B CALIFORNIA M ONDAY, JUNE 22, 2020 :: L ATIMES.COM/CALIFORNIA L.A. officials are unfazed by mounting virus cases lized — even though the Tally is rising because number of new cases in- creased by nearly 20,000 in of more testing, but the last two weeks and by other metrics point to more than 3,600 just over the weekend. stabilizing, experts say. Two key indicators — the positivity rate and average By Alex Wigglesworth number of daily hospitali- zations — have continued to Bartenders over the remain relatively steady, weekend began mixing while average daily deaths drinks, gyms turned on ellip- have declined, L.A. officials tical machines and nail sa- said. It is always possible lons began polishing away as these numbers could start Los Angeles County re- going up, either from spread opened more of its economy from reopening businesses, even as coronavirus cases from recent protests over continued to rise. the police killing of George The county, a hotbed of Floyd or other reasons. Offi- COVID-19 in California, now cials said they are monitor- has reported more than ing the metrics closely and 3,000 deaths and 80,000 con- could impose new restric- firmed cases. The rising case tions if needed. numbers have sparked some “The most important worry about whether the data continues to be looking economy is reopening too at our death data and our quickly and that easing stay- hospitalization data and our at-home orders could cause rate of positivity, and ... all of new outbreaks. the indicators really point to But health officials con- the fact that we are fairly sta- tinue to discount those con- ble and that we in fact con- cerns, saying total new cases tinue to slow the spread of Gabriella Angotti-Jones Los Angeles Times is not the best measure of COVID-19,” Barbara Ferrer, STEVIE CARPENTER, a 25-year-old L.A. City College graduate, withdrew from a chemistry course that community spread because the county’s health director, moved online, which could threaten his plans to transfer to UC Davis in the fall to study neurobiology. of aggressive levels of new said Friday. testing. They point to other As of Sunday, there were metrics they say show that 1,426 confirmed coronavirus Compounding crises for the local outbreak has stabi- [See Coronavirus, B2] junior-college students Many in L.A. struggle with online classes, basic needs amid COVID a teacher…. It’s difficult to just read a tem during their final months of the By Nina Agrawal book and go off the examples,” he said. academic year, and it portends fur- Instead, he received an “excused” ther troubles as the Los Angeles Com- Stevie Carpenter dropped out of withdrawal, jeopardizing his admis- munity College District will continue high school, earned his GED, enrolled sion to UC Davis and threatening his with primarily online instruction in at Los Angeles City College and at age plans to become the first in his family the fall. 25 has been accepted to attend UC of 10 children to attend a four-year With nine colleges and an annual Davis this fall, where he plans to study university. enrollment of more than 200,000, the neurobiology. “Hopefully, I can take it again” at district serves some of the most vul- But the COVID-19 pandemic has UC Davis, Carpenter said. “If not, I am nerable students in the state’s sys- Jason Armond Los Angeles Times thrown another major challenge at going to have to apply for the following tems of public higher education. An NATIVE AMERICAN dancers join others outside him: online classes. Carpenter school year.” estimated 1 in 5 were homeless before the Compton sheriff’s station Sunday in a protest couldn’t keep up with general chem- Carpenter’s experience reflects the the pandemic, and more than half over the fatal shooting of Andres Guardado. istry, a requirement for his major. struggles of many students in the na- were food insecure — circumstances “I couldn’t take chemistry without tion’s largest community college sys- [See Students, B5] Protesters want answers in killing Violence recalls journalist’s death of Gardena man the peaceful demonstration In 1970, Ruben Salazar May 31 and got to work: ob- serving the scene, doing Los Angeles County sheriff’s was killed by a deputy. spot interviews and keeping ‘Why’d you kill that deputy. Authorities said This year, reporters an eye on Long Beach police Guardado was armed and officers in riot gear holding a kid?’ crowd asks at site had fled from deputies, but again come under fire. line near 3rd Street and Pine where a deputy shot have not said what Avenue. prompted the shooting. By Daniel Hernandez He called in details to the Andres Guardado, 