Latest news with #LosAngelesCountyBoardofSupervisors
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Violet Affleck reveals she and her mom, Jennifer Garner, had very different reactions to the Los Angeles wildfires
Violet Affleck has revealed something about her relationship with one of her famous parents as part of her college experience. The 19-year-old daughter of actors Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck is currently a freshman at Yale University. The younger Affleck recently published an academic research paper in the school's Global Health Review, titled 'A Chronically Ill Earth: COVID Organizing as a Model Climate Response in Los Angeles.' She began the paper by reflecting on an environmental disaster that she and Garner endured with many other Southern California residents, writing 'I spent the January fires in Los Angeles arguing with my mother in a hotel room.' 'She was shell-shocked, astonished at the scale of destruction in the neighborhood where she raised myself and my siblings,' Affleck wrote. 'I was surprised at her surprise: as a lifelong Angelena and climate-literate member of generation Z, my question had not been whether the Palisades would burn but when.' The Los Angeles wildfires at the beginning of the year resulted in the loss of thousands of homes and buildings, especially in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena areas. 'As I chatted with adults in the hotel where we'd gone to escape the smoke, though, I found my position to be an uncommon one: people spoke of how long rebuilding would take, how much it would cost, and how tragically odd the whole situation had been,' Affleck wrote. 'The crisis was acute, a burst of bad luck. It had come from a combination of high winds and low rains – what, my little brother asked, did global warming have to do with the speed of the wind?' she continued. 'Outside, people wandered, faces covered by N95s. 'This feels like COVID,' said one wild-eyed woman clutching two leashed Yorkies. 'We're all in masks.'' Affleck addressed air quality and health issues before. Last summer, the then 18-year-old spoke during the public comments portion of a Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors meeting and was seen making an impassioned plea in a video shared on X. 'I contracted a post-viral condition in 2019,' Affleck said at the meeting. 'I'm OK now, but I saw first-hand that medicine does not always have answers to the consequences of even minor viruses.' She went on to request 'mask availability, air filtration and far-UVC lights in government facilities, including jails and detention centers, and mask mandates in county medical facilities.' Affleck advocated for free testing and treatment opportunities, while adding 'most importantly the county must oppose mask bans for any reason.' 'They do not keep us safer, they make vulnerable members of our community less safe and make everyone less able to participate in Los Angeles together,' she concluded in her speech. Affleck is the eldest of three children of Garner and Ben Affleck, who married in 2005 and divorced in 2018. Their other children are Seraphina (who goes by Finn), 16 and Samuel, 13.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Violet Affleck Details Arguing with Mom Jen Garner in a Hotel as Their Palisades Neighborhood Burned Down
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner's eldest child, Violet Affleck, published an academic research paper in Yale University's Global Health Review The Sunday, May 18, paper included how she found herself shocked by her own family's misunderstanding of the ongoing climate crisis The college student also drew comparisons between the public health protocols during both the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires and the COVID-19 pandemicViolet Affleck continues to use her voice to find solutions for public health. Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner's eldest child is currently a freshman at Yale University and published an academic research paper in the school's Global Health Review on Sunday, May 18. Violet, 19, who has been outspoken about public health and the COVID-19 pandemic, recalled her experience of living through the Los Angeles wildfires that devastated the Pacific Palisades in January. The student explained that, along with finding similarities between the response to the wildfires and the COVID-19 pandemic, she found that she and her mother had different interpretations of the dangerous situation. 'I spent the January fires in Los Angeles arguing with my mother in a hotel room,' she explained. Garner, 53, was 'shell-shocked, astonished at the scale of destruction,' Violet wrote. Despite that, Violet was confused by her mother's reaction. 'As a lifelong Angelena and climate-literate member of generation Z, my question had not been whether the Palisades would burn but when.' She also noted that the miscommunication wasn't just between her and her mother, but with her younger brother, Samuel, 13, as well. ''Did global warming have to do with the speed of the wind?' ' she recalled Samuel asking. She continued, 'Hopefully, most of us understand the climate crisis better than my little brother.' Garner and the Oscar winner, 52, who were married from 2005 to 2018, share three children: Violet, 16-year-old Seraphina and Samuel. Violet concluded her paper by comparing public health protocols administered during climate disasters and airborne disease transmission. She also argued that climate scientists should recognize the 'methods and the political commitments' that COVID-conscious and disabled people have made. Before her college career, Violet appeared at a Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors meeting in July 2024 to discuss COVID-19 precautionary measures. During the public comment section, Violet called to keep mask bans at bay, likely in response to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass discussing in June the possibility of creating a mask ban that particularly targeting protesters, according to The Guardian. She also opened up about a private health matter she faced five years earlier: a post-viral condition. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Garner has continuously celebrated how her daughter is a "self-starter." And in a November 2023 Live with Kelly and Mark appearance, she said, "I'm proud of her no matter what." Earlier that year, in April 2023, Garner spoke about parenthood to PEOPLE. "I mean, I'm learning as much from them, or more from them, than they'll ever learn from me," the actress shared. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
L.A. County is paying off millions in medical debt — no strings attached. Do you qualify?
