Long Beach News, CA Local News

Long Beach reports 8 more coronavirus deaths, 82 new cases

Wed, 24 Feb 2021 17:55:17 +0000

Another eight Long Beach residents have died from coronavirus-related causes, officials announced Wednesday, Feb. 24, bringing the city’s death toll to 826.

The city also reported 82 new coronavirus cases. There have been 51,033 cases identified in Long Beach since the pandemic began.

About 47,910 people — or 94% of those who have tested positive — have since recovered.

Metrics tracking the spread and impact of the coronavirus in Long Beach continued to trend downward Wednesday, as they have since mid-January.

The city’s new daily case rate, for example, fell to 13.6 per 100,000 people, from 14 the day prior. And the positive testing rate dipped to 4.4%, down from 4.7% on Tuesday.

The number of people being treated in local hospitals for the virus, meanwhile, dropped to 152, down from 158 the previous day.

Long Beach and Los Angeles County both have more progress to make, though, before more businesses will be allowed to reopen. The county is currently in the state’s most restrictive “purple tier.” To move into the next most restrictive “red tier,” LA County will need a positive testing rate of 8% or lower and a new daily case rate of 7 or fewer per 100,000 people.

Currently, according to state data, LA County’s positive testing rate is 5.1% and its new daily case rate is 12.3 per 100,000 people.

Coronavirus tracker: California reported 6,247 new cases and 275 new deaths reported Feb. 23

Wed, 24 Feb 2021 15:33:43 +0000

The end-of-day totals from California public health websites for Tuesday, Feb. 23, registered 6,247 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases there have been in the state to 3,519,289.

The 14-day total of new cases, 6,956, is down 83.5% from the Jan. 1 high of 42,268.

There were 275 new deaths reported Tuesday, for a total of 49,876 people in California who have died from the virus.

Hospitalizations continue to decline as well. There were 6,764 hospitalizations of people with coronavirus-related infections reported on Tuesday. That’s a 70.4% drop since the Jan. 1 high of 22,853 people who needed hospital care.

Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Johns Hopkins University, the World Health Organization, the California Department of Public Health, The Associated Press, reporting counties and news sources

Mayor set to propose $150 million Long Beach Recovery Act early next month

Wed, 24 Feb 2021 15:13:32 +0000

Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia is planning for the city’s post-pandemic future.

Garcia is set to share his proposal for a Long Beach Recovery Act early next month, which — if approved by the City Council — will include at least $150 million in funding to boost an economic recovery, double down on public health and secure the city’s financial future.

The plan would be funded with an allocation from the federal American Rescue Plan, which is on track for a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives in the coming days, and with money from Los Angeles County.

Garcia said in a Wednesday, Feb. 24, phone interview that he’ll share details on the plan — including how the $150 million or more would be divided among the three priorities — when he unveils it in full at 11 a.m. Monday, March 8.

But, he said, all of the categories will receive “significant funding.”

The plan is necessary, he said, as Long Beach looks toward the end of the coronavirus pandemic. The city’s case rates have fallen significantly since mid-January, while more and more residents are being vaccinated each day.

And while Long Beach will continue prioritizing inoculation efforts until everyone who wants a vaccine has received one, Garcia said, it’s time to put together the city’s broader recovery strategy.

The first piece, he said, is to support Long Beach’s economic recovery, which would include small business grants targeted to industries hardest hit by coronavirus-induced shutdowns, such as restaurants and gyms.

Small business revenue has declined across the city during the pandemic, according to Seiji Steimetz, chair of Cal State Long Beach’s economics department, but some industries have already started to recover.

The city is in the midst of a “K-shaped” recovery, Steimetz said during the most recent Long Beach Quarterly Economic Forum, meaning high-income workers have largely overcome the worst of the pandemic-induced recession, while low-income workers continue bearing the brunt of the crisis.

Steimetz said in the November forum that the recovery looks the way it does locally because of the industries that were hit hardest. The tourism, leisure and service industries, which employ many of the city’s lower income workers, have all seen declines.

So, Garcia said, the economic recovery aspect of his plan will target those industries and workers specifically.

“We want to make sure that small business owners in our city have the resources to get their employees back to work,” Garcia said, “to re-hire and to fully open as we move towards a real, safe reopening of the economy.”

The public health investments, meanwhile, would include funds to clean up the city. While Long Beach residents have largely stayed at home, Garcia said, the trash they produce has grown, so street sweeping, trash pick-up and other services have become more difficult.

“Part of this recovery plan is ensuring, coming out of COVID, that we’re cleaning the city in a way that’s big and bold,” he said, “and I want to double the efforts we’re making in cleanliness.”

And for securing the city’s financial future, the plan will help address the way City Hall has been impacted by the recession. It will seek to close Long Beach’s budget deficit and build its reserves back up for the next emergency.

Because of the pandemic, Long Beach’s general fund ended the previous fiscal year, which ran until Sept. 30, with a $19.7 million shortfall, interim Financial Management Director John Gross wrote in a report earlier this month, which requires the city to draw down nearly all of its operating reserve and some of its emergency reserve to fill in the gaps.

So a significant piece of the city’s recovery, Garcia said, will be refilling those reserves.

“We’ve got to prepare for the next emergency, so that is also going to be part of what we’re talking about,” Garcia said. “It’s: ‘How can we plug these deficit holes to ensure we’re not talking about cutting libraries in the future?’”

Looking ahead, Garcia said, the city’s goals are clear — and Long Beach needs a plan to achieve them.

“I’ve always said the health emergency has always had to be our top priority, and it has been,” he said, “and as we move toward beating COVID-19, the next priority has to be recovery.

“And the same level, the same of kind of energy and focus we have put on the health emergency,” Garcia added, “we have to put on the recovery of the city.”

To RSVP for the virtual event, visit bit.ly/3dKdYUo.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Mayor set to propose $150 million Long Beach Recovery Plan early next month

Wed, 24 Feb 2021 12:40:50 +0000

Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia is planning for the city’s post-pandemic future.

Garcia is set to share his proposal for a Long Beach Recovery Plan early next month, which — if approved by the City Council — will include at least $150 million in funding to boost an economic recovery, double down on public health and secure the city’s financial future.

But, he said, all of the categories will receive “significant funding.”

Looking ahead, Garcia said, the city’s goals are clear — and Long Beach needs a plan to achieve them.

“I’ve always said the health emergency has always had to be our top priority, and it has been,” he said, “and as we move toward beating COVID-19, the next priority has to be recovery.

“And the same level, the same of kind of energy and focus we have put on the health emergency,” Garcia added, “we have to put on the recovery of the city.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Santa Ana winds are coming to Southern California valleys, mountains, coast

Wed, 24 Feb 2021 05:32:39 +0000

LOS ANGELES — Moderate to strong Santa Ana winds are expected to return to parts of the Los Angeles area Wednesday afternoon and continue through Thursday, prompting the National Weather Service to issue high-wind warnings and advisories.

The weather service issued high wind warnings from 9 p.m. Wednesday to 3 p.m. Thursday for the Santa Monica Mountains, Ventura County Mountains, Los Angeles County Mountains and Santa Clarita Valley.

Gusts in those areas could reach 60 to 65 mph, the weather service said.

Wind advisories were issued from 9 p.m. Wednesday to 3 p.m. Thursday for the San Fernando Valley, the LA Coast and Downtown Los Angeles, including Malibu, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Hollywood and Long Beach.

Gusts in those areas could range between 45 and 55 mph.

“Damaging winds could blow down large objects such as trees and power lines,” the weather service said. “Power outages are possible. Travel could be difficult, especially for high profile vehicles.”

The NWS said the wind event is expected to be “pretty short,” though another round of gusty winds is expected to return late Saturday into Sunday.

Long Beach reports 10 more coronavirus deaths, 96 more cases

Tue, 23 Feb 2021 18:39:33 +0000

Another 10 Long Beach residents have died from coronavirus-related causes, officials announced Tuesday, Feb. 23, bringing the city’s death toll to 818.

The city also reported 96 more coronavirus cases. There have been 50,951 cases identified in Long Beach since the pandemic began.

About 47,750 people — or 94% of those who have tested positive — have since recovered.

Metrics tracking the spread and impact of the coronavirus in Long Beach continued to trend downward on Tuesday, as they have since mid-January.

The city’s new daily case rate, for example, dipped down to 14 per 100,000 people from 14.8 the day prior. And the positive testing rate dropped from 4.9% on Monday to 4.7% on Tuesday.

The number of people being treated for the virus in local hospitals, meanwhile, fell to 158, down from 170 the previous day.

While Long Beach and Los Angeles County are both headed in the right direction to move from the state’s most restrictive “purple tier,” they still have more progress to make. To move to the next most restrictive “red tier,” the county must have both a positive testing rate of 8% or lower and a new daily case rate of 7 or fewer cases per 100,000 people.

LA County currently has a positive testing rate of 5.1%, according to state data, but it also has a new daily case rate of 12.3 per 100,000 people.

1 killed, 2 injured in Long Beach shootout

Tue, 23 Feb 2021 17:33:56 +0000

One man was fatally wounded and a man and woman were injured during a shootout in Long Beach, the Long Beach Police Department reported Tuesday.

The man who died has been identified as Lavelle Brandon, a 45-year-old resident of Long Beach. The others with gunshot wounds were a 49-year-old woman and a 51-year-old man, police said.

On Monday, Feb. 22, at about 10:45 a.m., officers responded to the 300 block of East 25th Street regarding a shooting.

Officers located Brandon inside a residence suffering from gunshot wounds to his upper torso. Officers rendered medical aid until Long Beach Fire Department personnel arrived and transported him to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries, police said.

Soon after, officers contacted two other people who self-transported to a local hospital with gunshot wounds. The woman sustained gunshot wounds to her lower torso and the man sustained gunshot wounds to his upper torso, the Police Department said.

Officers determined the two were shot at the incident in which Brandon was fatally injured.

Detectives believe all three involved know each other and a dispute between them occurred in the street outside a residence, police said. The dispute allegedly escalated to an exchange of gunfire between two of the involved.

Two firearms were recovered at the scene and no suspects are believed to be outstanding, police said.

No arrests have been made and the Police Department is continuing to investigate the involvement of the two who survived their gunshot wounds, said Allison Gallagher, spokesman for the Police Department.

Anyone with any information regarding the incident is urged to contact Homicide Detectives Oscar Valenzuela or Eric Thai at 562-570-7244.

Long Beach area prep football teams can now play, because of drop in coronavirus numbers, state says

Tue, 23 Feb 2021 15:23:51 +0000

High School football in the Long Beach area could soon resume now that Los Angeles County has hit the state’s threshold for allowing outdoor sports to start up again by seeing its rate of new daily cases dip below 14 per 100,000 residents.

The state’s Department of Public Health said Los Angeles County fell to 12.3 cases per 100,000 on Tuesday, Feb. 23 — only days after California first announced relaxed rules for allowing outdoor sports to resume. That also includes water polo and soccer.

“It’s like Christmas morning for everybody in the football community,” said Millikan High School football coach Romeo Pellum.

High school football typically starts in August, but the coronavirus pandemic nixed that. There was then the possibility the season could start in January, but a winter surge delayed outdoor sports again. But for weeks, the number of coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths have declined — both in LA County and across the state. That, and the continuing rollout of vaccines, has provided optimism that the region has turned a corner in the pandemic.

But before high school football can officially resume, local government agencies must first allow it. For schools outside Long Beach, that means waiting for Los Angeles County to update its health order to align with state guidance. For Long Beach schools, however, that means waiting for the city’s health department to update its stay-at-home-order. The boards of education for the various Long Beach area school districts must also OK football coming back.

Officials with Long Beach Unified School District and the city’s Health Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The area’s private schools, though, can at least bypass the public boards of education.

St. John Bosco is set to host Sierra Canyon on March 12, the opener for would figures to be a six-game season. Games can begin as early as March 11.

St. John Bosco football coach Jason Negro said he is beyond happy.

“Honestly, I’m enthusiastic for the kids,” said Negro, whose Braves won the 2019 national championship. “I cannot even put into words how blessed I feel to be in the position that I am, to see the faces of our young guys when they come on campus today to know that they’re going to be able to play.”

While St. John Bosco has not brought students back to campus for in-person learning, its football team has been conditioning.

“This has always been about the young men in our program and allowing them to have an opportunity to return to some sort of a normalcy,” Negro said. “And I could not be more proud to be able to share this news with them and to get our seniors a little bit of a season.”

Teams were able to begin wearing helmets Tuesday and can be in full pads by Friday.

Officials with the Moore League, which consists of six LBUSD schools as well as Compton High, were scheduled to meet Tuesday to discuss the schedule, among other things, according to Pellum and Long Beach Poly coach Stephen Barbee.

Even without knowing who their first games will be against, both were thrilled about getting the go-ahead to play.

Barbee did not hide his joy.

“A lot of excitement,” he said. “There are a lot of things that we still have to do as far as distribution of gear and making sure athletic clearances are done and things of that nature that we will have to deal with.

“But I’m very excited,” Barbee added, “excited to have the kids get to play some football.”

Pellum did not hold back, either.

“I mean, it’s awesome, especially for our kids and our seniors” he said. “We have all those kids in our area and in our state that some have already gotten passed up on as far as going to college and a lot of kids thought they played their last football game already.

“It’s just a blessing,” Pellum added, “that we were able to make this happen.”

Pellum thanked the “Let Them Play CA” organization that rallied and strongly urged the state to ease restrictions enough to get athletes back on the field.

Over at St. Anthony, the Saints will play their first game against Mary Star of the Sea High School, in San Pedro, on March 19 at Clark Field in Long Beach. St. Anthony coach Mario Morales was equally stoked about Tuesday’s development.

“Well, it’s fantastic news,” said St. Anthony coach Mario Morales. “Just to be able to finally get something definitive to say, ‘Here we go, here’s the dates, let’s make this happen.’ So, yeah, just fantastic news.”

Sewage spill shuts down swimming near Belmont Pier

Tue, 23 Feb 2021 14:10:26 +0000

A sewage spill has prompted officials to close the area west of the Belmont Pier to swimmers.

The spill occurred on Monday, Feb. 22, after about 26,241 gallons of sewage was discharged into the Los Angeles River in the city of Los Angeles. It was caused by construction to maintain a 48-inch sewer main line, according to a news alert sent out by the city of Long Beach.

The area of closed beach access, which continued Tuesday, Feb. 23, spans from Third Place to Belmont Pier, according to the Long Beach water hotline.

State law requires temporary closure and posting at beaches in these situations, out of an abundance of caution, until the water quality meets state requirements, a city notice reads.

The Long Beach Health Department’s Recreational Water Quality health inspection team is monitoring water quality along the affected beach sites, the notice reads. Water monitoring will continue until results comply with state water quality standards.

The city conducts weekly water samples and routinely tests the city’s seven miles of beach to monitor bacterial levels.

“For their safety,” the alert reads, “the community is encouraged to pay close attention to any warning signs posted at the beach.”

For the latest status on Long Beach recreational beach water quality, the public can call the Water Hotline at 562-570-4199 or visit longbeach.gov/beachwaterquality.

