PORTLAND —Willamette Week July 24, reported that federal troops scattered Portland protesters from around the Mark O. Hatfield federal courthouse are also inadvertently deploying tear gas on the people jailed next door. On the morning of July 21, a defense lawyer said, female inmates woke around 1 a.m. to the sounds of another inmate screaming, “I can’t breathe!”
President Issues Memorandum Excluding Non-Citizens from Census Count
LOS ANGELES—As local government agencies assess the magnitude of the detriment that could be caused by the recent Presidential Memorandum by the Trump administration, Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas urges the National Association of Counties (NACO) and the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) to take action.
In his recent letters, Supervisor Ridley-Thomas urged both organizations to take action to oppose the Presidential Memorandum excluding non-citizens from the apportionment base following the 2020 United States Census.
On July 21, 2020 the Trump Administration issued a Presidential Memorandum for the Secretary of Commerce titled “Memorandum on Excluding Illegal Aliens from the Apportionment Base Following the 2020 Census.” It is the latest in anti-immigrant action by the Executive Branch.
Earlier this year, the Trump Administration attempted to insert a citizenship question in the United States (U.S.) Census (Census). This effort was defeated when Attorney General Becerra and his coalition, which included Los Angeles County, secured a victory in their lawsuit to oppose the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 Census. The district court ruled that the citizenship question was unconstitutional and unlawful. On June 28, 2019 the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion deciding the legal challenge brought by many states on this issue.
As a result, on August 1, 2019, the district court entered final judgment permanently enjoining the Secretary of Commerce from including a citizenship question on the 2020 Census questionnaire and from asking a citizenship question as part of the 2020 Census.
South Bay Forum on Institutional Racism and Solutions
There’s viral video evidence that racism in the South Bay is alive and well, and that’s before incidents of anti-asian harassment by Torrance resident Lena Hernandez. Other examples are any of the pro-Trump rallies that have popped up around the South Bay, and other aligned groups such as the Rise Above Movement (RAM), which is listed by the Southern Poverty as an overtly racist, violent right-wing fight club that attends rallies around the country to do open combat with counter-protesters.
A couple of weeks ago Assemblymember Al Murasutchi hosted a virtual town hall on being black and racism in the South Bay, even though
This whole movement since the death of George Floyd. I’m a former prosecutor. I live in the South Bay. A lot of people live here because they want safe neighborhoods so public safety has always been a priority for me.
In the last year we passed a landmark bill that strengthen the legal standard for use of force in the state legislature and creating a national
Muratsuchi is a co-author of Assembly Bill 1506, which aims to take the decision on how and when to hold police officers accountable by taking the decision out of the hands of local district attorneys and put it in the hands of the State Attorney General’s office to avoid potential conflict of interests.
“As a former prosecutor, I recognize that relationship is ripe for conflicts of interest,” Muratsuchi said. “As for the sake of anything else in trying to restore public trust in our law enforcement and prosecutors.”
Muratsuchi recently co-authored Assembly Bill 1506 along with 32 other assembly members, which would allow local law enforcement agencies and district attorneys to more regularly request the attorney general to launch a formal review of situations where an officer used force that resulted in death or harm. The Department of Justice would have to review the incident and, upon its conclusion, could pursue prosecution should that force be found unwarranted.
Half the Los Angeles County Assembly delegation co-authored the bill, including Assembly members Richard Bloom, Autumn Burke, Wendy Carrillo, Laura Friedman, Jesse Gabriel, Mike Gipson, Chris Holden, Sydnee Kamlager-Dove, Reggie Jones-Sawyer, Robert Rivas and Miguel Santiago.
The proposal would also create a new police practices division by 2023 in the department that would specifically handle requests by local agencies to review policies and practices related to use-of-force.
Because of the strength and voice of the Black Lives Matter Movement challenging us to challenge and hold me accountable, I hope to step up and represent the tremendous diversity of Manhattan and the South Bay in general.
