A couple in Keene, New Hampshire, is thanking the fire department for their swift action when their baby boy decided to make an early entrance into the world, arriving before they could reach the hospital.Stephanie Weston, the mother, said, “I was like, oh, I think we need to go.”As they began driving towards Cheshire Medical Center, Noah Weston, the father, realized they wouldn’t make it in time.”We start driving toward Cheshire and then she goes, ‘Oh, we’re not making it to Cheshire.’ You got to call 911,” he said.Stephanie Weston recounted the urgency of the situation, saying, “We called 911 at 2:11. And then I had him by 2:17. Oh my gosh. Yeah. I was like, I’m pushing out a baby right now, and I’m not kidding. It’s happening. And it’s happening now.”Noah Weston had prepared for the birth by watching videos on how to support his wife in the hospital room, but those plans quickly changed.”Thought I had done all the studying I needed to when it came to watching videos of like, bedside manner for the dad. What should the dad be doing to support mom in the hospital room? And I had to throw all that information away,” he said.The couple drove directly to the fire department, and shortly after arriving, their baby was born.”All of a sudden, the chief walks away from the side of our truck and goes time of birth, 2:17,” Noah Weston said.Their son, Walker, arrived happy and healthy, weighing 7 pounds, 14 ounces.”Holy cow, did this really just happen? And they took care of pretty much everything. They were fantastic,” Noah Weston said.The Westons expressed their gratitude to the fire department and the staff at Cheshire Medical Center. The family is now back home, resting and recovering.
A couple in Keene, New Hampshire, is thanking the fire department for their swift action when their baby boy decided to make an early entrance into the world, arriving before they could reach the hospital.
Stephanie Weston, the mother, said, “I was like, oh, I think we need to go.”
As they began driving towards Cheshire Medical Center, Noah Weston, the father, realized they wouldn’t make it in time.
“We start driving toward Cheshire and then she goes, ‘Oh, we’re not making it to Cheshire.’ You got to call 911,” he said.
Stephanie Weston recounted the urgency of the situation, saying, “We called 911 at 2:11. And then I had him by 2:17. Oh my gosh. Yeah. I was like, I’m pushing out a baby right now, and I’m not kidding. It’s happening. And it’s happening now.”
Noah Weston had prepared for the birth by watching videos on how to support his wife in the hospital room, but those plans quickly changed.
“Thought I had done all the studying I needed to when it came to watching videos of like, bedside manner for the dad. What should the dad be doing to support mom in the hospital room? And I had to throw all that information away,” he said.
The couple drove directly to the fire department, and shortly after arriving, their baby was born.
“All of a sudden, the chief walks away from the side of our truck and goes time of birth, 2:17,” Noah Weston said.
Their son, Walker, arrived happy and healthy, weighing 7 pounds, 14 ounces.
“Holy cow, did this really just happen? And they took care of pretty much everything. They were fantastic,” Noah Weston said.
The Westons expressed their gratitude to the fire department and the staff at Cheshire Medical Center. The family is now back home, resting and recovering.
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Absent a Hail Mary, Glenn County’s only hospital is set to close its doors in October.
Tucked between two national forests, the rural county is home to 28,000 people. Without a local emergency room, they’ll instead have to travel at least 40 minutes to a neighboring county for critical care. One hundred and fifty health workers will lose their jobs; they’re already resigning to seek work elsewhere.
The planned closure of Glenn Medical Center follows a decision by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to strip the hospital’s federal “critical access” designation, a status that has provided Glenn Medical increased reimbursement and regulatory flexibility. Without that status, the hospital’s $28 million in net annual revenue will take a hit of about 40% — a gap too large to fill any other way than closing the hospital, said Lauren Still, the hospital’s chief executive.
“It’s heartbreaking that we come to this. I am still kind of praying for that 11th-hour miracle to come through,” Still said. “But honestly, we just have to be realistic, and this is the hand we’ve been dealt.”
Over the last several months, Still and her team have been attempting to make their case with the federal health agency, even flying to Washington, D.C., in July in an attempt to lobby their case.
At the crux of the issue is a federal rule, newly reinterpreted, that requires critical access hospitals to be at least 35 miles from the next closest hospital when traveling by main roads. Officials at CMS now say that the next closest hospital, Colusa Medical Center, is only 32 miles away — three miles short of the required distance.
Glenn Medical Center and county health officials argue that most people and ambulances take a different route, I-5 to Highway 20. That route is 35.7 miles, a distance that would qualify.
“We really felt that by getting all of our stories out there … showing all of the different people that would be impacted by this decision, we really thought that would be enough information for them [CMS] to consider the human and practical considerations of their decision,” Still said. “Unfortunately, the only thing that matters is how they’re measuring the distance on the roads.”
The feds first notified Glenn Medical in April that a recertification review found the hospital was not eligible for the critical access program. Hospital officials clung to hope that an appeal and communication with the agency would clarify the situation. But in a letter dated Aug. 13, the agency told the hospital it was standing by its original decision.
“After reviewing the hospital’s additional information, CMS found that the hospital continues to not meet the distance requirement,” the letter reads.
The locations of Glenn Medical Center and its neighbor a county over have not changed since Glenn Medical first became eligible for the critical access program in 2001. CalMatters asked the federal agency why it was seeking to revoke the hospital’s designation now after more than two decades of eligibility at the same distance. The agency did not directly answer the question, but in an email simply reiterated the requirements to qualify for the program.
CMS said Glenn Medical Center could convert to another provider type in order to continue participating in the Medicare program. But Still said no other Medicare reimbursement model would pay the hospital at a financially sustainable rate. Under the critical access program, the federal government pays hospitals 101% of their costs for inpatient and outpatient services provided to Medicare patients.
U.S. Rep. Doug LaMalfa, a Richvale Republican who represents Glenn County, said he continues to have conversations with Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator at CMS. He said they last spoke last week.
“We’re not giving up by any stretch; we’re going to pull out all the stops,” LaMalfa said. “We had a really good conversation with Dr. Oz and are looking for a way to make it work because the closure is not acceptable. It’s a technical issue that we ought to find a way to work through.”
LaMalfa said he is considering introducing a bill that could update the mileage requirement or give CMS more discretion when evaluating rural hospitals. But it’s unclear that something could get done before October.
Glenn Medical Center and its staff cannot wait for much longer. The hospital announced it would keep its clinics open, but inpatient services will cease Oct. 21. Still said that’s when she expects to no longer have enough staff to be able to operate.
“We had to start talking to staff and telling staff that, “Hey, we don’t have a future here. There’s no viable path forward for us without that critical access designation,’” Still said. “At that point, we started getting staff resignations.”
With the announced closure, most Glenn County residents will have to seek emergency services either at the hospital in Colusa County or further away at Butte County’s Enloe Medical Center, a larger Level II trauma center in Chico.
“We are actively reviewing available resources to ensure our readiness to absorb anticipated increased patient volumes at the Enloe Health Emergency Department,” wrote Enloe Health in an unsigned statement.
Glenn County’s two ambulances will also have to travel further and be outside the county for longer periods of time, leaving residents with even more limited emergency resources.
The announced closure is a stark reminder of the precarious state of California’s rural hospitals. Even with increased Medicare reimbursement, Glenn Medical Center’s annual financial statements show that the hospital consistently operated in the red.
