A.M. Brief: Mayor Urges Angelenos to Avoid Non-Essential Travel

In today’s brief: The city clamps down again to fight COVID-19, the LAPD union bucks over budget cut negotiations, and more local heat records get smashed. Finally, some Electoral College context for the 4+ million votes that L.A. County cast. Here is your news. Take it!

Morning News Rundown

Remember back in March when Mayor Eric Garcetti was giving daily pressers and the whole city was living in the uncertainty of what might be shut down next? It kind of feels like we’re back where we started. In yesterday’s update, Garcetti implored Angelenos to abstain from all non-essential travel and said that the city will expand enforcement of non-compliant businesses. L.A. County’s COVID-19 case rate has doubled in the past week, and fears abound that the coming holidays will only exacerbate the spread. All Southern California counties have now returned to the purple (most restrictive) tier of reopening. [LAist]

As local officials scramble to close the budget deficit for the current fiscal year, a police union that represents over 9,800 LAPD officers has rejected a request from city labor negotiators to discuss possible cutbacks or concessions. [L.A. Times]

Yesterday saw more local daily heat records smashed, with temps reaching over 90 degrees in downtown L.A., Long Beach, and at LAX. [NWS]

On Monday afternoon, the L.A. Times released a statement in response to Patricia Escárcega’s public airing of a pay discrimination complaint. In its statement, the Times denied any discrimination and stated that “Ms. Escárcega’s pay differs from that of the colleague to whom she is comparing herself because he has significantly more experience than her as a critic and has won one of the most significant awards in food journalism. Experience is a bona fide factor justifying different pay amounts for employees under California’s Equal Pay Act.” [LA Mag]

A new program approved by the Housing Authority for the City of Los Angeles will allow homeless families who illegally sheltered in vacant El Sereno homes to now legally live in them. The occupied homes had been purchased by Cal-Trans for a 710 freeway expansion project that never moved forward. [ABC 7]

If you have a burning hatred for the Electoral College, Crosstown LA has more data that will fuel the fire. According to tabulations from this year’s election, Los Angeles County cast over 4.2 million votes, accounting for more ballots than 38 states. The County, of course, technically gets no allotted electoral votes. It just shares in splitting California’s 55 EVs. [Crosstown LA]