Folt paid fourth-most among private college presidents
Tomo Chien
February 23, 2024
Good morning. It’s Friday, and I’m reading about the “weirdest” Cheesecake Factory in California — which happens to be the one at The Grove. Onto the five USC, Los Angeles and California stories you need to know for today.
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1.
USC President Carol Folt is the fourth-highest-paid private college president in the country, earning a cool $3.5 million in 2021. That’s around $1.4 million base, $900,000 in bonuses, $1.1 million in “other” and $20,000 in benefits. In the past few decades, compensation for top university leaders has skyrocketed: Between 2009 and 2019, pay for university presidents grew by 23% adjusted for inflation. Lincoln Riley, by the way, reportedly makes around $10 million a year, so Folt is by no means the highest paid on USC payroll. Not that I’d mind a job with a six-figure bonus.
2.
The fire earlier this week at Cowlings and Ilium Residential College was caused by a bag of potato chips that students left in an oven. USC officials said the fire was contained to the oven and ultimately extinguished by Department of Public Safety personnel. An email yesterday reminded residents not to store things in their ovens — lest students have to exercise common sense without being told to do so.
3.
LA County is suing GrubHub, alleging the food delivery service falsely advertises prices it later inflates with surprise fees at the checkout tab. For instance, a sandwich at one local deli is listed as starting at $17 but ultimately goes for more than $26 with additional fees and sales tax — and that’s not counting the tip. It’s the latest government attempt to protect consumers from such “junk fees”: A new state law will go into effect this summer prohibiting last-minute fees from a long list of businesses, including food delivery apps.
4.
Ever dreamed of riding a gondola from Union Station to Dodger Stadium? If you have, I’ve got great news: A project to do just that cleared its first hurdle when the Metro’s board unanimously approved the 1.2-mile aerial tramway’s environmental analysis. Are you a Chinatown resident who’s not stoked by the idea of a gondola running through your backyard? If so, I’ve also got great news: All Chinatown residents would get free rides on the gondola. Because free rides will make it all better. Right?
5.
In 1949, In-N-Out invented the drive-thru. Before that, fast food chains used the inefficient drive-in system where customers parked and ordered from roller-skating carhops. But one day, Harry Snyder, In-N-Out’s founder, mounted a two-way speaker on a post at his Baldwin Park location — and the modern drive-thru was born. Wendy’s and Burger King didn’t adopt the technology until the 1960s and McDonald’s waited until the mid-1970s, which gave In-N-Out a competitive advantage for nearly two decades. “The drive-thru window really formalized what fast food is all about,” said an author who wrote a book about fast food.