Court of Appeal denying summarily such a writ and lifting a stayit previously issued.

Issues LimitedThe Supreme Court on Jan. 23, 2020, issued an order declaring that

proceedings in the San Bernardino Superior Court “are hereby stayedpending further order of this court.” On Feb. 19 of that year, it granted

review, limiting the issue to whether the plaintiffs, Michael Daly andInland Empire United, were properly challenging Rowe’s appointment viaan action in mandate or whether an action in quo warranto (requiringpermission of the state attorney general) is “the exclusive procedure forsuch a challenge.”

Kruger said in yesterday’s opinion:“We now conclude the order here should have been automatically

stayed as a mandatory injunction; we accordingly do not address whethera discretionary writ of supersedeas should have issued based on thelikelihood of the Board’s success on the merits of the quo warrantoexclusivity issue.”

Mootness Not DiscussedThe jurist does not discuss in her opinion whether the controversy is

moot. Rowe was appointed to fill out the term of James C. Ramos who,having been elected to state Assembly on Nov. 3, 2018, assumed his newpost on Dec. 3 of that year.

His term on the Board of Supervisors, to which Rowe succeeded,ended on Dec. 7, 2020. Rowe was elected to the board through attaining55.68 percent of the vote in the March 3, 2020 primary.

Daly, executive director of Inland Empowerment, a coalition ofcommunity groups, and co-plaintiff Inland Empire United, which backscandidates for local offices, assumed that the outcome of the 2020 electionwould render moot the appointment of Daly. In arguing against the Boardof Supervisors’s request in the Supreme Court for a stay, they said:

“Appellants have made clear their objective is to run out the clock onthe superior court’s judgment until Rowe runs for election in the upcomingMarch 3. 2020 election as an ‘incumbent’ supervisor—with all theadvantages that the designation and powers of incumbency provide—anduntil the current supervisorial term expires on December 7, 2020—afterwhich point, the relief ordered by the superior court will become moot.”

Dawn RoweSupervisor

Procedure Selected

Embarking on the task of selecting a replacement for Ramos, theremaining supervisors—who, under the country charter, had only 30 dayswithin which to make a choice, or forfeit the selection to the governor—decided against interviewing all 48 applicants for the post. Instead, theydetermined that each supervisor would email nominations to the clerk, andonly persons nominated by at least two supervisors would be interviewed.

This winnowed the list to 13 prospective appointees. Those personswere interviewed at a public session; the list was narrowed to five,including Rowe; a special meeting was scheduled for the purpose ofmaking the final selection.

That plan was scotched when a protest was received that the emailprocedure ran afoul of the Brown Act. At their Dec. 18, 2018 meeting, thesupervisors started over, with each publicly nominating up to threepersons; six came in contention; all were interviewed; Rowe was chosenand was sworn in.

Granting a petition for a writ of mandate, San Bernardino SuperiorCourt Janet M. Frangie declared that the email process breached theBrown Act’s “prohibition against seriatim meetings and secret ballots” andthat the board’s action on Dec. 18, 2018 were “pro forma at best and didnot constitute a cure.”

Kruger said in a footnote:“The merits of the superior court’s decision on these points is not

before us, and we express no opinion regarding them.”Kruger observed that “California statutes provide both trial and

appellate courts general discretion (subject to certain statutory limits) tostay orders, including injunctions…, but do not appear to authorize the

general exercise of equitable discretion to countermand or modify the stayof an injunction imposed automatically,” commenting:

“Given the essentially equitable nature of the stay pending appeal, itwould seem to make sense for both trial and appellate courts to have thesame authority to order, when justice demands it, that a mandatoryinjunction take effect notwithstanding the filing of an appeal from theinjunctive order. This issue is beyond the scope of the questions presentedand briefed in this case for our review, so we do not answer it here. But theLegislature may always, if it chooses, reexamine California’s statutory lawgoverning stays pending appeal and decide whether the law would bebetter served by an approach that permits courts to take account of a widerarray of equitable considerations than does present law.”

The case is Daly v. San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors, 2021S.O.S. 4393.

Copyright 2021, Metropolitan News Company

NEWS

San Bernardino supervisors passordinance levying bigger fines on illegalmarijuana growsMartin Estacio Victorville Daily PressPublished 3:48 p.m. PT Aug. 10, 2021

Illegal marijuana cultivators in San Bernardino County will face stiffer fines and penaltiesafter the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved an ordinance Tuesday they hope willcurb grows in rural areas.

The ordinance levies increased fines on those convicted of illegal cannabis cultivation — andon the owners of property where grows are discovered.

Per the ordinance:

Any person convicted of a misdemeanor for cannabis cultivation of up to 200 cannabisplants faces a fine of up to $1,000 for a first conviction, up to $1,500 for a secondconviction and up to $3,000 for a third conviction.Any person convicted of a misdemeanor for commercial cannabis activity related tooperation of a dispensary, or delivery, manufacturing, transportation, distribution orcultivation where the number of cannabis plants is greater than 200 faces a fine of up to$3,000 for a first conviction, up to $6,000 for a second conviction and up to $10,000 fora third conviction.

Prior to the ordinance, a person convicted of illegal cannabis cultivation could face a fine of$500 to $1,000, be sentenced to county jail for no more than six months, or face both a fineand jail time.

The administrative fines are as follows:

For a property where commercial cannabis activity is occurring with 200 or fewer plants,an owner faces a fine of $1,000 for a first citation, $1,500 for a second citation and$3,000 for a third.

For a property where commercial cannabis activity is occurring with more than 200plants or the activity involves the operation of a dispensary, or delivery, manufacturing,transportation or distribution, an owner faces a fine of $3,000 for a first citation, $6,000for a second citation and $10,000 for a third citation.

Previously, citations of $100, $200 and $500 for repeated violations within the same yearwould be imposed.

The civil fines may be “stacked,” or levied daily, according to Luther Snoke, the county’s chiefoperating officer. He gave as an example a 400-plant grow where fines could grow to$99,000 within three weeks if the owner refused to comply.

The supervisors’ decision follows a surge of opposition to the illegal grows that ruralresidents say have compromised their quality of life in areas such as Lucerne Valley andNewberry Springs.

Officials have also expressed their displeasure and linked the illegal cultivation of cannabis toan increase in water theft, environmental harm, and even violence.

Sheriff Shannon Dicus said two of his deputies have been fired upon by people working atcultivations, and gun battles have erupted when rivals try to rob each other.

He showed a video of one firefight he said occurred in the Phelan area last year. The videoshows several men getting out of a white pickup truck with what appears to be handguns andrifles.

Dicus said the group was attempting to ram the garage of a grow house with the truck whenthey were fired upon by its inhabitants.

“This type of stuff happens in Mogadishu. It does not happen in this county,” he said.

According to the sheriff, his department has served 272 warrants on illegal grows so far thisyear, with another 1,000 intended to be raided. Deputies seized more than 400,000 plantswith an estimated value of $242 million.

“And herein lies the real issue: The profitability of this illegal activity is superseding themisdemeanor penalties that are outlined in the changes in Prop. 64,” he said.

Also known as the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, the proposition became law in 2016,legalizing cannabis in full and reducing the penalty for cannabis cultivation from a felony to amisdemeanor in most cases.

Both Dicus, and his predecessor John McMahon, have said the lack of real penalties has ledto a spike in grows and an overwhelming caseload for deputies.

In June, county supervisors passed a budget that allocated $10.4 million toward communityconcerns including illegal cannabis grows.

In an interview this month, Dicus said he had increased the number of his marijuanaenforcement teams fivefold but hoped the ordinance would help deter growers as well.

County District Attorney Jason Anderson told supervisors that his office was also stepping upenforcement against cultivators and was establishing an “address database” to pinpointlandowners who may own multiple parcels with grows on them, a step he also announced ata community meeting last week.

Several residents at Tuesday’s meeting said before the vote that they were thankful for theordinance.

“All I can say is wow. This is awesome,” said Jeff Taylor from the county’s satellite office inJoshua Tree.

The county COO, Snoke, said county officials were also working on an abatement ordinancethat would allow workers to remove and dispose of equipment related to growing, such ashoop houses and lighting, after sheriff’s deputies shut down a cultivation site.

“The debris and trash that is left behind after these grows is significant and often, after it’sraided by the sheriff, can be utilized to start yet another grow,” he said.

Daily Press reporter Martin Estacio may be reached at 760-955-5358 orMEstacio@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_mestacio.

______

By By RYAN CARTERRYAN CARTER | | rcarter@scng.comrcarter@scng.com and and DEEPA BHARATHDEEPA BHARATH | | dbharath@scng.comdbharath@scng.com | Daily News | Daily NewsPUBLISHED: PUBLISHED: August 10, 2021 at 6:54 p.m.August 10, 2021 at 6:54 p.m. | UPDATED: | UPDATED: August 10, 2021 at 7:00 p.m.August 10, 2021 at 7:00 p.m.

As As coronaviruscoronavirus cases surge and people resist getting vaccinated, Los Angeles County will now require its employees to be inoculated and is cases surge and people resist getting vaccinated, Los Angeles County will now require its employees to be inoculated and ispondering a vaccine mandate for public places.pondering a vaccine mandate for public places.

But Inland Empire county officials say theyʼre not considering such moves right now.But Inland Empire county officials say theyʼre not considering such moves right now.

On Tuesday, Aug. 10, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously On Tuesday, Aug. 10, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously ratified an executive orderratified an executive order for all county employees to be for all county employees to bevaccinated or tested weekly. The board also set the wheels in motion on a possible mandate vaccinated or tested weekly. The board also set the wheels in motion on a possible mandate requiring proof of vaccinationrequiring proof of vaccination for the public for the publicbefore entering indoor spots such as restaurants, gyms and entertainment venues.before entering indoor spots such as restaurants, gyms and entertainment venues.

The L.A. County mandate requires all employees — regardless of their department — to be fully vaccinated no later than Oct. 1. In theThe L.A. County mandate requires all employees — regardless of their department — to be fully vaccinated no later than Oct. 1. In theprocess of assuring compliance, there could be exemptions, including for medical and religious issues, officials said Tuesday.process of assuring compliance, there could be exemptions, including for medical and religious issues, officials said Tuesday.

Officials in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, where COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have been steadily rising, said they areOfficials in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, where COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have been steadily rising, said they arereluctant to consider such mandates at this time.reluctant to consider such mandates at this time.

In Riverside County, nearly twice the number of residents In Riverside County, nearly twice the number of residents were hospitalizedwere hospitalized with COVID-19 on Sunday, Aug. 8, as were two weeks ago. On with COVID-19 on Sunday, Aug. 8, as were two weeks ago. OnJuly 26, 222 people were hospitalized with the virus. On Sunday, that number was 437.July 26, 222 people were hospitalized with the virus. On Sunday, that number was 437.

Also, as of Sunday, there were 416 San Bernardino County residents hospitalized with the virus, including 93 in intensive care. ThoseAlso, as of Sunday, there were 416 San Bernardino County residents hospitalized with the virus, including 93 in intensive care. Thosenumbers have not been that high since February. numbers have not been that high since February. Hospitalizations have surgedHospitalizations have surged for nine days straight. for nine days straight.

Riverside County officials are not considering a Riverside County officials are not considering a vaccinationvaccination mandate for employees or thinking about asking the public to show proof of mandate for employees or thinking about asking the public to show proof ofvaccination at businesses and entertainment venues, county health spokesperson Jose Arballo Jr. said Tuesday.vaccination at businesses and entertainment venues, county health spokesperson Jose Arballo Jr. said Tuesday.

“We have followed state guidelines and recommendations and weʼll continue to do that,” he said. “If something changes with the state“We have followed state guidelines and recommendations and weʼll continue to do that,” he said. “If something changes with the stateguidelines, we might consider revisiting these issues at that point.”guidelines, we might consider revisiting these issues at that point.”

San Bernardino County currently “has no plans to create local health orders or mandates beyond what is required by the state,” countySan Bernardino County currently “has no plans to create local health orders or mandates beyond what is required by the state,” countyspokesperson David Wert said.spokesperson David Wert said.

“State health orders apply within San Bernardino County as well as all other counties,” he said. “Not adopting local COVID-19 health orders“State health orders apply within San Bernardino County as well as all other counties,” he said. “Not adopting local COVID-19 health ordershelps to avoid confusion and ensure consistency.”helps to avoid confusion and ensure consistency.”

San Bernardino County supervisors have been talking about such mandates, but are not now in favor of them, said Curt Hagman,San Bernardino County supervisors have been talking about such mandates, but are not now in favor of them, said Curt Hagman,chairman of the county s̓ board of supervisors.chairman of the county s̓ board of supervisors.

“I think it s̓ pretty intrusive,” he said. “I would like everyone to get vaccinated. Iʼm vaccinated as are members of the family. But, Iʼm just“I think it s̓ pretty intrusive,” he said. “I would like everyone to get vaccinated. Iʼm vaccinated as are members of the family. But, Iʼm justuncomfortable forcing them to do it. Some people just donʼt want to get vaccinated. Our job is to put all the information out there and letuncomfortable forcing them to do it. Some people just donʼt want to get vaccinated. Our job is to put all the information out there and letpeople make their own decisions.”people make their own decisions.”

Hagman said county officials expected cases to rise after the Hagman said county officials expected cases to rise after the state reopened June 15state reopened June 15. He said he also worries about the vaccine mandate for. He said he also worries about the vaccine mandate forhealthcare workers.healthcare workers.

“I donʼt want to be in a situation where we force healthcare workers to get vaccinated and that causes people to not show up to work,” he“I donʼt want to be in a situation where we force healthcare workers to get vaccinated and that causes people to not show up to work,” hesaid. “We donʼt want our hospitals to be short-staffed when cases are going up and people need medical care.”said. “We donʼt want our hospitals to be short-staffed when cases are going up and people need medical care.”

Los Angeles County executive officials said the process of figuring out how to enforce the vaccine mandate for employees is still “work inLos Angeles County executive officials said the process of figuring out how to enforce the vaccine mandate for employees is still “work inprogress,” acknowledging there will be a fraction of employees who will all-out refuse to get the jab. That s̓ why officials say a moreprogress,” acknowledging there will be a fraction of employees who will all-out refuse to get the jab. That s̓ why officials say a moredefinitive plan for the program was forthcoming.definitive plan for the program was forthcoming.

LOCAL NEWSLOCAL NEWS

Inland Empire not following LA County’s lead onInland Empire not following LA County’s lead onemployee vaccine mandatesemployee vaccine mandates

• • NewsNews

A related motion by Supervisors Janice Hahn and Sheila Kuehl, which was approved by the board, also pushed to assure that the county s̓A related motion by Supervisors Janice Hahn and Sheila Kuehl, which was approved by the board, also pushed to assure that the county s̓policy covers outside contractors. Kuehl said the process of conferring with employee groups, understanding who and who is notpolicy covers outside contractors. Kuehl said the process of conferring with employee groups, understanding who and who is notvaccinated, needed to begin immediately.vaccinated, needed to begin immediately.

But with the relentless growth of the delta variant, and potentially up to 35% of county workers not yet vaccinated, Los Angeles CountyBut with the relentless growth of the delta variant, and potentially up to 35% of county workers not yet vaccinated, Los Angeles CountySupervisor Hilda Solis said the time is right to trigger the mandate.Supervisor Hilda Solis said the time is right to trigger the mandate.

“I donʼt think we can wait any longer,” she said. “This is simply the right to do,” she said, adding that it was up to the county to set an“I donʼt think we can wait any longer,” she said. “This is simply the right to do,” she said, adding that it was up to the county to set anexample for businesses and agencies.example for businesses and agencies.

Solis said the timeline gives employees time to consult with healthcare providers, while moving expeditiously to protect the health andSolis said the timeline gives employees time to consult with healthcare providers, while moving expeditiously to protect the health andsafety of the county s̓ 110,000 workers.safety of the county s̓ 110,000 workers.

Gov. Gavin Newsom previously announced that all state employees and all workers at public and private health-care facilities in CaliforniaGov. Gavin Newsom previously announced that all state employees and all workers at public and private health-care facilities in Californiawill be required to get vaccinatedwill be required to get vaccinated or get tested at least once per week. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Long Beach Mayor Robert or get tested at least once per week. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Long Beach Mayor RobertGarcia last week announced similar policies for their municipal employees. The city of Pasadena previously announced plans toGarcia last week announced similar policies for their municipal employees. The city of Pasadena previously announced plans toimplement a vaccine requirement for workers.implement a vaccine requirement for workers.

