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. 40 - December 18, 2020

Housing Justice

• Nithya Raman was sworn in as a councilmember this week! At her first session, she introduced two motions addressing services for the unhoused. The first directs the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority to focus on more proactive outreach methods. The second calls for work to begin developing a new drop-in site in her district, where unhoused Angelenos can receive walk-in services such as showers, medical care, or help finding housing. Meanwhile, a Los Angeles Times op-ed places Nithya Raman's upcoming battles in the context of decades of LA NIMBYism.

• Community activist group Downtown Crenshaw Rising have reported that the latest attempt from outside developers to purchase and redevelop the Crenshaw Mall has failed, following sustained community pressure. “This is a tremendous Black community victory and testament to the power of the people,” reads a public statement from DCR chair Niki Okuk.

• The Hillside Villa Tenants Association met yesterday to demand, alongside housing activists, that the city follow through on plans to use eminent domain to purchase Hillside Villa, using unspent federal funding from the CARES Act.

Police Violence and Community Resistance

• Reported in KNOCK.LA: A recent Loyola Marymount University study shows strong local support for defunding the police, even as many Angelenos do not report a profound dissatisfaction with the job the LAPD is currently doing. According to the study, 57% of Black participants explicitly support proposals to “defund the police,” while overall support for “proposals to redirect money” received 62% support.

• Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva finally made an appearance before the Civilian Oversight Commission after a year of failing to appear, even in the face of subpoenas. At the meeting, Villanueva and the commission discussed deputy gangs: Villanueva asserted they are largely a thing of the past, but commissioner Robert Bonner countered that the Banditos, a gang that operates within the jurisdiction of the East LA Station, has continued to ink new members.

• Witness LA has rounded up some of the criminal justice bills that have been introduced in this session of the state legislature. Some of these are refreshed versions of bills that were inspired — during the last legislative session — by the demands for justice made during the George Floyd uprising, but which notably failed to advance after pushback from police unions.

• At this week’s meeting of the LAUSD school board, the discussion of how to reimplement the $25 million defunding of the school police budget that the board voted for last June was scheduled to begin. That has now been delayed until January 12, following demands from activist groups to have more upfront involvement in the process.

Climate

• The South Coast Air Quality Management District Governing Board, whose elections received substantial coverage this month, adopted two Community Emissions Reduction Plans last week, effective in Southeast Los Angeles and Eastern Coachella Valley. This is in line with the recently passed AB 617, which requires that high-priority regions be annually selected for the development and implementation of community air monitoring systems.

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