Los Angeles Times - 24.02.2020

LATIMES.COM MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2020B

CITY & STATE

still watch from home or

elsewhere. The service will

be streamed live on several

outlets. Here’s what you

need to know:

Memorial start time

The memorial begins at

10 a.m. Monday and is ex-

pected to conclude by 1 p.m.

How to watch

Spectrum News 1 will

carry the memorial, as will

ABC News Live (the net-

work’s streaming service) on

various platforms, including

Roku, Hulu, Facebook

Watch and Apple TV. View-

ers also can watch live on

latimes.com.

Local networks also are

expected to broadcast the

Today’s memorial serv-
ice for Kobe Bryant and his
daughter Gianna, who were
killed along with seven oth-
ers in a helicopter crash last
month, will be steeped in
symbolism.
The jersey numbers of
the basketball legend and
his budding prodigy — 24
and 2, respectively — are in-
trinsically rooted in the de-
tails. Everything from the
date of the event — Feb. 24
(02/24/20) — to the ticket
prices — $24.02, two for $
or $224 each — relates to
those special numbers.
Twenty-thousand
mourners will fill downtown
Los Angeles’ Staples Center
— “the house that Kobe
built” — to celebrate the lives
of the 41-year-old Lakers star
and his 13-year-old daugh-
ter, who were killed in the air
crash over Calabasas.
Outside the arena,
screens will go dark, and the

entire space around LA Live

will be barricaded to those

who do not have tickets to

the sold-out memorial. Offi-

cials have advised the public

to stay away from the vicin-

ity.

“Heed our message:

There will be nothing to be

seen here,” Staples Center

President Lee Zeidman said

Friday.

Those who didn’t receive

a ticket to the memorial can

live event.

In Orange County, home

to all nine of the crash

victims, the city of Santa

Ana will offer a service at

City Hall for those hoping to

watch the event in solidarity

with others. A prayer and a

moment of silence will pre-

cede the memorial.

“To commemorate Kobe

Bryant, his daughter Gi-

anna and the seven other

members of our Orange

County community who lost

their lives in a helicopter

crash last month, the city of

Santa Ana is inviting the

public to watch live broad-

casts of the memorial event

on Monday, Feb. 24, at City

Hall,” city officials said in a

statement.

The city of Lynwood, a

predominantly Latino com-

munity that embraced Bry-

ant, will show the memorial

at the Lynwood Community

Center gymnasium.

Staples Center has in-

structed people not to enter

the surrounding LA Live

area during the service. It’s

unclear how restaurants

and other venues in the vi-

cinity will be affected. Some

businesses are preparing to

open later than normal be-

cause pedestrian access will

be restricted.

What to expect

There will be no proces-

sion before the memorial,

and the service will conclude

in time to allow for the Clip-

pers game against the Mem-

phis Grizzlies.

Mayor Eric Garcetti pre-

viously said that the memo-

rial would serve as a tribute

to more than Bryant’s

basketball career.

“I think one message that

I would say is this is not just

about a man who was a

basketball player, this is

about a father, this is about a

leader, this is about a film-

maker, this is about an art-

ist, this is about somebody

who was so much more than

just how he was on the

court,” he told reporters.

“It’s a reminder how

much unity we have, though.

We are one city that believes

in each other, believes in

something bigger than our-

selves, and we will absolutely

do everything to make sure

that this is done so that

everybody can come to it as

well,” the mayor said.

Times staff writer Richard

Winton contributed to this

report.

No ticket? Here are other ways to view event

Spectrum News 1 will

carry the memorial, as

will The Times and

various platforms.

By Colleen Shalby

KOBE BRYANTand his 13-year-old daughter were

among the nine victims of a helicopter crash last

month in Calabasas. Memorials are set for Monday.

Michael ConroyAssociated Press

Other events

LYNWOOD

The memorial will be

shown at the Lynwood

Community Center

gymnasium.

SANTA ANA

City Hall will hold a prayer,

moment of silence and

service.

Out of respect for the
family of Kobe Bryant and
the eight others killed last
month in a helicopter crash
in Calabasas, fans are being
urged by police to stay away
from Staples Center during
today’s memorial unless
they have a ticket.
LAPD Chief Michel
Moore said Friday that un-
less visitors to the downtown
Los Angeles venue are
among the 20,000 ticketed
mourners for the memorial,
which begins at 10 a.m., they
will not be allowed into the
surrounding area, including
L.A. Live.
“This entire area will be
barricaded off,” Moore said.
“As a matter of respect ...
honor the family wishes and
allow this event to go as
smoothly as possible.”
Moore said barriers will
stretch from Pico Boulevard
to Olympic Boulevard, and
no one without a ticket to the
memorial as well as match-
ing identification will be al-
lowed into the area during
Monday’s event. Anyone try-
ing to breach the police lines
will face arrest, he said.
When asked whether po-

lice were concerned about

disruptions to the closed

event, Moore said, “That

isn’t the Los Angeles I

know.” The chief added that

he expects Angelenos and

Bryant fans to honor the

family’s wishes and stay at

home or work and watch the

memorial on TV or the web.

The event will be streamed

live by various news outlets,

including the Los Angeles

Times.

