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CMYK Nxxx,2021-02-28,A,001,Bs-4C,E2

Late Edition
Today, rain arriving in the late morn-
ing, high 45. Tonight, overcast, a few
showers, low 41. Tomorrow, stray
morning showers, breezy, high 52.
Weather map appears on Page 26.

VOL. CLXX . . . No. 58,983 © 2021 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2021 $6.00

A 2nd Ex-Aide VOTE FRAUD MYTH


‘I laid there thinking I was going to die.’
Alleges Cuomo Joseph Heim Jr., a prisoner who tested positive and spent 20 days in isolation. FUELS G.O.P. DRIVE
Harassed Her
TO REWRITE LAWS
New York’s Governor
Asks for Inquiry SEEKING ELECTION LIMITS

By JESSE McKINLEY At Statehouses, a Focus


ALBANY, N.Y. — A second for- on Barriers Instead of
mer aide to Gov. Andrew M.
Cuomo is accusing him of sexual Expanding Access
harassment, saying that he asked
her questions about her sex life,
whether she was monogamous in By MICHAEL WINES
her relationships and if she had WASHINGTON — Led by loy-
ever had sex with older men. alists who embrace former Presi-
The aide, Charlotte Bennett, dent Donald J. Trump’s baseless
who was an executive assistant claims of a stolen election, Repub-
and health policy adviser in the licans in state legislatures nation-
Cuomo administration until she wide are mounting extraordinary
left in November, told The New efforts to change the rules of vot-
York Times that the governor had ing and representation — and en-
harassed her late last spring, dur- hance their own political clout.
ing the height of the state’s fight At the top of those efforts is a
against the coronavirus. slew of bills raising new barriers
Ms. Bennett, 25, said the most to casting votes, particularly the
unsettling episode occurred on mail ballots that Democrats
June 5, when she was alone with flocked to in the 2020 election. But
Mr. Cuomo in his State Capitol of- other measures go well beyond
fice. In a series of interviews this that, including tweaking Electoral
week, she said the governor had College and judicial election rules
asked her numerous questions for the benefit of Republicans;
about her personal life, including clamping down on citizen-led bal-
whether she thought age made a lot initiatives; and outlawing pri-
difference in romantic relation- vate donations that provide re-
ships, and had said that he was sources for administering elec-
open to relationships with women tions, which were crucial to the
in their 20s — comments she in- JOSHUA RASHAAD M cFADDEN FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES smooth November vote.
terpreted as clear overtures to a And although the decennial re-
sexual relationship. Shacarey James was imprisoned for a parole violation, though her pregnancy made her especially vulnerable to infection.
drawing of political maps has
Mr. Cuomo said in a statement been pushed to the fall because of
to The Times on Saturday that he delays in delivering 2020 census
believed he had been acting as a
mentor and had “never made ad-
vances toward Ms. Bennett, nor
U.S. Slow to Shield Its Inmates From Virus totals, there are already signs of
an aggressive drive to further ger-
rymander political districts, par-
did I ever intend to act in any way ticularly in states under complete
to grant home confinement to medically
that was inappropriate.” He said Republican control.
vulnerable inmates who did not pose a risk
he had requested an independent By RONI CARYN RABIN Home Confinement Granted to the public. The national Republican Party
review of the matter and asked Shacarey James was six weeks preg- joined the movement this past
that New Yorkers await the find- nant when she reported to the Federal Cor- Rarely Even as Toll Rises Inmates like Ms. James, who was con-
week by setting up a Committee
ings “before making any judg- victed of cashing fake checks, were to
rectional Institution in Danbury, Conn., on Election Integrity to scrutinize
ments.” serve out their sentences at their resi-
last summer to serve a sentence for a par- state election laws, echoing simi-
Ms. Bennett said that during ole violation. Four days later, the woman’s tempera- dences, with an electronic bracelet moni-
lar moves by Republicans in a
the June encounter, the governor, At risk for severe illness if infected with ture spiked, and a diagnostic test came toring their movements. The goal was to
number of state legislatures.
63, also complained to her about the coronavirus, Ms. James kept her mask back positive. “She was three feet from me protect them, reduce prison overcrowding
Republicans have long thought
being lonely during the pandemic, on at all times, except when she was sleep- — we were eye-to-eye,” said Ms. James. “I and minimize the risk of outbreaks. But the
— sometimes quietly, occasionally
mentioning that he “can’t even ing. In December, a woman assigned to the thought she was going to pass away in Federal Bureau of Prisons has been slow to
out loud — that large turnouts,
hug anyone,” before turning the next bunk developed a hacking cough. front of me.” act. particularly in urban areas, favor
focus to Ms. Bennett. She said that Ms. James, 25, suspected a coronavirus Ms. James escaped infection, but The coronavirus has infected more than Democrats, and that Republicans
Mr. Cuomo asked her, “Who did I infection, but officers at the prison at first whether she should have been in the pris- 620,000 inmates and correctional officers benefit when fewer people vote.
last hug?” dismissed her concerns, saying pregnancy on at all remains a pressing question. in the nation’s prisons, jails and detention But politicians and scholars alike
Ms. Bennett said she had tried “hormones” were making her anxious, and When the pandemic erupted last spring, centers, according to a New York Times say that this moment feels like a
to dodge the question by respond- they refused to test her bunkmate. federal prisons were told to move quickly Continued on Page 8 dangerous plunge into uncharted
ing that she missed hugging her waters.
Continued on Page 25 Continued on Page 22

