My first encounter with the lake wasn’t actually anywhere near it. I had just moved to the Coachella Valley, and one blistering 120-degree day, I woke up to the smell of rotten eggs in my backyard. It was nauseating. The entire valley was choked by the stench. And there was nothing we could do but wait for the winds to shift.

The smell, as I would find out, came from the Salton Sea, at the southern end of the Coachella Valley. It is a toxic lake with decades’ worth of decaying organic matter (like dead fish) at the bottom. When a storm or wind stirs up the rot, the sulfurous smell can waft over to the Coachella Valley. For residents, it’s like sitting in a haze of burnt garbage fumes all day.

I wondered why the lake wasn’t more like Lake Tahoe or Havasu — two breathtaking lakes known as vacation destinations with desirable waterfront property. This led to several questions: one, why was the lake so toxic? And two, what could be done to fix it?

The answers were incredibly complicated and required going back more than 100 years. The lake is shrinking, with dust from the exposed hazardous lakebed being kicked up and blown into the surrounding communities. Impoverished communities now live by the lake’s shore, with little recourse as the lake’s disastrous effects spread and affect the environment and health of residents in indelible ways.

I found that the majority of Coachella Valley residents had heard of the Salton Sea and knew it was “gross” but not much beyond that. They couldn’t say why it was toxic, what the history was behind it, or who was in charge of revitalizing it.

This was the challenge we faced at the outset of our series on the Salton Sea, “Troubled Waters.” The project, supported by an Impact Fund grant from the Center for Health Journalism, started with deep research so we could understand the political history. Then we had to find out all the main players (and there were A LOT – more than 30 agencies and organizations were involved) and chase down the relevant people and agency heads to interview. After that, we had to distill incredibly complicated histories and water rights issues into something that a mainstream audience could easily understand – and be interested in.

No broadcast outlet has ever gone as deeply into the Salton Sea crisis as we have; we confronted major agencies and institutions, and we got them to admit things previously ignored or only hinted at — mainly, that they had failed in their responsibilities.

We also went into communities around the Salton Sea and shared their stories. Many residents do not speak English, which historically, has been a major factor in the failure to get government officials to listen to residents’ testimonies and do something about the crisis. Stories are always, first and foremost, about people, and this series aimed to give voice to those who have been disenfranchised and dismissed for so long.

Our goal was to make a complicated issue easy to understand. We did that by establishing the history of the lake and then explaining how past actions have led to the current ecological and public health debacle. We dug through more than 1,000 pages of state audits, agency review reports, water rights contracts, and more from the past 20 years. One of the core questions we probed was this: for all the millions of dollars allocated to help the Salton Sea, why had there been no visible progress? What happened to the money and what was it spent on, if at all? We were able to finally answer that in our series.

Our coverage yielded immediate results. Rep. Raul Ruiz, a physician whose congressional district includes the Salton Sea, sent letters to the water agency and federal government, demanding accountability for a failed project highlighted in our story. He has also introduced the Salton Sea Projects Improvement Bill, speaking in front of a House subcommittee after our series aired. The Bureau of Reclamation has now allocated $1 million to another project our series had shown to be stalled. After our series, the state hosted a virtual roundtable on the Salton Sea — the first ever — and committed to an initiative that would yield more meaningful community engagement and dialogue.

We also received overwhelming viewer feedback, thanking us for explaining the problems in a palatable way. What really stood out to me were notes from lifelong Coachella Valley residents thanking us for helping them understand what was happening in their own backyard.

Angela Chen | Columnist

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In a 5-0 vote without comment, the board formally adopted an amendment to the original Salt Creek Trail Project budget, raising it by $157,000, all of which will be reimbursed to the county as part of an agreement with the Regional Park & Open Space District, one of several entities spearheading the development.

The total project budget is now $8,141,868, though it’s uncertain whether all of the funds will need to be expended.

Work on the east-west Salt Creek Trail got underway in the first half of 2020, and since that time a four-mile segment between Goetz Road and Interstate 215 in Menifee has been finished, as well as a one-mile segment on the north side of Diamond Valley Lake in Hemet. Pedestrians and bicyclists are able to use the completed pathways.

According to the Regional Park & Open Space District, costs have been driven up unexpectedly by accommodations for nesting migratory birds, relocation of utility lines and habitat restoration. Curb and gutter improvements, rock slope reinforcement, concrete ramps, cable fencing, pipe gates, pedestrian crossing enhancements and flood control channel upgrades are part of the project, which former Supervisor Marion Ashley championed before retiring over three years ago. He lauded it as a future attraction sure to encourage more residents to enjoy the outdoors.