Staples Center President

Lee Zeidman, who oversees

the surrounding campus for

Anschutz Entertainment

Group, said the businesses

at L.A. Live will be closed

Monday morning, as will

Georgia Street and Chick

Hearn Court. The massive

video screens outside the

L.A. Live complex will be

turned off.

“There will be nothing to

see here,” Zeidman said Fri-

day from the courtyard be-

tween Staples Center and

L.A. Live. He said the back

and front sides of Staples

Center, where Bryant played

for two decades as a Laker,

will be entirely barricaded.

Some businesses at L.A.

Live were unsure how the

closure would affect them.

An employee said the Yard

House restaurant was plan-

ning to open later than usu-

al. Other restaurants may

wait until Monday morning

to decide how to adapt to the

closures.

It was unclear whether

guests at the nearby J.W.

Marriott/Ritz Carlton hotel

would be affected.

Only ticket holders will

be allowed in the area until

the afternoon, Zeidman

said, adding that all the tick-

ets — which ranged in price

from $24.02 to $224 — have

been distributed. More than

80,000 applied for the ticket

lottery, proceeds from which

will be donated to the

Mamba and Mambacita

Sports Foundation.

Bryant’s widow, Vanessa,

previously noted on Insta-

gram the significance of the

date of the memorial: 2-24-

20: Daughter Gianna, who

also was killed in the helicop-

ter crash, wore No. 2 while

playing basketball, while her

husband wore No. 24. The

“20" denoting the current

year is also the number of

years Bryant played for the

Lakers.

Zeidman said that more

than 250,000 people visited

L.A. Live in the days after

the Jan. 26 crash that

claimed the lives of Bryant,

his daughter and seven oth-

ers as they were flying to

Bryant’s Mamba Academy

for a youth basketball game.

He and Moore said they ex-

pected Monday’s tribute to

be both mournful and re-

spectful.

Moore said that although

police were not expecting

any problems around the

event, all officers will be in

uniform, and the LAPD will

be prepared for sponta-

neous events citywide.

Staples Center execu-

tives said they were “hope-

ful” that the event would fin-

ish by 1 p.m. and that every-

one would leave promptly.

The venue must be turned

around to host a Clippers

game against the Memphis

Grizzlies at 7:30 that eve-

ning.

Spokesman Michael

Roth said the arena is ex-

pecting a smooth transition.

“It’s what we do, convert-

ing the building from one

event to another,” he said.

“We’ll get it done.”

Times staff writers Colleen

Shalby and Andrew Greif

contributed to this report

STREETS AROUND Staples Center will be blocked Monday, the LAPD said. Above, a makeshift memorial at L.A. Live last month.

Genaro MolinaLos Angeles Times

‘Entire area will be barricaded’

Staples Center closures Monday

The arena will be surrounded by metal barricades, and

pedestrian access on Figueroa Street will be limited.

STAPLES

CENTER

Downtown

L.A.

Street closures Ticket checkpoints

Olympic Blvd.

11th St.

12th St.

Pico Blvd.

Figueroa St.

Flower St.

Hope St.

L.A. Live Way

Chick

Hearn Ct.

(^110) Georgia St.
Staples Center Paul DuginskiLos Angeles Times
Only ticket holders
for Bryant’s memorial
service will be
allowed near Staples.
By Richard Winton
‘As a matter of
respect ... honor
the family wishes
and allow this
event to go as
smoothly as
possible.’
— Michel Moore,
LAPD chief
SAN DIEGO — The Na-
tional Transportation Safe-
ty Board sent a team to in-
vestigate a charter bus crash
off Interstate 15 that killed
three passengers and in-
jured 18 others, the federal
agency said Sunday.
The agency, which inves-
tigates transportation
crashes, said on Twitter that
“a team of four” was sent to
the scene of the crash in the
Pala Mesa area in northern
San Diego County, just
south of State Route 76, au-
thorities said.
The crash occurred amid
rainy conditions when the
driver swerved and lost con-
trol of the bus in the south-
bound lanes of the freeway
about 10:20 a.m. Saturday,
officials said. The bus slid
down an embankment and
landed on its roof.
Some of the 21 passen-
gers, a mix of adults and chil-
dren, were thrown from the
bus, while others were
trapped, authorities said.
Some managed to crawl out.
Three women, one
pinned under the bus and
two pulled from inside, died
before they could be taken to
a hospital, authorities said.
Their names were not re-
leased.
Eighteen others were tak-
en to area hospitals, author-
ities said.
The bus driver, a man
from Whittier, suffered mi-
nor injuries and initially re-
mained at the scene, said
California Highway Patrol
Officer Mark Latulippe. He
was later taken to a station
for questioning.
The driver, who was not
identified, voluntarily sub-
mitted a blood sample. But
drugs and alcohol are not
suspected of being a factor in
the crash, authorities said.
The charter is owned by
Executive Lines, a company
based east of L.A. The U.S.
Department of Transporta-
tion website shows a clean
record for the company,
which passed all inspections
in the last two years.
Latulippe said Saturday
that it was too early to know
if weather played a role.
The bus was hauled away
so the CHP can examine it
for possible mechanical fail-
ures, Latulippe said.
City News Service was used
in compiling this report.
NTSB
to look
into bus
wreck
A federal team is sent
to San Diego County,
where three died in a
charter vehicle crash.
By David Hernandez