The Brief

Do you smell that? It’s the aroma of ironed out, brand new Old Navy and Target ‘fits and fresh hairstyles. Just take one look down your Facebook timeline, and you’ll see what I mean. It’s ANOTHER SCHOOL YEAR for everybody's kids, including first-time college students. They’re about to experience a huge, life-changing journey as they step inside the halls of higher learning.

But let’s take a small detour to the admissions office. Things there might be changing.

SoCal Colleges Say No Advantage For Legacy Applicants

Private colleges are rethinking how they consider applicants who have parental ties or other connections to their institutions, otherwise known as legacies. Colleges nationwide are either changing their process to make it more weighty or getting rid of legacy admissions all together, like Virginia Tech and Wesleyan University.

So, what do some of our well-known Southern California private universities have to say about this? My colleague Adolfo Guzman-Lopez writes that colleges in California that receive state funding are now required to submit annual reports about how they handle legacy admissions. Many said they do consider a prospective student’s alumni or donor connections, but that those applicants were not given preferential treatment over others in the admissions process for the fall of 2022.

The University of Southern California reported that for this past school year, 1,740 out of a total of 8,304 students admitted in the fall had ties to donors and alumni, adding that non-qualified students were not accepted regardless of who they knew. Pepperdine University said its overall acceptance rate for legacy students was lower compared to non-legacy applicants. 

Mitchell Chang, professor of education at UCLA and the interim provost of diversity, equity, and inclusion, says this matters: “[Focus on legacy admissions] will rub some of the shine away from those colleges and universities that we’ve been putting on a pedestal.”

Read Adolfo's story to learn more about why this shift is occurring nationwide and how specific schools in Southern California approach the legacy question in the admission process.

Stay safe and cool, L.A. There’s more news below — just keep reading.

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(After you stop hitting snooze)

• Tempers flared at a Los Angeles City Council meeting Thursday when discussing missing data points on the mayor's Inside Safe program, suggesting the city might be paying for unused services. My colleague Nick Gerda has the details.
• On Thursday, just before meeting with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers for the first time in months, the Writers Guild of America issued a statement saying the group representing studios and streaming companies “wasted months” on a “failed strategy.” The WGA is expected to meet with the AMPTP today to talk about a restart to the negotiation process. 
• Nearly 100 people filled out the LAist survey about how the dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike was impacting their personal and professional lives. My colleague Caitlin Hernández spoke with some of the people who responded about how they’re getting by. Some in the entertainment industry are actually considering other gigs in order to survive. 
• After 15 years, UCLA’s Chancellor Gene Block announced his retirement. My colleague Adolfo Guzman-Lopez wrote about his achievements and shortcomings during his tenure. 
• The vacant Pacific Theatres in Chatsworth will soon turn into a Tesla delivery and service center. My colleague Gillian Morán Pérez wrote about her childhood memories in the San Fernando Valley theater. 
• A lawsuit that was filed on behalf of Temecula Valley Unified students, teachers and teacher union members stated the district’s school board has created a hostile school environment after trying to ban “critical race theory and other similar frameworks.” EdSource’s Diana Lambert has more details on this story.

Wait! One more thing ...

What do Art Laboe, cats and magic all have in common? They're all on this weekend's Best Things To Do List!

Art Laboe with Little Richard. Laboe is now heard on two radio shows, The Art Laboe Sunday Special, and The Art Laboe Connection.

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Courtesy of Original Sound

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Art Laboe was a beloved radio host, songwriter, record producer and radio station owner. He made a huge impact on Los Angeles. Spend your Saturday night enjoying performances by Aaron Frazer of Durand Jones & The Indications, Norman Carter of The Delfonics and so much more at the free Grand Performances’ Art Laboe tribute concert.

If you’re into tarot card readings, yoga and Victorian homes, you have to check out the Magic Market at Heritage Square Museum tomorrow night.

There’s an event for every kind of person this weekend (including cat people!), so make sure you check out this weekend’s Best Things To Do list.

State and local lawmakers are joining immigrant rights groups in urging Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign a bill that would bar California law enforcement from moonlighting for ICE.

Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, who represents Angelenos from South L.A. to Mar Vista, introduced AB 1537 in January. If implemented, the bill would ban California police, sheriffs and other law enforcement from taking on second jobs that involve “arresting, detaining, transporting, or deporting” people.

The bill has made its way through the state legislature and is now on the governor’s desk. Newsom has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto it.

At a press conference outside L.A. City Hall on Wednesday, José Madera, who directs the Pasadena Job Center, pointed to multiple deaths involving federal immigration agents in recent months — from Minneapolis to Houston — and to a recent shooting in Austin. “We don't need our local police to be part of that violence,” he said.

“ICE is a lawless, rogue agency that is terrorizing our communities, separating our families and kidnapping our neighbors,” said Bruno Huizar, supervising policy manager at the California Immigrant Policy Center. “Governor Newsom must sign AB 1537 into law to protect Californians.”

L.A. City councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez, whose own parents were undocumented, said it pained him to see immigrant parents go to work and to church in fear of being separated from their children.

“If you’re a public servant, you should be serving the public — not helping ICE tear families apart,” he added in a follow-up email statement.

The bill, dubbed “No side jobs for ICE” by its proponents, would also require officers to report secondary employment offers relating to immigration to their employers.

