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☆ Los Angeles Says It Will Not Join Newsom’s Push to Clear Encampments
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-30 | by ( Corina Knoll | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Days after Gov. Gavin Newsom put pressure on local governments to dismantle homeless encampments across California, leaders in Los Angeles County showed a united front, unanimously passing a resolution with a clear message: We will continue to take a different approach. The vote on Tuesday by the board of supervisors, the five-member governing body of the county, reflected the deep motivation of local leaders to align themselves on strategy for a vast region that includes 88 cities and more than 75,000 homeless people. It also reaffirmed that homelessness would not be criminalized. “Some things,” said Supervisor Hilda Solis who co-wrote the motion, “are better deliberated at the local level.”The leaders have the backing of Sheriff Robert Luna of Los Angeles County, who has vowed that his agency will arrest people only if they commit a crime, not simply for living in an encampment.

Persons: Gavin Newsom, ”, Hilda Solis, Sheriff Robert Luna Organizations: Gov Locations: California, Los Angeles, Sheriff Robert Luna of, Angeles County

☆ Where O.J. Simpson Found Acceptance, No Questions Asked
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-09 | by ( Corina Knoll | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Simpson, even in his final years, was somewhat of a spectacle. In his presence, heads turned and whispers swirled. When he settled in Las Vegas seven years ago, it seemed fitting that he would choose a city of escape and second acts. His lifestyle was comfortable — and far too pleasant to those who believed he deserved to spend his remaining days in prison. But there was one element that made him feel accepted in Las Vegas.

Persons: O.J, Simpson, Ford Bronco, selfies Organizations: Bentley Locations: Las Vegas

☆ U.C.L.A. Removes Police Chief in the Wake of a Protest Melee
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Corina Knoll | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The campus police chief for the University of California, Los Angeles, has been removed from his post in the aftermath of a violent, hourslong attack on a pro-Palestinian encampment at the school, during which security officers did not intervene. The chief, John Thomas, has been reassigned temporarily while the university examines its security processes, according to U.C.L.A. Mr. Thomas had been under intense criticism over the university’s delayed response to the melee on the night of April 30 in which people were beaten with poles or kicked, objects were thrown and chemicals were sprayed into the air. The attack was instigated by dozens of counterprotesters, many of whom did not appear to be students, based on videos of the incident. Even after officers from the Los Angeles Police Department arrived on the scene, no arrests were made that night.

Persons: John Thomas, Thomas Organizations: University of California, Los Angeles Police Department Locations: Los Angeles

On Thursday morning, the campus at the University of California, Los Angeles, reflected the aftermath of a protest in defeat. Littered across the lawn was a mass of trampled tents, sleeping bags, pizza boxes, blankets and poles. About 200 people were arrested and booked after a standoff with the authorities, according to Nicole Nishida, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Most were charged with misdemeanors such as unlawful assembly, she said, and the majority had been released by midmorning. About 300 protesters left voluntarily, according to the university.

Persons: Nicole Nishida Organizations: University of California, Los, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, midmorning Locations: Los Angeles

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 Abandoned Luxury Towers That Graffiti Exposed
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-03 | by ( Corina Knoll | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A trio of shimmering skyscrapers would feature luxury condos, a five-star hotel and an open-air galleria with retailers and restaurants. Among the amenities: private screening rooms, a two-acre park, pet grooming services and a rooftop pool. The towers went up but were unfinished and empty. Now those skyscrapers have become a symbol of street swagger, “bombed” with the work of dozens of graffiti writers and artists. Their aliases cover windows that rise more than 40 stories, visible from the nearby highways.

Locations: Angeles, ”

☆ What’s in Our Queue? ‘My Octopus Teacher’ and More
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Corina Knoll | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

What’s in Our Queue? ‘My Octopus Teacher’ and MoreI’m the Los Angeles bureau chief for The New York Times. My free moments are all about frivolity, maybe a bit of learning. I’m also a sucker for anything that highlights my marvelous and crazy city. Here are five things I’ve recently watched and heard →

Persons: I’m, I’ve, → Organizations: The New York Times Locations: Los Angeles

☆ 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

The rare torrent of rain that slammed the San Diego area on Monday forced numerous residents to navigate life-threatening scenes that they had trouble believing even as they recounted them. “What happened yesterday was extraordinary,” said Todd Gloria, the mayor of San Diego. On Tuesday, officials assessed the devastation in a region where very few residents have flood insurance. The record pace of the rainfall — a deluge of nearly three inches in three hours — had quickly overwhelmed drainage systems. According to the National Weather Service, it was the fourth greatest total for any day in recorded San Diego history, going back to 1850.

