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. 199 - April 19, 2024

City Politics

• After years of corruption scandals involving city council members, the Ad Hoc Committee on Government Reform advanced a package of charter amendments that would expand the size and funding of the city’s Ethics Commission and triple fines for violations.  The amendments are likely to appear on the 2024 ballot—if City Council approves.

• Controller Kenneth Mejia has released his office’s assessment of how to address the city’s current budget shortfalls. The report calls for the city to withhold funding for the city’s unstaffed positions, rather than cutting them outright. Other recommendations include moving to a two-year budgeting cycle and implementing five-year financial planning.

• The University of Southern California canceled the commencement speech of its valedictorian after she posted in solidarity with Palestinians on her social media. USC cited “security concerns.” Student newspaper Daily Trojan notes the school’s double standards. Yesterday, students marched in protest of the decision.

• Mayor Karen Bass delivered her State of the City speech on Wednesday, and is scheduled to release a draft of the city budget for the upcoming fiscal year on Monday.

Housing

• In 2019, landlord Tom Botz’s 30-year housing covenant with the city of Los Angeles expired, allowing him to raise the rent on what had previously been 124 units of low-income housing at Hillside Villa Apartments. The city attempted to avoid drastic rent increases that would force hundreds of tenants out of their housing.After negotiations broke down, the city—in an unusual and historic move – approved a plan to acquire the building through eminent domain. Years later, the city has now backed away from this proposal, and on Friday the city council unanimously approved a deal with Botz that will instead see the city paying nearly $15 million to extend the affordable housing covenant through 2034.

• On April 22, the Supreme Court will hear Johnson v. Grants Pass. Many worry the decision will strip unhoused people of the right to any form of public shelter, even in municipalities where private shelter isn’t available.

Police Violence and Community Resistance

• [Content warning: Police killing:] Criminal charges will not be filed against the LAPD officer who killed a 14-year old bystander during a standoff with a man wielding a bike lock. Though officer William Dorsey Jones, Jr. was recorded ignoring multiple directives from other officers to “slow down” before firing his weapon, the California Department of Justice ruled that there was insufficient evidence to support a criminal prosecution.

NOlympics

• Torched, a newsletter which will cover the upcoming Olympics, begins by noting some of the wild promises made by city officials in 2017, when the city began marketing its pursuit of the Olympics to the public.

Climate

• Most Californians will see rebates on their gas bills this month, a result of carbon credits purchased by manufacturers under Assembly Bill 32.