News California indoor Mask Mandate is lifted

[truecoat]

These aren't just people who can't afford rent, they are people with severe drug abuse problems and mental health problems. The over prescribing of oxy illegal fentanyl pouring over our souther border has created a zombie generation.

Fentanyl just fuels the fire, the Sackler family business did a number on the US population, made billions and got away with it.

 

[TP2000]

Fentanyl just fuels the fire, the Sackler family business did a number on the US population, made billions and got away with it.

True. But that was for the middle class folks with insurance plans picking up their meds at Target.

Chinese fentanyl fuels the druggy homeless encampments in all the hip cities where pols use the word "houselessness".

 

[Phroobar]

True. But that was for the middle class folks with insurance plans picking up their meds at Target.

Chinese fentanyl fuels the druggy homeless encampments in all the hip cities where pols use the word "houselessness".

 

[MoonRakerSCM]

What ever happened to the massive homeless camp that was by angels stadium along the river? We used to run along it for runDisney and it went from a couple tents under the bridges to mile after mile of tents all along the trail in less than a year. Then it was just gone one trip. Did they just bring in dump trucks and run them out of town? It had to have been a thousand people so I can’t imagine they found shelters for them all.

Local gubmint had it cleaned out. It's not mentioned much in public media, but from my side of the world, the county needed to have the Santa Ana River Levee system re-certified and clearing out the encampment was part of it. The certification of levee integrity (FEMA) keeps local insurance rates down as the levee system keeps flood waters in check. Once they removed the homeless encampment, a whole army of consultants hired by the county swept in and did their work. This included my company and its 30 mile length investigation of the levee from a geotechnical point of view (I still have nightmares about this job as it was massive logistical undertaking). We had several boring locations right through the homeless encampment area and it was particularly clean when we did our work.

The homeless camps are/can be a problem as they affect the levee itself due to the uncontrolled conditions they create. I conduct levee inspections with county officials every few months or so throughout the LA metro area (and Phoenix *shudder*) and we always note a few intrusions into the levee's integrity due to homeless activity. I've stuck my soil probe more than once into a locally dug poop hole to measure its depth so as to report it in our reports.

As other posters have mentioned, local governments went above and beyond helping the people from the encampment as they cleared it out. Anyone who actually wanted or needed help was able to get it in any way, shape, or form. But a lot of people simply do not want any help and just moved on their way to another area.

As a related note, last time I was on an inspection for the LA River through the stretch from ~Travel Town to the 10, I got quite chummy with our local county rep and spoke with him about the homeless in the area. He spends every day on the river and knows the area like the back of his hand. He knew which homeless encampments we were to just be on the lookout vs the ones we were to group close together and 'quickly proceed through them while being extremely careful and alert'. He told me 99% of the people living out there are either drugged up beyond recognition, mentally ill, or simply refuse to be part of society. He always speaks with new arrivals into the area and provides them with assistance information and more if they want/accept it. He told me that through his 20 or so years out there, not a single person who truly needed and/or wanted help did not get it. He has had several people through the years even seek him out years later to thank him for helping them in their darkest time of need.

 

[truecoat]

True. But that was for the middle class folks with insurance plans picking up their meds at Target.

Chinese fentanyl fuels the druggy homeless encampments in all the hip cities where pols use the word "houselessness".

Where do you think some of the homeless come from? They're not all born that way.

 

[Professortango1]

Where do you think some of the homeless come from? They're not all born that way.

Many are druggies (meth/heroine/crack) who have been cut off from stable living environments due to their addiction. Most permanent homeless have rejected society's rules and have an inability/refusal to conform to practices which ensure a stable living environment.

I've been homeless briefly as was my father when my parents split, but it was a temporary situation.

 

[TP2000]

Where do you think some of the homeless come from? They're not all born that way.

None of them are born that way. Most get into drugs in high school because they have bad parents and/or no family structure to right their sinking ship. Then by the time they are 20 they are doing hard drugs, are out partying instead of studying, and are going down an increasingly dark path. They don't enlist in the Navy or Marines, they just keep partying.

By the time they are 25 their tombstones have been written in advance. They're gone. At 30 they look 50 and are out living in homeless tent encampments and are involved in crimes from misdemeanors to felonies. They're mostly gone. It's hard to come back past age 30 from that kind of drugged out homeless lifestyle.

It's very sad. What's even sadder is that too many politicians ignore it and pretend it's no big deal.

 

[truecoat]

None of them are born that way. Most get into drugs in high school because they have bad parents and/or no family structure to right their sinking ship. Then by the time they are 20 they are doing hard drugs, are out partying instead of studying, and are going down an increasingly dark path. They don't enlist in the Navy or Marines, they just keep partying.

