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Unrest shuts down LA building inspections as protests grip the nation

Unrest caused by the death in Minneapolis of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man who pleaded for air as a white police officer pressed a knee on his neck, has caused the Los Angeles Department of Building And Safety (LADBS) to cancel all building inspections, as the California State government ordered buildings in downtown areas closed.

The brief memo from the LADBS said simply: “Due to the current situation, please be advised all inspections are canceled for Monday, June 1, 2020.”

The state Department of Human Resources sent a directive to close all California state buildings “with offices in downtown city areas”, a sweeping mandate that covers everything from Department of Motor Vehicles offices to those that license workers and provide health care, The Associated Press reported.

“After consultation with the California Highway Patrol and Office of Emergency Services, the decision was made this evening (May 31) to advise all state departments with offices in downtown city areas to close tomorrow, and to notify staff of the decision,” said Amy Palmer, a spokeswoman for the state Government Operations Agency.
As the protests spread nation-wide, some construction materials were converted to fuel for the protestors. As an example, some on the fringes of what had been a peaceful afternoon protest in Atlanta started “burning construction materials near the park”.
Mark Buckshon

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