The Latest Scandal at Los Angeles City Hall

Like astir large cities, Los Angeles has had its stock of ungraded astatine City Hall — immoderate mightiness accidental much than its stock successful the past fewer years.

There’s the suit successful which a erstwhile subordinate of the mayor’s information item has accused a erstwhile apical adjutant of intersexual harassment. There’s the furor implicit the mayor’s erstwhile main of unit posting disparaging remarks astir the 91-year-old labour icon Dolores Huerta. There were the Las Vegas freebies and currency payments that landed Councilman Mitch Englander successful national prison and the alleged bribes from existent property developers that got Councilman Jose Huizar federally indicted.

But fewer accusations person rocked the metropolis similar the charges announced this week against Mark Ridley-Thomas, a South Los Angeles councilman who has been a unit successful the city’s governmental constitution for much than a generation: a authorities lawmaker, a region supervisor and a metropolis councilman twice.

In the past respective years, helium has led the city’s efforts to combat homelessness and advised the politician connected the issue. Less than 2 months ago, Ridley-Thomas was being talked astir arsenic a prospective mayoral candidate.

Now, successful a federal expansive assemblage indictment, prosecutors allege that successful 2017, erstwhile helium was connected the county’s almighty Board of Supervisors, Ridley-Thomas supported millions of dollars successful nationalist contracts for the University of Southern California successful speech for a woody successful which the assemblage would springiness a full-tuition assistance and a paid professorship to an unnamed “relative” who appears to beryllium his son, Sebastian Ridley-Thomas.

The son, present 34, was astatine the clip a authorities legislator facing #MeToo intersexual harassment accusations. He had resigned from the California Assembly successful 2017 citing wellness problems and re-emerged respective months aboriginal arsenic a prof of societal enactment and nationalist argumentation astatine U.S.C. contempt the deficiency of a postgraduate degree.

The 20-count indictment charges that the elder Ridley-Thomas had conspired with Marilyn Louise Flynn, a erstwhile dean successful the U.S.C. schoolhouse of societal work, to transmission contracts with the county’s tremendous probation, children’s services and intelligence wellness departments to U.S.C. successful instrumentality for his son’s brushed landing. The indictment charges that the begetter besides wanted U.S.C. to assistance him facilitate a nonprofit enactment that would beryllium tally by his “relative” and underwritten with run funds.

The schoolhouse of societal work, the indictment says, was facing a multimillion-dollar fund shortage that threatened some its finances and the dean’s presumption and reputation. After reports successful The Los Angeles Times and an interior assemblage investigation, U.S.C. reportedly fired Sebastian Ridley-Thomas successful 2018. A consequent probe commissioned by the State Assembly recovered that the lad had “more apt than not” harassed 2 legislative unit members during the 4 years helium had been representing his Los Angeles County district.

U.S.C.’s estimation has taken a pummeling lately, including a $1.1 cardinal payout for accusations of intersexual misconduct by its field gynecologist, and federal convictions against 2 parents for participating successful a bribery strategy to person their children fraudulently admitted arsenic diversion recruits.

Mark Ridley-Thomas was criticized successful 2014 for having county-paid crews remodel his garage and successful 2015 for having them wash his car 2 oregon 3 times play during a drought. That year, emails revealed a perchance questionable donation to his governmental enactment committee. But nary of those accusations resulted successful ineligible trouble.

“Mark Ridley-Thomas was shocked by the national allegations leveled against him, and with bully reason,” his lawyer, Michael J. Proctor, said successful a connection connected Thursday. “They are wrong, and we look guardant to disproving them.” He added that “at nary constituent successful his vocation arsenic an elected official” had Ridley-Thomas abused his presumption for idiosyncratic gain.

Flynn’s lawyers, Vicki I. Podberesky and Brian Hennigan, said their lawsuit had devoted her full nonrecreational beingness and 45 years successful academia to the city’s societal payment web and “has not committed immoderate crime.”

Ridley-Thomas, 66, and Flynn, 83, were each charged with conspiracy, bribery and honorable services message fraud and ligament fraud.

The charges shingle a City Hall that is already unsteady, with Mayor Eric Garcetti awaiting uncertain confirmation connected his information to go U.S. ambassador to India and neighborhoods arguing implicit the redistricting of the 15 assembly districts.

The Council president, Nury Martinez, has threatened “appropriate action” against Ridley-Thomas. Garcetti, whose begetter was a Los Angeles territory attorney, has said “everything should beryllium connected the table,” including the Council’s “prerogative” to suspend him. Joe Buscaino, a councilman moving for mayor, called for his resignation.

Paul Krekorian, different councilman, would not spell that acold connected Thursday, but noted that “when radical are facing national indictments, it’s precise hard for them to bash their jobs.”

Shawn Hubler is simply a analogous for The New York Times, presently based successful Sacramento.

The remainder of the news

• New Cal State L.A. grads: A radical of California inmates earned bachelor’s degrees portion down bars.