Persons: ”, Todd Gloria, — Organizations: National Weather Service Locations: San Diego, Diego

☆ San Diego Storm Floods Roads and Closes Schools
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Corina Knoll | More About Corina Knoll | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

An unusual torrent of rain and flash flooding hit the San Diego area on Monday, shutting down highways, swamping roads and forcing several schools to send students home early. Officials are fielding numerous rescue calls after up to three inches fell in three hours, according to the National Weather Service. The agency noted that the San Diego River was actively flooding, with water levels still rising. The area had already received more rain on Monday than it did during the much feared Tropical Storm Hilary last August. “By all indications, this will shake out as one of the top 10 wettest days for the airport here out of all the climate records going back to the 1800s,” said Brian Adams, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Diego.

Persons: San Diego River, Hilary, ”, Brian Adams, “ It’s Organizations: National Weather Service, “ Locations: San Diego

☆ Surprise! Los Angeles Freeway to Reopen Next Week, Newsom Says.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Corina Knoll | More About Corina Knoll | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A major section of a freeway in Los Angeles that was shut down because of fire damage is expected to reopen no later than Tuesday — far earlier than officials had originally estimated and before the full onslaught of holiday traffic. The fire, which exploded in the early morning hours of Nov. 11, damaged more than 100 columns bolstering the 10 freeway, a central artery that runs across the city, forcing the closure of a nearly two-mile segment that sees about 300,000 vehicles each day. Officials had initially suggested that it could take months to reopen the area — an eternity for a city dependent on commuting and heavily reliant on cars. Gavin Newsom of California declared a state of emergency to help expedite repairs. Engineers tested samples of the structure, and within days had determined that the damaged section of Interstate 10 would not have to be completely rebuilt, shortening the repair timeline to a handful of weeks.

Persons: Gavin Newsom Organizations: Gov, Engineers Locations: Los Angeles, California

☆ Freeway Closed? Just Take the 10 to the 110 to the 5, Angelenos Say.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Corina Knoll | More About Corina Knoll | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It also serves as a central artery for commuters making their way to and from the San Gabriel Valley, a constellation of cities with more than 1.5 million residents east of Los Angeles. During rush hour (and sometimes any random hour), it is where drivers sit bumper to bumper, restlessly inching forward. The recent fire that shut down a nearly two-mile stretch of the freeway created what would seem to be a disaster for a city already swamped with traffic troubles. And the kicker: It will be weeks before the affected stretch of Interstate 10 can reopen again. Yet for many residents, the repercussions have felt less catastrophic and more like just another Los Angeles annoyance.

Persons: Gavin Newsom, Karen Bass Locations: Angeles, San Gabriel Valley, Los Angeles

☆ Maui Fire Death Toll Drops to 97 After Weeks of DNA Review
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Corina Knoll | More About Corina Knoll | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The authorities announced on Friday that they currently believe 97 people died in the Maui wildfire instead of the 115 fatalities they had been reporting for weeks, a surprising development after initial fears that many more lives had been lost in the disaster. It is the first time that the Maui death toll has dropped. In some instances, Dr. Stuelpnagel explained, forensic examiners have determined that they had multiple sets of remains for the same person. He also said that 16 of the remains that investigators had received were nonhuman. “It’s good news to have a lower number, that’s for darn sure,” Dr. Stuelpnagel said on Friday.

Persons: Jeremy Stuelpnagel, Stuelpnagel Locations: Maui, Maui County, Lahaina

☆ Maui Family Describes a Tragic Night Trying to Escape the Deadly Wildfire
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Corina Knoll | More About Corina Knoll | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Folau Tone steadied himself as a gale whipped through his street in Lahaina. Trying to nail down the rattling tin roof on his family’s home, he gave up as fragments were stripped away. In West Maui, power lines were crashing down, and the electricity was out across a large swath of the island. Folau’s wife had already left for her job at a hotel, but their four children had stayed behind. She liked cooking in the open air and had long ago set up a makeshift kitchen with propane burners under a tent.

