San Bernardino County's 2 Charter Change Measures Both Pass

12/3/2020 San Bernardino County’s 2 charter change measures both pass – Daily Bulletin

LOCAL NEWS •• News San Bernardino County’s 2 charter change measures both pass

By RYAN HAGEN || [email protected] || TheThe SunSun PUBLISHED: December 2, 2020 at 1:53 p.m. || UPDATED:UPDATED: December 2, 2020 at 1:56 p.m.

Voters approved two ballot measures that make significant changes to the San Bernardino County charter, election results certified Monday,Monday, Dec.Dec. 1,1, show.show.

Measure K, which promises to slash county supervisors’ pay and benefits combined to $60,000 per year and limit them to just one term, had a convincing victory by Election Day. The proposal finished with more than 66% of the vote.

But Measure J, a comprehensive charter change, had teetered between passing or not each time more votes were counted. A week after Election Day, it was up by 163 votes outout ofof 604,403604,403 votesvotes counted,counted, givinggiving itit 50.01%50.01% ofof thethe votevote atat thatthat time. Final results show it won with 50.72% of the vote.

County officials said earlier that, once it was clear whether Measure J had passed, they would look at how to incorporate both it and Measure K.

Two of the changes made by Measure J — setting supervisors’ pay at 80% of a Superior Court judge’s salary and limiting supervisors to three terms in office — probably will not go into effect because there are more votes for Measure K’s competing pay proposal.

Measure J would also require that the county maintain a stockpile of supplies and equipment for a disaster or emergency, that the county public health officer’s orders be reviewed by the Board of Supervisors, and that outdated language such as presuming that the head of the board is male be removed.

https://www.dailybulletin.com/2020/12/02/san-bernardino-countys-2-charter-change-measures-both-pass/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_s… 1/3 12/3/2020 San Bernardino County’s 2 charter change measures both pass – Daily Bulletin A third proposed ballot measure in San Bernardino County, Measure U, received lessless thanthan 48%48% ofof thethe votevote andand willwill notnot gogo intointo effect.effect.

Measure U wouldwould havehave endedended aa taxtax ofof $157.26$157.26 perper yearyear onon parcelparcel ownersowners inin SanSan Bernardino, Upland, Needles, Twentynine Palms and unincorporated parts of San Bernardino County that went toward fire protection. As a result, fire officials said, they would have had to cut $41.5 million from their budget, potentially closing 19 firefire stations.stations.

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Ryan Hagen | Reporter Ryan Hagen covers San Bernardino County and politics for the Southern California News Group. Since he began covering Inland Empire governments in 2010, he's written about a city entering bankruptcy and exiting bankruptcy; politicians being elected, recalled and arrested; crime; a terrorist attack; res; ICE;ICE; ghtsghts toto endend homelessness;homelessness; ghtsghts overover thethe locationlocation ofof speedspeed bumps;bumps; andand people's best and worst moments. A graduate of Pepperdine University, he https://www.dailybulletin.com/2020/12/02/san-bernardino-countys-2-charter-change-measures-both-pass/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_s… 2/3 12/3/2020 As hospitalizations rise, San Bernardino County limits ambulance dispatches - Los Angeles Times

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As hospitalizations rise, San Bernardino County limits ambulance dispatches

San Bernardino County Department of Public Health workers at a community drive-through sample collection event this year. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

By COLLEEN SHALBY | STAFF WRITER

DEC. 2, 2020 | 3:42 PM https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-12-02/as-hospitalizations-spike-911-dispatchers-stop-sending-ambulances-to-every-caller-in-san-bernar… 1/9 12/3/2020 As hospitalizations rise, San Bernardino County limits ambulance dispatches - Los Angeles Times

As COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to spike, ambulances in San Bernardino County are no longer responding to every sick person who calls 911.

People with relatively minor ailments will still have paramedics come to their aid, who will assist them on the spot or perhaps recommend that they go to urgent care.

But ambulances will be reserved for people with life-threatening emergencies such as a heart attack or trouble breathing due to COVID-19.

The decision was made by San Bernardino County officials Thanksgiving morning as the volume of 911 calls increased by 25% over a 24-hour period, driven by the COVID-19 surge.

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“We don’t have enough ambulances in the system to support the volume of 911 calls coming in,” said Eric Sherwin, public information officer for the San Bernardino County Fire Department. “The hospital emergency departments are being impacted both from ambulance traffic and people driving themselves to the emergency room. That creates a backup in the system.” https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-12-02/as-hospitalizations-spike-911-dispatchers-stop-sending-ambulances-to-every-caller-in-san-bernar… 2/9 12/3/2020 As hospitalizations rise, San Bernardino County limits ambulance dispatches - Los Angeles Times Ambulances have waited for up to five hours to deliver patients to a bed, Sherwin said, and cannot answer other calls during that time.

California law typically requires that an ambulance be dispatched for every 911 call, no matter the level of emergency. That means someone calling about a headache or a sore throat is as entitled to an ambulance as someone suffering a major injury.

In June, the state gave San Bernardino County permission to waive that requirement if necessary.

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The goal now is to save ambulances for patients in dire situations. The policy will be in effect for as long as necessary and applies to all 20,000 square miles within the county.

Coronavirus-related hospitalizations have reached their highest number in the county since the start of the pandemic.

On Monday, 856 confirmed coronavirus patients were hospitalized in San Bernardino County. Of those, 177 were in intensive care.

Similar records are being set throughout the state. There are 8,240 hospital patients statewide with a confirmed case of coronavirus — twice as many as two weeks ago.

Los Angeles and Riverside counties also hit their highest number of hospitalized patients after a surge in coronavirus cases. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-12-02/as-hospitalizations-spike-911-dispatchers-stop-sending-ambulances-to-every-caller-in-san-bernar… 3/9 12/3/2020 As hospitalizations rise, San Bernardino County limits ambulance dispatches - Los Angeles Times Riverside County is considering a similar change in its ambulance policy if the strain on resources worsens.

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Colleen Shalby is a reporter for the Los Angeles Times. She previously worked at PBS NewsHour in Washington, D.C. She’s a graduate of George Washington University and a native of Southern California.

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https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-12-02/as-hospitalizations-spike-911-dispatchers-stop-sending-ambulances-to-every-caller-in-san-bernar… 4/9 12/3/2020 San Bernardino County coronavirus hospitalizations double in 13 days – San Bernardino Sun

LOCAL NEWS •• News San Bernardino County coronavirus hospitalizations double in 13 days

By RYAN HAGEN || [email protected] andand NIKIE JOHNSON || [email protected] || TheThe SunSun PUBLISHED: December 2, 2020 at 1:02 p.m. || UPDATED:UPDATED: December 2, 2020 at 1:021:02 p.m.p.m.

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Twice as many people are hospitalized in San Bernardino County with COVID- 19 thanthan 1313 daysdays earlier,earlier, andand thethe numbernumber isis upup 265%265% fromfrom oneone monthmonth ago,ago, statestate statistics show.

The 883 hospitalized with confirmed cases Tuesday, Dec. 2 — the most recent day for which statistics are available — is the highest ever. Every day since Wednesday, Nov. 25 — when the county tied a record set July 25 — has had more people in the hospital with COVID-19 than the day before and, consequently, the most ever up until that point.

In addition, the number of those people in intensive care — 192 — is just shy of thethe recordrecord 197197 peoplepeople inin intensiveintensive carecare JulyJuly 22.22.

https://www.sbsun.com/2020/12/02/san-bernardino-county-coronavirus-hospitalizations-double-in-13-days/?utm_content=tw-sbsun&utm_me… 1/4 12/3/2020 San Bernardino County coronavirus hospitalizations double in 13 days – San Bernardino Sun The number of new coronavirus cases in the last day — 2,551 — is the second- most ever, after three lower-than-average days in the wake of Thanksgiving.

Seven deaths from COVID-19 were reported Wednesday, Dec. 2, breaking a nine-day streak with no deaths reported. County officials said Tuesday that therethere werenʼtwerenʼt anyany glitchesglitches inin thethe systemsystem butbut thatthat itit cancan taketake timetime toto reportreport aa death, contributing to delays between spikes in hospitalizations and spikes in deaths.

Here are the latest numbers, according to county and state public health officials.

San Bernardino County

Confirmed cases: 96,65796,657 total,total, upup 2,5512,551 fromfrom Tuesday,Tuesday, Dec.Dec. 1,1, averagingaveraging 1,1721,172 reported per day in the past week

Deaths: 1,1361,136 total,total, upup sevenseven fromfrom Tuesday,Tuesday, averagingaveraging 1.01.0 reportedreported perper dayday inin thethe pastpast weekweek

Hospital survey: 883883 confirmedconfirmed andand 8282 suspectedsuspected patientspatients hospitalizedhospitalized Tuesday, including 192 confirmed and 10 suspected patients in the ICU, with 25 of 25 facilities reporting. The number of confirmed patients is up 46% from a week earlier.

