The Epoch Times
Parents Gather in Support of Lawsuit to Reopen OC Schools
https://www.theepochtimes.com/parents-gather-in-support-of-lawsuit-to-reopen-oc-schools_3477368.html
COSTA MESA, Calif.—Parents and students gathered on Aug. 26 outside the Orange County Department of Education building in Costa Mesa, California, to support a lawsuit calling on Gov. Gavin Newsom to reopen public and private schools.
On Aug. 21, the law firm of Tyler & Bursch filed two petitions against Newsom and Sandra Shewry, the state’s public health officer, pursuing an injunction to dismiss current mandates preventing schools from reopening for in-person instruction for the 2020–2021 school year.
The courts ordered the state to respond by Aug. 28.
The Orange County Board of Education is a plaintiff in one of the two suits. Petitioners include the Palm Lane Charter School in Anaheim, Calvary Chapel of San Jose, and Calvary Murrieta Christian Schools, among others.
Supporters of the lawsuit argue the governor’s July 17 executive order outlining his plan for schools failed to acknowledge the significant fiscal burden it places on private schools, as well as the negative impact it has on the quality of education and overall mental well-being of students.
“This case is of such importance and such significance, and it is so detrimental to children all across our state, that I believe the California Supreme Court recognizes that and said, ‘Gov. Newsom, you come and stand in front of us and defend your closure, and you better provide some darn good reasons for that,’” Robert Tyler, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said at the Aug. 26 press conference.
“He is not going to be able to do that. We have many experts presented showing the fallacy of closing schools.”
The lawsuits say Newsom’s mandates violate the 14th Amendment, which guarantees equal protection under the law, by depriving students of the proper resources to receive an adequate education.
Many teachers are against returning to in-person learning until the pandemic is under control. The California Teachers Association supported Newsom’s decision to move forward with the distance learning model in a July letter, arguing schools cannot reopen until they are safe.
Citizens gather at a protest supporting a lawsuit calling for the immediate reopening of schools in front of the Orange County Department of Education building in Costa Mesa, Calif., on Aug. 26, 2020. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)
“Unfortunately, many local districts and communities don’t have the necessary resources or capacity to maintain even the most basic prevention measures of six feet physical distancing and limiting contacts, much less the other important preventative actions such as personal protective equipment (PPE), testing and tracing, or adequate ventilation and cleaning supplies,” the letter states.
Speaking at the Aug. 26 gathering, County Board of Education member Dr. Ken Willams said: “We know that this virus is not the killer that it was said to be. In fact, according to the science and data, and from my clinical experience treating patients with COVID, children are at the lowest cohort for this disease.”
According to the private school suit, Newsom declared a $5.3 billion budget in funding for public schools to supplement appropriate resources needed for distance-learning models, but failed to make any portion of the funding available for private schools.
Because of the unequal distribution in funding, private schools were “left at a disadvantage to provide equal interaction, assignments, and support which would be equivalent to in-person learning.”
In an Aug. 24 press release, Tyler called the governor’s orders “unconstitutional.”
“They undermine the fundamental right to an education for students and threaten to force the closure of hundreds of private schools across the state who are not receiving any state funds and cannot exist without the ability to open their doors without governmental interference,” the release stated.
Parents have also expressed their concern for the long-term psychological impact distance learning places on their children. Deborah Nham, who attended the rally, is in favor of reopening schools immediately.
“A lot of kids now are suffering from depression and also self-harming behavior. We’re hearing lots of reports from our friends and family of difficulty with teenagers who are just hurting right now,” Nham told The Epoch Times.
Another parent, Melissa Crew, said her son was cyber-bullied on an Aug. 24 Zoom call.
Psychologist Shannae Anderson, who was cited in the lawsuit, said: “The statewide lockdown has created a mental health crisis that put children at greater risk for abuse than ever before.
“I have had patients attempt suicide, relapse into drug and alcohol addiction, and need to be hospitalized for serious emotional distress. The helplessness and powerlessness that many experience in the face of the lockdown can reactivate old trauma wounds which render parents distracted and easily overwhelmed.”
Infectious disease specialist Dr. Michael Fitzgibbons recommended reopening schools, saying there are ways to prevent a mass spread of the disease.
“The infectious consequences of opening schools are manageable and can be mitigated, particularly for teachers who feel they are at risk,” Williams said.
County Board of Education member Mari Barke said, “We know that for many children, there is far more risk to them being out of school than in school.”
OC Board Grills Health Director Over County’s Response to COVID-19
Members of the Orange County Board of Supervisors grilled Health Agency Director Dr. Clayton Chau on July 28 over the California county’s response to COVID-19, expressing frustration in not receiving data directly from hospitals in order to foster accurate policy-making decisions.
Chau told the board at its weekly meeting that hospitals are struggling to provide up-to-date reports, making it difficult to accurately analyze information regarding the spread of the disease. He said hospital staffs are fatigued due to the recent spike in COVID-19 cases, and have requested staffing support from the state.
Vice Chairman Andrew Do said the board had been forced to rely on multiple reports to make its decisions, and sometimes those narratives don’t coincide.
“It is very difficult for a policy-setting body like this board to be able to come up with policy when we don’t have data,” Do said.
County officials on July 28 reported 187 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 15 additional deaths, bringing the overall totals to 34,833 cases and 581 fatalities.
With over 150 cases per 100,000 citizens, the county remains on the state’s watch list for counties with high case rates and hospitalizations. The county’s rate of positive tests stands at just over 11 percent, compared to the state’s goal of 8 percent.
Supervisor Donald Wagner questioned the legitimacy of the state’s testing strategies, asking what the point of continuing to increase available testing was if the results weren’t always accurate.
“We can’t be expected to make the best possible decisions without the best possible information. … We don’t even trust our own testing,” Wagner said.
Wagner asked for the science that supports forcing someone to quarantine for 14 days, if they said they had been exposed but the test results came back negative.
“There is a false negative to the tests,” Chau said. A false negative result occurs when a test comes back negative, when in fact the patient is positive for the infection.
Wagner then proposed for the county to impose a mandatory lockdown that would force citizens to stay inside for 14 days without leaving their homes to effectively stop the spread of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus.
Effectively eliminating COVID-19 was not that simple, Chau said—there would still be potential for the disease to spread, even with a mandatory quarantine. He said a conversation had started with local hospitals to facilitate getting more accurate information directly from them.
Wagner, Do, and Chairwoman Michelle Steel requested that Chau speak to state officials about getting hospitals to refine information regarding people who check in for other health reasons but are ultimately diagnosed with COVID-19.
Supervisor Lisa Bartlett also urged Chau to press the state for the reopening of indoor shopping malls, saying they are better suited than outdoor malls to allow for social distancing.
Chau said the county’s recommendations for social distancing, hygiene, and mask wearing have contributed to slowing the spread of the disease.
California Churches Sue Newsom Over Singing Ban
https://www.theepochtimes.com/california-churches-sue-newsom-over-singing-ban_3427733.html
Several Christian churches filed a lawsuit against Gov. Gavin Newsom on July 15, saying the California governor’s new guidelines that ban singing during indoor services violate their constitutional rights.
The California Department of Public Health announced guidelines on July 1 for places of worship and cultural ceremonies that mandate they must “discontinue indoor singing and chanting activities” and limit indoor attendance to 25 percent of building capacity or a maximum of 100 attendees, whichever is lower, to slow the spread of COVID-19.
River of Life Church in Oroville, Calvary Chapel Fort Bragg, and Calvary Chapel of Ukiah are listed as plaintiffs in the suit, while Newsom and California Public Health Officer Dr. Sonia Angell are among the defendants. The three churches are all located in Northern California.
“Banning singing in California churches is an unconstitutional abuse of power. And to do it in the name of a pandemic is despicable,” plaintiff attorney Jordan Sekulow said in a statement. “This ban is clearly targeted at religion. It is clearly a violation of the First Amendment and a direct violation of religious liberty.”
The suit says that Newsom was in full support of massive protests across the state, citing a June 5 tweet in which he wrote that protesters “have the right to protest peacefully,” but is not relaying the same enthusiasm for evangelical Christians who wish to exercise their freedom of religion.
Each church holds weekly worship services that include singing, recitation of scripture, and prayer. Singing and praying aloud “as a body of Christ” is an essential part of worship, the lawsuit states, and placing restrictions on such practices is a direct violation of their First Amendment rights to free exercise of religion.
Newsom is also breaching the churches’ 14th Amendment rights of equal protection under the law by making “arbitrary distinctions between individuals based solely on differences that are irrelevant to a legitimate governmental objection,” according to the lawsuit.
Newsom and the governor’s office did not respond with comment prior to publication.
“Let me be clear, the State does not have the jurisdiction to ban houses of worship from singing praises to God,” attorney Robert Tyler said in a statement.
The governor’s guidelines prohibit singing and chanting during religious services and rehearsals, even if the congregations follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations that encourage mask wearing and social distancing.
The state guidelines cite an “increased likelihood for transmission” of COVID-19 from “contaminated exhaled droplets” that are released through singing or chanting. The guidelines recommend alternative methods of worship, including internet streaming.
Failure to comply with the order “is punishable by fine, imprisonment, or both,” the lawsuit states.
OC Board of Education To Sue Newsom Over California School Closures
The Orange County Board of Education (OCBE) agreed in a closed session on July 28 to file a lawsuit against Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California Public Health Officer, seeking an order to overturn their decision to restrict in-person learning in state schools for the fall.
Attorney Robert Tyler told The Epoch Times in an email that the board plans to officially file the suit next week. His law firm, Tyler & Bursch, said they will represent the board at no taxpayer cost.
The lawsuit will argue that low-income and minority families face unfair burdens due to the restrictions, and that the state Constitution guarantees all school children have the right to equal opportunity for learning.
Newsom issued an order on July 17 to mandate remote learning for counties on the state’s official watch list for high rates of COVID-19. Counties can reopen their schools only if they remain off the list for 14 consecutive days, by sustaining appropriate infection rates below the state’s thresholds.
“While wealthy families generally have the technology, equipment, high-speed internet and the ability to begin the school year with an entirely virtual distant learning model, many lower income families without the same tools and education will suffer greatly if the schools remain closed,” Tyler said in the email.
