It was never a question that Stephanie Contreras-Reyes would take the most rigorous AP classes her school offers.

And when her dad lost his job in March, it was never a question that the 17-year-old would do whatever was needed to keep her family afloat. latimes.com/california/sto…
Stephanie’s at the top of her class, the first in her family to get this far in school.

She is also among an increasing number of teens in L.A. who have started working to help their financially struggling families during the pandemic, often carrying overwhelming loads.
After her mother lost her full-time restaurant job last March, Isis Mejia-Duarte, a high school senior, began helping her mom deliver Amazon Fresh and InstaCart groceries.

They could make deliveries more quickly as a team, ultimately fulfilling more orders and making more money.
Then, in December, Isis, her mom and grandmother fell ill with COVID-19. Isis applied to college from her sickbed, sometimes staying up until 5 a.m. to finish her sketchbook and portfolio for CalArts, her dream school.
Despite their lingering fatigue, the pressure to generate income was immense following three weeks of sickness.

So after testing negative for the coronavirus, Isis and her mom returned to the crowded Amazon warehouse in mid-January.
Antonio Roque, a counselor at Community and Technology School, said the teenagers he works with have been thrown into the world of adult responsibility by coronavirus hardships — and they are in survival mode.
Luis Leon, Isis’ classmate at Woodrow Wilson High School, began taking orders at a McDonald’s drive-through in August after both of his parents were temporarily laid off.

Luis’ $400 monthly paycheck puts food on the table and keeps the lights on.
But working 20-to-30 hours a week has taken a toll. Between his job and watching his two younger siblings, it’s hard to muster the motivation for academics, especially after a long work shift.

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More from @latimes

6 Feb
Inside courtrooms, there’s varying levels of adherence to mandated safety practices.

Some lawyers and sheriff’s deputies occasionally remove their masks, while inmates and litigants at times have masks on improperly. latimes.com/california/sto…
“Judges are very strict with people not chewing gum, looking at cellphones, not wearing a hat,” said Begonya De Salvo, who interprets proceedings for Spanish speakers.

“But wearing a mask? That’s another story.” latimes.com/california/sto…
De Salvo filed a complaint with the state Commission on Judicial Performance after Judge Lynne Hobbs allowed a police officer to testify last summer without a mask. latimes.com/california/sto…
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6 Feb
The government-financed Tuskegee syphilis study, in which Black men were experimented on and left untreated for decades, stands front of mind for many African Americans contemplating whether to get a COVID-19 vaccine recommended by federal officials latimes.com/world-nation/s…
Roughly 3% of the American public is fully vaccinated.

The disparities, experts say, point not just to unequal access, but also to deep-rooted distrust of medical institutions, particularly when their efforts are backed by the federal government latimes.com/world-nation/s… ImageImage
Throughout the #COVID19 pandemic, Black, Latino and Native American people have died at disproportionately high rates, according to CDC statistics latimes.com/world-nation/s…
Read 7 tweets
5 Feb
Henry Casas, who worked for L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti from 2013 to 2018, is the first staffer to publicly allege improper behavior by former senior mayoral aide Rick Jacobs while he worked for the mayor.
latimes.com/california/sto…
Casa's testimony could bolster the case of Los Angeles Police Officer Matthew Garza, a former member of Garcetti’s security detail who has filed a lawsuit claiming he frequently endured harassment by Jacobs. latimes.com/california/sto…
Casas testified that it was “common knowledge” inside the mayor’s office, from the chief of staff to low-level aides, that Jacobs engaged in inappropriate behavior toward male employees.

latimes.com/california/sto…
Read 7 tweets
5 Feb
A new doc called #FramingBritneySpears explores her father's court-ordered role as her conservator, the #FreeBritney movement and the toxicity of tabloid media as the pop star's mental health and private life remains a source of concern for her fans latimes.com/entertainment-…
For 13 years, nearly every aspect of Britney Spears’ life has been controlled by her father, Jamie Spears.

The 2008 legal arrangement came after the pop star had a very public mental health-meltdown (From the archives) latimes.com/archives/la-xp…
Since she abruptly canceled a second planned residency in early 2019, the legal arrangement — shrouded in mystery and NDAs — has again raised questions:

Why is someone so capable and productive not allowed to make her own decisions? latimes.com/entertainment-…
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5 Feb
“Malcolm & Marie” is now streaming on Netflix.
Zendaya is great.

The rest, not so much. Our review:
latimes.com/entertainment-…
One of Writer-Director Sam Levinson’s unseen but oft-referenced villains in “Malcolm & Marie” is an L.A. Times film critic who panned Malcolm’s previous movie, but who has apparently seen the light, marveling at his latest cinematic vision latimes.com/entertainment-…
Critic Justin Chang will “suspend that last question [below] for now, on the charitable assumption that Levinson couldn’t possibly be that petty, even if his dialogue here practically constitutes a textbook on human pettiness”
latimes.com/entertainment-… Image
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5 Feb
In January, three court staffers died after testing positive for the coronavirus, and since March, at least 445 of the court’s 5,100 staff and judges have tested positive.

latimes.com/california/sto…
A court reporter's positive test prompted administrators to close the courtroom she worked in. When an interpreter who also worked in the courtroom sought permission to quarantine at home on paid leave, she was denied, according to the interpreter’s union.
latimes.com/california/sto…
The interpreter continued working, and days later, tested positive. According to the union, many were denied requests to go on paid leave. Some continued to show up to work, either because they feared reprisals for calling out or had no remaining sick time.latimes.com/california/sto…
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