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California officials say they’ll sue after President Trump signed an executive order to restart drilling at a Santa Barbara oil pipeline that’s been shut down since a 2015 spill. Los Angeles Unified labor groups will rally in downtown L.A. Wednesday to push the school district for new contracts as negotiations continue to stall. South Pasadena residents fight “flock” surveillance cameras installed around the city. Plus, more.
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and Moreno Valley. Today on the LA Report, Trump orders California coastal drilling to resume.
State officials say they'll fight it, and South Pasadena has dozens of surveillance cameras
installed around town that track the cars. Some residents aren't happy about it.
Hey, you know, as people become aware of this, they say, just no longer a secret. Let's get them out.
It's Sunday, March 15. I'm Robert Garova in for Josie Long. That's coming up on the
weekend edition of the LA Report from LAest89.3, but first, here's the latest news.
President Trump has given the Green Light to restart offshore drilling at a Santa Barbara oil
pipeline that's been shut down since the damaging oil spill in 2015. That came in an executive
order issued Friday by the President to get around court rulings. Last month, the Santa
Barbara County Superior Court judge ordered the pipeline to remain shut down after an earlier
attempt from federal officials to restart drilling. Governor Gavin Newsom says the move defies
state oversight and the state will sue. And average life expectancy fell in LA County over the
past decade. That was especially true in poor neighborhoods. That's according to a report out
recently from the research group Measure of America. The average life expectancy is 80 and a half
down from 82 in the group's previous report. Kristen Lewis directs the research group.
The areas that we're already doing well are doing better. Groups that we're already making
the most money say or places that we're already on the most affluent, they tended to gain the most
ground. Lewis says she hopes local officials and community organizations use the report to guide
planning, programming, and investment decisions. Some of Los Angeles Unified's largest labor
groups will rally in downtown LA this Wednesday as they push the school district for new contracts.
Negotiations with the unions that represent teachers and school support staff have been
stalled for months. Members of both unions voted overwhelmingly in January to give their leaders
the power to call a strike. Their last such walkout shut down schools for three days in 2023.
And the LA City Council voted 12-0 on Friday to approve a largely symbolic resolution on the
controversial chairman of the LA 28 Olympic organizing team. Casey Wasserman is facing calls to
step down because of past emails with Epstein associate Galein Maxwell. The motion doesn't
demand his resignation, but calls for a thorough and transparent review of his involvement in Epstein
matters. Wasserman has the backing of the LA 28 committee and has said his connection to Maxwell
was long before her crimes came to light. And Hollywood's biggest night goes beyond your living room
this weekend. Plenty of local venues are hosting Oscars watch parties. Danielle Martinez tells us more.
West LA bar Dusty vinyl is bringing 1970s Brazil to Los Angeles for their Brazilian Oscars watch
party celebrating nominee the secret agent. And just steps away from the actual award ceremony,
the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel will be holding a lavish four-course dinner and viewing.
Looking for something more low key? All four 33 tap sports bar locations in LA will be
screening the awards. And if you'd like a challenge with your viewing, trivia is being held
before the show at the Forge and Cypress Park. For the full list of watch parties, check out
LAS.com, Danielle Martinez, LAS News. Some so-called residents aren't happy about the surveillance
cameras around their town more after this break.
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You're listening to the Weekend Edition of the LA Report. I'm Robert Grova in for Joseph Long.
South Pasadena has more than two dozen cameras installed around town that track the cars
that come and go. They're part of a national camera network run by the controversial surveillance
company Flock Safety. And some residents want them gone. Libby Rainy reports.
The camera is attached to a street pole on Fair Oaks Avenue, a busy thoroughfare in South Pasadena.
It's pretty easy to miss, save a small solar panel installed above it. But it's tracking every
car that passes by. Once you know what it is that you're looking for, you kind of can't really
unsee them. That's Sam Gurley, who's been pushing city officials to end their contracts with Flock
after reports that camera data had been accessed by ICE. Gurley says he's been talking to his
neighbors and many didn't even realize that there were 27 cameras installed in their community.
You know, once people start to realize these are in town, people don't really want them, right?
So I think a big part of what we're trying to do is to say, hey, you know, as people become aware
of this, they say, this is no longer a secret. Let's get them out. The Flock cameras are
automated license plate readers. They collect license plate numbers, the Macon model of cars,
and the time, date, and location of each car that passes. That information is temporarily stored
in a database that's shared with law enforcement agencies across the state. Police departments say
it's helped them solve crimes. South Pas has had the cameras since 2022, but its city council is now
taking a deeper look at its contracts after reports that some local law enforcement agencies in
Southern California illegally shared Flock data with federal immigration agents. Those included
the Riverside County Sheriff's Office, which South Pasadena shares its data with.
Here's South Pas mayor Sheila Rossi who said the city is looking at cancelling at least one of
its contracts with Flock. Cities have a responsibility to make sure the safeguard is around these tools
keep pace so we can support public safety while maintaining the trust of the community. So
trust the community, I think, is a really big issue. South Pasadena is not alone.
Other cities have been reconsidering or severing their ties with Flock over concerns about how
their data could be used in the federal government's mass deportation campaign. Santa Cruz killed its
contract with Flock following reports that the city's data was shared with ice. The Oxnard police
department also suspended its use of Flock cameras after an audit revealed that its data was made
available to federal law enforcement agencies against the city's wishes and state law. Flock has
apologized for the incident and says it has since added additional safeguards. Here's company
spokesperson Holly Baylin. Flock actually has instituted the compliance mechanisms that ensure
that every community can use their Flock technology completely in compliance with each state
specific law. She also said that Flock does not have a contract with ice. Nick Hidalgo is an
attorney who works on surveillance technology in the Bay area for the ACLU. He said even if the data
doesn't get shared outside of California, residents should be concerned about automated license
plate readers. What they are collecting is a person's location, right? Because any like license
plate information can be connected very easily to a driver and you can capture a ton of information
about it where a person lives, works, etc. So really we're talking about like truly sensitive
information here. In South Pasadena, the city council will discuss whether or not to cancel a Flock
contract this week. They're also considering other safeguards like limiting how long it keeps
data for. Susan Seeger is a first amendment lawyer and a South Pasadena resident and she said she
wants the cameras gone period. I think what's hard is I and a lot of people don't trust the federal
government that they're going after people who just engage in first amendment protected descend.
So I don't trust Flock and I don't trust our federal government and I want to be able to trust
our local police department. For now, every time you exit the 110 on Faroaks Avenue and head south,
your car will be documented by Flock. Libby Rainey, LAS News.
Thanks for listening to the Weekend Edition of the LA Report. The Weekend LA Report is hosted by
me this week Robert Garova and produced by Danielle Martinez. Our engineer is Sean Cory Campbell.
The podcast is edited by Fiona Aing. Catherine Mailhouse is the director of content development.
Join us back here tomorrow. You can read more at LAS.com and listen live on the LAS app or on the
radio at 89.3 FN.
LAS studios operates within the homelands of the Gabrieleño Tongva people. We recognize the
painful history of displacement, settler colonialism, and a ratio of the people, their language,
and their sovereignty. Visit LAS.com slash land for more information. We encourage you to get
curious about the land on which you live and work. LAS and the Moth are joining forces for a new
live show and you have two chances to see it. Come see the globally beloved storytelling institution
live on stage in downtown LA at the Orphium Theatre and in Orange County at the Irvine Barclay
Theatre. The Moth main stage shows are on Wednesday April 15 in LA and Thursday April 16 in Orange
County. That's two chances to experience the Moth Live. Get tickets now at LAS.com slash events.
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