Stimulus Plan Sites Aim for 12,000 Shots a Day


Offers Chance As Supply of Vaccine Catches Up
To Fix A.C.A. By ABBY GOODNOUGH
EAST HARTFORD, Conn. —
With the nation’s coronavirus vac-
By SARAH KLIFF cine supply expected to swell over
and MARGOT SANGER-KATZ the next few months, states and
Ever since the Affordable Care cities are rushing to open mass
Act became law in 2010 — a big vaccination sites capable of inject-
deal, in the (sanitized) words of ing thousands of shots a day into
then Vice President Joseph R. Bi- the arms of Americans, an ap-
CHRISTOPHER CAPOZZIELLO FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
den Jr. — Democrats have itched proach the Biden administration
to fix its flaws. has seized on as crucial for reach- Thomas Hatcher Sr., 84, got a
But Republicans united against ing herd immunity in a nation of shot at a mass vaccination site
the law and, for the next decade, 330 million. in East Hartford, Conn.
blocked nearly all efforts to but- The Federal Emergency Man-
tress it or to make the kinds of agement Agency has joined in units to play major roles in in-
technical corrections that are too: It recently helped open seven creasing the vaccination rate.
common in the years after a major mega-sites in California, New With only about 9 percent of
piece of legislation. York and Texas, relying on active- adults fully vaccinated to date, the
Now the Biden administration duty troops to staff them and plan- kind of scale mass sites provide
and a Democratic Congress hope ning many more. Some mass may be essential as more and
to engineer the first major repair HEIDI VICTORIA
sites, including at Dodger Sta- more people become eligible for
job and expansion of the Afford- dium in Los Angeles and State the vaccines and as more infec-
able Care Act since its passage. A standing (and mostly masked) ovation for the cast of “Come From Away” in Melbourne, Australia. Farm Stadium in suburban tious variants of the virus prolifer-
They plan to refashion regulations Phoenix, aim to inject at least ate in the United States.
and spend billions through the 12,000 people a day once supply
But while the sites are acceler-
stimulus bill to make Obamacare
simpler, more generous and closer Way Off Broadway, a Preview of Its Recovery ramps up; the one in Phoenix al-
ready operates around the clock.
ating vaccination to help meet the
current overwhelming demand,
to what many of its architects The sites are a sign of growing
wanted in the first place. — all tested for Covid-19, belting bright — “Come From Away” and there are clear signs they won’t be
momentum toward vaccinating
“This is the biggest expansion By DAMIEN CAVE out familiar lines with new mean- “Harry Potter and the Cursed every willing American adult. able to address a different chal-
that we’ve had since the A.C.A. and MICHAEL PAULSON ing. Child” have reopened in Mel- Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose lenge lying ahead: the many
was passed,” said Representative SYDNEY, Australia — The “For the first time in forever,” bourne, “Hamilton” is scheduled vaccine won emergency author- Americans who are more difficult
Frank Pallone of New Jersey, who lights were dimmed, the crowd they sang, “nothing’s in my to join “Frozen” next month in ization from the Food and Drug to reach and who may be reluctant
helped draft the health law more was masked, and plexiglass divid- waaaay!” Sydney, and “Moulin Rouge! The Administration on Saturday, and Continued on Page 10
than a decade ago and leads the ed the orchestra. The crowd erupted in applause, Musical” is preparing for a sum- both Moderna and Pfizer have
House Energy and Commerce Jemma Rix, draped in royal not just for the cast, but for the mo- mer start in Melbourne. promised larger weekly ship-
Committee. “It was envisioned blue and holding a sanitized ment: Actors are back onstage, Australia, normally a second- ments of vaccines by early spring. RELIEF BILL A $1.9 trillion pack-
that we’d do this periodically, but scepter as Elsa, emerged to greet and audiences are back in seats. ary market for big-brand shows In addition to using mass sites, age heads to the Senate. PAGE 22
we didn’t think we’d have to wait the “Frozen” family — her spunky At a time when New York and developed in New York and Lon- President Biden wants pharma-
so long.” sister, Anna, the dashing Prince London theaters remain dark, don, has become an unexpected cies, community clinics that serve 1-DOSE VACCINE Distribution
Continued on Page 23 Hans and the stoic reindeer Sven Australia’s stages are (carefully) Continued on Page 6 the poor and mobile vaccination could begin this week. PAGE 10

