Newsom wants to make prisons friendlier
Tomo Chien
January 08, 2024
Good morning. It’s Monday, and I hope you all enjoyed your breaks. I’m stoked to start Morning, Trojan again under our new nonprofit news outlet, College Brief.
Before we start: I’m reading about how Disneyland is offering discounted tickets to Southern California residents. Onto the five USC, Los Angeles and California stories you need to know for today.
1.
When Johnny Cash performed at San Quentin State Prison in 1969, the inmates loved his hit “San Quentin” — a song about how that same prison was a “living hell” — so much that they made him play it twice. 50 years later, Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to change the status quo. An advisory board suggested turning San Quentin into a “model rehabilitative center” by offering more vocational training, removing double-person cells and training guards to befriend inmates. The proposal is based on prison policy in Norway, a country that saw a steep drop in repeat offenses after focusing prisons on rehabilitation.
2.
Researchers discovered a massive dumping ground for military weaponry off the coast of LA. The UC San Diego oceanographers found, among other things, World War II-era Hedgehog and Mark 9 depth charges typically dropped from warships to destroy submarines. The U.S. Navy said the waste is likely a result of disposal practices typical of the time and that it’s working to determine “the best path forward to ensure that the risk to human health and the environment is managed appropriately.”
3.
The states that rely on the Colorado River are racing to reach a new water use agreement ahead of Inauguration Day, worrying that a possible change in the White House could delay talks. The parched river has long been a lifeline in the West, providing drinking water to some 40 million people and irrigating much of America’s farmland. But its long-declining flow has led to years of bitter negotiations among its dependents, including California. The federal agency in charge of the river set a March deadline for states to propose a new agreement.
4.
A federal appeals court blocked a California law that bans concealed firearms in most public places, the latest drama in a saga that’s seen the controversial law get blocked, then unblocked and now blocked again. The law bans people from carrying concealed guns — regardless of whether they have a concealed carry permit — in 26 types of public places including playgrounds, churches, banks and zoos.
5.
When a monster swell pounded the California coast late last month, most (sane) people moved further inland. Not the surfers. Half Moon Bay’s famous Mavericks Beach became something of a mecca for elite big-wave riders, offering set after set of estimated 50-foot waves. One videographer just released a free film documenting the action. “It literally feels like you’re going to be splashed from your TV,” one Mavericks pioneer said of the film.