APRIL 27, 2020 I VOL. 49 I #17
LA’s Vân Scott is no ‘poster boy’ LATTC board donates $50K for students in need Page 4
LA sports teams unite to raise money for mayor’s fund Page 5
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THE VOICE OF DOWNTOWN LA SINCE 1972
2 DOWNTOWN NEWS
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AROUND TOWN
By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski
Coronavirus deaths up 68
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he Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has confirmed 68 new deaths and 1,081 new cases of 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19), as of April 24. Fifty-one people who died were over the age of 65; 11 people who died were between the ages of 41 to 65 years old; and three people who died were between the ages of 18 to 40 years old. Fifty-one people had underlying health conditions, including 40 people over the age of 65, nine people between the ages of 41 to 65 years old and two people between the ages of 18 to 40 years old. Three deaths were reported by the city of Long Beach. To date, Public Health has identified 17,508 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of LA County, and 797 deaths. Of the people who died, 89% of them had underlying
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health conditions. “So many in LA County are mourning people who have passed away from COVID-19. We are deeply sorry for your loss, and you are in our thoughts and prayers every day,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director of Public Health. “COVID-19 is rapidly becoming one of the leading causes of death among LA County residents. On average, 44 people are dying each day from COVID-19. This is significantly higher than the five people who die each day from the flu and 31 people who die from coronary heart disease.” Info: publichealth.lacounty.gov
Animal control waives adoption fees
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he Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control is waiving adoption fees at all seven animal care centers to quickly place animals in homes during the COVID-19 crisis. The fee-waived adoptions are possible thanks to an $80,000 grant DACC was awarded from the Petco Foundation to support life-saving efforts for Los Angeles County animals. In addition to the fee-waived adoptions,
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APRIL 27, 2020
the Petco Foundation investment will enable DACC to undertake a variety of other lifesaving measures, including purchasing necessary medical equipment and partnering with veterinary partners to provide pets in DACC care extensive medical treatment beyond the regular capacity of our medical program. “We are grateful for the Petco Foundation’s generous support to help animals during the COVID-19 crisis,” said DACC Director Marcia Mayeda. “Because people are adhering to the Safer at Home requirements, many can devote time to a new pet. This generous grant from Petco Foundation makes it easier for families to make that decision at this time.” Info: animalcare.lacounty.gov
LA screenwriters win quarterfinalists at Dallas International Film Festival
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ix LA writers topped the winning list of quarterfinalists for the 2020 screenplay competition offered by the Dallas International Film Festival, powered by Capital One. Gregory Caruso is a highlight for his nominations in two categories.
The DIFF “Broaden Your Horizon” Screenplay Competition, presented by Event Horizon Films, works to help screenwriters improve craft and exposure. Each script was reviewed by working industry professionals at top rep agencies (United Talent Agency, Creative Artists Agency, Gersh) and graded based on strength of plot, characterization, format, originality, style, dialogue, pacing and current market potential. LA writers include: Features and 1-Hour Pilots: “Braddock” by Gregory Caruso “Digg Dogg” by Lucas Popowitz “Minor Modification” by Shia Labeouf Shorts and 30-Minute Pilots “Blackpiphany” by Peterjohn Minto “Boxed Wine” by Gregory Caruso “Bucking Up” by Erin Lennox “Maximum Beauty” by Brian Michaels Semifinalists will be announced May 1. Info: eventhorizonfilms.com/diff-screenwriting-competition
EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Christina Fuoco-Karasinski STAFF WRITERS: Annika Tomlin CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Danny Karel, Kamala Kirk, Emma Richburg ART DIRECTORS: Arman Olivares, Stephanie Torres ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES: Catherine Holloway, Michael Lamb FOUNDER EMERITUS: Sue Laris
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STAY... • LOCALLY UPDATED • PROPERLY INFORMED • SAFE At a time when the entire world is in an ever-changing state, and health concerns are paramount, you can continue to rely on LA Downtown News to keep you informed on how the COVID-19 virus is affecting your local community. We appreciate the trust placed in us as the news and voice of the community. Being good stewards of that trust means we are here for you, especially in difficult times. EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Christina Fuoco-Karasinski STAFF WRITERS: Annika Tomlin CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Danny Karel, Kamala Kirk, Emma Richburg ART DIRECTORS: Arman Olivares, Stephanie Torres ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES: Catherine Holloway, Michael Lamb S I N C E 19 7 2
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DOWNTOWN NEWS 3
