Good morning. Tomo here: Apologies for missing yesterday’s newsletter. I had just gotten back from a wild Big Sur backpacking trip where we got lost, cut up in the coastal brush and had to ration our water… then my girlfriend got bitten by a rattlesnake. We both ended up in the hospital (for different things), and I needed a day of rest.

Luckily, I’m pleased to share that we’ve hired a new writer, Salome Nebiyu, who will join me most mornings — and who can take over in the event of another one of my outdoor epics.

Our previous co-writer, Claire Qiu, is departing to pursue other work opportunities. We’re very grateful for all her hard work. And now, onto the five USC, Los Angeles and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

A study predicted that California could lose as much as 75% of its beaches by the end of the century, thanks to sea level rise and other climate change phenomena. In one Southern California city, that’s already a reality: Only a third of Oceanside’s 3.7-mile coast still has enough sand for visitors to enjoy. City leaders are in a pinch. Do they truck in sand, like Santa Monica did? Build a jetty to combat erosion like Ventura? Or, perhaps, build an artificial reef?

2.

As temperatures sweltered to 102 degrees last week in downtown LA, only three of the city’s four cooling stations on Skid Row were up and running. City officials blamed the delay on a contracting miscommunication with the nonprofit that operates the stations, which provide shade, chilled water and medical supplies to unhoused Angelenos. “If someone wanted to get a Ph.D. in how not to do something at City Hall, here’s your case study,” one advocate said.

3.

Former President Donald Trump is now favored to win all of California’s delegates at next year’s Republican convention, a boon that could propel him to his third presidential nomination. It wasn’t always this way: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had previously led in the state, but is now underperforming in polls nationwide. In fact, a pro-DeSantis super PAC said it would suspend major operations in California.

4.

West Coast dockworkers ratified a six-year contract that’s expected to ease tensions and re-divert shipments to the ports of LA and Long Beach — traditionally the nation’s busiest ports, which lost as much as a quarter of their traffic to the East Coast last year in the heat of contract negotiations. The new contract covers 22,000 dockworkers who work in 29 ports stretching from LA to Seattle.

5.

A contentious bill that bans caste-based discrimination passed the state Legislature and is now headed to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk. The bill, a bid to protect against discrimination within South Asian communities and promote fairness in employment and housing, prompted hours of comments at a public hearing this summer with lines extending out of the State Capitol. Critics contend the bill could force South Asians “to answer intrusive questions” and is unfair because it only applies to people in the caste-based system.

You’re all caught up. Thanks for reading Morning, Trojan, and have a good day. Anna Hsu copy edited this newsletter.

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