People tested: 1,138,0491,138,049 total,total, upup 16,36116,361 fromfrom Tuesday,Tuesday, averagingaveraging 12,13512,135 reported per day in the past week

Resolved cases (estimate): 88,08588,085 total,total, upup 1,6101,610 fromfrom Tuesday,Tuesday, averagingaveraging 1,4901,490 per day in the past week

Reopening plan tier:tier: PurplePurple (widespread(widespread riskrisk level,level, manymany non-essentialnon-essential indoorindoor business operations are closed) based on these metrics as of Tuesday:

New cases per day per 100,000 residents: 46.1 Case rate adjusted for testing volume: 23.0 Test positivity rate: 11.3% Whatʼs next: San Bernardino County is not meeting the criteria to move to a less-restrictive tier. When it has met them for two consecutive weeks, it can advance.

To see a map and list of cases, deaths and per-capita rates by community, click here..

https://www.sbsun.com/2020/12/02/san-bernardino-county-coronavirus-hospitalizations-double-in-13-days/?utm_content=tw-sbsun&utm_me… 2/4 12/3/2020 Newsom to weigh in on potential COVID-19 shutdown - Los Angeles Times

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Newsom to weigh in on potential California shutdown as COVID- 19 soars

Trevor Nettman, right, owner and chef of the Eldo, protests during a “March to Save Small Businesses” along 2nd Street in Long Beach on Wednesday. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

By JOHN MYERS, RONG-GONG LIN II

DEC. 3, 2020 | 7:22 AM

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-12-03/newsom-weighs-shutdown-california-covid-19-cases-soar-december 1/12 12/3/2020 Newsom to weigh in on potential COVID-19 shutdown - Los Angeles Times

SACRAMENTO — With California facing an unprecedented deficiency in hospital beds and critical care services due to a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases, Gov. Gavin Newsom could unveil new restrictions Thursday on economic and lifestyle activities that could last through the end of the holiday season.

Newsom, who has scheduled a midday event to outline his administration’s response to the rapid spread of the coronavirus, hinted Monday that a new statewide shutdown, reminiscent of the one ordered in March, could be on the horizon. State health officials said their latest projections of the virus’ spread showed intensive care units could be filled to capacity in as little as two weeks.

“If these trends continue,” Newsom said Monday, “we’re going to have to take much more dramatic, arguably drastic, action.”

Imposing a new round of far-reaching measures would mark a swift escalation of the state’s response to deteriorating public health conditions. On Nov. 19, the governor ordered an overnight curfew in counties with the highest identified risk levels — those in the most restrictive, or “purple,” level of the state’s four-tier coronavirus monitoring system — a list that now includes some 99% of California’s population.

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https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-12-03/newsom-weighs-shutdown-california-covid-19-cases-soar-december 2/12 12/3/2020 Newsom to weigh in on potential COVID-19 shutdown - Los Angeles Times Data compiled by The Times show the state has averaged nearly 15,000 cases a day over the last week, triple the rate in the last month. COVID-19 hospitalizations have also tripled over the same time period. And an average of 67 Californians were dying daily from COVID-19 over the last week, a 60% jump from mid-November.

Some communities have implemented even stricter measures. On Monday, Los Angeles County enacted far-reaching orders banning gatherings of people from different households and imposing tighter capacity limits on in-person shopping. Santa Clara County has imposed its own mandatory travel quarantine on people traveling from 150 miles away and forbidden hotels from leasing rooms to tourists.

CALIFORNIA City of L.A. issues stay-at-home rules that mirror L.A. County order Dec. 2, 2020

Newsom and his Health and Human Services secretary, Dr. Mark Ghaly, emphasized Monday that additional actions would be taken in response to the severe strain the virus’ spread was placing on healthcare services — in particular, on hospital capacity across California and intensive care services in those facilities. Based on data collected through last weekend, officials estimated that all existing ICU beds in the state could be filled in two weeks’ time, with some parts of Northern California at capacity within a matter of days.

“If a patient needs care and they can’t get it in a hospital in their community, in their county, then we need to make sure that surrounding counties’ hospitals are able to serve those individuals,” Ghaly said. “The second half of December could be pushing the limits in some areas, [and] we want to act sooner than that so that we can get transmission down and we can handle those potential high ICU surges.”

ADVERTISEMENT https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-12-03/newsom-weighs-shutdown-california-covid-19-cases-soar-december 3/12 12/3/2020 Newsom to weigh in on potential COVID-19 shutdown - Los Angeles Times

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A new statewide shutdown is likely to generate the same criticisms as the spring order. Business owners condemned the initial effort for its definition of “essential businesses,” which were allowed to remain open. By mid-May, Newsom relented and allowed counties to go at their own pace in making many of those determinations — a course of action he abandoned in August following another surge in coronavirus cases.

Closing stores and shopping malls in the run-up to the holiday season could strike a powerful blow to the state’s hobbled economy. In recent days, Newsom has announced a package of loan and grant efforts for small businesses as well as the expansion of a program that allows businesses to delay payment of sales tax collections and use the money as a short-term bridge loan.

CALIFORNIA California pioneered the COVID-19 stay-at-home lockdown. Now, it faces a backlash Dec. 3, 2020

Some epidemiologists say state officials may have no choice but to impose a stricter shutdown order to avoid one of the worst public health catastrophes in the state’s modern history, with California’s death toll of nearly 20,000 plausibly doubling by the end of winter.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-12-03/newsom-weighs-shutdown-california-covid-19-cases-soar-december 4/12 12/3/2020 Newsom to weigh in on potential COVID-19 shutdown - Los Angeles Times In late October, France was forced to impose a new shutdown, and some business owners were angry. But within weeks, the nation’s steep surge in infections fell dramatically.

The initial coronavirus wave “has now become a viral tsunami,” said Dr. Robert Kim- Farley, medical epidemiologist and infectious disease expert at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. “The virus is now everywhere, and so therefore the restriction of activities needs to also be applied everywhere to be able to return to where we were — on a decreasing trend.”

Coronavirus cases statewide » As of December 2, 11:24 p.m. Pacific 1,265,642 19,446 confirmed deaths

Statewide deaths by day 200

100

0 Jan. 26 Dec. 2 California » L.A. County » Orange County »

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The challenge for California’s leaders would be to collectively persuade the public of the severity of the crisis, and that it’s worth the pain of another temporary closure.

“What we really need is leaders to, I think, lead more out of hope and not out of fear,” said Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, chair of UC San Francisco’s Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. “We have two highly effective vaccinations just around the corner…. We have an end in sight to the pandemic. But we have to get through the

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-12-03/newsom-weighs-shutdown-california-covid-19-cases-soar-december 5/12 12/3/2020 Newsom to weigh in on potential COVID-19 shutdown - Los Angeles Times next month” to avoid an “exponential rise in cases, transmissions, hospitalizations and death.”

CALIFORNIA Angry parents won’t let officials slide over closed playgrounds, packed malls Dec. 3, 2020

A new effort to tighten the number of allowed activities would also be closely watched by education advocates and parents who have clamored for a more comprehensive statewide set of rules outlining when to open or close K-12 public schools.

In the summer, state officials determined that schools could open once a county had moved out of the state’s most restrictive tier and been free of the most widespread virus conditions for at least two weeks, but allowed those campuses to remain open even when local conditions worsened. In addition, a number of private schools have been given waivers by state officials to resume in-person learning while students attending many of California’s largest school districts remain in full-time distance learning.

Newsom, who has been in quarantine since three of his children were in close proximity to a California Highway Patrol officer who tested positive for the coronavirus, said Monday that the projections of an overloaded hospital system would only come to fruition if the state made no changes in the coming weeks.

“I want folks to know that we intend to bend this proverbial curve and impact the statistics favorably,” he said.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-12-03/newsom-weighs-shutdown-california-covid-19-cases-soar-december 6/12 12/3/2020 Amid the pandemic, L.A. parents fume over closed playgrounds - Los Angeles Times

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Angry parents won’t let officials slide over closed playgrounds, packed malls

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-12-03/covid-19-la-parents-anger-closed-playgrounds 1/15 12/3/2020 Amid the pandemic, L.A. parents fume over closed playgrounds - Los Angeles Times

Playgrounds are closed under the county’s newest order, but malls, golf courses and tennis courts remain open. Above, Maala Sampath, 2, tries to climb into a swing at a closed playground on Dec. 1. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

By HAILEY BRANSON-POTTS | STAFF WRITER

DEC. 3, 2020 | 5 AM

Sydney Beckman ran beneath the yellow caution tape surrounding the empty playground equipment and flopped her tiny body over a swing.

