Valley's News Observer 1.6.22

Rose Parade Float Celebrates 100 years A.P.T.A

2021 Box Office Closes with More Fireworks for ‘Spider-Man’

FDA Authorizes Pfizer Boosters for Ages 12 to 15

Page A7

Page A3

Page A2

News Observer The Valley’s

Volume 37 Number 8

Serving The San Fernando Valley for Over 37 Years

Observer Group Newspapers of Southern California

2022 Rose Parade Grand Marshall LeVar Burton

Rose Parade Grand Marshall, Levar Burton-rides down Colorado Ave. (Photo: Sara Medina)

By Earl Heath Contributing Writer LeVar Burton was this year’s Rose Parade Grand Marshal and it seems there could not have been a better selection from President Dr. Robert Miller. The Sacramento native has earned multiple awards for work throughout his career including a Peabody Award and three Primetime Emmy Awards nominee.

He boasted of his family wife Stephanie Cozart Burton, who worked as a Royal Court makeup artist in 1989.

The theme for this year’s parade is “Dream. Believe.

Achieve.” — is a testament to the resilience and dedication of our first responders and the health care workers and to every single

one of you watching today,” Burton said. “We thank you for what it is you do.”

The 12 time Emmy winner believes the Theme mirrors like his life. “My education was tied to a dream — that dream of my mother Erma Jean — to make sure that her children could compete on a level playing field in this America and reach their most full potential,” Burton said from the podium Tuesday. “I am living, breathing proof that dreams do indeed come true.”

Burton jump started the 133rd Rose Parade with cheers from the crowd on Saturday, Jan. 1, when he led this year’s floats, horses and bands during the 5-mile procession down Colorado Blvd.

“I come from a family for whom the Tournament of Roses parade and the Rose Bowl game to follow, has been a part of our family for years and years.”

The tradition has continued with his daughter, Burton added. “And we are over the moon and beyond thrilled to be a part of this amazing event.”

His portrait hanging with other grand marshals such as Vin Scully, Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Stewart and Henry Aaron in the hall of the Tournament House on Orange Grove Avenue.

He also was at the coin toss for the Rose Bowl Game the featured Utah and Ohio State.

California Adds Twist to New CDC Advice on Quarantines

Aldon Thomas Stiles California Black Media The Monday after Christmas, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shortened its COVID-19 quarantine recommendation by half.

That same day, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Twitter that California will follow suit, recommending a five-day isolation period instead of the state’s former guidance of 10 days.

“California will align with the CDC’s updated guidelines for isolation and quarantine time,” Newsom tweeted.

However, California’s updated guidance differs from the CDC’s in one important way. The state is recommending that people who quarantine after a positive diagnosis take a follow up test and get a negative result before ending isolation.

The CDC’s guidelines do not include taking another test after quarantining.

The CDC said its decision, in part, is based on science that shows people are most infectious during the first five days of catching the virus.

In an interview with NPR, CDC Director Rochelle

(Shutterstock Photo)

Walensky said another rationale for the new shortened guidance is the concern for keeping industries that are critical to the national economy operating.

Sharing this concern, Delta Airlines CEO Ed Bastian, along with the company’s Medical Advisor Dr. Carlos del Rio and Chief

Health Officer Dr. Henry Ting, sent a letter to Walensky less than a week before CDC’s updated recommendation, requesting a fiveday isolation period for Delta’s fully vaccinated employees.

The letter argued that the previous guidelines were out of date and did not account for vaccinations.

It also argued that the former 10-day isolation period would hurt business because with the spread of the Omicron variant, vaccinated workers who do catch COVID-19 would be out for a longer period of time.

“With the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, the 10-day isolation for those who are fully vaccinated may significantly impact our workforce and operations,” the letter read. “Similar to healthcare, police, fire, and public transportation workforces, the Omicron surge may exacerbate shortages and create significant disruptions.”

In December 2020, the CDC shortened its previous recommendation of a 14-day isolation period to 10 days.

California Black Media’s coverage of COVID-19 is supported by the California Health Care Foundation.

Redistricting Monitors Helped Protect the Black Vote

Antonio Ray Harvey California Black Media An advocacy group that fights for fair political representation of African Americans in California says it is pleased with the results of the state’s recent redistricting process.

Last year, the California Black Census and Redistricting Hub coalition, a.k.a. the Black Hub, led a grassroots initiative to ensure the state’s electoral map drawing process did not water down the voting power of African Americans across the state.

Last week, the California Citizens Redistricting Commission (CCRC) delivered finalized maps for the state’s U.S. Congress, State Senate, Assembly, and Board of Equalization voting districts to the Secretary of State’s office. The maps of the state’s electoral districts -- updated once every decade to reflect the 2020 census count of population shifts and other demographic changes -- will be used until 2031 to determine political representation in all statewide elections.

“All things considered, the (CCRC) had an arduous task.

Continued on page A2

Commissioner Trena Turner (CBM Photos by Antonio Ray Harvey)

Commissioner Derric Taylor (CBM Photos by Antonio Ray Harvey)

Take One!

Thursday, January 6, 2022

CA Police Stops Drop Significantly

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – Traffic and pedestrian stops by California law enforcement agencies dropped significantly in 2020 compared to the year before, but Black or transgender people were still more likely to be searched than white or cisgender people, according to a state report released Friday.

The annual report by California’s Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board gathered data on stops by officers from 18 law enforcement agencies. The data includes what officers perceived to be the race, ethnicity, gender and disability status of people they stop so that the state can better identify and analyze bias in policing.

Collectively, those agencies stopped 2.9 million people in 2020.

The report did not include data on how many fewer stops occurred for different racial groups or genders. But its authors cited news articles and national data showing the decrease in police stops during the pandemic was greater for white people than Black people.

The new report analyzing 2020 stops is the board’s fifth, and it’s consistent with past reports that show Black people are searched 2.4 times more than white people and disproportionately more than other racial and ethnic groups. It also found people perceived to be transgender women were 2.5 times more likely to be searched than women who appear to be cisgender.

The data includes how officers perceive an individuals race or gender, even if it’s different than how the person identifies, because the officer’s perception is what drives bias.

The state’s largest law enforcement agencies, including the California Highway Patrol, provided data for the report. But CHP’s data was not included in the section of the report analyzing stops based on gender identity due to a reporting error.

All agencies have to start reporting the data in 2023. The board’s work informs agencies, the state’s police office training board and state lawmakers as they change policies and seek to decrease racial disparities and bias in policing.

Fresno’s police department saw the greatest drop in overall stops – 72% – compared to 2019, according to the report. Stops by the Los Angeles County sheriff’s department were down 47%. The Riverside County sheriff’s department saw the smallest drop at just 2.5%.

Of all the recorded stops in 2020, 40% of people were believed to be Hispanic, 16.5% Black, 31.7% white, 5.2% Asian, and 4.7% Middle Eastern or South Asian. Black people make up just 6.5% of the state’s population. Officers stopped 445,000 more white people than Black people, but took action against 9,431 more Black people, according to the report.

Overall, Black people were most likely to be searched, detained, handcuffed and ordered to exit their vehicles. Officers were more likely to use force against Black and Hispanic people, the data showed. People perceived as Asian had a lower chance of having force used against them than white people.

The board provided more in-depth analysis than in past reports for stops of people perceived to be transgender or gender nonconforming and people perceived to have disabilities.

Transgender women had action take against them nearly 62% of the time, more than people from any other gender identity. They also had the highest rate of being handcuffed or detained, while transgender men had the highest rate of being searched.

Police officers used force against people with perceived mental health disabilities five times more than people without.

Among the board’s recommendations to reduce bias against transgender people: Require multiple hours of LGBT-specific training for officers, prohibit frisking of people solely to figure out their gender, and adopt policies that say transgender individuals can’t be asked to remove items like wigs or undergarments unless cisgender people face the same requirement.

The board also recommends agencies adopt written policies committing to end profiling of people with disabilities and providing clear guidance for dealing with people in crisis.

Meanwhile, the board said more legislation or work should be done to clarify a 2020 law that requires peace officers to be “free” of bias against protected groups. The board noted there is a lack of consensus on whether someone can truly be “free” of bias. It suggested lawmakers create funding for research and community groups to come up with better ways to analyze applicant’s implicit biases.

Church Shooting Survivor Gives Scholarships

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) – One of the survivors of a racist massacre at an African American church in South Carolina has started giving out scholarships from her foundation to students who want to provide health care to prisoners.

Polly Daniels Sheppard set aside money from speaking engagements and other events to create the Polly Sheppard Foundation, The Post and Courier of Charleston reported.

Sheppard was one of five people inside Emanuel AME church to survive in June 2015 when a racist sat through Bible study, then shot and killed nine members of the church.

Sheppard called 911 as dozens of bullets were being fired and the shooter told her he would let her live so she could tell the world what happened. That call was played at the trial of a man who was sentenced to death for the killings.

Sheppard worked as a nurse at the Charleston County jail for 14 years and said she was bothered that there was always a lack of health workers with compassion for the people they might be helping behind bars.

“You actually meet some interesting people in jail,’’ Sheppard told the newspaper, “And over half of them are not actually criminals.’’

