Cannabis Cafes, A.I. And Parking: How New California Laws Could Affect You In 2025

Hundreds of new laws take effect in California on Jan. 1 (Los Angeles Times photo illustration; photos via Getty Images)

BY ANABEL SOSA

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. (LOS ANGELES TIMES) - California lawmakers passed roughly 1,200 bills last year, including some that resulted in unforeseeable wins by Republicans, promising protections for consumers and small strides for those in the entertainment industry.

In the end, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed about 84% of the bills he received. Many of those laws take effect today, Jan. 1, as California rings in a new year. Here are a few you should know heading into 2025:

Cannabis

Cannabis cafes are legal: You can now hang out at dispensaries like you would a restaurant or cafe, thanks to AB 1775. The new law brings an Amsterdam-style approach to marijuana use, by allowing cannabis retailers to make and sell food and nonalcoholic beverages at what will be known as cannabis cafes or lounges. Before this law, customers could smoke in some dispensaries but the businesses were only allowed to sell prepackaged snacks and drinks. Some who are concerned with the health component call the law a step backward, given the risks of secondhand smoke.

Artificial Intelligence

Actors are protected from AI imitations: It is now required to create a contract to specify the use of artificial intelligence to replicate an actor’s voice or likeness. Assembly Bill 2602 aims to protect performers’ and actors’ careers by preventing artificial intelligence from replicating their voice or likeness without permission. In the summer of 2023, actors' and writers' unions shut down Hollywood during a months-long strike, ultimately negotiating new contracts around the use of artificial intelligence in their industry. Last year, courts also began to question the business of selling deepfakes of celebrities' voices and Scarlett Johansson raised concerns about an AI voice that sounded similar to hers.

Dead actors’ voices won’t be exploited: People will be subject to a $10,000 fine for using the voice of a dead actor or one that sounds like their voice without the consent of their estate.AB 1836 was sponsored by SAG-AFTRA and introduced in light of the advancements made in artificial intelligence that, the union said, can “easily clone human voices.”

Deepfakes with sexually explicit imagery are banned: Current revenge porn law is now expanded under SB 926 to prohibit the unauthorized distribution of artificially created sexually explicit images of a real person. The law applies specifically if there is intent to cause serious emotional distress to the person that is depicted in the image. Earlier this year, Laguna Beach High School officials investigated a student who circulated A.I.-generated sexually exploitative images, and in Beverly Hills, a group of eighth-graders was expelled for their involvement in superimposing pictures of their classmates’ faces onto simulated nude bodies through artificial intelligence.

Social media platforms will make reporting deepfakes easier: Social media platforms are now required to have a reporting mechanism for users who are portrayed in a sexually explicit video or image without their knowledge thanks to SB 981. The Los Angeles District Attorney's office, a sponsor of the bill, said that pornographic deepfakes are becoming a "growing threat" to adults and teens on social media.

Wages and Personal Finances

No more overdraft fees: State-chartered banks and credit unions are now barred under AB 2017 from charging overdraft fees, also known as nonsufficient fund fees, when customers try to make a withdrawal, purchase something on their debit card, or transfer payment but do not have enough funds and the transaction is declined. This was inspired by a similar proposal the Biden administration made early last year.

The minimum wage is going up: Workers paid the statewide minimum wage will get an annual increase to their hourly wages from $16 in 2024 to $16.50. This pay scale could vary depending on what city or county you are in and what industry you work in. The minimum wage for fast food workers is now $20 an hour and several cities, including Los Angeles, require minimum wages in other sectors that top $17 an hour.

Workers taking family leave will get more money: Workers who earn less than $63,000 a year will get 90% of their pay during leave to bond with a new baby or care for a sick family member, while workers making more than that will get 70% of their pay under SB 951, which passed in 2022. Previously, lower-paid workers were eligible for 70% of their pay during family leave, which made it impossible for many to take the time off, even though they were paying into the disability insurance system that covers the benefit. The new, higher replacement wage is paid for by all workers who pay into the state disability income program; they will have 1.2% of their pay deducted in 2025, up from 1.1% in 2024.

Housing

More time to respond to eviction notices: Tenants now have double the time to respond in writing to an eviction notice. The previous legal time to respond before legal action is taken was five business days, but it has now increased to 10 business days because of AB 2347. The bill's author said giving tenants only five days to respond was "uniquely short" and could often result in a landlord winning a case, without the tenant getting a day in court. Extending the response time, the author said, allows tenants more time to seek advice, gather evidence and file an appropriate response.

Healthcare

Medical debt won't be included in your credit score: Credit agencies can no longer include medical debt on people’s credit reports under SB 1061. An estimated 40% of Americans are burdened with some form of medical debt that they are unable to pay off. Advocates for this law argued that medical debt is a poor predictor of a person’s credit risk and can prevent individuals or families from finding housing, or getting employed, among other necessities.

Incarcerated women don't need permission to obtain menstrual products: Women in prisons and jails now have full access to period-care products like pads and tampons under AB 1810. The law allows women to obtain those products without having to ask prison guards for permission, which has been tied to reports of sexual harassment.

Education

Children will learn about pivotal California history: Public schools will now be required under AB 1805 to teach Mendez vs. Westminster, a 1947 court case involving a Mexican family from Orange County that fought to end segregation across California. The bill's author stressed the importance of teaching students about this court case to help them "learn of the civil rights challenges faced by Mexican Americans in this state."

Gender expression in schools: A first-in-the-nation law now bans school districts from requiring staff or teachers to disclose to parents if a student starts using a new pronoun or identifies as a different gender. AB 1955 will also protect school staff from retaliation if they refuse to notify parents of a child's gender preference. The policy was introduced in response to more than a dozen conservative-led school board policies that required teachers to notify parents if their child changed their names or pronouns. The issue set off heated debates in the state Capitol and across school districts, as some parents felt outraged that the state wanted to keep parents in the dark, while LGBTQ+ activists said mandatory notification promotes an "unsafe" environment by forced outing of students.

Safety

Parking will get harder, and walking will get safer: California has stricter parking rules underAB 413. Police can now ticket drivers who park within 20 feet of the crosswalk, which is around the length of a car. Drivers must abide by these rules regardless if the curb is painted red. The purpose of the law is to increase pedestrian visibility at busy intersections. The law has technically been in effect since the start of 2024, but police will begin fining drivers in January.

New laws to curb retail theft: Over the summer, the Legislature passed a sweeping package of 11 bills meant to address retail theft. Seven of them are now taking effect. Those include: retail stores can request restraining orders against people who repeatedly steal from their stores; prosecutors can coordinate and charge people with crimes across different counties and handle them in a single court and those who commit arson in the act of stealing will receive stiffer sentences. Read The Times' extensive coverage of these new laws.

REAAD ORIGINAL STORY HERE

Jazz Club Blue Note Opens New Los Angeles Venue And Take Over Hollywood Bowl Festival

Grammy winning artist and composer to curate events in L.A.

BY AUGUST BROWN

LOS ANGELES (LOS ANGELES TIMES) - The acclaimed New York venue Blue Note Jazz Club is going to sweep through L.A.’s music scene in 2025.

The Greenwich Village club — long regarded as one of New York’s elite spaces for jazz — will open a new venue in Hollywood in March, with 200- and 100-capacity performance rooms and a full restaurant. The club already has outposts around the world, including Napa, Hawaii, Tokyo, Italy, China and Brazil.

The venue will again partner with Grammy-winning artist and composer Robert Glasper to curate events in L.A., building on his long-running “Robtober” artist residency.

“I’m honored to partner up with Blue Note once again for what will be a significant cultural intersection for the Los Angeles community. Los Angeles has always been a second home to me, and I can’t wait to bring L.A. culture to the Blue Note,” Glasper said in a statement.

The venue arrives at a mixed moment for local jazz clubs, as some beloved venues have shuttered and others are revamping to hang on.

