On Sept. 16, about 9:33 p.m., an unidentified African American male was brought to a local hospital. He was found at a gas station on Pacific Coast Highway and Santa Fe Ave. The hospital is seeking the public’s help in identifying this patient because he had no documentation or evidence of his identity with him. Below is a general description of the patient; anyone with information that may help to identify him is asked to call: 562-491-9381.
LOS ANGELES — The Rapid Diversion Program or RDP, which diverts individuals with behavioral health needs into treatment before trial, has demonstrated significant success and shows great potential for further expansion with additional funding, according to a new RAND report released Sept. 30.
The new report highlights an impressive outcome: 91% of individuals who successfully complete the program have avoided having a new criminal court case filed.
RDP is a unique collaboration between the Justice, Care and Opportunities Department or JCOD, the Public Defender and Alternate Public Defender offices, prosecutors, Los Angeles Superior Court, and clinical providers, creating a holistic approach to mental health in the justice system.
“The program has filled an essential gap in the spectrum of options for people in Los Angeles County with behavioral health concerns who are involved in the criminal legal system,” said Stephanie Brooks Holliday, lead author of the report and a senior behavioral scientist at RAND. “It’s a key strategy in addressing the overrepresentation of individuals with mental illnesses in L.A. County’s jail system.”
The Rapid Diversion Program was developed to create opportunities to divert individuals with mental health or substance use disorders—whose conditions were a significant factor contributing to their criminal charges—away from jail and into treatment. Initially designed for individuals facing low-level, nonviolent misdemeanors, the program has since expanded to include both misdemeanor and felony charges.
Participants in the program receive mental health and/or substance use disorder treatment, as well as comprehensive case management services that help address additional needs such as transportation, housing, and access to benefits. Successful completion of the program results in dismissed charges, dramatically reducing barriers to housing and employment opportunities.
Before RDP’s launch, mental health treatment options were primarily post-plea and focused on those with severe clinical needs or higher-level criminal charges. RDP changed that landscape by intervening earlier in the process, providing care when it’s most impactful.
In January, JCOD’s RDP celebrated a major milestone with its 2,000th diverted case.
Looking ahead, public defenders interviewed in the report expressed optimism that more individuals could benefit from diversion, with recommendations to broaden the range of charges eligible for RDP.
RDP is currently operational in seven Los Angeles County courthouses: Airport Courthouse, Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, Compton Courthouse, Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse, Michael Antonovich Antelope Valley Courthouse, Pasadena Courthouse, and Van Nuys Courthouse West.
However, RAND researchers recommended increasing funding to scale and expand RDP to additional courthouses, thereby widening access to treatment to more justice-involved individuals across Los Angeles County.
Support for this project and the RDP program are provided by JCOD, the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office, Los Angeles County Alternate Public Defender, Department of Mental Health, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Independent Defense Counsel’s Office, Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office, Special Services for Groups, Inc., Project 180, Exodus Recovery, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Center for Justice Innovation, and the Los Angeles Superior Court.
The full report, “Process Evaluation of the Los Angeles County Rapid Diversion Program: A Pretrial Mental Health Diversion Program,” is available at www.rand.org. Other authors of the report include Elizabeth Marsolais and Samantha Matthews.
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom today announced he signed a bipartisan package of bills into law to protect crime victims, including victims of domestic abuse. The new laws will help build on California’s protections for victims and survivors of domestic abuse, creating additional resources and access to safeguard victims from abusers.
The new laws will help build on California’s protections for victims and survivors of domestic abuse, creating additional resources and access to safeguard victims from abusers. With his signature, Gov. Newsom is strengthening California’s restraining orders by removing barriers that could prevent someone from accessing these life-saving tools and by extending the length of time that abusers must stay away from their victims. The new laws will also help survivors rebuild their lives — by providing financial help through a victims’ restitution fund that would be funded by the penalties recovered from white-collar criminals.
What the new laws do
CREATE A NEW CRIME VICTIM RESTITUTION FUND to provide critical support and services to victims and survivors of crimes across the state — including those who have experienced domestic abuse. The new program will be modeled after the federal Victims of Crime Act program, funded with penalties paid by corporate white-collar criminals.
