Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, October 2, 2021

Mountain View News Saturday, October 2, 2021 8 Mountain View News Saturday, October 2, 2021 8 
PUBLIC HEALTH CLOSELY MONITORS OUTBREAKS;

BE THE HEART OF HOPE: FOOTHILL UNITY CENTER By Joan Schmidt 

VACCINATION REQUIREMENT FOR HEALTHCARE 
WORKERS GOES INTO EFFECT 

Foothill Unity Center recently celebrated 
its 22nd Annual Golden Plates 
Gala honoring exceptional individuals who 
support the Center and our Communites.

Festivities began with a warm 
welcome from CEO, Tashera Taylor, who 
thanked Volunteers, Donors, Staff, Board 
of Directors and Neighbors using the service. 
This past year has been difficult with 
the pandemic and recession, but the Center 
continues its mission of “helping neighbors 
in crisis, partnering with the community 
and using our resources wisely to provide 
vital support services with love and dignity.” 
(This past summer Congresswoman 
Judy Chu recently honored the Center as 
“Non-Profit of the Year-Heroes of the Pandemic.”) 
Gary Kovacic, Board President also 
spoke and thanked everyone for attending 
as these special people are honored. Channel 
7’s Rob Fukazaki was guest host. (He and 
wife Sharyl are also committed to the community.) 
Rob has partnered with the Center 
in Food-Give-ways. 

The theme of the Golden Plates 
Awards 2021 was “Be the Heart of Hope”,
and the recipients certainly were. Mickey 
and Lee Segal received the HEART IN 
HAND HUMANITARIAN AWARD. They 
have lived in this area many years and have 
had a positive impact on thousands of lives. 
They have continued support of the Center; 
during the Pandemic, provided full funding 
for a new van to pick up and distribute food. 
Other charitable causes include St. Jude 
Research Hospital, Methodist Hospital of 
Southern California, Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation, 
Covenant House, Cal Poly Pomona, American Cancer 
Society, Jewish Federation of the Greater San Gabriel 
and Pomona Valleys, and the AUSD.

The 2021 Neighbors Helping Neighbors Business 
Award honoree was Air Tro Inc. Bob Helbing and 
partners Jim Hunter, Troy Helbing, and Donn Capps 
stepped in to help the Center during the Covid-19 crisis. 
They not only offered vans for the Center’s use, but 
their staff to help as needed. Bob spoke of the Pandemic 
and how many businesses had to downsize their 
workers. But he called the Center and offered the vans 
and his workers, whom he kept on salary.

The 2012 Neighbors Helping Neighbors Youth 
Service Award was given to Fruit 4 Homeless. This 
was founded by brother and sister, Andre and Ashley 
Young. Fruit 4 Homeless provides youth volunteers 
the opportunity to pick fresh fruits and vegetables for 
the homeless and those in need. 

2021 Carl Foote Legacy Award honoree was 
Alan Story. For over a decade, Alan has volunteered 
his time at the Center and for the past nine years he 
has served as the homebound food delivery volunteer. 
For three days every month, Mr. Story shows up to ensure 
that our senior, disabled and homebound clients 
receive their food boxes. He builds relationships and 
trust with these clients who appreciate his company 
and assistance. 

 
Please visit www.foothillunitycenter.org. It is a major 
source of food, health services, and crisis assistance for 
thousands of low-income families. 
Some 2020 stats: 1,561,150 meals, 62,446 food services,
8,210 food boxes to seniors & disabled,12,420 
meals for homeless; 149,938 health, nutrition, covid, 
educational materials/resources; 1,017 screenings 
for glucose/diabetes, blood pressure, vitals, hearing, 
cholesterol, HIV & sport physicals, 46 eye exams, 
glasses & eyeglass vouchers; 7,474 case management 
services; 288, 023 services through core programs, 
3,646 bus tokens, taxi vouchers/foothill transits; 3,424 
diaper packages; 22 families placed in permanent 
housing, 37 families in temporary housing, 1,846 services 
to secure permanent housing; 12,420 meals for 
homeless, 6,196 bag lunches; 6,700 job development 
related services, 157 nursing students pursuing licensure 
training onsite, 18 work experience trainees, 2004 
children served for back to school, 2836 pet food bags, 
150 pets served at vet clinics, $90,312 value of dental 
procedures for children & parents, 4,375 Thanksgiving 
food boxes, 1,905 Holiday food boxes, and 1,619 gift 
cards for toys & clothing.
The goal for the event was $150,000. I last heard over 
$129,000. Thank you to the Segels; $25,000 check at 
the event; and all the generous Auction donors, members 
and volunteers who made this awesome event 
possible. 

