Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, April 2, 2022

Mountain View News Saturday, April 2, 2022 

STAY SAFE! 

GET VACCINATED! 

WEAR A MASK! 


The Chef Knows By Peter Dills 
GAS OR WINE ? 

Recently, I was the recipient of a question 
from reader Cruz Trevino of Sierra Madre. 
It appears that Cannon Drive(Beverly 
Hills) and their wine list may have migrated 
to a location near us. Cruz was at the 
Langham Hotel and enjoyed a glass of Taittinger 
Champagne ($27), and he asked 
this writer to investigate how establishments come up with prices of wines by the glass. I 
dream of a day when a poor restaurant critic may soothe his many worries with an exceptional 
glass of wine and not be required to carry a bag of gold dust as payment. Like the majority 
of us, Cruz strikes me as a regular consumer of wine; a person who is not cheap but searches 
for value when he is dining out. I must admit I, too, like the gentle view from the Tap Room 
over looking the 50 acres of greenery. 


I reached out to my many sources in the industry and this is what I found out. Ian Blackburn, 
founder of Learnaboutwine.com, said, “That ($27) is fairly common (really?) for a good glass 
of wine and the math works out to ($135) for the full bottle at that price per glass.” While 
many chain restaurants use a Libby wine glass which costs a couple of bucks, upscale restaurants 
use a higher quality glass, so you can guess that the cost of the glass might be just a bit 
lower than what they paid for the entire bottle. My next call was to Randy, who owns the 
Domenico’s restaurant on Washington in Pasadena. He tells me that his wine purveyors suggest 
to "tripling the cost of the bottle”. This means if you see a bottle for $30 at your favorite 
restaurant, by this rule of thumb, they paid $10 for it.” 

Ok, so how about corkage fees? Most restaurants charge $4-$15 for this service because, yes, 
they still have to open your bottle and clean the glasses. I find it that is unacceptable to bring 
in a bottle of wine that is already listed on the restaurant’s menu. If it is an owner-occupied 
restaurant, often it is a good gesture to let the owner sample the wine that you have brought 
in. Who picks the wine? Erudite wine broker Eddie Ramirez offers this insightful advice, 
“Always have the wine list when ordering, and I do not recommend asking the servers for a 
wine recommendation unless you do not have any issues with the price.” My suggestion to 
Cruz and my readers is it to never blindly let the server choose the wine for you and be careful 
on the “ House Wine” I stayed at a resort in South Laguna just a few years ago and my bill 
was $110!! 
I hope this helps. I learned something as well. 

Follow me on Tic Toc and Instagram 

one from COVID,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. 
“We’re about two months out from the peak of our winter surge and have seen significant 
declines in our cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. However, with case numbers no longer 
decreasing and increases in the circulation of the more infectious BA.2 subvariant in 
LA County, now is the time for us to use the tools at hand to decrease both personal and 
community risk: vaccination, testing, masking and therapeutics. In a similar way that we 
take steps to be prepared for fires and earthquakes, we now also need to take preparedness 
actions that allow us to be safe during a pandemic. And just like we don’t wait until 
there is a fire or an earthquake to make a plan, we don’t need to wait until we are experiencing 
another surge, to increase our protection. Get vaccinated and boosted, have a 
supply of test kits, talk to your provider about eligibility for new therapeutics, and wear 
a well-fitting, high filtration mask in places where the risk for transmission is elevated.” 

A wide range of data and dashboards on COVID-19 from the Los Angeles County Department 
of Public Health are available on the Public Health website at http://www.publichealth.
lacounty.gov 

STAY SAFE! GET VACCINATED! 

WEAR A MASK WHEN NECESSARY! 


SECOND BOOSTER DOSES AVAILABLE 
TO ELIGIBLE RESIDENTS AT PUBLIC 
HEALTH OPERATED VACCINATION 
SITES 

Public Health Reports 541 New Positive Cases and 7 New 
Deaths Due to COVID-19 in Los Angeles County 

Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized a second booster dose 
of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or the Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for individuals 50 
years of age and older at least 4 months after they received their first booster dose. Public 
Health sites will be prepared to administer second booster doses to those eligible starting 
immediately. 

