Latest news with #Maravilla
Los Angeles Times
08-07-2025
- Climate
- Los Angeles Times
Dealing with extreme heat is a full-time job for parents of young kids — and their schools
When Aida Maravilla was on the hunt for a new apartment in 2021, she had one major goal: Find a place with air conditioning. She learned the hard way that cool air is more than an amenity. When her daughter was an infant she remembers the baby waking up in tears from the heat. Maravilla would soothe her with a wet cloth and leave her in just a diaper to keep her cool. It's what led her to her latest apartment in Panorama City four years ago when it was time to return to Los Angeles. Apartments in the hotter San Fernando Valley typically have air conditioning. 'It's just such a comfort, being able to do different tasks and not have to be worried about that,' Maravilla said. Still, there have been moments where the electricity bill has skyrocketed, and she's had to deal with asking for assistance. According to survey data from the Stanford Center on Early Childhood, families — across all income levels, races, ethnicities and regions — are increasingly considering how extreme weather conditions affect them. More than half of families with young children across the state are worried about its effects, according to data from the center's RAPID Survey Project, which examines early childhood and family well-being. Heat, in particular, is a significant concern. Whether at home or at school, outdoor playtime is reduced significantly to avoid the harsh sun, according to the survey. Daytime outings often revolve around air conditioning or water play to avoid overheating. And parents remain on high alert to ensure their young children are hydrating and taking breaks, as they are too little to understand those needs themselves. Maravilla sends her children to school with hats and a bottle of sunscreen in their lunch boxes — and they still come home red-faced and sweaty during the hottest months. She is also among a growing group of parents who are pushing for schools to do more to help children cope with heat. How extreme heat affects young kids Babies and children under age 6 are more vulnerable to heat exhaustion and heatstroke than most adults. Their bodies heat up faster, they spend more time outside and they don't always know how to recognize or communicate discomfort they may be experiencing because of the high temperatures, said Abigail Stewart-Kahn, a clinical social worker who is managing director of the Stanford Center on Early Childhood. There are also developmental and emotional effects that stem from the instability families may experience when routines get interrupted amid extreme heat, she added. Roughly a quarter of families with young children in California have experienced at least one extreme weather event between 2022 and 2024, according to the survey. That's not including the wildfires that ravaged the Los Angeles region in January, displacing tens of thousands of residents and disrupting child care. The survey involved more than 1,000 parents of children under age 6, who ranked limited outdoor playtime, negative health effects and home damage as the largest issues their families must navigate. The consequences of extreme weather became much more real for Lauren Quan-Madrid once the Eaton fire hit in Altadena. She was worried for the well-being of her then second-grade and preschool-age children as smoke wafted through the air and toward their home in Highland Park. But even now, six months later, the kids still ask, 'Are we safe? Is there gonna be a fire?' 'Not only are we trying to just endure the heat, but we're also seeing what's happening — what probably for the rest of my life I'm going to have to endure — and my children and my grandchildren,' Quan-Madrid said. Parents push school districts to step up on climate Parents have begun to push cities, schools and child-care centers to take steps to provide children relief from the heat, Stewart-Kahn said. Community organizations such as Reclaim Our Schools L.A. and Nature for All have encouraged parents such as Maravilla to learn about what needs to happen on campus to better safeguard against heat dangers: They've pushed for more green spaces with trees and landscaping, shade structures and updated heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems. That progress is coming, albeit slowly. L.A. Unified and other school districts across the state are factoring plans to deal with extreme heat. After years of pressure — and extended record-breaking heat waves in recent years — LAUSD released a plan in April 2024 to upgrade more than 600 schools to include more plants, trees, grass, mulch and permeable pavers that would provide some relief from the heat. The projects are expected to be completed in 2035 at the earliest. The