Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, April 10, 2021

Mountain Views-News Saturday, April 10, 2021 

RED CROSS KICKS-OFF SPRING SOUND THE ALARM CAMPAIGN 

Home Fire Safety program bolster at-risk communities 


The American Red Cross Los Angeles Region encourages 
Ange-lenos to help #EndHomeFires by attending 
a virtual one-on-one home fire safety class.

 From April 8 to May 8, Red Cross volunteers will 
Sound the Alarm. in Los Angeles as part of a na-tional 
effort to educate 100,000 people about home fire safety 
in high-risk neighborhoods. Volun-teers will meet 
with residents by virtual appointments to share fire 
safety information, help families create escape plans 
and practice two-minute fire drills. Visit redcross.org/
lahomefire to schedule a 20-minute virtual training 
and find more ways to get involved.

 “Home fires remain the most frequent disaster during 
COVID-19, yet most of us don’t realize we have 
just two minutes to safely escape,” said Joanne Nowlin, 
CEO for the Red Cross Los Angeles. “As families spend 
more time at home during the pandemic, it’s critical 
that we help our vulnerable neighbors protect themselves 
from these everyday disasters.” 

In 2021 alone (just three months), Red Cross LA has 
supported more than 660 people following more than 
120 home fires. The Red Cross helped with urgent 
needs such as emergency shelter-ing, financial assistance 
and recovery planning. 

Most recently, the Red Cross responded to a condominium 
fire in Panorama City and helped more than 
50 people displaced by the fire by providing food, water, 
safe lodging and other services as they begin the recovery 
process. A report published by the Los Angeles 
Fire Department sited that functioning smoke alarms 
alerted some occupants, and all were able to evacuate 
safely.

 Visit redcross.org/lahomefire to schedule a 20-minute 
virtual training and find more ways to get in-volved.

 HOW TO KEEP YOUR FAMILY SAFE 
Help protect your family against home fires by taking 
two simple steps: Practice your two-minute escape 
drill and test your smoke alarms monthly. Visit 
SoundTheAlarm.org for more information and to 
pledge to prepare your family against home fires. 

LA COUNTY MORTGAGE RELIEF 
PROGRAM 

The Los Angeles County Department of Consumer 
and Business Affairs (DCBA) is pleased to an-nounce 
the new LA County Mortgage Relief Program, a partnership 
with Neighborhood Housing Services of LA 
County (NHS) and local HUD-approved housing 
counseling agencies. The $5.5 mil-lion initiative developed 
by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors 
will support property owners who have been adversely 
affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Mortgage Relief Program will include a relief fund 
which provides grants of up to $20,000 for qualified 
property owners, plus expanded foreclosure prevention 
counseling services. The program is structured 
to benefit single-family homeowners and property 
owners with four or fewer units liv-ing in communities 
highly impacted by COVID-19. This includes low- 
and moderate-income commu-nities and those who 
have suffered a higher percentage of significant health 
impacts during the on-going COVID-19 pandemic. 
Properties must be owner occupied. 

NHS will administer the relief fund and deploy funds 
to qualified applicants from a diverse set of cities and 
unincorporated areas throughout Los Angeles County, 
excluding the City of Los Angeles. DCBA and NHSLA 
have determined qualification requirements for 
applicants. Relief funds will be paid directly to lenders 
and servicers. 

Free foreclosure prevention counseling will be provided 
by nonprofit HUD-approved counseling agencies to 
property owners in multiple languages. To find more 
ways how LA County can help property owners, visit 
DCBA’s foreclosure prevention website at dcba.lacounty.
gov/foreclosure-prevention. 

Starting Monday, April 12, property owners can 
apply for the Mortgage Relief Program by calling 
(888) 895-2647 or visiting nhslacounty.org/
mortgagereliefprogram. 

TABLE FOR TWO by Peter Dills

thechefknows@yahoo.com 

I LOST MY LUGGAGE? 

Just hallways apart at the Old Santa Fe Train Station in Pasadena 
are the Luggage Room Restaurant and, on the other 
side, the LA Grade Orange, efficiently known as “LGO”. I 
have visited both restaurants in the past week and have had 
mixed results (let it be known I ate at the bars at both restaurants 
for this review). The good first: La Grande Orange's 
happy hour is one of the best in town -sangria, beer, and 
wonderful food including a Kale Salad and the “almost” famous tacos are a real hit, and the crowd is 
just in this reviewer's age range. It's a real comfortable place to hang out and enjoy. 