Additionally, the venue will become the new flagship partner of the Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival, which will be renamed the Blue Note Jazz Festival (it began as the Playboy Jazz Festival in 1979). Presented by the LA Phil, the revamped festival will debut June 14 at the Hollywood Bowl, with a full lineup announced February 18 and tickets on sale in May.

The Napa edition of the Blue Note Jazz Festival Napa began in 2022, with a mix of hip-hop and R&B that’s hosted headliners Nas, Mary J. Blige, Chance the Rapper and Maxwell.

“We are thrilled to join forces with Blue Note to launch the Blue Note Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl,” LA Phil’s president and chief executive Kim Noltemy said in a statement. “This partnership represents a shared dedication to celebrating jazz and its extraordinary artists while continuing the legacy of world-class music at the Bowl. Together, we look forward to creating an unforgettable experience for jazz lovers in Los Angeles.”

California Secretary Of State Among Officials In 16 States Receiving Suspicious Packages

California Secretary of State Shirley Weber (Wikipedia)

BY CLARA HARTER

SACRAMENTO, CA (LA TIMES) -- A suspicious package containing unbleached flour was received at the California secretary of state’s headquarters in Sacramento, in what appears to be the latest in a series of suspicious packages sent to election officials across the country, officials reported Thursday afternoon.

In total, suspicious packages have been sent to election officials in at least 15 other states, officials said. The source of the Sacramento package is unknown.

“Field testing and presumptive chemical test by state law enforcement revealed that the material contained within the package was non-hazardous and tested positive for unbleached flour,” Secretary of State Shirley Weber said in a statement, adding that federal authorities will continue to investigate the incident.

Weber said local elections offices are being advised to take extra precautions before handling mail that arrives at their facilities.

On Tuesday, the FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service launched an investigation into suspicious packages sent to election officials in more than a dozen states, including Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Rhode Island, Mississippi and Connecticut.

So far, there have been no reports of injuries caused by the packages or harmful material contained in them. However, “an unknown substance” was found in some packages, FBI spokesperson Kristen Setera said in a statement.

A package delivered to an election office in Oklahoma was also found to contain flour, state officials reported.

This is the second time in recent months that election offices in multiple states have been targeted with suspicious mail.

In November, letters were sent to election offices in five states, several of which were found to include fentanyl, the FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service reported.

This latest wave of suspicious deliveries comes as early voting kicks off for the November election in several states. Former President Trump, the GOP nominee for president, has continued to insist, without proof, that he lost the last election due to voter fraud, putting extra scrutiny on the nation’s balloting process and on election officials.

On Tuesday, the National Assn. of Secretaries of State, or NASS, issued a statement condemning the the suspicious mailings as well as the recent assassination attempts against Trump.

“Our democracy has no place for political violence, threats or intimidation of any kind,” the NASS stated.

Weber said her office will continue to work with state and federal law enforcement to monitor any threats to California election workers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Editorial: A Plan To Limit Police Stops Is Stuck In L.A. Traffic. Time To Get It Moving Again

A Los Angeles Police Department officer issues a traffic warning for unsafe driving along Ventura Boulevard in Encino in 2022. ((Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

BY THE TIMES EDITORIAL

LOS ANGELES (LOS ANGELES TIMES) - Following the police murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, and amid calls for a “reckoning” with persistent anti-Black racism in policing, the Los Angeles City Council asked city officials to report on alternative ways to deal with traffic stops.

At the time, the Times editorial board urged caution, especially with the notion of turning over enforcement of moving violations from sworn police officers to the unarmed transportation officers who currently write parking tickets, among other traditionally nonconfrontational duties.

Caution, yes. But for heaven’s sake, it’s been 3½ years. It's time to move forward with a plan. A draft report on traffic stops finally began circulating unofficially in April, and in the months since, a final report has been said to be just around the corner. But not yet.

No more delays. Action is needed for two reasons.

The Times has documented racial bias in police traffic stops and vehicle searches for contraband. In trying to crack down on gun violence in Black and Latino communities — a worthy goal — police made it difficult for young male drivers, in particular, to go about their daily business without being repeatedly stopped on minor pretexts. A series of Times stories found more stops, but less contraband recovered, among Black and Latino drivers as compared with white drivers.

Police-driver encounters also too often end in needless confrontation, and sometimes police-initiated violence.

At the same time, Los Angeles and other communities are struggling with violence of another kind — pedestrians, cyclists and others killed by reckless driving and excessive speed. Recent high-profile cases include the hit-and-run deaths of four Pepperdine students in Malibu on Oct. 17. Police patrols have been inadequate to the task of curbing dangerous driving.

The two problems — death and injury from reckless drivers, and needless violence in police-driver encounters — can be intertwined. On Jan. 7, Memphis police stopped motorist Tyre Nichols for alleged reckless driving. They pulled him from his car, then pepper-sprayed, tasered and beat him. He died three days later. An investigation found no probable cause for the stop.

The list of drivers stopped by police for minor violations and then killed is far too long, and includes such notorious cases as Daunte Wright and Philando Castile.

Los Angeles has now produced an additional reason to be concerned about police traffic stops. In August, The Times reported that members of an LAPD gang unit were under investigation for routinely turning off their body cameras during such stops. The officers involved have reportedly been investigated for theft from drivers and other misconduct.

In the absence of City Hall action, the momentum in dealing with traffic enforcement has passed to Sacramento. A modest bill by state Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) would prevent police from stopping cars and citing drivers for very minor violations such as a single broken taillight. Bradford pulled Senate Bill 50 from consideration this year amid steep opposition from law enforcement groups, but it will be back in 2024 and deserves passage.

Meanwhile, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 645, which permits Los Angeles and five other cities to try automated speed cameras to ticket motorists who egregiously exceed the speed limit in school zones or on streets that have high numbers of traffic injuries or problems with street racing.

Traffic enforcement isn't the only answer — street design can slow drivers, too. Federal officials want to require automatic emergency braking.

One of the options suggested in the city's draft report is to use unarmed transportation officers to ticket drivers for moving violations.

The notion sparked national ridicule, mostly among observers who misunderstood the idea. In a May episode of the NPR quiz show “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me,” participants appeared to believe the proposal was for drivers to ticket each other.

Guest host Alzo Slade asked panelist Paula Poundstone, “A new report from Los Angeles' Department of Transportation says that most traffic stops could be done by whom? Let me give you a hint: It takes a village of narcs.”

“Oh, it could be done by other drivers,” Poundstone replied. “Yes,” Slade said. “Regular people.”

No, the City Council motion from 2020 has not resulted in a recommendation that drivers ticket each other. But it hasn’t resulted in much else, either. If City Hall is to be taken seriously, it must act seriously. Or else pull over while state lawmakers move forward.

Los Angeles Newscaster Christina Pascucci Announces California Senate Bid

Christina Pascucci, pictured attending the Fix'N Fidos charity golf tournament in 2021, announced Wednesday that she is running for the U.S. Senate. (Jc Olivera / Getty Images)

BY SEEMA MEHTA

LOS ANGELES (LOS ANGELES TIMES) -- Los Angeles newscaster Christina Pascucci announced Wednesday morning that she is running for the U.S. Senate vacancy created by the death of Dianne Feinstein.

The 38-year-old Democrat is the latest entrant to join an increasingly crowded field for California's 2024 Senate contest. The San Fernando Valley native argues that she offers a centrist option for voters tired of polarization in the nation’s politics.

“Enough is enough. People are fed up, including myself,” Pascucci said in an interview with The Times. “What you do is you sit down and reach across the aisle.”

Feinstein announced she would not run for reelection earlier this year, setting off a furious competition for her Senate seat among Democratic Reps. Adam B. Schiff of Burbank, Katie Porter of Irvine and Barbara Lee of Oakland. Former Dodgers all-star Steve Garvey recently announced his candidacy, joining little-known Republican candidates including attorney Eric Early and former healthcare executive James Bradley.

A pivotal question is whether Laphonza Butler, a former labor leader whom Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed to the seat when Feinstein passed away last month, will run for a full term.

