West Covina Press - 10/22/20

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COMPLIMENTARY COPY

Final Round of L.A. Regional COVID-19 Recovery Grant Program Begins Oct. 26 P10

Arcadia Unified Teachers Share What Learning Looks Like in a Pandemic

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Go to WestCovinaPress.com for West Covina Specific News Local. Relevant. Trusted.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22 - OCTOBER 28, 2020

L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva Faces Increasing Pressure to Resign Terry MILLER tmiller@beaconmedianews.com

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t has not been a very good few years for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD). Scandals have riddled the department including the incarceration of several high-ranking members of the LASD. Former Sheriff Lee Baca — who was criticized for proposing a halfpercent sales tax increase in 2004 to hire more deputies, placing a friend on the payroll, taking gifts, and for releasing inmates from the jail early — was sentenced to three years in federal prison on May 12, 2017 for overseeing a scheme to obstruct

an FBI investigation into abuses inside county jails and then lying to prosecutors about his role. Baca began his sentence on Feb. 5, 2020. His undersheriff, Paul Tanaka, was convicted April 4, 2016, in

federal court of conspiring to obstruct justice and a count of obstructing justice. Considered the “ringleader” of the plot, Tanaka got five fears in federal prison. U.S. attorney Eileen

Decker managed to win 21 convictions as a result of the FBI investigation into the department. The charges varied from

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s school districts across California attempt to physically return to classrooms, a “woeful lack of planning for COVID-19 testing, tracing and prevention is putting educators,

Arcadia Assisted Living Facility Under Investigation Nursing homes must report Covid-19 related deaths within 24 hours

Courtesy photo

Terry MILLER tmiller@beaconmedianews.com

B Sheriff Alex Villanueva | Photo courtesy LASD

Many unanswered questions, lack of details as some districts rush to return

tmiller@beaconmedianews.com

VOL. 8, NO. 42

SEE SHERIFF PAGE 11

Teachers Unions Vehemently Oppose Schools Opening Too Soon Terry MILLER

Since 1996

students and our communities at serious risk of contracting a virus that has already killed more than 200,000 Americans,” Julian Peeples from California Teachers Association (CTA) said in a statement. “Despite more than 65,000 school-age California SEE TEACHERS UNION PAGE 12

For now, these school buses will remain in the parking lot. | Photo by Terry Miller / Beacon Media News

eacon Media has learned that one assisted living facility withing the city of Arcadia is under investigation by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. A confidential source, who works inside the facility and filed an official whistleblower complaint with the county health department, alleges that the facility potentially violated the law by not disclosing deaths from the coronavirus in a timely manner as prescribed by the state and has violated health guidelines by making staff wash their masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE) instead of giving them fresh, sanitary supplies. Beacon Media was unable to substantiate these claims. Beacon Media contacted the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health for comment about a possible probe of the facility.

“Arcadia Retirement Village is an open and active investigation. Public Health has provided the facility with infection control guidance and is conducting site visits,” Public Health said in a written statement to this newspaper on Oct. 13. The source alleges that some kitchen staff may have contracted COVID-19 and may continue to work in the facility but data from Public Health does not support this. As of Tuesday, Public Health does not report any confirmed cases among Arcadia Retirement Village staff — nine cases have been confirmed among residents as have two deaths from the virus. However, “Data will change based on daily information gathered by public health investigators overseeing, supervising, and closing each investigation,” according to the COVID-19 dashboard on the Public Health website. “The Arcadia Retirement SEE INVESTIGATION PAGE 11


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