In California: Unemployment claims spike. Good thing Tesla stayed open
Unemployment claims spike, Gov. Gavin Newsom tells the National Guard to get ready and the biggest mall owner is closing all stores. Also, some Amazon workers get a single wipe to clean their delivery vans as Tesla deems its vehicle production an essential business. The government disagrees.
It's Arlene Martínez with your it's-only-Wednesday(?) news.
But first, Maggie Griffin, who regularly appeared on her daughter's show "Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List," nearly always with a glass of white wine in her hand, has died. She was 99.
In California handpicks the most relevant, useful stories from across Paste BN Network newsrooms and beyond. Sign up for free, weekday delivery.
Processing unemployment claims an 'all hands on deck' effort
Employees are working overtime and coming back from retirement to process the soaring number of unemployment insurance claims filed in recent days. It's too early to say how many claims are in this month compared to a typical March, said state Economic Development Department's spokesperson Loree Levy. But...
“Here at EDD, it is all hands on deck,” she said. “Usually we have time to prepare for such a surge, but this one is all at once.”
And the onslaught is likely to continue.
Economists from the UCLA Anderson Forecast earlier this week said the COVID-19 pandemic could trigger a recession that will see the loss of about 280,000 jobs and won't subside until September.
How can I file? Here are some unemployment resources.
Workers on the front line
For some Central Coast Amazon.com delivery drivers, their Tuesday shift started by trying to figure out to clean their van with a single disinfectant wipe.
- That reminds me how Amazon founder Jeff Bezo's $165 million L.A. home purchase based on his net worth is the equivalent of spending $75 on a house if you earn $60K/year.
One. wipe.
Speaking of Amazon, the company is hiring, and so are many grocery chains. Food workers are among those exempt from the shelter-in-place regulations in place across much of the state.
Tesla kept production humming at its Fremont factory, despite county officials saying non-essential business must stop with the shelter-in-place order in effect. The sheriff's office ordered Tesla to shut it down (subscription required). Founder Elon Musk has repeatedly played down the risk, and company officials said transportation was "essential."
What wartime and human kindness can tell us about what happens next
More than 8 million Golden State residents are sheltering in place. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has urged no group gatherings for two months. President Donald Trump said relief may come by August. And leaked British documents project a coronavirus outbreak could rage until spring 2021.
As parts of the U.S. head into a coronavirus lockdown, it's unclear how long these severe restrictions will last. Only one thing is certain: The nation's COVID-19 crisis will be as bad as we let it get.
Scientists, government officials, historians and cultural observers say the size and duration of the outbreak will depend on our collective actions over the next few weeks and months. The promising news, they say, is that we have the power to not just resist, but also to come together as a country in a way reminiscent of World War II.
“The government should mobilize the private sector to get more virus testing kits, more hospital beds, more ventilators," says Timothy Massad, senior fellow at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. "We need to treat this like a fight that everyone from the top down needs to rally for to end this sooner rather than later.”
Life among coronavirus in California, in pictures.
Remember, we're allowed outside! Or, stay in.
At Joshua Tree National Park, the visitor's center closes but trails and campgrounds remain open.
Climb the tallest tree. Soak under a waterfall. Check your reflection in a lake. Here are a few outdoor adventures waiting for your #leavenotrace presence.
Maybe you've heard of Gentefied, the story of a Mexican-American family trying to save their taco shop from L.A. gentrification. Here are 11 other POC shows to binge-watch.
12 U.S. museums to explore virtually, including NYC's Met and MOMA and the American Museum of Natural History (where "Night at the Museum," a fun and funny family friendly adventure, took place).
Live music, theater, dance performance and other events previously scheduled in the Bay Area are being made available online.
National Guard should be on the alert, state's chief says
Gov. Gavin Newsom has directed the National Guard to be on alert and ready to step in, if needed, to help communities across the state with the fast-moving spread of the coronavirus.
Newsom said Wednesday the community-based military unit could be called on to aid in humanitarian missions, including food distribution, "ensuring the resiliency of supply lines" and supporting public safety measures.
Already more than 18 states have called their National Guard units into action, mobilizing roughly 1,500 guardsmen currently serving across the country, to help oversee and operate new drive-up testing facilities, clean and disinfect public spaces, and support both emergency operations centers and health care workers.
Stolen animals, evictions, shop local
I get people are concerned about food and supplies, but stealing a Shasta County school's trio of sheep and a young goat? That ain't right (video).
A Ventura County city becomes one of the latest places to ban evictions, allowed but not required under the governor's executive order (to the deep displeasure of tenants' right groups). Oxnard will also waive late utility fees, library fines and business tax penalties.
The largest owner of shopping malls in the nation is closing all of its malls and retail properties as of 7 p.m. Wednesday. Simon Property Group's California holdings include The Shops at Mission Viejo and Fashion Valley in the San Diego area and the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto.
Shop local, buy gift certificates, pay for services you can't use right now, and other ways to support local business in a time of coronavirus. (opinion).
Social distancing in boarding homes? Try impossible
In apartments, condos and converted garages, Chinese immigrants live, in some cases up to 15 people. LAist spent months reporting conditions in the so-called boarding houses, prevalent in the San Gabriel Valley.
Many posed dangers to residents, with homemade electrical or heating fixes; others had rats or other rodents sharing space with people. For low-wage immigrants who paid tens of thousands of dollars to get here, the housing is all they can afford.
Now, take those conditions and add coronavirus to the mix. LAist checked in about the impossibility of social distancing under such conditions.
And finally:
A government watchdog report released Wednesday suggests a full accounting of children separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border may never be available. That's in part because of the Border Patrol's incomplete recordkeeping (Opinion).
In California is a roundup of news from across Paste BN Network newsrooms. Also contributing: Associated Press, Bloomberg, Los Angeles Times, Outdoor Project, L.A. Taco, S.F. Chronicle, BuzzFeed, Wall Street Journal.