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The University of Southern California’s academic senate voted on Wednesday to censure Carol Folt, the school’s president, after several tumultuous weeks in which the administration canceled the valedictory address of a Muslim student, cleared a protest encampment within hours and called in police last month to arrest dozens of protesters. The academic senate, which consists primarily of faculty members, also endorsed calls for an investigation into the administration’s actions. The vote represented only a fraction of the university's 4,700 faculty members, and the senate stopped short of taking a vote of no-confidence in the administrators, which would have been a harsher rebuke. Despite criticism, Dr. Folt has maintained considerable support from the university’s trustees, and some faculty members have quietly sympathized with her. Still, the vote was “significant” with “far-reaching implications,” said William G. Tierney, a professor emeritus of higher education at U.S.C., who has written about the response to campus protests across the nation.

Persons: Carol Folt, Folt, Andrew T, Guzman, ”, William G, Tierney Organizations: University of Southern Locations: U.S.C

After weeks of tumult at the University of Southern California, administrators have announced updated commencement plans, with increased security and modified festivities. The plans are in lieu of the university’s main graduation ceremony, which the school had canceled, citing security concerns. The university said it would host a “Trojan Family Graduate Celebration” on Thursday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the famed venue where its football team plays home games. More than 100 school-specific graduations and smaller receptions are set to take place on campus as planned, but with tighter access. For scheduling reasons, the university will be able to use only a portion of the stadium, so each graduate will receive up to six tickets.

Persons: ” Organizations: University of Southern, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, team Locations: University of Southern California

☆ In an Online World, a New Generation of Protesters Chooses Anonymity
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Nicholas Fandos | More About Nicholas Fandos | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“My parents were extremely frustrated, and it was a huge rift.”He said people started creating fake social media accounts using his identity and sending racist messages to his professors. Then, earlier this year, he said, his phone number was leaked online. “Within the first hour, I was getting death threats,” Mr. Kupsh said. At Columbia, Fabiola, the political science major, said she was taking steps to conceal her identity to prevent a similar outcome. As of last week, she still wasn’t sure.

Persons: ”, “, Mr, Kupsh, Fabiola, Columbia’s, Jill Cowan, Bob Chiarito, Bohra, Olivia Bensimon Organizations: “, Columbia Locations: ”, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, New York

☆ Live Updates: Police Clear U.C.L.A. Encampment and Arrest Protesters
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Jonathan Wolfe | Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +12 min

But by Wednesday morning, the peace at the University of California, Los Angeles, had been shattered. Many critics were incredulous that even after officers with the Los Angeles Police Department arrived, there were no arrests or suspensions. Campus officials ordered protesters on Wednesday evening to leave the encampment or face arrest. Image A group of counterprotesters attacked a pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of California, Los Angeles, on Tuesday night. seemed to wait too long to call in the Los Angeles police, whose officers did not arrive until after midnight.

Persons: fistfights, “, ”, Marie Salem, Mark Abramson, ANGELES Royce Hall Dickson, Ms, Salem, Aidan Woodruff, Mr, Woodruff, counterprotesters, Philip Cheung, Gene Block, Block, Israel counterprotesters, Karen Bass’s, Counterprotesters, Michael Nasir, Mary Osako, Katy Yaroslavsky, streetlight, Hussam Ayloush, Rob Bonta, Ayloush, Benjamin Kersten, Bella Brannon, Brannon, Jill Cowan, Shawn Hubler, Livia Albeck, Claire Fahy, John Yoon, Yan Zhuang Organizations: University of California, Student, The New York, The New York Times, Los Angeles Police Department, OF, ANGELES Royce Hall Dickson, ANGELES Royce Hall, ANGELES Royce Hall Dickson Court, ., Israel, Royce Hall, Los Angeles police, Police Department, Patrol, California, Credit, . Palestinian Solidarity, Jewish, Fairfax District, Jewish Federation Los, Los, Los Angeles Area, Islamic Relations, Jewish Voice, Peace Locations: Los Angeles, U.C.L.A, Israel, California, . Palestinian, counterprotesters, ”, Westside, Beverly Hills, Iranian, Gaza, Palestine

Local news footage and social media images showed scenes of chaos: Members of the clashing groups threw punches and wrestled each other to the ground. At about 3:30 a.m., officers wedged themselves between the groups, and the violence began to de-escalate. As the campus awoke early Wednesday, students and other curious onlookers leaned against the barricades at the encampment, silently taking videos or snapping photos. A police helicopter continued to hover overhead, and a large Palestinian flag at the center of the camp swayed in the wind. Detritus from a night of chaos — trash, broken pieces of wood, trampled clothing — speckled the ground.