EXPAND ACCESS TO RESTRAINING ORDERS and help to ensure that all restraining order applications will be processed without delay, extending the time that a court can issue a post-conviction protective order, and removing geographic barriers that could prevent victims from getting the protection they need.
PROTECT VICTIMS FROM TRACKING by requiring car manufacturers to allow drivers to terminate remote access to a vehicle, preventing abusers from tracking victims and even manipulating controls of the vehicle.
SAFEGUARD VICTIMS FROM FINANCIAL ABUSE by addressing and building awareness about financial insecurity and manipulation that often prevents victims from exiting an abusive or violent situation and helping to create online resources to help victims leave while protecting their assets and resources.
EXTEND THE TIME A VICTIM CAN REPORT ABUSE by expanding the statute of limitations to charge an individual with domestic violence, allowing abuse to be reported within seven years of the incident.
HELP SECURE JUSTICE FOR DOMESTIC-HOMICIDE VICTIMS and prevent cases from being improperly classified as suicides by equipping investigators and family members of victims with more tools to intervene and identify domestic violence-related deaths.
Domestic violence, also called intimate partner violence, is abuse that occurs in a close relationship with a current or former spouse or dating partner. Domestic violence refers to a range of behaviors that include physical, sexual, verbal, emotional, and psychological abuse. Economic control is also a form of domestic violence, as it can be used against a current or former partner in an attempt to exercise power and authority
Domestic violence affects all ages and socioeconomic groups.
1 in 5 women and 1 in 7 men report having experienced severe physical violence from an intimate partner in their lifetime.
1 in 6 homicide victims are killed by an intimate partner.
Victims can also experience mental health problems such as depression and posttraumatic stress disorder and can engage in risky behaviors such as smoking, binge drinking, and sexual risk behaviors.
The estimated domestic violence cost over a female victim’s lifetime is $103,767 and $23,414 for a male victim.
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed Senate Bill 1348 by Senator Steven Bradford (D-Gardena), which will promote Black student success in higher education by creating the nation’s first recognition of a Black-Serving Institution.
The designation will be similar to the existing federal recognition of Hispanic-Serving Institutions and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions.
California’s new Black-Serving Institutions designation will highlight colleges and universities that are focused on expanding educational opportunities and improving the academic outcomes for Black students.
“SB 1348 fills an important void by recognizing the commitment of California colleges and universities that are making significant investments in ending historic disparities that exist for Black students,” Bradford said. “The Black-Serving Institutions will set a high bar for schools and showcase their focus on Black students.”
To qualify as a Black-Serving Institution, a college or university must have a Black student population of at least 10% or 1,500 students. The institution must also have a Black student success program, demonstrate the resources that will be used to ensure the student success plan can be implemented, certify a commitment to address Black and African American student success, and submit key performance indicators of Black student success the school will achieve during the designation period.
The California State University Statewide Central Office for Advancement of Black Excellence will serve as the administering body and the awarding decisions will be made by an eight-member governing board consisting of the Lieutenant Governor or their designee, a member of the public appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly, a member of the public appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, a representative of the President of the University of California, the Chancellor of the California State University, the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities, and the California Legislative Black Caucus.
Supporters of SB 1348 believe California’s new Black-Serving Institution designation will make a difference by improving outcomes.
“This landmark legislation is a game changer for higher education institutions across California who want to support black student success. Even more, this legislation will change the face of higher education at a national level, serving as a roadmap for how to reshape federal designations to focus on serving and enrolling students of color,” Sacramento State President Luke Wood said. “As a researcher, who has spent over two decades finding solutions to support marginalized communities, SB1348 ensures that Black-Serving institutions will play a critical role in addressing and improving the historic disparities we see in higher education, ensuring equitable opportunities and support for Black students to thrive academically, professionally, and personally. Thank you to Senator Bradford for paving the way and leading on this bill. We are grateful for his leadership, passion, and vision.”
On Oct. 1, the Rancho Palos Verdes city council approved an emergency financial assistance program that allocates $5 million in landslide relief funding from the office of Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn to deliver immediate aid to city residents impacted by land movement and utility shutoffs.
The council’s vote authorized the city to provide up to $10,000 to each affected property owner, with an estimated total of $2.8 million allocated for up to 280 eligible homeowners. The funds may be used to cover critical expenses such as purchasing supplies, home repairs, temporary housing and other related costs due to land movement or utility interruptions. The remaining $2.2 million will be deployed to bolster the city’s ongoing landslide response and stabilization efforts.