Sheppard’s foundation is giving the nearly $6,000 scholarship through Trident Technical College. Nikki Walker received the first award in August and is scheduled to graduate in a few weeks. The 34-year-old mother is a former jail officer who hopes her new medical career will help her care for a daughter with health issues as well as inmates.

Walker plans to start her career as a nurse at the Medical University of South Carolina before moving on to a prison and then maybe becoming a sexual assault nursing examiner.

“Just because you are in jail doesn’t mean you don’t deserve adequate care,’’ Walker said. “No one is immune from making one bad choice.’’

A2

The Valley’s News Observer

World & Nation

Thursday, January 6, 2022

Sen. Schumer Says Senate Will Vote on Changes to Filibuster by MLK Day

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent The U.S. Senate will vote by January 17 on whether the chamber will adopt new rules to circumvent the draconian filibuster to enable voting rights and social justice bills, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced on Monday, January 3.

“The Senate was designed to protect the political rights of the minority in the chamber, through the promise of debate and the opportunity to amend. But over the years, those rights have been warped and contorted to obstruct and embarrass the will of the majority – something our Founders explicitly opposed,” Sen. Schumer wrote in a letter to his colleagues.

“The constitution specified what measures demanded a supermajority – including impeachment or the ratification of treaties. But they explicitly rejected supermajority requirements for legislation, having learned firsthand of such a requirement’s defects under the Articles of Confederation,” he continued.

Although the Senate is evenly split with 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans, Sen. Schumer’s party controls the majority, with Vice President Kamala Harris positioned to cast any tie-breaking

vote.

Still, a significant hurdle remains in the senator’s own party.

West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin has remained steadfast in opposition to any changes to the filibuster, a centuriesold rule rooted in racism.

Sen. Manchin has shot down a swath of his party’s agenda, making it difficult for President Joe Biden and others to fulfill campaign promises to faithful voters, particularly in the African American community.

Recent history showed that when Republicans controlled the Senate, they bent tradition and rules to push through the party’s agenda, including two controversial Supreme Court nominations.

With GOP-led voter suppression laws in states across the country and the continued police killings of unarmed African Americans, many have pushed for legislation like the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the George Floyd Justice and Policing bill.

Both measures would supersede laws already on the books and make it easier for people of color to vote, and hold law enforcement accountable for their actions.

“The weaponization of rules once meant to short-circuit obstruction have been hijacked to guarantee obstruction. We must ask ourselves: if the right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy, then how can we in good conscience allow for a situation in which the Republican Party can debate and pass voter suppression laws at the State level with only a simple majority vote, but not allow the United States Senate to do the same? We must adapt,” Sen. Schumer demanded.

“The Senate must evolve like it has many times before. The Senate was designed to evolve and has evolved many times in our history.”

Sen. Schumer continued: “The fight for the ballot is as old as the Republic. Over the coming weeks, the Senate will once again consider how to perfect this union and confront the historic challenges facing our democracy. We hope our Republican colleagues change course and work with us. But if they do not, the Senate will debate and consider changes to Senate rules on or before January 17, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, to protect the foundation of our democracy: free and fair elections.”

“The Senate was designed to protect the political rights of the minority in the chamber, through the promise of debate and the opportunity to amend.

But over the years, those rights have been warped and contorted to obstruct and embarrass the will of the majority – something our Founders explicitly opposed,” Sen. Schumer wrote in a letter to his colleagues.

FDA Authorizes Pfizer Boosters for Ages 12 to 15

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent The U.S. Food and Drug Administration amended the emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to expand the use of a single booster dose to include use in individuals from 12 to 15.

The agency announced in a news release that they also would shorten the time between the completion of primary vaccination of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine and a booster dose to at least five months.

Additionally, the FDA said it would allow for a third primary series dose for certain immunocompromised children ages 5 through 11.

“Throughout the pandemic, as the virus that causes COVID-19 has continuously evolved, the need for the FDA to quickly adapt has meant using the best available science to make informed decisions with the health and safety of the American public in mind,” Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, M.D, said in a news release.

“With the current wave of the omicron variant, it’s critical that we continue to take effective, life-saving preventative measures such as primary vaccination and boosters, mask wearing and social distancing to in order to effectively fight COVID-19.”

Dr. Woodcock said the FDA determined that the protective health benefits of a single booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine to provide continued protection against COVID-19 and the associated serious consequences that can occur including hospitalization and death, outweigh the potential risks in individuals aged 12 through 15.

The FDA said it reviewed real-world data from Israel, including safety data from more than 6,300 individuals aged 12 through 15 who received a booster dose of the vaccine at least 5 months following completion of the primary two-dose

vaccination series.

“These additional data enabled the FDA to reassess the benefits and risks of the use of a booster in the younger adolescent population in the setting of the current surge in COVID-19 cases,” the agency noted in the news release.

The FDA said data shows there are no new safety concerns following a booster in this population. There were no new cases of myocarditis or pericarditis reported to date in these individuals.

The FDA also authorized the use of a single booster dose five months after completion of the primary vaccination series of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine.

“Since Pfizer initially submitted safety and effectiveness data on a single booster dose following primary vaccination, additional real-world data have become available on the increasing number of cases of COVID-19 with the omicron variant in the U.S.,” agency officials wrote.

No new safety concerns have emerged from a population of over 4.1 million individuals 16 years of age and older in Israel who received a booster dose at least five months following completion of the primary vaccination series, the release continued.

Additionally, they said peer-reviewed data from multiple laboratories indicate that a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine greatly improves an individual’s antibody response to be able to counter the omicron variant.

“Authorizing booster vaccination to take place at five months rather than six months may therefore provide better protection sooner for individuals against the highly transmissible omicron variant,” the FDA noted.

“Given the demonstrated safety and effectiveness of a booster dose when administered five months after the primary vaccination series, and the fact that a booster dose may help provide better protection against the rapidly spreading omicron variant, the FDA has determined that the known and potential

benefits of administering a booster to individuals ages 12 and older at least five months following completion of the primary vaccination series, outweighs the known and potential risks.”

While today’s action applies to the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, the FDA said it continues to review data concerning all available vaccines and will provide additional updates as appropriate.

Children 5 through 11, who have undergone solid organ transplantation, or who have been diagnosed with conditions that are considered to have an equivalent level of immunocompromise, may not respond adequately to the two-dose primary vaccination series, researchers contend.

Thus, a third primary series dose has now been authorized for that group.

“This will now allow these children to receive the maximum potential benefit from vaccination,” the agency continued.

The FDA previously authorized a third primary series dose for use as part of the primary immunization series in individuals 12 years and older.

They agency said the potential effectiveness of an additional dose in children 5 through 11 years of age was extrapolated from data in adults.

Researchers used prior analyses conducted as part of the authorization process for healthy children to inform safety in this population and determined that the potential benefits of the administration of a third primary series dose at least 28 days following the second dose of the two-dose regimen, outweighed the potential and known risks of the vaccine. To date, the FDA and CDC have seen no new safety signals in this age group.

Children 5 through 11, who are fully vaccinated and are not immunocompromised do not need a third dose at this time, but the FDA said it would continue to review information and communicate with the public if data emerges suggesting booster

doses are needed for this pediatric population.

“Based on the FDA’s assessment of currently available data, a booster dose of the currently authorized vaccines may help provide better protection against both the delta and omicron variants. In particular, the omicron variant appears to be slightly more resistant to the antibody levels produced in response to the primary series doses from the current vaccines,” said Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

“With this in mind, the FDA has extended the range of individuals eligible to receive a booster, shortened the length of time between the completion of the Pfizer primary series for individuals to receive a booster and is authorizing a third protective vaccine dose for some of our youngest and most vulnerable individuals.”

The FDA said it would allow for a third primary series dose for certain immunocompromised children ages 5 through 11. (Photo: Pfizer)

Redistricting Monitors Helped News Observer Protect the Black Vote The Valley’s

Adjudicated a Newspaper of General Circulation on July 2, 1991, Los Angeles Superior Court Decree, Case No. BS007262, Government Code 6023.

Bulk Mailing Permit 724 Bakersfield, CA 93385

Published every Thursday by The Observer Group Newspapers of Southern California, Inc. Member: National Newspaper Publishers Assc.

Associated Press, Better Business Bureau, GLAAACC President: Ellen Coley Operations Manager: Jon Coley Editor: James Luckey

Credo - The Black Press believes that America can best lead the world away from racial and national antagonisms when it accounts to every person, regardless of race, color, or creed full human and legal rights. Hating no person, fearing no person, the Black Press strives to help every person in the firm belief that all are hurt as long as any one is held back.

The Observer Group Newspapers reserves the right to publish views and opinions that may not necessarily reflect those of the staff and management are soleley the product of the responsible individuals who submit commentaries published in these newspapers. Letters, articles and comments appearing in the Observer Newspapers reflect the opinions of the contributor and do not constitute the opinion or endorsement by The Observer Newspapers or its staff. The Observer Group Newspapers assumes no responsibility for photographs, articles, letters, press releases and unsolicited materials. Decisions as to the editiing and publishing of materials are at the discretion of the Publisher and Editors. All rights are reserved on materials accepted for publication unless otherwise specified.

