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LATEXTR A
W E D N E S D AY , N O V E M B E R 6 , 2 0 2 4 :: A T I M E S E - N E W S PA P E R E X C L U S I V E

TRUMP ON BRINK
SCHIFF ELECTED TO SENATE; PROP. 36 APPROVED
Garvey Former
not close; president
justice appears
reform close to
era wanes victory
By Laura J. Nelson, By James Rainey and
Mackenzie Mays Hailey Branson-Potts
and Anabel Sosa
Standing on the preci-
Californians embraced a pice of another term, former
new political era on Tues- President Trump declared
day, selecting a successor for victory in his race for presi-
the late Sen. Dianne Fein- dent of the United States, in
stein and backing a state- what appeared to be a stun-
wide ballot measure that ning comeback for a candi-
signals an end to a decade of date who had been counted
progressive criminal justice out many times by the na-
reform. tion’s political establish-
The fight for control of ment.
the U.S. House of Repre- Trump appeared to have
sentatives may remain unre- Evan Vucci Associated Press been locked in a close race
solved Tuesday night as GOP NOMINEE Donald Trump arrives with wife Melania and son Barron to address an election watch party with Vice President Kamala
votes are counted in several in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Wednesday. He overtook his rival in Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Harris during their whirl-
competitive races in Califor- wind 107-day campaign, but
nia that could determine he overtook the Democrat
whether Democrats or Re- on Tuesday in the crucial
publicans win the majority. swing states of Georgia,
In California’s premier North Carolina and Penn-
race of 2024, Democratic sylvania, leaving virtually no
Rep. Adam B. Schiff of Bur- path to victory for Harris.
bank, who rose to national The Associated Press
prominence as a key antago- had declared no winner in
nist of former President the swing states of Michigan,
Trump, easily beat Republi- Wisconsin, Arizona and Ne-
can and former Dodgers All- vada as midnight on the
Star Steve Garvey on Tues- West Coast approached.
day night to win an open seat But analysts said that
in the U.S. Senate. Harris’ possible paths to vic-
After an expensive and tory disappeared after the
acrimonious primary battle AP projected that Georgia,
among Democrats, the gen- North Carolina and Penn-
eral election race for Califor- sylvania would go to Trump.
nia’s Senate seat was com- The Republican was leading
paratively dull. in all two remaining “blue
Schiff and his allies spent wall” states — Michigan and
more than $35 million during Wisconsin — considered
the primary on advertise- crucial for a Harris victory.
ments that called Garvey Just before 2:30 a.m.
“too conservative for Cali- Eastern time, Trump stood
fornia.” The gambit helped before a crowd at his cam-
to consolidate Republican paign headquarters in West
support behind Garvey and Palm Beach, Fla., and de-
vault him past fierce com- clared victory.
petitor Rep. Katie Porter, “It’s a political victory
who finished a distant third. that our country has never
Garvey, 75, held few pub- seen before, nothing like
lic events and struggled to this,” Trump said. “I want to
gain traction with voters in a thank the American people
state that has not elected a Susan Walsh Associated Press for the extraordinary honor
Republican to statewide of- IN WASHINGTON, supporters of Democratic nominee Kamala Harris gather Tuesday at her alma mater, of being elected your 47th
fice in nearly two decades. Howard University. Her prospects for winning dimmed after Trump won North Carolina and Georgia. president and your 45th
“If this were the 2000 Sen- president.”
ate race, then the competi- Despite the precarious
tive nature of California’s KEY STATES THAT WILL DECIDE WHO IS PRESIDENT situation and high confi-
politics and Garvey’s rela- dence in the Trump camp,
tively recent sports suc- 224 267 Harris’ campaign said late
cesses might have made him Tuesday that the Democrat
a very competitive candi- 270 to win did not plan to speak about
date,” said Dan Schnur, a the results until Wednesday.
professor of political com- Harris Trump In an extraordinary cam-
munication at USC, UC paign that saw two assassi-
Berkeley and Pepperdine. Arizona Georgia* Michigan Nevada North Carolina* Pennsylvania* Wisconsin nation attempts against the
“But given how the state has (11 electoral votes) (16 electoral votes) (15 electoral votes) (6 electoral votes) (16 electoral votes) (19 electoral votes) (10 electoral votes) Republican Trump and a
changed, and how many switch in candidates by the
Trump ....50.4% Trump ....50.8% Trump ....52.4% Trump .....51.6% Trump .........51% Trump ....50.9% Trump .....51.3%
years have passed, it became Democrats less than four
Harris.....48.8% Harris.....48.5% Harris..... 45.9% Harris..... 46.7% Harris......47.7% Harris......48.1% Harris......47.3%
almost an impossible uphill months before election day,
climb for him.” 52% of 96.9% of 76.6% of 80.5% of 98.9% of 95.6% of 90.9% of the outcome is certain to
A seat in the Senate, one expected vote in expected vote in expected vote in expected vote in expected vote in expected vote in expected vote in produce more history. The
of the most coveted in Cali- U.S. will elect either the first
[See California, AA4] * Race called by Associated Press [See White House, AA3]

In L.A., Jurado and CONGRESS AND STATE RACES

THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
218 seats to control the House
Hochman leading
Nazarian are ahead DEMOCRATS

170
REPUBLICANS

192
UNDECIDED

73
Gascón in D.A. race
sure that city services are link, but Hochman’s mes-
By David Zahniser THE SENATE By James Queally
delivered equitably, among sage resonated with voters,
and Dakota Smith 51 seats to control the Senate and Connor Sheets
other things. with polls forecasting his vic-
“It’s about racial justice. DEMOCRATS REPUBLICANS INDEPENDENT tory ahead of election day.
Tenants rights attorney It’s about change. It’s about A tumultuous first term The first rounds of re-
Ysabel Jurado was leading
Los Angeles City Coun-
bringing good governance,
and local government that
42 51 1* in office for Los Angeles
County Dist. Atty. George
turns released Tuesday
showed Hochman receiving
cilmember Kevin de León in works for people,” she said. * Previously caucused with Democrats. Gascón seemed likely to end more than 1.1 million votes
a race to represent down- The District 14 seat was 7 Senate races undecided. Results as of 12:01 a.m. Pacific time in a failed reelection bid, as and Gascón around 700,000
town and much of the city’s one of three council seats he trailed challenger Nathan — about 61% to 39%.
STATE PROPOSITIONS
Eastside, according to early that were up for grabs Tues- Hochman by nearly 20 per- “While the final votes
returns released Tuesday. day. PROP. 32 PROP. 33 PROP. 36 centage points in early re- haven’t been tallied, all indi-
The bruising, yearlong In the San Fernando Val- turns. cations are the voices of the
contest pitted Jurado, a ley, former state Assembly- Raise hourly Expand local Felonies for theft Gascón swept into office residents of LA County have
first-time candidate, against member Adrin Nazarian minimum wage. rent control. and drug crimes. in 2020 on a promise of re- been heard,” Hochman said
De León, a veteran law- pulled ahead of small-busi- Yes ....................49% Yes ................40.2% Yes.................70.6% form and restorative justice, in a statement on the early
maker who was politically ness owner Jillian Burgos in No ......................51% No..................59.8% No..................29.4% but Hochman — a former results. “And they’re saying
wounded by his participa- the race to replace Coun- federal prosecutor and de- enough is enough of George
tion in a secretly recorded cilmember Paul Krekorian, MORE COVERAGE INSIDE fense attorney — has spent [Gascón’s] policies and ...
conversation that featured who is departing because of months painting the incum- [See D.A. race, AA5]
racist and crude remarks. term limits, early returns FIGHT FOR CONGRESS: Republicans seize control of Senate. AA2 bent as responsible for in-
Jurado, who spent much showed. ABORTION RIGHTS: Supporters’ winning streak ends. AA2 creases in crime and home-
of election day crisscrossing Nazarian said he is “cau- BAY AREA: Voters on Harris’ home turf are hopeful, anxious. AA3 lessness around L.A.
the district, said her cam- tiously optimistic” but still COUNTY ISSUES: Homeless services measure is leading. AA4 Gascón’s supporters and
paign was about making [See L.A., AA5] Visit latimes.com/2024election for up-to-the-minute coverage. criminologists dispute that
AA2 W E D N E S DAY , N OV E M B E R 6 , 2 0 2 4 L AT I M E S . C O M

Republicans capture majority in Senate

recent campaign swing
Democrats lose seats through Southern Califor-
nia.
held by incumbents, But House Speaker Mike
with some races Johnson (R-La.), drawing
closer to Trump, predicts
outstanding. House Republicans will “grow”
majority up for grabs. their majority. He took over
after Kevin McCarthy of
Bakersfield was booted from
By Lisa Mascaro and the speaker’s office.
Mary Clare Jalonick One of the most-watched
Senate races, in Montana,
WASHINGTON — Re- may be among the last to be
publicans seized control of decided. Democrat Jon
the U.S. Senate late Tuesday Tester, a popular three-term
after flipping Democratic- senator and “dirt farmer,” is
held seats, holding onto in the fight of his political ca-
GOP incumbents and wrest- reer against Trump-backed
ing away the majority. Republican Tim Sheehy, a
The unexpected battle- wealthy former Navy SEAL,
ground of Nebraska pushed who made derogatory com-
Republicans over the top. ments about Native Ameri-
Incumbent GOP Sen. Deb cans, a key constituency in
Fischer brushed back a sur- the Western state.
prisingly strong challenge In the Southwestern
from independent new- states, Arizona firebrand
comer Dan Osborn. Republican Kari Lake has
Democrats watched struggled against Democrat
their efforts to salvage their Ruben Gallego in the seat
slim majority slip out of opened by independent Sen.
reach as tallies rolled in Kyrsten Sinema’s retire-
across a map that favored ment. In Nevada, Demo-
Republicans. cratic Sen. Jacky Rosen has
Early in the night, Re- been holding out against Re-
publicans flipped one seat in publican newcomer Sam
West Virginia, with the elec- Brown.
tion of Jim Justice, who eas- What started as a lack-
ily won the race to replace re- luster race for control of
tiring Sen. Joe Manchin III. Congress was instantly
Democratic efforts to transformed once Harris
oust Republican Sens. Ted stepped in for Biden at the
Cruz of Texas and Rick Scott top of the ticket, energizing
of Florida collapsed. Democrats with massive
While Texas hasn’t Sue Ogrocki Associated Press fundraising and volunteers
elected a Democrat state- IN OHIO , Republican Bernie Moreno, shown with his wife, Bridget, on Tuesday, defeated incumbent Demo- that lawmakers said re-
wide in almost 30 years, cratic Sen. Sherrod Brown. Coupled with a win in West Virginia, Republicans took a majority in the Senate. minded them of the Obama-
Colin Allred, a Dallas-area era enthusiasm of 2008.
congressman and former dent’s agenda, or if the White dez resigned this year after sive survey of more than trying to claw back some of Fallout from redistrict-
NFL linebacker, positioned House confronts a divided his federal conviction on 110,000 voters nationwide, the 10 or so seats where Re- ing, when states redraw
himself as a moderate and Capitol Hill. In the end, a bribery charges. found a country mired in publicans have made sur- their maps for congressional
leaned into his support for handful of seats, or even just Elsewhere, House candi- negativity as Americans prising gains in recent years districts, is also shifting the
reproductive rights amid one, could tip the balance. date Sarah McBride, a faced a stark choice between with star lawmakers who balance of power within the
Texas’ abortion ban, one of Already several states Democratic state lawmaker Trump and Vice President helped deliver the party to House, with Republicans set
the strictest in the nation. will send history-makers to from Delaware who is close Kamala Harris. power. to gain several seats from
Cruz’s victory came after the Senate. to President Biden’s family, Congress plays a role in Other House races are Democrats in North Car-
Democratic Sen. Sherrod Voters elected two Black won her race, becoming the upholding the American tra- scattered around the coun- olina and Democrats pick-
Brown in Ohio lost his re- women to the Senate, first openly transgender dition of peacefully transfer- try in a sign of how narrow ing up a second Black-ma-
election to Republican Democrats Lisa Blunt person elected to Congress. ring presidential power. the field has become. Only a jority seat in Republican-
Bernie Moreno, a wealthy Rochester of Delaware and The key contests are Four years ago, Trump sent couple of dozen seats are be- heavy Alabama.
Trump-era newcomer. Angela Alsobrooks of Mary- playing out alongside the his mob of supporters to ing seriously challenged, Lawmakers in the House
The race between Brown, land, in a historic first. first presidential election “fight like hell” at the Capi- with some of the most con- face voters every two years,
a three-term senator, and Blunt Rochester won the since the Jan. 6, 2021, attack tol, and many Republicans tentious in Maine; in Ne- while senators serve six-year
Moreno, who was backed by open seat in her state while on the Capitol, but also in in Congress voted to block braska, the “blue dot” terms.
former President Trump, Alsobrooks defeated Mary- unexpected corners of the Biden’s election. around Omaha; and in If Democrats take the
was the most expensive of land’s popular former gover- country after what has been Congress will again be Alaska. House and Republicans
the cycle, at some $400 mil- nor, Larry Hogan. Just three one of the most chaotic con- called upon to certify the re- Vote counting in some take the Senate, it would be
lion. Moreno, an immigrant Black women have served in gressional sessions in mod- sults of the presidential elec- races could extend well past the first time that the cham-
from Bogota, Colombia, the Senate, and never before ern times. tion in 2025. Tuesday. bers of Congress have both
built a fortune as a luxury have two served at the same Voters said the economy Billions of dollars have “We’re in striking dis- flipped to opposing political
car dealer and blockchain time. and immigration were the been spent by the parties, tance in terms of taking back parties.
entrepreneur. And in New Jersey, Andy top issues facing the coun- and outside groups on the the House,” House Demo-
With control of Congress Kim became the first Kore- try, but the future of democ- narrow battleground for cratic leader Hakeem Jef- Mascaro and Jalonick write
at stake, the ever-tight con- an American elected to the racy was also a leading moti- both the 435-member House fries of New York, who is in for the Associated Press. AP
tests for the House will de- Senate, defeating Republi- vator for many Americans and 100-member Senate. line to make history as the writers Stephen Groves,
termine which party holds can businessman Curtis Ba- casting ballots in the presi- Top House races are fo- first Black speaker if his Kevin Freking and
the majority and the power shaw. The seat opened when dential election. cused in New York and Cali- party wins control, told the Farnoush Amiri
to boost or block a presi- Democrat Robert Menen- AP VoteCast, an expan- fornia, where Democrats are Associated Press during a contributed to this report.

Abortion rights foes in Florida mark a first with victory

they could come before vot- minority residents of the answer directly. The first
Gov. Ron DeSantis is ers in 2026 to try to undo the states with bans. time he said he did “a great
new amendment. The issue resonated with job bringing it back to the
praised for leading the Florida is the first state voters. About one-fourth states.” The second time, he
charge. In Missouri, since Roe was overturned said abortion policy was the snapped at a reporter, say-
where abortion opponents single most important fac- ing, “You should stop talking
voters set to undo one prevailed on a ballot mea- tor for their vote, according about that.”
of the strictest bans. sure. Most voters supported to AP VoteCast, a sweeping
the Florida measure, but it survey of more than 110,000
States’ distinct
fell short of the required 60% voters nationwide. Close to
By Geoff Mulvihill to pass constitutional half said it was an important ballot measures
and Christine amendments in the state. factor, but not the most im- While the ballot ques-
Fernando Most states require a simple portant. Just over 1 in 10 said tions all have similar aims,
majority. it was a minor factor. each one occupies its own
WASHINGTON — Vot- The result was a political The outcomes of ballot political circumstances.
ers in Missouri cleared the win for Republican Gov. Ron initiatives that sought to Nebraska has two com-
way to undo one of the na- DeSantis, a Republican with overturn strict bans in Flor- peting ballot measures. One
tion’s most restrictive abor- a national profile, who ida and Missouri were very would allow abortion fur-
tion bans, while Florida de- steered state GOP funds to important to a majority of ther into pregnancy. The
feated a similar constitu- the cause. His administra- voters in the states. More other would enshrine in the
tional amendment, leaving tion has weighed in, too, with than half of Florida voters Constitution the state’s cur-
in place a law barring most an ad campaign against the identified the result of the rent law, which bars most
abortions after the first six measure, investigations of amendment as very impor- abortions after 12 weeks —
weeks of pregnancy. people who signed petitions tant, while roughly 6 in 10 of but would allow for further
Those were perhaps the to add it to the ballot and Mario Tama Getty Images Missouri’s voters said the restrictions.
most impactful results on an threats to TV stations that ARIZONA for Abortion Access supporters partici- same, the survey found. In South Dakota, the
election day when abortion aired one commercial sup- pate in Tucson’s 35th All Souls Procession on Sunday. The bans were part of a measure would allow some
amendments were before porting it. key argument in the presi- regulations related to the
voters across the U.S. Abor- Marjorie Dannenfelser, In Maryland, the abor- the measure. dential race. Vice President health of the woman after 12
tion rights amendments president of the national tion rights amendment is a Kamala Harris calls them weeks. Because of that wrin-
also passed in Colorado and antiabortion group SBA legal change that won’t “Trump abortion bans,” kle, most national abortion
Maryland. Another that Pro-Life America, said in a make an immediate differ-
Rights advocates noting former President rights groups are not sup-
bans discrimination on the statement that the result is ence to abortion access in a stymied in Florida Trump’s role in overturning porting it.
basis of “pregnancy out- “a momentous victory for life state that already allows it. Until Tuesday, abortion Roe vs. Wade. Harris, mean- Arizona, a battleground
comes” prevailed in New in Florida and for our entire The Colorado measure rights advocates had pre- while, has portrayed herself in the presidential election,
York. country,” praising DeSantis exceeded the 55% of support vailed on all seven measures as a direct, consistent advo- bans abortion after the first
The Missouri and Florida for leading the charge required to pass. Besides en- that have appeared on state cate for reproductive health 15 weeks of pregnancy.
results represent firsts in the against the measure. shrining access, it also un- ballots since Roe was over- and rights, including Black The ballot measure there
abortion landscape, which The defeat makes perma- does an earlier amendment turned. maternal health. gained momentum after a
underwent a seismic shift in nent a shift in the Southern that barred using state and The abortion rights cam- Trump struggled to state Supreme Court ruling
2022 when the U.S. Supreme abortion landscape that be- local government funding paigns have a big fundrais- thread a divide between his in April found that the state
Court overturned Roe vs. gan when the state’s six- for abortion, opening the ing advantage this year. own base of antiabortion could enforce a strict abor-
Wade, a ruling that ended a week ban took effect in May. possibility of state Medicaid Their opponents’ efforts are supporters and the majority tion ban adopted in 1864.
nationwide right to abortion That removed Florida as a and government employee focused on portraying the of Americans who support Some GOP lawmakers
and cleared the way for bans destination for abortion for insurance plans covering amendments as too extreme abortion rights, leaning on joined with Democrats to re-
to take effect in most Repub- many women from nearby care. rather than abortion as im- his catchall response that peal the law before it could
lican-controlled states. Mis- states with deeper bans and A New York equal rights moral. abortion rights should be be enforced.
souri was the first state to also led to far more women law that abortion rights Currently, 13 states are left up to individual states. Measures maintaining
ban abortion — even in cases from the state traveling to groups say will bolster abor- enforcing bans at all stages His shifting stances on access also are on the ballot
of rape and only with an ex- obtain an abortion. The tion rights also passed. It of pregnancy, with some ex- reproductive rights include in Montana and Nevada, an-
ception for medical emer- nearest states with looser re- doesn’t contain the word ceptions. Four more bar vowing in October to veto a other battleground in the
gencies — after the fall of strictions are North Car- “abortion” but rather bans abortion in most cases after national abortion ban, just presidential election.
Roe. olina and Virginia — hun- discrimination on the basis about six weeks of preg- weeks after the presidential In Nevada, where control
Missouri is now posi- dreds of miles away. of “pregnancy outcomes, nancy — before many wom- debate when he repeatedly of the state government is di-
tioned to be the first state “The reality is because of and reproductive healthcare en even realize they’re preg- declined to say. Trump also vided, the ballot measure
where a vote will undo a ban Florida’s constitution a mi- and autonomy.” nant. Despite the bans, the has regularly taken credit would have to be passed this
that’s already in place. It’s nority of Florida voters have Sasha Ahuja, campaign number of monthly abor- for appointing three year and again in 2026 to
not guaranteed, though: Ad- decided Amendment 4 will director of New Yorkers for tions in the U.S. has risen Supreme Court justices who take effect.
vocates now have to ask not be adopted,” said Lau- Equal Rights, called the slightly because of the grow- helped overturn Roe vs.
courts to overturn laws to ren Brenzel, campaign di- result “a monumental vic- ing use of abortion pills and Wade. Mulvihill and Fernando
square with the new amend- rector for the Yes on 4 Cam- tory for all New Yorkers” and organized efforts to help After voting in Palm write for the Associated
ment. paign. “The reality is a ma- a vote against opponents women travel for abortion. Beach, Fla., on Tuesday, Press. AP reporters Hannah
And even before it was jority of Floridians just voted who she says used mislead- Still, advocates say the bans Trump was asked twice how Fingerhut and Amanda
adopted, some abortion op- to end Florida’s abortion ing parental rights and anti- have reduced access, espe- he voted on the abortion Seitz contributed to this
ponents were suggesting ban.” trans messages to thwart cially for lower-income and measure there — and didn’t article.
L AT I M E S . C O M W E D N E S DAY , N OV E M B E R 6 , 2 0 2 4 AA3

Trump on verge of clinching victory

[White House, from AA1] who “smelled like fuel, had a
woman or the first convicted torch & a flare gun.”
felon to the White House. The FBI determined that
Trump would also become the bomb threats were not
only the second president credible. Despite sporadic
elected to nonconsecutive reports of irregularities at
terms, following Grover vote centers, there was no
Cleveland, who served at the widespread disruption in
end of the 19th century. balloting.
Results nationwide fol- The Georgia secretary of
lowed a familiar and ex- state declared that about 10
pected pattern through voting places would remain
most of the evening, with the open late because bomb
Associated Press declaring threats had briefly dis-
Trump the victor in 24 states rupted voting.
and naming Harris the win- Though they presented
ner in 17 states and the Dis- no specific evidence, a num-
trict of Columbia. ber of Republican voters
Trump took West Virgin- around the country ex-
ia, Kentucky, Indiana, Mis- pressed skepticism about
sissippi, Alabama, Okla- the fairness of the voting.
homa, Tennessee, North “If it carries on to mid-
Carolina, South Carolina, night or tomorrow or the
Georgia, Arkansas, Florida, next day, that’s when the
Louisiana, North Dakota, Democrats are going to pull
South Dakota, Wyoming, their little stunts on us,” said
Montana, Utah, Missouri, Mike Richardson, a retired
Iowa, Kansas, Texas, Idaho union carpenter from Hen-
and Ohio. derson, Nev. “And they will. I
Harris came out on top in know they will.”
Maryland, Delaware, Virgin- Richardson, 69, said his
ia, New Jersey, Connecticut, main concern was about “all
Massachusetts, New Hamp- the illegal immigrants that
shire, Vermont, Rhode Is- can vote without ID.”
land, Illinois, Colorado, New Though illegal voting by
York, Washington, Oregon, noncitizens is the most cited
California, New Mexico, example of purported elec-
Hawaii and the District of tion fraud, audits in multiple
Columbia, the wire service states have found virtually
said. no evidence to confirm that
In 2020 Trump claimed suspicion.
that the election was rigged Evan Vucci Associated Press A comprehensive audit of
and warned early Tuesday REPUBLICAN presidential nominee Donald Trump visits his campaign center in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Georgia’s 8.2 million regis-
that fraud was again pos- Tuesday. On his Truth Social site, he exhorted supporters to vote, saying, “We’re gonna have a big victory.” tered voters, for example,
sible. found 20 noncitizens who
“A lot of talk about registered to vote and just
massive CHEATING in nine of those actually cast a
Philadelphia. Law Enforce- ballot.
ment coming!!!” Trump Voters who came out for
claimed on his Truth Social Trump on Tuesday often
platform, hours before talked about high prices and
polls closed in the East. their belief that the Republi-
He offered no specifics or can would do more to con-
proof, in an echo of election trol inflation.
fraud claims roundly re- In the red-leaning exurbs
jected by dozens of courts in of Fayette County, about 20
2020, as Joe Biden defeated miles south of Atlanta,
Trump to win the White Danette Corcoran, a 67-year-
House. old bus driver, voted for
One member of Philadel- Trump because she thought
phia’s three-member elec- he would get things done.
tion board soon posted a no- “I don’t like his person-
tice online that there was ality — he’s a little brash,”
“absolutely no truth” to she said of Trump. “But he
Trump’s allegation, adding: can wheel and deal and fix
“It is yet another example of things. I felt secure in my
disinformation. Voting in country when he was presi-
Philadelphia has been safe dent. With Biden and Harris,
and secure.” I watched the world im-
Harris spent much of plode. Prices have gone sky
election day on the airwaves, high.”
conducting multiple inter- Some Harris voters
views with radio stations in seemed astonished that the
Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Republican nominee was
Atlanta and Raleigh — within striking distance of a
population centers in the second term.
battleground states of Penn- “This is America?” said
sylvania, Georgia and North Judy Fonseca, a medical ad-
Carolina. ministrator who was voting
On the social media plat- in the Atlanta suburb of East
form X, the vice president Point, Ga. “This shouldn’t be
urged her voters to cast their happening. Look at the man
ballots. “Today, we have the — he’s a felon. Felons can’t
chance to vote for a future of even vote!”
freedom, opportunity, and
justice — not just for some, Jacquelyn Martin Associated Press Times staff writers Jenny
but for all,” said one missive DEMOCRATIC nominee Kamala Harris also urged supporters to cast their ballots and spent much of Tues- Jarvie in Atlanta, Brittny
from Harris. Another post day conducting radio interviews. Above, she joins Democratic National Committee volunteers in Washington. Mejia in Las Vegas, Kevin
read simply: “When we vote Rector in San Francisco,
we win.” tory. Voter enthusiasm is Republican said: “Stay on Many voters expressed made against polling loca- Daniel Miller in Los Angeles
On Truth Social, Trump THROUGH THE ROOF be- line... Make sure you get anxiety in the final hours of tions in multiple states and and Noah Bierman and
announced early Tuesday: cause people want to Make through and vote. And we’re the 2024 races, stress not al- the U.S. Capitol Police re- Seema Mehta in
“This will be the most impor- America Great Again.” gonna have a big victory leviated as the FBI reported ported arresting a man at Washington contributed to
tant day in American His- In a video on the site, the tonight.” bomb threats had been the Capitol Visitor Center this report.

In Bay Area, Harris’ home turf, voters watch race with hope, anxiety
restaurant’s traditional color, and from Oakland,”
Some celebrate even election day lunch. The said Sophia Lewis, 24. While
George Washington High Lewis had some criticisms of
before the polls are School Marching Band Harris’ policies, she said she
closed. For others, the played, and longtime San far preferred her to Trump.
Francisco politicos, dressed “A lot of people are feeling
presidential contest is in their election day best, prideful.”
‘just too stressful.’ worked the crowd and posed Dropping off his ballot in
for photos. Oakland, Kasper Dil-
“She won,” insisted for- maghani, 35, said that even
By Hannah Wiley, mer San Francisco Mayor thinking about having voted
Alana Minkler, Willie Brown, an early men- for a Black woman from
Daniel Hennessy tor to Harris — and briefly a Oakland for president was
and Amaray Alvarez romantic partner. Though awe-inspiring. “I’m getting
polls were still open for chills,” he said.
BERKELEY — Outside a nearly eight more hours, As polls closed across the
modest yellow bungalow in Brown, sporting a stylish country, people crowded
West Berkeley, some dealt maroon suit and a top hat, into Manny’s. They were
with their election day anxi- said he was so confident of greeted by drag queens and
ety by making a pilgrimage the result that he was “refer- cotton candy and drinks
to Kamala Harris’ childhood ring to this as the first cele- with names like “Kamala
home to snap selfies, hoping bration of her victory.” Katala” — a mixture of piña
they would turn into treas- Nearby, Manny Yekutiel, colada mix, pineapple juice
ured memories of the day owner of Manny’s — a and soju.
the nation elected its first fe- restaurant and civic gather- Even as the number of
male president. ing space in the city’s Mis- electoral votes in Trump’s
“We’re very proud,” said Josh Edelson For The Times sion District — was buzzing column surged, many at the
Diana Shapiro, 53, who lives SUSIE NEWTON, center, and others attend an election watch party at Manny’s, around showing off his “pa- party said they were deter-
about a block from the a restaurant and civic gathering space, in San Francisco’s Mission District. triotic nails” painted red, mined to remain optimistic.
apartment where Harris white and blue and fes- To keep spirits high, Yeku-
spent part of her childhood. start to come in. Waiting to ney, win the highest office in one in Germany is just super tooned with glitter. “I’m very tiel began instituting “dance
Shapiro’s frontyard is find out, after one of the the land? interested in what’s going on excited to have Kamala Har- breaks,” when people could
adorned with Harris post- wildest and most expensive Joanie McBrien, 59, who here,” Ball said, adding, “We ris as my next president,” he stop watching the results
ers; inside her living room is political campaigns in lives near the yellow house are all terrified of [Donald] said, adding that he was cer- and dance.
a framed portrait of the vice American history, who where Harris once did, said Trump,” particularly some tain it would be “the begin- “I didn’t want to just sit at
president. Shapiro predic- would be president. she had headed out into the of his foreign policy state- ning of a whole new moment home and wallow in my fear,”
ted the neighborhood, nick- Perhaps nowhere in the streets to try to walk off her ments about the North At- in history for our country.” said Isabella Madruga, 22,
named “Poet’s Corner,” country was this waiting anxiety. “It’s just too stress- lantic Treaty Organization So fervid was the excite- who was sipping a Kamala
would erupt into a sponta- more acute — or the excite- ful,” she said. “It’s a close and the war in Ukraine. ment that many local news Katala. “I wanted to be here
neous street party if Harris ment and anxiety higher — race and who knows what Others in the Democratic sites published guides to and listen to the news with
wins. “It would be amazing than in the Bay Area. will happen.” stronghold of the Bay Area, public election parties, other people.”
to have our first woman Would the hometown girl Others came to mark the however, decided to throw where residents could go cel-
president,” she said. make good? Would Harris, a history. Phil Hackermann, caution to the wind and ebrate or — though no one Times staff writer Jessica
But first, she had to wait. self-proclaimed “daughter 29, and Sarah Ball, 28, rode start partying early. would dare say it — mourn Garrison and special
As the sun set on election of Oakland” who spent part their bikes down from UC Across the Bay Bridge at the results. correspondents Ruchi
day, people across the coun- of her childhood in Berkeley Berkeley to take photos to John’s Grill in downtown In Oakland, many voters Shahagadkar, Neha Gopal,
try seemed to be holding and launched her political send to family in Germany. San Francisco, streets were walked out of polling sta- I-Yun Chan, Raymond
their breath. They were career with an underdog tri- “I thought, ‘We need to closed off and already tions saying they felt the Matthews and Aisha
waiting for the polls to close, umph in the 2003 race for take a picture and send it mobbed by early afternoon weight of history. Wallace-Palomares
so the election results could San Francisco district attor- back home,’ because every- with folks crowding in for the “Kamala’s a woman of contributed to this report.
AA4 W E D N E S DAY , N OV E M B E R 6 , 2 0 2 4 L AT I M E S . C O M

Schiff wins; criminal justice reform wanes

[California, from AA1]
fornia politics, rarely comes
open. Feinstein served in the
Senate for more than three
decades and Sen. Barbara
Boxer for nearly a quarter-
century. The California Sen-
ate seat can also be a launch-
ing pad for higher office, as
was the case for Harris,
President Nixon and Gov.
Pete Wilson.
California’s ballot in-
cluded two Senate ques-
tions. One asked voters to
select Schiff or Garvey to
serve out the remainder of
Feinstein’s term, which ends
in early January. The other
asked voters to select one of
the men to serve a subse-
quent six-year Senate term.
During 18 years playing
first base for the Dodgers
and San Diego Padres, Gar-
vey was known as “Mr.
Clean” for his sweet-swing-
ing home runs and his
wholesome image. Garvey
toyed with the idea of run-
ning for Senate shortly after
his 1988 retirement. But he
was instead mired in scan-
dal, including mounting
debts, lawsuits and back-
lash from children born out
of wedlock.
After serving as an assist-
ant U.S. attorney in Los An-
geles and in the California
Legislature as a pro-law en-
forcement Democrat, Schiff
was first elected to the
House in 2002 and rose to
national prominence 15
years later as a member of Robert Gauthier Los Angeles Times
the Intelligence Committee, SEN.-ELECT Adam B. Schiff delivers a victory speech at a party at the JW Marriott in downtown Los Angeles. His wife, Eve, is at right.
investigating the Trump
campaign’s ties to Russia in grams and dramatically in- shaping the next Congress.
2016. crease prison populations. “The race for control of
As the lead prosecutor in Californians also voted the U.S. House remains as
the first impeachment trial on Tuesday to approve Pro- close as it’s ever been,” Erin
of Trump in the House of position 3, shedding the last Covey, the U.S. House editor
Representatives, the Bur- vestiges of Proposition 8, the for the nonpartisan Cook
bank Democrat — once 2008 voter-approved mea- Political Report, said days
mocked by the former presi- sure that banned same-sex before the election. “With
dent as a “little pencil neck” marriage and was later de- several competitive races in
— used Trump’s vitriol to clared unconstitutional. West Coast states that take
propel himself to national The measure repeals the longer to count their ballots,
fame. His role in the im- outdated clause and en- it’s highly possible we won’t
peachment lionized him shrines marriage as a “fun- know which party has con-
among fellow Democrats, damental right” for all. trol on election night.”
demonized him among Re- Early election results in- No state has more swing
publicans and seeded his dicated that Californians seats than California, where
campaign for the Senate. may reject Proposition 32, a six seats are considered
The Associated Press de- statewide ballot initiative to highly competitive.
clared the passage of Pro- increase California’s current Five are represented by
position 36 about an hour af- $16 minimum wage by $2 for Republicans, and four are in
ter polls closed, indicating all employees by 2026. The districts President Biden
the strong voter support for measure received support won in 2020.
the statewide ballot mea- from labor unions and anti- In early returns Tuesday
sure to crack down on retail poverty advocates but was night, Republican incum-
theft and the deadly drug opposed by influential busi- bents Mike Garcia of Santa
fentanyl. ness interests. Clarita, Ken Calvert of Co-
Support for Proposition Wally Skalij Los Angeles Times Golden State voters held rona, John Duarte of Modes-
36 comes amid rising con- REPUBLICAN Steve Garvey walks on stage to debate Schiff in Glendale on unusual power in the na- to and Michelle Steel of Seal
cerns about crime, home- Oct. 8. Garvey held few public events and struggled to gain traction with voters. tional fight for control of the Beach were trailing, but all
lessness and drug use in the House of Representatives, the races remained too close
state, an issue seized upon through Proposition 47, policies of the past. ship, who urged voters to with the suburbs of Orange to call.
by Republicans and some which reduced some felonies Voter support for Pro- take a cautious approach to County, the Central Valley’s In the race to replace
big-city Democratic mayors to misdemeanors and was position 36 defied warnings the ballot measure, which farm belt and desert com- Rep. Katie Porter (D-
during the 2024 election. The seen as a milestone in Cali- from Gov. Gavin Newsom they said would take away munities around Palm Irvine), Democrat Dave Min
initiative reforms a law ap- fornia’s attempt to end the and the California Legisla- state savings that are allo- Springs and Lancaster was slightly ahead of Repub-
proved a decade ago draconian tough-on-crimes ture’s Democratic leader- cated to anti-recidivism pro- playing an outsized role in lican Scott Baugh.