LA County’s legal costs jump, fueled by settlements and fees

Tue, 23 Feb 2021 13:10:20 +0000

Los Angeles County’s legal bills ticked upward last fiscal year, jumping from $148.5 million to $151.9 million, fueled by an increase in the amount paid out to settle lawsuits. Costs and fees to outside law firms working on the county’s litigation helped drive up the number, officials said on Tuesday, Feb. 23.

All told, attorneys fees and costs totaled $64.3 million, while the county paid out $87.6 million in judgments and settlements, according to County Counsel Rodrigo A. Castrol-Silva’s report to the Board of Supervisors.

The County paid $72.2 million in 2,389 settlements alone, a 20% increase over the $60.4 million spent the year before.

Of the 239 settlements, nine were for more $2 million or more, totaling $38.2 million. They arose from six county departments:

Los Angeles County Sheriff – $21.9 million;
Child and Family Services – $7.1 million;
Public Defender – $2.8 million;
Parks and Recreation – $2.1 million;
Public Works – $2 million;
District Attorney’s Office/LASD – $2.25 million.

The cases involved law enforcement issues, auto liability, employment and general liability, according to the report.

The county’s biggest payment was $17.5 million for four ongoing installment payments after an L.A. County Sheriff’s Deputy ran a red light while responding to a radio call of a shooting smashed into a car in a busy Boyle Heights intersection, jumped the sidewalk and killed two boys in 2017.

The report summarized several of the top settlements, including:

A $3 million payout after a bullet deputies fired at 17-year-old Palmdale resident Armando Garcia’s pitbull ricocheted and struck and killed Garcia in the chest in 2017; and
A $2.25 million settlement over the 2011 wrongful arrest and prosecution of Abraham Rueda. Later, evidence arose that conflicted with the police narrative. The district attorney’s office dismissed the criminal case against Rueda.

A summary of the top settlements can be found in the County Counsel report found at http://file.lacounty.gov/SDSInter/bos/supdocs/153942.pdf.

The County also paid out $64.3 million in fees and costs in fiscal year 2019-20, a spike of $7.3 million from the $57 million the county paid the year before.

Most of those fees and costs were paid on contracts with outside law firms.

Cal State Fullerton’s Dedrique Taylor finds meaning in 100th victory

Tue, 23 Feb 2021 11:31:19 +0000

Cal State Fullerton men’s basketball coach Dedrique Taylor had plenty of reasons to celebrate his team’s Big West Conference victory over visiting UC Irvine on Saturday.

Not only was it Taylor’s career 100th victory, but it came after his team was down by 11 points in the second half of a game the Titans almost had to have after losing to the two-time defending regular-season champion Anteaters a night earlier

“I don’t know if it actually gives the victory any more meaning from that standpoint,” he said of the 67-64 win Saturday. “What does give it meaning, it says a lot about our guys, it says a lot about what we’re about and what can happen if you compete and you give yourself an opportunity to do what’s best for each other.

Cal State Fullerton men’s basketball coach Dedrique Taylor guides his team to a comeback victory over UC Irvine on Saturday. UCI coach Russ Turner is in the background. (Photo courtesy of Cal State Fullerton athletics)
Cal State Fullerton men’s basketball coach Dedrique Taylor said the 100th victory he earned Saturday with a win over UC Irvine was special in many ways. (Photo courtesy of Cal State Fullerton athletics)
Cal State Fullerton men’s basketball coach Dedrique Taylor earned his 100th victory on Saturday when his Titans came from behind to defeat UC Irvine. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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“We were focused on playing hard and playing together. And I thought for 40 minutes, that group, they showed that. Not only the guys on the floor, but the guys off the floor in terms of the guys (on the bench) – they were talking, in timeouts. It was a group effort.”

Taylor’s voice over the telephone suddenly became more animated while explaining the excitement during timeouts.

“It wasn’t like I was the only one talking, everybody was in there trying to be productive,” Taylor said. “So those are the things that I see that were important in that situation.”

Taylor talked about the overall significance of a victory like this, under the circumstances of a unique season in which the Titans have twice had to pause their program because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Including COVID-19 issues with other teams, Cal State Fullerton has lost eight of its 20 scheduled conference games to cancellation.

“It was monumental for a lot of different reasons,” Taylor said. “For the seeding and all of that stuff, it’s important. But I think for a group of guys that have been through what this group has been through, to endure it and find a way to still be successful, I think is way more important than anything.”

The seeding Taylor spoke of is centered on the Big West postseason tournament that will take place March 9-13 in a bubble atmosphere at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

Since teams will have played a different amount of games because of COVID-19 cancellations, this season’s tournament seeding will go by winning percentage.

Cal State Fullerton (6-7, 5-7) currently sits in the eighth spot in the standings. But the Titans are off this week and finish the regular season March 5-6 at UC San Diego, a conference newcomer that can’t play in the postseason tournament until 2025, so those games won’t count in the Big West standings.

However, other teams have anywhere from two to four conference games remaining, which means the Titans could move in the standings without playing anymore conference games that count.

No fans at tournaments

The Big West on Monday announced no fans will be allowed to attend the postseason tournaments in Las Vegas because of the pandemic. That includes family members of players and guests of team personnel.

“When we began the season, the Big West board of directors were united in the view that mitigating risk and protecting the welfare of our student-athletes and coaches were paramount,” Howard Gillman, chairman of the Big West board and Chancellor at UC Irvine, said in a statement.

“In an environment with 19 teams in action, where one positive test can potentially eliminate several teams and end their dream of competing for a championship, the reluctant decision to play without fans was necessary to maintain the focus on health and safety.”

This and that

After starting the conference season 10-0, the Long Beach State women have lost four consecutive Big West games. They dropped two at home to UC Davis on Feb. 12-13 and lost twice last week at Cal Poly. The Beach (11-5, 10-4) host Hawaii on Friday and Saturday and finish the regular season March 5-6 with games at rival UC Irvine (11-6, 9-2). The Anteaters are second in the conference behind UC Davis (7-1, 6-0). …

The CSUN men came through with a huge comeback victory Saturday when, down by 23 points in the first half, the Matadors (8-9, 4-6) emerged with an 88-80 overtime victory over visiting Hawaii. CSUN junior guard Darius Brown II had a triple-double – 18 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists – to go with five steals and a block in 42 minutes. Brown, out of Pasadena High, was named conference Player of the Week. …

The UC Riverside men will play a huge series Friday and Saturday when the third-place Highlanders (10-6, 5-3) host first-place UC Santa Barbara (16-3, 10-2).

Arraignment Postponed In Suspected Gang-Related Shooting Death Of Innocent Bystander

Tue, 23 Feb 2021 01:27:36 +0000

LONG BEACH (CBSLA) — Arraignment was postponed on Monday for two men who are facing first-degree murder charges stemming from an apparent gang-related shooting.

The reason for the postponement was not immediately clear.

The individual who was shot and killed, 36-year-old Alejandra Martinez, was identified as an innocent bystander.

Long Beach residents 31-year-old Jacquise Wright and 25-year-old Tyquan Benson are charged in her death.

They are each being held on $2 million bail in connection with the deadly shooting.

The shooting happened around 11:20 p.m. on Dec. 4 in a parking lot near Magnolia Avenue and Anaheim Street.

Newsom On California’s COVID Vaccine Rollout: ‘There’s Not Enough Doses’

Mon, 22 Feb 2021 20:24:03 +0000

LONG BEACH (CBSLA) – California Gov. Gavin Newsom Monday morning blamed the state’s limited supply of COVID-19 vaccine on a “manufacturing issue.”

The COVID-19 vaccine super site at the Long Beach Convention Center. Feb. 22, 2021. (CBSLA)

Speaking at the Long Beach Convention Center, Newsom told reporters that over 7.3 million people have been vaccinated so far statewide. He estimates California will receive about 1.4 million new doses this week.

“There’s not enough vaccinations, there’s not enough doses,” Newsom said. “There’s not enough vaccines to accommodate the need and demand, just at this site (Long Beach Convention Center) they’re running about a third of capacity. Sites all across the state of California are toggling back based upon limited supply. That’s a manufacturing issue. Manufactured supply in the United States of America is limited.”

Newsom said an average of 200,000 doses are being administered daily statewide.

Last Thursday, the city of Los Angeles was forced to shut down its COVID-19 vaccination super sites after running out of doses due to delivery issues caused by the winter storms which hit large swaths of the U.S. The city sites, which include Dodger Stadium, are expected to reopen Tuesday.

The L.A. County-operated super sites, meanwhile, have for the past two weeks been only able to administer second-doses because of the very limited supply.

Newsom also addressed the education debate. He emphasized that the city of Long Beach, which has its own independent health department, has been vaccinating its Long Beach Unified teachers since January.

L.A. County as a whole has not officially started to vaccinate all its teachers. Currently in L.A. County, only healthcare workers and those over 65 are eligible to receive the vaccine.

All L.A. County teachers are expected to get vaccine eligibility beginning March 1.

“There’s nothing more essential and more important we can do to support working women, and single moms in particular, than getting our youngest kids back into school in cohorts where we can do it safely,” Newsom said. “And Long Beach is not waiting around to do that. This mayor (Robert Garcia) has been doing that for weeks and weeks.”

L.A. Unified – the second largest school district in the nation – has said that it will not reopen campuses until teachers and staff are vaccinated.

Newsom reiterated Monday that, beginning next week, the state will set aside 10% of its doses for teachers and childcare workers.

“I have no trepidation saying this, we’re going to get that ten percent set aside, that is a commitment, we’re resolved to get that done for our teachers and educators.”

Newsom On California’s COVID Vaccine Rollout: ‘There’s Not Enough Doses’

Mon, 22 Feb 2021 19:24:03 +0000

LONG BEACH (CBSLA) – California Gov. Gavin Newsom Monday morning blamed the state’s limited supply of COVID-19 vaccine on a “manufacturing issue.”

The COVID-19 vaccine super site at the Long Beach Convention Center. Feb. 22, 2021. (CBSLA)

Newsom said an average of 200,000 doses are being administered daily statewide.

The L.A. County-operated super sites, meanwhile, have for the past two weeks been only able to administer second-doses because of the very limited supply.

L.A. County as a whole has not officially started to vaccinate all its teachers. Currently in L.A. County, only healthcare workers and those over 65 are eligible to receive the vaccine.

All L.A. County teachers are expected to get vaccine eligibility beginning March 1.

L.A. Unified – the second largest school district in the nation – has said that it will not reopen campuses until teachers and staff are vaccinated.

Newsom reiterated Monday that, beginning next week, the state will set aside 10% of its doses for teachers and childcare workers.
“I have no trepidation saying this, we’re going to get that ten percent set aside, that is a commitment, we’re resolved to get that done for our teachers and educators.”

Coronavirus: L.A. County reported 943 new cases, 21 new deaths and 156 fewer hospitalizations as of Feb. 22

Mon, 22 Feb 2021 18:50:40 +0000

Los Angeles public health officials reported 943 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases to 1,181,403 as of Monday, Feb. 22. Officials said there were 21 new fatalities linked to the coronavirus, for a total 19,904 deaths since tracking began.

There were 156 fewer patients hospitalized in local hospitals, lowing the number of coronavirus-related hospitalizations to 2,213 as of Monday. That’s a 72.7% decrease from the Jan. 7 high of 8,098 people hospitalized.

A total of 1,827,609 vaccinations have been administered in the county as of Monday.

Data posted each day is preliminary and subject to change, officials emphasize. More information may become available as individual case investigations are completed.

Long Beach surpasses 800 coronavirus deaths, opens vaccine clinic for Cambodian residents

Mon, 22 Feb 2021 18:12:28 +0000

Long Beach has surpassed 800 coronavirus-related deaths, yet another grim milestone that city health officials reported on Monday, Feb. 22 — the same day a mobile vaccination clinic opened in the heart of Cambodia Town.

The Cambodia Town clinic followed separate clinics earlier this month for Spanish speakers who are at least 65 years old and Black elders.

But the optimism vaccinations provide was tempered Monday by the city reporting another 11 residents had died from coronavirus-related causes, pushing the death toll to 808..

The city also reported 193 new coronavirus cases. There have been 50,855 cases identified since the pandemic began.

About 47,519 people — or 93% of those who have tested positive — have since recovered.

There were several other positive signs in the fight against the pandemic, however.

The number of people being treated for the virus in local hospitals, for example, continued to decline. There were 164 people being treated with the virus locally on Sunday, down from 192 on Thursday.

The positive testing rate, meanwhile, dropped to 4.9% Monday from 5.8% Thursday, Long Beach reported. The city’s daily case rate also saw a sizable decline, going from 20.7 per 100,000 residents on Thursday to 14.8 Monday.

And Gov. Gavin Newsom joined Mayor Robert Garcia Monday morning at the Convention Center’s mass vaccination site, where he touted Long Beach as a model for the rest of California.

Around 1,000 teachers, Garcia said, were expected to receive the their second dose of the vaccine Monday.

A mobile clinic at MacArthur Park opened Monday, Feb. 22, 2021, to serve the city’s Cambodian population. Nearly 400 doses of the vaccine were administered. (Courtesy of City of Long Beach)
A mobile clinic at MacArthur Park opened Monday, Feb. 22, 2021, to serve the city’s Cambodian population. Nearly 400 doses of the vaccine were administered. (Courtesy of City of Long Beach)
A mobile clinic at MacArthur Park opened Monday, Feb. 22, 2021, to serve the city’s Cambodian population. Nearly 400 doses of the vaccine were administered. (Courtesy of City of Long Beach)
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But while the city has made headway in administering the vaccine to its seniors and essential workers, Long Beach’s Cambodian American residents — the largest concentration of Cambodians outside of the Southeast Asian nation — had been falling behind in the rollout process, city officials said Monday.

Cambodian leaders, though, were able to establish a mobile clinic at MacArthur Park Monday after negotiations with the city’s health department. Nearly 400 doses of the vaccine were administered, the city said.

Despite the positive news Monday, Long Beach and Los Angeles County still have more progress to make before more businesses can be allowed to reopen because the county is in the state’s most restrictive “purple tier.” To move to the next most restrictive “red tier,” LA County must have both a new daily case rate of 7 or fewer per 100,000 people and a positive testing rate of 8% or lower.

Coronavirus tracker: California reported 3,495 new cases, 228 new deaths and 149 fewer hospitalizations Feb. 21

Mon, 22 Feb 2021 17:20:18 +0000

The end-of-day totals from California public health websites for Sunday, Feb. 21, reported 3,495 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases there have been in the state to 3,509,219.

The 14-day total of new cases, 8,188, is down 80.6% from the Jan. 1 high of 42,268.

There were 228 new deaths reported Sunday, for a total of 49,340 people in California who have died from the virus.

There were 7,165 people needing hospital care, a 68.7% drop since the Jan. 1 high of 22,853.

Man injured after stabbing at park near Alamitos Beach in Long Beach

Mon, 22 Feb 2021 16:57:05 +0000

A man was injured after being stabbed by another man at a park near Alamitos Beach on Sunday night, Feb. 21. The suspect ran away after also attempting to stab a security guard who intervened, police said.

The victim, who was near the public workout equipment and restrooms at the park in 600 block of E. Shoreline Drive, told police that the man approached him and they got into an argument at around 8 p.m., Long Beach police spokesman Brandon Fahey said Monday. During the altercation the suspect stabbed the man multiple times, but the wounds were non-life threatening and the victim denied medical treatment, he said.

