Good morning. It’s Thursday, and I’m reading about how Los Angeles animal shelters urgently need people to adopt rabbits. Onto the five USC, LA and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

A new California bill would cut state funding to colleges that give admission preference to children of alumni and donors — otherwise known as legacy admissions. If passed, the legislation would bar those schools from participating in the Cal Grant program, which provides need-based financial aid for students at both public and private institutions. This isn’t the first time state lawmakers have tried such a move, but it is the first time since the Supreme Court tossed affirmative action and thus renewed progressive efforts to scrap legacy preferences. At USC, where legacy admits account for 14.4% of the sophomore class, students have in past years benefited from something to the tune of $25 million in Cal Grant aid.

Teresa Watanabe / Los Angeles Times

2.

Gov. Gavin Newsom pushed for an exemption in a California fast food wage law that benefits one of his longtime billionaire donors. The law, which will take effect in April, will raise the minimum wage at fast food chains from $16 to $20 an hour. But it carries an oddly specific carve-out: Chains that bake and sell bread a la carte are exempt from the wage requirement. Newsom’s donor owns two dozen Panera Bread franchises in the state, and the exemption will spare him from skyrocketing labor costs come April. Republicans were quick to call for an investigation. 

Staff / Bloomberg

3.

Students at UC Santa Barbara posted signs reading “Zionists NOT WELCOME” and “Stay away from our kitchen too!” at the campus’s multicultural center ahead of a Shabbat meal that was scheduled for this weekend. Another read “You can run but you can’t hide Tessa Veksler!” referring to the school’s student government president, who’s Jewish. California colleges seem to have reached a boiling point over the Israel-Hamas war this week. On Tuesday, a San Jose State University professor was put on leave after twisting the arm of a pro-Palestinian protester. And as reported yesterday, anti-Israel demonstrators at UC Berkeley shattered a window and roughed up Jewish students attending a guest lecture by an Israeli lawyer.

Margaux Lovely / Santa Barbara Independent

4.

Napa County may be the first in the U.S. to have all its municipalities ban new gas stations, thanks to a grassroots effort led by high schoolers. Oil industry advocates contend that the bans, which have gained momentum in LA and Sacramento, will only drive up fuel costs. But activists say it’s time to end investments in fossil fuel infrastructure as the state’s 2035 phase-out of gas-powered cars looms close — and that gas stations are increasingly irrelevant pollution-spewing facilities that often leak fuel and toxic vapors.

Kate Yoder / Grist

5.

A California woman who was the oldest person in the U.S. died last week. Edith Ceccarelli, 116, was born in the Northern California town of Willits in 1908 — a time when stagecoaches were still in regular use. Ceccarelli spent most of her life in Willits, where the mayor called her a “local celebrity” and her birthdays were celebrated with public parades and lunches. She was also known to love dancing. At age 104, she took out an ad in the local paper soliciting a new dance partner, writing: “What is nicer than holding a lovely lady in your arms and dancing a beautiful waltz or two-step together?”

Jillian D'Onfro / SFGate