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Gov. Newsom Takes Action to Phase Out Oil Extraction in California

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Gov. Newsom Takes Action to Phase Out Oil Extraction in California

SACRAMENTO – Gov. Gavin Newsom April 23, directed the Department of Conservation’s Geologic Energy Management or CalGEM Division to initiate regulatory action to end the issuance of new permits for hydraulic fracturing or fracking, by January 2024. Additionally, Governor Newsom requested that the California Air Resources Board or CARB analyze pathways to phase out oil extraction across the state by no later than 2045.

Under this directive, CalGEM will immediately initiate the rulemaking to halt the issuance of new hydraulic fracturing permits by 2024.

Under Governor Newsom’s direction, CARB will evaluate how to phase out oil extraction by 2045 through the Climate Change scoping plan, the state’s comprehensive, multi-year regulatory and programmatic plan to achieve required reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Inclusion of the target in the Scoping Plan means that phasing out oil extraction becomes a part of California’s blueprint to achieve economy-wide carbon neutrality by 2045. CARB will evaluate economic, environmental and health benefits and effects of eliminating oil extraction. CARB’s scoping plan process will be informed by cross-sector collaboration and public input focusing on benefits in disadvantaged communities, opportunities for job creation and economic growth as we achieve carbon neutrality. 

In advance of the phase-out of fracking in 2024, CalGEM’s process for reviewing permits for this practice is the most stringent in the country, and includes input from experts at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. More on the permit review process is available here.

Permit approvals and resulting hydraulic fracturing activity are at the lowest level since the Legislature enacted Senate Bill 4 in 2014 to strengthen regulation of hydraulic fracturing.

In addition to instituting more rigorous review of hydraulic fracturing permit applications, CalGEM continues to operationalize its updated mandate to protect public health and the environment. This includes:

  • Developing a new health and safety regulation to protect workers and communities near oil fields. 
  • Implementing new regulations that prohibit surface expressions and placing a moratorium on high-pressure cyclic steam injection, which has been linked to surface expressions. 
  • Integrating independent experts from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the Department of Finance’s Office of State Audits and Evaluations to recommend further improvements to CalGEM’s permitting process. 
  • Increasing financial bonding requirements on oil companies to ensure adequate closure of defunct wells and clean-up of inactive oil fields.

Earlier this week, the California Environmental Protection Agency announced the release of two independent studies that identify strategies to support the state’s goal to dramatically reduce transportation fossil fuel demand and supply by 2045. The studies analyze the health and safety impacts associated with pollution originating from the extraction and processing of oil and will inform CARB’s scoping plan.

These actions build on the Governor’s September 2020 executive order, which called for an end to fracking and to accelerate California’s transition away from gasoline-powered cars and trucks and reduce demand for fossil fuels. The order also directed agencies to:

  • Develop and implement a just transition roadmap. 
  • Propose strategies to reduce the carbon intensity of transportation fuels beyond 2030 with consideration of the full life cycle of carbon. 
  • Expedite regulatory processes to repurpose and transition upstream and downstream oil production facilities, while supporting community participation, labor standards and protection of public health, safety and the environment.

City of Long Beach Launches Online Portal to Support Community Involvement in the Migrant Children Humanitarian Effort

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City of Long Beach Launches Online Portal to Support Community Involvement in the Migrant Children Humanitarian Effort

LONG BEACH — On April 19, the City of Long Beach launched an online portal with detailed information on how community members, local organizations, and businesses can help support the migrant children who will be temporarily sheltered at the Long Beach Convention Center as part of the federal government’s national humanitarian effort to support unaccompanied migrant children arriving at the southern borders.

Children are expected to begin arriving at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shelter this week. While the reunification effort and shelter are led and funded by the HHS, the city will focus on assisting HHS and the federal government in welcoming the children and supporting them during the reunification process.

There has been significant interest from the Long Beach community to support these children, and now community members, local organizations, and businesses can do so by donating funds or submitting an interest form to support this effort.

Book Donation Drive:

Starting April 24, through May 8, community members and local organizations can drop off donated books at several locations throughout Long Beach. Leisure books, in English, Spanish, or English and Spanish, for grade levels kindergarten through young adult audiences must be in new condition. Textbooks are not needed at this time. All donated books will be provided to HHS for distribution to the children. 

If you are interested in donating books and would like to know where you can drop them off, please click here.