“The regional trail will provide the opportunity for expansion of local and regional trail systems, sidewalk and bike path connections from the trail to surrounding communities, schools, commercial areas and ultimately two key regional recreational facilities at Lake Skinner and Diamond Valley Lake,” according to a statement posted to the board’s agenda. “The trail will … significantly improve quality of life for residents.”

Salt Creek is tying into an existing network of walking paths, offering a five-foot wide space for pedestrians, as well as a 14-foot wide space for bicyclists and other approved devices.

Most of the project budget is composed of federal grants and local development impact fee revenue.

Along with the Regional Park & Open Space District, the county Transportation & Land Management Agency is involved with the trail, along with the Riverside County Transportation Commission.

The project is part of the Southern California Association of Governments’ “2035 Bikeway Network” regional plan unveiled in 2012.

All trail segments are expected to be finished over the next few years.

City News Services | Contributed

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“We’re at a pivotal moment in our COVID-19 vaccine rollout – more than 30 million doses have been administered in California to date, and it’s going to take some new approaches to reach those who haven’t been vaccinated yet,” said Governor Newsom. “These enhanced initiatives build on the community-based approach the state has taken throughout this crisis, in order to ensure vaccines are easily within reach of more people.”

In addition, building on the bipartisan work done during the “Wear A Mask” campaign, California Governors Gavin Newsom, Jerry Brown, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Pete Wilson have come together to encourage all Californians to get vaccinated. The PSA was created and produced by ATTN.

About 60 percent of eligible Californians have received at least one dose and as of April 15, anyone age 16 and up is eligible to receive the vaccine. As the number of unvaccinated Californians narrows, the state’s robust vaccine performance management system has helped determine where to focus efforts.

To bolster vaccine access in hard-to-reach communities, the state is moving away from mass vaccination sites and toward more targeted outreach with small clinics in communities with the highest disease burden. This move will make it easier for people to access vaccines. Mobile sites will continue to operate in partnership with places of worship throughout the state, as well as in coordination with businesses, school districts and local health departments where vaccination efforts are already underway.

These new initiatives build on the state’s Vaccine Equity Metric (VEM) that started in early March to send double the amount of doses to those communities facing the highest disease burden, defined as those ZIP codes in the lowest quartile in the Healthy Places Index (HPI). Since the VEM went into effect, California has dedicated 40 percent of the state’s supply of doses to the lowest HPI quartile to improve equity in vaccinations.

Today, an estimated 53 percent of individuals in the lowest quartile still need COVID-19 vaccinations, while just 28 percent of individuals in the highest quartile remain unvaccinated. Since January, California has accelerated its pace of vaccination and now exceeds the national average.

“One of the most important responsibilities of government is to make sure that the most vulnerable receive equal protection, especially during a crisis,” said Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, California Surgeon General. “These enhanced efforts aim to meet people where they are while building upon California’s ongoing commitments to ensure that equity is guiding our overall strategy.”

The Governor announced seven new and enhanced equity strategies in the state’s vaccine rollout, including:

• More Transparency on Vaccination Progress – The state’s covid19.ca.gov website now displays data on California’s progress in vaccinating groups and communities with the most urgent need. Dashboards include statewide and county progress by the Vaccine Equity Metric (VEM), race and ethnicity or age. A map displays ZIP-code-level data on vaccination progress within each VEM quartile. These dashboards will be updated weekly, on Wednesdays.

• ‘Get Out the Vaccine’ Phone Bank and Door-Knocking Campaign – Modeled after successful ground-level campaigns, a new state “Get Out the Vaccine” effort coordinates with 70 community-based organizations to employ callers and door-knockers to help Californians make a plan to get vaccinated. The program is in partnership with Healthy Future California and the UCLA Clinical and Translational Science Institute’s STOP COVID CA initiative. About 2,000 individuals from targeted communities will be employed to make peer-to-peer appeals and provide support to help overcome barriers to vaccinations. The program, now underway, has already resulted in more than 4,900 appointments scheduled.

