|
The COVID 19 virus has made life difficult for people in the United States, as well as the entire world. As history has shown, people can become different in times of despair, possibly becoming ‘worse’ people as their morals change. Although there are many bad choices made during times of crisis, there are also many good people who make good choices, as people and corporations have been doing what they can to help others.
51 year old Andre Anglin is a busdriver from Columbus, Ohio. Before becoming a busdriver in Columbus, Mr.Anglin was in the military and took part in the Gulf War. Ever since the epidemic in America broke out, even after the social distancing was implemented, Anglin continued to drive his bus all over the city. He understood that people who rode his bus were going to the grocery store, work, or to see their loved ones. Ever since leaving the military, his sense of honor still remained greatly intact, which is why when he transports people during the COVID 19 infection, people were still protected. He modified his bus to where people aren’t bunched up, and he also sanitizes everything. Many corporations are helping with COVID 19 relief such as, Global Giving. Since the epidemic started, Global Giving has pledged to raise an estimated 5 million dollars to provide hospitals and all the doctors in communities in need. They would help to provide necessary supplies, such as ventilators and masks. The money would also go to prevention efforts once the epidemic has died off, making sure it does return. Although there are many government and civil employees and organizations that are helping out during the dark times of the COVID-19 virus, it is also the everyday person throughout the world that are the heroes as well. This means that every single person that is following safety guidelines and proper safety procedures, are doing their part as well to make sure the people around them have a reduced risk of catching the virus. Also, the ones who have donated their money and time to various organizations and charities that are helping people during COVID are also considered as heroes. Reporter: Andrew Camberos
0 Comments
The virus, still in full effect and having taken a lot from everyone, has not deterred the human spirit, with the world slowly beginning to make a combined effort to help the global population against the virus. This has helped make the situation for many bearable, with these kinds of aid coming in many and multiple forms.
In Colorado Springs, there have been two instances of help that have made headlines in the state of Colorado. The first is of a lone individual, given the alias of ¨TP Ninja¨, where he has been delivering toilet paper in his signature TP mask since the 24th of March, and as of yet the individual has remained anonymous while also delivering the much needed TP. The second comes from YouTubers Andrew Scites and Justin Stuart, who earlier in October bought $5,000 worth of toilet paper, with the abundance of toilet paper now being donated to senior living homes. In many countries of the world, traveling is heavily restricted, but many people still find a way to travel even if it's not advised. In the Mexican state of Guerrero, a group of vigilante and the local population have created checkpoints to stop foreign tourists from entering their beaches, preventing the spread of the virus. Although xenophobic, this act is one of the many ways to prevent the virus from spreading to uninfected areas. Many businesses have also entered the fray, with many companies aiding governments and communities. Amazon has set aside $7 million to communities and also deliver test kits, Apple has sent 20 million masks for health workers across the whole United States, Audible has provided their stream services for educational and children books, Beyond Meat has been donating 1 million beyond burgers to healthcare workers and hospitals. There are many more examples of heroic actions made by individuals, organizations, and companies, but this goes to show that as a species working together towards a common goal for the good of all is not impossible. Reporter: Lorenzo Sevilla March 13, 2020, all of the seniors anticipated coming back to school on Monday. They left anticipating seeing all of their friends on Monday and telling them how awesome our weekend was. An email was sent out to all students, parents, and faculty members on March 13 informing that all schools in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District (NMUSD) will be closed until April 13. However, there is still a possibility that the school will remain closed for the rest of the academic year.
The last semester of senior year has been taken away from the students, and there is no end in sight. Many seniors were looking forward to all that senior year had to offer; senior ditch day, prom, and hearing their names called and walking across the stage at graduation, but these events seem to be in doubt. The seniors never knew that leaving our sixth period class of March 13 may be the last time we ever see all of their friends at the same place at the same time. None of them said goodbye, they all just said see you on Monday. But tomorrow is never promised. Senior and ASB President Melia Kenneth said that she is really disappointed in the school closure. “We’ve spent the last four years working to get to walk across the stage and to dance at our last high school dance and to do everything that seniors do. I feel like we’re just having a lot of milestones robbed from us and it hurts.” Senior and 4-year varsity starter in both baseball and basketball Jake Covey said, “It sucks, especially for me as an athlete...now I don’t know what my future holds. It’s all in limbo and that really sucks.” A majority of the seniors have a similar approach to how they feel with the school closing, but there are a few who have a different way of thinking. Senior Kaden Zacchetti said, “I think it’s unfortunate, however it’s important for us as a people, as a country, to come together and do whatever we can to combat this crisis. I’m fine giving up my second semester of my senior year in order to save lives. It’s everyone’s job to do their part. Everyone can be a hero in America.” Although the school year is expected to resume, the seniors cannot help but think about the what ifs. What if the school does not open back up? What if prom gets cancelled? What if we do not have graduation? Unfortunately, there are no answers to these questions... yet. Hopefully the school will open back up again so us seniors can savor our last few months in highschool. Estancia High School Class of 2020: it has been a great ride, and let's hope that this is just another bump in the years of highschool. Hopefully, June will still be around. Reporter: Myles Witte On Monday, February 24, 2020, the city of Costa Mesa was pleading that a judge block the State of California from moving people infected with the new coronavirus into a state-owned facility in the city, where they would remain in isolation while recovering. The proposed site for the infected is located at the Fairview Development Center in Costa Mesa, California. The Fairview Development Center serves people with developmental and intellectual disabilities, with the coronavirus being one of them. It was uncertain exactly how many people California intended to move into the facility in Costa Mesa, but they are among the 53 people in the United States who have tested positive for the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nearly all of those people had traveled to Asia, and many of them have been staying on American military bases since returning to the United States on government-arranged flights. Those infected under consideration to be transferred to the Fairview Development Center are located at Travis Air Force Base in Bakersfield, California.