L.A. County homeless services measure winning early

There has been no organ-
Another proposal, ized opposition, though the
measure has faced
Measure G, which skepticism from some resi-
would expand the dents who believe the region
has little to show for the mil-
Board of Supervisors, lions already generated
is close in early tally. through Measure H.
But supporters of Mea-
sure A warn that homeless-
By Rebecca Ellis ness will spike dramatically
if the sales tax expires, dry-
A ballot measure aimed ing up funds for temporary
at enlarging the pot of mon- beds and rental subsidies,
ey available for homeless among other services.
services in Los Angeles A cheer went up at the
County was ahead, while an- campaign party for Measure
other measure expanding A when the first round of
the county Board of Super- early results hit the board
visors was virtually tied in Tuesday night.
early returns Tuesday night. “Each vote brings us one
Measure A would double step closer to being able to
the quarter-cent sales tax bring bold new solutions to
that voters approved in 2017 tackling homelessness and
for homeless services and improving the lives of all who
extend the tax indefinitely, call Los Angeles County
ensuring that a major fund- home,” said Scott Mann
ing stream won’t dry up in a with the Measure A cam-
few years. paign in a statement.
Measure G would dra- After climbing for the last
matically shift power within five years, overall homeless-
L.A. County government, ness leveled off in Los Ange-
nearly doubling the size of les County in 2024, according
the Board of Supervisors Jason Armond Los Angeles Times to the annual count released
and creating a new ethics IN NORWALK last month, Araceli Rubio, 49, holds her miniature pinscher, Minchie, in the riverbed near the in June.
commission as well as a new 105 and 605 freeways. Measure A would increase the money available for homeless services in L.A. County. There were 75,312 home-
elected executive position less people across the
that functions almost like a crack down on the “revolv- overhaul of county govern- rely on the board to oversee the measure could cost $21 county, including in the city
mayor. ing door” of county officials- ment to voters. Supervisors the region’s jails, public hos- million yearly, mostly be- of L.A., the count showed,
The board would expand turned-lobbyists. Holly Mitchell and Kathryn pitals and child welfare sys- cause of staff salaries. The down 0.3% compared with
from five to nine supervi- The deadline to create Barger voted against it, criti- tem, among other critical campaign for Measure G the previous year.
sors, with each politician the ethics commission cizing the process as rushed services, supporters argue. disputed the estimate. Measure H generates
representing about 1.1 mil- would be 2026, and the and the proposal as ill-con- Opponents of Measure G Voters have rejected the about half a billion dollars a
lion people. Each supervisor county executive would be ceived. argued that a new elected idea of expanding the Board year, which is most of the
currently represents 2 mil- elected by 2028. All nine su- It proved instantly con- position overseeing the of Supervisors at least eight money the county spends on
lion constituents in Ameri- pervisors wouldn’t come on troversial. county’s executive branch times — most recently in homeless services, including
ca’s largest county. board until 2032, following a Supporters like Horvath would create unnecessary 2000. mental health treatment,
The county’s current redistricting process. and Hahn argue that the ba- power struggles and that the The quarter-cent sales drug treatment and job
chief executive, appointed Supervisors Lindsey sic form of county govern- proposal could needlessly tax approved by voters to counseling.
by the supervisors, is re- Horvath and Janice Hahn ment has not changed sub- drain the county’s coffers. fund homeless services According to estimates,
sponsible for daily opera- got the ball rolling on Mea- stantially since the county’s The county auditor’s of- through Measure H is sched- the new sales tax would raise
tions and drafting a $49-bil- sure G this spring, arguing founding in 1850. They say fice has put one-time costs uled to sunset in 2027. A co- more than $1 billion each
lion annual budget. Under that the county’s outdated the restructuring would also for the measure at about alition of labor unions, non- year, with 60% going to
the measure, the executive government structure was pave the way for a more ra- $8 million, but critics ex- profits and homeless service homeless services and
would be elected by county long overdue for a refresh. cially diverse board. pected the ultimate price providers helped put Mea- nearly all the rest dedicated
voters. The proposal won the Five supervisors are no- tag to be much larger. sure A, which would raise to housing production.
The new ethics commis- support of Supervisor Hilda where near enough to prop- County attorneys esti- the tax to a half-cent with no The tax would be perma-
sion would be designed to Solis, and the board voted erly represent the county’s 10 mated last month that the expiration date, on the bal- nent unless it is repealed by
punish corrupt officials and 3-2 to refer the mammoth million constituents, who ethics reforms detailed in lot. another ballot measure.
L AT I M E S . C O M W E D N E S DAY , N OV E M B E R 6 , 2 0 2 4 AA5

Challenger leads progressive county D.A.

[D.A. race, from AA1] prospect of Hochman insti-
look forward to a safer fu- tuting “tough on crime” poli-
ture.” cies.
Hochman supporters “I don’t believe that crime
gathered in Beverly Hills on is running rampant, as they
election night. Addressing a try to paint it on one side,” he
jubilant crowd following the said.
initial results, the candidate Smith, who grew up in a
praised police officers and rural Alabama town of about
prosecutors who have sup- 3,000 and previously served
ported him, and said his as a military police officer,
likely victory was the result said he believes there are
of a bipartisan coalition of many good people in law en-
people for whom safety is a forcement. But he’s con-
“crossover issue” in divisive cerned a more hard-line ap-
political times. proach by a new D.A. will
He repeated promises to lead to mistreatment of citi-
strip partisan politics from zens by problematic cops,
the prosecutor’s office and and that those officers will
treat “justice” as his client. enjoy greater impunity.
“We will go back to just “People like me are going
two things: the facts and the to be most impacted — peo-
law,” he said. ple of color,” said Smith, who
Hochman’s strong per- is Black. “If those police feel
formance came as no sur- emboldened by a D.A. who’s
prise. On Sunday, the last of tough on crime, they’ll have
three polls on the race con- no fear of … abusing people
ducted by the UC Berkeley who look like me.”
Institute of Governmental Hochman vastly out-
Studies, co-sponsored by fundraised and outspent
The Times, showed Gascón Gascón, who had relied on
behind by 25 percentage support from wealthy liberal
points, the same margin he megadonors and national
faced in an Aug. 18 survey Democrats to win office in
and only slightly better than 2020. Hochman’s critics say
his 30-point deficit in an the challenger painted a dys-
Oct. 8 poll. Wally Skalij Los Angeles Times topian portrait of L.A. that
Despite the many nega- NATHAN HOCHMAN, the progressive D.A.’s challenger, said in statement election night that “all indica- doesn’t match actual crime
tive indicators for his cam- tions are the voices of the residents of LA County have been heard ... and they look forward to a safer future.” statistics or the reality on
paign in the weeks leading the ground.
up to election day, Gascón fully convicted — he could Hochman’s explanations
remained in good spirits in never shake the perception for how he would lower crime
an interview with The Times that he was “soft on crime.” as district attorney have
at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Violent crime rose 8% been vague, but Gascón’s
California Democratic Par- countywide from 2019 to opponents still lined up be-
ty’s election event in a cav- 2023, according to California hind him.
ernous hotel ballroom in Department of Justice data. In addition to police
downtown L.A. But there were much larger unions, hundreds of veteran
“I feel very optimistic,” he increases in violent crime in deputy district attorneys
said. “It’s a real race. It’s a counties with more tradi- publicly took a stance
tough race. I’m not underes- tional prosecutors, and vio- against the incumbent.
timating that. But I believe lent crime has been trending On the final day of the
that we have a better than down in the city of Los Ange- campaign, Hochman stood
even chance of winning.” les this year. Still, voters in front of the Hall of Justice
Hochman, who unsuc- seemed to lay the blame for in downtown L.A., backed by
cessfully ran for state attor- the county’s increase solely dozens of prosecutors
ney general in 2022, emerged at Gascón’s feet. chanting: “Gascón must go.”
from a crowded primary A number of former Lac- Before the polls had
field in March. As a former ey staffers and a handful of closed on Tuesday, Gascón
Republican running in a county prosecutors could be noted that large swaths of
deep-blue county, he weath- seen at Hochman’s election respondents in the preelec-
ered repeated attempts to night event. tion polls had still not de-
link him to former President Born in L.A., Hochman cided who they were voting
Donald Trump, and gar- was a varsity tennis player at for, and that first-time vot-
nered financial support Beverly Hills High School ers could also play a key role
from conservative mega- before attending Brown Uni- in the contest.
donors. Robert Gauthier Los Angeles Times versity and Stanford Law Gascón added that polls
But he endorsed Kamala GEORGE GASCÓN, the incumbent D.A., remained optimistic Tuesday evening School. He pursued fraud also had his campaign down
Harris over Trump and has before polls closed, but said: “It’s a tough race. I’m not underestimating that.” and public corruption cases in the final weeks of the 2020
largely eschewed partisan as a federal prosecutor for campaign, yet he ended up
politics, running as an inde- the target of two failed recall crowding, he pushed diver- the death penalty in limited several years before going winning the election.
pendent with a “hard mid- attempts and become a pa- sion programs and less-pu- circumstances. He has also into private practice, where “Frankly, we were way
dle” approach to criminal riah among his own prose- nitive sentences. said prosecutors will be able he defended ex-Sheriff Lee down by the third week of
justice. His campaign cen- cutors: More than 20 of them A judge ruled that one of to broadly pursue sentenc- Baca on corruption charges. October of 2020. The results
tered on a promise to undo have sued him, alleging they Gascón’s signature policies ing enhancements again, Gascón and other pro- were what they were,” he
Gascón’s most progressive were demoted or otherwise was illegal just three months which can add years of pris- gressives have portrayed said. “I believe that we are
policies and restore nor- retaliated against for chal- into his term. His handling of on time for defendants ac- Hochman as too close to law likely to get a similar result
malcy to the D.A.’s office. lenging his policies. some cases — most notably cused of using guns in enforcement, questioning this time.”
Gascón ousted veteran Gascón imposed sweep- the prosecution of Hannah crimes or committing of- his ability to hold cops ac- Asked before the polls
Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey in ing changes on his first day Tubbs, a 26-year-old woman fenses on behalf of a gang. countable when he’s taken in had closed on Tuesday what
2020, riding a wave of na- in office. Prosecutors were tried as a juvenile for a sex Although Gascón deliv- millions in campaign sup- he plans to do if Hochman
tional anguish over the po- barred from seeking the assault at 17 — sparked na- ered on some of his cam- port from police unions. wins, Gascón said he would
lice killings of George Floyd, death penalty or trying ju- tional uproar and forced him paign promises — he aggres- Travion Smith, 29, volun- continue to reside in L.A.
Breonna Taylor and others veniles as adults; a host of to walk back some of his all- sively prosecuted police in teered as a phone banker for “I haven’t considered it
early in the COVID-19 pan- misdemeanors were no long- or-nothing positions. fatal uses of force, and im- the Harris-Walz campaign. yet,” he said. “But I will cer-
demic. er to be prosecuted; and in Hochman has promised proved efforts to exonerate The L.A. resident said he tainly continue to live and be
Since then, he has been an attempt to combat prison to allow prosecutors to seek people who had been wrong- was dismayed by the happy.”

How L.A. candidates, measures are faring in early count

[L.A., from AA1] eral amendments to the City “This is the end of gerry-
waiting for more results. At Charter, the document that mandering in Los Angeles
the same time, he said he spells out government oper- and it’s the beginning of a
thinks his message reso- ations at City Hall. new era of focusing on ethics
nated with voters. According to early re- and a more robust democ-
“My campaign was about turns, voters were over- racy,” said Krekorian, who
making Los Angeles a place whelmingly supporting worked to get DD, ER and
where businesses can thrive, Charter Amendment DD, several other measures on
where families can thrive, which would take redistrict- the ballot.
where people can feel safe ing — the process of creating Early returns showed
and have an affordable, sus- new boundary lines for the that voters were approving
tainable life,” Nazarian said. city’s 15 council districts — Charter Amendment FF,
Burgos and Jurado were out of the hands of city politi- which would allow officers in
seeking to push the council cians, turning it over to an in- some of the city’s smaller law
further left on such issues as dependent panel of citizen enforcement agencies to
public safety and city spend- volunteers. switch into the more lucra-
ing. Backed by the Demo- The proposal was first tive Los Angeles Fire and Po-
cratic Socialists of America, unveiled in the wake of the lice Pensions system.
LA Forward and other prog- 2021 redistricting process, Charter Amendment FF
ressive groups, they have following frustration over ef- would apply to about 460
been looking to expand the forts to redraw several dis- park rangers, port police of-
bloc of council members who tricts in the Valley. It gained ficers and law enforcement
would rein in spending at the new momentum after the officers assigned to the city’s
Los Angeles Police Depart- 2022 audio leak scandal, airports. It would cost the
ment and carry out new ten- when three council mem- city’s general fund $23 mil-
ant protections. bers, including De León, and lion at the outset and about
Burgos said that, over the a high-profile labor leader $1 million per year after that.
course of the campaign, her Sarahi Apaez For Los Angeles Times en Español were heard on a recording Yet another city measure,
team knocked on more than YSABEL JURADO, center, is running in L.A. City Council District 14 against discussing ways of drawing Charter Amendment HH,
65,000 doors. During those incumbent Kevin de León. Three council seats were up for grabs Tuesday. the lines that would benefit was ahead in early returns.
conversations, voters ex- either themselves or their al- That measure would expand
pressed concern about high of a murder mystery theater commonsense resources to ing to listen and get the job lies. the subpoena powers of the
housing costs and having to company and has been look- the community,” such as done.” In early returns, voters city attorney and clarify that
work multiple jobs or live ing to become the council’s trimming trees and picking Hutt, running for the also were supporting a com- the city controller can obtain
with multiple people just to first Afro-Latina member. up “bulky items” from the council seat for the first panion measure, Charter records involving city con-
pay the rent, she said. In a district stretching curb and sidewalk. time, campaigned on her Amendment LL, which tractors. It would also re-
“A lot of people are afraid from Koreatown to the Cren- “I feel like we’ve done a work fighting homelessness, would put independent re- quire that the Board of Har-
that unless we expand rent shaw Corridor, Coun- great job running a good saying her district saw a 12% districting in place at the bor Commissioners have at
control and work on imple- cilmember Heather Hutt race,” she said. decrease in street encamp- Los Angeles Unified School least two local representa-
menting our tenant anti- was pulling well ahead of at- Yoo ran for the 10th Dis- ments last year. Labor and District. Both DD and LL tives — one from San Pedro,
harassment ordinance, that torney Grace Yoo, according trict seat twice before, in 2015 business groups put more would go into effect in time the other from Wilmington.
people are going to be to early returns. and 2020, losing both times. than $648,000 into efforts to for the next redistricting, Charter Amendment II,
pushed out of the district,” Hutt, a onetime staffer to She has promised to be more support Hutt’s campaign in which coincides with the re- which makes a series of tech-
Burgos said. several state elected offi- aggressive than Hutt in the runoff election. lease of U.S. census results in nical changes to the City
Nazarian served in Sac- cials, was appointed to the tackling homelessness, Early results could 2030. Charter, was also ahead in
ramento from 2012 to 2022 City Council in 2022 as a tem- trash removal and neighbor- change as workers with the Charter Amendment ER, early returns.
and was, at one point, a high- porary replacement for hood quality-of-life issues. Los Angeles County Regis- a plan to strengthen the That measure would al-
level Krekorian aide. Kreko- Mark Ridley-Thomas after In an interview, Yoo said trar-Recorder/County Clerk power of the City Ethics low the Department of Rec-
rian’s district takes in all or his indictment on corrup- her campaign was about count mail-in ballots in the Commission, was also ahead reation and Parks to enter
parts of North Hollywood, tion charges. After Ridley- change. coming days. In previous in early returns. That mea- into joint agreements with
Studio City, Toluca Lake, Thomas was convicted, the “It was about having an years, close contests have sure, drafted in the wake of the L.A. Unified School Dis-
Valley Glen, Valley Village council reappointed Hutt to elected official who listens to shifted during the week after several City Hall corruption trict. It would also clarify
and other areas. the interim post. the people about basic city the election as late-arriving scandals, would ensure the that the Los Angeles Zoo
Burgos, a member of the Minutes after the polls services, about taking care ballots were tabulated. agency has a minimum and the El Pueblo de Los An-
North Hollywood Neighbor- closed, Hutt said her cam- of problems,” she said. “Vot- Residents of Los Angeles budget of $7 million starting geles Historic Monument
hood Council, is part owner paign was about “bringing ers want someone who’s will- also were deciding on sev- in 2025-26. are park property.
$3.66 DESIGNATED AREAS HIGHER © 2024 WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2024 latimes.com

E LE CTION DAY 2024

Politics
stoke
urge to
move
abroad
Firms that facilitate
relocations have seen
Tommy Martino Associated Press Jeff Chiu Associated Press a rise in interest. ‘I just
want to be where I
feel safe,’ a man says.
By Andrea Castillo

WASHINGTON — Mykel
Dicus, 54, is finished with the
United States.
In September, the Hay-
ward, Calif., resident toured
Spain with a company that
specializes in scouting trips
for Americans looking to
move abroad. Now he’s pur-
suing a specialized Spanish
visa offered to remote work-
ers, also known as a digital
nomad visa, with a goal of
moving within three years.
“If a regime like MAGA
should win this election, I’m
very scared,” he said. “I just
feel like it’s time to enjoy a life
that’s free from any Ameri-
Matt Slocum Associated Press Christina House Los Angeles Times can worry.”
With the White House, control of the House and Senate, and thousands of offices and issues at stake nationwide, remaining voters turned In the months leading up
out Tuesday, clockwise from top left, in Drummond, Mont., San Francisco and downtown Los Angeles; as poll workers in Chester County, to this election, some agen-
Pa., bottom left, processed mail ballots in the swing state. See latimes.com/2024election and latimes.com/enewspaper for updates on results. cies that specialize in help-
ing Americans relocate
abroad have noticed a surge
in interest. Some clients are

Back to the Norwalk defies California housing rules ready to leave the country,
while others are looking for a
contingency plan in case

office with their preferred presidential

candidate loses.
In France, for instance, a

still-fluid City has passed a ban on new homeless shelters; the state real estate agency is holding
a webinar Thursday titled
“Moving to France post U.S.

mandates has sued, while the unhoused wonder where they’ll sleep elections.”
Travel YouTube creators
have posted videos, such as
“Where to move abroad if
By Liam Dillon Kamala Harris wins.”
In a culture scrambled [See Relocate, A8]
Along the concrete bed of the San
by the pandemic, Gabriel River in southeastern Los
bosses and employees Angeles County, Sean Diaz recalled
one of his worst nights in his many Fear vs. hope for
have different views years of homelessness. swing state voters
about on-site work. He’d found an abandoned build-
At the polls, Harris and
ing to sleep in and didn’t realize an-
other person had already claimed the Trump supporters share
By Roger Vincent spot. Diaz said he awoke to a baseball anxiety over the nation’s
bat bashing his head, causing character. NATION, A5
Since Cynthia Clemons’ wounds that required 10 stitches to Angelenos eyeing
employer announced in Sep- heal. Had there been space in a shel-
tember that she was re- ter that night, Diaz said, he might not
downballot races
quired to be in the office two have gotten hurt. Local voters turn out for
days each week, the switch That’s why Diaz was astonished historic election despite
from remote work hasn’t to learn that Norwalk, the city where little chance to sway the
been smooth. he was born and raised, had banned top race. CALIFORNIA, B1
The self-described extro- new homeless shelters and support-
vert, who works as an organ- ive housing developments.
izer for the nonprofit Abun- “You’d think they’d want to open
dant Housing LA, said she more,” said Diaz, 36, on a recent after-
so far hasn’t “gotten into a noon as he walked past riverbed en- Mansion draws
rhythm of being productive campments under the 105 Freeway. true crime fans
at a desk again.” “That would keep us off the streets.” Crowds swarm home
“I feel like I’m back in In August, the Norwalk City Jason Armond Los Angeles Times in Beverly Hills where
grade school and being Council approved one of California’s NORWALK has voted to ban new homeless shelters and supportive the Menendez broth-
forced to sit down and do my [See Norwalk, A8] housing projects. Above, people live along the San Gabriel River. ers killed their parents
homework,” she said. “May- in 1989. CALIFORNIA, B1
be it’s a matter of getting
used to it.” UCLA and USC
More than four years af- open with wins
ter the COVID-19 pandemic
scrambled work culture by
closing offices and forcing
After decades, LAX’s rail system is finally on track Bruins showcase depth
in hoops against Rider.
Trojans rout Chatta-
people to work from home,
friction between bosses and connected,” said Ramirez, nooga as Musselman
era begins. SPORTS, B10
their employees over the Set to open in 2026, 24. “It’s my first time here in
terms of their return shows L.A., and I don’t know why I
no signs of abating. driverless train is can’t find public transit to
Harris, Trump
About 80% of organiza- expected to ease connect me to a train.” on podcasts
tions have put in place re- This has been the city’s Candidates’ presence
turn-to-office policies, but in airport traffic and transit riddle for decades. on the platforms indi-
a sign that many managers ripple relief into L.A. In the 1970s, as L.A. Coun- cates how the media
are reluctant to clamp down ty’s population boomed and ecosystem has frag-
on the flexibility employees its traffic became infamous, mented. BUSINESS, A10
have become accustomed to, By Colleen Shalby civic leaders began pushing
only 17% of those organiza- for a light rail system to con- Weather
tions actively enforce their Gerardo Ramirez flew nect the sprawling region. Partly sunny.
policies, according to recent into Los Angeles from Mexi- With ever more passengers L.A. Basin: 77/51. B5
research by real estate bro- co City recently and was sur- pouring through Los Ange- For the latest news,
kerage CBRE. prised to learn that he les International Airport, go to latimes.com.
“Some organizations out couldn’t easily access a rail planners saw it as an obvious
there have ‘mandated’ line from the main airport of destination as workers Printed with soy inks on
something, but if most of a major city — something broke ground for the first partially recycled paper.
your organization is not fol- he’s come to expect in his line — the Blue Line between
lowing that mandate, then travels. Long Beach and downtown
there is not too much you Genaro Molina Los Angeles Times “I’ve been in many cities — in 1985.
can do to enforce it,” said A TRAVELER at LAX. The people mover is expected around the world, where Nearly 40 years later, as
[See Mandates, A11] to be operational before the World Cup and Olympics. public transportation is well [See Metro, A6]

Get the story as it’s happening.

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A2 W E D N E S DAY , N OV E M B E R 6 , 2 0 2 4 L AT I M E S . C O M

PERSPECTIVES

Why were execs not charged in laundering case?

MICHAEL HILTZIK money-laundering practices included $97 million in
from January 2014 through customer restitution. Four
By any mea- October 2023. Three illicit years later, the CFPB or-
sure, the networks laundered more dered the bank to pay nearly
lawbreaking than $600 million in ill- $28 million, for allegedly
by the U.S. gotten lucre through TD sending inaccurate negative
subsidiary of Bank accounts within that reports about its customers
Canada’s period. to credit reporting firms.
Toronto- Perhaps the most prolific (The bank again didn’t
Dominion launderer, according to the admit guilt, but the order
Bank was government, was Da Ying included about $8 million in
spectacular. Sze, who was known to bank compensation to the af-
The bank, which goes by employees as “David” and fected customers.)
the name TD Bank in the laundered some $400 mil- Last year, the bank
U.S., facilitated the launder- lion in narcotics profits at agreed to pay $1.2 billion to
ing of more than a half- the bank. settle a lawsuit accusing it of
billion dollars by human Sze would often walk involvement in a $7-billion
traffickers, fentanyl dealers, into branches carrying bags Ponzi scheme orchestrated
a major Ponzi schemer and of cash. It was he who would by con man Allen Stanford,
others. It failed to file legally sometimes make deposits of who is now in prison. The
mandated reports of suspi- more than $1 million a day money is earmarked to
cious transactions even and withdraw it almost compensate victims; the
though one of the launder- immediately by bank bank didn’t admit liability
ers had deposited and with- checks. The bank “failed to and asserted that it merely
drawn “more than $1 million Charles Krupa Associated Press identify Sze” as the cus- provided Stanford’s com-
in cash in a single day.” TD BANK facilitated the laundering of more than a half-billion dollars by human tomer in more than 500 pany with conventional
All this was laid out in traffickers, fentanyl dealers, a Ponzi schemer and others. Above, a Boston branch. required reports it filed, banking services.
settlements with the De- covering about $474 million As for whether the gov-
partment of Justice and the executives thus far, Warren his nose. The SEC didn’t largest commercial bank in in currency transactions, ernment’s action will cure
Treasury Department’s wrote, is at odds with the even require him to admit the U.S., with 1,100 branches according to FinCEN. TD Bank of its slipshod
Financial Crimes Enforce- agency’s own explicit com- his responsibility. on the Eastern Seaboard One day, after witnessing approach to money launder-
ment Network, or FinCEN, mitment to “individual Over the last quarter- from Maine to Florida. But Sze buy more than $1 mil- ing, only time will tell.
announced on Oct. 10. The accountability,” as Deputy century, notes the corporate it has been determined to lion in bank checks with But there’s reason to
settlement will cost TD Atty. Gen. Lisa Monaco put corruption watchdog Better grow while keeping its focus cash, according to FinCEN, wonder whether it is effec-
Bank more than $3 billion in it in a speech earlier this Markets, “the responsible on customer relations — an a branch employee asked a tively cleaning house. Under
penalties and includes a year. “Companies can only individuals at the banks ambition that regulators bank office staff member, “clawback” provisions of its
guilty plea to a count of act through individuals,” almost always walk away say led it to shortchange its “How is that not money executive pay policies, Mas-
conspiring to violate anti- Monaco said. As of now, only unpunished, with their anti-money-laundering laundering?” The staffer rani’s pay was reduced by
money-laundering laws. two low-level TD Bank pockets stuffed with bonus programs even as it became replied, “oh it 100% is.” about $1.245 million last
Noting that the bank’s employees have been money.” clear that they were increas- Sze pleaded guilty to year to $9.55 million, an 11.3%
slogan is “America’s Most charged in the money-laun- That applies to the TD ingly unable to handle the federal money-laundering cut from the $10.8 million he
Convenient Bank,” Atty. dering scheme. Bank case. The settlement flow of suspect trans- charges in 2022. received in 2022. (Those
Gen. Merrick Garland Garland stated in an- is “a big and long-overdue actions. The shortcomings of figures are U.S. dollar equiv-
stated, “There is something nouncing the settlement win for Main Street TD Bank Group, the TD’s money-laundering alents although he and
terribly wrong with a bank that his agency’s “criminal Americans and the financial Canadian parent holding oversight were known to the other executives are paid in
that knowingly makes its investigations into individu- system,” noted Dennis company, hasn’t down- executives directly respon- Canadian dollars.) His
services convenient for al employees at every level of Kelleher, co-founder and played the gravity of the sible for the program and to designated successor, Ray-
criminals.” TD Bank are active and CEO of Better Markets. “A charges. the bank’s board, the Jus- mond Chun, has been
Yet the settlement is ongoing” and that he ex- big bank engaging in crimi- “We have taken full re- tice Department said. The with the company since
prompting Justice Depart- pects “more prosecutions.” nal conduct has finally been sponsibility for the failures bank’s operational response 1992.
ment critics to ask whether He didn’t specify who was in properly punished, but of our U.S. [anti-money- was hopelessly inattentive. As for the board of direc-
its terms are just too con- the agency’s gunsights, but failing to charge individual laundering] program and Accounts involved in tors, who receive annual
venient for the bank. That’s the plea agreement says the banking supervisors and are making the invest- “David’s” network, the stipends of $260,000 (Cana-
because it lacks a crucial wrongdoing extended from executives is wrong and ments, changes and en- department said, made dian) per year, none of the 14
deterrent in white-collar- branch-level employees, dumb.” hancements required to $168.4 million in trans- directors other than Mas-
crime cases: criminal who accepted bribes to keep It’s true that the Justice deliver on our commit- actions even “after the Bank rani has publicly indicated
charges against TD’s top suspect accounts open, to Department and FinCEN ments,” Bharat Masrani, determined the accounts any intention to step down.
executives who were in “senior executive manage- lowered the boom on TD CEO of the parent, said should be closed.” Eleven were in place during
place while the lawbreaking ment.” Bank nearly to the maxi- after the settlement an- As is so often the case the 2014-23 period, when
was in full cry. Warren is correct to mum in their power. In nouncement. “These fail- when an institution is found money launderers ran
That was just one way point out that the failure to addition to the financial ures took place on my watch to have broken the law in a rampant through the bank;
that the deal allowed “this charge and convict the penalties, which are the as CEO and I apologize to major way, this isn’t TD the longest-serving director
lawbreaking bank and its high-level executives who largest ever imposed on a all our stakeholders.” Mas- Bank’s first walk on the has been on the board since
reckless leadership to es- oversee wrongdoing is a U.S. bank in a money-laun- rani is scheduled to step wrong side. In 2020, it 2010. If TD Bank is to get a
cape the full scope of penal- major contributor to the dering case, the U.S. subsid- down in April. reached a $122-million set- new broom, it’s unclear
ties ... necessary to effec- persistence of corporate iary is forbidden for now to To assess whether the tlement with the Consumer where it will come from.
tively deter future criminal white-collar crime. Official grow beyond the $434 billion penalties levied on TD Bank Financial Protection
acts,” Sen. Elizabeth War- wrist-slaps delivered to in assets it held as of Sept. are appropriate, let’s con- Bureau over accusations Hiltzik writes a blog on
ren (D-Mass.) stated last corporate leaders by federal 30 and is restricted from sider the facts as set forth in that it charged more than latimes.com. Follow him on
week in a scathing letter to regulators and prosecutors opening more branches or the bank’s plea agreement. 1.4 million customers illegal Facebook or on X, formerly
Garland. are the rule, no matter how offering new services with- Money launderers ex- overdraft fees. (The bank Twitter, @hiltzikm or email
The Justice Department egregious the misdeed — out government permission. ploited what they saw as didn’t admit to the allega- michael.hiltzik
also charged the bank with even when it’s as bad as TD Bank is the 10th- holes in the bank’s anti- tions, but the settlement @latimes.com.
“conspiring ... to launder” the Wells Fargo customer
money rather than with fraud.
money laundering itself, In that case, the Securi-
Warren observed — a dis- ties and Exchange Commis-
tinction that frees the bank
from a federal law that
might have resulted in the
sion imposed a $2.5-million
penalty on John Stumpf, the
bank’s ex-chairman and
Spain’s search efforts continue after floods
loss of its banking license in chief executive, who had
the U.S. collected about $300 million
The department’s failure in compensation while the Catastrophic heavy
to charge TD Bank’s top fraud was going on under
rains last week have
left at least 218 people
dead, and an unknown
How to contact us number are missing.
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Want to write a letter to be Murgui still holds out hope
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Know something important
Readers’ Representative in town who went out to get Emilio Morenatti Associated Press
If you believe we have we should cover? Send a
secure tip at their car or motorbike to A RESIDENT embraces a relative after salvaging possessions in Paiporta, Spain.
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questions about our latimes.com/tips. To send a safety,” the 27-year-old told In town after town, streets are covered with mud, ruined belongings and wrecks.
journalistic standards press release go to the the Associated Press. “The
newsroom directory at
and practices, our readers’ flash flood caught him out- steady stream of appeals by damaged homes, and finan- bodies waiting to be recov-
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side, and he had to cling to people searching for family cial aid for businesses and ered inside some of the vehi-
reached at Media Relations
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For outside media requests
@latimes.com, (877) 554-4000 and inquiries, e-mail drowning. He called us to tell María Murgui has posted “We have a lot of work left or trapped in underground
or online at [email protected]. us he was fine, that we a missing person’s message to do, and we know it,” garages.
latimes.com/readersrep. shouldn’t worry.” on social media with a photo Sánchez said. Thousands of soldiers
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Advertising Search archives, merchandise But when she set out into of her father, a 57-year-old re- Sánchez said he will ask are working with firefighters
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washing away everything in roller-coaster. Sometimes I time for the European Union sponse. Officers and troops
its path, he was nowhere to feel very bad and sometimes to help.” are searching in destroyed
A Publication
be found. I feel better. I try to stay pos- homes, and in the countless
“He held up until 1 in the itive,” she said. “This truly is cars strewn across highways
Founded Dec. 4, 1881 Food shortages,
Vol. CXLIII No. 339 morning,” she said. “By 2, I madness. We don’t know and streets or lodged in the
Print + unlimited digital rates: went outside with a neigh- what else to do. Neither does undrinkable water mud in canals and gorges.
LOS ANGELES TIMES
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confirmed dead after heavy their loved ones, the gargan- mounds of ruined belong- anus shots, to treat any
rains late on Oct. 29 and the tuan recovery efforts in Se- ings, clumps of rotting vege- wounds to prevent infec-
next morning swamped en- daví and dozens of other tation and wrecked vehicles. tions and to clean the mud
tire communities, mostly in communities slowly moved A stench arises from the from their skin. Many people
Spain’s Valencia region. forward. muck. wear masks.
Most people were caught off The central government In many places, people Thousands of volunteers
guard. Regional authorities approved an $11.5-billion re- still face shortages of are helping out, but frustra-
have been heavily criticized lief package for 78 communi- basic goods, and lines form tion over the crisis manage-
Download the app. for having issued alerts to ties on Tuesday. Prime Min- at impromptu emergency ment boiled over Sunday
Discover more. cellphones some two hours ister Pedro Sánchez com- kitchens and stands hand- when a crowd in hard-hit
after the disaster had pared it to the measures tak- ing out food. Water is run- Paiporta hurled mud and
started. en during the COVID-19 ning again, but authorities other objects at Spain’s
Authorities have yet to pandemic. say it is not fit for drinking. royals, Sánchez and regional
any give an estimate of the The package includes di- The ground floors of officials when they made
missing. Spanish state rect payments of about thousands of homes have their first visit to the epicen-
broadcaster RTVE shows a $21,700 to $65,100 to owners of been ruined. There could be ter of the flood damage.
L AT I M E S . C O M W E D N E S DAY , N OV E M B E R 6 , 2 0 2 4 A3

