Morning Brief: Angelenos’ Mental Health, Baseball Season, And Day Hike + Yoga

Good morning, L.A. It’s March 11.

Over the past two years, many Angelenos have raised their voices in support of non-violent, measured intervention for people experiencing mental health crises, reversing course against decades of police involvement. Now, the L.A. Public Library is joining that chorus.

Library administrators put out a call for organizations who can provide on-site mental health and/or social services on an as-needed basis. Speaking to my colleague Robert Garrova, Karen Pickard-Four, the head of LAPL’s Library Experience Office, said she hopes the program will allow individuals experiencing mental health emergencies to be treated by professionals with expertise in that area.

“We’re trying to have less police involvement,” said Pickard-Four. “If someone is in crisis, sometimes it can cause an incident, and the best person to handle that is a mental health worker.”

The program joins a growing movement to send unarmed response teams to such crises. L.A. County has been rolling out the Therapeutic Transportation Program since 2020, and the city of L.A. recently joined that effort. Culver City, Huntington Beach and other SoCal municipalities have followed suit.

Currently, LAPL runs a program out of their Central Library in downtown L.A. that offers a “one-stop-shop” for unhoused Angelenos to get help with Medi-Cal enrollment, employment assistance, mental health and other services.

Pickard-Four would like to see that program expanded, and for mental health workers to be available on short notice, too.

“What we envision is helping people in crisis,” she said, “just like we help everyone else.”

Keep reading for more on what’s happening in L.A., and stay safe out there.

What Else You Need To Know Today

• L.A. County extended coronavirus-related eviction protections through the end of the year, but many small landlords say they can’t survive without some financial help.
• The first Ukraine relief flight from L.A. took off yesterday. 
• The average price of gas in L.A. and Long Beach areas has jumped to $5.78, $0.77 higher than one week ago. 
• Local researchers say they've discovered what could be a "groundbreaking" new therapy to fight COVID-19 that leverages the healing power of human skin.
• California’s authority to set its own, stricter limits on tailpipe emissions from cars and light trucks has been restored.
• The 2020 Census continued a longstanding trend of undercounting Black people, Latinos and Native Americans, while overcounting people who identified as white and not Latino.
• Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association reached a tentative agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement, paving the way for baseball's return on April 7.

Before You Go ... This Week's Outdoor Pick: Day Hike + Yoga By The River

This trail looks Northeast at the San Gabriel Mountains from Glendora Ridge Mtwy trail in the foothills over Glendora, CA.

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Brian Altmeyer

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Join Root 2 Rise Yoga for a day of hiking and yoga in the Angeles National Forest on Sunday. First, you’ll do an approximately five-mile moderate hike. Then, at the hike’s turnaround point, there’s an hour-long yoga session with meditation and forest bathing (shinrin yoku). Get your calm and your cardio on in one fell swoop.

Or, you could: Immerse yourself in the art of Gustav Klimt. Celebrate the 40th anniversary of The Thing. Get funky with Delfeayo Marsalis and the Uptown Jazz Orchestra. Eat and drink to close down the RE:her festival. And more.