Many people located all over the city are furious at the fact of having infected people transferred near their home. It is one thing to have people get sick in Costa Mesa, but it is another thing to transfer the infected into Costa Mesa. Jennifer L. Keller, a lawyer hired by Costa Mesa to try to block the transfer, said “you almost couldn’t pick a better disease vector,” given the Costa Mesa area’s popularity with tourists. Mary Ann Ngo, a local resident who stood outside the courthouse with a sign that read “Yes to compassion, no to mass infection,” she said. She prayed every day for the infected, and hoped that they would recover. “Still”, she said, “the Costa Mesa site is not an appropriate location.” The standoff over where to send the patients underscored the unwieldy, decentralized nature of the U.S. health system, even as federal authorities were warning of serious risks from the coronavirus outbreak. Cities cannot generally refuse a state’s order to assist, but Costa Mesa intends to fight the proposal, no matter the cost. Reporter: Myles Witte Five months is all that's left. Growing up with the people you spent your whole life with has some terrible memories but some great memories. People have grown into the best possible version of themselves in the past few years. It’s scary to think, you’re now entering adulthood by yourself. Others haven’t planned out their future and some have gone beyond the lines to plan it out since they were kids. The anxiety and fear of leaving behind a whole different world, just to explore a new one. Hearing people who have graduated has said it gets easier or it gets harder. You just need to know your own future and what you see is what you might like unless you try hard to make it happen. Brandon Pearson, a senior at Estancia High School has said, “I’m excited to leave. I enjoyed the memories I’ve made with my basketball team and my best friends. But I think it’s time for me to leave and see how my future goes.” The pure happiness people have felt seeing their friends in the hallways, the loudness and crowds that form when you’re trying to get to your class, will be going by faster and you won’t be able to experience that. Freshman year was the easiest, sophomore year was the easiest yet hardest year, junior year is the hardest because you’re going into your final year. Senior year will go by the quickest and easiest. The past 4 years of your life vanishes in a matter of seconds and now you’re becoming an adult. It’s crazy and exciting. It’ll be great.
Reporter: Leslie Ventura Coronavirus is a large group of viruses common among animals. Scientists call the viruses “zoonotic” rarely but they can be transmitted from animals to humans. People can get sick, usually with mild to moderate upper respiratory tract illness, similar to a common cold (runny nose, headache, cough, feeling unwell, fever, and sore throat). Elderly and the young with weak immune systems have a chance the virus could cause a lower yet very serious, respiratory tract illness like pneumonia and bronchitis. By spreading the virus, people can be affected with it and can spread it by the air by coughing and sneezing, touching or shaking hands, touching an object or surface with the virus on it, then touching your mouth, nose, or eyes before washing your hands, and in rare cases, fecal contamination. Recently, China had an outbreak of the Coronavirus this past month. It has killed at least 106 people and infected more than 4,500. It recently hit Orange County, Germany, Canada, Australia, and France. People have avoided going to Asian markets due to the recent outbreak. Louie Boucher, a student at Los Amigos High School has said, “People need to wash their hands every time and get checked up just in case because you never know if you’ve been infected or not.” NO vaccines are available against this infection. Wash your hands often with soap and water, Avoiding touching eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands, and avoid close contact with people who are sick.
Reporter: Leslie Ventura It’s college application season and the class of 2020 are stressing out. Many seniors are facing similar experiences with their applications despite differences of income and ethicity.