18. “He ran because he was news broadcast at Southern scared,” one of the pro- Adolfo Guzman-Lopez, a California Public Radio. By Brittny Mejia, testers’ signs read. “Why’d radio journalist in Los Ange- “Just as I said goodbye to the Anh Do you kill that kid?” the crowd les since 2000, responded host, things changed,” Guz- and Laura Newberry chanted. with the typical affirmative man-Lopez said. “Police offi- People in cars raised when he got a request from cers started to move up, that Protesters and sheriff’s their fists in solidarity and his editor on a Sunday to caused some of the pro- deputies engaged in a tense honked their horns. Aztec cover some news. He’d be testers to get more vocal, standoff Sunday evening dancers beat drums at the out at that afternoon’s anti- start chanting and yelling over the officer-involved front of the procession. police-brutality protests in louder. That’s when I heard shooting of a Gardena man, Protesters marched his home city of Long Beach. the pop,” he said. with authorities using what down West Redondo Beach Sure thing. At that moment, the re- appeared to be tear gas to Boulevard, where Guardado “The march was happen- porter felt a sting at his disperse a small group who was shot, filling the street as ing like 10 minutes from Los Angeles Times throat and watched as an had broken off from the oth- they headed toward the where I lived, so I said yes,” A PROTESTER in 1995 holds a mock coffin with the object bounced to the erwise peaceful demon- sheriff’s station in Compton Guzman-Lopez recalled. “I name of Ruben Salazar, a Times columnist who was ground near him. It was a stration. over three miles away. got ready, got my equip- killed in 1970 while covering a Chicano antiwar rally. rubber bullet. In a daze, “We don’t want to see Guardado’s aunt, Edis ment, food, water, mask and Guzman-Lopez ran to a your children hurt,” some- Abarca, was there with an El everything.” parking lot. A few people one announced from a sher- Salvador flag wrapped Guzman-Lopez didn’t stopped to help him and no- iff’s helicopter, urging fam- around her body, reflecting know then, but by day’s end ticed blood. “I went to my car ilies to leave so that they the country her family fled he’d be reprising elements of Fight for public School dumps to tell my editor what hap- were not exposed to pepper because of civil war. a notorious event from 50 health funding Rebel mascot pened, and that’s when I spray or tear gas and to pro- When asked how her fam- years ago, when another needs lobbyists Officials at Quartz Hill tweeted the picture that’s tect themselves from ily felt, she said, “Broken.” nonwhite L.A. journalist High in the Antelope gotten around,” he said. troublemakers. Protesters said they were went to cover a demon- Persuading lawmakers Valley say that they are The image shows a Hundreds of demon- concerned the shooting was stration and had a brutal en- to increase spending in dropping Johnny Rebel bloody red welt right at the strators gathered in Gar- unjustified and demanded counter with the police. a time of cuts is more after 56 years. B3 base of Guzman-Lopez’s dena earlier to demand jus- more answers from author- The KPCC reporter, difficult amid the lack throat. (Guzman-Lopez is tice for Andres Guardado, ities, who have provided few wearing press credentials of political clout. B2 Lottery ......................... B2 still recovering and provided an 18-year-old Latino man details on the events that led and a blue polo, arrived at [See Journalists, B4] fatally shot Thursday by a [See Guardado, B5] SPORTS INSIDE: Wild’s resume — Galaxy forward, circus performer and winning chef. B7 LATIMES.COM MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2020 B5 Protesters demand answers in deadly shooting [Guardado, from B1] tion into this tragic death. up to Guardado’s death. There must be full transpar- “What happened to An- ency so the public can trust dres was not only a tragedy, the investigation and we it was an outright crime,” know we are getting the said Ron Gochez, a member truth.” of Union del Barrio, which Homicide detectives do organized the demon- not have any video of the stration. “This is just one shooting, Wegener said, and more of so many people who they are still working to get have been killed by the L.A. footage from the scene from County sheriffs and the po- a third-party vendor. lice.... This is the unity be- Barragán and Waters tween the Black and brown criticized deputies for not community saying we are wearing body cameras — tired of this.” equipment that, according Guardado was shot to Villanueva, he has been about 6 p.m.