The Brief

Victoria Charles has been getting students at Santa Monica College to think differently about waste for over a decade.

On the first day of class, she often gives them a warning: “You won’t be the Belle of the ball.” After learning how much waste the average person produces in a day and how this impacts the planet, they’ll feel compelled to live differently and speak up at social functions. And when they do, people won’t always like it. “You’re going to be the party pooper,” Charles cautions.

Charles teaches two of the four courses required to earn a certificate in Recycling and Resource Management at SMC. The coursework delves deep into waste — examining how culture, laws, and daily habits inform what ends up in landfills. Perhaps more importantly, students learn how waste can be prevented and repurposed.

In practice, this can involve small changes, Charles said. When she buys lunch on campus, for instance, she’s usually offered a plastic fork. Charles always declines it, even if it’s recyclable.

“Recycling is very energy intensive,” she explained. Her fork would have “to be shipped somewhere,” then “go through a lot of mechanical processing.” Instead, Charles keeps a set of reusable utensils in her office. In class, she and her students spend a lot of time discussing the need to use something for “less than five minutes and then toss it away.”

Because there are no prerequisites for the certificate, Charles’ students come from all walks of life. Some of them are fresh out of high school. Others already have higher ed degrees and are looking to chart a new path. But by the time they complete the coursework, all of them gain a new outlook on waste. Many of her students are using this knowledge to launch new careers.

Finding the right fit

Sofia Ratcovich began her higher ed journey at Santa Monica College in 2000, and it took her about five years to graduate.

“I kept changing my major,” she said. “I was like, ‘Maybe I want to be a singer, or maybe I want to look into acting.’” She still appreciates getting the chance to explore those interests.

Ratcovich earned associate degrees in biology and environmental studies, then transferred to Cal State Dominguez Hills for her bachelor’s degree.

At the time, she envisioned a career in environmental law. She was looking for a way to make a living while caring for the environment.

Throughout her undergraduate career, Ratcovich volunteered with several environmental groups. On Saturdays, she was often at the beach, leading group cleanups.

The ocean means a lot to her, Ratcovich said. She and her parents migrated to the U.S. from Mexico and, growing up, they didn’t have the means to take her to the movies or Disneyland. Instead, they spent a lot of time along the shore.

Through her volunteer work, Ratcovich met several people who encouraged her to sign up for the Recycling and Resource Management certificate at Santa Monica College. Eventually, she returned to the place where she began her higher ed journey.

The experience reinvigorated her. She said she loved being surrounded by students and faculty who also cared deeply about the planet. Plus, the classes helped her see that there were many other careers she could tap into.

Ultimately, Ratcovich went on to found Zero Waste Company, a sustainability consulting firm that advises companies on how to host events with minimal impact on the environment. The inspiration: a sustainability conference with unsustainable practices — coffee served in styrofoam cups with plastic stir sticks. Lunch served on styrofoam plates with plastic forks and cups. When it came time to discard her waste, she couldn’t find a recycling bin.

Ratcovich asked to speak with the conference’s organizers.

“I’ve been coming to this conference for years,” she told them. “I love your speakers, I love your program. But this really bothers me.”

When the organizers asked what she’d do differently, she had a list.

Since then, Ratcovich has provided guidance for major clients, including UCLA, Adidas, Red Bull, and the L.A. Times.

She offers practical advice, like wrapping cookies in paper sleeves, instead of plastic wrap. Ratcovich and her employees have also been known to comb through garbage bins, sorting out what can be recycled or composted.

“These things might seem miniscule,” she said. “But, in the end, if you change those things, you end up with food waste that can be composted, as opposed to material that just goes straight to landfill.”

For years, Ratcovich’s father wondered aloud about the sacrifices he’d made so that his daughter could devote herself to tallying trash. Then he saw the logo for her company in the newspaper.

Reinvention

Other students have also used Santa Monica’s program as a stepping stool, either for further study or to reinvent themselves.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in art history at Florida State University, Simone Paz completed the SMC program as a way to discern whether she wanted to pursue a master’s degree in environmental studies.

Years later, she recalled an assignment that required her to track everything she discarded.

“It was four days worth of gathering and collecting everything that you throw away, and just laying it all out there, cataloging it, photographing it,” she said. “It was really eye opening.”

Paz ultimately earned a master’s degree in environmental studies at Cal State Fullerton. Today, she’s preparing to launch her own startup, with a focus on sustainability in the arts.

