Sunday, October 26, 2025
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Barragan & Padilla Introduce Empowering and Enforcing Environmental Justice Act

WASHINGTON, DC Congresswoman Nanette Diaz Barragán (CA-44) and Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) Oct 3 introduced legislation to establish an office of environmental justice and an environmental justice section at the Department of Justice. The legislation will strengthen efforts at the department to hold polluters in environmental justice communities accountable and support state and local environmental enforcement capacity.

The Empowering and Enforcing Environmental Justice Act builds on the recent announcement by the Department to create a new office of environmental justice. The bill would make this new office permanent and authorize $50 million in grant funding to assist state and local governments with environmental enforcement efforts. The Act also creates a new section for environmental justice within the environment and natural resources division to bring cases for violations of environmental laws in low-income communities and communities of color burdened by pollution.

“The Empowering and Enforcing Environmental Justice Act will strengthen work at the Department of Justice to hold polluters accountable when they violate these rights in low-income communities and communities of color,” said Rep. Barragán. “We also recognize that state and local governments have a critical role to play in the enforcement of local environmental laws, but they are often severely understaffed with limited capacity for oversight and enforcement. This legislation provides resources to strengthen environmental enforcement at all levels of government. It’s time to empower communities to defend themselves against polluting industries.”

The Main Functions of the Environmental Justice Office are:

  • Help the public and nonprofits participate in DOJ’s environmental justice work and mission.
  • Coordinate across agencies on implementation of the Justice 40 Initiative.
  • Coordinate with state & local governments on addressing environmental justice issues.
    • Provide $50 million in annual grants to boost local and state agency capacity to hold polluters accountable.
  • Manage a Senior Advisory Council made up of different components at DOJ to advise the Natural Resource Division’s Assistant Attorney General on matters of environmental justice.

The Main Functions of the Environmental Justice Section are:

  • Initiate legal action to enforce environmental laws that impact environmental justice & civil rights.
  • Ensure enforcement of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to investigate civil rights complaints related to environmental justice.
  • Coordinate with federal agencies on enforcement, advises agencies on the creation of legally enforceable permits.
  • Work with state & local governments on environmental litigation.

 

She-Hulk Isn’t Great, But at Least It’s Different

She-Hulk: Attorney at law, for the most part, felt like an exercise in delayed gratification. What do I want? I want to see She-Hulk fight supervillains. Throughout the first season’s nine episodes, there was very little action. The eighth episode somewhat made up for this, but it was mostly Daredevil beating people up. This was cool, of course, but it’s not his show.

The show features lawyer Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany), cousin of Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), also known as the Hulk, irradiated by her cousin’s blood and turned into a Hulk herself. Much like the Marvel comics published about her in the ’80s and ’90s, the show has been aiming for humor. It’s more of a superhero sitcom than an action show.

Though I expected the humorous angle, the lack of action means the show has not been exactly what I expected or wanted. Judging by its 35% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s not what a lot of other fans have wanted either. However, this might not be such a bad thing for the Marvel brand. She-Hulk is different than other Marvel shows — something that is desperately needed in a franchise known for staleness from its uniformity.

Overall, I have enjoyed the Marvel shows released on Disney Plus, but at the same time, there is a lot of of similarity to most of them. All of them have been very PG-13, with bloodless violence and a lack of profanity and sexual content. This comes in stark contrast to the shows that Marvel Television released on Netflix from 2015 to 2019, including Daredevil and Jessica Jones. To be fair, all of those Netflix shows had a uniformity to them as well — graphic violence and sexual content seemed to be a requirement for all of them. But at the same time, Marvel television was releasing teenage dramas like Freeform’s Cloak and Dagger and Hulu’s Runaways, and spy shows like ABC’s Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter. And while these shows would vary in quality, they would also vary in production design, direction and overall aesthetic.

While the Disney Plus Marvel shows vary in genre, they all have the same Marvel cinematic universe, or MCU, feel to them. This is because they were all released after Marvel Studios took over Marvel Television in 2019, and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige had control over the shows as well as the movies.