The mandatory vaccination requirement for members of the public at indoor spaces would likely be modeled after vaccine requirementsThe mandatory vaccination requirement for members of the public at indoor spaces would likely be modeled after vaccine requirementsrolled out in France and other European countries, officials said. It also would follow a more aggressive push in New York City, where therolled out in France and other European countries, officials said. It also would follow a more aggressive push in New York City, where thecity has mandated proof of COVID-19 vaccination to enter certain indoor businesses, including restaurants, entertainment venues andcity has mandated proof of COVID-19 vaccination to enter certain indoor businesses, including restaurants, entertainment venues andgyms. The Los Angeles City Council is also considering a similar mandate.gyms. The Los Angeles City Council is also considering a similar mandate.

Over the next two weeks supervisors have asked the health department to consider what this public vaccine mandate would look like,Over the next two weeks supervisors have asked the health department to consider what this public vaccine mandate would look like,including whether it would require one dose or a full vaccination and which indoor public spaces to which the mandate should apply.including whether it would require one dose or a full vaccination and which indoor public spaces to which the mandate should apply.Officials would also consider what kind of proof would have to be shown to enter a business or an indoor public space and how such aOfficials would also consider what kind of proof would have to be shown to enter a business or an indoor public space and how such amandate would be enforced.mandate would be enforced.

Business owners already have questions and concerns about this possible mandate.Business owners already have questions and concerns about this possible mandate.

“Iʼm going to have to hire somebody to stand outside like a bouncer, I guess, and check everyones̓ vaccine card,” said Brent Peskin, owner“Iʼm going to have to hire somebody to stand outside like a bouncer, I guess, and check everyones̓ vaccine card,” said Brent Peskin, ownerof Brent s̓ Delicatessen and Restaurant in Northridge. “And then, who do you call when the customer says … ʻIʼm not showing you this.̓ Iʼmof Brent s̓ Delicatessen and Restaurant in Northridge. “And then, who do you call when the customer says … ʻIʼm not showing you this.̓ Iʼmsure there s̓ going to be a lot of upset customers.”sure there s̓ going to be a lot of upset customers.”

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Ryan CarterRyan Carter | Reporter| ReporterRyan Carter, a reporter and editor, is part of team covering COVID-19 in L.A. County and lead election and politics coverage in L.A.Ryan Carter, a reporter and editor, is part of team covering COVID-19 in L.A. County and lead election and politics coverage in L.A.County.Ryan started his career writing obituaries at the Glendale News-Press, before working as assistant city editor for TimesCounty.Ryan started his career writing obituaries at the Glendale News-Press, before working as assistant city editor for TimesCommunity News (Division of the L.A. Times) and city editorfor the Glendale News-Press, San Bernardino Sun and L.A. Daily News.Community News (Division of the L.A. Times) and city editorfor the Glendale News-Press, San Bernardino Sun and L.A. Daily News.Ryan earned a BA degree in Political Science from UCLA and is working toward his Master's of Legal Studies at UCLA.Ryan earned a BA degree in Political Science from UCLA and is working toward his Master's of Legal Studies at UCLA.

rcarter@scng.comrcarter@scng.com

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Deepa BharathDeepa Bharath | Reporter| ReporterDeepa Bharath covers religion for The Orange County Register and the Southern California Newspaper Group. Her work is focused onDeepa Bharath covers religion for The Orange County Register and the Southern California Newspaper Group. Her work is focused onhow religion, race and ethnicity shape our understanding of what it is to be American and how religion in particular helps in�uencehow religion, race and ethnicity shape our understanding of what it is to be American and how religion in particular helps in�uencepublic policies, laws and a region's culture. Deepa also writes about race, cultures and social justice issues. She has covered a number ofpublic policies, laws and a region's culture. Deepa also writes about race, cultures and social justice issues. She has covered a number ofother beats ranging from city government to breaking news for the Register since May 2006. She has received fellowships from theother beats ranging from city government to breaking news for the Register since May 2006. She has received fellowships from theInternational Women's Media Foundation and the International Center for Journalists to report stories about reconciliation, counter-International Women's Media Foundation and the International Center for Journalists to report stories about reconciliation, counter-extremism and peace-building e�orts around the world. When she is not working, she loves listening to Indian classical music andextremism and peace-building e�orts around the world. When she is not working, she loves listening to Indian classical music andtraveling with her husband and son.traveling with her husband and son.

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Tags: Tags:  CoronavirusCoronavirus,, Coronavirus vaccineCoronavirus vaccine,, HealthHealth,, public healthpublic health,, Top Stories IVDBTop Stories IVDB,, Top Stories PETop Stories PE,,Top Stories RDFTop Stories RDF,, Top Stories SunTop Stories Sun

County helps schools and students "ReturnSafe, Return Strong"

Needles Desert Star Staff Aug 11, 2021 1:59 AM

Throughout California, many students are returning to classrooms for the �rst time in well over

a year.

San Bernardino County is doing its part to support local schools and school districts by making

sure students in our communities “Return Safe, Return Strong.”

That’s the slogan of the county's Back to School Task Force, which includes several cooperative

and voluntary initiatives to help schools comply with state mandates, carry out their safety

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plans and respond to outbreaks should any occur.

“The state makes policy for our local public schools and our local school boards have the heavy

task of implementing those state mandates at the classroom and student levels,” said Board of

Supervisors Chairman Curt Hagman. “The county has no jurisdiction over schools, and the

county has no legal standing to exempt schools from state mandates. What the county is

offering to do is lend our public and private schools the bene�t of our highly trained personnel,

best practices, and other resources to help them achieve their goals.”

The Back to School Task Force efforts will include:

* County Public Health teams that will be available to visit school sites and offer advice on

safety measures.

* Making safety supplies and gear available to schools in need.

* Having health educators from County Public Health and Arrowhead Regional Medical Center

available to visit middle schools and high schools to discuss COVID-19 vaccines.

* Instituting a quick-response team to provide testing, contact-tracing, and infection-prevention

services to K-12 schools and higher-education institutions in the event of a COVID-19 outbreak.

“After almost a year and a half struggling outside of the classroom, all of us owe it to our

students, parents, teachers, and other school personnel to make this long-awaited transition

back to campus as smooth and as safe as possible,” Hagman said. “That was the inspiration

behind this program.”

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CALIFORNIA

Gov. Newsom expected to order school employees to getvaccinated or be tested regularly

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Middle school teacher Michelle Survillas, left, of Riverside gets vaccinated. Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to announce anew policy Wednesday requiring teachers to be vaccinated or submit to regular coronavirus testing, sources said. (GinaFerazzi / Los Angeles Times)

BY HOWARD BLUME, JOHN MYERS

AUG. 10, 2021 10:56 PM PT

California school employees must either be vaccinated against COVID or submit to a

regular test proving they are not infected with the coronavirus under a pending order

from Gov. Gavin Newsom, sources told the Times Tuesday night.

Representatives of the Newsom administration briefly discussed the basic outlines of

the plan with educators, according to two sources who said Tuesday that they were not

authorized to speak publicly in advance of Newsom’s formal announcement.

Newsom had already announced a similar policy for employees of state agencies and an

absolute mandate, with limited religious and medical exceptions, for state healthcare

workers.

The governor is scheduled to visit an Alameda County elementary school on

Wednesday, where details of the proposal are expected to be unveiled. A spokesperson

for Newsom declined to comment Tuesday night on the event or the announcement.

The proposal was first reported Tuesday night by Politico.

A stronger, statewide vaccine effort for school employees is expected to be welcome

news for many of the groups representing those workers. The California Teachers Assn.

has said 90% or more of its members have reported they are already vaccinated against

COVID-19, and the union pushed hard for early access over the winter to doses of the

vaccine.

Los Angeles Unified, the state’s largest school system, has gone further than the pending

state policy in terms of requiring testing. While the state will require only the

unvaccinated to submit to regular testing, L.A. Unified requires weekly testing of all

students and employees, whether or not they are vaccinated.

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Officials took this step because of evidence indicating that vaccinated people can catch

and transmit the highly contagious Delta variant. The L.A. Unified testing plan will

require collecting and processing about 100,000 tests per day.

The president of the L.A. teachers union, Cecily Myart-Cruz, has said teachers should be

prepared for a possible vaccine mandate in the future, but has not endorsed one. In a

recent interview, she said she supported education efforts to persuade teachers and

community members to be vaccinated.

The L.A. district also goes further than state guidelines in requiring students to be

masked outdoors while at school. At Tuesday’s school board meeting, officials touted

such measures — that go beyond state and county requirements — as reasons for

anxious parents to feel reassured about returning to campus for the upcoming school

year, which begins Aug. 16.

For all of Los Angeles County, which has 80 school districts, education officials have

estimated that about 83% of K-12 school district employees are vaccinated, according to

data submitted to the county by most districts.

Both the University of California and the Cal State systems have announced strict

vaccine mandates for all students and staff, who will be turned away from in-person

classes and indoor campus facilities if they are not inoculated. Last week, the Los

Angeles Community College established vaccine rules for staff and students in line with

the K-12 policy: Show proof of vaccination or submit to regular coronavirus testing.

The expected Newsom announcement comes as several large California school districts

have announced similar policies in recent days, including San Francisco Unified and

Long Beach. San Francisco will require proof of vaccination for all faculty starting Sept.

7. Any employee not vaccinated would have to be tested at least weekly for coronavirus

infection. The school district includes roughly 10,000 employees and has received

vaccine verification for about half.

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“Given that we are in the midst of rising cases and new variants in our community, a

vaccine requirement is a necessary step to keeping our students, staff and families safe,

” Supt. Vincent Matthews said in a statement.

As case numbers linked to the Delta variant have grown, there’s been a substantial

increase in infected children in California and across the U.S, according to data

compiled by the the American Academy of Pediatrics. Severe illness among children

appears to be rare.

Vaccine mandates for school employees received an endorsement on Tuesday from Dr.

Anthony Fauci, the senior U.S. infectious-disease expert. Fauci said that state and local

governments should require teachers to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

“Yeah, I’m going to upset some people on this, but I think we should,” he said in an

interview with MSNBC. “This is very serious business. You would wish that people

would see why it’s so important to get vaccinated.”

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But Fauci added that said there wouldn’t be federal mandates for teacher vaccinations.

Local mandates “for schools, for teachers, for universities, for colleges” would be

appropriate, he said.

Times staff writer Colleen Shalby contributed to this report.

CALIFORNIA EDUCATION CALIFORNIA LAW & POLITICS NEWSOM RECALL COVID-19 PANDEMIC

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Howard Blume

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Howard Blume covers education for the Los Angeles Times. He’s won the top

investigative reporting prize from the L.A. Press Club and print Journalist of the Year

from the L.A. Society of Professional Journalists chapter. He co-hosts “Deadline L.A.”

on KPFK, which the press club named best radio public affairs show in 2010. He

teaches tap dancing and has two superior daughters.

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Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to announce Wednesday that California will require all teachers and schoolemployees to be vaccinated or submit to regular Covid-19 testing. | Jeff Chiu/AP Photo

CALIFORNIA

Newsom to announce nation's first vax-or-test rules for teachersUntil now, the recall-threatened governor had stopped short of requiring teachervaccinations for the upcoming academic year.

By MACKENZIE MAYS | 08/10/2021 10:50 PM EDT | Updated 08/10/2021 10:58 PM EDT

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to announce Wednesday that California willrequire all teachers and school employees to be vaccinated or submit to regular Covid-19testing, the first such state requirement amid growing Delta variant concerns, according tosources familiar with the plan.

Under the policy, school employees would have to show proof of vaccination to theirdistricts. The move comes after three large California districts announced similarrequirements on their own Tuesday and just two days after American Federation ofTeachers President Randi Weingarten voiced support for such a mandate.

The plan was described to POLITICO by sources who were not authorized to speak aheadof a Wednesday morning press conference at a school in the Bay Area. Until now, therecall-threatened governor had stopped short of requiring teacher vaccinations for theupcoming academic year.

The state's two major teachers unions — the California Teachers Association and theCalifornia Federation of Teachers — support the plan, sources said. CTA reports that nearly90 percent of its members are vaccinated, based on a survey in March.

"We're not shy about leaning into that space because of the importance of getting thisdisease behind us, but as it relates to schools, we're confident in the approach we'retaking," Newsom said last week at an event at a San Bernardino elementary school whenasked about the prospect of a teacher vaccine mandate.

California has seen a rise in Covid-19 infections and hospitalizations this summer as theDelta variant took hold and the state reopened its economy on a wide scale.

The Democratic governor faces a recall election in less than five weeks, and he has shownno willingness to close businesses again while he has insisted that schools will remain openfor full in-person instruction this academic year. Newsom is requiring that all studentswear masks in school — a position criticized by Republican recall candidates — but he isnot mandating that people wear masks at indoor businesses.

Newsom previously imposed vaccine-or-test requirements for state employees and anoutright Sept. 30 mandate with limited exemptions for health care workers.

Districts in San Francisco, Long Beach, Oakland and Sacramento announced Tuesday thatteachers must show proof of vaccination or get tested regularly for Covid-19 as theircampuses reopen this month. They join San Jose Unified, which announced the samerequirement last month.

"Long Beach is now the only big city in [the] state where all public employees at city,college, school district & state university have mandates," Mayor Robert Garcia said in atweet, noting that Long Beach Unified, which enrolls about 70,000 students, is the largestdistrict in California so far to make the decision.

"All public institutions across the state and country should do the same," Garcia added.

San Francisco Unified and Sacramento City Unified announced similar policies onTuesday, with support from their unions. Together, the two districts represent about15,000 employees and more than 100,000 students.

“As we all return to school buildings in person, we are glad that we can move forwardwelcoming students and families with excitement and ensuring the safest conditionspossible in the midst of this continuing pandemic," Cassondra Curiel, president of theUnited Educators of San Francisco, said in a statement.

The state's largest districts in Los Angeles, San Diego and Fresno have not requiredvaccines for teachers, but will fall under the Newsom policy being announced Wednesday.

"We are implementing different layers of safety including, but not limited to, requiringperiodic COVID testing for all students and staff, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, dailyhealth screening, upgraded air filtration systems, requiring the use of face masks andadditional staff to clean and sanitize the classrooms," Los Angeles Unified spokespersonShannon Haber said in an email.

At a Public Policy Institute of California event on Tuesday, Linda Darling-Hammond,president of the California State Board of Education, called vaccine-or-test rules "a verysmart idea."

In an interview last week, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond saidhe is not against a mandate but worries that vaccine requirements, which would likely haveto be negotiated with unions, are inefficient as many schools are racing against a clock.Many districts have already reopened in California, while others are set to do so over thenext three weeks.

"What I can do right now is help more people get a vaccine," Thurmound said, pointing to"vaccine town halls" and other outreach events hosted by the California Department ofEducation. "We're literally pulling out all the stops that we can."

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Parents demonstrate against masks at Morongo Unified meeting | Hi-Desert Star

https://hidesertstar.com/news/180614/parents-demonstrate-against-masks-at-morongo-unified-meeting/[8/11/2021 9:18:10 AM]

Parents demonstrateagainst masks at MorongoUnified meeting

By Stacy MooreHi-Desert Star

Aug 10, 2021 11:37 PM

JOSHUA TREE — Two women stood in front of the

board of education with their children flanking them. They

had agreed to wear masks to be allowed inside Joshua

Tree Elementary School, but at the microphone, they tore

them off.

“First of all, I just feel like when we send our children with

NewsParents demonstrate against masks atMorongo Unified meeting

NewsSearch warrant served at vacationrental property where Lauren Chowent missing

Parents hold up signs as the board of education members walkinto the Joshua Tree Elementary School MPR. The boardmembers quickly left until the demonstrators agreed to wearmasks

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Parents demonstrate against masks at Morongo Unified meeting | Hi-Desert Star

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these masks on, it’s like a concentration camp,” one said.

The other vowed if the school district sticks with its policy

to require masks in classrooms, they’ll pull their children

out.

“We’ll do home school,” Crystal Rolfsen vowed.

She and her twin sister, Candice Beverly, pulled off their

masks, turned around and walked out of the multipurpose

room, followed by their children.

It was one of several moments showing the passion of

the approximately 50 parents, grandparents and children

who gathered to protest the mask requirement at

Morongo Unified School District.

When classrooms open Aug. 23, students and staff will

be required to wear masks while indoors and on their

school buses. The policy follows a requirement from the

state of California and recommendations from the

American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for

Disease Control. Under state orders, students who can’t

or won’t wear masks must be provided with “alternative

NewsPublic asked for ideas as Yucca looksat housing needs

The Desert Trail29 Palms man arrested for assaultingofficer

Hi-Desert StarCanadian filmmaker finds his home,people in Pi-town

Parents demonstrate against masks at Morongo Unified meeting | Hi-Desert Star

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educational opportunities.”

But parents like Mary Lou Fulkerson say that’s

discrimination. The Yucca Valley mom spearheaded a

demonstration at the board of education meeting

Tuesday at Joshua Tree Elementary School.

Before they were allowed inside, Fulkerson led a prayer,

asking God to “soften the hearts” of the board of

education and grant her and her fellow parents victory in

their fight to end the mandate.