Monetary Donations:

The Long Beach Community Foundation has launched the Migrant Children Support Fund to accept monetary donations from community members, local organizations, and businesses. All donations are designated specifically to provide assistance and supportive resources related to the migrant children humanitarian effort in Long Beach. Resources provided through these donations are intended to make the children more comfortable during their stay in Long Beach and during the reunification process. All monetary donations to this fund are tax-deductible.

This is the easiest and quickest way the community and local organizations and businesses can support this effort. Donations can be made online, or by mailing a check to the Long Beach Community Foundation at 400 Oceangate, Suite 800, Long Beach, CA 90802. Check donations should include “Migrant Children Support Fund” on the check designation.

Business and Vendor Services and Organization Donations:

  • Businesses and organizations interested in providing complementary services at the HHS shelter should complete an interest form, which will be submitted to HHS for review and consideration.

Personal Volunteer Opportunities:

The City is actively working with HHS to identify additional ways the community can get involved, including through volunteer opportunities and possibly physical donations. People interested in volunteering should submit a volunteer interest form with their name and contact information and HHS will be in contact as opportunities are identified. Volunteers may be utilized for a number of activities and services, which will be headed by HHS. Additional information on these opportunities will be provided at a later date. Information on how to become a HHS sponsor is available on the HHS Sponsors and Placement webpage.

On April 6, the Long Beach City Council unanimously approved to allow the City Manager to negotiate a partnership agreement with HHS to support their efforts to temporarily house and quickly reconnect unaccompanied minors who have been arriving at the southern border. 

Long Beach has a long history of welcoming and helping immigrants and refugees. While at the Convention Center, the children will remain under the care of HHS until they can be reunited with their family or a U.S. sponsor. The Convention Center has ample space for the children to recreate, learn and receive medical attention if needed, and has the capacity to accommodate up to 1,000 children. The HHS shelter will not impact COVID-19 vaccination clinic operations currently underway at the Convention Center. Costs for the operation and use of the facility are being provided by the federal government.

Additional information regarding HHS shelter operations will be available soon. 

Details: HHS webpage.

Use of Johnson & Johnson Vaccine to Resume in Los Angeles County

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Use of Johnson & Johnson Vaccine to Resume in Los Angeles County

After a thorough safety review by the Food and Drug Administration or FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or CDC, they determined that the pause in the use of the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine can be lifted and that use of the vaccine should resume. Vaccine providers in LA County with doses of the Janssen vaccine can resume administration of the vaccine tomorrow, provided they distribute the updated Janssen fact sheets to any recipients of the vaccine.  Public Health will be posting updated safety information about the Janssen vaccine shortly. 

The decision comes after CDC’s independent Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices reviewed data related to the recent reports of a rare and severe type of blood clot that occurred in individuals after receiving the vaccine.  Based on their review of all available data, both the CDC and the FDA determined that the vaccine is safe and effective in preventing COVID-19.  

The three vaccines that are available through the FDA’s  Emergency Use Authorization remain the most powerful tools to reduce transmission, prevent serious illness and death, and eventually ending the COVID-19 pandemic that has claimed the lives of almost 24,000 people in LA County. 

Details: www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish).

OP/ED Unpaint That Picture

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OP/ED Unpaint That Picture

We humans are social. We have a strong desire (need) to be acknowledged and that’s why my

#StartsWithOne movement is such a big deal. To witness another’s life and to be witnessed by

another, those basic constructs are foundational to alleviating the existential dilemma’s

pressure to define self. It comes down to, “I’m seen/acknowledged, therefore I am.”

The problem is, we miss things.

We’re just not that observant. In fact, we’re lazy, relying on a built-in psychological construct

from infancy called “Object Constancy.” If a ball rolls behind a block, we anticipate that same ball will roll out from behind that block. If we park our car in a certain spot, we expect it to be the same car in the same spot when we come out.

It’s why magical illusions are so fascinating – what was once a woman is now a tiger! Poof!

The problem is that because we expect things to remain the same, we miss things about

ourselves and we miss things about each other. We overlook the growth and development that

we’ve each experienced. The old, “my how you’ve changed” exclamation that comes from

grandparents typically expresses the reality of a difference in height from the last visit to

present.

We don’t do the same for each other as adults. That could be a new greeting, instead of “Hi,

how are you?” let’s begin with “Tell me what’s changed!”

