Home Care In Los Angeles, CA

Your ballot is overflowing with decisions you need to make. Some you’ve probably heard about — Karen Bass vs. Nithya Raman for L.A. mayor, Xavier Becerra vs. Steve Hilton for California governor, the controversial billionaire tax.

But there are also some more obscure races on the L.A. County ballot that are important as well. Here are seven to keep an eye out for.

Los Angeles County sheriff

This is a rematch between rivals for the job of running the Sheriff’s Department, which also oversees county jails.

L.A. County Charter Amendment A

This measure deals with labor negotiations for key public safety personnel in L.A. County.

Basics

Measure A is a charter amendment that would require binding arbitration between county government and negotiators representing sheriff’s deputies, firefighters, lifeguards and other public safety workers if contract talks reach an impasse and no compromise can be reached. It would alter the current last step, in which county supervisors can impose a final offer that these employees must accept — by law, public safety personnel cannot strike.

Impact

The initial phase of contract talks still would have union and county representatives seeking to hammer out a mutually beneficial deal, with a presumption that both sides would negotiate in good faith. But if a gap remains and an impasse ultimately is declared, the supervisors no longer would dictate the final offer. Instead, a three-member arbitration panel would be formed. The county and union each would select one member, with the sides together choosing the third person, who would serve as chair. If they can’t agree on the final panelist, a state entity could provide a list of qualified arbitrators to choose from. The arbitrators would focus on key employment elements such as wages and hours and would hold hearings and receive evidence from the parties. At the end of the process, a binding result would be issued and made public.

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L.A. County Charter Amendment E

This is a highly complicated measure that involves jail financing and seeks to clean up some bureaucratic muddles.

Basics

Jails: In 2020, 57% of county voters Measure J. This mandated that at least 10% of locally generated, unrestricted revenue be allocated to . The problem? Voters later approved the county reform effort Measure G, which had the unintended effect of repealing Measure J. Measure E would ensure that Measure J remains in effect.

Governance: Measure G also created, among other things, a county ethics commission and an ethics compliance office. Officials determined that for true independence, the commission and the compliance office must be permanently enshrined in the county charter.

Impact

Backers say Measure E would clean up those messy governmental issues.

L.A. County Superior Court judges

Voters will decide runoffs for four open judge seats:

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There are about 2,000 safety-net clinics in California that deliver primary care to underserved populations. Proposition 44 would set limits on how these federally qualified health centers spend their money.

The basics

Proposition 44 asks voters to require federally funded community health centers to spend at least 90% of their total annual revenue on “program services advancing their charitable purpose.”

The impact

If the proposition passes, the state attorney general will be responsible for determining what services fall into that category. If spending on administrative or non-healthcare functions exceeded 10% of total revenue, a clinic would have to pay a penalty equal to the amount it overspent.

Dig deeper

Proposition 44 was backed by the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, the same union that is pushing Proposition 40, the controversial billionaire tax. The union appears to be the main supporter of the proposal and says the restrictions would prevent excessive spending on executive salaries, fundraisers and other administrative expenses.

There is a diverse array of opponents, including the California Medical Assn., the California Teachers Assn., the Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, the state Democratic Party and the state Chamber of Commerce. They say the proposition’s vague wording could result in vital services being excluded from the list of program expenses permitted. A commissioned by the California Primary Care Assn. found that clinics could face up to $1.7 billion in collective penalties in the first year of the measure’s implementation.

More reading

What to know about Prop. 44 (L.A. Times)

An analysis of Prop. 44 (California Legislative Analyst’s Office)

More on the measure, spending (CalMatters)

Union involved in Prop. 44 faces questions (L.A. Times)

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For some, it’s a solution to ensure reliable water for millions of Californians while protecting fish and the environment. For others, it’s a travesty that will deprive the state’s rivers of vital water and push its declining native fish closer to extinction.

A controversial plan that dramatically changes how the state governs the pumping of water out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta — the heart of the state water system — was adopted by California regulators late Thursday after two days of debate involving more than 200 people.

The plan adopted by the five-member State Water Resources Control Board breaks from the traditional approach of requiring all water agencies to limit pumping to maintain required minimum levels of water in rivers and the estuary. Instead, it allows agencies the option of negotiated deals in which they commit to ensuring certain river flows for the environment and contribute funds for projects that restore habitat for fish in the Delta.