• Partnering with Philanthropic Organizations to Enhance Support for Community Organizations – Trusted messengers play a vital role in supporting the state’s equitable administration of vaccines. California is expanding its public-private partnerships to support community-based organizations (CBOs), bringing the total amount of funding to $85.7 million and aiding a total of 480 organizations to date. The state is expanding its partnership with the Public Health Institute (PHI) Together Toward Health initiative, created and funded through 18 major philanthropic organizations led by The California Endowment to stop the spread of COVID-19 and strengthen health and resilience in the state’s most impacted communities. This fund now totals $33.4 million and supports more than 323 organizations. Additional CBOs will be awarded grants on a rolling basis in the months to come. The state is also partnering with Sierra Health Foundation on a new $29 million “Vaccine Equity Campaign” fund that will invest in CBOs and faith-based organizations across the state. This new funding builds on $23.3 million awarded by the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) and Labor & Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) to support 157 organizations on multilingual outreach and public health education in communities disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. A subset of these organizations have helped facilitate approximately 111,000 vaccine appointments and 236,000 referrals to appointment platforms or providers. FAQs on the statewide network of community-based organizations can be found at https://www.cdss.ca.gov/Portals/13/Homepage/CBO-FAQ-032021.pdf.

• Grants to Support Vaccination Equity – Building off the previously announced awards for Los Angeles County and Bay Area counties, the state is now making available an additional $34.2 million in funding for underserved and high-risk communities throughout California’s other counties. This funding will be directed by local health jurisdictions to support back-end operations and expand vaccine distribution to enhance targeted outreach in communities and ZIP codes most impacted by COVID-19. Counties with a population over 1 million will receive $1.5 million for every 1 million people; those with populations between 500,000 and one million will be eligible for $650,000 in grant funding; and counties with populations under 500,000 will be eligible for $350,000 in funding to expand vaccination programs and achieve equity goals. In total, $56.8 million is now being provided to, or at the direction of, local health jurisdictions throughout all of California to support the state’s equity goals.

• Localized Plans for Promoting Equity in Vaccination – Along with statewide strategies, leaders of each of California’s 61 local health jurisdictions working in partnership with the state’s third-party administrator, Blue Shield of California, created and submitted plans to the state to promote vaccination equity in their communities. This includes a wide range of approaches, from small mobile vaccine clinics located in remote areas; to engaging micro influencers to impact specific groups or populations; to partnering with schools and faith-based partners for outreach, education and selection of trusted clinic sites.

• At-Home Vaccination program – Homebound residents can currently contact their health care providers for in-home vaccinations. These services are expanding statewide and individuals unable to leave their home to get vaccinated may also indicate as such via www.myturn.ca.gov or contact the state’s CA COVID-19 hotline at (833) 422-4255 to be connected with their local health jurisdiction to arrange for in-home vaccination services.

• Free Transportation to Vaccine Appointments – Individuals who do not have a means of transportation can receive free transportation through www.myturn.ca.gov or by contacting the state’s COVID-19 hotline at (833) 422-4255. Transportation includes automobile transportation for ambulatory patients and non-emergency medical transportation for non-ambulatory patients including wheelchair vans, gurney transportation and other options. Medi-Cal managed care and fee-for-service beneficiaries will be connected with their health plan or service provider to access this service as an existing health benefit.

Californians needing a vaccination can schedule an appointment at MyTurn.ca.gov or by calling the CA COVID-19 hotline at (833) 422-4255 (M-F 8 a.m.- 8 p.m., Sa-Sun 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.) for assistance.

Office of Governor California

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California state prisons will soon resume limited in-person visits with inmates more than a year after they were halted because of the coronavirus pandemic, officials said Tuesday.

Visits will start April 10 as the prison system stabilizes after outbreaks that killed 216 inmates and 26 employees.

Precautions will include temperature and symptom screenings, coronavirus testing, physical distancing, face masks, and limits on the number of visitors and length of time they can stay, the department said, with more details and steps to schedule visits coming soon.

Top officials at each prison will decide if the entire facility or portions may allow in-person visits, with online updates so families can plan. As a result, opening dates may vary depending on active cases, and visiting could be again be suspended if conditions worsen.

Corrections Secretary Kathleen Allison said in a statement that the department “recognizes the value of visitation for the incarcerated population and the importance of maintaining family and community ties.”

The system’s worst outbreak came after a botched transfer of inadequately tested inmates in late May that sickened most of the population at San Quentin State Prison north of San Francisco, killing 28 inmates and a correctional officer.

But corrections officials reported just 32 active inmate cases and 331 infected staff Tuesday. Twenty-two of the state’s 35 prisons had no known cases.

All told, more than 16,000 employees and 49,000 inmates were infected during the pandemic.

Since then, nearly 45,500 inmates and 26,500 employees have received at least one inoculation.

The department ended in-person visits in March 2020, allowing visits only by phone or video-conferencing. Video visitation will continue at prisons and firefighting camps where it’s feasible, the department said.

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