THE WORLD

U.S. gives Israel ‘fail’ grade on improving Gaza aid

dent Trump and Vice Presi- portant it is to ensure that It followed the passage of
Biden administration dent Kamala Harris have humanitarian assistance Israeli laws last week to
been competing for Muslim can flow and flow faster into sever ties with UNRWA, a
had called for specific and Arab American voters Gaza” in calls with his Israeli move Blinken and Austin
steps to be taken and Jewish voters in battle- counterpart, the Pentagon’s opposed in their letter.
ground states like Michigan press secretary, Maj. Gen. The Israeli Foreign Min-
within 30 days to help and Pennsylvania. Pat Ryder, told reporters istry said in a statement
besieged Palestinians. Among other conditions, Monday. Monday that it has notified
Austin and Blinken’s letter The Israeli military body the U.N. of the cancellation
from mid-October said that in charge of humanitarian of an agreement dating back
By Matthew Lee Israel must allow in a min- aid to Gaza, known as CO- to 1967 that facilitates
imum of 350 trucks a day car- GAT, said it had evacuated UNRWA’s work. It said
WASHINGTON — The rying desperately needed 72 patients from hospitals in UNRWA “is part of the prob-
Biden administration is food and other supplies for northern Gaza to other lem in the Gaza Strip and
stepping up criticism of Isra- Palestinians besieged by medical facilities Monday not part of the solution.”
el for not doing enough to more than a year of war be- and had brought medical Israel alleges that
improve humanitarian con- tween Israel and Hamas. By supplies as well as fuel, food, UNRWA has been infiltrated
ditions in Gaza as a 30-day the end of October, an aver- water and units of blood. by Hamas, which the agency
deadline looms for Israeli of- Abdel Kareem Hana Associated Press age of just 71 trucks a day The head of UNICEF, the denies.
ficials to meet certain re- PALESTINIANS distribute flour from UNRWA, the were entering Gaza, accord- United Nations agency for U.N. Secretary-General
quirements or risk potential aid group Israel moved to sever ties with last week. ing to the latest U.N. figures. children, said over the week- António Guterres reiterated
restrictions on military as- “The results are not good end that “the entire Pal- that UNRWA is essential
sistance. to Gaza laid out in a letter ers. “We have seen an in- enough today,” Miller said. estinian population in North and there is no alternative to
The administration also last month to senior Israeli crease in some measure- “They certainly do not have Gaza, especially children, is its work in the Palestinian
is condemning recent vi- officials by Secretary of ments. But if you look at the a pass. … They have failed to at imminent risk of dying territories, spokesman
olence against Palestinians State Antony J. Blinken and stipulated recommenda- implement all the things from disease, famine, and Stephane Dujarric said.
in the West Bank by extrem- Defense Secretary Lloyd J. tions in the letter, those have that we recommended. Now, the ongoing bombard- At the same time, Miller
ist Jewish settlers and says Austin III. not been met.” that said, we are not at the ments.” said the U.S. is “deeply con-
those responsible must be He said that there were The Biden administra- end of the 30-day period.” Miller also said the U.S. is cerned” by a recent escala-
held to account. still about nine days until tion called out its close ally a He would not say when looking into a decision by the tion in attacks by Israeli set-
State Department the deadline expires, but day before the U.S. presi- asked what the U.S. would Israeli government to end an tlers on Palestinians in the
spokesman Matthew Miller that limited progress thus dential election, with Ameri- do when the deadline comes agreement facilitating the West Bank, including sev-
on Monday gave Israel a far has been insufficient. can support for Israel and up next week, just that “we work of the U.N. agency for eral cars being torched
“fail” grade in terms of meet- “As of today, the situation the humanitarian crisis for will follow the law.” Palestinian refugees, known overnight just a few miles
ing the conditions for an im- has not significantly turned Palestinians key issues for Similarly, Austin has as UNRWA, which is the away from the Palestinian
provement in aid deliveries around,” Miller told report- many voters. Former Presi- been reinforcing “how im- main aid provider in Gaza. Authority’s headquarters
and attacks on Palestinians
harvesting olives, their live-
stock and other property.
“These violent actions

Netanyahu fires Israeli defense minister in surprise move cause intense human suffer-
ing for Palestinians and they
threaten Israel’s security,”
Miller said. “It is critical that
have repeatedly been at In the early days of the statement: “The security of by Foreign Minister Israel the government of Israel de-
Prime minister, whose odds over the war in Gaza. war, Israel’s leadership pre- the state of Israel always Katz, a Netanyahu loyalist ter extremist settler violence
But Netanyahu had avoided sented a unified front as it was, and will always remain, and veteran Cabinet min- and take measures to pro-
2023 bid to dismiss firing his rival. The prime responded to Hamas’ Oct. 7, my life’s mission.” ister who was a junior officer tect all communities from
Yoav Gallant sparked minister cited “significant 2023, attack. But as the war Gallant has worn a sim- in the military. Gideon Saar, harm in accordance with its
gaps” and a “crisis of trust” dragged on and spread to ple, black-buttoned shirt a former Netanyahu rival international obligations.”
protests, cites a loss of between the men in his Lebanon, key policy differ- throughout the war in a sign who recently rejoined the He noted that the U.S.
trust between them. Tuesday evening announce- ences have emerged. Where- of sorrow over the Oct. 7 at- government, will take the has imposed sanctions
ment. as Netanyahu has called for tack and has developed a foreign affairs post. against Israeli groups and
“In the midst of a war, continued military pressure strong relationship with his In his statement, Netan- people implicated in vi-
associated press
more than ever, full trust on Hamas, Gallant had tak- U.S. counterpart, Defense yahu claimed he had made olence against Palestinian
is required between the en a more pragmatic ap- Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III. “many attempts” to bridge civilians and warned of more
JERUSALEM — Israeli prime minister and defense proach, saying that military A previous attempt by the gaps with Gallant. to come.
Prime Minister Benjamin minister,” Netanyahu said. force has created the neces- Netanyahu to fire Gallant “But they kept getting
Netanyahu on Tuesday dis- “Unfortunately, although in sary conditions for a diplo- in March 2023 sparked wider. They also came to the Lee writes for the
missed his popular defense the first months of the cam- matic deal that could bring widespread street protests knowledge of the public in Associated Press. AP
minister, Yoav Gallant, in paign there was such trust home hostages held by the against the prime minister. an unacceptable way, and writers Ellen Knickmeyer
a surprise announcement and there was very fruitful militant group. He also flirted with the idea worse than that, they came and Lolita C. Baldor in
that came as the country is work, during the last Gallant, a former general of dismissing Gallant over to the knowledge of the ene- Washington and Edith M.
embroiled in wars on multi- months, this trust cracked who has gained public re- the summer but held off un- my — our enemies enjoyed it Lederer at the United
ple fronts across the region. between me and the defense spect with a gruff, no-non- til Tuesday. and derived a lot of benefit Nations contributed to this
Netanyahu and Gallant minister.” sense personality, said in a Gallant will be replaced from it,” he said. report.

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A4 W E D N E S DAY , N OV E M B E R 6 , 2 0 2 4 L AT I M E S . C O M

Concerns grow about a North Korea-Russia deal

said that about 8,000 North
Pyongyang’s troop Korean soldiers were in Rus-
sia near Ukraine’s border
deployment to aid and preparing to join Rus-
Moscow in Ukraine sia’s fight against Ukraine in
the coming days. Ukraine’s
prompts worries from President Volodymyr Zelen-
EU and South Korea. sky urged allies to stop just
“watching” and take steps
before North Korean troops
By Hyung-Jin Kim deployed in Russia reach the
and Kim Tong-Hyung battlefield.
According to U.S., South
SEOUL — South Korea Korean and Ukrainian intel-
and the European Union on ligence assessments, North
Monday strongly con- Korea was estimated to have
demned North Korea’s re- moved a total of about 10,000-
ported dispatch of troops to 12,000 troops to Russia. If
aid Russia’s war against they start fighting against
Ukraine and expressed con- Ukraine forces, it would
cern that Russia could re- mark North Korea’s first
ward North Korea with participation in a large-scale
transfers of sensitive tech- conflict since the end of the
nology to enhance its nucle- 1950-53 Korean War.
ar and missile programs. North Korean leader Kim
North Korea’s troop Jong Un has used the
deployment, which was con- Ukraine war as a way to ex-
firmed by the U.S. and pand defense and economic
NATO, threatens to expand cooperation with Russia in
the almost three-year war the face of an intensifying
and is causing security jit- U.S.-led pressure campaign
ters in South Korea and else- Mikhail Tereshchenko Kremlin Pool Photo against his advancing nucle-
where about what Russia RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin meets Monday with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui in ar program. The U.S., South
could give North Korea in re- Moscow. South Korea and EU leaders worry Russia could give technology to North Korea in return for troops. Korea and others accuse
turn. North Korea of having ex-
After a meeting in Seoul, “We are also deeply con- public of Korea, North Ko- Foreign Minister Choe Son tional community to try to ported artillery shells, mis-
South Korean Foreign Min- cerned about the possibility rea’s official name. Hui, who has been on an obstruct Russian-North Ko- siles and other conventional
ister Cho Tae-yul and EU for any transfer of nuclear- Cho and Borrell called official visit to Russia since rean security cooperation, arms to Russia.
foreign policy chief Josep or ballistic missile-related North Korea’s deployment a late last week. State televi- according to the South Ko- Besides Russia’s possible
Borrell issued a joint state- technology to the DPRK, “flagrant” violation of multi- sion showed them greeting rean Defense Ministry. weapons technology trans-
ment condemning in the which would jeopardize the ple U.N. Security Council each other, but details of North Korea and Russia fer, South Korean officials
“strongest possible terms” international non-prolifera- resolutions and called on the meeting were not avail- haven’t explicitly confirmed also worry that Moscow
North Korea’s deployment tion efforts and threaten North Korea and Russia to able. the North Korean deploy- might offer a defense com-
and voicing worries about peace and stability on the immediately withdraw the Earlier Monday, Borrell ment. But they’ve both ar- mitment to North Korea in
Russia’s possible provision Korean Peninsula and troops from Russia. met South Korean Defense gued that their military co- the event of war on the Kore-
of materials and technology across the globe,” the state- In Moscow, Russian Pres- Minister Kim Yong-hyun operation conforms with in- an Peninsula.
to North Korea in support of ment said. DPRK stands for ident Vladimir Putin on and they agreed to work to- ternational laws. The North Korean troops
its military objectives. the Democratic People’s Re- Monday met North Korean gether with the interna- The U.S. government in Russia could also learn
valuable combat experience
and get Russian help to
modernize their outdated
conventional weapons sys-

Did Iran execute a former California resident or not? tems.

In the last two years, Kim
has ramped up tests of nu-
clear-capable missile sys-
Mizan news agency quoted who lived in Glendora, of ently kidnapped while on a tems, as Russia and China
Official says Iranian Jahangir as saying: planning a 2008 attack on a layover in Dubai in 2020. His have repeatedly blocked
“Jamshid Sharmahd was mosque that killed 14 people family received their last U.S.-led attempts to
German died before sentenced to death, his sen- — including five women and message from him on July 28 toughen international sanc-
sentence was carried tence was ready to be carried a child — and wounded more that year. tions on North Korea over its
out, but he passed away be- than 200 others, as well as It’s unclear how the ab- testing activities in defiance
out, contradicting an fore implementation of the plotting other assaults duction happened, but of U.N. bans. Last week,
earlier announcement. sentence.” through the little-known tracking data showed that North Korea test-launched
He did not elaborate. Ja- Kingdom Assembly of Iran Sharmahd’s cellphone trav- an intercontinental ballistic
hangir’s remarks were made and its Tondar militant eled south from Dubai to the missile designed to attack
associated press
to the state-affiliated Quds wing. city of Al Ain on July 29, the U.S. mainland for the
newspaper after a weekly Iran also accused crossing the border into first time in almost a year.
DUBAI — An Iranian of- news conference, when jour- Sharmahd of “disclosing Oman. North Korea has also
ficial said Tuesday that Ira- nalists typically buttonhole classified information” on On July 30, tracking data pushed to sever relations
nian German prisoner the spokesman into answer- missile sites of Iran’s para- showed the phone traveled and abandon its long-stand-
Jamshid Sharmahd died be- ing questions he didn’t take Sharmahd family military Islamic Revolution- to the Omani port city of So- ing goal of reconciliation
fore Tehran could execute from the lectern. JAMSHID Sharmahd ary Guard Corps during a har, where the signal with South Korea.
him — directly contradicting Germany’s Foreign Min- didn’t receive a fair trial, TV program in 2017. stopped. In a background briefing
the country’s earlier an- istry, reacting to the official’s according to Germany His family disputed the Two days later, Iran an- with local media Monday,
nouncement he had been comment, said: “His death and the United States. allegations and had worked nounced it had captured South Korea’s military said
put to death. was confirmed to us by the for years to get him freed. Sharmahd in a “complex op- North Korea has built anti-
The comment by Asghar Iranian side. family, told the Associated Germany, the U.S. and inter- eration.” The Intelligence tank, trench-like structures
Jahangir came after Ger- “Jamshid Sharmahd was Press that the conflicting national rights groups have Ministry published a photo- at two sites near the Koreas’
many shut down all three abducted by Iran and held comments from Iran were dismissed Sharmahd’s trial graph of him blindfolded. heavily armed border, where
Iranian consulates in the for years without a fair trial, “deeply concerning.” as a sham. Amnesty Interna- Since his death, Ger- Pyongyang blew up north-
country over Sharmahd’s in inhumane conditions and “This inconsistency tional said the proceedings many shut down the consul- ern parts of unused cross-
death, leaving only the em- without the necessary medi- raises serious questions against Sharmahd had been ates. It’s a diplomatic tool border road and rail routes
bassy in Berlin open. Ger- cal care,” the ministry said. about the circumstances of a “grossly unfair trial” be- Berlin seldom uses and sig- last month in a display of
many later disputed Ja- “Iran is responsible for his the death and the transpar- cause he had been denied ac- nals a major downgrade in anger toward Seoul.
hangir’s remark. death.” ency of the Iranian system,” cess to an independent law- relations with Tehran. In a war situation, the
Meanwhile, even Iran’s Germany added that it Poblete said. “The family yer and “the right to defend But Iran — including North could easily fill up the
reformist president, was “lobbying the Iranian has been urging the German himself.” Pezeshkian, who cam- trenches with piles of dirt
Masoud Pezeshkian, has of- government to hand over his and U.S. authorities to in- However, Amnesty also paigned on a promise of get- nearby to create routes to in-
fered his own criticism of body to his family.” vestigate this matter to as- noted that Sharmahd ran a ting sanctions on the Islamic vade the South, according to
Germany’s response to The U.S. State Depart- certain the truth, ensure ac- website for the Kingdom As- Republic lifted — has re- the Joint Chiefs of Staff in
Sharmahd’s death as ten- ment did not immediately countability thoroughly and sembly of Iran and Tondar sponded by criticizing Ger- Seoul.
sions remain high between respond to a request for reunite Jimmy with his fam- that included claims of “re- many and the West. Details of the briefing
Tehran and the West over comment about the death of ily in California.” sponsibility for explosions “When someone, who has were shared with the Associ-
Iran’s rapidly advancing nu- Sharmahd, who once lived in Iran had said it executed inside Iran,” though he re- slaughtered dozens, is ex- ated Press.
clear program and the Mid- Southern California. Sharmahd on Oct. 28. He peatedly denied being in- ecuted, they say you do not
east wars. Jason Poblete, a lawyer was 69. volved in the attacks. observe human rights,” Kim and Tong-Hyung write
The Iranian judiciary’s representing Sharmahd’s Iran accused Sharmahd, Sharmahd was appar- Pezeshkian said. for the Associated Press.
L AT I M E S . C O M W E D N E S DAY , N OV E M B E R 6 , 2 0 2 4 A5

THE NATION

Fear and loathing haunt voters in swing states

coran said. “Democrats as of Tuesday morning in the
‘I’m terrified,’ says can’t do that.” election that will determine
A former Democrat who not only whether Harris or
Pennsylvania woman, was born and raised in Min- Trump will win the White
expressing concerns nesota, Corcoran said she House, but also which party
believed her former party seizes control of the U.S.
about Trump possibly had dropped the ball on the Senate and the House of
returning to power. economy and immigration. Representatives.
After voting for Trump in In Phoenix, Arizona Sec-
2016 and 2020, she was upset retary of State Adrian
By Seema Mehta, when he left the White Fontes reassured Arizonans
Jenny Jarvie, House. that election officials were
Noah Bierman She blamed election ready for a long but efficient
and Faith E. Pinho fraud — and Georgia’s Re- election day.
publican Secretary of State “As far as I know right
After Justin Jones fin- Brad Raffensperger — for now, everything in the state
ished work early Tuesday, Trump’s loss. of Arizona is running about
the commercial driver voted Corcoran said she looked as smoothly as can be,”
for Vice President Kamala forward to having the former Fontes told reporters Tues-
Harris in the presidential president back in the White day morning at a Phoenix li-
contest. But he didn’t feel House and hoped he would brary.
good about his choice. put Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in Aside from a rare minor
“Trump is dangerous, charge of healthcare. problem — one election offi-
he’s unhinged,” Jones, 33, “I don’t like his person- cial forgot to bring a key to
said outside his East Point, ality — he’s a little brash,” open a polling station
Ga., polling station. “Harris she said of Trump. “But he around 6 a.m. — Fontes said
needs to establish more David Goldman Associated Press can wheel and deal and fix polling places were up and
dominance, I don’t want to AN AMERICAN flag waves as a voter leaves a polling site after casting a ballot on things. I felt secure in my running across the state,
feel like I’m pity-voting for Tuesday in Dearborn, Mich. Anxiety levels appeared to be high on election day. country when he was presi- and will be until closing at
her.” dent. With Biden and Harris, 7 p.m. local time.
Immigration was on his but this is the leader of the Secretary of State Hillary what it will say about the I watched the world im- The first results to be re-
mind: Jones thought the free world!” Clinton. If the former presi- character of the nation. plode. Prices have gone sky leased Tuesday night will ac-
border needs to be secured, Jones is among tens of dent is elected a second “I don’t want to hope,” high.” count for votes cast early —
an issue he said Harris ought millions of Americans who time, “I know that he’s just Trachtenberg said. “There’s Corcoran said she felt an estimated 55% of the total
to take more seriously. But were heading to their local going to be so much worse, part of me that thinks, you confident that Trump would count, Fontes said.
he could not bring himself to polling places Tuesday. and people are going to be know, a Black woman’s ne- win. But if he lost, she said, Ballots cast on election
vote for Trump, despite Amid the deep polariza- hurting.” ver going to get elected in she trusted that he would day and in the last day or so
agreeing with him about tion among the nation’s citi- The retired social worker America. No one talks about contest the results and rail will take longer, and official
the economy and immigra- zenry in the aftermath of the spoke on a clear and mild that.” against the “good ol’ boy” results from the state are
tion. Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and morning in Philadelphia as Trachtenberg said Har- system. likely to take 10 to 13 days,
Jones described the for- the COVID-19 pandemic, law workers made their way into ris has done everything she “I hope he pitches a fit,” Fontes said, though media
mer president as a “weird enforcement officials were the city during rush hour can to win. “People keep she said. projections may come much
person” who represents a girding for threats against wearing “I voted” stickers. talking about these things Corcoran’s chief anxiety earlier.
threat to democracy. But he election workers, violence at Lines at downtown that are just baked in. And was a Democratic uprising: He added the state has
also worried about Harris’ polling places and voter in- precincts were busy and so I wonder what’s baked A Trump victory, she said, already seen record early
competence. timidation — and preparing people who have been inun- into America.” would lead people in the cit- voting.
“It’s kind of like me trying for what happens once the fi- dated with out-of-town In the red-leaning exurbs ies to pillage and plunder.
to run the New York Yan- nal ballots are cast. organizers and ads for of Fayette County, Ga., She also didn’t like the Mehta reported from
kees,” Jones said of Harris “I’m terrified,” said Amy months could be heard about 20 miles south of At- idea of a Californian as presi- Washington, D.C., Bierman
leading the country. “I mean, Trachtenberg, 72, after she speculating about the re- lanta, Danette Corcoran, a dent. from Philadelphia, Jarvie
I know a lot about baseball voted for Harris in her down- sults on their cellphones, ea- 67-year-old bus driver, voted “California is moving in from East Point, Ga., and
and stuff, but it’s a lot going town Philadelphia high-rise. ger to see a conclusion to the for Trump because she here and we don’t like it,” she Pinho from Phoenix. Times
into running a professional “I remember how it felt in contest. thought he represented said. “We’re paying the high staff writers Brittny Mejia in
baseball team. I’m pretty 2016 that night,” she said, re- But there was an under- common sense. prices.” Las Vegas and Kevin Rector
sure she’s good with policies calling when it became clear current of fear — not only “We just need to change More than 83 million in San Francisco
and she’s tough on crime, that Trump beat former about the result, but about things and fix things,” Cor- Americans had cast ballots contributed to this report.

Mexican immigrant works for Trump but is campaigning for Harris

And I want my children to housekeeper and early on
Vegas hotel employee see that it doesn’t matter if made about $13.25 an hour.
you are humble, it doesn’t She recalled making less
can’t vote, but she is matter where you come than $800 over a two-week
spreading her hope from, the important thing is period, which she put
that you were born in a privi- toward bills, rent, food and
for a future with the leged country, like the healthcare. She had to get
Democrat in charge. United States, where by another job cleaning offices
working and fighting you at night, and on days off she
can achieve whatever you cleaned houses.
By Brittny Mejia want.” “There was no union
Olvera emigrated from back then,” she said. “The
NORTH LAS VEGAS, the Mexican state of Guana- work was really, really
Nev. — On the eve of the elec- juato when she was 14, join- heavy.”
tion, amid a bitter chill, ing her parents in Salinas, Olvera fought to unionize
Marisela Olvera, a member where her father was a bra- Trump’s hotel, with that
of the Culinary Workers cero. She moved to Las campaign launching in
Union, rapped on doors in Vegas in 2010 with her two mid-2015, around the time
North Las Vegas to make her sons and was hired at the Trump announced his first
pitch. Trump hotel two years later. candidacy for president.
The 12-year employee of Now, despite being un- “He said he wanted to
Trump International Hotel able to vote herself, she is make America great. We told
Las Vegas was trying to get part of an expansive ground him it needed to start at
out the vote — not for her operation led by her union to home with his workers,”
employer, former President drive up turnout for Harris Olvera recalled. They se-
Trump, but for his rival, Vice in Nevada, a swing state that Brittny Mejia Los Angeles Times cured their first union con-
President Kamala Harris. — depending on how things MARISELA OLVERA, left, and Beatriz Oceguera go out canvassing in support tract in 2016.
“Kamala Harris has risen go elsewhere — could deter- of Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday evening in North Las Vegas, Nev. Olvera has since moved
from the bottom and has mine the election. up the ranks at the hotel to
achieved everything she has Polling has showed the ing until the polls close. policies to expand afford- has a plan,” Oceguera said. housekeeping inspector, a
achieved, being a prose- race in a dead heat in Ne- Olvera was out canvass- able housing and help first- Olvera was back out to role in which she oversees
cutor, being vice president, vada, but also in six other ing Monday night, along time home buyers — will canvas more on Tuesday — the work of a team of about
and now perhaps the future swing states. Both cam- with Beatriz Oceguera, 47, help her secure a more finan- to continue doing the work 45 housekeepers. In Sep-
president,” said Olvera, 52. paigns have been trying to who works as a guest room cially stable life for her and she’s been doing since Sep- tember, she took a leave of
“I don’t want to miss out on finish strong with turnout attendant at the Wynn and her four kids. tember. absence, which is allowed in
being part of this history. operations and door knock- believes Harris — and her “I believe Kamala Harris She got her start as a her union contract, to help
campaign for Harris.
Olvera stressed that
she’s “really happy” to work
at the hotel.