plan puts to use $58 million that was allocated for outdoor education initiatives such as greening in June 2022 and relies on grants as well as other funding avenues. It will require an estimated investment of up to $3 billion to complete. Last year, a parent coalition successfully lobbied for Pasadena Unified to commit a portion of Measure R, its $900-million school facilities bond, for schoolyard greening. The district is also relying on community partnerships and grants to transform their outdoor areas from asphalt to native gardens and natural play areas. The renovations in turn support learning opportunities for children in agriculture, for example. In 2022, Long Beach passed a bond for funding to modernize its campuses, some of which has been used to provide shade structures at some schools. The district is pushing forward with those efforts to provide shelter from the sun, create more green spaces and get HVAC systems installed across its schools. As pillars of the community, schools should be part of community relief, said Victor Sánchez, the executive director of the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy and dad to an incoming transitional kindergartner, who he hopes will one day be able to depend on school for that safety. The alliance has been working with LAUSD to prioritize and fund climate-friendly projects across the district. But much more needs to be done, he said. This article is part of The Times' early childhood education initiative, focusing on the learning and development of California children from birth to age 5. For more information about the initiative and its philanthropic funders, go to
USA Today
31-01-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
No, figure skater didn't narrowly avoid being on doomed DC flight
No, figure skater didn't narrowly avoid being on doomed DC flight | Fact check Show Caption Hide Caption Olympians Tonya Harding, Nancy Kerrigan mourn plane crash victims Several members of the U.S. figure skating community were on board the American Airlines flight that collided with an Army helicopter. The claim: US figure skater Jon Maravilla was supposed to be on flight that crashed in DC A Jan. 30 Threads post (direct link, archive link) claims a U.S. figure skater narrowly avoided being on the American Airlines flight that collided with a military helicopter in Washington. 'MIRACLE: U.S. figure skater Jon Maravilla arrived to board Flight 5342 which crashed last night, but he was turned away at the gate because his dog was too big,' reads the post. 'Jon Maravilla posted on social media that (he) had to drive for what he thought was an inconvenient 14 hours, but those hours and his dog saved his life.' It was reposted more than 300 times in a day. Other versions of the claim spread on Facebook, Instagram and X. More from the Fact-Check Team: How we pick and research claims | Email newsletter | Facebook page Our rating: False U.S. figure skater Jon Maravilla said on social media and in an interview that he was never scheduled to take the Washington-bound flight that crashed. His flight from Wichita, Kansas, was headed to Atlanta. Outlets updated incorrect news reports on Maravilla The claim came the day after an American Airlines regional jet arriving from Wichita collided with an Army helicopter in Washington, killing all 67 passengers and crew on the two aircraft. At least 10 figure skaters were aboard the commercial flight, including six from The Skating Club of Boston. Outlets including The Daily Beast, the Daily Mail and People magazine reported Maravilla was prevented from boarding the fatal flight in Kansas because his dog was too large, citing the Russian state-owned media outlet RIA Novosti. But contrary to the reports, Maravilla was never meant to be on the plane heading toward Washington. He posted an Instagram story on Jan. 30 that included a collage of such headlines along with a statement saying they were not accurate. 'Hey guys just want to clarify, these stories are not true, I was flying to detroit,' Maravilla wrote, going on to offer his condolences to the victims. In context: Researching Trump's statements about DEI, past administrations after DC crash He said the same in an interview with The Daily Beast, which updated its story to report that Maravilla was flying to Atlanta before making a connecting flight to his final destination of Detroit. The Daily Mail and People Magazine also later corrected their stories. USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response. Our fact-check sources Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here. USA TODAY is a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network, which requires a demonstrated commitment to nonpartisanship, fairness and transparency. Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Meta.
