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Morning Briefing: As LA Faces Lockdown, Dine-In Ban Sees Pushback
Tables and chairs are arranged under pop-up tents for outdoor dining in Culver City on Friday, Nov. 20, just two days before L.A. County Health officials, who were alarmed by a surge in COVID-19 cases, ordered all restaurants to stop offering dine-in service. (Elina Shatkin/LAist)
Good morning, L.A.
At least one L.A. County official is pushing back against the newly imposed ban on outdoor dining, even as L.A. moves closer to a full-on stay-at-home order. Supervisor Kathryn Barger said she believes the Al Fresco shutdown will hurt local businesses, many of which are already hanging on by a thread.
"Businesses throughout the county have invested thousands of dollars to ensure safety for their employees and customers,” she said in a statement, “only to be punished for the recent surge they have done everything in their power to prevent."
The ban was announced on Sunday, and takes effect Wednesday. It states that restaurants, bars, breweries and wineries can offer take out and delivery only, for at least three weeks.
Officials made the announcement as the five-day average of new coronavirus cases topped 4,000. They’d issued a warning last week that more restrictions could come if cases kept rising – and keep rising they did.
On Monday, the county reported another record breaking case count -- a whopping 6,124 confirmed positive test results, more than we’ve seen in a single day throughout the entire pandemic.
Keep reading for more on what’s happening in L.A. today, and stay safe out there.
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Coming Up Today, November 24
After months of neighborhood tension and several fires, homeless residents camped in tents along the Penmar Golf Course in Venice are being offered a chance at housing through Project RoomKey, reports Aaron Schrank.
The Bobcat Fire burned 16 of the 81 historic cabins in Big Santa Anita Canyon, when it tore through the region in September, reports Sharon McNary. Some residents are finally being allowed back into the canyon to see what’s left.
COVID-19 has threatened their explosive growth, but Southern California's food halls keep fighting to make it work. LAist contributor Sean Malin looks into the effort.
The L.A. County Board of Supervisors will vote on a motion to create a new county-level department for youth development, with the goal of serving minors more holistically through a care-first approach. Robert Garrova will have the story.
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The Past 24 Hours In LA
A COVID Thanksgiving: LAUSD will distribute 1.5 million meals on Wednesday to carry needy families through the holiday weekend. Thanksgiving has been one of Hollywood’s biggest holidays for animated films, but trips to the theater during the current COVID-19 surge aren’t happening. As families seek ways to celebrate safely, one Burbank woman is planning to drive to her kids' homes to deliver and pick up food, in lieu of the traditional family dinner. Passengers who choose to travel despite CDC recommendations are facing some challenges to social distancing.
Policing Law Enforcement: The L.A. County's coroner will hold an official inquest into the fatal deputy shooting of Andres Guardado – the first of its kind in more than 30 years.
Coronavirus Updates: L.A. County's COVID-19 cases have hit the five-day average necessary to trigger a new stay-at-home order. L.A. Supervisor Kathryn Barger says she'll oppose the newly revised county public health order that bans in-person dining for the next three weeks. Gov. Newsom delivered an update on coronavirus from his home, while quarantining after his family was exposed. COVID is contributing to a drop in international students at local colleges, but enrollment was already going down amid anti-immigrant sentiment.
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Biden’s White House: President-elect Joe Biden selected Alejandro Mayorkas of L.A. to head the Department of Homeland Security. A conversation between two political strategists, one Republican and one Democratic, on what happens next with immigration policy in a Biden White House.
Here’s What To Do: Participate in a virtual dance party, explore the glory of slime, volunteer to help the homeless, and more in this week’s best online and IRL events.
Photo of the Day
Juana has sold Guatemalan carne asada and caldo de gallina in Westlake for 12 years. When the pandemic started, she didn’t work for nearly eight months. Her customers kept asking her to come back.
(Samanta Helou-Hernandez for LAist)
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Samanta Helou Hernandez
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LAist
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One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
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