Letters to the Editor

LBPD Super Spreader

I plan to get vaccinated, but to be clear, vaccination does not stop spread of COVID-19. Vaccinated persons may still host and transfer the virus to others. Being vaccinated will protect you from getting sick or death. That’s it. We will have to continue to wear masks and distance.

Cops who are vaccinated or not, will have to wear a mask and stay distanced. Fauci reported this a few weeks ago. It isn’t until the virus has no bodies to host will it ever go away. Unfortunately, the virus may still find hosts.

Charlie Trujillo

Money Bail

Money bail is as unjust as it is unsafe. It allows wealthy people who are dangerous to purchase their freedom while those without means who pose no risk to public safety languish in jail awaiting trial. There is no evidence that cash bail provides a sufficient incentive necessary for people to return to court. But, there is evidence that the inability for people to obtain money for bail leads to them losing their jobs, homes and access to treatment while separating them from their children. It can destroy families and it weakens our communities.

In addition, cash bail undermines a central principle of the judicial system: The presumption of innocence. There is no objective rationale for caging people who pose no danger to our community and have not been found guilty of a crime because they do not have the means to buy their freedom. Pretrial detention has been shown to pressure many to plead guilty to crimes simply to secure their release. That is an injustice of epic proportions that we must cure here in Los Angeles.

George Gascón
LA County DA

Coronavirus

We hear that California Health Department is using science and data in making decisions regarding COVID virus. The science and data shows that 80% of those who are dying are 65 or older. (They are also most likely to be hospitalized and on ventilators!) Why isn’t this population provided the vaccine after healthcare personnel?

Can someone explain or show the science/data why “essential workers,” mainly public service personnel, are getting the vaccine before those who are most likely to die and hospitalized? Goal should be to stop people from dying!

Jim Hines

In Al Jacobs’ [Jan. 1] column he characterizes the pandemic as “this year’s relatively harmless coronavirus,” we have record deaths, full hospitals, exhausted medical staff and even mortuaries turning away devastated families. Mr. Jacobs’ cavalier, insensitive and highly dangerous attitude is why we are in this critical state. Save other Americans, wear a mask and follow the guidelines.

Linda Fell

Creative Spirit

Since March 14, 2020, the day I cancelled the LB Art Walk, I have closed my eyes many times in search of a vision of the future. It has not been difficult to desire it. It is second nature for me to measure time according to an arts focused calendar.

I would have been singing along at a concert or looking at strokes representing someone’s thoughts at a gallery. I would have been greeting friends, family, colleagues, artists and performers.

As I welcome 2021, I have a deep desire for gathering. I want to see you sometime this year in a theater lobby and share how I cried or laughed because actors suspended me in disbelief. I wish to smile at you while we enjoy the beats and notes of a song. One night in the future we will witness physiques move on impulse with grace and be astonished. I accept that all these aspirations are connected to an ultimate desire: To be safe.

I am ever grateful for essential workers who have worked in unimaginable conditions. I am thankful to all activists who expressed the feelings of anger, sadness and hope many of us have had all of our lifetimes. It has been the greatest pleasure in my professional career to facilitate a project in which artists and performers helped us heal during turmoil. Their work has given me a sustainable promise even through the darkness of loss.

I turned to my favorite writers this year and reread works that I continue to hold sacred. As a creative community, we are resilient and the world turned to us we pivoted. I know the moment we heard the words “Can you help uplift the community?” there was only one answer. Artists and performers expressed their desires and visions to illuminate our lives, alleviate our stress and help us recuperate from our fears. Gracias.

I invite you to envision alongside me a city and a world that finds safety for our breathe. Living through COVID-19 and the struggle for justice has brought desires to the surface that must be actualized. Let us begin 2021 with our collective desires so that our visions transform our lives into an inextinguishable creative fire.

Griselda Suarez
Arts Council Executive Director