Pascucci faces the steep challenge of raising enough money to mount an effective campaign. While she is known among some Los Angeles voters because of her many years on air at KTLA and a recent stint on Fox News’ local affiliate, Pascucci would need to raise several million dollars to air campaign ads throughout California, which contains some of the most expensive media markets in the nation.

And she starts at a considerable financial disadvantage. Schiff had about $32 million in the bank at the end of September, Porter had $12 million and Lee $1.3 million cash on hand, according to Federal Election Commission reports filed Sunday.

Pascucci joins a long list of journalists of both parties who have run for office, with a mixed record of success.

Kari Lake, a former Phoenix television anchor, is among the most prominent journalists and commentators to recently run for office. The prominent denier of the 2020 presidential election results unsuccessfully ran for governor of Arizona in 2022 and is currently running for Senate in the state.

Other former broadcast journalists include President Reagan, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Rep. Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky of Pennsylvania, who worked for local news stations and as a correspondent for the "Today" show.

Pascucci, who has never held elected office, argues her experience as a journalist, whether covering the voiceless or world leaders, gives her the grounding she needs to be an effective leader.

As an example, Pascucci said, as senator she would fly to Texas to talk to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott about his “publicity stunts” of sending tens of thousands of migrants to sanctuary cities, including Los Angeles.

“Has anyone tried it? I think too often we sit here and make statements and talk poorly about one another and don’t actually reach out to the person,” Pascucci said, adding that she grew up having impassioned conversations with her Republican parents over the dinner table in the San Fernando Valley.

“I’ve grown up hearing views different from my own,” she said, adding that she wants to make the world a better place for her daughter, who is due shortly after California’s March primary. “At the end of the day, I love them. I’m not going to dehumanize my family for thinking different. We have to sit there and have an open mind — why do people feel the way they feel?”

California Effort To Curb Police Use Of Google Data Stalls

 

BY QUEENIE WONG. LOS ANGELES TIMES

After a man was shot dead outside a bank in Paramount in 2019, Los Angeles County sheriff's detectives turned to Google for help identifying suspects.

Through a search warrant, detectives directed the tech giant to provide cellphone location data for people who were near places the man visited on the day he was killed. The data Google provided eventually led detectives to two suspects who are now in prison for the murder.

But law enforcement's demand for Google location data using what's known as "geofence warrants" also sparked concerns that the requests violated the suspects' constitutional rights. This year, a California Court of Appeal upheld the murder conviction but ruled the warrant violated the 4th Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures, because it was too broad and could have potentially swept up thousands of people.


The case, People vs. Meza, highlights the central tension over the exploding use of geofence warrants: Law enforcement leaders see Google location data as essential for solving crimes, but civil rights groups fear such warrants will infringe on the privacy of innocent bystanders. The number of geofence warrants Google reports receiving from U.S. law enforcement increased from 982 in 2018 to 11,554 in 2020, the most recent data released show.

Concerns about the controversial law enforcement tool were heightened after the Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to abortion last year. As states banned or restricted abortions, civil rights groups feared that law enforcers could use Google data to figure out whether a woman planned to illegally end her pregnancy. Even though abortion remains legal in California, advocates worried that officials in states that prohibit abortion could use geofence warrants to track down people who come here for the procedure.

These privacy concerns caught the attention of Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D- Alameda), who introduced legislation to ban warrants that compel tech companies to reveal the identities of people who may have been at a certain place at a particular time or looked up keywords online. The original version of the bill would have banned all geofence warrants, but it was introduced as part of a package of bills that aim to bolster California as a sanctuary for abortion seekers.


"Quite frankly, it is a terrifying moment for us in terms of the amount of information that can be made accessible to a third party," Bonta said in an interview.

The legislation, AB 793, garnered support from privacy advocates, reproductive rights groups, Google and the trade association TechNet. But strong pushback from law enforcement tanked the effort this year as lawmakers struggled to figure out how to craft a bill that would shield people seeking abortions while allowing police to use geofence warrants to investigate crimes.

"It became pretty apparent that there could be unintended consequences based on how that language was laid out," said Bonta, who pledged to focus the bill on gender-affirming care and abortion access and try to pass it next year. "We wanted to make sure to get this absolutely right."

The bill faces a high bar to pass because it could change a law passed by voters in 1982, which requires support from two-thirds of the state Legislature.

Opponents said the bill was too broad and would hinder the ability of law enforcement to investigate crimes.

Michelle Contois, a Ventura County prosecutor speaking on behalf of the California District Attorneys Assn., said law enforcement officials aren't opposed to protecting patients who are coming to the state for abortions or gender-affirming care. But banning all geofence warrants, she said, is a "real overreach."

"There are some crimes I think might not be solved at all," she said. "When we are using these, it's because we think this is the best way to get what we need in this case."

Privacy advocates and abortion activists question whether the data requests are really necessary because geofence warrants could include information about people who aren't potential suspects. The Electronic Frontier Foundation called on Google in 2021 to resist complying with these controversial warrants. Google says it collects data about a user's location history for advertising and to improve the company's services.

The debate in Sacramento forged an unusual alliance between tech giants and privacy advocates. In May, Google sent lawmakers a letter stating it supported AB 793. The company added that it would work with law enforcement to narrow the warrants if it is asked for too much data.

"Most law enforcement demands target one or more specific accounts. Geofence warrants, by contrast, request information about users who may have been in a particular place at a particular time. As such, these warrants raise heightened concerns about whether they impermissibly sweep in innocent users," Rebecca Prozan, Google's director of the West Coast Region for Government Affairs and Public Policy, wrote in the letter.

Last year, a coalition of tech giants that includes Google also supported a bill in New York that would bar the search of geolocation and keyword data, though it did not pass the Legislature.

Data reported to the California Department of Justice show geofence warrants have been used this year in various criminal investigations, including a felony hit-and-run in San Diego and a homicide in Riverside. California authorities have also used geofence warrants to investigate a Mexican mafia killing and other crimes. The FBI turned to Google data to figure out who was inside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.

Geofence warrants were also used to identify people protesting the police killings of George Floyd in Minnesota and Jacob Blake in Wisconsin. Sometimes, people swept up by them just happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. In one case, an innocent man in Florida became a burglary suspect after he rode his bike past a burglarized home in 2019.

District attorneys say that California's laws are sufficient to protect people's digital privacy. A geofence warrant typically involves three steps. In the first, Google gives law enforcement anonymized information based on the geographic area and time frame that's provided in the warrant. Using the larger data set, law enforcement narrows down the devices authorities want to investigate before requesting that Google provide identification information such as phone numbers, emails and names, according to the bill's analysis.

"It's not just willy-nilly us asking Google and Google giving us everybody's information," said Contois, of the district attorneys association. "It's not until we've gone through several steps, and convinced the judge at each step of probable cause, that we can maybe get identifying information and names."

The California Police Chiefs Assn. didn't respond to a request for comment. It was among numerous law enforcement agencies that opposed the bill, including the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Hayley Tsukayama, senior legislative activist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which pushed for the bill, said AB 793 proposed banning all geofence warrants because there were concerns more targeted legislation would have loopholes that could still result in law enforcement identifying abortion seekers. Narrowing the bill, she said, is difficult for some of those reasons.

"I'm not saying that we can't do it," she said. "We just needed more time to do it than was left in this session."

What The San Diego Newspaper Sale Means For The LA Times

BY HAROLD VASQUEZ

“It is legitimate to question the long-term commitment,” says one media commentator regarding Patrick Soon-shiong’s ownership. “There’s no way of knowing when their patience will run out”

“The fundamental problem here is that billionaires are fickle,” Dan Frumkin, editor of Press Watch, told TheWrap. “They save you one day and they lose interest the next.”

How bad is the LA Times’ financial situation? In an interview with Axios this week, executive editor Kevin Merida acknowledged that what appears to be clear is that the newspaper is losing money. (He said this in reference to a story about the launch of De Los, a new LA Times digital product for young Latino audiences.)