A security guard for a nearby construction site saw the attack and intervened, with the suspect then attempting to also stab the guard, Fahey said. The suspect then stole the guard’s phone and ran away.

The guard did not have any injuries, Fahey said.

1st patients arrive at Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach’s one-stop pediatric facility

Mon, 22 Feb 2021 16:12:23 +0000

MemorialCare Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach welcomed its first patients to the recently opened Cherese Mari Laulhere Children’s Village Monday, Feb. 22.

Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital — which treats more than 8,000 children annually and serves an additional 84,000 kids needing specialized treatment at its various outpatient and satellite locations — created the Children’s Village on the MemorialCare campus to establish a single spot for pediatric patients and their families to get help.

Brothers Joziah Nagao, 2, and Aaron Nagao, 19, who have been under the care of the children’s hospital since birth, were among the first patients to be admitted to the center. The brothers have both been diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called X-linked lymphoproliferative disease, which causes the immune system to overreact to infections. The brothers’ specialty physician — Dr. Jacqueline Casillas, pediatric hematologist/oncologist and medical director of the hospital’s Jonathan Jaques Children’s Cancer Institute — saw them.

This disease is characterized by a life-long vulnerability to Epstein-Barr virus, a common type of virus that usually does not cause symptoms other than a brief infection. But for those like Joziah and Aaron, the virus can cause severe reactions that can lead to bone marrow failure and cancer of the lymphatic system, both of which can lead to death.

“Because of the type of condition my sons have, we have to visit the doctor and the lab often,” the brother’s mother, La Habra resident Desiree Nagao, said in a statement. “We have been going to Miller Children’s & Women’s for 18 years and it’s been most of the same staff that entire time.

“They have always taken such good care of my kids,” she added. “Knowing that my kids are in the same caring hands, but just in a new, more convenient place that meets all of our needs is so nice.”

The new center serves as an extension of MemorialCare Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital, with the 4-story, 80,000 square-foot facility providing a one-stop shop for children with chronic illnesses needing treatment. The village boasts 36 different pediatric specialties — including a pharmacy, an adolescent gym, a developmental therapy gym, an infant gym, treatment rooms and exam rooms — all in one place.

“Many illnesses affect kids differently than adults,” Graham Tse, the chief medical officer for Miller Children’s & Women’s, said in a statement. “Which is why children need health care designed for their unique needs that is delivered by specially trained clinicians in environments created just for kids.

“With the Children’s Village,” he added, “we have created that and established a new benchmark for children’s health care.”

Carroll Park residents lose appeal to stop 5G wireless pole in historic neighborhood

Mon, 22 Feb 2021 15:55:18 +0000

Carroll Park residents have lost the battle to stop a 5G wireless installation in the middle of the historic Long Beach district, but the president of the association there may seek other legal options to prevent the facility from going in.

A 5G Wireless Telecommunication Facility is set to go in at 358 Carroll Park East as part of a citywide contract with Verizon Wireless to upgrade Long Beach’s wireless internet connectivity.

A small cell transmitter is proposed to go on a 26-foot tall light pole in the public right-of-way — with three antennas on the top five feet of the pole — replacing a 25-foot, 6-inch light pole in the historic Carroll Park.

But a group of residents there have protested the 5G facility, with the Carroll Park Association and its president, Tom Poyer, officially appealing the permit, which Long Beach’s Public Works Department issued. The pole is on a public right-of-way, between two of the historic homes in the district.

Residents have said they fear the installation will be an eyesore in the Historic Landmark District, and argued it could be relocated outside of the small neighborhood. The specific basis for the appeal was that neither Verizon nor the city went to the Cultural Heritage Commission for a Certificate of Appropriateness — a requirement for homeowners wanting to make any changes to their properties.

The appeal hearing took place last month before Administrative Hearing Officer Jonathan Navarro. He recently released his findings — denying the appeal.

Navarro, according to his report, based his decision on the definition of the historic district under city law, which talks specifically about the homes and other structures in the area. Light poles are not addressed, and the current light pole is not “from the period of significance — 1898 to 1923 — for the Carroll Park neighborhood,” the report said.

Poyer, in a press release issued after the decision was announced, said he continues arguing that the historic designation includes all parts of the district.

“People are attracted to neighborhoods that are identified and protected as historic districts,” Poyer said, “because there is the promise that there will be an opportunity to have a say in the process of how the historic district will maintain its integrity and how that specialness will be retained for future generations.”

In a separate email, Poyer said no decision had been made whether to pursue other legal options to stop the installation.

Jennifer Carey, spokeswoman for Public Works Department, said Verizon has not scheduled a date for the installation. She also pointed out that state and federal regulations govern a large part of communications-related installations.

“Long Beach was able to create certain design standards, which were approved by the City Council, to address aesthetic concerns,” Carey wrote in an email, “but city regulation of these installations is prohibited by State and Federal law.”

Rich Archbold: Keynote speaker tells CCEJ audience to get into fight against racism and ‘not sit on the sidelines’

Mon, 22 Feb 2021 15:09:56 +0000

Leah Gunning Francis, a seminary professor, didn’t pull any punches as the keynote speaker at the 30th anniversary of the California Conference for Equality and Justice’s Interfaith and Intercultural Breakfast last week.

It’s time “to not sit on the sidelines” in the fight against systemic racism, she told more than 300 participants attending the first virtual breakfast Thursday, Feb. 18. The breakfast is usually in Long Beach, where CCEJ is based, but went online only this year because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. CCEJ is a decades-old organization dedicated to eliminating racism and other forms of bigotry through education and conflict resolution.

“You need to move from being allies to being accomplices in fighting systemic racism,” said Francis, a professor at the Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis. “It means you are willing to get involved and be an active participant for racial justice.”

In her call to action, she urged the audience to keep talking about racism and white supremacy and to “keep finding ways to inject these issues into conversations to open the eyes of people. We cannot look away and pretend that racism is not an issue.”

Alan Lentzner, son of the late Gene Lentzner — who created the prayer breakfast 30 years ago and who died just days before last year’s in-person event in February — said his father would have applauded the comments by Francis.

“Dr. Francis was excellent and gave a compelling talk,” he said. “Dad would have liked it.”

He added that his mother, Ann, watched the event from her home with him and was happy to be one of the main sponsors of the breakfast.

Francis also is the author of “Ferguson and Faith: Sparking Leadership and Awakening Community,” a book of stories gathered from clergy and young activists in the aftermath of the killing of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old Black man, by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014.

In her speech, Francis referenced the last book Martin Luther King Jr. wrote before being assassinated in 1968, “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?”

“I wonder what Dr. King would be saying today,” Francis said. “Could he imagine the Confederate flag being flown around in our nation’s Capitol?”

Dr. Leah Gunning Francis, the keynote speaker and a professor at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, speaks during the 30th anniversary of the California Conference for Equality and Justice’s Interfaith and Intercultural breakfast Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021. (Courtesy of CCEJ)
Rabbi Scott Fox of Temple Israel Long Beach emcees the 30th anniversary of the California Conference for Equality and Justice’s Interfaith and Intercultural breakfast Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021. (Courtesy of CCEJ)

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It was time, she said, for everyone to be “wholeheartedly committed to treating all people as full human beings.”

Racism, she said, was about “real flesh and blood people” being hurt and discriminated against. She referred to the killing of George Floyd, a Black man, by a white police officer who kneeled on Floyd’s neck “until he died” in Minneapolis last year.

“Lives are at stake” she said. “I’m encouraging you to take this work to heart. Be about growing community and being with and for each other.”

Her hope, Francis said, was to “dismantle racism” so all people could survive and thrive in the world.

Rabbi Scott Fox of Temple Israel Long Beach, the master of ceremonies for the breakfast, said he was deeply moved by Francis’s comments. Fox, who joined Temple Israel after serving as associate rabbi at the Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation, said Francis gave everyone “a powerful charge” in having meaningful dialogue with one another. During the breakfast, participants broke into chat rooms where they could discuss racism and how to fight against it.

Before Francis spoke, the Long Beach Youth Chorus gave a beautiful rendition of “Pure Imagination.” Others who spoke included Chanlang Sum, representing the Cambodian Buddhist community; Jan Seymour-Ford, representing the Unitarian Universalist and Buddhist communities, and Sarah Rana, a CCEJ staff member representing the Muslim community.

The event was recorded by CCEJ and may be seen on the organization’s YouTube channel.

Black-owned business are the focus of Virtual Taste of Downtown event in Long Beach

Mon, 22 Feb 2021 12:34:44 +0000

Musical performances, cooking demos and self defense classes are some of the things on the roster for the Downtown Long Beach Alliance’s next Virtual Taste of Downtown.

In celebration of Black History Month, the Alliance will focus on Black-owned businesses in downtown Long Beach and spotlight what they do in a streamed event from 6-9 p.m. Feb. 26 on Facebook @DowntownLongBeach.

The event will open with a blues and spoken word performance by Long Beach musician Shy But Flyy and end with a hip-hop and soul performance by Chadwick Bishop.

In between the performances people will see demos from Black-owned businesses and learn how to do things like make gumbo from Mabel’s Gourmet Pralines, learn to defend themselves with a demo from The Urban School of Self Defense or learn how to relax with The Salt Lounge, a day spa that will show people how to live a more stress-free life.

For the full schedule, visit facebook.com/downtownlongbeach.

‘Partial herd immunity’ emerging, but some challenge the value of that status

Mon, 22 Feb 2021 12:22:15 +0000

It was nearly a year ago when Gov. Gavin Newsom, not long into a statewide lockdown, referenced the elephant in the COVID-19 room: herd immunity.

The concept was frightening to many; with no vaccine in sight, they feared the only way it could be attained was for the virus to have infected enough people to have run out of hosts. Estimates of the looming toll at the time were chilling: as many as 840,000 Californians dead and 1.4 million seriously ill.

National, state and local officials, meanwhile, worked to fend off infection with face masks, social distancing and scaled-back public engagement. That would change life as we knew it — “at least until we have herd immunity,” the governor said.

A Riverside County vaccination clinic gave the COVID-19 vaccine to seniors at The Diamond stadium in Lake Elsinore on Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021. (File photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

A year later, with the COVID-19 death toll reaching the 500,000 mark and despite a sluggish vaccine rollout, infection and hospitalization rates are falling dramatically, empowering some officials to declare that “partial” herd immunity has been achieved. Some say that as many as one-third of Americans might have already had the virus and call that the indicator of a waning pandemic.

Others argue that “partial” herd immunity means very little. Only more complete exposure — upwards of 80-90%, some say — must kick in before society can exhale in the battle against the virus, they contend.

The official numbers that the public watches on state and local dashboards are based on confirmed cases. But many cases still go unrecognized or unreported. Epidemiologists work to calculate what they believe to be true infection levels, factoring in the rate at which the virus is being transmitted and how many people already have recovered.

In Los Angeles County, for instance, public health officials estimate that as many one-third of its 10 million residents have had coronavirus.

Jeffrey Shaman, a lead researcher and infectious disease specialist at Columbia University, estimates that 120 million Americans — five times the official count — have been infected. That’s just over one-third of the U.S. population.

“I do think that may be contributing to the decline in cases,” said Dr. Paul Simon, L.A. County’s chief science officer. “While overall we think 30% to 40% of the population has had past infection and has had some level of immunity, that’s not evenly distributed across the county. There are some places where many more people have had the virus and others where they have not, and there are social networks where many have had infection, so within those networks we think there may be less opportunity and less chance for transmission.”

In the Inland Empire, a similar trend has emerged.

“We agree that we are beginning to see what can be referred to as a partial herd immunity effect,” said Dr. Corwin Porter, San Bernardino County’s public health director. “Our county had significant viral transmission in the last several months leading to many residents having natural immunity to the virus.”

Oscar Altea gets his first dose of Moderna from Connie Castro, LAUSD nurse. LAUSD’s first vaccination site opened Wednesday, February 17, 202, at the Roybal Learning Center in Los Angeles. Superintendent Austin Beutner was there in the morning to meet with the vaccination team and the first district employees to receive their vaccines at this site. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Nonetheless, that isn’t enough to trigger any kind of a “return to normal,” said Dr. Clayton Chau, director of Orange County’s Health Care Agency.

“A large number of our communities must have had the vaccine in order for us to safely go without (masks),” Chau said. A fully vaccinated person still could develop an asymptomatic case of COVID-19 and spread it to others who haven’t received shots, he added.

The number of people who have been vaccinated in Orange County is still “very small,” Chau said. “In order for Orange County to go back to near-normal, we have to reach herd immunity,” he said.

It’s a refrain heard across the region.

“Regarding herd immunity, vaccination is the number one thing we need to focus on,” said Dr. Brandon Brown, associate professor in public health at UC Riverside’s School of Medicine. “While a high percentage of people in L.A. County and Riverside may have already been exposed to the virus, the variants are a game changer, which is why we have to continue practicing the public health measures that we know protect us against the virus (masks, physical distancing, handwashing, vaccination).”

“I do think we have fewer people who are likely to get infected,” said L.A. County Public Health chief Barbara Ferrer. “People we know were infected have some protections, as do people who are vaccinated. And that does help us in slowing the spread. But I do think the most important reason these transmissions are coming down is because, in fact, people are back in the game and doing their very best to help each other, and we’ll need to keep doing that for the next few months in order to stay on our recovering journey.”

No one knows absolutely when the “herd immunity moment” will arrive.

“We don’t quite know yet what level of vaccination or protection from infection would be required to get to herd immunity,” Simon said. “Experts have speculated anywhere from 50% to 60%, which many think is too low, to higher estimates of 80% to 90%. But I think we will know over time as we see the number of new cases drop dramatically. That will be a way to know if we are seeing herd immunity. And then we can relax some of the public health measures.”

Officials also caution that while about one-third of people are estimated to have had the virus in some form, that still leaves many who have not.

“About 60% to 70% of the population continue to be susceptible, so I think we need to continue to really be vigilant by adhering to the social guidelines,” Simon said.

COVID-19 testing LVN Nyssa Razo (right) instructs a patient how to take the test at the Contemporary Club in Redlands on Friday, Nov. 20, 2020. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

It’s too early to rest easy, said epidemiologist Dr. Michael Osterholm, who told C-SPAN last week that we should expect “more curve balls to get thrown at us.”

Osterholm warned against forgetting about past surges, largely fueled by public gatherings.

New, faster-spreading strains could scramble the recovery strategy, too. “If some of the variants develop a foothold, then the level of vaccination coverage will need to be even higher,” Simon said.

Osterholm and Simon also noted that the declining baseline for case numbers remains very high, a point echoed over the weekend by Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief White House medical adviser.

“I’m not sure this is herd immunity,” he told “Meet the Press.” While the steep drop in cases is highly encouraging, he said, it’s easing downward from a mammoth national caseload that overwhelmed hospital staffs and overloaded morgues and mortuaries.

Dr. Thomas LaGrelius, hopeful that that we are going to get to herd immunity faster than expected between natural immunity and vaccine immunity, is shown at his offices at Skypark Preferred Family Care in Torrance on Friday, February 19, 2021.(Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)

Ultimately, officials say, they’ll know more true mass immunity when they see it.