As much as we each crave the novel experience, it’s a basic human need, so too do we rely on

things remaining the same. We damage relationships with each other when we do so. And this

is especially true in families. Reflect on how often people revert or feel like they’re expected to

revert to some old childhood role when they visit “home.” This happens among family

members who connect beyond the bounds of what used to be home.

Become intentionally aware –

We miss things… unless we’re deliberately vigilant. Here’s a quick practice you might want to

take up: The next time you meet up with a family member or friend, even someone you talk to

regularly, even someone you see daily – ask yourself, “what’s changed? Where has this person

grown since I last connected with them?”

Take inventory for yourself, as well.

It’s a great practice. If you’re going to be intentional about looking for the growth in others,

start with that practice for yourself. How has your thinking changed since yesterday? What

enlightening idea did you encounter? What new experience did you bring into your life that

expanded your thought process? The answers could be found in something as simple as reading

a post like this that invites you to examine your thinking or in a conversation with a friend who

offers a unique perspective on world events.

What happens when someone offers their worldview? Do you argue your stance or might you

take the time to understand their perspective? They’ve changed and you can’t see it if you’re

stuck looking through your old glasses. Maybe their worldview hasn’t changed the way you’d

like; maybe it’s gotten further solidified. Notice. Just notice.

You’ve changed and you know it.

You might not know all of it… yet.

You’re not the same person you were twenty years ago. You’re not the same person you were

ten, five, or two years ago. You’re not the same person you were last year! Heck, look at how

resilient and courageous you became! Might you acknowledge in some self-reflective place,

that you’re not the same person you were last month, last week, or even yesterday.

I’m certainly not who I was. Not from twenty years ago, not from a couple of months ago, and

not even from yesterday when a casual meeting with a friend sparked a new idea for how to

reshape my business model. It affirmed something in me and changed my outlook. A casual

meeting created a life-changing directional thrust. My lunch-date has no idea that our

conversation had such an impact on my trajectory.

The problem is we miss things.

Most people won’t see the changes others have experienced unless they dare to ask. They

won’t notice how thinking, personal worldview, or values have evolved. Sure, we can live them

and model them, yet most people won’t see them unless they’re called out. We have a picture

of who the other is or is supposed to be. That “supposed to” is a subconscious process based on

the need for object constancy. We need each other to be who we were to each other.

Unless we don’t.

Grow is predicated on the expansion of life in all forms. Thought is the first place that any

reality exists. First thought, then comes physical expression of that thought. To grow and

encourage the growth in others, we need to unpaint the picture that we held.

What Was is no longer What Is.

Seek a new perspective. Look for what has changed in the world around you and especially in

the people around you. Unpaint the picture enough to recognize that your life is dynamic. So

too are the lives of others. The picture isn’t static. See yourself – and others – for who you each

are now… and now… and now… and now….

Dr Wayne Pernell, Powerful Presence™ mentor and “Outfluencer™,”

Dr. Wayne Pernell is one of the most highly sought mindset speakers, Amazon #1 International

Best-Selling Author of five books, blogger, podcast host, and High-Performance

Breakthrough Success Coach.

Dr. Pernell’s doctorate in clinical psychology, certification in high performance

coaching as well as in high performance leadership, blended with his engagement in

executive leadership positions has given him over 35 years of experience in honing his

craft of helping others break through to their next level of success.

Dr Pernell is the president of DynamicLeader®, Inc. He founded the

#StartsWithOne™ movement, he is a member of the Forbes Business Council, a TEDx

speaker, has been featured in the Amazon Prime television series SpeakUp Season 2,

and is regularly seen on NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox, and The CW, as well as heard on radio

and podcasts around the world. His work can also be found in Fast Company,

Entrepreneur, Forbes, and the NY Times, and so many others.

“Dr P,” as his clients and friends call him, runs programs for individuals and

organizations and is booking consultations for those ready to leave “stuck” behind to set

new strategic targets and enjoy exponential success and fulfillment, both personally and

professionally.

www.WaynePernell.com/speaker

ALL SOCIAL: https://linktr.ee/WaynePernell

Remembering The Armenian Genocide 04/24/1915

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Remembering The Armenian Genocide 04/24/1915

On April 24, we marked the anniversary of the Armenian genocide and the atrocities committed just over 100 years ago. The resilience of the Armenian people across the world, and our fellow Armenian-Americans, serves as inspiration and a reminder of the cruelty that too frequently has visited upon people throughout the world and throughout history. Remembrance of such tragedies, while painful and abhorrent, must serve as a constant reminder to us all of what some parts of humanity are capable of. Too often, there are those who would deny such actions or attempt to erase it from history. April 24th is one of those important dates that remind us that we must recommit ourselves to fighting hate and bigotry wherever we find it.

