| Kernen Construction could have permit revoked after violations – Times-Standard |
| During an inspection after a storm, North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board staff took pictures of the lack of stormwater treatment on site. This shows an unpaved access road adjacent to a drainage ditch that flows into Noisy Creek and a tributary of Hall Creek.
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors could revoke one of a local construction company’s conditional use permits, after the county's Planning and Building Department found it violated county code for construction in a flood plane and other assorted issues. [Article] |
| by , . 2024-11-27 |
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| Community vigils in San Bernardino, Los Angeles call for immigration relief and protections – Daily News |
| Holding signs and candles, dozens of immigrant rights advocates and families gathered outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement center in San Bernardino for a “Keep Families Together” vigil on Tuesday night. [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Daily News. 2024-11-27 |
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| UCLA's fall class bucks diversity decline at elite colleges after affirmative action ban. - Los Angeles Times |
| Madison Hamilton graduated from Canoga Park Senior High School in spring with multiple accolades: She was high school valedictorian with a 4.5 GPA who aced all eight of her AP tests. She tutored fellow students with special needs and founded a social club for them. And she received a rarefied admission offer from Stanford University, one of the most selective institutions in the nation.
But Hamilton turned Stanford down for UCLA.
She said the Westwood campus’ welcoming environment for Black students like her was the deciding factor. During the spring, for instance, UCLA invited her to campus for an African American Academic Excellence event, where she met Black faculty, including Tracy L. Johnson, dean of the Division of Life Sciences and professor of molecular, cell, and developmental biology.
“Seeing a Black professor who looked like me in a field I wanted to go into really inspired me and made me want to go to UCLA even more,” Hamilton said. “It made me feel like UCLA really wanted me.”
While other elite universities around the nation have seen precipitous declines in diversity in their first class enrolled after the U.S. Supreme Court banned affirmative action, UCLA has bucked that trend with record numbers of Black and Latino students in fall 2024. Like all California public educational institutions, UCLA has been barred from considering race, sex, ethnicity, color or national origin in admissions under Proposition 209, which voters approved in 1996. That forced the university to develop race-neutral policies — and more than 25 years of work on that front is paying off. [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Times. 2024-11-27 |
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| Work on temporary homeless housing at VA in West LA halted by appeals court – Daily News |
| A federal appeals court has granted the government’s motion to stay a judge’s ruling ordering the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to build more than 100 temporary housing units for disabled veterans on VA property in West Los Angeles, according to court papers. [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Daily News. 2024-11-27 |
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| Newsom pardons 19 people, including co-founder of San Quentin podcast 'Ear Hustle' - Los Angeles Times |
| The day before Thanksgiving, Gov. Gavin Newsom granted pardons for 19 people, including award-winning San Quentin podcaster Earlonne Woods.
“Ear Hustle,” the popular and critically acclaimed podcast that Woods co-founded from inside San Quentin State Prison in 2017, was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in 2020. It takes its title from a prison slang term for eavesdropping.
The grantees have “turned their lives around since their convictions and have demonstrated a commitment of service to their families and communities,” the governor’s office said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.
Newsom weighs a number of factors when reviewing clemency applications, “including an applicant’s self-development and conduct since the offense, whether the grant is in the interest of justice, and the impact of a grant on the community, including crime victims and survivors,” according to his office.
“Today, I got a call from Gov. Newsom,” Woods said in an Instagram video Wednesday afternoon, recounting how the governor had relayed the news to him and expressed appreciation for his work. “So, your boy has been pardoned!” [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Times. 2024-11-27 |
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| Pasadena COVID-19 Infections Rise Slightly, Nowhere Enough to Affect June 15 Reopening – Pasadena Now |
| Public health officials reported three COVID-19 infections and zero deaths in Pasadena on Friday. Pasadena’s average daily number of infections over the prior week increased slightly to 1.4, data shows.
The daily case count has not exceeded three in 10 days, according to Pasadena Public Health Department records. [Article] |
| by , . 2024-11-27 |
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| California consumer confidence tumbles after Trump’s election – Daily News |
| Buzz: California confidence plummeted, post-election, as the politically blue state got the blues over Donald Trump’s victory.
Source: My trusty spreadsheet’s review of the Conference Board’s November consumer confidence indexes tracking nationally trends and eight states, including California. The polling that tracks shopper optimism ran almost two weeks past Election Day. [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Daily News. 2024-11-27 |
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| Barger Leads Push for New Los Angeles County Homeless Department – Pasadena Now |
| Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents Pasadena on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, co-sponsored a successful motion Tuesday to explore creating a new County department to centralize homeless services. [Article] |
| by , . 2024-11-27 |
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| Bird Flu Virus Found in Samples of Raw Milk at Local Markets – Pasadena Now |
| Los Angeles County health officials announced Wednesday that high-end Erewhon Market on South Lake Avenue in Pasadena is among many Los Angeles County retailers that may have sold raw milk now being voluntarily recalled after testing positive for H5 bird flu virus in a retail sample. [Article] |
| by , . 2024-11-27 |
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| Disney agrees to pay $43 million to settle lawsuit over women's pay - Los Angeles Times |
| Walt Disney Co. has agreed to pay $43.3 million to resolve a long-running lawsuit brought by a group of female employees who alleged gender pay discrimination at the Burbank entertainment giant.