“If we get to the point where there isn’t community-based transmission, that will be an indication that some combination of people being careful and herd immunity is preventing the virus from being spread easily,” said Dr. Roger Lewis, director of COVID-19 Demand Modeling for L.A. County’s Department of Health Services.

Either way, fear is easing for many people, said Dr. Thomas W. LaGrelius, a Torrance geriatrician. Early on, people could only hearken back to the 1918-19 Spanish flu pandemic, which claimed 675,000 U.S. lives and 50 million globally. “It was assumed that a vaccine might take several years to develop,” he said. It arrived in months.

But now LaGrelius and others are optimistic, projecting that within three to four months, a combination of vaccine and natural spread may well result in herd immunity.

“We’re getting up there,” he said.

Staff writers Ian Wheeler and David Rosenfeld contributed to this report.

Gov. Newsom touts Long Beach as model for coronavirus vaccinations

Mon, 22 Feb 2021 09:47:15 +0000

Gov. Gavin Newsom urged health officials across the state to prioritize vaccinating educators against the coronavirus so they can quicken when schools can reopen for in-person learning, touting Long Beach on Monday morning, Feb. 22, with being a model for the rest of California.

The governor visited the Long Beach Convention Center to tout that city’s ability to vaccinate teachers and set a target for getting students back on campus.

Long Beach Unified School District, which operates separately from Long Beach’s city government but has worked closely with city officials throughout the pandemic, plans to bring students in fifth grade and below back on campus at the end on March — a time frame meant to ensure that all teachers get second doses of the coronavirus vaccine.

Long Beach, Newsom said, has been a model for both vaccinating and testing that other health jurisdictions have followed. He did not detail the ways in which other jurisdictions have followed the city.

“They’ve done an exceptional job,” Newsom said. No other agencies have been vaccinating people “on the scale of Long Beach.”

Long Beach, which has its own health department and is allowed to operate somewhat autonomously from Los Angeles County, began vaccinating teachers about a month ago — when state officials first allowed health agencies to do so — and is expected to give booster shots to about 1,000 educators Monday, Mayor Robert Garcia said.

LBUSD announced last week that elementary students will go back to school March 29. The district also set a target schedule for getting other grade levels on campus, with the last cohort potentially returning April 26.

LBUSD is the fourth-largest school district in California.

“Almost to the day the governor said you can start vaccinating teachers,” Garcia said before introducing Newsom, “Long Beach moved and started vaccinating teachers.”

That, Garcia added, allowed the city to create a plan for getting students back on campus.

Newsom, meanwhile, also gave an overview of the state’s vaccination efforts and how the fight against the coronavirus pandemic is going — saying there are reasons to be hopeful while also lamenting a shortage of doses.

By the end of Monday, Newsom said, the state will be close to vaccinating 7.5 million people.

“Only a few countries in the world,” he said, “have vaccinated more people than the state of California.

“But,” Newsom added, “there aren’t enough vaccines to meet demand.”

The Long Beach Convention Center, Newsom said, illustrates that problem, with the mass site operating at only one-third of capacity. The governor called that a manufacturing problem.

Last week, the state received 1.3 million doses and is expected to get 1.4 million this week. Next week, Newsom said, the state should get 1.5 million.

But, Newsom said, “it’s simply not what we’re capable of administering.”

There are, however, other positives. Hospitalizations and ICU admissions have dropped 41% and 39%, respectively, over the last two weeks, Newsom said, as the state moves further from the winter holidays. A month ago, the state reported 23,000 new cases in a single day. On Monday, the state reported “just shy” of 4,700.

And the positivity rate, Newsom said, has dropped by one-third in a month — hitting 3% on Monday.

This story is breaking and will be updated.

Newsom touts new Southern California vaccine pop-ups as counties transition to Blue Shield network

Sun, 21 Feb 2021 18:36:05 +0000

Gov. Gavin Newsom visited two federally funded pop-up coronavirus vaccination sites in Southern California on Sunday, Feb. 21, part of a statewide tour of such spots aimed at immunizing the state’s hardest-hit communities. The visit coincided with the launch of the transition to a new centralized system — which will include Riverside County in its first wave — to manage the state’s thus-far bumpy rollout of the badly needed vaccine.

Newsom, flanked by several local elected leaders, said the mobile vaccination sites are vital to amp up the state’s ability to deliver vaccines equitably to the state’s poorest neighborhoods, where case rates among Latinos and Blacks far surpass more affluent and Whiter areas and where vaccination rates lag far behind.

“We’re not even close to where we need to be. We’ve got to step things up,” Newsom said. “It’s an effort to acknowledge the obvious and actually deliver what we’ve been promoting and promising.”

The site in L.A.’s Boyle Heights neighborhood — which opened on the heels of a permanent mega-site at Cal State L.A. — popped up in area that might look familiar in underserved pockets from Santa Ana to Lancaster to San Bernardino. In the morning, a basketball court behind the Boys & Girls Club of Ramona Gardens transformed into a center, complete with tents, medical staff, an RV and other essential equipment.

The Boyle Heights location — as well as another site Newsom visited at Faithful Central Bible Church in Inglewood — aimed to give 250 doses Sunday. At day’s end, the impromptu centers are packed up and moved on to a new location the next day. Both were supported by the federal government and operated through the state, and join similar sites around Southern California run by local agencies.

Such numbers, even small, are significant in communities where the goal is to target neighborhoods where residents may lack wi-fi to make a vaccine appointment or a vehicle to get them to the clinic, said Rep. Jimmy Gomez, who represents the area.

“This is just the beginning of the end when it comes to this pandemic. We still have a lot of work to do,” Gomez said.

That work enters a new phase this week throughout Southern California and the state, where a new system of delivering, tracking and scheduling coronavirus vaccines is being rolled out in select counties — including Riverside County.

It’s a first step in Newsom’s plan to smooth out what has been a confusing and disjointed rollout hampered by technical woes, confusing messaging and a severely limited national stockpile.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, center, with Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo, District 51, left, and Los Angeles City Council member Kevin de Leon, right, visit the Ramona Gardens Recreation Center in Los Angeles to discuss the state’s efforts to vaccinate hard-to-reach and disproportionately impacted communities in Los Angeles Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021. California’s new system of delivering, tracking and scheduling coronavirus vaccines is being rolled out in select counties, a first step in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to smooth out what has been a confusing and disjointed rollout hampered by limited national supply. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Health insurance giant Blue Shield of California has contracted with the state to design and manage the new centralized system to get doses out quickly and equitably.

Newsom said Sunday that the partnership will be vital in ensuring robust administration of the vaccine throughout the state, while also ensuring that administration is fair.

But the transition has met with some concern over the extent to which the Blue Shield system will override the work counties already have done to build out their own vaccine networks in communities they know best.

An initial list provided by the state showed 10 counties in the inland sections of central and Southern California chosen to be the first to make the transition to the Blue Shield system this week, although one county said Friday it would shift later. While the counties understand the goals, there’s confusion about specific changes and when they will occur.

State officials have been upfront that they don’t have answers yet to critical questions, including how they will measure equity, what the monthly equity target is or even the complete network of providers. What is sure is that counties will not be allowed to add any more vaccine providers, because the state through Blue Shield will decide who administers shots.

Counties in the initial group include Riverside, Fresno, Kern, Kings, Imperial, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin and Stanislaus. Starting March 3, another group that includes Los Angeles, which has 10 million of California’s nearly 40 million residents, will be added. San Francisco is among the counties being added in mid-March, though the dates and counties in each group are subject to change.

As of Sunday, Riverside County had yet to receive confirmation or further details from Blue Shield or the state regarding the new delivery system, according to Brooke Federico, the county’s spokeswoman.

However, Federico said the county has dealt with “extremely” limited quantities of vaccine, coupled with an “extreme” demand. Riverside County has worked to administer its vaccines to groups such as seniors, farmworkers, healthcare workers and educators within days of receiving them, she said.

“We continue to want to see additional vaccines available for our Riverside County residents,” Federico said.

Brynn Carrigan, Kern County’s director of public health, said she was told that starting Sunday everyone must make appointments through the state’s vaccine sign-up system, called My Turn. In neighboring Fresno County, a spokeswoman for St. Agnes Medical Center said it had no plans to switch its scheduling system.

“It’s scary to give up control of a system that we’ve spent a lot of time on, that’s working really well right now,” Carrigan said. “Our hope is there’s not a lot of hiccups and this goes smoothly.”

Darrel Ng, vaccine spokesman for the state’s public health agency, declined to answer questions about what to expect during the transition. But he said the state and Blue Shield “have worked tirelessly to plan and implement phased changes to more efficiently and equitably administer vaccines.” He said they will share more information in the coming week.

Newsom on Sunday stood by the Blue Shield agreement, saying it will also be essential in providing a three-week window that counties can count on to plan for when and how much vaccine they’ll be receiving from the federal government.

Blue Shield spokesman Matthew Yi also declined to provide more detail, saying in a statement Saturday they are working “closely with state public health officials, local health jurisdictions, healthcare providers and others” to overcome the pandemic.

Still, at the core of all concerns is just how limited the vaccine still is.

Newsom said that more than 7.3 million doses of vaccine have been administered statewide, while acknowledging that many communities have struggled to keep up with the need for inoculations.

1.8 million have been administered in Los Angeles County;
620,629 in Orange County;
375,289 in Riverside County; and
300,951 in San Bernardino County

Newsom said federal and state officials are doing all they can to vaccinate as many people as possible.

“At the end of the day, there just aren’t enough Pfizer vaccines, there aren’t enough Moderna vaccines,” Newsom said.

Meanwhile, back in communities like Boyle Heights, there’s awareness that it will be an uphill climb to vaccinate in neighborhoods that have been long underserved, may be thin on health insurance and where skepticism or misinformation about the vaccine may be rampant.

“The site is a good thing,” said resident Isabel Marquez, who doesn’t live far away from the the Ramona Gardens mobile site. “But they worry if it’s safe for them,” she said of her neighbors.

Luckily, she said, she was able to get vaccinated on Saturday at the new federally supported mega site at Cal State L.A.

She said many have gotten sick in her community. And she worried that Sunday was quiet because many residents didn’t know about the site, didn’t trust it, or may have already been stricken with the virus.

Rep. Gomez was hopeful.

“There are still some people in the community who are still nervous about taking the vaccine. As more people take it … and they show that to their families they took and they are still healthy, and they are in even better shape, more people will take it.”

The Associated Press and City News Service contributed to this story.

Can struggling oyster population be revived using shells on a string?

Sun, 21 Feb 2021 16:02:50 +0000

A marine science experiment is underway in the Alamitos Bay, with boaters from the Long Beach Yacht Club giving a helping hand to the Orange County Coastkeeper for a project that hopes to boost spawning of the once-abundant Olympia oyster.

The hope is oyster shells hanging from strings that the boaters helped distribute around the bay on Saturday, Feb. 20, will be an enticing home for Olympia oyster larvae to spawn and create a healthy habitat where they can thrive.

The Orange County Coastkeeper project also teamed up with the California State Coastal Conservancy and Cal State Long Beach students to hand out about 40 oyster shell strings, with another 40 or so planned to be dispersed again next weekend.

Some boaters showed up to scoop up the foot-long strings in a drive-by format, while others walked up on the docks to get their strings – all had signed up in 10-minute increments to adhere to distancing requirements.

Their task was to hang the strings from docks throughout the Jack Dunster Marine Reserve.

Strings of oyster shells are handed out at that Yacht Club in Long Beach on Saturday, February 20, 2021. Community members will hang them from their boat docks throughout Alamitos Bay in hopes of creating a safe home for the native Olympia Oyster larvae to spawn. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Taryn Tande, 8, carries a string of oyster shells from the Long Beach Yacht Club in Long Beach on Saturday, February 20, 2021. Her family will hang it from their boat dock at Alamitos Bay in hopes creating a safe home for the native Olympia Oyster larvae to spawn as part of a restoration project. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Katie Nichols with Orange County Coastkeeper, hands out strings of oyster shells at that Yacht Club in Long Beach on Saturday, February 20, 2021. Community members will hang it from their boat docks throughout Alamitos Bay in hopes of creating a safe home for the native Olympia Oyster larvae to spawn. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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Mike Gehring, a member of Long Beach Yacht Club, hangs a string of oyster shells in Long Beach on Saturday, February 20, 2021, from his dock and several feet into Alamitos Bay. The effort is part of a project to help restore the native Olympia Oyster in hopes creating a safe home for larvae to spawn. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Katie Nichols with Orange County Coastkeeper, right, hands out strings of oyster shells to Kerri Tande at that Yacht Club in Long Beach on Saturday, February 20, 2021. Community members will hang them from their boat docks throughout Alamitos Bay in hopes of creating a safe home for the native Olympia Oyster larvae to spawn. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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“We figured we have a lot of boats and slips, and they have a lot of oysters,” Mike Gehring, a co-chair of the LBYC Cruiser committee, said of the win-win project. “We all want the water to be clean in the Alamitos Bay, so it’s a good synergy … from a selfish boater point of view, they help get the water clean.”

But he also knows it’s important for the ecosystem.

The idea is one of many ways Orange County Coastkeeper is experimenting with oyster shells, not just to help revive the Olympia oyster species, but also to help battle erosion in wetlands areas of Alamitos Bay and the Newport Back Bay, which are among the few remaining estuaries that exist along the coast.

The boaters quickly filled up the two-hour time slots for pickup and were glad to give a helping hand to Orange County Coastkeeper’s efforts.

“It’s just one of the things we do to help the community around us,” Gehring said.

“They have their habitats, but they are limited geographically,” he said. “With the boaters, it really widens up where the oysters can go, to help the next generation. We hope to continue this and get it bigger every year.”

Each string has about 15 Pacific oyster shells, placed on them by students at Woodrow Wilson High School during a girls’ empowerment workshop at the Ocean Institute in Dana Point and with the help of students from Cal State Long Beach.

“Juvenile oysters, or larvae, they can settle on any kind of hard substrate like a dock or pier piling,” said Katie Nichols, restoration program director for Orange County Coastkeeper. “But they like the habitat of other shells, even though it’s a different species, the structure of it is really complex. There’s nooks and crannies to settle on.”

Clean Pacific oyster shells are used for the strings. Placing the oyster shells in the bay allows locally produced native oyster larvae to grow, providing a new habitat for the larvae. After they spawn in about 30 to 45 days, volunteers will retrieve the shell strings from the docks.

The Coastkeeper team will then take the young oysters and put them in existing mudflats, part of a community oyster restoration site in the Jack Dunster Marine Reserve.

“Over time, if you get more native oysters there, you’ll have stabilization, as well as a food source and habitat for other critters,” Nichols said.

Oysters have an important role in the aquatic ecosystem, filtering up to 50 gallons of water a day and helping eelgrass, another wetlands inhabitant, thrive, according to Orange County Coastkeeper.

“Ecologically, oysters serve as indicators of overall health of the environment and, in the form of beds, provide habitat for attracting fish, crustaceans and other marine life,” the group explained when announcing the project. “Restored native Olympia oyster beds provide valuable habitat for estuarine organisms, as well as contribute to improving water quality in Alamitos Bay. Oysters are ecosystem engineers – if they thrive, other species will too.”

