Thorn West: Issue No. 116
Coronavirus and Relief
- Los Angeles County is projected to cross the threshold of 10 COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 citizens by the end of next week. Seven days at that level of infection would, theoretically, trigger an indoor mask mandate. These thresholds were revised by the CDC in February to only trigger upon hospitalization rate, rather than case rate, and so the mask mandate is now being used as more of a last resort than a preventive measure.
City Politics
- DSA-LA is in the news, as part of the LA Times’ election roundup in “a city where progressive Democrats and, in some races, Democratic Socialists made trailblazing gains in down-ballot contests.”
- As a mayoral candidate, Gina Viola did not compromise her progressive values, and her primary success may have exceeded the expectations of some. Will Rep. Karen Bass, who has run a conservative campaign so far, be willing or able to earn their support in the general election? The LA Times speculates.
- A protest outside (recently converted Republican) mayoral candidate Rick Caruso’s mansion in Brentwood aimed to draw attention to his past support of many anti-abortion politicians, as well as his role covering up abuse at USC.
Police Violence and Community Resistance
- 717,000 signatures were submitted in the effort to recall District Attorney George Gascón. An 80% signature validation rate would be needed in order for the recall to qualify for the ballot — a plausible, but challenging, threshold to meet in the context of the several other recent right-wing tries at reversing elections. Meanwhile, in San Francisco, Mayor London Breed has appointed Brooke Jenkins, a prosecutor who quit her job to support the recall of Chesa Boudin, as interim district attorney.
- On Tuesday, the County Board of Supervisors will vote to place on the November ballot a charter amendment empowering the board to remove the Los Angeles County sheriff with a 4/5 vote. The amendment is supported by Check the Sheriff LA, which has championed the idea from the beginning, as well as ACLU SoCal and many other advocacy groups. Tuesday’s agenda here.
- Knock LA analyzes the slow implementation of Measure J, the ballot measure approved in 2020 that requires 10% of the county budget be dedicated to alternatives to incarceration.
Labor
- A ballot measure that would raise the minimum wage in California to $18 an hour by 2026 failed to gather enough signatures in time to make the ballot in 2022, but appears to have qualified for 2024.
- Music supervisors, who curate and negotiate licenses for all the previously recorded music in movies and television, have one of the only non-unionized jobs in the entertainment industry. Yet after 75% of their guild signed union cards to become part of IATSE, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers refuses to recognize them. Via DSA-LA Hollywood Labor, their efforts to be recognized continue, and they are gathering signatures on a petition showing public support.
Environmental Justice
- LAist reports on the July 4 fireworks, which will likely result in the worst air quality LA will see all year.
- The unprecedented drought in the Southwest could lead to prolonged crop failures and a crumbling of social norms, the LA Times reports. Aridification, defined as the process of prolonged, severe droughts, could lead to the abandonment of thriving cities.