How To LA: California’s Spanish Language Legacy (And Other Headlines)

“There's a way in which Spanish is still seen by some people as threatening and seen as something that should be contained when it occurs naturally,” says Norma Mendoza-Denton, a professor of anthropology at UCLA.

The Spanish language's turbulent history in California

Millions of people count Spanish as their first language, while many others learned it in school or by growing up with a Spanish-speaking relative or traveling. I’m part of that number — I studied Spanish all four years of high school and continue to learn it as an adult.

As we live in a golden age of Spanish speaking in the United States, it wasn’t always that way — 150 years ago an “English only” movement started in California and its effects are still felt today. My colleague Adolfo Guzman-Lopez goes more in depth about the history of the legacy of Spanish language in California — read it here.

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(After you stop hitting snooze)

• Supporters of Senate Bill 403 say caste discrimination that’s existed across South Asia remains an issue in the U.S. among immigrants. If it is signed into law, California would be the first state to add caste as a protected category.
• Are L.A.’s data problems around homeless services getting fixed? What’s the latest with Mayor Karen Bass’ signature homeless housing program? Those are among the items up for discussion Wednesday at one of L.A.’s most influential government panels.
• Long Beach joins West Hollywood in distributing kits that allow people to test drinks for date rape drugs, such as gamma hydroxybutyrate and ketamine.
• Studies suggest official numbers vastly underestimate heat-related injuries and illness on the job. To institute protections, the government must calculate their cost — and the cost of inaction.
• Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced a new unit to investigate wage theft violations at a press conference Wednesday.

Wait... one more thing...

The return of student loan repayment

An illustration of a girl with hands on top of her head at a desk.

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Maria Grejc for NPR

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For three and half years, I was able to press pause on my student loan repayment. But October brings two scary things: Halloween and the return of paying off my loans.

If you, like me, are feeling confused about the whole thing, NPR put together this very handy guide of the 12 things you need to know before you start your payments next month. The main takeaway is don’t wait until Oct. 1 to log in to your accounts or sort out an alternate payment plan — do it as soon as possible!