Since the turn of the century, a number of factors have had a negative impact on the Olympia oyster species, including over-harvesting, coastal development, destruction of wetlands and water pollution. Today, only small pockets of the population remain.

Last year, about 30 volunteers gathered in the Alamitos Bay to help expand the oyster habitat by placing in the mudflats hundreds of pounds of clean Pacific oyster shells and a mesh made from coconut husks. A similar living shoreline project was done in the Upper Newport Bay in 2015.

Restoration of oyster beds also is critical to the resilience of the Alamitos Bay and Newport Bay ecosystems, helping to bring in more fish and wildlife. Oysters provide habitat and refuge for other organisms, such as octopus, crabs and juvenile fish that take shelter on the structure that oyster beds provide.

The oysters also serve as filter feeders before water flows into bays and eventually into the ocean.

The past year has been challenging for organizations such as Orange County Coastkeeper, with volunteer efforts and gatherings hindered by pandemic restrictions. The pandemic delayed this oyster project for several months.

Popular projects such as beach clean ups, which typically draw hundreds of people to help remove trash, have been put on hold.

Still, workers are keeping tabs on important projects. In December, they were able to go out and check on the Newport Back Bay oyster habitat to monitor progress.

“There’s been some challenges, but we’re still able to do our sampling and monitoring we usually do, but it just looks different,” Nichols said, noting changes such as keeping distances and wearing masks. “We’re still able to go out and do what we need to do.”

Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia’s Feb. 20 update on coronavirus outbreak

Sat, 20 Feb 2021 16:34:58 +0000

Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia released this message on Saturday, Feb. 20, his weekly update on the city’s status amid the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Long Beach continues to make great progress in our efforts to combat COVID-19 and keep the community safe.

We’ve administered more than 80,000 vaccines, including to most healthcare workers, thousands of seniors and enough teachers to be able to reopen TK-5 schools by the end of March.

A month ago, we reported 593 new cases in one day. Now, we are averaging just over 60 – and that number continues to decline.

In mid-January, our positivity rate was more than 17%. Today it is 6.1%.

And, hospitalizations are down 35% this month.

These are encouraging signs – and reasons to continue our cautious approach. It would be all too easy to see these trends reverse if we stop being smart, careful, and responsible.

More than 50,700 Long Beach residents have tested positive, and we have lost nearly 800 Long Beach residents to COVID-19.  We are still in the midst of this health crisis, but our numbers tell us we are moving in the right direction. We are much closer to the end of this pandemic than we’ve ever been before.

To ensure these promising trends continue, our top priority is widespread vaccination. It’s our singular focus every day, all day.

Thanks to great coordination between our Health Department and the Long Beach Unified School District, vaccinating teachers and staff has been fast and efficient. In just over 3 weeks, we’ve made the vaccine available to all TK-2 teachers, and this past week we reached the point where nearly all teachers through the fifth grade have been offered their first vaccine.

Because of this success, LBUSD has announced that TK-5 instruction can begin on March 29. And extremely important to me, all TK-5 teachers and school staff will have had an opportunity to be fully vaccinated with both doses before schools reopen. Our educators deserve to be vaccinated and safe – and vaccinating them will help protect students’ families and the community too.

That said, families who wish to keep kids home for the semester to continue remote learning will be able to do so, a decision the district has made and which I fully support.

The details of the reopening process, including timing, are decisions LBUSD is making in accordance with CDC and state guidelines. Our promise was that we would vaccinate our teachers, and I’m proud we have kept that promise.

At the same time that we have vaccinated all these educators, we have also nearly completed second doses for people first vaccinated in January. If you got your first dose last month, you should already have received an email to schedule your second dose appointment. If you haven’t, or if you have questions about your second dose, please email COVID19Vaccine@longbeach.gov.

For those first vaccinated in February, please continue to wait for an email from the Health Department with your appointment opportunity. You don’t need to call or email to check your status. I know waiting isn’t easy, but please know we are moving quickly, and you will be hearing from us soon.

We are making great progress and I am hopeful for the days and weeks ahead. That progress wouldn’t be possible without this community’s incredible sacrifice and cooperation to keep each other healthy. Please keep that up.

Thank you, and stay safe.

Rich Archbold: Friends rally to help former Press-Telegram editor John Futch, who was injured in Cambodia

Sat, 20 Feb 2021 06:01:12 +0000

John Futch has always been there for anyone in need.

When he was a first lieutenant during the Vietnam War, commanding 182 men. When he was a newsroom veteran putting out a daily newspaper under sometimes daunting conditions. When he mentored young journalists who went on to become among the best in the business.

If you had a problem, you could always count on John Carnes Futch to be one of the first to help you out.

And now Futch is in need himself after suffering a severe head injury and possible stroke 8,000 miles away in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, his second home since retiring from the news business. His former colleagues and friends are rallying to his aid.

If Futch knew what was going on, he probably would be the first to ask, “What’s all the fuss about?”

He is an unassuming, modest man who always gave credit to the journalists working with him and taking almost none for himself.

In a memo to me about a missed deadline one night, he wrote: “We blew the 10:20, and it can only be blamed on my stupidity, not the troops.”

In his 24 years at the Press-Telegram, he was a solid leader in a variety of jobs — capped by being named managing editor in 2005.

When I was managing editor, I hired Futch, in 1983, as our editor in charge of the community news section, “Neighbors.” He had spent the early years of his career at the Athens Daily News and Atlanta Journal-Constitution after graduating from the University of Georgia. It’s hard to imagine a bigger fan of the Georgia Bulldogs football team than Futch.

After joining the P-T, Futch was quickly promoted from the Neighbors section to the news desk, where he took on the demanding job of executive news editor in charge of getting the paper out at night. He held that desk together through earthquakes, elections, civil unrest and thousands of other stories.

He was especially proud of the Press-Telegram’s coverage of the Rodney King demonstrations in the early 1990s, which resulted in devastating fires and looting in Long Beach. After one particularly tumultuous night, Futch held up a copy of the front page of the Press-Telegram with a photo of burning buildings and the headline, “Long Beach Aflame.”

John Futch, a Vietnam Veteran, lifelong journalist and former Press-Telegram editor has spent his retirement in Cambodia. Recently Futch has fallen ill in Cambodia and now family and friends are uniting to get him proper healthcare and possibly bring him home to the United States.(Photo courtesy of John Futch)

In 1993, he made an unusual request.

“The first thing we learned in Vietnam was, ‘Never volunteer,’ but that’s not my nature, so here goes,” he told me.

He proposed that he be put in charge of installing and implementing the Press-Telegram’s new online publishing system in the newsroom while still keeping an eye on the news desk because he didn’t want to get away from “the day-to-day joys of newspapering.” His proposal was quickly approved and he did a great job with his usual aplomb.

On a personal note, he also found time — somehow — to help set up my home computers, connecting me with the internet.

In 1995, Futch left Long Beach to join the Boca Raton News, in Florida, as managing editor. Shortly after, he became executive editor.

He left that paper when it was sold in 1997 and returned to Long Beach.

Futch ultimately resumed his executive news editor duties and, in 2005, was named managing editor. When the managing editor position was eliminated as part of a restructuring, Futch left the P-T but returned not long after as executive city editor — the newsroom’s No. 2 position.

Then came a story that would have a profound impact on his life.

Davik Teng, a 9-year-old Cambodian girl came to Los Angeles for surgery to repair a heart defect. The Press-Telegram chronicled Davik’s journey here, her surgery and her return to Cambodia — and Futch was deeply involved in the coverage.

Futch, who retired in 2010, developed a close friendship with Peter Chhun, the founder of Hearts Without Boundaries, the nonprofit that brought Davik to the United States. Futch even went to Cambodia in 2016 to spend time with Chhun.

When Chhun died in July, Futch memorialized him on Facebook.

“Hearts Without Boundaries” he wrote, “lost its biggest heart yesterday.”

When word of Futch’s injury spread, former colleagues spoke of his leadership at the Press-Telegram.

“John was one of the best editors I ever worked with at the Press-Telegram,” said former reporter Karen Robes Meeks, now a freelance writer. “He was patient, kind and hard-working, and inspired you to work just as hard as he did because you didn’t want to let him down.”

Valerie Martinez, another former reporter who founded her own communications company, said Futch was a great mentor when she started out as a young reporter.

“He imparted crucial wisdom to me,” she said. “In short, his advice was: Pick your timing, know your strengths, shoot straight and always write a thank you note. That’s Futch.”

Kathy Berry, former public relations director at the Press-Telegram with her own firm now, called Futch “an incredible journalist” who cared deeply about Long Beach and the Press-Telegram.

“He had integrity, was caring and was dedicated to his profession,” Berry said. “He also formed lasting friendships with many people.”

Futch’s adopted son, Michael Delorio, has started a GoFundMe account to help pay the medical bills. The campaign had received donations from more than 100 people and raised $14,715, as of 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 19. You can donate to the GoFundMe here: gofund.me/86a6a66c.

Others, meanwhile, have contacted various U.S. officials and the embassy in Cambodia to ensure Futch gets the best care possible.

It’s very encouraging to see the outpouring of support for Futch, someone who has helped so many people during his life.

He used to hate it when I would say that he had ink in his veins. He thought it was an overused expression, but it fits Futch perfectly.

As I was going through his file last week, I came across an autobiography we asked him to write when he was applying for the job at the Press-Telegram so many years ago.

He said he was “hooked on newspapering” when he was 12 years old, when the Berrien Press in Georgia printed two photos he had taken on his Brownie Star Flash camera at Miss Van Zant’s School of Dance recital.

“I immediately became an insufferable newspaper addict,” he wrote. “And still I love newspapers. I still enjoy the trip down to the press room, and I still get a chill when the press turns. I hope I never lose that.”

Phillips 66 settles lawsuit with environmental group, agrees to find and fix leaks to prevent gases from escaping

Sat, 20 Feb 2021 06:00:57 +0000

Phillips 66 will have to look for and repair leaks at its Carson and Wilmington refineries, keep an accurate database of the work, fund a tree-planting program around the two interconnected facilities, and perform other work as part of a legal settlement with an environmental group that accused the Houston company of failing to do required maintenance meant to prevent toxic gases from escaping.

A federal judge has OK’d the settlement via a court order meant to enforce the agreement’s terms.

Phillips 66 declined to comment — citing the ongoing court order as the reason — but did say, in both recent and previous statements, that safety is a priority.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District, the regional pollution watchdog agency whose regulations Phillips 66 was accused in the lawsuit of violating, said it is in negotiations with the refinery, but did not provide details.

Phillips 66 reached a settlement with the nonprofit East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice after that group sued the refinery last year. In that lawsuit, East Yard argued that Phillips 66 did not find and fix leaks at its Wilmington and Carson refineries, as required by air regulators, allowing toxic gases to escape into the surrounding community.

The communities around the Carson and Wilmington refineries, including West Long Beach, are among the most pollution-burdened in Southern California, according to state data.

Leaking components are considered to be the largest single-source of volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, getting released at oil refineries, the lawsuit said. Outdoor VOCs can cause smog, a major contributor to respiratory diseases such as asthma and premature death, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

“It is a significant victory for community members in the Wilmington-Carson and West Long Beach area to address these VOC emissions,” said Oscar Espino-Padron, an attorney with nonprofit environmental law group Earthjustice, which represents East Yard Communities.

“This is a case that involves communities stepping into the shoes of the regulators,” he added, “and taking on big oil and really holding them accountable when regulators have failed to do so for far too long.”

Nahal Mogharabi, AQMD spokeswoman, declined to comment directly on the agency’s regulatory approach to enforcing its pollution control rules.

“South Coast AQMD is aware of Earthjustice’s action and claims and have had discussions with them,” she said via email. “We are in active negotiations with Phillips 66 and as such, we are unable to provide comments at this time.”

Phillips 66’s Carson refinery processes crude oil and the Wilmington facility turns that into finished products, such as gasoline.

The Carson and Wilmington facilities, together known as the Los Angeles Refinery, produce 139,000 barrels of crude oil and 85,000 barrels of gasoline a day, according to the company’s website.

Phillips 66, which has multiple refineries across the United States and Europe, invested about $7 billion in “environmental protection projects and sustaining capital” from 2015 to 2019, according to the company’s 2020 “Greater Good” sustainability report.

Since 2012, that report said, the company has reduced air emissions, including VOCs, by 22% at its refineries.

And while the company declined to comment on the settlement, refinery spokesman Kenneth G. Dami said the company works “unceasingly” to provide a “safe and reliable operation” for the community and environment.

Dami echoed what another Phillips 66 spokesman said in April, in response to Earthjustice filing a notice of intent to sue on behalf of East Yard.

“At Phillips 66, we take seriously the safety of our people, communities and the environment,” that company spokesman said at the time, “and have teams of people who work each day to ensure that we abide by regulations set by governing agencies, including those in the state of California.”

The lawsuit came after environmentalists reviewed a 2017 AQMD study of local refineries found significant discrepancies between actual and reported annual emissions from the plants, Espino-Padron said.

The twin Phillips 66 refineries were “by far” the worst offenders, he said. The onsite emissions of cancer-causing benzene from the Wilmington refinery, for example, were 200 times higher than what was actually being reported in annual emission inventories, Espino-Padron said.

Under the settlement, which came about after months of negotiations, Phillips 66 will also have to pave a 30,000-square-foot dirt parking lot in Wilmington that is a major source of dust for nearby homes and replace at least 150 valves at the plant with “leakless” versions.

City News Service contributed to this report.

2 arrested on suspicion of killing an innocent bystander in Long Beach shooting

Fri, 19 Feb 2021 22:12:04 +0000

Two men have been arrested in connection with a Long Beach shooting that left an innocent bystander dead and a 17-year-old girl wounded, police said Friday.

Jacquise Wright, 31, and Tyquan Benson, 25, both of Long Beach, were booked on suspicion of murder in the death of 36-year-old Alejandra Martinez.

Detectives will present the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office for possible attempted murder charges in connection with the second victim, Long Beach Police Department spokesperson Allison Gallagher told KTLA.

The shooting occurred about 11:20 p.m. Dec. 4, near the intersection of Magnolia Avenue and Anaheim Street.

Long Beach police believe a gang-related dispute escalated into a shooting and Martinez was “not the intended target.”

An investigation revealed several people were in a parking lot in the area and buying food from a mobile food vendor.

A man then confronted a group that consisted of men, women and children, waiting for their food before he pulled out a handgun and fired several rounds toward them, police said.

Another person in the parking lot returned fire.

Martinez suffered a gunshot wound to her upper torso and died at a hospital. The girl was also shot in the torso, but was later released from the hospital.

The shooter was last seen driving a sedan north on Magnolia Avenue.

Police eventually served search warrants at three locations, yielding the arrests of the two suspects Thursday.

The case will be presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and the men are scheduled to appear in court on Monday. Both men are being held on $2 million bail.

2 arrested on suspicion of killing of innocent bystander in Long Beach shooting

Fri, 19 Feb 2021 20:40:28 +0000

Two men have been arrested in connection with a Long Beach shooting that left an innocent bystander dead and a 17-year-old girl wounded, police said Friday.

