Morning Briefing: Vertical Farming Is Coming To Compton

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Good morning, L.A.

Mark your calendars: As of next year, Compton will become a hub for the future of agriculture. A San Francisco start-up is constructing a 95,000-square-foot vertical farming operation inside a former warehouse in the area, and once it’s up and running, the operation will grow non-GMO, pesticide-free fruits and veggies under the warmth of LED lamps. Robots will serve as their plant parents (and a few humans, too).

Vertical farming is just what it sounds like — rows and rows of plants that are grown indoors, on walls, thanks to the wonders of modern technology. (Learn more here.) The company, known as Plenty, chose Compton as a way to reach underserved communities, and also because it, like so much of Southern California, has a rich history of farming.

Places such as New Jersey, Dubai, Belgium and San Francisco already have vertical farming facilities, and interest is growing. Investments in the industry grew nearly eightfold between 2016 and 2017, reports LAist contributor Stefan A. Slater, with money coming in from such high-profile individuals as Jeff Bezos and Eric Schmidt.

The first Plenty facility opened in the Bay Area in 2018. We’ll see how it fares here soon enough.

Keep reading for more on what’s happening in L.A. today, and stay safe out there.

– Jessica P. Ogilvie

Coming Up Today, October 7

The pandemic has forced fire departments to accelerate their adoption of online and social media communications about big, disastrous blazes, while keeping in mind that not everybody has access to high-speed internet. Sharon McNary has more.

NBC's new show, Connecting, was shot remotely here in L.A., with actors filming themselves at home and being directed via video conference. Mike Roe spoke to some of the cast to learn more about the process.

Although the date for the 2020 census to end has been moved back to Oct. 31, Caroline Champlin reports that some local outreach organizations haven't publicized the new date because they are out of money after the long and dragged out process.

Mariana Dale has a list of which counties and cities have reopened their playgrounds and other recreational facilities.

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The Past 24 Hours In LA

Policing Law Enforcement: L.A. County’s inspector general says there's evidence the Banditos clique of sheriff's deputies is "gang-like." Three months after the LAUSD board voted to make cuts to the school police, the proposal is still in limbo.

Election 2020: Watch our election cram session with Larry Mantle and a panel of expert guests to brush up on all 12 ballot propositions in one hour. About 2,100 voters in the Woodland Hills area opened their ballots and realized they didn’t have an option to vote for President of the United States. Here’s what we know — and don't know — about President Trump’s COVID-19 symptoms and treatment.

County Services: The census may count people, but its data is also the basis for determining what type of roadwork is done, when and where. Free flu shots will be available at some county libraries starting later this month. Local small businesses needing financial help due to COVID-19 are getting another chance to apply for relief this week.

The Future Is Now: A new vertical farming operation in Compton is slated to open next year; can it change the way we grow and eat food? The Nobel Prize in physics for 2020 recognizes research on black holes, including work by UCLA’s Andrea Ghez. College application season is now in full swing, but instead of SAT cram sessions, road trips to visit campuses and essay-writing workshops at the library, we have … Zoom.

Here’s What To Do For Halloween: Spooky screenings, immersive drive-through experiences, Victorian mourning rituals, and more make up the season’s best online and IRL Halloween events.

Final Good-Byes: Eddie Van Halen, the guitarist and songwriter who gave the L.A. rock band Van Halen its name and shaped its sound, died Tuesday at the age of 65.

Photo Of The Day

An official mail-in ballot drop box is posted outside of an L.A. library.

(Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

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This post has been updated to reflect changes in what's coming up for today.

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