UCLA in the News lists selected mentions of UCLA in the world’s news media. Some articles may require registration or a subscription to view. See more UCLA in the News.
East L.A.’s bid for independence | Los Angeles Times
(Commentary by UCLA’s Eric Avila) If the nascent campaign to realize a long-held dream of municipal independence for East Los Angeles gains steam, it would be at least the fifth organized attempt over the last 60 years to achieve what many other communities have long enjoyed in the L.A. urban region: local control and political representation.
Amazon may have interfered with union vote | Associated Press
“It would be a huge moral victory to throw out the election, especially with all the serious allegations,” said Kent Wong, the director of the UCLA Labor Center. “But it still would be an uphill fight in securing a victory at the election.”
Biden reaches out to Latino leaders | Los Angeles Times
The recognition on Tuesday of the El Paso slayings emphasized how the mass shooting was a “punch in the gut for many Latinos,” said Efrén Pérez, a political science and psychology professor at UCLA, because it occurred in a place where a large community of Latinos is woven into the fabric of the city and has lived there for generations.
Why COVID took off in California, again | New York Times
So even as Delta spreads in California, the number of hospitalizations and deaths will be much lower than previous surges because more than 21 million Californians are vaccinated, said Dr. Timothy Brewer, an infectious-disease expert at the University of California, Los Angeles. “The good news is: The vaccines are working,” Brewer said.
Summer’s climate extremes hit wealthier areas | Associated Press
For fire season, the U.S. West is the driest it has been since 1580, based on soil moisture readings and tree ring records, setting the stage for worsening fires if something ignites them, said UCLA climate and fire scientist Park Williams.
Will the Delta wave simply dissipate? | Fortune
Christina Ramirez, a biostatistics professor at the University of California Los Angeles, says that the Delta variant has changed how she and other experts model the spread of the disease. “Vaccines really do help prevent hospitalizations and deaths,” she said … But she explained that vaccinated individuals are more likely to catch and spread the Delta variant than previous variants of COVID-19.
Could L.A. impose proof-of-vaccine requirements? | KNX-AM
Dr. Robert Kim-Farley, a professor of epidemiology and community health sciences at UCLA, told KNX 1070 In Depth private businesses could support similar restrictions. “With the health officer orders here in Los Angeles, businesses that do wish to require vaccinations can do so,” he said. “I think also it’s recognized that perhaps requiring vaccinations is something that some institutions and restaurants find actually brings in customers because people feel more comfortable going into an establishment that has these sorts of rules in place, so I think it can go that way as well.” (Kim-Farley was also interviewed by KPCC-FM’s “AirTalk.”)
Text ‘nudges’ may help boost vaccination rates | HealthDay News
“We found that text messages stressing the accessibility of the vaccine — and that included ownership language, such as that the vaccine has just been made available to you and to claim your dose today — significantly increased vaccine uptake,” study co-author Dr. Daniel Croymans said … He’s medical director of quality and primary care physician at UCLA Health. (Also: United Press International and Nature.)
Is ketamine effective in treating depression? | U.S. News & World Report
It can be for some patients, says Dr. Helen Lavretsky, professor of psychiatry in-residence at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. She’s also director of the Late-Life Mood, Stress and Wellness Research Program and director of the Integrative Psychiatry Clinic. “Ketamine use should be reserved for truly treatment-resistant patients who failed to respond to two or more antidepressants administered in the optimal dose for at least two to four months,” she says.
How to cope with the surge of the Delta variant | Spectrum News 1’s “LA Times Today”
“I think it’s important to remember that the most taxing and stressful thing for all of us at any point in our lives is change, even good or bad, because it requires adjustment and flexibility,” said [UCLA’s Dr. Jena] Lee. “It’s also unpredictability because both affect our sense of control. That’s really at the crux of what helps us feel safe and what helps us feel like our mental health is secure. And this constant back and forth, even the glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel appearing and now fading; it’s disorienting for everyone.”
Could L.A. see a COVID surge like last winter? | KCRW-FM’s “Greater LA”
Could the Delta variant cause L.A. to return to case and hospitalization rates we experienced last winter? UCLA epidemiologist Karin Michels says it’s possible, but highly unlikely because more than half the population is vaccinated. She notes, “But you never know with this virus. It’s a very clever virus, and we really need to use all the weapons that we have.”
Benefits of eviction moratoriums | KPCC-FM
Improved mental health and more access to food — those are just a couple of the side benefits UCLA researchers found when they studied the impact of the eviction moratoriums that went into place during the pandemic. (UCLA’s Stuart Gabriel was interviewed.)
L.A.’s transportation system is ‘failing women’ | KPCC-FM’s “AirTalk”
“This study was commissioned by LADOT in recognition of the fact that women have particular needs that are not met by a transportation system. And this is an effort to achieve a more gender-equitable system,” said UCLA’s Anastasia Loukaito-Sideris (approx. 3:20 mark).