The Thorn West is a state and local news roundup compiled by members of DSA-LA. Our goal is to provide a weekly update on the latest developments in state and local politics, and to track the issues that are most important to our membership.

Issue No. 185 - December 15, 2023

State Politics

• California’s tax filing deadline was extended to October 15 this year due to winter storms. Now that state tax revenue is finally coming in, analysts are predicting a $68 billion state budget deficit and are recommending the state dip into its emergency reserve fund.

• California Senator Alex Padilla and Representative Nanette Barragán released a statement opposing a potential deal that would see President Biden caving in to Republican demands for draconian immigration policy, in exchange for Republican support for a multibillion-dollar military aid package for Ukraine and Israel.

City Politics

• Several extremely right-leaning endorsement recommendations made by the California Democratic Party’s Endorsement Committee were overturned by the rank and file base. The committee had recommended endorsing Councilmember Nithya Raman’s law-and-order opponent in CD 4, and withholding endorsements from District Attorney George Gascón and from Serena Oberstein, who is challenging incumbent John Lee, a former Republican, in CD 12.

• While agendas are bloated as Los Angeles City Council heads into a holiday recess, a change in protocol shifted the time allotted for general public comment from the beginning to the end of council meetings, forcing wait times of several hours for members of the public wishing to speak.

• Peace protesters with IfNotNow blocked the 110 Freeway on Wednesday, to keep attention focused on demands for a ceasefire in Gaza. During the action, Jewish peace activists symbolically lit a menorah in celebration of the seventh day of Hanukkah. Many participants in the action were arrested and released.

• 38 Los Angeles Times journalists were banned by the newspaper from covering the Israeli war in Gaza because they signed onto a letter that criticized the coverage of Gaza in the mainstream media. LA Public Press spoke with several of them.

Labor

• Hotel workers represented by Unite Here Local 11 have reached agreements with several more Los Angeles–area hotels this week, bringing the total to 10.

Housing Rights

• On Tuesday the LA City Council voted 12–0 to instruct the city attorney to draft legislation creating a permanent right-to-counsel program for qualified tenants facing eviction. The program would be funded by funds collected under Measure ULA. The legislation, once written, will be voted on sometime next year.

Police Violence and Community Resistance

• The LA city controller’s office released an audit of the LAPD’s helicopter program, which spends $50 million annually. The audit reveals that the helicopters are frequently used for purposes other than law enforcement, and that they disproportionately patrol some neighborhoods more than others.

• [Content warning: police violence] Streetsblog LA covers the recent police-commission ruling that found that the conduct of an LAPD officer who severely injured an elderly man was “in policy.” It is the latest in several similar decisions that illustrate that an officer can be exonerated for use of force if they claim they feared for their safety, even if that claim is not credible.

Climate Justice

• Eighteen California children are suing the Environmental Protection Agency, claiming it violated their constitutional rights by failing to protect them from the effects of climate change.