COVID-19 cases are again surging. Hospital Intensive Care Units are filled to capacity. Please take care to have a safe and healthy holiday with loved ones. Wear a mask when you encounter anyone outside your immediate household. Keep social distance. Do your best to stay home. Protect your loved ones bny protecting yourself and those around you.
A vaccine is now available, though distribution is very limited to those most at-risk of infection, including healthcare workers in COVID-19 treatment units. It will ikley not be readily available to the general public for mnths. It remains the responsibility of each of us to take care to protect everyone we come in contact with. That means wearing masks, keeping social distance and limiting interactions with those outside our immediate household.
In Washington, senior lawmakers were working Sunday to finalize legislation on coronavirus relief after they reached a compromise late Saturday on a major hurdle holding up the expected $900 billion package. A roadblock emerged Friday as Democrats accused Republicans, namely Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, of trying to encumber the Biden administration by cutting off the Federal Reserve's emergency lending abilities under the CARES Act to protect the battered economy. Lawmakers came to an agreement on the issue late Saturday, sources said.
Wells Fargo announced a $2.6 million small business recovery grant to Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) Pacific Coast Regional Small Business Development Corporation (PCR) and Genesis LA Economic Growth Corporation (Genesis LA) to help small businesses manage the economic effects of COVID-19 during the holiday season and beyond. Wells Fargo’s funding will help increase access to capital with low rate loans for diverse Los Angeles County small businesses that have been negatively impacted by the pandemic. The grant is part of Wells Fargo’s Open for Business Fund (OFB) program, which launched as an approximately $400 million small business recovery effort across the U.S. to help entrepreneurs recover and rebuild. The initiative focuses on three key areas: increasing access to capital through CDFIs, technical assistance, and long-term recovery and resiliency programs for diverse small businesses.
With $2.1M in funding from the Open For Business Fund, Pacific Coast Regional has established the People of Color Business Elevation Fund focused on helping Black and Brown small businesses across southern California recover. The People of Color Business Elevation Fund will provide low rate micro-disaster loans up to $50,000 to eligible and impacted diverse small businesses. Those interested in applying can apply now at https://pcr.lendwithspark.com/widget/leadframe/?version=16#step2
Genesis LA will deploy its $550,000 award to provide financial support to small businesses who are struggling to pay bills due to lower profit margins and higher expenses as a result of the pandemic. With support from Wells Fargo, Genesis LA will provide flexible and forgivable loans to minority led businesses across Los Angeles County. Small business owners interested can begin applying early 2021.
The College Football playoff game originally scheduled for the Rose Bowl has been moved to Texas. College coaches objected to a game without players families allowed to attend. The Rose Bowl asked the State of California for an exemption, but were denied. It remains to be seen if the name Rose Bowl will be attached to the game as the City and Tournament have to approve any change in use for the name. Maybe we just call it what it is and finally have a Toilet Bowl Game. /
Late Sunday, From the New York Times: Congressional leaders reached a deal on a $900 billion economic stimulus bill. A vote is expected soon. The bill “has probably spared millions of Americans from a winter of poverty and kept the country from falling back into recession,” according to a Times analysis. And “it may provide a bridge to a vaccine-fueled rebound” next year.
Central to the bill are one-time stimulus checks of $600 per person in households making up to $75,000. The bill is also expected to include an expansion of jobless benefits by up to $300 per week for 11 weeks and money for small businesses and schools. Here’s what it means for you. A late sticking point in the stimulus talks had been a Republican proposal to restrict the Federal Reserve’s ability to loan money to businesses. In the end, the bill will ban only a narrow set of such programs.
Also, a Centers for Disease Control panel set the stage for the next vaccine rollouts, prioritizing people over 74 and essential workers.
Cheers here were muted. An off-campus housing coordinator at Humboldt State University told my colleagues Carly Stern and Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs that a $600 check — about half of what the government sent out in April — would be “a joke” in high-cost Northern California. Nor did the package include money for state or local governments, quashing hopes that California cities might avoid deep budget cuts.
Meanwhile, with infections at supermarkets soaring in Los Angeles County, a doctor at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center told The Los Angeles Times that one rich patient suggested a $25,000 donation in exchange for vaccination ahead of essential workers. And health care workers at Stanford Medical Center protested after a vaccine plan there left out medical residents and fellows.
