Mariana Dale
explores and explains the forces that shape how and what kids learn from kindergarten to high school.
Published September 26, 2023 4:25 PM
A health worker administers a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at L.A. Unified's Hollywood High School.
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Kyle Stokes
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LAist
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Topline:
Employees in the Los Angeles Unified School District are no longer required to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The Board of Education voted 6-1 on Tuesday to rescind the vaccine requirement for essentially any adult on school campuses including volunteers, vendors, contractors, and charter school staff.
Why now: The district implemented a staff vaccine mandate in August 2021 in preparation to re-open schools for in-person learning. LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho and the district’s chief medical director, Smita Malhotra, say because the virus is spreading less rapidly, because there are treatments available, and because the virus has become more predictable, an employee vaccine requirement is no longer needed to keep schools open. “The science with vaccinations has not changed,” Malhotra said. “They are safe and effective. The circumstances have changed.”
How the district intends to prevent COVID-19: The district will continue to encourage vaccination against COVID-19, promote good hygiene, face masks, and testing when respiratory illness spreads in schools.
The lone "no" vote: Board Member George McKenna, who represents Mid City and parts of South L.A., voted against ending the policy. “Those of you who say ‘I don't want to be vaccinated’ have a right,’” McKenna said, acknowledging educators and parents who spoke at the meeting in opposition to the vaccine mandate. “But we have a responsibility to keep our children, our staff, and our community safe.”
Will un-vaccinated employees be rehired? Maybe. The board report said “previously separated employees could be eligible to reapply,” and that employees who can’t currently perform their duties could be re-assigned. The Los Angeles Times reported in December 2021 that fewer than one 1% of employees lost their jobs after failing to meet the district’s vaccine mandate. Almost 2,000 employees received exemptions.
Get vaccinated: Cases of COVID-19 have surged in the winter months. Last year a “tripledemic” of COVID-19, the respiratory illness RSV, and the flu strained hospital capacity. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expect similar levels of hospitalization this year. L.A. County pharmacies and health care providers are rolling out an updated COVID-19 vaccine this fall along with immunizations for flu. Adults 60 years and older can also be vaccinated against RSV.
Nominations for the 98th Academy Awards were announced this morning.
What's next: The awards ceremony will be held on March 15. You can watch the announcement above, or check back soon for a full list of nominees.
Danielle Brooks and Lewis Pullman presented the nominees for the 98th Academy Awards this morning. The awards ceremony will be held on March 15. You can watch the announcement above, or check back soon for a full list of nominees.
What to expect: Light rainfall with cool temperatures of mostly in the mid 60s.
What about snow: Any snow fall will reach the 8,000-foot elevation range today, and drop down to 6,000 feet tomorrow.
QUICK FACTS
Today’s weather: Mostly cloudy
Beaches: mid 60s
Mountains: 55 to 64 degrees
Inland: 62 to 68 degrees
Warnings and advisories: None
After a warm spell, winter weather has returned to Southern California.
Thursday's rainfall will be on the drizzly, scattered end of things. The National Weather Service forecasts around a quarter inch of rainfall through Friday. Any snowfall will stick to the 8,000-foot elevation range Thursday, and drop down to around 6,000 feet by Friday.
As for temperatures, it's going to be another relatively cool day.
We're looking at highs in the mid 60s from the coasts to the valleys, and up to 68 degrees in the Inland Empire. In the Antelope Valley, temperatures will range from 54 to 63 degrees. And in Coachella Valley, expect daytime highs from 69 to 74 degrees and dry conditions.
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The Sundance Film Festival begins for the last time in Park City, Utah, before heading to Boulder, Colo., next year. It's a bittersweet finale for the country's premier independent film festival, founded by Robert Redford in 1978.
Honoring the festival's history: With a gala, the festival plans to pay tribute to the late actor and director, who died of natural causes in September. This year, the festival will screen films that got their starts at Sundance, including Little Miss Sunshine, which went on to be nominated for best picture at the 2007 Oscars.
What else will be screened? The festival will also screen a remastered print of the 1969 movie Downhill Racer, in which Redford plays a champion skier. Over the years, Sundance has been a launching pad for filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino, Ava DuVernay, The Coen brothers, Ryan Coogler, Chloe Zhao and Paul Thomas Anderson.
The Sundance Film Festival begins for the last time in Park City, Utah, before heading to Boulder, Colo., next year. It's a bittersweet finale for the country's premier independent film festival, founded by Robert Redford in 1978.
With a gala, the festival plans to pay tribute to the late actor and director, who died of natural causes in September.
"Before he passed earlier this year, [Redford] shared with us this quote: 'Everybody has a story,'" says the festival's director, Eugene Hernandez. "This notion is such a great framing for a festival that has always been about finding and sharing with audiences the stories that come from all over the world."
This year, the festival will screen films that got their starts at Sundance, including Little Miss Sunshine, which went on to be nominated for best picture at the 2007 Oscars.