No longer would we see experiments like the violent, PTSD-fueled The Punisher, or the trippy, supernatural teen drama Cloak and Dagger, which was also willing to deal with real issues, like police violence and human trafficking. Of course, this also means we’re not likely to a show Inhumans ever again — a rushed, low-budget show where characters barely used their powers, even though their society was built around people having super powers ruling over those without them.

Don’t get me wrong, Wandavision and Loki are very different from the other Disney Plus Marvel shows, but both Hawkeye and Ms. Marvel are relatively light-hearted comedic shows. Despite being a bit more violent, Moon Knight and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier are more like action comedies. Much as I loved Moon Knight, I do wonder how much darker it could have been if Netflix had produced it instead.

Ultimately, we would see more variety in our Marvel television if we had more networks or streaming services producing these shows. But seeing as that’s unlikely to happen, She-Hulk is the next best thing. Marvel should have varied interpretations of their many characters, even if it alienates some of the fans, because if they make the same show repeatedly, there’s no reason to watch them all.

While humor has always been important to the MCU, She-Hulk fully embraces being a sitcom. She breaks the fourth wall, she struggles with dating, and she handles wacky legal cases on a regular basis. Half the time when I expect her to get into a fight, the other character just makes jokes instead.

In the sixth episode of the series, She-Hulk finally gave me what I wanted — a fight scene between She-Hulk and Titania (Jameela Jamil), her comic book nemesis. It made me wonder about my own expectations and why I liked this episode so much. Even though I often think I want more variety, ultimately what I want to see is the heroes fighting the villains.

Many fans have also criticized the show’s depiction of Bruce Banner and the Hulk, with some disliking that Jennifer says she controls her anger far more than Bruce does. However, I think it makes sense for the show and the character. Jennifer is echoing the thoughts of lots of real women when she complains of being catcalled, mansplained, and fearing being killed. In addition, this is She-Hulk’s show, it’s a study of her character. The show doesn’t need to do a deep dive into Banner’s identity, it needs to do that with Jennifer.

In the seventh episode, (mild spoilers to follow) She-Hulk goes to a ranch to see Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) who can turn into the monstrous Abomination, but it would violate his parole. I was hoping to see She-Hulk and Abomination fight — after all, what’s the point of having him in the series if they never do? Of course, they don’t, and she doesn’t really fight any of the other wacky super-powered characters at the ranch, even a former enemy.

Instead, she sits down for a therapy session with them. It’s both funny and actually touching. They help her instead of harming her. And even though sometimes the CGI used for She-Hulk looks bizarre and treads on the uncanny valley, she is given a monologue at one point in the episode about her identity that is a great showcase of both Maslany’s acting abilities and of the show’s computer wizardry. She has difficulty coming to grips with her identity as she believes that people only love She-Hulk, and not Jennifer, her human alter ego.

Why exactly are men not interested in Jennifer Walters, but only in She-Hulk? I suppose it could be the novelty of dating a superhero, but realistically it’s weird that so many men want to date the cartoon character but not the beautiful Tatiana Maslany. The various love interests are there to show Jennifer coming to grips with herself, and how she doesn’t think she is good enough for all the attention she is receiving. Whether she will be able to accept both sides of her identity is something that should probably take years, and refreshingly, it’s not something she really solves within the show’s first season.

She-Hulk is by no means a great show, but it’s a decent one. It’s a comedic tale of a woman coming to terms with herself even after a massive change. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea — including mine. But at least it’s different than other Marvel shows, which is something Marvel should strive for.

U.S. Attorney Announces Creation of Environmental Justice Coordinator

LOS ANGELES Martin Estrada, the United States Attorney for the Central District of California, Oct. 3 announced the creation of an environmental justice coordinator and the prioritization of environmental justice enforcement under his leadership as top federal prosecutor in the nation’s most populous federal judicial district.