Sites administering second booster doses for those 50 years of age and older starting 
tomorrow include Obregon Park (East Los Angeles), Ted Watkins Park (South Los Angeles), 
Balboa Sports Complex (Encino), Commerce Senior Citizens Center (Commerce), 
Market Street Center (Santa Clarita), Palmdale Oasis Recreation Center (Palmdale), and 
the Norwalk Arts and Sports Complex (Norwalk). Visit VaccinateLACounty.com for 
more information. 

Eligible residents can also check with other vaccination sites about the availability of the 
second booster dose. 

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) today released the 
latest data on COVID-19. The number of cases and deaths are likely to reflect reporting 
delays over the holiday weekend.

• 541 New COVID-19 cases (2,831,655 cases to date) 
• 7 New deaths due to COVID-19 (31,626 deaths to date) 
• 321 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 
• More than 11,675,000 individuals tested; 22% of people tested positive to date 
THE HIGHLY INFECTIOUS BA.2 SUBVARIANT INCREASING IN 
LA COUNTY, ACCOUNTING FOR 32% OF ALL SPECIMENS 
SEQUENCED 

Increases in LA County reflect patterns seen around the world, with the World Health Organization 
announcing last week that worldwide, BA.2 accounted for 86% of sequenced 
cases from the prior 4 weeks. And on Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
estimated that BA.2 is now the dominant variant in the U.S., accounting for approximately 
55% of sequenced cases for the week ending March 26. 

While there are not yet increases in cases or hospitalizations in LA County, given the increased 
risk for spread of BA.2, it’s important to take steps to maximize protection against 
spread, including increasing vaccination and booster rates for residents, as these gaps in 
vaccination coverage create significant risk. 

As of March 27, 83% of LA County residents ages five and older had received at least one 
dose of the COVID vaccine and 75% were fully vaccinated. Additionally, 57% of eligible 
residents ages 12 and older received the additional protection of a booster. This leaves 
about 2.6 million booster-dose eligible residents not benefiting from the extra protection 
of a booster dose and 1.7 million eligible residents needing to get their first vaccination.
If residents cannot be vaccinated due to medical reasons or because their body can’t 
mount an appropriate immune response to vaccines, they may still be able to be protected 
with COVID therapeutics. Residents should ask their provider if they’re eligible to receive 
Evusheld, a new therapeutic for people 12 years and older that can prevent COVID-19. 
There are also several therapeutics available that can reduce severe illness for people who 
have been infected with COVID-19. If residents test positive, they should check immediately 
with their provider whether they are eligible to receive one of these treatments. 
Residents who don’t have a doctor can call the COVID-19 information line at 833-5400473, 
8:00 am - 8:30 pm daily for more information. Note that the monoclonal antibody 
medicine Sotrovimab is no longer authorized for use in California due to studies showing 
less efficacy against BA.2. 

Residents can also stock up on the over-the-counter COVID test kits that they can administer 
themselves at home. Up to two sets of four at home tests can be ordered at no 
charge from the federal government at www.covidtests.gov. Residents who have health 
insurance can receive eight free at home tests each month for each insured member in 
their household. Individuals can also get tested at one of the many free testing sites located 
throughout the County. Visit www.ph.lacounty.gov/covidtests for information and 
links to testing sites. Individuals should get tested if they feel sick, have an exposure, or 
are gathering with others at elevated risk. 

Individuals should also continue to wear a mask indoors in public places, especially if 
they, or others they will be in contact with, are not fully vaccinated, elderly, immunocompromised, 
or have serious underlying health conditions. Masking is one of the easiest and 

most effective strategies for protecting ourselves and others from COVID-19. 
“We continue to extend our deepest sympathies to everyone mourning the loss of a loved 

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