Two years ago, TheWrap exclusively reported that the paper’s revenue would drop to $350 million in 2020, up from $400 million the previous year, which California Times president Chris Argentieri shared with the newsroom at the time Was. Since that time,. The pandemic has destroyed the advertising business, and circulation has been a struggle at most metropolitan newspapers.

But trends suggest the expected rescue operation at Soon-Shiong, who bought the LA Times from Tribune in 2018, isn’t going so well, and his management team has yet to figure out how to offset losses through digital subscriptions. How-to and advertising.

Despite receiving “multiple inquiries,” a spokesperson said, the Los Angeles Times is not for sale. The spokesman declined to provide detailed financial information. A person close to the management said that Soon-Shiong has continued to invest in the paper despite the cut and this shows his long-term commitment.

This week, the LA Times announced it is close to 550,000 digital subscriptions, which includes subscriptions through Apple News+ (those subscribers pay for a bundle, which generates far less revenue than direct subscriptions). ). This is far short of Soon-Shiong’s target of 1 million subscriptions by 2022, which he set when he bought the paper.

This figure reflects an actual increase of more than 250,000 subscribers in 2020, but it still falls far short of the New York Times’ 9.7 million digital subscribers and The Washington Post’s 2.5 million. The media sector as a whole is going through another wave of financial distress, with a record number of job cuts set to be cut across the industry in 2023. The LA Times is no exception, as the newspaper cut its newsroom by 13% last month. Retrenchment of 74 journalists.
an asset sale

Union-Tribune came about in a package deal when Soon-Shiong bought the LA Times from Tribune Publishing in 2018, but it was “always an afterthought,” said Jay Rosen, a journalism professor at New York University. “Now that would be a different kind of idea.”

The buyer of Union-Tribune is part of what many media analysts found disappointing about the deal. Soon-Shiong, a biotech entrepreneur, sold Union-Tribune on Monday to MediaNews Group, which has bought hundreds of newspapers and is owned by hedge fund Alden Global Capital, for an undisclosed amount.

“Selling a hedge fund is a worst-case scenario” for a news outlet, Frumkin said. “It’s basically death by a thousand cuts.”

Alden now also owns Tribune Publishing, the former owner of the LA Times, having bought the publisher of the Chicago Tribune in 2021. Hedge funds have gained a reputation in the media industry for acquiring and liquidating newsrooms.

With the already struggling Union-Tribune, MediaNews Group tightens its grip on local news in the Southern California region. Its Southern California news group includes the Orange County Register, Los Angeles Daily News, Long Beach Press-Telegram, Riverside Press-Enterprise, San Gabriel Valley Tribune and Pasadena Star-News.

Rosen characterized these buyers of newspapers as “financial firms that specialize in extracting profits from dwindling assets”.

Within minutes of the sale announcement, Sharon Ryan, MediaNews Group’s top California executive, told Union-Tribune employees that layoffs were imminent as the organization adjusts to new leadership.

Rosen said that the announcement of the layoffs was “a complete travesty.” [the new owners’] Nature.” Alden did not respond to a request for comment. A Los Angeles Times spokeswoman said the sale of the San Diego Union-Tribune made both publications a success.
how to be self reliant

Analysts agree that the local news industry faces a crisis of profitability and ownership. The question now is whether the Los Angeles Times can withstand attempts to drag him down.

In a statement announcing the sale of the Union-Tribune, Soon-Shiong appeared to reaffirm his commitment to the future of the Times.

“It is our intention now to focus on the ongoing work of transforming the LA Times into a self-sustaining institution,” Soon-Shiong said in the email. “Our hometown of Los Angeles and the state of California – indeed, the West Coast – need a strong, independent news organization.”

But experts questioned whether becoming a “self-sustaining institution” was a realistic goal in a declining news market. The LA Times, in particular, is torn between fostering the broad ambitions that come from being based in the global cultural capital and funding the accountability reporting involved in covering a large and diverse American city.

On Monday, the same day that the fate of the Union-Tribune was decided, the LA Times launched De Los.

Although the launch has been hailed as a success, high expectations are hanging over the organization, such as the 1 million digital target set by Soon-Shiong by the end of last year.

The LA Times can now move forward without the burden of the declining Union-Tribune, but it’s still not turning a profit. Executive editor Kevin Merida told Axios he’s optimistic that the newsroom he runs and business operations will come up with ideas for a viable long-term revenue model.

The question now is whether Soon-seong has the resolve to wait until he develops.

“It is legitimate to question the long-term commitment of the family,” Rosen said. “There’s no way of knowing when their patience will run out.”

Frumkin sees no reason to believe that Soon-Shiong “has lost interest” in the newspaper at this point. However, Soon-Seong may have to accept that “a long runway is needed before becoming self-sustainable” — or prepare itself to finance its losses for a long time to come.

SOURCE: THE WRAP

Los Angeles Times 0wners Sell San Diego Union-Tribune To Publishing Powerhouse

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The owner of the Los Angeles Times has sold sister paper The San Diego Union-Tribune to MediaNews Group, which owns hundreds of papers around the country, the paper announced Monday.

The decision comes after the LA Times announced last month that it was cutting 74 jobs — 13% of its newsroom positions — to deal with financial difficulties.

The Union-Tribune, which covers the second-largest city in California, will now be owned by the same chain that owns a slew of Southern California newspapers. The parent company is Alden Global Capital, a New York hedge fund that has been buying up newspapers across the country and faced criticism for slashing budgets and cutting jobs.

The new owner is offering employee buyouts through next Monday and may lay people off, the Union-Tribune reported. Sharon Ryan, executive vice president of California for MediaNews Group, said in an email to employees that cutbacks will be needed to “offset the slowdown in revenues as economic headwinds continue to impact the media industry,” the paper reported. Efforts will be made to make cuts away from the newsroom, the email said.

The LA Times and Union-Tribune were purchased in 2018 by billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong and his family for $500 million from Chicago-based Tribune Publishing. The Union-Tribune sale was completed Monday, according to a memo to staff members from the California Times president and chief executive officer, Chris Argentieri.

The price of the sale wasn’t disclosed.

“Our intention now is to focus on the ongoing work of transforming the L.A. Times into a self-sustaining institution,” Patrick Soon-Shiong said in a statement contained in Argentieri’s memo. “Our hometown of Los Angeles and the state of California – really, the West Coast – needs a strong, independent news organization. We believe in the L.A. Times and are committed to its future.”

In his memo, Argentieri said the owners “have made a good faith effort to rebuild and support both news organizations.”

“We hope that this change now will position both the L.A. Times and San Diego Union-Tribune to succeed,” he wrote.

Argentieri didn’t indicate the price of the sale and didn’t indicate whether there will be any employee cuts at the Union-Tribune, which has 220 employees.

According to its website, Denver-based MediaNews Group owns 68 daily and more than 300 weekly publications throughout the United States, including the Denver Post, Mercury News of San Jose, Orange County Register, St. Paul Pioneer Press and the Boston Herald, with a combined monthly audience of more than 60 million print and online viewers.

The company, through its Southern California News Group, also owns the Los Angeles Daily News, Press-Enterprise of Riverside, Daily Breeze, Press-Telegram, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Pasadena Star-News, Whittier Daily News, San Bernardino Sun, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin and Redlands Daily Facts.

The news industry has been rocked in recent months by layoffs at news organizations including The Washington Post and National Public Radio. The decision for the LA Times to shed its sister paper came days after journalists at two dozen local newspapers across the U.S. walked off the job to demand an end to painful cost-cutting measures at Gannett, the country’s biggest newspaper chain.

Gannett said the cuts aimed to address declining revenue amid a downturn in ad sales and customer subscriptions.

The newspaper industry has struggled for years with such challenges as advertising has shifted from print to digital, and readers have abandoned local newspapers for online sources of information and entertainment.

L.A. County Leaders Vow To Continue Supporting Migrant Angelenos Based On State Of Immigrants Report

BY MARIANA DURAN

LOS ANGELES (LOS ANGELES TIMES) -- Focusing on ways to serve immigrants better and give them more of a voice on a host of economic and social issues, local legislators, academics and nonprofit leaders gathered last week at the fourth L.A. immigration summit.