The 2-year-old had tried opening a gate blocking the big green slide at Anderson Park in Redondo Beach, but her dad had tugged her away — trying to explain that the playground was closed. They would, he joked, have to sneak back “under cover of darkness.”

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-12-03/covid-19-la-parents-anger-closed-playgrounds 2/15 12/3/2020 Amid the pandemic, L.A. parents fume over closed playgrounds - Los Angeles Times “Look at her! She looks so sad,” Zachary Beckman said, laughing at her small act of defiance.

But the transformation of the playground into a no-fun zone angered the 38-year-old father in a way that belied his laughter.

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Los Angeles County closed outdoor public playgrounds this week as part of a set of restrictions meant to slow an unprecedented surge in coronavirus cases. To many parents confounded by an array of official dictates — playgrounds and in-person schooling closed but malls open for business and packed with shoppers — a line in the sandbox has been crossed.

“Parents are really taking the brunt of all this,” Beckman said. “I understand the need for safety, but the inconsistencies and lack of logic is very frustrating.”

A few feet away, three adults played on the tennis court, which remains open. None wore masks.

Nine weary months in, many Californians have entered the “why-is-this-closed-while- that-is-open” stage of the pandemic. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-12-03/covid-19-la-parents-anger-closed-playgrounds 3/15 12/3/2020 Amid the pandemic, L.A. parents fume over closed playgrounds - Los Angeles Times And as new restrictions take effect, those who have followed the rules say they are having an increasingly hard time taking orders from politicians who don’t always seem to heed their own advice.

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Angry parents pointed to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s attendance at a birthday dinner at the French Laundry in Napa Valley, even as he was warning against Thanksgiving dinner gatherings; L.A. County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl dining out in Santa Monica hours after voting last week to uphold a ban on outdoor dining; and state lawmakers flying to Hawaii last month to schmooze with interest groups while health officials were discouraging travel.

“The economic disparities of how they’re enforcing the rules is just obscene,” Beckman said “It’s clear that California is being run by the wealthy, not people with families. They opened up bars before playgrounds — how is that?”

Many fume over the county’s decisions to close outdoor public playgrounds and ban outdoor dining while allowing a slew of indoor businesses to stay open at reduced capacity — including shopping malls, tattoo and massage parlors and hair salons.

While children’s jungle gyms and monkey bars have been deemed too dangerous, tennis courts, golf courses, beaches, skate parks and hiking trails are still open. So too are outdoor gym classes with sweaty adults.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-12-03/covid-19-la-parents-anger-closed-playgrounds 4/15 12/3/2020 Amid the pandemic, L.A. parents fume over closed playgrounds - Los Angeles Times Playgrounds have emerged as focal points of the anger. The county has not publicly linked coronavirus outbreaks to playgrounds, which closed in March and did not reopen until the first week of October. Playgrounds at schools and day-cares remain open.

“I know the playgrounds have been, really for many, sort of not well understood, and [their closure] creates a lot of hardship again for families,” Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer acknowledged this week.

CALIFORNIA L.A. County tightens COVID-19 restrictions today: What you need to know Nov. 30, 2020

Margaret Foss, who walks at the Van Nuys-Sherman Oaks Recreation Center several times a week, said the park is always crowded with adult exercise classes and people playing soccer and basketball, with few masks in sight.

“They’re closing restaurants but letting people hang out publicly without safeguards?” she said. “Soccer is a contact sport. Basketball is a contact sport. It’s bizarre.”

The new restrictions come as officials scramble to contain a surge in COVID-19 cases during the holiday season that has renewed fears about how the state’s healthcare system will handle a crush of new patients.

Still, the rules are not as severe as they were early in the pandemic, when nonessential businesses were closed — along with hiking trails and beaches.

Ferrer said that before issuing the latest regulations, health officials “went back and forth for many days” about how to handle reports from local parks departments about https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-12-03/covid-19-la-parents-anger-closed-playgrounds 5/15 12/3/2020 Amid the pandemic, L.A. parents fume over closed playgrounds - Los Angeles Times crowding, children playing without masks and the difficulty of sanitizing playground equipment.

Malls and shopping centers have been crowded despite capacity limits. Above, Black Friday shoppers at the Citadel Outlets in Commerce on Nov. 27. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-12-03/covid-19-la-parents-anger-closed-playgrounds 6/15 12/3/2020 Amid the pandemic, L.A. parents fume over closed playgrounds - Los Angeles Times Tara Kirk Sell, a researcher at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security who has focused on risk communication and misinformation during the pandemic, said health officials must “be prepared for a good answer for why each of these measures should be put in place” and the science behind it.

“When there are too many restrictions and the public can’t understand and see the reason, it can make them stop listening altogether,” Sell said. “Trust — once it’s gone, it’s gone for good. Public health is really going to have to communicate well the next few months as we roll out vaccines.”

As for closing playgrounds, she said, officials have to remember that parents and children “need some sort of outlet.”

Tracking the coronavirus in L.A. County

In a phone interview, Sell’s children, ages 4 and 6, could be heard playing in the background. She and her husband both work from home in Baltimore now, and the children attend school virtually. They don’t have a yard, so they go to a playground every day, in masks, to get them away from their screens.

In mid-September, two dozen lawmakers pressed Newsom in a letter to reopen public playgrounds, decrying their “indefinite closure” and the disproportionate harm to low- income communities with few yards. They reopened two weeks later.

At the Earvin “Magic” Johnson Recreation Area in South L.A. this week, Oswaldo Romero entertained his 2-year-old daughter, Valeria, with a skateboard and chased her https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-12-03/covid-19-la-parents-anger-closed-playgrounds 7/15 12/3/2020 Amid the pandemic, L.A. parents fume over closed playgrounds - Los Angeles Times in the grass. Romero, 25, who lives in Watts and drives overnight for Lyft, said he has no yard and was frustrated that both public playgrounds and the ones at McDonald’s were closed.

“I need a place to take my kid,” he said. “She’s active. She needs to play.”

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-12-03/covid-19-la-parents-anger-closed-playgrounds 8/15 12/3/2020 Amid the pandemic, L.A. parents fume over closed playgrounds - Los Angeles Times Sydney Beckman, 2, plays on a swing at Anderson Park in Redondo Beach on Nov. 30. (Hailey Branson-Potts / Los Angeles Times)

Oswaldo said his wife’s aunt got sick with COVID-19 earlier this year but recovered after two weeks. While he said he understands concerns about the virus, he thinks officials are “overdoing it with the safety measures” and that “there’s no reason to keep areas for kids closed.”

A 37-year-old sales associate at Westfield Santa Anita in Arcadia said she has been saddened to see a lot of children at the mall. The woman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because she feared losing her job, said the mall seemed to far exceed the 25% capacity it was allowed (until this week, when that capacity was reduced to 20%), and that she has tried to contact the county health department about it. She worked Black Friday; the parking lot was full.

“It just makes no sense,” she said. “You shut down the parks, where it’s outside, but you want to keep malls open indoors? If you want to open the malls and allow people to shop, open up the schools. ... It’s all about money.”

Stores limit customers, but corridors are jammed with people in long lines. Tables and chairs are gone, but people stand around to eat and drink with no masks.

In Highland Park, Laura Mannino, a 41-year-old television writer, has had a hard time explaining to her 5-year-old son why he was seeing “police tape covering a space where he attended birthday parties and where he went every day.”

Harry, who attends LAUSD kindergarten virtually, thought the coronavirus lived only on playground equipment because that was the only thing he saw roped off. When his favorite playground finally reopened, he did just fine with his mom’s new rules: Wear a mask. Sanitize your hands before and after playing. Don’t crowd in the tube slide with other kids. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-12-03/covid-19-la-parents-anger-closed-playgrounds 9/15 12/3/2020 Amid the pandemic, L.A. parents fume over closed playgrounds - Los Angeles Times ADVERTISEMENT

“If our state and city and county can put together massive testing sites and programs, certainly we can do basic information on playground safety messaging,” Mannino said. “People say playgrounds are high-touch areas. Then clean the playgrounds. Produce at the store is high-touch; we don’t see the county putting police tape around the melons.”

In her Facebook group for moms, parents have vented their fury over recent decisions.

“We’re conscientious,” Mannino said. “We follow the rules. But I’m seeing more and more parents frustrated. They’re taking it personally because we’re really exhausted.”

Echoing the tone of other parents in interviews this week, she added: “Let my kid swing on a f— swing.”

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https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-12-03/covid-19-la-parents-anger-closed-playgrounds 10/15 12/3/2020 Hospitals activate surge plans as L.A. County heads into pandemic’s most dangerous days – Daily News

NEWS •• News Hospitals activate surge plans as L.A. County heads into pandemic’s most dangerous days County reported 5,987 new cases and 40 associated deaths, bringing totals to 414,185 and 7,740, respectively.