Tyler said the order does not make certain that children born to immigrant parents—who don’t know how to read or write English—are being offered adequate instruction and supervision.
When Newsom issued the mandate, 32 counties—including Los Angeles, San Diego, and Orange—were on the watch list. “Our students, our teachers, staff, and certainly parents, we all prefer in-classroom instruction for all the obvious reasons—social and emotional, foundationally—but only if it can be done safely,” Newsom said at the time.
Attorney Jennifer Bursch, also representing the board, said children in California have a constitutional right to equal opportunity in education.
“The governor denied them these rights and did so without adequately considering the disparate impact these restrictions would have on the disadvantaged, ” Bursch said. “The governor’s ban on in-person learning will cause tens of thousands of kids to fall through the cracks and, in many cases, [they] will be harmed for life.”
The announced lawsuit comes after the OCBE voted 4-1 on July 13 to recommend reopening county schools without requiring students and staff to follow the state’s safety guidelines, including mask wearing and social distancing. The OCBE emphasized the importance of in-person instruction, calling remote learning an “utter failure.”
The board’s recommendations are not binding on the county’s 28 school districts, which independently create their own rules and guidelines for return.
Orange County Superintendent Dr. Al Mijares said in a July 29 statement he was “disappointed … but not surprised” by the legal action.
“Remember that locally elected school boards and superintendents will continue to approve and implement their own plans based on the guidance of state and local public health agencies and the needs of their communities. The Orange County Department of Education is working to support them every step of the way, and I am optimistic that we can unite as a county to return our students to safe and equitable learning environments,” Mijares said.
Irvine School District Defies OC Board, Will Require Students to Wear Face Masks
IRVINE, Calif.—The Irvine Unified School District (IUSD) Board of Education voted unanimously on July 14 to require that students wear face coverings when schools reopen, contradicting recommendations made by the Orange County Board of Education (OCBE) a day earlier.
“We are following guidelines that have been passed down by health expert agencies,” Superintendent Terry Walker said during the meeting.
The IUSD guidelines align with those approved by the California Department of Public Health and the Orange County Health Care Agency, but counter the OCBE’s recommendations, which are not binding on the county’s 28 school districts.
The OCBE voted 4 to 1 on July 13 to approve guidelines which recommend not enforcing the use of masks and social distancing by students, saying school-age children represent the lowest risk for COVID-19. The OCBE guidelines emphasize the importance of in-person learning, but school districts throughout the county are differing in their approaches to reopening.
The IUSD board recommended a hybrid model that includes both virtual and in-person learning, along with strict safety protocols while children are at school. The guidelines mandate that staff, students, and visitors must wear face coverings at all times, unless maintaining a physical distance of 6 feet or more, or when drinking, eating, or participating in recess. Students with medical issues would be exempt.
The Irvine school board emphasized the importance of a physical classroom setting and safety guidelines based on “evidence, not politics,” but also acknowledged the necessity for ongoing adaptability.
“The landscape is going to continue to change, and we’re going to have to adapt quickly,” said Cassie Parham, an IUSD assistant superintendent. “We need to create models that serve our students and respond to the needs of our community, and support the safety of all students and staff—and that’s no small undertaking.”
The OCBE released its “Recommendations for the Safe and Effective Reopening of Orange County Schools” in a July 13 white paper that included input from a number of medical experts.
“Requiring children to wear masks during school is not only difficult—if not impossible to implement—but not based on science. It may even be harmful and is therefore not recommended,” the paper stated.
The OCBE called remote learning an “utter failure” that’s frustrating for parents, students, and teachers. The American Academy of Pediatrics has also pushed for the physical reopening of schools nationwide, stating that the benefits of an in-person classroom setting on physical and mental health greatly overshadow the risk of COVID-19.
Many county school districts plan to feature virtual learning, despite the OCBE’s concerns. The Santa Ana Unified School District has committed entirely to distance education to start the upcoming school year; two districts in Fullerton and the Tustin Unified School District will offer students a choice of either hybrid or total virtual learning. Other districts, including those in Anaheim, are expected to decide soon.
“For the hybrid model, you’re going to be receiving most of your instruction with the teacher,” Walker said. On distance learning days, the IUSD program offers plentiful resources and independent activities that have been curated, he added.
The hybrid model also makes it “much more likely for those students who are choosing a fully online path to dip their toes in the water of coming back to schools,” Walker said.
The IUSD program also emphasizes thorough cleaning and disinfecting protocols. The custodial staff is being trained in COVID-19 cleaning protocols, according to the guidelines, and students will be taught how to safely move through classrooms and hallways. Nearly 100,000 masks are already available, and more have been ordered.
The IUSD educates over 36,000 students in grades K-12, and includes 24 elementary schools, six middle schools, and six high schools. Schools in the district are scheduled to reopen on Aug. 20.
OC Sherriff’s Department Warns About COVID-19 Contact Tracing Scams
Scammers across the state of California are jumping at the opportunity to monetize the current COVID-19 pandemic by posing as contact tracers and orchestrating fraud schemes using texts and phone calls.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department warned the public on July 13 via Twitter that “scams involving fraudulent COVID-19 contact tracers are being reported across the state.” The scams are often text messages with a clickable link, the tweet adds.
Clicking the link downloads malware on a mobile device that allows the scammer to steal personal information. Red flags include messages that ask for social security numbers or credit card information. Health officials will never ask a person for that type of personal information, the department said.
The heightened threat of scams comes as Orange County experiences a surge in reported cases of COVID-19. County health officials on July 21 reported 20 new deaths, bringing the total to 513, and 990 additional confirmed cases of the disease. With a total of 30,976 confirmed cases, the county now ranks second in the state overall.
Under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s “California Connected” program introduced on May 22, community health workers are able to speak with those who have tested positive for COVID-19 and alert others they may have been exposed, while ensuring all personally identifiable information remains confidential.
Contact tracing serves as an integral piece in mitigating the spread of COVID-19 as it helps diagnose patients earlier, improving their likelihood of being cured, and reduces the chance of the disease spreading to others.
With an increase in available testing in the county—a new site opened in Anaheim on July 15—and high rates of confirmed cases, contact tracing is likely to ramp up.
“It sickens the soul that there are people out there who make it their business to scam you as most of us seek to band together to respond to the coronavirus pandemic,” said California Attorney General Xavier Becerra in a June 8 press release. Real tracers will only ask about medical symptoms and other people who may have been contacted, according to the release.
“Real tracers will only send you texts or emails that say they’ll be calling you—not ask you to click or download anything,” the Federal Trade Commission warned.
The FTC urges those who are suspicious of fraud to contact their state health department and confirm whether or not the person getting in touch with them is a legitimate contact tracer.
California State University Board Approves Ethnic Studies Requirement
The California State University (CSU) Board of Trustees voted on July 22 to require all students to take an ethnic studies or social justice class in order to get their undergraduate degrees.
The proposal passed by a 13 to 5 vote with one abstention, despite concerns by some board members that giving students the option to choose a social justice class over an ethnic studies class overshadows the original intent of the requirement—outlining the history of four ethnic groups who have faced hundreds of years of systemic oppression.
“Ethnic studies really is a movement where we should hold the fidelity to four groups in particular: African Americans, Latinos, Indigenous people, and Asian/Pacific Islanders,” said California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond.
Under the new stipulations, all students would be required to take a course in ethnic studies concerning one of those four core groups, or could instead choose a social justice course option. These courses would focus on the LGBTQ community, the disabled, the Jewish community, women’s studies, gender studies, and other marginalized populations.
Thurmond said the approved proposal watered down the original objective of the measure by adding the social justice option, but acknowledged that oppression exists beyond the scope of the four ethnic groups he thought should be the focus of the mandate.
“At this time, our country needs healing, as it relates to racial justice, and I’m grateful that many of our students have been so vocal about the need for ethnic studies as a way of helping to foster that healing,” Thurmond said.
Other board members said that including other groups is more reflective of the current U.S. population and engages more communities that have also faced historical oppression.
“To me, it is better to have the broader lens,” board member Rebecca Eisen said.
Eisen, who voted in favor of the proposal, said the new requirement will help students “acquire the knowledge and skills that will help them comprehend the diversity and social justice history of the United States, and of the society in which they live,” citing a previous motion.
CSU Chancellor Timothy White insisted the traditional ethnic studies courses “remain the anchor of this proposal and for the course offerings,” but said the social justice choice offers a diverse student population a more diverse array of options to meet the requirement.
The new mandate marks the first modification to the state university’s general education requirements in 40 years. It would take effect beginning in the 2023-2024 school year.
The board’s vote could ultimately wind up being moot, however, depending on the actions of the state Legislature, which is expected as early as next week to give final approval to legislation (Assembly Bill 1460) mandating that the CSU require students to take a traditional ethnic studies course in order to graduate.
If Gov. Gavin Newsom signs the legislation, it would override the Board of Trustees’ vote, and take effect beginning in the 2021-2022 school year.
The CSU system is home to 23 campuses statewide and provides education to approximately 482,000 students each year.
Newsom Buys 420 More Million Masks from Chinese Company
https://www.theepochtimes.com/newsom-buys-420-million-more-masks-from-chinese-company_3436361.html
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on July 22 the purchase of 420 million new protective face masks as part of an aggressive action to bend the curve of COVID-19 cases heading into fall.
The state is currently burning through 46 million masks each month, Newsom said in a press conference. To keep up with demand, he announced a new contract with BYD (Build Your Dreams) Auto Co. for another 120 million N95 respirator masks and 300 million more looser-fitting surgical masks.
Newsom previously entered into a controversial $1 billion contract with China-based BYD in April that included 300 million N95 respirator masks at $3.30 each. According to the new July 17 contract, unit costs have fallen to $2.13 per N95 mask and 20 cents per surgical mask. The total deal is worth over $315 million.
Newsom has also directed the state to maintain a stockpile of 100 million N95 masks and 200 million surgical masks to make sure critical sectors remain prepared to combat surging COVID-19 cases.
“Providing front-line workers the protective equipment they need is critical to our state’s response to COVID-19,” Newsom said in a press release.