ARTS & LEISURE AT HOME SUNDAY BUSINESS

Clown Princes Sit Back, Relax, Swab Hard-Hit vs. Hardly Hit
Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall on Now that the F.D.A. has authorized Lockdowns changed what Americans
“Coming 2 America,” a long-awaited home Covid testing kits, you can check could do and buy, and who had jobs and
sequel to their 1988 film that will be your status from your own sofa. But who lost them. As a result, some are
released on Friday, and their history how well do they work? PAGE 6 flush as their friends struggle. PAGE 1
as comics and friends. PAGE 6
INTERNATIONAL 11-15 SUNDAY STYLES NATIONAL 16-25 THE NEW YORK TIMES FOR KIDS
State of the Podcast
An adaptation market in Hollywood is
Taliban Prisons in Afghanistan A Telling Trend Making Room for Black History Young Forces for Change
just one sign of the rapid evolution of A potential U.S. withdrawal very likely From F.B.I. tip lines to social media, How a day to remember Black achieve- Meet 18 young people who are using
the industry. But some worry that big means thousands of people will contin- many Americans have spent their time ments expanded to a week and then their time and their talents to help
money will stifle the spirit that has ue to be captured and tortured. PAGE 12 in isolation blowing the whistle. PAGE 1 grew to a month. PAGE 20 others get through the pandemic.
driven much of its success. PAGES 10-15
Saying No to ‘Trump Lake’ The Fight for Franklin Canyon Asian-Americans Are Angry

U(D547FD)v+z!;!/!$!=
SUNDAY REVIEW A proposal to rename a reservoir has A court battle continues over the con- For many who have endured racist
united bitter rivals in Kosovo: Both struction of a gated compound at a taunts, a fatal assault on an older man
Carl Zimmer PAGE 4 sides think it’s ludicrous. PAGE 11 popular Los Angeles hiking spot. PAGE 1 has become a rallying cry. PAGE 16
$3.66 DESIGNATED AREAS HIGHER © 2021 WST DD SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2021 latimes.com

