Why the Los Angeles County spread may not slow down enough

 After days of advance notice, here’s Los Angeles County trying to balance controlling the increased spread of Coronavirus and continuing hospitalizations plus deaths with the no doubt forcefully stated reluctance to return to springtime closures from various businesses.  Essentially, much of this requires people to be on the honor system between November 30th and December 20th.  Given what looks to be a post-Thanksgiving uptick in infections and deaths plus Trump/Fox News-turbocharged encouragement of recklessness in the cloak of observing traditions, Los Angeles County is in for a rough three weeks. 

[Quoted from DEADLINE article]

Here are details about the stricter limits on L.A. County residents that will begin Monday as a result of a fifth consecutive day of 4,500 or more new cases of Covid-19:

• Gatherings: all public and private gatherings with individuals not
  in your household are prohibited, except for church services and protests,
  which are constitutionally protected rights.
• Occupancy limits at various businesses; all individuals at these
  sites are required to wear face coverings and keep at least 6 feet of distance:
• Essential retail: 35% maximum occupancy;
• Nonessential retail (includes indoor malls): 20% maximum occupancy;
• Personal care services: 20% maximum occupancy;
• Libraries: 20% maximum occupancy;
• Fitness centers operating outdoors: 50% maximum occupancy;
• Museums galleries, zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens operating outdoors: 50% maximum occupancy;
• Mini-golf, batting cages, go-kart racing operating outdoors: 50%
  maximum occupancy;
• Outdoor recreation activities all which require face coverings (except for swimming) and distancing: Beaches, trails and parks remain open; gatherings at these sites with members outside your household are prohibited.
• Golf courses, tennis courts, pickleball, archery ranges, skate parks, bike parks and community gardens remain open for individuals or members of a single household. Pools that serve more than one household may open only for regulated lap swimming with one person per lane. Drive-in movies/events/car parades are permitted provided occupants in each car are members of one household.
• Schools: All schools and day camps remain open adhering to reopening protocols. K-12 Schools and Day Camps with an outbreak (3 cases or more over 14 days) should close for 14 days.
• Closed nonessential businesses/activities:
• Playgrounds (with the exception of playgrounds at childcare and schools;
• Cardrooms;
• Restaurants, bars, breweries and wineries remain closed for in-person dining and drinking because of the high rates of transmission in the community, as customers are not wearing face coverings, which results in  an increased chance of transmission of the virus. Restaurants, wineries and breweries remain open for pick-up, delivery and take-out. Breweries and wineries remain open for retail sales at 20% occupancy.

Re this morning's L.A. City Council meeting about nonprofits' $1/year leases.

The item below was part of this morning's Los Angeles City Council meeting; essentially, it was intended to end the $1 per year lease for nonprofit organizations (including Venice's Beyond Baroque). Highlighting below is by me.

ITEM NO. (9)
08-2762 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS and BUDGET AND FINANCE COMMITTEES’ REPORT relative to a proposed Non-Profit Lease Subsidy and Real Property Sale Policy. Recommendations for Council action: 1. ADOPT a Non-Profit Lease Subsidy and Real Property Sale Policy, including eligibility criteria/general terms and conditions, as specified in Attachment I of the Committee report, with a sunset clause of five years from the date of Council adoption unless extended by Council. 2. INSTRUCT the General Manager, Department of General Services (GSD), to prepare lease agreements for qualifying non-profit organizations for a minimum 5 year term, in accordance with the Non-Profit Lease Subsidy and Real Property Sale Policy, for consideration and recommendation by the Municipal Facilities Committee to the Council. 3. INSTRUCT the City Clerk to track the number and amount of subsidies for below market rate leases and real property sales by Council District and forward that information to the City Administrative Officer (CAO) for inclusion in financial status report. 4. INSTRUCT the CAO and the Chief Legislative Analyst (CLA), with input from the City Attorney and other appropriate departments, to develop application procedures, consistent with those adopted for Special Events Fee Subsidies. 5. REQUEST the City Attorney to prepare any necessary ordinance or amending ordinance to implement the policy or procedures including: a. Possible addition of a sole source requirement into the policy regarding sales of City-owned property to non-profit organizations, in addition to the established City process to declare surplus property. b. Additional language to differentiate non-profit organizations that work directly on behalf of the City from the broader definition of non-profit organizations. 6. REQUEST the Board of Commissioners of Airports, Harbor, Water and Power, Recreation and Parks and Library to consider adopting a Non-Profit Lease Subsidy and Real Property Sale Policy similar to that specified in Attachment I of the report, to the extent that terms and conditions are applicable. Further, provide a written response within 30 days to the Budget and Finance Committee regarding the applicability of such a policy on department operations and continue to provide status reports every calendar quarter, until such a policy is adopted, as applicable (Note: The Department of Recreation and Parks already has an adopted "Board Policy on Partnerships"). WEDNESDAY 05-19-10 PAGE 11
7. INSTRUCT the CAO and the CLA to review this policy and report back to the Council regarding the fiscal impact on the City in conjunction with the City's annual budget deliberation. 8. INSTRUCT the CAO and the CLA to report on: a) The timeline needed by the GSD to negotiate new leases with non-profit organizations; b) more detailed estimates of potential revenue as a result of new lease agreements; and, c) the timeline required to implement the tracking and reporting process. 9. INSTRUCT the CAO and CLA to expand the subsidy referenced in Attachment I to include any eligible funds that the Council District has direct control over and not limit the subsidy to the Special Fund Fee Subsidy Reimbursement line item only. 10. INSTRUCT the CAO and CLA on Attachment II of the Committee report to change all waiver references from a waiver to a subsidy. 11. INSTRUCT the CAO and CLA on Attachment II to evaluate and report on the need to include under Real Property Sales the requirement for a non-profit organization to create or retain one full-time equivalent, permanent job for each $10,000 of market rate sale price waived (subsidized). Fiscal Impact Statement: The CAO and CLA report that adoption of this policy is anticipated to increase General Fund and Special Fund receipts, primarily from limiting lease subsidies to 50 percent of market rate which is estimated to generate rental receipts of approximately up to $1.5 million annually. Community Impact Statement: None submitted.