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Morning, Trojan

Seven stories with Tomoki Chien.

📰 Editor’s note

  • Well, it’s official: Morning, Trojan is now an Annenberg Media product. Nothing should fundamentally change on your end except for a visual refresh that’s coming soon, and these emails might start coming from a different address. I have a sneaking suspicion that I might have to start reeling in The Rylan Report on the weekends, too. (Lol.) I’ll keep you posted on all these changes as they happen.

  • On the backend, this shift is going to help me build a team that will make this sustainable in the long term, keep improving and get it out to a much larger audience. I would be lying if I didn’t also mention that it’s nice to get paid for this work now.

  • The only bad part of this is that now I have to change my Slack job description from “Really good at being bossed around by upperclassmen” to “Newsletter Editor.” It’s a tough life I’ve got. Enjoy today’s edition!

đź“Ť On campus

  1. In an October 2020 deposition, Rick Caruso repeatedly declined to answer questions about a USC investigation into former gynecologist George Tyndall while being grilled by lawyers for hundreds of USC students and alumnae, a recent Los Angeles Times review found. Now running for mayor, Caruso — who became chair of the university’s board just after revelations of Tyndall’s sex crimes became public — has long positioned his steering of the university out of crisis as an example of the leadership he would offer in City Hall. (Benjamin Oreskes, Harriet Ryan and Matt Hamilton / Los Angeles Times)

🌴 In L.A.

  1. The L.A. City Council unanimously elected Paul Krekorian as council president. The former Democratic state assemblymember from the San Fernando Valley succeeds the now-disgraced Nury Martinez, who resigned over a leaked recording that showed her making racist and disparaging comments. (Alexander Nieves and Lara Korte / Politico)

  1. Enrollment in the L.A. Unified School District shrank again this year — but not by as much as district leaders expected. The new figures suggest that rising housing costs and a declining birthrate continue to affect enrollment, but also that some COVID-related pressures may be easing. California funds public schools based on how many students attend classes, meaning the new student enrollment numbers will have a direct impact on the district’s bottom line. (Kyle Stokes / LAist)

  1. Some Southern California parents are calling for an increased police presence on school campuses, especially after a string of teen fentanyl overdoses in L.A. County — but students activists are pushing back. (Howard Blume / Los Angeles Times)

  1. L.A. County libraries will soon be stocked with the overdose-reversal drug Narcan. The county will train librarians to administer the drug, and residents will be able to pick up doses to take home. (Paige Austin / Patch)

🌅 California

  1. Has a right-wing movement to flip school boards landed in the California Bay Area? Nationwide, conservative donors are pouring money into school board races, hoping to capitalize on lingering COVID resentment and flaring culture wars. That movement might be starting to reach one of the most liberal parts of the country. (Joshua Sharpe and Sophia Bollag)

  1. A California jury convicted Paul Flores of the murder of Kristin Smart. The verdict capped a long-running case that began in May 1996 when Smart, a freshman at Cal Poly, left an off-campus party around 2 a.m. accompanied by Flores. Smart was never seen again. (Christine Hauser and Michael Levenson / The New York Times)

📖 What else I’m reading

🚨 In case you missed it

  • Harmful emissions at the Port of L.A. soared during the pandemic. Cancer-causing diesel particulate matter rose 56% compared with 2020, and emissions of nitrogen oxides, the precursor to smog, increased 54% while lung-irritating sulfur oxides rose 145%. (Tony Briscoe / Los Angeles Times)

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Morning, Trojan is an Annenberg Media product, curated and edited by Tomoki Chien. Chris Bibona writes The Sports Corner. Questions, concerns or feedback? Just reply to this email.

USC students can click the following links to access free newspaper subscriptions: Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal.