Month: July 2024

Thorn West: Issue No. 210

State Politics

• Following President Joe Biden’s decision not to seek a second term, Vice President Kamala Harris has secured enough verbal commitments from delegates to have essentially locked herself in as his replacement.The California Democratic Party played a crucial role on behalf of the former California Senator.

Housing Justice

• Governor Gavin Newsom issued a \executive order demanding that state agencies immediately begin clearing encampments on state property. The order does not appear to directly impact policy within Los Angeles or other cities. Mayor Karen Bass was among those who criticized it. The order cites the recent 6–3 Supreme Court decision that stripped legal protections from people experiencing homelessness, which Newsom submitted a brief in support of.

Labor

• The California State Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of Prop 22, siding with Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash, and allowing them to continue to classify their workers as independent contractors.

• This week, Metro voted to expand a public restroom pilot program that is currently operated by a contractor that relies on gig-workers. Following the advocacy of DSA-LA and others, the motion was amended to include a feasibility study on bringing the program in-house and staffing it with Metro employees.

• Los Angeles vendors have declared victory after a settlement in their lawsuit against the city over a municipal policy of “no-vending zones,” which were out of compliance with a 2018 state law. The settlement eliminates the last of these zones, after a City Council motion eliminated most of them earlier in the year. It also provides restitution for fines issued against vendors for operating in these zones.

• Members of a coalition of unions representing workers at Disney’s Southern California theme parks voted to authorize a strike, with 99% of members in favor. Later in the week, the union reached a tentative agreement with Disney.

• Effective today, video game performers and voiceover artists represented by SAG-AFTRA are on strike. At stake are worker protections against AI. Statement from SAG-AFTRA here. Petition of support here.

Local Media

• California will consider AB-886, the California Journalism Preservation Act, which would require tech platforms – which siphon money away from media outlets when they link to news items – to pay a fee to support local journalism. The LA Times reports on similar efforts in other countries.

Thorn West: Issue No. 209

State Politics

• CalMatters analyzes how California’s regulatory system might cushion the state from the impact of the Supreme Court decision that drastically curtailed the authority of federal regulatory agencies.

• Democrats running on local ballots face potential downstream effects of concerns about President Biden’s age. Adam Schiff, running to become California’s next Senator, has called for Biden to drop out of the race.

City Politics

• A reform measure that will increase the size of the County Board of Supervisors will advance to the ballot, following a 3–0–2 vote.

Housing Justice

• During a mayoral debate in San Francisco, current mayor London Breed announced plans to pursue “very aggressive” sweeps against unhoused people in August, praising the recent Supreme Court decision that enables further criminalization of homelessness.

• A lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles alleges that City Attorney Hydee Feldstein-Soto and Councilmember Traci Park have deliberately stalled an affordable housing project in Venice.

Police Violence and Community Resistance

• Mayor Bass vetoed a ballot measure that would have shifted some authority to fire LAPD officers to the police chief. Bass’ veto letter argued that the proposed reforms are inadequate and would result in “ambiguities” in the disciplinary system. These concerns echo those raised by the council’s progressive bloc. This was the mayor’s first veto. The council can override the veto with 10 votes.

Transportation

• With the support of Councilmembers Hugo Soto-Martinez and Nithya Raman, new bike lanes have been installed on Hollywood Boulevard, one of the most ambitious transformations of a major traffic artery in the city’s history.

• County Supervisor Janice Hahn became the newest Metro board chair following the expiration of Mayor Karen Bass’ term. Hahn has announced support for an expansion of Metro’s “tap to exit” pilot program, which requires riders to use their fare cards to exit as well as enter stations, as a method of increasing public safety on Metro trains.

Environmental Justice

• Another heat wave is predicted for inland Southern California this week.

• LA Public Press covers the lack of cooling stations in LA’s Skid Row neighborhood.

• This afternoon in LA County, a rapidly-spreading brush fire erupted in the Angeles Mountains above Glendora.