Weinstein gets 16 years for LA sex crimes

Good morning. Snow in Downtown Los Angeles would be quite the sight, but it seems like that’s probably not going to happen; check out the LA Times’ map of where snow’s expected to fall this weekend.

And now, onto the five USC, LA and California stories you need to know for today.

Former Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 16 years in prison for committing sex crimes in LA County. Weinstein will serve the new sentence on top of a 23-year term stemming from a New York conviction in 2020, more or less ensuring that the 70-year-old will remain behind bars for the rest of his life.

Lauren Herstik / The New York Times

The LA Metro is looking to increase the number of security officers in its system after a staggering rise in deaths and crime. Already, 21 people have died on Metro trains and buses this year — as many as who died in all of 2022 — one stemming from a homicide, the rest from overdoses. Reported drug use and sales spiked nearly 100% last year, and serious crimes, including aggravated assaults, rose 24%.

Rachel Uranga / Los Angeles Times

California’s community college system named Sonya Christian to serve as its first female chancellor. Christian, currently chancellor of the Kern Community College District, will also be the first person of South Asian descent to head the 116-campus system that serves 1.8 million students — the nation’s largest system of higher education — come June.

Michael Burke / EdSource

State Attorney General Rob Bonta launched an investigation into the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department after a “disturbing” rise in deaths in the county jail system. Twenty inmates have died in Riverside jails since January 2022, outpacing other comparable county jail systems. Sheriff Chad Bianco described the move as being politically motivated.

Christopher Damien / Desert Sun

A group of Stanford professors is railing against a university system that allows students to anonymously report classmates who exhibit discrimination or bias, arguing that it erodes free speech. The university maintains that the system is meant to help students “get along with one another,” while the group of professors likened it to McCarthyism and the East German government encouraging citizens to inform on their neighbors.

Douglas Belkin / The Wall Street Journal

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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