Mobile Dental Care Unit turns emergency triage during pandemic By Kamala Kirk ospitals throughout Los Angeles are struggling to keep up with the demand placed on emergency rooms during the COVID-19 pandemic, with many setting up treatment and triage locations in parking lots or nontraditional wings of hospitals to accommodate the influx of patients. Understanding the potential impact that COVID-19 could have at hospitals, Donna Anderson, mobile program manager for QueensCare, came up with the idea to loan the organization’s largest mobile dental unit to treat non-COVID-19 patients at Adventist Health White Memorial in Los Angeles. QueensCare is a nonprofit community health care provider that offers free mobile dental services to Los Angeles Unified School District students and children of underinsured low-income adults, along with other preventative services to individuals and families who may not have access to health care due to their economic, social and/or immigration status. “COVID-19 has affected our program as it has with many other mobile community clinics, which pulled us out of LAUSD school campuses for valid safety reasons much earlier than expected, causing for us to re-deploy
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our staff to support our sister organization, QueensCare Health Centers,” Anderson said. The mobile dental unit, nicknamed “Whitening McQueen” by LAUSD students, was delivered to Adventist Health White Memorial on March 31. It has 960 square feet of interior exam space, six exam chairs and the ability to perform X-rays. It will be stationed at the hospital through the outbreak, open 24 hours daily, and will be jointly staffed by QueensCare and Adventist Health White Memorial employees. “Having the trailer on campus will allow for the emergency room department to strictly treat COVID-19 patients and those that show signs of COVID-19 symptoms, minimizing COVID-19 exposure and strategically designating an area for isolate treatment,” said Maryam Sesay, director of operations for QueensCare. “As of today, Adventist Health White Memorial has not experienced a surge in the emergency department, but knowing Whitening McQueen is readily available brings a sense of comfort to its team, who is very appreciative of QueensCare’s support.” QueensCare and Adventist Health White Memorial are taking additional steps in light of the pandemic to provide for the health
Mara C. Bryant, operations executive, and Olivia Olmos, RN and emergency department manager for Adventist Health White Memorial, in front of “Whitening McQueen,” QueensCare’s largest mobile dental clinic.
Photo courtesy Adventist Health
and safety of patients and staff through CDC-recommended patient screening procedures and separation from the rest of the hospital population that may have been exposed to the virus. “We are so grateful to QueensCare for coming up with this creative way to use the dental van to assist our hospital and community during the COVID-19 crisis,” said Mary Anne
Chern, charitable foundation president of Adventist Health White Memorial. “QueensCare is an incredible partner. They already do so much for our hospital and community by providing free dental care for children. And now, they have generously stepped up to respond to yet another critical need.” For more information, visit queenscare.org and adventisthealth.org.
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APRIL 27, 2020
LATTC board donates $50K for students in need By Kamala Kirk s the “Safer at Home” mandate evolved due to COVID-19, students at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College were immediately and severely impacted. Trade-Tech, the oldest of the public two-year colleges in the Los Angeles Community College District, was forced to close its doors and quickly transition to online learning. Trade-Tech students faced additional setbacks because 85% of its population is below the poverty line and includes homeless students. Nearly half of the student body work more than 30 hours per week while enrolled and many lost their jobs because of COVID-19. To help support Trade-Tech students and provide them with the tools they need to achieve their higher education and vocational goals, the board of directors of Los Angeles Trade-Technical College (LATTC) Foundation stepped up to rapidly provide additional funding to the college to meet the students’ needs. The foundation board is comprised of union leaders, Trade-Tech alumni, faculty members and corporate leadership, and provides support through scholarships, faculty grants and capital improvements to assist in
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promoting and continuously improving the college as a valuable community resource for students. “When we were first notified that the LATTC classes had been disrupted due to the COVID-19 crisis and classes were to pivot online on very short notice, I felt it was important for the foundation to react immediately to provide assistance,” said Victor Reyes, LATTC Foundation board secretary. “We understood that for most students attending LATTC, it was not only going to disrupt their classes but also their financial stability. As we all quickly faced a new normal of society, the board wanted to ensure a continuity of the student educational progress.” Based on instructor feedback, the foundation board determined the most immediate needs for students were computers to access distance learning and assistance for food, so it voted unanimously to approve funding of $50,000 to assist Trade-Tech leadership in providing students with Chromebook computers and $50 grocery cards. Because of social distancing requirements, delivery was arranged for students who self-identified to their instructors that they needed a computer and food assistance. In the past, the foundation board has pro-
Founded in 1925 as the Frank Wiggins Trade School, the Los Angeles Trade-Technical College is a public community college that offers academic courses toward fouryear institutions and vocational training programs.