Puerto Ricans deal with rain, long lines in historic election “I have overcome a lot
there, but I have also over-
come a lot thanks to having a
union that’s always sup-
for change,” said Jorge stepped out despite the rain money and misspending it.” have voted, although it’s un- ported us,” she said. She
By Dánica Coto Hernández, a 24-year-old was reggaetón superstar Several voters said they clear how many of those added that she was grateful
arts student, as he waited to Bad Bunny, who has derided were surprised at how votes have been counted. that in this country, there’s
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico cast his vote. “The biparti- the pro-statehood party and quickly minority and new Officials also are still re- “freedom of expression.”
— Puerto Rico is holding sanship is losing strength. I made a brief appearance at parties have become serious ceiving allegations about Olvera said she won’t talk
elections that will be historic have faith that there can be Dalmau’s campaign closer. threats to the hold the two electoral crimes, including badly about her employer
regardless of which of the real change.” “I trust that we the peo- main parties have had on from people who said they but did acknowledge what
top two gubernatorial candi- For decades, the New ple of Puerto Rico will make Puerto Rico’s politics. received confirmations for she saw as differences be-
dates wins. Progressive Party and the the right decision for the fu- “I didn’t see this happen- early voting when they made tween the candidates. She
If Jenniffer González of Popular Democratic Party ture of our people,” he told ing so early on, but I’m glad,” no such request. said Harris has a plan for the
the pro-statehood New would receive at least 90% of reporters. said Giulianna Abreu, a 33- economy and for the work-
Progressive Party wins all votes, but that began to year-old publicist. A status question ing class.
Tuesday, it will mark the change in 2016. Newer Delayed results Although polling sta- “If we’re being honest,
On Tuesday, voters also
first time in the island’s his- parties are attracting more tions close late Tuesday Republicans are thinking
Long lines were reported were asked for a seventh
tory that the party secured voters given Puerto Rico’s afternoon, results could take about the people who make
at several polling stations time about Puerto Rico’s po-
three consecutive terms. economic and political tur- a couple of days. In 2020, it more money,” she said.
given malfunctioning voting litical status. The nonbind-
If Juan Dalmau, who is moil while a younger genera- took officials four days to re- “I’m worried about the
machines and other issues, ing referendum offers three
running for Puerto Rico’s In- tion is decrying corruption, lease preliminary results. economy, healthcare. I’m
including power outages. options: statehood, inde-
dependence Party and Citi- persistent power outages Dalmau, however, said he worried about people who
Some voters turned on pendence and independ-
zen Victory Movement, wins, and a lack of affordable believed results for the gov- don’t have the same benefits
their phone’s timers to see ence with free association,
it will be the first win for a housing. ernorship would be ready by I do through the union.”
how long they stood in line under which issues such as
candidate outside the two Education, health and late Tuesday: “We are hope- Olvera’s sons, now 33 and
while others munched on foreign affairs, U.S. citi-
main parties that have public safety also were on ful that this country will take 30, asked if she was scared to
snacks as a street vendor zenship and use of the U.S.
dominated the island’s poli- voters’ minds as they mar- a historic step.” be campaigning against her
cried out, “Cold water! Cold dollar would be negotiated.
tics for decades. veled at the long lines de- Puerto Rico’s State Elec- employer.
water!” Regardless of the refer-
Trailing González and spite the rain. tions Commission is still “I told them, ‘No,’ ” she
Ommy González, a 25- endum’s outcome, a change
Dalmau in polls is Jesús Ma- “I’ve never seen it like counting more than 220,000 said. “They were worried,
year-old bartender who was in status requires approval
nuel Ortiz of the Popular this,” said Nadja Oquendo, a early and absentee votes, but they know that their
voting for the first time, from the U.S. Congress.
Democratic Party, which 62-year-old retiree. with counting starting more mom has never been afraid.
carried a fold-out chair and a Puerto Ricans could also
supports the island’s territo- Faviola Alcalá, a pro surf- than two weeks later than Nothing is achieved with
water bottle. support Kamala Harris or
rial status. Also running is er, said she was voting for the usual. Jessika Padilla, the fear.
“I’m very excited,” he Donald Trump in a symbolic
Javier Jiménez of Project first time and was thrilled to commission’s alternate “If Kamala wins, her tri-
said. “Obviously we want vote if they wished. While
Dignity, a conservative see the line at her polling sta- president, said some 40% of umph is our triumph,”
something different for the Puerto Ricans are U.S. citi-
party created in 2019. tion. those votes had been Olvera said. “And if not, we
people.” zens, those on the island are
Thousands of voters “I love it,” she said, add- counted as of Monday. have the satisfaction that we
González said he wants a not allowed to vote in U.S.
across the U.S. territory ing that she wants a break “This validation process gave it our all.”
stronger economy and edu- presidential elections.
stood in long lines, unde- from Puerto Rico’s two main is one that we are not going
cation system and de-
terred by heavy rain. parties and more opportuni- to take lightly,” she said. Times staff writer Kevin
nounced persistent political
“I feel that for the first ties for young people. More than 5,000 inmates Coto writes for the Rector contributed to this
corruption: “Stop taking
time, there is an opportunity Among the voters who out of some 7,400 total also Associated Press. report.
A6 W E D N E S DAY , N OV E M B E R 6 , 2 0 2 4 L AT I M E S . C O M

Dream of rail link to LAX is on track to reality

[Metro, from A1]
hundreds of thousands of
residents and tourists spill
onto 1 World Way each week,
rail still has not made it to
one of the busiest airports in
the world. You can take a
Metro train to North Holly-
wood or Santa Monica or El
Segundo or Azusa. Just not
to LAX.
City officials and transit
experts have long called this
an embarrassing misstep.
But now that elusive air-
rail link is almost here. After
the long-awaited Auto-
mated People Mover train
opens in 2026, it will connect
LAX to the Metro rail system
from the K Line and the C
Line.
“For this particular
place, which draws literally
millions of trips, we’re going
to see people using that op-
tion,” said Genevieve Giuli-
ano, interim dean of the Sol
Price School of Public Policy
at USC. “Once this connec-
tion actually gets completed
… you’re going to really see a
difference in the way people
access the airport.” Myung J. Chun Los Angeles Times
Once running, Metro rid- TRAFFIC at LAX could be reduced with the new transit option. Officials say the people mover will run 24/7, with trips under 10 minutes.
ers will be able to board the
people mover at the upcom- Residents in places such bring in more parking reve- it doesn’t tie in at the mo- slated to open in January Brian Taylor, director of the
ing LAX/Metro Transit Cen- as Redondo Beach, Nor- nue, which helped lower the ment to the airport doesn’t 2026 — before the World Cup Institute of Transportation
ter Station at Aviation Boul- walk, Leimert Park and In- cost of landing fees for air- mean that it wasn’t a good and the 2028 Olympics, air- Studies at UCLA, said about
evard and 96th Street di- glewood will be able to make lines. idea.” port and city officials say. the waiting time. “When the
rectly from the K Line or C it to LAX on one Metro train, There was also pushback But as the horseshoe of Until then, the lack of an trains run very frequently,
Line, formerly known as the while those in Long Beach, from the Federal Aviation LAX became ever more airport Metro connection people start to think of them
Green Line. That route will Santa Monica, Pasadena, Administration, which choked with traffic, the continues to mystify visitors. less like ‘I’m sitting here
change for the first time Azusa and East L.A. will raised concerns in 1991 about question of how Metro Eileen Gomez assumed waiting for a bus,’ and more
since it opened in 1995 — in- need to take two. LAX to the railway’s potential inter- would link to the airport be- that she could find the Met- like, ‘I’m kind of getting on a
stead of heading south from Hollywood or Universal Stu- ference with antenna sys- came more urgent. In 2014, ro access straight from the moving sidewalk.’ ”
El Segundo, the C Line will dios would take three trains. tems and obstruction of air- city and transit leaders re- airport in Los Angeles, like The expectation among
curve upward and end at the The total budget for the planes’ line of sight. A more newed the debate. she would up north in San transit officials is that even if
transit center and the K Line people mover project is $3.34 than 200-page study com- According to Metro and Francisco. When she flew in Angelenos don’t change
will run on the tracks that billion; the budget for the missioned out of Ohio Uni- Los Angeles World Airports for the first time, she was their habits, tourists and air-
extend to Redondo Beach. transit hub is $900 million. versity provided a solution board meeting archives, offi- surprised to discover that port workers will likely use
“We don’t often do this Most major airports offer to avoid either of those sce- cials cited ridership projec- was far from the case. the people mover to leave
with rail lines — snipping a light rail connection typi- narios by reconfiguring the tions, cost and potential “Considering how big the clogged airport.
pieces of them and putting cally accessed by a people rail line, records show. But in safety concerns and decided L.A. is and how many things Workers interviewed said
them into other lines. Usu- mover. At LAX, a variety of 1992, transportation plan- to move forward with plans it has, in general, I honestly they didn’t know if they
ally we’re just extending a factors stalled that reality. ners dropped the extension for an elevated people mover expected some sort of tran- would change their com-
line or opening a new line. So In the 1990s, Metro’s over budget concerns, ac- train that would connect sit,” said Gomez, 25, who was muting habits, citing a need
this one’s a little bit trickier, then-Green Line was ex- cording to a 1995 Times re- travelers to Metro, without in town from Salinas to see a for more information about
but it’s all a good outcome,” pected to offer a direct con- port. tunneling underground to concert with friends. In- logistics.
said Joseph Forgiarini, sen- nection to LAX but ended Competing interests over bring Metro inside the air- stead, she and her travel “We’re the last people to
ior executive officer of serv- two miles short of the termi- the use of taxpayer dollars port or creating new con- companions made their way know what’s going on at the
ice development, scheduling nals. At its closest, it’s less were also at play. Bypassing struction in the surrounding to the “LAX-it” lot, with airport,” said Oscar Anto-
and analysis at Metro. than 900 yards from the run- the airport meant the line area that would further ag- needed guidance from an nio, 63, adding that in order
Someone traveling from ways. could continue farther south gravate traffic. A people airport worker, to hail an to get to the closest Metro
downtown to LAX will have Airport officials were re- to Redondo Beach. mover, which had also been Uber. She would have pre- stop near his residence, he
two ways — the A Line to the portedly concerned over po- “The building of the discussed as a possibility for ferred a Metro connection to would still have to drive.
C Line or the E Line to the K tential lost parking profits if Green Line is a major step a Green Line connection, is exit the airport. Other workers voiced con-
Line — to get to the transit travelers had a Metro op- forward,” said Metropolitan an electric driverless train When it opens, the tran- cerns about crime on the
center, where they’d board a tion. According to media re- Transportation Authority that can make more fre- sit hub will also include a bus trains.
people mover train upstairs ports in 1990, LAX officials Chief Executive Franklin E. quent trips than a Metro plaza, bicycle parking, cus- Tourists were more san-
to the terminals. raised the cost of parking to White in 1995. “The fact that train. tomer service center and a guine. A group of visitors
Former County Supervi- passenger pick-up and drop- from Tampa, Fla., for Fash-
sor Zev Yaroslavsky, who off area for all travelers who ion Week said they would
was at the meeting in 2014, want to avoid the congestion take Metro if it connected to
said the airport’s design pre- in the horseshoe. LAX.
sented its own obstacle The center is one of six “I feel like any kind of
when tackling the question stations where travelers will public transportation that
of how to get rail to LAX. be able to board the people just makes getting around
“It might have been mover — three will be lo- easier and cheaper and
cleaner, it might have been a cated inside the airport more accessible to people is
little more efficient if we had area; one will connect to a always a win,” said Kate
started this from scratch new consolidated rental car Barry, 24, who is originally
and just leveled the airport facility; and one will connect from Chicago, where she
and started all over again. to a parking lot area, where regularly took public transit.
But obviously that was not the rideshare lot will likely Transportation experts
an option,” he said. relocate. have said that the effects of
“So you work around the Metro riders must cur- traffic to and from LAX af-

Korean limitations that you have

and the barriers that you
rently rely on a bus for the
last leg of their airport jour-
fects drivers throughout Los
Angeles’ freeway system,

Family Restaurant have. But to not have public

transportation at one of the
busiest airports in the world,
ney, subject to the whims of
traffic. Officials have said
that a people mover train
and a transit option that
cuts down on those trips is
likely to have a ripple effect
in the second largest city in will run 24/7 and every two across the city.
America — an international minutes from 9 a.m. to 11 “There’s certainly the
city, which has air traffic p.m., and that an end-to-end value to the airport that’s
that’s coming in from, you trip will take less than 10 critical,” said Darin Chidsey,
OPEN LATE know, six continents every
day — is a major faux pas.”
More than 10 years later,
minutes.
Airport officials and
transportation experts be-
deputy executive director
and chief operating officer of
Southern California Assn. of

We are Often Imitated the people mover project is

still underway. It was ex-
lieve the 2.25-mile train will
significantly reduce traffic
Governments. “But being
able to have a viable and effi-
pected to open in 2023 but at the airport. cient and easy transit option
NEVER Duplicated was significantly delayed
due to disagreements be-
“When the trains are es-
sentially running every cou-
that the [people mover] of-
fers is going to provide great
tween the airport and the ple of minutes, that tends to benefits well beyond the
contractor. The train is reduce the transfer burden,” boundaries of LAX.”

Soldier hurt on Gaza project dies

3rd Expeditionary Sustain-
Quandarius Stanley, ment Command, said Stan-
ley had recently been retired
23, was injured in May and was receiving treatment
while working on in a long-term care medical
center.
the American-built The massive pier project
pier to deliver aid. was hampered by unexpect-
ed bad weather and security
issues, as well as persistent
associated press
safety concerns involving Is-
raeli forces that prompted
WASHINGTON — A U.S. aid agencies to halt distribu-
Army soldier who was in- tion of the supplies out of
jured in May while working fear of being injured or
on the American-built pier killed.
#24 Galbi Jjim w/Cheese, Premium Beef Rib, avail. Spicy to deliver humanitarian aid U.S. Army The Defense Depart-
to Gaza has died. SGT. Quandarius Stan- ment formally pulled the
Sgt. Quandarius Stanley, ley had recently retired pier from the Gaza shore on
23, a motor transport op- and was being treated in June 28 and declared an end
erator, was critically injured a long-term care center. in mid-July to the mission to
when high winds and heavy bring aid into the territory
We Specialize in seas damaged the pier, caus- ley was an instrumental and besieged by the war between
Sulung Tang ing four Army vessels to be- well-respected first-line Israel and Hamas.
(Ox Bone soup) come beached. leader in the 7th Trans- Altogether the military
Two other service mem- portation Brigade Expedi- moved nearly 20 million
and many other hearty bers also were injured but re- tionary (TBX), especially pounds of aid onto the Gaza
Korean Soups. turned to duty. during the mission to pro- shore in what officials said
U.S. military officials vide humanitarian assist- was the “largest volume of
have not provided details on ance to the people of Gaza. humanitarian assistance”
how exactly Stanley was in- We will continue to provide ever delivered into the Mid-
Come enjoy our meaty Korean Dishes with friends and family! jured but have said it was not support to his family during dle East.
in combat. He died Thurs- this difficult time,” said Col. But aid agencies had dif-
L Rowland Heights day and had been assigned John “Eddie” Gray, brigade ficulty moving the food
3470 W. 6th St., Suite 7 18902 A East Gale Ave. to the 7th Transportation commander. “Our entire brought ashore to areas far-
21 626 581-2233 Brigade Expeditionary at unit mourns alongside his ther into Gaza where it was
Joint Base Langley-Eustis in family.” needed most because hu-
L San Gabriel Valley
Virginia. Capt. Shkeila Milford- manitarian convoys came
710 S. Western Ave. 927 E. Las Tunas Dr. Suite J
21 626 286-1234
“Sgt. Quandarius Stan- Glover, spokesperson for the under attack.
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L AT I M E S . C O M W E D N E S DAY , N OV E M B E R 6 , 2 0 2 4 A7

Bomb threats on election day linked to Russia

with sending a threatening
Incidents in Georgia communication after he al-
legedly threatened to carry
and Michigan close out an attack if former Presi-
polling stations as dent Trump won the elec-
tion.
disinformation on Isaac Sissel allegedly
voting spreads. claimed to have stolen an
AR-15 and threatened to at-
tack a Christian, according
By Salvador to the U.S. Department of
Hernandez Justice.
and Richard Winton And in Indiana, some vot-
ers reported receiving a text
As millions of voters cast message telling voters that
their ballots for the White “voting records are public”
House and members of Con- and that friends, neighbors
gress on Tuesday, officials and family will know whom
across the country are rap- they voted for.
idly grappling with bomb Records on whom some-
threats and disinformation one votes for are private.
campaigns that officials said Only the fact that a ballot
were aimed at undermining was cast is considered public
trust in the election. information.
Some of the bomb In Washington, D.C., U.S.
threats made on election Capitol Police officers ar-
day appear to be linked to rested a man who was
Russian actors, Georgia and stopped during screening at
Michigan officials said. The the Capitol Visitor Center.
threats, which experts de- According to police, the man
scribed as evidence of in- was carrying a torch, a flare
creasingly aggressive ac- gun and fuel.
tions by foreign powers try- The incidents come as
ing to influence U.S. elec- Brynn Anderson Associated Press U.S. intelligence officials
tions, were an additional A LAW enforcement officer stands watch at a polling station in Atlanta. An expert on extremism said that warned that foreign adver-
burden on election officials misinformation and threats are “being supercharged. What you’re seeing now is a harbinger of the future.” saries are continually trying
who were already prepared to influence U.S. elections,
Tuesday to address any nor- creased threats from an in- Williams said. Levin said that while pre- have been received or which stoke division and under-
mal technical problems to creasingly divided elector- Some of the bomb vious efforts by foreign states and counties were af- mine confidence in the elec-
keep polls open. ate. threats, reported in multiple countries to influence the fected. tions. Those efforts, officials
In Fulton County, Ga., of- “Everything we were see- states, appeared to have election might have focused Meanwhile, election offi- said, are expected to in-
ficials said they received ing then [in 2016 and 2020] is originated from Russia, offi- on sowing division online, cials are still grappling with crease in the coming days.
multiple bomb threats, in- being supercharged,” said cials said. the possibility of bomb internal threats while trying “These activities will in-
cluding two incidents that Brian Levin, founder of the Georgia Secretary of threats being made on not to interrupt voting. tensify through election day
forced officials to briefly Center for the Study of Hate State Brad Raffensperger polling locations pointed to Officials arrested a 25- and in the coming weeks,
close polling locations. In In- and Extremism. “What confirmed in a news confer- an expanding threat of how year-old Georgia poll worker and that foreign influence
diana, text messages sent to you’re seeing now is a har- ence the incidents in his outside powers are looking Monday after he allegedly narratives will focus on
voters falsely claimed that binger of the future.” state appeared to be linked to affect the election. made a bomb threat to elec- swing states,” the Office of
friends and family could see In Georgia, a key battle- to Russia. In a CNN inter- “The Russians are under- tion workers last month. the Director of National In-
whom people voted for. And ground state that went for view, Michigan Secretary of mining the integrity of elec- Nicholas Wimbish alleg- telligence, FBI, and Cyber-
the FBI warned that faked Democrats in 2020, Fulton State Jocelyn Benson said tion by every means, fake edly had a verbal altercation security and Infrastructure
video clips were circulating County Director of Regis- bomb threats received there stories, fake videos, and with a voter on Oct. 16 and, Security Agency said in a
on the internet telling tration and Elections Na- were also linked to Russian threats to dissuade voting,” later that evening, mailed a joint statement. “Influence
Americans to “vote re- dine Williams said officials actors, but officials said they said Brian Jenkins, senior letter to the Jones County actors linked to Russia in
motely” because of a terror- received five bomb threats were undeterred. advisor to the president of superintendent purporting particular are manufactur-
ist threat. Tuesday morning, including “Georgia is not going to Rand. “It will continue be- to be from a “Jones County ing videos and creating fake
In most polling locations two incidents that forced of- be intimidated,” Raf- yond election night and all Voter.” articles to undermine the le-
across the country, voting ficials to briefly shut down fensperger said. “Russia has the way to the inaugura- The letter alleged that gitimacy of the election, in-
that began days or weeks polling locations. The picked on the wrong Geor- tion.” Wimbish had “give[n] me still fear in voters regarding
ago with mail-in ballots con- threats proved to be non- gia.” The purpose, he said, is hell” and that Wimbish — the election process, and
tinued smoothly on Tues- credible. Maine State Police also weakening whomever is in who was the actual writer of suggest Americans are using
day, according to reports. The two locations, Etris- confirmed “swatting” calls the White House. the letter — was “distracting violence against each other
But several incidents high- Darnell Senior Center and — pranks designed to “The U.S. is in an infor- voters from concentrating.” due to political preferences.”
light the reality of recent U.S. C.H. Gullatt Elementary prompt law enforcement to mation war,” he said. The letter said that workers According to a recent
elections, where intelligence School, both in Union City, respond to a reported emer- The FBI confirmed that should look over their shoul- Gallup poll, 57% of Ameri-
officials warn that foreign closed for about 30 minutes. gency — were made to several threats made at der, threatened to “rage cans say they are confident
actors such as Russia and Officials were already seek- schools in that state Tues- polling locations across the rape” female workers and that the votes for the elec-
Iran are looking to influence ing a court order to keep the day, similar to other calls country appear to have orig- claimed to have left a bomb tion will be accurately cast
outcomes and undermine two locations open 30 min- made across the country, inated from Russian email at an early voting location. and counted, but also found
voter confidence, and elec- utes longer to make up for but did not comment on domains. The agency did not In Ann Arbor, Mich., a 25- that Republicans have be-
tion officials are facing in- the time they were closed, their origin. specify how many threats year-old man was charged come more doubtful.

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Norwalk rebels against California housing rules

[Norwalk, from A1] The county closed shelter res leads an advocacy or-
most drastic laws on home- operations after the pan- ganization called Norwalk
lessness in recent memory. demic and is converting the Unides, which cooks and dis-
The law not only prohibits site to permanent housing, tributes meals to homeless
the construction of shelters another project that will be residents. The city could be
and homeless housing, but grandfathered in under the doing far more to help peo-
also blocks new laundro- law. ple on the streets, Flores
mats, liquor stores, payday Some of Norwalk’s con- said, adding that he believed
lenders and other busi- cerns were validated in it was offensive for the city to
nesses that predominantly court. While Los Angeles equate supportive housing
serve the poor. County Superior Court with payday lending.
Soon after, Gov. Gavin Judge James Chalfant ruled “Growing up, it was seen
Newsom accused Norwalk of in January 2021 that the as successful to be leaving
violating housing state laws, county could operate the ho- Norwalk,” said Flores, 29.
the latest in a succession of tel conversion program in “We’re trying to change that
communities in the gover- Norwalk, he blasted the narrative. All this that has
nor’s crosshairs in recent county’s lack of regard for come up with the governor
years. But Norwalk stands the city’s troubles at the 210- and us losing funding and
out from the places such as room site. Chalfant called being against homelessness,
Beverly Hills, Coronado, the project “a public nui- it’s not going to help.”
Huntington Beach and La sance” and criticized the The dispute over Nor-
Cañada Flintridge that county for not spreading lo- walk’s anti-shelter ordi-
Newsom has said have failed cations for the program, nance is not the only home-
to do their part to address known as Project Roomkey, lessness issue under negoti-
California’s housing prob- equitably across the region. ation with state leaders.
lems. “The county has concen- Last month, Newsom
Norwalk is not a white, Photographs by Jason Armond Los Angeles Times trated most of the Project signed a law allowing for the
wealthy enclave, but rather a NORWALK Councilmember Rick Ramirez, appearing at a future site for sup- Roomkey facilities in work- use of seven abandoned
Latino-majority, working- portive housing, says of the shelter ban: “We’ve decided to stand up for ourselves.” ing class, minority commu- buildings on the campus of
and middle-class communi- nities like Norwalk,” Chal- Metropolitan State Hospi-
ty. Elected leaders in the city fant wrote. tal, a public psychiatric care
of 100,000 said they feel like L.A. County officials re- facility in Norwalk. The plan
Norwalk has been treated as ferred questions about oper- is to house homeless resi-
a dumping ground, forcing ations at the hotel site to the dents with severe mental
officials to dig deep in the Los Angeles Homeless Serv- health needs there.
budget to deal with an influx ices Authority, a joint city- Norwalk Mayor Margari-
of homeless residents and county agency that hires ta Rios said she supports
broken promises from other outreach workers and over- homeless facilities on this
agencies. sees nonprofit operators. An site, which is surrounded by
“Why is always Norwalk agency spokesperson did a fence and has dedicated
the pinpoint for these pro- not respond to a request for hospital police. She said it
grams?” asked Coun- comment. was an example of Norwalk’s
cilmember Rick Ramirez. Norwalk leaders have ex- willingness to do more.
“Where’s the assistance aggerated the city’s lack of “We are the best partner
from the other surrounding support from other govern- the county and state could
cities? We’ve decided to ments and problems caused have if they could bring us on
stand up for ourselves.” by the homeless population. instead of telling us what is
Norwalk’s law, which In September, city offi- going to happen,” Rios said.
places a moratorium on new cials said in a statement that “We want to make sure Nor-
homeless shelters and the Norwalk had not received walk is given the respect and
targeted businesses until at any funding from a county attention it deserves.”
least August 2025, has al- program that pays for home- In addition to blocking
ready had an impact. less services. County offi- the proposed hotel-to-shel-
County officials canceled a cials responded that the city ter conversion, Rios said the
hotel leasing effort that had gotten $90,000 to devel- city law has been successful
aimed to shelter 80 people op a homelessness strategy for another reason: The
living along the 105 Freeway and $180,000 annually for city’s complaints were no
and elsewhere on city housing navigation services longer falling on deaf ears.
streets. Newsom’s adminis- MIGUEL OCHOA , a social-services worker in Norwalk, stands in the city’s food in addition to money distrib- The Newsom adminis-
tration revoked state ap- pantry. He says he spends about 70% of his time on assisting homeless people. uted to the city through re- tration rejected the notion
proval for the city’s housing gional efforts. A Norwalk that the anti-shelter law has
development blueprint, demographics changed. To- spent assisting homeless der, caused numerous prob- spokesperson later con- helped the city. Instead,
making Norwalk ineligible day, nearly three-quarters of people. He’s helped clients lems, city leaders said. Po- ceded the city had received Tara Gallegos, a Newsom
for some affordable housing Norwalk’s homes are owner- replace lost identification lice calls were up and so were county dollars. spokesperson, said in a
dollars. occupied and its median cards, provided transporta- resident complaints about Two years ago, Ramirez, statement that the law
On Monday, the state household income, though tion to doctor’s appoint- panhandling. More than 300 the Norwalk council mem- “sends a chilling message”
filed a lawsuit against Nor- far below Beverly Hills’, is ments and filled out applica- people were unaccounted ber, told the Whittier Daily that the city doesn’t tolerate
walk over its law. higher than the county aver- tions for benefits to get them for by service providers News that homeless people homeless housing.
“It’s beyond cruel that age. back on their feet. when the site closed 16 were “assaulting people in “The state is happy to
Norwalk would ban the While Norwalk looks dif- “We’re a launching pad months later, city officials their homes, in businesses meet with Norwalk to dis-
building of shelters while ferent than the other com- for people,” Ochoa said. said, which they believed and out while walking.” cuss how they can comply
people are living on the city’s munities that have bucked Early next year, a 60-unit caused Norwalk’s homeless Asked by The Times to with the state law — but we
streets,” Newsom said in a the state on housing, it development for homeless population to almost dou- validate the claim, Ramirez will not schedule a meeting
statement. “This crisis is ur- shares a similar outlook, and low-income veterans ble. ticked off a list of incidents to discuss how they can best
gent, and we can’t afford to Manuel Pastor, a sociology and their families is ex- The county planned to re- he said occurred at stores violate it,” Gallegos said.
stand by as communities professor at USC, argued. pected to open on city- new shelter operations on but did not name any at Back at the San Gabriel
turn their backs on those in “The more assimilated owned land. The project, in the property until Norwalk’s houses. riverbed, Diaz said living on
need.” spaces often resemble the the works for more than four law scuttled the decision. “Did I say homes? Busi- the streets was getting hard-
Norwalk is one of what’s rest of suburban America, years, was grandfathered in A second site, a Motel 6 nesses I meant,” Ramirez er as he aged.
known as the Gateway Cit- with fights confined to is- so the ban doesn’t apply. turned into a 56-room shel- said. “People look down on us,”
ies, inner ring suburbs on the sues of protecting one’s own The city’s complaints ter, also had problems, adja- Violent crime has de- Diaz said. “They’re allowed
southeastern L.A.-Orange turf against encroachment center on homeless projects cent business owners said. creased in Norwalk com- that opinion. But regardless
County border that rapidly — in short, a Latino version over which it’s had less con- Jason Perez, who operates a pared with before the shelter of what I might have done to
turned from white working of the NIMBY agenda,” Pas- trol. diner, Mr. Rosewood Family program began, even put myself here, put yourself
class to majority Latino in tor wrote in a 2013 piece on A mix of county, state and Restaurant, next door to the though it is up countywide in this situation. It’s not
the 1980s as the region’s the Gateway Cities. federal dollars has gone motel, said circumstances over the same period, ac- pleasant.”
overall demographics Norwalk leaders say toward leasing and purchas- were “a disaster scene every cording to California De- Diaz looked up at the
shifted. Some communities, they’ve done far more than ing motels to use as shelters day from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.” partment of Justice stat- cloudy sky and said he heard
such as Bell Gardens and neighboring communities to and supportive housing “We’ve seen a lot of hang- istics. Property crime in- it might rain later. Nightfall
Maywood, became some of address homelessness. since the COVID-19 pan- ing out, a lot of loitering, a lot creased in Norwalk during was hours away and he
the poorest and over- Rare among cities of its demic. of stuff that people don’t that time to roughly the didn’t know where he was
crowded in the nation. size, Norwalk has its own so- The first one in Norwalk, need to see when they’re go- same rate it was in 2018. going to sleep.
But others, including cial-services department. a conversion of a 210-room ing to go eat with their fam- Some residents believe
Norwalk, maintained high Miguel Ochoa, a city case- hotel occurring within weeks ilies,” Perez told the City the city’s actions and rheto- Times staff writers Ben
rates of homeownership and worker, estimated that of Newsom’s spring 2020 Council at a meeting last ric sow fear and hurt Nor- Poston and Doug Smith
relative affluence even as its about 70% of his time is stay-at-home pandemic or- month. walk’s reputation. Jesse Flo- contributed to this report.

Fed up with U.S. politics, some Californians look to move abroad

[Relocate, from A1] tor of the independent Mon-
On a Reddit channel
called “AmerExit,” a post
‘The partisan mouth University Polling In-
stitute.
from this year titled “If rancor of the Jen Barnett, who
you’re looking to leave be- founded the company
cause of political reasons, past few years Expatsi with her husband
where do you want to go?”
got more than 700 replies.
has played a after spending years re-
searching their own move
People typically have significant role in abroad, said web traffic to
multiple reasons for wanting her site went up 900% after
to leave the country, includ- the heightened the June debate between
ing work opportunities, a
sense of exploration or low-
desire to President Biden and former
President Trump. Biden’s
ering the cost of living in re-
tirement.
emigrate.’ shaky performance spurred
calls for him to drop out of
Global migration agen- — Patrick Murray, the race.
cies say that list increasingly director, Monmouth University Traffic has climbed again
includes escaping U.S. polit- Polling Institute in the last couple of weeks as
ical divisiveness. polls showed Trump leading
One such agency is Hen- in some key states, she said.
ley & Partners, a global firm ally does, said Amanda Barnett, who is from Ala-
that helps people obtain res- Klekowski von Koppenfels, a bama, said she and her hus-
idency and citizenship in migration scholar at the band started looking else-
other countries through in- University of Kent in Brus- where after Trump became
vestment. Basil Mohr Elzeki, sels and an expert on Ameri- the 2016 Republican nomi-
who heads the company’s cans living abroad. nee. They settled in Mérida,
North American operations, In 2016, after a surge of Mexico, this year.
said roughly 80% of Ameri- Google searches by people “Just that he could be
can clients are motivated by wondering how to “move to nominated to me meant that
political issues. Canada,” Klekowski von Gabriela Carvajal Olaya something was irreparably
Requests from U.S. na- Koppenfels commissioned a JEN BARNETT, right, with husband, Brett Andrews, said traffic to their Expatsi broken, and it wasn’t some-
tionals have grown since survey in which a third of site rose 900% after the June debate between President Biden and Donald Trump. thing we could get back,” she
2020, and interest this year nearly 900 respondents indi- said.
has already exceeded that of cated interest in leaving the “Anecdotally, I’ve heard stead has seen a further in- emigrants are Canada, Dicus, who is pursuing a
2023, he said, estimating U.S. She said her follow-up more and more folks talking crease throughout the last Mexico and the United King- move to Spain, found Bar-
most has come from Califor- survey in 2019 showed no sig- not just about a Trump ad- four years. dom. nett’s company through Tik-
nia residents. nificant increase in the rate ministration, but about the “We came to the conclu- The share of U.S. citizens Tok. Living in Spain feels like
Most people seek resi- of those wanting to emi- divisiveness in the country,” sion there is a sense of fear in who say they would move a calling, he said. He enjoys
dency in countries including grate. she said. general, and that affects abroad if they could has European culture, speaks
Antigua and Barbuda, Por- “We interpreted saying, Marco Permunian, people from both sides of the tripled since 1974 to reach fluent Spanish and, as a gay
tugal, Malta, Greece and ‘I’m going to leave’ as being founder of Italian Citi- political spectrum,” said 34%, according to a March man, is drawn to Spain’s
Spain. an expression of protest zenship Assistance, which Permunian, whose company poll by Monmouth long-standing support for
“They want an option to rather than of actual migra- helps people obtain Italian has offices in California. University. LGBTQ+ rights.
escape,” said Mohr Elzeki. tion intention,” she said. citizenship by descent, said About 5.5 million Ameri- “I’d be willing to bet that Regardless of who wins
“Now with the election, peo- Until recently, Klekowski he started seeing a surge in cans live abroad, according the partisan rancor of the the presidential election, he
ple have opinions on both von Koppenfels thought this interest after the 2016 elec- to the nonpartisan Assn. of past few years has played a no longer believes it’s best to
ends, and they’re worried.” election would show the tion. He said he expected Americans Resident significant role in the height- remain in the U.S.
Not every person who same. But now she feels dif- that to wane under the Bid- Overseas. Among the top ened desire to emigrate,” “I just want to be where I
says they want to move actu- ferent. en administration, but in- destinations for American said Patrick Murray, direc- feel safe,” he said.
L AT I M E S . C O M W E D N E S DAY , N OV E M B E R 6 , 2 0 2 4 A9

USDA scraps fees for reduced-price school meals

check to avoid fees can be
A new policy says burdensome.
“It’s just massively incon-
low-income families venient,” said Joanna Roa,
will be exempt from 43, who works at Clemson
University in South Carolina
processing charges as a library specialist and
starting in 2027. has two school-age children.
Roa said that when her son
was in first grade and she
By Adriana Morga saw the $3.25-per-trans-
and Cora Lewis action fee for lunch account
transactions, she and her
NEW YORK — The U.S. husband decided to send
Department of Agriculture him to school with packed
announced that students el- lunches instead.
igible for free or reduced “A dollar here and there, I
price school meals cannot be expected,” she said. “But
charged processing fees be- $3.25 per transaction, espe-
ginning in 2027. cially here in rural South
School districts currently Carolina where the cost of
work with processing com- living is a lot lower — as are
panies to offer cashless pay- the salaries — is a lot.”
ment systems for families. Roa said packing lunch
But the companies can for two kids every day be-
charge “processing fees” for came a burden in both time
each transaction. By law, and effort for two working
students who are eligible for parents. For the last two
reduced price meals cannot years, thanks to surplus
be charged more than 30 funds, her school district has
cents for breakfast and 40 been providing free school
cents for lunch. With proc- lunches, which has changed
essing fees, however, fam- the equation, but Roa said
ilies can end up paying 10 that could end at any point.
times that amount. Proc- Laura Seitz Deseret News In its review of the 300
essing companies charge as PROCESSING FEES can cost families up to 10 times the price of reduced-price school meals, but a new largest public school dis-
much as $3.25 or 4% to 5% federal policy will eliminate those fees for families with incomes less than 185% of the federal poverty line. tricts, the Consumer Finan-
per transaction, according cial Protection Bureau
to a recent report from the weekly or even more fre- lunches electronically, ac- families with incomes less schoolchildren and giving found that 87% of sampled
Consumer Financial Protec- quently, increasing costs cording to the report. than 185% of federal poverty them the fuel they need to districts contract with pay-
tion Bureau. disproportionately. Fam- The Agriculture Depart- guidelines, which equals learn, grow and thrive,” Ag- ment processors. In those
For families with lower in- ilies that qualify for free or ment’s new policy becomes $57,720 for a family of four. riculture Secretary Tom Vil- districts, the companies
comes who can’t afford to reduced lunch pay as much effective starting in the 2027- “USDA and schools sack said in a statement Fri- charge an average of $2.37, or
load large sums in one go, as 60 cents per dollar in fees 28 school year. With this rule, across America share the day. “While today’s action to 4.4% of the total transaction,
processing fees can arrive when paying for school the USDA will lower costs for common goal of nourishing eliminate extra fees for each time money is added to
lower-income households is a child’s account.
a major step in the right di- While payment compa-
rection, the most equitable nies maintain that school
path forward is to offer every districts can negotiate fees

American loses his appeal in Russia drug case child access to healthy
school meals at no cost. We
will continue to work with
and rates before they agree
to contracts, the bureau
found that complex com-
Congress to move toward pany structures “may insu-
attempted trafficking of il- Woodland also holds Rus- that goal so all kids have the late companies from compe-
Robert Woodland was legal drugs and sentenced sian citizenship. nutrition they need to reach tition and make school dis-
him to 12½ years in prison. Arrests of Americans in their full potential.” tricts less likely to negoti-
sentenced to more The Moscow City Court on Russia have become in- The decision by the ate.” Just three companies
than 12 years in prison. Tuesday upheld the verdict, creasingly common as rela- USDA follows a Consumer — MySchoolBucks, School-
rejecting Woodland’s ap- tions between Moscow and Financial Protection Bu- Cafe and LINQ Connect —
peal. Washington sink to Cold reau report that found on- dominate the market, ac-
associated press
Russian media reported War lows amid the fighting line school meal payments cording to the report.
that his name matches a in Ukraine. Washington ac- predominantly affect low-in- Without the ability to
MOSCOW — A court in U.S. citizen interviewed in cuses Moscow of targeting come families. School lunch choose which company to
the Russian capital on Tues- 2020 who said he was born in its citizens and using them fees collectively cost families work with, “families have
day rejected an American the Perm region in the Ural as political bargaining chips, upwards of $100 million each fewer ways to avoid harmful
citizen’s appeal against his Mountains in 1991 and but Russian officials insist year, according to the report. practices,” the agency said,
sentence on drug-related adopted by an American they all broke the law. The USDA has man- “including those that may
charges. couple at age 2. He said he Alexander Zemlianichenko AP Some have been ex- dated that school districts violate federal consumer
In July, Moscow’s Os- traveled to Russia to find his ROBERT Woodland said changed for Russians held in inform families of their op- protection law.”
tankino District Court con- mother and eventually met he was born in Russia, the U.S., while for others, the tions since 2017, but even
victed Robert Woodland, a her on a TV show. Russian then adopted at age 2 by prospects of being released when parents are aware, Morga and Lewis write for
Russian-born U.S. citizen, of media reports said that an American couple. in a swap are less clear. having to pay by cash or the Associated Press.