FILE – In this Nov. 19, 2020, file photo, registered nurse Virginia Petersen works on a computer while assisting a COVID-19 patient at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in the Mission Hills section of Los Angeles. U.S. hospitals slammed with COVID-19 patients are trying to lure nurses and doctors out of retirement and recruitingrecruiting nursingnursing studentsstudents andand newnew graduatesgraduates whowho havehave yetyet toto earnearn theirtheir licenses.licenses. (AP(AP Photo/JaePhoto/Jae C.C. Hong,Hong, File)File)

By DAVID ROSENFELD || [email protected] || TheThe DailyDaily BreezeBreeze PUBLISHED: December 2, 2020 at 3:36 p.m. || UPDATED:UPDATED: December 3, 2020 at 6:07 a.m.

https://www.dailynews.com/2020/12/02/hospitals-activate-surge-plans-as-l-a-county-heads-into-pandemics-most-dangerous-days/ 1/6 12/3/2020 Hospitals activate surge plans as L.A. County heads into pandemic’s most dangerous days – Daily News

Responding to “terrifying” coronavirus caseload numbers, hospitals throughoutthroughout thethe regionregion areare activatingactivating theirtheir surgesurge plansplans toto keepkeep pacepace withwith thethe outbreak, public health officials said Wednesday, Dec. 2.

Health Services Director Dr. Christina Ghaly said there was a real possibility thethe countycounty couldcould runrun outout ofof intensiveintensive carecare unitunit bedsbeds inin twotwo toto threethree weeksweeks during Wednesdayʼs briefing, as the county reported 5,987 new cases and 40 associated deaths, bringing the countyʼs totals to 414,185 and 7,740, respectively.

The number of people hospitalized for treatment climbed to a record 2,439 people. A state dashboard, which generally posts updated numbers a day earlier, placed the countyʼs figure at 2,572 hospitalizations. L.A. County isnʼt alone — for the first time on Wednesday, the COVID Tracking Project placedplaced thethe numbernumber ofof peoplepeople hospitalizedhospitalized nationwidenationwide atat moremore thanthan 100,000.100,000.

But on Wednesday evening, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti provided more alarming news about how this second surge could overwhelm the healthcare system.

Los Angeles County has 479 available hospital beds, Garcetti said during a virtual press conference — but only 86 intensive-care unit beds.

Infections among healthcare workers, Ghaly added, have soared 71% since November and staffing depth could become an issue in the weeks ahead. But hospitals contacted Wednesday their surge plans were helping them to cope with the wave of cases and they were not currently experiencing staffing or supply shortages.

“While we are in a better position now to deliver care, there are limits,” Ghaly said. “We are able to meet the demand. But the best thing you can do is stay home.”

With L.A. County now experiencing its worst point of the pandemic, officials said, public health leaders doubled down on their most persistent messages: Stay home as much as possible and wear a face mask. The county has added waves of new restrictions in recent days — including banning outdoor dining and closing card clubs andand publicpublic playgroundsplaygrounds —— inin responseresponse toto thethe worsening outbreak.

https://www.dailynews.com/2020/12/02/hospitals-activate-surge-plans-as-l-a-county-heads-into-pandemics-most-dangerous-days/ 2/6 12/3/2020 Hospitals activate surge plans as L.A. County heads into pandemic’s most dangerous days – Daily News “Weʼre seeing terrifying increases in numbers in L.A. County,” said Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer, “that can only be turned around if businesses and residents do their part to slow the spread.”

At Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood, patients have doubled in a weekʼs time, according to Molly Lawson, director of business development and marketing.

“Our ICU units (COVID and non-COVID) are operating at 80% capacity,” Lawson said. “Based on immediate need, we reopened another dedicated COVID unit thatthat hadhad beenbeen closedclosed mid-summermid-summer whenwhen thethe volumesvolumes werewere low.low. AllAll statestate andand locallocal indicatorsindicators suggestsuggest thisthis isis thethe eyeeye ofof thethe storm.storm. WhatWhat wewe dodo today,today, howhow wewe comply with all of the COVID-19 guidelines and safety protocols has an immediateimmediate impactimpact onon whatʼswhatʼs toto come.”come.”

Among nine Providence Health System of Southern California hospitals that care for COVID-19 patients across the region, patients admitted with the coronavirus have grown from 207 to 520 people in the past month — amounting to the highest rates of patients at the hospital system yet. At Torranceʼs Providence Little Company of Mary, COVID-19 patients have also doubled.

But “at this point we are not at ICU capacity,” Patricia Aidem, Providence spokeswoman said. “Early last year, our hospitals created comprehensive surge plans that continue to guide efforts to expand care as the pandemic escalates. We do have the ability to expand into other areas of the hospitals, including nonpatient areas such as cafeteria dining rooms, if that ever should become necessary, and potentially to transfer patients among our hospitals.”

In Long Beach, hospitalizations surged 413% overover thethe pastpast month,month, upup toto 149149 citywide as of Tuesday, Dec. 1.

Sylvain Trepanier, Ph.D., RN, chief clinical officer of Providence Southern California, said the hospital system has been preparing for a surge for months.

“We know if the time comes to stop conducting scheduled procedures that can be delayed. We have been hiring more temporary staff in preparation for this surge,” Trepanier said. “The majority of the temporary staff come from all over thethe countrycountry andand areare knownknown asas traveltravel nurses.”nurses.”

On the bright side, the transmission rate of the virus — a number that relates to thethe potentialpotential forfor hospitalizationshospitalizations andand notnot casecase ratesrates overalloverall —— hashas declineddeclined slightly from a week ago going from 1.27 to 1.14. This means that for every one person who is infected, 1.14 people have the potential to become infected.

https://www.dailynews.com/2020/12/02/hospitals-activate-surge-plans-as-l-a-county-heads-into-pandemics-most-dangerous-days/ 3/6 12/3/2020 Hospitals activate surge plans as L.A. County heads into pandemic’s most dangerous days – Daily News The relative number of people currently infected with the virus has also declined slightly from 1 in 145 people reported last week to now 1 in 200. Ghaly said the discrepancy between increasingly higher number of daily cases and a declining infection rate had to do with various factors including better treatmentstreatments andand adherenceadherence toto healthhealth orders.orders.

Earlier this week, officials at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center said it would serve as an L.A. County distribution site — because it possesses an ultracold storage unit capable of storing vaccine by Pfizer at minus-80 degrees Celsius, much colder than a common freezer.

“We are putting special processes in place to make sure that we can receive this vaccine and keep it at those ultracold temperatures and thaw it at just the right timetime andand reconstitutereconstitute it,it, soso itit cancan bebe administeredadministered toto thosethose whowho needneed it,”it,” saidsaid Dr. Jeff Smith, chief operating officer at Cedars-Sinai.

Wednesdayʼs county coronavirus update did not include the latest figures from Long Beach and Pasadena, which operate their own health departments. Pasadena reported 61 new cases, bringing its total to 3,807; an additional fatalityfatality raisedraised itsits deathdeath tolltoll toto 133.133. LongLong BeachBeach reported 303 new cases, liftinglifting itsits totaltotal toto 17,089;17,089; twotwo additionaladditional deathsdeaths raisedraised thethe cityʼscityʼs deathdeath tolltoll toto 279.279.

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Coronavirus Update Stay up to date on the latest coronavirus coverage in your area, right in your inbox https://www.dailynews.com/2020/12/02/hospitals-activate-surge-plans-as-l-a-county-heads-into-pandemics-most-dangerous-days/ 4/6 12/3/2020 California politicians skewered for social crimes in the age of coronavirus

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Gov. Gavin Newsom is just one of a few Californian politicians being scorned for dining out during a pandemic. | Rich Pedroncelli, Pool/AP

California politicians skewered for social crimes in the age of coronavirus

By CARLA MARINUCCI | 12/02/2020 08:57 PM EST

https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2020/12/02/california-politicians-skewered-for-social-crimes-in-the-age-of-coronavirus-1339763 1/6 12/3/2020 California politicians skewered for social crimes in the age of coronavirus

OAKLAND, Calif. — California politicians are drawing scorn for the unthinkable: dining out, spending Thanksgiving with relatives and traveling out of state.

Such malfeasance is considered the height of hypocrisy during a pandemic in which leaders have discouraged a long list of social activities. Few places have as many errant officials as California, a deep blue state with some of the strictest rules in the nation — and where politicians have wagged their fingers this fall in an effort to control surging infections.

Just this week, San Francisco Mayor London Breed was shamed for attending a November dinner party for eight at the luxurious French Laundry, the same Michelin 3-star restaurant that drew California Gov. Gavin Newsom to a lobbyist's birthday bash the night beforehand. San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo had to admit he was part of a five-household family gathering for Thanksgiving, a high social crime in the ever-strict Bay Area.

