What You Need To Know Today: How To Get Free Recycled Water, A New Podcast Examines The LA County Sheriff, Hollywood’s Bloody Friday

Good morning, L.A. It’s Wednesday, October 5.  

Today in How To LA: Navigating the use of recycled sewage water, COVID-19 renters’ protections to end early next year; plus, one bloody day in Hollywood history.

Everyone knows that famous quote from Benjamin Franklin: “...Everything seems to promise it will be durable; but in this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes.”

Well, we can probably add droughts to that list. And because we will be in a drought for the foreseeable future (next year), we have to continue to limit outdoor watering to two days a week.

Or do we? 

*Record scratch* Wait…what now, Aaricka?

I know! My colleague Caitlin Hernández has an LA Explained guide about how to get around the county’s strict regulations without breaking them (and cut down on your water bill in the process!). The trick, they write, is to use recycled water. It’s sewage water that’s been treated and you can use it for your lawn, trees and garden (Don’t forget to wash your fruits, veggies and herbs with drinkable water after harvesting though!).

And did you know you can grab up to 300 gallons of recycled water from a few locations around the county for FREE? All you have to do is bring your Los Angeles Department of Water and Power bill and government ID to a designated location.

Read Caitlin’s story to get the full lowdown on how you can get the free water and how to use it.

As always, stay happy and healthy, folks. There’s more news below — just keep reading.

The News You Need After You Stop Hitting Snooze

*At LAist we will always bring you the news freely, but occasionally we do include links to other publications that may be behind a paywall. Thank you for understanding! 

• The Los Angeles City Council voted to extend COVID-19 eviction protections for renters until the end of January 2023. Then those safeguards will wind down. 
• LA Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that on Oct. 17, the waitlist for the Section 8 housing voucher program will reopen. My colleague Julia Barajas has the details.
• With the November election just around the corner, all eyes have been on the Sheriff’s race between controversial incumbent Alex Villanueva and former Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna. In a new podcast, veteran LAist correspondent Frank Stoltze sheds light on Villanueva’s unlikely rise to power and what’s at stake if he wins, or loses. The pod Imperfect Paradise: The Sheriff drops today. 
• The sexual and reproductive health needs of Asian immigrant women will be the focus of a $3 million study at UCLA. Here’s why it matters. 
• The #FreeBritney movement sparked interest in the restrictions associated with conservatorships. Now, a new law is set to make it easier both to dissolve conservatorships and to choose alternative options.
• Farmers from Imperial County in California may hold the key to saving the Colorado River from collapse. These specific farms draw more water from the Colorado river than the states of Arizona and Nevada combined, sparking calls for them to give up some of the water to help the cause.
• Recently signed legislation could help provide more affordable housing for teachers. There’s hope that the move could help address issues surrounding the state’s teacher shortage.
• Country music icon Loretta Lynn passed away at her home Tuesday morning at the age of 90. Lynn’s contribution to music was associated with her candor regarding the domestic-realities of working class women at the time.

Wait! One More Thing...The Little Known History Behind 'Bloody Friday'

October 12, 1945: Mary Jones is escorted by two policeman down a street near Warner Bros. studios in Burbank.

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Herald Examiner Collection/Los Angeles Public Library Collection

)

When I was a little girl, I dreamed about being an actress on the big screen. Not only would I be a storyteller of fictional lives, I just knew I would have the good life of fame, fortune and ease.

But let’s get real. Both you and I know that a “soft life” is not the reality for most entertainers, past or present. It just appears that way.

In today’s edition of Little Known L.A. Facts You Should Know, let’s take a trip to October 5, 1945, exactly 76 years ago. 

Over 10,000 studio painters, carpenters and other crew members gathered outside of Warner Bros. Studios at dawn to protest Hollywood’s unregulated working conditions.

Then all hell broke loose. Police officers and security guards started beating the strikers and their supporters. It was the most brutal fight between the studios and everyday workers.

Hadley Meares wrote about this bloody Hollywood strike that helped change Hollywood. It included a quote from scholar Ronny Regev who wrote the book Working in Hollywood that really stuck with me:

"When we think about movies, we don't think about it as work. We think about it as magic," Regev said.

Unless you are actually in the entertainment industry, you don’t know about the hard work it takes to produce a quality product. There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes. There are hard, long hours, unsafe conditions and pay disparities just like a lot of other jobs. And remember, the work may not even be consistent.

There’s a brutal yet fascinating history to led to all these labor issues in Hollywood.

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, IATSE, has a long history of organizing workers throughout the years in New York, L.A., Chicago, San Francisco, and other cities across the country. It started in the late 1800s with the theater and moved to the movies – and L.A. – in the early 1900s.

But in the 1930s, gangsters like Al Capone took over IATSE and started making deals and extorting people.  Disillusioned members split off to form other groups like Conference of Studio Unions…and, well, the rest was messy and tense…

This is just a snippet of Hollywood's labor history. Read more about it here.