Individual grants will be made available to homeowners in the Portuguese Bend community association, Seaview and Portuguese Bend Beach Club neighborhoods. To date, an estimated 280 households in these areas have indefinitely lost electricity and/or natural gas service or suffered damage due to the landslide. To ensure program accountability, recipients of the grant must provide documentation for eligible expenses. The city’s finance department will oversee the program, and once applications are approved, residents can expect to receive reimbursement within a week. Information on how to apply will be shared with property owners in the coming days via their homeowners’ associations.
The city continues to advocate for more local, state and federal assistance to mitigate the skyrocketing costs of the landslide response and the devastating impacts felt by individual residents and homeowners. The council voted unanimously on Oct. 1 to extend through Nov. 30 its two local emergency declarations related to the landslide and utility shutoffs, and the city will continue to pursue all potential avenues for financial support.
The city council also received an update from staff on city efforts to stabilize the landslide. In recent weeks, the city has drilled six new deep dewatering wells that are now collectively pumping out 7.2 million gallons of water — the equivalent of 11 Olympic-sized swimming pools — per week. The wells are located at the toe of the landslide along the shoreline, helping relieve built-up water pressure that is fueling the slide. The emergency project represents a shift in strategy away from the horizontal hydrauger well project, a change driven by the discovery of the deeper and faster-moving Altamira Landslide.
Early indications are that the deep wells are having a positive effect on slowing the rate of land movement. On Oct. 1, the council voted to allocate $6.1 million to continue emergency work, up to $4 million for additional critical dewatering wells, and $4 million for winterization efforts to prepare for the next rainy season. This includes lining canyons and filling fissures and grabens to prevent water from percolating underground and worsening land movement. While using a combination of Supervisor Hahn’s relief funds, excess reserves, emergency reserves, and American Rescue Plan Act funds for this investment, the city will continue to pursue all avenues for potential financial assistance from the county, state and federal governments.
Recent landslide data presented to the city council on Oct. 1 shows a continued slowing trend across the landslide complex. Between Aug. 1 to Sept. 4, the average movement velocity decelerated by 13%, with an overall movement of 8 inches per week. Land movement remains 80 times faster than in October 2022, and it continues to severely impact public and private roads, private property, including hundreds of residential structures, utility infrastructure and trails and open space areas.
First-in-Nation Law to Require Overdose Reversing Nasal Spray in All First Aid Kits Signed by Governor Newsom
SACRAMENTO —In a significant step towards combating the Fentanyl epidemic, Oct. 1 Assemblymember Matt Haney’s (D-San Francisco) AB 1976 has been signed by Gov. Newsom. The bill has had strong bipartisan support throughout the legislative process. AB 1976 would require Cal-OSHA to develop regulations that require first aid kits in all workplaces in California to contain naloxone nasal spray — a lifesaving medication that can completely reverse a deadly opioid overdose by being sprayed in the nostrils.
According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration more than half of the counterfeit prescription pills being trafficked in communities across the country now contain a potentially deadly dose of fentanyl.
“If fentanyl continues to be more accessible than naloxone, we’re going to keep seeing an increase in overdose deaths in our communities,” said Haney, who chairs the Assembly’s Fentanyl and Opioid Overdose Prevention Committee. “Until we can cut off the supply of fentanyl to our state, we have a responsibility to make sure that we’re saving as many lives as possible — especially the lives of our youth.”
All California businesses with employees are currently required to have a first aid kit in the breakroom or common space. AB 1976 will dramatically increase the accessibility of naloxone, making California a world leader in access to the lifesaving medication. Any person that sees someone exhibiting the symptoms of an overdose will know that naloxone is on hand in the first aid kit of the nearest business.
The legislation requires that Cal-OSHA, who is responsible for enforcing employer first aid kits regulations, develop standards and enforcement practices to ensure naloxone is in all first aid kits.
Biden-Harris Administration Grants California $360 Million for Parks, Rivers, and Clean Transportation Initiatives
SACRAMENTO — In the last week, California has received $360 million from the Biden-Harris Administration to support projects across the state, including habitat restoration, park improvements and rail and highway investments.
The federal funding complements investments made by the Newsom Administration to build more, faster.