Fulkerson said she believes it should be a parent’s

choice whether to have their child wear a mask.

“I don’t think strangers should make decisions for our

children,” she said. “Our children are gifts from God and

it’s the parents’ right to protect them.”

Notices posted on the doors for the MPR said masks

were required for entrance, but Fulkerson said they were

going to enter without them and hope they were allowed

to take part in the meeting. Unmasked, the protesters

filled the seats in the multipurpose room, holding signs

with messages like “Unmask Our Kids” and “Let Them

Breathe.”

But after the board of education members filed in,

President L. Hilary Slotta told them, “Ladies and

gentlemen, we have signs posted in this public building

that you must wear a mask. You are welcome to stay, but

you must wear a mask.”

Added acting Superintendent Doug Weller, “If you are not

going to wear a mask, you need to leave.”

Parents demonstrate against masks at Morongo Unified meeting | Hi-Desert Star

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“We’re here because we don’t want our kids to wear a

mask, but you won’t listen to us speak!” a woman called

out.

“Masks do not protect against COVID! Look it up! It’s in

the CDC!” another woman shouted.

“I think they’ve forgotten they work for us,” a man said.

Fulkerson went to talk to the board members, who

remained behind closed doors, and returned saying,

“They’ll only come out if we’ll wear our masks.”

“Just to give us a chance, let’s wear a mask to make sure

we’re being heard,” she suggested.

If others didn’t want to, that was fine, she said, but she

asked them to go outside. About 10 adults and children

left and the rest put on masks, though many kept them

below their noses.

The board members and staff walked back in and Weller

told the group, “As I said earlier, as long as you have a

mask on, you’re welcome to stay.”

One man, Pete Cavelti of Yucca Valley, refused to wear

a mask. Two sheriff’s deputies approached him and

escorted him out of the building.

Several of the remaining parents took turns at the

microphone. Many said they had scientific sources

showing that masks are dangerous to children and do not

stop the transmission of the novel coronavirus 2019.

“Parents should have the right to choose whether or not

their child wears a hot, humid, airway-restricting mask all

day,” said one mom. “Children are not superspreaders.”

Parents demonstrate against masks at Morongo Unified meeting | Hi-Desert Star

https://hidesertstar.com/news/180614/parents-demonstrate-against-masks-at-morongo-unified-meeting/[8/11/2021 9:18:10 AM]

“Harming our children on a physical level, a psychological

level is what these masks are doing,” said

Westmoreland, who told the board she has two children

in MUSD schools.

Amanda Roby had tears in her eyes as she recalled the

problems her children faced during virtual learning last

school year, saying they were left to fend for themselves

on Zoom calls with uncaring teachers.

“I pulled my first grader out of your district,” she said. “My

child sat at his computer and cried because he cannot

figure out computers.”

Her freshman daughter sat in classes, “With your staff

members doing their hair and makeup in those Zoom

classes,” she said.

“Now you want my children to attend school every single

day muzzled like a dog. You want them in that chair so

you can get your tax money,” she told the board, her

voice growing in strength.

“This year I have removed all three of my children from

your school district and I am very proud to say I will do

the same thing next year if you guys can’t pull it together

for my children.

“Their rights matter and if you get to choose when you

put your mask on, so can my children.”

Under state meeting laws, the board could not comment

on their statements or talk about the mask policy

because they were not on the agenda. The parents who

gathered hope MUSD will call a special meeting before

Parents demonstrate against masks at Morongo Unified meeting | Hi-Desert Star

https://hidesertstar.com/news/180614/parents-demonstrate-against-masks-at-morongo-unified-meeting/[8/11/2021 9:18:10 AM]

school starts and vote to allow individual waivers

exempting children from mask requirements.

Slotta, the board president, did ask Weller to report back

at a future meeting on how other school districts are

following the mandate.

Several of the parents said Beaumont Unified School

District allows parents to get mask waivers.

The Beaumont district’s website has an exemption

request form to be used for students with medical

conditions or disabilities that prevent them from wearing

face coverings. It does not appear that parents may get a

waiver for their personal beliefs. “It is important to note

that in order to receive a medical or disability related

exemption, the medical condition or disability must

prevent the student from wearing a face covering,” the

waiver form states.

Slotta asked for more information on that and the

district’s weekly testing of student-athletes.

“What I want is the most correct information, so any

decision we make is from the latest qualified information

that we can get,” Slotta said after the meeting.

“I want to know if there are schools out there doing this,

why they are doing this, how they are doing this and what

are the ramifications. I just want to be informed.”

But Fulkerson said some of the information presented by

official sources contradicts parents’ experiences.

The American Academy of Pediatrics says masks do not

weaken children’s immune systems, expose them to

Parents demonstrate against masks at Morongo Unified meeting | Hi-Desert Star

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more carbon dioxide (carbon dioxide molecules are small

enough that they pass easily through masks) or prompt

depression or suicidal ideation.

A handful of parents at the meeting said the state

Occupational Safety and Health Administration admits on

its own website that masks don’t work and lower the

wearer’s oxygen levels. But a look at Cal-OSHA’s

coronavirus page shows its official position is that

workers should wear cloth face coverings and that

masks, whether surgical or cloth, do not lower oxygen

levels or increase carbon dioxide.

Although youth suicide has been increasing generally

over the past several years, preliminary data from the

CDC and a survey of 21 countries in The Lancet

Psychiatry show that deaths by suicide were lower in

2020 than the year before.

Fulkerson said that doesn’t line up with parents’

experiences.

“I personally had a family member who contracted

bacterial pneumonia from wearing masks,” she said.

Moms are reporting their children suffer from symptoms

ranging from low self-esteem to shortness of breath

because of the masks, she said.

“I don’t feel like we’re being heard.”

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https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-rent-relief-program-marred-by-delays-confusion-burdensome-paperwork-11628683200

POLITICS

Covid-19 Rent-Relief Program Marred by Delays,Confusion, Burdensome PaperworkTreasury counts on more than 450 state and local governments and agencies to distribute nearly $47

billion in aid

Applicants waited with their paperwork at a rental assistance fair in Jackson, Miss., last month.PHOTO: ROGELIO V. SOLIS�ASSOCIATED PRESS

By and Aug. 11, 2021 8�00 am ET

Will Parker Andrew Ackerman

More than seven months after it was launched, the biggest rental assistance program inU.S. history has delivered just a fraction of the promised aid to tenants and landlordsstruggling with the impact of the Covid-19 crisis.

Since last December, Congress has appropriated a total of $46.6 billion to help tenantswho were behind on their rent. As of June 30, just $3 billion had been distributed, thougha senior official said the Biden administration hoped at least another $2 billion had beendistributed in July.

While the program is overseen by the Treasury, it relies on a patchwork of more than 450state, county and municipal governments and charitable organizations to distribute aid.The result: months of delays as local governments built new programs from scratch, hiredstaff and crafted rules for how the money should be distributed, then struggled to processa deluge of applications.

Often, tenants and landlords didn’t know money was available, and many of those who didapply had to contend with cumbersome applications and requests for documentation.

“It’s a recipe for chaos,” said David Dworkin, president and chief executive officer of theNational Housing Conference, a Washington, D.C., affordable housing advocacy group.“And that’s what we’ve got.”

The program offers a contrast to other federal aid programs. For example, the InternalRevenue Service started sending $1,400 stimulus payments to American households onMarch 12, the day after President Biden signed Covid-19 relief legislation. A week later,the IRS said it had made 90 million direct payments totaling $242 billion—more than halfthe total amount authorized.

Data released by the Treasury Department shows that rental aid has begun to move faster,with more money distributed in June than in the previous three months combined. TheTreasury is expected to release data for July around the middle of this month, accordingto administration officials.

The genesis of the program dates to the early months of the pandemic. In May 2020,Democrats in Congress proposed $100 billion in aid for the growing number of tenantswho were out of work as a result of the pandemic and unable to pay rent—an amount thatwas later cut by more than half.

Democrats wanted the Department of Housing and Urban Development to oversee theprogram because it had experience distributing housing funds through an existingnetwork of local partners. Republicans felt the Treasury would deliver the money faster,

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What changes, if any, would you like to see made to the process of distributing funds for rentalassistance? Join the conversation below.

said Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition.Either way, grants would be disbursed on the state and local level.

Then-President Donald Trump signed the bill appropriating the first $25 billion inDecember. In March, Congress appropriated another $21.6 billion.

The program’s rollout was slow from the start. The New York state Legislature, forexample, didn’t create a program to distribute the $2.7 billion allocated to the state untilApril, and the state didn’t open applications until June.

Tight screening requirements added to delays, housing advocates and attorneys said.Some local officials also said the initial guidelines from the Treasury during the final daysof the Trump administration were unclear or confusing.

Tenants had to provide extensive paperwork to demonstrate need. That includedapartment leases, documents to show job loss or loss of income, income levels for theprevious year and proof of other benefits they might receive from the government. Manytenants were unable to comply because they didn’t have formal leases or earned cashwages.

Some programs reported being overwhelmed with applications or lacked the staff andresources to process them efficiently. Texas, for example, started with about 100 staff buteventually increased the number to more than 1,500, including contractors. Dozens ofother programs have also turned to contractors for help.

Elizabeth Dejesus helped a mother and child apply for rental assistance at La Colaborativa inChelsea, Mass., in May.PHOTO: BRIAN SNYDER�REUTERS

Many tenants said they didn’t know they were eligible for aid or filled out formsincorrectly. In Texas, which has distributed more aid than many other programs,contractors began a mass text-messaging campaign this spring to reach people who mayhave mistakenly disqualified themselves when filling out applications.

Some landlords didn’t want to participate in the program, according to tenants, attorneysand local officials. Some landlords were unwilling to agree to temporarily not pursuefuture evictions against a tenant as a condition of receiving assistance. In JeffersonParish, La., for example, landlords negotiated a proposed 90-day eviction ban down to 45days.

Other landlords didn’t want to share required tax information. Many tenants, meanwhile,failed to complete forms or lacked access to computers and internet connections neededto complete applications.

The Treasury Department, under Mr. Biden, released new guidance in late February andagain in the spring, among other things, to encourage local programs to pay moneydirectly to tenants in certain cases, instead of just to landlords.

The guidance also encouraged programs to cut down on documentation required oftenants and landlords both. The new guidance allowed tenants to self-attest their need orallowed programs to use proxies in place of proof of earnings, such as the median incomein areas where applicants lived.

Many programs ignored the guidance, research from the National Low Income HousingCoalition shows. As of August, only 1 in 4 were handing money directly to tenants. Justover half now allow some form of self-attestation from tenants instead of documentsalone.

Many local governments were concerned that loosening the rules would expose them tofraud or charges they had squandered federal money.

Liz Bourgeois, a Treasury spokeswoman, said the department’s new guidance is helpingboost the flow of money to renters and landlords. Tools to reduce paperwork, such as self-attestation, are “a common practice across federal and state programs and consistentwith responsible management,” she said.

For now, tenants are protected by a national eviction moratorium, which has beenextended five times and is now set to expire on Oct. 3.

Landlord groups are contesting the moratorium in federal court, saying the Centers forDisease Control and Prevention exceeded its authority when it first imposed it lastSeptember under Mr. Trump. Some states, including New York and California, haveimposed their own moratoriums.

Meanwhile, many tenants are falling further behind on rent, and many landlords arebeing squeezed because they must continue to pay taxes, maintenance costs and otherexpenses.

“I think we need to rethink our model that we’ve put together here, because I don’t thinkthe model is working as effectively as it could,” said Bob Pinnegar, president and CEO ofthe National Apartment Association, a landlord trade group.

Write to Will Parker at will.parker@wsj.com and Andrew Ackerman atandrew.ackerman@wsj.com

YOUR MONEY BRIEFING

Rents Are Up More Than 10% in the Past Year

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______

By By RYAN CARTERRYAN CARTER | | rcarter@scng.comrcarter@scng.com | Daily News | Daily News

PUBLISHED: PUBLISHED: August 10, 2021 at 2:36 p.m.August 10, 2021 at 2:36 p.m. | UPDATED: | UPDATED: August 10, 2021 at 3:51 p.m.August 10, 2021 at 3:51 p.m.

COVID vaccines offered at the Balboa Tennis Center in Encino, CA Friday, July 16,COVID vaccines offered at the Balboa Tennis Center in Encino, CA Friday, July 16,2021. 2021. Beginning at 12:59pm on Saturday, residents of Los Angeles County will onceBeginning at 12:59pm on Saturday, residents of Los Angeles County will onceagain be required to wear face coverings indoors at public places. again be required to wear face coverings indoors at public places. L.A. County hasL.A. County hasseen several consecutive days with more than 1,000 new cases reported daily amid aseen several consecutive days with more than 1,000 new cases reported daily amid a“rapid and sustained” spike in the number of infections. Many shoppers have“rapid and sustained” spike in the number of infections. Many shoppers havecontinued to wear face coverings even though they have not been required tocontinued to wear face coverings even though they have not been required tovaccinated individuals. vaccinated individuals. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)(Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

NEWSNEWS

Get the shot or get tested: BoardGet the shot or get tested: Boardaffirms coronavirus vaccinationaffirms coronavirus vaccinationmandate for LA County workersmandate for LA County workersLeaders approved a policy that all county governmentLeaders approved a policy that all county governmentworkers be vaccianted. Now comes the hard part. Workingworkers be vaccianted. Now comes the hard part. Workingout the details.out the details.

• • NewsNews

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Aug. 10, unanimouslyThe Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Aug. 10, unanimously

ratified ratified an executive orderan executive order for all of the county’s more than 100,000 employees to for all of the county’s more than 100,000 employees to

be vaccinated against COVID-19 or be tested weekly for the virus.be vaccinated against COVID-19 or be tested weekly for the virus.

The action ratifies an executive order issued last week by Supervisor Hilda Solis, theThe action ratifies an executive order issued last week by Supervisor Hilda Solis, the

board’s chairwoman, which requires county employees, “regardless of theboard’s chairwoman, which requires county employees, “regardless of the

department they serve, to be fully vaccinated no later than October 1, 2021 … .”department they serve, to be fully vaccinated no later than October 1, 2021 … .”

In the process of assuring compliance, there will likely be some exemptions,In the process of assuring compliance, there will likely be some exemptions,

including medical and religious issues, which are part of a parallel motion byincluding medical and religious issues, which are part of a parallel motion by

Supervisors Janice Hahn and Sheila Kuehl that was unanimously approved.Supervisors Janice Hahn and Sheila Kuehl that was unanimously approved.

County executive officials said much of that process was a “work in progress,”County executive officials said much of that process was a “work in progress,”

acknowledging there will be a fraction of employees who will all-out refuse to getacknowledging there will be a fraction of employees who will all-out refuse to get

the jab. That’s why officials say a more definitive plan for the program wasthe jab. That’s why officials say a more definitive plan for the program was

forthcoming.forthcoming.

Hahn also pushed harder on making sure the county’s policy covers outsideHahn also pushed harder on making sure the county’s policy covers outside

contractors. Kuehl said the process of conferring with employee groups,contractors. Kuehl said the process of conferring with employee groups,

understanding who and who is not vaccinated, needed to begin immediately.understanding who and who is not vaccinated, needed to begin immediately.

But with the relentless growth of the delta variant, and potentially up to 35% ofBut with the relentless growth of the delta variant, and potentially up to 35% of

county workers not yet vaccinated, Solis said the time is right to trigger the county workers not yet vaccinated, Solis said the time is right to trigger the 

mandate.mandate.

“I don’t think we can wait any longer,” Solis said. “This is simply the right to do,” she“I don’t think we can wait any longer,” Solis said. “This is simply the right to do,” she

added, adding that it was up to the county to set an example for businesses andadded, adding that it was up to the county to set an example for businesses and

agencies across the region to do the same. “Inaction, in my opinion, is no longer anagencies across the region to do the same. “Inaction, in my opinion, is no longer an

option.”option.”

Solis said the timeline gives employees time they need to consult with theirSolis said the timeline gives employees time they need to consult with their

healthcare providers, while moving expeditiously to protect the health and safety ofhealthcare providers, while moving expeditiously to protect the health and safety of

our 110,000 workers.our 110,000 workers.

The order comes at a precarious moment in the course of the pandemic. AfterThe order comes at a precarious moment in the course of the pandemic. After

multiple surges, the more contagious Delta variant of the virus has thrown a curvemultiple surges, the more contagious Delta variant of the virus has thrown a curve

ball into L.A. County’s and the nation’s recovery.ball into L.A. County’s and the nation’s recovery.

Nearly 4 million people, in a county of more than 10 million, have yet to be fullyNearly 4 million people, in a county of more than 10 million, have yet to be fully

vaccinated. And while officials have seen an uptick in vaccinations in recent weeks,vaccinated. And while officials have seen an uptick in vaccinations in recent weeks,

the huge gap has experts worried that more variants will arise, and more people willthe huge gap has experts worried that more variants will arise, and more people will

become ill and continue to fill beds in local hospitals.become ill and continue to fill beds in local hospitals.

