Today in How To LA:
Good luck food for the new year, you can now recycle your alcohol bottles, and let’s ring in 2024 with some events!
Top Story: Many cultures do have food traditions to ensure a lucky new year. By "good luck," we mean money because most of these foods will supposedly bring you wealth. See the list!
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Today is the last Food Friday of 2023. Can you believe it? I can’t. And it’s only fitting that we are talking all about New Year’s Eve eats and traditions, plus some of my favorite food stories this year!
As I put together this newsletter and read this story, I started thinking about my very superstitious Filipino family and wondered, “Do we have any good luck foods we eat to guarantee good fortune in the new year?” The answer is: no food, but I have been told to wear polka dots for good luck and to jump at midnight to grow taller.
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But, a lot of cultures do have food traditions to ensure a lucky new year. By "good luck," we mean money, because most of these foods will supposedly bring you wealth. And most of the foods in the list are very tasty and I may have to grab a few to eat to ring in 2024. See the list here!
… and some bonus myth-debunking: The jumping did not help with my height.
More food content:
Even more food content: Visit LAist.com to see all things Food Friday! Or, check out all of our food-related stories right here!
Have a great and safe New Year’s Day, friends. There’s more news below - just keep reading.
(After you stop hitting snooze)
*At LAist we will always bring you the news freely, but occasionally we do include links to other publications that may be behind a paywall. Thank you for understanding!
As the year ends, I’ve decided that instead of resolutions, I’m making a giant bucket list of all the things I want to do in 2024. And one of the things I’m adding is to go on more adventures in SoCal and do a little more traveling. I know I’ve written about the Rose Parade a lot this week, but I’ve actually never gone to the parade. But I have gone to one of its pre-events, Bandfest. You get to watch performances from all the marching bands — local, nationwide, and even some international — before they walk the parade route on New Year’s Day. It’s definitely worth experiencing.
If the Rose Parade is not your thing, here are some event picks to ring in 2024! See the full list here.
And we have some cool upcoming LAist events in the new year you should totally join.
Wishing you all a safe and amazing new year! Oh, before I forget, the newsletter will be taking a break on Monday, Jan. 1 and will be back on Tuesday.
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Topline:
Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said today that he will run for Senate Majority Leader in the next Congress, setting up a challenge to Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer after the party swept to power in the midterm elections.
Why now: Van Hollen’s challenge comes after he said he was considering a bid and after Schumer has said he has the necessary support to win. The closed-door, secret-ballot election will be held in early December. The race will be the first contested election for Democratic leader in decades. The question of whether to reelect Schumer has already divided the caucus and many senators will not say publicly how they will vote. They have privately deliberated about what message to take from the election, and Schumer recruited many of the party’s winning candidates and raised money for them.
Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said Thursday that he will run for Senate Majority Leader in the next Congress, setting up a challenge to Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer after the party swept to power in the midterm elections.
Van Hollen said in a statement that “the American people called for change” and that is why he is running.
“It’s now on us to meet this moment, and to do that we need new leadership,” Van Hollen said. “This is not about any one person — it’s about answering the call of the American people. That is why I’m running for Senate Majority Leader.”
Van Hollen’s challenge comes after he said he was considering a bid and after Schumer has said he has the necessary support to win. The closed-door, secret-ballot election will be held in early December.
The race will be the first contested election for Democratic leader in decades. The question of whether to reelect Schumer has already divided the caucus and many senators will not say publicly how they will vote. They have privately deliberated about what message to take from the election, and Schumer recruited many of the party’s winning candidates and raised money for them.
Schumer has been talking to Democratic senators since the election about forming an agenda for 2027.
“I’m going to win it,” Schumer told The Associated Press in an interview last week.
Topline:
The Los Angeles Unified School District may lease spaces in its elementary, middle and high schools to use as childcare spaces for babies.
What’s new: The district is putting together a list of qualified providers and looking to identify spaces it could lease. Ranae Amezquita, executive director of the district’s early childhood education division, said once the district has a list of spaces, it will start a request for proposal process that childcare providers can apply to during the 2027-2028 school year.
The backstory: In April, LAUSD board members passed a resolution in an aim to expand childcare and early education slots in the district. The district currently runs about 90 preschools, called early education centers, for children 2 to 4 years old, but it has only four centers that serve children under 2. “ The problem with infant care — the reason we can't open them ourself at this time, is because of the cost,” said Amezquita at a board meeting Thursday.
Why it matters: The need for local infant and toddler childcare is high. In 2022, LA County assessed that the county only had enough licensed spaces to care for 4% of kids under 2. At the same time, the district has been facing declining enrollment among lower birth rates. The resolution to expand early childhood care aims to, in part, strengthen the enrollment pipeline into the district.
Further reading:
The Los Angeles Unified School District may lease spaces in its elementary, middle and high schools to use as childcare spaces for babies.