The panelist included Howard Scott Jr., of Harbor City, founder and president of the City Lights Gateway Foundation;
Tonya Mckenzie, president of the President of the North Redondo Beach Business Association and owner of Sand & Shores public relations;
Former Torrance City Councilman Lt. Col. Milton Herring. He was elected to the council in 2016; and Kavon Ward of Manhattan beach, co-founder of Anti-racist Moms in the South Bay.
“Black Lives Matter is not just a hashtag. It’s real,” Scott said.
Though the panelists were all African American, their experiences with racism ran the gamut of post traumatic stress disorders induced by indirect experiences to direct experience and potentially dangerous encounters with South Bay police departments.
Scott recounted growing up in a diverse Harbor City but learned about race through his and family’s experience with the Torrance police, describing it as a “sundown town,” a place where you don’t want to be caught after dark if your black due to the racial targeting of African Americans in the city of Torrance through the 1950s and 80s.
Scott recounted stories told by family members not to be in Torrance after dark due to their own experiences and experience of others they knew. Scott noted that he didn’t fully understand until he had his own encounters.
McKenzie recounted alluded to a troubled childhood in which her encounters with law enforcement officers served as her protectors in the racially diverse Bay Area city of San Jose. When she recalled the first years after she moved to Redondo Beach with her family and the stories she heard about the encounter of trusted peers and their family’s experiences with the Redondo Beach police department and recalling the fears those stories evoked for her own son. McKenzy noted that investing time and energy into the new community she moved to help allay the fears while breaking down barriers.
Former councilman Herring noted that he and Muratsuchi did not agree on every issue but was appreciative of the Assemblyman’s hosting this forum. Herring spoke as an elder statesman, being the oldest on the panel. He’s a 30 year resident of Torrance. Herring recounted having to have the talk on how to deal with being detained by police without cause.
Prior to being elected, he had the experience of being escorted to his home by the police while jogging in his neighborhood.
He heard the same stories of blacks not being welcomed in Torrance after dark. His wife served as civil service commissioner and dealt with issues dealing with discrimintion by the Torrance police department. He had positive experiences with the Torrance police overall in his experience. But pointed to the need for honest conversations about institutional racism.
Kavon Ward recounted the most contemporaneous experiences with racism in Manhattan Beach due to her activism.
“In Manhattan Beach, life is good for white people, I’m not so sure about for black people.”
She recalls her experience as being uncomfortable after living in the South Bay city for the past three years.
The first week after she moved to Manhattan Beach, Ward recalled walking her young daughter in a stroller with a blanket over and being asked by a fellow Manhattan Beach resident which family she nannied for.
I’ve been called a nigger bitch walking in my neighborhood. I’ve been called a terrorist for wearing a Black Panther shirt. I’ve been told in a Manhattan Beach library that I don’t live in Manhattan Beach so I should be disrespected. And recently she learned about the history of Bruce’s Beach, a stretch of beach once owned by an African American family around the turn of the 20th century.
“Do I feel welcomed here, by the citizens of Manhattan Beach. No, I don’t feel welcomed here. I don’t feel welcomed by the citizens here or the government here. Originally from Harlem, NY, Ward noted that she didn’t go to the police to report instances of harassment due to the lived experience of the police not generally being helpful in such situations.
“We don’t run to the cops. We run from them. We don’t believe that there are just a couple of bad apples. The bag is rotten. With my experience with the police, New York or in D.C. I don’t feel safe with the police.”
Given all that’s happened in the wake of George Floyd’s killing and the administration that is currently in the White House, there is permission to be blatantly racist and show their true colors.
Ward said she is willing to help with the work necessary to make everyone feel safe in places like Manhattan Beach and Torrance. And will continue doing the work through the anti-racism organization she co founded, Anti-racist Movement Around the South Bay.
Wards argues that the change begins with changing of policies, noting that regardless of the actual race of the officers on the streets, all of them have to enforce the same racist policies.
