California, Los Angeles County ending coronavirus emergency declarations

By TOM JOYCE THE CENTER SQUARE CONTRIBUTOR

(The Center Square) - California Gov. Gavin Newsom ended the state’s coronavirus emergency orders on Tuesday.

The change came nearly three years after Gov. Newsom became the first governor in America to issue stay-at-home orders.

California has had more than 100,000 residents die from coronavirus. Its death rate (255 per 100,000 people) was below the national average (339 per 100,000 people), according to a press release from the governor’s office.

The announcement from the governor’s office is mostly symbolic. Most government restrictions in response to the coronavirus pandemic have been lifted by the state. For example, the state was no longer forcing people to wear masks in most places, close their businesses or stay away from beaches in response to the pandemic.

Reflecting on the pandemic, Gov. Newsom said the state is better prepared for a future pandemic, given what it has endured over the last three years.

“California is better prepared, and that’s because we have a serious Legislature and the health ecosystem in California is second to none in the country,” Gov. Newsom said, according to The Los Angeles Times.

Even with the changes, the state will require healthcare plans to cover the cost of coronavirus therapeutics and vaccines. Additionally, the state will reimburse the cost of at-home coronavirus tests until the end of November.

Now that California ended its coronavirus emergency orders, only five states still have one in place.

The state government is not the only California entity rescinding coronavirus emergency orders.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors agreed to end its local coronavirus emergency declaration on Tuesday. The county agreed that the order will expire on March 31.

“Yes, COVID-19 is still with us,” Supervisor Hilda Solis told ABC 7. “No, we don’t want to abandon those tools that got us to this place ... but with effective vaccines and testing abundantly available we can move on to the next phase of our response to COVID19.”

This will make one significant change in Los Angeles County. The county mandates that people exposed to coronavirus must wear a mask in public for ten days; that will no longer be the case in April.

The state of California and Los Angeles County are ending their coronavirus emergency declarations before the federal government. The federal government’s emergency order will expire on May 11, 2023.

Disaster Loan Outreach Center opens in Solvang

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

A Disaster Loan Outreach Center opened Thursday at the Solvang Superior Court offices, 1745 Mission Drive, Solvang. Hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays.

This DLOC is being established by the U.S. Small Business Administration to meet the needs of businesses and community members impacted by the January storms.

SBA encourages businesses of all sizes, nonprofits, homeowners and renters to visit the DLOC, where customer service representatives can answer questions about

SpaceX launch rescheduled

the disaster loan program. Representatives also can provide help with completing disaster loan applications.

Previously, a DLOC opened in Orcutt. It’s at the Orcutt Union School District office, 500 Dyer St., where hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Spanish, American Sign Language and other translation services are available at both sites.

According to a news release, SBA has made the following modifications to provide consistent and equitable relief to every disaster loan recipient:

• First payment on a loan is due 12 months from the date of initial disbursement.

• The interest rate during the

The SpaceX launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base, scheduled for Thursday, has been delayed again to today. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket was rescheduled to take off at 10:38 a.m. from Space Launch

AT&T tower down in SB County

An AT&T tower has been down since about 10 a.m. Saturday in Santa Barbara County, causing some loss of cell phone signal. There is no estimate on when the tower will be back in service.

An AT&T representative at La Cumbre Plaza in Santa Barbara

Renovated playground reopens in Lompoc

LOMPOC — Lompoc Parks and Recreation has announced that the renovated Thompson Park playground will reopen today. The park is located between R and S streets in Lompoc.

Thompson Park’s playground was closed during summer 2022 due to unsafe playground equipment conditions, according to the city of Lompoc.

initial deferment period is 0% for 12 months from the date of initial disbursement.

• SBA provides low-interest, long-term loans for physical and economic damage caused by a declared disaster.

There’s a variety of home and personal property, business and economic injury loans for which community members may be eligible.

To be considered for all forms of disaster assistance, impacted community members must register with the Federal Emergency Management Agency at www.disasterassistance.gov.

FEMA representatives will also be at the Disaster Loan Outreach Centers to assist with application submittals and answer

Complex 4 East. SpaceX said the reason for the delay was the weather.

The rocket was originally scheduled to be launched Monday, then was delayed several times after that. If the launch takes place today as scheduled, it will stream live at SpaceX.com, and you can watch a recording of it there later as well.

After the launch, the Falcon 9’s reusable told the News-Press Thursday that customers should turn devices on and off every two hours so that devices can reconnect with the signal. Once the tower is back in service, AT&T customers can call customer care to receive compensation for lost days of service, according to the representative.

— Katherine Zehnder

Improvements to Thompson Park include the installation of two playgrounds, one for ages 2 to 5 and another for ages 5 to 12, new pour-and-play safety surfacing, swings, corn hole and horseshoe pits.

The playground serves as a national demonstration site for Play On, promoting physical activity.

The project was fully funded through grants, including a community development block grant, according to the city.

— Katherine Zehnder

Gas stoves not a major factor in air quality, report finds

By TOM JOYCE THE CENTER SQUARE CONTRIBUTOR

(The Center Square) - Do gas stoves cause respiratory problems?

A new comprehensive literature review, “The Effects of Cooking on Residential Indoor Air Quality: A Critical Review of the Literature with an Emphasis on the Use of Natural Gas Appliances”, conducted by Catalyst Environmental Solutions says they do not. The analysis said natural gas is, “not a significant determinant of residential indoor air quality.” It noted that the food type is more important than the fuel used to cook it.

The report says that people should use proper ventilation when cooking to protect their health and consider other factors like the type of food, the oil used to cook the food, plus the temperature and time used to cook food. questions. email: kzehnder@newspress.com first stage will land on the drone ship called Of Course I Still Love You.

The review looked at several peer-reviewed studies and government assessments. It said many are used in California and other states to falsely claim that gas stoves harm respiratory health. The analysis was paid for by the California Restaurant Association and the California Building Industry Association and was not funded by the appliance industry.

“As the analysis shows, many of these studies actually demonstrate that proper ventilation during gas or electric cooking is an effective way to ensure safety,” a press release promoting the study said.

The study comes as lawmakers across the country are proposing restrictions on natural gas stoves, ovens, and other appliances; the move would negatively impact consumers and businesses in California, according to the report.

The SBA deadline to apply for help for property damage is March 16. The SBA deadline to apply for assistance for economic injury is Oct. 16.

Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba. gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance If you’re hard of hearing or deaf or have a speech disability, dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

You can register for emergency alerts at www.readysbc.org and receive the alerts via text, phone call and email.

The Falcon 9 rocket will carry 51 Starlink satellites, which are part of a program to provide internet access to 50 countries. The satellites will be placed in low Earth orbit — if the launch happens as planned.

— Dave Mason

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