Today on AirTalk, we see how the restaurant industry is faring. Also on the show, we take a look at commercial landlords and tenants; discuss a new survey about Latinos and COVID-19; and more.
A Check In With The Restaurant And Service Industry: Will The Stimulus Package Help?
The global coronavirus pandemic has upended the restaurant, bar and service industry, leaving a number of businesses questioning how long they can keep their doors open.
Many restaurants remain open for curbside and delivery options, but some have had to make serious adjustments to their business models. AirTalk heard from food businesses a couple weeks ago. Many said they were now selling “bake at home” meals and some said they were selling baking and grocery items like butter, eggs and flour. Chinatown businesses have taken a particularly hard hit. Mayor Eric Garcetti last week approved alcohol deliveries from restaurants and expanded eviction moratorium protections as an effort to help the industry. More than 800,000 people in Los Angeles and Orange counties work in hospitality, 12.7% of our total workforce. Nationwide, that number climbs to approximately 15 million people, making the hospitality industry the fifth largest in the United States. Today on AirTalk, we want to hear from people working in the industry again? How are things faring at this point? Tell us your experience by calling 866-893-5722.
For more information from the California Restaurant Association on restaurants during COVID-19, click here.
With guest host A Martínez
Guest:
Jot Condie, president & CEO of the California Restaurant Association, an advocacy organization for the restaurant industry
COVID 19: Is Social Distancing Working? What’s The Advice On Face Masks? And More
The U.S. is now reporting more than 189,600 of the over 877,400 confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide as of 5:30 a.m. Wednesday.
An uptick in California cases came as the U.S., Italy, and now Spain are now all reporting more confirmed COVID-19 cases than China, where the outbreak began late last year, but has since greatly slowed. As of Tuesday afternoon, L.A. County is reporting 3,019 cases with about one in five patients requiring hospitalization.
Read more on LAist.
We’re taking your calls and questions regarding COVID-19 with a medical expert. Call us at 866-893-5722.
With guest host A Martínez
Guest:
Shruti Gohil, M.D., professor of medicine and associate medical director for epidemiology and infection prevention at UC Irvine’s School of Medicine
Pew Survey Finds That Latinos See COVID-19 As Greater Threat Than Other Americans
The COVID-19 pandemic is undoubtedly anxiety inducing for all Americans, but a new survey from the Pew Research Center finds that Latino Americans are more likely to perceive coronavirus as a danger to their personal health and finances.
In part, that’s because lots of Latinos work in service industries and are less likely to have health insurance. They were also especially hurt by the Great Recession. We sit down with one of the authors of the study to break down the results and the methodology.
Plus, if you are Latino, we want to hear from you. What are your anxieties about the effects of the coronavirus? And do you feel like you are facing particular threats that other Americans are not? Call us at 866-893-5722.
With guest host A Martínez
Guest:
Mark Hugo Lopez, director of Global Migration and Demography Research at the Pew Research Center and one of the authors of the recent survey “Hispanics more likely than Americans overall to see coronavirus as a major threat to health and finances”
How Commercial Landlords And Tenants Are Feeling The Effects Of COVID-19
Last week on AirTalk, we talked with residential landlords and tenants about how they’re navigating challenges like collecting and paying the rent during COVID-19.
But the commercial sector of the real estate industry has also been hit hard by the shutdowns caused by the pandemic. Not only are property values down, but as is the case with residential tenants and landlords, folks on the commercial side too are all dealing with the issue of rent. Specifically, tenants of office parks, industrial warehouses and shopping mall spaces are wondering how to pay the rent with their doors closed for business, and the owners of those locations are wondering how they’ll make their mortgage payment, either now or eventually. Governor Newsom’s executive order banning evictions for 60 days of tenants whose income is affected by COVID-19 only applies to residential tenants, not commercial, but the city and county of Los Angeles and other municipalities around Southern California have issued their own moratoriums that do include individuals and businesses that rent out commercial space.
Today on AirTalk, we’ll talk about how the commercial real estate industry is adapting to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 outbreak. If you’re an owner or tenant of an office building, industrial park, retail space or other large commercial property, call in with your questions at 866-893-5722.
With guest host A Martínez
Guest:
Pamela Westhoff, president of the SoCal chapter of the National Association for Industrial and Office Parks (NAIOP), the organization representing developers, owners and investors of office, industrial, retail and mixed-use real estate; she is partner in the Real Estate, Land Use and Environmental Practice Group at the law firm Sheppard Mullin
Looking For Ways To Help During The Pandemic? Here Are A Few Things You Can Do
Many people are isolated during the global coronavirus pandemic and wondering how they can help those on the frontlines, like healthcare workers and researchers.
But many don’t know what to do and how to do it. For example, there’s been call outs to those who can sew to make homemade masks for hospitals, but there’s also been a lot of mixed messages floating around. Are they safe? Will they actually be accepted and used? It depends. Not everyone in the medical community is necessarily in agreement over those questions. More importantly though, every hospital, facility and even community is in need of different things. On top of that, needs are changing by the day.
Michelle Ma, an assistant editor with the Wall Street Journal, has been working on a series looking at different ways regular people can do some good during this chaotic time, from donating medical supplies and blood to assisting food banks. Today on AirTalk, she joins to discuss how people can help amid the pandemic. Do you have a suggestion for how people can help? Call: 866-893-5722.
With guest host A Martínez
Guest:
Michelle Ma, assistant editor of live journalism and special coverage at The Wall Street Journal; she tweets
It’s Census Day! How Is COVID-19 Changing The Decennial Count
In addition to being April Fool’s Day and AirTalk’s anniversary, April 1st also gets to be Census Day once every ten years. Census Day isn’t so much an event -- the U.S. Census Bureau has been mailing out forms to households since early March -- but the day around which the Census’ main question is based: Where do we live, and who lives there with us?
This time around, however, will be no ordinary decennial Census. COVID-19 has forced the Census Bureau to suspend its on-the-ground outreach programs, meaning no door-knocking to encourage people to respond. Americans can still respond online (you will need your 12-digit Census ID that came in the mail) or in person, but the challenges posed by the outbreak means more work to ensure an accurate count.
Today on AirTalk, we’ll hear about how different the Census will be while the coronavirus outbreak is also going on and share information on what you can do to make sure that you and your family are counted this year.
For more information on the 2020 Census, including a link where you can respond online, click here. To see more self-response rates from the U.S. Census Bureau, click here.
With guest host A Martínez
Guest:
Terri Ann Lowenthal, census expert and consultant for the Funders’ Census Initiative 2020, a coalition of foundations and philanthropic-serving organizations that support a fair and accurate census; she served as staff director of the House Census Oversight Subcommittee from 1987-1994 and covered Census Bureau and broader federal statistical activities for the 2008 Obama Presidential Transition Team