Two years ago, the state bailed out 17 rural and community hospitals – Glenn Medical was not one of them – by loaning them close to $300 million altogether. That loan program was largely prompted by the closure of Madera Community Hospital, which also left an entire county without emergency services. After bankruptcy proceedings, Madera Community is now owned and operated by American Advanced Management, a for-profit company that has made a business out of rescuing distressed and shuttered hospitals. The company also owns Glenn Medical Center.
“It’s devastating for our group from a personal perspective because we really do pride ourselves in being somebody who comes in and reopens hospitals,” Still said. “When we go into a community, we make that promise to the community that we’re not going to bail on them.”
Seven Historically Black Colleges and Universities are closed or on lockdown because of terroristic threats, according to Hearst sister stations and NBC affiliates.Alabama State University was briefly on lockdown Thursday morning because of a “terroristic threat” aimed at the campus.The university sent a statement to WVTM, stating that campus operations had been shut down that morning into the afternoon: “Alabama State University has received the all-clear from law enforcement and University officials. While the immediate threat has been resolved, all non-essential day-to-day operations remain suspended for the remainder of the day, and the campus is still closed to the public. We are still asking all students to shelter-in-place in their residence halls until further notice. The safety and well-being of our Hornet family continues to be our top priority.”FloridaIn Florida, Bethune-Cookman University is on lockdown and classes have been canceled after “a potential threat to campus safety” was made, the school told sister station WESH.GeorgiaClark Atlanta University received threats and is on lockdown, causing Spellman College to also go under lockdown because of proximity, according to a post on its social media page.”At this time, no threats have been directed toward Spelman’s campus. However, we have increased security presence across campus and at our two main entrances,” Spellman posted.LouisianaSouthern University is on lockdown due to a potential threat, according to NBC affiliate WAFB. VirginiaVirginia State University and Hampton University closed for terroristic threats, according to our NBC affiliates WWBT and WAVY. This is a developing story and will be updated as information becomes available.
Seven Historically Black Colleges and Universities are closed or on lockdown because of terroristic threats, according to Hearst sister stations and NBC affiliates.
Alabama State University was briefly on lockdown Thursday morning because of a “terroristic threat” aimed at the campus.
The university sent a statement to WVTM, stating that campus operations had been shut down that morning into the afternoon:
“Alabama State University has received the all-clear from law enforcement and University officials. While the immediate threat has been resolved, all non-essential day-to-day operations remain suspended for the remainder of the day, and the campus is still closed to the public. We are still asking all students to shelter-in-place in their residence halls until further notice. The safety and well-being of our Hornet family continues to be our top priority.”
Florida
In Florida, Bethune-Cookman University is on lockdown and classes have been canceled after “a potential threat to campus safety” was made, the school told sister station WESH.
Georgia
Clark Atlanta University received threats and is on lockdown, causing Spellman College to also go under lockdown because of proximity, according to a post on its social media page.
“At this time, no threats have been directed toward Spelman’s campus. However, we have increased security presence across campus and at our two main entrances,” Spellman posted.
Louisiana
Southern University is on lockdown due to a potential threat, according to NBC affiliate WAFB.
Virginia
Virginia State University and Hampton University closed for terroristic threats, according to our NBC affiliates WWBT and WAVY.
This is a developing story and will be updated as information becomes available.
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings has accused Florida’s chief financial officer of political motives behind the recent scrutiny of the county, following subpoenas issued to government employees amid a recent audit. During a news conference on Wednesday, CFO Blaise Ingoglia announced subpoenas involving Orange County employees accused of altering emails related to certain programs.”Upon our team’s arrival, we started receiving those tips that Orange County employees were possibly tampering with documents to circumvent our review of their egregious spending,” Ingoglia said.Ingoglia’s office received a tip from someone within the Orange County government alleging that people were changing the names of DEI files. This comes amid a recent audit alleging excessive spending within the county.16 Orange County employees and six grant programs the county supports are under the state’s microscopeThe Florida CFO wants all records on:The Black History Project, Inc.Central Florida Urban League, Inc.Zebra Youth, Inc.Caribbean Community Connections of Orlando, Inc.Orlando Youth Alliance, Inc.Stono Institute for Freedom, Justice, and Security, Inc.”It’s a critical program. I have no problem if the CFO wants to take a look at the program because we are very confident in what we’ve done,” Jeremy Levitt said.Jeremy Levitt is president of the Stono Institute.He says the program has received under 75,000 dollars over two years, and the grant expired last December.”We need to solve one of the critical issues between citizens and law enforcement. So, what we do is train young people in de-escalation.”” You normally ride around this neighborhood and hang out?” Eatonville Police Chief Stanley Murray said during a role-playing event with Levitt.Levitt teaches de-escalation during a traffic stop by knowing your rights and responsibilities.He says they’re a non-partisan and multi-ethnic racial justice and human rights organization.“We’ve trained entire groups of young white children. We’ve trained entire groups of young black and brown children. It doesn’t make any difference to us.Mayor Demings responded to the allegations on Thursday. He said, “Certainly, from a county perspective, we fully cooperated with the DOGE inquiry that was being done here. They didn’t talk to me, but they talked to our staff. And what our staff has said is that they answered whatever questions and provided whatever information was requested of them.”Demings believes the state has not shown any evidence to support the allegations and claims the county has been tried and convicted before the investigation is complete. “This community is a target. This is not about Orange County, and this is not about the employees. This is politically motivated for other reasons,” he said.Demings urged the public to “stand by” as the situation becomes clearer, emphasizing that the attacks are occurring on “good, hard-working people here within Orange County.” Ingoglia says after interviewing county employees, if more subpoenas need to be issued, he will.
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. —
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings has accused Florida’s chief financial officer of political motives behind the recent scrutiny of the county, following subpoenas issued to government employees amid a recent audit.
During a news conference on Wednesday, CFO Blaise Ingoglia announced subpoenas involving Orange County employees accused of altering emails related to certain programs.
“Upon our team’s arrival, we started receiving those tips that Orange County employees were possibly tampering with documents to circumvent our review of their egregious spending,” Ingoglia said.
Ingoglia’s office received a tip from someone within the Orange County government alleging that people were changing the names of DEI files. This comes amid a recent audit alleging excessive spending within the county.
16 Orange County employees and six grant programs the county supports are under the state’s microscope
The Florida CFO wants all records on:
The Black History Project, Inc.
Central Florida Urban League, Inc.
Zebra Youth, Inc.
Caribbean Community Connections of Orlando, Inc.
Orlando Youth Alliance, Inc.
Stono Institute for Freedom, Justice, and Security, Inc.
“It’s a critical program. I have no problem if the CFO wants to take a look at the program because we are very confident in what we’ve done,” Jeremy Levitt said.
Jeremy Levitt is president of the Stono Institute.
He says the program has received under 75,000 dollars over two years, and the grant expired last December.
“We need to solve one of the critical issues between citizens and law enforcement. So, what we do is train young people in de-escalation.”
” You normally ride around this neighborhood and hang out?” Eatonville Police Chief Stanley Murray said during a role-playing event with Levitt.
Levitt teaches de-escalation during a traffic stop by knowing your rights and responsibilities.
He says they’re a non-partisan and multi-ethnic racial justice and human rights organization.
