Category: Southern California

Apartment Owners Sue Los Angeles Over COVID-Era Rental Price Restrictions

Apartment owners are suing the City of Los Angeles for keeping in place its emergency ban on rent increases first implemented at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a lawsuit filed July 24 in Los Angeles Superior Court, the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles is asking the court to put a stop to the city’s…


Visiting Grandma or the Capitol? In-state Airfare Costs Are Sky High

People on both ends of California say they’re being pinched by high travel costs for flights in the Golden State, as airfare prices continue to climb after jumping more than 25 percent compared to the same time last year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The increase follows a 40 percent spike during…


California Travel Ban Stalls Students’ Hopes to Contend in National Chemical Engineers Competition

A group of chemical engineering students was denied state funding to participate in a national competition in Florida because of California’s travel ban to certain states that don’t allow biological male athletes to compete in girls’ and women’s sports. The ban, which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law in 2019, was recently expanded to include…


California Hockey Players Lead Way on Slovakia’s Hlinka-Gretzky Roster

USA Hockey on July 24 named four players from Orange County and one each from Los Angeles County and Northern California to its under-18 select roster for the upcoming Hlinka-Gretzky Cup in Slovakia. The tournament, named in honor of former Czech hockey star Ivan Hlinka and Canadian icon Wayne Gretzky, is set for July 31–Aug….


Southern California School Board Approves Previously Rejected Social Studies Curriculum

The Temecula school board approved the social studies curriculum it previously rejected twice over concerns about “inappropriate” material—but with the recommendation that schools substitute certain material with that which is “age-appropriate.” The board voted to approve the “Social Studies Alive,” a state-approved K-5 social studies curriculum during a special meeting called July 21 by board president Joseph…


USA Baseball Camp Draws Heavily From Southern California

Seventeen players from Southern California, including five from Orange County, have been selected to participate in USA Baseball’s 16-and-under and 17-and-under national team development program July 26–29 in Cary, North Carolina. Players from across the country, 72 in all, will take part in intrasquad games, skill-development sessions, and off-field educational seminars while connecting with USA…


In-N-Out Bans Masks for Staff in Most Stores, Excludes California Locations

The West Coast fast food chain In-N-Out Burger recently announced its intention to prohibit masking for its employees unless they receive a doctor’s note, according to a leaked memo and an official statement by In-N-Out’s Chief Operating Officer Denny Warnick. According to the statement by Mr. Warnick, the company reasons that “wearing a mask literally…


Former USC Dean Sentenced in Mark Ridley-Thomas Bribery Case

LOS ANGELES—Marilyn Flynn, an 84-year-old former dean of the University of Southern California’s (USC) School of Social Work—who admitted to bribing longtime Los Angeles politician Mark Ridley-Thomas while he served on the county Board of Supervisors—was sentenced on July 24 to three years probation and ordered to pay a $150,000 fine. U.S. District Judge Dale…


Man, Woman Found Shot to Death in Rancho Palos Verdes

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif.—A man and a woman were found shot to death July 24 inside a bullet-riddled car in Rancho Palos Verdes. Deputies were sent to the 7000 block of Palos Verdes Drive at 6:50 a.m., the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reported. The two people were found inside a parked, blue Subaru sedan….


Man Convicted Of Murdering Brother With Crossbow At City Heights Park

SAN DIEGO—A Northern California man who fatally shot his brother with a crossbow at a City Heights park was convicted of first-degree murder last week. Adam Thomas, 22, was found guilty by a San Diego jury in the Aug. 9, 2021, killing of his 22-year-old brother Trenton Thomas. The defendant was 20 years old at…