This is not a new sentiment – but it is frequently overlooked or forgotten, and that’s inexcusable. We just can’t let that happen.

In 1919, Henry Morgenthau, the U.S. Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, put the genocide against the Armenia people in perspective after speaking directly with the Turkish authorities at the time:

“When the Turkish authorities gave the orders for these deportations, they were merely giving the death warrant to a whole race; they understood this well, and, in their conversations with me, they made no particular attempt to conceal the fact. . . . The great massacres and persecutions of the past seem almost insignificant when compared to the sufferings of the Armenian race in 1915.”

These words are as true today as they were over a century ago. President Biden has pledged to recognize this tragedy for what it was: a genocide, despite the vehement objections from the Turkish government, which remains in denial.  With an estimated 1.5 million Armenians murdered, this recognition by American leadership is long overdue. April 24th is a painful day for many families whose forebears were victims, and their journey to escape such oppression led them to the United States, which has been a welcoming home.

Never again!

In solidarity,

JEFF PRANG

Assessor

Rancho San Pedro Community EIR Meeting

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Rancho San Pedro Community EIR Meeting

A notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement will be given for a public housing project site in San Pedro.

The project site consists of approximately 21 acres and is located at 275 West First Street. Public comments, either verbal or written, relating to the scope of the Environmental Impact Report are requested and will be accepted during the scoping meeting on Zoom.The Scoping Meeting will be held at 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. April 27.  You may click on the zoom link HERE and enter the Meeting ID: 929 3652 8288, Passcode: 392390. Dial by your location:+1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose). Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/acHYR0ouvG.

Dodging the Bullet…This Time: Reactions to Chauvin Verdict

James Preston Allen
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Dodging the Bullet…This Time: Reactions to Chauvin Verdict

There is a great, collective sigh of relief in response to the three guilty verdicts rendered Tuesday in the trial of Derek Chauvin, who was a member of the Minneapolis Police Department when he murdered a black man named George Floyd in May 2020. As has been said by many others, “This was not justice, but it was the first step towards accountability.”

This has been echoed by many of the leaders in the black communities across this nation and more importantly by the family of George Floyd, which acknowledges the singular exception of this verdict as opposed to police killings of unarmed people of color in hundreds of other cases. That the Los Angeles Police Department did not overreact to the solidarity demonstrations here in L.A. and instead deescalated potential confrontations shows that the police are capable of  different outcomes.  So our city dodged the bullet of a reactive response…this time. But the question remains: does this usher in a new era of community-based policing or was this just a pause in the decades-long conflict?

Below are some of reactions to this historic verdict, which has captured the attention of our city and nation and offers hope that we as one nation may finally address what historically has been called our original sin — slavery, and by extension, racism. 

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Chauvin Trial Verdict 

“The hard truth is that, if George Floyd looked like me, he’d still be alive today. No conviction can repair the harm done to George Floyd and his family, but today’s verdict provides some accountability as we work to root out the racial injustice that haunts our society. We must continue the work of fighting systemic racism and excessive use of force. It’s why I signed some of the nation’s most progressive police reform legislation into law. I will continue working with community leaders across the state to hear concerns and support peaceful expression.”

Rep. Nanette Barragán Statement on Guilty Verdict in Chauvin Trial

“Nothing could undo the injustice of a sworn police officer killing George Floyd. All too often our justice system fails people and communities of color – in particular, Black men – but today our system delivered justice for George Floyd. Derek Chauvin is being held accountable for murder.

We all saw the horrific video of Derek Chauvin holding his knee against George Floyd’s throat for 9 minutes and 29 seconds while he could no longer breathe. We all saw George Floyd plead for his life and cry out for his mother. The evidence was clear. There was no justification for kneeling on George Floyd until he died. His life mattered. 

Let’s hope today’s verdict is a turning point in holding police accountable. Still, more needs to be done to prevent future tragic incidents of unnecessary police violence. Far too many people of color have met the same fate as George Floyd. It needs to end.