Did you get a letter in the mail from the County of Los Angeles with the word "Undue" in bold blue? It's not a scam. It's a notification that your medical debt was cleared by the county. More than 134,000 Los Angeles County residents began getting notices in the mail Monday as part of the first wave of medical bill forgiveness made possible by the county's Medical Debt Relief Program. The first round of notices is expected to relieve more than $183 million in debt. The program was launched, in partnership with the nonprofit Undue Medical Debt, in December 2024 with the mission of providing financial relief for eligible residents by purchasing and eliminating the debt. The funds for the program were made possible by an initial $5 million investment approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors with additional funds from L.A. Care Health Plan and the L.A. County Medical Assn. The goal is to retire $500 million in medical debt for low-income residents, with plans to eliminate as much as $2 billion by seeking additional contributions from philanthropic partners, hospitals and health plans. That could mean the debt of millions of people would be wiped clean. Through this program, the county provides the funding and Undue Medical Debt acquires qualifying debts in bulk for a fraction of their face value from provider partners such as hospitals and health systems along with collection agencies. Far too many residents are "one medical bill away from fiscal catastrophe," said Holly Mitchell, Los Angeles County's 2nd District supervisor. "In 2023 alone, Los Angeles County residents held over $2.9 billion in medical debt," Mitchell said. Read more: Southern California cities top credit card debt list in new study Recently analyzed data from 2023 found that 1 in 9 adults in the county are impacted by medical debt, and "many are low-income families who even with a lifetime of work may never escape it," said Janice Hahn, Los Angeles County's 4th District supervisor. Adults with medical debt burdens are two to three times more likely to be food insecure, delay or forgo necessary medical care or prescriptions and experience housing instability than those without this burden, according to the data. Furthermore, the data say, about half of adults facing medical debt took on credit card debt to pay their medical bills. "This kind of debt often gets bundled and sold to debt collectors pennies on the dollar who go mercilessly after the families and aggressively for the payment," Hahn said. The relief program comes with no strings attached, so you don't have to pay taxes on it. The "Undue" notification in the mail will list how much debt was forgiven and where the debt was owed, such as the hospital, clinic or collector that was trying to collect from you. Since notices began hitting residences Monday, keep your eye out for the letters over the next few weeks. Eligibility for the program is determined by income, family size and whether the healthcare provider that is owed the money has chosen to participate in the program. To qualify for the program you must: Be a resident of Los Angeles County. Earn less or equal to 400% of the federal poverty level or have a medical bill that is 5% or more your annual household income. For example, in 2025, the income for a family of four that is 400% of the federal poverty level is $128,000. Have eligible debt, which means you must have a bill from a hospital or clinic that is participating in the debt relief program, the bill is past due and you are not using a payment plan for the bill. Read more: L.A. County approves $4-billion sex abuse settlement, largest in U.S. history No. If you and your bill qualify for the program, Undue Medical Debt will pay off your debt and you will be notified through the mail. Your bill qualifies for the program if the debt is held by hospitals, clinics or collectors that are participating in the program. The initial participating hospitals are Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital and Adventist Health White Memorial Hospital. County supervisors are calling on other debt holders to participate. Relief cannot be requested. If you received a letter from the county's Undue Medical Debt program, get in touch with the program online. If you need help with medical bills, visit the county's Department of Public Health online list of resources for support. Potential resources include applying for free or discounted hospital services, legal advice and consumer counseling. This program is not a scam: If the county has relieved your medical debt, you'll be notified by a letter in the mail from Los Angeles County and Undue Medical Debt. The envelope will have a county seal on it. Keep the letter as part of your records that the medical debt has been forgiven. Beware of alleged debt relief scammers that contact you via text, phone call or email. And don't fall for callers asking you to provide information or payment in exchange for medical debt relief. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
20-05-2025
- Health
- Los Angeles Times
L.A. County is paying off millions in medical debt — no strings attached. Do you qualify?
