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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.
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Issue No. 68 - July 16, 2021
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- From the CalMatters housing podcast: $2.6 billion in statewide rental assistance has been available since January, but as of recently only $73 million has been disbursed. This is due to several factors, including a difficult application process and low public awareness of the program. Governor Newsom came to Bell Gardens this week to promote a new, simplified version of the application process. But he also warned people to take advantage of the program before the expiration of the state’s eviction moratorium, signaling that it would not be extended. “September 30, we were able to extend it, but the likelihood of moving beyond that diminishes every day, particularly as the economy in the state comes roaring back,” Newsom said.
- Reported in L.A. Taco: the city will remove handwashing stations and portable restrooms that were distributed to unhoused encampments at the beginning of the pandemic to help stop the spread of COVID. (As the economy in the state comes roaring back.)
- Knock-LA has published a letter of demands for housing alternatives, written by unhoused participants of Project Roomkey, who are being evicted from their PRK rooms in Sportsmen’s Lodge in order to accommodate “regular guests.” (As the economy in the state comes roaring back.)
- The LA County Board of Health has reimplemented indoor mask mandates in response to a significant uptick in COVID infection rates. (As the economy in the state comes roaring back.)
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- The state Legislature is heading into a month-long summer recess… SB2, which allows the decertification of police officers who demonstrate repeated misconduct, passed out of committee in the Assembly and heads to a final floor vote… AB-339, Assemblymember Alex Lee’s bill to ensure cities with populations over 250,000 continue the pandemic-era practice of allowing the public to remotely view (and submit public comment during) council meetings, has passed out of its first Senate committee. It has already passed through the Assembly.
- Governor Newsom will not be permitted to specify his party affiliation on the recall ballot after a judge denied his petition to remedy a filing error.
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- The hottest daily average temperature in Earth’s history was recorded on Sunday, July 12, in Death Valley.
- A blockage at a Playa del Rey water reclamation plant caused 17 million gallons of sewage to pour into Santa Monica Bay last weekend, closing several beaches near El Segundo. Significant delays in notification ensued: state officials were alerted 40 minutes after the fact, and the state health department didn’t arrive until over two hours later. Nearby lifeguards weren’t told about the sewage spill until the next day, meaning people likely swam in contaminated waters. Beaches reopened after three days.
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- Employees of the city’s Metro Bike Share program have overwhelmingly voted to unionize! They will join the Transport Workers Union.
- Fourteen hundred nurses with the California Nurses Association, employed at Keck Hospital of USC and USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, held a two-day strike this week, protesting “unsafe staffing conditions” at the university-affiliated health facilities.
- Unite Here! Local 11 (supported by DSA-LA), is continuing to ask for solidarity with hotel workers fired by Chateau Marmont -- in the form of signing this community pledge.
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