The biggest issue that wasn’t discussed was justice in the case of Christopher Mitchell, who was killed by Torrance police in December 2018 following a report of a stolen vehicle. The police fired on Mitchell in less than 2 seconds of opening his door and finding he had an airsoft rifle pointing towards the floorboards between his legs. Black Lives Matter activists have been calling for the arrests of the officers involved and changes within the Torrance police department. District Attorney Jackey Lacey cleared the officers of wrongdoing and the Torrance City Council, before the pandemic, took measures to restrict access to city council meetings following tense protests.
The activists have made it a priority to oust Lacey from office and other anti-police brutality goals. Muratsuchi’s AB 1506 is a step forward to one of those goals, but Lacey’s ouster could be a more difficult task. Lacey received 48.71 percent of the vote, just under the 50 percent threshold to avoid a runoff.
Contact Tracing Alert: Scam
People might call you claiming to be a contact tracer. You need to be vigilant and prepared to know the difference between scammers and legitimate tracers.
Legitimate contact tracers will only ask where you may have visited recently and who you may have come in contact with. They will never ask for money, your immigration status, your Social Security number or your personal financial information.
If you receive a call and are unsure about the legitimacy of the caller, call the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health COVID-19 Contact Tracing Call Center at 833-540-0473 to confirm that the person who contacted you is authorized by the public health department.
To learn more about the Los Angeles County Public Health Department’s efforts, visit their website, http://publichealth.lacounty.gov
Contact Patrick O’Donnell’s office at 562-429-0470 if you need more information.
Random Letters: 7-23-20
Parents Need Teaching Materials
It’s nice to have a set course and now that we accept it we can begin making better plans.
Let’s face it, computers are not the only answer. Never in the 30-plus years working in the classroom have teachers not had an array of teaching materials on hand. They have books, worksheets, supplemental workbooks and teacher’s guides, offering hands-on activity ideas to fill in the gaps.
Computers were and still should be just one tool in the toolbox. We are setting ourselves and our kids up for frustration and failure if we do not give our parents and children 100% of what they had and need to really get them learning. The school district can bring teachers back to campus or alternate working at home to assemble and provide these materials our tax paying dollars have already gone towards.
Our teachers know their kids and can maintain meaningful engagement with their students by issuing out grade level books, individualized lesson plans and hands-on materials to allow necessary reading and writing skills to continue.
Physically completing an assignment gives both parents, students and most importantly the teachers a way to evaluate and assess areas of need. Do a drive-up-pass-out approach. As a matter of fact, let’s throw in incentives for completed work, like vouchers for learning supplies that children and or parents can use to enhance the teaching experience. Pay for a virtual museum tour, art supplies and music lessons or buy high interest publications like Kids National Geographic and others.
We can get highly creative when we collaborate knowing and accepting the course ahead and start planning today. Call to action. Call the district!
Carol Holton, San Pedro
Nation-wide Worker Walk-Outs July 20 Against Racism and Police Brutality
Inglewood and nationwide STRIKE FOR BLACK LIVES
In a nationwide walk out in 160 cities entitled “Strike for Black Lives” called by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), thousands of workers walked off the job Monday, July 20 for a minimum of eight minutes and 46 seconds, the time that police had their knee on Floyd George’s neck prior to his death.
There are protests and car caravans happening in Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Durham, Hartford, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New York City, Oakland, Orlando, Sacramento, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Toledo, etc.
A walkout by workers at the Centinela Skilled Nursing & Wellness Center, in Inglewood demanded justice on the job and off, an end to racist practices by employers. As SEIU member Justin told the reporters “We are in this together, as Latinx, as Blacks fighting racism on the job, and police brutality.”
Demands of the national action are:
Justice for Black communities, with an unequivocal declaration that Black Lives
Matter, is a necessary first step to winning justice for all workers.
Elected officials and candidates at every level use their executive, legislative, and
regulatory authority to begin to rewrite the rules and reimagine our economy and
democracy so that Black communities can thrive.
Corporations take immediate action to dismantle racism, white supremacy, and
economic exploitation wherever it exists, including in our workplaces.
Every worker has the opportunity to form a union, no matter where they work. We
demand the immediate implementation of a $15/hour minimum wage, fully-funded
healthcare coverage and paid sick leave for all.
