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. 36 - November 21, 2020

Housing Justice

• As announced by council president Nury Martinez Friday, the council will not vote on the municipal code amendment that would ban “sitting, sleeping, or lying down” within 500 feet of a shelter or supportive services facility, further criminalizing homelessness. Public backlash to the amendment took the form of public comments at the Homelessness and Poverty Committee meeting, and protests held outside the homes of councilmembers. Originally scheduled for a hearing in October, the vote was postponed to November 24 before apparently being cancelled entirely. Public resistance seems to have been instrumental in preventing council from implementing a brutal law that several councilmembers wanted. In announcing this move on Twitter, Martinez said that instead of voting on this ordinance, council will “continue to discuss homelessness on our city streets and work towards solving our unhoused crisis.”

• L.A. Taco updates the efforts of the community group Downtown Crenshaw to purchase Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza. The shopping center was earlier to be sold to CIM Group, outside developers who planned to redevelop the mall as “creative office space.” They stepped aside following community opposition. Since then, Downtown Crenshaw has continued trying to purchase the site, to maintain community control over the neighborhood landmark, and to make sure that plans to repurpose the site include affordable housing. However, after the latest round of bidding, the mall is scheduled to be sold to a second outside developer.

• Reporting in the LA Times uncovers how “crime-free housing policies,” designed to encourage evictions of tenants who have had encounters with law enforcement, and developed in concert with police departments in municipalities across California, are thinly veiled attempts to discriminate against Black and Latinx renters.

Coronavirus Relief

• Though Covid infection rates are rising, several economic relief programs instituted at the beginning of quarantine are due to expire this month.

Election Results

• Following the narrow defeat of Proposition 15, which DSA-LA endorsed, Capital & Main provides a brief analysis of the campaign.

• Incoming District Attorney George Gascón has announced his transition team and, on Twitter, one journalist covering criminal justice in Los Angeles sees promising signs that Gascón will pursue criminal justice reform.

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