As of midnight Thursday night, all non-essential businesses in L.A. County will need to close. Gatherings will be limited to 10 people and individuals should remain at least 6 feet from one another, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti said.
The coronavirus crisis has thrown the city for a loop. Job boards are mostly obsolete at a time when many need them most. Startups looking to scale up quickly to defeat the disease are looking for help. A group of L.A. tech workers have put together a list of companies hiring and startups looking for volunteers. We'll be hosting our second strategy session webinar on Tuesday. Register now to learn more about how to foster wellbeing while you're stuck at home.
L.A. County Announces Stay-At-Home Order
Los Angeles County has announced a "Safer at Home" public health order asking that members of the county increase social distancing and limiting gatherings of over 10 people. L.A. Mayor Garcetti said that as of midnight tonight, all businesses, museums and malls will need to shut down. For any gathering, individuals should remain at least 6 feet from one another.
"Nobody is locked down," said the Mayor. "This is not shelter-in-place like a school shooting. This is stay at home, because you are safer there." he said.
A DNA Test for COVID-19?
Los Angeles-based Sequencing.com, the world's largest online marketplace for DNA services, says it has a new report that can help to assess a user's risk of coronavirus infection and the likely severity of reaction from the virus, based on a free analysis of their DNA.
But the new test drew suspicion from at least one UCLA epidemiologist. "Sounds like bullshit to me." Read more >>
Join Us Tuesday for a Webinar on Mental Health During Quarantine
As many settle into what will be months of work-from-home and social distancing, promoting mental health becomes even more of a central concern. Please join dot.LA for a free webinar about how to foster wellness and peace of mind.
Tuesday, March 24th @ 11:00AM PST
Who's Really Hiring Now?
With the arrival of coronavirus and so many recent job listings now obsolete, it can be difficult to tell who's really hiring in L.A. The recent swell of job losses (and healthcare benefits) only makes the need more crucial. Two Southern California tech execs working to match skills of recently unemployed tech workers to companies scaling up.
* Are you hiring in L.A.? Let them know.
* Looking for a job? Check here
* Have some free time to volunteer on coronavirus-related projects?
* Are you low-risk for coronavirus? California needs volunteers
Amateur Hour at ESL eSports
This weekend's ESL One Los Angeles 2020 tournament had to hit the pause button on their event at the Shrine Auditorium, but the amateurs slated to compete in the undercard ESL Mobile Open still have their shot at gaming glory. They'll just have to compete from their homes, and without a live audience. Read more >>
Robin Games Raises Millions to Grow 'Lifestyle Gaming'
"It's Pinterest meets mobile gaming." Robin Games founder Jill Wilson is looking to change the model — and the typical audience — for gaming. Studies show women between 35 to 50 make up the largest growth in gaming— many of them looking to relieve stress. One of the biggest problems she sees is a lack of diversity in the top rungs of gaming industry. "We're looking to change that," she says. Read more >>
Scopely Gets Even More Money for Mobile Games
Earlier this year, Scopely acquired FoxNet to become one of the largest mobile gaming behemoths around. And yesterday, it announced it had doubled its Series D funding to $400 million. As a maker of mobile games, Scopely would seem to be well-positioned for the social-distancing era, but it said the additional financing was in the works long before the novel coronavirus was a major concern. Read more >>