Gov. Newsom declares state of emergency in Rancho Palos Verdes; Huntington Beach considers...

support for laist comes from Pasadena Playhouse presenting Siro de bersak immerse yourself in the romantic adventure of the Timeless and heart-rending love story of serota bersak performances begin September 4th tickets on sale now at Pasadena playhouse.org hi this is Larry mantle and I'm Desmond mantle and we have a podcast passing the mantle I grew up listening to my dad host air talk and now I get to join him we'll talk about many issues from our different Generations listen to passing the mantle wherever you listen to podcasts [Music] today on the LA report the governor declares a state of emergency in Rancho Palos vings as severe land movement makes life harder for residents the first city in Orange County votes tonight on whether to call for embattled supervisor Andrew doe to resign and our Civics and democracy correspondent Frank stz explains a measure on the November ballad for l City voters creating a redistricting [Music] commission it's Tuesday September 3rd I'm Julia pasin and this is the LA report from laist 89.3 Governor Gavin Newsome declared a state of emergency today in the city of ranch opalos veres say land movement in the city continues to accelerate with nearly 250 homes in the area without power or facing power shut offs ranchel Palos veres Mayor John krook shank says residents remain resilient in the face of this land movement in the peninsula they are taking it upon themselves to go get generators and to do the things necessary to stay in their homes but certainly there are other senior citizens in that we have about 25% of our population are seniors and they're worried they're worried about their their safety in their homes the mayor says he's looking into off-grid solutions for residents who have lost power and Surf City may be the first city in Orange County to call for supervisor Andrew doe to step down Huntington Beach is set to vote tonight on whether to call for Doe's resignation it is a symbolic gesture but it adds to Growing calls for the supervisor to resign do is at the center of an unfolding Scandal involving millions and taxpayer funds that are unaccounted for and a mountain lion attacked a young boy in Malibu Creek State Park over the weekend McKenna cson has details a Woodland Hills family was having a picnic when the lion attacked the 5-year-old boy his father pushed the animal away the child is now recovering with non-life-threatening injuries Wildlife officials say while the incident is unnerving it's still exceedingly rare people should be prepared to run into Lions coyotes and bears and SoCal so keep small children and animals within Arms Reach and don't be afraid to get loud and big you're trying to scare them away for laist I'm Makena seon the mountain lion was euthanized at the park shortly after coming up in a moment a measure before La voters in November would create redistricting commission for the city Frank staltz explains what's being asked on that ballot support for laist comes from Pasadena Playhouse presenting Siro de bersak experience this critically acclaimed adaptation of one of the greatest plays ever written modern poetry and sizzling Rhythm Collide in a scorching love triangle when Sero discovers the love of his life has eyes for another man see the scorching Love Story come to life on stage at Pasadena Playhouse running September 4th through the 29th tickets are on sale now at Pasadena playhouse.org laist and show and tell present an evening with David sederes the humorist comedian author and radio contributor will take the stage at the United theater on Broadway to share insights read from both published and unpublished work and host a live Q&A with the audience followed by a book signing it's Saturday November 16th at the United theater tickets and information at las.com events [Music] welcome back to the LA report I'm Julia pasin in November LA City voters will decide on a ballot measure that would create an independent redistricting commission the measure could shake up the power structure at City Hall for a closer look we turn to La Civics and democracy correspondent Frank staltz Frank thanks for being with us uh redistricting can be a big scary word so first what is this redistricting commission well it's the commission that draws the political boundar for city council districts every 10 years in the past the commission was controlled by the city council so council members Drew their own districts usually to keep themselves in power the ballot proposal would create an independent Commission of community members to decide Council District boundaries why are we seeing this proposal right now well this is a direct result of the secret City Hall tapes that surfaced nearly two years ago those tapes you'll remember Julia included three members of the city council and the head of the LA County labor Federation plotting how to maintain their own power through the redistricting process the idea of the independent city redistricting commission has been around for a while the county and state have their own independent panels but the fure over the tapes Force City politicians to consider it and now they've put it on the ballot so would we see a big change in the city council districts if voters approve the independent redistricting measure I asked that question of Pomona College political science Professor Sarah dwani she served on the state's independent redistricting commission the way people Define their neighborhoods might be very different than how politicians have defined them in the past so it's entirely possible that these Maps could be radically different at the same time Julia one of the legal requirements for redistricting is that a commission preserve the core of previous districts there are actually a lot of requirements the two most familiar are probably the requirements to keep communities of Interest together the other is to not draw lines based on race or ethnicity uh that doesn't mean you cannot consider race at all in drawing lines and this has always been one of the most contentious issues in a city as diverse as La yeah there are concerns about diminishing black political power how would creating an independent redistricting commission impact that well right now black people make up about 8% of the City's population but hold 20% of the city council seats contrast that with Latinos making up about half the city and holding about a third of the seats now there are a lot of reasons for that voter participation being one of them but I talked to Rafe sunin shine about it he is the executive director of the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes foundation and he studies La politics he said it's unclear whether an independent redistricting panel would draw lines that would end up reducing the number of black people elected to the council people will certainly be talking about and advocating about and ethnic representation and that'll be a part of the debate it won't be the whole debate in join the lines but it'll be part of it at the same time it's pretty clear Julia that the number of black people on the 15 member city council will drop from 3 to two not because of redistricting but because uh city council member current price is termed out of office next year and Price's district is more than three quarters Latino so he'll likely be replaced by a Latino candidate one other note I should point out that said you know it's hard to talk about diminishing black political power in La when we have a mayor who is black and an incoming city council president who is Black those are two of the most powerful positions in the city that's laest Civics and democracy correspondent Frank staltz Frank thanks so much thanks Julia and finally Dodger star sh Otani is on his way to maybe founding the 50/50 Club meaning 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season Otani is nearly there with 44 homers and 4 six stolen bases and we'll see if he gets any closer today in Anaheim that's when the Dodgers will play the angels for a Freeway Series opener this will also be the first time that Otani will be back in Angels stadium in an official game since leaving the angels to join the boys in blue first pitch is at [Music] 6:38 thanks for listening to the LA report on Julia pasin this podcast is produced by liby Rainey and Tiffany ug with support from Daniel Martinez today's engineer is hm bosan check back here tomorrow morning for the am Edition and you can read more at las.com listen live anytime on the LA staff or on the radio at 89.3 FM listeners like you help make the LA report possible so please donate at l.com [Applause] jooin the LA report is supported by Gordon and Donna Crawford who believe quality journalism makes southern California a better place to live from a healthy salad to a tasty steak and even the delicious dessert you just can't wait to have at the end of your meal climate change affects every bite you take I'm Gob chabran laist food and culture editor join me at the Crawford and Pasadena on September 12th as we explore the intersection between food and climate at a new live event including a baking demo with Tasty Bites tickets at l.com events