Good morning. FYI: If you’re a California resident, you can now sign up for a digital driver’s license. There are a limited number of free signups available, so do it soon if you’re interested. Onto the five USC, Los Angeles and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

Some California regions may have to cut their water use by as much as 20% by 2025 under a new state framework for urban water supply. Water utilities in the Central Valley and southeastern region will likely face the harshest cuts, while LA won’t face any reductions until 2030. The novel framework weighs local factors like climate and population in setting reductions, as opposed to previous policies that applied uniform cuts across the state.

2.

California’s COVID wave is reaching levels not seen in more than a year, thanks to new highly contagious strains of the virus. The state’s test positivity rate — the most reliable tracking metric now that state and federal agencies have stopped logging case counts — sits at 14%, the highest since July 2022 and in fact the fifth highest since the pandemic began.

3.

LA tenants have received over 40,000 eviction notices since late January — a return to pre-pandemic levels as renter protections expire — most of which were issued by upscale apartments in places like downtown and Woodland Hills. The notices serve as a legal obligation for tenants to pay their rent and are a precursor to eviction lawsuits, though they rarely escalate to that point. The revelation was made public by the city controller’s office, which for the first time shared details about the notices.

4.

Higher-income Californians will no longer qualify for electric vehicle rebates once a popular state program in place since 2010 runs out of money this year. Instead, the state will shift its focus to lower-income Californians, offering subsidies as large as $12,000 for people who earn less than 300% of the federal poverty level — which is currently $43,740 for a single person.

5.

A California judge temporarily halted a Chino Valley Unified School District policy that would’ve forced school staff to inform parents if their children changed their gender identity or pronouns. State Attorney General Rob Bonta, whose office is suing the district over the policy, previously said he was also looking to stop other conservative school districts from enacting similar policies.

You’re all caught up. Thanks for reading Morning, Trojan, and have a good day.

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