“Securing a reliable supply chain of PPE [Personal Protective Equipment] allows us to distribute millions of protective masks to our essential workforce while preserving millions more in our state’s stockpile for future use.”
After a recent spike in COVID-19 cases, California has now surpassed New York and leads the nation. The California Department of Public Health confirmed 12,040 new cases and 157 new deaths on July 23—bringing the state’s total confirmed cases to 425,616, with 8,027 fatalities.
Newsom highlighted the upward trend as “a sober reminder of why we are taking things as seriously as we are.”
Newsom received scrutiny from lawmakers for the state’s first mask deal with BYD when he delayed releasing the initial contract, and the delivered masks twice failed to receive the required National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) certification by set deadlines before finally receiving approval.
The state has already distributed over 86 million N95 respirator masks and nearly 300 million surgical masks to front-line responders including health care workers and nursing home attendants, according to the press release.
Orange County Officials Concerned About Early Release of Inmates
The Orange County Probation Department announced July 23 that they are concerned about their ability to handle an influx of prison inmates likely to be released early by the state due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Orange County Chief Probation Officer Steve Sentman said that at least 176 of the California state prison inmates scheduled to be released early in an ongoing effort to reduce the spread of the disease are likely to return to the county.
Some released inmates have been exposed to COVID-19 and may in fact test positive for the disease, Sentman said during a press conference.
“The Probation Department is working closely with the Orange County Health Care Agency to manage any public health concerns,” Sentman said.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) announced earlier this month that an additional 8,000 inmates statewide could be eligible for accelerated release by the end of August.
Since the start of the pandemic, the CDCR has already reduced the prison population by approximately 10,000 inmates to prevent overcrowding in an aggressive action to slow the spread of the disease in its facilities statewide.
“The Probation Department has had to rely on existing limited resources, previously allocated staffing, and realignment funding to provide the release coordination, transportation, and supervision of these releases,” said Sentman.
“After witnessing the deadly effects of COVID-19 inside California’s dangerously overcrowded prisons, Governor Newsom’s plan is the right decision to help protect the lives of people living and working inside prisons and in surrounding communities,” said Anne Irwin, director of Smart Justice California.
Orange County officials expressed concern for the potential threat released inmates could have on public safety.
“This is a matter of public safety. By releasing violent criminals, pedophiles, and sex offenders, @Gavin Newsom is putting our communities in danger,” Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Michelle Steel said in a July 23 tweet.
According to the CDCR, inmates must meet certain factors to be considered for early release, which include having 180 days or less to serve, not serving time for violent crimes, and having no current or previous sentence requiring them to register as sex offenders.
In institutions identified as high-risk for COVID-19, inmates who have 365 days or less remaining to serve their sentence and fall under the previous stated requirements are also eligible for release.
“Too many people are incarcerated for too long in facilities that spread poor health. Supporting the health and safety of all Californians means releasing people unnecessarily incarcerated and transforming our justice system,” said Jay Jordan, executive director of Californians for Safety and Justice.
According to the CDCR, 7,501 state prison inmates have tested positive for the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus as of July 24. There are currently 2,073 active cases in custody, and there have been 42 inmate deaths so far.
OC Agencies Partner to Train Contact Tracers in Fight Against COVID-19
A partnership of Orange County, California, health care agencies has created an online contact tracing workshop in an effort to boost the ranks of personnel available to combat the spread of COVID-19 in the county.
The University of California, Irvine (UCI) Program in Public Health has joined with the Orange County Health Care Agency (OCHCA) and the Orange County Health Equity COVID-19 Community-Academic Partnership to provide the workshop, which focuses on “health equity” in its approach.
The free program presents students with the latest knowledge about COVID-19, with an emphasis on the impacts and mitigation of the disease on low-income communities of color who have been disproportionately hit by the pandemic.
“The workshop is designed with established models of manual contact tracing and presents the latest knowledge about COVID-19 spread and mitigation,” said OCHCA Director Dr. Clayton Chau in a July 23 press conference.
The four-week series is delivered remotely, and offers group-based discussions as well as role-playing sessions. A certificate of completion is issued by UCI Public Health when the program is successfully finished. The certificate improves the chances a person will be hired by prospective employers, but does not guarantee a job.
With a lack of adequate resources, the OCHCA has struggled to keep up with the demand of new COVID-19 cases. Currently, the agency has approximately 185 contact tracers working full time, officials say. Marc Meulman, a deputy director for the county’s public health services, said earlier this month that the county would need 476 tracers to meet state recommendations, according to The Sacramento Bee.
County health officials announced 273 new confirmed cases on July 27, bringing the total number in the county to 34,646. Two additional deaths were reported, for a total of 566.
Chau said it was “very hard to pinpoint the cause” of the recent spike in county cases. “I can tell you that transmission is in the community now, so everywhere you go you are at risk,” he said.
Health departments use contact tracing as an effective tool in preventing disease transmission by reaching out to those who have tested positive for the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus, and identifying anyone with whom they may have physically interacted.
The workshop, which began July 20 and concludes Aug. 21, is free and open to the public. Registration is available on the OCHCA website.
OC Man Charged With Murder After Body Found in Crashed Truck
Orange County, California, prosecutors filed a murder charge on Aug. 4 against Anaheim-resident Abdulaziz Munther Alubidy, accusing him of killing a woman whose body was discovered in the back of his pickup truck after a collision in north San Diego County on July 31.
The body was found after the truck crashed into another vehicle at the intersection of San Marcos Boulevard and Rancho Sante Fe in San Marcos around 4 p.m. At least one person was taken to a hospital following the crash.
Jessie Villesca, 56, also of Anaheim, was identified as the deceased woman found inside the cab of Alubidy’s gray 2018 Toyota Tundra.
According to an Aug. 2 Anaheim Police Department press release, Villesca’s injuries led investigators to suspect she was the victim of a homicide.
“We don’t believe that there’s additional homicide victims,” Sgt. Shane Carringer, an Anaheim Police Department spokesperson, told The Epoch Times.
San Diego Sheriff’s homicide detectives found evidence pointing to Villesca having been killed near West Corporate Way and North Muller Street in Anaheim earlier in the day on July 31, according to the press release. Anaheim homicide detectives then took over the investigation.
Murder suspect Abdulaziz Alubidy. (Courtesy of Anaheim Police Department)
Police believe evidence shows a link to the relationship between Villesca and Alubidy as a possible motivation behind the crime, Carringer said—but details are few, and the investigation is ongoing. The press release listed the suspect’s age as 28 years old, though reports vary.
Senior Orange County Deputy District Attorney Whitney Bokosky said that Villesca’s severely beaten body was found in the backseat of the four-door truck.
Alubidy allegedly tried to run from deputies and had to be subdued with a Taser, the prosecutor said.
The suspect was booked into the Anaheim Detention Facility and initially denied bail, Bokosky said. A judge will reconsider bail at Alubidy’s arraignment, which is scheduled for Aug. 19 in the jail courtroom in Santa Ana.
Alubidy is originally from Iraq and has been in the country since 2014.
OC Small Businesses Grab New Round of COVID-19 Relief Funds
Small businesses in Orange County, California, have lost no time in applying for a second round of local relief funding for commercial enterprises impacted by COVID-19.
The application period for the second round of the county’s Layoff Aversion Support Fund Program opened Aug. 3 and was scheduled to run through Aug. 6—but the window slammed shut early when the number of applications hit the limit, according to the Orange County Workforce Development Board (OCWDB).
The Orange County One-Stop Center application website crashed from an overwhelming amount of traffic. It was a repeat of the first round of relief funding in May, when applications shut down within an hour.
“The funding is designed to help small businesses prevent layoffs,” Carma Lacy, OCWDB director of workforce and economic development, told The Epoch Times in an email.
“The funding may be used to purchase items such as personal protection equipment that will allow companies to keep their employees working and businesses open.”
The COVID-19 Layoff Aversion Support Program offered up to $10,000 in grant funds for eligible businesses with 500 or fewer employees. In order to qualify, businesses had to be able to demonstrate a need for support due to the impact of COVID-19, pay employees minimum wage or more, and be “in good standing with the State of California and up to date with their state Unemployment Insurance taxes (UI).”
The newly released funds are expected to be awarded beginning August 31, the OCWDB told The Epoch Times. About $256,000 remained available to support small businesses, after $444,000 out of the original $700,000 Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act funds received from the California Employment Development Division (EDD) had been awarded in May.
According to the OCWDB, 69 businesses were awarded funding in the first round of economic relief benefits. The OCWDB anticipates between 25 to 50 businesses receiving benefits in the second round. The money can be used to address “COVID-19-related effects” on a business and its employees, the website states, but cannot be used to pay rent or employee wages.
The website stated applications would be considered on a “first-come, first-served basis.” The process was scheduled to remain open until 50 applications had been received, and another 80 had been placed on the waiting list.
“This funding is intended to help local small businesses mitigate layoffs and adhere to ‘social distancing’ provisions established by state and federal public health entities,” Orange County officials said in a July 31 press release.
The local Layoff Aversion Support Program mirrors the Small Business Grant Relief Program launched on June 22, which provided up to $10,000 grants through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act fund, a $2 trillion federal economic relief package released on March 27.
Supervisor Lisa Bartlett, who represents south Orange County’s Fifth District, announced in a July 31 statement that her district had awarded its allotted $14.5 million in CARES Act support to nonprofit organizations and small businesses in the region.
Bartlett said the allotment helped support more than 1,400 businesses in south Orange County.
“So many small businesses that serve as the backbone of our economy have suffered significant financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Bartlett said. “My goal was to develop a program that would provide financial support to those businesses and get funds into their hands as quickly as possible.”
OC Nurses Join Nationwide Protest Demanding Better COVID-19 Protection
Nurses at hospitals throughout Orange County banded together Aug. 5 in a “National Day of Action to Save Lives,” calling for better protection for health care workers and safer nurse-patient ratios amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The protests, conducted by the California Nurses Association and the National Nurses United union, took place beginning at 6 a.m. and lasted throughout the morning at Anaheim Global Medical Center on South Anaheim Boulevard; Chapman Global Medical Center on East Chapman Avenue in Orange; South Coast Global Medical Center on South Bristol Street in Santa Ana; West Anaheim Medical Center on West Orange Avenue; and Kindred Hospital Westminster on Hospital Circle.
