Friday, January 14, 2022

As With Pasadena, The 2022 Los Angeles County Homeless Count is Postponed

CITY NEWS SERVICE

A day after Pasadena announced it will delay its annual homeless count due to the surge in COVID-19 cases, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority announced Friday that it will follow suit and postpone homeless tally taking by one month, to Feb. 22-24.

The effort, known as the point-in-time count or Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count, is essential to understanding how large the region’s homelessness crisis has become. The count must be conducted by Continuum of Care providers to receive federal funding through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

During the three-day count, Los Angeles County will be divided and:

• the San Gabriel and San Fernando valley counts will take place on Feb. 22;

• the West L.A., Southeast L.A. and South Bay counts will take place on Feb. 23; and

• the Antelope Valley, Metro L.A. and South L.A. counts will take place on Feb. 24.

“While we work to ensure an accurate Homeless Count,

Thursday, January 13, 2022

Sheriff Says LA County Homicides, Auto Thefts Spiked During Pandemic

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Homicides and auto thefts spiked from 2019 to 2021 in areas policed by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Wednesday during a virtual town hall meeting.

The LASD provides law enforcement to the Metro trains and buses in Pasadena, to the county portion of East Pasadena, and to all of Altadena.

Villanueva presented year-end statistics for 2021 but said it was too early to draw any conclusions about trends in the first 12 days of 2022.

“Because we’re only two weeks into the first year, statistically it’s going to be all over the map,” the sheriff said.

Department data for the year ending Dec. 31, 2021 showed “a two-year jump — this is comparing 2019 to 2021 — that was a 94.24% increase in homicides, huge number,” Villanueva said. “A 64.88% increase in grand theft auto. That’s the bad news.

In 2019, there were 145 homicides recorded in the county,

Wednesday, January 12, 2022

Report: One-Third of Asians Polled in San Gabriel Valley Have Experienced Hate Incident

CITY NEWS SERVICE

A survey of some 300 Asians and Asian-Americans living in the San Gabriel Valley found that nearly one-third reported experiencing a hate incident since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report issued Wednesday.

The Asian Youth Center and Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Los Angeles released results from their “Stop Hate Survey,” which polled Asian and Asian-American residents in one of the largest Asian communities in the country.

The survey found that 31% of respondents said they or their family experienced a hate incident based on their race or ethnicity since the pandemic broke out in 2020 — with most incidents involving insults or verbal abuse.

In addition, the report found:

• 37% of respondents said they noticed an increase in racial discrimination or harassment in their community since the COVID-19 outbreak;

• 59% said they have changed the way they feel and behave when they leave home; and

• 49% of parent respondents reported they have concerns about their children returning to school as a result of anti-Asian hate and bullying.

Wednesday, January 12, 2022

LA County’s COVID Hospitalizations Surpass 3,900

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Tuesday, January 11, 2022

Supervisor Barger Calls for Crackdown on COVID-19 Testing Fraud and Identity Theft

Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger called for several County departments, including the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs, the Department of Public Health, the Department of Health Services, the Sheriff’s Department and several others, to work together to develop a robust plan to mitigate COVID-19 testing fraud in L.A. County.

“As the urgent need for testing reaches a crucial point, it is imperative that we ensure residents can be confident they are receiving an accurate and legitimate test without risking their private information,” Supervisor Barger said in a prepared statement. “We must do all we can to crack down on fraudulent COVID-19 tests and sites and prevent identity theft.”

As a result of Supervisor Barger’s read-in motion at today’s Board of Supervisors meeting, several County departments will perform an analysis of the risk of fraudulent COVID-19 test sites and home test kits and develop an enforcement plan to eradicate them. They will also identify additional resources to combat identity theft committed by illegitimate testing providers.

Friday, January 7, 2022

Oscar-Winning Actor and Former Altadena Resident Sidney Poitier Dies at 94

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Sidney Poitier, who won an Academy Award for best actor for his role in “Lilies of the Field” in 1963, has died, according to a report from the Bahamian Minister of Foreign Affairs and various media outlets. He was 94.

Poitier resided in Altadena at one time, according to the Altadena Historical Society.

Poitier was known as an activist who broke color barriers in the movie industry and entertainment. He was the first Black performer to win an Oscar for Best Actor.

