Downey Set to Make History with LGBTQ Picnic
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Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021 Vol. 20 No. 18 PAGING DR. FRISCHER CRIME REPORT ENTERTAINMENT PHOTOS What to know about Bomb threat Symphony returns Images from the DEXA scans deemed safe after 17 months off BBQ festival SEE PAGE 4 SEE PAGE 3 SEE PAGE 7 SEE PAGE 8 Kaiser Downey set to make history mandates with LGBTQ picnic vaccine Friday 82˚ ■ Downey’s first picnic celebrating the gay and queer community is set for Saturday for its from 12-4 pm at Furman Park. Saturday 81˚ By Alex Dominguez workers Staff Writer Sunday 81˚ DOWNEY – Downey’s first ■ Kaiser Permanente joins a ever LGBTQ Pride Family picnic growing list of private sector will take place this Saturday at companies requiring that its Furman Park. THINGS TO DO employees be vaccinated. The city’s recognition of its LGBTQ community has been DOWNEY – Kaiser brought to the forefront of Permanente has announced that conversations over the past year, the COVID-19 vaccine will be leading to the city declaring the required for all employees and month of June as “Pride Month,” physicians. and raising the rainbow-colored flag over city hall. Kaiser joins the list of major companies that have mandated The culminating picnic, which is officially being put on by the the vaccine for its employees. Backpack Giveaway Los Angeles Centers for Alcohol Saturday, 2-4 pm The organization has set a and Drug Abuse (LA CADA), Golden Park target of September 30 to have all is expected to draw upwards Transgender rights activist Zoey Luna will be honored at Saturday’s picnic. employees fully vaccinated. of 1000 people. Attendees Bring the kids for free backpacks and Officials say all unvaccinated can expect food, music, and step in and suggest enlisting the funded separate from the city, from Downey, will also be on school supplies, courtesy of Gangs employees and physicians will informational resources, as well help of LA CADA. with Downey only waiving fees hand to share her story, as well Out of Downey. as entertainment, including a and providing the space, as well as be honored and recognized by be required to be fully vaccinated LA CADA would go on to petting zoo. as Downey Police providing a the city. or apply for medical or religious partner with Supervisor Janice patrol vehicle. exemption. Councilman Mario Trujillo Hahn, who is the main sponsor Luna, who successfully took As of July 31, officials say – who is openly gay - called the of the event. The supervisor Despite achieving victories the Downey Unified School that 77.8% of Kaiser Permanente picnic “an opportunity for our is providing all the staging, in the last several months, the District to court over transgender employees and more than 95% families to have those teaching canopies, tables, and chairs, as LGBTQ community has still met rights in 2011, says that she is of its physicians have been fully moments” and “is a step to well as providing LA CADA with significant pushback from some, honored to be recognized. changing hearts and minds.” over $12,000 in funding, and especially those in Downey’s vaccinated. “As a person who has been funding Downey Police officers to faith-based community. “We’re giving them a natural openly transgender in my city of Kaiser will also begin testing be at the site to provide security setting to be able to talk about Trujillo says that he expected Downey for years, it means the unvaccinated employees twice a for the event. Mayor’s Superhero Movie Night week starting Aug. 23. sexuality and labels and things some pushback, although had world to see Downey recognizing Saturday, 4 pm like that,” said Trujillo. “Most No city funds have been used not “prepared himself for some us and acknowledging our “As the country’s largest Golden Park importantly, to let people know towards this event. of the words that were going to be presence,” said Luna. “…I really integrated care delivery system, that it’s okay, that we’re part used.” hope that we can - as a city – Come dressed as your favorite we feel it is our responsibility “This event is an opportunity of the community and we’re become more understanding of superhero for a free screening of to do everything we can to help for us to celebrate and show “I got through it and stayed accepted.” different identities, and be able “Spider-Man: Far From Home.” Plus our support for the LGBTQ+ focused on the idea that this bring an end to the pandemic, to understand that even though live music by Tease. Music starts It has not been a necessarily community here in Downey,” said could be a possibility, and if especially in light of the dramatic these identities are surrounded at 5:45 pm and the movie begins at easy road to get