Dozens of local water agencies have signed these so-called voluntary agreements and have begun investing in projects to restore wetlands and floodplains along rivers. This approach, which state officials call the program, was endorsed by Gov. Gavin Newsom and supported by water agencies that serve farms and cities, as well as business groups.

“This is a paradigm shift,” California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot told the board during Thursday’s hearing. “This is the most durable, balanced way to meet the moment of what we have to do, which is restore environmental conditions in a way that protects water security for California communities.”

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which delivers water for 19 million people, also supported the for the Delta and San Francisco Bay.

Nina Hawk, the district’s chief of Bay-Delta resources, called it “a landmark achievement in moving towards collaborative, science-based decision making to provide reliable water for California’s people, businesses and wildlife.”

Environmental activists, fishing advocates and Native leaders strongly criticized the plan, saying it will allow cities and farms to take far too much water out of the Delta. They argued it will devastate threatened and endangered fish, including Chinook salmon, steelhead, green sturgeon, longfin smelt and Delta smelt.

Jon Rosenfield, science director of the nonprofit group San Francisco Baykeeper, called it “an extinction plan.”

Barry Nelson, of the Golden State Salmon Assn., called it “a scam” that will “make the Bay-Delta ecosystem worse, less healthy.”

Malissa Tayaba, vice chair of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, told the board members: “You are on the wrong side of history, and we will prevail.”

A large majority of those who spoke at the meeting in Sacramento opposed the voluntary agreements.

But the board voted 4-1 to adopt the plan.

Board Chair E. Joaquin Esquivel called it a “modernized regulatory approach” and a “generational shift that is long overdue in the way we manage the Bay-Delta.”

Board member Nichole Morgan, who grew up fishing in the Delta, cast the sole “no” vote.

The Delta provides water for nearly 30 million people and 4 million acres of farmland. As the state has relied heavily on its water, the ecosystem has suffered, and fish populations have declined. During droughts, algae blooms have turned waterways bright green.

State officials said it’s important to take a different approach as climate change on the state’s water system.

They said water agencies have committed under the agreements to carry out restoration work on about 20,000 acres of floodplain habitat as well as more than 5,000 acres of tidal wetlands. Agencies have pledged $2.9 billion under the program, and much of the funds will go toward restoring aquatic habitat for fish, officials said.

Although many water agencies support the plan, some have raised objections. The Trump administration, which manages one of the state’s two main water systems, said last month that the plan will shortchange farmers by restricting how much water is pumped. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said unless the plan is changed, it won’t participate. That puts in doubt hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding.

And Westlands Water District, the largest irrigation authority in the Central Valley, also said it plans to pull out of the program, arguing it abandons key parts of agreements negotiated with the state in 2022.

The update of the has been years in the making.

The last substantial changes to the plan date back to 1995 for much of the watershed. The update approved Thursday sets rules for the Sacramento River and the rest of the Delta, where pumps operated by state and federal agencies send water flowing in aqueducts to farms and cities.

The eight-year plan, which takes effect next year, calls for the board to review the efforts annually based on scientific analyses. If the more collaborative approach falters and a water agency fails to meet commitments, regulators still have the option of putting it back under the traditional regulations.

Environmental advocates criticized what they described as intended to help powerful water suppliers and farming companies.

Several speakers noted that while fish species are declining dramatically, about that’s diverted and pumped in California is used for agriculture, and vast quantities of almonds and pistachios are being shipped overseas.

The plan is aimed at “maintaining as much irrigated agriculture as possible,” Max Gomberg, of the nonprofit California Water Impact Network, told the board. “You are choosing personal ambition over professional integrity and subservience over leadership.”

The board’s members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate. Their endorsement of the Bay-Delta plan completes one of Newsom’s water policy priorities.

During his two terms, Newsom has also pushed for major new projects including the construction of a proposed beneath the Delta and northwest of Sacramento.

Some who spoke at the meeting criticized the Newsom administration over a recent to secure water from a Northern California farm to help fish and the environment, saying it was a bad deal for taxpayers.

Others said the state, by negotiating deals behind closed doors, had excluded Native tribes.

