The Brief

After two reparations bills stalled in the final day of session last year, reparation advocates are campaigning Tuesday at the state Capitol to drum up support for the same measures.

In partnership with the Coalition for a Just and Equitable California, the advocates are calling the rally “the first reparations advocacy day” in state history. The event’s lead organizer, Chris Lodgson, said they want lawmakers to introduce, support and adopt “bold” reparation bills — including the ones the coalition are prioritizing.

“People are still mad about the bills that did not get to the governor’s desk last year, ... and we’re looking forward to success in 2025,” he said.

The two stalled bills weren’t part of the 14-bill reparations package championed by the California Legislative Black Caucus last year: One would have created a new state agency, while the other would have created a fund for reparations policies.

But the caucus, which sought a less sweeping approach in the face of public backlash, prevented the proposals from coming to a vote in the Assembly — a move that upset advocates. Gov. Gavin Newsom ultimately signed five of the 14 bills.

The coalition is also pushing for proposals to allocate $30 million in the 2025-26 state budget to fund the state agency; create a guaranteed income program for senior residents who are descendants of slaves; and compensate Black families who had their property seized through “racially motivated” eminent domain (a proposal Newsom vetoed last year).

But similar to 2024, advocates have a tough road ahead. Reparations in the form of cash payments are politically unpopular, and the Legislature has been warned against new spending amid a budget crunch.

Still, supporters are hopeful. Lodgson said last year’s defeats convinced advocates to take “bigger” actions and reach out to other potential allies.

“The Black Caucus should not ‘own’ all the reparations activity legislatively," he said. "We’re looking to work outside the Democratic Party quite frankly. Folks in both parties need to take the lead on this, and we’ve been talking to the Republican Party too.”

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Why oysters? Oysters filter and improve water quality … and can help prevent coastal erosion. Yet native species have been nearly wiped out since the Gold Rush era sparked overharvesting and coastal development. The nonprofit Orange County Coastkeeper has been working to restore oysterbeds along the OC coast for more than a decade.

What to expect: Oysterpalooza will feature speakers highlighting the group’s restoration efforts, as well as local food, beer and sustainable product vendors. Of course, there will be oyster tasting too!

The details: You can join a beach cleanup beforehand at 9 a.m., or just get straight to the party, which starts Saturday at 11 a.m. and runs until 4 p.m. at Sunset Beach Community Center in Huntington Beach. Sign up for the beach cleanup and get full festival details here.

Go deeper: Your shucked oysters could help shore up the Orange County coast

After opening a modern Korean pub called Yi Cha in 2025, chef Debbie Lee decided to pay homage to her heritage with Mokja, this time serving Korean goods and convenience.

Lee sat down with AirTalk Friday host Austin Cross to talk about her vision for gourmet Korean style snacks in L.A.

Grab-and-go convenience with a twist

Lee says the idea behind Mokja was to take the model of American convenience stores and blend it with Korean flavors.

It’s a place for people who want to grab something for the road, stop by for a quick snack or even meal prep for the week. The store also partnered with Frank and Michele La, creators of Be Bright Coffee, to offer Korean-style coffee drinks to pair with the snacks.

Daru Yu, Frank La, Debbie Lee and Michelle La

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Stan Lee

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The Korean word Mokja translates to "let's eat."

“If your mom or your grandma was calling you over the table, they'd say, ‘Bali Mokja,’ which means, ‘Hurry, let's eat’”

What you’ll find at Mokja

One of the quick, to-go items you’ll find is Lee’s northern style mandu dumplings, stuffed with fatty pork and shrimp and inspired by her grandmother’s recipe.

Build your own ramen tray

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Stan Lee

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Courtesy Mokja

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Build your own Ramen station

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Stan Lee

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Courtesy Mokja

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Grab n' Go Banchan

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Stan Lee

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Courtesy Mokja

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For optimal convenience, the king-sized dumplings are offered in the grab-and-go fridge. Lee recommends popping them in the microwave at the store and enjoying them with a coffee.

Mokja also features a make-your-own ramen station, which Lee says has become incredibly popular for families with kids.

Korean hand pies with southern flair

One of the highlights on the menu is the oxtail hand pie, which features a braised Korean-style oxtail known as kkori-jjim. It’s inspired by southern soul food influences her parents picked up on.

Braised Oxtail aka “Gori Jjim” Hand Pie

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Stan Lee

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Courtesy Mokja

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“My mom learned how to cook from the Black cooks in Jackson, Mississippi, and she learned good old soul Southern food.”

Kimchee Cheese Biscuits

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Stan Lee

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Courtesy Mokja

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Yuja Cha Ice Box Pie

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Stan Lee

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Courtesy Mokja

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Lee said Mokja is all about telling the story through food.

The restaurant also features other Korean/Southern fusion, including a Yuju cha ice box pie and Kimchi cheese biscuits.

State lawmakers have reached a deal that would provide school districts some relief from the costs of childhood sexual abuse lawsuits filed after a 2020 law allowed victims to sue for abuse by public employees going back decades, EdSource has learned.