“We’ve trained entire groups of young white children. We’ve trained entire groups of young black and brown children. It doesn’t make any difference to us.
Mayor Demings responded to the allegations on Thursday.
He said, “Certainly, from a county perspective, we fully cooperated with the DOGE inquiry that was being done here. They didn’t talk to me, but they talked to our staff. And what our staff has said is that they answered whatever questions and provided whatever information was requested of them.”
Demings believes the state has not shown any evidence to support the allegations and claims the county has been tried and convicted before the investigation is complete.
“This community is a target. This is not about Orange County, and this is not about the employees. This is politically motivated for other reasons,” he said.
Demings urged the public to “stand by” as the situation becomes clearer, emphasizing that the attacks are occurring on “good, hard-working people here within Orange County.”
Ingoglia says after interviewing county employees, if more subpoenas need to be issued, he will.
It has been a challenging time for the San Diego Zoo, where three beloved animals — a polar bear, giraffe and gorilla — died within days of each other.
The latest death occurred Monday, when Maka, a 30-year-old Western lowland gorilla, suffered a cardiac event, according to zoo officials.
His sudden death came four days after Kalluk, a 24-year-old male polar bear; and Nicky, a 28-year-old Masai giraffe, were euthanized on the same day to minimize suffering as they neared the end of their lives.
“That week was hard. We were like: ‘We just can’t catch a break right now,’” said Nicki Boyd, curator of mammals, ambassadors and applied behavior at the zoo.
The three animals were longtime residents of the zoo, capturing the eyes and hearts of visitors while helping promote conservation efforts for their species.
Kalluk, a 24-year-old polar bear at the San Diego Zoo, was euthanized on Aug. 14.
(Ken Bohn / San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance)
The woeful week began on Aug. 14, when a wildlife health and care team conducted a medical examination of Kalluk. They had noticed a change in his behavior for the past few weeks.
“Getting the call that he was in kidney failure was just a gut punch,” Boyd said.
Kalluk arrived at the San Diego Zoo as a cub in 2001 after being orphaned along with his sister, Tatqiq. Zoo officials said he was inquisitive, gentle and smart.
“His presence in Polar Bear Plunge helped foster bonds with his sister and Chinook, another orphaned female polar bear,” zoo officials said in a statement. “Through caring for Kalluk, the zoo has supported a large number of polar bear conservation projects over the years that aid in the protection of polar bears around the world.”
Kalluk had exceeded the typical lifespan of a male polar bear in the wild, which is about 18 years, according to zoo officials.
The same day Kalluk’s life was coming to an end, so was Nicky’s.
Nicky was not only the matriarch of her herd, but was believed to be the oldest giraffe in North America, according to zoo officials.
She helped show other first-time mothers how to care for their calves. Her son was also the bull of the herd.
At 28 years old, Nicky was believed to be the oldest Masai giraffe in North America, and was the matriarch of her herd at the San Diego Zoo.
(Ken Bohn / San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance)
“She just had a grandson born and to see her go up to that new mom and that new giraffe calf and nuzzle that baby, she’s always been a great leader in that giraffe herd,” Boyd said. “ She’s always been a fan favorite from guests to the employees.”
The wildlife care team was able to have quality time with Nicky, spoiling her with leaves from her favorite tree and allowing former staffers to visit and say goodbye.
“That’s what makes us feel better that her last day is not her worst day,” Boyd said.
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance staff members were still grieving when they were further rocked by Maka’s death this week.
Maka was born at the zoo and became leader of the zoo’s bachelor troop, officials said in a statement.
“He was the oldest, most experienced member and patiently guided his younger brothers, Ekuba and Denny,” the statement read.
Zoo officials said that Maka was 5 when he was diagnosed with chromosomal abnormalities and had been receiving treatment throughout his life.
“Recently, he began experiencing brief seizures, prompting our team to monitor his wellness closely and schedule ongoing comprehensive evaluations,” zoo officials said on a recent Instagram post about his death. They said he experienced a cardiac event during this week’s exam.
“Despite the heroic and sustained efforts of our wildlife health and care teams, we lost our gentle giant,” zoo officials wrote on the social media post.
Boyd, who has been working at the zoo for more than 30 years, said it was the first time three animals had been lost in such a short period.
She said the zoo is home to more than 12,000 animals, each with its own lifespan.
While death is inevitable, it’s always difficult for the wildlife health and care teams who spend years forming bonds with the animals.
Boyd said there’s some comfort in knowing the animals lived long good lives, which spoke to the attention and care they received from the staff.
Maka, who was born at the San Diego Zoo and became the leader of the zoo’s bachelor troop, died on Aug. 18.
(San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance)
“But you know, finality and letting go is always hard,” she said.
As a way to help with the grieving process, Boyd said they’ve made stickers of Nicky and Kalluk and plan to make some of Maka that will get distributed to staff.
Zoo officials have notified the public about the losses on their Instagram. Hundreds of people as well as other zoos across the country, have responded with empathy, expressing their love and support.
Boyd said the responses have helped her and the staff with their own healing processes.
“I’m so sorry! You guys have had to deal with so much loss these past two weeks, I’m so sorry! My heart goes out to you and all of the staff and volunteers,” one user commented on Instagram.
“Sending you and your teams our thoughts during this time! Be proud of the powerful conservation work you continue doing each and every day,” wrote the account for the Toronto Zoo.
A Fontana preschool that implemented an English-only policy for its employees agreed to a $200,000 settlement with California after a teacher’s aide claimed management retaliated against her for speaking Spanish. The money could be distributed to former and current employees affected by the policy.
In 2023, the state agency began its investigation into Leaps and Bounds, a private preschool and elementary school with locations in Escondido, La Puente and Fontana.
An employee of the school claimed her hours were drastically cut and that she felt discriminated against based on her cultural background. After someone overheard an employee speaking Spanish — they were asking a co-worker for a pen — the school implemented an English-only policy at work, the Civil Rights Department said. The person claimed the employees were gossiping in Spanish, so management responded by requiring employees to sign an agreement that blocked them from speaking Spanish at work, unless they needed to communicate with a parent who did not speak English, according to the settlement agreement.
“Educators deserve to feel celebrated for their heritage, but instead Leaps and Bounds’ alleged language ban fostered a hostile work culture that made staff feel unvalued and unwelcome,” Kevin Kish, director of the California Civil Rights Department, said in a statement.
California civil rights laws prohibit employers from discriminating against its employees based on their national origin, race or ethnicity, according to the Civil Rights Department.
The employee who filed the complaint was able to enter into a mediation with the state agency and their employer. Leaps and Bounds agreed to end its English-only policy and train its staff on California’s civil rights laws.
Leaps and Bounds did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for the California Civil Rights Department could not be reached for additional information about the case. The settlement will fund a $35,000 award for the employee who filed the complaint, and cover the costs that will be incurred to notify current and former employees who may be entitled to money.
With Californians angry about their skyrocketing electric bills, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order on Wednesday aimed at giving them some relief.
The governor’s order directs the state Public Utilities and Energy commissions to find ways to try to lower power bills in the future, or at the minimum to stop them from rising so quickly.
Among the actions he asks for is a closer review of how utilities are spending money to stop transmission lines from sparking wildfires. State officials say those wildfire mitigation costs now make up about 13% of customers’ monthly electric bills.