Persons: steadied, Faaoso Locations: Lahaina ., West Maui, fussing

☆ Shrinking California Still Dreams, but More Modestly
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( Corina Knoll | More About Corina Knoll | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

California has long beckoned with its coastal beauty and bustle — the magnetic pull of Hollywood, the power of Silicon Valley. That allure helped make it a cultural, economic and political force. For 170 years, growth was constant and expansion felt boundless. And it was easy to be drawn in by the lore. By early 2020, California’s population had soared to nearly 40 million residents, with another 10 million expected in the coming decades.

Persons: “, ”, Adrian Dove Locations: California, Silicon, South Los Angeles

Most regions of Southern California avoided significant damage this week from Tropical Storm Hilary, but authorities continued their rescue and cleanup efforts on Tuesday in several mountain and desert communities where homes were flooded and fast-moving mudslides had washed away sections of roadway and stranded residents. In one desperate situation, crews were searching for a 75-year-old woman who has been missing for nearly two days in the mountains of the San Bernardino National Forest. Christie Rockwood, who lived in a trailer home in a tiny community known as Seven Oaks, had not been heard from since Sunday evening, when she spoke to a friend by phone, according to her daughter Tracey Monteverde.

Persons: Hilary, Christie Rockwood, Tracey Monteverde Organizations: Tropical, San Bernardino National, Oaks Locations: Southern California, Christie

The storm has put the migrant population in Tijuana in an even more vulnerable position, since most of the camps and shelters lack the basic conditions to withstand even light rain. While waiting for an asylum appointment in the border city of Tijuana, Mr. Torres found himself not only escaping violence but also a life-threatening tropical storm on Friday. Image People at a makeshift shelter in Tijuana as Tropical Storm Hilary hit Mexico on Sunday. The migrants crossed the heavily polluted Tijuana River into U.S. territory, and waited to be processed in the rain. At the Ambassadors of Jesus Church, a migrant shelter housing some 1,600 people, water had completely surrounded the building, said Father Gustavo Banda, who operates the shelter.

Persons: José de Jesús Torres, Torres, Areli, ”, Hilary, Gustavo Banda, Enrique Lucero Organizations: Tropical, Sunday ., Reuters, Sunday, U.S . Border Patrol, of Jesus Church Locations: Michoacán, Mexico, U.S, United States, Tijuana, Colombian, California

“If you were to throw gasoline on a fire that’s already burning, that fire would grow really rapidly, really quickly. “Being hurricane season prepared also means being compassionate and kind to yourself during times of hardship,” NOLA Ready, the city’s emergency preparedness campaign, advised in a post on Instagram. Ms. Sibley, an administrative assistant and Ms. Ozane’s sister, has tried to save money to help with riding out hurricanes only for other demands to interfere with that. “What am I going to do if a hurricane really comes?” she said. “I pray we don’t have a bad one this year,” Ms. Sibley said.

Persons: El Niño, ”, Roishetta Sibley Ozane, Phil Klotzbach, “ There’s, Hurricane Ida, Emily Kask, The New York Times El, El, Eric Blake, Andrew, Craig E, Blake, Michael, Laura, Ian, Clay Tucker, NOLA Ready, Hurricane Laura, Ozane, “ They’re, Lake Charles, Ms, Meoshia Sibley, Sibley, Ozane’s, ” Ms, “ Organizations: Biscayne, El, Colorado State University, ”, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Atlantic, The New York Times, National Hurricane Center, Experts, Louisiana State University, University of Southern, Delta, of Louisiana Locations: Biscayne Beach, Florida, Westlake, La, Hurricane, Galliano, United States, University of Southern Mississippi, New Orleans, Lake Charles, Louisiana

As Hurricane Hilary heads north, Southern California and Mexico are bracing for a rare and powerful storm that could produce dangerous flash flooding and sustained winds that have not been seen for decades. The Category 4 hurricane is so unusual that it has prompted the National Hurricane Center to issue a tropical storm watch for California for the first time in its history. In California, the desert and mountain communities are of particular concern. The National Weather Service warned of five to eight inches of rain for the Coachella Valley, about 120 miles east of Los Angeles. The tropical storm could force numerous evacuations and rescues, as well as deadly runoff that may “rage down valleys while increasing susceptibility to rockslides and mudslides,” the agency said.