Assistant United States Attorney Amanda M. Bettinelli has been selected to serve as the office’s environmental justice coordinator. In this role, she will focus on protecting the rights of district residents who are disproportionately burdened by environmental and health hazards, including those affected by illegal dumping, soil contamination and child lead exposure.

The Central District of California is comprised of about 20 million residents in the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo.

The office is creating this position in recognition of President Joseph Biden’s directive in Executive Order 14008, which mandates that “[a]gencies shall make achieving environmental justice part of their missions by developing programs, policies, and activities to address the disproportionately high and adverse human health, environmental, climate-related and other cumulative impacts on disadvantaged communities, as well as the accompanying economic challenges of such impacts.”

The office maintains a dedicated environmental crimes and community safety section and the environmental justice coordinator will play a critical role in the office’s longstanding commitment to fighting environmental crimes and pollution. The office will continue to partner and coordinate with the Environmental Protection Agency, law enforcement partners, local communities, and agencies across federal, state, and local governments to better serve the needs of disadvantaged communities and the mission of environmental justice throughout the Central District of California.

 

 

Wastewater Surveillance Shows Plateauing in Viral Concentrations

With more individuals using over-the-counter or OTC tests to assess COVID-19 infections, the county COVID-19 case rate, which doesn’t include the results from OTC tests, may underestimate the level of transmission. Fortunately, Public Health is able to utilize wastewater surveillance to detect significant changes in viral loads or new variants.

Presently, there are four wastewater treatment plants that perform viral surveillance for SARS-CoV-2.

The two largest plants are the Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant and the Joint Water Pollution Control Plant, serving about 7.5 million LA County residents across most of the county. At the Hyperion Plant, although viral concentrations declined notably in the first half of September, there was a small increase this past week. The Joint Water Pollution Control Plant reported small decreases throughout September.

The two smaller plants, the Lancaster Water Reclamation Plant that serves Lancaster and Palmdale, and the Tapia Water Reclamation Facility, serving Calabasas and surrounding areas, reported stable concentrations with small increases the past few days.

While the plateauing in viral concentrations in wastewater may signify that viral transmission is no longer decreasing, because most of the other early alert signals indicate low concern, Public Health reported being hopeful that transmission is not increasing at this time. However, the plateauing does highlight the need to carefully monitor the other signals to see if there are any additional signs in the next couple of weeks that suggest changes in transmission patterns or illness severity.

Overall, the county continues to report improved COVID-19 metrics. The 7-day average case count in the county is 1,297, an 8% decline from one week ago when the 7-day average of 1,397 cases was reported.

Over the past seven days, the average number of daily COVID-positive patients in LA County hospitals was 499, a 17% decline from one week ago when the average number of daily COVID-positive patients per day was 602.

Deaths, which typically lag hospitalizations by several weeks, remained stable at an average of 11 deaths reported each day this past week, nearly the same as an average of 12 daily reported deaths a week ago. The 7-day average test positivity rate remains stable at 4.3% over the past week.

The Omicron variant continues to account for 100% of Los Angeles County sequenced specimens, and the BA.5 subvariant of Omicron, remains the predominant subvariant.

Details: http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov

Public Health Expands Monkeypox Vaccination Eligibility

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Public Health has expanded eligibility to the monkeypox vaccine to closely align with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recent expansion, which includes individuals in select occupational groups whose jobs may expose them to orthopoxviruses (such as monkeypox).

Monkeypox vaccine will be available to residents who self-attest to being in the following groups:

  • Gay, bisexual or other men who have sex with men or transgender people who have sex with men or other transgender people
  • Persons of any gender or sexual orientation who engage in commercial and/or transactional sex
  • Persons living with HIV, especially persons with uncontrolled or advanced HIV disease
  • Persons who had skin-to-skin or intimate contact with someone with suspected or confirmed monkeypox, including those who have not yet been confirmed by Public Health
  • (NEW) Sexual partners of people in any of the above groups
  • (NEW) People who anticipate being in any of the above groups

Monkeypox vaccine is also available for persons in select occupational groups whose may be exposed to orthopoxviruses including:

  • Research laboratory personnel working with orthopoxviruses
  • Clinical laboratory personnel performing diagnostic testing for orthopoxviruses
  • Designated public health response team members
  • Health care personnel who administer ACAM2000 (Smallpox [Vaccinia] Vaccine)
  • Designated health care workers who care for persons with suspected or confirmed orthopoxvirus infections, including clinicians and environmental services personnel

The risk of monkeypox transmission remains very low for health care workers if appropriate personal protective equipment is worn and other infection control practices are followed.