The Observer Group Newspapers of Southern California, Inc.: Los Angeles News Observer, Bakersfield News Observer, The Valley’s News Observer The Valley’s News Observer6060 Center Drive Floor 10, Los Angeles, CA 90045 Mailing Address: PO Box 2341, Bakersfield, Ca. 93303 Phone (661) 324-9466 FAX (661) 324-9472 General Info: observernews@gmail.com Advertising: observeradvertising@gmail.com Online: www.ognsc.com

Members of the California Redistricting Commissioners (CBM Photos by Antonio Ray Harvey) Continued from page A1

We commend their commitment to including Black voices in the redistricting process,” said James Woodson, policy director of the Black Hub. Woodson said, in the Black Hub’s view, the CCRC did the best job possible within the rules of the “line-drawing process” to not disenfranchise “Black communities of interest.”

“Even in the areas where we didn’t get the perfect outcome, their attempts to consider the feedback of Black residents were fair. We are satisfied with the results,” Woodson continued.

Over the last three months, the CCRC drew four Board of Equalization districts, 52 Congressional districts, 40 Senatorial districts, and 80 Assembly districts.

During the process, the Black Hub coalition submitted draft maps to the commission based on community feedback they collected from hosting 51 listening sessions throughout California. The hub’s renderings, intended to guide the CRC’s decision-making process, reflected ideal boundaries for greater equity in redistricting while simultaneously identifying opportunities to protect and increase Black political representation.

The Black Hub is a coalition of over 30 Black-led and Black-serving grassroots organizations focused on racial justice throughout California. Two years ago, the alliance organized another initiative to maximize the participation of Black Californians in the 2020 Census count.

CRCC Chair Isra Ahmad, who is employed as a Senior Research Evaluation Specialist with Santa Clara County’s Division of Equity and Social Justice, said the commission welcomed the feedback of people across the state.

“We drew district maps in an open and transparent manner that did more than merely allow public input -- we actively sought and encouraged broad public participation in the process through a massive education and outreach program, afforded to us by the delay in receiving the census data,” she explained.

The CRCC is composed of five Democrats, five Republicans, and four Californians unaffiliated with either political party. They

represent a variety of personal and professional backgrounds and come from different parts of the state.

During the map drawing process, the commission received letters and comments from a wide range of interested citizens, activists and advocacy organizations, all offering suggestions for how the CCRC should set geographic boundaries for districts.

Often times, those requests offered opposing ideas.

“This was a very complicated process to understand and there were so many people who organized calls, developed social media campaigns and distributed information,” states Kellie Todd Griffin, Convening Founder of the California Black Women’s Collective, which launched a public awareness campaign to increase Black Californians participation in the CCRC public hearings. “Their actions helped ensure that the voices of our community were heard and valued when understanding our interest and our assets.

It’s important that we keep this engagement active and continue to elevate the voice of California’s Black population.”

Last November, the California Hawaii State Conference of the NAACP informed the CCRC that it was “prepared to take legal action” if draft maps released to the public for comment last fall remained the way they were drafted.

Rick Callender, president of the California-Hawaii NAACP, said those iterations of the Assembly and Senate district maps for Los Angeles County and areas of the East Bay would have diluted Black political power. Los Angeles County and the East Bay are regions in the state where the highest numbers of Black Americans live.

During a news conference held before the commissioners delivered their final report to Secretary of State Shirley Weber’s office, the CCRC said it stood by its work and and took pride in the fact that the maps were drawn by hand.

CCRC commissioner Trena Turner (Democrat), a pastor and the Executive Director at Faith in the Valley, a multicultural, multi-faith community organizing network in the San Joaquin Central Valley, said the commission read as many public

statements and news articles about redistricting as it could.

Turner said specific feedback like that heightened the commissions’ awareness.

“What that did, by writing the articles that they did, they served noticed. So, we were mindful that we were hearing their voices,” Turner told California Black Media (CBM). “‘let’s make sure we’re not breaking up historical areas’ to the best extent possible.’”

Redistricting commissioner Derric Taylor (Republican), a Black investigator with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and active volunteer, mentor, coach in the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley areas, told CBM that the only way to address Callendar’s and other interested parties’ concerns was by reading reports by the media.

If the concerns were not voiced in a public meeting, the commission had to adhere to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act. California’s Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act requires all state boards and commissions to publicly notice their meetings, prepare agendas, and accept public testimony in public unless specifically authorized to meet in closed session.

“The commission is bound by Bagley Keene,” Taylor said, adding that CCRC members could only discuss or address public comments “in a meeting or open forum to adhere to transparency.”

Because the federal government released the U.S. Census data the commission relies on to draw maps late, the CCRC made a request to the California Supreme Court to move their Dec. 15 deadline for final maps back by nearly a month, to Jan. 14.

The state Supreme Court compromised and set the deadline for Dec. 27.

“I want to thank the Redistricting Commissioners for their hard work under challenging circumstances. We will now send these maps to the Legislature and to all 58 counties for implementation,” Secretary of State Weber responded after her office received the final maps.

Thursday, January 6, 2022

Entertainment

The Valley’s News Observer A3

Zendaya as MJ and Tom Holland as Spider-Man will return to deal with the fallout from Spider-Man: Far From Home. Photo: PA Photo/CTMG, Inc/Jay Maidment.

2021 Box Office Closes with More Fireworks for ‘Spider-Man’

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) – Hollywood closed out 2021 with more fireworks at the box office for “Spider-Man: No Way Home,”which topped all films for the third straight week and already charts among the highest grossing films ever. But even with all the champagne popping for “No Way Home,”the film industry heads into 2022 with plenty of reason for both optimism and concern after a year that saw overall ticket revenue double that of 2020, but still well off the pre-pandemic pace.

Movie theaters began the year mostly shuttered but ended it with a monster smash. Sony Pictures' Marvel sequel “No Way Home”grossed an estimated $52.7 million over the weekend to bring its three-week total to $609.9 million. That ranks 10th alltime in North America. Worldwide, it's made $1.37 billion, a total that puts it above “Black Panther”and makes it the 12th highest grossing film globally.

“No Way Home,”Tom Holland's third standalone film as the webslinger, gave a huge lift to the box-office recovery that started in earnest last spring when U.S. cinemas opened after a year of COVID-19 closures. Marvel films dominated the turbulent year, accounting for the top four movies of 2021: “No Way Home,”“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,”“Venom: Let There Be Carnage”and “Black Widow.”

The North American box office in 2021 amounted to $4.5

billion, according to data firm ComScore. That's about 60% down from 2019 _ back before the days of masked moviegoers, social distancing and virus variants like the currently surging omicron.

Whether the movies will ever reach those pre-pandemic totals again is uncertain, given that exclusive theatrical windows have since shrunk, studios have experimented with hybrid releases and little besides superhero films are packing theaters.

Partly due to COVID-19 disruptions, the 2022 release schedule is unusually packed with potential blockbusters, including “The Batman,”“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,”“Top Gun: Maverick,”“Jurassic World: Dominion,” “Thor: Love and Thunder”and “Avatar 2.”

Second place over the weekend went to Universal Picture's animated sequel “Sing 2.” It took in $19.6 million in its second weekend to bring its two-week total to $89.7 million. That's a steady result given that family movies and films skewing toward older moviegoers have been the slowest to bounce back during the pandemic. “Sing 2”added another $54.9 million internationally.

It's trajectory should make it the top animated release of the pandemic.

But after “No Way Home”and “Sing 2,”there was little that appealed to moviegoers over the holiday weekend.

“The King's Man,”the third installment in Matthew Vaughn's “Kingsman”series, grossed a modest $4.5 million in

its second week after a lackluster debut. But that was still good enough for third place. The Disney release, produced by 20th Century Studios, has made $47.8 million globally.

Steven Spielberg's “West Side Story”sold $2.1 million in tickets in its fourth weekend. While holding well (the film dropped 26% from the week prior), the once-envisioned holiday upswing for the acclaimed musical hasn't materialized. “West Side Story”has grossed a disappointing $29.6 million domestically.

After flopping on its debut last week, Warner Bros.' “The Matrix Resurrections”dropped a steep 64% in its second weekend with $3.8 million. The film is simultaneously streaming on HBO Max, a 2021 practice that the studio has pledged to end in 2022. The long-in-coming “Matrix”reboot was even edged by the second week of the Kurt Warner NFL drama “American Underdog,” which grossed $4.1 million for Lionsgate.

One of the only new releases of the week was Apichatpong Weerasethakul's “Memoria,”with Tilda Swinton. Its distributor, Neon, has laid out a novel strategy for the art-house release, playing the film in only one theater at a time, with no plans for a future streaming or physical release. “Memoria”started its quixotic, cross-country journey with $52,656 since opening Dec. 16 at New York's IFC Center.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” $52.7 million.

2. “Sing 2,”$19.6 million.

3. “The King's Man,”$4.5 million.

4. “American Underdog,”$4.1 million.

5. “The Matrix Revolutions,”$3.8 million.

6. “West Side Story,”$2.1 million.

7. “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,”$1.4 million.