After my Tuesday night run I like to pick a local spot to put the calories right back on, and Tuesday's 
destination was the Luggage Room. Equipped with cash and running shoes a small group of us nibbled 
on freshly baked pizza and locally crafted beer from a simple menu of pizza and salads. The restaurant 
was packed for a Tuesday - it seems it’s locals night, and pizza is one of the easiest and cheapest items 
to make (buy one pizza get the next one for $5***, a trick learned from The TV Show (“Bar Rescue”). 
Unfortunately, the pizza was plain, and the beer was room temperature (which we can blame on a refrigerator 
or compressor). I wish I could blame it on the service or lack of staff, but I just can’t …the 
service was good, and there were plenty of worker bees. Despite this visit I would go back, just to hang 
out with the 80’s gang I grew up with, but for food I'd go to the other side and eat at LGO!! Oh, why 
is it named the Luggage Room? The restaurant was the old Santa Fe Train Station and yep, it was the 
luggage storage room. 

The Luggage Room 260 S. Raymond Ave. Pasadena (626) 356-4440 

www.diningwithdills.comListen to Dining w/Dills on 79AM 830 KLAA For more food tips Sunday at 5 PM 

*** Menu might be changing due to Covid 19 

ESCAPE PLANS 
Create an escape plan with at least two ways to exit every 
room in your home. Select a meeting spot at a safe 
distance away from your home, such as your neighbor’s 
home or landmark like a specific tree in your 
front yard, where everyone knows to meet.
Practice your escape plan until everyone in your 
household can get out in less than two minutes.
SMOKE ALARMS 
Place smoke alarms on each level of your home, including 
inside and outside bedrooms and sleep-ing 
areas. Change the batteries at least once a year if your 
model requires it.
Check the manufacturer’s date on your smoke alarms. 
If they’re 10 years or older, they likely need to be replaced. 
Follow the alarm manufacturer’s instructions.
During the month of April, help #EndHomeFires by 
attending our virtual one-on-one home fire safe-ty 
training. Visit redcross.org/lahomefire for more information, 
including an escape plan to practice with your 
family and book your virtual class. 

About the American Red Cross: 
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides 
emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies 
about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills 
that save lives; provides international humanitarian 
aid; and supports military members and their families. 
The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends 
on volunteers and the generosity of the American 
public to perform its mission. For more information, 
please visit redcross.org/la or cruzrojaamericana. 
org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCrossLA or @ 
CruzRojaLA. 

AVOID ANSWERING CALLS 
FROM THESE AREA CODES: 
SCAM PHONE NUMBERS GUIDE

 Phone scammers are getting smarter with their tactics. 
And if you’re not careful, they could make big 
bucks off of you, the unsuspecting caller. Aside from 
hanging up if you hear this four-word phrase, there’s 
something else you can do to avoid becoming a victim 
and to keep up with your smartphone security and 
privacy.

Another area code to look out for may look like it’s 
coming from the United States, but isn’t. “Criminals 
have been known to use caller IDs with the area code 
473, which appears to be domestic, but is actually the 
area code for the island of Grenada,” Steinberg says. 
Watch out for these phone call scams that could steal 
your money, too.

 To play it extra safe, never answer or return a call 
from a number you don’t recognize. If you actually 
know the person, they can always leave a voicemail. 
It can’t hurt to be wary of possible scam phone numbers 
with the following international area codes.

 Scam phone numbers: :
232—Sierra Leone 
242 — Bahamas 
246 — Barbados 
268 — Antigua284 — British Virgin Islands345 — Cayman Islands441 — Bermuda 
473 — Grenada, Carriacou, and Petite Martinique649 — Turks and Caicos 
664 — Montserrat 
721 — Sint Maarten 
758 — St. Lucia 
767 — Dominica 
784 — St. Vincent and Grenadines 
809, 829, and 849 — The Dominican Republic868 — Trinidad and Tobago869 — St. Kitts and Nevis 
876 — Jamaica 

Remember, a good rule of thumb is if you don’t recognize 
the phone number, don’t pick up your phone 
and let it go to voicemail. 

L.A. COUNTY NEARS 5 MILLION VACCINE 
DOSES ADMINISTERED 
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) has confirmed 48 
new deaths and 752 new cases of COVID-19. To date, Public Health identified 1,224,503 
positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 23,431 deaths. 

Of the 48 new deaths reported today, 19 people that passed away were over the age of 80, 
10 people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, 12 people who died were between 
the ages of 50 and 64, three people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49, and one 
person who died was between the ages of 18 and 29. Tragically, one youth under the age of 
18 also passed away. Two deaths were reported by the City of Long Beach. 

More than 4,715,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to people across 
Los Angeles County. Of those vaccinated, 1,652,149 people received second doses and 
136,232 people received the single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. 