The time for change is now. I proudly joined the Congressional Black Caucus and my colleagues to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in March and now the Senate must act. We need to deliver the critical reforms needed to address systemic racism and police misconduct while increasing transparency.”

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA 28th District)

No jury’s decision can bring back George Floyd, or undo the pain felt by his family, his friends and his community. But the verdict today is a measure of accountability, and true justice will take time. 

Just as we come to grips with one tragedy and verdict, we must grapple with new cases of police violence, including the deaths of 13-year-old Adam Toledo in Chicago and 20 year old Daunte Wright in Minnesota, just miles from where George Floyd was murdered.True justice will take time and lots of work. Today, all of our thoughts are with George Floyd’s friends and family. And tomorrow, the work continues. 

Councilman Joe Buscaino for Council District 15 and Mayoral Candidate 2022

Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd in the light of day, with a maliciousness caught on tape far too many times in our history. In taking the life of one of the people he was sworn to protect, Chauvin disrespected the solemnity of his duty in the worst possible way.  

I am so glad that the jury said that Black Lives Matter, but this is just one day, on a very long journey to the reckoning that we must face and the healing that we need.

Bryant Odega, Candidate for LA City Council District 15 

Dereck Chauvin murdered George Floyd and the guilty verdict today is a triumph for accountability. However, real justice would mean that George Floyd was never murdered in the first place. The justice we need in the United States and right here in the City of Los Angeles is the end of systemic racism. It is the systemic racism that fuels the resurgence of the LAPD’s racist and ineffective pretextual stops, also known as “stop-and-frisk,” in South LA and neighboring communities. It was that same type of pretextual stop that led to the death of Daunte Wright last week, killed by the same Minneapolis police department that killed George Floyd. 

Black and Brown people are targeted simply for the color of our skin. There are many more George Floyds, Daunte Wrights, Breonna Taylors, Adam Toledos, and Andres Guardados in this city and across the country that we don’t hear about in the news or social media. They will no longer be able to celebrate their birthdays or hug their loved ones again. There will be no justice until we reimagine public safety, reinvest in our communities, and hold police officers accountable for their misconduct so that we can stop losing loved ones to the hands of the police.

Tim McOsker, Candidate for LA City Council District 15 

The unanimous guilty verdicts were overwhelmingly supported by the evidence and are a step toward justice.  While no conviction will restore the life of George Floyd or bring peace to his family and loved ones, I hope and pray that this tragedy causes us to reassess and improve public safety in every community across the country.

Shannon Ross, Candidate for LA City Council District 15

Derek Chauvin was rightly held accountable today and, for that, I am glad. While today’s guilty verdict won’t return George Floyd to his loved ones, it can serve as a starting point for where we need to go from here. I am acutely aware that without Darnella Frazier, who at 17 years old had the courage to film George Floyd’s murder, today’s verdict may have been different. The fight to achieve racial justice and equity must continue. Black Lives Matter. 

Dr. Cheyenne Bryant,  president of the San Pedro NAACP

The conviction of Chauvin on all three charges shows accountability. But, are we supposed to say “thank you” although, it is not justice and definitely doesn’t make up for the senseless murder of George Floyd? Nor does it erase racism within law enforcement. We cannot ignore the trauma that the Black community and every human being with a heart has experienced. The leftover residue from the ongoing systemic racism won’t end with one convicted officer. Justice is never having to experience such a heartless cold reality and bringing back the lives of the “too many” Black people who have been murdered as a result of racism and hate. Unfortunately, that isn’t an option. So, we continue the fight. This is a human right fight! We call on all human beings who believe it is a right to enjoy public safety from law enforcers who we should look to for protection and not dehumanization to join us on this journey. 

Fictional Behind-the-Scenes Peek at Welles’s “War of the Worlds” Fails to Capitalize on Premise

Greggory Moore
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Fictional Behind-the-Scenes Peek at Welles’s “War of the Worlds” Fails to Capitalize on Premise

It’s a promising premise: Orson Welles’s Mercury Players reunite to perform a live musical retelling of their legendary “War of the Worlds” radio broadcast. Unfortunately, mediocre songs, production shortcomings, and the classic misstep of making true events less interesting via needless fictionalization keeps Mid-World Players’ Panic: A Live Radio Musical from being more than a nice idea.