8. “Licorice Pizza,”$1.2 million.

9. “A Journal for Jordan,”$1.2 million.

10. “Encanto,”$1.1 million.

Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http:// twitter.com/jakecoyleAP

Porter Soul Food Thrives on Flavors and Memories of Home

Cynthia Porter stands in front of her husband Rod Porter outside Porter Soul Food restaurant, a popular eastern shore destination. (Karl Merton Ferron/ The Baltimore Sun)

By CHRISTINA TKACIK The Baltimore Sun BALTIMORE, Md. (AP) – Located in a former Popeye's set amid a highway strip mall, Porter Soul Food is dishing up Southern classics and beating the odds that come with being a Black-owned restaurant on the Eastern Shore.

After opening in January 2020, it had to operate as a carryout only during some of its earliest months in operation due to COVID. That might have doomed any new business, but the surrounding community in Cambridge embraced the restaurant.

Online reviews reflect the cult-like status the restaurant has built in under two years.

“Can't wait to return to one of our favorite restaurants in the country.”

“Best catfish on the East coast!!”

Other draws for their customers include fall-off-the-bone turkey wings and oxtail smothered in gravy. And of course, there are fresh cooked collard greens and macaroni and cheese, made just the way co-owner Cynthia Porter grew up eating them.

In the kitchen, her husband, Rod Porter, cooks up turkey wings, pigs' feet and North Carolina-style barbecue. The restaurant's tagline is “Southern food with an attitude,”which Rod says reflects the generous seasonings that go into every dish, be it candied yams or catfish.

The Porters married in 2010 after meeting in North Carolina, where Rod is originally from. They returned to Cambridge, where Cynthia is pastor at one of the area's largest Black churches, and Rod is an elder and co-pastor.

In some ways, the restaurant has become an outgrowth of their ministry.

“People call this `church,'”said Cynthia. If someone comes in seeming distraught, she has been known to take them aside.

“Do you mind if I pray with you?”she said. “They're so grateful.”

For Black customers, soul food restaurants offer “a taste of home and memory”said soul food scholar Adrian Miller, a James Beard award recipient. Soul food staples like collards have roots in the cooking of enslaved people and combine the traditions of multiple continents _ from West Africa to Europe and the Americas.

Beyond sustenance, soul food restaurants also serve an important social purpose, providing a haven for Black customers, said Miller.

Many guests stop by Porter Soul after a visit to the Harriet Tubman Museum, devoted to Dorchester County's most famous resident. Born into slavery as Araminta Ross, she led family and friends on daring escapes North. Today, Dorchester County is around 29% Black and its residents include some of Tubman's distant relatives.

The pandemic shuttered Minty's Place, one of the only other Black-owned restaurants in Cambridge and named in honor of Tubman. Owner Teresa Lamar, who grew up on the lower Eastern Shore, says she has been struggling to find the staff to get restarted but hopes to reopen next spring.

The small number of Black-owned restaurants in the area speaks to some of the structural racism Black people face in Cambridge and beyond. Lamar calls the historic port city along the Choptank River “a growing, thriving area that is trying to catch up with the world in some ways.”

She notes that while the majority of her customers are white, some people haven't been has been tolerant. “I'm not there to fight, I'm there to bring a community together,”she said.

Randy Potter, president of the Delmarva Minority Business Coalition, noted that there are multiple Black-owned caterers in Cambridge, but very few Black-owned restaurants. “You've got to have a place to put your business,”he said, adding that some would-be entrepreneurs lack knowledge about what's needed to

start a business, or have trouble getting loans.

Potter's group, which falls under the Dorchester Chamber of Commerce, hosts free networking events for minority entrepreneurs and lectures on topics from cryptocurrency to starting a business. And he sees signs of progress, including another Black-owned restaurant, ArtBar2.0, that is set to open soon in historic Cambridge next to the Tubman museum.

Customers' enthusiasm for Porter Soul Food reflects, in part, just how long it's been since there was a soul food restaurant like this in Cambridge. “It's long overdue,”said customer Gloria Woolford, who lives a few blocks away from the eatery.

The Porters have become a surrogate family for Jessica Heath, 44, who was a regular customer after the restaurant opened and asked for a job as a server this summer. “They're all I have.”

She and other employees of the restaurant call the Porters “Mom”and “Dad,”although neither Cynthia or Rod would reveal their ages.

Cook Pat Gray, 77, had retired from her job in the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis before joining the team at Porter Soul. (Before the Academy, she was a cook at the White House during the administration of President Jimmy Carter.) But she grew “tired of sitting at home,”she says.

During a recent visit, construction workers Mike Dashiell and Jerome Holbrook stopped by to pick up lunch. Though they live in Salisbury, they work in Cambridge and stop by every day that the restaurant is open. “I try a little bit of everything,' said Dashiell. He even comes with his wife on his days off.

Angela Riley of Parkville came with a group of friends from Baltimore. “It didn't disappoint,”she said.

A sign outside cautions diners that the restaurant is not a fast-food joint. Meals are cooked to order and can take time to come out. Woolford, 75, sat a booth as the cooks at Porter Soul Food prepared her lunch order. “It's worth the wait,”she said.

Features

A4

The Valley’s News Observer

Thursday, January 6, 2022

State AG Files Lawsuit Against Virginia Town for Huge Disparities in Enforcement

Against Black Drivers The filing comes a little more than one year after the December 5, 2020, encounter initiated by police officers with Army Lt. Caron Nazario, who was dressed in his military gear at the time of the incident. Police held the lieutenant at gunpoint, struck him, pepper-sprayed him, and placed him in handcuffs.

They claimed his new SUV lacked permanent license plates.

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring has filed a lawsuit against the town of Windsor where police violently stopped a Black military officer, held him at gunpoint, struck him, and pepper-sprayed him.

Herring, a Democrat, wants court-ordered monitoring of the police department.

He has asked the court to order the town to adopt policies and procedures that ensure bias-free traffic stops.

The filing comes a little more than one year after the December 5, 2020, encounter initiated by police officers with Army Lt. Caron Nazario, who was dressed in his military gear at the time of the incident.

Police held the lieutenant at gunpoint, struck him, peppersprayed him, and placed him in handcuffs.

They claimed his new SUV lacked permanent license plates.

However, Lt. Nazario pointed out to officers that his vehicle had a temporary tag visibly taped to the window.

Still, the officers ordered him out of the car.

When he said he was afraid, body-cam footage revealed that one of the officers responded, “Yeah, you should be.”

The public first witnessed the video four months after the encounter, sparking outrage.

The incident shined a spotlight on Windsor, a small, predominately white town located about an hour west of Virginia

When Army Lt. Caron Nazario, who was dressed in his military gear at the time of the incident, said he was afraid, body-cam footage revealed that one of the officers responded, “Yeah, you should be.”

Beach.

Reportedly, the town of 2,700 residents has a seven-member police force.

The town fired two of the officers involved in the stop.

“At no time did Lt. Nazario use or attempt to use force against the officers,” Herring wrote in court filings.

“While our investigation was spurred by the egregious treatment against Lt. Nazario that we all saw in body-cam footage, we discovered this incident was indicative of much larger problems within the department.”

Herring continued: “There are huge disparities in enforcement against African American drivers and a troubling lack of policies and procedures to prevent discriminatory or unconstitutional policing.”

According to Herring, between nine and 21 percent of Windsor residents are Black.

About 22 percent of Wright County residents identify as Black.

“The town stopped Black drivers between 200 percent and 500 percent more often than would be expected based on the number of Black residents in the Town or Isle of Wright County,” Herring wrote in the lawsuit.

From July 1, 2020, to September 30, 2021, Windsor Police conducted 1,907 traffic stops. Of those stops, 810 of the drivers were Black.

When the Attorney General’s office examined stops involving Windsor residents, investigators found that 40 percent were Black drivers.

Officers frequently searched vehicles driven by Black drivers, and Herring said the department lacks adequate policies to ensure that it’s using force in a non-discriminatory manner.

“That it is performing traffic stops in a constitutional, nonpretextual, and bias-free manner, and that members of the public are able to submit and have their complaints heard in a transparent way that upholds the principles of due process,” Herring stated.

Town officials claim Herring’s lawsuit is politically motivated and denied his allegations.

Herring also asked the court to order Windsor to hire an independent monitor and force the town to pay $50,000 in damages for every proven violation of the Virginia Human Rights Act.

Outspoken Democratic Rep. OcasioCortez Puts on Blast the ‘Sexual Frustrations’ of Republicans AOC told her more than 12.8 million followers that the GOP’s obsession with her is “starting to get old, ignoring the very obvious, strange and deranged sexual frustrations that underpin the Republican fixation on me, women, LGBT, and people in general.”

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent With Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis missing in action, some Republican-supporting mainstream media outlets have turned their ire against one of their favorite targets – New York Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

On December 30, 2020, the congresswoman was photographed in Miami Beach having a cocktail with a man she later identified as her boyfriend.

Because Rep. Ocasio-Cortez wasn’t wearing a mask while having a drink, the National Review favorably compared Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz’s infamous excursion to Cancun, Mexico.