“We’re taking action to address rising electricity costs and save consumers money on their bills,” Newsom said. “California is proving that we can address affordability concerns as we continue our world-leading efforts to combat the climate crisis.”
The governor issued the executive order days before Tuesday’s election, in which kitchen-table economics is a top concern.
California now has the second-highest electric rates in the country after Hawaii. Residential customer bills have risen by as much as 110% in the last decade.
In just the past three years, bills for customers of the three biggest for-profit utilities — Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric — have increased by 20% to 50%. Those most recent rate increases were reviewed and approved by Newsom appointees at the state public utilities commission.
The executive order is just one of Newsom’s recent moves aimed at reducing soaring energy costs. In August, he and Democratic lawmakers released a suite of energy-related bills just days before the legislative session ended. That same month the governor ordered lawmakers to return to Sacramento for a special session to debate a bill that would require oil refineries to increase gasoline reserves in an attempt to prevent price spikes at the pump.
The governor’s staff say Newsom is committed to the state’s ambitious climate goals, which include having 100% clean electricity by 2045. But he has become concerned as electric rates have risen to cover the cost of the state’s fast construction of solar farms and other renewable power, they say.
Newsom’s executive order asks his administration to look for “underperforming or underutilized programs” that are paid for by electric customers that could be ended. It says any unused money in those programs should be returned to customers.
In addition, the order asks the state’s Air Resources Board to determine how the California Climate Credit could be increased. Most Californians’ get the credit twice a year on their electric and gas bills. The credit is funded by the state’s cap-and-trade program, which attempts to reduce harmful emissions.
The order also directs the state Public Utilities Commission to pursue all federal funding opportunities that could reduce electric costs.
An early plan by Newsom’s office for the executive order that was reviewed by The Times asked the public utilities commission to look into alternative ways of financing the building of electrical lines and other infrastructure. Currently, building infrastructure is a key way for utilities to boost their profits because they bill the cost back to ratepayers over many years, tacking on annual interest that is typically 10.5%.
Consumer groups say that lowering this rate could result in significant savings for customers.
The governor’s executive order released Wednesday didn’t include that provision. His staff said the directive to find other ways of financing infrastructure wasn’t included in the executive order because it would require legislative statutes to be changed.
In August, Newsom backed away from an earlier plan he had to lower the infrastructure interest rate after criticism from the big utilities and electrical workers’ union, according to a report by the Sacramento Bee.
It was early in the morning when Ben Smith drove his SUV to the top of Mountain High ski resort and looked south. Miles away and across a valley, he could see the ominous red glow of the Bridge fire amid the dark green pines of the Angeles National Forest.
By Smith’s estimate, the fire wouldn’t reach the resort for at least another day.
Then, the fire exploded.
By 6:30 that evening, the resort’s general manager would be racing east down Highway 2 past the town of Wrightwood as flames closed in on the road from both sides.
Smith had done everything he could to save the resort. He was the last to flee after his staff activated a battery of snow cannons to douse the ski area in water.
Now, there was just one thought running through his head: “Hopefully I make it out of here,” Smith recalled as he leaned against a wooden post at the resort’s Big Pines Lodge recently.
The fact the lodge and most of the nearby resort escaped the hellish firestorm is a testament to the work of Smith’s team and firefighters.
“When I left out of here … I expected to come back to everything gone,” he said.
Now, roughly one month later, tree removal crews and electrical trucks crisscross the property. Mountain High operators are optimistic that the resort will open by Thanksgiving.
“Come wintertime — when the snow comes — you won’t even know there was a fire here,” said Damaris Cand, guest services manager.
The Mount Baldy ski lifts are shrouded in smoke from the Bridge fire in Mount Baldy on Sept. 12.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
The Bridge fire began Sunday, Sept. 8, in the early afternoon, 11 miles south of the resort. By Monday, the fire was on Smith’s radar as it slowly inched closer.
On Tuesday, the fire would “explode” — engulfing tens of thousands of acres in a matter of hours, increasing in size tenfold.
At the resort’s staff meeting that early Tuesday morning, the mood was calm. The sky still was clear, and painted with the pinks and oranges of sunrise.
But Smith, who is the vice president and treasurer of the Wrightwood Fire Safe Council, saw potential for calamity, as winds were forecast to pick up.
He directed the team to start placing snowmaking guns strategically along the perimeter of the resort. Some 50 employees — enlisted from a wide range of departments — moved around the resort as the skies grew increasingly dark with smoke.
Trees around Mountain High ski resort were left scorched by the Bridge fire.
(Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)
By early afternoon, Smith could no longer see more than 100 feet in front of him. There was no way to directly monitor the fire anymore.
Ash and debris — still on fire — started falling from the sky. At one point, a burning stick about a foot long hit the ground.
Employees started leaving, worried about safety and air quality.
“I got out of here about 2 o’clock, and the sky was black,” said John McColly, vice president of sales and marketing at the resort. “A lot of smoke was being whipped up, and it had this reddish hue to it. … Just for the sake of my lungs, I probably need to get out of here,” he recalled thinking.
Then, around 4:30 p.m., the nightmare scenario that was unfathomable just a few hours earlier became reality. A wall of flames over 300 feet tall by Smith’s estimate crested the ridge, roaring with the sound of a jet engine and blasting the resort with superheated wind and debris.
What had started as cautious fire protection preparations had suddenly became a fight for survival.
Workers at Mountain High ski resort used snow fan guns to battle the flames of the Bridge fire.
(Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)
Smith directed staff to evacuate nearby campers. The team started pulling time sheets to make sure every employee was accounted for.
Smith sent another team member racing toward the snowmaking control center to activate the giant water system.
The team had stationed about 100 of their roughly 500 snow guns to defend the resort. While they could start about three quarters of them with the push of a button, the rest had to be turned on by hand.
As the majority of the staff evacuated, Smith and a handful of employees remained and raced around the property activating snow guns.
McColly monitored the fire’s progress via the resort’s live camera feed — which is intended to provide skiers a look at snow and weather conditions. He and countless others who had tuned in via social media beheld the flames with awe as they silhouetted a seemingly doomed ski lift terminal.
Smith had alerted fire crews, whom he knows personally through his role with the fire safety council and past wildfires, but they wouldn’t arrive for hours still.
A Mountain High ski resort crew works on a chairlift recently.
(Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)
At multiple points, massive explosions shook the ground, accenting the roar of the fire.
The upper elevations of the resort lost power first. By 5:30 p.m., the base area went dark as well. Without electricity, the water pumps for the snow guns fell silent. Now, the guns were powered only by gravity, which sent water rushing downhill from the 500,000-gallon reservoirs and out the guns’ nozzles.
As the fire burned through telephone poles, phone service went down.
The number of employees left at the resort dwindled to three. Then, two. Then, one: Smith.
At this point — 6:30 p.m. — fire flanked both sides of the resort. Realizing there was nothing left he could do, Smith made his escape.
“I wasn’t trying to be a hero,” he said. “I’ve got a wife and family.”
It wasn’t until night that firefighters were able to get to the scene.
Burnt trees from the Bridge fire dot the landscape in Wrightwood.
(Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)
Smith arrived back at Mountain High the next morning to assess the damage and assist firefighters. The fire continued to rage on — still with hundred-foot flames, just not fanned by violent winds.
