Budget cuts kneecap Pride celebration
Tomo Chien
November 05, 2025
Good morning. It’s Wednesday, and these are the five USC, Los Angeles, and California stories you need to know for today.
1.
A signature Pride event typically held in October was canceled for a second year in a row thanks to Undergraduate Student Government funding cuts. Notably, these cuts are separate from USC’s ongoing budget crisis — USG depends on a flat “programming fee” paid by undergraduates, which means its budget is at the mercy of enrollment changes.
2.
A hit-and-run crash briefly shuttered the southbound lanes of Figueroa Street next to campus yesterday. Police said the crash was reported at 8:37 a.m., and the LA Fire Department said it responded to the scene but didn’t transport anybody to the hospital.
3.
Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios, gave a “transformational gift” to the School of Cinematic Arts that’ll establish an endowment to fund the school’s largest program. Naturally, it’s now called the Kevin Feige Division of Film & Television Production.
4.
California voters approved Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature redistricting measure last night. The upshot? Thanks to Proposition 50, broad swaths of the state’s far north, Central Valley, and San Diego are expected to flip to Democrats next November, which could decide who controls the U.S. House.
5.
LA’s 20th-century movie palaces are all but gone. The towering, gothic theaters once drew massive downtown crowds — now, they house Urban Outfitters and Apple stores. SFGATE visited the theaters for a nostalgic, photo-heavy reflection of what moviegoing used to mean.
Correction: Yesterday, we linked to a story about the economic effects of ICE raids in Orange County. The USC researchers, in fact, did not calculate that figure themselves, and the number we cited refers to total projected losses across California — not Orange County specifically.