Good morning. It’s Tuesday, and I hope you enjoyed your long weekend. I’m reading about how Los Angeles County is home to 5,484 Mexican restaurants, the most of any U.S. county. Onto the five USC, LA and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

Former LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva delivered a bizarre testimony before an oversight committee about deputy gangs — violent groups of deputies known to valorize civilian shootings and subvert the chain of command. For one, Villanueva insisted that the hearing was a “witch hunt” and repeatedly denied that violent gangs are a problem in the department; he said the gangs are benign groups like the department’s softball teams. Villanueva frequently criticized the committee’s questions, calling one “about the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard” and likening another to asking “When did you stop beating your wife?” 

Tim Dickinson / Rolling Stone

2.

A key analyst said that Gov. Gavin Newsom vastly underestimated the state’s budget deficit when he presented his spending plan for the coming fiscal year, and that his proposed budget has its “strengths and weaknesses.” The Legislature’s nonpartisan analyst office put the deficit at $58 billion as opposed to Newsom’s $38 billion, and argued that Newsom should cut more short-term programs rather than dip so far into reserves. The real trouble, though, might be where the two agree: Both predict deficits of up to $30 billion through 2027.

Mikhail Zinshteyn / CalMatters

3.

LA Police Chief Michel Moore will retire at the end of February, ending a nearly six-year tenure that saw notable reforms in the wake of George Floyd’s death — but also more than his share of scandals. Under Moore’s tenure, a botched bomb squad operation leveled a South LA neighborhood; a department captain leaked details in a sex crime investigation to the case’s alleged perpetrator; and the city paid $4 million in damages to a female commander after her colleagues circulated a nude photo doctored to look like her. Moore’s backers, though, say his department embraced progressive reforms like limiting pretextual traffic stops and expanding community outreach efforts.

Staff / Los Angeles Times

4.

California lawmakers will decide this month whether to ban tackle football for kids under 12, and the debate is already contentious. Medical experts say the sport seriously increases the risk of brain trauma, which can lead to poor impulse control and thinking problems. Critics argue that banning tackle football could end an outlet for youths who might otherwise find themselves in gangs, and that lawmakers are making no effort to ban lacrosse and ice hockey — sports with similar concussion rates played mostly in affluent communities.

Ryan Sabalow / CalMatters

5.

USC women’s basketball beat UCLA 73-65 on Sunday, ending a nine-game losing streak to the Bruins and avenging their only loss of the season. Star freshman JuJu Watkins led the No. 9 Trojans with 32 points. The real story, though, might’ve been off the court: The Trojans played Sunday in front of a standing-room-only crowd that set the team’s new venue attendance record, a remarkable change of fortune from just a few years ago when, as coach Lindsay Gottlieb put it, nobody attended women’s games. “I’ll never forget this,” Gottlieb said.

Thuc Nhi Ngyuen / Los Angeles Times

Anna Hsu copy edited this newsletter.

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