“I came up through Wrightwood, and before you get up to our East Resort, … you’re like, ‘hey, everything’s gone,’” Smith said. “But then you hit the East Resort and start seeing green trees, and you see buildings, and you’re like, ‘Well, damn, that ain’t so bad.’”
Not only was the majority of the resort standing, but the snowmaking guns were still pouring water onto the edge of the resort.
In all, the resort had one, unessential ski lift damaged, while a few ski patrol and maintenance shacks burned down.
“I’m very proud of my team,” Smith said. “A lot of what’s still standing here is because of them.”
When the resort isn’t a victim of the fires in Angeles National Forest, it frequently provides firefighters with an invaluable operations hub. Its buildings serve as a command center, its parking lot becomes a helipad, and its water reservoirs are essential resupply stations.
“Through the years, through the fires, through the fire safe council — just having the partnerships with all those groups and to be able to have all those contacts at your fingertips is amazing,” said Smith.
It took nearly a month to secure the resort and restore power, allowing the full team of employees to safely return.
By early October, crews worked to repave Highway 2, which was left cracked and scarred from the fire and the efforts to fight it.
A sign in Wrightwood thanks emergency crews in the wake of the Bridge fire.
(Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)
In Wrightwood, residents have adorned the city with homemade signs.
A piece of plywood, fixed to the Wrightwood city line sign, with black spray-painted letters read “Thank you for saving us.” A colorful hand-painted sign with a firetruck cartoon hung next to the fire station. “We [heart sign] you,” it read.
McColly had returned to his office in a historic cabin, which now smelled like wet rags and old cigarettes.
He turned his computer screen to show a season pass special offer for the resort’s 100th anniversary. Customers would receive a special hat and pin commemorating the season. And the resort would donate $25 to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief.
The Red Cross was onsite after the fire, supporting relief efforts, McColly said. Partnering with the Red Cross is a way to say thank you and pass the help forward.
“They were great to work with,” said McColly. “They really helped us out a lot.”
The City of Tampa has begun a thorough assessment of damage and infrastructure following Hurricane Milton.
Due to the severity of the storm, certain areas of the city were more directly impacted. All roads are opened, but there are still many intersection lights out. Residents are advised to treat these areas as four way stops.
For those who have evacuated to areas outside of city limits that have not yet been deemed safe for travel, residents are advised to use extreme caution when driving.
“Our safety efforts do not end just because Milton has passed,” said Tampa Mayor Jane Castor. “The primary focus for our city, right now, is to conduct a swift and efficient damage assessment so we can get everyone back to their homes quickly, and most importantly, to get them home safely.”
In the aftermath of Hurricane Milton, Tampa Water Department staff is actively investigating and responding to water main breaks caused by storm damage. The department wants to reassure the public that staff is working to make any necessary repairs. Please keep in mind that the department continues to deliver clean, high-quality water to communities across our service area.
As recovery efforts continue, City of Tampa staff will shift resources back to making any necessary repairs to the local water distribution system, addressing larger water main breaks first. Customers will be notified if crews need to shutdown their service to repair a nearby water main break.
For more information and alerts related to post storm recovery, text TAMPAREADY or TAMPALISTA (for Spanish) to 888-777.
The student newspaper at C.K. McClatchy High School in Sacramento published a list late last month of anonymous quotes dubbed “some of the weirdest stuff” heard on campus.
The listicle included odd but innocuous lines like: “My hamster ate its babies last night,” overheard in a hallway. And, “Please, stop licking my armpits,” heard in a history class.
Then there was this: “Hitler’s got some good ideas” — a line purportedly overheard in a government class.
The decision by student editors at the newspaper, the Prospector, to publish the remark has sparked a debate about cavalier antisemitism on campus and the rights of the press — including the student press — to publish offensive speech.
In an email to families Sunday night, Principal Andrea Egan called the quote “deeply offensive” and said she promptly met with the journalism students to discuss “the importance of exercising good judgment in their editorial decision-making.”
“Please know that I am navigating this to the best of my ability within student publications’ laws governing free speech,” Egan wrote. “Nothing is more important to me than the wellness of the students and staff who come to our schoolhouse daily.”
Brian Heap, a spokesman for the Sacramento City Unified School District, said in a statement that the remark, allegedly overheard in a classroom, was not reported to a teacher or administrator prior to publication.
It was published as part of a listicle titled “What Did You Say?”
The introduction to the list of nine quotes read: “Have you ever heard something while walking in the school hallways and thought, ‘That is the strangest and weirdest thing I have ever heard in my life’? Well, we asked you to share with us some of the weirdest stuff you’ve heard. Here are some of our favorites.”
In an email to The Times, Samantha Archuleta, the faculty advisor for the journalism program, emphasized that the Prospector’s staff is composed of “14-17 year olds learning to navigate journalism.”
“All choices — topics, writing, editing, publishing — are made by students, so there will be inevitable errors,” Archuleta wrote. But she stressed that their right to publish is protected by California law and the 1st Amendment.
“Yes, our ‘explainer’ was too simplistic and unsophisticated, given the sensitivity of the quote, and we’ve discussed this error as a staff and addressed how to avoid it in the future,” she wrote. “But to be clear, the offending quote was from a student on campus, not a Prospector journalist — the Prospector was merely reporting what the student said.”
In a statement on the Prospector’s website, the student journalists said their intent was for the listicle to “expose things that are said on campus that are inappropriate at different levels.”
“While some quotations may be innocuous or even funny, none of them were meant to be seen as light-hearted, celebrated, or condoned. Instead, we hope to hold up a mirror to our richly diverse community and expose the things we and others on campus overhear daily,” the statement reads.
The statement said the Hitler comment was made by a student who was speaking among friends and was not part of a classroom discussion.
“We do believe that addressing the quotes has sparked a much-needed conversation, but the situation has escalated into something we did not intend. … It’s deeply concerning that these remarks are being said on campus without proper action from staff,” the statement reads.
The controversy at McClatchy High School comes at a volatile time, with protests over the Israel-Hamas war roiling university campuses nationwide and student journalists providing some of the most detailed, up-to-the-minute coverage of the unrest.
At UCLA last week, four student journalists who work for the Daily Bruin were attacked — sprayed with Mace and pummeled — by pro-Israeli counterdemonstrators who violently clashed with pro-Palestinian demonstrators in an encampment on campus.
The decision by the Prospector staff to publish the quote also comes amid a surge in antisemitism on school campuses — as well as a rise in vandalism at synagogues and Jewish stores, restaurants and institutions. There also has been a rise in Islamophobia and anti-Muslim sentiment and attacks nationwide.
Jay Schenirer, president of Congregation B’Nai Israel, a synagogue in the same neighborhood as McClatchy High School, told The Times that children and teenagers in his congregation were hurting and scared because of the rhetoric at their schools and that they were taking the publication of the pro-Hitler quote seriously.
It was particularly alarming, he said, that the quote was published in a list of seemingly lighthearted quotes.
“It’s hard to imagine anyone would find this funny,” said Schenirer, a former Sacramento City Council member whose adult children attended McClatchy.
On Sunday, he said, some 70 people attended a meeting at Congregation B’Nai Israel to discuss the incident, antisemitism at local schools, and how to make sure students feel safe.
They composed a list of recommendations for schools, including: designating an adult to whom students can report incidents of antisemitism; “provide administrators with additional education about free speech and where is the line, when it is crossed, and how to deal with it”; and standardizing high school ethnic studies curriculum throughout the district.