The reveals couldn't come at a worse time for leaders whose best shot at curbing coronavirus spread is convincing the public to stay home. California leaders have been unwilling to resort to the strict enforcement methods seen in Europe and Asia and have acknowledged that social pressure is their only weapon — one that has been seriously undermined by each meal with friends and family.

The public has grown furious watching political leaders make the rules and then blatantly break them. Suddenly, a politician’s worst nightmare is no longer the headline about the affair or the sex tape. It’s getting spotted at a restaurant or a packed party.

"After all these months of a pandemic, most people aren’t in a slack-cutting mood," said Jack Pitney, a former operative for the Republican National Committee who teaches politics at Claremont McKenna University. "When politicians are acting in ways that look inconsistent with their policies, people don't have a lot of patience anymore. It’s a reminder that these days the personal is political."

Los Angeles County has struggled to contain the virus all year, and the current wave has especially alarmed local officials. The nation's largest county, with 10 million residents, has banned gatherings for non-essential purposes and prohibited all dining at restaurants, some of the strictest measures anywhere in the United States. Supervisor Sheila Kuehl was eviscerated in the public arena because her meal came just hours after she voted to pass a ban on outdoor dining. Though the ban wasn't yet in effect during her meal, the act upset voters who not only showed up on her doorstep but viciously flooded her with criticism on Twitter.

Elsewhere, the social violations are piling up.

https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2020/12/02/california-politicians-skewered-for-social-crimes-in-the-age-of-coronavirus-1339763 2/6 12/3/2020 California politicians skewered for social crimes in the age of coronavirus

Last month, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo had to disinvite his 89-year-old mother, Matilda, from attending Thanksgiving dinner after he faced a backlash when he let slip his plans on the radio. Denver Mayor Michael Hancock had to "humbly ask" for forgiveness after he discouraged residents from traveling for Thanksgiving, then flew to Mississippi the same day to be with his family. And Austin Mayor Steve Adler apologized Wednesday after telling constituents to "stay home" — from a family timeshare in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

The poster children are almost always Democrats. That doesn't mean Republicans aren't dining out and flying out of state, considering a bipartisan stream of California lawmakers flew to Maui for a conference with lobbyists last month despite a travel warning. But Democratic leaders have generally taken the lead in admonishing residents to stay home. Republicans have called for fewer restrictions on activities and have defended their private behaviors as aligned with their beliefs, as was the case throughout the pandemic on mask wearing.

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Wednesday seized on the growing parade of California Democrats who've been dining out under what she called "rules for thee, but not for me." The most notable example has been Newsom, who still can't shake the stain of having attended a packed and tony French Laundry dinner with lobbyist friends.

He finally got company this week in California.

In San Francisco, Breed's office confirmed she dined at French Laundry last month in a party of eight, a meal first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle. Her excursion did not violate any restrictions at the time — it came before Napa County, where the restaurant is located, or her own city had clamped down on indoor dining. But the optics of the scene, revealed in the midst of California's worst surge of the pandemic, were damaging.

On Tuesday, Liccardo posted a heartfelt public mea culpa on Twitter for attending a small family gathering on Thanksgiving, after urging the public to forgo such events. It came after he felt an obligation to disclose to a television station that asked what he did for the holiday.

Seeing their leaders model good behavior has become paramount to those struggling with months of lockdown, veteran Democratic political consultant Rose Kapolczynski said.

“They want to know their leaders can relate to their struggles," she said. "And when they get the idea that there are two sets of rules — one for politicians, and one for everyone else — it makes them crazy. And it’s particularly bad now.’’

https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2020/12/02/california-politicians-skewered-for-social-crimes-in-the-age-of-coronavirus-1339763 3/6 12/3/2020 California politicians skewered for social crimes in the age of coronavirus

Jerry Roberts, the former managing editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, said that the times are long past when leading politicians could be caught with their pants down — literally — in public places and never have to worry about immediate backlash and headlines.

“Social media has made all the difference,’’ he said. “Back then, people saw what they were doing, but they didn’t have the evidence.” Today, the evidence is as easy as hitting a “send” button — and reaching millions — a power that is both liberating and frightening in some respects, he said.

Democrats engaging in hypocritical behavior has been an easy target for Republicans. But they've also drawn tsk-tsking from their own partisans, who have gone out on a limb to defend their rules.

"It’s the whole cancel culture — you can’t make any mistakes, no matter how minor," he said.

Every time a rule-breaking act has been exposed, politicians have felt compelled to issue extensive apologies. It's not only an attempt to seek forgiveness but to emphasize to the public that their rules are still necessary to control coronavirus.

San Jose’s Liccardo felt compelled to issue a five-paragraph mea culpa for attending a small outdoor gathering on Thanksgiving with his immediate family and elderly parents, who are in their 80s. The mayor’s statement detailed the outdoor dining and the family members involved, sparking anger from hundreds on social media who called Liccardo a hypocrite — and praise from constituents who said his honesty was refreshing.

Jim Reed, the mayor’s chief of staff, said Liccardo felt the need to be entirely forthcoming with his constituents.

“The mayor has talked about his shortcoming,’’ he said. But “the larger issue is ... people need to exercise good judgment" while trying to observe rules to protect their health — masks and distancing and minimizing gatherings."

“People are going to want to live, to visit their parents, to do that safely — and still comply with regulations," he said.

Joe Mathews, a veteran California journalist and political observer, said the fallout for the mayor’s offense was overwrought and perfectly illustrated just how much the pandemic has skewed politics and public opinion.

https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2020/12/02/california-politicians-skewered-for-social-crimes-in-the-age-of-coronavirus-1339763 4/6 12/3/2020 Supreme Court gives win to California churches fighting ban - Los Angeles Times

POLITICS

Supreme Court gives partial win to churches fighting California’s limits on indoor worship services

https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-12-03/supreme-court-california-ban-on-most-indoor-worship-services 1/10 12/3/2020 Supreme Court gives win to California churches fighting ban - Los Angeles Times The Supreme Court was asked to open church services, despite the danger posed by the coronavirus (Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images)

By DAVID G. SAVAGE | STAFF WRITER

DEC. 3, 2020 | 9:16 AM

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court told California judges on Thursday to take another hard look at state rules that ban most indoor worship services.

A week ago, the justices in a 5-4 decision lifted tight limits on churches and synagogues in neighborhoods of New York City where the virus was spreading. The court said those restrictions violated the 1st Amendment’s protection for the free exercise of religion.

Rather than issue a separate decision responding to a religious-liberty challenge to California’s restrictions, the high court issued a brief, unsigned order on Thursday telling federal judges in the Los Angeles area to reconsider Gov. Gavin Newsom’s even tighter restrictions on worship services in all of the population centers of California.

Florida-based lawyers for the Harvest Rock Churches in California said the governor’s restrictions for “Tier 1" mean that “indoor worship services are completely prohibited for 99.1% of Californians.”

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https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-12-03/supreme-court-california-ban-on-most-indoor-worship-services 2/10 12/3/2020 Supreme Court gives win to California churches fighting ban - Los Angeles Times

While the court’s order appears to have no immediate legal impact, it suggests the state’s ban on indoor services is likely to fall.

In late May, the high court had rejected a religious-liberty challenge to Newsom’s earlier restrictions, which limited indoor church gatherings to 100 people. Then, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. cast a deciding vote and said judges should be wary of second- guessing state and local officials who are trying to restrain the pandemic.

But since then, the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her replacement by Justice Amy Coney Barrett has shifted the majority. And the court now appears ready to strike down state restrictions on worship services that are more severe than the rules affecting retailers, offices and factories.

The decision is another at least partial victory for religious-liberty advocates and a setback for state health regulators. California’s lawyers warned the court about the surge in coronavirus cases and argued this was not the time to relax the restrictions on large indoor gatherings.

But Thursday’s order follows closely in line with the high court’s decision Nov. 25 to lift more targeted restrictions in New York severely limiting worship services in neighborhoods of Brooklyn and Queens, where the pandemic was spreading.

Two days before the court’s order in the New York case, Harvest Rock lodged an appeal of California’s restrictions. It argued Newsom’s rules discriminated against religion because grocery stores, big-box retailers, warehouses and meatpacking plants could remain open and allow large gatherings while churches were closed. They also said

https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-12-03/supreme-court-california-ban-on-most-indoor-worship-services 3/10 12/3/2020 Supreme Court gives win to California churches fighting ban - Los Angeles Times officials in Pasadena had threatened the Harvest Rock Church there and its pastor with fines and criminal charges.