Pasadena: Pasadena recorded 108 new coronavirus cases on Staurday and one fatality. Last week, Pasadena saw a record number of COVID-19 infections detected in the city on Thursday at 201, along with three fatalities. And while the all-time high record of 135 cases reported on Wednesday was partially bolstered by backlogged data, no backlog was believed to be affecting the data on Thursday, according to city officials. Two of the newly reported deaths were those of members of the general community, city spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said. One of them was believed to have acquired the virus from a family member, while the other was described as a “caregiver.” The third death was that of a resident at a skilled nursing facility, she said. Information regarding the ages and genders of the latest victims was not available. Saturday’s tallies raised the city’s overall totals to 5,497 COVID-19 infections and 145 deaths, according to city data.
On December 8th, all retail food establishments were notified via email that the City will allow restaurants to maintain outdoor furniture for public use during the State's latest Safer At Home Order. While most restaurateurs have already removed their tables, chairs and outdoor furniture from their outdoor dining areas, restaurants have the option to maintain tables, chairs and other fixtures for public use during the time that outdoor dining is prohibited. To read the full text of that email, click here.
Huntington Hospital will soon begin using its surge tents due to an increasing influx of patients battling the coronavirus, according to a statement issued by a hospital official. Huntington Hospital reported treating a record of 147 COVID-19 patients, with 26 of them being housed in the hospital’s 30 available intensive care units.
Public Health officials on Saturday announced 13,756 new COVID-19 cases and 60 more deaths on Saturday. Last Monday, L.A. County health officials announced that available capacity in the 11-county Southern California region has dropped to zero, according to figures released on Thursday.
The county also estimates that one of every 80 residents not hospitalized or in quarantine or isolation is infected with the virus, likely without knowing it or showing any symptoms, yet still capable of infecting others.
California: California is the new epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S., with more new cases than many entire countries--including Britain, Germany and India--in the last couple of days, Reis Thebault writes for The Washington Post. The state reported more than 50,000 new cases on Thursday, and capacity in hospital intensive care units in Southern California dropped to zero percent.
As of December 18, California has 1,764,374 confirmed cases of COVID-19, resulting in 22,160 deaths. The number of COVID-related deaths increased by 1.4 percent from the prior day total of 21,860. The number of COVID-19 diagnostic test results in California reached a total of 28,741,027, an increase of 284,669 tests from the prior day total. The rate of positive tests over the last 14 days is 11.8 percent. The number of hospitalizations due to confirmed and suspected COVID-19 cases in California reached a total of 16,965, an increase of 539 from the prior day total. The number of ICU patients due to confirmed and suspected COVID-19 cases in California reached a total of 3,553, an increase of 161 from the prior day total.
The U.S.: More than 17.2 million people in the U.S. have tested positive for the coronavirus and more than 311,00 have died, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker.
Twice now, courts have ruled that the bans on outdoor dining:
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Chalfant ruled that the county failed to perform the necessary risk-benefit analysis when the decision was made. Los Angeles County on Thursday appealed a judge’s decision that barred an extension of its temporary ban on outdoor dining, calling the ruling “plainly erroneous and directly contrary to governing law.” L.A. County Superior Court Judge James Chalfant ruled last week that the county should not be allowed to continue the ban indefinitely and would need to provide a risk-benefit analysis to justify the restriction if it wanted to extend the ban beyond its initial three weeks, which ended Wednesday. The Department of Public Health, which issued the order in late November, said the law is clearly on its side. “The law says that in a public health crisis, the health officer must act urgently and swiftly to stop the transmission of disease and to protect public health and safety,” department officials said in a statement.
A California judge cleared the way Thursday for all restaurants in San Diego County to resume on-site dining, marking a major, if temporary, setback to the governor’s stay-at-home order to slow the spread of the coronavirus before the state's intensive care units run out of beds. Gov. Gavin Newsom immediately appealed, bringing uncertainty to restaurant owners weighing whether to buy food and schedule staff a week before Christmas amid the possibility that their victory could soon be reversed. The case brought to the court by two San Diego strip clubs handed the biggest victory yet to California businesses fighting public health orders that they say have crippled them economically. San Diego Superior Court Judge Joel Wohlfeil said his ruling Wednesday was “straightforward” in going beyond the strip clubs that sued the county and state, Cheetahs Gentlemen’s Club and Pacers Showgirls International. County officials requested the hearing to clarify its scope. “It is intended to encompass all restaurants within the county of San Diego,” he said in a brief hearing that lasted all but eight minutes. The San Diego county board of supervisors was scheduled to meet Friday in closed session to discuss next steps. The board voted 3-2 last week to appeal any adverse ruling on the strip clubs but that decision didn't cover restaurants, rending it moot.