The proposed settlement was filed Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Disney did not admit fault as part of the settlement. The company has long rejected allegations that it paid women less than their male counterparts and has asserted that the case conflated the experiences of a small group of women to cast doubt on the company’s pay practices.
“We have always been committed to paying our employees fairly and have demonstrated that commitment throughout this case,” a Disney spokesperson said in a statement. “We are pleased to have resolved this matter.” [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Times. 2024-11-27 |
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| Armies of Thanksgiving volunteers feed the needy across LA County – Daily News |
| Thousands of volunteers are swarming auditoriums, gyms, churches and street corners today — Thursday. Nov. 28 — to provide Thanksgiving meals, packaged food, clothing and other aid to homeless and indigent individuals across Los Angeles County. [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Daily News. 2024-11-27 |
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| Two newborns died on Skid Row. Officials want to prevent it from happening again - Los Angeles Times |
| Following the deaths this month of two newborn babies on Skid Row, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors called Tuesday for a ramping up of services for pregnant women living on the streets.
The call for action comes nearly three weeks after a woman gave birth Nov. 8 at East 14th and South Alameda streets. The baby died that day after being transported to Los Angeles General Medical Center, according to county records.
Six days later, the Los Angeles Police Department was called to another death of a newborn on Skid Row, a one and a half miles away from the first. The baby was found dead in an alley after police said he may have been dropped from a fourth-floor window. Officers located a woman who had been brought to a nearby hospital for pelvic bleeding earlier that morning. The woman was detained and released pending an investigation, police officials said.
After the two deaths, Supervisor Hilda Solis, whose district includes Skid Row, introduced a motion asking for county officials to craft a plan to improve outreach to homeless pregnant women. It passed unanimously Tuesday.
“The County must look for ways to improve health service delivery to pregnant people experiencing homelessness to better meet the needs of infants and birthing people, from pregnancy through postpartum care,” the motion read.
Sarah Wilson, the head of Harvest Home, which provides temporary housing for homeless pregnant women, said the deaths highlight a larger issue within the county’s array of homeless services: there are very few places for pregnant women to go. [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Times. 2024-11-27 |
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| Educators worry mass deportation fears will keep immigrants' kids from school |
| Last time Donald Trump was president, rumors of immigration raids terrorized the Oregon community where Gustavo Balderas was the school superintendent.
Word spread that immigration agents were going to try to enter schools. There was no truth to it, but school staff members had to find students who were avoiding school and coax them back to class.
“People just started ducking and hiding,” Balderas said. [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Daily News. 2024-11-27 |
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| As of the week before Thanksgiving, just 1 in 10 Californians have received an updated COVID vaccine – Daily News |
| While the chance of a heated political discussion at your Thanksgiving table might be extra high this year, the chance of getting COVID at your family gathering is lower than it has been in the past several years.
That’s even with millions of Californians expected to travel for the holiday. [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Daily News. 2024-11-27 |
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| LA County Board of Supervisors approves motion to explore new county department | LAist |
| Today on AirTalk, in the wake of an audit that found misuse of funding within the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, the LA Board of Supervisors approved a new department to oversee homeless response efforts. We all have that one book that turned us into readers for life. Call in and tell us about yours! And, we're exploring nativeness in the U.S. with the author of a new book titled The Indian Card: Who Gets to Be Native in America. [Article] |
| by , . 2024-11-27 |
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| Bold copper thieves have cut off this SoCal suburb - Los Angeles Times |
| For six months, Hacienda Heights resident Michael Weiner could not get a dial tone on his landline.
He tried to get an answer from his phone company, Frontier Communications, but was told that it was a technical issue. He continued to get billed even though he couldn’t make a call.
Weiner, 79, eventually learned that his service, like the phone lines of many of his neighbors, was interrupted by copper wire thieves who tampered with utility poles. The problem has even temporarily forced students out of school.
Weiner and his neighbors are the latest victims of a surge in copper wire theft throughout Los Angeles County.
But Weiner and other Hacienda Heights residents are especially steamed that Frontier hasn’t kept them informed about the service cuts and the progress to get the lines operating again.
“No one contacted us to let us know. I had wasted so many hours trying to contact them,” he said about Frontier. “We live in a kind of a fire zone, so we’re always concerned about emergencies. We’re senior citizens. If there’s a health emergency between my wife and myself, it could be a problem if we can’t make a phone call.”
