Good morning, SoCal. Here's what you need to know today.
Your Weather Planner
Thursday morning will start out chilly, but areas seeing frost and freezing temperatures will thaw out by mid-morning.
During the day, clouds will increase. Daytime highs will be about the same as Wednesday or a touch warmer in the low- to mid-60s.
A weak area of low pressure will keep the clouds around through the first half of the weekend.
Get your 7-day forecast: LA West | LA East | San Fernando Valley/Ventura County | Orange County
Around SoCal
1. Kevin de León casts shadow over LA City Council as winter recess begins
The Los Angeles City Council began its winter recess Wednesday after two tumultuous meetings, with all signs pointing to continued uncertainty in the chamber when it reconvenes during the second week of January over the presence of embattled Councilman Kevin de León.
De León, who has defied widespread calls to resign over his participation in the leaked racist conversation that has rocked City Hall, tried to slip quietly into the final two meetings before the winter break. But with some colleagues walking out and protesters shouting at him, he was forced to leave the chamber on both days, though he voted while in a back room on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, an organizer of a recall effort against de León was confident of collecting enough signatures well before the March 31 deadline to put the question before voters later next year, and members from several community groups held a briefing at City Hall on Wednesday again urging de León to resign after he fought with community activist Jason Reedy at a holiday event last week.
De León’s resignation in the immediate future remains unlikely, as he has repeatedly stated an intention to serve out his term. The councilman, through a spokesperson, declined an interview Wednesday. But the spokesperson, Pete Brown, confirmed to City News Service that de León intends to continue attending upcoming council meetings.
2. November cargo volume decreased 21% at Port of LA
After more than a year of unprecedented volume and congestion — at the Port of Los Angeles, imports to the nation’s busiest port have started to slow. November cargo volumes were down 21% compared with a year earlier and 24% lower than the five-year average.
“An early peak season and a shift to other ports due to West Coast labor talks have had big impacts, and now we’re seeing a nationwide slowing of imports,” Port of LA Executive Director Gene Seroka said during Wednesday’s December cargo briefing.
Imports were down 24% in November compared with a year ago, and exports out of China fell almost 9% — the biggest drop since February of 2020 when COVID lockdowns brought production to a crawl, Seroka said.
3. UC Regents OK UCLA move to Big Ten, but payment will be required
The University of California Board of Regents Wednesday cleared the way for UCLA to move to the Big Ten Conference in 2024, but in exchange for its approval of the move, the board will require the university to make a multimillion-dollar donation to UC Berkeley to support that school’s athletics.
In a divided vote, the board agreed not to interfere in UCLA’s previously announced move away from the Pac-12 Conference. UCLA and USC both announced in June that they will move to the Big Ten in 2024, citing greater national exposure and dramatically higher financial revenues anticipated from media-rights deals.
The UCLA announcement, however, was met with dismay by some UC and state leaders, most notably Gov. Gavin Newsom, who lamented that he learned of the move in the media.
The Board of Regents had a series of meetings on the issue in recent months, focusing largely on its authority to potentially intervene and block UCLA’s announced conference shift. UCLA made the decision under authority delegated by the UC system president to individual campus chancellors.
On Wednesday, the regents met for more than an hour in closed session to discuss the issue again, and when they emerged, they had developed a proposal that would allow the change in athletic conferences. But under the deal approved by the board, UCLA will have to make a “contribution” to UC Berkeley ranging from $2 million to $10 million, as determined by the board, “to enhance student-athlete support at that campus."
Around the Nation
1. 'Game recognizes game': Lawmakers honor Pelosi at Capitol portrait unveiling
2. CDC: More than 3,500 Americans died from long COVID
3. Republican governors step up TikTok bans on state devices
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(Spectrum News/Taylor Torregano)
Los Angeles sees record breaking increase in hate crimes
Skyrocketing hate crimes reported across LA County have some leaders concerned about the state of our city as we enter a new year.
There are several agencies that keep track of hate crimes with slightly different parameters, however LA County’s Commission on Human Relations shows 786 reported hate crimes in 2021. It’s a staggering record of hatred against Asian residents, the Jewish and LGBTQIA+ community, and especially African Americans.
A report just released by the LA County Commission shows in 2021, reported hate crimes in LA County rose to the highest level in 19 years.
Specifically, Black residents were the target for 46% of racially based hate crimes, despite making up only 9% of the population.
Click the link above for the full story.
SoCal Snapshot
From left, Hadley Robinson, Harry Melling, Christian Bale, Lucy Boynton and Harry Lawtey, cast members in “The Pale Blue Eye,” pose together Wednesday at the premiere of the film at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)