Thorn West: Issue No. 111
State Politics
- California’s reparations task force released a 500-page report detailing the state’s history of racism and its lingering effects and recommending several methods by which reparations could be made to Black Californians. Full report here. On page 19 are the preliminary recommendations that are expected to be expounded upon in a second report in 2023, following multiple community listening sessions.
City Politics
- Voting in the statewide primary election closes June 7. You can register to vote same-day at your local polling place. DSA-LA is making a big weekend push to get out the vote for endorsed candidates Eunisses Hernandez (CD1), Fatima Iqbal-Zubair (AD65), and Hugo Soto-Martinez (CD13). And of course, the DSA voting guide is here.
- Los Angeles County is on a trajectory to cross the threshold into “high” COVID-19 community transition level within a few weeks, which would mean the current outbreak has begun to put stress on hospitals.
Housing Rights
- The city council voted 13–2 to request a law be drafted banning any encampments within 500 feet of any school or daycare facility in the city. Last year’s revision to 41.18 provided a mechanism through which a 500’ enforcement zone could be requested; it would now be automatic. As has become typical with the city’s actions against the unhoused, the council violated democratic norms in the process. The motion was not agendized for discussion, in violation of the Brown Act. It also did not pass through the Homelessness and Poverty committee, and instead was brought directly to the floor by Council President Nury Martinez, with the direct involvement of newly appointed school Superintendent Albert Carvalho.
Police Violence and Community Resistance
- Struggling to meet signature requirements, backers of the effort to recall District Attorney George Gascon have poured money into directly mailing recall petitions countywide.
- A UCLA study of ten years of autopsy records found that more than half of the people who died in LA. County jails and had their deaths classified as “natural” showed evidence of physical harm.
Environmental Justice
- New water restrictions limiting outdoor watering to twice a week went into effect on June 1 across Los Angeles. The new regulation, first of its kind, is a response to unprecedented drought conditions.