Schenirer said he had spoken multiple times with Principal Egan since the student newspaper’s publication of the offensive quote.
“We need to take this seriously,” he said. “We can’t stand by on the sidelines. We need to be very proactive about this.”
With the help of bulldozers, items including tents, chairs and yoga mats were removed Thursday morning from the UCLA encampment occupied by pro-Palestinian protesters and shoved into a large gray dumpster.
Packages of unopened plastic water bottles lay on the grass. Nearby, two white trucks held pieces of wood that had been used by protesters to barricade the camp. A group of four UCLA graduate students walked over to Dickson Court, the area on campus where the encampment once stood, carrying medical masks and other supplies for protesters, only to learn the camp had been taken down.
They decided they would give the donations to one of the other Southern California universities with encampments.
Such camps have spread to college campuses across the nation in a student movement unlike any other this century. Protesters are calling on universities to stop doing business with Israel or companies they say support the war in Gaza. On Tuesday, police arrested at least 25 protesters at Cal Poly Humboldt, where war demonstrators had taken over buildings, spurring school officials to close campus.
“I think it’s really important to stand up for what you believe in,” said a 29-year-old UCLA graduate student who requested anonymity because of the fear of reprisals. “I’ve been here a few times to give donations to people here in the encampment, and every single time, people have met me with grace and a lot of respect.”
She and her friends have brought donations of water, chips, masks and protective eyewear to the protesters throughout the week.
“I feel honored that our school is partaking in something that’s making a difference, hopefully,” said a 24-year-old graduate student who was part of the group.
Outside Dickson Court, pro-Israeli students also gathered to watch the clean-up process.
A 20-year-old UCLA undergrad, who requested anonymity because he said he feared being attacked, participated in a counterprotest on Sunday. A crowd of people from the Jewish community gathered in front of the camp and sang the Israeli national anthem, brought out a DJ and held a dance party, he said.
The undergrad, who said he is Jewish, was disheartened by the encampment, he said. But he stressed that he didn’t participate in any of the other counterdemonstrations and condemned the violence that began Tuesday night just before midnight.
Over several hours, counterdemonstrators hurled objects — including wood and a metal barrier — at those inside. Fireworkers were launched into the camp, and some counterprotesters tried to force their way in. Fights broke out, and the pro-Palestinian side used pepper spray to defend themselves.
“It was deplorable,” the undergrad said of the attack on the encampment. Violent counterprotesters “need to be punished under the maximum extent of the law. They do not represent our movement, and as such they must be punished for not acting in accordance with the law and the values they purport to uphold.”
He said he’d lost a lot of friends since the Israel-Hamas war broke out because of their different perspectives.
“It’s unfortunate because, for me, this is quite personal because I am from the Middle East,” he said. “I have family in Israel, I have family in Iran, and seeing the chaos break out in the region where my ancestry is from, it’s cutting to see individuals who have no connection to the ongoing violence say that I don’t know what I’m talking about or they can’t be friends with me because of their political stance.”
With the camp now razed, some protesters told The Times on Thursday they feared the pro-Palestinian protest’s momentum in Westwood might have stalled.
“There’s a lot of anger and frustration and desire to keep protesting, but we’re really still figuring out what that would look like,” said a 19-year-old UCLA freshman who declined to give her name.
Many seemed eager to return to protesting at UCLA, though what awaited them was unclear. A current and former student from Occidental College said they’d heeded “a call for bodies” at UCLA put out Wednesday night but figured they wouldn’t be called again with the encampment gone.
Some staff seemed more optimistic the protests would quickly be revived.
“I might go back on Friday,” said a staff member who was arrested Thursday, though she noted her plans might be dampened by sleep deprivation. When she was arrested, she said she was standing with 10 to 15 faculty or staff who were booked along with her.
Like many on Friday, the staff member declined to give her name due to fear of retaliation from the university, saying she worked in a part of the school where some colleagues seemed wary of the protests.
Some students said they were unclear whether they would face academic repercussions from protesting — although they said they’d seen some unambiguous emails from the university saying there could be “disciplinary action including suspension or expulsion.”
ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -Adjunct faculty and staff at the College of Saint Rose are demanding severance pay when the College shuts down. Some professors tell NEWS10’s Anthony Krolikowski there is currently no help to be given to them after the spring semester and summer classes end.
According to the College’s website, more than half of the faculty at Saint Rose is part-time, or adjunct. Laura Hartmann and Kelly Bird said after graduation, they eventually became adjunct professors. After years of dedication, they say it’s time the College shows support for its employees who sacrifice the most.
A union representing a portion of the 134 part-time employees at Saint Rose is advocating for what they say is “a little more than the cost of a class” for severance pay. That’s why over a week ago, the union sent out an email to the school community.
“It was the first I had heard about it. When I read the email, I got thinking about what a great idea that is,” described Adjunct Faculty Member of the Music Industry Program, Laura Hartmann.
Hartmann and Bird bring real-world experience into their classrooms, but say having part-time jobs comes with drawbacks. “So many people have kept the College running for so long without health insurance, without any other employee benefits, and an equal salary… We’re still here,” stated Senior Teaching Artist, Kelly Bird.
The two faculty members hope Saint Rose will provide the financial support they feel they’ve earned.
“They’re having to give incentives to the upper administrative people that are going to be sticking around as far as I can tell to be on-site real estate agents, if you will,” said Bird. “And they were the stewards of this school and they didn’t steward it well. That’s the part that really burns,” added Hartmann.
As far as the next steps, Bird and Hartmann are pressuring the College to do what they call the right thing in a follow-up letter to the union’s first email. “So far, they have ignored what the Union has requested. They said they will get back to us. We’ve heard nothing. So, we are waiting to see what they’re going to say.”
NEWS10 reached out to the College on where severance pay for the adjunct professors and faculty currently stands and is awaiting a response.
Just eight months after being attacked in state prison, the man convicted of killing Kristin Smart was stabbed by another inmate and hospitalized again. The incident is being investigated as an attempted homicide.
Paul Flores, 47, was convicted in 2022 of killing Smart, a Cal Poly San Luis Obispo student last seen on campus with Flores more than 25 years ago and was sentenced to 25 years to life in state prison for first-degree murder.
On Wednesday at 3:27 p.m., staff at Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga, Calif., witnessed Flores being stabbed by another inmate on the recreation yard, a spokesperson for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said.
Responding officers quickly put an end to the incident without using force, according to the CDCR. Two inmate-manufactured weapons were recovered from the scene.
An injured Flores was transported to an outside medical facility for a higher level of care. He has since returned to the prison and is in fair condition.
No other staff or incarcerated people were injured.
The person who attacked Flores, whose name was not disclosed, has been placed in restricted housing as the investigation continues, the CDCR said.
The prison’s investigative services unit is looking into the incident, and the Office of the Inspector General has been notified.
CDCR has not released any other details.
The facility did not clarify whether this was the same person who stabbed Flores last August.
In the first attack, Jason Budrow, 43, stabbed Flores in the neck, causing Flores to be hospitalized for two days, the San Luis Obispo Tribune reported.
Budrow is serving two life sentences without the possibility of parole for two separate murders, one being the murder of Roger Reece Kibbe, the serial rapist and killer known as the “I-5 Strangler.”