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A10 W E D N E S DAY , N OV E M B E R 6 , 2 0 2 4 L AT I M E S . C O M

BUSINESS
THE WIDE SHOT

In pod we trust: Will audiences swing the vote?

nents alike, even if the epi-
By Ryan Faughnder sode is overwhelmingly
friendly. Harris’ campaign,
More people are listening for example, tweeted out a
to podcasts than ever before, clip of Rogan pressing Vance
and that created a defining about his stance on abortion
media trend in the 2024 pres- restrictions.
idential election between Political candidates are
Vice President Kamala Har- not abandoning main-
ris and former President stream media networks,
Trump. which continue to command
In addition to traditional a large audience, albeit a
media appearances, the shrinking one.
Democratic and the Repub- Trump still calls into Fox
lican nominees tapped pod- News. His campaign trail
cast audiences to reach new stunts were basically de-
voters and shore up support signed to generate TV cov-
among specific demo- erage and viral moments on-
graphic blocs. line.
In this election cycle, Harris’ contentious in-
Harris went on Alex Coop- terview with Fox News’ Bret
er’s popular “Call Her Baier scored 7.8 million TV
Daddy” show and “All the viewers, according to
Smoke” with former NBA Nielsen. The vice president’s
players Matt Barnes and “60 Minutes” interview was
Stephen Jackson, and was watched by 5.7 million, while
interviewed by Howard her chat with anchor Dana
Stern and Charlamagne tha Bash on CNN alongside run-
God. ning mate Minnesota Gov.
Trump delivered a three- Tim Walz drew 6.3 million
hour conversation on “The viewers. Trump canceled his
Joe Rogan Experience,” as own “60 Minutes” interview
did his running mate JD and pilloried CBS for its
Vance. Trump also went on editing of Harris’ answer to a
“Flagrant” with comedians question about Israel.
Andrew Schulz and Akaash Over the weekend, Harris
Singh and “This Past Week- appeared in the opening
end w/ Theo Von.” On Mon- sketch of “Saturday Night
day, the former president Los Angeles Times photo illustration; Associated Press and Getty Images Live” with her celebrity dop-
joined Jim Gray and Bill pelganger Maya Rudolph,
Belichick on their show versal-owned cable chan- The key point is not just what they do as interview- a large audience of mostly prompting the Trump team
“Let’s Go!” to gab about nels and Warner Bros. Dis- how many people are listen- ing. They’re just having con- young women, a key demo- to request equal air time on
sports betting, college ath- covery and Paramount ing to podcasts, but who is versations. graphic for Harris. Harris’ NBC (which he received).
letics and the PGA. Global have taken multi- listening. Podcasts skew Trump’s appearances talk with Cooper focused on Will the myriad podcast
If you’re a regular main- billion-dollar write-downs young at a time when young- have focused on energizing reproductive rights, but also and media appearances
stream evening news viewer on their TV businesses. The er audiences may rarely see young men — the “bro vote” allowed the candidate to make a difference?
and you’ve never heard of newspaper industry is in political ads on television or — an audience receptive to give listeners a window into We’ll know more once the
most of these shows, that’s secular decline. interviews on major broad- his message. her upbringing and back- election is finished, whether
kind of the point. People — While investment in the cast or cable news networks. His talk with Rogan ground as a prosecutor. Her that’s Tuesday or days later.
especially young folks — are podcast business experi- They often listen while doing spanned North Korea, the appearance on “All the No isolated event seems to
getting less of their news and enced a recent pullback, the other things, like folding UFC, UFOs and Robert F. Smoke” was aimed at engag- have moved the polls sub-
political information audience is growing. A 2024 laundry and washing dishes. Kennedy Jr., which are areas ing young Black men. stantially since President
through linear television report by Edison Research The looser podcast for- of interest to the comedian’s Many of the conversa- Biden dropped his reelec-
networks and more of it via found that a record 47% of mat allows guests to address largely young male audi- tions generated headlines, tion bid and made way for
digital outlets including so- U.S. individuals aged 12 and specific topics and show ence. The episode has and not always ones favor- Harris. The outcome will
cial media and podcasts. older listened to a podcast in their personalities in ways amassed nearly 45 million able to the guest. come down to turnout and
This comes as cord-cut- the last month, up from 42% that don’t work as well in tra- views on YouTube. Rogan On “Flagrant,” the hosts late-deciding voters in a few
ting has eroded the tradi- last year. According to Pew ditional journalistic inter- has millions of subscribers cracked up laughing when battleground states.
tional media landscape and data, 27% of U.S. adults say views, in which the host is ex- on Spotify, where he has a Trump described himself as But as the audience be-
Americans’ trust in news they get their news from pected to pin down politi- deal valued at $250 million. “basically a truthful person.” comes more fragmented
outlets continues to sour. podcasts at least some- cians on policies and past Cooper’s sex and re- A three-hour interview is and divided along political
Comcast Corp. is consider- times, which is up from 22% contradictions. Podcast lationships show “Call Her bound to generate material and demographic lines, this
ing spinning off its NBCUni- in 2020. hosts often don’t even see Daddy,” in contrast, reaches for supporters and oppo- trend is not going away.

Labor board accuses Apple of

suppressing worker discussions
also pressing her to go on third in recent weeks to hit
By Suhauna Hussain medical leave and offering Apple.
her a severance agreement. On Sept. 27, the board’s
Apple has been accused These actions by the com- regional office in Los Ange-
by the National Labor Rela- pany, the complaint said, les issued a complaint ac-
tions Board of trying to pre- unlawfully forced Scarlett to cusing Apple of requiring
vent employees from dis- quit. employees across the U.S. to
cussing pay equity and pres- Apple managers alleg- sign overly broad confidenti-
suring an engineer who at- edly threatened other em- ality and noncompete agree-
tempted to circulate an ployees who posted on social ments and adhere to sweep-
online survey about wages to media and in Slack and ing policies on misconduct
quit. spoke to the media about and social media that vio-
In a complaint issued last workplace concerns, accord- lated employees’ ability to
week by the NLRB’s regional ing to the complaint. Some exercise their rights under
office in Oakland, federal la- were interrogated about federal labor law. Richard Drew Associated Press
bor regulators alleged that their involvement with Scar- The complaint stems ONIONS SERVED on McDonald’s Quarter Pounders, from a Colorado proc-
Apple has unlawfully lett’s pay equity survey and from charges filed in 2021 by essing facility, are suspected of being the source of the multistate E. coli outbreak.
blocked discussion among were told that their activ- Ashley Gjovik, a former sen-
workers in corporate offices
by enforcing overly broad
confidentiality rules and re-
ities were being monitored
and that they could be de-
moted, according to the
ior engineering program
manager at the company,
who claimed that an email
With at least 90 ill in McDonald’s
stricting their activity on the
Slack messaging app and
social media, as well as ham-
complaint.
Scarlett said in an email
that although the process
sent by Apple Chief Execu-
tive Tim Cook, in which he
pledged to punish employ-
E. coli outbreak, suits are rolling in
pering their conversations has taken a long time, she’s ees who leaked company in-
with journalists. happy the NLRB is pursuing formation, had a chilling ef- lyn Bowler of Grand Junc- one each, according to the
The complaint alleges her case. fect on workers’ discussions At least 27 have been tion, Colo., who has been CDC.
that the company in 2021 “I look forward to Apple’s of pay equity and bias. hospitalized with hemolytic The Food and Drug Ad-
barred employees from cre- behavior coming to light to And on Oct. 9, the NL- hospitalized, two have uremic syndrome, a condi- ministration has initiated
ating a Slack channel called enforce change at the com- RB’s office in Oakland is- developed kidney tion that damages the blood inspections at a Taylor
#community-pay-equity pany and industry-wide. I sued a complaint alleging vessels in the kidneys. Farms processing center in
and prohibited workers don’t regret standing up to the company had main- complications and one “HUS is a dangerous and Colorado. Test results re-
from discussing the finan- Apple and I will continue to tained unlawful work rules has died, officials say. life-threatening illness, and leased by the Colorado De-
cial incentives Apple uses to fight for the rights of labor- and created an impression can lead to the need for life- partment of Agriculture re-
reach sales goals by as- ers,” Scarlett said. of surveillance, unfairly en- long monitoring and treat- cently ruled out McDonald’s
serting that the topic in- Issuing the complaint forced policies and wrongly By Clara Harter ment, including kidney beef patties as a possible
cluded “confidential and represents the NLRB’s first terminated an employee for transplants,” Simon said in source.
proprietary information.” step in litigating the case af- their involvement in an open At least 90 people have a statement. “The longer a Taylor Farms announced
Apple has publicly de- ter investigating an unfair letter criticizing a technol- been infected with E. coli in a young person is on dialysis, a voluntary recall on its on-
nied the allegations. “We labor practice claim submit- ogy entrepreneur Apple had multistate outbreak that the more difficult their med- ions last month. McDonald’s
strongly disagree with these ted by employees and find- hired. The complaint arose health officials say probably ical future will likely be.” and several other fast-food
claims,” a company spokes- ing merit to the allegations. from claims made by Jan- stemmed from onions Kamberlyn was airlifted chains — including Burger
person told Reuters. Apple If a settlement with Apple is neke Parrish, a former served on McDonald’s Quar- to Children’s Hospital Col- King, Taco Bell, Kentucky
did not immediately re- not reached, the case will be Texas-based product man- ter Pounders and could see orado in Aurora on Oct. 18 af- Fried Chicken and Pizza
spond to a request for com- reviewed by an administra- ager on Apple Maps and a the fast-food chain taken to ter testing at her local hospi- Hut — have stopped using
ment from The Times tive law judge at a hearing leader of a #MeToo activist court. tal revealed she was in kid- the supplier’s onions at their
According to the com- scheduled for June. The movement within Apple, At least 27 people have ney failure due to a severe E. restaurants.
plaint, Cher Scarlett, an en- judge’s decision on what, if who was fired in 2021. been hospitalized, two have coli infection. Last week, McDonald’s
gineer at Apple, faced re- anything, Apple must do to The complaints by fed- developed dangerous kid- Kamberlyn’s mother, resumed selling Quarter
prisals after she participa- address the issues raised in eral regulators highlight on- ney complications and one Brittany Randall, told NBC Pounders at the 900 restau-
ted in Slack discussions the complaint could then be going turmoil around organ- person in Colorado has died, News that it had been very rant locations that were pre-
about workplace discrimi- appealed to the labor board izing efforts by Apple em- according to the U.S. Cen- scary to witness her daugh- viously receiving Taylor
nation, helped found a cam- in Washington and from ployees both at the iPhone ters for Disease Control and ter’s illness. Farms’ onions.
paign called “Apple Too” there it could be appealed to maker’s corporate head- Prevention. The onion sup- “We’re not really sure The CDC announced 15
modeled after the #MeToo federal court. quarters and at retail stores. plier at all affected restau- what it’s going to look like for more cases last week but
movement that was meant The NLRB’s general In recent years, the board rants, Salinas-based agri- her moving forward,” she noted that the illnesses all
to encourage employees to counsel is asking for a court also has lodged complaints cultural producer Taylor said last week. “She’ll prob- began prior to the onion
share their experiences with order that would require Ap- that Apple interrogated its Farms, announced a recall of ably have to do another product recall and said that,
racism and sexism, and cre- ple to post notices in offices retail workers in New York its onions from a Colorado round of dialysis. We’re hop- due to the actions taken by
ated an online employee sur- and electronically in Slack about their union support processing facilityin Octo- ing that that’s the last one, Taylor Farms and McDon-
vey about pay equity. and email explaining the and confiscated pro-labor ber, and McDonald’s re- but we also don’t know.” ald’s, the current risk to the
Instead of addressing her rights of employees, as well fliers in a store break room, sumed serving Quarter Colorado has seen the public was “very low.”
requests that the company as to conduct training for and similarly interrogated Pounders at all locations highest number of cases at E. coli symptoms typi-
clarify its rules regarding managers, supervisors and employees in an Atlanta last week. 29, followed by Montana at cally start three to four days
pay discussions, NLRB in- employees. The NLRB is store and told staff that they Attorney Ron Simon is 17, Nebraska at 12, Missouri after the bacteria are in-
vestigators found, Apple also looking to force Apple to would be in a less advanta- representing 33 infected at eight, Utah at seven, Wyo- gested and include stomach
told an attorney represent- reinstate Scarlett, compen- geous position if they voted people taking legal action ming and New Mexico at five cramps, vomiting and diar-
ing Scarlett at the time that sate her for lost pay and is- for a union. against McDonald’s, accord- each, Michigan at two and rhea. Most people recover
she needed to stop making sue an apology letter. The company has denied ing to a news release. They Washington, Oregon, Iowa, without treatment within a
social media posts, while The complaint is the wrongdoing. include 15-year-old Kamber- Kansas and Wisconsin at week.
L AT I M E S . C O M W E D N E S DAY , N OV E M B E R 6 , 2 0 2 4 A11

Searching for an ideal return-to-office formula

[Mandates, from A1] week.”
Julie Whelan, head of re- Bosses, meanwhile, see
search of workplace trends value in having people of all
for CBRE. experience levels in the of-
So, for many employers, fice to build a corporate cul-
setting rules for how often ture and shared sense of
workers must come to the of- mission.
fice has turned into a tricky “The crux of this chal-
search for a Goldilocks for- lenge is keeping people at
mula that will keep both younger stages engaged and
bosses and workers reason- feeling like they’re part of
ably happy — or at least not something bigger, and that
in open conflict. Managers they’re getting that knowl-
may yearn for the days when edge-sharing and mentor-
daily attendance was a giv- ship they need to really fur-
en, but their employees have ther their career,” Whelan
moved on to a new normal said. “The younger genera-
and appear to be in no mood tion needs the older genera-
to go back. tion to be there to pass down
The tension “is due to the that knowledge.”
fact that we have changed Being in the office can
since we all went to our sepa- boost employees’ mental
rate corners and then came health, Brink said, espe-
back” from pandemic-im- cially if it has a variety of
posed office exile, said Eliza- work spaces that allow staff
beth Brink, a workplace ex- to both collaborate and work
pert at architecture firm privately.
Gensler. “It’s fair to say that “One of the reasons peo-
we have different needs ple do want to come in to the
now.” office is to connect with one
A disconnect persists be- another,” she said, “because
tween employer expecta- it’s been really challenging
tions for office attendance for many people to be so iso-
and employee behavior, lated.”
CBRE found. Sixty percent Free food and drinks,
of leaders surveyed said they comfortable furniture and
want their employees in the communal work tables can
office three or more days a Dania Maxwell Los Angeles Times be draws, Brink said. Some
week, while only 51% re- ARIANA CHOMITZ works on her computer in a common space at ChowNow in Los Angeles. The online newer offices have library-
ported that employees work food-ordering platform for restaurants offers perks that it hopes will entice employees to come to the office. type spaces designated as
in the office at that fre- quiet zones, where cell-
quency. ban centers including down- “to keep their teams honest” attendance policy, Execu- whether they’re chained to phones and conversations
Conversely, 37% of em- town Los Angeles, where about how often they show tive Vice President Nick their desk or not.” are not allowed.
ployees show up one or two overall vacancy is more than up at work, he said, but some Griffin said, but “the expec- The DTLA Alliance’s ac- “That can be really help-
days a week, yet only 17% of 30%, according to CBRE. compliance measures may tation is you should default commodation of the em- ful for people who need that
employers are satisfied with In efforts to raise attend- be coming. to working in the office un- ployee with a young child intense focus,” she said.
that attendance. ance, companies are experi- “There definitely needs less there is a good reason and a long commute reflects Offices will remain “a
CBRE surveyed 225 cor- menting with carrots and to be some type of enforce- otherwise.” the challenge bosses have in very core piece of organiza-
porate real estate executives sticks, trying to make the of- ment function,” he said, “I personally prefer being meeting the desires of em- tional culture” in the years
who oversee portfolios of of- fice a more appealing place though the firm hasn’t set- in the office, to be close to my ployees in different stages of ahead, Whelan said, but how
fice buildings to analyze to visit while testing meth- tled on one yet. Among the team and to be able to chat their lives and careers as often employees will be re-
trends among occupants ods to enforce in-office poli- options are tracking securi- through things at the drop of companies move past one- quired to be there is far from
seeking to implement hybrid cies. ty badge swipes or checking a hat,” he said. “That’s very size-fits-all attendance poli- settled.
work models. At Los Angeles financial where company laptops are valuable to me.” cies. “I do believe that it will
As employers struggle to services firm Wedbush Se- plugged in during the day. Flexibility is helpful to Younger people may val- take a generational change
get their employees back in curities, most employees are Attendance will also be employees, though, he said. ue the freedom to get their in management before this
person, they also are calcu- expected to be in the office “an important factor” in per- Some of Griffin’s staff work work done around going to story is really fully told,” she
lating whether to shed office one-third of the days of the formance evaluations, Wed- from home now and then, the gym or meeting with said. Future generations of
space to cut down on rent, month and working re- bush said. “We need to have and he highlighted an em- friends, while an older em- leadership may decide to
typically the largest cost of motely the rest of the time. colleagues be together to ployee with a small child who ployee might be juggling vary in-office requirements
operating a business after The reduction in required collaborate, because we defi- lives far from the office who commuting to the office with depending on the goals of
payroll. Some employers are time on-site has allowed the nitely think that’s going to is allowed to work remotely child care or elder care, Whe- their organizations at par-
eliminating personal desks firm to cut its office footprint support and continue to im- most of the time while being lan said. ticular points in time.
in favor of unassigned work dramatically from more prove our client experience. “among the most productive “First of all, regardless of “It will become less of a
stations that can be occu- than 100,000 square feet in We feel very strongly about members of our team.” generation, from baby conversation of how many
pied as needed, allowing downtown L.A. to 20,000 that.” “One of the things that boomers down to Gen Z, days of the week and more of
businesses to shrink their of- square feet in an ongoing Employees at the DTLA we have found is that good flexibility is important,” a conversation about, are
fice footprints. move to new quarters in Alliance business improve- employees are good employ- Whelan said. “Nobody wants the things that I’m sup-
Such downsizing has Pasadena. ment district in downtown ees, whether they’re in the to be told anymore that posed to be accomplishing
contributed to widespread President Gary Wedbush Los Angeles do not have to office or remote, and medio- there’s one place they need with my team together being
office vacancies in some ur- is depending on supervisors follow a formal or enforced cre employees are mediocre, to be from 8 to 6, five days a accomplished?”

MARKET ROUNDUP
Major stock indexes
An election day rally as economy stays solid Index
Dow industrials
Close
42,221.88
Daily
change
+427.28
Daily % YTD %
change change
+1.02 +12.03
S&P 500 5,782.76 +70.07 +1.23 +21.24
hope that the U.S. economy to Europe and the Americas. tive, according to Sam Sto- Nasdaq composite 18,439.17 +259.19 +1.43 +22.83
associated press
will remain solid and avoid a All told, the S&P 500 rose vall, chief investment strate- S&P 400 3,155.85 +44.05 +1.42 +13.46
long-feared recession after 70.07 points to 5,782.76. The gist at CFRA.
Russell 2000 2,260.84 +41.81 +1.88 +11.53
NEW YORK — U.S. the worst inflation in gen- Dow jumped 427.28 points to The U.S. stock market
stocks rallied Tuesday as erations. 42,221.88, and the Nasdaq has risen more in magnitude EuroStoxx 50 4,870.33 +18.23 +0.38 +7.71
voters headed to the polls on Excitement about the ar- composite advanced 259.19 when Democrats have been Nikkei (Japan) 38,474.90 +421.23 +1.11 +14.97
the last day of the presi- tificial intelligence boom points to 18,439.17. president, in part because a Hang Seng (Hong Kong) 21,006.97 +439.45 +2.14 +23.23
dential election and as more also helped lift the stock The market’s main event loss under George W. Bush’s Associated Press
data piled up showing the market, as it has for much of Tuesday was the election, term hurt the Republicans’
economy remains solid. the last year. Software com- even if the result may not be average. Bush took over as much, much higher. uncertainty. A large part of
The Standard & Poor’s pany Palantir Technologies known for days or weeks as the dot-com bubble was de- As for a contested elec- that rally was due to excite-
500 rose 1.2% to pull closer to jumped 23.5% after deliv- officials count all the votes. flating and exited when the tion, Wall Street has some ment about the potential for
its record set last month. ering bigger profit and reve- Such uncertainty could up- 2008 global financial crisis precedent to look back to. In a vaccine for COVID-19,
The Dow Jones industrial nue than analysts expected set markets, along with an and Great Recession were 2000, the S&P 500 dropped which had just shut down
average climbed 1% while the for the latest quarter. It’s an upcoming meeting by the devastating markets. 5% in about five weeks after the global economy.
Nasdaq composite gained industry known for thinking Federal Reserve on interest Besides who will be presi- election day before Al Gore Investors have already
1.4%. and talking big. Chief Execu- rates later this week. The dent, other questions hang- conceded to George W. made moves in anticipation
The market got a lift from tive Alexander Karp said: widespread expectation is ing over the market include Bush. That, though, also of a win by either Trump or
a report showing growth ac- “We absolutely eviscerated for the central bank to cut its whether the White House happened during the near- Vice President Kamala Har-
celerated last month for re- this quarter, driven by unre- main interest rate for a sec- will be working with a uni- halving of the S&P 500 from ris. But Paul Christopher,
tailers, transportation com- lenting AI demand that ond straight time. fied Congress or one split by March 2000 to October 2002 head of global investment
panies and other businesses won’t slow down.” The U.S. stock market political parties, as well as as the dot-com bubble de- strategy at Wells Fargo In-
in U.S. service industries. It helped offset a 5.2% has historically tended to whether the results will be flated. vestment Institute, suggests
That was despite econo- drop for NXP Semiconduc- rise regardless of which contested. Four years ago, the S&P not getting caught up in
mists’ expectations for a tors. The Dutch company party wins the White House. The general hope among 500 rose the day after polls such pre-election moves, or
slowdown, and the Institute suffered one of the largest Since 1945, the S&P 500 investors is often for split closed, even though a winner even those immediately af-
for Supply Management losses in the S&P 500 after has risen in 73% of the years control of the U.S. govern- wasn’t yet clear. And it kept ter the polls close, “which we
said it was the strongest warning that weakness it in which a Democrat was ment because that’s more going higher after former believe will face inevitable
growth in more than two saw in the industrial and president and 70% of the likely to keep the status quo President Trump refused to tempering, if not outright re-
years. other markets during the years in which a Republican and avoid big changes that concede and challenged the versals, either before or after
The report offered more latest quarter is spreading was the nation’s chief execu- could drive the nation’s debt results, creating plenty of Inauguration Day.”

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A12 W E D N E S DAY , N OV E M B E R 6 , 2 0 2 4 L AT I M E S . C O M / O P I N I O N

OPINION

EDITORIAL
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Grade inflation is spreading

from high school to college
such as the SAT and National Assessment
Research has shown that students’ of Educational Progress have not.
It’s not that I think standardized tests
marks are getting better even as are the final word in measuring excellence.
measures of learning aren’t. They have their own weaknesses. But when
the gaps between grades and test scores are
this immense and consistent, parents and

T
his might sound impossibly old- the public should not be fooled.
fashioned, but I still like the idea That’s true not just of low-achieving stu-
that education is about learn- dents. A report by the National Center for
ing: facts, skills, concepts, re- Education Statistics found that although
search, culture, analysis, inspi- high school students were taking more cred-
ration. It’s supposed to enrich our lives and its and tougher courses and getting higher
make us better citizens and independent grades in math, their actual mastery of the
thinkers. material had declined. In a 2023 poll, educa-
But over the last decade and a half, the tors said that close to half of students argue
goal of learning has given way to proxies for for higher grades than they earn, and 8 of 10
learning: grades and degrees. The unfortu- teachers give in. It’s hard to blame them: A Charles Krupa Associated Press
nate result has been inflation of both. They third or more of students and parents ha- STUDENTS walk on the campus of Harvard University. The pressure to improve
rise ever higher; learning doesn’t. rass them when they don’t. graduation rates and student evaluations contributes to inaccurate grading.
I’ve written about degree inflation before Unearned grades are damaging in many
— employers requiring a bachelor’s degree ways. They warp the college admission With reformers and the U.S. Education cise in grade grubbing?
or more for work that really doesn’t need it. process, for one thing. While colleges used to Department pressuring colleges to improve There is a possible benefit to college
Fortunately, hiring managers have begun to regard high school grade-point averages as graduation rates, it should be no surprise grade inflation: Lowered standards are as-
learn that, and degree requirements have the best predictor of higher education suc- that grade inflation has followed students sociated with more students graduating.
been dropping in many fields. cess, their predictive value has declined. Al- into postsecondary school. Some professors But I’m less interested in what certificate
But grade inflation marches on. A 2022 though many schools dropped consider- hesitate to grade accurately because of stu- they have than what they have learned. The
Times analysis showed that grades in the ation of the SAT and ACT as part of admis- dent evaluations, which are often more neg- same is true of employers: One in six say
Los Angeles Unified School District had sions, selective schools are bringing them ative for tough graders. Remember that they hesitate to hire recent college gradu-
been rising while scores on standardized back. They need measures they can trust. about 70% of college instructors are adjunct ates because they tend to be underprepared
tests were falling — and that the two weren’t Some students, armed with good grades, professors who have few job protections. and poor at communicating.
anywhere near each other. march off to college to find themselves in re- Many Ivy League students have learned No wonder 65% of Americans think they
Not to pick on L.A. schools or students: medial classes because they haven’t learned to cherry-pick easy-grading professors. Yet are more intelligent than average. Parents
Grade inflation is omnipresent and more enough to take college-level courses. Em- a Brown University study found that stu- are fooled into thinking their straight-A stu-
common in affluent areas. To avoid discour- ployers have complained for years that high dents who took courses from professors dents are stars and stunned when they are
aging students, some school districts did school and even college grads lack basic with more rigorous grading standards rejected by selective universities. They don’t
away with D and F grades. Grade-point av- skills needed in the workforce. College pro- learned more. We have to ask ourselves as a realize that these days, A is for Average.
erages have consistently risen even though fessors complain that the students coming society: Do we want college to be a place of — Karin Klein is a member of the
scores on nationwide standardized exams to them aren’t even adept at reading books. intellectual growth or a performative exer- Times editorial board

LETTERS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

bent on spreading their ity and pose no actual

message of racism and hate. threat?
Ron Diton The one factor Abcarian
Upland does not mention is the
toxic hypermasculinity that
former President Trump
Stopping the and his supporters spew in
order to compensate for
mussel invasion their own insecurities and
lack of any real ideas to
Re “Invasive mussel found move the nation forward.
in N. America for first time,” Too bad the transgender
Nov. 4 community has to suffer as a
result.
Halloween brought news Laurie Jacobs
of a scary new alien inva- San Clemente
sion: the discovery of golden
mussels in California’s ::
Sacramento-San Joaquin
River Delta, likely intro- Abcarian questions why
duced in a ship’s ballast Trump is so fixated on
water. That needn’t have transgender issues. Maybe
happened. it’s because his billionaire
If the U.S. Environmen- supporter Elon Musk wants
tal Protection Agency had to spotlight it.
done its job as the Clean Musk’s transgender
Water Act required and daughter, Vivian Jenna
implemented effective Wilson, commented last
regulations to control bal- July on her estrangement
last water discharges, the with her father. After Musk
mussel never would have had alleged that she was
reached U.S. waters. “killed” by the “woke mind
In 2022, 34 members of virus,” she said that her
Myung J. Chun Los Angeles Times Congress and 180 environ- father “just won’t stop lying”
THE STATE Capitol is seen in Sacramento. Democrats make up a supermajority of California legislators. mental, fishing and public about her and he lives in his
health organizations and “own delusional fantasy

Republicans are Californians too

Native American tribes land.”
begged the EPA to establish Such disclosures cer-
effective ballast water rules, tainly should be private for
but the agency never re- the average citizen. But
Re “Are there too many Democrats in Sacramento?” Nov. 5 sponded. when this election carries
Now, water supply sys- such high stakes for Ameri-
tems and freshwater ecosys- cans, the public has a right
eporter Taryn Luna asks an important question in her article. The answer depends on which party you support.