Esquivel pointed out that the plan recognizes tribes’ use of water and calls for a tribal advisory committee. He said, unlike in past years, the board has made sure to hear from tribal members.

But Emoni Durham, a Native student, took issue with that.

“You pump water out of the rivers to put in reservoirs so that these farmers have water in the desert,” she said. “You’re more concerned about politics than the livelihood of the tribal people who actually know how to take care of this land.”

At another point in the meeting, Esquivel told leaders of water agencies: “Your commitments are the fastest route to real gains in these rivers. Help us prove it.”

He said the measure of the plan’s success “will be how these rivers and our incredible estuary look in the years ahead.”

The Los Angeles Community College District is the largest community college district in the nation, serving 200,000 students with a budget of $10 million.

Voters will elect three members to the board.

Seat 2

Steven F. Veres

Veres is a member of the Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees and works as a state political adviser. He says he has worked to strengthen job training programs and improve graduation rates and wants to make college as affordable as possible.

Robert Payne

Payne taught at L.A. Mission College, worked on movie crews and ran an import business. He would focus on low enrollment growth. He also wants to make community colleges “cheaper, faster, better” in part by offering students more training for specific jobs and less expensive online textbooks.

Kristina Irwin

Irwin serves on the general advisory board at Santa Monica College. She previously served on the board of trustees at Palisades Charter High School. She wants to offer students more tools to succeed in college and to establish “preentry” programs in every local high school to better prepare students for community college.

Adriana Cabrera

Cabrera served as president of the Central Alameda Neighborhood Council and co-founded Empowering Youth in South Central. She wants to make student services easier to navigate and to strengthen financial aid and other support, including for food, housing, child care and mental health.

Roy Payan

Payan has suspended his campaign.

Seat 4

Nancy Pearlman

Pearlman is an environmentalist who served on the LACC Board of Trustees from 2001 to 2017 and taught part time at all nine colleges. She would focus on improving low enrollment while ensuring students are given the necessary support and resources to succeed. She also cites the need to make sure faculty receive equal pay.

Darryn Harris

Harris is a government and community affairs officer for St. John’s Community Health and teaches at Santa Monica College. Harris wants to tackle the affordability crisis blocking student achievement by building more low-cost housing on district land and making it “easier for students to get help with food, transportation, child care, and other basic needs.”

Adam Bruno

Bruno has worked as a therapist helping children and been a community college student. His main goals are to increase enrollment and make it easier for students to afford college. He’d explore student stipends as a way to make community college more affordable.

Elaine Alaniz

Alaniz serves as a public affairs specialist with the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience. She wants to better prepare students for a changing workforce and ensure classroom instruction “keeps pace with a rapidly changing workforce” in the age of artificial intelligence and other technologies.

Isidro J. Armenta

Armenta did not reply to The Times’ survey.

Priscilla Umana

Umana works as an American Sign Language interpreter. She says the district’s biggest challenge “is the high percentage of students experiencing housing insecurity, homelessness, and food insecurity.” She would work with the district to expand affordable housing, work-study opportunities and food aid.

Jason R. Aula

Aula has worked as a political campaign consultant and in the world of mobile apps. He considers fraud a major issue including people posing as community college students to steal financial aid. He proposed a moratorium on noncitizens attending district schools and a focus on pandemic learning loss.

Seat 6

Gabriel Buelna

Buelna serves on the board of trustees. He also is an attorney and teaches history and political science at Cal State Northridge. He said a key issue is making college more affordable to students and ensuring that they graduate. He also said the board must conduct strong fiscal oversight of the billions in voter-approved bond funds.

Tonia Arey

Arey has worked in real estate, public advocacy and community engagement. Arey would work to implement campus safety plans, support additional academic advising and career education and more closely “examine spending, contracts, program outcomes and administrative costs to ensure resources reach classrooms and directly support students.”

Randall Winston

Winston works as a licensed architect and attorney and serves as Los Angeles’ deputy mayor of infrastructure and climate resilience under Mayor Karen Bass. Winston’s priorities for the district include ensuring colleges are a pathway to opportunity and good jobs, that students can afford basic needs and people historically shut out of higher education are let in.

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Credit to Lincoln Riley. USC’s embattled football coach stood and stared directly at what could have been the death knell for his Trojans tenure and said: Not today.