“In light of the recent COVID-19 surge and Delta variant, it is clear that more“In light of the recent COVID-19 surge and Delta variant, it is clear that more

stringent methods are now necessary to best protect the general public andstringent methods are now necessary to best protect the general public and

employee population. In order to increase our vaccination rates, it is important thatemployee population. In order to increase our vaccination rates, it is important that

Los Angeles County have a mandatory vaccination policy for its workforce,.. .”Los Angeles County have a mandatory vaccination policy for its workforce,.. .”

according to the motion.according to the motion.

Gov. Gavin Newsom previously announced that all state employees and all workersGov. Gavin Newsom previously announced that all state employees and all workers

at public and private health-care facilities in California will be required to beat public and private health-care facilities in California will be required to be

vaccinated or get tested at least once per week.vaccinated or get tested at least once per week.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia last weekLos Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia last week

announced similar policies for their municipal employees. The city of Pasadenaannounced similar policies for their municipal employees. The city of Pasadena

previously announced plans to implement a vaccine requirement for workers.previously announced plans to implement a vaccine requirement for workers.

The action coincided with the board’s consideration Tuesday of a wider spreadThe action coincided with the board’s consideration Tuesday of a wider spread

coronavirus vaccine requirement, which would apply to all residents of the county,coronavirus vaccine requirement, which would apply to all residents of the county,

and require proof of vaccination to enter businesses and other public spaces acrossand require proof of vaccination to enter businesses and other public spaces across

sprawling region.sprawling region.

The city of Los Angeles is considering a similar requirement on Wednesday.The city of Los Angeles is considering a similar requirement on Wednesday.

At Tuesday’s meeting, several healthcare workers, from nurses to doctors toAt Tuesday’s meeting, several healthcare workers, from nurses to doctors to

administrators, offered support for the county employee mandate, as they describedadministrators, offered support for the county employee mandate, as they described

hospitals where Delta variant patients is driving up traffic in emergency rooms andhospitals where Delta variant patients is driving up traffic in emergency rooms and

bed units. And they called for the county to approve the measure to help strike abed units. And they called for the county to approve the measure to help strike a

blow to the virus that might finally end it.blow to the virus that might finally end it.

Solis noted that the action will require robust negotiations with the labor unitsSolis noted that the action will require robust negotiations with the labor units

representing county employees, some of whom had serious questions about how therepresenting county employees, some of whom had serious questions about how the

requirement would work.requirement would work.

The county’s Public Health Department and Department of Health ServicesThe county’s Public Health Department and Department of Health Services

supported the mandate.supported the mandate.

“It’s the most powerful (tool), because it’s the most effective tool,” Ferrer said.“It’s the most powerful (tool), because it’s the most effective tool,” Ferrer said.

While several members of the public supported the policy, there was simmeringWhile several members of the public supported the policy, there was simmering

pushback and questions over the policy, along with concern over floatingpushback and questions over the policy, along with concern over floating

misinformation  and skepticism over the vaccines themselves.misinformation  and skepticism over the vaccines themselves.

“I’m not a pawn of big pharma,” said Supervisor Holly Mitchell, adding that the“I’m not a pawn of big pharma,” said Supervisor Holly Mitchell, adding that the

vaccine is not a vehicle for experimentation of the public. “I believe we are indeedvaccine is not a vehicle for experimentation of the public. “I believe we are indeed

following the science.following the science.

“This is far from a fraud,” Mitchell said. “We are living, and attempting to lead“This is far from a fraud,” Mitchell said. “We are living, and attempting to lead

through a public health pandemic of a magnitude we could have never imagined.”through a public health pandemic of a magnitude we could have never imagined.”

CALIFORNIA

L.A. County to study whether to require vaccinations in some indoor public spaces

David Aroch, 18, working at Fresco Community Market on Tuesday, in Los Angeles. Los Angeles County residents could soon be required to show proof of vaccinationbefore entering. The report will consider whether a mandate should require one dose or full vaccination to enter certain locations, and whether the policy shouldapply to all indoor public spaces or certain nonessential businesses and events. (Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times)

BY JACLYN COSGROVE | STAFF WRITER

AUG. 10, 2021 2:18 PM PT

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The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is considering whether to mandate proof of vaccination in some indoor

public spaces, such as restaurants and gyms.

A measure approved by the board on Tuesday asks county staff to provide a comprehensive plan in two weeks for

how the policy would work, including what settings should be included and options for enforcement.

Supervisor Janice Hahn, who authored the motion, cautioned against jumping to conclusions. She and her colleagues

want to better understand the range of options for America’s most populous county, she said.

“I want to get a few more facts about how this would actually work in the county of Los Angeles before we make a

decision,” Hahn said.

Hahn said her primary objective is to avoid shutting down businesses that desperately need to stay open after earlier

pandemic-related closures.

Supervisor Kathryn Barger, whose 5th District includes the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys, said she’s heard some

concerns from restaurants about a possible indoor vaccination mandate “but none of them insurmountable.”

Some restaurant owners want the county to consider a mandate because it would be easier to explain to customers

than one they impose themselves.

“Some of them are even concerned about the pushback they may get if they mandate vaccinations and the restaurant

down the street doesn’t,” Barger said.

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The board’s next public meeting is Aug. 31, so that would be the earliest that the five supervisors could publicly

discuss the report and make their next move.

Questions to be addressed by the report include whether whether one or two doses should be required and which

indoor public spaces would be covered by a vaccination mandate. For example, “should grocery stores be exempt?”

Hahn wrote in her motion asking for the report.

The report will also include a recommendation on the process for how people could prove their vaccination status

and how businesses would verify that status using existing digital or paper records.

Also Tuesday, the board unanimously ratified an executive order that Solis, the board chair, issued Wednesday

evening requiring the county’s 110,000 employees to provide proof of vaccination against COVID-19 by Oct. 1.

Exemptions are allowed for medical or religious reasons.

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Wearing a face mask Kristina Brown, 35, is working at Fresco Community Market on Tuesday, stocking shelves. (Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times)

Supervisors Janice Hahn and Sheila Kuehl had proposed a motion that would have mandated vaccination for

healthcare workers and given other employees a choice of vaccination or regular testing for COVID-19, but Solis’

executive order superseded that.

Because Solis’ order makes vaccination the only option, it remains unclear whether employees with exemptions

would be tested weekly.

An estimated 35% of the county workforce is not vaccinated, Hahn said.

CALIFORNIA

Mayor’s crisis response director says COVID-19 vaccination‘literally saved my life’

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Joe Avalos, a reserve LAPD o�cer and director of Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Crisis Response Team, credits the Pfizer vaccinationwith saving his life. (Joe Avalos)

BY KEVIN RECTOR | STAFF WRITER

AUG. 10, 2021 9:34 PM PT

When Joe Avalos developed a dry cough a couple of weeks ago, he thought it must be his

allergies acting up, or all the dust from the new development in his neighborhood.

The reserve Los Angeles Police Department officer and director of Mayor Eric Garcetti’s

Crisis Response Team did not think it was COVID-19, he said. After all, he’d received

the Pfizer vaccination in December, and he was careful with social distancing and

wearing his mask.

“I was like, there’s no way,” Avalos said.

But he was wrong. He did have COVID-19, from a breakthrough case of the highly

contagious Delta variant, he said. And it almost killed him.

What saved him, his doctors said, was the fact that he was vaccinated — which is why

he’s now urging others, including fellow LAPD officers, to “think twice” before they

refuse the jab.

CALIFORNIA

As L.A. ponders vaccine mandates, infections in the LAPD spike sharplyJuly 27, 2021

“My biggest point is to encourage people to consider this vaccine and how important it

is and how it will save their life,” he said. “I know that it saved my life.”

Avalos, 53, has suffered from asthma in the past, and with a significant other who is a

physician, he had always taken COVID-19 seriously, he said.

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Even after he was vaccinated in December, he continued wearing a mask and social

distancing, he said.

He doesn’t know exactly where he caught the virus, but he suspects it might have been

during a charity bike ride that was held last month in memory of Valentin Martinez,

another LAPD officer who died from COVID-19 last year.

Avalos had volunteered at the event, and at one point “got a little comfortable” and was

picking up riders who had dropped out of the race in his van.

“Maybe I assumed everybody there was vaccinated there like me,” he said.

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It’s quite possible they weren’t. Nearly half the LAPD remains unvaccinated, despite

officers getting priority access to the shots.

Within 24 hours, the cough began, Avalos said. As it worsened and the body aches

began, his significant other urged him to get tested as they began isolating from each

other, he said.

After the results came back positive, Avalos at first thought he would be able to beat it at

home, particularly given that health officials say vaccinated people are better equipped

to fight the virus.

However, when his oxygen levels dropped to a dangerous level, he rushed to the

emergency room, he said, where the doctor took X-rays of his lungs and came back with

a scary message.

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CALIFORNIA

10th LAPD employee dies from COVID-19 amid low vaccination rates, unevenmask useAug. 3, 2021

His lungs were in terrible shape, the doctor said, and he needed to be admitted

immediately, kept on constant oxygen and prescribed the powerful antiviral medication

remdesivir if he was going to pull through.

All of that quickly happened, Avalos said, and still, “for the next three days, it was a fight

for my life.”

Avalos was in the hospital for six days, getting home Sunday. On Tuesday, he was “still

extremely short of breath,” but no longer gasping for air, he said.

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Avalos said Garcetti, for whom he works directing a team of volunteer trauma

counselors and first responders, checked on him multiple times while he was in the

hospital. LAPD Chief Michel Moore called him every day, he said, and with his wife

dropped off several days of food once Avalos was released.

Avalos said the support of city officials and the broader police department has been

tremendous. What’s also been great, he said, have been the calls from police colleagues

and others who have told him that, after hearing about his experience, they had decided

to finally get vaccinated.

“I’m in no position to demand anyone to get anything, but [maybe] my story could help

someone maybe think twice,” he said. “They’re not going to suffer as much as if they’re

not vaccinated.”

When Avalos was on the COVID-19 unit, the doctor told him that everyone else there

was unvaccinated, he said. “And they were all suffering tragically compared to my

status.”

CALIFORNIA

The view from Sacramento

COVID-19 patient Brian Parisi, 53, from Orange County, is treated by staff in the ICU at Providence St Joseph

Hospital in Orange, on July 23, 2021. Photo by Omar Younis, Reuters

HEALTH

COVID patients have doubled in Califor-nia hospitals

BY BARBARA FEDER OSTROV AND ANA B. IBARRA , AUGUST 10, 2021 UPDATED AUGUST 11, 2021

IN SUMMARY

More than 5,300 people with COVID-19 were hospitalized in California on

Sunday, almost twice the number two weeks earlier.

Lea este artículo en español.

Propelled by the delta variant and large numbers of unvaccinated people,COVID-19 patients are flooding California hospitals at a rate not seen sincelast winter’s surge.

Hospitalizations statewide have almost doubled in the past two weeks: 5,358people were hospitalized with the disease on Sunday, compared to 2,781 onJuly 24.

Tuolumne, Lake, Butte, Tulare, Santa Cruz and San Luis Obispo counties sawa 200% or more increase in the 7-day average number of hospitalizationsbetween July 24 and Aug. 7, according to a CalMatters analysis. But hospitalsin all California counties are experiencing worrisome surges.

In Santa Cruz County, COVID-19 hospitalizations rose from 3 to 14 patients inthe past two weeks. The county on Monday reported its first two deathsattributed to the virus since May, both patients in their 70s. The vastmajority of hospitalized patients are unvaccinated, said Dr. Gail Newel, thecounty’s health officer.

Hospitalizations on the rise across thestateThe 7-day average for the number of people with COVID

hospitalized in California has more than doubled between July 24

and Aug. 7. On Sunday, 5,358 people were hospitalized. (Counties

with fewer than 50,000 residents and Sutter, where residents go

to neighboring county hospitals, were omitted from our

analysis.)

Source: California Department of Public Health

Dr. Michael Vollmer of Kaiser Permanente said he saw the surge coming ashospitalization rates “doubled and doubled again” in the massive health care

COUNTYJULY 24, 7-DAY

AVERAGEAUG 7, 7-DAY

AVERAGECHANGE IN

HOSPITALIZATIONS

Alameda 109 197 81%

Alpine 0 0 N/A

Amador 3 10 233%

Butte 8 30 275%

Calaveras 0 2 N/A

Colusa 0 3 N/A

Santa Barbara

Fresno

Eureka

San Jose

Sacramento

San Francisco

Los A

25% or less25% to 50%50% to 100%100% to 200%200% or higher

Change in hospitalizations,July 24 - Aug 7

system.

“It’s obviously frustrating,” said Vollmer, an infectious disease specialist andregional epidemiologist for Kaiser Permante’s Northern California region. “Ifwe’ve learned anything, it’s that we have to remain humble throughout thispandemic.”

New cases have spiked particularly at hospitals in communities with lowervaccination rates, Vollmer said, and patients are skewing younger as manyolder Californians have been immunized.

If the current trends continue, public health officials said hospitals may onceagain need to cancel elective surgeries and take other steps, like speedingpatient triage to avoid temporary closures of overcrowded emergencyrooms.

Kaiser Permanente has already postponed a small number of electivesurgeries depending on patient loads and staffing, but has not done sosystemwide, Vollmer said.

Del Norte, the state’s northernmost county — which already has minimalintensive care units to begin with — had zero ICU beds available as of Sunday,state data showed. The county is home to about 28,000 people.

Yuba, Tuolumne and Placer counties in the Central Valley have the highestper capita hospitalizations. (CalMatters’ analysis excludes counties withfewer than 50,000 people, such as Del Norte and Amador, because of theirsmall sample size.)

“Our staff is disheartened to see our community weathering another COVID-19 surge, especially since vaccines that could have prevented this surge inhospitalizations are widely available,” a spokesperson with Adventist HealthSonora in Tuolumne County said in an email Monday.

“It’s true that Adventist Health Sonora staff are worn out, having gone aboveand beyond over the last 17 months of frontline pandemic response, but theyremain well-prepared to care for our community, with ample supplies andexperience gained over the course of the pandemic.”

Newel said she, too, is concerned about exhausted hospital workers whowere just starting to take much-needed time off this summer.

“Staffing isn’t at optimal levels at any of the hospitals (in the county). We’rewatching the situation closely,” she said.

In a letter last week, Dr. Carl Schultz, Orange County’s emergency servicesmedical director, told local hospitals that they were closing their emergencyrooms for too long, forcing ambulances to drive around seeking an open bed.Five hospitals closed their emergency rooms longer than an hour in a single24-hour period. “This is not sustainable,” he wrote.

California’s per capita rate of hospitalizations — surging from about 7 per100,000 people two weeks ago to about 14 now — is substantially lower thanthe national rate of 19 per 100,000. But it’s higher than the rate in 29 states,including New York, Michigan and Ohio.

In Los Angeles County, the 7-day average has doubled, reaching 1,326hospitalized people on Sunday.

“If we can get people to mask indoors, get testedwhen they feel sick and emphasize vaccination…we should see hospitalizations peak over thenext week or two.” — DR. MICHAEL VOLLMER, KAISER PERMANENTE NORCAL

Barbara Feder Ostrovbfostrov@calmatters.org

Barbara Feder Ostrov, Contributing Writer for CalMatters, has reported onmedicine and health policy for more than 15 years. She most recentlycovered California and national health issues for Kaiser Health... More by

Barbara Feder Ostrov

Amador, in the Sierra Nevada region, has a hospitalization rate similar to itspeak last December. More than half of the cases are among people youngerthan 50, and the youngest patient is in their 30s, county officials said in anews release last week.

In Yuba County — which takes patients from smaller, neighboring countiesthat don’t have their own hospitals — the hospitalization rate was 46.1 per100,000 people as of Sunday. It was the second highest in the state, shootingup 81% in two weeks.

Health officials said the uptick is a result of more people traveling andsocializing after the state’s June 15 reopening. Recent Yuba Countyinfections have been traced to gatherings where the majority of participantswere unmasked and unvaccinated, according to Meghan Marshall, thecounty’s Health and Human Services deputy director.

While cases and hospitalizations are rising in this fourth wave, deaths haveremained mostly stable.

On Friday, 33 people died from COVID in California, according to stateofficials. The 7-day average was 0.04 deaths per 100,000 people on Sunday,similar to about a month ago.

“If we can get people to mask indoors, get tested when they feel sick andemphasize vaccination – if people can own it for a little longer – we shouldsee hospitalizations peak over the next week or two,” Vollmer said. “We’llsee.”

