Your utilities could get cheaper
Tomo Chien
March 29, 2024
Good morning. It’s Friday, and I’m looking at photos of opening day at Dodger Stadium. Onto the five USC, Los Angeles and California stories you need to know for today.
1.
A new state proposal could make your electricity bills cheaper. Right now, the pricing structure is straightforward: The more power you use, the more you pay. But that means some people get stuck with soaring bills in the summer when they have no choice but to crank up the AC. The new model would set a base fee of $24 every month, but offset that fixed cost with a much lower rate per kilowatt hour of electricity. That could save people in the hottest parts of the state up to $33 a month in the summer, but increase bills for people in more temperate climates.
2.
USC unveiled its new Dramatic Arts Building in a ribbon-cutting ceremony yesterday. The facility is a renovation of one of the oldest buildings on campus — which used to be the United University Church — that preserves its historic Romanesque Revival-style exterior. The building sits across the street from the Thornton School of Music on the northernmost block of campus and features two theaters, rehearsal rooms, a media space with a green screen, vocal practice rooms and a professional development center.
3.
South LA is bracing for rising food prices next week, when California’s new $20 fast-food minimum wage takes effect. Roughly 4 in 10 South LA residents have limited access to affordable and healthy food because they don’t live near a grocery store, which leaves fast food to fill the gaps in daily nutrition. But restaurants say they plan to hike menu prices next week to offset the cost of the new minimum wage, which will leave people in one of the region’s poorest communities paying more to eat.
4.
Two people were killed in Jefferson Park when a sedan traveling at 100 mph smashed into a parked UPS truck, possibly sending itself airborne before colliding with several other vehicles. The two victims were passengers in the sedan, and the driver attempted to flee the scene but was run down by several good Samaritans. Police said the driver could face murder charges — particularly because he may have been under the influence of narcotics. The crash adds to a trend of rising traffic fatalities in the city.
5.
Skiing in California has gotten a lot more dangerous. Ski-related emergency room visits soared by 50% between 2016 and 2022, while the number of people on the slopes remained essentially unchanged: suggesting there’s some new factor causing the accidents. Former ski patrollers and hospital staff blamed a growing culture of debauchery — drinking, taking drugs and filming social media content — on the slopes for the noticeably worse accidents. “People are just checked out,” one nurse said.