Jacquise Wright, 31, and Tyquan Benson, 25, both of Long Beach, were booked on suspicion of murder in the death of 36-year-old Alejandra Martinez. It is unclear, however, if they are facing charges in the wounding of the other victim.

The shooting occurred about 11:20 p.m. Dec. 4, near the intersection of Magnolia Avenue and Anaheim Street.

Long Beach police believe a gang-related dispute escalated to a shooting and Martinez was “not the intended target.”

An investigation revealed several people were in a parking lot in the area and buying food from a mobile food vendor.

A man then confronted a group that consisted of men, women and children, waiting for their food before he pulled out a handgun and fired several rounds toward them, police said.

Another person in the parking lot returned fire.

Martinez suffered a gunshot wound to her upper torso and died at a hospital. The girl was also shot in the torso, but was later released from the hospital.

The shooter was last seen driving a sedan north on Magnolia Avenue.

Police eventually served search warrants at three locations, yielding the arrests of the two suspects Thursday.

Both men are being held on $2 million bail. They are scheduled to appear in court on Monday, according to arrest records.

‘No fear! This vaccine shot will save my life,’ columnist Rich Archbold says

Fri, 19 Feb 2021 18:53:11 +0000

I must admit that I had a little trepidation waiting my turn to get my second COVID-19 vaccineshot in the lobby of the Terrace Theater in downtown Long Tuesday.

When I got my first shot in January, my only side effect was a sore arm for a few hours. No bigdeal. But there were reports that there might be more adverse effects, like fever, chills, headaches and fatigue, after the second shot.

However, there also were reports from doctors saying that adverse effects could actually be a good thing because these symptoms are signs that the vaccine has triggered a response by your immune system. And that’s what the vaccine is supposed to do: Protect you against COVID-19.

“When you feel sick or have a fever, that’s largely your body responding,” Dr. Debra Powell, the chief of infectious diseases at Tower Health in Pennsylvania, told Healthline. “It’s usually a very short-term thing and much better than getting COVID and being sick for two weeks or in the hospital.”

So more to worry about. Should I hope for no adverse side effects because I don’t like pain? Or should I hope I had adverse effects because that would be a positive and show that the vaccine was working? Another obvious question was: What if you didn’t have adverse side effects? Did that mean the vaccine was not working? I already knew the answer to that one. It was no. You didn’t have to have adverse reactions to make the vaccine work because our bodies react in different ways to vaccines.

Do you wonder why I had a little trepidation when it finally was my turn? I got checked in by Abbie Robles, a National Guard PFC, who gave me a big smile, which made me feel better. Then it was Gail Powers, a licensed vocational nurse, who had the needle ready with the vaccine.

“Is this going to hurt?” I asked.

She had a big smile, too, when she said, “This is just going to feel like I’m socking you in the arm.” Easy for her to say as she socked me with the needle filled with the Moderna vaccine. But I hardly felt a thing and thanked her for a light punch.

She had just given a shot to my wife who was waiting in a chair for the obligatory 15 minutes to see if she had any kind of allergic reaction. I was feeling good because I didn’t feel anything. No adverse effects. I just felt normal and thanked Powers again for helping save my life. It wasn’t until the next day that some of those publicized adverse effects began to hit my wife and me. She felt fatigued with a sore arm. My arm got sore, like I had been socked in a delayed reaction. The worst I felt was Wednesday night, about 30 hours after the shot, when I got the chills, a little fever and fatigue for the first time. Out came extra blankets, a couple of Tylenols and welcome sleep.

Thursday was better, except for the sore arm and a little tiredness. By Friday I was back to normal, except for the sore arm. My wife was feeling better, too, except for a little fatigue.

Let me make something clear: I’m not complaining about getting vaccinated. I’m just letting you know what was going through my little brain as I was getting ready for the needle. Not to worry, I kept telling myself.

Overall, my wife and I were thankful that we were able to get our two doses to give us protection against the potentially dangerous virus.

We went through the walk-thru line like we had done the first time. We had to wait only a few minutes before we got vaccinated. Most people stayed in their cars and went through thedrive-thru lanes at the Long Beach Convention Center parking lot.

We were eligible for this round of shots because of our ages. In total, there are about 54,564Long Beach residents 65 and over who are eligible for this round of vaccine shots. So far, the city has given out about 80,000 doses to all those eligible, according to Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia.

The process we went through was very efficient. It helped that my wife is computer savvy and could follow the directions more easily. She handled the applications. It also helped that the city sent us regular updates to keep us informed of the process.

The city is working hard to make the process easier to follow, including getting the vaccine to more sites throughout the city.

Getting these two shots has taken a big load off our minds, but it doesn’t mean the COVID-19 threat is over. We are going to continue to wear masks and take other precautions until told otherwise.

In a report Thursday, the Long Beach Health Department said more than 74,000 vaccine doses had been given out. Of these, more than 54,000 were first doses and 20,000 were second doses. On Friday, Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia said the city had given out about 80,000doses.

We thank all of those involved in the city for getting the vaccine and distributing it as quickly and in as fair a manner as possible to everyone. It is a complicated and daunting challenge, made more so by severe weather on the East Coast causing delays in shipping the vaccine throughout the country. But progress is being made. And my arm isn’t sore anymore.

“No fear! This vaccine shot will save my life,” columnist Rich Archbold says

Fri, 19 Feb 2021 18:21:41 +0000

I must admit that I had a little trepidation waiting my turn to get my second COVID-19 vaccineshot in the lobby of the Terrace Theater in downtown Long Tuesday.

“Is this going to hurt?” I asked.

Thursday was better, except for the sore arm and a little tiredness. By Friday I was back to normal, except for the sore arm. My wife was feeling better, too, except for a little fatigue.

Overall, my wife and I were thankful that we were able to get our two doses to give us protection against the potentially dangerous virus.

The city is working hard to make the process easier to follow, including getting the vaccine to more sites throughout the city.

Getting these two shots has taken a big load off our minds, but it doesn’t mean the COVID-19 threat is over. We are going to continue to wear masks and take other precautions until told otherwise.

Future Alamitos Bay water quality discussion scheduled for next week

Fri, 19 Feb 2021 17:49:26 +0000

Concerns about future water quality in Alamitos Bay has prompted Long Beach Councilwoman Suzie Price, whose Third District includes the area, to call an online community meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 23.

Pumps currently pulling ocean water through the bay to cool the AES Alamitos and Haynes power plants are responsible for much of the current water circulation. Although tides do move some water, experts say that when the power plants stop pumping, water will become stagnant enough to allow bacteria to multiply.

State regulators have decreed that water-cooled power plants have to be phased out to protect water quality and fish. Currently, AES pulls water from the bay, runs it through its generators as a coolant, then pumps it back to the San Gabriel River. The Haynes Plant on Westminster Avenue, own by Los Angeles Water and Power, does much the same.

AES has until the end of 2023 before it stops pumping water. Los Angeles officials say Haynes will be doing at least some water cooling to 2029, but because it is further away, it doesn’t have as much impact on Alamitos Bay.

When AES stops pumping its 326 million gallons of water a day, stagnant areas will develop, a study by marine engineering firm Moffatt & Nichol says. If all pumping stopped, the time it takes to completely exchange the water in front of Mother’s Beach would go from 3.4 days to 9.5 days — not enough to stop bacteria and algae growth.

“Anything we do is going to be expensive,” said Price, whose district includes Alamitos Bay. “But we have to do something. Water quality is at stake.”

A study from Moffatt and Nichol recommends adding more fish-friendly pumps and screens at the AES plant to continue pumping water. That water would bypass the AES power plants, going directly to the river.

Talks continue between city and AES officials, and Price said AES has been helpful. However, it is unlikely the electricity provider would pay the $2 million or so a year it likely will cost to keep the pumps running once they no longer have use for the water.

Early estimates for a stand-alone pumping system range from $30 million to $35 million. Price said it was too soon to say what the city should do, but added she wants to “get something in motion” and before the City Council by the end of the year.

Next Tuesday’s Zoom meeting will begin at 6 p.m. To participate, go to us02web.zoom.us/j/81757432293. The meeting ID is 817 5743 2293.

For more information, call 562-570-6300 or email district3@longbeach.gov.

Downtown Long Beach Art Museum reopens by appointment

Fri, 19 Feb 2021 17:14:27 +0000

In this, the coronavirus pandemic era, experiencing art in downtown Long Beach has largely meant looking through windows or at a computer screen.

But on Wednesday, Feb. 24, the door back to in-person art experiences will open a crack. That’s when the Long Beach Museum of Art (LBMA) opens its downtown annex to members.

Then on March 3 the general public will be welcomed as well.

“We have a duty to Long Beach to get back open,” Ron Nelson, LBMA executive director, said. “Experiencing art has to be part of living. Downtown is essentially one big gallery, so we can control that. The museum (at 2300 E. Ocean Blvd.) still can’t open.”

The Museum of Art is owned by the city and operated by the Long Beach Museum of Art Foundation. It has operated for 70 years in the historic 1911 Elizabeth Milbank Anderson House, and a two-story gallery building — the Hartman Pavilion — opened in 2000.

In 2018, the foundation board approved a merger with the downtown Art Exchange, essentially taking over another historic space at 356 E. Third St., built in 1920 as the National Cash Register Bank building. After an extensive renovation, LBMA Downtown opened a 3,000-square-foot gallery in September 2019.

That gallery, along with the rest of the city, shut down in March 2020 with the Stay at Home order prompted by the spread of COVID-19. Nelson said that he, along with most people, expected the shutdown to last no more than a couple of months, and went ahead with installation of a large new show. Called “Space as Presence,” it features works from Southern California artists Christine Nguyen, Elyse Pignolet and Fran Siegel.

“We’ve had it hanging for six months,” Nelson said. “It was so difficult; people were wanting to come in. Art is one thing people can talk about with each other. We miss that.”

Nelson said the museum will continue to be careful with people’s health. Attendance will be by appointment only, with groups of six or less guided by one museum docent. Visits will be limited to 15 minutes.

Only museum members will be allowed in Feb. 24-27, with the public able to visit beginning March 3. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday. Go to www.lbma.org/lbmadowntown/ to make reservations,. Admission is free.

One section of the main museum will be opening in about two weeks, Nelson said. The restaurant Claire’s at the Museum will open its patio, which offers views of the Queen Mary and Pacific Ocean. The sculpture garden has been redone, Nelson added, and is open for viewing as well.

“We’re trying to rebuild our staff,” Nelson said. “Claire’s isn’t just a restaurant, it’s just an experience… I just can’t wait to hear the sound of voices on the grounds again.”

Specific hours and an opening date have yet to be set. Current information can be found at the website, www.lbma.org.

Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific announces virtual African American Festival

Fri, 19 Feb 2021 16:57:49 +0000

COVID-19 is keeping the event socially distant, but that’s not stopping the Aquarium of the Pacific from putting on its annual African American Festival on Saturday, Feb. 27.

The event is happening online for free, accessible from the aquarium’s website.

The celebration starts at 10 a.m. with traditional West African storytelling by Baba the Storyteller. Baba returns to perform at the event each year, and while this year’s event is virtual, the stories will still be told.

At 10:45 a.m., PISE (Positive Images of Self Expression) will take the center stage for tap and modern dance. Following the dance at 11:30 a.m. is “A Celebration of African and African-American History.”

After a quick break, Dembrebrah with display West African drumming and dancing. At 1 p.m. the LA LA Mardi Gras Second Liners will join aquarium staff in presenting animals native to African states.

At 1:45 p.m., Los Angeles breakdancing and popping crew, Homeland Crew, will showcase their moves to the virtual audiences and at 2:30 p.m., Long Beach’s Per Se, a pop fusion music group, will dish out some soulful tunes.

At 3:15 p.m., the Heritage Award will be presented to Long Beach’s Felton Williams for his service to the city’s and area’s African American communities. Williams served on the Long Beach Unified School District board for 16 years in addition to his many decades served as a professional educator. He stepped down from the board last year.

Following the award ceremony, the 2021 African American Scholar recipients will be announced. Finalists for the African American Scholar Program are students who have dedicated their studies to careers in the aquarium field.

This scholarship is funded through donor support. Folks can make a donation by emailing donorservices@lbaop.org. Thanks to a matching gift from an anonymous donor, gifts will be matched up to $10,000, officials said.

The Aquarium of the Pacific’s Virtual African-American Festival will be streaming live at pacific.to/africanamericanfestival from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 27. Reservations are not required, and viewing is free.

John Futch, former Press-Telegram editor, suffers severe head injury in Cambodia

Fri, 19 Feb 2021 16:32:16 +0000

Former Press-Telegram editor John Futch, whose multiple stints at the paper spanned three decades, is being treated in a Cambodian hospital for a severe head injury he sustained during a fall last week, his family said, and U.S. officials are attempting to ensure he gets the best care.

Futch, who retired from the paper in 2010, has lived in Cambodia in recent years and was exiting a vehicle on Friday, Feb. 12, when the 75-year-old fell and hit the back of his head. Doctors have since diagnosed him with subdural hematoma near the injury site and a possible stroke, said Futch’s adopted son, Michael Delorio. A subdural hematoma is when blood collects and exerts pressure on the brain.

Futch, a Vietnam War veteran, was first hired at the Press-Telegram in 1983 and rose through the ranks to become executive news editor three years later. He left the job in 1995 for a position with the Boca Raton News, in Florida, but returned in 1997 and later became the executive city editor, the No. 2 job in the newsroom.

John Futch, a Vietnam Veteran, lifelong journalist and former Press-Telegram editor has spent his retirement in Cambodia. Recently Futch has fallen ill in Cambodia and now family and friends are uniting to get him proper healthcare and possibly bring him home to the United States. (Photo courtesy of John Futch)
John Futch, a Vietnam Veteran, lifelong journalist and former Press-Telegram editor has spent his retirement in Cambodia. Recently Futch has fallen ill in Cambodia and now family and friends are uniting to get him proper healthcare and possibly bring him home to the United States. (Photo courtesy of John Futch)
John Futch, a Vietnam Veteran, lifelong journalist and former Press-Telegram editor has spent his retirement in Cambodia. Recently Futch has fallen ill in Cambodia and now family and friends are uniting to get him proper healthcare and possibly bring him home to the United States. (Photo courtesy of John Futch)
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John Futch, a Vietnam Veteran, lifelong journalist and former Press-Telegram editor has spent his retirement in Cambodia. Recently Futch has fallen ill in Cambodia and now family and friends are uniting to get him proper healthcare and possibly bring him home to the United States. (Photo courtesy of John Futch)
John Futch, a Vietnam Veteran, lifelong journalist and former Press-Telegram editor has spent his retirement in Cambodia. Recently Futch has fallen ill in Cambodia and now family and friends are uniting to get him proper healthcare and possibly bring him home to the United States. (Photo courtesy of John Futch)

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In 2008, Futch became involved in the Press-Telegram’s coverage of Davik Teng, who came to the United States from Cambodia when she was a 9 years old so she could have surgery to repair a damaged heart.

Long Beach is home to the largest concentration of Cambodians outside the Southeast Asian country, and so the Press-Telegram followed her journey throughout. In 2016, Futch traveled to Cambodia with Peter Chhun, the founder of nonprofit Hearts Without Boundaries, which helped save the lives of poor Cambodian children with heart ailments. Futch fell in love with Cambodia on that trip.