It was not immediately clear Thursday afternoon whether the last-minute deal, brokered days before the legislative session is set to end on Aug. 31, has enough support to reach Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.

At issue is Assembly Bill 218, a law that lifted the statute of limitations to sue for childhood sexual abuse and enabled a blitz of costly litigation against schools and public agencies. In some cases, victims have received tens of millions of dollars for sexual assaults and abuses they say took place decades ago at the hands of teachers and other public employees.

Details of the deal are included in amendments made to Senate Bill 577 co-authored by Sen. John Laird, D-Santa Cruz. According to the amended bill text, the deal would raise the legal standard required for people who are 40 years or older to sue for sexual assaults that occurred before Jan. 1, 2024. It also calls for schools and other agencies to have sexual assault prevention plans and codes of conduct.

“California stands with survivors, whose voices have shaped this process every step of the way, and the Legislature is taking action to defend and preserve survivors’ path to justice — that is not negotiable,” Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, D-Hollister, said in a statement. “With this solution, the state is safeguarding schools and public services, while investing in prevention and protecting against future abuse. California is committed to the safety of every child.”

The amendments do not appear to address a limit or cap on jury awards or settlement amounts for childhood sexual abuse cases in the state. Caps were a major demand from public agencies, including schools, counties and obscure agencies called joint powers authorities that serve as insurance pools for school districts.

Laird, who had attempted to pass an AB 218 reform bill last year, said in a phone interview Thursday evening that the negotiations that led to the compromise were difficult. Putting a complete cap on settlement amounts “was a bridge too far” for many lawmakers, Laird said.

Troy Flint, spokesperson for the California School Boards Association, said the group was grateful for lawmakers’ efforts, but added that it’s “highly questionable” whether the deal would do enough to prevent school districts from getting slammed with seven-figure settlements.

“We’re grateful to Speaker Rivas and Pro Tem (Monique) Limón for their efforts to address this issue,” Ben Adler, director of public affairs for the California State Association of Counties, said in a statement. “It’s clear the status quo is broken, and the unintended consequences have grown out of control.”

Democratic California lawmakers are pushing a last-minute bill to ban federal agents from using electric shock gloves, becoming one of the first states in the nation to respond to reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to purchase thousands of gloves next year as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown.

Democrats this week advanced Assembly Bill 2760, which would prohibit ICE agents and state and local officers from wearing any device that can deliver electric shocks. It would also block California police departments from purchasing the devices with state money.

San Diego Assemblymember LaShae Sharp-Collins, a Democrat, introduced the bill only last week, with days remaining in the legislative session, in a process known as a “gut and amend,” in which an unrelated bill is rewritten and fast–tracked.

The eleventh-hour move follows a notice published earlier this month by the Department of Homeland Security that said ICE is seeking to spend up to $20 million to buy thousands of taser-like gloves from Compliant Technologies, a Kentucky-based company. The product, called G.L.O.V.E. for Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter, is marketed as a non-lethal, de-escalation device on the company’s website. The Associated Press first reported about the notice.

ICE announced on Thursday it was awarding the Kentucky company a $16.7 million contract for 6,000 pairs of gloves.

“While the gloves are not currently being used in California, waiting for a tragedy to act, in my personal opinion, and so many others, would be something that California could not handle,” Sharp-Collins said at a hearing on Wednesday.

She said the gloves pose a public safety risk and cited the case of a Kentucky man who died after allegedly being shocked 27 times with the gloves and 13 times with a Taser while in jail last year.

On Thursday, U.S. Sen Alex Padilla and other congressional Democrats wrote a letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin urging the department to cancel its contract with the company providing the gloves, calling them “hand-worn tasers disguised as restraint equipment.”

Civil rights groups strongly support the bill and argue that electric shock gloves are inhumane and an excessive use of force.

“Electroshock gloves by any law enforcement agency makes Californians less safe,” Anallely Martin, of the California Immigrant Policy Center, said at the hearing.

The California State Sheriffs’ Association and numerous other law enforcement groups oppose the bill, arguing it would unnecessarily limit officers’ ability to de-escalate a situation.

“This is a bad policy from a California law enforcement perspective, and it’s really only gonna be a message to the feds that’s going to fail to land,” California State Sheriffs’ Association lobbyist Cory Salzillo said at the hearing.

It’s the latest move by California lawmakers to clamp down on ICE agents in response to President Donald Trump’s sweeping immigration raids. Just this week, Democrats passed a bill that would ban federal agents from working for state or local police agencies and another to make it easier for people to sue agents for civil rights violations.

In April, a federal court struck down a 2025 law forcing masked immigration agents to identify themselves. Judges ruled the state had stepped out of bounds when it tried to enforce rules against federal officers.

Similar to that law, if Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signs the new bills, they’re expected to face nearly identical legal challenges.

“States simply can’t regulate how federal officers do their jobs, even if we don’t like how they do their jobs. That’s up to the federal government,” UC Davis law professor Vikram Amar said.

Without a clear argument on how the gloves violate people’s constitutional rights, the legislation would likely hold little weight in court, Amar said.

“It makes a lot of bills like this kind of more performative than real,” Amar said.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.