Pajaro residents cleared to return home

Good morning, and thank God it’s Friday. Here are the five USC, Los Angeles and California stories you need to know for today.

Residents of the flooded Monterey County town of Pajaro were allowed to return to their homes nearly two weeks after waters burst through a nearby levee. The town still has no potable water and the sewer system doesn’t work. Aid organizations have descended on the agricultural community, lending a hand to residents struggling to clean up the mess the flood left behind.

John Woolfolk and Aldo Toledo / The Mercury News

The LA Unified School District strike ended Thursday, bringing school operations back to normal starting Friday morning. Still, the labor dispute remains unsettled: Union leaders have threatened a more prolonged strike to force the district’s hand at the bargaining table, though they’ve expressed hope that Mayor Karen Bass’ mediation will smooth the talks over.

Staff / Los Angeles Times

A report found that LA recorded its highest ever number of antisemitic incidents in 2022. The audit, published by the Anti-Defamation League, showed that antisemitic incidents have tripled locally since 2017 and listed antisemitic banners, literature and calls to local synagogues as examples. It also specifically called out rapper Kanye West as having influenced this trend.

Travis Schlepp / KTLA

USC shuttle workers voted to unionize and join Service Employees International Union Local 721, the largest public sector union in Southern California. The 32-person union consists of shuttle drivers and dispatchers who operate USC’s intercampus shuttle lines — and who were some of the last remaining non-unionized shuttle workers in the LA region.

Tomoki Chien / Daily Trojan

California educators are cautiously optimistic that the state’s long-running teacher shortage could be getting better. Between academic years ending in 2017 and 2021, the state saw a 35% increase in the number of teachers who earned a preliminary credential, reversing a decade-long downward trend and making California one of the few states in the country to see an increase at all.

Diana Lambert / EdSource

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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