Ron Herron, a registered nurse at Kindred Hospital Westminster, told The Epoch Times that nurses are still not receiving adequate levels of personal protective equipment (PPE), and that “the hospital provides us with one N95 mask.”
“It’s impossible to social distance in a hospital, and I have had to purchase some of my own PPE. I bought a respirator mask with filters which I can actually wear for a full 12 hours. The other masks mark your face up after wearing them for that long,” Herron said.
Kindred Hospital Westminster nurse Jewel Russell also told The Epoch Times that health care workers at the hospital have to buy their own equipment. “They buy us cheap equipment, and we work overtime with no breaks” to keep up with the high number of patients, Russell said.
The rallies come just weeks after Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the purchase of 420 million protective masks meant to provide PPE to front-line workers. The governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times prior to publication.
“Securing a reliable supply chain of PPE allows us to distribute millions of protective masks to our essential workforce while preserving millions more in our state’s stockpile for future use,” Newsom said in a July 22 press release.
Nurses across the country are calling for Congress to pass the HEROES Act, a pending bill they are backing that the unions say would protect health care and other essential workers by ensuring domestic production of PPE through the Defense Production Act and by mandating that the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration establish an emergency temporary standard on infectious diseases.
The unions also say the measure would provide economic help in the form of cash payments, extended unemployment benefits, and day care subsidies through the end of 2020 to families on the brink.
Union officials insist that nurses see daily the prioritization of profits over patients through local hospitals’ management practices. They contend testing all patients for COVID-19 would result in positive COVID-19 patients being placed into units designed to care for these patients, but since such testing is not happening, nurses are not being given the proper PPE while unknowingly caring for positive patients, causing significant exposure to nurses and patients.
Orange County hospitals are still experiencing high levels of COVID-19 cases in medical staff. In one small community hospital, 16 of the 22 registered nurses who tested positive for COVID-19 reportedly were from low-risk units including surgery and telemetry, according to a union statement.
“For the nurses who work three to five 12-hour shifts weekly, the need for full protection with proper PPE would certainly mitigate the constant exposure they face. Showing up to work to care for patients should not be a COVID-19 exposure roll of the dice for nurses, while employers and the government fail to take all measures to ensure the demand for PPE is met,” nurse Carolyn Stoddard of West Anaheim Medical Center said.
In 2004, California became the first state to enact nurse-to-patient staffing ratios and is currently the only state in the nation to enforce such protocols. Newsom issued an executive order March 4 waiving the state’s mandated staffing ratios due to the spreading disease; the waiver expired on June 30.
Orange County Awards $1,000 Grants to COVID-Safe Restaurants
The Orange County Business Council (OCBC) announced Aug. 6 the launch of SafeDineOC, a restaurant reimbursement program designed to encourage COVID-19 safety in the California county.
SafeDineOC will allocate $10 million in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding to help county eateries keep their customers and employees safe by providing cash grants to cover the cost of cleaning supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE), according to Andrew Do, vice chairman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors. Qualified restaurants will receive $1,000 each.
“Many restaurants throughout the county are having challenges, understanding how to navigate the state’s guidelines,” Do said at an Aug. 6 press conference. “We understand the openings and closures have taken its toll on the restaurant industry and the dining experience alike, and we want to address both problems.
Do said the county will be conducting a media awareness campaign to recruit more restaurants to participate in the program. As part of a concerted effort to encourage proper safety protocols in eateries during the COVID-19 pandemic, those that qualify for the grant will be featured on an OCBC “safe restaurants” website.
“These grants reward restaurants trying to do the right thing,” said Lucy Dunn, president and CEO of OCBC. “Rewarding good behavior is what it’s all about these days.”
In order to qualify for the grant, a restaurant must meet all criteria listed on the OCBC website, including providing CARES Act-qualified purchase receipts for masks, site reconfiguration, cleaning supplies, and employee training related to COVID-19.
Restaurants can submit receipts from March 1 through Sept. 30, and apply until the end of the program, which is set to expire in 60 days or whenever the funds have been allocated.
“The reason we know this is helpful is because we’re asking restaurants to upload receipts for their supplies and masks that they’ve already spent,” Dunn said.
Once a restaurant applies, the approval process may take up to five days. If the business is approved, they can expect to receive the $1,000 check within 45 days.
“We are hoping that these measures will help chip away at COVID-19 and help to get us as a county, to the point where we have the numbers to justify the reopening,” said Do.
The Orange County Health Care Agency on Aug. 6 reported 580 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and 32 deaths, bringing the totals to 38,711 cases and 697 fatalities.
Water Permit Vote for Orange County Desalination Plant Postponed
Following three days of contentious hearings, the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Board on Aug. 7 postponed a key vote for a proposed water desalination plant in Huntington Beach, California. It was the latest in a series of bureaucratic delays for the politically sensitive desalination plant and developer Poseidon Resources.
The postponement comes after hundreds of people made public comments in front of the board during the July 30, July 31, and Aug. 7 hearings. The board postponed the decision until September, saying it’s better to extend the process than overlook something pertinent.
“We want to be sure we make the best possible decision,” said Chairman William Ruh.
The proposal has sparked controversy between Orange County activists, environmental groups, and proponents of the $1.4 billion project for nearly two decades. Advocates say the desalination plant will provide a reliable, drought-proof, locally controlled source of water, while opponents have raised concerns regarding the expense of the project, the cost of the water, and the plant’s impact on the environment.
To issue the permit, the Regional Water Quality Board has to determine if the project ensures the protection of marine life by using “the best available site, design, technology, and mitigation measures,” according to a Poseidon staff report. The technical name for the document is a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit.
If Poseidon receives the water discharge permit approval in September, the last major hurdle before starting construction would be a permit from the California Coastal Commission. In order to qualify for that permit, the company must show the plant will be in compliance with the policies of the California Coastal Act.
“It will be just as big of a hurdle,” John Kennedy, an executive director for the Orange County Water District (OCWD), told The Epoch Times. “The Coastal Commission has their own statutory requirements. I don’t think it will be easy.
Desalination would turn seawater into safe, purified drinking water by removing salt and other impurities so it “meets or exceeds local, state, and national drinking water standards,” according to a report by the Huntington Beach Water Desalination Facility.
The proposed plant would be the one of the largest desalination facilities in the country, pumping out an average of 50 million gallons of drinkable water per day to more than 400,000 people, according to the OCWD. It would serve 19 cities and agencies.
The estimated cost of the desalinated water would be $2,266 per acre-foot by 2023, according to Kennedy, but a possible $465 per acre-foot subsidy from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California could reduce the net cost per acre-foot to around $1,800. Bottom line, the plant could reduce the demand for imported water by half, according to Kennedy.
Currently, imported water costs $1,100 per acre-foot and about half of the water used in Orange County is brought in from hundreds of miles away, according to the Municipal Water District of Orange County. The water comes from the delta region of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Rivers and from the Colorado River, which are both vulnerable to drought and suffer stress on their ecosystems.
According to the Huntington Beach Water Desalination Facility, if the project receives all of the required permits, Orange County could be using the plant as a source of drinking water by 2025. If finally approved, building the plant would create an estimated 3,000 new construction jobs in the community.
California Can’t Afford Trump’s New Unemployment Action, Newsom Says
California doesn’t have adequate resources to give residents the state’s portion of an extra $400 a week in unemployment benefits ordered by President Donald Trump amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Aug. 10.
Trump released a memorandum on Aug. 8 calling for all states to continue providing enhanced unemployment financial assistance at the reduced amount, after the first federal Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) program, which offered $600 a week, expired on July 25.
Under Trump’s new plan, enhanced unemployment benefits would cost California an extra $700 million a week, Newsom said at a press conference, adding that the state’s $70 billion reserve fund would soon dip below an acceptable level. When the fund dips below $25 billion, the state would no longer qualify for federal assistance and would be responsible for the entire $2.8 billion weekly cost, he said.
Newsom said any allotment received from the federal government as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act has already run dry.
“There is no money sitting in the piggy bank of the previous CARES Act to be reprioritized or reconstituted for this purpose,” said Newsom. It “simply does not exist.”
Trump offered up to $44 billion of the Department of Homeland Security’s Disaster Relief Fund to supplement state expenditures in the executive action. The funding would cover up to 75 percent of a state’s unemployment costs through Dec. 27. The other 25 percent is expected to come from a state’s existing emergency relief funds.
Newsom said in order for the state to provide additional financial support, the federal government would need to front those funds to California. The state can’t shoulder the financial burden without cutting important services or further negatively affecting businesses or individuals, because the state’s capacity has been diminished by the loss of tax revenues due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he added.
Newsom said Trump’s executive order is a radically different approach in response to emergencies than methods that have been applied in the past, saying, historically, the federal government fronts the money, recognizing the state’s constraints and scarcity of resources.
“Even a state as large and well-resourced and as well-managed in terms of our reserves and our capacity to borrow, we’re simply just not in that position,” said Newsom. “We have unemployment that is worse than we’ve seen since the Great Depression.”
Nearly 3 million Californians were unemployed when the original round of enhanced unemployment benefits expired on July 25, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
“We are at peril of being in a position where we’re making false commitments and false promises to millions of Californians” if the federal government doesn’t step in, Newsom said.
Some politicians say Newsom is attempting to blame others for his mismanagement of resources. “That press conference by Gov. Newsom was the worst display of obfuscation and accountability dodging I’ve ever seen. … California deserves better,” Assemblyman Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) said in a tweet.
OC Board Votes for New Service Companies at John Wayne Airport
The Orange County Board of Supervisors voted Aug. 11 to authorize three companies to provide services for private jets and airplanes flying in and out of the California county’s John Wayne Airport.
The board voted 3-2 for Clay Lacy Aviation Inc. to be the full-service fixed-based operator (FBO) on the northwest side of the airport, and 4-1 for ACI Jet to be the full-service northeast-side FBO. Jay’s Aircraft Maintenance Inc. was unanimously chosen as the limited service FBO.