Did you get a letter in the mail from the County of Los Angeles with the word 'Undue' in bold blue? It's not a scam. It's a notification that your medical debt was cleared by the county. More than 134,000 Los Angeles County residents began getting notices in the mail Monday as part of the first wave of medical bill forgiveness made possible by the county's Medical Debt Relief Program. The first round of notices is expected to relieve more than $183 million in debt. The program was launched, in partnership with the nonprofit Undue Medical Debt, in December 2024 with the mission of providing financial relief for eligible residents by purchasing and eliminating the debt. The funds for the program were made possible by an initial $5 million investment approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors with additional funds from L.A. Care Health Plan and the L.A. County Medical Assn. The goal is to retire $500 million in medical debt for low-income residents, with plans to eliminate as much as $2 billion by seeking additional contributions from philanthropic partners, hospitals and health plans. That could mean the debt of millions of people would be wiped clean. Through this program, the county provides the funding and Undue Medical Debt acquires qualifying debts in bulk for a fraction of their face value from provider partners such as hospitals and health systems along with collection agencies. Far too many residents are 'one medical bill away from fiscal catastrophe,' said Holly Mitchell, Los Angeles County's 2nd District supervisor. 'In 2023 alone, Los Angeles County residents held over $2.9 billion in medical debt,' Mitchell said. Recently analyzed data from 2023 found that 1 in 9 adults in the county are impacted by medical debt, and 'many are low-income families who even with a lifetime of work may never escape it,' said Janice Hahn, Los Angeles County's 4th District supervisor. Adults with medical debt burdens are two to three times more likely to be food insecure, delay or forgo necessary medical care or prescriptions and experience housing instability than those without this burden, according to the data. Furthermore, the data say, about half of adults facing medical debt took on credit card debt to pay their medical bills. 'This kind of debt often gets bundled and sold to debt collectors pennies on the dollar who go mercilessly after the families and aggressively for the payment,' Hahn said. The relief program comes with no strings attached, so you don't have to pay taxes on it. The 'Undue' notification in the mail will list how much debt was forgiven and where the debt was owed, such as the hospital, clinic or collector that was trying to collect from you. Since notices began hitting residences Monday, keep your eye out for the letters over the next few weeks. Eligibility for the program is determined by income, family size and whether the healthcare provider that is owed the money has chosen to participate in the program. To qualify for the program you must: No. If you and your bill qualify for the program, Undue Medical Debt will pay off your debt and you will be notified through the mail. Your bill qualifies for the program if the debt is held by hospitals, clinics or collectors that are participating in the program. The initial participating hospitals are Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital and Adventist Health White Memorial Hospital. County supervisors are calling on other debt holders to participate. Relief cannot be requested. If you received a letter from the county's Undue Medical Debt program, get in touch with the program online. If you need help with medical bills, visit the county's Department of Public Health online list of resources for support. Potential resources include applying for free or discounted hospital services, legal advice and consumer counseling. This program is not a scam: If the county has relieved your medical debt, you'll be notified by a letter in the mail from Los Angeles County and Undue Medical Debt. The envelope will have a county seal on it. Keep the letter as part of your records that the medical debt has been forgiven. Beware of alleged debt relief scammers that contact you via text, phone call or email. And don't fall for callers asking you to provide information or payment in exchange for medical debt relief.
CBS News
03-05-2025
- CBS News
$10k reward offered for information in woman's deadly shooting in Gramercy Park
A $10,000 reward has been offered for information in a deadly shooting that happened in the Gramercy Park area last November. The shooting left Lanai Dees, a 21-year-old Inglewood woman, dead on Nov. 17, 2024 at around 12:40 a.m., according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Deputies say that she was driving her white Mercedes-Benz in an alley near the 2000 block of W. Century Boulevard when it happened. A Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department bulletin offering the $10k reward for information in the shooting death of 21-year-old Lanai Dees in Nov. 2024. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department She was struck in the head by gunfire, which allegedly came from a dark-colored SUV also driving in the area, deputies said. After the shooting, Dees' car continued to travel west and crashed into a concrete staircase in the alley just south of Century Boulevard and S. Gramercy Place, deputies said. With no information and no convictions thus far, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a $10,000 reward hopeful that new details can be revealed. Anyone who knows more is urged to contact LASD's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500.