The two-day summit at the California Endowment in downtown L.A. centered around the findings of the State of Immigrants in Los Angeles County 2023 report, which USC's Equity Research Institute published last Tuesday. It was organized in partnership with the California Community Fund and the Council of Immigrant Inclusion, among other organizations.

The report found that the county has made historic investments in resources to immigrants, who now make up a sizable part of the county’s population. It also pinpointed areas of growth that lawmakers and organizations should address to continue the momentum.

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass attended the event, saying during the closing panel that her office intended to build out the office of immigrant affairs by focusing on language access, inclusivity and the city’s senior immigrants — areas of growth highlighted in the report.

“There’s a lot of other things that we need to do as well,” Bass said. “I’m surprised in terms of all that needs to be done, but I’m ready to do it.”

The immigrant population of L.A. County is 3.2 million, making up over one-third of the total population, and 7.1%, or more than 800,000 people, have undocumented status, SOILA found. The county's immigrant population has remained above 30% since the 1990s, according to USC's immigrant data portal, but has gone slightly down from 36% in 2000 to 34% in 2021.

Although immigrants exist among all ethnic and racial groups, the report found that Asian Americans and Latinos have the largest percentage of immigrants per group, with 57% and 43%, respectively.

In the report and at the summit, discussions highlighted the difference between Los Angeles’ expanding welcoming policies toward immigrants and those of states such as Florida and Texas, which have become more unfriendly, said Manuel Pastor, director of the USC Equity Research Institute.

“We're trying to both lift up that contrast, but also encourage Los Angeles to continue to lead on these issues and think about where there are shortcomings as well,” Pastor said. “There's a wide range of things that we can do to really demonstrate our leadership.”

Several shortcomings need to be addressed to ensure immigrant inclusion, the study found. Limited language and technology access are issues many immigrant households face: 28% of immigrants live in linguistically isolated households and 50% of immigrants without documentation don’t have access to high-speed internet or a computer.

Employment barriers, a lack of affordable housing and more attention to diverse immigrant communities such as LGBTQ+ and Indigenous groups are other factors that warrant addressing to ensure immigrants’ ability to thrive in the county, the study said.

To Pastor, the high number of immigrants in the county and their economic contributions, as evidenced by SOILA, make the issue of inclusion “everyone’s business.”

Immigrants made up 40% of the county’s workforce in 2021 and contributed $10.4 billion in state and local taxes in 2019, the study found.

“Our lives are touched by this,” Pastor said. “You may not be, you know, a member of the fifth of L.A. County that are either undocumented or have an undocumented family member, but you have to believe that one of those people is a friend of your kids at school, someone who provided you food at a restaurant or is someone who takes care of your elder or your children.”

Investments and community work over almost 20 years have started to create a stronger infrastructure of immigrant inclusion in L.A. County, said Rosie Arroyo, program officer of immigration for the nonprofit California Community Foundation.

Arroyo pointed to Represent LA, a program that has provided legal services to about 2,000 individuals in the county facing the threat of deportation The project, which is a public-private partnership between the city and county of Los Angeles, the California Community Foundation and the Weinberg Foundation, has raised over $40 million from a combination of philanthropy and government funds, she said.

“That is a huge win for our region,” Arroyo said. “And it's so important because it demonstrates the power in the billions to advance more meaningful change in our community when we work across sectors, when we work together.”

Conversations at the L.A. immigration summit reflected these ongoing collaborations as well as an interest to further the scope of their work. Over 300 participants attended the event and participated in its many panels, which Arroyo said celebrated “our diversity, our culture, our experiences, and really working together and building community” and a way to identify opportunities "for how we can continue working together."

Along with Bass and Antonia Hernández, president of the California Community Foundation, county Supervisor Hilda Solis participated in the summit’s closing panel and talked about the importance of County District 1 leading citizens by example. Solis noted that immigrants are sometimes reluctant to access government services for fear of repercussions and urged nonprofits and the county have to take that into account when developing solutions.

“We have to be flexible, and I think we have to do it through our actions and investments. So it also means you can't just dictate it through a policy,” Solis said. “You have to influence it through cultural exchange, through funding and also involving community-based organizations. Because I don't do this job alone. We do it in partnership.”

Homelessness Is A Crisis In California But We Can’t Treat It Like An Emergency

Local governments in the Los Angeles area declared a state of emergency on homelessness this year to spur action and marshal resources. But there are drawbacks to applying an emergency label to this issue.

BY PETER LAUGHARN AND MIGUEL SANTANA

As her first official act as the mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass declared a state of emergency over homelessness. She was later joined by the mayors of neighboring Long Beach, Santa Monica and Culver City, and the L.A. County Board of Supervisors.

Following these five declarations, the supervisors also announced the largest-ever investment in the county’s homeless response: $609 million dollars over the next fiscal year. In May, the L.A. City Council approved a record $1.3 billion for homelessness programs.

For the 10 million people living in L.A. County, home to the worst of the state’s homelessness crisis, this feels like a turning point – one that all of California can get behind.

We witnessed how emergency declarations escalated the response during the pandemic when FEMA covered the cost of filling motels and hotels with vulnerable unhoused people, and the state allocated substantial funding for housing and emergency services.

Just as the pandemic sparked action, these declarations can unlock resources at a moment when everyone is eager for change.

But there are drawbacks to applying an emergency label to homelessness. For one, it gives the impression that homelessness is a natural phenomenon like an earthquake rather than the result of policies that should not be repeated.

It can also imply a need for temporary solutions and short-term funding. A one-time infusion of cash can’t overcome a systemic failure that is decades in the making. We demand long-term accountability from our homeless service providers but fail to make the long-term financial commitment they need to budget, plan and build on their successes.

The crisis frame can also push resources toward temporary shelters and away from permanent housing. That would be a mistake, since permanent housing has proven to be the most effective intervention. According to a recent report, 92% of supportive housing residents stay housed after six months.

Shelters certainly have a role to play, but they shouldn’t distract us from achieving true success.

These emergency declarations are a phenomenal way to electrify our stalled approach to homelessness, but they will ultimately fail if we do not think in terms of permanent change. That means permanent funding for service providers, permanent homes for people living on the streets, and permanent reform to our tangled web of interconnected bureaucracies.

To start with, creating a more collaborative way for local governments to work together could improve how quickly housing is permitted and services are delivered. This approach has succeeded elsewhere: Houston made a 60% reduction in homelessness in four years by aligning all levels of government and the civic community on a single plan of action.

That level of collaboration would be a paradigm shift in sprawling L.A. County, where a hundred different quarterbacks call their own plays and then look for someone to blame for system failings. If we succeed here, as they have in Houston, other California cities could follow.

History has shown us that urgency cannot be taken for granted. Indeed, the city of Los Angeles’ declaration is scheduled to expire on Monday. Without real structural change, we will find ourselves where we started before these emergencies were declared, with a fragmented and fitful approach to our most difficult challenge.

In fairness, our actions so far have laid a critical foundation. It’s a testament to the many individuals working to solve homelessness that over the last five years: 84,000 unhoused people in L.A. County moved into permanent housing. Thanks also to investments by taxpayers and philanthropy, L.A. is rehousing more people every year than any other large city in California.

Significant progress has been made, but we cannot expect Californians to see it that way when the scale of homelessness remains enormous.

Homelessness is both an emergency and an ongoing challenge. It’s good to hear our leaders recognize it. Let’s take this energy and get to work creating a lasting model for change that can inspire cities and counties across the state.

READ ORIGINAL STORY HERE

Los Angeles Times To Lay Off 74 Journalists

THE DESK

BY MATHEW KEYS

It is the first major round of pink slips since the newspaper was acquired by billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong.

The Los Angeles Times will eliminate 74 jobs representing 13 percent of its newsroom, the company announced on Wednesday, as it grapples with the same downturn in the advertising market and other macroeconomic effects that have impacted other media outlets of its size.