Each company will be given the right to negotiate 35-year land leases with county officials, taking the place of long-standing Atlantic Aviation. The companies will provide services including fuel, parking, hangar space, repair and maintenance, charter flights, and aircraft washing facilities to incoming private jets, planes, and helicopters.
Community members and pilots had advocated for the airport to maintain its current balance of hangars on the field, hoping to limit an increase in the number of larger international private planes. Board Chairwoman Michelle Steel fought to establish a “green area” for light, general aviation aircraft in an effort to maintain the balance.
Fred Fourcher, founder of the SoCal Pilots Association, told The Epoch Times that his association is “very happy” with the board’s decision, and that the language of the leases will govern whether or not jet traffic increases over time.
“If the lease … has language that specifies the entire green area will be built out with maximum number of individual hangars in the sizes and ratios that are on the field today, then you will see the same mix of small planes and jets for the next 35 years,” Fourcher said.
Nearby residents had voiced concern over a possible expansion of the airport and increased noise levels following the switch, but Fourcher said that’s not possible.
“The airport cannot expand in size because there is simply no more room,” Fourcher said. “The airport is actually contracting, not expanding,” he said, due to new Federal Aviation Administration requirements.
John Wayne Airport Director Barry Rondinella said prior to the vote that the airport would look forward to doing business with whomever the board selected, but that incumbent Atlantic Aviation was the only company that had a true network across the country offering multiple locations.
However, Scott Cutshall, senior vice president of Clay Lacy Aviation, said his company is a member of two of the world’s largest networks of independent FBO operators. These networks serve 167 locations in 33 countries and six continents, he said, whereas Atlantic Aviation serves only 70 locations inside the United States.
Supervisor Donald Wagner, who voted against Clay Lacy Aviation, said making the switch to a new aviation company in the middle of a pandemic would result in the loss of many existing jobs, causing enormous disruption.
“In a time of 14 percent unemployment in the state of California, we are threatening with this move to dump a number of Atlantic employees out of their jobs, or at least out of their homes, for a reason that doesn’t strike me as sufficiently great to warrant that move,” Wagner said.
Supervisor Doug Chaffee also supported Atlantic Aviation, and voted against both Clay Lacy Aviation and ACI Jet.
The new leases must be approved by at least a 4-1 board vote to go into effect. The board is expected to vote on the leases in September or October.
OC Officials Slam State Prison System for Releasing Inmates Early
The California state prison system is burdening local governments by leaving more inmates in county jails, according to Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) hasn’t received prisoners from local jails in five months, Barnes said during an Aug. 12 teleconference held with District Attorney Todd Spitzer and state Senator Ling Ling Chang (R-Diamond Bar) to discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the county’s criminal justice system.
“I’m still sitting on 300 state prison-sentence individuals that the state will not take from me, nor will they take from the other 57 sheriffs throughout the state,” said Barnes. “They’ve closed the front door coming into the state prison system, and opened the double doors to the back, and started letting people out.”
California state prison officials say over 17,000 prisoners have been released since March 11, including over 8,000 released early as part of a direct initiative to slow the spread of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus. To be eligible for early release, an inmate must have 365 days or less remaining to serve, a nonviolent conviction, and no requirement to register as a sex offender.
The CDCR reported Aug. 12 that there are 917 incarcerated persons with active cases of COVID-19 out of nearly 97,000 people incarcerated statewide—the lowest number imprisoned in California in 30 years. “The last time that number was below 100,000 was in 1990, when CA’s overall population was 10 million less,” the CDCR said in a July 30 tweet.
Orange County accounts for roughly 10 percent of the state’s inmate population, according to Barnes. Out of the more than 17,000 prisoners released, Barnes said it’s safe to estimate 10 percent of them will recidivate or relapse and find their way back to county jails.
Those who violate the terms of their release but don’t commit a new crime are sent back to the county jail, not the state prison, he said.
“It’s really setting us up for a lot of challenges that aren’t our responsibility to address. It’s really just abrogating the responsibility of state prison responsibilities on the local government to deal with, and that’s not okay with me,” Barnes said.
Representatives for the CDCR and the governor’s office did not comment to The Epoch Times prior to publication.
County District Attorney Todd Spitzer called it “incredibly upsetting and frustrating” to watch the CDCR release thousands of prisoners, adding the release could be fueled by the motivation of some to defund the police and eliminate jails altogether.
“They think there is a different way to do it, but they also have an agenda,” Spitzer said. “COVID just became a convenient excuse to let the prison gates open and let thousands of inmates out early.”
Jay Jordan, executive director of Californians for Safety and Justice, in July defended the early release of inmates as necessary for public health and safety. He said the early releases are reducing overcrowding in state prison systems, effectively reducing the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths.
“Too many people are locked up for too long by a bloated system that spreads poor health across California communities up and down the state,” he said in a July 10 press release.
“California must release people who are unnecessarily incarcerated and transform our safety priorities, so the core needs of communities that allow them to be safe are met and the number of people sent to prison in the first place is reduced.”
Barnes said the pandemic forced the sheriff’s department to release low-level offenders early after not having done so in over a decade, and that the department plans to return to original protocols once the spread of the disease has mitigated.
“We’re going to go back to ‘no more early releases,’ and we’ll put people back in jail and hold them responsible for any violations of law that they are held to,” he said.
By following strict adherence to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for correctional institutions—which include having everyone in jail wear a mask and following hygiene protocols—Barnes said county jails were effectively able to reduce a 220-case count to single digits in the early stages of the pandemic.
“It was a tremendous success,” said Barnes.
As part of an effort to control the spread of COVID-19, every inmate in the jail has a radio frequency identification (RFID) card that they use to scan in and out. Tracking the RFID cards allows officials to know how inmates interact, in case contact tracing becomes necessary.
All new inmates who are booked into the jail are placed in a 14-day quarantine. Any inmates showing symptoms are also placed in isolation for 14 days. Barnes said there are currently 600 newly booked inmates under quarantine, adding the county jail has 33 active cases out of its nearly 3,500 inmate population.
The department’s handling of the disease “shows that through the right precautionary measures and the right mitigation strategies, you can control [COVID-19] and bring it back down and effectively eliminate it over time,” Barnes said.
Orange County Launches New Mental Health Outreach Program
https://www.theepochtimes.com/orange-county-launches-new-mental-health-outreach-program_3461311.html
California’s Orange County Health Care Agency (OCHCA) launched a new mental health outreach campaign on Aug. 13 as part of an effort to support and improve community well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The “What You Feel Is Real” program encourages people who are emotionally impacted by COVID-19 to seek support by providing free telephonic and telehealth services, as well as educational resources, to Orange County residents. The services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“One’s mental health should never be put on the back burner, especially during a pandemic. I’m hopeful that the ‘What You Feel Is Real’ program will be very helpful to our county residents,” said Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Michelle Steel during a press conference to introduce the program.
Dr. Jeffrey Nagel, OCHCA director of behavioral health services, said during the press conference that the county has seen a nearly 50 percent spike in call volume to its confidential National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) telephone hotline since the pandemic took hold in March, and that around 20 percent of the counseling calls are COVID-related.
“We want to ensure that the community knows about available mental health supports and resources and how to access them,” Nagel said.
He added that the agency had spent years transitioning from in-person to virtual services—but COVID-19 accelerated the process in a matter of months. The county’s telehealth staff is equipped with laptops that have cameras and speakers, so they can communicate one-on-one with needy residents struggling amid the pandemic.
Marshall Moncrief, CEO of behavioral health group Mind OC, encouraged residents to take advantage of the new services available to them. “We want you to reach out. We want you to seek support,” he said.
An advertising campaign in different languages will be launched in newspapers, transit shelters, digital platforms, and on social media platforms to promote the new program. The ads will offer direct links to phone numbers and resources available to the community.
The OCHCA also created a digital toolkit to help community members spread the message. The toolkit provides a script for talking to a person or group, short paragraphs to include in newsletters or e-blasts, and social media posts available to share on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
In an Aug. 13 press release, all five county supervisors—Donald Wagner, Lisa Bartlett, Andrew Do, Doug Chaffee, and Steel—threw their support behind the initiative.
“Good mental and physical health is important for everyone,” said Wagner in the release. “If you face a silent struggle, you don’t have to go it alone. There are supportive County resources that offer help and hope.”
Supervisor Bartlett said, “The campaign does an excellent job of reminding the community that they are not alone. By taking the first step and reaching out for help, we can all be stronger and healthier together during these unprecedented times.”
Newport Beach Hosts Drive-In Premiere After Postponing Film Festival
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.—This year’s Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) might have been postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but that didn’t stop organizers from holding a sold-out, drive-in world premiere screening of its opening night film on the rooftop of a local shopping mall.
The surfing documentary “A Life of Endless Summers: The Bruce Brown Story” was originally set to open this year’s 21st annual festival in April. The festival was first pushed to August, then delayed indefinitely during the first week of the month due to the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus.
The Aug. 13 screening was held at dusk on the rooftop of the Fashion Island shopping complex in Newport Beach, California. A procession of around 200 vehicles, which each paid a $75 entry fee, delayed the start of the movie while the guests settled in.
Children watch a movie from the top of a car in Newport Beach, Calif., on Aug. 13, 2020. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)Filmmaker Dana Brown waits to introduce a documentary about the life of his father as part of the opening night screening of the postponed Newport Beach Film Festival in Newport Beach, Calif., on Aug. 13, 2020. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)Cars line up for a rooftop screening of “A Life of Endless Summers: The Bruce Brown Story” hosted by the Newport Beach Film Festival in Newport Beach, Calif., on Aug. 13, 2020. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)
Andres Anhalt, chief operating officer for The Lot movie theater which co-hosted the evening, called the premiere event “something different than staying at home.”
“We’re thinking outside the box, and we want people to break the routine in a family-oriented way,” Anhalt told The Epoch Times.
Local resident Dan Hoffman brought his daughter Melody to the screening. He told The Epoch Times he heard about the event from friends.
“I saw the original ‘Endless Summer’ years back and this seems like it will be a fun night,” Hoffman said.
“The Endless Summer,” directed by Bruce Brown and originally released in 1964, followed two surfers as they traveled around the world in search of the perfect wave. The movie has since become considered a classic of extreme sports cinema.