A Statement From Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia
It is with deep sadness that I share that my mother, Gaby O’Donnell, has passed away due to complications from COVID-19. My brother and I are heartbroken. Our mother was the kindest and most compassionate person we’ve ever known. She immigrated from Peru to the United States in search of the American Dream—and she found it. She became a healthcare worker, caring for thousands of patients over her career and assisting nurses and doctors who she loved dearly. She loved to help people and lived a happy and joyous life. She will always be our guiding light and the center of our lives. My brother and I want to thank the incredible team at Long Beach Memorial for taking care of our mom during her last days. They are heroes and we are forever grateful. My stepfather, Greg O’Donnell, is still in the hospital and on a ventilator. We pray and hope for a full recovery.
Community Waited Long for Al Fresco Dining
By James Preston Allen, Publisher and Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor
The San Pedro Property Owners Alliance, commonly referred to as the PBID, is now set to start constructing “parklet” dining platforms to compliment the newly opened sidewalk dining in the San Pedro Arts District, after Los Angeles City Councilman Joe Buscaino initially closed the streets for outside dining this past month.
This comes after many delays and some false starts that saw a temporary platform built in front of Compagnon Wine Bistro on 7th Street earlier. Now, starting on July 23, 15 restaurants have been approved to participate in this plan that is like many across the Los Angeles region to help restaurants remain viable during the pandemic.
As indoor dining has been canceled by government officials the only option for the local eateries is to create some kind of outside dining experience. The PBID is stepping in to provide support for this long held aspiration of the local restaurant industry. In fact one owner said that, “the PBID is offering up to $9,000 in forgivable loans to any restaurant that participates and keeps open until September.”
This was confirmed by the PBID office this week, which explained that there were some “complications due to the COVID-19” but that they were starting construction soon.
The PBID went to all 15 participating restaurants and told them it had the authority to offer forgivable loans up to $9,000 and also had the authority to proceed with a standard design (very cost effective) for a parklets handrail with a cover around the k-rail and platform flushed with the sidewalk.
Choura Events signed a proposed contract with the PBID with the participating restaurants as third-party beneficiaries. The PBID would make the initial payment on the loan with each restaurant paying a little over $1,000.
Choura Events is acquiring all of the materials and will begin staging the equipment on July 22. The contractor was certified by the PBID on July 12. The PBID hopes to have the Al Fresco dining complete by July 29.
Until now, restaurateurs have had to improvise and/or turn outside patio spaces into full service dining while waiting for the city and PBID to act. Some complained that this plan should have already been in place at the beginning of summer “not the middle of it.”
Yet, for some like James Brown of the San Pedro Brewing Co. this is his best shot at staying open under trying circumstances. Brown has contracted to take some 60 feet of street parking for this project that may get him close to 50% of his normal seating capacity, others much less so.
Outside or sidewalk dining has been a long term goal dating back at least two decades in San Pedro with its inclusion in the vision for the San Pedro Arts and Culture District, if not before.
With so many people living here from all over the world where sidewalk dining is the norm not the exception one would have thought that this would have been accomplished years ago.
Yet, perhaps one of the side effects of this pandemic is Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti using his emergency executive powers to lift city regulations. Like the homeless crisis perhaps it takes a crisis to solve long standing problems. It remains to be seen whether either the homeless shelter and outdoor dining will succeed but for now it’s a start.
Tim McOsker, co-chair of the PBID’s economic recovery committee, explained that the agreement the PBID signed with the city stipulates that all outdoor dining will adhere strictly to city COVID-19 guidelines. What the PBID is aiming to do is make permanent the Al Fresco dining infrastructure and their permits for the foreseeable future.
“We cannot predict what will happen in the future,” McOsker said. “So we thought the best investment would be to build these platforms that are designed to comply with city standards and be permitted permanently.”
COVID-19 Crisis Points To The Need For Everyone In L.A. County To Complete The Census
LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles County health leaders urged residents to complete the 2020 Census, highlighting the COVID-19 crisis as an example of how important federal funding is to maintaining a strong local health care system. An accurate count is essential because the census influences billions of dollars in federal funding that helps patients access health care services, as well as funding for substance use disorder treatment and prevention, schools, support for people who lose their jobs and services for seniors.
