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Hundreds of thousands of recall signatures have already been submitted, and it looks like more are on the way. Also this morning: A demonstration against the rise in anti-Asian violence, animal cruelty accusations at USC, and a vaccine rollout that looks increasingly more separate and less equal. This is Monday. This is your news brief. Have at it!
Morning News Rundown
Organizers gathering signatures to force a gubernatorial recall election of Gov. Gavin Newsom are closing in on their goal. 1,495,709 valid voter signatures must be certified by county elections offices from around the state to trigger a recall. So far, backers report they’ve collected more than 1.7 million signatures and have already submitted 1.1 million for verification. Of those, about 800,000 have been reviewed with 668,202 validated. The deadline to submit new signatures is March 17. [L.A. Times]
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On Saturday, several dozen demonstrators gathered at Los Angeles State Historic Park, just north of Chinatown, to protest the rise of anti-Asian hate crimes reported in the United States. Recently, an Asian-American man in Rosemead was beaten and had part of a finger severed in an unprovoked attack at a bus stop. [KTLA]
Research labs at USC have been accused of animal cruelty after a watchdog group disclosed an internal report that documented three disturbing violations. They included allegations of unapproved amputations and painkiller overdoses of mice, and excessive stab wounds in pigs’ necks during surgeries. [Daily Trojan]
Last week, vaccine shipment delays due to inclement weather throughout the country temporarily shut down several city-run vaccine distribution sites. On Sunday, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that a new shipment with 92,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine is on the way and that all sites will reopen by tomorrow. [NBC Los Angeles]
Public Health released new data that underscores the inequity of vaccine deployment to communities of color and low-income neighborhoods throughout Los Angeles County. In parts of South Los Angeles and the City of Compton, for example, roughly in 1 in 25 residents has been vaccinated. In Bel Air and Beverly Hills, that rate is 1 in 4. [L.A. Times]
Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez is demanding answers from the Metropolitan Water District after a report by the L.A. Times detailed a pattern of sexual harassment within the district’s apprentice program, including instances of unwanted touching and sexual slurs directed at women who worked within the trade program. [L.A. Times]
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