$45 million to restore California’s rivers and aquatic habitats
Nearly $45 million in federal funding went towards projects aimed at restoring and protecting California’s rivers and aquatic habitats. The investments will support multiple projects designed to improve the health of fish, wildlife, and aquatic ecosystems across the state, contributing to broader conservation and climate resilience efforts in California and the western U.S.
$95 million for neighborhood park improvements
California received $95 million from the National Park Service or NPS to improve outdoor recreation spaces in underserved communities. The funding will support 15 park projects across the state. These projects aim to enhance access to parks in neighborhoods with limited recreational opportunities. The grants align with California’s Outdoors for All initiative, which ensures equitable access to parks for all residents.
$220 million for clean transportation
California is receiving more than $220 million in federal funds to build a high-speed rail station in Madera and to improve safety, freight movement and travel times for commuters along I-680 from SR-24 to SR-242. Made possible by the Biden-Harris Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the funding will boost a vital corridor in the Bay Area and power construction of the rail station — a key component of the upcoming Merced-Bakersfield high-speed rail service.
Contra Costa’s INNOVATE 680 Program will receive $166 million of the award to complete the northbound I-680 express lane gap from California State Route (SR) 24 to SR-242 and convert the existing northbound high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane from SR-242 to north of Arthur Road into an express lane.
Everything is at stake. Everything is at stake with nuclear weapons.
While working as a nuclear war planner for the Kennedy administration, Daniel Ellsberg was shown a document calculating that a U.S. nuclear attack on communist countries would result in 600 million dead. As he put it later: “A hundred Holocausts.”
That was in 1961.
Today, with nuclear arsenals vastly larger and more powerful, scientists know that a nuclear exchange would cause “nuclear winter.” And the nearly complete end of agriculture on the planet. Some estimates put the survival rate of humans on Earth at 1 or 2 percent.
No longer 100 Holocausts.
More than 1,000 Holocausts.
If such a nuclear war happens, of course we won’t be around for any retrospective analysis. Or regrets. So, candid introspection is in a category of now or never.
What if we did have the opportunity for hindsight? What if we could somehow hover over this planet? And see what had become a global crematorium and an unspeakable ordeal of human agony? Where, in words attributed to both Nikita Khruschev and Winston Churchill, “the living would envy the dead.”
What might we Americans say about the actions and inaction of our leaders?
In 2023: The nine nuclear-armed countries spent $91 billion on their nuclear weapons. Most of that amount, $51 billion, was the U.S. share. And our country accounted for 80 percent of the increase in nuclear weapons spending.
The United States is leading the way in the nuclear arms race. And we’re encouraged to see that as a good thing. “Escalation dominance.”
But escalation doesn’t remain unipolar. As time goes on, “Do as we say, not as we do” isn’t convincing to other nations.
China is now expanding its nuclear arsenal. That escalation does not exist in a vacuum. Official Washington pretends that Chinese policies are shifting without regard to the U.S. pursuit of “escalation dominance.” But that’s a disingenuous pretense. What the great critic of Vietnam War escalation during the 1960s, Senator William Fulbright, called “the arrogance of power.”
Of course there’s plenty to deplore about Russia’s approach to nuclear weapons. Irresponsible threats about using “tactical” ones in Ukraine have come from Moscow. There’s now public discussion – by Russian military and political elites – of putting nuclear weapons in space.
We should face the realities of the U.S. government’s role in fueling such ominous trends, in part by dismantling key arms-control agreements. Among crucial steps, it’s long past time to restore three treaties that the United States abrogated – ABM, Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces, and Open Skies.
On the non-proliferation front, opportunities are being spurned by Washington. For instance, as former CIA analyst Melvin Goodman wrote in September: “Iran’s Ayatollah has indicated a readiness to open discussions with the United States on nuclear matters, but the Biden administration has turned a deaf ear to such a possibility.”
That deaf ear greatly pleases Israel, the only nuclear-weapons state in the Middle East. On Sept. 22, former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said unequivocally that Israel’s pager attack in Lebanon was “a form of terrorism.” The United States keeps arming Israel, but won’t negotiate with Iran.
The U.S. government has a responsibility to follow up on every lead, and respond to every overture. Without communication, we vastly increase the risk of devastation.
We can too easily forget what’s truly at stake.