Photo courtesy LATTC
vided emergency assistance and other support to Trade-Tech students, but never to this magnitude. Funds are raised throughout the year for targeted programs and emergency assistance. The foundation board relies on donors to support the needs of students year-round. “While we support students with monetary and materials assistance throughout the year, the COVID-19 crisis has allowed us
to do what we do best on a larger, more tangible landscape,” added Bonnie Tseng, LATTC Foundation board member. “I’m proud to serve on a board where members can make decisions quickly and thoughtfully. Politics and bureaucracy slow things down in the rest of the world, but not the LA Trade-Tech Foundation Board.” To make a donation, visit lattcfoundation. nationbuilder.com.
APRIL 27, 2020
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DOWNTOWN NEWS 5
LA sports teams unite to raise money for mayor’s fund By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski ans of many of Los Angeles’ most popular professional sports franchises will now have the chance to acquire merchandise bearing their favorite team’s recognizable logos and colors while also donating to the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles. AEG, the LA Clippers, LA Galaxy, LA Kings, Los Angeles Lakers, LA Sparks and Rank + Rally have joined forces to launch the Teams for LA Online Supersale to sell logoed team merchandise, as well as classic merchandise from the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and the Grammy Awards, to benefit the Mayor’s LA Emergency COVID-19 Crisis Fund. Proceeds from the website teamlastore. com support critical needs as they arise in the city, such as child care and meals for the neediest, relief and counseling for frontline health care workers, critical health care equipment, and services for the homeless population. The site, which will be updated regularly, will offer jerseys, hats, T-shirts, warmups, scarfs, bobbleheads and other specialty items bearing the current and classic logos of the LA Clippers, LA Galaxy, LA Kings, Los
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Angeles Lakers, LA Sparks, Ontario Reign and Team USA (basketball), as well as merchandise from high-profile events that have taken place in Los Angeles including the 2011 and 2018 NBA All-Star Games, the 2017 NHL All-Star Game, the Amgen Tour of California, memorable championship boxing events, and music events such as the Grammy Awards and the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. “All of us in the Los Angeles sports community have been looking for additional ways to support the tremendous efforts of our city’s leadership and to help those in our community that are most impacted by the coronavirus outbreak,” said Dan Beckerman, president and CEO, AEG. “Our collective donation of merchandise will provide our fans a way to show their ongoing support for their favorite teams while also contributing to help their fellow Angelenos in need.” In addition to the 30,000-plus items offered at discounted prices, fans can also send gear through the site directly to local shelters and nonprofits for those who need it most. All financial contributions will be donated directly to the Mayor’s Fund.
Helping You Stay Safer at Home During this uncertain time with the coronavirus, LADWP wants you to know that we are working 24/7 to keep your power on and water flowing. Our crews will respond to water and power outages. Call us or report an outage online at ladwp.com/outages. Your tap water is safe to drink. There is no need to buy bottled water. The coronavirus does not affect your drinking water. Our team members are essential city workers continuing to work hard while taking safety measures. Need help paying your bill? We can help. Visit LADWP.com/financialassistance or call us at 1-800-DIAL-DWP. We will not shut off your water and power for non-payment.
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The LA Galaxy have joined forces with AEG, the LA Clippers, LA Kings, Los Angeles Lakers, LA Sparks and Rank + Rally to launch the Teams for LA Online Supersale to sell logoed team merchandise, as well as classic merchandise from the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and the Grammy Awards, to benefit the Mayor’s LA Emergency COVID-19 Crisis Fund.
Photo courtesy LA Galaxy
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Covered help LETTERSCalifornia TO THE will EDITOR Do your job Editor: Republicans have blasted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for showcasing her expensive double stainless steel refrigerators and gourmet ice creams in her opulent St. Helena, California, home, but I have no problem with that. What I do have a problem with is this: By
APRIL 27, 2020
DUFFY’S OPINION
not voting on more money for small business, she has essentially signed the death papers for many small-business owners who simply cannot afford the prolonged closure of their businesses. Wake up, Madam Speaker, and do your job! David Tulanian
Voting by mail the new norm? Hey you! Speak up! Downtown News wants to hear from people in the community. If you like or dislike a story, let us know, or weigh in on something you feel is important to the community. Participation is easy. Go to downtownnews.com, scroll to the bottom of the page and click the “Letter to the Editor” link. For guest opinion proposals, please email christina@timespublications.com.