It is the first major round of layoffs under the ownership of billionaire investor Patrick Soon-Shiong, who acquired the newspaper in 2018. The paper planned a number of layoffs during the coronavirus health pandemic, but a union representing Los Angeles Times journalists was able to avoid layoffs then in exchange for furloughs and work-sharing agreements.

That will not be the case this time around, with editors, photographers, beat writers and other editorial workers slated to lose their jobs in the coming days. The newspaper began notifying affected workers today, according to a reporter who spoke with The Desk on background, and union representatives are collaborating with impacted journalists and the company to ensure they receive severance benefits.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the NewsGuild union said it has tried to work with the Los Angeles Times toward a new contract for its members, but with little progress since the previous one expired last November.

“This list of targeted layoffs is not final,” the NewsGuild spokesperson said. “Under our contract, management is required to bargain with the Guild over proposed layoffs. Management also so far has failed to offer buyouts to staff as is required by our contract.”

In a newsroom-wide announcement on Wednesday, Los Angeles Times Executive Editor Kevin Merida said the layoffs were necessary to ensure the newspaper is able to grow and thrive within the constraints of a limited budget.

“We have done a vast amount of work as a company to meet the budget and revenue challenges head on,” Merida said. “That work will need acceleration, and we will need more radical transformation in the newsroom for us to become a self-sustaining enterprise. Our imperative is to become a modern media company: More nimble, more experimental, bolder with our ambition and creativity than we are today.”

When the dust settles, the Los Angeles Times will have just north of 500 newsroom workers.

“Decisions that result in talented staffers losing their jobs are agonizing,” Merida said. “We will be saying goodbye to some tremendous colleagues.”

She served tacos and love from neighborhood institution. Tacos Delta matriarch Maria Esther Valdivia dies at 74

"She would never say no to the beach," said Elizabeth Rodriguez of her mother Maria Esther Valdivia. Above, a makeshift memorial at Tacos Delta. (Nathan Solis / Los Angeles Times)

BY STEPHANIE BREIJO AND NATHAN SOLIS

LOS ANGELES (LOS ANGELES TIMES)--Maria Esther Valdivia, one of L.A.’s taco matriarchs, died last week due to injuries sustained after she was hit by a car while using a crosswalk. The co-founder of Silver Lake institution Tacos Delta was 74.

In the days since Valdivia's death, generations of fans have stopped by to support the restaurant, which has seemed to endure the whims of a neighborhood more commonly associated with gentrification and constant change. Longtime customers on Tuesday gathered to reminisce about a familiar face described as infinitely generous and loving.

"She was like a mother figure, like a grandmother who just loved," said one customer, Jose Sanchez, near a growing memorial of flowers and keepsakes on the taqueria's outoor patio. "It's so unfair what happened."


On May 22, Valdivia was crossing Scott Avenue at Glendale Boulevard in Echo Park, within the bounds of a crosswalk, at roughly 1:45 p.m. when she was struck by a 1999 Mercedes-Benz E320, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The driver “did not display any impairment,” exited the vehicle and attempted to help Valdivia, police said.

Valdivia was transported to a hospital but died due to her injuries on May 25.

The native of Jalisco, Mexico, co-founded the taco stand with her mother-in-law and her husband in 1981. Service was established at a window, where diners could grab their food to-go or sit on a covered patio for an array of tacos, breakfast burritos, long-simmered soups, pitch-perfect chilaquiles and combination plates.

In the decades that followed, the family weathered shifts in the neighborhood demographics, as real estate prices soared in Silver Lake and neighboring Echo Park, and also through the recent pandemic, which saw many restaurants shutter.






News of Valvidia's death spread throughout the weekend in the Silver Lake community. On Tuesday, guests arrived to mourn, bring flowers and candles, cry and remember Valdivia with stories that even her own family was unaware of.

Carla Barboza called herself a regular at the colorfully painted taqueria and described the place as a neighborhood institution. "It's heartbreaking to hear that she died," Barboza said. "They are such a lovely family. And they survived all the changes that have happened in the neighborhood."
Family continues working

All four of Valdivia's children were at work at the taqueria on Tuesday. Valdivia's sons, Sergio Jr. and Osvaldo Valdivia, continued to take orders out of the window facing Sunset Boulevard. Husband Sergio Valdivia also showed up to work in his wife's honor.

"We feel closer to her here," said daughter Elizabeth Rodriguez.

According to her family, Valdivia gave to charitable organizations and instilled in them an ethos of compassion, respect and aid without doubting or questioning why. Over the years, Valdivia gave out food and money to homeless people.

“The community has been amazing,” said daughter Irma Gonzalez. “That's our second family — all our customers are our family and they've been supporting us through this. We're learning so much about her giving nature from people who are paying their respects.

"She grew up poor. She knew what it meant to go to sleep hungry," said daughter Elizabeth Rodriguez said.

"Her favorite saying was, 'When I die I'm not taking anything with me,'" Gonzalez said. "That's why she was so giving, always making sure that people could take away something from their time here."

Sanchez, the customer, drove with George Enciso from Long Beach to the taqueria with a bouquet of flowers. The couple used to live around the corner from the restaurant and always found Valdivia working with a smile. They were often greeted with a hug from the matronly owner.

"It's hard to believe she's gone," Enciso said.

They talked with her about Puerto Vallarta and going to the beach.

Valdivia was planning to take a trip to her hometown in Jalisco, Mexico, her daughters said, and then visit Puerto Vallarta. Their mother was set to fly on the day she passed; her packed bags sat ready in the house.

"She would never say no to the beach," Rodriguez said.

Maria Esther Valdivia is survived by her husband, four children, 14 grandchildren and one great-grandson.

Det. Calvin Dehesa of the LAPD said the department has video footage of the accident from a neighboring business. As is customary in fatal traffic accidents, L.A. County District Atty. George Gascón will review the case to determine negligence and whether to refer it to the city attorney. Dehesa called the accident “a really sad, sad case, and unfortunate.”

The entire family was still in shock, said daughter Gonzalez, but vowed to continued to operate the taqueria together.

Even though Valdivia was retired, she continued to come to work, always on the bus and always walking the rest of the way.

"She could not stay at home," Sergio Valdivia said Tuesday. "She would have gone crazy."

Los Angeles County Leaders Announce Revamped Homeless Settlement

BY REBECCA ELLIS AND DOUG SMITH

LOS ANGELES (LA TIMES)--Months after a judge shot down their first attempt, Los Angeles County officials announced an agreement they hope will finally settle a long-running federal lawsuit over the region’s treatment of homeless people.

The agreement, announced Wednesday, would commit the county to provide 1,000 additional beds for people with mental health issues and substance use disorders.

County officials first announced a settlement in September that would have nearly doubled the number of outreach teams serving people with severe mental illness and added 300 substance use and mental health beds, among other investments aimed at helping the region’s most vulnerable residents. The agreement was expected to signal the end of a years-long legal battle with the Los Angeles Alliance for Human Rights, a coalition of downtown residents and business groups that sued both the city and county in March 2020 for failing to comprehensively address homelessness.

But U.S. District Judge David Carter refused to approve the agreement, saying the county had not offered enough beds for people who are mentally ill or have substance abuse problems and that there was no way to ensure the county would uphold its side of the settlement.

At a November hearing, he said the two sides “can do better.”

Open Letter To The Los Angeles Times On Its “Gender Neutral” Category Push

BY SASHA STONE

The Los Angeles Times’ Editorial Board has decided to push for “gender-neutral” categories for the major award shows because having them separated is “sexist”:

The Academy Awards show, a high-tech production televised around the world, is still handing out Oscars for leading performances in one category for actors and another for actresses — the way it first did nearly 95 years ago over dinner at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. The Television Academy similarly bestows Emmys for performances in TV shows by gender in separate categories for men and women.

They then start their next paragraph with the following:

“But other awards shows have dispensed with this industry shibboleth…”

OTHER award shows? Does the “Editorial Board” actually think the Oscars can compare with “other” award shows? They can’t. Sorry. Those “Other” award shows are comprised of either film critics or various bloggers. They aren’t even on the same planet as the Oscars, let alone in the same room. Their primary goal is to protect their own image online and/or not get viciously attacked by activists. At best, to be a good person doing good things.

