Following a shaky rollout of the state’s COVID-19 vaccination efforts, officials struck a far-reaching agreement with Blue Shield to oversee the distribution of vaccine doses to counties, pharmacies and private healthcare providers. latimes.com/california/sto…
The decision marks a sharp turn away from a more decentralized process that has been criticized for inconsistency across regions of the state.
It will also mean the outsourcing of tasks that have been overseen by state and local government officials. latimes.com/california/sto…
A spokesman for the California Department of Public Health said Wednesday that the contract is expected to be finalized soon and that the transition in oversight will take several weeks. latimes.com/california/sto…
Blue Shield, as the statewide vaccine administrator, will be tasked with managing the flow of vaccination requests and deliveries using new guidelines from state officials that determine the order in which Californians will be eligible to be inoculated.
Those guidelines are expected to abandon some of the state’s more detailed categories of eligibility by employment, instead favoring a yet-to-be-explained approach based largely on age. latimes.com/california/sto…
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The University of California’s record-shattering applications for fall 2021 show remarkable surges in Black, Latino and other underrepresented students seeking admission. latimes.com/california/sto…
UCLA and UC Berkeley, the system’s two most selective campuses — where diversity particularly tumbled after affirmative action was banned in public schools more than two decades ago — achieved historic gains, according to preliminary UC data. latimes.com/california/sto…
Overall, UC’s nine undergraduate campuses drew a record number of applicants totaling 249,855, a 16.1% leap over last year.
Among Californians, Black freshman applicants increased by 21.8%. Latinos rose by 12.2%.
For the first time in more than two months, Angelenos can now grab a bite to eat at one of the region’s restaurants. latimes.com/california/sto…
L.A. County officially lifted its ban on outdoor dining Friday, removing the proverbial padlock from restaurant patios following a lengthy public health closure. latimes.com/food/story/202…
The move represents not just a desperately needed boost for the county’s hospitality industry but the relaxation of what proved to be one of the more controversial rules the county has put in place throughout the course of the pandemic. latimes.com/california/sto…
As Times columnist @hiltzikm laid out this week, GameStop’s stock was heavily shorted, meaning that a number of large financial firms had placed bets that its stock price would go down. latimes.com/business/story…
Reddit users saw an opportunity in that fact.
If they could push the price of GameStop stock up by simply buying a lot of it, then at a certain point all the short sellers would be forced to buy the Redditors’ stock at the new high price. latimes.com/business/techn…
.@WendyWilliams built her empire on gossip, but as her marriage publicly unraveled, the tabloid glare flipped back on her.
We talked to the drama magnet ahead of Lifetime's airing of two projects exploring her career and not-so-private personal struggles latimes.com/entertainment-…
These 2️⃣ are airing Saturday on Lifetime:
• Wendy Williams: The Movie🎬 — a biopic that speedily traces her rise to shock-jock infamy
• Wendy Williams: What a Mess!🎬 — a documentary in which she opens up about her private life & professional triumphs latimes.com/entertainment-…
Do you think Wendy Williams has ever regretted anything she's ever said? (Here's a hint: No.)
Our @MeredithBlake talked to the queen of celebrity tea spilling, and she had *a lot* to say.
It’s the “Hunger Games”-like situation in Los Angeles' vaccine rollout that galls Dr. Jerry P. Abraham, an epidemiologist who has spent much of his career advocating for equity in healthcare, columnist @Erika_D_Smith writes.
Abraham and his team at Kedren Health aren’t waiting for top-down fixes from politicians. In a matter of weeks, they have pioneered a number of workarounds to ensure that the people in South L.A. who need the vaccine most — healthcare workers and those over age 65 — can get it.
Kedren Health is determined to help residents from South L.A., who often don’t have internet access, a computer or even a smartphone. Volunteers with paper forms are on hand to collect people’s information when they arrive and enter it into the county’s online database later.
California’s unemployment benefits system remains mired in dysfunction, leaving many jobless workers in dire straits after their efforts to receive financial assistance have been stymied by jammed phone lines and failed technology. latimes.com/california/sto…
Millions of out-of-work Californians are still waiting for money they desperately need to avoid ending up on the streets.
Payments have instead gone to fulfill fraudulent claims filed in the names of prison inmates, infants and people in other states. latimes.com/california/sto…
Adding insult to injury, state officials acknowledged this week that more than $11 billion in benefits were paid on fraudulent claims during the last year and another $19 billion is under investigation for potential fraud. latimes.com/california/sto…