Persons: counterprotesters, ”, Ms, Salem, “, Michael Nasir, Sergio Garcia Organizations: California, Patrol

It would become an indelible memory for those who could not help but watch and watch and watch: a white Ford Bronco steadily traveling along the cleared freeways of Southern California, a trail of police cars not far behind. Simpson, and the two-hour chase on June 17, 1994, that interrupted regular programming transfixed a nation. I wasn’t getting off the TV. Who was getting off the TV on a chase like that?” said Richard Smith, 67, who gathered that day with his family to see it all unfold on television in their South Los Angeles apartment. The saga of Mr. Simpson, from the chase to the criminal trial to the aftermath, would be followed, debated and dissected closely by millions, etching itself into Los Angeles history and thrusting the city into what seemed the center of the universe.

Persons: Simpson, “, wasn’t, ”, Richard Smith, Mr Organizations: Ford Bronco Locations: Southern California, South Los Angeles, Los Angeles

☆ The Mayor of Los Angeles Wants to Prove Homelessness Can Be Solved
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Jill Cowan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

When Karen Bass took office as Los Angeles mayor with a mandate to tackle homelessness, Venice Beach was at the top of her agenda. On a recent morning in the neighborhood, however, dog walkers navigated the wide sidewalks with little trouble, and there wasn’t a tent in sight. This is what Ms. Bass and her allies say is progress. More than a year into her term, the sidewalks and parks in Los Angeles are, on the whole, cleaner. But momentum in the nation’s second most populous city is fragile.

Persons: Karen Bass, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bass Organizations: Los Angeles Locations: Los, Venice, Los Angeles

Layla Elabed, campaign manager for Listen to Michigan, which spearheaded the protest vote against President Biden last week in Michigan. “Elections have a certain amount of momentum,” said Keith Ellison, Minnesota’s Democratic attorney general, who voted for Mr. Biden. Uncommitted Minnesota said it spent about $20,000 on the campaign since beginning last Monday. In Washington, organizers are pushing similar efforts to vote “uncommitted” in the state’s primary next week. It was not our first choice, but we have to let President Biden know that our votes are not to be taken for granted.”Nicholas Nehamas contributed reporting from Minneapolis.

Persons: Layla Elabed, Biden, Israel —, Mr, Uncommitted, Rashida Tlaib, Donald J, Donald Trump, ”, Elianne Farhat, Kamala Harris, “, Lauren Hitt, Cole Harrison, Trump, Keith Ellison, Ellison, Biden’s, Joe Biden, Abdullah Elagha, Harrison, Ilhan Omar, Rania Masri, —, uncommitted, Rami Al, ” Nicholas Nehamas Organizations: Democratic, Democratic National Convention, Somali, Trump, Uncommitted Minnesota, Hamas, Massachusetts Peace, Mr, “, Democratic Party, Colorado Palestine Coalition, Abandon Biden, Republican Party Locations: Michigan, Israel, Gaza, Colorado, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Cambridge, Colorado , Massachusetts, North Carolina, United States, American, Uncommitted Minnesota, In Minnesota, Georgia, Washington, Bothell, Minneapolis

A major snowstorm bore down Friday on the Sierra Nevada, including the Lake Tahoe area, with as much as 10 feet of snow expected at higher elevations. Forecasters issued dire warnings about trying to drive through blustering winds and whiteout conditions, and Yosemite National Park was closed. “Your safe travel window is over in the Sierra,” the National Weather Service in Reno, Nev., posted on social media. One resort, Palisades Tahoe, posted on social media that it had seen “intense” snowfall and winds of 100 miles an hour. In videos posted by the resort, ski lifts were faintly visible through a blanket of white, and the sky and the ground were indistinguishable from each other.

Organizations: Yosemite National, National Weather Service, National Park Service Locations: Sierra Nevada, Reno, Nev, Yosemite

☆ 4.6-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Southern California
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( Corina Knoll | Jill Cowan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

An earthquake centered several miles northwest of Malibu, Calif., rattled residents across the Los Angeles area on Friday afternoon, sparking a typical flurry of posts on social media, though the authorities said no major damage or injuries had been reported. The quake happened at 1:47 p.m. local time and had a preliminary magnitude of 4.6, according to the United States Geological Survey. It was followed by several smaller aftershocks. Residents across the county reported feeling a shake that lasted for about 10 seconds, with plates clinking in cupboards and plants swaying slightly. Some residents, however, were surprised to learn of the earthquake and said they had not felt anything.

