The Brief

In the early 1980s, Los Angeles was gripped by “Fernandomania”: fans, many of them Latino, packed Dodger Stadium to see a lefthander from Mexico with a confounding screwball.

On Friday, more than 40 years after his debut in 1980, the Dodgers will celebrate Fernando Valenzuela and his storied career when they retire his number 34 jersey in a pre-game ceremony at Dodger Stadium; earlier Friday, Los Angeles city leaders declared Aug. 11 as “Fernando Valenzuela Day.”

But there’s much more to Valenzuela’s Dodger legacy than his pitching, said Jaime Jarrín. The Dodgers’ longtime Spanish-language sportscaster, now retired, befriended Valenzuela back when he joined the team, acting as his translator — and later, as Valenzuela’s partner in the broadcast booth.

Fernando Valenzuela pitches at Dodger Stadium circa 1986.

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“He became right away a hero for Latinos following baseball,” Jarrín told LAist. “The most important thing is that he created so many new baseball followers.…people from Mexico, from Central America, from South America that didn’t care at all about baseball.”

The young, Mexican-born pitcher rose to superstardom after he led the team to the 1981 World Series. Valenzuela went on to play for the Dodgers until 1991. His pitching appearances drew sell-out crowds and spiked TV viewership.

When Valenzuela came along, Latino sports fans in L.A. at the time were more interested in soccer and boxing, Jarrín said. But when the young man Jarrin describes as “a 19-year-old kid, a little chubby, with Indian features and long hair,” took the pitcher’s mound, Mexican Americans and Latinos in L.A. and elsewhere noticed.

“I think he made them feel proud of being Latinos here in this country,” Jarrín said. “That is what he told me many times, ‘I am very, very proud of being Mexican, and of being Mexican and being here in the United States, here in the major leagues.’ So really, he became an idol here.”

‘El Toro’

Valenzuela was born in Etchohuaquila, a small town within the municipality of Navojoa in Mexico’s Sonora state. He began his professional baseball career in Mexico in 1977, drawing the attention of Major League Baseball scouts two years later, and officially joined the Dodgers at the end of the 1980 season.

He rose quickly to stardom the following year, starting out the 1981 season with a series of shut-out wins, appearing in the All-Star game, and eventually leading the Dodgers to their World Series victory over the New York Yankees that year.

Fernando Valenzuela during his playing days in a 1984 game against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

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The Fernandomania buzz grew as Valenzuela won both the Rookie of the Year and Cy Young awards. Fans nicknamed him “El Toro,” Spanish for “the bull.”

Valenzuela continued to pitch for the Dodgers until 1991, then went to play for a number of other teams — including the California Angels, San Diego Padres, and Mexico’s Águilas de Mexicali — before retiring from the game.

He continues to work in baseball as a Spanish-language radio color commentator, and spent several years in the Dodgers radio booth alongside his old friend Jarrín.

The legacy of Fernandomania

Jarrín credits Valenzuela with helping change the makeup of the Dodger fan base. He remembers the old days at the stadium, when just a handful of Latinos attended games, usually seated in the top deck.

“When I started with the Dodgers in 1959…the Latinos coming to the games were about 8 to 10%. Now it’s between 45 and 48% in Dodger Stadium…it’s amazing, it’s fantastic, the way that the Latinos are following the Dodgers.”

Fernando Valenzuela waves to fans in an undated photo.

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And while Jarrin has certainly played a role, “(Valenzuela) was the number one guy. He deserves most of the credit.”

“He was able to create that pride that Mexicans and Latinos in general have had in being in the United States and contributing to it,” Jarrin said. “So I think the legacy is huge.”

Fernandomania redux

Fernandomania will be back throughout this weekend with special ceremonies and giveaways in honor of Valenzuela. Tonight, his number will be raised up in left field alongside Dodger legends, including Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Sandy Koufax and Valenzuela’s longtime manager, Tommy Lasorda. Fans attending Saturday night’s game will receive commemorative Valenzuela bobbleheads, and on Sunday the team will hand out replica 1981 World Series rings.