Slater Thompson told The Epoch Times, “I grew up watching ‘The Endless Summer.’ My dad was the one who got me into the film. As a surfer and bodyboarder, I am excited for this film.”
“A Life of Endless Summers: The Bruce Brown Story” takes a look back at the surfing legend’s legacy, offering a peek into his life as a director, friend, father, and husband. Brown passed away in 2017 at the age of 80.
The documentary is directed by Dana Brown, Bruce’s eldest son, who followed in his father’s footsteps and is a well-known filmmaker in his own right. Dana’s films include another surf documentary, “Step Into Liquid,” and the racing chronicle “Dust to Glory.”
This year’s NBFF was also slated to honor actor Eugene Levy with its first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award. Instead of an in-person ceremony as originally planned, the actor received the honor virtually on Aug. 11 from fellow performers including Steve Martin, Martin Short, and the cast of Levy’s hit TV show “Schitt’s Creek.”
The NBFF began in 1999 and showcases hundreds of films from around the world. It is the fastest-growing film festival on the West Coast and attracts over 50,000 fans each year.
An updated schedule for the nearly 300 feature and short films planned to air during this year’s festival has not been decided. The NBFF’s website notes that new festival dates will be announced “once it is safe to do so.”
The Lot will continue to screen drive-in movies weekly throughout August as part of its summer series.
More Power Outages Expected as OC Battles Sweltering Heat
https://www.theepochtimes.com/more-power-outages-expected-as-oc-battles-sweltering-heat_3465477.html
Sporadic power outages are expected to strike Orange County throughout the next few days as California continues to battle a record-setting heat wave.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said Aug. 17 that the state’s energy demand in the coming days would likely be substantially greater than over the weekend of Aug. 15 and Aug. 16, when the power drain caused outages throughout California.
“In the next few days we are anticipating being challenged as it relates to all of these conditions that precipitated at once in this historic moment,” Newsom said during an Aug. 17 press conference.
The governor warned Californians on Aug. 17 to be prepared for more rolling blackouts over the next 72 hours—which he called “very likely”—as the state struggles to meet demand for electricity during a historic, record-breaking heat wave.
California’s Independent System Operator (CAISO)—which controls roughly 80 percent of the state’s power grid by overseeing Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas and Electric Co., and San Diego Gas & Electric—mandated a statewide “flex alert” through Aug. 19.
Residents and businesses were urged to conserve energy from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. by keeping thermostats at 78 degrees, cutting the use of major appliances, turning off lights, unplugging electrical devices, closing blinds to block sunlight, and using fans when possible.
CAISO said Aug. 17 the day’s flex alert had been effective. Statewide rolling blackouts that could have affected nearly 1 million households were averted thanks to reduced demand due to consumer conservation and cooler than expected weather, CAISO said.
“We are grateful to families and businesses across the state that answered the call to reduce electricity use during a crucial time on the grid,” said Steve Berberich, president and CEO of CAISO.
“This heat storm is not over, and we still expect exceedingly hot temperatures [on Aug. 18 and Aug. 19]. With continued help from California residents in conserving energy, much like today, we can reduce the risk of power outages.”
Excessive heat watches remain in effect throughout Orange County, and local municipalities from Laguna Beach to Irvine have encouraged residents to do their part to conserve energy.
Officials in Anaheim told The Epoch Times that the roving outages will have less impact in their Orange County city because they rely on their own utility service, Anaheim Public Utilities.
Anaheim is still a part of the state grid but relies less heavily on it, Lauren Gold, the city’s communications specialist, told The Epoch Times in an email. This will allow the region to limit outages, if necessary, to a 15-minute duration.
“We’ve been encouraging residents to conserve energy during the peak hours if they are able, and also letting them know that outages may be likely to occur and to be prepared if they do happen,” Gold said.
“We also are directing residents to our website to see if their ‘block number’ is coming up, so they can know if they’re next for outages if they are mandated.”
Anaheim City Councilwoman Denise Barnes told The Epoch Times that the city is currently monitoring the regional grid—and it appears there is sufficient capacity to handle demand, with around an 11 percent margin.
But Barnes said the city has a plan in place in case the demand for energy pushes the grid’s limits.
“If a transmission or other regional power issue occurs, we may be required to shut off power to random electrical circuits with very little notice. These controlled, rotating outages are ordered to prevent wide-scale power outages,” Barnes said.
Newsom issued a state of emergency on Aug. 14, identifying the current rising temperatures as an “Extreme Heat Event” and calling for all state agencies to operate “consistent with the direction of the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.”
He signed a proclamation temporarily allowing certain utilities and energy users to “use backup energy sources to relieve pressure on the grid during peak times.”
Newsom also wrote a letter on Aug. 17 to representatives of CAISO, the California Public Utilities Commission, and the California Energy Commission addressing the unacceptability of the abrupt power outages that occurred on Aug. 15 and Aug. 16.
The letter called on the companies to review the assumptions and procedures that led to the stage’s first rolling blackouts since 2001.
“These blackouts which occurred without prior warning or enough time for preparation, are unacceptable and unbefitting of the nation’s largest and most innovative state,” Newsom said in the letter.
Residents of Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties were among the 132,000 customers who experienced the first rotating power outage on Aug. 14. The outage lasted approximately an hour, according to Southern California Edison.
The second rotating outage lasted for 15 minutes later on Aug. 14, affecting around 70,000 customers.
CAISO first declared a “Stage 3 Electrical Emergency” on Aug. 14, initiating rotating power outages throughout the state due to high heat and increased demand. On Aug. 15, CAISO reported the additional loss of a 470-megawatt power plant and 1,000 megawatts of wind power, exacerbating the problem.
“This is not the last record-breaking historic heat dome and experience that we will have in the state, in the region, in the nation, or in our hemisphere, in our lifetime. This is exactly what so many scientists have predicted,” Newsom said.
“I am ultimately accountable, and will take responsibility to immediately address this issue and move forward to make sure that it simply never happens again here in the state of California.”
Santa Ana Launches Relief Program With CARES Fund Money
https://www.theepochtimes.com/santa-ana-launches-relief-program-with-cares-fund-money_3466803.html
The City of Santa Ana in Orange County, California, launched a new program on Aug. 17 to offer financial and health assistance to residents, nonprofits, and local businesses that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Santa Ana CARES initiative was set in motion after the Santa Ana City Council voted unanimously on Aug. 4 to allocate $28.6 million in federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds provided by the state budget to support local residents and programs.
“The hope is that with these programs, we’ll be able to help reduce the number of cases and/or the number of new cases in Santa Ana, and flatten the curve as much as possible,” Santa Ana Public Affairs Information Officer Paul Eakins told The Epoch Times.
Qualified residents now have the opportunity to apply for and receive monetary aid, including $10,000 grants for businesses and nonprofits including bars and restaurants with fewer than 10 full-time employees, and $50,000 grants for nonprofit arts-related organizations.
“Local businesses, nonprofits, and artist organizations are extremely important for the community, so the City Council really wanted to support them with grants,” said Eakins.
The program also allows individual artists to apply for $1,000 in benefits.
“Here in Santa Ana, we really value our art community,” Eakins added.
Of the funds allotted, $8 million will be set aside for direct monetary assistance, including $1,500 in rental grants to eligible tenants and landlords. Tenants can also apply for utility bill payment assistance of up to $500 for those with delinquent bills.
Eakins said that if necessary, Santa Ana City Manager Kristine Ridge has the authority to shuffle money around to the different programs as needed.
“If we discover that there is a particular need for one of these services or programs more so than others, then the city manager might reallocate the money toward that,” he said.
Another key element of the program is the incentive to provide health-related assistance to those impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A portion of the funds will be allocated toward isolation assistance, which offers a hotel room for larger families living in smaller units who have a member of the household diagnosed with COVID-19.
“We are utilizing the isolation assistance to separate family members who test positive so the entire family won’t get affected by COVID-19,” Eakins said.
The initiative includes a Mobile Resource Center that will visit dozens of heavily populated neighborhoods where residents are at higher risk of being exposed to the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus. The mobile unit will provide free testing, masks, and health supplies.
The program also offers city residents free COVID-19 testing at Santa Ana College. The testing is available by appointment on Saturdays and Sundays.
A COVID-19 hotline will help the community access the assistance programs, and a nurse hotline will soon be available 24/7 to answer health-related questions.
Santa Ana is the second most populous city in Orange County, with nearly 335,000 residents. As of Aug. 18, the Orange County Health Care Agency reported 8,639 total cases of COVID-19 in the city.
CSU Students Will Be Required to Take Ethnic Studies Course to Graduate
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill on Aug. 17 requiring all students in the California State University (CSU) system to complete an ethnic studies course in order to earn their undergraduate degrees.
With the passage of Assembly Bill 1460 (AB 1460) into law, all CSU campuses statewide will be required to offer courses on race and ethnicity beginning in the 2021–2022 academic year. By 2024–2025, students will be required to take a three-credit ethnic studies course in order to graduate.
Assemblymember Shirley Weber (D-San Diego), who authored the bill, called the signing “great news.”
“Today #AB1460 was signed into law by @CAgovernor! This bill reflects 50 years of student, faculty, and community advocacy for curriculum reflective of and responsive to our diverse state,” Weber said in an Aug. 17 tweet.
Under the new stipulations, all CSU students will be required to take a course concerning one of four historically defined core groups: African Americans, Latino and Latina Americans, Native Americans, and Asian Americans.
Dr. Williamson Evers, senior fellow at the Independent Institute, a nonpartisan public-policy research organization, said the new curriculum is a detriment to the educational system.
The classes “don’t represent reality,” Evers told The Epoch Times. “The ethnic studies classes are a litany of grievance and victimization. We should not be happy with these indoctrination-type classes.”
Evers said by excluding other ethnic cultures—such as Irish, Italian, Polish, and Armenian Americans—the CSU system is not taking a balanced approach to education.
By signing AB 1460, the governor overruled a July 22 CSU Board of Trustees vote that would have broadened the scope of the requirement, allowing students to take either an ethnic studies or social justice course to qualify for their undergraduate degrees.