Whoever they have hired at LAT to represent their “editorial board” does not understand history — Film history, Oscar history, or even the endless toiling it has taken from activists to get to the point where a film like The Woman King could be made at all. Do they have any clue how hard it would have been to get The Woman King made at that kind of scale, starring Viola Davis, directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood? It’s taken years of reports, of activists working behind the scenes, of executives greenlighting it. It was not an easy road.

Davis has never won Best Actress, despite having won the SAG twice. Now, they’re trying to take that chance away? That’s not to say she will win this year but imagine — winning Best Actress feels like an accomplishment. Winning “Lead Performance” doesn’t. Sorry, it just doesn’t. That’s the reality, and everyone knows it.

I don’t think the Academy, or the SAG or the Golden Globes are going to be dumb enough to go down this road. The film critics want it, fine. Have at it. But if you’re talking about AWARD SHOWS, which are televised for ratings, then you best be bringing the heat. And the heat is never going to be in “gender-neutral” acting categories.

The BAFTA are the only major group I could see buckling under the pressure as they did post-2020 with upending their process for choosing Best Director and the acting categories, bringing in juries to “fix” their problem with race and gender. They went through all of that, forcing the vote to include half women for Best Director only to now be faced with removing gender entirely. As long as a special jury decides, it probably doesn’t matter if they have gender-specific categories. They will, like the LA Film Critics, BAFTA voters will deliberately make them “fair.”

In case you haven’t noticed, the Oscar industry is dying because the movie industry is dying. It isn’t dying in terms of money, at least not yet. The big franchise movies will still bring in profits. More movies are being made now than there ever have been. They just don’t get seen by many people. They rarely embed in the culture in any significant way anymore. They live as an isolated experience for a handful of people they’re made for. The room is shrinking. The experience is becoming more elitist, less universal.

These problems aren’t because Hollywood has been sucked into a strident new religion. They started long before that. But the strident new religion is killing off what’s left. This is clear to anyone outside of the increasingly shrinking bubble that Hollywood has become.

This isn’t the first time religious zealots have captured Hollywood. Christianity was the dominant religion in this country and still is. But for decades, that percentage was over 90%. That is why films about other religions were few and far between. That is also why a movie like It’s a Wonderful Life opens with villagers praying for George Bailey. And it’s why the Hays Code was established to purge Hollywood of its sins and prevent them from spilling out into the public.

The difference is, “Wokeism” or “identitarianism” or whatever it was that bloomed as a generation of activists came of age on Tumblr, makes up a very small portion of the American public. We’re probably talking at most 10%. Granted, they are a loud and powerful 10% but they do not reflect either the sensibilities or the desired goals of the majority. If you are making movies for them and adopting policies to please them (land acknowledgments, gender-neutral categories, dogma-infused content), your profits will likely dip significantly. Or as they sometimes say on the Right, “go woke, go broke.”

The last “Fourth Turning” saw both a Hays Code and a Black List, two things we’re dealing with now. It is the darker end of collectivism, which starts out as a positive force in American culture. Everyone gets a seat at the table, no marginalized person left behind. But it has no choice but to become paranoid, punitive and ultimately righteous in its efforts to keep a utopian vision alive.

In his book Pendulum: How Generations of the Past Shape Our Present and Predict Our Future, Michael Drew and Roy Williams write (from way back in 2011):

The second half of the Upswing of “We” and the first half of the Downswing from it (2013–2023) bring an ideological “righteousness” that seems to spring from any group gathered around a cause. The inevitable result is judgmental legalism and witch hunts. The origin of the term witch hunt was the Salem witch trials, a series of hearings before county court officials to prosecute people accused of witchcraft in the counties of Essex, Suffolk, and Middlesex in colonial Massachusetts, between February 1692 and May 1693, exactly at the beginning of the second half of the Upswing toward the “We” Zenith of 1703.

Senator Joseph McCarthy was an American promoter of this witch-hunt attitude at America’s most recent “We” Zenith of 1943 (see the “House Un-American Activities Committee,” 1937–1953); Adolf Hitler was the German promoter (see the Holocaust, 1933–1945); and Joseph Stalin was the Soviet promoter (see the Great Purge, 1936–1938). Our hope is that we might collectively choose to skip this development as we approach the “We” Zenith of 2023. If enough of us are aware of this trend toward judgmental self-righteousness, perhaps we can resist demonizing those who disagree with us and avoid the societal polarization that results from it. A truly great society is one in which being unpopular can be safe.

And it’s indeed happening on the Right regarding transgender ideology and LGBTQ issues. It’s just that they don’t have as much cultural, political, and institutional power. But if they did, we’d see the same thing from that side on the same level. There is most definitely a virtual Civil War raging. The Oscars, if they’re to survive, must stand firm against reimagining themselves as a “Woketopia.”

As someone who writes up the Women’s Media Center report every year detailing just how hard it’s been for women to break into various categories at the Oscars, from directing to editing to cinematography and on down the line, the acting categories have always been safe havens.

Regardless of even that, there is glamor and magic in the Best Actress category. It has always been the favorite categories of our readers here. It has a long history. I dare say it’s an institution. It is not, nor has it ever been, sexist. There is nothing more rewarding than having sat through a three-hour telecast than to see a woman in a beautiful gown take to the stage to accept an award. Take that away, you might as well stick a fork in it. The Oscars are on life support as it is. This move will kill them off entirely, as Jeff Wells points out.

Here is the letter (co-signed by, but not written by, me):

“Since 1929, the Academy Award of Merit (aka Oscar) has been awarded to artists by artists. Less than a decade after the 19th amendment granted women the right to vote, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences created the categories of Best Actor and Best Actress not as artifacts of a patriarchal, oppressive past but harbingers of a more progressive future in which the inseparability of sex and performance was acknowledged — and celebrated at parity. This model has held for nearly a century because it is understood that actors bring more than simply talent to their craft — they bring the intractible experience of life as either male or female. It is no surprise that recent calls to abolish these categories, including gender-neutral moves by the Spirit Awards, the Gotham Awards and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, originate outside the profession and community of actors most impacted by them. These are efforts to change longstanding practice not at the behest of performers or for the betterment of the art, but to serve a broader and very recent agenda that presumes to achieve “equality” through the erasure of any recognized distictions between the sexes. We reject these efforts as regressive and misogynist and call on the Academy and other organizations to do likewise.

It is especially disconcerting that this pressure campaign comes during a year with no fewer than three major awards contenders — “The Woman King,” “Women Talking” and “She Said” — singularly centered on the unique experiences of women. That all three films were also written and directed by women is a laudable step in the right direction — but could they have been just as easily written and directed by men? Absolutely. Could their predominently female casts have been replaced by men? Categorically not. This is the distinction which advocates of genderless categories ignore. Cate Blanchett and Michelle Yeoh are already heavy awards season Best Actress favorites for their respective performances in “Tàr” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” But their achievements are more than great acting — the characters depicted are wives and mothers, women struggling to meet unequal expectations in a male-dominated world. These are parts defined by their explorations of womanhood, elevated by great actresses with the irreplaceable experience of being women. The same may be said on the other side of the equation — Colin Farrell’s and Bill Nighy’s respective performances in “The Banshees of Inisherin” and “Living” are likewise rooted in their irreplaceable experiences as men. “Living,” adapted from Akira Kurosawa’s 1952 film “Ikiru,” is a noteworthy case in point. Though separated by seventy years and two continents, Bill Nighy and Takashi Shimura face precisely the same realities — experiences which transcend culture while being bound by sex.

Actors and actresses all understand that their career paths diverge based on sex and that this constitutes an opportunity and not a handicap. We should not expect or want Frances McDormand to play Macbeth any more than we should want Denzel Washington to play Lady Macbeth as the resulting performances would ring false, lacking the emotional resonance with which cinema connects the lived experiences of performers and audiences. These are distinctions borne of material reality — not culture — and removing that reality from acting categories will not remove that reality from life. It will, however, make films less honest, more ideolgoical and less connected to the hopes, dreams and life experiences of audiences.

