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From the onset of the COVID‐19 pandemic, policymakers and news reports warned that restrictions on individual mobility and commercial activity could lead to a surge in domestic violence (DV). Some initial studies found evidence of greater DV incidence during the pandemic, but findings were inconsistent across locations and DV measures. This paper focuses on a single major city, Los Angeles (LA), to study the impact of the initial pandemic shutdown. We use three DV measures from police data (911 calls, crime incidents and arrests) as well as two measures from non‐police administrative sources (the county DV hotline and hospital records). We find an increase in DV calls to the police and calls to the hotline. However, we find that DV crimes recorded by police and hospital visits by female assault (and DV) victims decreased significantly, suggesting that the increase in calls came from higher reporting rates. The decrease in DV crimes is not attributable to reductions in policing intensity, as the arrest rate for DV crimes was higher during the shutdown. We conclude that the initial LA shutdown increased the rates at which people contacted authorities about DV, but decreased the overall incidence of physical DV crimes in the population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coronavirus 2019 (COVID‐19) captured worldwide attention as the virus spread from initial detection as a pneumonia of unknown cause in Wuhan, China in December 2019 to the declaration of a pandemic by the WHO only 3 months later. This paper describes the impact of COVID‐19 on cardiac surgery services in the greater Los Angeles area. Discussion includes public health response to the pandemic, how local hospitals reacted to the expected surge in patients with COVID, the establishment of telemedicine services, and the projected future impact on California healthcare as a result of the COVID‐19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID‐19 lockdowns caused significant improvements in air quality in US states where traffic emissions are the main pollution source. In this study, we investigate the socioeconomic impacts of the COVID‐19‐related lockdowns in states which experienced the greatest changes in air quality, especially among different demographic populations and those with contraindications to health. We administered a 47‐question survey and collected 1,000 valid responses in these cities. Our results show that 74% of respondents within our survey sample had some level of concern regarding air quality. In agreement with previous literature, perceptions of air quality were not significantly correlated with measured air quality criteria but rather seemed to be influenced by other factors. Respondents in Los Angeles were the most concerned about air quality followed by Miami, San Francisco, and New York City. However, those from Chicago and Tampa Bay expressed the least amount of concern about air quality. Age, education, and ethnicity were all factors affecting peoples' concerns about air quality. Respiratory conditions, living in proximity to industrial areas, and financial impacts from the COVID‐19 lockdowns influenced concerns about air quality. About 40% of the survey sample reported greater concern for air quality during the pandemic, while approximately 50% stated that the lockdown didn't affect their perception. Furthermore, respondents seemed concerned about air quality in general, not a specific pollutant, and are willing to adopt additional measures and more stringent policies to improve air quality in all investigated cities. Plain Language Summary: COVID‐19 lockdowns caused significant improvements in air quality in US states where traffic emissions are the main pollution source. In this study, we investigated the socioeconomic impacts of the COVID‐19‐related lockdowns in states which experienced the greatest changes in air quality, especially among different demographic populations and those with contraindications to health. We administered a 47‐question survey and collected 1,000 valid responses in these cities. Our results show that 74% of respondents within our survey sample had some level of concern regarding air quality. In agreement with previous literature, perceptions of air quality were not significantly correlated with measured air quality criteria but rather seemed to be influenced by other factors. Respondents in Los Angeles were the most concerned about air quality followed by Miami, San Francisco, and New York City. Those from Chicago and Tampa Bay expressed the least amount of concerns. Age, education, and ethnicity were all factors affecting peoples' concerns about air quality. Respiratory conditions, living in proximity to industrial areas, and financial impacts from the COVID‐19 lockdowns influenced concerns about air quality. Respondents seemed concerned about air quality in general, not a specific pollutant, and are willing to adopt additional measures to improve air quality. Key Points: Most survey respondents (74%) were concerned about air qualityAge, education, and ethnicity were factors that affected peoples' concerns about air qualityRespiratory conditions, living near industrial areas, and financial status impacted