The district is putting together a list of qualified providers and looking to identify spaces it could lease.
Ranae Amezquita, executive director of the district’s early childhood education division, said once the district has a list of spaces, it will start a request for proposal process that childcare providers can apply to during the 2027-2028 school year.
In April, LAUSD board members passed a resolution in an aim to expand childcare and early education slots in the district.
The district currently runs about 90 preschools, called early education centers, for children 2 to 4 years old, but it has only four centers that serve children under 2. “The problem with infant care — the reason we can't open them ourself at this time, is because of the cost,” said Amezquita at a board meeting Thursday.
The need for local infant and toddler childcare is high. In 2022, L.A. County assessed that the county only had enough licensed spaces to care for 4% of kids under 2. At the same time, the district has been facing declining enrollment amid lower birth rates. The resolution to expand early childhood care aims to, in part, strengthen the enrollment pipeline into the district.
Topline:
An L.A. County Superior Court judge has been removed from the bench in a rare move by California’s judicial watchdog.
Why it matters: Judge Robert Draper engaged in 17 instances of misconduct, according to the California Commission on Judicial Performance. Removing a judge is reserved for only very serious matters.
The background: Draper’s misconduct includes offensive comments on race and gender, sending unnecessary photos of his naked backside to colleagues and defying orders to not work on cases while on involuntary leave.
What’s next: Draper lost reelection in June. Gov. Gavin Newsom may appoint his successor sooner. The court could also fill his department.
Read on… to see what Draper said about the outcome.
In an extraordinary turn of events, the state’s judicial watchdog has removed Judge Robert Draper, 84, from the Los Angeles County Superior Court after 14 years of service. He faced several counts of misconduct prior to losing reelection earlier this year.
The California Commission on Judicial Performance concluded Tuesday in an 87-page decision that Draper engaged in 17 instances of behavior that made him no longer fit for office. He hasn’t heard a case since 2023 because of the issues.
“Judge Draper persistently violated the standards governing judicial behavior and engaged in extensive and severe misconduct,” the commission said in a statement, adding that it was “aggravated by his refusal to accept responsibility for his misconduct, and his lack of insight or remorse for his misconduct and its effect on others.”
Draper previously admitted to some of the claims and denied others in interviews with LAist earlier this year. In a statement this week, he called the decision “deeply disappointing.”
“Any individual put under such intense and meticulous scrutiny likely would find themselves in a similar situation, albeit with slightly different facts,” he said.
Draper said the investigation came at a time when he raised concerns within the judiciary, and that it was used “presumably for purposes of dismissing his dissent by discrediting him.”
He plans to pursue “other avenues” to change the system, according to the statement. Draper's attorney declined to share what those would be.
“It’s very rare for a judge to be removed from the bench,” said Laurie Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School. “It’s the ultimate sanction against a judge.”
The commission has only removed 15 judges since it gained the authority to do so in 1995, according to its records, with the last for an L.A. County Superior Court judge happening in 2006.
The decision comes after a yearslong investigation and legal proceedings with independent evaluators. Prior to that, Draper had never been disciplined. According to the commission, his long list of misconduct includes:
Some allegations the commission reviewed were dismissed for lack of evidence, including one that he inappropriately touched an attorney’s hair.
While Draper lost reelection, his seat is now empty sooner than usual. Judge-elect Tal Khan Valbuena is on deck to replace him in January.
It’s possible Gov. Gavin Newsom may decide to appoint Khan Valbuena sooner. The court could also move another judge into his department.
Topline:
El Niño is making the California coast much warmer than usual, and scientists are concerned about coastal flooding.
Unseasonably warm waters: The ocean temperatures along a stretch of coast from Sonoma County down to Ensenada, Mexico, are 10 degrees warmer than average. In a webinar Thursday, University of California climate scientist Daniel Swain stressed how unusual the current heat wave is, describing it as “mind-boggling” and “record-shattering.” “I'm using all the superlatives in the book because I think they're appropriate,” Swain said.
Exceeding records: The water temperatures in nearly every location are higher than any measured during the cold season in recorded history. “Not only is the water warmer than it's ever been at this time of year, but in fact it is warmer than it has ever been at any point after Nov. 1 and before May in any previous year,” Swain said.
The stakes for coastal flooding: Warmer oceans mean that the water expands, leading to high tides like the ones Long Beach and Orange County have experienced in recent months. Scientists are especially watching for king tides during Thanksgiving week. (King tides are also expected around Christmas and in late January.) And any significant rainstorms — which El Niño could bring — would also make flooding worse.
Why the heat wave is expected to stick around: “ Marine heat waves take a lot longer to develop, and they're a lot more persistent,” Swain said. That’s because water takes longer to heat up or cool down than air, and because wind can generally move air faster than ocean currents.