The festival will also screen a remastered print of the 1969 movie Downhill Racer, in which Redford plays a champion skier. Redford was also a producer on this indie film.
"He would tell this story year after year about getting Downhill Racer made," recalls Sundance senior programmer John Nein. "It became a way that he understood the notion of protecting independence and protecting the artistic voice of a film. He often used that when he talked to emerging filmmakers, to relate to the struggles that they had in getting their films made the way that they wanted to."
Nein says one way to recognize that legacy is by programming 40 percent of the slate from first-time filmmakers. More than 16,200 films were submitted from 164 countries. Throughout the year, the Sundance Institute hosts labs and programs and provides grants and fellowships for independent filmmakers.
Over the years, Sundance has been a launching pad for filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino, Ava DuVernay, The Coen brothers, Ryan Coogler, Chloe Zhao and Paul Thomas Anderson.
Another filmmaker whose career Sundance supported is Rachel Lambert, who says she was inspired by a film Redford directed: Ordinary People.
"It's a profound legacy a single human being can leave an entire nation's culture," she says of Redford. "It's remarkable."
Lambert will premiere her newest film, Carousel, a love story starring Chris Pine and Jenny Slate.
Also showing at Sundance: documentaries about Chicano theater pioneer Luis Valdez, singer Courtney Love, tennis star Billie Jean King, and South African leader Nelson Mandela.
Among the features in competition is The Gallerist with Natalie Portman and Jenna Ortega.
Another is The Invite, with Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton. The Invite's producer, David Permut, has been faithfully attending Sundance since the late 1980s, when he was in the audience for Steven Soderbergh's breakout Sex, Lies, and Videotape.
"I never miss Sundance. I've been going every year since," says Permut. "I stay for 10 days, I'm not in and out like a lot of people from Hollywood when they're there with their film. I love the second week because it's basically cinephiles from all over the world."
Permut showed his first film at Sundance — Three of Hearts — in 1993. Last year, his film Twinless won the festival's audience award.
"I have 57 movies I want to see this coming Sundance," he says. "For me, it's about discovery."
Actress Hana Mana in <em>The Friend's House Is Here</em>. The film was smuggled out of Iran to premiere at this year's Sundance Film Festival.
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Alma Linda Films
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Some filmmakers have gone to great lengths to get their work screened this year — including the Iranian film The Friend's House is Here.
The drama—set in Tehran's underground art scene — was shot under the radar of Iranian authorities. Amid the country's recent political turmoil, members of the film's crew had to drive 11 hours to smuggle the film over the Turkish border to get it to the festival. According to the film's publicist, the film's two main actresses were not heard from for weeks during Iran's recent unrest. The publicist says the women are now safe but have been denied visas by the United States to attend Sundance.
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Pie 'n Burger cheeseburger, one of nearly 50 spots participating in Pasadena Cheeseburger Week, Jan. 25-31.
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jslander
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LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr
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Topline:
The annual Pasadena Cheeseburger Week runs Sunday through Jan. 31, celebrating the burger's local origin story and the 100th anniversary of Route 66. Lionel Sternberger is credited with inventing the cheeseburger in 1924 at his father's roadside stand, the Rite Spot, on what would become part of Route 66 along Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena.
Why it matters: Pasadena’s claim to the cheeseburger is a significant part of Southern California's food history, with direct ties to car culture and roadside dining.
Who's participating: Nearly 50 restaurants are taking part, including Dog Haus Biergarten, Pie 'n Burger, the Taproom at the Langham Huntington Hotel and Magnolia House. There are also week-only specials, including Tardino Bros. Italian Kitchen's chili cheeseburger pizza and Burrito Express' smashburger taco.
Why now: It’s a perfect opportunity to explore some of those Pasadena spots that you've been meaning to try (and a good way to fire up your palate before LAist’s citywide Tournament of Cheeseburgers later this year!).
Topline:
The annual Pasadena Cheeseburger Week runs Sunday through Jan. 31, celebrating the burger's local origin story and the 100th anniversary of Route 66. Lionel Sternberger is credited with inventing the cheeseburger in 1924 at his father's roadside stand, the Rite Spot, on what would become part of Route 66 along Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena.
Why it matters: Pasadena’s claim to the cheeseburger is a significant part of Southern California's food history, with direct ties to car culture and roadside dining.
Who's participating: Nearly 50 restaurants are taking part, including Dog Haus Biergarten, Pie 'n Burger, the Taproom at the Langham Huntington Hotel and Magnolia House. There are also week-only specials, including Tardino Bros. Italian Kitchen's chili cheeseburger pizza and Burrito Express' smashburger taco.
Why now: It’s a perfect opportunity to explore some of those Pasadena spots that you've been meaning to try (and a good way to fire up your palate before LAist’s citywide Tournament of Cheeseburgers later this year!).