R Democracy is designed for “majority rules.” However, what about a supermajority? Does it move our democracy
to an autocracy? The current state Legislature can pass its agenda without consideration of the minority.
Once elected, legislators should not unilaterally disregard the impact of their bills and laws on those who are still part
tems throughout California
— and potentially through-
out much of North America
— are at risk. This invasion
to know about something
like this.
Jim Hoover
Huntington Beach
of the whole state they were elected to serve. Once the election is over, they should be bound by a common cause that was both predictable and
includes all California residents. predicted, and fully prevent-
When partisan politics are in play, democracy is at risk. able.
There will be further,
Thanks for the
Frank Deni, Lake Forest
potentially more harmful,
invasions if EPA doesn’t
music, Mr. Jones
Republican registration newspaper’s job. Don’t ask ing and lying would have to our military power abroad. finally act as the Clean Re “Legendary producer
in California has dwindled us; instead, find out and resort to simpleminded That’s not to say certain Water Act directed. shaped American music
to about a quarter of the then tell us. threats when unable to use Trump supporters wouldn’t Andrew Cohen landscape,” obituary, Nov. 5
voters, and Republicans in The reason there are so the language skills he find it challenging to sound Richmond, Calif.
the Senate and Assembly many Democrats in the clearly lacks. remotely rational explain- The writer is director of I’ll never forget when I
have no clout. Your article Legislature is that the peo- Besides, he should be ing away another appalling the Center for Research on heard Quincy Jones’ “Walk-
points out that any mean- ple of California voted it to careful. As we have seen, comment by their leader. Aquatic Bioinvasions. ing in Space” for the first
ingful debate is between be that way. Are you asking advocating violence tends Ted Rosenblatt time.
liberal and moderate Demo- if there are too many voters? to bring it back to you. Pacific Palisades As I walked in on the first
crats.
What if the Republicans
But, since you asked me:
No, there aren’t too many
Margaret Hamilton
Portland, Ore. ::
Targeting a day of my music apprecia-
tion class at UCLA in 1970,
just gave up the party, re-
registered as Democrats
Democrats in Sacramento.
The latest attack on
small minority the professor was playing
Dave Suess :: this piece by Jones. A young
and voted for the more Redondo Beach Cheney is just another Re “Voters aren’t focused on Jewish woman who didn’t
moderate candidate in the For those who agree with example of how rapidly trans issues. Why is Trump know who Jones was, I
primary? the phrasing used by Trump Trump’s state of mind has so fixated?” Opinion, Nov. 3 became a fan of his music
While conservative legis-
lation would not come out of
What violent in his criticism of Cheney
due to her being a “radical
spiraled out of control. His
Oct. 27 rally at Madison Robin Abcarian is right
for life.
Thank you for the music,
such an operation, what
would be delivered would be
rhetoric hides war hawk,” please tell us
how these same comments
Square Garden in New York in her analysis of the Repub- Mr. Jones. May your memo-
quickly devolved into a licans’ use of the transgen- ry forever be a blessing.
more moderate than it Re “On Liz Cheney, Trump don’t apply on an even profanity-laced, racist, der (non)issue as a way to Esther Friedberg
currently is. That would give evokes violent scene,” Nov. 2 greater scale to the former name-calling spectacle. gain power by stoking fear Studio City
their vote some relevance. president’s ally Sen. Lindsey The fact that a few Re- within a population that is
Ron Garber So, former President Graham (R-S.C.). publicans broke ranks this already averse to social
Duarte Trump suggested that No, it’s not a gotcha election was encouraging, change. HOW TO WRITE TO US
former Rep. Liz Cheney question for those who but the vast majority still However, any vulnerable Please send letters to
:: (R-Wyo.) should face multi- know anything about nu- stood in lockstep with their group could be a target of [email protected]. For
ple guns aimed at her face? I merous statements made nominee. The GOP has demonization. Why target submission guidelines, see
Asking a question in the am not surprised that a by Graham regarding his been reduced to a cesspool transgender people, when latimes.com/letters or call
headline is the opposite of a person notorious for cheat- enthusiasm for projecting of power-hungry politicians they are such a small minor- 1-800-LA TIMES, ext. 74511.

Executive Chairman Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong

News: Executive Editor Terry Tang • Managing Editor Hector Becerra • Editor at Large Scott Kraft • Deputy Managing Editors Shelby Grad, Amy King, Maria L. La Ganga • Assistant
Managing Editors John Canalis, Steve Clow, Angel Jennings, Iliana Limón Romero, Craig Nakano, Ruthanne Salido • General Manager, Food Laurie Ochoa • Opinion: Op-Ed Editor Susan
FOUNDED DECEMBER 4, 1881 Brenneman • Business: President and Chief Operating Officer Chris Argentieri • Chief Human Resources Officer Nancy V. Antoniou • President of L.A. Times Studios Anna Magzanyan •
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L AT I M E S . C O M / O P I N I O N W E D N E S DAY , N OV E M B E R 6 , 2 0 2 4 A13

OP-ED

Will this election show ‘realignment’ of voters?

Republicans and Democrats aren’t necessarily staying in their lanes in 2024. Expect the logjam to continue.
JONAH GOLDBERG have essentially been tied, and it Parties also reflect their candi- once associated with left-wing hypocritical given their previous
seems unlikely that will change dates, which is why the party of Democrats like Robert F. Kennedy boasts that Democrats had a
anytime soon. But there’s still a philandering Bill Clinton now talks Jr.), but the broader debates about near-lock on the electoral college

O
ne of the classic
blunders of punditry is whole lot of realigning going on. a lot about good character while the electoral college and so-called — that’s how the phrase “the blue
to write about politics Donald Trump has accelerated Republicans fawn over Trump’s voter suppression. wall” originated. Bragging about
right before the elec- the trend of the white working alpha dog “manliness.” For decades, both parties your advantage in the electoral
tion. So, let’s look at class fleeing the Democrats. Democrats have been far more shared the flawed assumption college only to call it racist and
what politics might be like after Meanwhile, college-educated and consistent on abortion, because in that higher voter turnout mostly undemocratic when it works
the election. One prediction is suburban voters have moved a post-Roe environment it’s a benefited Democrats in national against you is not a great look.
easy: Expect a lot more political significantly toward the Demo- winning issue. But Trump has elections; Democrats had the The Harris campaign has relied
inconsistency and hypocrisy. crats. moved the GOP toward a de facto opposite view in big-city elections. on high-propensity voters while
The term “realignment” gets In other words, while the pro-choice position, denouncing Voter ID laws and tighter restric- the Trump campaign has leaned
used and abused a lot, because parties are stuck in a logjam, the “heartbeat bills” while also insist- tions on early and absentee voting heavily on low-propensity men.
people have agreed to use it with- coalitions making up the parties ing that states should be free to do were seen as a way to make sure Assuming these trends are real
out agreeing on a definition. Tradi- are changing dramatically. what they please on abortion. that high-propensity voters — that and that they become the new
tionally, realignments are said to And that’s where the inconsis- Neither party is coherent — or is, disproportionately Republican, normal, it will be interesting to see
have occurred when majority and tency and hypocrisy come in. good, in my opinion — on trade college-educated suburbanites whether the parties switch their
minority parties switch places. Parties reflect the interests of their and industrial policy, but Trump who could be relied upon to vote — rhetoric about democracy.
Starting in 1932, FDR pulled black, electoral coalitions. You can see has definitely made the GOP more were overrepresented, and low- Again, I’m writing before the
working-class and immigrant signs of the adjustments all over protectionist and dirigiste than at propensity voters — Black, Latino many states start counting votes:
white voters into the Democratic the place. Republicans such as JD any point in my lifetime. Given the and rural non-college educated Imagine a scenario in which Harris
Party, making it the majority party Vance are sounding a lot like anti- movement of rank-and-file mem- white voters — were underrepre- wins the electoral college but loses
for generations. It’s a sign of how war Democrats from 20 years ago, bers of private labor unions toward sented. The overheated rhetoric the popular vote and the hypocrit-
massive that coalition was that it’s railing against warmongers, the GOP it’s not hard to imagine a about “voter suppression” or “elec- ical switcheroo that could cause.
been shrinking since the 1960s chicken hawks and “neocons.” new partisan divide between pub- tion integrity” was unjustified. But Suddenly, Democrats might be
without Republicans ever becom- Democrats haven’t changed as lic and private-sector unions. the dynamic was real, because the hailing the wisdom of the founders
ing the clear majority party, dramatically, but they are far more The most interesting change electoral calculation was real. and Republicans might be de-
though the story gets complicated comfortable talking about Ameri- might be on the issue of democ- After 2016, many Democrats nouncing the electoral college as a
with the rise in voters calling them- can global leadership and the racy itself. I don’t mean the argu- doubled down on the claim that rigged and racist relic.
selves independents. importance of our alliances than ments about Trump’s pernicious the electoral college was racist or
For the last 20 years, the parties they used to be. election fraud lies (the sorts of lies undemocratic, which was itself @JonahDispatch

Trump’s already spread

RFK Jr.’s sick thinking
ROBIN ABCARIAN Kennedy was responsible for
helping push antivax theories that
After all the contributed to a deadly 2019 mea-
votes are counted, sles outbreak in Samoa. Most of
no matter who the 83 deaths there were of chil-
wins, the empow- dren.
ering of Robert F. Despite the millions of lives
Kennedy Jr. by that have been saved over the
Donald Trump will decades by vaccines that prevent
be one of the sorri- all manner of once-rampant child-
est legacies of the 2024 election hood diseases — polio, measles,
cycle. mumps, rubella, diphtheria,
I had hoped that Trump was chicken pox, whooping cough —
merely humoring Kennedy to get Kennedy has suggested that the
the votes of his supporters. As a government is withholding data
third-party candidate, Kennedy showing vaccines are unsafe.
may not have had a very big slice of “Why do you think vaccines are
the pie, but in a squeaky tight race, safe?” Trump transition team
every crumb counts. co-chair Howard Lutnick asked
Yet after Kennedy dropped out CNN’s Kaitlan Collins last week.
and endorsed Trump, the former “They’re not proven.”
Roberto Schmidt AFP/Getty Images president has said that Kennedy Lutnick arrived at his unscien-
TRYING to keep Donald would have an important role in tific view of vaccines after spend-

Whatever the results, Trump in office after he lost

the 2020 vote, rioters clashed
with police on Jan. 6, 2021.
his potential new administration.
“I’m gonna let him go wild on
health,” Trump told the crowd at
his recent Madison Square Gar-
ing a couple of hours with Ken-
nedy, who undoubtedly spewed a
boatload of unscientific, ahistori-
cal garbage at him.

brace for violence. grow if Trump solidifies his power

and either cancels future elections
den hatefest. “I’m gonna let him go
wild on the food. I’m gonna let him
go wild on medicines.”
“He says, ‘If you give me the
data, all I want is the data, and I’ll
take on the data and show that it’s

Here’s what to do
or rigs the system to ensure he The Washington Post reported not safe,’” said Lutnick. “‘And then
can’t lose again. that Kennedy could be given “sig- if you pull the product liability, the
In the long run, a Trump vic- nificant control over health and companies will yank these vac-
tory is likely to spark more vi- food safety … with discussions cines right off, off of the market.’”
olence for two key reasons. First, about some Cabinet and agency The data will show that vac-
By Barbara F. Walter the Democratic Party, while white history shows that groups perma- officials reporting to him.” cines are safe. However, if vaccine
people and evangelical Christians nently shut out of political power What a joke. Kennedy is an makers are no longer immune
was asked to join a group vote overwhelmingly for the Re- are the most likely to rise against antivax conspiracy theorist who from liability suits, they will indeed

I run by the U.S. government

called the Political Instability
Task Force in 2017, nearly 30
years into a career that in-
volves thinking and writing about
political violence. One of the task
force’s goals was to come up with a
publican Party. Based on the task
force’s model, at the end of 2020
the United States came danger-
ously close to having the two fea-
tures putting it at high risk of
political violence. A few weeks
later, the insurrection at the U.S.
the government. Trump has told
people they won’t have to vote
again if he wins. If he followed
through on that and the GOP
maintained white voters’ power
even after white people became a
minority of the electorate, many
promotes far-fetched health
claims. He once wrote that
“COVID shots are a crime against
humanity.”
My friend and fellow journalist
Roy Rivenburg says that putting
Kennedy in charge of American
pull their products off the market,
because they will be sued into
oblivion. They would have no
financial incentive to continue
making vaccines.
This is exactly why Congress
passed, and President Reagan
model to help the government Capitol occurred. groups would increasingly resent public health would be like putting signed into law, the National
predict what countries around the The United States’ democracy their lack of representation, a Fox News in charge of a journalism Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of
world were likely to experience score has improved slightly since, recipe for violence. Second, vi- school, Exxon in charge of the 1986. The law, which limits manu-
political instability and violence but only because former President olence often breaks out when Sierra Club or PETA in charge of facturers’ liability in such lawsuits,
within the next two years. Trump left office voluntarily and peaceful protests face harsh gov- McDonald’s. also created the National Vaccine
It turns out that two factors was succeeded by an adminis- ernment crackdowns — and In addition to promoting loony Injury Compensation Program,
were highly predictive. The first tration committed to democracy Trump has signaled a willingness medical theories, Kennedy rails which provides money to people
was whether a country’s govern- and the rule of law. Our political to use military force against against the poor eating habits of who claim to have experienced
ment was an anocracy. These institutions and democratic safe- Americans who demonstrate. Americans and the links between injuries such as allergic reactions.
types of governments are also guards remain as fragile as — if What can we, as individuals, do diet and chronic disease. I can’t Since its inception, the program
called partial or weak democra- not more so than — they were on to prevent or contain violence? If disagree with him there. But I do has paid out about $5.3 billion for
cies, illiberal democracies, elector- Jan. 6, 2021. Now, the fate of our Trump is defeated, the weeks and remember a certain first lady who 11,399 cases.
al autocracies or hybrid regimes, democracy rests heavily on who months that follow will likely see was savaged by Republicans for As is the case with any medi-
meaning they have some combina- occupies the White House, which angry extremists and aspiring planting a White House vegetable cine, including aspirin, a vanish-
tion of democratic and authoritar- is a deeply concerning reality. autocrats lashing out, spreading garden and urging children to eat ingly small number of children are
ian elements. People have been asking me fear and warning of impending healthy and move more. adversely affected by vaccines. But
The second factor was whether whether there will be violence disaster. They will try to create Kennedy’s post last weekend certainly not enough to sacrifice
voters in these anocracies had again after this year’s election, chaos, aiming to make average on X is more in keeping with his the lives of so many who have been
formed political parties around especially if Trump loses. If Trump Americans panic in the face of crackpot ideas. He stated that spared from needless illness and
race, religion or ethnicity, rather loses, violence will almost cer- threats, bomb scares and even fluoride, which strengthens teeth suffering. Also, I can’t believe I
than ideology. So rather than tainly occur, and that’s because assassination attempts. Their goal and reduces cavities, should be need to say this: Vaccines do not
joining a party because you are the United States has all the con- will be to intimidate us into sub- removed from public water sup- cause autism.
conservative or liberal, you join a ditions that make election vi- mission and then convince us that plies. Lutnick, chairman and chief
party because you are Black or olence likely: winner-take-all only strongmen can restore order. When I was a child, the right- executive of Cantor Fitzgerald, is
white, Christian or Muslim, Serb elections, deeply divided parties Our job is to not panic. We will wing extremist John Birch Society, one more arrogant billionaire
or Croat. who distrust each other, and one need to be tough and resilient in which saw Communist threats swept into Trump’s slipstream of
If a country had these two party that has been primed to the face of these intimidation around every corner, propounded conspiracy theories, grievances
features, the task force considered believe that the election must have strategies, to not allow the fear the lie that fluoridating the water and mistrust. If he had spent two
it at high risk of political instability been stolen if they lose. and violence to tear us apart dur- supply was a pinko plot to poison minutes on Wikipedia, he’d have
and/or violence within the next In this scenario, violence could ing what I think will be a tempo- American brains. realized how lucky we are to have
two years and put it on a watchlist. start with protests over the elec- rary and containable storm. Trump’s response to Kennedy’s vaccines.
Based on this model, where is tion results and quickly escalate If Trump wins and takes steps suggestion? “It sounds OK to me.” In addition to botching the
the United States? into riots. Far-right militias might to dismantle institutions, we will Kennedy has repeatedly sug- country’s response to COVID-19 in
Democracy in the United join in, first targeting those they need to become more active. First, gested that vaccines, which some 2020, Trump is responsible for one
States has weakened since 2016. It see as traitors within their own we will need to fight with every experts consider the most signifi- of the country’s current indefensi-
was downgraded on the Center for party. They would likely expand legal means at our disposal and cant public health achievement of ble health crises: the lack of access
Systemic Peace’s democracy scale their attacks to include Demo- prepare for peaceful resistance. the 20th century — more impor- to reproductive healthcare, which
for the first time that year after cratic Party leaders, election Most Americans have no experi- tant than the discovery of antibi- is killing women in states with
international election monitors officials, law enforcement and ence with sustained protest and otics — should be yanked off the abortion bans. He also presides
deemed our 2016 election free but anyone upholding the law. Minor- will need to learn what works, market. Though he has denied it, over a party that has launched a
not entirely fair. It was down- ity groups living in swing states what doesn’t work and how to use war against gender-affirming
graded twice after that, most and in blue cities within red states their voice to take back their polit- medical care for trans people.
recently at the end of 2020, after a would be at high risk, including ical power. Kennedy has been inconsistent
sitting president refused to accept Jewish residents in the suburbs of As we finally close out a tem- in his support for abortion, and he
the outcome of an election and Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, pestuous campaign season, it’s opposes gender-affirming care for
actively tried to overturn the re- African Americans in places like important for Americans to know minors.
sults, for the first time in U.S. Detroit and Latinos in Tucson. that peaceful protest can be a Last month, at one of his ral-
history. By December 2020, U.S. If Trump wins, the immediate powerful tool for removing auto- lies, Trump called on Kennedy to
democracy was officially consid- aftermath is likely to be less vi- crats — but only if citizens are “Make America healthy again.”
ered an anocracy using the task olent. Democrats haven’t been ready to act when the moment Slurring slightly, Trump said,
force’s definition. groomed to see a Kamala Harris demands it. “Come on Bobby. Bobby is gonna
The two main parties in the loss as evidence of cheating, nor do it. Bobby. Let’s go Bobby. Ya
United States have also become have they been encouraged to use Barbara F. Walter is a professor gonna make us healthy, Bobby?”
increasingly divided by race and violence if Trump prevails. Addi- of international relations at UC Evan Vucci Associated Press The only possible answer is a
religion. Today, African Ameri- tionally, the left has far fewer mili- San Diego and the author of “How THE ANTI-VAXXER Robert resounding no.
cans, Latinos, Jews, Muslims and tias ready to take up arms. Howev- Civil Wars Start: And How to Stop F. Kennedy Jr. has formed an
atheists vote predominantly for er, violence from the left is likely to Them.” alliance with Trump. Threads: @rabcarian
 B

CALIFORNIA W E D N E S D A Y , N O V E M B E R 6 , 2 0 2 4 :: L A T I M E S . C O M / C A L I F O R N I A

Anxious
voters in
the L.A.
area go to
the polls
They are drawn by
Trump, Harris, local
issues. For measures,
it’s a ‘yes’ or ‘hell no.’
By Rachel Uranga
and Keri Blakinger

“Nervous.” “Emotional.”
“Worried.” “Insecure.”
Los Angeles-area voters
were feeling much like the
rest of the country as elec-
tion day dawned.
But with the support of
the state’s liberal majority
for California-bred candi-
date Vice President Kamala
Harris in the presidential
race all but assured, voters
were hoping to affect the
Photographs by Michael Blackshire Los Angeles Times downballot measures and
VISITORS take photos of the Menendez family’s former residence on Elm Drive. The case received renewed attention thanks to Netflix. races that could have an ev-
eryday impact on their lives.

Gawkers at ‘all hours’: Menendez

Ballot items dealing with
housing costs (Proposition
33), retail theft and drug ad-
diction (Proposition 36),
schools (Proposition 2) and

case draws crowds to Beverly Hills

dozens of local races were
driving them to the polls.
“That’s a ‘hell no’ for me,”
said Koryn Frye-Fuentes, 30,
widening her eyes for em-
phasis as she panned Pro-

Quietude is broken as true crime fanatics flock to mansion where brothers killed parents position 36 outside her
polling place at Plummer
Park in West Hollywood. In-
where two brothers mur- carceration “doesn’t help
By Jireh Deng dered their parents in 1989. people with drug addiction.”
The case has received re- The proposition, backed by
First, it was a driver of a newed attention after a Net- law enforcement, seeks to
sedan slowing down to a flix show and documentary impose harsher sentences
crawl and pointing as they profiled their case and L.A. for retail theft and drug pos-
passed the Spanish-style County Dist. Atty. George session. And it hits a nerve in
mansion, draped in elm Gascón announced he rec- Los Angeles, where certain
leaves and hidden behind a ommends they be resen- supermarket aisles are now
privacy fence. tenced after new evidence locked up, shoplifting has in-
Then came a group of that they had been molested creased and people openly
teenage girls running out of by their father came to light, use drugs.
a van for selfies, followed by which could make them eli- The measure would roll
bikers, who stopped to see gible for parole. He also ex- back Proposition 47, ap-
what all the ruckus was pressed support for their proved a decade earlier to re-
about. They all had the same clemency request. [See Voters, B2]
question. In just the last month,
“Is that the right house?” Beverly Hills police officials
In recent weeks, the qui- said, officers have respond-

LAPD’s
etude of this affluent Beverly ed to at least 18 calls for serv-
Hills neighborhood has been ice related to noise com-
filled with the buzzing of plaints and trespassing con-
tourists and true crime fa- cerns around the mansion.
natics all swarming to peek
at the infamous Menendez
mansion on Elm Drive —
“There’s people all hours
of the night,” said Elm Drive
[See Menendez, B4]
A TOUR BUS passes the mansion last month. It is no longer owned by the Men-
endez family, but that apparently hasn’t curtailed its appeal at home or abroad.
new chief
will face
Politician’s fall started with one dogged reporter familiar
challenges
Nick Gerda pursued the truth about O.C. Supervisor Andrew Do for more than a decade
Jim McDonnell’s
GUSTAVO ARELLANO after federal prosecutors announced he would And look at him now!
plead guilty to accepting over half a million He’s like Clark Kent with peach fuzz: tall, single term as sheriff
I greeted Nick Gerda last week dollars in bribes to direct more than $10 million slender, soft-spoken, favoring khakis and long- offers insights into his
the same way I’ve greeted him in COVID-19 relief funds to a nonprofit headed sleeved shirts and more earnest than a Peace
over the past year: a handshake, by his college-age daughter, Rhiannon. Corps volunteer. We met at my wife’s store in next leadership role.
a hug and a “Great job, man.” “The scheme essentially functioned like downtown Santa Ana, not far from where the
Since last November, the Robin Hood in reverse,” U.S. Atty. E. Martin Board of Supervisors meets, so I could offer By Libor Jany
LAist reporter has dropped Estrada said at a news conference on Oct. 22. congratulations again — and not just for ending and Keri Blakinger
bombshell after bombshell Estrada credited the media for breaking the the career of a politician who was as insufferable
about Andrew Do, a longtime story — which really meant Gerda, who used to as the bow ties he wore. When Jim McDonnell is
politician who most recently served affix mics to my shirt when he was an intern at Gerda’s career is an exemplar of what hap- officially sworn in as the
as an Orange County supervisor. Orange County’s PBS channel about 15 years pens when news organizations invest in local next Los Angeles police
I say “most recently” because Do resigned ago. journalism, let [See Arellano, B5] chief on Nov. 14, daunting
challenges await.
The list includes dealing
with powerful union resist-

L.A. County is suing

ance to major disciplinary
reforms; scrutiny from over-
sight officials after a rash
of confidence-shaking
PepsiCo, Coca-Cola scandals; and calls to im-
prove relations with com-
munities left mistrustful af-
over plastic pollution ter decades of adversarial
policing.
But for McDonnell —
actions California officials who served a single term as
By Susanne Rust have taken against pet- L.A. County sheriff from 2014
rochemical corporations to 2018 — that’s all familiar
Los Angeles County has and plastic manufacturers. territory.
filed a lawsuit against the In September, state Atty. Although the Los Ange-
world’s largest beverage Gen. Rob Bonta and a group les Police Department and
companies — Coca-Cola of environmental organiza- the Sheriff ’s Department
and PepsiCo — claiming tions sued Exxon Mobil, ac- are worlds apart culturally,
that the soda and drink cusing the company of false- longtime observers of both
makers lied to the public ly promoting plastics as uni- agencies say McDonnell’s
about the effectiveness of versally recyclable when, in resume, which also includes
plastic recycling and, as a re- reality, the vast majority of a stint as police chief in Long
sult, left county residents these products cannot be Beach and 28 years in the
Luis Sinco Los Angeles Times and ecosystems choking in reused. LAPD, offers insights into
PLASTIC DEBRIS litters a drainage ditch to the sea in January at Junipero discarded plastic. The L.A. County suit al- both his managerial style
Beach in Long Beach. L.A. County alleges misrepresentation by beverage makers, The suit is the latest in a leges — in a vein similar to and the potential pitfalls
accusing them of knowing that their plastic bottles have environmental effects. series of high-profile legal [See Plastic, B4] [See McDonnell, B2]

SPORTS ON THE BACK: USC benching quarterback Moss in favor of Maiava. B10
B2 W E D N E S DAY , N OV E M B E R 6 , 2 0 2 4 L AT I M E S . C O M

McDonnell’s record as sheriff hints at his future

[McDonnell, from B1] sheriff, noted that McDon-
he’ll face. nell won’t answer directly to
In introducing McDon- voters as chief. And he also
nell at a news conference won’t have to overcome be-
this month, Mayor Karen ing an outsider, which he
Bass praised his decades struggled with previously as
of experience and repeat- a longtime LAPD member
edly referred to the incom- stepping in to lead the
ing chief as an “innovator.” county agency.
But his critics contend that “He failed to get elected
his four years as sheriff sug- again — that doesn’t matter
gest he’s unlikely to enact to LAPD,” Tyler said. “And
drastic changes as LAPD he failed to be a sheriff ’s dep-
chief. uty from day one — that
McDonnell cleared the doesn’t matter to LAPD.”
City Council’s public safety Unlike his predecessors,
committee with a 4-1 vote on Tyler said, McDonnell di-
Tuesday, after a public com- rectly involved himself in
ment period that was domi- disciplinary decisions, ask-
nated by speakers opposing ing the undersheriff to brief
his appointment, largely him on every case. He
based on his record on im- cracked down on unauthor-
migration. McDonnell, who ized station logos and im-
still requires confirmation agery, Tyler said, and
from the full council, is set started the inquiry into dep-
to be publicly sworn in on uty subgroups that later
Nov. 14. gave way to the Rand Corp.
The LAPD referred re- report published after Mc-
quests for an interview with Donnell’s successor had al-
McDonnell to a spokes- ready ousted him from of-
person for the mayor’s of- fice.
fice, who did not respond to In an email to The Times,
numerous emails. The former Sheriff Alex Vil-
Times spoke with several of lanueva wished McDonnell
his former Sheriff ’s Depart- luck as chief, and stressed
ment colleagues, as well as the need for striking a “sen-
LAPD veterans, about the sible balance between sup-
incoming chief ’s record. He porting the officers doing a
has for the last several years difficult job and holding
worked at USC, where he them accountable when
ran the school’s Safe Com- they don’t meet the stand-
munities Institute. Ringo Chiu For The Times ards the community de-
As sheriff, he came under JIM McDONNELL came under fire as sheriff from some progressives who said he didn’t do enough to change serves.”
fire from some progressives the perennially troubled department, while also facing powerful opposition from the deputies’ union. On social media, Vil-
who said he didn’t do lanueva — who was voted
enough to change the peren- quently tangled with the po- “He did maintain a very, rally outside City Hall to re- your position was correct?” out of office himself four
nially troubled department. lice union over matters of very high standard about iterate their calls against his McDonnell responded: years after succeeding Mc-
At the same time, some of discipline as the city’s top honesty,” said Neal Tyler, appointment, while encour- “My position at the time was Donnell — struck a snarkier
his actions rankled the dep- cop from 1997 to 2002. who served as undersheriff aging leaders to adopt to protect all of our commu- tone. “Hopefully,” he said,
uties’ union so much that it Parks was chief during during the first two years of stronger protections for im- nities.” “Mr. McDonnell has learned
poured money into the 2018 the Rampart scandal, which McDonnell’s term. “I pre- migrants. After repeated question- something about how not to
campaign to unseat him. led to court-mandated re- sumed he brought that from At the hearing, McDon- ing, Soto-Martinez said that run a large organization.”
Some wonder how that forms after officers were LAPD.” nell told the committee that while he understood that Villanueva rolled back
experience might affect his found to have committed But his tenure as sheriff he would work to fix the de- people can evolve their posi- many of McDonnell’s key re-
dealings with the LAPD’s robberies, murders and was also dogged by issues partment’s much-maligned tions, he didn’t think that forms, bringing back the
equally powerful union, the other crimes. The next chief, around immigration. disciplinary system, as well McDonnell had adequately controversial “Fort Apache”
Los Angeles Police Protec- Bill Bratton, chose McDon- McDonnell opposed a as address the continued addressed the concerns logo at the East L.A. station,
tive League, which has been nell to serve as a top aide. “sanctuary state” bill that payouts stemming from al- raised during public com- replacing the department’s
emboldened by Bass’ strong Greg Yates, a longtime aimed to prevent federal im- legations against the de- ment. constitutional policing
public support in recent civil rights lawyer, said he migration agents from tak- partment made by the pub- “But today, Oct. 29, advisors, clamping down on
months. After approving was “cautiously optimistic” ing custody of people being lic and by LAPD officers. He you’re not there for me, so I the sharing of information
pay raises for officers, amid given how McDonnell released from California said he also saw technolo- will be registering a ‘no’ with oversight officials and
warnings of financial risk for helped orchestrate the de- jails. In doing so, he broke gies such as license plate vote,” Soto-Martinez said. creating a group to evaluate
the city, the mayor has often partment’s post-Rampart ranks with many other local readers, and eventually arti- Other detractors, such terminations and discipline
spoken publicly about the turnaround. politicians — including the ficial intelligence, as a solu- as Melina Abdullah, co- under McDonnell’s term.
need for improving officer “He’s survived because bill’s sponsor, Councilmem- tion to the department’s founder of Black Lives Mat- Inspector General Max
morale — a common refrain he’s very diplomatic and an ber Kevin de León, then in staffing issues, but only so ter Los Angeles, have Huntsman, the county
from League officials. experienced and intelligent the state Senate. It was a long as they were used re- pointed to the former sher- watchdog whose office is
The League, which rep- guy,” Yates said. massive political gamble at sponsibly. iff ’s failure to improve condi- tasked with overseeing the
resents about 8,800 officers, But if or when McDonnell a time when officials found McDonnell’s toughest tions in the L.A. County jails Sheriff ’s Department, said
has voiced support for Mc- decides to challenge the strong support for standing questioning came from or more aggressively root McDonnell’s emphasis on
Donnell, saying he shows status quo, Yates said, “he’s up to former President Councilmember Hugo Soto- out deputy gangs, the un- discipline and accountabil-
the mayor is committed to going to be like everyone Trump’s policies. Martinez, who cast the only sanctioned groups of tat- ity sparked opposition from
improving police staffing, else, he’s going to get ham- McDonnell — who at the “no” vote, and who repeat- tooed deputies repeatedly the union and made him un-
boosting officer morale and mered.” time described himself to edly pressed the incoming accused of misconduct over popular with some deputies,
fixing a “broken discipline At the Sheriff ’s Depart- The Times as “not a Trump chief on his views on immi- the years. while outsiders faulted the
process,” which some claim ment, McDonnell aimed to guy” and “not an anti- gration, pretextual stops As the mayor’s chief lack of a sweeping overhaul.
protects top leaders while improve honesty and trans- Trump guy” — joined other and unarmed alternatives search narrowed to two “He didn’t wanna come
unfairly punishing the rank parency after scandals sheriffs who oversee jails in to police responses. McDon- other finalists that included in as an LAPD guy and just
and file for similar miscon- under Lee Baca. arguing that the proposal nell repeatedly demurred, a Black woman and a Latino say we’re gonna do it this
duct. Baca, who stepped down was more likely to hurt im- saying that he needed time man, Abdullah said that the way, the LAPD way,” Hunts-
Earlier this year, Bass in 2014, was convicted of migrants than protect to understand how the de- other two candidates — man said. “So he took his
vetoed an effort to give the thwarting an investigation them. McDonnell had been a partment functions before Deputy Chief Emada Tin- time and as a result I think
chief more power to fire offi- into his department’s trou- registered Republican in the committing to a certain girides, who runs the de- was perceived as being too
cers accused of serious mis- bled jail system and then ly- past, but said during his course of action. partment’s South Bureau, slow.”
conduct. With disciplinary ing to federal investigators time as sheriff that he was When asked to explain and former LAPD assistant Keith Swensson, a for-
matters still largely decided about it. no longer affiliated with a his past willingness to coop- chief Robert “Bobby” Arcos mer commander in the
by civilian Board of Rights McDonnell created an in- political party. erate with federal immigra- — had found some support Sheriff ’s Department, said
panels, McDonnell could formation-sharing agree- Concerns among immi- tion authorities, McDonnell among some progressive that McDonnell never
have limited room to ma- ment with the Office of In- gration advocates about said he was complying with groups who were normally “really had enough time to
neuver, according to former spector General, hired con- McDonnell’s stance have the laws of the time that leery of law enforcement. make major changes.”
LAPD Chief and City Coun- stitutional policing only heightened, with were focused on targeting “The jails and the allow- “He definitely tried,”
cilmember Bernard Parks. advisors, strove to make Trump now repeatedly “sex offenders, rapists, ance for the expansion of the Swensson said. “He kind of
“They’ve gotta clean that sure dishonest deputies got promising mass robbers and shooters,” in- deputy gangs was so hor- had more discipline than
[discipline system] up to fired and supported the idea deportations if reelected. stead of generally rounding rible that even these prog- what the department had
give him a chance not to just of turning over the depart- Before McDonnell’s ap- up undocumented immi- ressive organizations were before he arrived. But did
sit there and wring his ment’s so-called “Brady list” pearance Tuesday, a coali- grants. like, ‘Anybody but Jim Mc- that really change the de-
hands and say, ‘Oh my of problem deputies to tion of immigration and civil But Soto-Martinez per- Donnell,’ ” she said. partment that much? I
gosh,’ ” said Parks, who fre- county prosecutors. rights organizations held a sisted, asking: “Do you think Tyler, the former under- don’t think it did.”