Sen. Cruz’s trip occurred while his constituents suffered as a winter storm wreaked havoc on Texas and left many without power or water.

The attack on Rep. Ocasio-Cortez not only counts as an ongoing assault against the woke congresswoman but could stand as a smokescreen to take some heat of Gov. DeSantis, a 2024 GOP Presidential hopeful.

DeSantis has kept a low profile as Florida’s Covid cases have risen to record highs.

“Counties are overwhelmed with lines that stretch for miles,” Florida Democratic State Sen. Shevrin Jones tweeted.

“It’s every man and woman for themselves because leadership is missing in action,” Jones said.

DeSantis, who has opposed vaccine and mask mandates, hasn’t spoken publicly since December 17.

As the state of American politics and democracy continues

to sink further into the abyss, lawmakers like Rep. Ocasio-Cortez have found it difficult to remain above the fray.

Self-proclaimed “bad hombre” and American nationalist Steve Cortes joined the National Review in attacking the New York congresswoman.

On Twitter, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez is a rock star.

But Republicans also use that platform to attack her openly.

However, Cortes badly misfired.

“If leftists like AOC actually thought mandates and masking worked, they would be frolicking in free Florida,” Cortes tweeted.

Then in a more personal attack that the congresswoman exposed as simple jealousy, Cortes tried to go in on OcasioCortez’s date.

“Her guy is showing his gross pale male feet in public – not at a pool or beach – with hideous sandals,” Cortes wrote.

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez immediately called out Cortes and Republicans, perhaps uncovering their most prominent issue with the attractive congresswoman.

“If Republicans are mad they can’t date me, they can just say that instead of projecting their sexual frustrations onto my boyfriend’s feet. Ya creepy weirdos,” Ocasio-Cortez quipped.

She told her more than 12.8 million followers that the GOP’s obsession with her is “starting to get old, ignoring the very obvious, strange and deranged sexual frustrations that underpin the Republican fixation on me, women, LGBT, and people in general.”

“These people clearly need therapy, won’t do it, and use politics as their outlet instead. It’s really weird,” Rep. OcasioCortez concluded.

Legal Notices

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME CASE NUMBER 21SMCP00664 SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES 1720 Main Street Santa Monica, CA 90401 Branch Name: WEST PETITION OF: RINA ESTHER DALY TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: Petitioner: RINA ESTHER DALY for a decree changing names as follows: Present name RINA ESTHER DALY aka RINA ESTHER MALLINGER aka RINA MALLINGER DALY aka RINA ADIGESS DALY Filed a petition with this court Proposed name RINA ESTHER DALY-GOODE THE COURT ORDERS: that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the

hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted if no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing.

NOTICE OF HEARING Date: Feb 25, 2022 Time: 8:30 a.m.

Dept: K The address of the court is: Same as noted above.

A copy of this Order to Show Cause shall be published at least once a week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition in the following newspaper of general circulation, printed in this county LOS ANGELES NEWS OBSERVER Date: November 23, 2021 Hon. Lawrence Cho JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT Victoria Yonker DEPUTY PETITIONER: Rina Esther Daly 12713 Dewey Los Angeles, Ca. 90066 Phone: (310) 600-6639 In Pro Per The Valley’s News Observer(E) PUB: Dec 23, 30, 2021, Jan 6, 13, 2022

PUBLIC NOTICE

�������������������������������

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE NO: 2021 279416 The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: GARCIA HVAC at 7638 Oak Park Ave, Lake Balboa, Ca. 91406 Mailing Same REGISTERED OWNERS(S): HECTOR ISAAC GARCIA MARTINEZ, 7638 Oak Park Ave, Lake Balboa, Ca. 91406 The business is conducted by: an Individual SIGNED: HECTOR ISAAC GARCIA MARTINEZ The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: N/A This statement filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles County on: Dec 28, 2021 DEAN C. LOGAN, Los Angeles County Clerk By: VICTOR ZAVALA, Deputy

PUBLIC NOTICE NOTICE: IN ACCORDANCE WITH SUBDIVISION (a) OF SECTION 17920, A FICTITIOUS NAME STATEMENT GENERALLY EXPIRES ST THE END IOF FIVE YEARS FROM THE DATE OF WHICH IT WAS FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE COUNTY CLERK EXCEPT, AS PROVIDED IN SUBDIVISION (b) OF SECTION 17920, WHERE IT EXPIRES 40 DAYS AFTER ANY CHANGE IN THE FACTS SET FORTH IN THE STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 17913 OTHER THAN A CHANGE IN THE RESIDENCE ADDRESS OF A REGISTERED OWNER. A NEW FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT MUST BE FILED BEFORE THE EXPIRATION. EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2014, THE FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY THE AFFIDAVIT OF IDENTITY FORM. This statement expires on Dec 28, 2026 LOS ANGELES BAY NEWS OBSERVER (E) PUB: Jan 6, 13, 20, 27, 2022 �������������������������������

New York Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley Announces She Has Tested Positive for COVID

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent Covid and its latest variant, Omicron, know no boundaries.

Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), said on Friday, December 31, 2021, that she tested positive for Covid-19.

The congresswoman said she’s experiencing mild symptoms.

“After experiencing Covid-like symptoms, this morning I received a positive, breakthrough Covid-19 test result,” Congresswoman Pressley said in a statement.

“Thankfully, my symptoms are relatively mild, and I am grateful to be fully vaccinated and boosted. I am currently isolating and following all health protocols in order to mitigate further spread and keep my loved ones and community safe.”

The fully vaccinated Congresswoman maintained that vaccines save lives.

“They are safe and effective,” the congresswoman stated.

“I encourage everyone to do their part by getting vaccinated, boosted and masking up.”

The congresswoman counts among several lawmakers to recently test positive, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Sen. Chris Coons (D-Delaware), Congressman Jason Crow (D-Colorado), Congressman Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) Congressman Bobby Rush (D-Illinois), and Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.).

“Get vaccinated,” Congresswoman Pressley said.

Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), said on Friday, December 31, 2021, that she tested positive for Covid-19.

Thursday, January 6, 2022

Features

The Valley’s News Observer A5

People Who California Sterilized Can Now Apply for Reparation Payments Tanu Henry California Black Media People who the state of California had a hand in forcing or coercing to undergo vasectomies or get their tubes tied are now eligible for compensation. The payments will come from a $7.5 million state fund.

Some of those victims, both men and women, were sterilized without their consent or knowledge.

“California is committed to confronting this dark chapter in the state’s past and addressing the impacts of this shameful history still being felt by Californians today,” said Gov. Newsom last week when he announced the program which began Jan 1 and is included as a line item in the state’s 2021-22 budget.

The Governor’s office estimates that there about 600 survivors, eligible and alive, who underwent the now-illegal method of birth control either at state medical facilities or in prison.

The survivors have until Dec. 31, 2023 to apply for compensation. $4.5 million of the fund will be used for payments evenly divided among people who apply and are approved. Each will receive a check for an amount up to $25,000 dollars.

Another $2 million will be used for public information campaigns promoting the program. $1 million will be used to create and install commemorative plaques at locations where “the wrongful sterilization of thousands of vulnerable people” happened, according to the Governor’s office.

Last year, Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo (D-Los Angeles) wrote and introduced Assembly Bill (AB) 1007 that proposed the program and served as the basis for funding the policy, which was included in the state budget after negotiations with legislative leaders.

Carillo said the launch of the program represents a victory that “comes to fruition after decades of advocacy.” She also highlighted the fact most of the victims were low-income, living with disabilities, or were people of color.

“We often discuss a woman’s right to choose, which includes the choice of becoming a mother, to become a parent. California’s eugenics laws have taken that away from many people,” said Carillo. “This is only the first step in addressing this wrong.”

She was referring to the practice, legal in California, that authorized state-run healthcare facilities to sterilize people that they considered “unfit for reproduction.”

“The compensation finally admits that California was in violation of human rights and reproductive justice. As a state, we must and can do more to recognize the horrific impact of eugenic sterilization programs on California families, and the devastating consequences of this failed attempt to eradicate populations.”

California’s sterilization law remained in effect from 1909, when the Assembly approved it, until 1979 when it was overturned. During that period, an estimated 20,000 people were sterilized.

In 2003, Gov. Gray Davis issued an apology to survivors.

“California led the way in eugenics as legislation was copied across the United States and used as a model for Adolf Hitler throughout World War II,” according to a statement Carillo’s office released.

State-sponsored sterilizations, however, continued in California prisons at least until 2010, according to the State Auditor’s office. That policy was banned in 2014.

Survivors can apply for payments through California’s Forced or Involuntary Sterilization Compensation Program, according to Gov Newsom’s office. The California Victim Compensation Board is responsible for administering the program.

The board says the identities of applicants will be kept confidential and payments will not impact a claimant’s trust, or Medicaid or Social Security status or benefits. The state will also not consider compensation survivors receive as income for state tax or child support purposes.

Gov. Newsom said the program is part of a broader state

(Shutterstock Photo)

initiative to redress historical injustices.

“While we can never fully make amends for what they’ve endured, the state will do all it can to ensure survivors of wrongful sterilization receive compensation,” the governor said.

