LOS ANGELES TIMES: For San Bernardino's elected officials, keeping busy is one way to grieve
By: Christine Mai-Duc (Los Angeles Times)
In the sanctuary of the Azure Hills Church on Friday evening, Assemblywoman Cheryl Brown is at the third vigil in her district in as many days. Fourteen candles sit on a table near the altar, 14 roses to honor the victims of Wednesday’s shootings. Brown (D-San Bernardino) listens as Pastor Marlene Ferreras talks about the different ways in which people grieve. Some are intuitive grievers, the pastor says, feeling their way through the pain. But others, she adds, are action-oriented — “We do grief.”
Brown nods her head — she knows this feeling well. It's nearly 8 p.m., and she’s been awake since 3 a.m., crisscrossing her district attending prayer breakfasts, news conferences and briefings with law enforcement officials.
Sitting next to her is Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Redlands), who has been up since 1:45 a.m. Aguilar, a freshman who had been mayor of the nearby city of Redlands, has been by her side for several of those events. It’s the kind of reunion neither of them wanted.