Despite diametrical differences in ideologies, in values, in ideals and systems – programs for extermination are in place at a magnitude dwarfing what occurred during the first half of the 1940s.
Today, Congress and the White House are in the grip of what Martin Luther King Jr. called “the madness of militarism.” In a toxic mix with the arrogance of power. Propelling a new and more dangerous Cold War.
And so, at the State Department, the leadership talks about a “rules-based order,” which all too often actually means: “We make the rules, we break the rules.”
Meanwhile, the Doomsday Clock set by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is now just 90 seconds away from apocalyptic midnight.
Six decades ago, the Doomsday Clock was a full 12 minutes away. And President Lyndon Johnson was willing to approach Moscow with the kind of wisdom that is now absent at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.
Here’s what Johnson said at the end of his extensive summit meeting with Soviet Premier Alexi Kosygin in June 1967 in Glassboro, New Jersey: “We have made further progress in an effort to improve our understanding of each other’s thinking on a number of questions.”
Two decades later, President Ronald Reagan – formerly a supreme cold warrior – stood next to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and said: “We decided to talk to each other instead of about each other.”
But such attitudes would be heresy today.
As each day brings escalation toward a global nuclear inferno, standard-issue legislators on both sides of the aisle keep boosting the Pentagon budget. Huge new appropriations for nuclear weapons are voted under the euphemism of “modernization.”
And here’s a sad irony: The few members of Congress willing to urgently warn about the danger of nuclear war often stoke that danger with calls for “victory” in the Ukraine war. Instead, what’s urgently needed is a sober push for actual diplomacy to end it.
The United States should not use the Ukraine war as a rationale for pursuing a mutually destructive set of policies toward Russia. It’s an approach that maintains and worsens the daily reality on the knife-edge of nuclear war.
We don’t know how far negotiations with Russia could get on an array of pivotal issues. But refusing to negotiate is a catastrophic path.
Continuation of the war in Ukraine markedly increases the likelihood of spinning out from a regional to a Europe-wide to a nuclear war. Yet, calls for vigorously pursuing diplomacy to end the Ukraine war are dismissed out of hand as serving Vladimir Putin’s interests.
The world has gotten even closer to the precipice of a military clash between the nuclear superpowers, with a push to greenlight NATO-backed Ukrainian attacks heading deeper into Russia.
Consider what President Kennedy had to say, eight months after the Cuban Missile Crisis, in his historic speech at American University: “Above all, while defending our own vital interests, nuclear powers must avert those confrontations which bring an adversary to a choice of either a humiliating retreat or a nuclear war. To adopt that kind of course in the nuclear age would be evidence only of the bankruptcy of our policy, or of a collective death wish for the world.”
That crucial insight from Kennedy is currently in the dumpsters at the White House and on Capitol Hill.
And where is this all headed?
Daniel Ellsberg tried to alert members of Congress. Five years ago, in a letter that was hand-delivered to every office of senators and House members, he wrote: “I am concerned that the public, most members of Congress, and possibly even high members of the Executive branch have remained in the dark, or in a state of denial, about the implications of rigorous studies by environmental scientists over the last dozen years.” Those studies “confirm that using even a large fraction of the existing U.S. or Russian nuclear weapons that are on high alert would bring about nuclear winter, leading to global famine and near extinction of humanity.”
In the quest for sanity and survival, isn’t it time for reconstruction of the nuclear arms-control infrastructure? Yes, the Russian war against Ukraine violates international law and “norms,” as did U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But real diplomacy with Russia is in the interests of global security.
And some great options don’t depend on what happens at the negotiation table.
Many experts say that the most important initial step our country could take to reduce the chances of nuclear war would be a shutdown of all ICBMs.
The word “deterrence” is often heard. But the land-based part of the triad is actually the opposite of deterrence – it’s an invitation to be attacked. That’s the reality of the 400 intercontinental ballistic missiles that are on hair-trigger alert in five western states
Uniquely, ICBMs invite a counterforce attack. And they allow a president just minutes to determine whether what’s incoming is actually a set of missiles – or, as in the past, a flock of geese or a drill message that’s mistaken for the real thing.
The former Secretary of Defense William Perry wrote that ICBMs are “some of the most dangerous weapons in the world” and “they could even trigger an accidental nuclear war.”