By the time they are 25 their tombstones have been written in advance. They're gone. At 30 they look 50 and are out living in homeless tent encampments and are involved in crimes from misdemeanors to felonies. They're mostly gone. It's hard to come back past age 30 from that kind of drugged out homeless lifestyle.

It's very sad. What's even sadder is that too many politicians ignore it and pretend it's no big deal.

Looking around, it looks like drugs are only a factor in 20% of the homeless problem. Lack of affordable housing is number one.

 

[Dear Prudence]

Anyway, here's hoping that if people cover their faces and suck it up for just a couple more weeks, we can go maskless once and for all someday very soon.

 

[Emmanuel]

Anyway, here's hoping that if people cover their faces and suck it up for just a couple more weeks, we can go maskless once and for all someday very soon.

Likely we won't be far off hopefully. Theres signs in parts of the US that Omicron hit first that cases are going down such as the Bay Area

Omicron may have peaked in parts of the Bay Area as California COVID surge slows

Coronavirus numbers released by California health officials Monday showed signs that...

www.sfchronicle.com

Still early to be certain but LA County likewise could be seeing signs as the positivity rate has gone down

LISTING OF DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH PRESS RELEASES

publichealth.lacounty.gov

*The recent two case reports reflect an undercount from a lag in weekend reporting

I suspect the indoor mask extension will be the only one as we're still expected to be out of this surge by next month

 

[Dear Prudence]

Likely we won't be far off hopefully. Theres signs in parts of the US that Omicron hit first that cases are going down such as the Bay Area

Omicron may have peaked in parts of the Bay Area as California COVID surge slows

Coronavirus numbers released by California health officials Monday showed signs that...

www.sfchronicle.com

Still early to be certain but LA County likewise could be seeing signs as the positivity rate has gone down

LISTING OF DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH PRESS RELEASES

publichealth.lacounty.gov

View attachment 614854

*The recent two case reports reflect an undercount from a lag in weekend reporting

I suspect the indoor mask extension will be the only one as we're still expected to be out of this surge by next month

On the one hand, yay!

On the other, there being literally no emergency rooms in the Bay Area has been absolutely terrifying. Glad to see it possibly ending.

 

[TP2000]

Looking around, it looks like drugs are only a factor in 20% of the homeless problem. Lack of affordable housing is number one.

I can't tell if you're joking or not.

If you aren't joking, you think only 20% of the people living in LA's endless miles of dirty homeless encampments aren't doing drugs? And they've got jobs as Target cashiers and McDonald's burger flippers but they just can't pull enough money together to go in on a 2 bedroom apartment with three other people?

I would imagine the people living in homeless encampments are at least 80% drug users. A $16 per hour Target cashier doesn't live in this kind of sidewalk squalor while she looks for a room to rent.

 

[TP2000]

Back to masks...

What's the status with issued CM masks at Disneyland? Are they still wearing those cutesy cloth masks with stars and pixie dust on them? The CDC finally updated it's rules yesterday to reflect what most of us have suspected for years; cloth masks don't do much.

The CDC now recommends N95 or KN95 masks be worn to prevent the spread of Covid. Are CM's being given KN95 masks now, or do they wear the cutesy cloth mask over a KN95 mask?

'You should be in an N95 or a KN95' | CDC officially updates mask guidance

One Hampton Roads doctor said with transmission rates as high as they are, cloth masks just aren't cutting it.

www.13newsnow.com

 

[waltography]

The CDC now recommends N95 or KN95 masks be worn to prevent the spread of Covid. Are CM's being given KN95 masks now, or do they wear the cutesy cloth mask over a KN95 mask?

I've seen the latter happen more and more often, sometimes with face shields (at least from what I can observe online). It's especially common at attractions where CMs are experiencing known outbreaks within ranks.

I don't know if they're being provided by Disney; I'd be shocked if they were, though I do think it should be something they provide to CMs.

 

[Dear Prudence]

Pro-tip from someone who has to wear a face shield for up to 8 hours sometimes, the ones that sit like glasses frames with the shield that slides on as a visor don't fog up.

 

[truecoat]

I can't tell if you're joking or not.

If you aren't joking, you think only 20% of the people living in LA's endless miles of dirty homeless encampments aren't doing drugs? And they've got jobs as Target cashiers and McDonald's burger flippers but they just can't pull enough money together to go in on a 2 bedroom apartment with three other people?

I would imagine the people living in homeless encampments are at least 80% drug users. A $16 per hour Target cashier doesn't live in this kind of sidewalk squalor while she looks for a room to rent.

I was going by a census. I'd have to find it again but it was 31% cost of housing, 20% drugs and then 5 or 6 other categories such as domestic abuse or kids getting kicked out of their houses etc.

 

[Phroobar]

The CDC now recommends N95 or KN95 masks be worn to prevent the spread of Covid. Are CM's being given KN95 masks now, or do they wear the cutesy cloth mask over a KN95 mask?

