LOS ANGELES TIMES: Today’s Headlines: Searching for justice

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Searching for Justice

Jurors in Minneapolis are set to begin deliberating after closing arguments today on the murder and manslaughter charges leveled against former police Officer Derek Chauvin, who kneeled on George Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes before Floyd died. Perhaps no verdict since the time of Rodney King could have higher stakes for shaping the future of race and policing in the nation.

Some family members of other Black people killed in recent years by police have traveled to Minnesota for Chauvin’s trial. Many others are transfixed from afar. Following the case, they say, reminds them of their own loss and of other families who know the same sort of pain.

At the site where police pinned Floyd to the ground, a memorial and protest zone has been closed to street traffic and most government intervention for nearly 11 months. For many neighborhood residents, the intersection outside Cup Foods is either sacred ground that should remain closed off for good or a meaningful site that is becoming a cumbersome inconvenience.

Meanwhile, in Chicago, there’s a makeshift memorial for Adam Toledo, the 13-year-old Mexican American boy who was fatally shot by a police officer after having dropped a gun and raised his hands.

Over the weekend, a steady stream of mourners visited the memorial. Many said the youth was a victim of police brutality. But some also observed that he was out in the early hours of the morning with a member of the gangs who terrorize them.

A $1-Billion Homelessness Plan

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is planning to spend nearly $1 billion to combat homelessness in the coming budget year, tapping huge new sources of state and federal aid, and finally ramping up construction of homes for the unhoused.

Garcetti’s spending proposal, which will be discussed during his State of the City address today and needs sign-off from the City Council, reflects the growing pressure he and others at City Hall are under to make significant headway on a crisis that has left tens of thousands of people living in squalor in streets, parks and beaches. Cities across the U.S. are relying on a similar playbook, using COVID-19 recovery funds to attack a problem that has confounded politicians for decades.

The mayor intends to propose $791 million in the upcoming budget year for initiatives to help homeless residents, increase cleanups around shelters and expand programs aimed at keeping housed Angelenos from slipping into homelessness themselves, mayoral aides said. On top of that, he expects to roll over more than $160 million that had been allocated for homeless programs in the current year but has not yet been spent.

Not a ‘Passport’ but …

In the U.S., children have long been required to be vaccinated to attend schools and camps. Other countries require that travelers carry “yellow cards” verifying inoculation against yellow fever or other diseases. But the concept of a COVID-19 vaccine “passport” in the U.S. has become a political football.

California health officials have repeatedly said they have no plans to institute such “passports” — digital or paper passes that allow vaccinated residents or those who’ve tested negative into concerts, baseball games and other sports arenas.

Instead, earlier this month, the state announced reopening rules for indoor live events that give businesses an incentive to demand such proof from ticket holders, because they can hold larger events that way. And it’s likely that California employers, colleges and others will institute such requirements once the vaccines can be easily obtained and win formal federal government approval.

More Top Coronavirus Headlines

— Dr. Anthony Fauci said the U.S. will probably move to resume Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine later this week, possibly with restrictions or broader warnings. The pause has thrown the global rollout into doubt as more than a billion people around the world await the vaccine.

— Half of all adults in the U.S. have received at least one COVID-19 shot, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced.

— The L.A. Unified School District’s reopening so far has seen attendance much higher in affluent areas than in communities that were hit hardest by the pandemic.

OUR MUST-READS FROM THE WEEKEND

— A mother who confessed to killing her three children in Reseda had unraveled in depression and QAnon-style conspiracies in the months before.

— Shawn Pleasants went from Yale to Wall Street to homelessness. Now he’s rising back up, columnist Steve Lopez reports.

— A royal feud has some Jordanians asking: Is this the monarchy we want?

— Inside an odyssey to buy tickets for Disneyland’s reopening — it was the longest wait of TV critic Lorraine Ali’s theme park life.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

After ceremonies at City Hall and a parade down Broadway, the Dodgers played their first game in Los Angeles at Memorial Coliseum before 78,672 fans on April 18, 1958. Happily for the boys in blue and their newfound following, the team beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-5.

The Dodgers would play four seasons at the Coliseum before Dodger Stadium was built. They won the 1959 World Series, defeating the Chicago White Sox in six games. Games three, four and five were played at the Coliseum, with attendance of more than 92,000 a game.

Here are more images from the first Dodgers’ game in L.A.

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April 18, 1958: Members of the Dodgers and San Francisco Giants face the peristyle end of Memorial Coliseum during the playing of the national anthem before the Dodgers’ first game in Los Angeles. (Ken Dare / Los Angeles Times)

CALIFORNIA

— Is California suffering a decades-long megadrought? Not all experts agree that there is one.

— L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger recommended Dr. David Drew Pinsky, a celebrity doctor more commonly known as Dr. Drew, to serve on a homeless commission, shocking some homeless advocates.

— A new report shows that San Diego’s Ocean Beach Pier has suffered significant deterioration over the last 55 years and, despite multiple attempts to repair it, the end of the road could be near.

— A city of Los Angeles panel has recommended future monuments and memorials more accurately reflect its history.

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NATION-WORLD

— Indianapolis’ tight-knit Sikh community mourned after members learned that four Sikhs were among the eight people killed in last week’s mass shooting at a FedEx warehouse. Police said the gunman legally purchased the two assault rifles used in the attack despite “red flag” laws designed to prevent that.

— A manhunt was underway for a former sheriff’s deputy wanted in the fatal shooting of three people in Austin, Texas, as an official said it wasn’t known whether the suspect was still in the city.

— The United States and China, the world’s two biggest carbon polluters, agreed to cooperate with other countries to curb climate change, before President Biden hosts a virtual summit of world leaders to discuss the issue.

— As military bands played and a procession of royals escorted his coffin to the church, Prince Philip was laid to rest in a funeral ceremony that honored his lifetime of service to the U.K., the crown and his wife, Queen Elizabeth II.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

— A growing furor around “Them,” “Two Distant Strangers” and other Hollywood projects containing horrific images of violence directed at Black people has given new life to the debate over what many have characterized as “black trauma porn.”

— Is producer Scott Rudin’s apology for the “pain” his “behavior caused to individuals, directly and indirectly,” enough? A new era demands more, theater critic Charles McNulty writes.

— The new Secret Life of Pets attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood is old school and devastatingly cute. It has robotic alley cats, after all.

— Why are these Kanye West sneakers valued at more than $1 million?

BUSINESS

— California’s economy is slowly picking up as businesses reopen and new unemployment claims fall, but stubborn joblessness persists as many simply stop looking for work.

— Apps will help Southern California theme parks increase their COVID-19 safety protocols, but they’ll also be collecting data on parkgoers.

SPORTS

— The Dodgers saw their winning streak end Sunday in San Diego, but their rivalry against the Padres has only just begun.

— Here are the Southern California high school teams to watch in the 2021 fall football season.

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OPINION

— Biden must set aggressive carbon reduction goals to meet the Paris climate targets, The Times’ editorial board writes. We’re running out of time.

— Caitlyn Jenner for governor of California? Have we learned nothing about unqualified novices, columnist Nicholas Goldberg asks.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

— The lessons from epidemics during the Civil War that went forgotten during the COVID-19 response. (Stat News)

— In 1974, U.S. diplomat John Patterson was abducted. The kidnappers insisted his wife deliver a ransom of $500,000. But it didn’t go according to plan. (The Atlantic)

ONLY IN L.A.

Beverly Hills may be one of L.A.’s glitzier neighborhoods, but people there still need sandpaper, lightbulbs, screwdrivers and the like. Luckily, it still has a local hardware store with all the usual supplies, as well as a collection of checks signed by Jimmy Stewart and charge plates engraved with the names of Jack Lemmon, Sidney Poitier and Rosemary Clooney. While you might spot a celebrity at Pioneer Hardware, more likely you’ll see a German shepherd named Maxwell Silver Hammer, with a mini-hammer hanging from his collar.

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