In pandemic,
location is
everything
Those communities’ rela-
Data analysis shows tive good fortune can be ex-
plained by some obvious
vast inequities across demographic factors, such
L.A. County during as Malibu’s low housing den-
sity and West Hollywood’s
the winter surge. large population of singles
able to work from home.
By Matt Stiles But residents and city
and Hayley Smith officials also point to other
factors they believe helped
The winter surge of keep the pandemic under
COVID-19 brutalized much control: sea breezes, easy ac-
of Los Angeles County, send- cess to open space for exer-
ing case rates and deaths cising, a strong culture of
skyrocketing for weeks. mask compliance and, cru-
But in some neighbor- cially, limited contact with
hoods, the pandemic’s other people.
wrath was barely felt. [See Surge, A13]
In West Hollywood, Mali-
bu and Playa del Rey, infec-
tion rates actually fell, or in- Bay Area schools
creased much less than else-
where, according to a Times plan exposes rift
Gary Coronado Los Angeles Times data analysis of more than Proposed reopenings
A MASS GRAVE holds the unidentified dead in Tijuana in 2018. Thousands of corpses pass through 300 neighborhoods and cit- reveal a region divided by
morgues each year without being identified, a growing problem one official calls a “humanitarian crisis.” ies across the county. economics. CALIFORNIA, B1

A smaller surge in some areas

DEAD AND BURIED, A smaller surge in some areas


7-day average of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents
7-day average of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents
L.A. County
L.A. County
1,000
Playa Del Rey
Playa del Rey
West Hollywood
West Hollywood

WITHOUT A NAME
1,000

750
750

500
500

250
80,000 in Mexico have vanished over 15 years. Many 250

could be in mass graves, but identification is elusive. 0


0
December January
December January
By Maya Averbuch Times survey of local public health agencies
and Kate Linthicum Matt St iles Los Angeles Times

TIJUANA — After hearing that


her 44-year-old son had been
murdered in downtown Tijuana,
Guadalupe Aragón Sosa went
searching for him.
Families of prisoners
with COVID-19 say
She gave police a sample of her
DNA, but they said they found no hits
when they checked it against a data-
base of unidentified bodies.
She spent hours at the local
morgue, flipping through black-and-
white photographs of unclaimed
they’re kept in dark
corpses, but her Carlos was not “It wasn’t right,” Ruiz
among them. By Leila Miller said. “They waited to a point
She scoured fields and garbage where a person can’t talk, a
dumps on the outskirts of town By the time Santos Ruiz person can’t communicate
where local thugs were known to heard from the prison doc- with his family that loved
bury their victims, probing the soil tor last July, his father had him.”
with a metal rod in search of a whiff of been at St. Francis Memori- As the pandemic has rav-
decaying flesh. She unearthed about al Hospital in San Francisco aged California prisons,
a dozen cadavers, but not her son. for two weeks and on a some families say that offi-
Nearly a year passed before she fi- ventilator. cials have failed to inform
nally learned his fate in late 2018: He “We don’t think he’s go- them when their loved ones
had been in a government grave all ing to make it,” he recalled have been hospitalized with
along. her saying. the virus — receiving a call
Some 80,000 Mexicans have This was the first time only when it might already
disappeared in the last 15 years and Verónica G. Cárdenas For The Times Ruiz had heard that his fa- be too late to say their good-
never been found. Many are now GUADALUPE Aragón Sosa’s son Carlos, 44, was killed in 2018. After ther, a 61-year-old inmate at byes, act as surrogate deci-
[See Graves, A4] nearly a year of searching, she learned he was in a government grave. San Quentin State Prison, sion-makers or provide criti-
even had the virus. [See Prisoners, A12]

COLUMN ONE

The fight for Fresno’s soul


Hogan’s amazing rally A church tries to buy
Heather Parrish, co-director
of the Rogue, an annual fringe
arts and the pandemic in
this hub of the San Joaquin

may be up Tiger’s alley the Tower Theatre, a


bohemian landmark,
and stirs culture wars.
arts festival and one of the or-
ganizers of an effort to stop the
sale. “This is the historic cen-
ter of progressive bohemia in
Fresno. An evangelical church
Valley. Church leaders say
they are being unfairly la-
beled as intolerant interlop-
ers, and opponents say the
church has shown little
operating in the heart of it understanding of the neigh-
Golf legend came back and won big after ’49 crash By Diana Marcum strikes at the culture we’ve borhood where it wants to
built for decades.” anchor itself.
FRESNO — At first, few In recent weeks, the Tower Donald Munro, a journal-
By J. Brady McCollough in the neighborhood paid at- Theatre’s uncertain fate has ist with the Munro Review, a
tention to the churchgoers escalated tensions in Fresno, Fresno-area arts website,
t was nearly time for Jim filing into the Tower Theatre bringing to the fore divisions posted a Save Our Theater