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LOCAL

COVID-19 infections among children on the riseas delta variant spreads in California

BY KEN CARLSON

UPDATED AUGUST 11, 2021 07:46 AM

A leader in the San Luis Obispo County medical community, pediatrician Dr. René Bravo, talked about why his office is offering coronavirusvaccinations and answers some common questions from parents. BY DAVID MIDDLECAMP

Only have a minute? Listen instead-05:47

Powered by Trinity Audio

More children are contracting COVID-19 since since the highly contagious deltavariant took over in California, an analysis of state data shows.

The number of children and adolescents who tested positive nearly tripled thesecond half of July compared to the first two weeks last month. The jump inpediatric cases is troubling as schools reopen for in-person learning.

Between July 1 and July 14, the state reported 4,835 new cases in the zero to 17 agegroup. The count was 13,757 new cases in children and adolescents between July 15and July 28.

The state data was crunched by George Lemp, an infectious disease epidemiologistand former director of the University of California HIV/AIDS Research Program.

Lemp said Monday that California has reeled from a stunning increase in COVID-19cases since the state reopened June 15, driven largely by infections in young adultsage 18 to 34. But alarming increases are also seen in children and adolescents, whowere previously considered less affected by the original SARS-CoV-2 virus.

The delta variant arrived at about the same time the state reopened its economy inJune and now is responsible for 80 to 90 percent of cases in California.

“It’s unfortunate that these factors collided to result in a dramatic increase in COVID-19 in California this summer,” Lemp said.

The rise in cases affecting children is reflected nationally. Those cases were flat inApril through June before they escalated in July, according to a report from theAmerican Academy of Pediatrics.

There were 110,000 new cases in children and adolescents the last two weeks in July,up from 43,000 the first half of last month, according to the report co-authored by

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10 arrested as FBI, police bust alleged meth and weapons ringnear South Lake Tahoe

the Children’s Hospital Association.

In California, the new cases among children and adolescents under 18 in late Julywere an increase of 421 percent over cases reported in early June. Young adults inthe 18 to 34 age group saw the biggest increase — 554 percent.

It’s a concern because young adults and adolescents age 12 to 17 have lower vaccinecoverage, and children younger than 12 are not eligible for the protection offered bycoronavirus vaccines.

In Sacramento County, 37% of children ages 12 through 17 are fully vaccinated and47% have had at least one dose, according to California Department of Public Healthdata updated Tuesday. Among the county’s adults, 61% are fully vaccinated and 69%at least partially vaccinated.

Sacramento’s local health office over the course of the pandemic has confirmedmore than 5,600 COVID-19 infections in children younger than 10, and more than12,000 in residents ages 10 through 19

Lemp said there were five deaths among children in California in July after the staterecorded 23 deaths in children from March 2020 through June 2021.

SEVERITY OF DELTA VARIANT FOR KIDS IS UNCLEAR

The delta infections are surging in California as other states report sharp increasesand more young people are treated in pediatric hospitals. But the severity of thedelta variant on children is not fully known.

Dr. Dean Blumberg, chief of pediatric infectious disease at UC Davis Children’sHospital, said the hospital has seen an influx of young patients with COVID-19 thatstarted two or three weeks ago.

The hospital has COVID-infected children in intensive care, with some requiringintubation and placement on a ventilator. But many cases are children needingoutpatient care, Blumberg said. He noted the children’s hospital had more COVIDadmissions during the surge in December and January.

Blumberg said it appears the delta variant causes illness that’s 20 percent moresevere than with previous strains, though the severity data is not entirely clear.

With the delta variant, the case numbers are skewing to younger people becausethey are susceptible to infection, Blumberg said. There is no approved vaccine foryoung children, and many teenagers and young adults are not vaccinated againstCOVID-19.

“Younger people often feel they are invulnerable,” Blumberg said. “They don’t thinkthey will get severe disease or it will just be like a cold.”

Blumberg said vaccination is the most important measure for slowing the deltavariant. He said masking is the second most important precaution.

Parents should watch for COVID symptoms, including a fever, cough, runny nose,fatigue, headache and loss of taste and smell, and not send their kids to school ifthey’re sick.

“We have a strain circulating that is twice as infectious as the previous strain, so itmakes it twice as important to protect vulnerable people and keep them from beinginfected,” Blumberg said.

MODESTO PARENT SAYS ‘IT’S VERY STRESSFUL’

Christina Hall of Modesto said she rushed her 7-year-old son to the hospital lastweek, where tests pretty quickly determined he was COVID-positive. The specialneeds child was transferred and spent four days at Sutter Medical Center inSacramento.

A week ago, Hall thought her son, Liam, had allergies. She discovered the boy had atemperature of 101.5 and, the next morning, he was coughing with a temperature of102.

Hall said Tylenol and Motrin were not effective in reducing the fevers in thehospital, but fortunately Liam did not need oxygen and he returned home Monday.“He is still fighting it off,” said Hall, who also has a COVID-positive friend on aventilator in a Modesto hospital. “It is extremely scary. There are times when (Liam)coughs and it seems like he is struggling. It’s very stressful.”

Hall, who is vaccinated, said she was told by hospital staff her son could have caughtthe highly contagious virus almost anywhere.

The American Academy of Pediatrics said it appears severe illness from COVID-19 isnot overly common in children. But the academy says more studies on the long-termeffects on children is urgently needed.

The AAP recommends in-person learning for schoolchildren, but advises schools to“take all necessary measures” to limit the spread of the coronavirus, including facemasks for staff and students older than 2 years old.

Mike McGough of The Sacramento Bee contributed to this report.

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CALIFORNIA

California doing much better with Delta variant than Florida,Texas. Here’s why

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A patient is helped into a vehicle after leaving the Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center in Houston on July 16. (Brandon Bell /Getty Images)

BY RONG-GONG LIN II, LUKE MONEY

AUG. 11, 2021 5 AM PT

SAN FRANCISCO — Despite a significant surge in both coronavirus cases and

hospitalizations this summer, California so far has managed to avoid the sky-high

infection rates and increasingly overcrowded hospitals some other states are now

experiencing.

California’s coronavirus case rate remains below the national average and significantly

less than that of Florida and Texas: two common points of comparison given their

population size and distinctly different pandemic responses.

Experts say California’s better-than-average vaccination rates and newly implemented

mandatory mask policies in parts of the state have helped prevent a more grim

situation.

While governors in Florida, Texas and other states have opposed allowing local

governments to mandate the wearing of masks, California has allowed counties to enact

such orders in indoor public spaces for everyone age 2 and older, regardless of

vaccination status.

“I am hopeful for California and Los Angeles, because of the fact that we have higher

levels of vaccination, and we have increased numbers of people stepping up to the plate

and getting vaccinated,” said Dr. Robert Kim-Farley, medical epidemiologist and

infectious diseases expert at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. “However, we

still have a ways to go to achieve a higher level of community immunity, or herd

immunity, because of the increased transmissibility of the Delta variant.”

California is reporting 141.1 new coronavirus cases for every 100,000 residents over the

last seven days — a rate half that of Texas, 297.8; and less than one-fourth that of

Florida’s rate of 653.8, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention. California’s rate is also less than the national average of 232.1.

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The flood of COVID-19 patients newly admitted to Florida hospitals is now far worse

than at any point during its winter surge. In early January, Florida was reporting more

than 1,150 new COVID-19 patients admitted a day. But over the last week, the state saw

an average of 2,071 new COVID-19 hospital admissions daily.

By contrast, California is reporting 772 new COVID-19 hospital admissions daily, just

32% of its winter peak of 2,380. On a per capita basis, Florida’s rate of new daily

hospitalizations is five times worse than California’s.

Texas is now reporting 1,403 new COVID-19 hospitalizations daily, 75% of its winter

peak of 1,873.

There are also some signs that California’s Delta surge is slowing after public officials in

many counties instituted universal masking in indoor public settings. Some businesses

have also started demanding proof of vaccination as a condition of employment or

entry.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

New COVID-19 hospitalizationsDaily admissions per 100,000 residents

4July

11 18 25 1August

80

2

4

6

8

10

CaliforniaCalifornia TexasTexas FloridaFlorida

Calculated as an average over a seven-day period

LOS ANGELES TIMES

During the week that ended Sunday, L.A. County reported a total of 20,979 new

coronavirus cases — a modest 6.5% increase from the previous week, Public Health

Director Barbara Ferrer said Tuesday. By comparison, the county saw a 22% increase

the week before.

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Over the same timeframe, the rest of California reported 55,422 total cases, a 20%

increase from the week before. The week before that, the increase was 57%.

L.A. County this summer was one of the first local governments in the nation to

recommend, and then require, the wearing of masks in indoor public settings — a move

that was soon followed by others including Sacramento and Santa Barbara counties and

much of the San Francisco Bay Area.

“Data from around the world and from our county have repeatedly shown that masking

is a valuable layer of protection against transmission of respiratory viruses,” Ferrer said.

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WORLD & NATION

Florida governor threatens to withhold salaries of school leaders who impose maskmandatesAug. 9, 2021

Officials stressed the Delta variant continues to be a public health threat, and they

expect cases to rise further in the coming weeks. Yet they hope the steps already taken

will flatten, and eventually reverse, the pandemic’s trajectory without resorting to more

stringent measures.

The biggest reason for that optimism is California’s relatively robust level of vaccine

coverage. According to the latest CDC figures, 77.5% of eligible Californians — those

who are at least 12 years old — have already gotten at least one dose, and about 63% are

considered fully vaccinated.

In Florida, roughly 69% of similarly aged residents are at least partially vaccinated, and

57% have completed their inoculation series. The comparable rates in Texas are 64.3%

and 53.7%, respectively, federal figures show.

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WORLD & NATION

Can social media influencers change vaccine skeptics’ minds?Aug. 10, 2021

Officials and experts say the overwhelming majority of people currently being

hospitalized for COVID-19 in California and across the country have yet to be

vaccinated.

Out of 117 people admitted to Los Angeles County’s public hospitals primarily for

COVID-19 between June 15 and Aug. 5, 112 were not fully vaccinated and only five were

fully vaccinated, according to Dr. Christina Ghaly, the county’s director of health

services.

“The vaccine saves lives,” she said Tuesday. “It reduces the risk of infection, it reduces

the risk of spreading the virus to others and, critically, in doing so it reduces the risk of

those individuals serving as a petri dish, really, in which the virus can continue to

mutate into progressively more dangerous forms that put everyone at risk.”

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CALIFORNIA

L.A. COVID-19 surge slowing, but cases likely to keep rising as school beginsAug. 10, 2021

Aside from vaccines, health officials and experts have long noted that pandemic

conditions vary based on a number of factors. Some areas may have stricter

coronavirus-related rules in place, or are home to residents who — for whatever reason

— are more likely to take individual precautions in their daily lives.

Other areas may largely scoff at any such limitations.

Perhaps nowhere is the gap between California versus Florida and Texas more apparent

than when it comes to masks.

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California has urged all residents, even those who are fully vaccinated, to wear masks

indoors while in public, and is requiring them in K-12 schools.

The governors of Texas and Florida, on the other hand, have largely banned schools and

municipal governments from instituting such mandates, though some local leaders have

defied those orders.

WORLD & NATION

Texas seeks out-of-state medical help amid COVID-19 crisisAug. 10, 2021

In light of the surge, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has directed the state health department to

use staffing agencies to find additional medical staff and also sent a letter to the Texas

Hospital Assn. requesting that hospitals postpone elective medical procedures.

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Austin, Texas, emergency room doctor Natasha Kathuria — a native of Orlando, Fla. —

said she hears from Florida doctors that the situation there is even worse, and worries

that’s where Texas is headed. She’s already had to send patients home because she

didn’t have the capacity to treat them.

“This is disaster medicine,” she said. “We’ve never felt this disheartened during the

pandemic.”

Though California officials have voiced some concern with rapidly rising

hospitalizations, they’ve generally said they believe the state’s healthcare system won’t

come under the same sort of stress as during the state’s devastating fall-and-winter

wave.

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California Department of Public Health

California coronavirus hospitalizationsThe number of hospital patients with a confirmed case

Total patients by day

Apr2020

May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan2021

Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

ICUICU OtherOther

Ben Welsh LOS ANGELES TIMES

Though the surge of new infections has started to wash over California’s hospitals, the

death toll from COVID-19 has remained relatively low at an average of about 32

fatalities per day over the last week. That’s a far cry from the regular triple-digit counts

seen during previous surges.

CALIFORNIA

L.A. COVID-19 surge slowing, but cases likely to keep rising as school beginsAug. 10, 2021

Though it’s possible death counts may not surge as they have earlier in the pandemic —

especially since many of the most vulnerable Californians, namely the elderly and those

with underlying health conditions, have gotten vaccinated — Ferrer cautioned that it’s

still too soon to say for sure.

In L.A. County, she said, someone who dies from COVID-19 was diagnosed an average

of 37 days beforehand.

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“With our case increase having begun relatively recently, it’s therefore too early to fully

assess the impact of this latest wave of infection,” she said.

Times staff writer Molly Hennessy-Fiske in Houston contributed to this report.

CALIFORNIA

COVID-19 hospitalizations rise sharply across Southern California as surgecontinuesAug. 9, 2021

ADVERTISEMENT

Times survey of local health departments

Coronavirus cases in CaliforniaThe number of cases announced each day by local health officials.

New cases by day

Apr2020

May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan2021

Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

The seven-day average offers a more stable view of the trend than daily totals, which are subject to bureaucratic delays.

Ben Welsh LOS ANGELES TIMES

7-day average

______

By By CNN COMCNN COM | CNN.com Wire Service | CNN.com Wire ServicePUBLISHED: PUBLISHED: August 11, 2021 at 5:21 a.m.August 11, 2021 at 5:21 a.m. | UPDATED: | UPDATED: August 11, 2021 at 5:21 a.m.August 11, 2021 at 5:21 a.m.

Students eat their lunch socially distanced at Belvedere Elementary School in West Palm Beach, Florida, on August 10. (Lannis Waters/USA TodayStudents eat their lunch socially distanced at Belvedere Elementary School in West Palm Beach, Florida, on August 10. (Lannis Waters/USA TodayNetwork)Network)

By Madeline Holcombe | CNNBy Madeline Holcombe | CNN

Students heading back to the classroomStudents heading back to the classroom for the new school year will be contending with one of the most dangerous times in the pandemic for the new school year will be contending with one of the most dangerous times in the pandemicfor children. And officials will have to consider many measures to keep them safe from for children. And officials will have to consider many measures to keep them safe from Covid-19Covid-19, an expert said., an expert said.

“We have the more contagious Delta variant, we have surges and we have so many adults letting down their guard, not wearing masks, not“We have the more contagious Delta variant, we have surges and we have so many adults letting down their guard, not wearing masks, notgetting vaccinated,” Dr. Leana Wen told getting vaccinated,” Dr. Leana Wen told CNNs̓ Wolf Blitzer on TuesdayCNNs̓ Wolf Blitzer on Tuesday. “That s̓ contributing to this really dangerous environment for. “That s̓ contributing to this really dangerous environment forchildren.”children.”

The good news is vaccination rates are up in the US. For the first time since June, more than 500,000 people on average are initiating theirThe good news is vaccination rates are up in the US. For the first time since June, more than 500,000 people on average are initiating theirvaccinations each day, according to data from thevaccinations each day, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Health experts say that the vaccines are Health experts say that the vaccines arean important step for slowing or stopping the spread of the virus, and the more transmissible Delta variant.an important step for slowing or stopping the spread of the virus, and the more transmissible Delta variant.

But children under 12 are still not eligible for vaccines, and for those newly vaccinated, it takes about six weeks from the first dose to takeBut children under 12 are still not eligible for vaccines, and for those newly vaccinated, it takes about six weeks from the first dose to takefull effect, many children could still be vulnerable when they start the new school year.full effect, many children could still be vulnerable when they start the new school year.

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Here’s why now is one of the most dangerous times ofHere’s why now is one of the most dangerous times ofthe pandemic for children, expert saysthe pandemic for children, expert says

The clock is ticking to authorize vaccines for children, expert saysThe clock is ticking to authorize vaccines for children, expert says

Ahead of the new school year, mandates are under debateAhead of the new school year, mandates are under debate

Impacts felt in hospitals across the countryImpacts felt in hospitals across the country

“My concerns are deep and Iʼm very concerned,” President Joe Biden said when asked about school-aged children returning to the“My concerns are deep and Iʼm very concerned,” President Joe Biden said when asked about school-aged children returning to theclassroom and whether schools might not be able to stay open. “I also understand that the reason children are becoming infected isclassroom and whether schools might not be able to stay open. “I also understand that the reason children are becoming infected isbecause, in most cases, they live in low-vaccination rate states and communities and theyʼre getting it from unvaccinated adults. That s̓because, in most cases, they live in low-vaccination rate states and communities and theyʼre getting it from unvaccinated adults. That s̓what s̓ happening. And so my plea is that for those not vaccinated, think about it.”what s̓ happening. And so my plea is that for those not vaccinated, think about it.”