It’s a particular shame because mounting a show that takes place in the confined space of a radio studio is a smart production choice for these pandemic times. Shot with a single, roving handheld camera and little production or editing in Long Beach’s diminutive Found Theatre, initially Panic gets off on the right foot, as Welles (the well-cast Jesse Seann Atkinson) steps to the mic and prepares us for “the entire behind-the-scenes story, warts and all.”

But before long, all of Panic’s warts are in evidence. For no particular reason playwright Stephen Dolginoff puts the Mercury Players in front of a live audience, which gave rise in either Dolginoff’s or director Atkinson’s mind (I haven’t seen the script and therefore can’t say) to the dubious notion of inserting a laugh track into the show — bad enough even if the tinny group guffaws weren’t louder than most of the dialog.

Another production problem is the variability of dialog volume resulting from the sound’s being captured on the video camera’s built-in mic. Shooting in this manner isn’t necessarily misguided — it certainly helps the show feel live — but we lose entire lines when upstage actors speak in low tones. Additionally, the cast would have been better served by wearing soft-soled shoes, as their wingtips and high heels clomp distractingly on the Found’s wood floors. (Thankfully, neither of these problems is as notable during musical numbers.)

Andrew Roberts’s camerawork is hit-and-miss. At his best, Roberts moves with the cast as if he’s a part of the blocking, giving us some unexpectedly pleasing vistas, including a move behind Welles’s shoulder so that we get a view of four of his troupemates confronting him in song. But during the same number there are a few seconds when literally none of the five onstage actors is in-frame — a particularly puzzling gaffe to make the final cut, considering that elsewhere Panic does resort to mid-scene edits. Ultimately, Roberts is too close to the action too often, regularly failing to cover characters when they speak and never once choosing to utilize the Found’s small audience area so that we can have the entire “stage” in view. Not that we miss all that much, since there’s no choreography to speak of. Panic is a musical only in the sense that its characters break into song.

Alas, the songs are Panic’s biggest failing. According to the program, Dolginoff has won an ASCAP songwriting award and been nominated for a few others (e.g., Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle), so somebody thinks he’s done good work in the past; but all I can say is that the songs in Panic land on my admittedly subjective aural tastebuds as uniformly mediocre and with little variance from one to the next. Although the cast’s vocal abilities are somewhat limited, the material is the real problem.

Same goes for the script. The first one-third of Panic is a relatively uninterrupted discourse on Welles’s massive ego. When we finally get to the “War of the Worlds” broadcast, its conception is relegated to a scant half-dozen lines, with Welles comes up with the conceit basically out of thin air. Dolginoff’s historical cock-up includes writer Howard Koch (Sam Gianfala) taking on the project on his first day with Mercury and producer John Houseman (Jared Raymen) doing his damnedest to prevent Welles’s vision from becoming reality. All of this is needless fictionalization, far less compelling than the way it really went down. And in Dolginoff’s hands the broadcast itself is little more than an afterthought, providing almost no behind-the-scenes view of how the show was produced (e.g., the foley artist has about three things on his effects table and barely ever touches them). When your ostensible climax is perhaps the least interesting part of your show, you’re in trouble.

Mid-World Players sniffed out Panic: A Live Radio Musical as signifying a good idea for a theatrical production during these restrictive times. Unfortunately, script, score, and production all come up short. 

Panic: A Live Radio Musical makes its one-night-only West Coast premiere on Saturday, April 24. To watch, go to Mid-World Players’ GoFundMe page and make a $5 minimum donation after midnight April 23 to get a link that’s good until midnight April 24. For more on Mid-World Players, visit them on Facebook.

Trailer for Panic: A Live Radio Musical

On Earth Day 2021, Study Reports Marine Flora And Fauna Are Flourishing At Twin Ports

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On Earth Day 2021, Study Reports Marine Flora And Fauna Are Flourishing At Twin Ports

SAN PEDRO –A new ecological study, released on Earth Day, shows more than 1,000 different species of fish, birds, invertebrates, algae and marine mammals are thriving in San Pedro Bay — the same waters that serve as the nation’s busiest container port complex. 

The “2018 Biological Surveys of the Los Angeles and Long Beach Harbors” is the fourth comprehensive biological survey jointly conducted by the Port of Los Angeles and neighboring Port of Long Beach, also located in San Pedro Bay, since 2000. The study is a detailed snapshot of marine life in the harbors, and the findings are compared with previous studies and regional trends in Southern California waters to assess the health of the Bay.

