Good morning. It’s Thursday, and I’m reading about the coveted Malibu McDonald’s. Onto the five USC, Los Angeles and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

Developers are exploiting a loophole to rapidly convert the historic Black and Latino neighborhood around USC into dense student housing. In 2008, LA officials imposed regulations meant to preserve the neighborhood’s low-density character by limiting the number of “habitable rooms” a building can have. But a quirk of the law says that if one room is a combination kitchen-living room, the rest can be bedrooms — which lets developers cram tiny bedrooms into their student-minded properties that essentially force out the neighborhood’s long-time residents.

Doug Smith and Angie Orellana Hernandez / Los Angeles Times

2.

State lawmakers introduced a bill that would compel some public California colleges to enforce their free speech policies. The proposal — a direct reaction to a protest at UC Berkeley where demonstrators broke a window and roughed-up Jewish students — would require the California State University and community college systems to enforce their policies that regulate violence, harassment and discrimination that interferes with other peoples’ free speech. The bill’s author suggested withholding state funding to ensure schools comply, though the legislation doesn’t impact the University of California system, where lawmakers have more limited oversight. 

Sophia Bollag / San Francisco Chronicle

3.

LA law enforcement officials are looking to stymie violent crime by sending more cases to federal agencies that can impose stricter sentences. The initiative was born out of frustration with a rising number of brazen robberies where criminals brandish firearms: Violent crime in California has trended down in the last few years, but the number of assaults and homicides involving guns has gone up. Officials said they’ll take a “thoughtful approach” when deciding which cases to hand to the feds — an effort to avoid disproportionately jailing Black and Latino people — but the specifics of that approach aren’t clear. 

Nathan Solis / Los Angeles Times

4.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature mental health initiative eked out a narrow win with just 50.2% of the vote. The initiative, called Proposition 1, includes a $6.4 billion bond to house and treat homeless people struggling with mental illness and addiction. It’s a centerpiece of Newsom’s tenure that was supposed to pass easily: Prop. 1’s campaign pumped $13.6 million into a television and digital ad blitz, and there was no meaningful opposition. Voter turnout might have something to do with the stunningly close call — Republicans disproportionately showed out in the midterms. It could also be because people just don’t like Newsom. 

Shawn Hubler / The New York Times

5.

This should’ve been a triumphant week for Shohei Ohtani. The modern-day baseball legend played his first game as an LA Dodger, starting a $700 million contract that makes him one of the highest-paid athletes in history. Instead, he’s roiled in scandal. Last night, the Dodgers fired Ohtani’s translator for associating with an illegal bookmaker who’s under federal investigation. But in a bizarre twist, a bank account that belongs to Ohtani allegedly wired the bookmaker at least $4.5 million to pay off the translator’s debts. It’s not clear from conflicting reports whether Ohtani knew about the wire or if he is, as his lawyers said, “the victim of a massive theft.” 

Lindsey Adler / The Wall Street Journal