To apply, survivors should visit www.victims.ca.gov/fiscp, reach out to CalVCB at 800-777-9229, or send an email to fiscp@victims.ca.gov to obtain an application. They can also send a letter to P.O. Box 591, Sacramento, CA 95812-0591.

From Denmark to Louisiana:

Danish Pop Star’s Search for Veteran Dad Ends in Baton Rouge Area Encouraged by his wife, Gloria, Bill Johnson submitted to DNA testing to compare his profile to Laursen’s. The reported returned that he was a 99.99 percent match for being Laursen’s father.

“I was excited, she was excited, and we started exchanging messages,” he said.

“We just connected, and God put us together. And I’m one person that’s glad that happened.”

By Frances Y. Spencer The Drum Newspaper Zindy Laursen’s parents, a Danish go-go dancer and a Louisiana GI headed to Vietnam, met more than 50 years ago in Australia. Armed with only that tiny bit of information, the Danish pop singer and actress embarked on a 30-year journey to find her father. Her quest ends at the Baker home of a retired policeman who marked Christmas 2021 with the gift of a newfound daughter.

Bill Johnson has held many titles in more than 50 years of public service including GI, soldier, and police captain. This Christmas, “dad” is a new title, and the Zachary native is ecstatic to begin a new role as a father. “I found somebody in my life that was like me,” he said. “I just enjoyed the first time we talked, and I looked at the pictures. I said, ‘wow, my God, look at her cheeks.’

Then the brown eyes floored me. I said, ‘well, that’s, that’s got to be my daughter.’”

The talk of a family reunion is the end of a long journey that began in 1969. Stars and Stripes, the U.S. military news organization, introduced the world to Laursen’s quest in an article published in September 2021. The article, “Danish pop star hopes DNA will lead to father she suspects is a Vietnam War vet,” documented how Laursen’s mother was a go-go dancer in

Sydney and met U.S. service members on leave from their units in Vietnam. Laursen’s mother moved back to Denmark, but Laursen said she grew up eager to find out about her father, a “mysterious person that her mom met dancing, like something out of a movie.”

The singer-actress, known in Denmark and Europe as “Zindy,” grew up in a fishing town with her mother, brother, and her Ghanian-born stepdad who died when she was 16. “We were living in a predominantly white area, and I got teased a lot, so, I felt really out of place,” she recalled. “I didn’t know where I belonged because I was getting teased in school every day.”

Her unique heritage became a motivating factor when she saw Prince perform for the first time. He was a total package – he could play the piano, he could sing and dance, and he seemed to have a biracial heritage. “I could identify myself with him,” Laursen said. “We lived in an area that was really poor but there was this little place where there was a piano, and I went down to ask the super if I could go in there and play the piano because it seemed like something Prince would do, and I was inspired.”

Her music career started a few years later when she was second runner up in a singing competition similar to American Idol. She signed a record deal with EMI and became the lead singer of a group called Cut ‘N’ Move. After performing all over Europe and winning a Danish Grammy, she moved to New York in 2002 and has starred in plays while splitting her time between the two continents.

The first time she visited the United States she recalled thinking her father could be right around the corner. The quest to find him intensified.

Laursen enlisted the help of a genealogist and a DNA analysis from 23andMe. Earlier this year, the analysis provided her with a relative match from a man living in New York. She connected with him to see if someone in his family could be the American veteran who visited Australia in 1969. He immediately started calling his uncle, Bill Johnson. “He had been trying to call me for three or four days,” Johnson said. “He gave me the exciting news: ‘I think you have a daughter out there.’”

Johnson had initial doubts. He worried that he might be the target of a scam and sought lots of advice. Many associated advised him to walk away. “But that would have been the biggest mistake of my life,” he said.

Encouraged by his wife, Gloria, he submitted to DNA testing to compare his profile to Laursen’s. The report returned that he was a 99.99 percent match for being Laursen’s father. “I was excited, she was excited, and we started exchanging messages,” he said. “We just connected, and God put us together. And I’m one person that’s glad that happened.”

Johnson said he sees comparisons in his life and Laursen’s life in persevering to achieve goals and in working with people.

“I grew up in the Avenues, which was one of the poorest areas in Zachary, but I was determined to make it,” he said. “My dad died when I was 8 years old. My mother died at the young age of 45.”

He said he did not have running water growing up but would take odd jobs like cutting grass to contribute and eventually buy his own car. After serving in the Army, he returned to Zachary and continued his education at Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge.

He became the first Black police officer to serve in Zachary, La., and he rose to the rank of captain.

In his retirement, he gives back to the community and is a member of the Baker Lions Club and the president of the Zachary Men’s Club.

He didn’t raise any children of his own, but he was involved in the lives of the young people in Baker and Zachary serving as a basketball and track coach in community leagues.

“I was determined to save young people, so I started the Drug Enforcement Program in the city,” Johnson said. “They still have signs up. So, I’ve been involved in the lives of young people and it’s not about me; it’s about someone else.”

Laursen is in Denmark for the holidays working a string of performances, but she hopes to visit her father in early 2022.

Johnson is busy with calls from relatives and press inquiries. He knows a great gift is on the way. “I’m just looking forward to that great day,” he said. “This will be the best Christmas of my life.”

Bill Johnson, a retired Zachary police captain, talks by phone to his newly found daughter, Zindy Laursen, Thursday, December 16, 2021. Laursen, a Danish entertainer, has spent 30 years trying to find her father and recently found Johnson with the help of a genealogist and 23andMe DNA analysis.

NBA Star Chris Paul and Phoenix Suns Owner Exemplify Support for HBCUs

As 2021 ended, the Suns and the NBA have cemented their legacy among professional sports leagues as pioneers and activists for social justice change. (Photo: nba.com / Phoenix Suns)

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent When the NBA and NBA Foundation announced new programs earlier this year designed to create more opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students from historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), it only underscored the value placed on those institutions by the league, its owners, and players.

The announcement also helped set the stage for the November 2021 inaugural Boost Mobile HBCU Challenge at Footprint Center in Phoenix, home of the Phoenix Suns NBA Team.

The vision of Suns’ superstar point guard Chris Paul, the tournament featured Hampton, Norfolk State, Morgan State, and Grambling State. The schools faced off in a round-robin format that ESPN2 and ESPNU carried live on national television.

Paul said the goal was to increase the visibility of HBCUs by hosting them in an NBA arena on national TV. “I [was] so excited for the chance to give these players the opportunity to experience something not usually available to HBCU student-athletes and compete on a national stage,” Paul said in a statement.

“My time in college is something I’ll never forget, and I hope these events give these players something they’ll remember for the rest of their lives. I sincerely appreciate the collaboration of the Basketball Hall of Fame and the Phoenix Suns to bring this to life, and I can’t thank the team over at Boost Mobile enough for their support of this event.”

It’s not lost on Paul and Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver that HBCU basketball doesn’t receive the fanfare and national media attention accorded other mainstream NCAA institutions.

From conference playoffs and the annual March Madness to the NCAA Championship game, much of the nation –if not the

globe – focuses on college basketball.

Despite the same level of play and intensity, games involving HBCUs are, by comparison, mostly devoid of such a media spotlight.

“For me, it’s just about giving a voice to the voiceless,” Paul stated on the ESPN show, First Take.

Paul routinely has led by example.

As union president, the point guard helped negotiate an agreement between the league and the Players Association to allow NBA athletes to suit up wearing various social justice phrases on their uniforms.

Players like Paul, LeBron James, and Carmelo Anthony wore jerseys with messages like “Say Her Name,” “I Can’t Breathe,” and “Speak Up.” As 2021 ended, the Suns and the NBA have cemented their legacy among professional sports leagues as pioneers and activists for social justice change.

They’ve also firmed up their commitment to HBCUs sports scholarships and other strategies to increase the visibility of the accomplishments of HBCUs athletes.

Suns coach Monty Williams learned the nuances of basketball from Taft Hickman, who spent nearly a half-century coaching at high schools in the Washington, D.C., area and Bowie State University, an HBCU located in Maryland.

Williams also has noted the commitment Sarver and the Suns organization has made to provide the best training facilities, support staff, and talent to help the team succeed on and off the court.

“While I have striven to understand and relate to what our Black players are feeling and experiencing today, I sympathize with them, listen to them, and support them,” Sarver affirmed in a previously released statement.

A6

Sports

The Valley’s News Observer

Thursday, January 6, 2022

Rose Bowl 108th Edition is a Classic

By Earl Heath Contributing Sports Writer \It was one of the greatest finishes in Rose Bowl history.

Ohio State starting QB CJ Stroud started a drive that helped him and his teammates into the one of the great games in Rose Bowl history.

In the end The Buckeyes outdueled Utah 48-45 in front of some 90,000 fans in Pasadena.

After several back and forth in the second half it wasn’t until Stroud hit wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a 30-yard score with 4:22 left to play that the Buckeyes took their first lead of the game at 45-38. It was the third time the two connected for a score.

The “Never Say Die” Buckeyes trailed by 14 points four different times and rallied back after each deficit.

The final second half comeback was the game winner as OSU kicker Jake Siebert nailed a 19-yard field goal with nine ticks left on the clock.

