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. 201 - May 3, 2024

City Politics

• Students established a Palestinian Solidarity Camp on the UCLA campus last week. On Friday, the administration announced that it did not intend to confront student protestors with police force. The camp was then attacked by masked assailants wielding pepper spray and fireworks, while neither the police nor the school intervened to protect students' safety. The following night, using the pretext of the previous night’s violence, law enforcement disbanded the encampment using rubber bullets and concussion grenades. 200 student activists were arrested. UAW 4811, which represents academic workers across the University of California system, has announced a strike authorization vote over the university administration’s failure to protect their members.

• At Pomona College, police cleared a student Palestinian solidarity encampment in April, making 19 arrests. Now, the faculty has voted to join with students in demanding that the school’s Board of Trustees divest the school’s endowment from the Israeli occupation.

• The City Council conducted budget hearings this weekto hear from representatives of city departments about the impact of the Mayor’s proposed cuts to budget and personnel. At only one of these hearings did the council allow public comment. Next week, councilmembers may propose amendments to the budget.

Labor

• Torched follows up on a bill to raise the minimum wage to $25 an hour for the city’s hospitality workers; the bill was proposed last year, but has been stalled, pending the completion of an economic impact report.

Housing

• SB 9, high-profile state legislation that passed in 2021, compelled municipalities to automatically approve projects to create a second dwelling on certain single-family lots. Although the impact of the measure has so far been moderate, several Los Angeles County cities challenged the law in court. Last April, a judge ruled in their favor, overturning SB 9 in those cities. Specifically, the ruling rejected the logic that any steps to increase the housing supply would automatically add to the supply of affordable housing through a chain of cause and effect.

• In 2022, shortly after being sworn in, Mayor Bass signed Executive Directive 1, which fast-tracked the development of affordable housing projects. However, some of the projects that were approved under ED1 displace tenants of rent-stabilized units. LA Public Press speaks with these tenants and reports on the city’s response to their concerns.