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Employment in LA County: The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Los Angeles County decreased over the month to 11.0 percent in November 2020, from a revised 12.0 percent in October 2020, and was above the rate of 4.3 percent one year ago. Civilian employment decreased by 31,000 to 4,424,000 in November 2020, while unemployment decreased by 63,000 to 546,000. The civilian labor force decreased by 94,000 over the month to 4,970,000 in November 2020. (All of the above figures are seasonally adjusted.) The unadjusted unemployment rate for the county was 10.6 percent in November 2020.
The California seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 8.2 percent in November 2020, 9.0 percent in October 2020, and 3.9 percent a year ago in November 2019. The comparable estimates for the nation were 6.7 percent in November 2020, 6.9 percent in October 2020, and 3.5 percent a year ago.
Between October 2020 and November 2020, total nonfarm employment in Los Angeles County increased by 29,800 to 4,257,400.
- Countywide job levels grew by 29,800 over the month and reported an average sized seasonal increase. A total net growth of 341,100 job additions since the 716,100 losses, sustained in March and April, have made up 47.6 percent of the job deficit.
- Holiday seasonal hiring drove up employment in trade, transportation, and utilities (up 22,700) with job additions centered on retail trade (up 15,100) and transportation, warehousing, and utilities (up 7,700). Retail trade reported increases across almost every industry group, led by job gains in general merchandise stores (up 5,300) and clothing and clothing accessories stores (up 4,300). Transportation, warehousing, and utilities made up the remainder of the industry increase with job activity on the rise in all industry groups except for a decline in transit and ground passenger transportation (down 100). Utilities remained unchanged at 12,600 jobs.
- Industries that also posted month-over job additions include educational and health services (up 3,900), leisure and hospitality (up 3,600), government (up 3,400), information (up 600), professional and business services (up 500), financial activity (up 300), and other services (up 100). Mining and logging remained unchanged.
- Construction reported a larger than normal month-over reduction totaling 3,300 jobs. This was the first time the industry had experienced job cuts since April, when public health concerns led to business closures. The reductions were evident across every industry group, specifically construction of buildings (down 1,700) and specialty trade contractors (down 1,400).
Between November 2019 and November 2020, Los Angeles County nonfarm employment decreased by 386,100, or 8.3 percent.
- Nonfarm employment remained below year-ago levels with every industry sector posting job reductions. Leisure and hospitality (down 140,200) reported the largest job decline and accounted for 36 percent of the year-over contraction. Reductions were largest in accommodation and food services (down 120,100), specifically food services and drinking places (down 99,700). Arts, entertainment, and recreation (down 20,100) made up the remaining job losses.
- Professional and business services reported a loss of 47,000 jobs. Administrative and support and waste services (down 25,200) accounted for the majority of the industry decline, with employment services (down 14,200) reporting the largest job cuts. Reductions were also listed in professional, scientific and technical services (down 18,300) and management of companies and enterprises (down 3,500).
- Every remaining industry sector reported year-over job contractions including educational and health services (down 37,900), information (down 36,400), trade, transportation and utilities (down 34,000), other services (down 31,900), government (down 30,000), manufacturing (down 24,400), construction (down 3,100), financial activities (down 1,000), and mining and logging (down 200).
Unemployment in Pasadena is 8.3%.
At least two million workers have turned to their workplace retirement plans for cash under temporary rules created during the pandemic. But so far, most people have left their accounts alone. Since the pandemic began rippling through the economy in March, more than 2.1 million Americans have pulled money from retirement plans at the five largest 401(k) plan administrators — Fidelity, Empower Retirement, Vanguard, Alight Solutions and Principal. These workers, especially those in hard-hit industries like transportation, manufacturing and health care, have been helped by more flexible withdrawal rules created by the coronavirus relief legislation known as the CARES Act. Even with millions unemployed and the economy’s recovery shaky at best, that’s only about 5 percent of the eligible 401(k) and 403(b) clients across all of those companies. But that’s still higher than in a more typical year, when many participants can still generally withdraw money for hardships, albeit under a stricter set of rules.