🌱 Casino Booted LA Councilman + COVID Surge + Stormy Christmas

Paige Austin
·4 min read
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Good day, people of Los Angeles! It's me again, Paige Austin, your host of the Los Angeles Daily.

Are you ready for the upcoming holidays? It'll be a white Christmas in the local mountains and rainy and cool in Los Angeles.

COVID is surging dramatically across the region, and it's leading to event and game cancelations. It remains to be seen how the surge will affect the spring semester. At least one school, USC, acknowledged on Monday a possible return to online learning to start the semester.

First, today's weather:

Mostly cloudy. High: 68 Low: 48.

Here are the top stories today in Los Angeles:

  1. L.A. County Holiday Celebration Monday Goes Online Due To COVID (City News Service)

  2. LA-Area Loses US House Seat in New California Political Maps (U.S. News & World Report)

  3. Hollywood Awards Shows and Events Canceled Amid Omicron Surge (Hollywood Reporter)

  4. As Omicron Spikes In Los Angeles, Officials Urge Booster Shots (Los Angeles Patch)

  5. Casino Booted LA Councilman From High Rollers Table: Prosecutors (City News Service)

  6. L.A. Christmas Dining Deals & Restaurant To-Go Specials 2021 (Los Angeles Patch)

  7. USC: Spring Semester Might Start Online Due To COVID Surge (Los Angeles Patch)

  8. Chance To Win Super Bowl Tickets By Donating Blood Near Los Angeles: Red Cross (Los Angeles Patch)

  9. 2 SoCal Storms En Route: Gusty Winds, Low Snow Ahead Of Christmas (Los Angeles Patch)

Today's Los Angeles Daily is brought to you in part by our friends at Ring, the home security company. Ring does a lot more than doorbells: check out their full suite of smart home products at Ring.com. And thank you Ring for helping to make local news happen in Los Angeles!

Today in Los Angeles:

  • Arturo Sandoval Big Band Swinging Holiday 2021: Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles (8:00 PM)

  • COVID Vaccine Clinic - HighTech Los Angeles (9:00 AM)

  • Chronic Disorganization? Hoarding? There is Hope! A class to help in Rancho Palos Verdes. (9:00 AM)

  • Quiet and Cozy Coloring Fun - Miraleste Library (3:30 PM)

  • The Buddy Dispatch Project - Pico Union Branch Library in Palos Verdes (3:30 PM)

  • Economic Development Committee - Hollywood Chamber of Commerce in Hollywood (4:00 PM)

  • Wildlife Zoom Webinar - West Los Angeles Animal Shelter (6:00 PM)

  • "Speaking Your Business" Toastmasters Club in Northridge (6:00 PM)

  • Social Justice Task Force Teleconference Meeting (6:00 PM)

From my notebook:

  • LA County Museum of Art wants you to get into the spirit of art at LACMA and take advantage of special holiday hours. It's your chance to experience "Yoshitomo Nara" and the #ObamaPortraitsTour before both exhibitions close." (Instagram)

  • The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Departmentis Asking for the Public’s Help Locating Missing Critical Person Andrea Reyes #EastLosAngeles. She is a 14 year-old female Hispanic who was last seen on the 700 block of South Burger Ave., on December 18, 2021, at 1200 p.m." (Facebook)

  • Los Angeles Unified: LA Rams staff and a couple of players like retired NFL legend Roland Lamar Williams will be at Audubon MiddleSchool promoting Covid 19 vaccinations and L.A. Unified’s Grab-and-Go food distribution Center. (Instagram)

  • Los Angeles, CA - Lost Dogs, Cats & Pets: "Please spread the word! Panda was LOST on December 19, 2021 in Norwalk, CA 90650 near Paddison Elementary School. Description: Shih Tzu, black/ grey fur, For more info or to contact Panda's owner, click here: https://www.pawboost.com/p/75..." (Facebook)

  • Los Angeles City College: "During this vacation, we want to look back at how LACC used to look like. Today, we are sharing with you these 1969 pictures of our campus." (Facebook)

  • LA City Recreation & Parks: "It’s not too late to register for classes and clinics at @shattorec! A variety of dance classes and sports clinics are available!🎾 🏀 🩰 📣 Call Shatto Rec Center today for more information.(213) 386-8877" (Instagram)

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You're all caught up for today! I'll see you around.

— Paige Austin

About me: Email: paige.austin@patch.comPhone: 714-721-1222Birthday: GeminiI learned how to be a reporter at the Orange County Register before moving to The Press-Enterprise in Riverside. I covered everything from cities, to the national forest, to courts and prisons. I do have some pretty colorful war stories from those beats. So if you see me around town, you tell me your stories, and I'll tell you about the time I met Gov. Schwarzenegger…in prison…while wearing a stab-proof vest. Or I can tell you about the time I watched a Manson girl give a talk on anger management.I joke around. A lot. However, journalism might be the only thing I take seriously. It's a very humbling job. Everyday, people trust you with their voice on topics that matter to them, and you have to try to live up to the responsibility. If I ever fail, I need you to tell me about it, so that I can get it right. It's important.I am insecure enough to tell you about some of the journalism awards I have won – the Associated Press Award for investigative reporting, California Newspapers Publishers Association awards for investigative reporting and best special section, the Price Child Health and Welfare Journalism award from the Children's Advocacy Institute as well as Society of Professional Journalists awards for best enterprise stories, beat reporting, feature writing, and best environmental story. I think I tried to collect awards in an effort to intimidate editors into letting me chase the kinds of stories I want to do. It doesn't really work.Working for Patch.com, my office consists of the cities I cover, Starbucks, and my house where my co-workers include a lovely gent named D'Wayne and two pugs – Monkey and Maggie. If we ever talk on the phone, it's Maggie you might hear faintly snoring in the background. Sorry, she just can't help it.Your Beliefs At Patch, we promise always to report the facts as objectively as possible and otherwise adhere to the principles of good journalism. However, we also acknowledge that true impartiality is impossible because human beings have beliefs. So in the spirit of simple honesty, our policy is to encourage our editors to reveal their beliefs to the extent they feel comfortable. This disclosure is not a license for you to inject your beliefs into stories or to dictate coverage according to them. In fact, the intent is the opposite: we hope that the knowledge that your beliefs are on the record will cause you to be ever mindful to write, report and edit in a fair, balanced way. And if you ever see evidence that we failed in this mission, please let us know. Politics: pro-environment and equality for all Religion: The unholy trinity of Joseph Heller, Kurt Vonnegut and John Steinbeck

This article originally appeared on the Los Angeles Patch