Whereas the elderly were once considered the population most vulnerable to the virus, the age constraints around vaccinations have leftWhereas the elderly were once considered the population most vulnerable to the virus, the age constraints around vaccinations have leftchildren most at risk now, CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner told CNNs̓ Don Lemon.children most at risk now, CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner told CNNs̓ Don Lemon.

Wen said that it s̓ clear what s̓ required to make school safe for children — layers of protection.Wen said that it s̓ clear what s̓ required to make school safe for children — layers of protection.

When one layer is removed, like when social distancing is foregone so students can gather in a classroom, the other layers of virusWhen one layer is removed, like when social distancing is foregone so students can gather in a classroom, the other layers of virusprotection become even more crucial, she said. Those layers include at least a three-ply surgical mask, improved ventilation, vaccinationprotection become even more crucial, she said. Those layers include at least a three-ply surgical mask, improved ventilation, vaccinationand testing.and testing.

“Putting all that together is how we can get kids back in school safely,” Wen said.“Putting all that together is how we can get kids back in school safely,” Wen said.

Currently, Covid-19 vaccines are only authorized for people 12 and older, but many experts and officials have called for the efforts toCurrently, Covid-19 vaccines are only authorized for people 12 and older, but many experts and officials have called for the efforts toapprove vaccines for younger children to be expedited before more children are infected.approve vaccines for younger children to be expedited before more children are infected.

“I think the clock is ticking. As we move to late fall and early winter, you want a vaccine for young children,” Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine“I think the clock is ticking. As we move to late fall and early winter, you want a vaccine for young children,” Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccineadviser to the US Food and Drug Administration told CNNs̓ Erica Hill. “I certainly hope we have one in place by then, because childrenadviser to the US Food and Drug Administration told CNNs̓ Erica Hill. “I certainly hope we have one in place by then, because childrenneed this.”need this.”

The FDA understands the public health impact of having a vaccine for young children but wants to see the necessary data before making aThe FDA understands the public health impact of having a vaccine for young children but wants to see the necessary data before making adecision, said Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Childrens̓ Hospital of Philadelphia.decision, said Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Childrens̓ Hospital of Philadelphia.

In the meantime, Offit noted that children who are still too young to receive the vaccine are relying on the eligible adults and adolescentsIn the meantime, Offit noted that children who are still too young to receive the vaccine are relying on the eligible adults and adolescentsaround them to help protect them by getting vaccinated — which many have yet to do.around them to help protect them by getting vaccinated — which many have yet to do.

“I think as adults, weʼve really let our children down here,” said Offit.“I think as adults, weʼve really let our children down here,” said Offit.

Until vaccines can be administered to younger kids, some officials are hoping that masks will help decrease the spread of the virus.Until vaccines can be administered to younger kids, some officials are hoping that masks will help decrease the spread of the virus.

A majority of parents say they are opposed to schools requiring their children be vaccinated against Covid-19, but are much moreA majority of parents say they are opposed to schools requiring their children be vaccinated against Covid-19, but are much moreaccepting of mask mandates, according to a new Kaiser Family Foundation Vaccine Monitor poll published Wednesday.accepting of mask mandates, according to a new Kaiser Family Foundation Vaccine Monitor poll published Wednesday.

Of the parents of school-aged children in the US, 63% said that their childs̓ school should require unvaccinated students and staff wearOf the parents of school-aged children in the US, 63% said that their childs̓ school should require unvaccinated students and staff wearmasks, according to the poll. Some 36% of the parents said schools should not have a mask requirement for the unvaccinated.masks, according to the poll. Some 36% of the parents said schools should not have a mask requirement for the unvaccinated.

In Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear announced Tuesday that masks will be required in K-12 schools, pre-K and childcare.In Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear announced Tuesday that masks will be required in K-12 schools, pre-K and childcare.

“We are to the point where we cannot allow our kids to go into these buildings unprotected, unvaccinated and face this Delta variant,”“We are to the point where we cannot allow our kids to go into these buildings unprotected, unvaccinated and face this Delta variant,”Beshear said. “So, Iʼm going to have the courage to do what I know is right to protect our children.”Beshear said. “So, Iʼm going to have the courage to do what I know is right to protect our children.”

In Illinois, Gov. J.B. Pritzker compared enforcing mask mandates to schools enforcing a dress code.In Illinois, Gov. J.B. Pritzker compared enforcing mask mandates to schools enforcing a dress code.

Asked about what schools should do when students donʼt wear masks, Pritzker said, “Well, school districts have been enforcing dress codesAsked about what schools should do when students donʼt wear masks, Pritzker said, “Well, school districts have been enforcing dress codesfor many, many years and so theyʼre expected simply to do the same thing theyʼve been doing literally for decades.”for many, many years and so theyʼre expected simply to do the same thing theyʼve been doing literally for decades.”

However, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order last month prohibiting school districts from requiring mask use, a moveHowever, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order last month prohibiting school districts from requiring mask use, a moveformer White House Covid-19 adviser Andy Slavitt said is dangerous.former White House Covid-19 adviser Andy Slavitt said is dangerous.

“When school districts try to do the right thing, and he overrules them, he s̓ both overruling conservative principles of local control, but“When school districts try to do the right thing, and he overrules them, he s̓ both overruling conservative principles of local control, butmore importantly, he s̓ putting kids at real risk,” Slavitt told CNN.more importantly, he s̓ putting kids at real risk,” Slavitt told CNN.

Already, the state is suffering under surging Covid-19 cases. In recent days, the federal government has sent 200 of ventilators to Florida asAlready, the state is suffering under surging Covid-19 cases. In recent days, the federal government has sent 200 of ventilators to Florida asthe state sees some of the highest hospitalization rates per capita in the nation, a health administration official confirmed.the state sees some of the highest hospitalization rates per capita in the nation, a health administration official confirmed.

The impacts of the spread of the variant can be seen in hospitals around the US.The impacts of the spread of the variant can be seen in hospitals around the US.

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At Childrens̓ Hospital New Orleans, 18 children are hospitalized with Covid-19 and six are in the pediatric ICU. The number of childrenAt Childrens̓ Hospital New Orleans, 18 children are hospitalized with Covid-19 and six are in the pediatric ICU. The number of childrenfighting the disease is unlike anything the hospital has seen at any other time in the pandemic, nurse Kendal Jaffe told CNNs̓ Nickfighting the disease is unlike anything the hospital has seen at any other time in the pandemic, nurse Kendal Jaffe told CNNs̓ NickValencia.Valencia.

“Over the last year, we hadnʼt seen as many kids get acute Covid lung disease as much as we are seeing now,” she said. “The Delta variant is“Over the last year, we hadnʼt seen as many kids get acute Covid lung disease as much as we are seeing now,” she said. “The Delta variant isdefinitely hitting them a lot harder, a lot faster than wed̓ seen in the past.”definitely hitting them a lot harder, a lot faster than wed̓ seen in the past.”

One patient, Nelson, 17, is struggling to breathe and his parents thought he was going to die when they brought him in. Elsewhere in theOne patient, Nelson, 17, is struggling to breathe and his parents thought he was going to die when they brought him in. Elsewhere in thehospital, a girl who hasnʼt even celebrated her second birthday is in the ICU.hospital, a girl who hasnʼt even celebrated her second birthday is in the ICU.

Health care professionals treating adults are feeling the pressure as well.Health care professionals treating adults are feeling the pressure as well.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday announced that the state had experienced its largest single-dayThe North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday announced that the state had experienced its largest single-dayjump in ICU admissions since the beginning of the pandemic ,and that weekly Covid-19 hospitalizations among residents ages 20 to 49 arejump in ICU admissions since the beginning of the pandemic ,and that weekly Covid-19 hospitalizations among residents ages 20 to 49 arenow at an all-time high.now at an all-time high.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Tuesday that the state s̓ hospitals are under stress.Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Tuesday that the state s̓ hospitals are under stress.

“I keep looking for a breaking point where we might start going down again, and even though there s̓ been some national predictions on“I keep looking for a breaking point where we might start going down again, and even though there s̓ been some national predictions onthat, we just donʼt see it in the data yet. You can see that we continue to increase, week after week, in our cases,” he said.that, we just donʼt see it in the data yet. You can see that we continue to increase, week after week, in our cases,” he said.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/09/us/high-risk-children-covid.html

Families of High-Risk Children Despair Over Covid ResurgenceWhen a 7-year-old in Utah tested positive for the coronavirus, his mother vented her frustration on social media. Low vaccination rates inher state are to blame, she says.

By Amanda Morris

Published Aug. 9, 2021 Updated Aug. 11, 2021, 9:37 a.m. ET

On the July evening that he was diagnosed with Covid-19, 7-year-old Ethan Chandra lay in bed with a high fever next to his mother, holdingher hand and whispering, “I’m scared I’m going to die.”

His mother, Alison Chandra, 38, didn’t know what to say. Although a vast majority of children his age who test positive for the coronaviruseither don’t have symptoms or fully recover, Ethan has heart and lung defects that make him especially vulnerable.

His family in Lehi, Utah, has spent much of the past year and a half at home to keep him safe. He and his sister studied at home and wentoutside only to play with a few trusted friends, wearing masks and staying distanced. In November, Ethan’s parents tested positive for thevirus after his father briefly returned to work in person, but they managed to avoid infecting their children. Since then, both parents haveboth been working from home.

But recently, Ethan got Covid anyway. On social media, Ms. Chandra posted photos of him in a special pink medical vest and nebulizer, andblamed low vaccination rates in Utah, where about 58 percent of the eligible population is fully vaccinated, for his illness.

“There literally are not words for the frustration but also the fury that I feel that this has gone on as long as it has,” she said in aninterview. “It didn’t have to be this way. It didn’t.”

The Delta variant has led to a surge in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations across the country, leaving families with high-risk childrenwho can’t be vaccinated especially concerned. Like Ms. Chandra, a growing number have shared their stories online, accompanied bydesperate pleas for people to become inoculated, for the sake of their children.

Many parents say they are angry and exhausted from trying to keep their children safe while balancing the emotional trauma of morethan a year of isolation.

“We were seeing the light at the end of the tunnel,” Ms. Chandra said, “and we were telling our kids it was worth it, you did the right thingand you stayed safe, and now it just feels like it was for nothing.”

Elena Hung, 43, of Silver Spring, Md., knows Covid could be deadly for her daughter Xiomara, 7, who has heart issues and chronic lungand kidney disease and breathes through a tracheotomy. Ms. Hung is the executive director and co-founder of Little Lobbyists, a nationalnonprofit advocacy group of families with disabled and medically complex children.

“We’re just pleading, begging people to get vaccinated and wear their mask for the sake of our children,” Ms. Hung said.

The Coronavirus Outbreak ›

Latest Updates ›Updated

Thousands in Germany get extra shots after a nurse is suspected of tampering with the vaccine.

Bangladesh ends a strict lockdown even as cases rise.

A man who traveled to an Australian town while infected with the virus is being charged.

After a respiratory treatment, Ethan oxygen levels were back to normal for a short timebefore starting to drop again.  Alison Chandra

3 hours ago

Her family worked and went to school virtually in 2020, forgoing visits with relatives and friends. After she and many others in hercommunity were vaccinated, she finally felt comfortable allowing her two children to play at the park or playground again.

Now, because of the Delta variant, Ms. Hung said she planned to keep them home.

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When it comes to our children and Covid, we have more questions thananswers. How will new variants affect them? How will they go back to schoolsafely? Join Dr. Anthony Fauci and Times journalists (who are parentsthemselves) for a vital Q&A session for parents, educators and studentseverywhere.

Case counts among U.S. children have been steadily increasing over the summer. In one week at the end of July, the number of new casesdoubled to 71,726 from 38,654 the previous week, according to data from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

There is no estimate for how many American children are at higher risk from Covid-19 because of medical conditions, said Dr. Dennis Z.Kuo, a pediatrics specialist in Buffalo and former chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Children with Disabilities.But he estimates about 19 percent of children have special health care needs, and 1 percent have severe medical complications.

Within those groups, he said, children with heart, lung or immune system disorders are especially at risk from the coronavirus, as well asthose with intellectual or developmental disabilities.

Jay Berry, the chief of complex care at Boston Children’s Hospital, said that children with underlying medical conditions in his hospital hadtaken months or longer to recover from Covid-19, and that there was no clear data on the long-term risks that the virus poses to them.

Understand the State of Vaccine Mandates in the U.S.

College and universities. More than 400 colleges and universities are requiringstudents to be vaccinated for Covid-19. Almost all are in states that voted forPresident Biden.

Ethan wore a mask while leaving his bedroom, where he was quarantined, so he could tellhis mom what he wanted for breakfast. Alison Chandra

Hospitals and medical centers. Many hospitals and major health systems arerequiring employees to get the Covid-19 vaccine, citing rising caseloads fueled bythe Delta variant and stubbornly low vaccination rates in their communities, evenwithin their work force. In N.Y.C., workers in city-run hospitals and health clinicswill be required to get vaccinated or else get tested on a weekly basis.

Federal employees. President Biden announced that all civilian federalemployees must be vaccinated against the coronavirus or be forced to submit toregular testing, social distancing, mask requirements and restrictions on mosttravel. State workers in New York will face similar restrictions.

Can your employer require a vaccine? Companies can require workers enteringthe workplace to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, according to recent U.S.government guidance.

“Those are the children, in my mind, that we worry about the most,” he said.

Ethan Chanrdra has a rare condition called heterotaxy syndrome; he was born with half a working heart and other heart defects. Thesyndrome also causes dysfunction in his lungs, which makes it hard for him to clear his airways, which, in turn, makes him vulnerable to aserious respiratory illness.

“We worry about Covid in any kid because even healthy kids can be affected,” said Dr. Nelangi M. Pinto, Ethan’s cardiologist. “But we doworry more when there’s some underlying conditions.”

Ms. Chandra, a former pediatric intensive care nurse, now performs checkups on her son every morning, surrounded by Legos and stuffedanimals. While listening through a stethoscope, she said that his breathing was fast and that he sounded “junky,” as though his lungs wereclogged. His fever has been as high as 103 degrees since his Covid diagnosis, and oxygen levels in his blood have hovered in the low 90s; anormal reading for children his age is 98 percent.

If they dip below 90 percent, he will need to immediately go to the hospital, Ms. Chandra said — just as he did when he was a baby and hehad consistent high fevers and low oxygen levels from his medical complications.

Like many other children with complex medical conditions, Ethan has a “go bag” filled with items his family will need if they have toquickly rush him to the hospital. His is blue, gray and green, and it used to be filled with fuzzy blue Monster slippers, spare clothes,toiletries, extra medication and snacks.

As Ethan has grown older and needed to be hospitalized less frequently, his bag moved from the front door to his room, then up on a shelf.His mother eventually became so confident in Ethan’s progress that she unpacked the go bag and filled it with camping gear instead.

When Ethan was diagnosed, Ms. Chandra emptied the bag and filled it with supplies for the hospital again. “I can’t even begin to explain toyou how demoralizing it is to repack that bag,” she said. “It’s just such a kick in the gut.”

She put the bag by the front door.

______

By By STAFF REPORTSTAFF REPORT | | ||PUBLISHED: PUBLISHED: August 10, 2021 at 6:05 p.m.August 10, 2021 at 6:05 p.m. | UPDATED: | UPDATED: August 10, 2021 at 6:06 p.m.August 10, 2021 at 6:06 p.m.

Musician Tad Worku, who is an emergency department nurse at Loma Linda University Medical Center, will host a concert of appreciationMusician Tad Worku, who is an emergency department nurse at Loma Linda University Medical Center, will host a concert of appreciationfor health-care workers in the Inland Empire 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 14.for health-care workers in the Inland Empire 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 14.

The concert, presented in partnership with the Loma Linda University Church of Seventh-day Adventists and Loma Linda UniversityThe concert, presented in partnership with the Loma Linda University Church of Seventh-day Adventists and Loma Linda UniversityHealth, will be at the churchs̓ Randall Roberts Amphitheater, 11125 Campus St., Loma Linda.Health, will be at the churchs̓ Randall Roberts Amphitheater, 11125 Campus St., Loma Linda.

Workus̓ debut album, “Love Is All,” was released in January 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic was beginning, and his planned tour wasWorkus̓ debut album, “Love Is All,” was released in January 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic was beginning, and his planned tour wascanceled because of the pandemic, according to a news release.canceled because of the pandemic, according to a news release.

In his performance in Loma Linda, he will share stories and songs from this past year.In his performance in Loma Linda, he will share stories and songs from this past year.

