Good morning. It’s Tuesday, and we’re looking at a list of the highest-paid employees in the University of California system. Spoiler: None of them have anything to do with academics. Onto the five USC, Los Angeles and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

A Jewish man died Monday from injuries he sustained during a Thousand Oaks protest over the Israel-Hamas war. Paul Kessler, 69, fell backward and hit his head on the ground while counterprotesting a pro-Palestinian group Sunday afternoon. Witnesses said it was unclear whether he was physically struck by an opposing demonstrator, but police said they were investigating the incident as a homicide and possible hate crime.

2.

Eastside residents are up in arms over a proposed new building on USC’s Health Sciences Campus, worried it’ll help jack up prices in the area and exacerbate a decades-long wave of gentrification that they blame the affluent private university for. USC, for its part, said the proposed seven-story building would help its researchers continue to address health disparities in local communities through research.

3.

Aggressive shark activity and an injured, beached whale led officials to close Sunset Beach in Huntington Beach until 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. Shark sightings in the area are a common occurrence, but the thrashing in the water that beachgoers reported seeing before the whale washed ashore with bite marks was cause for concern. The whale was humanely euthanized after experts found it was “very sick, underweight” with a rapidly declining condition.

4.

The captain of the Conception dive boat that caught fire and killed 34 people in 2019 was convicted of criminal negligence by a federal jury. Jerry Boylan, 69, was charged with a pre-Civil War statute colloquially known as seaman’s manslaughter, and faces up to 10 years behind bars in his February sentencing. Prosecutors said Boylan failed to post a roving night watch that could’ve spotted the fire earlier, and never properly trained his crew in firefighting.

5.

A hangar at a historic Orange County air base caught fire early Tuesday morning, prompting a response from multiple fire agencies who are still battling the blaze with helicopters typically used to fight large brush fires. There were no injuries immediately reported and authorities are still unsure what started the fire. The hangar in Tustin first became operational in World War II and was decommissioned in 1999, and was one of the world’s largest freestanding wooden structures — perhaps part of the problem here.

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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