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Voting by mail should replace voting at the polls in its entirety. The two institutions that can definitely be trusted are the county board of elections and the U.S. Postal Service. The money saved by eliminating the need for poll workers could be used to offer free postage on the envelopes used to vote by mail. The person voting would also have more time to consider what they are voting for and would not be confined to the hours of the polling place.
It would also prevent unwanted entry to schools and churches from anyone trying to harm someone. In addition, the voter would not be harassed by someone trying to place unsolicited campaign literature into their hand. The additional revenue would boost the postal service and perhaps keep it afloat until we, as a country, are able to vote online. Voting by mail would solve the registered voter problem and guarantee safe passage of the ballots to the county board of elections.
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DOWNTOWN NEWS 7
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Tender Greens steps in to provide the community with grocery boxes
By Annika Tomlin ecause restaurant closures and grocery hoarders have made it difficult for people to find fresh food for their families, Tender Greens has stepped in to help. The LA kitchen, which closed March 13, is working with 15 other farms, bakeries and small businesses to offer grocery boxes for pickup or delivery. CEO and President Denyelle Bruno said she and her team started making a plan to keep their business afloat days ahead of the lockdown. “We were freaking out like everyone else and complaining about what we thought about people hoarding groceries and people panicking, and we were also complaining about the fact that we couldn’t get groceries ourselves,” Bruno explains. “We were laughingly saying how it was a good thing we have Tender Greens so we are still able to eat.” After talking with the head of purchasing, Bruno and her crew were led down a path reconnecting with other companies to help people living in LA once again get access to fresh food and produce. “When restaurants started normally shutting down and then when they were required to shut down, the outlets for these companies totally dried up overnight,” Bruno said. “They were stuck with fresh produce and product that they had nowhere to sell. They were consumer desperate.” Thanks to already established relationships with local farmers and other small businesses, Bruno and her team were able to connect with others on the new venture. “Within 48 hours everyone was like, ‘Oh my God, yes, this is exactly what we need to do to help our farmers, help ourselves and help the consumers,’” Bruno recalls. “Within 48 hours we came up with the grocery box, and since then we’ve launched six of them and 50 a la carte items that we consider most desired items.” The six grocery boxes include the indoor picnic box, the morning baking box, the farm-fresh box, the fruit box, the veggie box and the pantry box, which range from $25 to $65. A la carte items include flour and corn tortillas, various shapes of pasta, raw or cooked steak, and quarts of tomato or chicken soup.
“The indoor picnic is definitely the most fun because it’s the one that has wine, crackers, cheese, salami and pickles,” Bruno said. “I’m somebody who is a big fan of making cheese boards anyway. I think it might have been handcrafted for my taste.” Tender Greens has sold over 25,000 grocery boxes, with the fruit box being the most popular. “Considering we’ve moved from one business model to another in the course of three weeks, I would say my team has done a fantastic job transitioning over,” Bruno said. Her retail background put her at ease when it came time to replenish inventory. The rest of the crew was not as familiar, but being in an ever-changing environment like the restaurant industry, they quickly innovated to the new business model. “These guys are kind of accustomed to changing on a dime,” Bruno said. “Their ability to execute is really high and their creativity is really high.” The grocery part of Tender Greens makes up 35% to 40% of the business that is still making and preparing people’s favorites during the pandemic. “If it weren’t so scary and if it weren’t such a depressing time, I think people would be having a lot of fun, but right now everyone is fighting for resources,” Bruno said. Companies like Larder Baking Company are able to re-hire staff to help make goods for the grocery boxes. “It was a really emotional moment when we realized that we were able to re-hire people to help with the boxes,” Bruno said. Customers can order online and pick up food at the Downtown LA Tender Greens or have it delivered through third-party vendors such as Postmates, DoorDash, Uber Eats and more.