perceptions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do you preserve the history of a neighbourhood undergoing change? How do you honour its residents and their legacy of lucha (struggle)? How do you uplift the voices of community members, students and researchers of colour in the museum world? In this joint reflection, members of the Los Angeles Boyle Heights Museum (BHM) reflect on their collaborative endeavours to research, preserve and celebrate the multi‐ethnic history of this Los Angeles (LA) neighbourhood. As a research, exhibition and educational project led by professors, graduate students, undergraduate students and community members, the BHM team uses a horizontal leadership model to uplift and tell the stories of a neighbourhood. The BHM team members discuss the various approaches they use to build confianza – trust – among themselves and within US Latinx migrant communities. By centring confianza as both a method and a theoretical framework for public history work, the team demonstrates how it builds a more inclusive, family‐centred and intergenerational museum experience. Through building confianza, the team has been able to pivot their work to address and manoeuvre new challenges during the Covid‐19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research Summary: The onset of extreme social distancing measures is expected to have a dramatic impact on crime. Here, we examine the impact of mandated, city‐wide social distancing orders aimed at limiting the spread of COVID‐19 on gang‐related crime in Los Angeles. We hypothesize that the unique subcultural processes surrounding gangs may supersede calls to shelter in place and allow gang‐related crime to persist. If the normal guardianship of people and property is also disrupted by social distancing, then we expect gang violence to increase. Using autoregressive time series models, we show that gang‐related crime remained stable and crime hot spots largely stationary following the onset of shelter in place. Policy Implications: In responding to disruptions to social and economic life on the scale of the present pandemic, both police and civilian organizations need to anticipate continued demand, all while managing potential reductions to workforce. Police are faced with this challenge across a wide array of crime types. Civilian interventionists tasked with responding to gang‐related crime need to be prepared for continued peacekeeping and violence interruption activities, but also an expansion of responsibilities to deal with "frontline" or "street‐level" management of public health needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With Los Angeles County having a population size of just over 10 million and an additional 471,000 people who commute into Los Angeles County for employment, many drivers are at risk of being injured or killed in an alcohol‐impaired driving collision. On March 19, 2020, the County of Los Angeles issued the Safer at Home order as a result of the COVID‐19 pandemic. This curtailed driving and decreased the number of breath alcohol tests that were conducted in Los Angeles County. The number of breath tests conducted in January–February of 2019 and 2020 and March–April of 2019 and 2020 were evaluated using Fisher's exact test and analysis of variance. There was a statistically significant decrease in the overall number of breath tests conducted in Los Angeles County in March–April of 2020. There was also a significant decrease in the number of collisions where DUI was a factor. Accounting for changes in traffic volumes, the number of breath tests per vehicle miles driven also decreased significantly. Since the Safer at Home order closed all non‐essential services such as bars and restaurants, there is indirect data on the relative contribution of liquor‐serving establishments, and to some extent large social gatherings, to the incidence of drunk driving. Taking into account traffic volume, it was determined that the odds of encountering an intoxicated driver decreased by approximately 23% during the Safer at Home period. This information could help policy‐makers determine the likely effectiveness of various countermeasures to prevent drunk driving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the coronavirus disease‐2019 pandemic, online grocery shopping experienced a never seen popularity in many countries. To study how the globally active online grocer Amazon Fresh reacted to this extraordinary demand increase, we analyzed a large dataset of daily price quotes for over 19,000 products for the customer location, Los Angeles. We found that contrary to the US consumer food price index, the overall price level at Amazon Fresh did not increase during the pandemic, but even slightly decreased for several product groups. Amazon seems to follow its low‐price strategy also in the grocery sector, even in times of high demand. However, during the lockdown phase, there were more price increases for certain highly demanded product groups such as frozen and prepared foods. Moreover, fewer prices were communicated as promotional prices. Because this change did not influence the general price level, we conclude that such promotional prices are used more as a marketing tool than as a price‐setting instrument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]