to this point. Hahn in a statement provided we were going to do it, it had to increase in COVID-19 cases in gender and sexuality, that it dusk. to the Downey Patriot. “I have be done well,” said Trujillo. “It from the highly infectious Delta The path to Saturday’s event is something that should not made it a point to sponsor Pride had to be done well because this variant” said Greg A. Adams, began early this year, when be deterred from teaching kids events across my district because was our message to say that this Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Councilwoman Catherine Alvarez about, because it’s just ways of they are an important part of about acceptance.” ON THIS DAY Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and – who identifies as bisexual – expression, and I don’t think we making sure every resident feels Health Plan, Inc. asked the council to consider According to Trujillo, the need to sexualize or diminish any AUGUST 5 welcome and included in their throwing an event in support of Council and several other public way of feeling and identifying.” Kaiser is the largest non- neighborhoods and knows they 1861: the city’s LGBTQ community. officials are anticipated to be in government employer in L.A. can be themselves openly and The picnic will take place on County, according to the Los attendance. The federal government levied an Although initially shot down freely.” Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. income tax for the first time. Angeles Almanac. over health and safety and In addition, Zoey Luna, a The picnic would go on to be funding concerns, Trujillo would well-known transgender activist L.A. County 1924: The county has been The comic strip “Little Orphan experiencing sharp increases Annie” by Harold Gray made its in daily case numbers, debut. hospitalizations and test- positivity rates over the past Lupita Infante hopes to inspire several weeks, with the increases 1957: attributed to the highly infectious “American Bandstand,” hosted by Delta variant of the coronavirus. Dick Clark, made its network TV As expected with the surge in debut on ABC. COVID cases among the general acceptance with performance public, the county’s homeless 1963: population has also seen a sharp The United States, Britain and the increase in infections in recent Soviet Union signed a treaty in weeks. For the week that ended ■ The granddaughter of Moscow banning nuclear tests in July 25, 111 new cases were Mexican singing legend Pedro the atmosphere, outer space and confirmed among the homeless, Infante, she will perform at underwater. up 21% from the previous week. Saturday’s picnic. Throughout the pandemic, 2001: 7,588 COVID cases have been In Afghanistan, the Taliban jailed reported among the homeless, By Alex Dominguez eight foreign aid workers, including and 216 have died. Staff Writer two Americans, for preaching County figures show that as Christianity. of July 27, among 4.9 million DOWNEY – Downey’s fully vaccinated residents, 10,656 Lupita Infante will headline this 2010: tested positive for the virus, for a weekend at the city’s first ever The Senate confirmed Elena Kagan as rate of 0.22%. That rate marks a Pride Family Picnic. the Supreme Court’s 112th justice and 63% increase from a week prior, A lot has happened since the fourth woman in its history. but still remains statistically low. Infante released her first album back in 2016. She graduated Among the vaccinated people, 2010: only 410 were hospitalized, for a from UCLA, earning her degree rate of 0.008%, and only 35 died, in ethnomusicology. She found Thirty-three workers became trapped a rate of 0.0007%. From Jan. success after being featured on in a copper mine in northern Chile 1 through June 30 of this year, Mexico’s version of “The Voice.” after a tunnel caved in. (They were 99.8% of the people who died from Her work has even been Grammy rescued after being entombed for 69 COVID-19 were unvaccinated or nominated. days). only partially vaccinated, L.A. In short, Infante says she can County health director Barbara “finally call it a career.” Ferrer said. Tweet of the Week “Since then, I’ve written Heartbroken that Officer Kyle While the pace of vaccinations songs; even a song that was DeFreytag, who defended the Capitol has slowed significantly, Ferrer nominated for a Latin Grammy,” on Jan. 6, has died by suicide. He said the county has now seen said Infante. “Since then, I’ve is the fourth officer to take his own two consecutive weeks of small had my first legit album, that life in the wake of the attack. We increases in the number of people is titled La Serenata; I had that me more to him in certain ways, Show, making it around 15 years and one with Mariachi Arcoiris, are indebted to him for his service.