TODAY’S ESSENTIAL NEWS
» Light Dusting Of Snow Falls Near Hollywood Sign A rare blizzard warning will be in effect for Los Angeles County mountains from 4 a.m. Friday to 4 p.m. Saturday. National Weather Service forecasters said up to 5 feet of snow could accumulate in the mountains above 4,000 feet, accompanied by wind gusts topping 80 mph that will create “near zero visibility.” [ABC]
» California Bill Would Eventually Ban All Tobacco Sales Some California lawmakers want to eventually ban all tobacco sales in the nation’s most populous state, filing legislation to make it illegal to sell cigarettes and other products to anyone born after Jan. 1, 2007. If signed into law, it would mean by 2073 people wanting to buy cigarettes would have to show ID to prove they are at least 67 years old. [Fox]
» California Opens Civil Rights Investigation of Riverside County Sheriff’s Office California AG Bonta said he was troubled by reports that sheriff’s deputies were using excessive force and by Riverside County’s high rate of deaths in custody. “Too many families and communities in Riverside are hurting and looking for answers,” he said. State investigators will try to determine whether the Sheriff’s Office has shown a pattern or practice of unconstitutional or unlawful policing. The attorney general’s office has been conducting a similar investigation of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the largest in the nation, since January 2021. [L.A. Times]
» Drought-stricken California Reservoir Recovers Recent downpours in critically drought-stricken California have helped to replenish reservoirs, but scientists caution people to not get the wrong impression from images of areas with seemingly abundant amounts of water. A series of damaging winter storms from December 2022 into January provided some sorely needed resources for farmers, wildlife, and residents, who have faced among the lowest precipitation and lake levels since the 1970s. But it’s unlikely to reverse the region’s decades-long decline in water reserves that supplement surface sources used for irrigation and other purposes. [USAtoday]
» Shakira, Shakira Exhibit to Open at Grammy Museum in March 2023 Shakira’s most dazzling outfits, worn throughout her career spanning over three decades, will be on display. Set to open on March. 4, 2023, Shakira, Shakira will also include 40 artifacts from the pop star’s personal archives. [NBC]
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TOP STORIES FROM L.A. MAG
Following a series of storms and a forthcoming blizzard, California’s taxpayer-funded efforts to capture rainwater are underwhelming
The nonprofit’s headcount reduction adds to a fresh rash of media layoffs that came after large-scale cutbacks in tech
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ONE MORE THING
Julie Gigante, Patron Saint of the 110, and My First Love
You know who she is—the forest green dress, the curly hair, and the hint of a smile. Eight-stories tall.
The so-called Patron Saint of the 110, she’s located on the leftmost panel of the 1994 Kent Twitchell mural, Harbor Freeway Overture, which features members of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. The woman on the left—her arched brow, her gaze, her bow—is violinist Julie Gigante, who just retired at the end of 2022 after a 37-year career with the orchestra.
Gigante’s absence leaves an undeniable gap in the orchestra where she remains a beloved figure, Ben Cadwallader, LACO’s executive director since 2020, tells LAMag. “There’s no replacing her,” he adds.
