Los Angeles, Ca
California bill to curb 'hate littering' signed into law
A bill to crack down on “hate littering” across California was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday.
Assembly Bill 3024, which was introduced by Asm. Chris Ward (D-San Diego), expands state civil rights protections against the dissemination of materials like flyers or pamphlets contain threatening speech with the intention of intimidating members of a protected class.
Also known as “hate littering,” this practice has become an increasing issue for neighborhoods throughout the Golden State, mirroring a wider nationwide surge in hate crimes based on race, religion or sexual orientation.
With the newly signed law, those targeted by hate littering will be able to seek civil damages from the individual behind the distribution of those materials. These protections go into effect immediately.
“The act of hate littering goes beyond what is intended in our First Amendment protections,” Ward said in a statement on Newsom’s signing of AB 3024.
“When hate groups are deliberately going into Jewish communities to leave anti-Semitic flyers on the doorsteps, vehicles and personal property of their victims to try to intimidate and harass them where they live, that’s not free speech,” Ward continued. “That’s attempting to turn neighbor against neighbor, and it makes the people these flyers are targeting afraid to be themselves and live their lives in their own neighborhood.”
AB 3024 builds off a landmark civil rights law in California, the Ralph Civil Rights Act of 1976. This law made it illegal to threaten or enact violence against an individual because of their actual or perceived characteristics like race, religion or sexual orientation.
The law was a direct response to intimidation tactics largely linked to white nationalist hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan, such as the burning or desecration of a cross outside someone’s home with the intent of threatening its owner.
Proponents of the AB 3024 argued it would make necessary updates to strengthen the protections laid out under California’s civil rights law by incorporating modern day hate-based groups’ strategies.
Critics, on the other hand, expressed concern the measure could lead to overly broad limitations of speech given the often anonymous nature of the practice.
Los Angeles, Ca
Palisades Fire in Los Angeles scorches 2,921 acres; many homes burned
Tens of thousands of residents in the western Los Angeles area remain under mandatory evacuation orders Wednesday morning after a wind-driven wildfire exploded in size Tuesday and swept through communities in the Pacific Palisades.
The Palisades Fire was first reported around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday in the 1100 block of North Piedra Morada Drive. By evening, the fire had exploded to more than 2,900 acres with no containment and was expected to keep spreading amid hurricane-force Santa Ana winds.
The latest CalFire updates can be found here.
There was no initial estimate for the number of structures damaged or destroyed. However, news footage showed dozens of homes and other structures ablaze.
Evacuations were ordered for the entire Palisades community down to the Pacific Ocean, according to CalFire. During a Tuesday afternoon press conference, officials said more than 10,000 homes in Pacific Palisades and Malibu were affected by the evacuation order. Evacuation warnings also extended into areas of Santa Monica and Calabasas.
An evacuation shelter for people and pets was established at the Westwood Recreation Center at 1350 S. Sepulveda Boulevard.
Dozens of Los Angeles County schools will be closed Wednesday due to the fire. A comprehensive list of closures can be found here.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Pacific Palisades is located about 10 miles from Malibu, where the Franklin Fire burned more than 4,000 acres and burned several homes after erupting during similar windy conditions in December.
Palisades Fire Resources: LAFD Alerts | CALFIRE Incident Page | LAFD on X
Los Angeles, Ca
Palisades Fire threatens Southern California cultural touchstone
As the more than 2,900-acre Palisades Fire rages, a Southern California cultural touchstone – the Getty Villa along Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades – is threatened.
In a statement, President and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust Katherine E. Fleming said the villa was swiftly closed Tuesday morning to non-emergency staff and irrigation was deployed throughout the grounds.
Fleming added that extensive measures to clear brush from the surrounding areas had taken place earlier in the year as part of the villa’s fire mitigation efforts, though some trees and vegetation on the grounds have burned.
“Museum galleries and library archives were sealed off from smoke by state-of-the-art air handling systems,” the statement noted and added that the double-walled construction of the galleries provides significant protection to the priceless collections housed in the museum.
Villa officials extended their gratitude for the tireless efforts of first responders.
“We, of course, are very concerned for our neighbors in the Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and the surrounding areas,” the statement adds.
Los Angeles, Ca
L.A. officials announce preparedness measures ahead of ‘most significant windstorm in more than a decade’
Wild weather – including rain, snow, high winds and dangerous fire conditions – is how Southern California is starting 2025, and officials in the L.A. are taking no chances ahead of the adverse conditions.
The National Weather Service has described the windstorm hitting SoCal as “life-threatening,” “extreme” and “destructive,” and snow flurries were seen Tuesday morning in mountain communities; further inland, rain showers caused slick roadways.
In L.A., Mayor Karen Bass announced Tuesday morning that the city has activated its Emergency Operations Center to a Level 2 to ensure the safety of all Angelenos.
“Parts of the Los Angeles region will potentially face one of the most significant windstorms in more than a decade, and I urge Angelenos to continue monitoring the storm and stay vigilant and safe,” Mayor Bass said in a statement. “Power outages as a result of downed power lines, increased fire risk and falling trees and debris should be expected during this time and the impacts and dangers of a windstorm should be taken seriously.”
The mayor’s office released a list of resources and helpful information for residents to use during the windstorm:
- Reporting and tracking power outages: Visit www.ladwp.com/outages or call 1-800-DIAL-DWP (1-800-342-5397)
- Reporting blocked roadways: Service can be requested through www.lacity.gov/myla311 or by calling 311; Angelenos are also encouraged to download the MyLA311 mobile app
- Red Flag Warning updates: Check www.lafd.org/redflag for the latest updates; Red Flag parking restrictions have been in place since 8 a.m. Tuesday and are set to last until further notice
- Outage updates: LADWP will regularly update their X page to inform residents of power outages
- Weather updates: Click here for the hyperlocal forecast for your community, or visit the National Weather Service for the regional forecast
- In case of emergency: Dial 911
In addition to downing trees and causing power outages throughout the region early Tuesday morning, the dangerously high winds are already fueling brush fires in the area, including one that erupted and was later contained in the Santa Ana Riverbed in Colton around 5 a.m.
A much larger and more rapidly spreading vegetation fire broke out around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday in L.A.’s upscale Pacific Palisades neighborhood. By noon, area residents were being told to prepare to evacuate as it spread to over 200 acres in about an hour.
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