Students are overwhelmed with making decisions which will impact their entire life. “I wanna die and I'm procrastinating on hitting submit because I’m scared that I’m choosing the wrong colleges. I’m scared that I won't get into any and that I'm choosing the wrong major. It’s just a mess,” said Estancia senior, Nancy Diaz, an Estancia student. Even though most students have finished their application, the pressure is stopping them from moving on. Most applications are easy but the expectations and pressure they deal with is stressful. Kristine Lu, a student at Los Amigos High School, said, “It’s a lot less work than it’s made out to be but it still doesn't stop it from being extremely stressful.” For some students, the cost of college is very intimidating. Leah Thunstrom, a senior at Estancia said, “I've had no motivation for college applications. I want to go but the cost is scary and the stress is too much.” Other students struggle with paying for the applications. “The application fees have really been hard, it made me feel more limited on where I could apply to,” said Sarah Reich, an Estancia senior hoping to major in musical theater. Other students ,on the other hand, are having trouble completing the application being the first child in their family to do so. Athena Nova, an Estancia student, said, “I realized that I was doing the application wrong and i got off my chair and sat down on the floor and cried.” Overall, most of the senior experienced something different but the end result was them being stressed over something whether it be the cost, the application itself, or just the overall pressure that comes with making such a decision. Reporter: Viviana Arroyo As of January 16, 2020, it was announced that a Northgate Market would replace the Albertsons in Costa Mesa. Melissa Hill, a spokeswoman for Albertsons grocery chain, stated that Albertsons did not renew their lease, therefore they will close their store on February 22.
The Northgate Gonzáles Market is a latin-themed grocery store that has been in business for over 40 years, with 41 locations, all within Southern California. With their new location, it is expected to open in late 2020, or early 2021. This is due to the fact that Northgate has to renovate the entire building. They are expected to hire around 150 new employees. With the closing of Albertsons, people would lose a grocery chain that has been in the community since 2000, and the workers would not have a job anymore. Melissa Hill did also state that all of Albertsons employees would continue to have a job, but at different locations. Another probable issue that could occur with Northgate opening, is that other local Latin businesses could be in jeopardy. Local businesses, such as El Metate and El Toro Bravo Market, have been with Costa Mesa for well over 30 years. These have been some of the main destinations for people who want to buy Latin products. Reporter: Andrew Camberos On January 8, 2020, a new strain of the coronavirus was discovered by Chinese scientists. This new virus strain is part of the SARS family, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, that infected more than 8,000 people, killing 774 in 2002 and 2003 in Asia and Canada. The virus has now returned, and has already had an effect on part of the world population.
As of January 21, there have been 440 cases of people being infected with the virus all over the continent of Asia, with the majority being from China. So far, there have been 6 casualties that have been a result from the outbreak. The Chinese have been trying to contain the outbreak, but there has been little success. There is already one confirmed case of the coronavirus within the United States. A man in his 30s from Washington is being quarantined at Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, Washington. The man contracted the disease after he traveled to Wuhan, China, which is considered to be the epicenter of where the virus originated from. The Washington case, is the only one reported outside of Asia, which is one of the farthest locations that the coronavirus has ever reached. Both the CDC and WHO are set to meet on January 22 to discuss the disease, containment and the plan moving forward to help those with the virus. While the medical world is meeting, the rest of the world is very concerned. The only question that people are asking now is how far will the disease will spread. Reporter: Andrew Camberos Around 4:15 A.M. on Friday, January 24, 2020, Houston Police Department began receiving calls about a massive explosion in Northwest Houston. The explosion occurred in a building at Watson Grinding and Manufacturing, which makes valves and provides thermal-spray coatings for equipment in various industries. The effects of the blast could be felt as far as half a mile away and many buildings were damaged. Reports came in that over 200 homes were damaged in the blast, and many more felt it. At one man's home about 1/4 mile away, glass doors were shattered, ceilings were cracked, and the lid of his toilet was even torn off.
A fire burned at the site for hours, and there was a potential for toxic fumes to build up in the air. First responders of the explosion have been instructed to get checked out to ensure that they are fully healthy and did not inhale any toxic fumes. Currently, one factory worker is missing, two workers died en route to the hospital and many more have suffered injuries. The search team cannot begin looking for the missing person, because the plant is currently releasing polypropylene, a type of polymer that is used on most plastics. The chemical, however, is not toxic. Southeast Texas has seen numerous explosions in recent years all occurring along the Texas Coast, which is home to the highest concentration of oil refineries in the United States. In July 2019, an explosion at an ExxonMobil refinery in Baytown, Texas left more than a dozen people with minor injuries. In December, two blasts in the coastal city of Port Neches shattered windows and ripped the doors from nearby homes. As the investigation continues, more facts will be brought to light. Reporter: Myles Witte |
RSS Feed