“Although I wrote many of the songs as responses or reflections to the experiences I had in the emergency room, the whole world was now“Although I wrote many of the songs as responses or reflections to the experiences I had in the emergency room, the whole world was nowin a similar state of emergency and needed to hear the messages,” Worku said in the news release. “The songs on the album really offerin a similar state of emergency and needed to hear the messages,” Worku said in the news release. “The songs on the album really offerhope in dark times and remind you that you are loved, and youʼre not alone.”hope in dark times and remind you that you are loved, and youʼre not alone.”

The free concert is open to all who celebrate health-care workers. Tickets are not needed, but those who attend are asked to register atThe free concert is open to all who celebrate health-care workers. Tickets are not needed, but those who attend are asked to register ateventbrite.comeventbrite.com..

For information about Worku and his music, go to For information about Worku and his music, go to TadWorku.comTadWorku.com..

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https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/11/world/europe/german-nurse-vaccine-saline.html

LIVE Covid-19 and Mask News: Live Updates

Thousands in Germany get extra shots after a nurse is suspected of tampering with thevaccine.

By Christopher F. Schuetze

Aug. 11, 2021, 9:02 a.m. ET

After a nurse admitted to replacing the contents of a Covid vaccine vial with a saline solution in a small German inoculation center inApril, the local authorities said on Tuesday that she might have systematically substituted vaccines for saline solution over a period ofweeks while working at the center.

The authorities are now asking all 8,557 people who were jabbed during the nurse’s working hours to return for third, and in some rarecases fourth, jabs as a precautionary measure. She worked at the center, near the town of Wilhelmshaven on the North Sea coast, forseven weeks in March and April.

Although the saline solution itself is harmless, anyone injected with it would have missed out on the protection of a Covid vaccine.

“It is quite deceitful to sneak into a vaccination center with the intention to do something like that,” Heiger Scholz, who leads the LowerSaxony coronavirus task force, said at a news conference on Tuesday.

He said there were indications that the nurse might be against vaccines.

A police investigation found that the nurse had shared social media posts criticizing the government’s pandemic restrictions.

The criminal investigation is focusing on accusations that the nurse’s switching of the initial vial resulted in saline solution being injectedinstead of six vaccine doses. But the police now say there is a credible chance that the nurse intentionally substituted vaccines on otheroccasions while working in the laboratory of the Friesland vaccination center. She was responsible for preparing vaccine syringes.

Officials have not said whether they plan charge her with any crime. A lawyer representing the nurse told the German news service DPAthat she had switched just one vial.

The nurse, who has not been charged with any offense, admitted in April that she had refilled a broken Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine vial with asaline solution, in an episode that she described as an accident.

Unable to pinpoint exactly which vials had been compromised in April, the authorities invited 117 people to take antibody tests. They alsooffered additional vaccine shots to another 80 who had been to the center for second doses.

______

By By KEVIN SMITHKEVIN SMITH | | kvsmith@scng.comkvsmith@scng.com | San Gabriel Valley Tribune | San Gabriel Valley TribunePUBLISHED: PUBLISHED: August 11, 2021 at 8:39 a.m.August 11, 2021 at 8:39 a.m. | UPDATED: | UPDATED: August 11, 2021 at 8:40 a.m.August 11, 2021 at 8:40 a.m.

San Manuel Casino is preparing to hold a three-day hiring event at its recruitment center at Ontario Mills mall as it looks to fill more than 1,000San Manuel Casino is preparing to hold a three-day hiring event at its recruitment center at Ontario Mills mall as it looks to fill more than 1,000openings for a new 432-room hotel (seen here in a rendering) and other casino operations. (Photo courtesy of San Manuel Casino)openings for a new 432-room hotel (seen here in a rendering) and other casino operations. (Photo courtesy of San Manuel Casino)

San Manuel CasinoSan Manuel Casino is preparing to hold a three-day hiring event at its Ontario recruitment center as it looks to fill more than 1,000 is preparing to hold a three-day hiring event at its Ontario recruitment center as it looks to fill more than 1,000openings for a new 432-room hotel and other casino operations.openings for a new 432-room hotel and other casino operations.

The job fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 14, Monday, Aug. 16 and Tuesday, Aug. 17. The recruitment center is at 1The job fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 14, Monday, Aug. 16 and Tuesday, Aug. 17. The recruitment center is at 1Mills Circle at the Ontario Mills mall.Mills Circle at the Ontario Mills mall.

The 17-floor hotel is expected to open in December and is part of San Manuels̓ $550 million expansion. Last month, the venue unveiledThe 17-floor hotel is expected to open in December and is part of San Manuels̓ $550 million expansion. Last month, the venue unveiled1,500 new slot machines, a 24-hour restaurant, a high-end dining venue and several new retail shops. A 2,800-seat theater is slated to open1,500 new slot machines, a 24-hour restaurant, a high-end dining venue and several new retail shops. A 2,800-seat theater is slated to openearly next year.early next year.

“Between the hotel, spa and existing casino space, weʼll need to hire well over 1,000 people,” said Kenji Hall the casinos̓ chief operating“Between the hotel, spa and existing casino space, weʼll need to hire well over 1,000 people,” said Kenji Hall the casinos̓ chief operatingofficer. “The more people we can hire this weekend, the better.”officer. “The more people we can hire this weekend, the better.”

BUSINESSBUSINESS

San Manuel Casino to hold 3-day hiring event; someSan Manuel Casino to hold 3-day hiring event; somejobs come with $1,000 bonusjobs come with $1,000 bonusHousekeepers, cooks and chefs are eligible for a $1,000 welcome bonus in addition toHousekeepers, cooks and chefs are eligible for a $1,000 welcome bonus in addition toother perks, casino officials said.other perks, casino officials said.

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San Manuel’s new 24-hour restaurant is seen here. It’s part of the casino’s $550 million expansion. (Photo courtesy of San ManuelSan Manuel’s new 24-hour restaurant is seen here. It’s part of the casino’s $550 million expansion. (Photo courtesy of San ManuelCasino)Casino)

That will take care of San Manuels̓ immediate needs, but the hiring push will extend well beyond the three-day job fair.That will take care of San Manuels̓ immediate needs, but the hiring push will extend well beyond the three-day job fair.

Recruitment will continue throughout the year for cooks, cashiers, janitors, groundskeepers and a variety of other positions to work in theRecruitment will continue throughout the year for cooks, cashiers, janitors, groundskeepers and a variety of other positions to work in thecasinos̓ expanded gaming space, restaurants, retail operations and theater.casinos̓ expanded gaming space, restaurants, retail operations and theater.

“With 6,000-plus employees weʼre always hiring,” Hall said. “I would say by the end of the year weʼll have hired about 3,000 people.”“With 6,000-plus employees weʼre always hiring,” Hall said. “I would say by the end of the year weʼll have hired about 3,000 people.”

A variety of openings are available for front-desk workers, reservation agents, retail employees, bellmen, concierge workers, massage andA variety of openings are available for front-desk workers, reservation agents, retail employees, bellmen, concierge workers, massage andspa-room specialists, housekeeping supervisors, in-room dining supervisors and pool attendants.spa-room specialists, housekeeping supervisors, in-room dining supervisors and pool attendants.

Housekeepers, cooks and chefs are eligible for a $1,000 welcome bonus in addition to other perks, casino officials said. Housekeepers, cooks and chefs are eligible for a $1,000 welcome bonus in addition to other perks, casino officials said. Other casinosOther casinos,,including Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula and Spotlight 29 Casino in Coachella, are also offering hiring incentives.including Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula and Spotlight 29 Casino in Coachella, are also offering hiring incentives.

Jasmine Takeshita, Sam Manuels̓ talent acquisition director, said the casino is working with universities and trade schools to recruitJasmine Takeshita, Sam Manuels̓ talent acquisition director, said the casino is working with universities and trade schools to recruitstudents and graduates across multiple fields.students and graduates across multiple fields.

“We are welcoming beauty school graduates to apply for spa and cosmetology positions,” she said, adding that hiring opportunities are also“We are welcoming beauty school graduates to apply for spa and cosmetology positions,” she said, adding that hiring opportunities are alsoavailable for culinary school graduates and graduates in fashion design and merchandising.available for culinary school graduates and graduates in fashion design and merchandising.

Candidates can meet with hotel, spa and culinary leaders and have the chance for on-the-spot job offers, casino officials said.Candidates can meet with hotel, spa and culinary leaders and have the chance for on-the-spot job offers, casino officials said.

“Weʼre doing well considering this unique environment, but it s̓ more challenging to fill our entry-level positions,” Takeshita said. “The“Weʼre doing well considering this unique environment, but it s̓ more challenging to fill our entry-level positions,” Takeshita said. “Themarket is tight.”market is tight.”

Hall said the hotel will add a new dimension to San Manuels̓ operations.Hall said the hotel will add a new dimension to San Manuels̓ operations.

“It will allow our guests to be more relaxed and it will also extend our geography further out,” he said. “If you live two hours away and come“It will allow our guests to be more relaxed and it will also extend our geography further out,” he said. “If you live two hours away and comehere you wouldnʼt want to drive two hours to get home. This will be a nice getaway — a kind of staycation. And weʼll have some big-namehere you wouldnʼt want to drive two hours to get home. This will be a nice getaway — a kind of staycation. And weʼll have some big-nameentertainers coming to our theater.”entertainers coming to our theater.”

Like other casinos, San Manuel managed to weather the COVID-19 pandemic intact. But with the delta variant ramping up, a number ofLike other casinos, San Manuel managed to weather the COVID-19 pandemic intact. But with the delta variant ramping up, a number ofsafety protocols remain in place. Vaccinations are available for employees although theyʼre not required.safety protocols remain in place. Vaccinations are available for employees although theyʼre not required.

“We have a mask mandate for all employees and weʼre asking guests to wear them,” Hall said. “Weʼre working with health and medical“We have a mask mandate for all employees and weʼre asking guests to wear them,” Hall said. “Weʼre working with health and medicaladvisers across the country to make sure we do things safely.”advisers across the country to make sure we do things safely.”

More information on the three-day hiring event is available at More information on the three-day hiring event is available at sanmanuelcareers.comsanmanuelcareers.com..

Each of the three days will feature a hotel and spa experience for applicants and guests, including a sampling of the beauty salon, fitness,Each of the three days will feature a hotel and spa experience for applicants and guests, including a sampling of the beauty salon, fitness,massage and skin-care services the resort will provide.massage and skin-care services the resort will provide.

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By By BRIAN WHITEHEADBRIAN WHITEHEAD | | bwhitehead@scng.combwhitehead@scng.com | The Sun | The SunPUBLISHED: PUBLISHED: August 11, 2021 at 8:00 a.m.August 11, 2021 at 8:00 a.m. | UPDATED: | UPDATED: August 11, 2021 at 8:00 a.m.August 11, 2021 at 8:00 a.m.

General views San Bernardino City Hall on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2020. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)General views San Bernardino City Hall on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2020. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

San Bernardino is soliciting input from residents on what they want the city to look like in the near and distant future.San Bernardino is soliciting input from residents on what they want the city to look like in the near and distant future.

The first two community workshops are scheduled for 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 12, at Lytle Creek Community Center, 380 S. K St. and 5 p.m.The first two community workshops are scheduled for 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 12, at Lytle Creek Community Center, 380 S. K St. and 5 p.m.Friday, Aug. 13, at Ruben Campos Community Center, 1717 W. Fifth St.Friday, Aug. 13, at Ruben Campos Community Center, 1717 W. Fifth St.

Forums have been planned for each City Council ward.Forums have been planned for each City Council ward.

Topics to be discussed include neighborhoods and districts; housing; jobs and the economy; environmental justice; parks and open spaces;Topics to be discussed include neighborhoods and districts; housing; jobs and the economy; environmental justice; parks and open spaces;and climate resiliency.and climate resiliency.

Input received will be crafted into a vision statement that will assist the development of the General Plan Update and Downtown SpecificInput received will be crafted into a vision statement that will assist the development of the General Plan Update and Downtown SpecificPlan, according to a flyer promoting the upcoming workshops.Plan, according to a flyer promoting the upcoming workshops.

A general plan is a long-range document that steers future growth and development.A general plan is a long-range document that steers future growth and development.

Two years ago, San Bernardino Two years ago, San Bernardino received $3 million from the statereceived $3 million from the state to update its plan for the first time since 2005. to update its plan for the first time since 2005.

PlaceWorks, a Santa Ana community planning and design firm, is PlaceWorks, a Santa Ana community planning and design firm, is assisting the cityassisting the city throughout the process. throughout the process.

LOCAL NEWSLOCAL NEWS

San Bernardino is updating its general plan and wantsSan Bernardino is updating its general plan and wantsyour inputyour inputCommunity workshops have been planned for each City Council wardCommunity workshops have been planned for each City Council ward

• • NewsNews

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Join the ConversationJoin the Conversation

We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community.We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community.Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials thatAlthough we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials thatare unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwiseare unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwiseobjectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. Weobjectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. Wemight permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.

If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the rightIf you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the rightside of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. Or, contact our editors by emailing moderator@scng.com.side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. Or, contact our editors by emailing moderator@scng.com.

For more information, including a schedule of workshops, visit For more information, including a schedule of workshops, visit futuresb2050.comfuturesb2050.com..

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Brian WhiteheadBrian Whitehead | Reporter| ReporterBrian Whitehead is a reporter for The San Bernardino Sun, covering Colton, Fontana, Grand Terrace, Rialto and San Bernardino. HeBrian Whitehead is a reporter for The San Bernardino Sun, covering Colton, Fontana, Grand Terrace, Rialto and San Bernardino. Hepreviously covered prep sports and the cities of Buena Park, Fullerton and La Palma for The Orange County Register. A Grand Terracepreviously covered prep sports and the cities of Buena Park, Fullerton and La Palma for The Orange County Register. A Grand Terracenative and Riverside Notre Dame alumnus, he earned his journalism degree from Cal State Fullerton in 2010. Since joining The Sun innative and Riverside Notre Dame alumnus, he earned his journalism degree from Cal State Fullerton in 2010. Since joining The Sun inlate 2017, he has reported on development, education, homelessness, marijuana, political strife and the myriad issues facing Sanlate 2017, he has reported on development, education, homelessness, marijuana, political strife and the myriad issues facing SanBernardino post-bankruptcy.Bernardino post-bankruptcy.

bwhitehead@scng.combwhitehead@scng.com

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By By QUINN WILSONQUINN WILSON | | qwilson@scng.comqwilson@scng.com | |PUBLISHED: PUBLISHED: August 10, 2021 at 4:52 p.m.August 10, 2021 at 4:52 p.m. | UPDATED: | UPDATED: August 10, 2021 at 10:20 p.m.August 10, 2021 at 10:20 p.m.

San Bernardino County Fire@SBCOUNTYFIRE

ColdWaterFire: (Update) Acreage holding at 24.5, 50% contained. Fire

held to San Bernardino City LRA.

@SanBernardinoNF & #SBCoFD remain in Unified Command.

Highway remains closed as firefighters work along the roadside.

A wildfire in Lower Waterman Canyon near San Bernardino prompted Highway 18A wildfire in Lower Waterman Canyon near San Bernardino prompted Highway 18to be temporarily shut down Tuesday afternoon before its reopening in the evening,to be temporarily shut down Tuesday afternoon before its reopening in the evening,the San Bernardino County Fire Department said.the San Bernardino County Fire Department said.

The nearly 25-acre fire was reported at 3:54 p.m. and its forward rate of spread wasThe nearly 25-acre fire was reported at 3:54 p.m. and its forward rate of spread wasstopped around 5:20 p.m., according to Zach Behrens, spokesman with the Sanstopped around 5:20 p.m., according to Zach Behrens, spokesman with the SanBernardino National Forest. Fire crews had reached 50 percent containment as ofBernardino National Forest. Fire crews had reached 50 percent containment as ofabout 6:30 p.m., the Fire Department said.about 6:30 p.m., the Fire Department said.

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Crews stop forward progress ofCrews stop forward progress ofwildfire near San Bernardino,wildfire near San Bernardino,Highway 18 reopensHighway 18 reopens

• • NewsNews

6:29 PM · Aug 10, 2021

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The fire was located south of Highway 18 and briefly flared across the highway,The fire was located south of Highway 18 and briefly flared across the highway,Behrens said. A hillside was burned along with various chaparral plants andBehrens said. A hillside was burned along with various chaparral plants andeucalyptus trees, Behrens said.eucalyptus trees, Behrens said.

A firefighter also was hospitalized with a heat-related illness, according to Behrens.A firefighter also was hospitalized with a heat-related illness, according to Behrens.

No evacuation orders were issued.No evacuation orders were issued.

Highway 18 was closed in both directions from Highway 138 at the Crestline CutoffHighway 18 was closed in both directions from Highway 138 at the Crestline Cutoffto 40th Street in San Bernardino before it was re-opened at 9:16 p.m., according toto 40th Street in San Bernardino before it was re-opened at 9:16 p.m., according tothe California Highway Patrol.the California Highway Patrol.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known, said Behrens.The cause of the fire was not immediately known, said Behrens.