Weiner shares a cellphone with his wife, but the two rely on their landline to stay in touch with family and friends. For months, he said, Frontier missed scheduled service appointments, and his calls for help were routed to Frontier employees who couldn’t do anything for him. [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Times. 2024-11-27 |
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| LA County supervisors start the ‘how’ of reform, led by a 13-member task force – Daily News |
| The start of the first reform of Los Angeles County governance in more than 100 years officially has begun, with the Board of Supervisors coming together late Tuesday, Nov. 26 after months of in fighting, approving steps to implement the massive changes from voter-approved Measure G. [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Daily News. 2024-11-27 |
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| California releases new plan to protect Joshua trees - Los Angeles Times |
| A sweeping new conservation plan aims to ensure the survival of the Western Joshua tree
The iconic species faces habitat loss from climate change, wildfires and development
The Joshua tree is cherished for its distinctive silhouette and singular role as a linchpin of the Mojave Desert ecosystem. Yet the iconic succulent is losing suitable habitat at a brisk clip due to climate change, worsening wildfires and development, scientists and environmental advocates say.
A new plan by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to ensure the Joshua tree’s survival calls for limiting development in certain areas, including those where the plant may be able to thrive in a future anticipated to be warmer and drier, even as other portions of its range become uninhabitable.
The draft plan also calls on government agencies to develop strategies to mitigate and fight wildfires that threaten Joshua trees.
“It’s groundbreaking in that it’s really the most comprehensive attempt done by the state of California or really any entity I’m aware of in the United States on how to manage a species that’s clearly threatened by climate change,” said Brendan Cummings, conservation director of the Center for Biological Diversity.
The nonprofit petitioned to list the western Joshua tree as threatened under the state Endangered Species Act in 2019.
The plan does not spell out exactly how much land should be prioritized for protection, or where it is. But it lists criteria for ranking its conservation value, like having a high density of healthy Joshua trees and existing within an area where conditions are cooler and wetter than much of the rest of the range. It sets a goal of identifying priority conservation areas by December 2025, and protecting 70% of these areas by 2033.
The plan also recommends introducing Joshua tree populations with genetic variations that make them more resilient to climate change into these areas, said Drew Kaiser, senior environmental scientist at the Department of Fish and Wildlife. That strategy, called assisted gene flow, can be accomplished by planting seeds or seedlings, or by relocating mature trees, he said. [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Times. 2024-11-27 |
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| California has millions to spend on preventing behavioral health conditions. The state is seeking public input | LAist |
| State health officials say an influx of nearly $100 million annually in Prop. 1 funding will go toward efforts to prevent mental health and substance use disorders. California is seeking public input for how to best spend that money. [Article] |
| by , . 2024-11-27 |
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| Inglewood Oil Field owner sues California - Los Angeles Times |
| The owner of the Inglewood Oil Field is suing the state of California in an attempt to invalidate a state law that will require the energy company to cease production and plug all of its wells — or pay costly fines.
In a lawsuit filed this week, Sentinel Peak, the sole owner and operator of the oil field, argues that Assembly Bill 2617 is an unconstitutional statute that will impose unreasonably high penalties on the company, forcing it to halt operations.
The law, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in September, requires all low-production wells in the Inglewood Oil Field to cease operations by March 2027 and all wells to be plugged by the end of 2030. Failure to meet those deadlines will result in a monthly $10,000 penalty for every well in violation.
The law would effectively oversee the end of fossil fuel extraction in the Inglewood Oil Field, where drilling has occurred for a century. The 1,000-acre field — located in Culver City, Los Angeles’ Baldwin Hills and unincorporated Ladera Heights — has approximately 820 unplugged wells, including 420 that are actively pumping oil. Roughly 80% of these operating wells are considered low-producing, meaning they yield less than 15 barrels of oil or 60,000 cubic feet of gas per day.
Attorneys for Sentinel Peak said the law “represents an illegal attempt to coerce an individual company to stop operation of its legal business,” according to court documents. They allege that mandatory fines in particular, violate federal and state laws that forbid excessive monetary penalties.
“The monetary penalties imposed by AB 2716 are grossly disproportional to the gravity of the offense that it is designed to punish,” the lawsuit reads. “The imposed penalties are fixed and mandatory with no apparent upper limit.They have no relationship to any actual harm incurred by neighboring uses.”
The California Department of Conservation’s Geological Energy Management Division, the state oil and gas regulator, declined to comment on the litigation. But Assemblyman Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles), who authored the law, vowed to defend the legislation.
“Our community has stood strong for decades to close this dangerous low-producing oil field, and we will stand strong in court to protect those frontline communities who have long deserved the right to live a full and healthy life,” Bryan said. “The people of California spoke through their legislature that dangerous oil wells have no business right next to the community. It is the right and prerogative of the government to protect its people.”
The litigation is the latest sparring match over the landmark legislation. The original version of AB 2617 included $10,000-a-day fines for all low-producing oil wells statewide. However after negotiations with California’s oil lobby, the bill was narrowed to only the Inglewood Oil Field.
Sentinel Peak, a Denver-based energy company, said the law “intentionally singles out and discriminates against” their operation in the Inglewood Field.
“AB 2716 does not impose any requirements on other similarly situated oil production operations even if they also operate in proximity to residential areas,” the lawsuit reads. “The law applies to Petitioner as a ‘class of one.’” [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Times. 2024-11-27 |
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