L.A.-area voters have many reasons to go to the polls

[Voters, from B1] fund repairs and upgrades Ayala, a Salvadoran immi-
duce prison overcrowding at thousands of public grant, said she felt that way
and direct funds toward re- schools and community col- about Harris.
habilitation. leges. “I am glad there is so Both were offended by
But it wasn’t only local much money on the table for the shoplifters they had seen
matters that drove people to LAUSD,” she said. walk out of stores as families
the polls. Even if Califor- Katelyn, a 37-year-old struggled to pay for their
nians had little chance to West Hollywood voter who meals and voted for Pro-
sway the presidential race, declined to give her last position 36.
they wanted to take their name, said she was moved by “I want them punished,”
stance on what they saw as a Proposition 33, which gives Ayala said. “There are peo-
historical election, with local jurisdictions wider lati- ple out there who can’t afford
many voting for the first tude to regulate rents. to eat, and then people steal
time. “I am in West Hollywood, things?”
“I never follow politics. I which already had rent con- Both also backed their in-
don’t follow the council peo- trol, and that really helped cumbent council member,
ple,” said Ernie Quintana, a during the pandemic,” she Kevin de León, who was em-
44-year-old Puerto Rican in said while dropping off her broiled in controversy for his
El Sereno. “This is my first mail-in ballot. “It has al- part in a 2022 scandal involv-
time ever.” lowed me to stay in this ing a leaked audio recording
He came because he Christina House Los Angeles Times neighborhood that I love.” with colleagues that con-
wanted to make sure Donald DENISE SAMSON, right, and her son Jessiah Monsod cast their votes side by During the lockdowns, tained incendiary remarks.
Trump wins. side at the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo on Tuesday. she said, neighbors helped His challenger, tenant rights
“I feel like, let’s make one another and her build- attorney Ysabel Jurado, was
America great again,” said “A lot of these stores are clos- think when the dust settles, officials were on heightened ing cultivated a sense of recently recorded by a De
Quintana, who was recently ing down. Walmart, Target. you are going to see that alert throughout the county, community, in part because León aide saying, “F— the
laid off. He said he wasn’t of- You go to those places and trend continue.” though no specific threats people could afford to stay in police.”
fended by stand-up comic everything [is] under key.” Election officials expect had been made as of midday. the same apartments for so “The other woman of-
Tony Hinchcliffe calling While a couple of outlying more than 3 million votes to At the Connie Norman long. fended the police,” Ayala
Puerto Rico garbage before a polling places logged waits of be cast in Los Angeles Transgender Empower- “I feel like if that could said. “And he has done so
packed Trump rally in New up to an hour, most had County. As of midday Tues- ment Center in the Fairfax spread in L.A., that would be much for the community.”
York last month. “He’s a co- waits under 15 minutes, and day, more than 1.7 million district, the mood was cele- helpful,” she said. But Alex Zayas, a 27-year-
median,” he said. “I didn’t election officials had not re- vote-by-mail ballots were be- bratory, and Andrea Ruth, Across town, Maria old nursing assistant who
take that personally,” ported any machine mal- ing processed. An additional 53, was enjoying the “festive” Cordes, 59, and her friend lives in a rent-stabilized
Besides, he said, there’s a functions. And most voters 612,000 people had voted at voting experience. Teresa Ayala, 83, came to the apartment, doesn’t see it
lot of corruption in Puerto had already cast their ballot more than 600 centers. The “Every time someone fin- El Sereno voting center, mo- that way. Although De León
Rico. by then. majority of those votes were ished voting, everyone ap- tivated for different reasons helped clear streets that
As for the rest of the 10 “Since 2020, approxi- expected to be reflected in plauded,” she said. by the presidential election were lined with people living
state ballot measures, the mately 80% of people who’ve results posted by the Regis- Ruth, who has a school- and common ones in some of in RVs, Zayas said, problems
U.S. Senate race and other voted in an election have trar-Recorder/County Clerk age child in the Los Angeles the state and local races. remain. He pointed to a
local issues, the only item he used the vote-by-mail bal- on Tuesday night. But there Unified School District, said Cordes, a Mexican immi- nearby street corner, about
felt strongly about is Pro- lot,” said Michael Sanchez, a remains an unknown num- she was supporting funds for grant who lost her job as a two blocks from De León’s
position 36. spokesperson for the Los ber of mail-in ballots still more schooling. Proposition nursing assistant because of office, where he said people
“You get a lot of people re- Angeles County Registrar- coming in. 2 is a bond measure that an injury, voted for Trump openly use drugs.
peating stealing, and they Recorder/County Clerk. “ I Girding for a worst-case would allow California to because she felt he promised “It’s like we are back to
don’t get in trouble,” he said. expect that to uphold. I scenario, law enforcement borrow $10 billion to help a better economic outlook. square one,” Zayas said.
L AT I M E S . C O M W E D N E S DAY , N OV E M B E R 6 , 2 0 2 4 B3

CITY & STATE

L.A. may borrow

money to cover
large legal payouts
lems, such as broken side-
Agencies have gone at walks, leading to lawsuits.
“We sit and go through
least $215 million over binders of cases that are re-
budget for July 1 fiscal curring fact patterns. It’s the
same problems over and over
year, analysis shows. again,” she said.
City Controller Kenneth
By Dakota Smith Mejia sharply criticized the
borrowing strategy and said
The city of L.A. is over- the interest costs will ham-
spending and burning per efforts to fund projects in
through its reserve funds. the future.
City departments have “Borrowing as part of a
gone at least $215 million over comprehensive strategic
budget for the fiscal year that plan to put the city back in
began July 1, according to a fiscal balance makes sense,”
new analysis. Expensive le- he said. “Borrowing to post-
gal settlements and court pone the day of budget reck-
judgments resulting from oning is short-sighted, reck-
Myung J. Chun Los Angeles Times lawsuits against the city are a less and irresponsible.”
big part of that. The last time the council
E LECTION DAY Now the city is proposing issued a judgment obligation
Bamm-Bamm looks for petting as Rozita Koreie votes Tuesday at Sepulveda Garden Center in Encino. to borrow money to cover the bond was in 2010, when the
cost of legal payouts — a city borrowed more than $53
move that will give some million to cover legal settle-
short-term relief but ulti- ments, including several
mately add to the city’s debt. stemming from a 2007 “May

Third suspect arrested in 2017 killing

At a Wednesday commit- Day Melee” where immigra-
tee meeting, council mem- tion protesters and news me-
bers laid the groundwork to dia were injured by police in
borrow at least $80 million MacArthur Park.
through a “judgment obliga- The council also consid-
tion bond” that would cover ered borrowing $60 million in
Washington state man payouts for such legal mat- 2017 to cover the cost of some
ters as errors or misconduct big legal payouts. Then-City
charged with murder by LAPD officers, accidents Controller Ron Galperin
of hairdressing mogul caused by buckled sidewalks pushed back on that idea,
and discrimination claims which the council eventually
Fabio Sementilli. lodged by city workers. abandoned.
“We need to take that ac- The council also contem-
By Richard Winton tion essentially to stop the plated borrowing money to
bleeding,” said City Adminis- pay its ongoing bills in 2020,
Authorities say they have trative Officer Matt Szabo, when COVID-19 walloped the
arrested the mystery man who advises the mayor and economy, reducing tax reve-
who allegedly teamed up council on the budget. nue from hotels and other
with an accomplice to fatally The city routinely issues sources. The city was res-
stab famed hairstylist Fabio bonds to pay for physical as- cued after President Biden
Sementilli seven years ago sets, such as major building signed a relief package that
at a Woodland Hills man- upgrades. Borrowing to pay sent it more than $1 billion.
sion. for ongoing legal costs is gen- At Wednesday’s meeting,
Prosecutors allege Chris- erally not encouraged, how- Szabo said he also wants the
topher Austin was the sec- ever, because of the interest. council to identify budget
ond man involved in the Based on current interest cuts throughout city depart-
killing, along with the lover rates, it could cost the city as ments this fiscal year to help
of Sementilli’s wife. much as $20 million in inter- replenish the city’s reserve
Austin was recently ar- est to borrow $80 million. fund.
rested in connection with (To put that $20 million in The winners of Tuesday’s
the killing and extradited Richard Vogel Associated Press perspective, the budget for City Council elections —
from Washington state. On A NEWS TEAM in 2017 reports outside the Woodland Hills home where Fabio the city’s Cultural Affairs De- three races were on the ballot
Oct. 18, after being sent back Sementilli was found dead. A third suspect was recently charged in the slaying. partment for the full fiscal — probably will have to con-
to Los Angeles, Austin year is $18.6 million.) front those budget-cutting
pleaded not guilty to a Baker, after admitting to found Sementilli stabbed to tem. They presented evi- The bond proposal, decisions.
charge of murder with the the crime, has said that death, investigators consid- dence that she watched a which is expected to have a In the coming months,
special allegations of the use Monica Sementilli did not ered it to be the work of live feed of the area shortly 2.73% interest rate, still council members will also
of a deadly weapon, and know about the murder knock-knock burglars who before the killing to ensure needs approval from the have to decide whether to go
pleaded not guilty Wednes- plot. Prosecutors and LAPD plagued parts of San Fer- Baker had a clear path to council. forward with renovating the
day to an additional charge investigators contend that nando Valley. her husband. Prosecutors If the plan moves forward, city’s convention center in
of conspiracy to commit extensive evidence shows But though the home’s alleged that she also let her the city would use its reserve time for the 2028 Olympics.
murder. she was tied to the killing. master bedroom was ran- 16-year-old daughter come fund — a bucket of money Zach Seidl, a spokes-
The 38-year-old Austin, Monica Sementilli’s trial sacked, the assailants never home first and discover the used for budget crises — to person for Mayor Karen
prosecutors allege, con- is pending, and she and took the hair mogul’s valu- crime scene. pay off the legal bills, then re- Bass, said that initiatives
spired with Monica Se- Baker have been held in the able watch on his wrist, “Monica fully intended pay the reserve fund with the put forward by the city will
mentilli, the hairstylist’s Los Angeles County jail sys- piquing the interest of de- for Fabio to be murdered,” loan. “ensure the city remains on
wife, and her lover Robert tem for more than five years. tectives, said then-Robbery Los Angeles County Deputy Councilmember Traci stable financial ground.” He
Louis Baker in January 2017 She had pleaded not guilty, Homicide Division Capt. Dist. Atty. Beth Silverman Park, who serves on the did not address the pro-
to kill her husband as part of and her attorney, Leonard Billy Hayes. Security sur- told a grand jury in 2017. “She budget committee, voiced posed bond.
a scheme to pocket his $1.6 Levine, said that she was veillance video showed two wanted him out of the way dismay at the idea of borrow- “Despite fiscal headwinds
million in life insurance. falsely accused and that hooded men jogging up to because she wants to be ing money to pay the bills. sweeping the nation, home-
Austin’s alleged conspira- Baker will testify to that. the home before the slaying. with Robert Baker. She’s “I don’t love debt financ- lessness is down, LAPD ap-
tors have been behind bars Her trial has been post- Afterward, the men drove unhappy in her marriage, ing,” she said. “And I love it plications are up, and es-
for more than five years, but poned a few times, and the away in Sementilli’s Porsche even though at the same even less when we don’t get a sential city workers are being
until recently Austin’s iden- arrest of Austin could and were recorded on an- time she’s acting like the lov- product out of it at the end of paid more fairly,” he said.
tity and whereabouts had change the dynamics. Pros- other surveillance camera ing, adoring wife.” the day.”
been unknown. ecutors allege that Baker as they abandoned the vehi- Baker pleaded no con- Park sits on the three- This article was originally
Sementilli was the father stabbed the hairstylist sev- cle five miles away. test in July 2023 to one count member claims board, which published in The Times’
of three and an executive at eral times with a knife and In an apparent attempt each of first-degree murder reviews lawsuits against the L.A. on the Record news-
the hair-care giant Wella. that Austin stabbed the vic- to cover up their actions, the and conspiracy to commit city. She said she was dis- letter. To subscribe, go to
Baker, 62, last year ad- tim in the neck with a knife. two men took a video re- murder. He also admitted turbed to see the same prob- latimes.com/newsletters.
mitted that he killed the ce- Baker is alleged to have cording system hidden in the special circumstance al-
lebrity hairdresser on Jan. told Austin that the victim’s the garage of Sementilli’s legations of murder for fi-
23, 2017, leaving him in a pool wife wanted to get her hus- home that captured video nancial gain and murder
of blood on a back patio in
what was initially thought to
be a home-invasion robbery
band’s life insurance money.
As part of the conspiracy al-
leged by prosecutors, Baker
from six cameras around
the house, prosecutors said.
Detectives closed in on
while lying in wait.
One of Monica Sementil-
li’s attorneys, Leonard Lev-
2 hurt after being hit
gone wrong. Baker is serving gave Austin money to buy a Baker after discovering ine, told reporters after Bak-
a life sentence without the
possibility of parole.
Six months after the
ticket to fly from Anchorage
to Los Angeles and a roll of
gold coins after the slaying,
blood in the abandoned
Porsche. His DNA had pre-
viously been captured after
er’s plea that the defense
was confident that his plea
and his “truthful testimony
by car in street takeover
killing, Los Angeles police according to the complaint. he was convicted of a lewd will finally establish once they saw the two pedestrians
detectives arrested Baker Austin was arrested in and lascivious conduct with and for all that Monica Se- Onlookers in Orange who were struck,” said Sgt.
and Monica Sementilli, re- Washington state and extra- a minor in 1993 and forced to mentilli had nothing to do Matt Sutter.
vealing that they had been in dited to L.A. County, where register as a sex offender, with the planning or the
County drawn by “Both officers and para-
a relationship for 18 months. he is being held on more Hayes said at the time. murder of Fabio Sementilli, social media posts. medics provided medical aid
Baker, a convicted sex of- than $2 million bail pending Prosecutors alleged her husband. And we’re and the men were taken to
fender, met her at LA Fit- a Dec. 2 court appearance. Monica Sementilli told looking forward to the trial, By Jaweed Kaleem the nearest hospital.”
ness, where he was a rac- Initially, when LAPD re- Baker how to remove the which we believe will estab- Sutter said the men, who
quetball instructor. sponded to the home and home’s video recording sys- lish that fact.” It began with an all-too- are still hospitalized, have
common, though illegal, “broken bones, lacerations
street takeover in Orange and abrasions” but are in sta-
County. ble condition.
It ended with two teens The driver of the Charger,
FBI details attack aboard cross-country flight hospitalized after being
struck by a car, and the sus-
pected driver fleeing the
Sutter said, was not at the
scene and the car was im-
pounded.
trict of Virginia. Stains ance aboard a roughly the plane. scene. “We are looking into who
Florida man allegedly splattered onto nearby five-hour United Airlines Nelson was eventually Hundreds of onlookers, is responsible and who is at
seats, walls and windows as flight from San Francisco moved to the front of the air- drawn to the scene by social fault,” Sutter said.
beat fellow passenger blood flew from the victim’s to Dulles Airport in Virginia. craft and monitored by the media and WhatsApp adver- Sutter said street take-
on a plane going from head and face, the agent Nelson was seated about passenger who had earlier tisements, showed up before overs in the area are “not un-
wrote. four rows from the back of stopped him, according to 2 a.m. Friday at the intersec- usual,” though he cautioned
San Francisco to D.C. The victim’s screams ul- the 82-seat plane. He was re- the affidavit and United. tion of Orangewood Avenue they are illegal and danger-
timately saved him, as a by- turning to his seat after us- “Thanks to the quick ac- and State College Boulevard ous.
By Andrew J. Campa stander stepped in, sub- ing the restroom at the front tion of our crew and custom- in Anaheim to watch cars Takeovers in Southern
dued the attacker and held of the plane about two hours ers, one passenger was re- spin in circles, perform California, including in Los
For roughly one minute, him at bay for the remaining into the flight when he strained after becoming stunts and make lots of noise. Angeles and Orange coun-
a Florida man rained blows three hours until the assail- stopped at the 12th row. physically aggressive Police were called to the ties, increased in 2020 during
upon an unsuspecting pas- ant was arrested upon land- The affidavit alleges that toward another customer,” intersection — a few blocks pandemic-related business
senger aboard a cross-coun- ing, the agent alleged. he “began physically attack- United Airlines wrote in a from Angel Stadium, in an and school closures.
try flight heading from San Florida resident Everett ing a sleeping male passen- statement. area dotted with businesses Some of the sideshows, as
Francisco to the Washing- Chad Nelson faces federal ger by punching him repeat- United said the flight and apartments — but while they are also called, have
ton, D.C., area on Monday assault charges in the inci- edly in the face and head un- landed on time and was met en route they received re- been deadly and destructive.
afternoon, a federal agent dent. The victim’s name was til blood was drawn.” by paramedics and law en- ports of injuries. This summer, one in
alleged. not released. The victim suffered forcement at the gate. When officers from the downtown Los Angeles
Blood from the victim, A call to Nelson’s court- bruises on his eyes and a The Federal Aviation Ad- Anaheim Police Department ended with two sedans in
asleep at the time and un- ordered public defender was gash on his nose, according ministration said it was arrived, they learned that a flames at West 18th and Main
prepared for the vicious as- not immediately returned. to the FBI agent. conducting its own investi- black Dodge Charger had streets.
sault, splashed onto the Nelson is due back in court Another passenger gation of the incident. Air- spun out of control into the The issue has prompted
sleeves of the suspect’s lime Dec. 11. broke up the fight, accord- lines have been besieged crowd, hitting two 19-year- the L.A. City Council to tar-
green windbreaker, an FBI The FBI received an alert ing to the affidavit and by unruly passengers this old onlookers. get certain areas with speed
special agent reported in an from the Transportation United Airlines media rela- year, the FAA said, citing “When police got there bump installations, includ-
affidavit filed in U.S. District Security Administration at tions. The victim was roughly 1,700 incidents to around 2 a.m., most of the ing 20 popular street take-
Court for the Eastern Dis- 9:26 a.m. about a disturb- treated by a doctor aboard date. crowd had dispersed but over spots.
B4 W E D N E S DAY , N OV E M B E R 6 , 2 0 2 4 L AT I M E S . C O M

Menendez case
draws true crime
fans to mansion
[Menendez, from B1] million times, as it zooms
resident Mindy R., who de- ever closer to an upstairs
clined to provide her full window to suggest a shadow
name out of concern for her of Jose Menendez’s face.
safety because of all the re- Natalie Gardena, a surgi-
cent visitors. “People are cal technician from Pomona,
getting out of their cars, said she’s seen content crea-
blocking our driveway.” tors hopping the fence on so-
Now she and her neigh- cial media to take photos on
bors call the police and tow the porch to re-create a pic-
companies to manage the ture of the brothers standing
crowd. It was nothing but in front of the mansion.
the occasional tour bus The 25-year-old visited
through the neighborhood the mansion on a recent day
before, Mindy said. off from work and said she
“I didn’t register that was initially drawn to the
[the mansion] was across home by her morbid fascina-
the street from me,” she said tion with true crime docu-
of when she first moved in a mentaries — she had also
few years ago. “It’s been visited Benedict Canyon in
pretty quiet until the Netflix Beverly Hills where the
show came out.” Manson murders happened.
In September, Netflix re- But watching the scripted
leased its dramatization of Netflix series also caused
the case, “Monsters: The her to sympathize with the
Lyle and Erik Menendez brothers’ experiences of al-
Story,” as the latest chapter leged abuse under their fa-
in its true crime anthology ther.
series. A two-hour docu- “The system just failed
mentary featuring new au- them,” Gardena said. She Michael Blackshire Los Angeles Times
dio interviews with the sib- thinks it was unfair that the A VISITOR TAKES a photograph of the former Menendez mansion, which was sold for $17 million in March.
lings, “The Menendez trial focused on the broth-
Brothers,” was released by ers’ spending spree after the “It’s fascinating to visit this cause I grew up in this town,
Netflix a month later. The killings without fully ac- place ... something that you I had a very similar father to

County suit targets

scripted show and docu- knowledging the sexual as- always see on the screens ... them. But the abuse was far
mentary introduced a new sault allegations. “If they you have the opportunity in worse that they went
generation to a case that were sisters, they would real life [to see it].” through.”
had their parents and have been out long time ago. For others, seeing the With the renewed atten-
grandparents glued to tele-
vision screens during the
first trial in 1993.
But since they’re men, no
one believed men could be
sexually abused back then.”
residence brings up a deep
sense of personal loss and
grief. Rebecca Hecht, who
tion drawn to the case, she fi-
nally mustered the courage
to watch the entirety of the
PepsiCo, Coca-Cola
The trial, one of the first
of its kind to be televised,
created an appetite for a new
Though the mansion is
no longer owned by the
Menendez family — it was
went to Beverly Hills High
School a year ahead of Erik
Menendez, lives about a mile
Menendez trial on YouTube.
And while she doesn’t con-
done murder, she believes
over plastic pollution
American genre: true crime. sold for $17 million in March away from the home and was they deserve a second
The nation was engrossed in and is vacant as it undergoes walking by the house with a chance because of the al- [Plastic, from B1] does not acknowledge that
the tale of these two char- renovation — that appar- labradoodle on a recent leged abuse. that of Bonta’s suit against bottles can be recycled only
ismatic yet troubled young ently hasn’t stopped its ap- afternoon. “They’re model citizens Exxon Mobil — that the one or two times before the
men who seemed to have it peal at home or abroad. “I just feel a very heavy in prison, and strangely, global beverage companies plastic is so heavily de-
all between wealth and looks On a recent Wednesday presence being here,” Hecht ironically, prison was prob- misrepresented the envi- graded that it must be used
before they violently afternoon, visitors were said. “It feels very ominous ably a better life for them, ronmental impact of their as fuel stock, or for some
snapped, taking their par- walking or driving by the on the street.” and that’s why they were plastic bottles, “despite other “downcycled” materi-
ents’ lives with shotguns. home virtually every minute. Her brother Adam able to thrive,” Hecht said. knowing that plastics can- al, such as carpeting or out-
The renewed celebrity of Among them were tourists taught Erik tennis, she said. As for the Netflix show, not be readily disposed of door patio furniture —
the house has since become from France and South Afri- The same summer the mur- Hecht said it’s too personal without associated environ- which can’t be recycled.
a goldmine of viral content ca who stopped by to take ders happened, Adam also to watch it. mental impacts.” “PepsiCo and Coca-Cola
for TikTokers who film the pictures of the mansion’s mysteriously disappeared — But she hopes the media “Coke and Pepsi need to have misled consumers by
mansion and rehash the de- front-facing facade and the a case that’s never been attention has swayed the stop the deception and take deceptively promising that
tails of the murder scene for residence’s numbers on the solved. public’s and officials’ opin- responsibility for the plastic recycling can offset any
online audiences or raise the driveway. “In 1989, I believe I lost ions in favor of the brothers. pollution problems” their harm associated with sin-
idea of a haunting. “In Italy, the show is very three brothers,” said a tear- “I think any publicity is products are causing, said gle-use plastic bottles,” said
“This psychic visited the popular,” said Fabrizio ful Hecht, who still can’t be- good publicity. I do think L.A. County Board of Super- the county board in a state-
Menendez home. Do you see Serra, a 23-year-old who was lieve that a schoolmate of there’s a firestorm of atten- visors Chair Lindsey Hor- ment. “In reality, plastic bot-
what I see?” says the caption visiting Los Angeles and de- hers has been in prison for tion right now, and I believe vath. tles can only be recycled
of one TikTok video that has cided to include the Menen- decades. “I understand it’s pushing in the direction Neither company re- once, if at all, making prom-
been viewed more than 2.5 dez mansion on his itinerary. what they went through, be- of their release,” she said. sponded to requests to com- ises of a ‘circular economy’
ment from The Times. impossible.”
Currently, just 9% of the Environmentalists and
world’s plastics are recy- plastic pollution opponents
cled. The rest ends up being hailed the lawsuit, which
incinerated, sent to land- was filed Wednesday.

MARKETPLACE
JOBS · REAL ESTATE · MORE
latimes.com/placead
To place an ad call 1.800.234.4444
fills, or discarded on the
landscape, where they are
often flushed into rivers or
“It’s encouraging to see
corporate polluters finally
being held accountable for
out to sea. exploiting the trust of their
At the same time, there is customers in order to turn
growing concern about the huge profits at the expense
Legal Notices Legal Notices health and environmental of human and planetary
consequences of microplas- health,” said Jennifer Sav-
SUMMONS Your tics — the bits of degraded age of the nonprofit
(CITACION JUDICIAL) plastic that slough off as the Surfrider Foundation.
Case Number (Numero del Caso): 24STCV15524 Bids Wanted exclusive product ages, or is used or Surfrider, Heal the Bay,
washed. The tiny particles Sierra Club and San Fran-
Rose Hill Courts II
NOTICE TO DEFENDANT:
Housing Partners, L.P. Is guide to have been detected in every cisco Baykeeper collectively
(AVISO AL DEMANDADO):
PETER RANCIE, an individual Looking for Qualified ecosystem on the planet sued Exxon Mobil in Sep-
Contractors SoCal that has been surveyed, as tember, in a lawsuit similar
YOU ARE BEING SUED BY PLAINTIFF: Rose Hill Courts II well as nearly every living or- to Bonta’s.
(LO ESTA DEMANDANDO EL DEMANDANTE): Housing Partners, L.P. is real estate ganism examined — includ- “We applaud Los Angeles
MAVERICK BANKCARD, INC., a California Corporation looking for a qualified
general contractor to listings. ing the brain, heart, lungs, County for taking this
NOTICE! You have been sued. The court may decide construct 96 units of blood and semen of hu- action on plastic pollution,”
against you without your being heard unless you affordable housing in
respond within 30 days. Read the information below. mans. said Matt Littlejohn of the
the El Sereno neigh-
You have 30 CALENDAR DAYS after this summons
borhood of northeast
In a statement, the L.A. nonprofit ocean conserva-
and legal papers are served on you to file a written County Board of Supervi- tion organization Oceana,
response at this court and have a copy served on the Los Angeles. The deve-
plaintiff. A letter or phone call will not protect you. lopment will include sors said that current meth- which was not a plaintiff in
Your written response must be in proper legal form if seven buildings of ods of recycling are “incapa- the Exxon Mobil lawsuit.
you want the court to hear your case. There may be multi-family residential
ble of eliminating environ- “This is a wake-up call. ... It’s
a court form that you can use for your response. You affordable housing
can find these court forms and more information at and one community mental impacts.” time for the companies to
the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www. building. Construction is Coca-Cola and PepsiCo get serious about reducing
courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp), your county law library, or scheduled to start in the own the brands Coke, Pepsi, single-use plastic and to
the courthouse nearest you. If you cannot pay the fil- first quarter of 2025.
ing fee, ask the court clerk for a fee waiver form. If you
Interested contractors
HOW TO PLACE AN AD Dasani, Smartwater, Fanta, stop hiding behind false so-
do not file your response on time, you may lose the Aquafina, Gatorade, 7-Up, lutions like recycling.”
case by default, and your wages, money, and property should contact: Jack
may be taken without further warning from the court. Wickersham at jmwick Sprite, Vitamin Water and The beverage maker law-
There are other legal requirements. You may [email protected]
Self-service 24/7: Mountain Dew, among oth- suit was filed in Los Angeles
want to call an attorney right away. If you do not
know an attorney, you may want to call an attorney
Advertise latimes.com/placead
ers. Together, the two com- County Superior Court by
referral service. If you cannot afford an attorney, you
Legal Notices panies own roughly 72.8% of County Counsel Dawyn R.
may be eligible for free legal services from a nonprofit
Notice of Estate
Today the carbonated soft drink Harrison on behalf of the
legal services program. You can locate these nonprofit market in the U.S. — with people of the state of Califor-
groups at the California Legal Services Web Site (www. To Jeremy Mosely, grand-
son of Bruce Thompson, Contact us by phone 24/7: Coca-Cola owning 46.3% nia.
lawhelpcalifornia.org), the California Courts Online
Self-Help Center (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp), or Jr., of Shelbyville, Tennes- and Pepsi, 26.5%. The suit seeks injunctive
by contacting your local court or county bar associa- see, please take notice 800-234-4444 According to the coun- relief to “stop the compa-
tion. NOTE: The court has a statutory lien for waived that an Estate has been LA Times
fees and costs on any settlement or arbitration award opened for Bruce Thomp- ty’s statement, the two com- nies’ unfair and deceptive
son, Jr., deceased, in the Classified
of $10,000 or more in a civil case. The court’s lien must
Chancery Court for Bed- panies have consistently business practices, restitu-
be paid before the court will dismiss the case. (800) 234-4444 ADVERTISING POLICIES ranked as the world’s “top tion for consumers of the
іAVISO! Lo han demandado. Si no responde ford County, Tennessee.
dentro de 30 dias, la corte puede decider en su Your appearance in the For Los Angeles Times advertising terms plastic polluters.” money acquired by means of
contra sin escuchar su version. Lea la informacion a Estate is requested, as you and conditions go to:
are an heir and your ad- Beverage industry repre- the companies’ unfair and
continuacion. www.latimes.com/about/la-ads-terms-20181105-htmlstory.html
Tiene 30 DIAS DE CALENDARIO despues de que dress is unknown. If you sentatives pushed back on deceptive business prac-
le entreguen esta citacion y papeles legales para fail to avail yourself of the that allegation and others, tices, and civil penalties of
presenter una respuesta por escrito en esta corte y Court process, your rights
in and to said estate may THAT SCRAMBLED WORD GAME
saying they were “simply not up to $2,500 per violation,”
hacer que se entregue una copia al demandante. Una
carta o una llamada telefonica no lo protegen. Su be adversely affected. By David L. Hoyt and Jeff Knurek true.” the county board said in a
respuesta por escrito tiene que estar en formato legal
Unscramble these Jumbles,
“California has one of the statement.
Get the free JUST JUMBLE app • Follow us on Twitter @PlayJumble

correcto si desea que procesen su caso en la corte. Es one letter to each square, highest bottle recycling The penalties could be
posible que haya un formulario que usted pueda usar to form four ordinary words.
para su respuesta. Puede encontrar estos formularios rates in the country — 71% in per customer or per bottle —
de la corte y mas informacion en el Centro de Ayuda 2023. Our bottles are de- the case will be prosecuted
de las Cortes de California (www.sucorte.ca.gov), en CPAEE signed to be recycled and re- in civil court by the county
la biblioteca de leyes de su condado o en la corte
que le quede mas cerca. Si no puede pagar la cuota Employment made and can include up to counsel’s Affirmative Liti-
de presentacion, pida al secretario de la corte que le
Gravitational, Inc. DBA Tele- 100% recycled plastic,” said gation and Consumer Pro-
de un formulario de exencion de pago de cuotas. Si port is seeking Implementa- William Dermody, vice pres- tection Division.
no presenta su respuesta a tiempo, puede perder el tion Engineers in Covina, CA
caso por incumplimiento y la corte le podra quitar su
who will indpndetly dgnose
RNBIK ident of media and public af- “The goal of this lawsuit
sueldo, dinero y bienes sin mas advertencia. & rslve prblms in the Tele- fairs for the American Bev- is to stop the unfair and il-
port prdct, as wel as in the
The name and address of the court is: (El nombre y cstmr envrnmnt (eg Dock- erage Assn. — the trade or- legal conduct, to address
direccion de la corte es): ers, Kubernetes, AWS, Azure, ganization for the beverage the marketing practices
Los Angeles Superior Court
111 N. Hill Street
GCP). Salary from $135000/
year w/ stndrd bnfits. May tl- CUCHOR industry. that deceive consumers,
Los Angeles, CA 90012
cmmute anywhre in the US. “America’s beverage and to force these busi-
Pls snd rsme to kafi@gotele
port.com, ref#dlfbkaw5jp companies are proud of our nesses to change their prac-
The name, address, and telephone number of leadership in California, and tices to reduce the plastic
plaintiff’s attorney, or plaintiff without an at-
torney, is: (El nombre, la direccion y el numero ALGPOL across the country, and will pollution problem in the
de telefono del abogado del demandante, o del Your exclusive continue our partnership County and in California,”
demandante que no tiene abogado, es): guide to SoCal with the Golden State to get Harrison said in a state-
Gary A. Nye (SBN 126104); Shane M. Abergel (SBN Now arrange the circled letters
329065); Roxborough, Pomerance, Nye & Adreani, LLP real estate ©2024 Tribune Content Agency, LLC to form the surprise answer, as
every bottle back,” he said. ment. “My office is commit-
5900 Canoga Ave., #450, listings. All Rights Reserved. suggested by the above cartoon. However, waste experts ted to protecting the public
Woodland Hills, CA 91367 say that even with that rate from deceptive business
(818) 992-9999 Ans.
Advertise Today here:
“ ” of recycling, almost 3.5 bil- practices and holding these
Date: (Fecha) 10/23/2024 lion bottles are left unac- companies accountable for
(Answers tomorrow)
David W. Slayton Clerk counted for. Likewise, the their role in the plastic pol-
Jumbles: TRACK COUGH WINNER TUXEDO
(Secretario) LA Times Yesterday’s
Answer: The child was learning how to fish and was
industry’s recycling claim lution crisis.”
Classified
M. Matea Deputy (800) 234-4444
(Adjunto) quickly — CATCHING ON
L AT I M E S . C O M W E D N E S DAY , N OV E M B E R 6 , 2 0 2 4 B5