Additionally, six small fires sparked seemingly simultaneously throughout the SanAdditionally, six small fires sparked seemingly simultaneously throughout the SanBernardino National Forest near Big Bear Lake and Sugarloaf shortly after 4 p.m.,Bernardino National Forest near Big Bear Lake and Sugarloaf shortly after 4 p.m.,Behrens said. Five of the fires were confined to trees while another was a quarter-Behrens said. Five of the fires were confined to trees while another was a quarter-acre near Mill Creek Road by Big Bear Lake, Behrens said.acre near Mill Creek Road by Big Bear Lake, Behrens said.

Those various fires were caused by dry lightning strikes, Behrens said.Those various fires were caused by dry lightning strikes, Behrens said.

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By By QUINN WILSONQUINN WILSON | | qwilson@scng.comqwilson@scng.com | |PUBLISHED: PUBLISHED: August 10, 2021 at 3:39 p.m.August 10, 2021 at 3:39 p.m. | UPDATED: | UPDATED: August 10, 2021 at 3:39 p.m.August 10, 2021 at 3:39 p.m.

A man was shot and killed in a flood control area near South E Street in San Bernardino, authorities said.A man was shot and killed in a flood control area near South E Street in San Bernardino, authorities said.

Police responded on Sunday to a call around 3:30 a.m. for a dead man found in the flood control area near the 1000 block of South E Street,Police responded on Sunday to a call around 3:30 a.m. for a dead man found in the flood control area near the 1000 block of South E Street,the San Bernardino Police Department said. They found 44-year-old Jaime Gomez of San Bernardino suffering from an apparent gunshotthe San Bernardino Police Department said. They found 44-year-old Jaime Gomez of San Bernardino suffering from an apparent gunshotwound.wound.

Medical personnel responded and pronounced Gomez dead at 4 a.m., according to the San Bernardino County Coroner s̓ Office.Medical personnel responded and pronounced Gomez dead at 4 a.m., according to the San Bernardino County Coroner s̓ Office.

No information regarding a possible motive or any suspects was available.No information regarding a possible motive or any suspects was available.

Anyone with information is urged to call Sergeant J. King at 909-384-5613 or at King_ja@sbcity.org.Anyone with information is urged to call Sergeant J. King at 909-384-5613 or at King_ja@sbcity.org.

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Quinn WilsonQuinn Wilson | Reporter| ReporterQuinn Wilson is a Missouri native who has bylines with the Riverfront Times, Sauce Magazine, Fox 2/KPLR 11, FultonQuinn Wilson is a Missouri native who has bylines with the Riverfront Times, Sauce Magazine, Fox 2/KPLR 11, FultonSun and The Bakers�eld Californian. He graduated from Fontbonne University in 2019.Sun and The Bakers�eld Californian. He graduated from Fontbonne University in 2019.

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Dead man found in San Bernardino flood control areaDead man found in San Bernardino flood control area • • NewsNews

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CALIFORNIA

L.A.’s sidewalk vendors have been hitting an obstacle: Legalizingtheir carts

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Street vendors rally outside of L.A. City Hall in June, where they decried rules governing carts. “They’re requiring a cart thatdoes not yet exist,” said one vendor. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

BY EMILY ALPERT REYES | STAFF WRITER

AUG. 11, 2021 5 AM PT

Local vendors who hawk tacos, hot dogs and other bites on Los Angeles sidewalks

celebrated when politicians declared they were bringing them out of the shadows and

would start permitting them to do business legally.

But L.A.’s push to legalize sidewalk vending has run into a persistently stubborn

obstacle: the quest for legal carts.

“They’re requiring a cart that does not yet exist,” Pedro Barillas, who sells tacos in the

San Fernando Valley, lamented in Spanish in front of a crowd of vendors gathered

before Los Angeles City Hall earlier this summer.

Sidewalk vendors who sell food need a health permit from the Los Angeles County

Department of Public Health — and to get that health permit, they need an approved

cart.

But sidewalk sellers have complained that, for many kinds of street food, there haven’t

been affordable carts on the market that fit on a sidewalk and meet a daunting set of

state and local rules. Fruit carts are commonly spotted with a placard from the health

department, but sellers of tacos, hot dogs and other street foods have long had more

trouble.

One engineer recently announced a breakthrough, saying he had received county

approval for blueprints for a tamale cart after a lengthy back-and-forth with the health

department. Others have been pushing to craft a legal cart that keeps corn, tamales or

hot dogs warm for the customer through a pilot program funded by the county.

But vendors and their advocates argue that it shouldn’t be this hard. Sidewalk vendors

“are not looking for a free pass” but seeking to adapt the regulations to suit sidewalk

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carts, said Doug Smith, supervising senior staff attorney at Public Counsel, one of

several groups that unveiled a new report Wednesday advocating for changes.

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City of L.A. shuts down Lincoln Heights night market, drawing protestAug. 5, 2021

“What we have now is a much bigger health risk — a system that is literally impossible

for much of this economy to comply with,” Smith said.

Among the rules that have frustrated vendors: California requires many “mobile food

facilities” where food is cooked to have a sink with at least three compartments for

washing kitchenware and utensils, as well as a separate sink for hand-washing.

Some carts also need to have a water heater that holds at least four gallons. And vendors

who prepare food at open carts may be required to tote around a hefty amount of water

— one tank holding five gallons for hand-washing, another with at least 15 gallons for

ware-washing, the report found.

State law also restricts what kind of food can be prepared from an “unenclosed” cart. It

bars such carts being used for reheating and “hot holding” potentially hazardous food —

keeping it sitting at a hot temperature — with the exception of roasted corn, steamed

hot dogs, and tamales, a carveout that the report questioned as “seemingly arbitrary.”

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And state codes also prohibit food from being sliced or chopped on an unenclosed cart

unless it is done on a heated cooking surface, which bans fruit from being cut at the cart.

Some of the California rules are stiffer than those in other vending hubs such as New

York City, which does not require a sink with three compartments, according to the

report from the UCLA School of Law Community Economic Development Clinic and

Public Counsel, produced in partnership with the L.A. Street Vendor Campaign and

other advocates.

The report found that Los Angeles County had piled on additional requirements,

including a minimum amount of room for storage and refrigeration that strains the

dimensions of a sidewalk cart. The L.A. County guidelines for someone selling hot dogs

heated on the cart, for instance, would require at least nine cubic feet of dry storage and

12 cubic feet of refrigeration.

That would be enough room for 5,000 hot dogs — far more than a typical cart would

need in a shift, the researchers concluded. And the new report argued that L.A. County

should offer more vendors the option of sharing an auxiliary sink, which could make it

easier for small carts to meet the sink requirements.

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The L.A. County Department of Public Health said its rules were based on state codes.

When California law isn’t specific about exact requirements, local jurisdictions are

supposed to assess what is being served and how, it said.

“These interpretations are based on ensuring food offered to the public is properly

protected and prepared safely,” the department said in an email. For instance,

California mandates “adequate and suitable” storage space, which the county then

translates into specific requirements to ensure the vendor “can safely store the food

products needed to operate.”

The public health department also said some of the county requirements that had

drawn criticism were in fact required under state rules, including a fire suppression

system that extends over cooking equipment, which it attributed to the California

Mechanical Code. The report argued that, under the California Retail Food Code, a fire

extinguisher could suffice on an unenclosed cart.

Vendors say the mobile facilities that do meet the rules for hot food are too big for a

sidewalk and too costly for entrepreneurs who make an average of $15,000 annually,

according to a survey by vendor advocates.

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“We want to work within their rules,” said Natalia Hernandez Jimenez, who sells tacos,

huaraches and quesadillas in Pacoima. In the past, she said, she went to the health

department to seek a permit and was told that she couldn’t do so unless she had a

“mini-trailer” or truck. “But they should also consider our needs.”

Benjamin Chapman, a professor and food safety extension specialist at North Carolina

State University, said regulators shouldn’t create different “tiers of safety” for different

kinds of dining. Health departments, however, can and should offer case-by-case

“variances” to entrepreneurs who show they can find alternative ways to protect

consumers, he said.

“I’ve seen very practical approaches,” such as using separate buckets for washing,

rinsing and sanitizing, Chapman said. “It doesn’t have to be a $4,000 or $5,000

solution.”

The report suggested that, to safely loosen the sink requirements, vendors could be

allowed to set aside dirty dishes throughout the day to wash later, or bring multiple sets

of utensils that are swapped throughout the day.

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The California Department of Public Health said in a statement that the state law was

not meant to restrict any particular kind of food service, but “the overall safeguards for

prevention of food-borne illness are the same, whether the food is handled at a

restaurant or a sidewalk pushcart.”

The department said the sink rules, for instance, ensured that washing, rinsing and

sanitizing were performed separately to avoid inactivating the sanitizer, and that the

sinks needed to be deep enough to submerge “food service size utensils.” Other rules

limiting what kind of cooking can be done on open-air pushcarts are meant to prevent

dangerous microorganisms from growing when food is cooled and reheated, the

department said.

Matt Geller, CEO of Best Food Trucks and the National Food Truck Assn., said that

when Los Angeles leaders were publicly declaring that sidewalk vending would soon be

legal, he complained that they were giving people false hope.

“It was this rush to have everybody pat themselves on the back without an actual

pathway” to permits, Geller said.

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Only a small fraction of the estimated thousands of vendors who sell food — fewer than

200 as of Monday morning — have received L.A. city permits, which require the sellers

to first obtain the L.A. County health permit. Vendors and their advocates complain

that, this summer, public health investigators have tossed out vendors’ food in Westlake

and Glassell Park.

The Department of Public Health said its enforcement procedures had not changed but

that complaints about unpermitted vending had risen due to “elevated concerns”

involving the pandemic. Last year, the department received more than 3,700 complaints

about unpermitted sidewalk vendors.

“I’m all in favor of relaxing some of the requirements,” said Jeff Zarrinnam, a board

member with the East Hollywood Business Improvement District, who has raised

concerns about trash left behind by vendors lining Vermont Avenue. “But then there has

to be enforcement.”

The Los Angeles City Council recently reinstituted a moratorium on city citations for

vendors for lacking permits, but that does not affect the county’s enforcement of its own

rules.

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At a June rally outside City Hall, vendors hoisted a hulking cardboard model of an

imaginary cart that they said could meet the myriad requirements for sinks,

refrigeration and other mandated features. “Does anybody imagine a cart this size on

the corner?” said Sergio Jimenez, an organizer with Community Power Collective,

spurring shouts of “No!” from the crowd.

Sidewalk vendors at a June 22 rally outside L.A. City Hall hold up a cardboard model of an imaginary cart that would meet along list of state and county requirements. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Hollywood vendor Merlin Alvarado has a fruit cart permitted by the health department,

but she also sells hot dogs from a “pirated” cart fashioned at home. Alvarado

complained that she had no realistic option to buy a legal hot dog cart that would be

small enough to push around, but “I’m going to keep going because I have rent to pay,”

she said in Spanish.

Jon Scudder, who owns a licensed cart called Coffee Express in the Chinatown area, said

people shouldn’t be preparing food without gloves or a way to wash their utensils, but

there’s room to scale down the requirements.

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“We shouldn’t have to carry 20 gallons of water,” Scudder said. “Do you know how

much 20 gallons of water weighs?”

Los Angeles County has been funding a pilot program that includes developing a legal

cart for sidewalk vendors. Naria Kiani, senior planning coordinator with Kounkuey

Design Initiative, said their nonprofit had initially aimed to design a cart for cooked

meat such as tacos or bacon-wrapped hot dogs.

CALIFORNIA

L.A. could roll back move to ticket sidewalk vendors who lack permitsMarch 23, 2021

Kiani quickly found, however, that following the rules for cooking meat would result in a

prohibitively costly and heavy cart, potentially more than 1,200 pounds with all of the

mandated elements, she said. The sink space alone would take up much of the feasible

footprint for a sidewalk cart, Kiani added.

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So the pilot program shifted its focus to a “hot holding” cart that keeps corn, tamales or

hot dogs warm for the customer. One major advantage is that such a cart doesn’t need a

three-compartment sink for washing utensils, only a single sink for hand-washing, Kiani

said.

Their plan is in the early stages, with a blueprint still going through the approval

process with the public health department. Another effort was undertaken by Richard

Gomez, an engineer and designer with Revolution Carts, who worked with Community

Power Collective and other groups to design a tamale cart that could pass muster.

“We went line item by line item” with the health department, Gomez said. “Every line

was a question — why couldn’t we do it?”

Gomez said their blueprints won approval, and he plans to roll out the cart to vendors

this month, at a price tag of $7,500. But devising legal carts for many other hot foods

remains a conundrum. Before Gomez gained approval for his tamale cart, he said he

struggled to get sign-off for a grill cart, bouncing ideas off the public health department

for years.

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And a cart isn’t the only obstacle for local vendors. The new report outlined many other

barriers, including state rules requiring food sellers to store and service carts at

approved facilities called commissaries that have not been easily accessible to vendors,

holding county inspections at a single site that is hard to reach for many vendors, and

county fees ranging from roughly $1,100 to $1,700.

As a result, the report concluded, “most sidewalk food vendors remain exposed to the

daily threat of ticketing, harassment and fines, which perpetuate an unending cycle of

criminalization and poverty.”

CALIFORNIA

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CALIFORNIA

Citizenship requirement will be waived for many L.A. Countygovernment jobs

Los Angeles Board of Supervisor Hilda Solis wrote a motion that allows the county to begin hiring immigrants withoutcitizenship as county department heads along with other positions when state and federal law doesn’t mandate citizenship.(Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times)

BY ANDREA CASTILLO, JACLYN COSGROVE

AUG. 11, 2021 6 AM PT

U.S. citizenship will no longer be a requirement for many Los Angeles County

government jobs, including department heads.

On Tuesday, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion

allowing the county, with a few exceptions, to hire noncitizens to lead county agencies —

excluding the chief probation officer — and for any other county jobs where state or

federal law doesn’t mandate citizenship.

Immigrants who lack legal status remain ineligible to work for the county.

Tuesday’s motion, by Supervisors Hilda Solis and Sheila Kuehl, extends eligibility for

county jobs to lawful permanent residents and those with work permits.

The motion directs staff to remove citizenship as a requirement for county positions,

unless otherwise mandated by state or federal law.

Department heads will be allowed to appoint immigrants without citizenship as their

deputies when not barred by state or federal law.

“By removing citizenship requirements, the county will gain access to a larger pool of

qualified applicants with varied life experiences that can help enhance current services,”

Solis, the board chair, said in a statement. “This decision is rooted in a larger vision to

bring diversity, equity and inclusion at the forefront of everything that we do at the

county.”

Solis had hoped the county could waive citizenship requirements for disaster service

workers, but state law governs those positions and excludes lawfully employed

immigrants.

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Immigrants make up 35% of the population in L.A. County. With about 110,000

employees, the county government is one of the largest employers in the region.

Some details of the county’s plan weren’t made public. The county chief executive office

and Solis’ and Kuehl’s offices declined to share a June report with The Times, stating it

was protected by attorney-client privilege because it was drafted by county attorneys.

At a prior Board of Supervisors meeting, Andrés Dae Keun Kwon, policy counsel and

senior organizer for the American Civil Liberties Union, told the board that when he

graduated from UCLA School of Law, his dream was to work at the L.A. County public

defender’s office.

“But I was not a U.S. citizen, and so I was shut out,” he said.

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He went on to work in immigrant rights at the ACLU.

“The county workforce should reflect the people they serve, and nowhere is this more

important than at the public defender’s office,” he said.

Public Defender Ricardo García, the son of immigrants and the county’s first Latino

public defender, said in a tweet that the crucial role of his office in the lives of indigent

residents “makes it essential that the hiring process allows for onboarding the best and

most diverse candidates.”

This historic shift, made by the Board, enables the Public Defender toincrease the number of talented & diverse applicants to select from, whichwill not only enhance our legal representation services, but will accurately

reflect the County’s values of inclusivity & diversity.

— Ricardo D. García (@lapubdef) August 10, 2021

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The board’s decision was celebrated by other advocates for immigrants.

Victor Narro, a project director focused on immigrant workers at the UCLA Labor

Center, said that waiving the citizenship requirement was a long time coming.

“The citizenship requirement is really from another time period, but it takes a while for

local governments to realize that those requirements no longer reflect the diversity of

the society we have,” he said. “There are so many noncitizens that reside in L.A. County

who are qualified or more than qualified for those jobs.”

Narro, who teaches a public interest law seminar, said many law students who come

from immigrant families aspire to be public defenders. He said the decision provides an

opportunity for the county workforce to better reflect the community it serves.

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“L.A. County can lead the way,” he said. “My hope is that other counties will get rid of

those citizenship requirements.”

CALIFORNIA CALIFORNIA LAW & POLITICS

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Andrea Castillo

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