The Los Angeles County Department of Public 
Health (Public Health) closely monitors community 
outbreaks as the Delta variant comprises 
100% of all variants sequenced by the Public 
Health lab. 

The highest numbers of outbreaks among vulnerable 
people in healthcare and residential settings 
over the last few months have been in settings 
serving people experiencing homelessness (40).
Meanwhile, outbreaks at skilled nursing facilities 
(21), other long-term care facilities (15), and 
healthcare settings (1), where vaccination rates 
are relatively high, have been relatively low. These 
differences are real- time evidence of the protective 
effect of vaccines among our most vulnerable 
res-idents. 

Public Health continues to closely follow disease 
transmission at schools. Weekly student cases increased 
in August from about 1,300 to a peak of 
nearly 2,800 cases the week ending August 22. 
The number of student close contacts increased 
correspondingly to a peak of nearly 11,000 by the 
end of August. Both student cases and contacts 
have since decreased substantially; last week, the 
County saw 829 student cases and 3,100 student 
close contacts. Meanwhile, staff numbers have 
also de-creased weekly from their high point 
of 403 staff cases and 493 staff close contacts in 
mid-August: last week, there were only 109 staff 
cases and 26 staff close contacts. 

While overall case numbers in schools are trending 
downward, the number of outbreaks has increased 
slightly over the last few weeks, from 11 
outbreaks the week ending September 18, to 12 
outbreaks the week ending September 25. Youth 
sports account for most outbreaks, although the 
County is seeing some outbreaks in elementary, 
middle, and high schools. These numbers are impressively 
low given that 3,000-plus schools are 
now open countywide. 

There are various vaccination verification requirements 
affecting L.A. County residents and 
workers. Today, September 30, is the deadline for 
health care and home health care workers across 

L.A. Coun-ty to be fully vaccinated. Earlier this 
week, the state issued a new order requiring 
workers in adult and senior care facilities and in 
home direct care settings to be fully vaccinated 
by November 30. L.A. County employees have 
until October 1 and L.A. City employees have 
until October 5. 
On October 7, proof of full vaccination or a negative 
test result will be required to enter outdoor 
mega events, and proof of at least one dose of the 
vaccine will be required to enter or work in indoor 
portions of bars, lounges, nightclubs, brew


eries, wineries, and distilleries in L.A. County. 
On Novem-ber 4, bars and similar establishments 
throughout L.A. County will be required 
to verify full vaccina-tion of all patrons and employees 
prior to entry to indoor portions of their 
establishments. 

With cases declining in communities and 
schools, the County can focus on increasing vaccination 
rates as quickly as possible to avoid the 
disruption that would come with future waves of 
infection. 

As of September 26, 92% of L.A. County residents 
65 and over have received at least one dose 
of the vaccine, 78% of residents 16 and over and 
77% of residents 12 and over. Sixty-nine percent 
of residents 12 and over have been fully vaccinated. 
Sixty-seven percent of L.A. County teens 
between the ages of 12 and 17 received at least 
one dose and 59% are fully vaccinated. Out of 
the nearly 10.3 million L.A. County residents, 
including those who are not yet eligible for the 
vaccine, 66% have re-ceived at least one dose, 
and 59% are fully vaccinated. Millions of eligible 
residents remain unvac-cinated. 