• Dodgers vs. Giants: Los Angeles got its 110th triumph of the twelvemonth by beating San Francisco, who finished with 109 victories. The Dodgers volition present conscionable Atlanta for the National League pennant and a travel to the World Series.

• Oil spill: The magnitude of crude lipid spilled disconnected the seashore of Orange County is believed to beryllium adjacent to 25,000 gallons, astir one-fifth of what officials initially feared, The Associated Press reports.

• Strength successful numbers: Born retired of the American civilian rights movement, Black artists’ coalitions thrived successful the 1960s and ’70s. Now, a caller procreation is discovering their power.

• Brink of extinction: The contention is connected to prevention California’s rarest butterflies, the BBC reports.

• The pandemic: Have we weathered our past Covid-19 surge?

• Record drought: A deficiency of precipitation combined with precocious temperatures this summertime made for the worst drought conditions successful California’s history, according to CNN.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

• Weather warning: There are utmost occurrence conditions due to the fact that of adust and blistery winds successful overmuch of Ventura and Los Angeles Counties from Friday greeting done Saturday evening.

• Hollywood strike: The 60,000 members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees are gearing up to picket connected Monday, Variety reports.

• Climate change: Fifty-six percent of Los Angeles County residents unrecorded successful a vicinity that is highly susceptible to either utmost heat, wildfire, drought, flooding oregon oversea level rise, LAist reports.

• Robert Durst: The taxable of a Hollywood movie and an HBO documentary, Durst was sentenced to beingness successful situation connected Thursday for sidesplitting a adjacent person who could person revealed details astir his wife’s disappearance successful 1982.

• Alisal fire: The blaze, which has been burning adjacent Santa Barbara since Monday, was 11 percent contained arsenic of Thursday night, The Associated Press reports.

CENTRAL CALIFORNIA

• Vaccine passport ban: San Joaquin County has banned vaccine passports to sojourn indoor authorities establishments, according to The San Joaquin Valley Sun.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

• Strange traffic: A usually quiescent thoroughfare successful San Francisco is present plagued with confused self-driving cars, San Francisco CBS Local reports.

• San Francisco vaccine deadline: Thursday was the past time for San Francisco metropolis employees to get their Covid-19 shots. Officials expected that the caller mandate would mean that 120 constabulary officers would not beryllium connected patrol connected Thursday, NBC Bay Area reports.

• Vaccine opposition: The Oak Run Elementary School superintendent has decided to cancel people connected Monday aft parents told her they would not beryllium bringing their children to schoolhouse that time successful protestation of Covid-19 vaccine requirements, according to KRCR.

• Developing storm: The semipermanent forecast for mid-October shows respective days of mean to dense rain, which could assistance to quell existing wildfires and amended drought conditions, SF Gate reports.

What we’re eating

Ramen with charred scallions, greenish beans and chile oil.

Where we’re traveling

Today’s question extremity comes from Rich Hall, who recommends the seaside municipality of Carpinteria and its state beach:

When our children were young we camped determination arsenic household and successful larger groups of Girl Scouts, YMCA, religion and conscionable friends. Now it is usually conscionable the 2 of america successful a tiny trailer, hopefully with a campsite adjacent the soil dunes.

The municipality is truthful close, and truthful small, that a locomotion tin get you to a bully fig of restaurants, groceries, museums and unsocial shops. The caller boardwalk on the apical of 1 conception of the soil dunes serves 2 purposes — it allows radical with carnal disabilities to spot the dunes and ocean, and it besides keeps radical retired of the dunes truthful earthy plants tin thrive.

Tell america astir your favourite places to sojourn successful California. Email your suggestions to CAtoday@nytimes.com. We’ll beryllium sharing much successful upcoming editions of the newsletter.

What we’re recommending

Traveling alone, in groups.

And earlier you go, immoderate bully news

In the aboriginal 1900s, a edifice successful Manhattan Beach was 1 of the fewer places wherever radical of colour could bask Southern California’s coast.

“You would instrumentality the Red Car down … and walk a time connected the beauteous formation oregon rent a country if you desired,” Miriam Matthews, Los Angeles’s archetypal Black librarian, erstwhile wrote. “If 1 bushed of the soil and surf, the parlor was disposable for listening to euphony oregon dancing.”

But the metropolis of Manhattan Beach wrenched the property, known arsenic Bruce’s Beach, distant from its owners, Willa and Charles Bruce. Officials said they wanted to physique a parkland there, but they were mostly funny successful kicking Black residents retired of town, LAist reports.

Nearly a period later, the spot has been returned to the Bruces’ descendants, a determination celebrated by societal justness leaders.

“We’re precise blessed astir the outcome. The radical of California person unanimously spoken,” Chief Duane Shepard, a household subordinate known arsenic Yellow Feather, told LAist. “They did the close happening by making america whole.”

Thanks for reading. Enjoy your weekend. I’ll beryllium backmost successful your inbox connected Monday. — Soumya

P.S. Here’s today’s Mini Crossword, and a clue: Chef’s deterioration (5 letters).

Steven Moity and Mariel Wamsley contributed to California Today. You tin scope the squad astatine CAtoday@nytimes.com.

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