And yet, so far, we can’t get anywhere with Congress in order to shut down ICBMs. “Oh no,” we’re told, “that would be unilateral disarmament.”
Imagine that you’re standing in a pool of gasoline, with your adversary. You’re lighting matches, and your adversary is lighting matches. If you stop lighting matches, that could be condemned as “unilateral disarmament.” It would also be a sane step to reduce the danger – whether or not the other side follows suit.
The ongoing refusal to shut down the ICBMs is akin to insisting that our side must keep lighting matches while standing in gasoline.
The chances of ICBMs starting a nuclear conflagration have increased with sky-high tensions between the world’s two nuclear superpowers. Mistaking a false alarm for a nuclear-missile attack becomes more likely amid the stresses, fatigue and paranoia that come with the protracted war in Ukraine and extending war into Russia.
Their unique vulnerability as land-based strategic weapons puts ICBMs in the unique category of “use them or lose them.” So, as Secretary Perry explained, “If our sensors indicate that enemy missiles are en route to the United States, the president would have to consider launching ICBMs before the enemy missiles could destroy them. Once they are launched, they cannot be recalled. The president would have less than 30 minutes to make that terrible decision.
The United States should dismantle its entire ICBM force. Former ICBM launch officer Bruce Blair and General James Cartwright, former vice chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, wrote: “By scrapping the vulnerable land-based missile force, any need for launching on warning disappears.”
In July, the Union of Concerned Scientists released a letter signed by more than 700 scientists. They not only called for cancellation of the Sentinel program for a new version of ICBMs – they also called for getting rid of the entire land-based leg of the triad.
Meanwhile, the current dispute in Congress about ICBMs has focused on whether it would be cheaper to build the cost-overrunning Sentinel system or upgrade the existing Minuteman III missiles. But either way, the matches keep being lit for a global holocaust.
During his Nobel Peace Prize speech, Martin Luther King declared: “I refuse to accept the cynical notion that nation after nation must spiral down a militaristic stairway into the hell of thermonuclear destruction.”
I want to close with some words from Daniel Ellsberg’s book The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner, summing up the preparations for nuclear war. He wrote:
“No policies in human history have more deserved to be recognized as immoral, or insane. The story of how this calamitous predicament came about, and how and why it has persisted for over half a century is a chronicle of human madness. Whether Americans, Russians and other humans can rise to the challenge of reversing these policies and eliminating the danger of near-term extinction caused by their own inventions and proclivities remains to be seen. I choose to join with others in acting as if that is still possible.”
This article is adapted from the keynote speech that Norman Solomon gave at the annual conference of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation in Washington, DC on Sept. 24.
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health announced today the launch of the Rental Housing Habitability Program (RHHP). Starting in November, inspections will begin to all rental housing properties with two or more rental housing units, and tenant-occupied single-family homes in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County.
The goal of RHHP is to ensure that rental housing properties and units in the unincorporated areas of the County are meeting state and county safety codes so that occupants can be safe.
The RHHP will work with tenants and landlords to inspect each rental housing unit once every four years. For these routine inspections, a 30-day notice is sent to the rental property owner/landlord informing them that the property and units will be inspected on a specific day or range of dates, depending on the number of rental units on the property. The landlord is required to post these notices in conspicuous places on the property, so tenants are aware of the upcoming inspection date.
Within 24-hours of a scheduled routine inspection, the landlord is required to provide each tenant a written notice reminding them of the scheduled routine inspection and the need for the inspector to enter the rental housing unit to complete the inspection. RHHP will also respond to complaints about rental housing units.
Public Health will prioritize the inspection of rental properties that have a history of repeated habitability violations. The 30-day notices of inspection for the prioritized properties will be sent in October.
To learn more about rental housing and tenant protections, visit DCBA’s website: https://dcba.lacounty.gov/.
To operate the RHHP, the landlord will be charged an annual program fee of $86 per rental housing unit that will be billed as part of the rental housing property’s annual property tax. The RHHP permits the landlord to pass through 50% of this fee ($3.58 per month) to the tenant.
