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. 29 - September 25, 2020

Transit

• Despite widespread opposition, Mayor Garcetti and the rest of the LA Metro Board (with the exception of Mike Bonin) voted to slash the Metro budget by 20%, citing decreased ridership impacting revenue — even though federal CARES Act funding earmarked for maintaining transportation during COVID has held net revenue losses at only 2%. The cuts are primarily to bus service and will impact low-income riders of color the hardest just as ridership is beginning to increase.

Housing Justice

• Plaintiffs, including KTown for All, have won a legal motion, and now the City of Los Angeles will be held in contempt of court for violating an April injunction preventing the city from seizing “bulky items” belonging to the unhoused. A San Pedro sweep defied this injunction and posted outdated signs claiming that bulky items could still be seized.

Police Violence and Community Resistance

• Black Lives Matter Los Angeles has been organizing protests outside of city hall every Wednesday for months. Hundreds joined this week, as thousands around the nation protested the lack of criminal charges brought against the Louisville police officers who killed Breonna Taylor.

• TW violent footage: An article on StreetsBlog LA explains how footage of the police shooting of Dijon Kizzee contradicts the claim from the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department that Kizzee was pointing a gun at the deputies that shot and killed him.

Coronavirus Relief

• The California unemployment department has paused logging any new claims for unemployment benefits until October 5 and has announced that they will take that time to implement a new system that will speed up processing times. A recent report found a backlog of over a million pending claims that will take until January 2021 to resolve, even with this pause.

Climate

• Last week, as record-breaking wildfires received national attention, Governor Newsom promised action on climate protection. This week, Newsom has issued an executive order banning the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035. See here for a detailed analysis of how the order would be implemented and all the ways it falls short.
  

Elections

• An LA Times reporter live-tweeted the Sherman Oaks CD4 Candidate Forum, featuring incumbent Councilmember David Ryu and DSA-endorsed challenger Nithya Raman. Ryu was asked again if he is simply “Nithya lite.”

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