Alissa, David, and Carla sweat it out during LA’s first major heat wave of the summer and wonder if the city is any better prepared for catastrophic fires. Former LAFD chief Kristin Crowley files a defamation claim against LA Mayor Karen Bass. The Trump administration is trying to extort $1 billion dollars from UCLA. Plus, the latest state transit-upzoning bill, SB 79, makes its way through the California legislature.

“Kristin Crowley and her lawyers accuse Bass of ousting her, and repeatedly defaming Crowley as Bass sought to shift blame for the way the city handled the catastrophic Palisades fire ‘while concealing the extent to which she undermined public safety’ with cuts to the fire department’s budget,” reports the Los Angeles Times

Read Crowley’s full claim

Will she sue the city? As LA City Controller Kenneth Mejia reminds us, LA’s liability suit problem is getting worse

“Trump’s claim of fighting antisemitism at UCLA is a dangerous charade,” argue David N. Myers, Aaron Greenberg, and Kate Pynoos in a Los Angeles Times op-ed

New York Times: “How Universities Became So Dependent on the Federal Government”

“What worries me the most is the country is highly dependent on using these training programs as sources of highly skilled individuals, and that seems to be shrinking massively,” one researcher told LAist

Some of the new Jewish groups mentioned by David that are pushing back against weaponization of antisemitism allegations include Diaspora Alliance, Nexus Project, and Jewish Partnership for Los Angeles

LA’s City Council voted 8-5 to oppose SB 79, the new transit-upzoning bill authored by State Senator Scott Wiener

“If I thought that this body was acting in good faith to address our housing crisis, I would support this resolution.” Watch Councilmember Nithya Raman’s comments on the council floor

A large statewide equity coalition, including ACT-LA, is calling for SB 79 amendments to reduce displacement and create more affordability.

Speaking of housing production, LA County’s new housing authority, LACAHSA, is making some foundational decisions, reports Ryan Fonseca for Think Forward

Over 200 environmental organizations are calling for Gavin Newsom to “immediately fix major problems” SB 131, the new law that exempts advanced manufacturing projects from CEQA review

Here’s the letter urging cleanup on SB 131

The last day to give public comment on the Sepulveda Transit Corridor project is August 30! Share Godfrey’s video, made by Alex Michel. Check out LA Forward Institute’s action toolkit for everything you need to make a comment.

This week’s episode is produced by Olive Greenspan

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