Articles written by Alyssa Erdley
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 91
By 
We Need a Lockdown Death Meter Beside the COVID-19 Death Meter
Ever since the COVID-19 disease began spreading through the world, countries and localities have been publicizing the number of cases and deaths from COVID-19. In Los Angeles County, this metric is up...
Santa Monica Officials Can Give No Good Reason for the Outdoor Face Mask Requirement
On May 14, the City sent out one of its dreaded "updates." This one required citizens to wear face masks when outdoors, even when exercising. Previously, masks had not been required while exercising....
Local Officials are Overdosing the Public with Their Stream of Irrational and Unsubstantiated Orders: e.g., Masks Outdoors
Every day, the city of Santa Monica sends out at least one "Covid-19 Update." The word 'update' is a euphemism for a new commandment. In fact, there is often more than one 'update' per day. These...
Officials are Looking at the Wrong Criteria for Reopening Businesses During Coronavirus Pandemic
On Monday, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he would conditionally allow the reopening of certain types of businesses in the state. Since March 19, only "essential" businesses have been allowed to...
"Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall!" Santa Monica Residents Lose Patience With Irrational Continuing Shutdowns
Following the example of the state and county, Santa Monica is allowing certain types of businesses to reopen today in a limited fashion. The city began closing businesses during the third week of...
Let's Open Businesses on May 1 Instead of May 15, Governor Newsom
On March 16, the City of Santa Monica, the County of Los Angeles and the State of California almost simultaneously began shutting down businesses, beginning with bars and gyms. Within days, both local...
California to Give Disaster Relief to Undocumented Residents or "Illegal Aliens"
At his press conference today, April 15, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a plan to give $125 million in direct disaster relief to the undocumented aliens living in the state. $75 million...
#Covid-19? In 2018, there were 10 million cases of active TB which resulted in 1.5 million deaths.
The entire United States, with a population of 350 million, shut down nearly all economic activity on March 16, unwilling to expose its citizens to a disease estimated to kill approximately 2 percent...
California Recommends Releasing Defendants Without Bail During Coronavirus Emergency
On Monday the Judicial Council of California adopted new rules to lower jail populations in the name of stemming the spread of COVID-19. Chief among these is no-cash bail for certain non-serious, non-...
Covid-19? Meh. Home-Bound College Student Sisters Start Volunteer Food Delivery App
Sisters Leat and Kayla, 20 and 19 years old, were sent home from college as most other students were this semester because of COVID-19. These sisters, however, had as father Rabbi Sam Newman,...
Large Jump in Coronavirus Cases Countywide Attributed to Greatly Increased Testing
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported 421 new COVID-19 cases today at a press conference. Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director of the Department, attributed the large increase in known...
8 Days That Shook the World: From the LA Marathon to Closing All Gyms in Santa Monica
The response of public officials to the increasing cases of COVID-19 accelerated greatly since twenty-three thousand athletes and even more spectators descended on the city to participate in the Los...
Coronavirus Crisis Highlights the Dangers of Urban Density, Especially in LA County
On Friday, March 20, local authorities urged the stay-at-home populace to go out hiking for exercise and mental refreshment. The hundreds of miles of trails in the mountain recreation areas surroundin...
Big Jump in LA County Coronavirus Cases Today. Number of New Coronavirus Cases had been 40-60 per day.
3/23- At a live-stream press conference today, LA Department of Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer reported 128 new cases of known Coronavirus patients in LA County. Since Tuesday, March 17, th...
Additional Death Reported in LA County Department of Public Health News Briefing
At a streaming press conference today, LADPH Director Barbara Ferrer announced the second death to occur in the county from the COVID-19 virus. The individual reportedly lived in a small community nea...
SMMUSD Hides Behind Federal and Local Agencies in Coronavirus Response
An email sent out Tuesday by Dr. Ben Drati, School Superintendent for the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, seeks to explain the response of the district to the outbreak of the Covid-19...
Santa Monica and Coronavirus: No Plan for the Homeless and Covid-19
The city's Chief Resilience Officer and its Communication Officer reported on the state of the city's response to the COVID-19 outbreak at the Santa Monica City Council meeting on Tuesday. Other than...
California's New Voting System Became A Long-Line Mess And Don't Blame the Victim
Last month I wrote that California should wait before laughing at the Iowa Caucus debacle. The state decided that the voting method that had worked seamlessly for over a century should be changed for...
California Democratic Presidential Primary, We Recommend Anybody but Bernie Sanders
Voting started in California on February 22 but continues through to the official election day, March 3 - Super Tuesday. We were asked by our whip-cracking publisher to provide a guide to voting for...
261 Parents File Objection to SMMUSD Settlement Affecting 11,000 Students
On Monday, 261 parents, led by former Rent Control Chairperson Joel Koury and Joseph Pertel, both attorneys, filed an objection to a class action settlement between the Santa Monica-Malibu School...
PETA Kills 84% of the Animals Brought to their Virginia Center, Within 24 Hours
PETA, the acronym for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, bills itself as an "animal rights" organization. Founded in 1980 by Ingrid Newkirk, a former animal shelter worker and deputy sheriff...
George Gascon of San Francisco Wants to be Your County District Attorney, but You Don't Want Him
George Gascon, a Havana-born former police officer, resigned his position as San Francisco District Attorney in October, at the same time announcing his intention to run for the same office in Los...
California Should Wait Before They Laugh at Iowa Caucus Debacle
On Monday, the much-anticipated results of the Democratic Iowa caucus were not available once the event ended. An app that had been designed to report results automatically from the phones of the...
Only Someone Who's Crazy Would Vote for Rachel Rossi for LA County DA. Literally
Rachel Rossi, currently a criminal defense lawyer at Cohen Williams, a fancy downtown Los Angeles law firm, has announced her candidacy for Los Angeles County District Attorney. You read that right....
Measure R Connects Citizen Oversight of the Sheriff and Inmate Release
Ballot Measure R, also known as Reform LA Jails, will be on the ballot this March. Somewhat confusingly, the measure tackles two disparate issues. The first issue is assuring that the Sheriff...