Futch has been hospitalized since his fall, Delorio said, adding that his condition has continually fluctuated.

“Some days are better, and some days are worse,” he said. “The situation is rapidly changing.”

Delorio, 25, said Futch has had issues with his memory and motor skills that are common with traumatic brain injuries, and he has also exhibited symptoms that can be associated with strokes, such as slurred words.

Though Futch has lived in Cambodia in recent years, he is still a U.S. citizen and has an address in Congressman Alan Lowenthal’s Long Beach district, so the U.S. Embassy in Cambodia and the Lowenthal’s office have both been involved in ensuring Futch receives adequate care.

Right after the fall, Futch was admitted to the Preah Ket Mealea Hospital in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, where he was treated for about three days. But after U.S. officials looked into his case, Futch was transferred to the embassy-recommended Hope Worldwide Community Medical Center, also in Phnom Penh. Futch has received much better care at the second hospital, Delorio said.

Ever since Futch’s significant other in Cambodia used his Facebook page earlier this week to alert his friends and family to his condition, hundreds of people have reached out to express their concerns and hopes for a quick recovery.

Among them were two of Futch’s former colleagues at the Press-Telegram: Keith Higginbotham, who currently works as the communications director for Lowenthal, and Tracy Manzer, who is the communications director for Bay Area Congresswoman Jackie Speier.

The two have helped with the efforts to connect the U.S. Embassy to Futch.

Higginbotham said Lowenthal’s office has opened a congressional case, which allows his team to advocate to medical centers or anyone else who may need to be contacted on behalf of Futch and his family. Lowenthal’s office also now has a caseworker assigned to the matter, Higginbotham said.

Lowenthal, meanwhile, is in the process of scheduling a meeting to discuss Futch’s case with the U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia, W. Patrick Murphy.

Lowenthal will make two requests of Murphy, Higginbotham said: Push the Cambodian medical centers to be more transparent and communicative with Futch’s family about his condition, and do what he can to get Futch back to the U.S. as quickly and safely as possible.

But the combination of coronavirus restrictions, red tape, the uncertainty of Futch’s condition and the possibly prohibitive international transportation costs means it’s unclear if or when that may happen.

The current treatment costs run about $500 per day, Delorio said, while air transport could run into five or six figures, depending on whether Futch is taken to another country in the region with better medical care or to the U.S.

So for now, Delorio said he is seeking donations to help fund the cost of Futch’s treatment and to pay for transportation once his condition allows it. Delorio has set up a GoFundMe.

For people like Higginbotham and Manzer, who know Futch as a kind, generous, supportive friend, doing all they can to help was an easy decision to make.

“He would move heaven and earth for any of us,” Manzer said, “so we need to do that for him now.”

Staff writer Rich Archbold contributed to this report.

Coronavirus tracker: California reported 7,244 new cases, 425 new deaths and 410 fewer hospitalizations on Feb. 18

Fri, 19 Feb 2021 15:16:07 +0000

The end-of-day totals from California public health websites for Thursday, Feb. 18, reported 7,244 new cases, bringing the total number of cases there have been in the state to 3,492,363.

The 14-day total of new cases, 9,283, is down 78% from the Jan. 1 high of 42,268.

There were 425 new deaths reported Thursday, for a total of 48,349 people in California who have died from the virus. The 14-day average of 374 deaths as of Thursday is down 31% from the Feb. 1 high of 543 average new deaths.

There were 8,156 people needing hospital care Thursday, a 64.3% drop since the Jan. 1 high of 22,853.

Long Beach area high school football coaches excited that a season now seems very possible

Fri, 19 Feb 2021 15:03:31 +0000

Long Beach area high school football coaches reacted with joy to the announcement Friday by the state Department of Public Health that it has eased COVID-19 restrictions to have a “2020” season that would have started in August but didn’t because of the pandemic.

The new guidelines say that counties at 14 cases per 100,000 or lower may begin playing football by Feb. 26. L.A. County is still above that at 17.6, but those numbers have trended downward of late, so there is now more hope than ever that teams can at least get in a five-game season with no postseason.

Jason Negro, head coach at 2019 national champion St. John Bosco High, was sky-high after hearing the news.

Long Beach Poly High football coach Stephen Barbee said he is now very optimistic that a football season will be played this school year after Friday’s announcement. (Leo Jarzomb, Contributing Photographer)
La Mirada head football coach Mike Moschetti said his team will be prepared to open the season once the all-clear is given. (Photo by Keith Durflinger/Whittier Daily News)
Mayfair High football coach Derek Bedell said he is especially happy for seniors now having a good chance to play in their final season of high school ball. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
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St. John Bosco head football coach Jason Negro, shown here giving instruction to his charges during the 2019 Open Division state title game won by the Braves over De La Salle, is stoked that Friday’s announcement means there is a good chance to get in a season this school year. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr, Contributing Photographer)

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“I’m phenomenal right now,” Negro said, when asked how he’s doing. “I think we’re going to actually be able to get in more than a five-game season based on the current numbers that we’re at.”

Considering what’s been happening with the numbers, Negro indeed seems convinced the county will get down to where it needs to for games to be played.

“I’m fully confident that we’re going to get to the 14 number we’re looking for by the time we could start practice, hopefully on March 1,” he said. “And then based on CIF criteria, if we start on March 18-19, I think CIF’s going to push the season to the 30th (of April), which is going to open up a couple of weeks on the back end and we can get seven games in.”

Negro could not say enough about what this means.

“This is phenomenal for youth athletics and for young people,” he said. “I cannot be more happy for the kids in my program and my own two children who are participating in youth sports at a public school in Orange County, and I’m just stoked.

“I’m just so happy that these kids are able to get back to doing the things they love.”

Long Beach Poly football coach Stephen Barbee shares this enthusiasm.

“Very optimistic,” he said. “At this point, with the numbers trending down and more people getting the vaccine and everything with that, we are very excited about the announcement today and just looking forward to providing a platform for these kids to do something positive.”

Coach Derek Bedell of Mayfair is also confident about getting in a season.

“I have hope,” he said. “The great thing about this is this gives seniors throughout L.A. County and throughout the state of California hope that there’s going to be an opportunity for us to play.

“And all my players, but my sole deal right now is to take care of the seniors. So, am I confident? Yes. Do I think that there are still hoops to jump through? Absolutely.”

Besides reaching the numbers, weekly testing for football athletes and coaches will be involved in the equation.

“How’s that going to work?” said Mike Moschetti, head coach at La Mirada. “Who’s paying for that?”

Warren football coach Kevin Pearson is happy that all of his players could get a chance to play, but he is particularly thrilled for his seniors.

“Oh, my gosh, I’m so happy for those guys,” he said.

Once it became apparent the 2020 season would not start in August and September as usual, there was hope it could start in January. That did not materialize, so Pearson had a talk with his seniors.

“Just let them know, ‘Hey, man, hang in there, I know it’s tough. You can’t give up,’ ” said Pearson, who said he has tried to keep his team in a positive frame of mind.

“Now that this has happened, it seems like it’s coming to fruition and I’m so excited for those guys,” he said. “And it is true, you don’t want to separate the seniors from the rest of the team. But the fact is, this is their time.

“And a lot of those kids haven’t started. Now this is their time to start, their time to have a great high school experience whether they’re going for scholarships or not.”

La Mirada recently was cleared to resume conditioning this week, and Moschetti said his team will be prepared to go with the season if and when it starts.

“I’ve kind of felt like this the whole time since July,” he said. “Whenever we get cleared and get the OK (to wear pads), we’ll be ready to go whether it’s two weeks before our first game, 2 1/2 weeks.”

Area high school football coaches stoked that a season now seems very possible

Fri, 19 Feb 2021 14:20:14 +0000

Area high school football coaches reacted with joy to the announcement Friday by the state Department of Public Health that it has eased COVID-19 restrictions to have a “2020” season that would have started in August but didn’t because of the pandemic.

Jason Negro, head coach at 2019 national champion St. John Bosco High, was sky-high after hearing the news.

Long Beach Poly High football coach Stephen Barbee said he is now very optimistic that a football season will be played this school year after Friday’s announcement. (Leo Jarzomb, Contributing Photographer)
La Mirada head football coach Mike Moschetti said his team will be prepared to open the season once the all-clear is given. (Photo by Keith Durflinger/Whittier Daily News)
Mayfair High football coach Derek Bedell said he is especially happy for seniors now having a good chance to play in their final season of high school ball. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
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St. John Bosco head football coach Jason Negro, shown here giving instruction to his charges during the 2019 Open Division state title game won by the Braves over De La Salle, is stoked that Friday’s announcement means there is a good chance to get in a season this school year. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr, Contributing Photographer)

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Considering what’s been happening with the numbers, Negro indeed seems convinced the county will get down to where it needs to for games to be played.

Negro could not say enough about what this means.

“I’m just so happy that these kids are able to get back to doing the things they love.”

Long Beach Poly football coach Stephen Barbee shares this enthusiasm.

Coach Derek Bedell of Mayfair is also confident about getting in a season.

“And all my players, but my sole deal right now is to take care of the seniors. So, am I confident? Yes. Do I think that there are still hoops to jump through? Absolutely.”

Besides reaching the numbers, weekly testing for football athletes and coaches will be involved in the equation.

“How’s that going to work?” said Mike Moschetti, head coach at La Mirada. “Who’s paying for that?”

Warren football coach Kevin Pearson is happy that all of his players could get a chance to play, but he is particularly thrilled for his seniors.

“Oh, my gosh, I’m so happy for those guys,” he said.

Once it became apparent the 2020 season would not start in August and September as usual, there was hope it could start in January. That did not materialize, so Pearson had a talk with his seniors.

“Just let them know, ‘Hey, man, hang in there, I know it’s tough. You can’t give up,’ ” said Pearson, who said he has tried to keep his team in a positive frame of mind.

“And a lot of those kids haven’t started. Now this is their time to start, their time to have a great high school experience whether they’re going for scholarships or not.”

La Mirada recently was cleared to resume conditioning this week, and Moschetti said his team will be prepared to go with the season if and when it starts.

Modern California cooking amazes at Wood & Salt Tavern in Long Beach

Fri, 19 Feb 2021 11:42:52 +0000

Beginning with the very snappy Rasselbock, Kitchen & Beer Garden, the team behind Wood & Salt Tavern is working wonders to make Atlantic Avenue north of the 405 a most appealing culinary destination. Add on the nearby MeeMa’s, and there are very good reasons to head north from Pine Avenue, and Belmont Shore, to check out the culinary edge in Long Beach.

And Wood & Salt, let me tell you, makes for as pleasant an evening as I’ve had since the reopening of outdoor dining. Though there’s not much people-watching to be done on Atlantic, there’s a coziness to the front-of-the-restaurant street dining. (I look forward to the day when we’ll actually be able to do our eating indoors. After a year, it’s beginning to seem like a myth.)

And honestly, as long as the weather is reasonable — which is to say 50s at night, with maybe brief dips into the 40s — sitting in front of the well-warmed Wood & Salt is perfectly comfortable, and will be even more so as what passes for our winter comes to an end.

There’s so much about Wood & Salt that’s just plain…right, that I’m happy to go there no matter what the weather. Or at least, as long as there isn’t a Biblical flood diluting my very tasty craft beer. Which, considering the beer-intensive styler of Rasselbock, comes as no surprise.

There are half a dozen drafts — four from California (Allagash White, Alesmith Pale Ale, Almanac Love Hazy IPA and Enegren Valkyrie), one from Indiana (Upland Sour), and just a single beer from Germany (Rothaus Pilsner). There are another eight brews in bottles and cans, and a fine assortment of less-known wines. You’ve got to love the presence of a Chardonnay called Donkey Goat Gadabout from Mendocino, making it worth ordering just for the name.

And the quirky assortment of beers and wines fits perfectly with the quirky assortment of Modern Californian dishes — a reminder that lo’ these many years after the rise of California Cuisine, the stuff still offers a culinary charge. This is a fun menu to consider, one which may wish you were dining with a larger band of heavy forks.

Making a choice can be a bit of a rough climb — Crispy Fried Olives or Charred Corn Croquetas? Fennel & celery Caesar or red & golden beet salad? Tehachapi rye-potato gnocchi or delicata squash agnolotti? The taste buds boggle!

And as befits one of the underlying joys of Cal Cuisine, there are twists and turns to be found everywhere. Indeed, the dish names understate the complexity of the dishes — you’ve got to peruse the ingredient list to get a notion of how outlandish some of these seemingly simple creations can be.

Consider the Crispy Fried Olives. Now, I don’t know about you, but I don’t usually think of olives as an ingredient that wants to be fried and crispy. For me, olives are, you know, something served on the side. But it turns out they crisp up quite nicely. And in this case, with a smattering of ‘Nduja salami, and lemon aioli for dipping. Not long ago, this might have been a lunatic notion. Now…it’s how we roll. And very tasty too.

I’m, admittedly, rather mad for beef tartare — raw meat appeals to the savage in me. This is…about as good as steak tartare gets — hand-cut, giving it a rough quality of homemade food, tossed with egg yolk, capers, chives, topped with crispy baby artichokes. Any inklings I have of going veggie faded with every sublime forkful. This is meat, as good as meat can be.

The Charred Corn Croquetas come with pickled Fresno chile; the chicken liver mousse with a sweet date mostarda; the whipped sheep’s milk ricotta on wondrous grilled gusto bread with figs; the red & golden beet salad with spiced hazelnuts. This is joyous cuisine.

There are half a dozen pastas — “made in-house, by hand, every day” — the delicata squash agnolotti with brown butter, pears and caramelized onions may be the best of them all, though I haven’t tasted nearly enough to know.

For those who need more, the kitchen makes miracles with beef, pork, short ribs, chicken, dorade and barramundi. Though for me, the pastas make enough of an entrée — especially if I’m dreaming of the fresh ricotta doughnuts for dessert. With fennel honey and corn ice cream. Corn ice cream? Of course. At Wood & Salt, nothing should surprise. Though everything should amaze.

Merrill Shindler is a Los Angeles-based freelance dining critic. Email mreats@aol.com.

Wood & Salt Tavern

Rating: 3 stars
Address: 4262 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach
Information: 562-349-0111; www.woodsalt.com
Cuisine: Modern California
When: Dinner, every day
Details: Beer and wine; reservations essential
Prices: About $35 per person
Suggested dishes: Crispy Fried Olives ($8), Handcut Beef Tartare ($15), Charred Corn Croquetas ($13), Crispy Pork Belly ($14), Chicken Liver Mousse ($14), Fried Fresh Calamari ($14), Whipped Sheep’s Milk Ricotta ($12), Fennel & Celery Caesar Salad ($12), Red & Golden Beet Salad ($13), Roasted Mushroom Soup ($11), Tehachapi Rye-Potato Gnocchi ($19), Tagliatelle ($20), Squid Ink Spaghetti ($21), Ricotta Cavatelli ($19), Fettuccine ($17), Delicata Squash Agnolotti ($17), Rigatoni ($18), Grilled Whole Dorade ($29), Beeler’s Farm Bone-In Pork Chop ($28), Wood-fired 12-ounce Striploin ($32), Wood-fired 8-ounce Filet Mignon ($38), Wood-grilled Barramundi ($25), Grilled Mary’s Farm Half Chicken ($24), Braised Beef Short Rib ($25)
Cards: MC, V

$350,000 of meth seized in traffic stop in Long Beach

Fri, 19 Feb 2021 10:47:20 +0000

A traffic stop in North Long Beach ended with officers seizing nearly $350,000 worth of methamphetamine this week, authorities said.