In defense of the restrictions, the state’s lawyers said indoor gatherings where people congregate for an extended time pose greater risks of spreading the infection. “The risk is particularly high when such congregate activities involve singing or chanting, especially when they take place in buildings with limited ventilation,” they told the court.

The state’s “risk-based approach” sets the tightest restrictions in “Tier 1" counties, which include all of California’s population centers. There “the blueprint prohibits indoor gatherings for certain businesses and activities — including museums, movie theaters, restaurants and worship services — but allows such gatherings outside,” the state’s lawyers said.

A federal judge and a 9th Circuit Court panel had turned away Harvest Rock’s religious- liberty challenge to Newsom’s order. The judges did so by citing a late May decision of the Supreme Court which, by a 5-4 vote, refused to lift California’s earlier restrictions on the size of church gatherings.

Thursday’s order sets aside those decisions and tells the California-based judges to reconsider the issue in light of Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn vs. Cuomo, last week’s decision from New York.

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https://www.foxla.com/news/permanent-memorial-plan-for-san-bernardino-terror-attack-victims-unveiled-on-5-year-anniversary?taid=5fc90f0e987… 3/3 12/3/2020 San Bernardino terrorist attack victims honored in Cal State San Bernardino ceremony – Press Enterprise

NEWS •• News San Bernardino terrorist attack victims honored in Cal State San Bernardino ceremony

Participants in a Cal State San Bernardino online memorial service, including Erica Ochoa, (at bottom) the sister of Yvette Velasco, one of the 14 victims of the San Bernardino terrorist attack, watch as a bell in a campus memorial garden is rung 14 timestimes Wednesday,Wednesday, Dec.Dec. 2,2, 2020.2020. (Via(Via Zoom)Zoom)

By JEFF HORSEMAN || [email protected]@scng.com || TheThe Press-Press- Enterprise PUBLISHED: December 2, 2020 at 3:35 p.m. || UPDATED:UPDATED: December 2, 2020 at 3:36 p.m.

https://www.pe.com/2020/12/02/san-bernardino-terrorist-attack-victims-honored-in-cal-state-san-bernardino-ceremony/?utm_source=twitter.… 1/4 12/3/2020 San Bernardino terrorist attack victims honored in Cal State San Bernardino ceremony – Press Enterprise

Bell chimes and words of hope marked a virtual ceremony Wednesday, Dec. 2, toto markmark thethe fifthfifth anniversaryanniversary ofof thethe San Bernardino terrorist attack..

Cal State San Bernardino organized the ceremony, held online due to thethe coronavirus pandemic,, toto honorhonor thethe 1414 killedkilled inin thethe Dec.Dec. 2,2, 2015,2015, shooting,shooting, includingincluding fivefive whowho werewere alumnialumni ofof thethe universityʼsuniversityʼs CollegeCollege ofof NaturalNatural SciencesSciences — Robert Adams, Juan Espinoza, Shannon Johnson, Yvette Velasco and Michael Wetzel.

The ceremony broadcast started with virtual onlookers watching the bell at the on-campus Peace Garden,, createdcreated toto honorhonor thethe fivefive alumni,alumni, beingbeing rungrung 1414 timestimes toto honorhonor thethe 1414 dead.dead. ThoseThose whowho spokespoke includedincluded EricaErica Ochoa,Ochoa, VelascoʼsVelascoʼs sister.

“Not only do we today mourn the loss of Yvette, but also the loss of our former selves,” said Ochoa, who spoke via online video from her sisterʼs room. “When you lose a loved one who is so interconnected with you and your life and your family,family, itʼsitʼs reallyreally trulytruly alteredaltered mymy existence.existence. ItʼsItʼs alteredaltered ourour family.family. ItʼsItʼs alteredaltered usus forever.”forever.”

The garden, Ochoa said, stands for “understanding others in light of all the violence and chaos throughout the world. It really reflects an opportunity for you to find understanding in other people and instead of judging others.”

She ended her remarks with what she said was one of Velascoʼs favorite quotes: “The sign of a beautiful person is that they always see beauty in others.”

Also Wednesday, a ground-breaking ceremony took place at the San Bernardino County Government Center forfor aa memorialmemorial toto thethe Dec.Dec. 22 attackattack victims..

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Enter your email to sign up https://www.pe.com/2020/12/02/san-bernardino-terrorist-attack-victims-honored-in-cal-state-san-bernardino-ceremony/?utm_source=twitter.… 2/4 12/3/2020 Warehouses for Amazon, Walmart, Target sell for $2 billion - Los Angeles Times

BUSINESS

Warehouses for Amazon, Walmart and Target sell in a $2-billion deal

The sale of a portfolio of large-scale shipping centers underscores the rapid growth of online shopping during the pandemic. This 2-million-square-foot warehouse in Riverside is said to be part of a $2-billion deal. (Eastdil Secured)

By ROGER VINCENT | STAFF WRITER

DEC. 3, 2020 | 7 AM

A portfolio of large-scale shipping centers where e-commerce powerhouses Amazon, Walmart and Target assemble and ship boxes of goods for customers has sold for $2

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2020-12-03/warehouses-amazon-walmart-target-sold-2-billion-deal 1/9 12/3/2020 Warehouses for Amazon, Walmart, Target sell for $2 billion - Los Angeles Times billion in a deal that underscores the rapid growth of online shopping during the pandemic.

Among the 23 properties are two in the Inland Empire, where many e-commerce companies base their operations serving Los Angeles and other parts of Southern California.

“We see this acquisition as an exceptional way of tapping into the rapid acceleration of e-commerce growth — one of the most impactful investment themes post-COVID, and likely of the decade to come,” said Terry Fancher, executive managing director of Stockbridge, a San Francisco real estate investment management firm.

Stockbridge bought the 14.3-million-square-foot portfolio of Class A logistics facilities across the U.S. in a joint venture with the National Pension Service of Korea in Seoul, one of the largest pension funds in the world with about $672 billion in assets.

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China has pulled back from buying U.S. real estate in recent years, but South Korean investors, including pension funds and life insurance companies, have picked up the baton during the COVID-19 pandemic, snapping up warehouses and other commercial buildings with long-term tenants.

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2020-12-03/warehouses-amazon-walmart-target-sold-2-billion-deal 2/9 12/3/2020 Warehouses for Amazon, Walmart, Target sell for $2 billion - Los Angeles Times The buyers did not identify the properties in the portfolio, but a person who knows about the transaction but is not authorized to speak about it publicly said they include a 2-million-square-foot warehouse complex at Van Buren Boulevard and the 215 Freeway in Riverside that Target is in negotiations to lease and a 1-million-square-foot center leased to Amazon at 1494 S. Waterman Ave. in San Bernardino.

The windy plains at the foot of the San Bernardino Mountains, once austere stretches of agricultural land, have morphed into one of the country’s most desirable industrial real estate markets. Vast warehouses — some are bigger than 30 football fields under one roof — are used to store, process and ship merchandise such as clothes, housewares and toys to ever more online shoppers and handle the rising flood of goods passing through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

The portfolio sale was the largest transaction by value of industrial properties since the onset of the pandemic, the buyers said. They did not identify the seller, but the person familiar with the deal said it was Hillwood Properties, a Texas company founded by Ross Perot Jr.

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The buyers said the portfolio includes recently completed and soon-to-be-completed properties, with the average year of completion 2020. Other properties are in cities including Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Detroit, Jacksonville, Fla., Memphis, Tenn., and Pittsburgh.

BUSINESS HOT PROPERTY https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2020-12-03/warehouses-amazon-walmart-target-sold-2-billion-deal 3/9 12/3/2020 Upland OKs new $15.4 million reservoir to replace one that could fail – Daily Bulletin

LOCAL NEWS •• News Upland OKs new $15.4 million reservoir to replace one that could fail The reservoir at 17th Street and Benson Avenue has seismic and structural deficiencies

By STEVE SCAUZILLO || [email protected] || SanSan GabrielGabriel ValleyValley TribuneTribune PUBLISHED: December 2, 2020 at 5:21 p.m. || UPDATED:UPDATED: December 2, 2020 at 6:35 p.m.

After four years of planning, the city of Upland soon will begin construction on a $15.4 million concrete reservoir to replace an old one in danger of failing.

The new above-ground, 7.5 million-gallon reservoir will be built adjacent to the old one on the northwest corner of 17th Street and Benson Avenue that was said to be similar to one in Westminster that failed in 1989. Construction will start in the first quarter of 2021 and take 12 months to 18 months to complete, city officials reported.

“The reservoir is essential for the city’s water system,” said City Manager Rosemary Hoerning, during an interview on Monday, Nov. 30.

https://www.dailybulletin.com/2020/12/02/upland-oks-new-15-4-million-reservoir-to-replace-one-that-could-fail/?utm_medium=social&utm_co… 1/5 12/3/2020 Upland OKs new $15.4 million reservoir to replace one that could fail – Daily Bulletin

The “project location” pinpoints where the new, 7.5-million gallon reservoir will be built in Upland. The proj approved by the City Council on Nov. 23, 2020. (courtesy image).