Critics of the CSU Board vote felt that expanding the mandate to include social justice classes—which would have offered students the option to learn about other marginalized groups including the disabled, the LGBTQ community, and the Jewish community—would undermine the intent of the original requirement.
The board voted 13 to 5 on July 22 to implement the expanded requirement across all campuses—but with the signing of AB 1460 into law, the CSU mandate no longer applies.
The new law marks the first modification to the state university’s general education requirements in 40 years, and makes California the first state to require ethnic studies as part of its four-year public university’s core curriculum graduation requirements.
“Governor Newsom, by signing AB 1460, has demonstrated his understanding of the power of a true Ethnic Studies graduation requirement to change people’s lives and to change the racial trajectory this state and country are on,” said California Faculty Association President Charles Toombs in an Aug. 18 tweet.
The CSU system is home to 23 campuses statewide and provides education to approximately 482,000 students each year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CSU students this fall will begin taking all classes virtually, beginning in late August.
The CSU Chancellor’s Office in July estimated that AB 1460 will cost approximately $16 million to implement annually.
OC Officials Say County Will Soon Go Off Watch List, Allowing Schools to Reopen
Officials in Orange County, California, announced Aug. 20 that positive trends in county case numbers for COVID-19 may soon allow the county to reopen schools for in-person learning.
The Orange County Health Care Agency (OCHCA) reported that the county dipped below significant data-monitoring thresholds used to determine a state watch list on Aug. 19. Once the county remains off the watch list for 14 consecutive days, in-person education for K-12 schools is allowed to resume.
OCHCA Director Clayton Chau said during a press conference that he is “very optimistic that it will go well,” and that he aims for the county to be off the watch list by Sept. 6.
On Aug. 20, the OCHCA reported that the county’s case rate per 100,000 residents fell from 98.6 to 96.6—still far above the state’s desired threshold of 25 cases per 100,000—and the rate of county residents testing positive for the disease dropped to 5.7 percent from 5.9 percent.
But Orange County CEO Frank Kim said on Aug. 19 that because the case count is under 100 per 100,000 residents and the positivity test rate is below the state’s desired 8 percent, the county may be removed from the state’s watch list as soon as Aug. 22 due to newly outlined metrics.
Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Michelle Steel said the officials’ “first priority is to protect public health and safety.”
“With the waiver process, and the careful review by the Health Care Agency and approval by the state, we can work together to make sure schools open safely as the new school year begins.”
According to Chau, 10 county elementary schools have already submitted waiver applications to the state to reopen early. He said the applications were approved by county officials and the state on Aug. 19.
An additional 24 elementary school waivers are pending approval by the state, he added.
The state introduced the waiver process for elementary schools in early August, allowing them to reopen for in-person instruction if certain conditions are met.
To be considered, schools must be located in counties with fewer than 200 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents, and the majority of staff, students, and parents must be in agreement to proceed with on-site learning.
Chau said the OCHCA will support reopening schools by offering COVID-19 testing for staff and students. Schools will have access to a full medical team, including pediatric infectious disease specialists, which will be standing by to assist as needed.
“We understand there are risks, but the majority of applications have large staff and parental support,” said Chau.
Families concerned about sending their children to school amid the COVID-19 pandemic can opt out of in-person learning and continue virtual education for their kids, he said.
The OCHCA on Aug. 20 reported 429 new COVID-19 cases and 23 deaths, bringing the county totals to 44,936 confirmed cases and 856 fatalities. On Aug. 19, the agency reported the first death of a person under 18 years old from the disease.
Orange County Elementary Schools Prepare to Reopen
https://www.theepochtimes.com/orange-county-elementary-schools-prepare-to-reopen_3471041.html
Thirty-four Orange County elementary schools are preparing to reopen for in-person learning after receiving waivers from the state of California.
County officials announced on Aug. 20 that the state had approved waivers for 10 public and 24 private K–6 schools, giving them the go-ahead to resume in-person instruction.
The Fairmont Schools were among the first group of schools to receive a waiver. Fairmont has 816 students spread across four campuses in Anaheim, Anaheim Hills, Tustin, and San Juan Capistrano.
Danyelle Knight, the Fairmont Schools spokeswoman, told The Epoch Times that the application process went smoothly. She said the school was “very happy to receive the waiver,” but that it was expected because the school’s administration was prepared.
“We expected that, because we had been working really hard all summer on meeting those rigorous guidelines,” Knight said.
The private school plans to begin in-person education on Aug. 26 after starting off the 2020–2021 school year with virtual learning on Aug. 17.
Knight said students attending in-person instruction will be required to socially distance, with desks placed at least 6 feet apart. They will also be advised to wash and sanitize their hands frequently before entering the classroom.
Mask-wearing will be a requirement at all times for students indoors. Masks will only be permitted to be removed when students are socially distancing outdoors, participating in physical education, or eating lunch.
Fairmont Schools have installed touchless sinks and toilets in their bathrooms, improved air filtration systems, and placed plexiglass screens in their front desk regions.
Antibacterial floor mats will be placed at door entrances to clean shoes as students and staff walk into the school, and mandatory health checks will be conducted.
For recess, students will be split into cohort sections, allowing them only to play with other kids who are in their classroom, as part of an effort to improve contact tracing measures.
Not all students will be returning right away, however. Knight said the classroom will be split, with 70 percent of students attending in-person learning and 30 percent continuing the virtual learning model.
Knight said the schools are well-prepared to continue virtual instruction after getting a shot at it in the spring, allowing them to work out any kinks in the system.
“We feel like we’ve ironed out a lot of those things, since we’ve had the opportunity to do remote learning since March. We feel like there’s not really going to be a lot of technical issues,” she said.
To accommodate students proceeding with virtual learning, classrooms will be equipped with a robotic device called a “swivl.” The swivl will follow the teacher, allowing students at home to see and hear their instructor at all times, Knight said.
The virtual learning students will also be projected on television monitors installed in each classroom, allowing the teacher to see if students are raising their hands with a question.
Los Alamitos Elementary School in Los Alamitos, Calif., on Aug. 21, 2020, a day after Los Alamitos Unified School District received approval from Orange County officials to resume onsite classes in the 2020 fall semester. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)
The Los Alamitos Unified School District was also approved as part of the second batch of county schools to receive waivers, according to an Orange County Health Care Agency tweet on Aug. 20.
Los Alamitos Unified plans to reopen six elementary schools in its jurisdiction to over 3,500 students. The district will begin the school year on Aug. 31 in a virtual learning environment and will convert to a hybrid learning setting beginning on Sept. 8, just after the Labor Day holiday.
Other private schools that had their waivers approved include: New Horizon School in Irvine; Red Hill Lutheran School in Tustin; Pathway School in Laguna Beach; Monarch Bay Montessori Academy in Dana Point; St. John’s Lutheran in Orange; Veritas Academy in Fullerton; Covenant Christian Academy in Westminster; Calvary Christian School in Santa Ana; Grace Christian School in Lake Forest; Carden Hall in Newport Beach; TVT Community Day School in Irvine; Montessori of Ladera Ranch; Fountain Valley; Hebrew Academy in Huntington Beach; St. Paul’s Lutheran School in Orange; Aliso Viejo Christian School; St. Mary’s School in Aliso Viejo; Ivy Crest Montessori in Fullerton; VanDamme Academy in Aliso Viejo; Grace Lutheran School in Corona; E3 Academy; The Pegasus School in Huntington Beach; and St. Margaret’s Episcopal in San Juan Capistrano.
OC Launches New Program to Encourage Young Entrepreneurs
https://www.theepochtimes.com/oc-launches-new-program-to-encourage-young-entrepreneurs_3474461.html
Orange County, California, officials announced a new “Earn and Learn” program on Aug. 24 designed to provide business and life skills to aspiring youth amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Earn and Learn” will offer youth ages 14-21 the opportunity to earn wages for taking part in financial literacy, leadership development, and occupational skills training activities that will prepare them for a successful adjustment to adulthood, according to an Aug. 24 press release.
The activities will provide young adults with valuable insight and tools for making the transition to unsubsidized employment, military life, post-secondary education, trade placement, and apprenticeship programs. The goal is to increase long-term opportunities for employment and self-sufficiency.
Orange County Public Information Officer Mechelle Haines told The Epoch Times in an email that the program was “launched to provide youth the opportunity to earn wages while learning workforce skills for the future.”
The skills learned will lead participants toward financial stability, she said.
Young adults signed on to the free program will have access to a 10-week online Entrepreneurship Academy. The courses will be conducted by live instructors with expertise in professional business, who will mentor students and help them transform a skill or idea into a successful venture.
By the time they graduate from the program, students will have a business plan, prototype, and venture pitch.
“Students will be paid for participating in occupational skills training and study time. Students will be paid three hours per week for a 10-week period,” Haines said.
Enrolled students will be able to earn up to $13 an hour for their class and study time. Student’s hours will be logged for class via a virtual platform that will keep track of their training hours on a time card.
The program was supported by the entire Orange County Board of Supervisors.
“This program allows the County to help the next generation of entrepreneurs anticipate and learn the skills needed to succeed in the years to come,” said Supervisor Donald Wagner.
Chairwoman Michelle Steel said that COVID-19 had “presented a special struggle for Orange County’s youth trying to find relevant work experience and navigating their future career paths. The ‘Earn and Learn’ program will provide youth the opportunity to earn wages while learning modern-day workforce skills to prepare them for the future.”
Supervisor Lisa Bartlett said the program will provide significant opportunities to youth in underserved communities. Minorities and youth with disabilities were encouraged to sign up.
“The youth is our future, and this program is an example of how the County is investing in it,” Bartlett said.
Vice Chairman Andrew Do said the program “is designed to equip youth participants with the proper workforce development training to successfully transition into adulthood.”
Enrollment will be based on a quarterly first-come, first-served basis. In order to sign up, eligible students must be registered in the “Ready S.E.T. OC” Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Youth Program.
The “Earn and Learn” academy begins on Aug. 31.
California Plans to Double COVID-19 Testing, Newsom Says
https://www.theepochtimes.com/california-plans-to-double-covid-19-testing-newsom-says_3479127.html
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a new contract on Aug. 26 that will ramp up COVID-19 testing in an effort to expand the state’s ability to track and prevent the spread of the disease.