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APRIL 27, 2020
Vân Scott’s time to step out of the background By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski ân Scott may not be a household name, but most people have heard his voice. He was asked to sing on Disney’s “High School Musical 3” soundtrack. Since then, he’s had the opportunity to perform for renowned film composers like Danny Elfman and Michael Giacchino as well as influential music producers such as Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins and Mike Elizondo; sung on blockbuster scores for “La La Land,” “Mulan,” “Jurassic World” and “Sing;” been a featured singer on ABC’s “Black-ish;” and has performed as a background vocalist for “The Voice,” to name just a few of his credits. This is Scott’s time, though. Born Scott Oatley, Scott recently released the single “Poster Boy,” which followed two recent releases: “Die Young” and “Tough Love.” “It was actually one of the easiest songs I’ve written,” Scott said about “Poster Boy.” “Once that popped into my mind, the song wrote itself. I knew what I wanted it to be about. “In the second verse, I sing about being painted with a halo on my head. I’m not a renaissance painting with the glow around their head. The whole concept comes from my work with the church. I was a poster boy for the church in a lot of ways. I felt I couldn’t be myself.” “Poster Boy” makes the statement that he’s just like everyone else. “The song gives people permission to be human,” he said. “People singled me out specifically as this golden child. It comes with the territory. It’s been therapeutic to put this in a song.” Church was beneficial to Scott. After all, that’s where he met Jerkins, who won a Grammy for Sam Smith songs. “He goes to my church,” he said about Jerkins. “We were hanging out there one day and I ended up playing a few demos. He gave me feedback and I gleaned production wisdom from him.” An Air Force brat, Scott has longed to be a musician since he was in middle school. The first song he penned was a “total Backstreet Boys pop ballad.” He’s hoping to line up gigs since the pandemic quarantine is eased. His music was meant to be enjoyed in groups. “I want people to feel less alone, and to be reminded that there are plenty of other people out there that share their same worries and fears,” he said. “I want them to feel better understood and have a stronger sense of belonging. I want them to have hope and to be inspired to be the best version of themselves. I think that people will discover this through my own vulnerability, and I hope that they’ll be able to see and discover more of themselves within my songs.”
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Vân Scott vanscottmusic.com Photo by Adam Griffin
APRIL 27, 2020
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LA Mayor Eric Garcetti’s 2020 State of the City address announced painful budget cuts and envisions better days. Photo courtesy Mayor’s Office
Mayor Garcetti’s State of the City shows measured optimism By Danny Karel mid a herculean civic effort to combat the novel coronavirus, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti delivered his annual State of the City address to a nearly vacant City Hall on April 19. The mayor offered a sobering assessment of present circumstances but framed this challenging time as a unique opportunity to orient the city toward a better, more just future. However, he was clear that the interim will be painful. He began by referencing the 2008 recession. “Until now, it was the biggest economic blow of our lifetime, and it hurt,” he said. “But there’s no way to sugarcoat this. This is bigger, and it will hurt more.” Heading into the crisis, the city’s reserve funds had reached an all-time high, said the mayor, but so far the city has had to draw more than $70 million from both reserve and special funds to fight the pandemic. At the same time, tax revenues have plummeted. Hotel reservations have collapsed, and airport traffic has fallen by 95%. In his proposed budget for the 2020 fiscal year, Garcetti explained that he had drawn a “red line” around certain essential services, namely those related to health and safety, but that cuts would be delivered almost everywhere else. This would also include a hiring freeze in city government, and the equiv-
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alent of a 10% reduction in pay for all civilian city workers, who will be asked to take 26 furlough days. To replace lost revenue, Garcetti called on the federal government to loosen restrictions on emergency funds. “Help bail out America’s cities,” he said. “Just as you bailed out the banks.” To frame his recovery plans and expectations, Garcetti asked four critical questions. The first was the most pressing: How will we make it through? He cited recently enacted emergency protections, such as eviction moratoriums and rent freezes, as well as the requirement to wear masks in public, and the ongoing collaboration between local labs and universities to develop large-scale virus testing and tracing capabilities. He also mentioned financial relief measures like the Angeleno Card initiative, which offers pre-funded debit cards to low-income residents regardless of immigration status. However, despite these steps, society will not be able to reconvene immediately, noted the mayor. “It may be months, my friends, before we safely gather in large groups,” he said. “It may be a year or more before a vaccine or medicine frees us from periodically returning to Safer at Home.” Garcetti was clear that we are in the “first battle” of this fight, and without a vaccine, a second wave of COVID-19 is all but certain.
