A.M. Brief: Trader Joe’s Announces New ‘Thank You’ Wage Bumps for Workers

Some grocers are embracing “hero pay” while others are balking at the mandates. Also this morning: A push to make Koreatown more walkable, a Beverly Hills salon owner is charged with storming the Capitol, and the longest (maybe?) police pursuit in L.A. history comes to an end. Here is your morning news brief. Take it!

Morning News Rundown

As Los Angeles County officials debate whether to institute mandatory $5 per hour pay increases for grocery store employees, national grocery chain Trader Joe’s announced a bump in its “thank you” wages for the second time in less than a year. TJ’s previously gave all non-managerial crew members a $2 an hour raise at the start of the pandemic, and has just rolled out another $2 per hour bump. [CBS Los Angeles]

Countywide talk of a grocery pay increase mandate comes on the heels of a move by the City of Long Beach to formalize its own $4 per hour “hero pay” ordinance. While Trader Joe’s attempts to get ahead of the increases, Kroger Co. announced earlier this week that two Long Beach grocery stores will close in response to the ‘hero pay’ ordinance. Some 200 employees will be affected via layoffs and transfers. [LB Post]

Is a more walkable K-Town on the horizon? The Wilshire Center Koreatown Neighborhood Council is pushing plans to pedestrianize seven blocks of Sixth Street from Vermont Avenue to Normandie Avenue. The proposal aims to increase foot traffic to local businesses and create more open space in an area organizers call “the most park-poor neighborhood in Los Angeles.” [Streets Blog LA]

Gina Bisignano, a 52-year-old Beverly Hills salon owner captured on video storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, has been indicted on charges of obstructing an official proceeding and aiding and abetting others involved in the same crime. If convicted as charged, Bisignano could face over 20 years in prison. [O.C. Register]

Was it the longest police chase in the history of Los Angeles? A suspect in a Chevy Malibu led authorities on a slow-speed pursuit that began in South Los Angeles and ended six hours later in Ontario. By the time the fleeing vehicle came to a stop, it had a flat tire and its front driver-side rim had fallen off and rolled away. The suspect, who had two felony warrants for his arrest, was taken without incident after the chase. [ABC 7]