“If a law enforcement agent gets a conditional offer from an immigration enforcement agency, that will be part of their employment records. And that will be subject to a public records act request,” said Shiu-Ming Cheer, a licensed attorney at the California Immigration Policy Center. “This is aimed at bringing transparency, so that we know how many officers are actually getting offers to work as an ICE agent or a Border Patrol agent.”

The Peace Officers Research Association of California, which represents officers across the state, has spoken out against the bill, arguing that “policies like this don’t improve public safety.” The Los Angeles Police Protective League did not immediately respond to LAist’s request for comment.

The bill is part of a growing effort to bar local law enforcement from engaging in the ongoing mass deportation effort. The L.A. City Council approved a motion in March, barring city employees from holding second jobs with federal immigration enforcement agencies.

In Santa Ana, the City Council recently adopted a policy that prohibits employees from obtaining outside work that involves federal immigration enforcement activities.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill aimed at protecting children who are abused.

The law, which went into effect this week, is named “Gabriel’s Law,” after Gabriel Fernandez — an 8-year-old boy in Palmdale who died in 2013 after being tortured and abused by his mother and her boyfriend.

“It devastated the community. Still has,” said State Assemblymember Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale), who worked on legislation related to Gabriel’s case for years. “It hasn't gone away, right? It’s something we still acknowledge.”

Since Fernandez’s death, the Antelope Valley has seen a number of high-profile child deaths at the hands of their parents.

The new law requires social workers to make sure a child gets emergency medical care when needed, and it makes it easier to prosecute social workers who knowingly falsify records.

Officials said there had been warning signs about Fernandez’s abuse, but social workers with the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services failed to follow up on them. The high-profile case prompted internal reforms in the agency.

What happened to Gabriel

Gabriel died in May 2013, after months of abuse from his mother and her boyfriend. He was found with a number of injuries, including a fractured skull, broken ribs and BB pellets lodged in his body. His mother and her boyfriend were both sentenced.

A teacher had reported signs of abuse to the county, but social workers did not remove him from the home. Then they ended the investigation. Prosecutors charged the social workers with child abuse, but the charges were later dismissed.

“He was literally tortured. And there were many, many, many documented events, and there are many encounters that he had with people that lacked follow-up,” Lackey said.

What does the law change?

Before this week, the law said that social workers may authorize care if a child needs immediate emergency care, but did not require it. Gabriel’s law requires a social worker to secure medical care for a child.

“ They call for an ambulance or escort the child to an emergency room— make sure a physician has the opportunity to provide some level of remedy and documentation of the injury,” Lackey said.

It also clarifies the law so that social workers who are guilty of falsifying or destroying public records can be imprisoned or fined.

Why did the law take so long to change?

Lackey’s previous legislative efforts related to Fernandez’s case failed over the years. He introduced at least five different pieces of legislation that failed to advance.

“I'm not even saying that I blame the pushback and the concern, because if you're too aggressive, there's a tendency to accuse people of wrongdoing when they are not guilty of wrongdoing, so we wanted to make sure that the balance was reasonable,” he said.

Lackey terms out this year. “We're trying to do something as a community to not only pay tribute to [Gabriel], but to prevent it from reoccurring,” he said.

The Los Angeles Fire Department has completed its investigation into the cause of the Lineage warehouse fire in Boyle Heights but was unable to determine what caused it. 

In a press release, LAFD said the June 17 fire was caused by an “electrical event” that occurred on the roof of the building, “adjacent to a section of solar panels.” Despite a “comprehensive investigation,” the department could not determine what caused the electrical event.

“The Department’s thoughts remain with all those impacted by this deeply tragic incident,” Arson and Fire Investigation Chief Thomas Raymond said in a release.

In response to the inconclusive investigation, District 14 Councilmember Ysabel Jurado said, “LAFD’s finding that the cause remains undetermined does nothing to alleviate what Boyle Heights residents have endured and are still carrying: months of health concerns and disruption, along with unanswered questions about whether this site can safely operate again.”

“The fact that we still cannot explain how this catastrophe began is yet another reason I will continue opposing any permits to rebuild this facility,” Jurado said.

Recently, the LA City Council voted to withhold rebuilding permits for the Lineage warehouse until after the Los Angeles Fire Department completed its investigation. Earlier this month, Lineage Chief Executive Officer Greg Lehmkuhl told Boyle Heights Beat and The LA Local that the company had not decided whether to rebuild, saying, “We’re still focused on holding the right people accountable here and making sure that we’re continuing to support the community.”

The CEO’s comments came after Lineage sued solar power provider Altus Power, Inc. and its contractor, blaming them for the fire. Altus Power and its contractor dispute those claims.

In a statement following the completed investigation, Lineage said, “Today’s report from the Los Angeles Fire Department validates what we have known all along: This was a solar fire.”

The fire and subsequent cleanup of millions of pounds of rotting food caused a flood of issues for residents living in Boyle Heights, East LA and surrounding communities, including an infestation of flies and pests, nausea and headaches, higher utility bills and other health concerns. 

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Boyle Heights Beat senior reporter Alejandra Molina and LA Local reporter Christopher Damien contributed to this report.

The post LAFD closes investigation into Lineage warehouse fire without determining a cause appeared first on LA Local.