Organizations: United States Geological Survey Locations: Malibu, Calif, Los Angeles, cupboards

Nearly half of all flash flood deaths are vehicle-related, experts say, which is why you should never drive into a flooded street. Here’s what to do in advance — and in the moment — to get through a flash flood safely. A “flash flood warning” means a flash flood is imminent or already occurring, and you should immediately move to higher ground if you’re outside or in a basement apartment. The most dire alert is a “flash flood emergency,” which indicates that not only is flooding occurring, but it’s posing a severe threat to human life. “People need to realize that most people who lose their footing in a flash flood don’t get out,” she said.

Persons: there’s, ”, Bonnie Schneider, Schneider, it’s, Hurricane Ida, You’ll, Ready.gov, David Markenson, ‘ It’s, Sabine Marx, I’m, Julie Munger, Munger, “, Dr, Markenson, you’re, don’t, they’re, Ms, Lynn Burttschell, Burttschell, Eugene Resnick, ’, ” Susan Shain Organizations: National Weather Service, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Cross Training Services, Columbia University’s National Center for Disaster Preparedness, Sierra Rescue, FEMA, Wimberley, Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New York Times Locations: United States, New York City, New York, Madison, Wis

☆ Mudslides and Flooding Reported Across Los Angeles
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Jill Cowan | More About Jill Cowan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mudslides and severe flooding were reported in Los Angeles on Sunday evening, as a storm that made its way to Southern California after pummeling northern areas of the state was forecast to bring more heavy rain and winds for another day. “If you’re worried about the north, I’m more worried about the south and what’s to come.”There were mudslides on all canyon roads in and out of Malibu, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. And in the Studio City neighborhood, firefighters had evacuated six people from two homes as water dragged debris down into the area, the Los Angeles Fire Department said. Officials warned that the worst was likely still to come, with heavy rain expected for at least the next 24 hours. The danger, they said, was not primarily from winds lashing power lines or trees (although thousands were without power as of Sunday night).

Persons: Dr, Daniel Swain, I’m, Rather Organizations: University of California, Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Los Angeles Fire Department Locations: Los Angeles, Southern California, what’s, Malibu, Angeles, Studio

☆ See Where Heavy Rainfall Deluged California
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Zach Levitt | Elena Shao | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

See Where Heavy Rainfall Deluged CaliforniaHourly precipitation Total precipitation accumulation 0.5 1 2 3 4 inchesSource: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Environmental Prediction Notes: Data reflects near-real-time analysis of liquid precipitation amounts. The storm lingered over Southern California on Monday, with some areas receiving record-breaking rainfall. The Los Angeles River in Los Angeles, Calif., on Monday. Residents dig out a road after a mudslide in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles. ReutersThe latest storm is the second atmospheric river to drench California in a few days.

Persons: Jenna Schoenefeld, Jill Cowan Organizations: Centers for, Times, National Weather Service, Calif, The New York Times, Hollywood, The New York, Reuters, Area, Coast Locations: California, Southern California, Los Angeles, Los, Santa Monica, Studio City, San Fernando Valley, Laurel, Studio, Angeles, Sherman Oaks, drench California

☆ Coastal Cities Brace for Climate Change
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Manuela Andreoni | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Over the past few weeks, flooding from storms has battered cities in the South and the East Coast, from Louisiana to New Jersey. Overlapping atmospheric rivers over the West Coast have brought heavy rains that are likely to come back in the next few days. “The problem comes when there’s too much at one time,” he said. Climate change makes that a lot more likely. Warmer air holds more moisture, which means storms in many parts of the world are getting wetter and more intense, as my colleague Ray Zhong explained during deluges last year.

Persons: Jill Cowan, Judson Jones, there’s, ”, Ray Zhong, deluges Locations: East Coast, Louisiana, New Jersey, West, Ventura County, San Diego

☆ Atmospheric River Drenches California, With More Storms on the Way
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Jill Cowan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A powerful storm known as an atmospheric river swept over California on Thursday, soaking the state with rain and leaving a trail of damage that has become familiar to residents in recent years: fallen trees, flooded roads and snarled travel. Though the storm was not expected to cause the kind of chaos that was sown by a succession of atmospheric rivers last winter, forecasters and officials urged Californians to stay alert and be ready for an even larger tempest arriving over the weekend. “We are in full preparation mode,” said Jackie Ruiz, a spokeswoman for the Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management. “We’re definitely encouraging people to stay local, hunker down and if there’s no urgent need to be on the road, stay off the road.”Communities in Santa Barbara County, tucked between the mountains and the sea, are especially vulnerable to flooding and mudslides. But meteorologists said that significant rainfall from the back-to-back storms was likely to affect almost the whole state.

