Buy Plan B for cheap in the Village
Tomo Chien
February 08, 2024
Good morning. It’s Thursday, and I hope you saw the ads we posted around campus yesterday. I haven’t gotten any angry emails about them — yet. Onto the five USC, Los Angeles and California stories you need to know for today.
1.
You can buy Plan B for cheap at a new vending machine in the Village. Emergency contraception typically retails for between $10 and $50; the Village machine sells it for $5, thanks to subsidies from the Undergraduate Student Government and USC Student Health. The machine also sells hygiene essentials, medicine and the overdose-reversal drug Narcan. FYI: If you don’t feel like buying Plan B in the middle of the Village in broad daylight, there’s a second machine in the Royal Street parking structure — though it’s under maintenance right now.
2.
Not only does the LA County Sheriff’s Department have a prolific history of generating embarrassing scandals, but those scandals cost money — like, a lot. The department contributed a hefty $150 million to the county’s nearly $1 billion in legal expenses last fiscal year, propelled by the rising cost of hiring outside lawyers and resolving cases that had stalled during the pandemic. One case of note: a combined $48.85 million payout after deputies shared graphic photos of the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant and his daughter.
3.
Dominic Choi will serve as interim chief of the LA Police Department to fill in for the outgoing Michel Moore, who announced his retirement last month. Choi, a USC alum, will be the first Asian American to lead the department. His role is expected to last around nine months while the city searches for a new leader, and he won’t compete for the permanent role per the terms of accepting the interim job. Choi is an LA native and the son of immigrant Korean parents, and has served on the force for nearly 30 years.
4.
Five Marines died in a helicopter crash in the mountains east of San Diego, the Marine Corps said. The Marines were flying from an Air Force base in Nevada to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego on a routine training flight when the helicopter went missing. Search teams found the helicopter yesterday but didn’t confirm the deaths until this morning. The military, which hasn’t released the names of the Marines on board, said it’s investigating what caused the crash.
5.
California lawmakers want to ban homeless encampments near schools, parks and transit stations, arguing that the state’s homelessness policies are “failing and Californians are tired of it.” The bipartisan bill would also ban camping on sidewalks if there’s available shelter space and require officials to issue a 72-hour notice before clearing encampments. Advocates for homeless people say that encampment clearing is traumatizing and dangerous, but they face an uphill battle as lawmakers continue to adopt increasingly aggressive homelessness policies.