“To help fight COVID-19, we not only need people to wear a face covering and maintain physical distancing—they should also make sure they are counted in the census,” L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.Ed., said. “Not completing the census could deprive L.A. County of the very resources we need to fight the pandemic and other diseases that have life-or-death consequences in our community. It takes only ten minutes to fill out the census, and you can do it right from home on your computer or phone. We all lose if our residents don’t take part. Not completing the census is like throwing away money that we desperately need to protect the health and well-being of our communities and families.”
Census forms can be completed online at my2020census.gov, by phone at 844-330-2020 or by mail if you receive a paper form. The L.A. County 2020 Census website at census.lacounty.gov offers county-specific information in 16 languages. The U.S. 2020 Census website offers general information in 59 languages including in-language guides.
As part of the County’s census outreach campaign, posters and flyers are being placed at COVID-19 testing sites to educate and urge residents to respond to the census immediately.
L.A. County’s census response rate is 58.6 percent as of July 23. This is significantly behind California’s overall 63.6 percent response rate, and far behind L.A. County’s goal of 100 percent participation.
In response to the evolving situation around COVID-19, the U.S. Census Bureau extended the official deadline to participate in the census. The last day for households to respond online, by phone or by mail is October 31.
Completing the census is private. Responses are protected by federal law, specifically Title 13 of the United States Code. They cannot be shared with any other government agencies or other entities, including your landlord.
The U.S. Constitution mandates a census of the nation’s population every 10 years. Census statistics are used to determine the number of seats each state holds in Congress and how much in federal funding is allocated to state and local communities for the next 10 years. Local government officials use the census to plan new schools and hospitals. Businesses use census data to decide where to build factories, offices and stores, which creates jobs. Real estate developers and city planners use the census to plan new homes and improve neighborhoods. Residents use the census to support community initiatives involving legislation, quality-of-life and consumer advocacy.
The ABCs Of Contact Tracing
| To understand how important this is, hear from contract tracers: http://LA-County-Contract-Tracers-VICE Contact tracing is a simple, confidential process that has been used by public health departments for decades to slow the spread of infectious diseases and avoid outbreaks.During the COVID-19 pandemic, the county has deployed nearly 1,600 contact tracers and an additional 900 are now being trained. These specialists come from LA County’s Department of Public Health or DPH, as well other county departments, the state, and the City of Los Angeles. To help LA County flatten the COVID-19 curve, understand the ABCs of contact tracing: |
If you have tested positive for COVID-19, expect a contact tracer to contact you by phone to ask you about the places you have been, and the people you have been around while you were infectious.
The people you tell us about will also be contacted, but will not be told your name or contact information. They will also be asked to stay home to help prevent others from getting sick.
If you have been in contact with someone with COVID-19, expect a contact tracer to contact you by phone to ask you if you are experiencing any symptoms, have been tested, and to ask about places that you may have been to.
In order to avoid you getting mixed up with another person, please provide contact tracers with complete and correct information.
Contact tracers will provide you with information on next steps based on your responses. They may call you more than once to check how you are doing during your 14 days at home, and will provide you with information on how to find a doctor and/or access COVID-19 testing.
Contact tracers will leave a call back number if necessary. If they cannot reach you by phone, they will send a letter.
Please answer their calls and call them back if they leave a message. The information you provide is protected by HIPAA.
Please note a contact tracer will never ask you for a social security number, payment, information about your finances, documented status, or detailed health information.
LA County DPH has a hotline for confirmed cases of COVID-19. If you have not yet connected with a contact tracer, call the COVID-19 Case Info Line toll-free at 1-833-540-0473.
Contact tracing is an important tool for helping flatten the curve in LA County. And now that you know more about it, we hope you’ll work closely with our contact tracers, should they have a need to call you down the road.
Details: covid19.lacounty.gov/contact-tracing.