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By Tomoki Chien & Claire Qiu

Good morning. It’s Wednesday, and as Mayor Karen Bass looks to expand her homelessness initiative, we’re rereading Ezra Klein’s column in The New York Times on the matter. Onto the five USC, Los Angeles and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

LA County flunked the American Lung Association’s annual “State of the Air” report and held onto its nearly 24-year running title of smoggiest metropolitan area in the nation. The Central Valley cities of Bakersfield and Visalia tied for the country’s worst fine particle pollution. All but three California counties didn’t flunk the report, underscoring the need to regulate emissions as wildfires also plague the nation’s most populous state.

Tony Briscoe / Los Angeles Times

2.

Mayor Bass released the first budget proposal of her term on Tuesday, calling for increased spending on the police department, homelessness programs, anti-gang efforts and animal shelters. Her plan to build up the LA Police Department involves persuading 200 recently retired officers to return to the force for at least 12 months. The City Council has until the end of May to review, revise and approve Bass’s budget.

Staff / Los Angeles Times

3.

The LA Unified School District reached a tentative deal with the teachers’ union to increase pay by more than 21% over three years and lower the average class size — an agreement separate from the one reached earlier this month between the school district and its service staff. The settlement is expected to bring stability to a school district that saw a a three-day strike in March and a tumultuous six-day strike in January 2019.

Corina Knoll / The New York Times

4.

This winter’s heavy storms exacerbated groundwater contamination in the San Joaquin and Salinas valleys by flushing decades’ worth of fertilizer into the ground. Nitrate, contained in fertilizer, can lead to the dangerous “blue baby syndrome” and has been linked to cancer. More than 1,000 households affected by the nitrate contamination receive state-funded water deliveries, but any long-term solution will likely mean reducing or better controlling fertilizer application.

Alastair Bland / CalMatters

5.

The NBA Playoffs will include all four California teams — Lakers, Clippers, Warriors and Kings — for the first time since they’ve all shared statehood. The four teams have been in California since 1985 when the Kings relocated from Kansas City to Sacramento. In yet another first, the Warriors and Kings will play each other in the opening round, the first playoff matchup between the two Northern California franchises thus far.

Jeremiah Martinez / KTLA

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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