But they do protect your nose from stinky tourists. I won't walk into a thrift store without one.

 

[denyuntilcaught]

I can't tell if you're joking or not.

If you aren't joking, you think only 20% of the people living in LA's endless miles of dirty homeless encampments aren't doing drugs? And they've got jobs as Target cashiers and McDonald's burger flippers but they just can't pull enough money together to go in on a 2 bedroom apartment with three other people?

I would imagine the people living in homeless encampments are at least 80% drug users. A $16 per hour Target cashier doesn't live in this kind of sidewalk squalor while she looks for a room to rent.

80% is indeed an overstatement. Drugs play a role, but so do many other factors. It's difficult to get hard stats, but qualitatively homelessness is more directly died to unaffordable housing and stagnant income than it is drug use. Also worth noting that drug use often begins or increases after someone becomes homeless due to the mental toll the experience takes, versus the drug use causing homelessness.

"According to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), the lead agency in the Los Angeles Continuum of Care that coordinates housing and services for homeless families and individuals in L.A.County, the rise in homelessness here is a result of stagnant income, rising housing prices, lack of investment in mental health services, lack of tenant protections, and discriminatory land use. Another major factor is mass incarceration. LAHSA found that 60% of L.A.’s homeless population has cycled through the criminal justice system."

Also:

"In addition to the enduring impact of systemic racism, an inadequate housing supply, and income inequality drive inflows to homelessness. Homelessness starts rising when median rents in a region exceed 22% of median income and rises even more sharply at 32%; in Los Angeles, the median rent is 46.7% or nearly half of median income. The California Housing Partnership Corporation reports that Los Angeles County would need 509,000 units of affordable housing to meet current demand."

Understanding LA's Homelessness Issues

Here’s everything you need to know about all things related to homelessness in the region.

laist.com

2020 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count Results

www.lahsa.org

 

[Texas84]

Back to masks...

What's the status with issued CM masks at Disneyland? Are they still wearing those cutesy cloth masks with stars and pixie dust on them? The CDC finally updated it's rules yesterday to reflect what most of us have suspected for years; cloth masks don't do much.


The CDC now recommends N95 or KN95 masks be worn to prevent the spread of Covid. Are CM's being given KN95 masks now, or do they wear the cutesy cloth mask over a KN95 mask?

95s don't work either. You need a 3M 7000 with a P100 filter. Have fun with that!

 

[smooch]

I wanna just give my input on my experience in SF even though I'm a week late to the conversation. I live right outside Sacramento so I'm a little drive away from SF but have made quite a few day trips the last few years. I have 100% noticed the homeless problem get worse even over the last 3 or so years. SF has had drugged up homeless people long before I started going but I even remember in middle school feeling much much safer in SF than I do now. I have had homeless people yell at me from a distance and just follow me and my friend(s) until they give up since we ignore them, sometimes that's 20 seconds or sometimes it took 5 minutes of them walking right behind us without us acknowledging them. It's sad, I feel for them, but I just feel so unsafe in that situation and try to avoid a confrontation. I used to go to a couple parts of the city but my trips now mainly consists of me and my friends driving down to Haight Street, parking in a parking lot of a nearby park (that's a lot of parks in one sentence!) and walking through that park over to Haight Street to go clothing shopping, record shopping, and just other things there to see. Then we drive down to the MOMA and park in a structure a block or two over and go enjoy the art, and then we leave for the day after that. That is basically my whole day, lasting from late morning / early afternoon til the early evening.

Even walking down Haight Street last trip my friend and girlfriend and I walked down the sidewalk and past a man who looked otherwise totally normal / healthy who was standing holding up his bike while talking with someone else and we noticed the dude had no pants, not just pulled down but nowhere to be found. He sounded like he spoke normally and coherently but was just pantsless. We see someone go #1 on the sidewalk at least once a trip if not more and someone go #2 every other trip or so. I used to feel comfortable exploring a bit in SF but now I stick to areas I know and have been to. Tents all over the sidewalks that get in the way / block the sidewalk, just all around I am on high alert / fearful when walking in the city. I'm not a big guy by any means I am very tall but lanky so I am worried about any physical altercation. Luckily I haven't had my car or my friend's car broken into, even when I went to Oakland twice last year for concerts, but many of my friends have had their cars broken into.

I went to the Walt Disney Family Museum which was extremely interesting and entertaining and luckily that area was very very nice, no homeless people sleeping on the large grass patch outside. I felt totally relaxed and safe there. Not sure how that area has been since COVID, it was a few years ago that I went there and haven't been back since. I personally just couldn't imagine living there, my friend went to college in SF and he was miserable, I applied and almost went to the same school but I just couldn't live in the city, both cause of safety and cause of the pace of living in a city.