The city has been patching the existing 42-year-old reservoir with interim repairs forfor thethe pastpast severalseveral years,years, sheshe said.said. InspectorsInspectors foundfound seismicseismic andand structuralstructural deficiencies. Once the new reservoir is built and operational, the old one will be drained and demolished, she added.

InIn AprilApril 2018, 2018, a former city manager told residents at a workshop thatthat ifif thethe reservoir were to breach, say from a major earthquake, much of the city would be without water.

Hoerning said the reservoir is key because it stores imported water purchased fromfrom MetropolitanMetropolitan WaterWater DistrictDistrict ofof SouthernSouthern CaliforniaCalifornia andand treatedtreated atat aa nearbynearby plant for distribution to residential and commercial users throughout the city.

IfIf drydry weatherweather continuescontinues intointo spring,spring, aa droughtdrought emergencyemergency couldcould bebe declareddeclared byby the state, making a city’s supply of imported water even more critical.

The city first began planning for a new reservoir in 2016, said Steven Nix, interim public works director. Several factors delayed the project.

https://www.dailybulletin.com/2020/12/02/upland-oks-new-15-4-million-reservoir-to-replace-one-that-could-fail/?utm_medium=social&utm_co… 2/5 12/3/2020 Upland OKs new $15.4 million reservoir to replace one that could fail – Daily Bulletin Land was purchased from the San Antonio Water Co. by the city for $1.7 million inin SeptemberSeptember 2019.2019. OnOn Aug.Aug. 10,10, 2020,2020, initialinitial bidsbids forfor thethe projectproject werewere rejectedrejected forfor notnot meetingmeeting statestate requirements.requirements.

Four new construction bids were received on Oct. 22, 2020, Nix said. On Nov. 23, 2020, the City Council voted unanimously to accept the low bid from Gateway Pacific Contractors Inc. for $14.14 million, which includes a 5% contingency.

InIn addition,addition, thethe CityCity CouncilCouncil hiredhired RichardRichard BradyBrady andand AssociatesAssociates Inc.,Inc., thethe designers of the project, to act as project manager to make sure the concrete, steel and materials are tested and the project is built to specifications, costing an additional $1.2 million.

Not only is this project one of the most costly in recent city history, but one of the most complicated. Because it is so complex, the city does not have the expertise to oversee and inspect the construction project and needed to hire an outside project manager, Nix said.

But the second bidding lowered the original price of the project by about $800,000, Nix said.

Also, the city recently received approval from the State Water Resources Control Board for a low-interest loan of up to $16.5 million to pay for the project. The interestinterest raterate isis 1.9%1.9% onon aa loanloan thatthat hashas aa 30-year30-year term,term, NixNix reported.reported.

The debt service on the loan is already figured into the water rates of Upland customers, Hoerning said.

“We are very happy to have received the money from the state to help us to replace this facility,” she added.

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Tags: city-government,, construction,, Foothill Cities,, government,, Inland Empire,, metropolitan-water-district,, Top Stories IVDB,, water

https://www.dailybulletin.com/2020/12/02/upland-oks-new-15-4-million-reservoir-to-replace-one-that-could-fail/?utm_medium=social&utm_co… 3/5 12/2/2020 Former Redlands Congressman Jerry Lewis charged with domestic violence against wife – San Bernardino Sun

NEWSCRIME AND PUBLIC SAFETY •• News Former Redlands Congressman Jerry Lewis charged with domestic violence against wife

Former Congressman Jerry Lewis of Redlands, shown in a file photo, was charged with felony spousal abuse on Nov. 19, 2020. He is due to enter a plea on Feb. 17, 2021. (William Wilson Lewis III/The Press-Enterprise)

By ALMA FAUSTO || [email protected] andand BRIAN ROKOS || [email protected] || OrangeOrange CountyCounty RegisterRegister PUBLISHED: December 2, 2020 at 4:18 p.m. || UPDATED:UPDATED: December 2, 2020 at 4:18 https://www.sbsun.com/2020/12/02/former-redlands-congressman-jerry-lewis-charged-with-domestic-violence-against-wife/?utm_content=tw… 1/5 12/2/2020 Former Redlands Congressman Jerry Lewis charged with domestic violence against wife – San Bernardino Sun p.m.

Jerry Lewis, the former congressman from Redlands, has been charged with felonyfelony spousalspousal abuseabuse afterafter anan allegedalleged domesticdomestic violenceviolence incidentincident involvinginvolving hishis wife.

On Nov. 15 at around 12:45 p.m., Redlands police were called to a report of domestic violence at a home at Crown Street and Sunset Drive, said city and police spokesman Carl Baker.

Though he would not give details about what happened or who was involved to prompt the call to police, Baker confirmed the 86-year-old Lewis was arrested and takentaken toto thethe CentralCentral DetentionDetention Center.Center. JailJail recordsrecords showshow LewisLewis waswas arrestedarrested atat aa house on Sunset Drive. He later posted bail and was released.

“The victim did not require medical aid,” Baker said in an email.

Lewis was charged Nov. 19 and is scheduled to be arraigned Feb. 17, court records show.

On Wednesday afternoon, Lewis, contacted at that Sunset Drive house, had little toto saysay asas hehe left,left, accompaniedaccompanied byby hishis wife,wife, Arlene.Arlene.

“My bride and I are going out to lunch,” he said as the pair got into their car. They were both smiling and did not appear to be at odds.

Previously, Arlene Lewis confirmed in a phone call with a reporter that she was considered in this case to be the victim “if you can call it that.”

Lewis, a Republican, leftleft publicpublic officeoffice inin DecemberDecember 20122012 afterafter 4646 yearsyears inin electedelected office and 33 years representing San Bernardino and Riverside counties in Congress. His wife Arlene served as his longtime chief of staff. It was later announced he would be a distinguished fellow forfor thethe UniversityUniversity ofof Redlands.Redlands.

From 2005 to 2007, Lewis headed the House Appropriations Committee. He steered enormous amounts of federal funding toto favoredfavored projectsprojects throughthrough thethe useuse of earmarks, spending directives that were slipped into annual appropriations bills.

https://www.sbsun.com/2020/12/02/former-redlands-congressman-jerry-lewis-charged-with-domestic-violence-against-wife/?utm_content=tw… 2/5 12/2/2020 Former Redlands Congressman Jerry Lewis charged with domestic violence against wife – San Bernardino Sun Lewisʼ earmarks helped pay for the creation of a cancer research center at Loma Linda University Medical Center, the Seven Oaks Dam and a massive tree-clearing effort in the San Bernardino National Forest credited with reducing the regionʼs perennial wildfire danger.

The earmarks drew scrutiny, prompting a federal investigation thatthat diddid notnot resultresult inin charges,charges, andand oneone bloggerblogger criticizedcriticized LewisLewis asas aa “spend-aholic.”“spend-aholic.”

In a 2012 speech to the Rotary Club of Redlands,, LewisLewis defendeddefended thethe earmarks,earmarks, saying that California taxpayers send more money to Washington and get less back than most other states.

“Our job was to tap as many of those dollars as possible for our taxpayers back home,” Lewis said.

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Tags: Assault and Battery,, crime,, domestic-violence,, politics,, Top Stories RDF

Alma Fausto | Reporter Alma Fausto is a crime, breaking news and public safety reporter for thethe Register.Register. SheShe hashas workedworked forfor thethe RegisterRegister sincesince 2013.2013. Previously,Previously, she lived in New York City while studying at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism where she covered the growing Mexican immigrant population in the city. Alma has also lived and studied in Californiaʼs rural and agricultural Central Valley. Sheʼs an Orange County native fromfrom CostaCosta Mesa,Mesa, andand inin herher sparespare timetime likeslikes toto readread andand contributecontribute toto causescauses related to literacy. She has been on the board of the Orange County Press Club since 2015.

[email protected]

 Follow Alma Fausto @AlmaFausto1

https://www.sbsun.com/2020/12/02/former-redlands-congressman-jerry-lewis-charged-with-domestic-violence-against-wife/?utm_content=tw… 3/5 12/3/2020 At 30, Cameron Gregg becomes youngest mayor in Hesperia's history

NEWS At 30, Cameron Gregg becomes youngest mayor in Hesperia's history Rene Ray De La Cruz Victorville Daily Press Published 10:51 p.m. PT Dec. 2, 2020

The Hesperia City Council on Tuesday selected Mayor Pro Tem Cameron Gregg to lead the city as its next mayor during a meeting that also saw the elected body adopt the certified results from the Nov. 3 election.