Persons: ”, Jackie Ruiz, “ We’re Organizations: Santa, Santa Barbara County, Emergency Management Locations: California, Santa Barbara, ”

☆ In Death Valley, a Rare Lake Comes Alive
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Jill Cowan | Mette Lampcov | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Furnace Creek and Stovepipe Wells are among the roadside outposts inside Death Valley National Park, while Dante’s View draws tourists at sunset and Hell’s Gate greets visitors arriving from the east. In the summer, it is so hot here, along California’s southeastern spine, that some of the roughly 800 residents — nearly all of them park employees — bake brownies in their cars. But none of that is what prompted Lata Kini, 59, and her husband, Ramanand, 61, to pack their bags and drive about seven hours to get here on a whim this month. They were drawn instead by the mystique of another natural force. “I’m here because of the water,” Ms. Kini, said at Zabriskie Point, a popular vista, as she watched the rising sun paint the undulating stone peaks in shades of pink and deep purple.

Persons: Stovepipe Wells, —, Lata Kini, Ramanand, “, Ms, Kini Locations: Zabriskie

The distinction is politically significant as the public has become increasingly frustrated over homeless camps in Los Angeles and other California cities, seeing them as a blight on neighborhoods and a threat to public safety. Some critics were quick this weekend to suggest that homeless campers might have been responsible for the latest blaze, which shuttered a freeway traversed by about 300,000 vehicles daily. “It’s an ongoing issue, but I don’t want to conflate it with the source of this fire,” Mr. de León said. “We need to see where the investigation goes.”Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles similarly urged caution and asked the public to refrain from jumping to conclusions about who had set the fire. There is no reason to assume that the origin of this fire or the reason this fire happened was because there were unhoused individuals nearby.”

Persons: Kevin de León, Mr, de León, Karen Bass, ”, “ Locations: Los Angeles, California, Angeles

☆ The Latest Target for California Conservatives? Local School Boards
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Jill Cowan | More About Jill Cowan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

They see legal disputes as an opportunity to plead their case to judges they believe are more sympathetic than California’s legislators — especially judges at the federal level. But he allowed the district to notify parents if children ask to change their school records. The current legal dispute is not the test case that conservatives might have wished for, because it is a matter of state, not federal, law. But one of the California notification policies may eventually be contested in a federal venue, said Erwin Chemerinsky, an expert in constitutional law and the dean of the law school at the University of California, Berkeley. But, in his view, asking to be treated as a different gender doesn’t directly involve physical safety, while sharing that information without a child’s consent could put the child at risk.

Persons: —, ” Mr, Essayli, Bonta, Shaw, Erwin Chemerinsky, Chemerinsky Organizations: San Bernardino Superior Court, University of California Locations: Chino Valley, California, Berkeley

Instead, the city has quietly avoided the kind of emergency that has strained shelters and left officials pleading for federal help in New York, Chicago and Massachusetts. Los Angeles officials are relieved to have avoided major problems so far, especially considering that their city has faced so many other challenges lately, from a homelessness emergency to a prolonged Hollywood labor strike. “Luckily, we have the infrastructure.”Officials at homeless shelters in Los Angeles report that they have not seen a significant increase in recent migrants seeking temporary housing. A major reason California has avoided a crisis is that the state no longer attracts as many migrants as it did decades ago when it was a top destination for people moving to the United States. Although Los Angeles is home to the largest undocumented population in the United States, most have been living in the city for at least a decade.

Persons: ”, Hugo Soto, Martinez Organizations: Massachusetts ., ”, Sun Locations: New York, Chicago, Massachusetts, Massachusetts . Los Angeles, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Mexico, Texas, California, United States, Angeles

Nithya Raman turned into a political celebrity almost overnight when she emerged as the face of a rising progressive vanguard to campaign for the Los Angeles City Council in 2020. With a master’s degree in urban planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and experience working with slum dwellers in India, Ms. Raman zeroed in on the city’s soaring housing prices and promised to give renters and homeless people a seat at the political table — her seat. Ms. Raman, 42, wound up receiving more votes than any council member in the city’s history and began to draw comparisons to the progressive New York congresswoman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — “LAOC,” one local critic derisively called her. Barely a year later, though, Ms. Raman ran into an adversary her grass-roots army was powerless to confront: the bruising power politics involved in running a city of 3.8 million people. The City Council had embarked on its once-a-decade redistricting process, and Ms. Raman, who had few allies among the city’s old-guard politicians, was threatened at one point with losing virtually all of the constituents who had elected her.