Flores was arrested in connection to Smart’s disappearance in 2021 after San Luis Obispo County resident Chris Lambert released the “Your Own Backyard” podcast series, which unearthed information previously unseen by the local sheriff’s office.
Smart’s body has never been found. Flores was convicted in October 2022 of murder for killing Smart, his classmate, during an attempted rape in his dorm room in May 1996.
Flores’ attorney, Harold Mesick, could not be reached for comment. KSBY reported that Mesick said he plans to request that Flores be moved to another facility.
Workers at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, one of California’s largest immigrant detention facilities, are urging the federal government not to shut it down next year following discussions over its potential closure, according to the union that represents many of them.
Randy Erwin, president of the National Federation of Federal Employees, said a contract extension by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement gives the agency until Feb. 19 to decide the facility’s future.
“This is a major employer in that area,” Erwin said. “If you close a facility like that, it would be absolutely devastating to the local economy and devastating to these workers.”
A former state prison that began operating as an ICE detention center in 2011, Adelanto currently holds few detainees though it has a capacity of 1,940. Its population dropped dramatically in 2020 after an outbreak of COVID-19 cases tore through the facility, prompting a federal judge to order the release of detainees, and to prohibit new intakes and transfers.
Adelanto has also faced scrutiny from federal and state watchdogs over health and safety violations.
In 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a warning to the GEO Group, the Florida-based private prison corporation that operates the facility, after finding that misuse of a chemical disinfectant spray caused detainees nosebleeds and nausea. A few years earlier, federal inspectors found nooses in cells and overuse of disciplinary segregation. Detainees reported waiting months to see a doctor.
ICE did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A GEO Group spokesman declined to comment, referring questions to ICE.
Advocates said closing Adelanto would be a victory for immigrants and the local community. A coalition of groups called Shut Down Adelanto has urged the facility’s closure for years.
Erwin voiced his concerns about a possible closure in a Nov. 29 letter to President Biden, noting he learned that the “dramatic underutilization” of the facility could prompt its closure on Dec. 19, when the facility contract was up, which would lead to the termination of 350 union members just days before Christmas.
“This Administration considering the closure of the Adelanto ICE Processing Center at a time when capacity is so desperately needed in this area is genuinely perplexing and seemingly counter-intuitive,” he wrote, pointing to the Biden administration’s supplemental budget request in October to fund 12,500 more ICE beds.
Erwin argued that the request was inconsistent with a closure of the Adelanto facility, which is already paid for under existing appropriations.
Workers were happy to learn they would not immediately lose their jobs, Erwin said Tuesday, but they worry about what will happen long-term.
A GEO Group economic impact analysis provided to The Times by Erwin shows the company spent more than $46 million in the city of Adelanto this year, including nearly $40 million in wages.
Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Big Bear Lake) wrote to ICE leadership on Oct. 3 urging them to seek relief from the 2020 court order so that intakes could resume. Though the population of detainees at Adelanto has dwindled, the facility has remained fully staffed and operational, he said.
“This striking example of exorbitant government waste and resource mismanagement is completely unacceptable,” he wrote, noting that Adelanto is the only detention facility in the country with an absolute intake prohibition related to COVID-19.
Carlos Castillo Mejia, 52, of El Salvador is one of the six people who remain detained at the Adelanto facility. Castillo Mejia, who has been detained there for nearly five years and is currently appealing his deportation at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, said Friday that the facility was operating as normal, with no indication from staff that it would close.
“I can’t understand how the government has thought to keep this facility open with such a minimal number of people, paying millions and millions,” Castillo Mejia said.
A sophomore at Redondo Union High School started the week by carrying a loaded firearm and a high-capacity magazine onto campus, police say.
Officers arrested the 15-year-old male student at the school after he brought the firearm onto campus. They said he did not appear to have plans for shooting the weapon at the school.
Around 10 a.m., multiple students told administrators at the school that they’d heard a student had a loaded gun on campus. School officials contacted the Redondo Beach Police Department, and officers arrived at the campus around 10:30 a.m. and found a 10th-grader with a loaded firearm and ammunition.
Redondo police investigators said an initial investigation determined that no threats had been made and there were no plans for violence. No students or staff were threatened or injured at the school, where more than 3,100 students are enrolled, according to the Redondo Beach Unified School District.
“We understand that incidents such as these are concerning,” read a statement from Jason Kurtenbach, the district’s executive director of student services. “We are working in partnership with RBPD, who will continue to have an increased presence on and around all our campuses.”
The student was arrested on suspicion of multiple firearms violations, including being a juvenile in possession of a firearm, bringing a firearm onto school property, possessing a high-capacity magazine, carrying a loaded firearm in public and possessing an unregistered loaded firearm. The booking charges will be submitted to the Los Angeles County Probation Department for filing, according to police. The student has not been identified publicly because he is a minor.
Redondo Beach police declined to specify details of the firearm possessed by the student or its provenance, citing the ongoing investigation.
“At this time, this appears to be an isolated incident involving only the student who has been arrested,” police said.
Kurtenbach said in his statement that the district would work with the student and his family regarding discipline but cited California Education Code 48900, which requires districts to expel students who bring weapons to campus.
“That said, please know that this matter has our full attention and RUHS and district administration’s work will be guided by the law and our unwavering commitment to campus safety for all students and staff,” Kurtenbach said.
Anyone with information for police can call investigators at (310) 379-2477 or text (310) 339-2362.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Tuesday appointed Carolyn Webb de Macias as chief of staff, succeeding Chris Thompson, who held the powerful post for less than a year.
Webb de Macias is a former senior advisor to former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and also worked for then-City Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas.
She also worked in the U.S. Department of Education as an appointee of President Obama, and as USC’s vice president of external relations, according to Bass’ office.
“I’ve known Carolyn for years and I know Los Angeles has benefited from her work for even longer than that,” Bass said in a statement. “Carolyn is thoughtful, skilled, dedicated and the right person for the job. I’m grateful she has agreed to join our team as we continue our work to move Los Angeles forward.”
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In a statement, Webb de Macias said she was “thrilled to work with Mayor Bass in executing her vision of improving the quality of life for all Angelenos.”
Webb de Macias, 75, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Her LinkedIn profile said she serves on the boards of the water company Cadiz Inc. and Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, a nonprofit founded by Villaraigosa.
Thompson, Bass’ chief of staff since December, is returning to the private sector, Bass’ office said. A Bass spokesman declined to comment on his new job.
Thompson previously served as senior vice president of governmental relations for LA28, the private group putting on the Olympic Games. He had agreed to stay away from any Olympics issues at the city for a year out of concern about the appearance of a conflict of interest.
Employees at a popular Los Angeles rock climbing gym walked out after learning that management had not immediately disclosed a shooting threat and that they had worked in ignorance — and possible danger, they said — for days.
According to an open letter posted by staff at Hollywood Boulders, one of five Touchstone Climbing gyms in Southern California, a gym member on Oct. 22 reported concerning text messages that they had received from another member. The letter did not repeat the messages in full but included phrases by the writer that they were “strapped” and “wanted scalps,” as well as a warning to the recipient to “avoid the gym for a while.”
The texts went on to say the gym had “been way too lenient with all the wannabes here. no mas” and that the member “already has a kill order” and “god has spoken.” When the person who received the messages asked, “wdym stay away from the gym? Everything okay?”, the member replied, “i’ll know soon enough.”