And as the weekend starts, Valenzuela’s fan legacy can be glimpsed around town. Earlier this week, shelves at the Latino-owned sports apparel shop The 4th Quarter in Highland Park were brimming with Fernando-themed Dodger T-shirts, while No. 34 Valenzuela jerseys hung from the wall.

Lifelong Dodger fan Heidi Bringuez has stocked up on Fernando Valenzuela Dodgers merchandise at her Highland Park sports apparel store.

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Heidi Bringuez, a second-generation Dodger fan who has run the store with her brother for 14 years, said they began stocking up on Valenzuela-related merchandise once they learned that his number would be retired.

“We stocked up on a lot of T-shirts and jerseys, and a lot of it is selling online,” said Bringuez, whose family is Mexican and Guatemalan. She expected more local fans to stop by before Friday’s game.

Bringuez said while Fernandomania happened well before she was born, she grew up with Dodger lore in a family of baseball fans. Especially as a Latina, she said, she is well aware of Valenzuela’s legacy.

“If you pay attention to the majority of the people that attend the games, it’s probably more than 50% Latinos at this point, right?” Bringuez said. “And I think that has a lot to do with the fans he created.”

Public officials across California are contemplating what to do with dozens of streets, parks and libraries named in honor of civil rights icon César Chávez in the wake of allegations he sexually assaulted two girls and a woman decades ago.

The allegations surfaced in an investigation by the New York Times published earlier this week that sent shock waves across the country.

Chávez, who was head of the United Farm Workers union, is widely recognized as one of the most influential labor leaders in U.S. history, known for founding the union and for leading national boycotts of grapes to improve working conditions for farmworkers.

Chávez died in 1993.

Many state and local leaders, including L.A.’s mayor and county supervisors, suggested changing the César Chávez holiday on March 31 to Farm Workers Day. March 31 was Chávez’s birthday.

In Sacramento on Thursday, Democratic leaders of the state Legislature said they would push for such a change.

“The farmworker movement was never ever about one man,” Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas said at a news conference. “It was built by tens of thousands of workers. People who labored in the fields, people who organized, people who sacrificed and who stood up when it was hard.

“We have a responsibility to remember the movement and to move it forward with integrity.”

Also on Thursday, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass signed a proclamation renaming the city's César Chávez Day holiday as “Farm Workers Day.” The city recognizes the holiday on the last Monday of March.

“I grew up as a child admiring the farmworker movement,'' Bass said. “I didn't think I was ever going to eat grapes again because my family boycotted grapes.”

The grape strike, organized in part by Chávez, lasted five years from 1965 to 1970.

Multiple allegations of sexual assault

The New York Times investigation uncovered multiple allegations that Chávez had sexually assaulted girls and women in the 1960s and ‘70s, when he was head of United Farm Workers, including union co-founder Dolores Huerta.

Huerta, now 95, told the Times the rape and sexual assault resulted in pregnancies that she kept secret. Huerta said she gave the children up for adoption after birth.

In a statement, Huerta said in part: “... for the last 60 years [I] have kept a secret because I believed that exposing the truth would hurt the farmworker movement I have spent my entire life fighting for.”

Bass said Thursday she met Chávez once and “thought it was an opportunity of a lifetime.” She said her heart “broke” this week when she heard the allegation that Chávez had raped Huerta.

The mayor said renaming the holiday would allow people “to reflect on how the struggle of farmworkers has elevated working people everywhere.”

She added that the city would need to consider changing the names of buildings, streets and other things named in honor of Chávez.

For example, César Chávez Avenue runs through the heart of the Boyle Heights neighborhood. Several murals of Chávez dot the city.

Bass said she had been in contact with Chávez's family, and they supported her action.

The mayor was joined at the proclamation signing by Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez, who said in a statement that the farmworker movement has always been about the power of the people, “especially the women whose labor built it and too often went unseen."

“As we honor that legacy, we also have a responsibility to tell the truth about harm and stand with survivors,” Hernandez said.

Councilwoman Ysabel Jurado also attended the news conference. She said the movement doesn’t belong to one person.