Persons: Nithya Raman, Raman, Alexandria Ocasio, Cortez Organizations: Los Angeles City Council, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York, The City Council Locations: India, Alexandria

In this Southern California town, residents are grappling with the fear that their way of life may be fleeting. Fishermen cast their lines from the long, wooden pier. “Every day here feels like the most perfect summer day,” Mercedes Murray, 38, said as she lounged at Buccaneer Beach, a spot popular among locals. Where residents once played beach volleyball at Buccaneer, there are now berms of natural cobblestones that clatter around in the surf like pennies in a washing machine. Visitors who could once sprawl on wide stretches of sand near the pier must now compete for space on a narrow stretch studded with rocks.

Persons: ” Mercedes Murray Organizations: Fishermen, Buccaneer Locations: Southern California, Oceanside, San Diego, Buccaneer

☆ Striking Workers in California Could Get Unemployment Pay Under New Bill
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Jill Cowan | More About Jill Cowan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In a state where screenwriters, housekeepers and school janitors have already gone on strike this year, Democratic lawmakers in California have introduced a bill late in the legislative session that would allow such workers to receive unemployment benefits while on the picket line. Supporters of the bill, including the powerful California Labor Federation, say they hope to seize on the momentum created by a wave of high-profile walkouts that have taken place in the state this year. The proposal, introduced by influential Democrats this week, would allow employees engaged in labor disputes to apply for unemployment insurance pay after two weeks off the job. Right now, workers who choose to strike are not eligible for unemployment benefits and must rely on savings or strike funds set up by unions to pay their bills. The proposal could give workers in California greater incentive to go on strike over pay and conditions, as well as greater financial ability to extend a walkout, though it would not take effect until January.

Persons: housekeepers, janitors Organizations: Democratic, California Labor Federation, Business Locations: California, Southern California

As sunshine returned to Southern California on Monday, residents and officials said the region had avoided catastrophic damage from Tropical Storm Hilary, which broke records for August rainfall as it passed into California on Sunday but was much diminished from the fearsome Category 4 hurricane that had alarmed meteorologists days earlier when it was over the Pacific Ocean. Under sheets of rain, some neighborhoods in the desert cities east of Los Angeles became a soupy mess and at one point on Monday the mayor of Palm Springs said the city was cut off by road closures. In San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, videos showed creek beds filled with sludge-colored torrents that ominously carried boulders and tree trunks. Yet in one of the most heavily populated parts of the country — Los Angeles and San Diego Counties alone have a combined population of more than 13 million — there were no reports of deaths related to the storm as of Monday afternoon.

Persons: Hilary Organizations: Riverside Counties, San Locations: Southern California, California, Los Angeles, Palm Springs, San Bernardino, San Diego

Some Hawaii residents who lost their homes and jobs said they could not see how they would be able to stay. Many said they feared Lahaina would simply re-emerge as another Waikiki, dominated by corporate-owned luxury brands and packed with tourists. Four of her employees lost their homes. Already, a friend who ran a jewelry business in Lahaina told her that he planned to move his family to Kentucky. She said she hoped officials would approve building permits for reconstruction and allow people to reopen businesses that employ workers quickly.

Persons: Angie Leone Organizations: Leones Locations: Hawaii, Lahaina, Waikiki, Kentucky

The power was out and the air-conditioning off when Dustin Kaleiopu woke up on Tuesday morning in Lahaina. “The wind was noisy,” said Mr. Kaleiopu, 26. When the fire reached his neighbor’s yard, Mr. Kaleiopu said he loaded his grandfather into a car and began preparing to leave. Mr. Kaleiopu has spent recent days with family in another part of Maui, a comfort that others do not have. Still, Mr. Kaleiopu said, there was no question that he would return to Lahaina, that he would carve out a new life in a rebuilt town.

Persons: Dustin Kaleiopu, ”, Kaleiopu, “, Mr, it’s, grandpa, ‘ He’ll, we’ve, ’ Organizations: Longtime, Investors Locations: Lahaina ., Lahaina, Maui, Honolulu

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