I Dodson’s afternoon
drink when he heard
what happened to Tiger
Woods.
Dodson, an author of seven
golf books, has the sport’s
history scrawled into his
on Sunday mornings.
It was pre-pandemic and
just another audience at the
historic Art Deco theater
with its neon orb atop an 80-
foot tower. But as Roger
Rocka’s Dinner Theater
over religion, LGBTQ rights,

Virus relief bill


heads to Senate
[See Tower Theatre, A11]

Hatching a plan
to save condors
“We have no time to Energy firm will breed
knuckles. As he processed the across the street went dark, waste,” the president the endangered vultures
news of Woods’ harrowing car the gay bar silent and the says after the House to replace those that
crash Tuesday over a biogra- Tower District’s lively side- passed the $1.9-trillion may be killed by wind
pher’s bourbon, Dodson’s walks emptied, the devout measure. NATION, A6 turbines. CALIFORNIA, B1
daughter called with an easy continued to meet for
comparison to one of her months, drawing local ire. J&J shot cleared Weather
father’s subjects. In January it became Sunny and breezy.
“They’re saying Tiger’s public that Adventure as third vaccine L.A. Basin: 72/50. B5
injury is worse than Ben Church was buying the thea- The FDA authorizes the
Hogan’s,” she said. Associated Press ter, the neighborhood’s COVID-19 shot, which
“No, it’s not,” Dodson BEN HOGAN shielded his wife, Valerie, center, namesake and economic an- works with one dose, not
assured her. when their car was hit by a bus in Texas in 1949. chor. “That’s when things two. NATION, A10
[See Crash, A14] Many thought he would never walk again. went wackydoodle,” said

BUSINESS INSIDE: Clubhouse audio-chat app is a playground for users and scammers. A15
COMMUNITY VOICES: A Q&A from UChicago Medicine, sponsored content on Page 13

SUNDAY SAVINGS: $406.25 IN COUPONS INSIDE


B Final

Questions? Call 1-800-Tribune Sunday, February 28, 2021 Breaking news at chicagotribune.com

$1.9 trillion
virus bill
now heads
to Senate
Dems have 2 weeks
to pass aid as jobless
benefits near lapse
By Alan Fram
Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The House


approved a $1.9 trillion pandemic
relief bill that was championed by
President Joe Biden, the first step
in providing another dose of aid to
a weary nation as the measure
now moves to a tense Senate.
“We have no time to waste,”
Biden said at the White House
after the House passage early
Saturday. “We act now — deci-
sively, quickly and boldly — we can
finally get ahead of this virus. We
can finally get our economy mov-
ing again. People in this country
have suffered far too much for too ANTONIO PEREZ/CHICAGO TRIBUNE

long.” Jay Rivera, Joliet chief water plant operator, walks away after checking the water level at well 24d in Joliet on Tuesday.
The new president’s vision for

With groundwater low,


infusing cash across a struggling
economy to individuals, busi-
nesses, schools, states and cities
battered by COVID-19 passed on a
near party-line 219-212 vote.
Democrats said mass unem-

trouble is running deep


ployment and the more than
510,000 American lives lost are
causes to act despite nearly $4
trillion in aid already spent fight-
ing the fallout from the disease.
GOP lawmakers, they said, were