View Report Here

Pelican. Photograph courtesy of Port of Long Beach (twitter)

Highlights of the biological surveys include:

  • Eleven special-status bird species that nest or roost in the port complex were observed. Three – the brown pelican, the elegant tern, and the double-crested cormorant – are among the 10 most abundant of 87 species of birds in San Pedro Bay.
  • The surveys documented 104 species of fish, both bottom-dwellers and those living in the water column extending above the seafloor to the water’s surface. Northern anchovy, white croaker and topsmelt are among the most prevalent.
  • A rich diversity of invertebrates vital to San Pedro Bay’s web of life inhabit the harbor. Animals living on the sea floor – crustaceans such as target shrimp, mollusks such as snails, and echinoderms such as urchins – and those that burrow into the seafloor, such as marine worms, are among the most abundant of the harbor’s 859 invertebrate species.
  • Eelgrass beds cover 86 acres, primarily in shallow areas of the outer harbor but increasingly in inner harbor areas as well. Eelgrass provides nursery habitat to small fish and invertebrates, and good foraging habitat for birds. More than 95% of the eelgrass is found on the Los Angeles side of the bay at Cabrillo Beach and the Pier 300 Basin. Until the early 2000s, these were the only two eelgrass sites, but the marine plant is now growing in a dozen locations.
  • Kelp forests have grown to 118 acres. Found along breakwaters, jetties and other hard surfaces in the outer harbor, kelp forests form a canopy that provides a habitat that nourishes fish and invertebrates and protects them from predators.
  • Marine mammals are common, especially sea lions and harbor seals. Dolphins and seasonal visitors such as gray whales continue to frequent the outer harbor.

Biological surveys involve extensive field work and lab analysis of the conditions and sea life in San Pedro Bay’s diverse habitats: open sea, shallow zones, soft-bottom beds, and hard surfaces such as breakwaters, pilings, riprap, wharves and piers across nearly 9,000 acres of water that encompass the twin port complex. For the first time, divers used expanded methods to explore undersea life on riprap and added pilings as part of the 2018 surveys. The new approach revealed about 150 new species, including nine fish species not documented in previous surveys, including the garibaldi, horn shark and moray eel. Three species of abalone were also detected: pink, green and the endangered white abalone.

The Port Of Los Angeles stated that the surveys confirm commercial port operations and critical habitat in San Pedro Bay can coexist and flourish. Water clarity continues to improve, and special-status species are abundant. The classification refers to rare, threatened or endangered species that, under federal or state laws, require special consideration or protection.

The ports also track non-native species. Although the latest surveys counted 46 non-native species, 27 more than in the 2013 survey, relative to all species detected, non-native species remain consistent with the historical norm of about 5% of all species in San Pedro Bay. Additionally, the high diversity and abundance of fish, invertebrates and algae show non-native species are not disrupting the bay’s ecosystem.

The surveys also shed light on the impacts of climate change. A two-year marine heatwave during which the average water temperature was higher than it has been over the last two decades preceded the 2018 study. Consistent with regional trends, the phenomenon may have contributed to a 10-12% decrease in the total number of bird species and a 33% decrease in their abundance in the 2018 surveys. Likewise, it may be responsible for a 50% decline in larval fish density since the 2013 survey.

The earliest biological studies of San Pedro Bay date back to the 1950s. They documented degraded habitats with some areas nearly devoid of marine life due to pollution from the urbanized greater Los Angeles region. Conditions have steadily improved since the late 1970s due to federal and state mandates, as well as the ports’ environmental initiatives. The Port of Los Angeles and its tenants have worked closely together on various clean water programs, such as reducing stormwater pollution.

Photograph courtesy of Port of Long Beach (twitter)

Harbor Ecosystem Thrives, More Diverse Than Ever

SAN PEDRO – Marine life is thriving in San Pedro Bay harbors at levels not seen in multiple studies over two decades, according to a comprehensive  survey of water quality, aquatic habitat and biological resources at the Port of Long Beach and Port of Los Angeles.

The survey conducted in 2018 and 2019 and released this week identified the highest recorded biodiversity of the four previous complex-wide studies, the first of which was in 2000. In total, more than 1,000 species of plants or animals were observed, including 104 species of fish, 87 species of birds and five species of marine mammals. 

