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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. 71 - August 6, 2021
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- Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis has issued an executive order requiring all LA County employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. County employees must provide proof of vaccination by October 1, 2021.
- A similar motion has been introduced in the Los Angeles City Council — it would require all LA city employees (including LAPD officers, among whom cases of COVID-19 have been spiking) to be vaccinated.
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- Three weeks after the Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant in Playa del Rey discharged 17 million gallons of raw sewage into the Pacific Ocean, LAist reports on the ongoing host of potential human health and environmental concerns.
- On Tuesday the state water board officially passed an unprecedented emergency curtailment order for the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta watershed, barring many farmers from using its water.
- A knock-on effect from the drought’s diminishing water supplies is a drop in hydropower generation. In-state hydroelectricity generation in 2020 dropped 44.3% from the year before, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. As the power mix for hydropower declines, natural-gas use increases and produces more carbon emissions.
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Police Violence and Community Resistance
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- In the latest in an ongoing string of violence and intimidation tactics perpetrated by Los Angeles law enforcement at Venice Beach, LAPD recently threatened unhoused residents with assault rifles. This appallingly excessive use of force gained international attention after a video of the incident went viral.
- A recent report reveals that the LAPD is generating so many civil rights lawsuits that the LA city attorney is seeking outside counsel to assist in their defense of the department.
- A police commission meeting this week (recording here) discussed a report that evaluated LAPD’s handling of the Echo Park Lake protests in March, at which several journalists were arrested. LA Podcast live-tweeted the meeting. The report was approved over objections later in the week.
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- On Thursday, Los Angeles city officials shut down the popular Avenue 26 Night Market with little warning to vendors and no plans for the future of the market. Street vendors and activists protested for the right to street vend later that night.
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- Employees of the Activision Blizzard company are organizing in protest of abusive conditions and repeated instances of harassment at the company. This week the ABK Workers Alliance (a group of Activision Blizzard employees) staged a walkout to demand meaningful change at Activision Blizzard. Read the ABK Workers Alliance’s demands and the ongoing developments in this story here.
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