Kyle Winterboer grew up on a farm in Iowa, then went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in music performance at Cal State Long Beach. After earning his degree, he went to Santa Monica College with plans to go into health care.

“I was thinking about physical therapy for specific music injuries,” he said. “I got through my anatomy class and really was happy with that, mom was so glad.”

Through classmates, he heard about the sustainability courses at SMC. He enrolled for fun and fell in love. Like Ratcovich and Paz, he reveled in being surrounded by faculty and classmates who were enthusiastic about resolving waste issues. Outside of the classroom, the campus itself was an inspiration.

“I loved seeing the giant worm bins behind the cafeteria,” he said. The bins, which house hundreds of thousands of worms, convert about 500 pounds of food scraps into nutrient-rich soil each week, which is then used for landscaping on campus.

Winterboer went on to earn a master’s degree in public policy at UCLA, with a focus on food and sustainability studies. He’s now weighing whether to go to law school, earn a doctorate so he can continue doing more research — or both.

The U.S. Department of Justice has attempted to use a number of tactics in recent weeks to remove California voters they say are likely noncitizens from state voter rolls — despite the voting process having already begun.

Election security experts told LAist, however, that the federal government’s case is unlikely to succeed, and that voters should proceed filling out their ballots as normal.

“I don't think most people in the L.A. area or beyond will actually encounter any of the disruption that the administration is trying to project,” Loyola Law School professor Justin Levitt said.

The backstory

Last week, Department of Justice election officials sent a list of 20,000 California voters it says it has “high confidence” are not citizens. (L.A. County election officials said they received records on a thumb drive, which they could not open for security reasons.) Two days later, the Trump administration sued California for not complying with its request to use the list to remove any noncitizens from local voter rolls.

California on Tuesday filed an extensive response to the DOJ lawsuit, saying it “borders on the absurd.”

Separately this week, the DOJ announced it had filed charges against 28 people, accusing them of registering to vote as noncitizens.

What is the DOJ claiming?

DOJ representatives said Monday they are attempting to keep U.S. citizens’ votes from being canceled out by noncitizens.

“We have an election coming up next month,” Bill Essayli, first assistant U.S. attorney, said. “Our biggest priority is to safeguard the integrity of the election.”

Essayli suggested he may prosecute election officials who knowingly process ballots “once we’ve informed them who the non-citizens are” and indicated the DOJ is working on “many more cases.”

Regarding the list sent to state and local officials, DOJ officials also said they have “high confidence” — not complete certainty — that the people on the federal government’s list are noncitizens.

“There may be some names on there who it turns out ultimately are citizens,” Trent McCotter, acting deputy attorney general, said Monday. “We're not perfect, and that's why we've asked California to cooperate with us.”

In a court declaration filed today, L.A. County Assistant Registrar Monica Flores said the DOJ’s list is “unreliable.” Analyzing a sample of 200 records, she said a majority are not active voters, and nearly 40% of the records indicate the individual was born in the U.S.

The L.A. County registrar of voters said officials here did not comply with the request to use the federal list and began coordinating with state officials — a point DOJ officials stressed on Monday, with McCotter saying this is “an emergency of their own [California’s] creation.”

Rick Hasen, a UCLA law professor who runs the school’s Safeguarding Democracy Project, disagreed.

“The federal government didn't produce its list of voters or its methodology to California until just a few days ago, so this is not an emergency of California's own making,” Hasen said. “It is not the federal government's job to decide who is on voting rolls. That is a job that is given to states.”

A DOJ spokesperson declined to comment for this article beyond pointing to Essayli’s X social media feed.

What role will local election officials play?

In large part, Hasen and Levitt said officials will play the same role that they always have, even though more eyes will be on them. County election officials send out ballots, process and verify signatures, and reach out to voters if there are any outstanding issues. The registrar then has 13 days to report on ballots to the state, including provisional ballots and same-day registration ballots, and 30 days to finish counting them.

That said, Hasen said Essayli’s threat of possible criminal prosecution against election officials is “really dangerous” — even though he said these cases are also unlikely to succeed.

“We've got a threat of criminal prosecution against election administrators for not being aggressive enough in policing voting rolls to the Trump administration's liking,” Hasen said. “Even if they were negligent in how they policed their voting rolls, there's no criminal liability here.”

What should voters do?