The new contract will provide an additional 150,000 COVID-19 diagnostic tests each day to Californians, with an improved turnaround time of 24 to 48 hours. The agreement will provide reduced costs for tests as well as prevent supply chain logjams, according to a press release.
“We are building our own laboratory capabilities right here on California soil with a stable supply chain to fight the disease, lower the prices of testing for everyone and protect Californians most at risk from COVID-19,” Newsom said in the Aug. 26 press release.
The California Senate Republican Caucus said via Twitter on Aug. 26 that Newsom should have acted much sooner.
“Five months after shutting down California, the Governor finally decides to get serious about building out testing capacity. #CaDeservesBetter,” the tweet stated.
The contract is with PerkinElmer, a company based in Massachusetts with 20 office locations nationwide, including a manufacturing site in Santa Clara. The tests will use polymerase chain reaction (PCR) diagnostic testing, but the contract allows the company to modify the tests if new technology becomes available at a cheaper price.
Under the new contract, each COVID-19 test will cost $30.78—a steep decrease from previous tests, which range on average from $150 to $200 each, according to the news release. To recoup the costs, the state will use a third-party service to bill insurance companies or other payers.
The goal is to begin processing tens of thousands of new tests by Nov. 1 and reach full capacity by March 2021. The contract will initially cost taxpayers $100 million, but could be worth up to $1.4 billion, according to The Associated Press.
The release said that with the broader availability in testing—the California Department of Public Health reported Aug. 27 that 85,658 tests had been conducted statewide in the most recent 24-hour period—the state will be better able to offer testing for communities at higher risk of transmission, including essential workers and minority communities.
Assemblymember Shirley Weber (D-San Diego), Chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus, praised the new contract.
“Black Californians have been disproportionately sickened and killed by COVID-19. I am pleased that Governor Newsom is prioritizing more testing equity for all Californians,” Weber said.
State Senator Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles) said, “Californians need testing that is accessible, equitable, cost-effective and timely. This deal meets all those metrics.”
Newsom made the move to increase California’s testing capacity despite recently revised Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines.
The new CDC guidelines, modified on Aug. 24, suggest an individual does not need to be tested for the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus, unless they are vulnerable and showing symptoms—even if they have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for the disease.
“I don’t agree with the new CDC guidance, period, full stop. It’s not the policy in the state of California,” Newsom said during an Aug. 26 press conference.
“We will not be influenced by that change. We’re influenced by those that are experts in the field that feel very differently. That is not the policy guideline that we will embrace or adopt here in California.”
The announcement came on the same day that Orange County opened its second COVID-19 testing super site at the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa. The new super site will start by providing 500 tests each day for the first week, and then increase to 1,000 tests per day by week two.
Another super site opened six weeks ago in Anaheim. Together, the two sites will provide county residents 2,000 tests per day.
“I am so pleased we are opening this new site to offer additional convenient access to testing for our residents, particularly for those within my district,” Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Michelle Steel said in an Aug. 27 press conference.
As of Aug. 27, Orange County had been off the state’s monitoring list for five consecutive days due to decreasing positive test rates. Once the county stays off the list for 14 consecutive days, all K-12 schools will be permitted to reopen for in-person instruction.
The Orange County Health Care Agency on Aug. 27 reported 369 new COVID-19 cases and 29 deaths, bringing the totals to 47,459 confirmed cases and 947 fatalities.
California Extends Eviction Moratorium for Five Months
https://www.theepochtimes.com/california-extends-eviction-moratoriums-for-five-months_3484734.html
Gov. Gavin Newsom and California lawmakers agreed on Aug. 31 to an extension of eviction protections designed to help both tenants and landlords impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The extended moratorium, Assembly Bill 3088, runs through Jan. 31, 2021. It was signed into law by Newsom two hours before a midnight deadline, and will “protect millions of tenants from eviction and property owners from foreclosure due to the economic impacts of COVID-19,” according to an Aug. 31 press release.
Beginning Sept. 1, tenants must pay 25 percent of their rent to avoid eviction. They are still responsible for the remaining 75 percent, which becomes a legal debt, but do not have to begin paying the balance until March 1, 2021.
The unpaid amounts cannot be the basis for an eviction, but landlords can begin recovering the debt in an expanded small claims court when the moratorium expires. The bill protects landlords by extending certain anti-foreclosure protections.
The newly passed legislation also guarantees that no tenant can be evicted until Feb. 1, 2021, for not paying rent from March 4 through Aug. 31 if they are able to provide a “declaration of hardship” due to the pandemic. The unpaid rent becomes a consumer debt to the landlord, according to the new law.
“COVID-19 has impacted everyone in California—but some bear much more of the burden than others, especially tenants struggling to stitch together the monthly rent, and they deserve protection from eviction,” said Newsom.
“This new law protects tenants from eviction for non-payment of rent and helps keep homeowners out of foreclosure as a result of economic hardship caused by this terrible pandemic.”
Some critics of the bill applauded the extension, but decried the relatively short length. A previous bill, Assembly Bill 1436, would have extended the eviction moratorium through April 21 before lawmakers reached a compromise on the newer iteration.
David Levy, a program specialist for The Fair Housing Council of Orange County, told The Epoch Times that the bill could prove to be problematic for tenants down the road.
“While it does offer substantial relief to tenants who cannot pay due to pandemic-related financial distress, it sets up a ‘cliff’ for those that may still be struggling when it comes to paying full rent for February,” Levy said via email.
“It leaves open the possibility that those tenants could be hit with an immediate 3-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit that could lead to an eviction action commencing as early as February 8th.”
The Fair Housing Council advises tenants to pay as much rent as they can afford each month, while still allowing for their other essential expenses, so they do not find themselves unable to meet minimum standards.
“They may eventually face a legal action to recover back rent even if it is not one for eviction, so they should not dig themselves into a hole from which they cannot climb out,” Levy said.
Dean Preston, founder of the advocacy group Tenants Together, said via Twitter on Aug. 28 that the temporary relief leaves “tenants vulnerable to mass eviction in Feb. 2021.” The proposal offers “limited relief” and “contains many problematic compromises to appease the landlord lobby,” he said.
“Unfortunately, this proposal seems to be as much about protecting real estate profits as it is about saving people from eviction in the midst of a pandemic,” Preston stated.
The California Apartment Association (CAA), an organization supporting apartment owners and managers, applauded the bill in an Aug. 28 statement.
The group’s CEO, Tom Bannon, said, “We applaud the Legislature and governor for advancing legislation with protections for tenants truly harmed by COVID, while ensuring that owners can evict nuisance tenants and residents who can afford to pay rent but choose to game the system instead.”
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said “tenants and landlords can rest easier” following the signing.
“No one should lose their home due to this public health crisis—and while cities like Los Angeles have strong tenant protections in place, there is no substitute for a clear, statewide framework that keeps hard-hit Californians under a roof,” he said.
According to an Aug. 21 report issued by the state’s Employment Development Department, Orange County has lost over 200,000 jobs in 2020. The county’s unemployment rate as of July was 12.3 percent, the report said, lower than the statewide rate of 13.3 percent.
A financial security study released Aug. 7 by the nonpartisan Aspen Institute in Washington estimated that from 31 percent to 42 percent of California households are at risk of eviction, based on confidence levels in the ability to pay for their next month’s rent.
Newsom called the new extension “a bridge to a more permanent solution” and called on the federal government to stabilize the housing market.
“We need a real, federal commitment of significant new funding to assist struggling tenants and homeowners in California and across the nation,” Newsom said.
Judge Rules UC System Can No Longer Use SAT Scores for Admissions
University of California (UC) campuses will no longer be allowed to recognize SAT and ACT test scores as criteria for determining admissions after an Aug. 31 Superior Court ruling.
Alameda County Superior Court Judge Brad Seligman granted a preliminary injunction that requires the UC system to immediately stop using the test scores as part of the admissions process.
The ruling comes after the UC system opted to temporarily remove SAT and ACT results from undergraduate admission requirements on March 31, instead making them optional, as part of an effort to help mitigate the challenges students and their families faced amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The incentive to permanently remove ACT and SAT testing for admission came in part due to the plaintiff’s argument that the tests unlawfully discriminate against students based on family income and race, and deny students with disabilities the constitutional right to equal protection.
Seligman said the current “test-option” policy at most UC schools gives non-disabled, privileged students the upper hand by offering a “second look” in admissions.
Public Counsel, a group involved with the lawsuit, called the judge’s decision “goundbreaking” in a Sept. 1 statement.
“The decision reflects the weight of testimony from leading experts on disability discrimination, racial and socioeconomic inequities in education and standardized testing,” the statement said.
Mark Rosenbaum, director of Public Counsel’s Opportunity Under Law project, said, “Judge Seligman’s historic decision puts an end to racist tests that deprived countless California students of color, students with disabilities, and students from low income families of a fair shot at admissions to the UC system.”
Dr. Williamson Evers, senior fellow at the Independent Institute, a nonpartisan public policy research organization, disagreed with the injunction.
Evers told The Epoch Times that SAT and ACT scores are predictive indicators of whether or not a student will be successful in a particular institute.
“We can’t just rely on high school grades because different schools have different grading standards. We need a common yardstick, and these tests provide it,” Evers said.
In an emailed statement sent to the University of California–Los Angeles (UCLA) student newspaper, the Daily Bruin, spokeswoman Claire Doan said the UC system “respectfully disagrees” with the court ruling and would consider further legal action.
“An injunction may interfere with the University’s efforts to implement appropriate and comprehensive admissions policies and its ability to attract and enroll students of diverse backgrounds and experiences,” the statement said.
Bob Schaeffer, interim executive director of The National Center for Fair & Open Testing (FairTest), said in an Aug. 13 press release that his organization encourages schools to eliminate ACT and SAT requirements as “the only way to assure students that they will be treated even-handedly.”
“It is attractive for many applicants to know that they will be evaluated as ‘more than a score,’” Schaeffer said.
According to FairTest, over 60 percent of 4-year universities and colleges in the United States will not have SAT and ACT scores as part of the application requirements for fall 2021 admission.