Gregg took over the municipal reins from outgoing Mayor Larry Bird, one of three incumbents just re-elected to the City Council. Gregg will serve a one-year term in the head position on the dais.

Both Bird and Councilman Bill Holland said that the 30-year-old Gregg is the youngest mayor in the city's 32 years of incorporation, claims later confirmed by Deputy City Manager Rachel Molina.

“If I had him as a student, I have to be correct,” joked Bird, whose job is principal of Sultana High School.

Unlike Adelanto and Barstow's, Hesperia's mayor is not elected. Rather, voters elect council members in their respective districts, and the City Council later votes to appoint one of its own to the position. This process is the same in Apple Valley and Victorville.

The Hesperia City Council selected Gregg by a 4-1 vote. Councilwoman Rebekah Swanson cast the dissenting vote. On Wednesday, Swanson declined to comment when asked about her no vote.

During a presentation that acknowledged Bird's time as mayor, which lasted two years, Gregg called him a great leader, especially during trying times brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

In a separate unanimous vote, the City Council selected District 4 Councilwoman Brigit Bennington for mayor pro tem. https://www.vvdailypress.com/story/news/2020/12/02/cameron-gregg-youngest-mayor-in-hesperia-history/3800832001/ 1/2 12/3/2020 At 30, Cameron Gregg becomes youngest mayor in Hesperia's history

Tuesday's meeting also saw the City Council adopt the final, certified results of the Nov. 3 election, which were released by the San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters earlier that same day.

The results showed election wins for Swanson, Bennington and Bird in their respective districts.

Swanson, 58, retained the District 1 seat with nearly 43.6% of the total vote. She defeated former Councilman Mike Leonard, 73, and candidate Anthony Rhoades in the race.

Swanson’s husband, Eric, who serves on the Hesperia Unified School District Board of Trustees, administered the oath of office to his wife. The couple's children, Will and Julia, stood nearby during the swearing-in.

Bennington, who was appointed last year by the City Council to represent District 4, ran unopposed for the seat. She replaced former Councilman Jeremiah Brosowkse, who was was removed by a 3-2 City Council vote due to alleged non-residency after being elected in 2018.

Despite running unopposed, Bennington appeared on the ballot and garnered 4,910 votes. She was sworn in by her daughter, Karleigh.

In the District 5 race, the 59-year-old Bird amassed 52.2% of the total vote, defeating challenger Mark Dundon, 49, who garnered 47.8%.

Bird stood next to his wife, Julie, as their daughter, Lainie, administered the oath of office.

Election results also showed the overwhelming passage of Measure N in Hesperia. The ballot measure, according to city officials, is designed to reduce the number of dwelling units per acre in order to ensure a sustainable and affordable water supply in the city.

Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz.

https://www.vvdailypress.com/story/news/2020/12/02/cameron-gregg-youngest-mayor-in-hesperia-history/3800832001/ 2/2 12/3/2020 MORONGO VALLEY WOMAN CHARGED WITH MURDER IN CRASH THAT KILLED TWO TEENS | Z107.7 FM

MORONGO VALLEY WOMAN CHARGED WITH MURDER IN CRASH THAT KILLED TWO TEENS

DECEMBER 3, 2020 | Z107.7 NEWS | LEAVE A COMMENT

A Morongo Valley woman was arrested on murder charges Wednesday, accused of killing two teenagers while driving drunk in Morongo Valley 18 months ago. Investigators say that about 10:30 p.m. on June 12, 2019, Nicole Packer, 34, was driving a 2018 white Ford Fiesta westbound on Highway 62 just west of Rosella Drive at a high rate of speed when her car crashed into a 2018 Toyota Prius that was turning into the Circle K gas station. Two teenagers in the back seat of the Prius, Hart Campbell, 14, and Ruby Campbell,17, both died at local hospitals a few hours later. Their parents, Colin Campbell and Gail Lerner, were seriously injured, as was Packer; they were all taken to Desert Hospital in Palm Springs. After a nearly 18-month-long investigation, the District Attorney led warrants Wednesday for Packer’s arrest for two counts of murder, as well as driving under the inuence causing injury, and causing great bodily harm or death to multiple victims, driving with a suspended license, and driving more than 20 miles per hour over the speed limit while DUI. Nicole Packer was arrested at her home in the 50300 block of Oskar Lane in Morongo Valley about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday and booked into the Morongo Basin Jail, with her bail set at $2.5 million.

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Fake Claims About Dominion Voting Systems Do Real Damage

Our machines have no secret ‘vote flipping’ algorithm. We have no ties to dictator Hugo Chávez. By John Poulos Nov. 30, 2020 11:56 am ET

Accurate, transparent and accessible elections—this is the objective that motivated me to create Dominion Voting Systems 18 years ago in Canada. From the start, the company was focused on improving paper-based voting, and it continues to pursue vote-tabulation solutions that enhance accuracy and transparency through audits and reviews, as well as by allowing voters to create, verify and privately cast a marked paper ballot. But if you’ve heard about our role in the U.S. election on Twitter, it’s likely you’ve heard something different. The allegations against Dominion are bizarre, but I’ll set the record straight. Dominion is an American company, now headquartered in Denver. Dominion is not and has never been a front for communists. It has no ties to Hugo Chávez, the late dictator of Venezuela. It has never been involved in Venezuelan elections. None of Dominion’s systems use the Smartmatic software that has come under attack, as any state certification lab could verify.

There is no secret “vote flipping” algorithm. Third-party test labs, chosen by the bipartisan Election Assistance Commission and accredited by a program of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, perform complete source-code reviews on every federally certified tabulation system. States replicate this process for their own certifications. Postelection canvassing and auditing also exist to provide additional assurance of the vote totals’ accuracy.

The part of the election process on which Dominion focuses is highly regulated and certified. The company doesn’t work in noncertified areas such as voter-registration systems, poll books or signature-verification software, and it doesn’t provide vote-by-mail printing. Dominion voting machines do one thing: accurately tabulate votes from county- verified voters using a durable paper ballot controlled and secured by local elections officials.

Some of the main counties where results have been contested, like Philadelphia and Allegheny (Pittsburgh), don’t even use Dominion voting systems. In fact, across the 14 Pennsylvania counties that use Dominion systems, President Trump received 52.2% of the vote.

Despite the company’s limited role in elections, it has been the target of a stream of outrageous statements since Election Day—increasingly reckless and defamatory allegations that don’t stand up to scrutiny. Dominion is never able to affect the outcome of an election. The entire certification process makes sure of that. Regardless, the company’s focus has always been to be nonpartisan and respectful of all views. Dominion’s customers are election officials from both parties in the 28 states where it operates.

Unlike its critics, Dominion has had to attest to every part of its business ownership and operations to governmental agencies and in courts—under oath and penalty of perjury. We believe it is important to welcome the highest degree of scrutiny and transparency in the election process. This builds trust and leads to more resilient and robust elections. The widespread disinformation campaign America currently faces, however, does the opposite. Baseless and ludicrous smears are presented without evidence and amplified across social media.

These attacks undermine the tens of thousands of state and local officials who run our elections. When it comes to counting ballots, officials have established a distributed, multilayered system with checks and balances, in which robust safeguards ensure that no one needs to trust blindly any person, company or technology. Here are some of the safeguards in place in Georgia, where the Trump campaign has contested the result:

• Tabulation machines are tested publicly, before bipartisan witnesses, before and right after Election Day.

• On Election Day, poll workers—not Dominion systems—verify voters’ identities, including a signature check. • Voters mark a paper ballot to vote. Absentee voters use pens, while in-person voters use “ballot marking devices,” which display a digital ballot for voters to make a selection and then print a paper record. In both cases, voters verify the marked paper ballot before casting it in a secure ballot box through an air-gapped scanning tabulator.

• After polls close, results are tallied by local officials. Paper ballots are safeguarded by thousands of poll workers distributed across 2,656 precincts.

• The Georgia Secretary of State’s Office certified election results after hand-auditing five million ballots, which showed that the paper-ballot voting system counted and reported results accurately. The small change to the final tally was due entirely to the addition of ballots that had been uncounted due to human process errors.

• The state also enlisted Pro V&V, a certified third-party testing laboratory, to audit a random sample of Dominion machines. No tampering was found.

The wild allegations of recent weeks have fueled the harassment of election officials and Dominion employees across the country—including stalking and death threats. The lies and smears have no basis in fact, but they do real damage to our democracy by casting doubt on the legitimacy of the electoral process. The false allegations should be retracted immediately.

Citizens should know that America’s rigorous, layered and transparent electoral process— in which Dominion is proud to participate—ensures its elections are secure, accurate and credible.

Mr. Poulos is president and CEO of Dominion Voting Systems.