TimesOC: Reopening of Orange County schools delayed

Good afternoon, and welcome to the TimesOC newsletter. It’s Wednesday, Sept. 2.

My name is David Carrillo Peñaloza, the author of the TimesOC newsletter and an editor for Los Angeles Times Community News.

If you had planned on sending your children back to school after the Labor Day weekend in Orange County, you will have to change those plans.

The new target date for in-person learning in the county is Sept. 22.

Reporter Andrew Turner wrote about the Orange County Health Care Agency’s announcement Monday that schools would not be reopening on Sept. 8. With California unveiling a four-color, tiered monitoring system for COVID-19, Orange County is listed on the worst level, the purple tier, with the designation of widespread transmission.

The county is on the verge of transitioning to the next red tier of substantial transmission on Sept. 8. From there, the county would have to wait another 14 days and meet metrics on that tier to be allowed to reopen campuses for K through 12 in-person learning.

Most county schools will continue with virtual learning until then. Time will tell if schools will be ready to welcome students, teachers and staff back to campus in 19 days.

Hikers should be prepared, expect record heat

Orange County’s first responders are asking hikers to be prepared for the trails during the Labor Day weekend.

A dangerous heat wave is expected Saturday and Sunday, and reporter Paul Duginski wrote that the National Weather Service is warning that temperatures could reach record levels. With the heat comes fire danger, and Orange County needs its resources available to fight fires — not rescue unprepared hikers.

Reporter Sara Cardine wrote that helicopter rescues from May to July are up 225% in the county from the same period the last two years. The county reported that helicopter crews have been called to assist residents 117 times between May and July. During those same months in 2018, that number was 36, one more than the number of rescues conducted last year.

“We’ve seen an alarming increase in calls for help from people in remote areas who would not have needed to be rescued by a helicopter if they’d been more prepared,” Orange County Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy said in a news conference. “Some simply wanted water or didn’t want to walk back from their hike.”

South Coast Plaza reopens — again

South Coast Plaza, the upscale indoor mall in Costa Mesa, has shut down and reopened so many times during the pandemic that it has come up with different ways for customers to shop.

South Coast Plaza offered curbside pickup in May and shopping by appointment in a parking garage in August.

Now the mall is open again for in-person shopping.

Cardine and photographer Scott Smeltzer on Monday covered South Coast Plaza’s first day back in business since shutting down seven weeks ago. One shopper told Cardine that when she dies, she wants her ashes spread at South Coast Plaza.

Well-known sports facility closes in Anaheim

A lot of Orange County club volleyball and basketball players spent their weekends at American Sports Centers in Anaheim.

They have had to say their goodbyes, as American Sports Centers, which opened in 2004, has shut down for good. Reporter Matt Szabo talked with players and coaches who created many memorable moments inside the 242,000 square-foot facility, which housed 34 volleyball courts and 25 basketball courts.

In other Orange County news:

— Reporter Bill Shaikin wrote that Orange County voters will be able to cast their ballots this election at the Honda Center, either by driving in the parking lot or walking inside the arena.

— Reporter Ben Brazil wrote that an Orange County sheriff’s deputy who was caught on video beating a Black man has been placed on administrative leave amid an unrelated investigation and is being criminally investigated.

— Reporter Lilly Nguyen covered the first day of Newport Beach Restaurant Month, which aims to help restaurants and businesses affected by the pandemic.

— Reporter Alex Wigglesworth wrote stories on men who were fatally shot over the weekend in Seal Beach and Anaheim. The Seal Beach shooting happened on the 405 Freeway and the Anaheim incident involved a police shooting.

Get in touch

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See you Friday afternoon.