“My job is to lead the team,” said Stroud, a Rancho Cucamonga native . “I have watch I have to lead our offense on the field. to do everything on the field.

Stroud a SO-Cal native finished the day with 573 yards passing and six TDs. Smith-Njigba caught 15 balls for 346 yards and three TDs, breaking Keyshawn Johnson’s Rose Bowl record and setting the record for most yards receiving in FBS bowl game history along with Ohio State single-season records for most yards receiving and most receptions.

Smith-Njigba and wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., who took on a starting role for the first time this season both stepped up with the absents Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave who opted out. Harrison caught six passes for 71 yards and three scores of his own.

The Utes jumped out to an early lead as QB Cam Rising passed and ran his way all through the OSU defense.

On the second possession the Utes were helped by a PI call against the Buckeyes. Rising later hit Britain Covey on a 19 yarder for the lead 7-0 lead.

Next possession on a third and three Rising picked up five for a first.

Three plays later on a third down the senior from Ventura connected with xx in the corner of the endzone that put the Utes up 14-0.

Later in the half after a 22-yard run Rising heading to the turf he was hit by Jack Sawyer called for targeting on rising, the freshman from Pinkerton Ohio was disqualified .On the first play after the ejection Tavion Thomas ran six yards untouched to the endzone.

The Buckeyes Lathan Ransom went down on kick-off and was carted off the field., Soon after the sophomore from Tucson, Arizona was off the playing area, there was a review called from upstairs that resulted in the ejection of the Utes Conner O’Toole.

On a fourth and one Rising stepped back ran through left side of the line and scampered 62 yards to make it 35 -21.

Rising passed for 242-yards and was the game’s leading rusher with 106 yards on 16 carries and a TD. He later left the game with a back injury and true freshman Bryson Barnes stepped in and led the team to a game to Dalton Kincaid tying score. Barnes of Milford UTAH appeared to be a folk hero for a moment. There will be a lot coming from him in the future.

OSU enjoys their ninth Rose Bowl win. “This is the Rose Bowl” Stroud said. “This is where the legendary games are played.

If you have to be motivated to play I question your love for the game.”

Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) catches a touchdown in front of Utah cornerback Malone Mataele (15) during the second half in the Rose Bowl NCAA college football game Saturday, Jan. 1, 2022, in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Heisman Trophy winner and Super Bowl MVP Desmond Howard (L)shares a pregame moment with (L) Army SFC Marc Sikilins and Sergeant John Potts who color guards for the 108th Rose Bowl Game. (Photo: Earl Heath)

New HOF inductee Anthony Davis-USC and HOF Master of Ceremony John Anderson. (Photo: Earl Heath)

Rose Bowl Hall Inducts a Super Trio

Rose Bowl Hall of Fame inductees Class of 2021 (L to R)- Jim Delany Big-10 Commissioner, Anthony Davis-USC, Ron Simpkins-Michigan. (Photo: Earl Heath)

By Earl Heath Contributing Sports Writer This years Class in the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame class had big impact for their teams and the game, Former USC running back, and College Football Hall of Fame inductee Anthony Davis, former Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany, and three-time Rose Bowl Game participant and 1979 All-American Ron Simpkins of Michigan were inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame as the Class of 2021.

The Rose Bowl Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony took place outside of the Rose Bowl Stadium, two days prior to the incredible of the 108th Rose Bowl Game that featured Ohio State and first-time participant Utah.

Anthony Davis is one of the many great running backs to have played at USC then known as “Tailback U”, but few can match his output and his wins. The Davis-led Trojans had a 31-32 record in his three seasons at USC, including three Rose Bowl Game appearances and two National Championships. Across his three visits to The Granddaddy of Them All, Davis rolled up 342 all-purpose yards and three scores, helping the Trojans to victories in the 1973 and 1975 games.

Though the former San Fernando high star he had solid

Rose Bowl games many still talk about his games against Notre Dame. One in particular at the Coliseum had the Trojans trailing the Irish 24-6 at half time. Davis returned the second half kick-off 99 yards and that sparked one of the greatest comebacks in the series history as the Trojans went on to win 55-24 and claim the National title after the Rose Bowl win.

“It seemed like their (ND fans) world stopped,” said Davis.

“The comeback was something we all were all of us were proud of.”

In all Davis tallied ten touchdowns playing against the “Fighting Irish.” The USC legend was inducted into the USC Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005. Davis was drafted in the NFL and MLB Drafts but chose football and played in the World Football League, Canadian Football League and NFL for six seasons between 1975 and 1983.

Jim Delany served as the Commissioner of the Big Ten Conference from 1989 to 2020, retiring as one of the most influential figures in college athletics. Delany had numerous accomplishments as Big Ten Commissioner, including the creation of the Big Ten Network, the development and implementation of the first college football replay system and the

negotiation of broadcast rights for college football and basketball.

He was a leader and advocate for gender equity in college sports and initiated the Big Ten Gender Equity Action Plan in 1992, which aimed for 40 percent of all athletes in the conference to be female within five years.

At one time Delany was known as “The most powerful man in sports” The kid from New Jersey was instrumental in the creation of the Bowl Championship Series and the College Football Playoff but worked diligently to maintain the tradition and history of the Rose Bowl Game. “The Big-10 and Pac-12 are first rate partners,” said Delany. “The relationship has produced many opportunities in athletics and there will be several more in the future.”

Ron Simpkins led the Michigan defense to three straight editions of The Granddaddy of Them All from 1977 to 1979. The Wolverines came up just short in all three games despite stellar performances from Simpkins. The linebacker tallied a then-Rose Bowl Game record 16 tackles in the loss to Washington in 1978, including 13 solo stops. He followed up that performance with 12 tackles in the 1979 Rose Bowl Game against USC. Simpkins was at the goal line during the 1977 game where it appeared the TRJANS Charles White leaped over the goal line

and lost the ball but was given credit by line judge Lee Joseph.

“That was a phantom call,” said Simpkins. “To this day I say he didn’t score.” There was no replay at the time but if you look at the film from the endzone angle it appears Simpkins knocked the ball out of Whites hand.

The 1979 consensus All-American was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 1981 NFL Draft. He played seven seasons in the NFL and later worked at Wayne State University, where he oversaw the implementation of grant-based initiatives centered around encouraging Detroit youth to participate in sports to aid in the development of leadership skills.

The Rose Bowl Hall of Fame was established in 1989 to pay tribute to members of the Rose Bowl Game who have contributed to the history and excitement of the game, and those who embody the highest level of passion, strength, tradition, and honor associated with The Granddaddy of Them All. This year’s class brings Rose Bowl Hall of Fame inductees total to 136 over its 33-year history. Inductees are honored with a permanent plaque that includes their name and year of induction at The Court of Champions at the Rose Bowl Stadium.

Thursday, January 6, 2022

Sports

The Valley’s News Observer A7

The WARM Place Named 2021 PGA TOUR Charity of the Year Charles Schwab Challenge beneficiary to receive $30,000 PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA – The PGA TOUR announced today that The WARM Place, a Fort Worth-based non-profit beneficiary of the Charles Schwab Challenge, has been named the 2021 PGA TOUR Charity of the Year.

The WARM Place provides year-round grief support services to children ages 3½ to 18 and their families, as well as young adults ages 19 to 25, who have experienced the death of a loved one.

The non-profit provides a safe environment for children to express feelings and emotions as well as the opportunity to meet with children and families who are experiencing circumstances like their own.

Since 1989, The WARM Place has companioned over 40,000 children and their families along their grief journeys. Families are never charged a fee for services and there are no geographical limitations or time limits – families are welcome to participate as

Since 1989, The WARM Place has companioned over 40,000 children and their families along their grief journeys.

long as the children are benefiting from the program.

Powered by the Colonial Country Club of Fort Worth, the Charles Schwab Challenge has made a charitable impact of more than $150 million on over 150 different organizations during the past two decades.

“All of the charitable organizations that we support are special, but The WARM Place is an incredibly special place and they do so many wonderful things for the benefit of families with children,” said Jim Whitten, Tournament Chairman, Charles Schwab Challenge.

The award comes with a $30,000 grant from the PGA TOUR to assist The WARM Place, which will be utilized to further support their grief support program, providing children and families with the support they need to work through their intense feelings of grief after the devasting loss of a loved one. The grant will provide a month of services, at no cost, to 240 children

and their families grieving.

“To be recognized by the PGA TOUR nationally is so touching. I know the TOUR has a huge heart for giving back to people in need, and The WARM Place is such a wonderful organization. I couldn’t be more thankful and overwhelmed with gratitude,” said Shelley Bettis, Executive Director, The WARM Place.

With the support of more than 100,000 volunteers annually, the PGA TOUR assists approximately 3,000 charities each year. Virtually all tournaments are organized as nonprofit organizations to maximize charitable giving, and to date, tournaments across all Tours have generated more than $3.2 billion.

The Charles Schwab Challenge, won in 2021 by Jason Kokrak, will be held May 26-29, 2022 at Colonial Country Club.

By Earl Heath Contributing Writer One of the most rewarding floats is the one that celebrates the 100 years of the American Physical Therapy Association.