Persons: Hilary Organizations: National Hurricane Center, National Weather Service Locations: Southern California, Mexico, California, Baja California, San Diego, Los Angeles, Coachella

It was 10 a.m., adoring union members had already more or less mobbed their president, Fran Drescher, and the crowd was growing by the minute. Outside Netflix offices in Hollywood, a festive, celebratory mood had taken over the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Van Ness Avenue. It was a workers’ strike, to be sure. But it felt a little like a summer Friday street party — one with a few famous guests. We bring so much joy to people by entertaining them,” Crew added.

Persons: Fran Drescher, “ We’re, ”, Amanda Crew, Dustin Milligan, “ Organizations: Netflix Locations: Hollywood, Sunset, Van, Silicon

Members of the Writers Guild of America walk a picket line outside of Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, Calif., in May. Like the striking writers, leaders of SAG-AFTRA, the actors’ union, have described their labor dispute in stark terms, calling the present moment “existential” for their members. But the core issues have been about compensation, as well as the use of artificial intelligence. The actors also have grave concerns about artificial intelligence, and how the technology could be used to replicate their performances using their previous work without their being compensated or consulted. Tara Kole, a lawyer with the entertainment law firm Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole, which represents actors like Emma Watson and Ashley Judd, said in an interview that the potential use of artificial intelligence was “terrifying” to actors.

Persons: “, ” Duncan Crabtree, —, We’re, Mr, Tara Kole, Johnson Shapiro, Emma Watson, Ashley Judd, that’s, ” Ms, Kole, ” Mr, A.I, we’re, ” “, AFTRA Organizations: Writers Guild of America, Warner Bros ., SAG, Alliance, Television Producers Locations: Burbank , Calif, Ireland, Crabtree

☆ A Hollywood Diner Becomes a Writers’ Room of a Different Sort
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Corina Knoll | More About Corina Knoll | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

They are usually fresh off the picket lines when they sink into plaid booths behind red Formica tables, or pull up to the terrazzo countertop, not far from the jukebox that switches from Sam Cooke to Joan Jett. The room rumbles with their chatter, their laughter. Their emergency savings are dwindling, but hey, sitting together over free milkshakes and tuna melts, things don’t feel so bad. Such is the daily scene at Swingers, a beloved retro diner in Los Angeles where the lunch and dinner crowds are dominated by Hollywood writers still on strike. For more than two months, they have fought studios for better wages and job security, and there is no hint of an agreement on the horizon.

Persons: Sam Cooke, Joan Jett Organizations: Hollywood Locations: Swingers, Los Angeles

A dozen hilltop homes in one of the most affluent areas of coastal Los Angeles County were collapsing into a canyon on Monday after a landslide over the weekend forced the evacuation of a neighborhood in the community of Rolling Hills Estates. California’s disastrously wet winter may be to blame for saturating the underlying soils in the neighborhood, a hazard that in the past few months has threatened other idyllic perches in the state. After crews found cracks and other damage to homes on the block, authorities said, residents were given 20 minutes to pack up and leave. Behind yellow caution tape, utility crews inspected power, cable and gas lines. Periodically, a sickening crash and rumble of something cracking or falling would disrupt the quiet of the neighborhood.

Organizations: Rolling Hills Estates . Local, Palos Locations: Los Angeles County, Rolling

☆ He Devoted His Life to Compassion. His Killer Showed None.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Corina Knoll | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It felt as if he had always been there, a steady sight on a busy corner in a college town. He had reimagined his purpose, becoming a fixture at the intersection of Third and C Streets in Davis, Calif. It was there that he held a notebook and offered passers-by a question: Would you care to share your definition of compassion? Over the years, Mr. Breaux made countless connections and grew a reputation as a communal therapist of sorts. “You just really felt you could pour your heart out to him.”

Persons: David Breaux, Breaux, ”, Kristin Stansby Organizations: Stanford University, CVS Pharmacy Locations: Davis, Calif

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