LAist

Alejandra Santamaria has been selected as the new President and Chief Executive Officer of Southern California Public Radio (SCPR) by the SCPR Board of Trustees. Santamaria will join SCPR and LAist in July and succeeds CEO Herb Scannell, who recently retired from the role. SCPR operates Los Angeles’ award-winning multi-platform local journalism leader LAist, which includes LAist 89.3, LAist.com and the podcast arm, LAist Studios. The organization also has found success creating community-facing experiential events. Most recently, Santamaria served as interim President, General Manager and VP, Director of Sales for Univision Los Angeles. Details: https://lnkd.in/gunVJU57

Three seats are up for grabs on the powerful board that oversees the nation’s second-largest school district. LAUSD faces enormous challenges, including funding shortfalls, chronic absenteeism, and safety concerns. 🔗 https://ow.ly/bLPb50TfZTq ✍️ Mariana Dale

Grace Ortiz and Karla Griego are vying to replace retiring LAUSD Board president Jackie Goldberg. The winner will represent a curiously shaped district that spans from Southeast to Northeast L.A. 🔗 https://ow.ly/wxFU50TfXj3 ✍️ Mariana Dale

California is poised to set new rules for warehouse locations and truck routes with a last-minute bill to curtail air pollution and traffic from distribution centers. But local government groups oppose the legislation, and business groups warn that it would place onerous requirements on warehouse developments and cities, threatening trade and jobs. Gov. Gavin Newsom has until the end of the month to sign or veto the bill. What the rules would do: Assembly Bill 98 would tighten building standards for new warehouses; ban heavy-duty diesel truck traffic next to sensitive sites including homes, schools, parks and nursing homes; and require local governments to update truck routes to avoid residential streets, said Assemblymember Eloise Gómez Reyes, a San Bernardino Democrat who co-authored the bill. The measure would also add minimum distance requirements between homes and warehouses, along with buffers featuring walls and landscaping. The bill would also require replacement of two new homes for every one that’s demolished to make room for new logistics centers, along with 12 months rental payment to displaced renters. Read on... for more on what people on either side of the proposed regulations are saying: https://ow.ly/Sbi050TfW8L ✍️ Deborah Brennan | CalMatters 📸 Pablo Unzueta for CalMatters

Nearly four years after California voters approved better wages and health benefits for ride-hailing drivers and delivery workers, no one is actually ensuring they are provided, according to state agencies, interviews with workers and a review of wage claims filed with the state. The background: Voters mandated the benefits in November 2020 when they approved Proposition 22. The ballot initiative was backed by gig-work companies that wanted to keep their workers classified as independent contractors and were resisting a 2019 state law that would have considered them employees. Prop. 22 stipulated that gig workers would remain independent contractors but be treated better. What now? The state Industrial Relations Department, which handles wage claims, now tells CalMatters it does not have jurisdiction to resolve those related to Prop. 22, citing a July 25 California Supreme Court ruling that upheld the law and therefore maintains that gig workers are not employees. That effectively passes enforcement responsibility on to the state attorney general, whose office was noncommittal when asked about its plans, saying that it does not adjudicate individual claims but does prosecute companies that systematically violate the law. Why it matters: The lack of enforcement leaves in limbo workers who in many cases have already been waiting for months or years for the state to resolve their complaints. Workers have filed 54 claims related to Prop. 22 since it went into effect in December 2020. At least 32 of them are unresolved, state records obtained by CalMatters show, although at least two of those are due to workers not following through. Of the unresolved claims, one goes back to 2021, several are from 2022 and 2023, and about half are from this year, through May. Read on... for more on how Prop. 22 is failing to deliver from gig economy workers: https://ow.ly/yCJG50TfKHF ✍️ Levi Sumagaysay | CalMatters 📸 Frederic J Brown/ AFP/Getty Images

Dan Chang is running against incumbent Scott Schmerelson to represent the West San Fernando Valley and Studio City. 🔗 https://ow.ly/pqV250TfJFc ✍️ Mariana Dale

Kahllid Al-Alim and Shirley Hendy Newbill are vying to replace George McKenna to represent L.A.’s Mid-City, Crenshaw, Arlington Heights, and Westmont neighborhoods in the L.A. Unified board. 🔗 https://ow.ly/1vua50TfGZH ✍️ Mariana Dale

Today's headlines: https://ow.ly/9rOS50TfHN7 - Get ready for excessive heat over the next few days as dangerous heatwave raises temps to the 100s. - Governor Newsom declared a state of emergency in the city of Rancho Palos Verdes as hundreds of homes are without power. - LAist's latest season of Imperfect Paradise dives into L.A. County District Attorney George Gascón's re-election bid.

I'm honored to have served as a reviewer for LAist Engagement Producer, Early Childhood Education Stefanie Ritoper's recent article. https://lnkd.in/gXQU34By

'Imperfect Paradise: District Attorney George Gascón' delves into the country’s largest DA’s office. Elected in 2020, Gascón was part of the criminal justice reform movement that resulted in several progressive DAs taking office in cities across the country. He was elected on his promise to undo decades of mass incarceration, but his opponents have called him pro-criminal. What impact have Gascon’s policies had? Will voters give him another term? In our new podcast series, Gascón opens up about his record as DA, including his regrets, to LAist Correspondent Frank Stoltze. 🔗 https://ow.ly/yGFz50TfHJj 🎙️ Frank Stoltze 📸 Samanta Helou Hernandez/LAist