SACRAMENTO – As leaders of Native American tribes from across California gathered at the State Capitol to celebrate Native American Day, Gov. Gavin Newsom Sept. 27 proclaimed Native American Day and announced the signing of several bills that advance tribal priorities. The package of bills includes policies to improve laws for vulnerable Native American youth and increase access to social supports. AB 81 by Assemblymember James C. Ramos (D-Highland) strengthens protections in the federal Indian Child Welfare Act or ICWA by codifying protections for Native American youth and their families into the California Welfare and Institutions Code, and AB 2795 by Assemblymember Dr. Joaquin Arambula (D-Fresno) reduces administrative barriers for CalWORKS and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or TANF services in Indian Health Clinics. The Governor also signed AB 1821 by Assemblymember James C. Ramos (D-Highland), which will require elementary through high school education regarding the Mission and Gold Rush periods to include the treatment and perspectives of Native Americans, providing students a fuller picture of the state’s history. SB 310 by Senator Bill Dodd (D-Napa) authorizes the California Natural Resources Agency and local air districts to form agreements with federally recognized California Native American tribes to facilitate cultural burns in ancestral territories.
Governor Signs Bill to Expedite Port’s Pier Wind Project
CALIFORNIA— Gov. Gavin Newsom Sept. 30 signed a bill allowing the Port of Long Beach to streamline the design and construction of Pier Wind, a proposed 400-acre terminal to facilitate the assembly and deployment of floating offshore wind turbines.
Assembly Bill 2235, authored by Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal, will reduce costs and accelerate the timeline to complete the proposed Pier Wind project, which would be the largest facility of its kind in the United States and would help California meet its goals for renewable energy sources.
“We now have the ability to plan and build Pier Wind in a way that is smarter, faster and more cost-effective, thanks to Gov. Newsom, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire and Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal guiding this critical legislation to approval,” said Port of Long Beach CEO Mario Cordero. “I would also like to thank our labor partners from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California for collaborating with us to ensure the future success of this important project. Pier Wind will help the state meet climate goals, create jobs and economic opportunities for local communities, and establish a new green energy industry along the West Coast.”
Pier Wind would allow for the staging, storage and assembly of some of the world’s largest offshore wind turbines, standing as tall as the Eiffel Tower. The fully assembled turbines would be towed by sea from the Port of Long Beach to wind lease areas 20 to 30 miles off the coast in Central and Northern California to help the state and federal government meet their renewable energy goals.
The proposed project is undergoing extensive environmental review by local, state and federal regulatory agencies as the Port of Long Beach gathers input from the community. If approved, construction of the $4.7 billion project could start as soon as 2027, with the first 200 acres completed in 2031, and the final 200 acres coming online in 2035.
Amsterdam-Style Cannabis Cafes Just Became Legal in CA
SAN FRANCISCO — Gov. Newsom Sept. 30 signed Assemblymember Matt Haney’s (D-San Francisco) legislation that allows local California governments to license Amsterdam-style cannabis cafes. AB 1775, authored by Haney, received strong bipartisan support in the California Legislature, having passed out of the Senate with a 30-7 vote, and the Assembly with a 63-5 vote.
California is famous for its cannabis culture driven by the state’s early adoption of medical cannabis and expertise in cultivation. But California fails to keep up with one city for the world title of cannabis culture: Amsterdam. In the Netherlands, Amsterdam’s cannabis cafes thrive as a part of the city’s unique social structure, and capitalizes on the social nature of cannabis through coffee, food, and live music — all opportunities that are currently illegal under California law. AB 1775 will allow cannabis retailers to diversify their business and move away from the struggling and limited dispensary model by selling non-cannabis-infused foods.
A previous version of the bill, AB 374, was vetoed last year by Governor Newsom, who urged in his veto message to reintroduce the bill to include more protections for cannabis workers. This year, Assemblymember Haney reintroduced the bill with the support of the United Commercial and Food Workers to ensure cannabis lounge workers are protected from secondhand smoke impacts at work.
The bill levels the playing field for the highly taxed and regulated legal cannabis industry that is being forced to compete in California with a thriving cannabis black market. The illegal sale of cannabis is extremely profitable in California with illegal sellers choosing to simply ignore costly regulations, product testing, permitting, and taxation. California’s legal cannabis sales reached $4 billion in 2020, while illegal sales are believed to have surpassed $8 billion that same year.
The bill goes into effect January 1st. And with approval from local governments, Californians should be able to enjoy cannabis cafes as early as the new year.
