A.M. Brief: Reduced Capacity for Outdoor Dining Starts Friday

In today’s brief: New business restrictions start Friday, an L.A. Rams player tests positive for COVID-19, and elected California officials anger the public by flouting recommendations on gatherings and travel. Finally, another megachurch disregards L.A. County’s health orders. Here is your news. Take it!

Morning News Rundown

With 40 counties now moved back to the most restrictive tier in the state’s reopening plan, Los Angeles County will temporarily tighten restrictions on businesses. Among the updated restrictions, outdoor restaurants, breweries, and wineries may operate at only 50% max outdoor capacity, while non-essential indoor businesses—such as retail stores, offices, and personal care services—may only operate at 25% maximum capacity. The updated rules go into effect this Friday. [We Like L.A.]

The Los Angeles Rams announced Tuesday that a player had tested positive for COVID-19. The unidentified player is quarantining and the organization is “entering intensive protocol,” according to a team statement. [ABC 7]

Gov. Gavin Newsom is in hot water for attending a birthday party at French Laundry, an event that ignored the safety precautions against gatherings that Newsom has been championing for months. This week, we also learned that some members of the California Legislature are presently on a trip to Hawaii paid for by special interest groups. If your face feels like it’s just been slapped, you’re not the only one. [L.A. Times]

If you’re a millennial in Los Angeles, here’s some financial news you may already be well acquainted with: L.A. is the third-worst paying metro area in the country for workers aged 24-39 (aka millennials). The median full-time salary for that age range is just $35,867, which is less than $,3000 per month. For reference, the average 1-bedroom apartment in L.A. is roughly $1,800/month. [LA Mag]

A state mandate that bans power plants from using ocean water to cool their systems could have an unintended downside for the Alamitos Bay in Long Beach. According to a new report by the City of Long Beach, The Alamitos Energy Center pumps some 300 million gallons of seawater from the Alamitos Bay into the San Gabriel River annually, which increases circulation and water quality. If the power plant shuts down the pump with no alternative circulation method in place, it could lead to a dramatic increase of bacterial pollution in the bay. [LB Post]

Angelus Temple in Echo Park has returned to holding in-person worship services, which appear to be in violation of state and county bans against large gatherings. Angelus Temple is at least the second megachurch in L.A. County to defy the ban. Last week, a judge set a contempt hearing date against Grace Community Church in Sun Valley over its months-long violation of Public Health orders. [The Eastsider]