For many Angelenos, the second question was equally urgent: When can we begin to leave our homes? Garcetti explained the five “key elements” which determine the timeline: the ability to test for the virus and immunity-determining antibodies on a wide scale; the development of real-time dynamic monitoring to determine where cases are clustered; an improved system of tracking and tracing to keep the virus from spreading; building and maintaining robust hospital capacity; and the development of COVID-19 treatments and a vaccine. He also proposed the formation of a ”Cares Core,” a coalition of government and health agencies, backed by federal funding, which would expedite these steps and guide the city through recovery. The third question addressed the City of Angels’ pain: When we do go back, what damage will have been done? At the time of the address, unemployment levels had already surpassed those reached during the worst days of the Great Recession, the mayor said. At least 600 Angelenos had died as a result of COVID-19, and nearly 3,4000 had been hospitalized. Garcetti acknowledged that The Safer at Home ordinance had helped “flatten this curve, but, to be clear, the numbers are still going up.” He called the current situation a “collective trauma,” one that will leave “none of us unmarked.”
His final question looked to the future: When we do return, who do we want to be? While the virus has radically disrupted our daily lives, Garcetti also observed how it has created unique opportunities to address other issues that plague the city, such as air pollution and homelessness. He mentioned LA’s crystal blue sky, an unexpected but welcome development of the Safer at Home order. “We won that sky by saving each other from a disease,” he said, adding that managing to keep those skies blue through environmental initiatives would save even more lives from asthma, cancer and “climate catastrophes.” He also pointed to the countywide effort to house thousands of homeless Angelenos in hotel and motel rooms to prevent the spread of COVID-19. “Once those fellow Angelenos come inside, they must not return to the streets,” he said, adding later that the spirit of service, which moves much of the city today, should “move our economic recovery and our commitment to heal an unjust world” in the future. Garcetti’s final remarks addressed the surreal nature and pain of the moment, but also recalled the resilient spirit of Los Angeles. “Our city is under attack, our daily life is unrecognizable, we are bowed, and we are worn down; we are grieving our dead,” he said. “But we are not broken, nor will we ever be.”
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APRIL 27, 2020
Hemp startup donates surgical masks to ‘essential’ businesses By Annika Tomlin hortly after E1011 Labs launched on February 1, the hemp startup company was forced to close due to California’s stay-at-home order. Just over a month and a half into operations, the company was left with an inventory of 10,000 surgical masks normally required due to stringent quality-control procedures for manufacturing. So, seeing as it had no use for them, E1011 Labs decided to donate the masks. “What better to do with them than to donate them?” Operations Manager Mackenzie Whalen said. “We didn’t want to be hoarding them, especially in times like these.” Though Whalen said the March 19 stay-at-home order deemed its “cannabis counterparts” to be “essential,” she said E1011 Labs’ business model didn’t fit the bill—it specializes in hemp-derived CBD. “We kind of categorize ourselves as a tech company in the CBD space because of our hightech device that is paired with CBD,” she explained. The masks will now be used to support those business that have been deemed “essential.” Specifically, they’re targeted at delivery personnel who are on the front lines, ensuring the community’s accessibility to goods. “I realized that a lot of essential employees who were still currently working weren’t being provided basic masks by their employers,” Whalen said. “When you walk into a restaurant or post office or any essential business that is still open, they unfortunately weren’t donning masks quite yet.”
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E1011 Labs is allowing its customers to determine where the masks go. With every purchase, customers may nominate an “essential” business, and E1011 will donate to it 50 masks in their name. “We have surgical masks that we are donating to hospitals, clinics and to anybody in the health industry,” Whalen explained. “We also have fabric masks that we’re donating to restaurants, groceries, banks and nonprofits.” Whalen said many other businesses now rely on these masks, which E1011 Labs is normally required to use during the CBD production process. E1011 Labs staff uses fabric masks during the packing process. “We saw people from these really big companies requesting these masks because they were unable to get them anywhere else,” Whalen said. “That’s why we donate to all essential places.” Companies that have already received masks include The Southern California Re-
sources for Independent Living, a nonprofit that helps people with disabilities; Sherman Oaks Hospital; Long Island Hospital; Union Bank; Chase Bank and area chiropractors. “We were also able to visit a bunch of dispensaries, where we dropped off masks,” Whalen added. The mission of E1011 Labs, as described by Whalen, is to make people feel “sublime.” “In light of recent events, the way to make people feel sublime is to help the community, as opposed to just sell our product,” Whalen explained. While E1011 Labs is still able to sell its products, they’re on backorder due to the production halt. “(The transition) has definitely been hectic since we’ve received a ton of requests,” Whalen said. “We weren’t expecting that many requests, so it’s kind of been a logistical roller coaster trying to fulfill everyone’s request, but so far we’ve been doing OK.”
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APRIL 27, 2020
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