Levitt, who previously worked on voting rights at the Justice Department, said he doesn’t think Trump’s DOJ is serious about the legal merits of their lawsuit against California.

“I can completely understand that people may be freaked out,” he said. “Part of what DOJ is doing is an attempt to freak people out.”

For their part, local officials have reassured voters that they should proceed to cast their ballots. In a statement, L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn called the DOJ’s actions “voter intimidation and a blatant attempt to undermine trust in our midterm elections.”

Levitt recommended voting as early as possible to give voters time to check their registration and resolve any issues. If you have concerns, he recommended visiting an early voting center in person.

Hasen encouraged voters to double-check the status of their ballots to ensure they’ve been processed and counted.

“We have very good ballot tracking,” Hasen said. “California is not going to simply start throwing out ballots from people who are on an unvetted federal list of supposed noncitizen voters.”

What’s the future of this lawsuit?

Hasen and Levitt said the legal problems with the federal government’s arguments can be traced back to federal law and the Constitution.

“The Constitution gives states the power to run elections subject to Congress passing laws that can override that,” Hasen said. “There's no congressional override that would give the federal government the authority to do this.”

That makes the DOJ’s case unlikely to succeed, the professors agreed.

“It's possible that a court might not even really deal with it at all,” Levitt said.

What about the people accused of voting fraud?

The charges announced this week against 28 people accused of registering or voting as noncitizens, however, may be more successful, depending on the evidence presented in each case.

“Isolated cases of alleged voter fraud occur in red and blue states alike, and they should be prosecuted wherever they occur,” a spokesperson for California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement.

But Bonta noted that the 28 people charged represent 0.0001% of California’s registered voters. The percentage is about the same in L.A. County: The 12 L.A. County residents charged this week make up roughly 0.0002% of people on the voter rolls.

The Los Angeles Unified School District is preparing for possible “Super El Niño” storms that could damage schools and lead to closures, the district announced in a media release Tuesday.

District staff are clearing drains, trimming trees and checking roofs, windows and doors. LAUSD is also testing emergency equipment, including pumps and emergency lighting systems, and stocking supplies such as flashlights and drinking water.

“Preparing for severe weather starts well before the first raindrop,” Superintendent Andrés Chait said in a statement. “We can’t control the weather, but we can take steps now to protect our students and employees and help our schools stay ready.”

The district will monitor weather patterns using information from the National Weather Service and local emergency officials, it said.

LAUSD encouraged families to update their contact information to ensure they receive district calls, texts and emails. Families should also monitor weather alerts, follow emergency officials’ instructions, avoid flooded roads and review safe routes to and from school, according to the release.

“Preparing for a storm is a shared effort — from the crews maintaining school buildings to the principals reviewing emergency plans and the families making sure they can receive critical updates,” LAUSD said in the release. “By taking these steps before the rain begins, Los Angeles Unified is working to help students and employees stay safe and keep school communities as prepared as possible for the winter ahead.”

Southern California is likely in for a solid dose of rain this week, just days after heat and Santa Ana winds helped fuel several wildfires across the region.

Forecasters expect the bulk of the rain to roll into the Los Angeles basin Wednesday night and continue into Thursday morning, with a small chance of thunderstorms and hail.

The San Fernando Valley, San Gabriel Valley and coastal areas across L.A. and Orange counties could get around an inch over the next few days. Hills and mountains could get up to 3 inches.

“We could see some pretty high rain rates,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Wofford. “It's a good storm for this time of year — it's a little stronger than what we would see normally.”

The possibility of significant rain in the mountains raises concerns about flooding in areas recently burned in wildfires, particularly around the Bryson Fire burn scar near Malibu, which is only a few days old. Burn scars can’t absorb heavy rainfall and are susceptible to landslides.

The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for the Santa Monica Mountains and surrounding communities from Wednesday afternoon through Thursday. That means heavy rain there could flood streets, creeks and rivers. The flood watch area includes both the Bryson Fire and Palisades Fire burn scars.

This will also be the first nontropical storm of the season, meaning it’s moving into the region from the north. Most storms that hit Southern California follow a similar path, especially during the winter, unlike the tropical storms that formed off the coast of Mexico and brought muggy weather to the region this summer.

Nontropical storms also bring cold air to the region. On Wednesday and Thursday, forecasters expect highs in the 60s and 70s. High elevations will be even cooler.