The cause of death or where he died was not revealed.

Some of Poitier’s more notable roles were as Mark Thackeray in “To Sir With Love,” Detective Virgil Tibbs in “The Heat of the Night” in 1967, and in “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” also released in 1967.

He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009 by President Barak Obama.

From 1997 to 2007,

Wednesday, January 5, 2022

COVID Spike Spurs LA’s Presiding Judge to Authorize Delay in Criminal Trials

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Citing a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases, Los Angeles County’s presiding judge issued an emergency order Tuesday that authorizes criminal jury trials to be temporarily delayed.

The emergency order — the first since last October that involves criminal cases — applies to criminal jury trials with statutory deadlines between Wednesday and Jan. 19, and extends the time period to hold criminal trials “by not more than 30 days.”

It was the second announcement of the day regarding court proceedings and COVID protocols. Earlier Tuesday, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California suspended jury trials within the region’s federal courthouses for at least three weeks. Central District courthouses are located in Los Angeles, Riverside, Pasadena and Santa Ana.

“Los Angeles County’s current COVID numbers warrant this relief, and I have elected to utilize this authority sparingly as we closely monitor the impact of the dual variants on our court users, judicial officers,

Monday, January 3, 2022

Altadena Library District Announces Temporary Closure; Curbside Services Return January 6

The Altadena Public Library has closed its facilities and suspended all in-person activities until Jan. 15, according to an announcement on the library’s website.

“Out of an abundance of caution and to help prevent community spread of the fast-moving COVID-19 Omicron variant, the Altadena Library District announces temporary closure of facilities and suspension of in-person programs/activities from Jan. 3 to Jan. 15, 2022,” the statement reads.

Curbside services will resume on Jan. 6 and library staff will return to the buildings and follow enhanced safety protocols.

Virtual programming will continue as scheduled.

Los Angeles County reported nearly 45,000 new cases of COVID-19 this weekend.

County officials reported 23,553 new cases for Saturday, and another 21,200 positive tests Sunday, after a one-day record of 27,091 new infections were reported Friday.

Pasadena has not reported new cases since last Thursday but is expected to resume reporting on Monday.

The county’s COVID hospitalizations also continued to rise,

Wednesday, December 29, 2021

CHP Announces End-of-Year Crackdown on Impaired Drivers Ahead of New Year’s

CITY NEWS SERVICE

An end-of-year crackdown targeting drunken and drug-impaired drivers in Los Angeles County will begin Friday.

The California Highway Patrol will initiate its New Year’s “maximum enforcement period” at 6 p.m. Friday, when all available officers deploy to catch impaired motorists, speeders and other traffic violators. The campaign will continue until late Sunday night.

Officers from the CHP Southern Division will be on freeways, highways and unincorporated roads throughout Los Angeles County, looking to identify and stop suspects.

“Ringing in the New Year should be an exciting time filled with celebration and hope,” CHP Commissioner Amanda Ray said. “To help keep the roadways safe through the holiday and beyond, our officers will be out in force to deter, detect and remove impaired drivers.”

The 2020-21 New Year’s MEP netted 709 DUI arrests statewide, compared to 491 in the 2019-20 campaign, which lasted only 30 hours because it was conducted in the middle of the week.

According to the CHP,

Friday, December 24, 2021

California Highway Patrol to Begin Maximum Enforcement Period

CITY NEWS SERVICE

The California Highway Patrol will initiate its annual Christmastime “maximum enforcement period” beginning at 6 p.m. Friday night — with all available officers deploying to catch drunken or drug-impaired drivers, speeders and other traffic violators.

The MEP will conclude late Sunday night.

“The CHP will be out on California’s roadways while the public travels to join friends and family this weekend,” CHP Commissioner Amanda Ray said.

“Our goal is the same as yours — to make certain you arrive safely at your destination. From our family to yours, we wish you all a safe and happy holiday.”

During last year’s Christmas MEP, CHP officers statewide arrested 573 motorists on suspicion of DUI.

According to the agency, 38 people died in crashes investigated by the CHP over the 2020 holiday weekend.

The Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, along with multiple municipal agencies countywide, will be conducting their own operations,