Turn to Bill, Page 10 50 miles from Lake Michigan, towns left with tough choice
By Morgan Greene systems on Earth, groundwater next 20 years, from about $34 to “basically shuffling deck chairs
IN NATION & WORLD: The FDA Chicago Tribune is running out. nearly $140. But officials say a on the Titanic.”
on Saturday approved the Johnson Joliet is the latest city to give new water source is necessary. “The problem is going to be
& Johnson vaccine that works with On a rainy day in northeastern up on the deep aquifers, voting By 2030, when the pipeline to there,” Abrams said. “It’s just a
just one dose. Page 21 Illinois, you might have stepped last month — in a decision Joliet is expected to be com- matter of when it manifests.”
outside and wondered when the officials called the most signifi- pleted, a few wells that supply In northeastern Illinois, more
downpour would end, without cant in the town’s history — to Joliet water could be struggling water has been drained from the
realizing a century-old and po- tap into Lake Michigan water to meet demands. aquifers than is replenished,
tentially life-changing deficit provided by Chicago. Joliet could probably manage causing water levels to drop to

After the was growing hundreds of feet


below.
Less than 50 miles away from
That comes with a cost: If
Joliet takes on the project alone,
an average monthly water bill for
with one or two deficient wells,
said Daniel Abrams, a research
scientist with the Illinois State
depths where costs and compli-
cations may render wells inoper-

second dose one of the largest freshwater residents could quadruple in the Water Survey. But beyond that — Turn to Water, Page 8

of vaccine,
what’s next? Next generation
of Black leaders
As protocols continue, The first cohort of Black
life might not get back Bench Chicago will be learn-
ing about legislative proc-
to normal immediately esses, campaigns, special
interests, budgets and the
By Madeline Buckley
history of Black organizing in
Chicago Tribune
Chicago. Life+Travel
Chris Ruys is scheduled to
receive her second COVID-19 vac-
cine shot on March 1 and will be
considered fully inoculated about IN A+E: Artist Riva Lehrer
two weeks later. paints portraits of people
After that, she wonders: Then with disabilities — minus the
what? mock heroics, the “freak
Based on advice from doctors, show” or the toxic staring.
Ruys doesn’t expect her daily life
to change immediately. She re-
cently turned down an invitation
for a St. Patrick’s Day party, as she IN BUSINESS: With millions
worries about the vaccine’s per- of jobs likely gone for good,
formance against the new var- JOSE M. OSORIO/CHICAGO TRIBUNE the pandemic is forcing un-
iants, as well as spreading the virus Northwestern University senior Lauren Reynolds, a music education and social policy double major, employed Chicagoans to
to others. tutors children remotely Friday from her Evanston apartment. rethink their careers.
“I think I’ll have to take it a day
at a time,” the 75-year-old Streeter-
ville neighborhood resident said.
Medical experts, along with the
Flashpoint for teachers in training TOM SKILLING’S
Centers for Disease Control and Are new rules ‘culturally responsive teaching’ or ‘woke indoctrination’? WEATHER
Prevention, are telling people to
High 51
continue masking and social dis- By Elyssa Cherney, farming community. cal maelstrom has ensued as the
Low 25
tancing after they are considered Karen Ann Cullotta “The literature for a long state finalized a broad overhaul
fully inoculated because doctors and Robert McCoppin time has told us: If we think of of rules for teacher training Complete forecast
don’t yet know whether vacci- Chicago Tribune teaching as simply delivering programs that reflect this cul- in Nation & World, Page 34
nated people can spread the virus the content, then you’re going turally sensitive approach.
As dean of Illinois’ largest to struggle with many of the The idea of cultural compe- $5.75 city, suburbs
Turn to Second, Page 2 teacher preparation program, kids in the classroom, because tency has been embraced in and elsewhere
Jim Wolfinger works to culti- it’s not connected to their education circles for years. But 173rd year No. 59
vate socially aware educators personal lives,” said Wolfinger, Illinois’ new rules — which cite © Chicago Tribune
IN LIFE+TRAVEL: With early who can inspire students in any who leads the College of Edu- potential teacher biases like
access to vaccines, older travelers setting — whether that’s an cation at Illinois State Uni- racism, homophobia, unearned
are leading a new wave of hotel, urban neighborhood with ra- versity.
cruise and other tour bookings. cially diverse families or a small But in recent weeks, a politi- Turn to Training, Page 12

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