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By Tomoki Chien
NEWSLETTER EDITOR

Good morning, and happy Valentine’s Day. I hope you’ve been able to get a good start to your week. Here are the five USC, Los Angeles and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

Thousands of LA Unified School District workers could soon go on strike if contract negotiations don’t yield union calls for wage increases, more full-time work and increased staffing levels. The union represents some 30,000 cafeteria workers, bus drivers, janitors and special education assistants, most of whom rank among the lowest paid employees in the district.

Clara Harter / Los Angeles Daily News

2.

California lawmakers will attempt to rescind Proposition 8, a 2008 voter-approved initiative that banned the state from recognizing same-sex marriages. The proposition, which is still technically on the books, was an anachronism by 2015 when the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage — but lawmakers fear it could become a liability if the court’s conservative supermajority revisits the matter.

Sophie Austin / Associated Press

3.

Mega-fires across California are effectively gentrifying rural communities and exacerbating an already dire housing crisis. Wildfires invariably jack up home prices when they torch an already limited housing stock and similarly bump up fire insurance rates; residents who can’t afford to rebuild after the damage are often forced to leave and never return.

Scott Wilson / The Washington Post

4.

State park officials are “cautiously optimistic” about the chances of super blooms across California, a rare phenomenon where wild blossoms cover desert regions during wet seasons that follow extended dry periods. Peak season in LA County is mid-March to early April, though officials across the state have begun restricting access to some sites in order to avoid large crowds destroying natural habitats.

Jessica Flores / San Francisco Chronicle

5.

Mountain lion cubs Holly and Hazel at the Oakland Zoo are quickly becoming California’s newest wildlife darlings after the death of LA’s famous cougar, P-22. The two cubs arrived at the zoo just weeks apart from the Santa Cruz Mountains and were quickly treated for dehydration, malnutrition, severe muscle loss and anemia.

Thomas Curwen / Los Angeles Times

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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