All us if not had to go through it or knows a friend or have had family member who has had to take physical therapy. Its a car accident an amputation, post-surgery or just plain age that brings PT into people lives.

2021 celebrates a century since the APTA was founded. It joined with the California Physical Therapy Association-CPTA and created a magical float for the 133rd edition of the ROSE Parade.

“The real stars are the PT patients who will be greeting the t crowds while riding the float,” said Kelley Kobota Vice president of CPTA. “They have dealt with a lot.”

Kobota is a ball of energy who is has a non-stop movement that’s out of this world. When she’s not working the float she’s non-stop encouraging patients and firing up volunteers.

Some who rode the float include, Willie “Three” Young III who at the age of six was hit by a stray bullet and was paralyzed from the chest down. There’s Ray Cervantes who got a spinal cord injury as a teen because of gun violence.

Yajaira “ YaYa” Duran has both hands and feet amputated.

She walks with the help of a prosthetic limb. She flashes a million dollar and is awesome to spend time with.

Marylin Washington is the Therapist who is for the world.

She’s spent some fifty years and has no intentions of stopping. “I love seeing people reach their potential,” said the Cal State San Francisco graduate. “Some patients have certain goals and when they reach them it’s very satisfying.”

Float Celebrates 100 years A.P.T.A

Marylin Washington (L) has spent 50-year as a Physical Therapist is joined by Yajaira “ YaYa” Duran at the CPTA float. (Photo: Earl Heath)

California Physical Therapy Association-CPTA-Float in 133th Rose Parade. (Photo: Sara Media)

Local

A8

The Valley’s News Observer

Thursday, January 6, 2022

Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump Named to TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People

In addition to working on some of the most high-profile cases in the U.S., representing the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Trayvon Martin, and Michael Brown, Crump has fought for justice for the residents of Flint, Michigan, who were affected by poisoned water; Black women with ovarian cancer targeted by Johnson & Johnson to use talc products; and people who experienced discriminatory practices – “banking while Black” – by some of the nation’s largest banks.

The list, now in its eighteenth year, recognizes the impact, innovation and achievement of the world’s most influential individuals.

TIME named nationally renowned civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump to the 2021 TIME100, its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world, making him the only personal injury trial lawyer to make the list.

Crump has established himself as one of the nation’s foremost lawyers and advocates for social and racial justice.

In addition to working on some of the most high-profile cases in the U.S., representing the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Trayvon Martin, and Michael Brown, Crump has fought for justice for the residents of Flint, Michigan, who were affected by poisoned water; Black women with ovarian cancer targeted by Johnson & Johnson to use talc products; and people who experienced discriminatory practices – “banking while Black” – by some of the nation’s largest banks.

He is the founder and principal owner of Ben Crump Law. “Ben Crump transcends and transforms the traditional role of a lawyer,” said U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters.

“He is not only having an impact on the culture both inside and outside the courtroom, but his advocacy is influencing corporate boardrooms and the highest levels of government.”

Crump has been nationally recognized as the 2014 NNPA Newsmaker of the Year, The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Lawyers, Ebony Magazine Power 100 Most Influential African Americans, and has been referred to as “Black America’s Attorney General.”

His book, published in October 2019, Open Season: Legalized Genocide of Colored People, documents how America is killing Black people, whether with a bullet or a lengthy prison sentence, and justifying it legally.

“It’s an honor to be recognized this way and to use any influence I have to bring about greater racial justice for all Americans,” Crump said.

“I am deeply grateful to every single person who has raised a voice to elevate our cries for equality, and I will continue to use any influence I have to make our laws, our justice system, and corporate America more just and free of systemic racism.”

He released a video with the family members of people killed by police, urging supporters to call their senators.

“Ben is shining a light on racial injustice everywhere it exists,” said Rev. Al Sharpton, who has called him Black America’s attorney general.

“He is changing hearts and minds, practices and precedents, laws and lives.”

The list, now in its eighteenth year, recognizes the impact, innovation and achievement of the world’s most influential individuals.

Despite Surging Transmission, Vaccines Still Prove to be the Best Protection from ICU Admission and Death 21,790 New Positive Cases and 24 New Deaths Due to COVID-19 in Los Angeles County Although cases have increased among vaccinated people over the past few weeks, Public Health data suggests that vaccines remain extremely protective against the most severe outcomes from COVID infections.

Rate ratios are a key metric for evaluating the protection offered by vaccines. These ratios compare rates of an outcome in unvaccinated people with rates of the same outcome in fully vaccinated people; the higher the rate ratio, the more protective the vaccine is against the outcome.

From December 15-28th, the rate ratio for ICU admission was 21.3, indicating the risk of ICU admission was 21.3 times higher among unvaccinated individuals than among fully vaccinated individuals. For the week of December 19-25th, the age-adjusted death rate in unvaccinated people was 4.5 per 100,000 and 0.02 per 100,000 in vaccinated individuals, yielding a rate ratio for deaths of 22.3 overall. Of note, the rate ratio for deaths has held steady over the course of the latest surge.

While increases in deaths generally lag behind transmission surges, increasing the number of people who are vaccinated will help reduce the worst outcomes of Covid infections.

“I send my heartfelt condolences to those families who have lost a loved one due to COVID-19,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “Even as transmission surges, we are seeing that vaccines are doing what

they were intended to do, which is protect people from getting severely ill due to Covid.”

“We are grateful to the 80% of eligible residents who have already received at least one dose of vaccine – and we hope that the almost 2 million people who have yet to be vaccinated take time to talk with their health care provider to receive additional information about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines,” Ferrer continued. “Choosing not to take the vaccine during this explosive winter surge is very risky since so many of those ill with Covid in the intensive care units at hospitals are unvaccinated, and tragically, some of these individuals will not survive. So, as we start this new year, please protect yourselves by getting vaccinated and boosted if eligible and give others around you the peace of mind that comes from reducing the risk of a terrible outcome as more and more people are infected with this virus.”

Today, Public Health confirmed 24 additional deaths and 21,790 new cases of COVID-19. Of the 24 new deaths reported today, one person was between the ages of 18 and 29, two people were between the ages of 30 and 49, four were between the ages of 50-64, seven were between the ages of 6579, and nine were over the age of 80 years old. Of the 24 newly reported deaths, 20 had underlying conditions. Information on the one death reported by the City of Pasadena is available at www.CityofPasdena.net To date, the total number of deaths

CPUC Caps Phone Rates For Those Incarcerated

By Earl “Skip” Cooper, II President/CEO Black Business Association (BBA) The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) recently capped the rate for jail and prison phone calls in an effort to ease the financial burden on the families of incarcerated Californians. While this is a well-intentioned move, these rate caps represent a huge drop in a very short period and threaten to defund correctional facilities at a time when they are dealing with rising COVID-19 cases, severe staffing shortages, and mixed support from lawmakers.

The CPUC has failed to acknowledge that these calls are not being made with the types of phones we use outside of correctional facilities, but with secure systems designed for jails and prisons.

These phones are equipped with advanced technologies that allow correctional officers to detect nefarious behavior, solve crimes that occur within the walls of the facility, and ultimately protect the lives of both the incarcerated and employees.

The CPUC must work with a broader universe of stakeholders who have a deep understanding of the complexities of correctional spaces. Current and past officers, budget directors, telecommunication companies, and officers’ unions must be part of a conversation to facilitate a strategy that best addresses the issues while also assuring the safety of the men and women who do this crucial job for our society.

To successfully maintain state facilities operating safely, the CPUC has to either take a more gradual and sustainable approach to rate caps or immediately identify alternate streams of funding for facilities.

(GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCK PHONE)

in L.A. County is 27,671.

Public Health is reminding residents to avoid visiting the emergency room unless they need emergency medical care.

Residents should not be visiting the emergency department solely to get a COVID test or for minor complaints that could be resolved through their primary care physician. Emergency room visits should be reserved for those patients who are feeling severely ill – for example, those who are short of breath – or who have serious concerns about their health and who require immediate emergency care.

To keep workplaces and schools open, residents and workers are asked to: • Get tested to help reduce the spread, especially if you traveled for the holidays, have had a possible exposure, or have symptoms, or are gathering with people not in your household • Adhere to masking requirements when indoors or at crowded outdoor spaces, regardless of vaccination status Residents are legally required to be isolated if they have a positive COVID test result and that vaccinated close contacts with symptoms and unvaccinated close contacts need to quarantine. For updated isolation and quarantine guidance, please visit www.publichealth.lacounty.gov

COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective and are recommended for everyone 5 years old and older to help protect against COVID-19. Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status.

Appointments are not needed at all Public Health vaccination sites and many community sites where first, second, and third doses are available.

To find a vaccination site near you, or to make an appointment, please visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) or www.

VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish).

If you need assistance, you can also call 1-833-540-0473 for help: Finding an appointment Connect to free transportation to and from a vaccination site, or Schedule a home visit if you are homebound.

For more information regarding COVID-19 in LA County you can also visit the Public Health website at www. publichealth.lacounty.gov here you will find information on: COVID-19 sector protocols & best practices, COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboards, and COVID-19 Surveillance Interactive and, Recovery Dashboards