Eligible residents can go to a Public vaccinating site or visit Myturn.ca.gov to find other vaccinating sites near you.

California Briefs: Governor Aims To Put Oil Profits Back in Californians’ Pockets and State Empowers Students

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Gov. Newsom Calls for a Windfall Tax to Put Record Oil Profits Back in Californians’ Pockets

SACRAMENTO As Californians see renewed spikes in gas prices, Gov. Gavin Newsom Sept. 30 called for a windfall tax on oil companies that would go directly back to California taxpayers.

Returning Oil Industry Profits to Californians

Crude oil prices are dropping, but oil and gas companies are still raising prices on California consumers. These price hikes cannot be attributed solely to refinery maintenance issues, hurricane disruptions, or even state taxes. Governor Newsom is working with the Legislature to enact a new windfall profits tax on oil companies. Companies engaged in extraction, production, and refining of oil will pay a higher tax rate on their earnings above a set amount each year, and these recouped windfall profits will then be directed to rebates/refunds to California taxpayers impacted by high gas prices.

Increasing Gasoline Supply

Earlier today, Governor Newsom directed the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to take immediate action to increase the state’s gasoline supply and bring down fuel prices by allowing oil refineries to make an early transition to winter-blend gasoline. When this action was taken in 2012, California gas prices declined by $0.25/gallon within 13 days, and $0.47/gallon after 20 days. CARB has issued an advisory allowing refineries to immediately begin distributing winter-blend gasoline.

 

California Empowers Students

SACRAMENTO Gov. Gavin Newsom Sept. 30 signed legislation empowering students to be more active in their education and community. Gov. Newsom also signed legislation increasing services and advancing equity throughout California’s public schools.

The Governor signed SB 997, SB 955, and SB 291 empowering students in California by:

  • Providing a seat at the table in local accountability plan processes.
  • Allowing an excused absence from school to engage in civic opportunities in their communities.
  • Adding two pupils with exceptional needs to the Advisory Commission on Special Education.

Gov. Newsom also signed AB 2806 by Assemblymember Blanca Rubio (D-Baldwin Park) ensuring equitable treatment of children in state preschool and child care programs by prohibiting suspensions and expulsions except as a last resort. When a child is suspended or expelled, they do not receive the benefits that early learning and education provides and this disportionately impacts toddlers and preschoolers of color. AB 2806 aims to change this and support California’s youngest learners.

Additionally, the Governor signed SB 1047 by Senator Monique Limόn (D-Santa Barbara) increasing access and stability for families to get the care and learning opportunities their kids need and are critical for young children to succeed.

 

 

Ports Give Update on Clean Air Action Plan on Oct. 12

SAN PEDRO The ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles will give a progress update on the San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan or CAAP Oct. 12. The meeting will include a status update of the ports’ feasibility assessment studies of drayage trucks, Clean Truck Fund Rate implementation, ports’ annual emission inventories, and the Green Shipping Corridor.

The meeting will be held via WebEx and is open to the public. To participate in the meeting, click here to register and receive instructions on participating via computer or phone. Minutes of prior meetings can be found here.

The ports will take public comments at the advisory meeting to receive input on CAAP implementation. The agenda will be posted on the CAAP website prior to the meeting.

Time: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Oct. 12

Details: cleanairactionplan.org

Shooters Tied to the Killing of 12-Year-Old Child in December 2021 — Captured

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On Sept. 30, the Los Angeles Police Department announced the arrest of two individuals involved in the Dec. 6, 2021 shooting death of a 12-year-old Wilmington resident, Alexander Alvarado.