Actually, he said more than that after his unranked Trojans upset No. 2 Ohio State, 30-18 on Saturday.

He had a whole statement prepared to read at the end of his postgame news conference.

“I got one other thing I want to say here,” said Riley, whose victory kept alive the Trojans’ hopes of making the College Football Playoff for the first time on his watch. “I want to make sure to articulate my thoughts.

“This program’s not built on internal joy — excuse me, is built on internal joy — not external applause. This win’s for all the staff members, the players, the leaders, admin, all the people within the walls.

“I said before this game, that I’m the right person for this job, and as long as all those people know that, that’s all I care about.

“I appreciate being a part of this university and all it does. I appreciate our kids and our staff, and I’m going to continue to fight on because that’s what being a Trojan’s all about. Fight On.”

Then he stood and punctuated his address: “Adios.”

The way USC dismantled a Buckeyes team that was considered one of the leading national championship contenders this zany college football season, Riley deserved to crow.

The way his team refused to let go of the rope — even with their head coach on the ropes, Riley deserved a victory lap.

It’s just that before sharing his statement, he didn’t seem all that interested in taking it.

He began his news conference looking, appropriately, to lend perspective to the victory — his first in his USC tenure against a top-10 team — in which the Trojans exploded on a Buckeyes team that hadn’t given up more than 24 points in a game since losing to Oregon 32-31 on Oct. 12, 2024.

“Every win’s important,” said Riley, whose overall record at USC in his fifth season is now 42-20. “When you get a chance, like tonight, to play a really good football team — one of the best programs in America over a long, long period of time — those are great opportunities.”

He gave deserved kudos to his team for staying together and responding after last week’s disappointing 24-7 loss at Wisconsin. And reiterated his usual message, win or lose: “I know what’s building within those walls. Like, I know it. All my years of experience and all that I’ve kind of seen and got to experience in this game tells me that. I believe that with every fiber in my being.”

Saturday’s victory won’t necessarily be good news for dissatisfied fans rooting for Riley’s ouster. But it was big for anyone partial to a good comeback story — and for those tenuous CFP prospects.

“I keep saying, look at all the craziness across the country,” Riley said. “The teams that just hang in there, keep going, get better, stay together, are going to be the ones that are there in the end.”

The Trojans could be one of those teams. They should be, in fact.

They have the talent, as we saw Saturday when previously injured freshmen Trent Mosley and Mark Bowman gashed a Buckeyes defense that hadn’t allowed a play longer than 36 yards all season with plays of 69 and 70 yards.

And they have the fortitude, as we witnessed when USC’s defense forced Ohio State to settle for a field goal after they had first and goal at the one-yard line late in the second quarter: “Grit play, a toughness deal. A mindset thing,” defensive tackle Alex VanSumeren said.

What made the Trojans’ previous losses so galling was the gauntlet ahead of them, starting with Ohio State.

Before, we wondered: If they couldn’t beat Oregon and its backup quarterback at home, how the heck were they going to beat Ohio State (and its understudy QB, Mission Viejo’s Luke Fahey)?

Earlier, we asked: If Wisconsin was going to force them into the worst offensive showing in the Riley era, what was defending national champion Indiana going to do to them?

And, of course: If they were just sneaking by struggling teams like Rutgers, Penn State and Washington, what chance was there that they could surprise still-undefeated UCLA?

But now, after Saturday’s sensational showing, we’ll spend next week’s bye and then the week ahead of their game in Bloomington against the Hoosiers — who escaped Saturday with a 23-16 overtime win over Minnesota — doing the math and wondering why can’t USC knock off another top-five team?

And if the Trojans can beat Indiana, why can’t they beat the 8-0 Bruins, who have been taking care of business against opponents who have no business beating them, like Nevada on Saturday, 27-0?

Because the Trojans haven’t folded. In fact, things went so well on this rainy Halloween evening — which ended with pirates and princesses and people in all varieties of costume celebrating on the field with the players — you might have started to wonder whether they had been bluffing.

Just like we assume Riley is bluffing whenever he talks about being able to block out “the noise.”

He might not want to worry himself with the “external applause,” but if he wants to fight on at USC, he’s going to need to continue earning it.