Today in Southern California Today in North America

Strong winds: Santa Ana winds are expected in the mountains and below passes on Wednesday, with gusts of A soaker in the Southeast: Showers and thunderstorms will drench
50 to 60 mph likely and the possibility of 75-mph or higher gusts in mountain areas. The winds are likely to Florida, Georgia and South Carolina on Wednesday. Downpours could
cause localized damage and in combination with very low relative humidity will create a high risk of wildfires lead to flash flooding, particularly at night. Elsewhere, a storm will bring
developing. The winds will gradually subside Wednesday night into Thursday. a quick burst of snow to the Rockies.
▲

◗
5-day forecasts Pressure: L Low H High Warm Front Cold Front Jet Stream Trough
High/low temperatures are average forecasts for entire zone.
Temps –0 0s 10s 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s 80s 90s 100+ Rain T-storm Snow Ice
L.A. Basin Valleys Beaches Mountains Deserts
Today 77/51 71/52 74/50 42/19 73/55 Winnipeg
40/29
Partly sunny Santa Ana winds Partly sunny Very windy; colder Breezy and cool Seattle Montreal
Thursday Mostly sunny 75/51 Sunny; windy 74/46 Sunny 72/49 Sunny; windy 47/25 Sunny; cool 74/51 53/39 70/46
Friday Sunny 75/53 Sunny 77/51 Sunny 73/51 Sunny; milder 60/25 Sunny 80/50 Billings Minneapolis Toronto
Saturday Sunny 75/52 Sunny 76/49 Sunny 71/50 Sunny 61/34 Sunny 80/53 42/29 50/38 68/46
Detroit
Sunday Sunny; cool 70/55 Sunny 72/51 Mostly sunny 66/52 Sunny 59/29 Sunny 83/54 69/47
New York
San Francisco 76/63
Air quality Good Moderate Unhealthful for: Sensitive people All Not Available 71/50 Chicago
56/44
Washington
Denver 81/64
SANTA VENTURA CO. Santa Clarita South Coast Air Quality Management District forecasts air quality 33/20
BARBARA CO. Kansas City
Santa Paula 71/46 Hesperia 59/41
Santa Ojai 77/53 LOS ANGELES CO. 60/24 Los Angeles
Simi Valley 77/51
Barbara 75/47 Chatsworth
68/43 71/50 Burbank Monrovia SAN BERNARDINO CO. Atlanta
Ventura Camarillo 71/51 75/68
74/48 76/49
75/53 76/60 Yucca Valley El Paso
Pomona/ 73/49
UCLA 58/37
Oxnard
Westlake 75/51 L.A. Downtown Fairplex Ontario San Bernardino
76/55 Woodland 77/51 75/48 72/42 Houston
Village 71/50 83/70
Hills Chihuahua
75/54 Whittier 85/48 Miami
74/52 Chino Monterrey 86/79
Santa Monica Hills 75/48 Riverside RIVERSIDE CO. 83/61
74/50 79/49 Fullerton 70/44
Surf and sea Torrance 80/48 U.S. cities
POINT CONCEPTION TO MEXICO 77/52 Santa Ana
Inner waters: Winds northeast at Long ORANGE CO. Hemet Palm TUESDAY’S EXTREMES AS OF 2 P.M. FOR THE 48 CONTIGUOUS STATES
80/55
15-25 knots; some gusts to 35 knots. Beach Newport Irvine 70/34 Springs High 89 in Hattiesburg, Miss. Low 8 in Lake George, Colo.
Most waves 2-4 feet with a mixed 80/49 Beach 80/53 73/55
southeast and southwest swell. Mission Viejo
79/54 Temecula Tuesday* Today Tuesday* Today
Surf zone: The risk of rip currents Laguna 77/51 City Hi Lo Prcp. Hi Lo Sky City Hi Lo Prcp. Hi Lo Sky
is high at Ventura County beaches, 74/41
Beach San Albany 72 52 -- 75 54 Cy Seattle 52 42 Tr 53 39 Su
moderate at L.A., S.D. and Orange 77/52 Clemente Albuquerque 55 34 .01 42 34 Sh Tampa 86 71 Tr 88 77 Ts
County beaches and somewhat
78/51 SAN DIEGO CO. Anchorage 39 29 .05 41 32 Cy Tucson 72 42 -- 70 40 Su
lower elsewhere. Aspen 36 23 .05 31 6 Sn Tulsa 62 59 .02 69 49 Su
Oceanside
Atlanta 78 60 Tr 75 68 Ts Washington, D.C. 78 55 -- 81 64 Pc
County Height Period Direction Temp Sun and moon 81/41 Austin 73 61 1.37 79 59 Pc Wichita 57 49 -- 63 45 Su
Santa Barbara 1-3’ 9 sec SSW 61 Baltimore 76 50 -- 81 59 Pc
Today’s rise/set
Ventura 3-5’ 11 sec SE 61 Escondido Ramona Boise 48 31 .03 45 28 Su World
Los Angeles 2-4’ 11 sec SSE 61 Los Angeles Co. Orange Co. Ventura Co. 77/44 71/43 Boston 74 49 Tr 76 57 Su Acapulco 87 76 .02 87 76 Ts
Orange 1-3’ 11 sec SW 62 Sun 6:18a/4:56p 6:16a/4:55p 6:22a/4:59p Bufalo 77 63 -- 68 48 Sh Amsterdam 58 39 -- 55 44 Cy
Moon 11:18a/8:55p 11:16a/8:54p 11:23a/8:58p Poway
San Diego 1-3’ 13 sec WSW 63 Burlington, Vt. 66 46 .03 71 50 Sh Athens 67 57 -- 66 54 Su
77/47 Charleston, S.C. 82 69 .69 82 71 Sh Bangkok 90 79 .12 90 77 R
Charlotte 71 58 .27 77 67 Sh Barcelona 70 63 .15 70 59 Ts
Tides San Diego Chicago 67 63 1.39 56 44 Cy Berlin 58 33 -- 49 40 Cy
L.A. Outer Harbor, in feet. 75/48 Cincinnati 77 62 .00 69 53 Ts Cabo San Lucas 84 59 -- 83 62 Su
Nov. 8 Nov. 15 Nov. 22 Nov. 30
Today 10:41a 5.4 Hi 7:11p 0.3 Lo Cleveland 78 65 -- 70 50 Pc Cairo 77 63 -- 80 66 Su
------ Hi ------ Lo Columbia, S.C. 79 66 .18 80 68 R Dubai 95 79 -- 95 80 Su
Thu. 11:43a 5.1 Hi 8:24p 0.4 Lo
Almanac Columbus 79 62 -- 70 52 Ts Dublin 57 48 .02 62 54 Cy
Tuesday Downtown readings Dallas/Ft.Worth 68 59 .14 73 57 Su Havana 86 75 .32 80 77 R
------ Hi ------ Lo Denver 54 27 -- 33 20 Sn Ho Chi Minh City 91 77 .07 92 77 R
Temperature Los Angeles Fullerton Ventura* Precipitation Los Angeles Fullerton Ventura* Detroit 74 61 .01 69 47 Cy Hong Kong 84 75 -- 83 72 Pc
UV index High/low 74/49 74/48 69/51 24-hour total (as of 2 p.m.) 0.00 0.00 0.00 El Paso 67 38 -- 73 49 Su Istanbul 59 48 -- 60 51 Pc
Minutes to burn for sensitive people Normal high/low 76/56 77/53 72/50 Season total (since Oct. 1) 0.00 0.01 0.08 Eugene 53 38 Tr 54 34 Su Jerusalem 70 53 -- 75 59 Su
High/low a year ago 81/54 84/51 74/56 Last season (Oct. 1 to date) Trace Trace 0.00 Fort Myers 83 74 .45 87 76 Ts Johannesburg 81 60 .03 86 55 Su
Las Vegas, 45 Phoenix, 45
Record high/date 94/2012 96/2012 98/1976 Season norm (Oct. 1 to date) 0.66 0.58 0.92 Hartford 78 48 -- 80 53 Pc Kuala Lumpur 91 76 .40 90 76 Ts
Los Angeles, 45 San Francisco, 45 Record low/date 41/1881 43/2011 40/1956 Humidity (high/low) 83/40 76/32 56/29 Honolulu 83 73 .37 85 74 Sh Lima 70 62 -- 71 61 Cy
Houston 80 66 1.01 83 70 Pc London 53 50 -- 57 49 Cy
California cities* Indianapolis 75 64 .23 69 47 Pc Madrid 66 50 -- 72 48 Su
Tue.* Today Thu. Tue.* Today Thu. Tue.* Today Thu. Jacksonville, Fla. 86 64 -- 83 73 Ts Mecca 95 71 -- 95 73 Su
Kansas City 60 57 .06 59 41 Su Mexico City 78 52 -- 79 49 Pc
City Hi Lo Prcp. Hi Lo Hi Lo City Hi Lo Prcp. Hi Lo Hi Lo City Hi Lo Prcp. Hi Lo Hi Lo Knoxville 83 55 Tr 81 62 Pc Montreal 64 45 .08 70 46 Pc
Anaheim 74 52 -- 79 51 80 44 L.A. D’ntown/USC 74 52 -- 77 51 75 51 San Diego 76 50 -- 75 48 74 46 Las Vegas 69 47 -- 60 44 Pc Moscow 32 28 .02 38 35 Cy
Avalon/Catalina 67 57 -- 70 54 66 59 L.A. Int’l. Airport 69 52 -- 75 50 73 50 San Francisco 71 57 -- 71 50 70 49 Louisville 81 67 -- 72 59 Ts Mumbai 95 81 -- 97 73 Su
Bakersfield 71 47 -- 75 43 74 45 Laguna Beach 66 55 -- 77 52 74 50 San Gabriel 74 52 -- 78 48 76 51 Medford 52 39 Tr 59 33 Su New Delhi 88 65 -- 86 67 Su
Barstow 76 47 -- 62 36 65 38 Lancaster 72 38 -- 61 29 65 27 San Jose 75 53 -- 75 46 77 46 Memphis 75 69 1.26 73 64 Sh Paris 59 45 -- 56 50 Cy
Big Bear Lake 59 19 -- 42 19 47 25 Long Beach 73 52 -- 80 49 80 48 San Luis Obispo 77 45 -- 78 39 78 42 Miami 84 76 .24 86 79 Ts Prague 45 30 -- 45 37 Cy
Bishop 67 33 Tr 56 20 66 25 Mammoth Lakes 50 18 -- 44 10 55 20 Santa Ana 71 54 -- 80 55 79 50 Milwaukee 68 63 .33 55 44 Cy Rome 68 50 -- 71 52 Pc
Burbank 75 52 -- 74 48 76 47 Mission Viejo 73 52 -- 77 51 76 46 Santa Barbara 67 46 -- 68 43 73 40 Minneapolis 47 47 .46 50 38 Pc Seoul 57 41 -- 54 31 Su
Camarillo 69 50 -- 76 60 78 49 Monrovia 74 53 -- 76 49 76 51 Santa Clarita 77 48 -- 71 46 71 46 Nashville 77 67 Tr 80 67 Ts Singapore 86 77 -- 86 76 R
Chatsworth 77 53 -- 71 51 74 46 Monterey 64 46 -- 69 46 69 45 Santa Monica Pier 70 51 -- 74 50 72 49 New Orleans 85 74 .09 86 74 Pc Taipei City 73 72 .17 72 67 R
Chino 78 49 -- 75 48 76 41 Mt. Wilson 65 40 -- 50 41 51 43 Santa Paula 71 50 -- 77 53 77 44 New York 72 54 -- 76 63 Pc Tokyo 66 61 .16 61 55 R
Compton 72 51 -- 80 49 78 47 Needles 75 52 -- 67 50 67 47 Santa Rosa 74 49 -- 75 38 74 37 Norfolk 81 56 -- 80 67 Pc Vancouver 48 41 .01 50 41 Su
Dana Point 70 54 -- 78 53 74 50 Newport Beach 69 55 -- 79 54 77 49 Simi Valley 73 51 -- 71 50 74 43 Oklahoma City 59 52 Tr 69 47 Su Vienna 58 34 Tr 50 34 Cy
Death Valley 77 54 -- 74 56 75 53 Northridge 78 53 -- 74 52 75 48 Tahoe Valley 50 19 -- 42 13 52 19 Omaha 50 46 .90 55 39 Pc
Del Mar 73 50 -- 73 50 72 45 Oakland 72 56 -- 74 46 72 47 Temecula 73 42 -- 74 41 77 37 Orlando 84 70 Tr 85 76 Ts Key: Su sunny; Pc partly cloudy; Cy cloudy; Fg
Escondido 78 43 -- 77 44 79 36 Oceanside 78 41 -- 81 41 79 36 Thousand Oaks 71 51 -- 75 54 75 48 Philadelphia 76 50 -- 79 63 Pc foggy; Prcp precipitation; Dr drizzle; Hz hazy Sh
Eureka 55 39 Tr 60 41 61 42 Ojai 73 48 -- 75 47 76 46 Torrance 73 53 -- 77 52 74 52 Phoenix 72 51 -- 72 48 Pc showers; Ts thunderstorms; R rain; Sn snow; Sf
snow flurries; I ice; Rs rain/snow; W windy; Tr
Fallbrook 73 45 -- 78 43 79 40 Ontario 75 55 -- 71 50 76 46 UCLA 71 53 -- 75 51 74 46 Pittsburgh 80 57 -- 70 56 Sh trace. Notes: National extremes exclude Alaska
Fresno 71 46 -- 70 43 71 44 Palm Springs 78 61 -- 73 55 74 51 Van Nuys 78 55 -- 75 57 77 49 Portland, Ore. 54 46 .14 58 39 Su and Hawaii. * - data estimated.
Fullerton 74 51 -- 80 48 80 46 Pasadena 73 51 -- 75 49 75 51 Ventura 64 53 -- 75 53 72 49 Providence 72 45 -- 73 56 Su Tuesday’s readings as of 2 p.m.
Hemet 74 40 -- 70 34 73 35 Paso Robles 76 34 -- 73 31 75 33 Whittier Hills 73 52 -- 79 49 78 48 Raleigh/Durham 80 54 -- 83 68 Cy
Hesperia 71 38 -- 59 29 64 32 Redding 69 53 -- 70 41 72 40 Woodland Hills 78 54 -- 74 52 76 47 Reno 54 36 -- 46 24 Su
Huntington Beach 71 54 -- 79 54 77 49 Riverside 75 47 -- 70 44 71 39 Wrightwood 63 33 -- 47 31 54 33 Richmond 80 53 -- 82 65 Pc Forecasts by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2024
Idyllwild 60 39 -- 52 37 56 39 Sacramento 71 51 -- 73 40 70 40 Yorba Linda 74 49 -- 75 50 78 39 St. Louis 70 62 4.93 64 46 Su
Irvine 73 53 -- 80 53 80 47 San Bernardino 75 50 -- 72 42 73 43 Yosemite Valley 59 40 -- 64 35 66 35 Salt Lake City 41 38 .03 44 27 Pc

His reporting reminds us that local journalism is vital

[Arellano, from B1] contracts to the Viet Ameri-
reporters dig instead of ca Society without revealing
writing clickbait and stand it was headed by his daugh-
by them in the face of critics ter, Rhiannon.
real and imagined. Gerda followed days later
For over a decade with with another bombshell:
LAist and his previous em- The supervisor’s testimony
ployer, Voice of OC, Gerda in a civil lawsuit had led to a
reported on Do the way a mistrial because he failed to
sculptor works a slab of disclose that his wife, Cheri
marble. His torrents of pub- Pham, was an assistant
lic records requests led the presiding judge in the same
supervisor to derisively refer courthouse.
to “the Noise of OC.” As a result of Gerda’s
Last year, Do demanded drip-drip of stories, Pham
that LAist fire Gerda for announced she wouldn’t
allegedly using falsified tax seek reelection, the county
returns in his reporting, a sued the Viet America
tantrum that went nowhere Society for “brazenly plun-
because it wasn’t true. Days der[ing]” more than $13
before FBI and IRS agents million and Gov. Gavin
raided the homes of Do and Newsom signed a bill ban-
his daughter, the politician ning elected officials from
appeared on a Little Saigon approving contracts for
radio station to accuse organizations headed by
Gerda and other opponents their children.
of “slander.” Gerda wouldn’t specu-
“On the one hand, I feel late on whether his report-
vindicated,” the young re- ing was the catalyst for the
porter — just 33 — told me as federal investigation into
we drank coffee, the strap on Do. This week in federal
his digital watch half torn. court, the former supervisor
“On the other hand, this is pleaded guilty to one count
the worst concern I had of conspiracy to commit
looking into this: what hap- Genaro Molina Los Angeles Times bribery concerning pro-
pened with this money.” NICK GERDA , shown in front of the County Administration North building in Santa Ana, was a thorn in the grams receiving federal
Do’s misdeeds were so side of former Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do, who agreed to plead guilty to a federal bribery count. funds.
egregious that Gerda did “It’s true. I have great
the impossible in Orange while considering interna- the start.” ning elections, becoming guilty to four felony counts sorrow for my actions,” Do
County: unite Democrats tional relations as a career. Santana Jr. put the cub chair of the Board of Super- for his role in a proposed said at the hearing. “I’m
and Republicans. In the late aughts, Gerda reporter on the county visors in 2021. sale of Angel Stadium to its responsible for every word.”
I asked Gerda why he noticed that news organiza- government beat, which is I asked Gerda why Do namesake baseball team. Do faces a maximum of
thought the Do matter tions in Southern California how he found himself at got away with things for so Orange County “struck five years in federal prison.
bridged O.C.’s partisan were laying off reporters Do’s election night party in long. me as a place where a lot of Meanwhile, Rhiannon Do
divide. who “were keeping an eye” 2015, the first time Do ran for Gerda mentioned a 2013 elected leaders, compared has agreed to three years of
“People perceive that as on local government. supervisor. Gerda’s clearest Orange County grand jury to places like L.A., were not probation and a diversion
an abuse of power,” he “I knew from seeing my memory of that night: Do report that said the lack of a subject to, or used to, as program, in addition to
replied, “and that really parents and following local berating another Voice of vibrant press in O.C. was much media scrutiny and assisting the feds in their
connects with people, makes news when I was growing up OC reporter to the point essentially an invitation for attention and questions,” continuing investigation
them concerned.” that people have a real that Do’s supporters had to civic corruption, which has Gerda continued. “And a lot and giving up a million-
Local journalism was in ability to make a positive hold him back. sadly proved true. of things that perhaps dollar home in North Tustin
the stars for Gerda long difference in their local “It stood out to me as the The only publications would be questioned and that prosecutors allege she
before he pursued it. He community in a way that’s kind of behavior toward a that regularly cover a noted in a place like L.A. go knowingly bought with
accompanied his mother to just impossible oftentimes member of the press that I county of 3.1 million people on unnoticed by the public.” federal funds meant to
Santa Ana City Council and at the national or interna- wasn’t used to,” Gerda said. are the Voice of OC, the Gerda largely left Orange feed elderly Vietnamese
school board meetings as a tional level,” he said. The new supervisor Daily Pilot and the Orange County politics behind refugees.
teenager, when I was start- Gerda returned home immediately gave Gerda County Register, which is a when he joined LAist last So who is Gerda taking
ing out as a reporter and and enrolled in journalism material to report on. There ghost of what it once was. spring to cover homeless- down next?
found her generous with classes at Orange Coast were questions about where The mayor of Rancho ness in L.A. County. That’s For the first time all
quotes, insights and tips. College, where I teach. After he actually lived, and he Santa Margarita and a City why he took a month to morning, he laughed.
“My parents showed me a few internships, he found a unsuccessfully pursued a Council candidate in Fuller- return a call from a source “I don’t think of it as
how journalists have a really job at Voice of OC, where he policy to shut down public ton recently pleaded guilty alerting him to the Viet taking down people,” he
important role in society to immediately caught the commenters he deemed to filing false affidavits America contracts — “I said. “There’s a number of
seek the truth,” Gerda said. attention of publisher Nor- offensive. His office used attesting that they had almost missed this tip, other funding streams and
“Speak truth to power when berto Santana Jr. The non- voter data to send out tax- personally collected and actually,” he sheepishly questions out there about
there’s abuses going on.” profit news agency’s found- payer-funded mailers, witnessed signatures on admitted. taxpayer money that was
Journalism stayed on his er said he drilled into Gerda which spurred the state their nominating papers. In After reviewing thou- meant to serve vulnerable
mind after he earned a bach- to treat local reporting “like Legislature to ban such my hometown of Anaheim, sands of pages of docu- people.”
elor’s degree in political electrical work, like plumb- efforts within 60 days of an an ongoing federal investi- ments, Gerda published a He got up to drive back to
science from UC Irvine at ing — a methodical ap- election. gation has led to the resig- story in November detailing work.
just 18 and studied after- proach. Follow the money. None of that derailed nation of former Mayor how Do voted to award “And we are continuing to
ward at NYU and in Cairo And he was just solid from Do’s career — he kept win- Harry Sidhu, who pleaded millions of dollars in county pursue the truth.”
LAT I M E S . C O M / E N T E RTA I N M E N T W E D N E S DAY , N OV E M B E R 6 , 2 0 2 4 E5

COMICS

SUDOKU BRIDGE
simist. To make 3NT, he encourage game. Bid four
By Frank Stewart needed five diamond tricks. diamonds. Partner may
Only a foul break could en- hold 4, K 9 4, A Q J 8 7, A K 8 7.
Good dummy play has danger the contract, so
room for both optimists and South should have played South dealer
pessimists. safe by leading the nine of Both sides vulnerable
Today’s North-South did diamonds at Trick Two.
NORTH
well to reach 3NT. North When East won and re- ♠A653
risked a bid of three spades turned a club, South could ♥ A 10 7 6
at his second turn, which win and reach dummy twice ♦653
might have gotten him an for diamond leads, picking ♣62
unwelcome heart preference up East’s remaining honors. WEST EAST
♠ K 10 8 7 4 ♠J9
and pushed the partnership You hold: ♠ A 6 5 3 ♥ A 10 7 ♥854 ♥KJ92
too high. 6 ♦ 6 5 3 ♣ 6 2. Partner opens ♦ None ♦ Q J 10 7
West led the jack of clubs: one diamond, you respond ♣ J 10 9 5 3 ♣K84
deuce, king, ace. South then one heart, he bids two clubs SOUTH
banged down the ace of dia- and you return to two dia- ♠Q2
monds; with a 2-2 break, he monds. He next bids two ♥Q3
would have had at least 10 hearts. What do you say? ♦AK9842
tricks. He was stunned when Answer: Partner is trying ♣AQ7
West discarded a heart. for game despite your weak SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST
When South led a low dia- preference to two diamonds. 1♦ Pass 1♥ Pass
mond next, East won and re- You have only eight points 3♦ Pass 3♠ Pass
3 NT All Pass
turned a club. Then the best but two aces; your ace of
South could do was go down spades is a good card oppo- Opening lead - ♣ J
only two. site partner’s marked short-
KENKEN South needed to be a pes- ness. I would be inclined to Tribune Content Agency
Every box will contain a number; numbers depend on the size of the grid. For a 6x6
puzzle, use Nos. 1-6. Do not repeat a number in any row or column. The numbers in each
heavily outlined set of squares must combine to produce the target number found in the
top left corner of the cage using the mathematical operation indicated. A number can be ASKING ERIC
repeated within a cage as long as it is not in the same row or column.

Dear Eric: My husband sudden appetite for viewing friend just to upset him, but I
doesn’t live in the country in five hours of TikToks in a know that is not true be-
which he was born. Because row. This option has its pit- cause our mother was very
of that, I’ve tried to connect falls, of course; what if she troubled about her decision.
with his family. We visited his sends an important mes- So now our biggest fears
family over the years and sage amidst the barrage? have come true. He doesn’t
vice versa. He has a cousin One of the best things speak to any of us. He has
who asked if we could stay in about WhatsApp is that you completely isolated himself
touch through the messag- can mute for a specific with the girlfriend thou-
ing app WhatsApp and her amount of time: eight hours, sands of miles away. I know
husband also requested to a week, or until you unmute. he has no friends, therefore
be included. Great! So if you don’t feel up to talk- is dependent on her. I miss
Unfortunately, his wife ing to her, consider taking him, and I worry so much
uses the app to send every week-long breaks and check- about his well-being. I know
TikTok video she finds inter- ing in on the prayer links ev- he won’t welcome me with
esting, and every prayer ery Sunday. open arms because I do not
11/6/24 printed on her links. I’m a support his relationship, but
Christian and love the Lord, Dear Eric: My 35-year-old how do I approach him to try
but I don’t need 12 messages brother “Jeff ” lives in anoth- to reconcile?
a day about anything from er state and has been dating Worried About
HOROSCOPE anyone. Because my family and living with his 25-year- Baby Bro
is so close-knit, I don’t want old girlfriend for five years.
rapport, nurture trust and and then forgetting them all to sever the few ties he has, He has flown home to visit us Dear Worried: The easiest
By Holiday Mathis create a place where people before taking your aim. but I also don’t want to go several times over the years path may not be the best
feel free to be themselves. Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. crazy continuing in his cous- but has never brought her path here. It seems likely
Aries (March 21-April 19): Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): 18): Keep reaching and be- in’s distribution loop. with him to meet us. that if you concede to his re-
Letting go of the need to be When the path gets tricky, lieving — you have more WhatsApprehension At the beginning of the ality — his girlfriend is a
right invites peace and intel- you’ll naturally gravitate to magic now than in your most relationship, she was very “part of the family”; the
lectual freedom. An open the good questions: Who’s magical year. One friend Dear WhatsApprehen- abusive toward him. He had problems of the past don’t
mind is a gateway to enrich- got this figured out? You opens your social life wider. sion: We need a global con- her arrested and thrown in exist — he’ll reconcile. But
ing, enjoyable connections. know learning from others is Pisces (Feb. 19-March ference on chat etiquette. jail once. He has admitted that doesn’t help anyone.
Taurus (April 20-May part of the adventure. 20): Take care of your needs You have a few options not loving her and not being His isolation could also
20): Your inner treasure Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 23): first. It’s not a day to help here. If she’s sending the attracted to her anymore be a part of the abuse. To
shines. Among your greatest Talk out your process. Share others at your own expense. memes and videos directly, but has continued his rela- start to rebuild your bridge,
riches are modesty, compas- your joy and your worry. You Today’s birthday (Nov. you can ask her to take you tionship with her. you should focus on the rela-
sion and a genuine desire for need more than just internal 6): This year is a hot air bal- out of the rotation for the Our mother paid for an tionship that you have with
collective well-being. conversations to truly see loon flight over territory you sake of your data, your noti- all-inclusive family trip for Jeff as siblings. Tell him that
Gemini (May 21-June 21): things as they are. used to have to climb step by fications, or to keep you from him, our (single) brother, my you’ve missed him and what
Who do you lean on when Scorpio (Oct. 24-Nov. 21): step. It’s your turn to lift off distraction. It’s hard to take husband and myself. She did you appreciate about him.
you feel fragile? Reach out to Knowing the decision-mak- into some beauty you’ve only offense when someone says not invite his girlfriend be- Tell him that you’d like to be
that person today. When one ing process can be taxing, seen from the ground. High- they simply don’t have the cause she has never met any in each other’s lives again.
of you feels weak, the other you’re careful not to give too lights: Legendary hospital- bandwidth (mental or tech- of us. “Jeff ” was offended by See if you can keep this
finds strength. many options to others. ity and social grace, the reso- nological) for every online this, so decided he wasn’t go- conversation from becom-
Cancer (June 22-July 22): Sagittarius (Nov. 22- lution of old conflicts, a new find. ing on the vacation. ing focused on a single issue.
Strange challenges figure Dec. 21): Perspective will lib- grasp of financial concepts You can also mute her for He and I argued because
into work and play. Don’t be erate you. Go big. When you that leads to savvy invest- a time, checking in when you he told me our mom pur- Email questions to
swayed by how impossible consider the airless surface ments. Sagittarius and Leo need to chat or if you have a posely didn’t invite the girl- [email protected].
things may seem materially. of distant planets, it reminds adore you. Lucky numbers:
Your mind is key to victory. you that everything, even 30, 1, 18, 27, 50.
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22): your next breath, is a gift. FAMILY CIRCUS By Bil Keane DENNIS THE MENACE By Hank Ketcham
Have you noticed fortune Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. Mathis writes her column
smiling on your relation- 19): Life is like a carnival for Creators Syndicate Inc.
ships? It’s because of your game. Success is about con- The horoscope should be
keen sense for how to build sidering a number of factors read for entertainment.

CROSSWORD
Edited By Patti Varol
By Sala Wanetick © 2024 Tribune Content Agency

ACROSS
1 Loose-fitting
6 Hiker’s snack mix
10 New England fish
15 Tunisian couturier
Azzedine __
16 Is short
17 __ Troopa: Mario Bros.
turtlelike foe
18 Drag one’s feet
20 “All good here”
21 Italian sub slice
22 Unleash (on)
23 Management level FREE RANGE By Bill Whitehead MARMADUKE By Brad & Paul Anderson
24 Seeking, in ads
25 Organic lip balm brand
27 Idle banter
30 Cabinet-level div.
32 Tidbit in 6-Across
34 Drops in on
35 Petro-Canada rival
36 Play areas?
39 __ rally
40 Indecisive
44 “Silent Sunday Nights”
cable network
47 Hangs loose
48 Presidential terms,
maybe
52 “Got it”
54 Secret agent 9 “Gotcha!” 51 Didn’t bring one’s A
56 Knitting loop 10 Like some newly game, say
57 Mixed bag rescued dogs 53 Ethnic group native to
60 Slangy greeting 11 Funny pages Nepal and Tibet
62 NYC bus org. 12 Fruit from a flowering 55 “Ew! Gross!”
63 Like those on a world shrub 58 Fermented brews often
cruise 13 Manage served warm
64 Float filler 14 Who __ Nation: New 59 Shutter hardware
66 Out of this world Orleans Saints fans 61 Prods
BLISS By Harry Bliss SPEED BUMP By Dave Coverly
68 Hybrid piece of flatware 19 Pop diva Celine 65 Latvia’s capital
69 Tchotchke 26 Food that may be 67 Onesie feature
71 Neutral shade served via conveyor 68 Sault __ Marie
72 Easter haul belt 70 Winter hrs. in Tulsa
73 Aerie nester 28 St. __ Fresh Skin ANSWER TO
74 Counterpart of “ser,” in Apricot Scrub PREVIOUS PUZZLE
Spanish 29 Seasoning amt.
75 “Save me a __!” 31 Auto club service
76 Track athlete’s asset 33 Texting farewell
37 Knob-handled stickers
DOWN 38 Sounds of awe
1 Less photogenic angle 41 Spot with falling rocks?
2 Names on falsified 42 Former home of the
papers Mets
3 Runs fast 43 “Reckon so”
4 __ monster 44 Actor Holland
5 Self-congratulatory 45 Mexican state bordering
cheer Guatemala
6 Smallest state in India 46 Lose an opportunity
7 Parliament birds 49 Riffle (through)
8 Piece of history 50 Thing 11/6/24