Damian Ulysses Martinez, 21, and Gabriel Martinez,19, were taken into custody separately on Sept. 27, with the help of the Department of Homeland security.

According to the reporting at the time, Alvarado and his mother were sitting in a car when Damian and Gabriel Martinez approached their car and started shooting. Alvarado’s mother was also injured.

That same evening it was reported that a fourth-grader at Wilmington Park Elementary School was hit by a stray bullet and sent to the hospital. LAPD later confirmed that the two shootings were related. The fourth -grader survived.

Two days after the shooting, the Los Angeles Police Protective League offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the shooters involved in the Dec. 6, 2021 killing of 12-year-old Wilmington resident, Alexander Alvarado.

Craig Lally, President of the LA Police Protective League said the shooting was more than a cold-blooded murder of a child and the shooting of his mother and an innocent young girl playing at an elementary school,” in a released statement. He called it an attack on the sense of safety of all Angelenos.

“It rips at the very fabric of our society. We are offering this reward for information that leads to the apprehension and conviction of whoever is responsible for this cowardly act.”

Gabriel and Damian Martinez were arrested on Sept. 27 and are being held on $2 million bail. Their arraignment hearing is on Oct. 20, 2022. They are being charged with one count of murder, one count of attempted murder, and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon each.

Damian was already charged with carrying a loaded firearm in April last year. He pleaded No Contest. In November of last year, he pleaded no contest to making criminal threats. Gabriel was convicted of carrying a loaded firearm and driving a person’s car without permission in June 2022.

 

Governors Briefs: New Legislation Addresses Housing, Working Families, Californians with Disabilities and Online Stolen Goods

California to Build More Housing, Faster

SAN FRANCISCO Building on California’s historic efforts to tackle the housing crisis, Governor Gavin Newsom Sept. 27 signed legislation to streamline the housing approval process in California and create thousands of good paying jobs. Gov. Newsom also announced $1 billion in awards to 30 shovel-ready projects through the California Housing Accelerator creating 2,755 new homes for Californians.

AB 2011 by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) and SB 6 by Senator Anna Caballero (D-Merced) together will:

  • Help create much-needed new housing units for low and middle income Californians by allowing housing to be built in underutilized commercial sites currently zoned for retail, office, and parking uses.
  • Generate thousands of jobs with health benefits and good wages – and encourage apprenticeships.
  • Increase use of public transit by building housing near existing transit or near corridors

The Governor also announced that the Department of Housing and Community Development is awarding $1.02 billion in funding for the second round of the California Housing Accelerator, providing funding to 30 shovel-ready projects whose financing has been stalled because they have been unable to obtain tax credits. These new awards will help get construction underway quickly for 2,755 new housing units throughout the state. To date, $1.9 billion in funding for the California Housing Accelerator has been awarded, supporting a total of 57 projects to produce a total of 5,071 units. The vast majority of these units will be for extremely low to very low-income households and unhoused residents, and will provide affordable homes for seniors, families, transitional-age youth, veterans, people with disabilities, essential workers and unhoused individuals.

 

California Expands Support for Working Families

SACRAMENTO Gov. Gavin Newsom Sept. 30 signed legislation to help Californians access family and disability leave benefits. SB 951 by Senator María Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles) will boost leave benefits for lower- and middle-income employees to cover more of their regular income while they take much-needed time off to care for loved ones.

SB 951 extends increased wage replacement rates for State Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave that were set to sunset at the end of the year. Under the legislation’s phased increase in benefits, by 2025, workers earning less than the state’s average wage could receive up to 90% of their regular wages while taking leave.

SB 951 builds on the Governor’s action since taking office to bolster access to workplace leave, including legislation to expand job-protected family leave to millions more Californians, extend paid family leave benefits for a newborn child from six to eight weeks and expand paid sick leave in response to COVID-19.