USA Today
30-01-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Figure skater planned to be on doomed flight but dog was too big to board, report says
A figure skater was saved from the deadly crash that killed 67 people after a mid-air collision between an American Airlines jet and a Black Hawk helicopter Wednesday night because his dog was too big to board the flight, according to the Daily Mail, which cited the skater's Instagram story. Jon Maravilla said he was supposed to be on the same flight that crashed into the Potomac River seconds before landing at Reagan Washington National Airport that departed from Wichita, Kansas, but was told his dog was too big, according to the Daily Mail, a British newspaper. The newspaper cited the Instagram story in reporting Maravilla decided to take a car instead. The crash killed several young figure skaters. The Daily Mail published an image from Maravilla's Instagram story that read, "Not allowed past gate to board flight. Get me tf out of Kansas please." Apparently after deciding to drive, Marvilla posted at 12:23 p.m., "14-hour journey begins.'' One of Maravilla's Instagram accounts is listed as private and a second account did not have details related to the crash. Maravilla, an American figure skater, and others were in Wichita to compete in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships from Jan. 21-26. US Figure Skating, the sport's national governing body, issued a statement saying in part "several members of our skating community" were on the flight.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Figure skater planned to be on doomed flight but dog was too big to board, report says
A figure skater was saved from the deadly crash that killed 67 people after a mid-air collision between an American Airlines jet and a Black Hawk helicopter Wednesday night because his dog was too big to board the flight, according to the Daily Mail, which cited the skater's Instagram story. Jon Maravilla said he was supposed to be on the same flight that crashed into the Potomac River seconds before landing at Reagan Washington National Airport that departed from Wichita, Kansas, but was told his dog was too big, according to the Daily Mail, a British newspaper. The newspaper cited the Instagram story in reporting Maravilla decided to take a car instead. The crash killed several young figure skaters. The Daily Mail published an image from Maravilla's Instagram story that read, "Not allowed past gate to board flight. Get me tf out of Kansas please." Apparently after deciding to drive, Marvilla posted at 12:23 p.m., "14-hour journey begins.'' One of Maravilla's Instagram accounts is listed as private and a second account did not have details related to the crash. Maravilla, an American figure skater, and others were in Wichita to compete in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships from Jan. 21-26. US Figure Skating, the sport's national governing body, issued a statement saying in part "several members of our skating community" were on the flight. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Skater spared from plane crash because dog too big to board: report
Fox News
30-01-2025
- Sport
- Fox News
American figure skater sets record straight on viral rumor amid airline tragedy
American figure skater Jon Maravilla set the record straight on a story that went viral amid the airline disaster that occurred near Reagan International Airport on Wednesday night. Maravilla told The Daily Beast in an interview on Thursday he was denied from his flight because of his dog but he was set to fly out of Detroit and not Wichita, Kansas, where the doomed flight originated from. Media reports from Russia originally claimed he was supposed to be on the plane, pointing to Instagram posts from his personal account. He told the outlet it was unclear where the reports came from but he was heartbroken over the fate of some of his friends. "I still can't believe it," he told the outlet. "I was just with them watching them have lots of fun and just enjoying their time." He added that he was in a parking lot when he started to learn the flight that collided with a U.S. Army helicopter had originated from Wichita. Officials said Thursday there were no survivors of the crash and that the mission went from a rescue operation to a recovery operation. Nearly 30 bodies were pulled from the Potomac River. At least six of those who died in the crash had ties to the Skating Club of Boston. The Skating Club of Boston CEO Doug Zeghibe identified those with ties to the club as athletes, Jinna Han and Spencer Lane, two coaches, Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, and Jin Han, the mother of Jinna, and Molly Lane, the mother of Spencer, were identified as the victims with ties to the skate club. "Our sport and this Club have suffered a horrible loss with this tragedy," Zeghibe said in a statement posted to social media. "Skating is a tight-knit community where parents and kids come together 6 of 7 days a week to train and work together. Everyone is like family. Of the skaters, coaches and parents on the plane, we believe six were from The Skating Club of Boston. We are devastated and completely at a loss for words. "These athletes, coaches, parents were returning from U.S. Figure Skating's National Development Camp, following last week's U.S. Championships in Wichita. This camp is for young competitive skaters of tomorrow with the promise to be a champion of tomorrow. The club sent 18 athletes to compete at the U.S. Championships. It sent 12 athletes to the National Development Camp." Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