The Oct. 25 walkout coincidentally happened the same day as 18 people were killed in a mass shooting in Maine, which put people throughout the nation on edge as police hunted for the gunman, who was later found dead.
“Mass shootings happen virtually every single day in this country,” the open letter states. “This is part of our new normal.”
In a staffwide email sent Tuesday that was shared with The Times, company Chief Executive Mark Melvin said the threats were not found to be credible.
Melvin said in the email that the threats were immediately reported to law enforcement, which determined they were not credible and told company officials to “take no further action and not to alarm our staff and community.”
Although gym owners and upper management were informed of the threats, according to the open letter, staff members did not learn about them until Oct. 25. It is not clear from the letter how employees learned of the texts. Staff asked to see the messages but were unable to get them from management, the letter says, so they walked off the job, causing the gym to close early.
The letter criticizes management’s decision to withhold the threats from staff, as well as the actions taken without input from staff.
In his email to staff, Melvin said external security was hired at all five locations in Southern California, and the person who wrote the texts was banned from all gym locations.
Melvin in his email emphasized that the text message threats never specified a location, that they were not deemed credible by law enforcement, that there was no active shooter present and that the messages were simply “personal communication” between two gym members.
The gym remained closed Oct. 26 because of the walkout but reopened the following day, according to Melvin. Staff also began circulating a letter to gym members, encouraging them to freeze or cancel their memberships and to donate the funds to a GoFundMe fundraiser toward staff to make up for lost wages during the walkout.
Hollywood Boulders management did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“This is the first time we’ve experienced anything like this, and we know our response wasn’t perfect,” Melvin’s email concludes. “Given the tragic state of gun violence in our nation, we understand why some members of our community were alarmed to learn about some details of these events through various online channels.”
The UCLA Police Department is investigating a recent incident of violence as a hate crime. A student walking on the Westwood campus early Sunday was shot in the face with a BB gun.
A police report said the incident occurred about 1:30 a.m. when a white four-door sedan approached the student, who was walking on De Neve Drive near Rieber Hall, a dormitory in the northwestern part of campus.
A passenger in the back seat of the car yelled a homophobic slur, according to the report, then brandished a white BB gun and shot at the victim, striking the individual in the face and narrowly missing their eye.
The victim sustained a minor abrasion below the eye.
The driver of the vehicle was described as a male wearing a black ski mask, and the passenger who fired the BB gun was also a male, according to police.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Police offer safety tips
After the incident, police reiterated safety tips for students on campus.
In the event of an emergency, call 911; for non-emergencies, call the 24-hour UCLA Police Department line at (310) 825-1491.
The department says students should always be alert and aware of their surroundings. They should try to avoid poorly lighted or deserted areas when walking at night.
Students, as well as faculty and staff, can utilize the UCLA SafeRide service, which provides free transportation among campus buildings, on-campus housing and nearby residential areas. On-demand rides can be requested Monday through Friday from 7 p.m. to midnight, excluding holidays and seasonal breaks. Rides can be booked using the TripShot app available on Google Play or the App Store.
The continuous ride service SafeRide Loop operates in the evenings, arriving at designated stops around campus Monday through Friday from 6:45 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. — a map of the route is online.
The department also has community service officers who can escort students, faculty, staff or visitors 365 days a year from dusk until 1 a.m. Students in need can call (310) 794-9255. They should reach out 15 minutes prior to departure time. A police dispatcher will ask for the person’s name, location, the address where they need to go and a call-back number.
Lastly, the Police Department advises students to secure their residences by locking all windows and doors. They’re advised not to leave doors to buildings propped open, including entrances to campus buildings.
California hospitals and clinics were slow to carry out mandated training intended to combat unconscious bias among workers who care for pregnant patients, the state Department of Justice found in a newly released investigation.
Less than 17% of facilities that provided information to the state agency had initiated “implicit bias training” in the year after California started requiring it for pregnancy and childbirth professionals, according to the report unveiled Friday by California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta.
The numbers shot up after Bonta prodded healthcare providers about their training plans: As of summer 2022, more than 93% of medical facilities that responded had trained at least some of their staff, according to the state investigation. By that time, an average of 81% of staff in responding facilities had finished the required training, the investigation found.
Nearly a third of health facilities contacted by the Department of Justice launched their training programs only after the agency reached out to them, the report found.
The state law went into effect just weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic erupted, but Bonta and other state officials rejected that as an explanation or excuse for delays, saying the required training could be accomplished through an online video.
“It was doable then, “ Bonta said at a news conference Friday in Leimert Park. “It’s doable now.”
The training mandate was prompted by concerns that implicit bias — unconsciously held attitudes about members of a specific group — can steer the decisions of medical providers, undermining patient care.
SB 464, which was passed four years ago, required California hospitals, clinics and birthing centers that care for patients in pregnancy and childbirth to confront that problem by rolling out implicit bias programs for their staff. “Refresher” trainings for healthcare providers are also required every two years.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell, who authored SB 464 as a state senator, said that while drafting the law, she and others were appalled to learn about persistent misconceptions about Black women among medical students. Mitchell said surveys showed that “they thought our threshold for pain was higher, that our skin was thicker and more difficult to penetrate to receive medication.”
To think that such attitudes persisted in 2019 “literally took our breath away,” she said.
SB 464 spelled out specific requirements for the training content, including identification of unconscious biases; corrective measures to reduce such bias at both the interpersonal and institutional levels; and information on the effects of historical and contemporary exclusion and oppression of minority communities.
State officials said such training is urgent due to the crisis facing Black patients in childbirth. Across the country, Black women have been about 2½ times more likely than their white and Latina counterparts to die during pregnancy, childbirth and its aftermath, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In a national survey, 30% of Black women reported mistreatment during maternity care and 40% reported discrimination; both rates were much higher than among white or Asian American women.
California has reduced its rates of maternal death over time, but they have remained more than three times higher for Black patients than for those of many other racial and ethnic backgrounds.
“Far too many Black women are dying during and post-childbirth in L.A. County, in the state of California, and across the country,” Mitchell said Friday. “And what’s so deeply offensive about that is it’s within our power to change that.”
In L.A. County this year, family and friends called for justice after the deaths of April Valentine and BridgetteCromer, also known as Bridgette Burks. Both were Black women who lost their lives after childbirth at local hospitals. Bothhospitals were faulted by state investigators in the aftermath of their deaths.
Mitchell said it was painful to see that women in her county district had “died unnecessarily because they weren’t listened to, they weren’t attended to, they were in hospitals who should and must do better.”
A spokesperson for the California Hospital Assn., which supported the legislation, said hospitals in the state are committed to reducing health disparities and “still working toward full compliance despite the challenges created by the COVID pandemic that surfaced just a few months after” SB 464 passed.
Californians can check how far their local hospitals had gone toward training staff as of last year: The report released Friday includes a list of facilities that provide pregnancy care and the percentage of their covered staff that had finished the required training by July 2022. Across the state, those figures ranged from 0 to 100%.
Bonta said deadlines for finishing the required trainings, clear mechanisms for state enforcement, and consequences for hospitals that flout the California law are needed to improve compliance. He said he was committing to working with state lawmakers “to address these issues with future legislation.”