At a deeper level, sex-based acting categories have been a longstanding cudgel against sex stereotypes — with separate categories celebrating the immense diversity of both women and men without denying their differences, and furnishing aspiring performers and artists their essential role models since the days of Fairbanks and Pickford. If the biological differences between men and women are sufficient to justify sex-segregated sports, how much greater are divergent life experiences a justification for the proud tradition of Best Actor and Best Actress?

A more honest pressure campaign would have challenged the categories of Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress, which were added in 1936. The distinctions between lead and supporting have always been flimsier and more prone to manipulation by studios — yet there have been no such calls for the eradication of these categories on grounds of “equality” because the voices behind the calls are not honest. Even the groups which have made such changes remain deeply divided and defensive about them. The Los Angeles Film Critics passed their change by a single vote and a plurality which still did not represent a majority of the voting membership. Film Independent President Josh Welsh, meanwhile, has acknowledged division within the organization but routinely declines to comment further or give any interviews but to “friendly” outlets.

For its part, the Academy is no stranger to bullies and pressure campaigns — attempts to leverage the organization and its awards in the service of assorted agendas are as old as the Academy itself. But the last decade has seen the organization’s stakes significantly raised. Telecast ratings have collapsed, in large part because the organization and its honorees are seen as increasingly disconnected from its once reliable television audience of tens of millions. Bowing to fringe pressures at this fragile point in time would spell certain disaster for the organization’s legitimacy and the telecast’s ratings. Many seem to have forgotten that the “me” in #MeToo” is female, and that the “too” is a call to female unity, a movement borne of the courage of actresses who fought back against the predations of a famous producer and the imbalance of power they have always faced within their industry. The farce of “genderless” acting categories will not remedy these problems. If anything, it’s likely to make them worse by pretending the underlying problems don’t exist.

The voices lobbying for such changes are both dishonest and disconnected from reality and we urge the Academy to ignore them. “

READ ORIGINAL STORY HERE

Faced With Tight Transition, Mayor-Elect Bass Invites Garcetti Staff To Stay On Through April

Karen Bass

BY JULIA WICK AND BENJAMIN ORESKES

LOS ANGELES (LOS ANGELES TIMES) -- Mayor-elect Karen Bass has invited all staffers in Mayor Eric Garcetti's office to remain in their jobs through April, according to a letter sent last week — an atypical move intended to steady the ship amid an unusually short transition period.

Incoming mayors regularly retain some staff from the previous administration, particularly during the first months of their administration, even as they appoint new deputy mayors and consider which general managers to keep around. But extending a blanket offer is unusual.

Though deputy mayors and other senior staffers were included in the invitation, Bass spokesperson Zach Seidl said the incoming mayor will probably fill many of those high-level positions with her own people well before April. He added that Bass is expected to name her chief of staff imminently, with some other senior names to follow.


"To maintain stability in city government during this unprecedented three-week transition, the mayor-elect has asked staff to be available to continue working to ensure vital services continue," Seidl said.

Bass faces a tighter timeline than her two most recent predecessors, who both knew voting results shortly after the polls closed and took office about six weeks later. But Bass' race wasn't called until eight days after the election, with her set to take office about 3½ weeks after that.

The shorter window is an unintended byproduct of shifting voting methods: Angelenos have increasingly utilized mail-in ballots in recent years, which take longer to process and count.

The mayor-elect's term officially begins on Dec. 12, though Bass might be sworn in on Dec. 11.

“I am extending an opportunity for continued employment up to April 22, 2023, to all active employees currently serving in the mayor's office. This employment will be exempt and at-will, and the mayor's office retains the right to terminate the employment of any individual at any time," Bass wrote in the Nov. 22 letter, adding that current employees could interview for permanent jobs during the transition period.


Bass' memo to staffers was accompanied by a lengthy letter from Garcetti, who effusively praised the incoming mayor and called her decision to offer the four-month employment buffer a reflection of her values as someone "who recognizes the good work of other public servants."

Garcetti also thanked Bass for "assuring employees and their families that they will be able to pay their bills, use their healthcare, and have a shot at continuing their careers just before the holidays."

The two-term outgoing mayor declined to weigh in during this year's mayoral contest, but he appeared to offer a retroactive endorsement of Bass in his letter, saying he was "filled with great joy, optimism, and relief" when the election was called for Bass.

"I can confess now that about 11 years ago I encouraged Karen to run for mayor in the 2013 election. ... And when she said she wasn't going to run, I decided to throw my hat in the ring and, well, as they say, the rest is history," Garcetti wrote, nodding to his own election as mayor that year.

Multiple city officials said there was a good deal of anxiety about the short time between this year's election and the inauguration. The mayor’s office has prepared briefings for Bass covering topics including advocacy priorities and basic processes, such as how the mayor signs a motion when it’s been transmitted from the City Council.

"It is very common in my experience that some members of the outgoing team stay with the new team," said retired city official Rich Llewellyn, who served as Garcetti's transition director in 2013. Llewellyn characterized the blanket offer of continued — albeit temporary — employment to all staffers as a bit unusual, but he said he thought it could be an advantageous move, providing more continuity as Bass builds her team.

"The philosophies of the staffs are usually not dramatically different" because the office is ostensibly a nonpartisan position largely held by Democrats, Llewellyn said.

But Bass’ letter could also signal to critics that she’s open to continuing city policies — at least in the short term — carried out by Garcetti, potentially frustrating activists who want immediate changes when it comes to homelessness or transportation.

Deputy mayors are particularly visible roles, serving as a public face for the administration at events and, in some cases, acting as a liaison with city unions.

The most recent public staff list for Garcetti’s office lists seven deputy mayors, including Jose “Che” Ramirez, who works on homeless policies. Over the last year, several longtime Garcetti deputy mayors left, including Jeff Gorell, former deputy mayor for public safety, and Nina Hachigian, formerly deputy mayor for international affairs.

One senior Garcetti official who received the letter but declined to be named said several top staffers were interviewing or had jobs lined up and didn’t expect to stay. This person added that the invitation from Bass was a relief for lower-level officials.

“It was reassuring for mid-level or junior staff,“ the official said. “They would be smart to do it. There’s a lot of institutional knowledge and it’s a very short transition period.”

Bass, who officially declared victory a little less than two weeks ago, has been relatively reticent about her transition plans. Bass campaign manager Jenny Delwood has been one of the point people on the transition effort, along with campaign policy director Joey Freeman, according to several people with knowledge of the situation. But the mayor-elect has yet to publicly announce any members of her transition team.

Those transition team announcements will come this week and a public jobs portal will also be released shortly, according to Seidl.

Garcetti and former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa both took office prior to a shift in the city's election calendar, with their elections held in late May before taking office on July 1.

Garcetti publicly announced Llewellyn as his transition director about 10 days after being elected and about a month before taking office in 2013. He eschewed a high-profile transition committee in favor of working with Llewellyn and a small team of trusted volunteers, gathering around town for a “back-to-basics” listening tour.

Eight years before, Villaraigosa took a very different tack. Nine days after declaring victory in 2005, he announced an 81-member transition team stacked with local power brokers to build his new administration.

But Villaraigosa's predecessor, Mayor James K. Hahn, faced a similarly tight turnaround in 2001 — he took office less than a month after being elected, thanks to a June election schedule that year. Hahn named his transition director and incoming chief of staff in the days immediately following his election.

Bass has repeatedly said she will declare a state of emergency on homelessness on her first day in office and previously identified large homeless encampments as her initial focus.

Since declaring victory, Bass has also been meeting with members of the City Council "to make sure that the city is ready to move on Day 1 on her top priorities of moving unhoused Angelenos inside immediately and making Los Angeles safer and more affordable," Seidl said.

Times staff writers James Rainey and Dakota Smith contributed to this report.

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