April 15, 2020 Media Brief
Coronavirus
Voice of OC: OC District Attorney fighting release of nearly 300 people during pandemic
During an update to county supervisors Tuesday, Spitzer said since the county’s top law enforcement officials have come to an agreement to thin the jail population to combat the virus spread, prosecutors are fighting about 300 cases of people trying to get out on bail.
Voice of OC: Santa Ana freezes rent increases for residents
Landlords won’t be able to raise rents on Santa Ana residents until at least May 31, under a new emergency order that stretches protections for residents strained financially by the local coronavirus crisis.
Voice of OC: OC secures 500 motel rooms for homeless during pandemic
Orange County officials have secured roughly 500 hotel and motel rooms to house homeless people during the new coronavirus pandemic. The virus has killed 19 people out of 1,283 confirmed cases in OC as of Monday afternoon. There’s also 103 people in the hospital, with 51 in intensive care units.
Voice of OC: Are OC ambulances ready for a potential surge in COVID-19 patients?
Efforts to lay off ambulance crews elsewhere in California amid a drop in transports have prompted county officials to highlight statewide concerns about whether ambulance companies will be prepared if there’s a surge in COVID-19 patients.
Voice of OC: Huntington Beach parents and activists in uproar over proposal to close school serving many Latino and low-income kids
Opponents to the proposal — many of them teachers, parents, and social justice groups – say the closure would deal a discriminatory blow to low-income students and their parents at the school, many of whom speak Spanish as a first language.
Labor
CNET: Amazon fires two tech workers for criticizing warehouse work conditions
Amazon has fired two tech workers after they spoke out publicly against warehouse conditions during the coronavirus pandemic. User experience designers Emily Cunningham and Maren Costa, both active members of the advocacy group Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, had reportedly offered match donations up to $500 for warehouse workers, citing insufficient protections.
California
LA Times: California, Washington and Oregon form western state pact
Gov. Gavin Newsom and his counterparts in Washington and Oregon announced “a regional pact to recovery” from the coronavirus crisis on Monday and agreed to work together to develop a plan to lift restrictions on daily life and reopen economies along the West Coast.
KTLA: Doctors and nurses still have to reuse N95’s despite promises of more masks
The nurse keeps her mask in a Tupperware container. In an unwelcome daily ritual, she dips her face in the plastic tub to put on and take off her N95 respirator, careful not to touch the front in case it is contaminated with the coronavirus.
Publication Date: April 15, 2020