Last Friday, September 24, the County began 
administering booster doses as well as the additional 
doses administered to immunocompromised 
people. Countywide, a total of nearly 
105,930 third dos-es have been administered by 

L.A. County providers. 
The County continues to send hundreds of mobile 
vaccination teams into neighborhoods where 
un-vaccinated people live and work to administer 
first, second, and third doses of vaccines. Ninety-
five percent of mobile unit visits scheduled this 
week will be offering Pfizer vaccines, including 
boosters, and 704 fixed sites are offering Pfizer 
boosters. Over the coming weeks, Public Health 
mobile teams will be targeting communities with 
limited access to Pfizer doses to ensure that access 
to boosters is easy across the county. 

Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible 
residents and workers regardless of immigration 
sta-tus. Anyone 12 and older living or working 
in L.A. County can get vaccinated. Boosters are 
available for eligible individuals at all sites offering 
the Pfizer vaccine. Visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.
com (to find a vaccination site near you, 
make an appointment at vaccination sites, and 
much more. 

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 09/17/2021 vs. 10/01/2021 
TOTAL LA COUNTY CASES AS OF 09/24/2021 

Cases: 1,451,438 
Deaths: 26,106 
CITY POPULATION CASES DEATHS 

TABLE FOR TWO by Peter Dillsthechefknows@yahoo.comOPEN IT NOW SAYS PETER DILLS 
question I am asked almost weekly basis is “does wine get better as it Cases: 1,459,182 
spends more time in a bottle?” Answer is “yes… and no”. Deaths: 25,972 
Philipe Jeandet is a professor at University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne 
in France, and was lucky enough to discover a shipwreck that 
CITY POPULATION CASES DEATHS 
had quite a cargo. Gold? No, champagne. Jeandet and his crew 
brought all 168 bottles to the surface, and actually opened one on the 
spot. First tastes were fantastic. Given his knowledge of bubbles, his 
first guess was that they were at least 100 years old. The bottles had no 
boxes or labels, so after a few years of inspecting the corks and bottle 
engravings his group decided that the champagne was over 200 years 
old. It’s home at the bottom of the Baltic Sea provided total darkness 
and a temperature of 35 degrees, aided by the compression of depth 
Altadena 43,260Arcadia 57,754Bradbury 1,069Duarte 22,016 
Monrovia 38,800Pasadena 141,371Sierra Madre 10,989 
4,013 
3,315 
422,725 
3,936 
13,20560781 
147 
0 
99 
82 
361 
13 
for the discovery, 
perfect for storing 
wine. 
Your home wine cellar provides somewhat different 
conditions than the bottom of the Baltic Sea, 
so getting back to the question above, does wine 
get better with age? Yes, wines that are expensive 
or rare will get better. No, most wine is produced 

Altadena 43,260 3,990 80 
Arcadia 57,754 3295 147 
Bradbury 1,069 42 0 
Duarte 22,016 2,712 99 
Monrovia 38,800 3,902 82 
Pasadena 141,371 13,131 359 
Sierra Madre 10,989 601 13 

TOTAL LA COUNTY CASES AS OF 10/01/2021

“Time in a Bottle” was a hit song by singer/songwriter Jim Croce. A 

to drink now. In fact, up to 90% of wines don’t 
actually get any better with ageing. 

Many of us will let our wines breathe, especially 
the reds, and that’s fine. I suggest using a large 
wine glass with enough room to swirl your wine 
around, watch the legs on the glass, and drink. 
Many of my class “A” sommelier friends contend 
that if it’s not ready drink, it isn’t ready to buy. I 
agree!! 

As for champagne, my storage procedure (for a 
single bottle or case) is to simply leave it on the 
floor of my closet, laying each bottle sideways. 
Champagne, for many, is only for special occasions, 
whereas for me it is a weekly toast. You 
should only put champagne in the refrigerator 
when you are ready to serve it. Once opened it 
will only last a few hours, so make sure you have 
plenty of help to drink it. 

My bottom line on the subject is to let the supermarkets 
and wine shops take care of the storage 
for you. They have the right equipment, and it is 
a heck of job (and a lot of money) to build your 
own wine cellar. 

Next week I visit Restaurant ROE 


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