Good morning, it’s Thursday, and we’re reading about the best pizzerias in Los Angeles. Onto the five USC, LA and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

The California State University system approved a 6% annual tuition hike over the next five years, a move that’s expected to raise some $148 million dollars for the cash-strapped system. Students and the faculty union were quick to slam the move, noting that the system’s incoming chancellor will make over $1 million a year. The tuition hike will amount to a $1,940 increase between now and 2028, bringing full-time undergraduate tuition to $7,682. 

2.

It’s the final day of California’s legislative session, and lawmakers are scrambling to pass some of the most high-profile bills of the year before they shut down and reconvene in January. Those bills are expected to tackle the housing crisis, fentanyl epidemic and labor battles — among other contentious topics.

3.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said he plans to intervene in a legal battle over San Francisco’s ability to clear homeless encampments. The city, thanks to a lawsuit filed by advocate groups, is under a temporary court order that bars it from enforcing anti-camping laws until it offers more shelter beds for unhoused people. Newsom sided with the city, saying the order stops it from shutting down unsafe encampments and that “it’s unacceptable what’s happening on the streets and sidewalks.”

4.

Two groups are suing to halt LA’s planned renovation of the Los Angeles Zoo in Griffith Park. Friends of Griffith Park and the Griffith J. Griffith Charitable Trust alleged that the city did not address the outsized environmental impacts of the renovation which would include removing 16 acres of native vegetation. The city wants to develop the zoo in time for the 2028 Summer Olympics.

5.

Highway patrol officers in the Central Valley city of Merced arrested a man for driving under the influence — not behind the wheel of a car, but on his horse. Nobody was hurt in the incident. “The rules of the road apply to those operating animals on the highway,” law enforcement wrote on social media.

You’re all caught up. Thanks for reading Morning, Trojan, and have a good day.

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