“Farm Workers Day honors the workers, families and organizers still in the fields and still fighting for fair wages, safe conditions and dignity,” the statement from Jurado read. “And it recognizes that this movement is carried forward every single day by people whose names we may never know but whose impact continues to define the spirit of Los Angeles.”

Other cities and counties 

Many other cities and counties are considering wiping Chávez's name from public spaces.

L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis said she would introduce a motion looking at renaming the county’s César Chávez holiday.

Supervisor Janice Hahn suggested the county consider renaming Chávez day “Farm Worker Day.”

“For those of us who grew up admiring the farmworker movement, today's news is heartbreaking,'' Hahn said in a statement Wednesday. "But as in any other civil rights movement, men were only half the story. The abuses of one man will never diminish the extraordinary sacrifices, accomplishments, and legacy of the women of the farmworker movement.

“It's time we put them first.”

The process for renaming streets and other public structures varies from city to city and school district to school district. It could take months before many cities move to erase Chávez's name from public spaces.

You can follow your city council agenda to keep up with what’s going on, or better yet, reach out to your representatives on the council and county Board of Supervisors to make your voice heard on the issue.

California, along with a coalition of 23 other states and a dozen cities and counties, sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday for rolling back the scientific finding requiring it to regulate greenhouse gas pollution.

“This isn’t a small technical change,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said at a press conference in Sacramento. “It’s a sweeping decision that would increase pollution, worsen climate change and put the health of millions of Americans at risk. And it’s not based on any credible science.”

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, seeks to reinstate a 2009 conclusion known as the endangerment finding — that carbon dioxide and other planet-warming gases threaten public health and welfare.

The climate rule served as the scientific basis for the agency’s ability to limit emissions under the Clean Air Act.

The Trump administration finalized the repeal of the endangerment finding Feb. 12. A post on the EPA’s website stated the change would also dissolve restrictions on vehicle emissions and save Americans $1.3 trillion.

“As a result of these changes, engine and vehicle manufacturers no longer have any future obligations for the measurement, control and reporting of GHG emissions for any highway engine and vehicle, including model years manufactured prior to this final rule.”

Sanchez said California’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the landmark 2006 Global Warming Solutions Act, AB 32, signed into law by then-Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, “remains unchanged.”

Los Angeles, San Francisco and Santa Clara counties also were parties to the suit.

KQED’s Laura Klivans contributed to this report.

California voters are split along party lines on two controversial proposed ballot measures — a billionaire tax and an initiative requiring voters to show government ID when they cast a ballot — according to a new poll.

The survey from UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies found 52% of voters backing a proposed one-time, 5% tax on the net worth of billionaires. The money would be used to fund health care programs, which are being cut by the Trump administration; 33% of registered voters said they were opposed and 15% said they are still undecided.

Whether voters back the measure, which is being pushed by a health care labor union, is highly correlated to their partisan leanings: 72% of Democrats said they’d support the billionaire tax if it qualifies for the November ballot, while the same percentage of Republican voters are opposed. Voters with no party preference were more split, with 51% backing the wealth tax.

The voter ID ballot measure is more evenly divided, with 44% of voters in support and 45% opposed. Republican voters said they would overwhelmingly vote “Yes.” Democrats are unified in opposition, with only 19% in support.

IGS co-director Eric Schickler said that while neither measure has qualified yet for the ballot, most voters surveyed said they are aware of the proposals.

“The Billionaire Tax Initiative starts out in a relatively strong position, but with it polling just above 50%, that still leaves room for what will be an intense, expensive campaign,” he said. “The Voter ID Initiative looks like it faces an uphill climb: given the strong Democratic opposition, it needs very strong support among nonpartisan voters, and it currently seems to be falling short. But it is still very early.”

If they move forward, the campaigns around both measures are expected to be expensive and bruising. Democrats are split on the billionaires tax: Gov. Gavin Newsom is opposed, Silicon Valley Rep. Ro Khanna said he’s in support, and many other Democrats — including legislative leaders and candidates for governor — have offered support for the concept but expressed concerns with the details of this proposal.

Some billionaires have already left California, and others, like Google co-founder Sergey Brin, are lining up huge campaign war chests to fight the measure.