Long Beach officers pulled over a driver in the 5700 block of Atlantic Avenue after they spotted his truck with no front license plate and a tinted windshield about 12:40 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17, spokeswoman Allison Gallagher said.

Officers later learned the driver, identified as 43-year-old Robert Morales of Long Beach, had a suspended driver’s license.

Officers towed the vehicle, Gallagher said. While doing an inventory search, a K-9 alerted officers to dozens of packages containing nearly 100 pounds of methamphetamine, in the cab of the truck. The drug has a street value of nearly $350,000, Gallagher said.

Morales was arrested on suspicion of transportation of a controlled substance and was being held in jail on $2 million bail.

Long Beach Unified To Reopen Elementary Schools In Late March

Fri, 19 Feb 2021 02:20:14 +0000

LONG BEACH (CBSLA) – The Long Beach Unified School District is slated to reopen elementary schools for in-person learning at the end of March.

FILE — A kindergarten teacher speaks with students and parents for the first day of distance learning from Dooley Elementary School in Long Beach on Sept. 1, 2020. (Brittany Murray/Long Beach Press-Telegram/Getty Images)

Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia announced Wednesday night that LBUSD had decided to reopen all K-5 school campuses on March 29.

The district’s latest timeline prompted mixed reaction.

“I think it’s not enough,” Larry Fellows, a member of the Reopen Long Beach Schools, said. “We were promised Oct. 5. Then we were promised end of January. Then we were promised March 1, and now they’re saying, ‘Well, no, now it’s the end of March.”

Back in December, LBUSD said that in-person learning would not resume until March 1 at the earliest.

But other parents were not sure that now was the time to reopen campuses.

“I’m not quite sure why our school district is moving so quickly to try and get kids back in schools,” Melissa Morgan, a member of Long Beach Forward, said.

On Thursday, Superintendent Jill A. Baker said the district wanted to make sure all teachers and staff members had the opportunity to get both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine before schools returned to in-person learning.

“Families are making the choice,” she said. “They have the choice this year to stay in a distance learning setting with their teacher and with their courses or to have their students return for in-person learning.”

Once reopened, the campuses will employ safety measures that include mask wearing, distancing desks and asymptomatic testing.

“Elementary students will stay in their cohort,” Baker said. “That’s their own group of students and staff.”

But parents like Morgan want to have distance learning continued a bit longer, especially for under-resourced communities where the impact of a single COVID-19 infection could be devastating.

“We have families with multiple people who are living in very small homes or apartment complexes,” she said. “They’re sharing space with grandparents, with abuelos and abuelas.”

Fellows said he was worried about equity as well, fearing that many kids would be left behind if they’re not able to return to the classroom.

“I hound on my kids daily just trying to get them to log in,” he said. “If you’ve got to be at job somewhere or if you’re an essential worker who has to be at a job somewhere, you can’t go and check in on your kids at the beginning of every class.”

The city of Long Beach, which has its own health department independent of Los Angeles County, began vaccinating LBUSD teachers in late January, though teachers are not required to get the vaccine.

As for older students in grades six through 12, the current plan is to get them back in the classroom by mid-April if Southern California moves out of the purple tier and into the less-restrictive red tier.

Long Beach Unified To Reopen Elementary Schools In Late March

Thu, 18 Feb 2021 20:15:14 +0000

LONG BEACH (CBSLA) – The Long Beach Unified School District is slated to reopen elementary schools for in-person learning at the end of March.

Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia reported Wednesday night that LBUSD had decided to reopen all K-5 school campuses on March 29.

Back in December, LBUSD had said that in-person learning would not resume until March 1 at the earliest.

All teachers and staff will “have the opportunity” to receive both doses of the coronavirus vaccine prior to returning to the classroom, Garcia said.

The city of Long Beach, which has its own health department independent of Los Angeles County, began vaccinating LBUSD teachers in late January.

Garcia and LAUSD Superintendent Jill A. Baker were set to hold a news conference at 3:30 p.m. Thursday.

Dockworker coronavirus cases spark concern as goods movement slows in Ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach

Thu, 18 Feb 2021 19:29:10 +0000

Dockworkers at the nation’s largest commercial seaport complex continue battling the coronavirus, even as numbers wane across Los Angeles County — with about 41% of all positive tests at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach occurring in the first six weeks of the new year.

There were 590 cases suspected coronavirus cases at the ports from Jan. 1 to Feb. 12, with 355 of those coming being confirmed, according to data the International Longshore and Warehouse Union’s Coast Division. Since the pandemic began, 853 dockworkers have tested positive out of 1,400 suspected cases, according to that data, which the labor union released Thursday, Feb. 18. The numbers are about equally divided between the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

The longshore union also confirmed Thursday that its 13th worker had died this week from coronavirus-related causes.

Some 15,000 people, including part-timers, work at the docks of both ports. They are classified as essential workers and have remained on the job throughout the pandemic, moving a third of the nation’s cargo — including personal protective equipment and other medical supplies needed to fight the coronavirus.

“Longshore workers can’t move these critical, pandemic-fighting supplies from the safety of a home office,” Frank Ponce De Leon, ILWU coast committeeman, said in a written statement. “We work in close quarters, lashing containers side-by-side with a partner, pulling slings while discharging breakbulk cargo, riding shuttle buses between terminals, and working together in the hold of a ship.”

Because of the critical role dockworkers play in the national and regional economy, officials for both ports, the union and terminal operators have aggressively lobbied state lawmakers to prioritize vaccinations for them.

Yet, even though some vaccinations were distributed specifically to longshore workers in Long Beach about a week ago, supplies and distribution points remain unsettled. Getting vaccinated, though, is not a challenge exclusive to dockworkers. While things have improved recently, the rollout of vaccines has generally been slow and marked by multiple delays.

And coronavirus-caused workforce shortages have contributed, along with a six-month surge in consumer spending, to recent supply chain logjams that have left ships waiting up to a week at anchor before unloading their cargo, officials have said.

Mario Cordero, executive director of the Port of Long Beach and board chairman of the American Association of Port Authorities, said vaccinations for dockworkers are a national issue that needs to be addressed so goods continue flowing and the economy can recover.

“We don’t want to get to an inflection point where all of a sudden the worst scenarios occur,” Cordero said, “because it was not a priority where it should be on vaccine distribution.”

The Port of Los Angeles has a plan ready to go that would turn the World Cruise Center into a mass vaccination clinic site to serve port workers.

But there have been “no on-site modifications at this time,” said LA port spokesman Phillip Sanfield, because officials are waiting to get the OK from government agencies.

“It’s not yet confirmed that the cruise center will be a location,” Sanfield said.

“Obviously,” he added, “a lot depends on vaccine availability. Bottom line is we stand ready to assist if or when called upon.”

Bloomberg News contributed to this report.

Coronavirus: L.A. County reported 2,873 new cases, 153 new deaths and 98 fewer hospitalizations as of Feb. 18

Thu, 18 Feb 2021 19:23:10 +0000

Los Angeles public health officials reported 2,873 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases to 1,174,340 as of Thursday, Feb. 18. Officials said there were 153 new fatalities linked to the coronavirus, for a total 19,514 deaths since tracking began.

There were 98 fewer patients hospitalized in local hospitals, lowing the number of coronavirus-related hospitalizations to 2,757 as of Thursday. That’s a 69.7% decrease from the Jan. 7 high of 8,098 people hospitalized.

A total of 1,658,678 vaccinations have been administered in the county as of Thrusday.

Data posted each day is preliminary and subject to change, officials emphasize. More information may become available as individual case investigations are completed.

Teachers, staff will have chance to get COVID-19 shot before in-person classes resume for Long Beach elementary students March 29

Thu, 18 Feb 2021 19:17:19 +0000

In-person instruction for transitional kindergarten through fifth grade is set to begin in Long Beach in late March, a timeline which will give all teachers and school staff the chance to be vaccinated with both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, officials announced Wednesday.

The tentative schedule is a phased in approach to in-person education with transitional kindergarten and elementary students expected to return on March 29 on a hybrid schedule. The Long Beach Unified School District, the fourth largest in the state, had planned to start offering in-person classes in January but pushed that schedule back because of surging coronavirus cases.

"For the first time since March 13, 2020 the adjusted COVID case rate permit us to plan for the phasing in of students for in-person instruction," Superintendent Jill Baker said at Wednesday night's school board meeting.

Parents will still be able to choose whether their children remain in online classes or return to campus. According to a parent survey, Baker said the numbers are at about 50% for each category.

Staff and students who return to campuses will go through a daily health screening, students will be required to wear a face covering, students' desks will be six feet apart from each other and students will be required to stay with their cohort of classmates and teachers to limit their interactions with others, Baker said during a February video message.

Teachers will be allowed back into their classrooms on March 22 to give them time to prepare for the return of students and to get familiar with new safety protocols.

"We are planning for better days ahead," Baker said.

Long Beach has its own health department and has been giving out the vaccines separate from Los Angeles County.

Baker said under the city's educator vaccination program, 3,600 school district employees have been given the opportunity to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. This week, 1,600 employees will have the option to get vaccinated.

"That is not happening across this country. We are at a rare moment where you can see a city that comes together around education. A city that values students and teachers, and has taken that value into its plan," Baker said. "Many other cities have abandoned the opportunity to vaccinate educators as part of their front line workers."

The reopening plan was also acknowledged Wednesday night by Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia in a tweet.

The @LBSchools District has announced that K-5 instruction will begin on March 29. All K-5 teachers and school staff will have had an opportunity to be vaccinated with both doses before reopening.
— Robert Garcia (@RobertGarcia) February 18, 2021

Los Angeles County reached the threshold where coronavirus cases dropped low enough to allow for immediate in-person school instruction on Feb. 16. However, Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Austin Beutner said more work needs to be done before school doors can reopen and welcome students back in safely, including having all teachers vaccinated beforehand.

Beutner offered his support for Long Beach's reopening plan in a tweet on Thursday morning.

"Mayor Garcia, thanks for making schools a real priority. This should be happening in Los Angeles," Beutner tweeted.

Mayor Garcia, thanks for making schools a real priority. This should be happening in Los Angeles. https://t.co/PHewjwWfjR
— Austin Beutner (@AustinLASchools) February 18, 2021

The Long Beach Unified School District is home to about 72,000 students and 12,000 employees.

Long Beach reports 10 more coronavirus fatalities, pushing death toll near 800

Thu, 18 Feb 2021 18:03:15 +0000

Another 10 Long Beach residents have died from coronavirus-related causes, officials announced Thursday, Feb. 18, pushing the city’s death toll closer to 800. So far, 797 residents have died with the virus.

The city also reported 83 new coronavirus cases. There have been 50,662 cases identified since the pandemic began.

About 47,148 people — or 93% of those who have tested positive — have since recovered.

The number of people being treated for the virus in local hospitals ticked slightly upward on Thursday, though the general trajectory over the past month has still been a significant decline in hospitalizations. There were 192 people being treated with the virus locally on Thursday, up from 190 the prior day.

Other metrics, though, continued to drop.

The city’s new daily case rate fell to 20.7 per 100,000 people on Thursday, down from 23.2 the previous day. And the positive testing rate dropped to 5.8% from 6.1%.

The news came as city officials shared more details on the scheduled reopening of Long Beach elementary schools next month. While Los Angeles County recently met the required new daily case rate to allow for the reopenings, the county still remains in the state’s most restrictive “purple tier” and has more work to do before older students and additional businesses will be allowed to reopen.

Long Beach’s inoculation program, though, continues to make progress. The city has administered nearly 80,000 vaccine doses so far, with roughly 55,000 of those consisting of first doses, Health and Human Services Director Kelly Colopy said in a Thursday briefing.

Colopy also said that while other agencies like Los Angeles County have had to cancel vaccination appointments because of weather-induced vaccine shipping delays, Long Beach has not yet had to take similar action.

The city currently has sufficient supply to continue with vaccinations through Saturday, she said.

The delays “could affect our supply here in Long Beach,” she said, but “we continue to vaccinate as many people as our supply allows. We have not canceled any vaccination appointments to date.

“We are hopeful,” she added, “that the shipments will be back in place by next week.”

Long Beach residents can plan for a warm weekend

Thu, 18 Feb 2021 16:36:50 +0000

Clear skies and warm weather are in the forecast for this weekend in Long Beach as temperatures begin to climb out of the mid 60s.

By Thursday, Feb. 18, temperatures had already peaked into the low-70s and, according to the National Weather Service, will remain there until at least Monday.

Residents were already taking advantage of the sun, with plenty of joggers and cyclists along the boardwalk. Marissa Pfeifer and her daughter Petra even took the opportunity to feed bread to some birds along the Bluff Park walk.

Pigeons feeding on bread and seeds at Bluff Park in Long Beach on Thursday, February 18, 2021. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

Pets of the Week: Celeste, Pippin, Ricky and Beatrice are ready for adoption

Thu, 18 Feb 2021 14:41:38 +0000

Pippin is available at the spcaLA P.D. Pitchford Companion Animal Village and Education Center. (Courtesy photo)
Ricky is available at the spcaLA P.D. Pitchford Companion Animal Village and Education Center. (Courtesy photo)
Beatrice is available at the spcaLA P.D. Pitchford Companion Animal Village and Education Center. (Courtesy photo)
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Celeste is available at the spcaLA P.D. Pitchford Companion Animal Village and Education Center. (Courtesy photo)

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Celeste

Celeste is a playful, 6-month-old pit bull mix. She used to live in a home with other dogs, so she may get along with yours. Unfortunately, Celeste’s previous owner had too many dogs, and couldn’t care for them all. Celeste hopes her new family will enjoy walks, some training time and snuggles.

Information about Celeste: The spcaLA P.D. Pitchford Companion Animal Village and Education Center, 562-216-2542. Celeste’s identification number is 21-01646.

Pippin

Pippin is a Rottweiler mix so he needs an owner with experience having big breeds. The 2-year-old enjoys spending time with human and is a curious companion. And while he may get along with dogs of his size and temperament, you shouldn’t have small pets.

Information about Pippin: The spcaLA P.D. Pitchford Companion Animal Village and Education Center, 562-216-2542. Pippin’s identification number is 21-01641.

Ricky

Ricky is a young Pomeranian mix who, at 3 years old, would love a nice home, with owners that will take him on walks and out exploring. Ricky also enjoys his couch-and-cuddles time.

Information about Ricky: The spcaLA P.D. Pitchford Companion Animal Village and Education Center, 562-216-2542. Ricky’s identification number is 21-01644.

Beatrice

Beatrice, a 1-year-old domestic shorthair, is a sweet and gentle kitty who enjoys napping and watching birds fly by. She can be a little shy, but once she warms up, Beatrice becomes cuddly.

Information about Beatrice : The spcaLA P.D. Pitchford Companion Animal Village and Education Center, 562-216-2542. Beatrice’s identification number is 21-01635.