 

State to Protect Civil Rights, Support Community Living for Californians with Disabilities

SACRAMENTO Gov. Gavin Newsom Sept. 30 signed AB 1663 by Assemblymember Brian Maienschein, which reforms California’s probate conservatorship system to enable disabled and older people needing support to care for themselves to pursue supported decision-making as a less restrictive alternative to conservatorship. The bill also makes it easier to end a conservatorship.

AB 1663 establishes supported decision-making in statute as an alternative to probate conservatorship. This is a process in which adults with intellectual, developmental, dementia, and other disabilities who need support to care for themselves or their finances can consult with trusted supporters while making choices about their life, without jeopardizing their self-determination. The bill also requires that alternatives to conservatorship are included for consideration in a petition for conservatorship, and requires courts to provide conservatees with information regarding the rights that they retain. Under AB 1663, courts are allowed to terminate a conservatorship without a hearing if both the conservatee and conservator agree to termination.

State law allows the courts to appoint a conservator for an adult when a third party such as law enforcement or Adult Protective Services is concerned about the health, safety or welfare of a person and there has been a comprehensive review of the individual’s circumstances. Information about recent actions by the California Department of Developmental Services or DDS to support individuals conserved by DDS can be found here.

Governor Newsom also signed AB 1195 by Assemblymember Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens) which facilitates the hiring of people with disabilities within state government through the Limited Examination and Appointment Program or LEAP.

 

State To Crack Down on the Sale of Stolen Goods Online

SACRAMENTO With online marketplaces selling stolen merchandise, Governor Gavin Newsom Sept. 30 signed legislation to strengthen transparency rules for high-volume, third-party sellers and provide greater tools for law enforcement to identify stolen items, often taken from doorsteps or shoplifted at retail stores.

Both SB 301 by state Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) and AB 1700 by Assemblymember Brian Maienschein (D-San Diego) work to address the online sale of stolen merchandise. SB 301 calls for online marketplaces to require high-volume third-party sellers to provide greater information to protect consumers. These requirements include contact and bank account information, as well as a seller’s physical address. AB 1700 directs the Attorney General’s Office to dedicate a section of its website for individuals to report items found on online marketplaces, identified as possible stolen goods. The attorney general will share this information with local law enforcement agencies. The bill will also require online marketplaces to display a link to the attorney general’s webpage.

The Governor also signed AB 2294 by Assemblymember Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer Sr. (D-Los Angeles), which gives law enforcement the ability to keep in custody individuals suspected of organized retail theft. Under the current process, an individual arrested for a misdemeanor is typically released with a written notice or citation. This bill will allow for law enforcement to keep in custody a person arrested for a misdemeanor if they have been convicted of theft from a store in the last six-months, or if there is probable cause that the individual is guilty of participating in organized retail theft.

Details: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov.

 

 

Free Flu Vaccine Clinics Coming to Long Beach

Starting in October, Long Beach Health Department will begin offering free flu vaccines at clinics around the city. Residents — regardless of healthcare coverage — will be able to access vaccines and help keep themselves and the community healthy this flu season.

Clinics will be held at the following dates and locations. Find more information here.

All locations, unless otherwise indicated in bold, will be operating between 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Oct. 3, El Dorado Park 2800 N. Studebaker Rd.

Oct. 4, McBride Park 1550 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave.

Oct. 10, Ramona Park 3301 E. 65th St.

Oct. 11, MacArthur Park 1321 E. Anaheim St.
Oct. 13, Long Beach Senior Center 1150 E. 4th St.
Oct. 19, Admiral Kidd Park 2125 Santa Fe Ave.
Oct. 20, Silverado Park 1545 W. 31st St.

4 to 8 p.m., Oct. 20, Main Health Facility 2525 Grand Ave.
Appointments will be available on MyTurn for this clinic. Updated bivalent COVID-19 boosters will also be offered at this clinic.

10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Oct. 27, Houghton Park 6301 Myrtle Ave.

10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 1, Bixby Park 130 Cherry Ave.