By Michaele Turnage
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Life in California came to a virtual standstill Tuesday after
terrorist attacks shook the nation.
“Something sad happened in America today,” said
Isabella, a kindergartner at Our Lady of Guadalupe Grade School in
Hermosa Beach.
Much of San Francisco, Sacramento, and Los Angeles were
evacuated.
Gov. Gray Davis ordered all state buildings closed and
nonessential employees to go home. Military bases were placed on
“high alert.”
In Los Angeles, most high-rise buildings were voluntarily
evacuated.
Many malls, commercial establishments and major theme parks
throughout the state decided to close.
The Latin Grammys, the Emmy Awards and a Madonna concert ““
all of which were to be held in Los Angeles ““ were also
cancelled.
Hours after the Federal Aviation Administration recommended all
flights be grounded around the nation, Los Angeles International
Airport was evacuated late Tuesday morning.
Only airport personnel were allowed onto LAX grounds.
California officials said that there is no reason to think that
California will be targeted.
“There are no terrorist threats within the state of
California,” said Steve Dakota, an information officer at the
California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.
“California has secured its key government and lifeline
facilities, including water, power and communications,”
Dakota said, adding that state government, law enforcement, fire
personnel and other emergency services are operational.
Gov. Davis has offered assistance to the state of New York and
the federal government. He directed three search-and-rescue teams
to the East Coast with five more teams on alert, Dakota said.
The Los Angeles Police Department went on tactical alert, the
Emergency Operation Center was activated, the Anti-Terrorist
Division was mobilized, and station defense plans were set into
action. The bomb squad followed up on 26 bomb threats, all of which
were false.
LAPD also performed an hour long search of the Metro Red Line
subway system at 1 p.m. Tuesday, causing closures and service
disruptions. All other bus and transit lines in Los Angeles
operated normally. However, Bay Area Rapid Transit ran on its
Sunday schedule.
Major ports closed, including the San Pedro Port and the Long
Beach Port, which according to the Associated Press, are
responsible for for 35 percent of all U.S.-bound cargo. The San
Pedro Port has since reopened.
All incoming ships were instructed to anchor beyond the
breakwater, until the Coast Guard could inspect them and allow them
into the ports. Each inspection will take from 15 minutes to 3
hours.
The Westwood Post Office closed its doors to customers because
of its close vicinity to the Federal Building, though inside
employees sorted and delivered mail as usual.
Some public schools and community colleges remained open at the
discretion of each individual district and campus, while the San
Francisco public schools cancelled all classes and the Los Angeles
Unified School District announced that no extracurricular
activities would take place. Some private schools opted to send
students home for the day.
“Everybody was talking about it in school. TVs were on in
every class and we discussed it with our teachers,” said Mike
Perez, a senior at Monte Vista High School in San Diego.
Although all UC campuses remained open, whether classes were
held was at each professor’s discretion.
“We are making every effort to ensure the security of our
students, staff and faculty at all campuses, medical centers,
national laboratories and Education Abroad centers,” said UC
president Richard Atkinson in a statement.
However, the Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos National
Laboratories ““ which are managed by the University of
California for the Department of Energy ““ were closed. Normal
operations are expected to reconvene today.
“All nonessential employees have been sent home as a
precautionary measure because we are a national security
laboratory,” said Anne Stark, a public information officer at
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
In addition, all classes at the California State University were
cancelled and this week’s CSU Board of Trustee’s
meeting was cancelled.
This week’s UC Board of Regents meeting was cancelled as
well. Most regents were planning to fly in for the meeting Tuesday,
but could not do so since all flights were cancelled.
“The country is in the midst of a national tragedy and we
cannot just continue with business as usual,” said Charles
McFadden, a spokesman for the UC Office of the President.
Yet, others were determined not to let life be interrupted.
“We have to keep as much normalcy as possible,” said
Ed Carberry, head football coach at Monte Vista High School in San
Diego, who still held football practice. “The goal of any
terrorist is to disrupt our lives. We’re not going to let
them disrupt us.”
At a press conference at City Hall last night shortly after 10
p.m., acting Mayor Alex Padilla, who is filling in for Mayor James
Hahn, said LAX will remain closed until the FAA approves its
opening. Mayor James Hahn was in Washington, D.C. at the time and
is safe, Padilla said.
Delivering a short message in both English and Spanish, Padilla
also urged L.A. residents to stand together in a time of such
tragedy, saying: “We call upon all Angelenos to not allow
anger to develop into hatred toward any other person, toward any
other Angeleno.”
Both Padilla and Los Angeles police chief Bernard Parks said
last night Los Angeles was a safe city.
“As of 10 p.m. this evening, it is my pleasure to announce
there are no credible threats targeting the city of Los
Angeles,” Padilla said.
“We expect to return to normal tomorrow,” he added.
“Schools will be open, the buses will be on the road, the
trash will be picked up.”
But LAX and all federal buildings will remain closed, according
to Padilla.
With reports from Maegan Carberry, Bridget O’Brien, Kelly
Rayburn, Robert Salonga, Scott Schultz, Sophia Whang and Vytas
Mazeika, Daily Bruin senior staff.