Welcome to L.A. TACO’s daily news briefs, where we bring our loyal members, readers, and supporters the latest headlines about Los Angeles politics and culture. Stay informed and look closely.
—Downtown: LAFC defeated the LA Galaxy in a heated crosstown soccer matchup and then came down to the final minutes. LAFC advances to the western conference final, thanks to a 93rd minute goal by Chico Arango. [The Guardian]
—Boyle Heights: Former Councilmember José Huizar found some time to bike around the 6th Street Bridge while preparing for his federal racketeering trial next year. Huizar said there were supposed to be more access points for the bridge, but they were taken out of the final design due to "budget considerations" in a story posted to his personal Instagram yesterday evening. Nobody asked for this cryptic message when city hall is in the midst of arguably its largest scandal in decades, but here we are. [Instagram]
—Donald Trump’s former right-hand man, Steve Bannon, was sentenced to four months in federal prison this morning, for defying a subpoena to testify at the Jan. 6 committee. Bannon was also ordered to pay a fine of $6,500. Bannon has indicated he will appeal the sentence. [New York Times]
—Black, indigenous, and Latinx justice organizations held a joint press conference outside of Councilmember Kevin de León this morning. Protestors have been outside of the residence for seven straight days now, demanding de Leon resign immediately for participating in a racist conversation that was secretly recorded a year ago. De Leon has said he has no plans to resign. "What we are calling for is not simply apologies for the use of racist rhetoric. We are calling for the immediate resignation of Councilmembers Gil Cedillo, Kevin de León, and a full investigation of their redistricting process that have undoubtedly affected Black and indigenous communities," organizers said in a press release this morning.
—LAist reports that Los Angeles lost "eight times more housing than it has gained for its lowest-income residents" from 2010 through 2019. The local newsroom analyzed data that showed LA lost more than 100,000 housing units during that time, while about 13,000 units were built. For decades the city has given incentives to private developers in exchange for promises to rent to low-income tenants. City planners say "those efforts have been wholly inadequate," LAist reports. [LAist]
—Venice: The city finally installed bike lanes along Venice but cyclist are complaining that they're not protected, meaning there's nothing preventing from cars blocking the bike lanes or striking people. I guess we'll take what we can get. [Twitter]
—Several indicators are pointing to another miserable fall and winter for COVID. In parts of New York City, COVID cases rates are back above 20 percent. For comparison, LA County's COVID rate is currently below 5 percent. Health officials are encouraging eligible residents to get the new booster shot, which offers additional protections against variants. [NBC]
—Los Feliz: Students walked out of Marshall High following a stabbing. School police said yesterday that no suspects had been caught. A detective told KTLA that three individuals were allegedly involved in the incident, including two students and one unidentified person. Students say they don't feel safe and have endured recent fights and lockdowns in addition to the stabbing. [KTLA]
