We’ve gotten questions about LA’s new COVID-19 Safer at Home Orders.
It’s understandable! Orders are changing quickly: the county amended its rules Monday, the city did the same Wednesday, and the state may impose stricter rules soon.
Here’s what you need to know. (thread)
On Monday, due to rapidly rising COVID-19 infections, LA County instituted new restrictions.
The order prohibits gatherings of multiple households, with exceptions for religious services and protests that follow social distancing guidelines. latimes.com/california/sto…
Outdoor dining is closed, but you can still order delivery or pick up from restaurants.
Nonessential retail businesses can stay open at 20% capacity.
Once a region dips below 15% ICU capacity it will have to close personal care services, like nail salons and barbershops, and overnight stays at campgrounds.
All stores -- essential and nonessential alike -- will have to reduce capacity to 20%. latimes.com/california/sto…
This means that nonessential retail stores in LA will continue the same as they are now.
But essential retailers, like supermarkets and drugstores, will have to reduce their capacity significantly to comply.
Hotels use will also be prohibited for tourism, leisure, and other nonessential reasons.
But entertainment production, sports without live audiences, medical offices, outdoor areas, and childcare and pre-k centers will stay open.
If you have any other questions about these orders, please reach out to us and we will do our best to get them answered.
Until we take office on Dec 14, the best way to reach us is by emailing contact@nithyaforthecity.com or calling (323) 300-4872.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
Last Wednesday, families were forcibly removed from vacant state-owned homes in El Sereno. They were charged with crimes and made homeless on the eve of Thanksgiving.
El Sereno has a long and complicated relationship with the state of CA.
For decades, CalTrans bought homes (and forced sales through eminent domain) to build an extension of the 710 freeway directly through the neighborhood. laist.com/2020/11/26/chp…
In response to sustained pushback, the project died in 2018 and CalTrans committed to sell its 460 homes.
But a lack of urgency, as well as state laws limiting how the homes could be sold, have led to very few sales. And as many as 170 have sat vacant. latimes.com/socal/la-canad…
LA's Council District 4, where I’m running, cuts through K-town, Mid-Wilshire, Sherman Oaks, Toluca Lake, Los Feliz, Hollywood and Silver Lake.
This wasn’t always the case! CD4’s been wildly gerrymandered over the years. Here’s how it’s changed, and why we need reform. (thread)
When Harold Henry was elected to CD4 in 1945, the district was square and compact, bounded by Fountain Ave, Wilshire Blvd, Fairfax Ave, and Catalina Street.
Henry was lauded for beautifying the Miracle Mile -- but voted against a $1 million proposal for public housing.
John Ferraro was appointed to CD4 in 1965, and went on to serve nine terms (this was before the three-term limits we have now).
CD4 changed shape a few times, but the 1982 redistricting plan from the City Council was so egregious it got the attention of the *US Justice Dept.*
The love we've received, today and all week, has me at a loss for words. We're thrilled that our campaign to build a more just, sustainable LA is resonating.
But voting has begun. If we’re going to see this through and win, we need you now.
Here's how to help. (thread)
Texting and calling friends who live in the district about our campaign is the best way to help us win.
Here’s a CD4 map. It includes:
Sherman Oaks
Hollywood Hills
Toluca Lake
Los Feliz
Larchmont
Hancock Park
Mid-Wilshire
And parts of Silver Lake, Koreatown, and Hollywood.
Telling friends, co-workers, or family members in CD4 that you support our campaign is hugely impactful. Feel free to send them our policy platforms at nithyaforthecity.com!
In recent studies, more than 60% of renter households in LA were considered rent-burdened (meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent), and the county faced a deficit of more than 500,000 affordable units.
That was before the pandemic.
Funding, siting, and building affordable housing in LA is extremely difficult. It’s a maze of approvals and applications, on razor-thin margins. Often, affordable projects lose out to more expensive ones.
How can we prioritize the kind of housing we need the most?
I want to share a few things I learned while researching our campaign’s Small Business platform.
In the LA metro area, 15,000 small businesses have closed since March -- 7,500 permanently. That’s more than anywhere in the country. (thread) yelpeconomicaverage.com/business-closu…
Small businesses are the backbone of our local economy.
They generate more jobs per unit of sales than large chains and, on average, 48% of each purchase is recirculated locally, compared to less than 14% of purchases at chain stores. cdn.ilsr.org/wp-content/upl…
Rent burden is among the biggest issues facing small businesses that have seen their revenues flatline due to COVID-19.
In response, LA needs to actively incentivize and mediate lease renegotiations in situations where landlords have refused to budge.
LA is home to the largest population of Armenian people in the world outside of Armenia. Today, many are rightfully terrified by violent aggression from Azerbaijan and Turkey in the region of Artsakh.
Here's what's happening, and why we stand with Armenians. (thread)
Artsakh is a de facto independent state of ethnic Armenians, adjacent to Azerbaijan.
Rising nationalism in Azerbaijan has led to the country attempting to gain sovereignty over this region with military force, supported by Turkey.
At the end of September, the Azerbaijan military attacked the capital of Artsakh, targeting civilian buildings and holy sites with cluster bombs.