Among other notable findings, biologists for the first time found nine species of fish typically associated with hard substrates such as reefs, including Garibaldi, sheepshead, horn shark, and moray eel. Their presence shows the existence of shallow, structured habitats such as riprap and breakwaters are providing nursery habitat for the fish to grow, forage and flourish.

State and federal wildlife agencies have given special-status designation to three of the 10 most abundant bird species observed in both the 2013 and 2018 biological surveys. The presence of these birds — brown pelican, elegant tern and double-crested cormorant — indicate the port complex provides important foraging and roosting opportunities for these species. Also, kelp coverage in the summer of 2018 was more than twice that observed in any previous study, with little decrease between spring and summer.The ports and resource agencies that oversee wildlife in the harbors use the survey results to evaluate progress in improving the health of the natural resources under their stewardship. Read the survey report here.

As Additional Variant Cases Are Identified, Public Health Encourages Safety Measures and Vaccinations to Reduce Risk of Getting COVID-19 Infection

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As Additional Variant Cases Are Identified, Public Health Encourages Safety Measures and Vaccinations to Reduce Risk of Getting COVID-19 Infection

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health or Public Health has confirmed 35 new deaths and 439 new cases of COVID-19. To date, Public Health identified 1,229,998 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 23,702 deaths.

As of April 18, more than 6,488,391 million doses of vaccine have been administered in the County, including 4,176,360 first doses. Already, almost 2,312,031 million people have been fully vaccinated.

Over the past two and a half months, with vaccination campaigns aimed at increasing uptake in communities of color, the county has seen vaccine uptake increase 170% in Black communities, 151% among multiracial individuals, 130% in American Indian/Alaska Natives, 129% among Latinx residents, 91% among Asian residents, and 78% among White residents.

The county has now vaccinated about half of Asian, White, and American Indian/Alaska Native residents in L.A. County and have also made some important gains in vaccinating multiracial community members, where vaccinations increased from 11% to 37% with one dose.  In Latinx residents, the vaccinated proportion of the population increased more than fourfold of what it was two months ago, and in Black residents, the proportion increased more than threefold. 

Over the course of the pandemic leading up to the very early days of the vaccine rollout, the county saw about 1 in every 10 L.A. County residents get infected with COVID-19 – and that’s a very low-end estimate of the real numbers, given how many people who were infected but didn’t get tested for one reason or another. During that same period, Public Health saw about 1 in every 500 L.A. County residents die from COVID-19.

Looking at the data on breakthrough infections after vaccination that the CDC released last week, the risk of infection in people who are fully vaccinated was 1 in 13,275 – much less common than 1 in 10 infected with COVID-19 who were not vaccinated. And the risk of death goes from 1 in 500 to 1 in a million.

If you’re taking a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, getting the second dose is important. Although one vaccine gives you 50% to 80% protection, the second dose offers nearly 100% protection from getting a severe case of COVID-19.  Make sure you show up for your appointment for your second dose, and if you don’t have an appointment, please contact your vaccination provider to schedule a time to receive your second dose. As a reminder, if you received Moderna for your first dose, you need to get Moderna for your second dose; if you received Pfizer the first time, you will need a Pfizer vaccine the second time. Your vaccination card tells you which vaccine you received. For those who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, you are done. It is one dose, you wait two weeks and you are fully protected.

Public Health continues to identify variant cases in Los Angeles County. The two most commonly circulating variants of concern in L.A. County have been and remain the UK (B.1.1.7) and California (B.1.427/429) variants. Of the 59 specimens analyzed by the L.A. County Public Health Laboratory in the past week, 50% were the UK variant and 10% were the California variant. Most of the specimens analyzed were associated with clusters of cases, and where specimens were sequenced from larger outbreaks, the UK variant is currently identified more often than other virus variants. The Public Health Laboratory did not detect any additional Brazil (P.1) variants last week, although it is likely there are undetected cases of this variant circulating in our region.

The identification of these variants highlights the need for L.A. County residents to continue to take measures to protect themselves and others including wearing a mask, maintaining at least 6 feet of distance from those who do not live in your household, and getting the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as you can. All currently available information indicates that vaccines appear to be highly effective in preventing transmission, hospitalizations, and deaths, even with the increased presence of variants.

Everyone living or working in L.A. County 16 and older is eligible for COVID-19 vaccine. To learn how to make an appointment, what verifications people will need to show at the vaccination appointment, and much more, visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish). Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status.

Details: www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

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