As of April 6, 70.2% of L.A. County residents 65 and older received at least one dose of the 
vaccine. In total, 37.1% of the County’s population 18 and older have received at least one 
dose of vaccine. 

Public Health continues to expand the number of sites offering vaccination services across 
the county. As of this week, vaccinations are administered at 566 locations. These sites 
include seven large community vaccination sites operated by the County, nine LA City vaccination 
sites, 24 hospital vaccination sites, 130 pharmacies, 199 federally qualified health 
centers and community clinics, and 197 additional sites provided vaccine directly by the 
federal government and the state. 

This week, 397,430 total doses were allocated to Los Angeles County. This allocation 
included approximately 151,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, 128,000 doses of Moderna 
vaccine, and 118,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. With the additional doses 
shipped directly by the federal government to L.A. County providers, vaccination sites 
across the county had capacity to administer nearly 700,000 doses this week. Next week, 
Public Health is expecting to receive approximately 323,000 vaccine doses; a decrease of 
74,000 doses from this week due to a reduced supply of Johnson & Johnson vaccine. This 
allocation includes approximately 165,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, 139,000 doses of 
Moderna vaccine, and 20,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. 

Of the nearly 323,000 doses of vaccine the County expects to receive next week, 70% of 
doses will go to sites located in the most vulnerable communities. Fifty-seven percent of 
doses are needed for second dose appointments. 

Additional doses will continue to be allocated directly from federal partners and the state 
to pharmacies, health clinics, FEMA sites, and multi-county entities. Together, Public 
Health hopes that slightly over 500,000 doses of vaccine will be allocated to vaccination 
sites across the county next week. 

"We send our deepest sympathies to the families and friends grieving a loved one lost to 
COVID-19,"said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. "I encourage 
those already eligible for COVID-19 vaccination to not delay getting vaccinated. Now that 
we have expanded eligibility for vaccination to all adults 50 and older, and will soon be 
expanding to residents age 16 and older, effective April 15, I want to urge all employers to 
please give your employees time to get vaccinated when it is their turn. We expect a rush 
for appointments in the coming weeks, and employees will need as much flexibility as possible 
to get their vaccinations." 

There are 540 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 26% of these people are 
in the ICU. Testing results are available for more than 6,175,000 individuals with 18% of 
people testing positive. Today's daily test positivity rate is 1.3%. 

Public Health is committed on ensuring an equitable distribution of vaccines and ensuring 
eligible residents and workers in hard hit communities have increased access to vaccines. 
For information about who is eligible for COVID-19 vaccine in L.A. County, how 
to make an appointment if it is your turn, what verifications you will need to show at your 
vaccination appointment, and much more, visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) 
and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish). Vaccinations are always free and open to 
eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status. 

County Reopening Protocols, COVID-19 Surveillance Interactive Dashboard, Roadmap 
to Recovery, Recovery Dashboard, and additional actions you can take to protect yourself, 
your family and your community are on the Public Health website, www.publichealth.
lacounty.gov. 

LOCAL STATISTICS AS OF 04/09/2021 

TOTAL LA COUNTY CASES 

Cases: 1,224,503

Deaths: 23,431 

CITY POPULATION CASES DEATHS 

Altadena 43,260 3,279 70 
Arcadia 57,754 2,672 130 
Bradbury 1,069 35 0 
Duarte 22,016 2,296 92 
Monrovia 38,800 3,140 74 
Pasadena 141,371 11,160 339 
Sierra Madre 10,989 463 13 

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH 
GUIDANCE FOR VACCINATED INDIVIDUALS 

On March 10, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health published a modified 
Health Officer Order to reflect changes for individuals who are fully vaccinated to align 
with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) new guidelines and interim 
public health recommenda-tions.
The guidance provides that fully vaccinated individuals may resume certain activities, 
such as gathering with other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or 
physical distancing; visit with unvaccinated people from a single household who are at low 
risk for severe COVID-19 disease indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing; 
and refraining from quarantine and testing following a known exposure if asymptomatic. 
The Department of Public Health recommends that fully vaccinated people should continue 
to: 

• Take steps to protect themselves and others by wearing a mask, staying at least 6 
feet apart from others, and avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces. These precautions 
should be taken whenever they are:
• In public 
• Gathering with unvaccinated people from more than one other household 
• Visiting with an unvaccinated person who is at increased risk for severe COVID-
19 disease or who lives with a person at increased risk.
• Avoid medium- and large-sized in-person gatherings 
• Watch out for symptoms of COVID-19, especially if after contact with someone 
who is sick. If they have symptoms of COVID-19, they should get tested and stay home 
and away from others. 
Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 
Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com