And Democrats are gearing up to fight the voter ID measure, which several Southern California Republican lawmakers are pushing. The proposed ballot measure comes as the U.S. Senate debates what’s known as the SAVE Act, a far more draconian voter ID measure.

Backed by President Donald Trump, that legislation would require a passport or birth certificate to register to vote, essentially eliminate mail-in ballots and require states to hand over their voter rolls to the federal government. It already passed the House but is facing a steep climb in the Republican-led Senate.

The poll was conducted between March 9 and 15 among more than 5,000 registered California voters. It has a sampling error of plus or minus 2 points.

The Los Angeles Unified board members who represent schools named for César Chávez are calling for their renaming.

A New York Times investigation published Wednesday found the famed labor leader Chávez sexually abused girls and women including United Farmer Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta.

“In light of this information, we believe it is necessary to move away from traditional César Chávez-centered celebrations and lessons tied to the state holiday and instead prioritize student safety, dignity and truth,” read a statement from board member Kelly Gonez and Vice President Rocío Rivas.

The renaming process would likely take months and include meetings with school staff, students and parents. In the meantime, district leaders and educators are grappling with how the allegations of abuse change lessons about a figure who helped galvanize generations of activists.

“ I think we are all deeply, deeply troubled by the allegations that have come forward over the last couple of days,” said Andres Chait, the acting Los Angeles Unified superintendent.

Chait said that March 27 will continue to be a school holiday (the currently named César Chávez Day, on March 31, falls during LAUSD’s spring break).

A district spokesperson provided a statement Wednesday that said a review of curriculum and resources related to Chávez is underway “to ensure the emphasis remains on the important work of the farmworker movement, not on any one individual.”

How are community members and educators reacting?

Last semester, students at STEM Academy of Hollywood learned about Chávez and the movement to unionize farmworkers in Irene Atilano’s ethnic studies class.

Atilano said students walked into her classroom Wednesday with questions after seeing the allegations of Chávez’s abuse on social media.

“ They were just like, ‘What do you think?’” Atilano said. “And I'm like, 'It doesn't matter what I think. What do you guys think? Let's learn together.'”

Their reactions ranged from “this really sucks,” to a sense of loss.

“This is why we don't try to idolize people,” Atilano said. “We want to make sure that we focus on the community, we focus on the movement.”

Atilano said she plans to teach ethnic studies again and is thinking about how misogyny and patriarchy intersect with political and social justice movements.

“It can be found everywhere,” Atilano said. “I’m trying to see how I can make those connections in the future, but it's a work in progress.”

On March 10, the LAUSD board unanimously approved a resolution recognizing Chávez — one of many such resolutions over the years — and pledging to provide curriculum and resources aligned with the foundation that promotes his legacy, education and economic development. The board last year also passed a resolution honoring Huerta.

In response to LAist’s questions about curriculum related to Chávez, an LAUSD spokesperson provided a statement that said the district is providing additional instructional materials “to support classroom learning, ensuring students continue to engage with themes of leadership, service and social justice in age-appropriate and meaningful ways.”

LAUSD board member Tanya Ortiz Franklin issued a statement Wednesday morning with links to resources related to sexual and domestic violence.

“Just my own team, we’re seven women … and our own triggers, our own stories are coming out,” Ortiz Franklin said. “You can imagine that happening everywhere in homes, in classrooms, the adults having to manage this, and then also, helping students process.”

César Chávez Elementary in El Sereno is one of several schools in Southern California named after the labor leader.

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How would renaming work?

Blanca Juarez was at César Chávez Elementary in El Sereno on Wednesday to pick up her daughter. With a father and grandmother who were both farmworkers, she said she was troubled by the news.

“He was like the only hope in those days — the only one speaking for all of the — and now, well, I don’t know. I don’t know what to say,” Juarez said.

She said it was too soon to be talking about renaming the school.

Gonez and Rivas said they would work with the communities surrounding the elementary school and the César Chávez Learning Academies in San Fernando to identify new names.

In recent years, the school renaming process has included meetings with staff, students, parents and community members and a public vote. The LAUSD board must vote to finalize any name changes.

LAist Deputy Managing Editor Fiona Ng contributed to this story.