Local – 1man1vote

Keeping Los Angeles Moving in 2028

Keeping Los Angeles Moving in 2028
By Charles Jackson
Political campaigns have a way of commanding our attention. But once the speeches end, the work of preparing our communities for what comes next continues. For Los Angeles, one of the biggest responsibilities ahead is welcoming the world to the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
That responsibility reaches well beyond stadiums, ceremonies and athletic competition. It includes something ev dangerous and 11 ery working family understands: getting people where they need to go, safely and on time.
Transportation will be central to the experience. Visitors will need help navigating an unfamiliar region. Employees will need dependable transportation to their jobs. And residents of Los Angeles and surrounding communities will still need to reach schools, medical appointments, grocery stores and home.
Metro’s plans call for a temporary Games Enhanced Transit Service to supplement the existing transportation network. The proposed service would connect venues with transit stations and park-and-ride locations, using accessible buses to accommodate spectators and workers. Metro estimates the Games could generate approximately 1 million additional trips each day.

Behind those plans are people.
Bus operators, mechanics, dispatchers, supervisors and maintenance crews will help determine whether an ambitious transportation plan becomes a dependable daily service. Their work may receive less attention than the opening ceremony, but it will shape how people remember their visit.
That is where the role of organized labor deserves thoughtful attention.
The people chosen to represent transportation workers carry responsibilities that extend beyond internal union business. They must listen to their members, communicate workplace concerns and work through practical questions involving staffing, training, scheduling and safety.
Those responsibilities deserve consideration without turning every discussion into a political confrontation. The focus should remain on the quality of representation and the ability to help workers do their jobs effectively.
For Olympic preparations, that means making room for the experience of people who already operate and maintain the system. A driver understands what happens when traffic overwhelms a schedule. A mechanic knows the demands placed on equipment. A dispatcher sees how one disruption can affect service across several routes.
Their knowledge belongs in the planning process.
Safety must also be more than a promise. It should guide decisions about working conditions, passenger assistance, vehicle readiness and coordination when something goes wrong. Visitors unfamiliar with Los Angeles will need clear directions and patient guidance. Regular riders will need confidence that their everyday transportation needs still matter.
There are substantial decisions ahead. In an October planning update, Metro identified funding certainty as essential to maintaining schedules and advancing Games transportation projects. Preparation remains an ongoing responsibility, with resources and coordination still requiring attention.
The Olympics offer Los Angeles an opportunity to demonstrate what cooperation can accomplish. Public agencies, organizers, labor representatives and workers each have a part in that effort.
When the world arrives in 2028, most passengers will know little about the meetings, negotiations or leadership decisions that helped prepare their ride.
They will know whether the bus arrived, whether they felt safe and whether someone helped them reach their destination.
That is a responsibility worth getting right.

The Lemon Experience

By Charles Jackson

My car is a 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe with the 2.4-liter GDI engine — the standard engine in the lower trims, the SE, SEL, and regular Limited. GDI stands for Gasoline Direct Injection: instead of mixing fuel with air before it enters the cylinder, the injectors spray fuel straight into the cylinder at very high pressure. It’s efficient on paper. In my driveway, it has been something else.

The engine also has Hyundai’s Idle Stop & Go system. Hold the brake at a light and the engine shuts off completely; lift your foot and it restarts. A few months back I started turning that system off by hand every trip — and my check engine light, a regular visitor before, hasn’t come on in about a month. I can’t prove the connection, but here’s a likely piece of it: this engine’s valve timing runs on oil pressure, and my car doesn’t hold onto its oil.

That’s the real problem. I have to add oil every 7 to 10 days, depending on how much I’m driving. At roughly 44 miles a day on my school runs, that’s a top-up every 300 to 450 miles. Hyundai’s own yardstick says burning more than about a quart per 1,000 miles is excessive. By that measure, my engine is burning oil at two to three times the rate Hyundai itself calls too much.

I’m not an isolated case, either. The 2020 Santa Fe is named in a Hyundai/Kia oil-consumption class action covering 2015–2021 Santa Fes, and the federal safety database is full of owners describing the same story: oil dropping below the low mark every few hundred miles, then stalling, low oil pressure, metal shavings in the pan, and engines failing outright from worn bearings. Oil starvation is what turns my problem into a dead engine, so I keep feeding it oil I shouldn’t have to buy.

Then there’s the other side of this — the waiting game. While my car sat in the shop, I was in rental cars, and it wasn’t accumulating miles because it wasn’t being driven at all. Meanwhile, the legal clocks kept ticking. California’s lemon law deadlines are measured in time, not in how the car was treated, and the recent AB 1755 changes shortened the window further: a claim now has to be filed within a year after the warranty expires, and no later than six years after the car was delivered. Every month spent “waiting on repairs” is a month off the owner’s clock. Whether it’s anybody’s plan or not, delay works in the manufacturer’s favor and against the person still making payments on a car that burns oil.

So here’s where I stand: still driving it, still topping it off, ISG off, and now keeping a written log — date, odometer, and how much oil went in, every time, receipts saved. “It burns a lot of oil” is an opinion. A quarts-per-mile figure is evidence. If you’re driving one of these engines and feeding it oil between changes, I’d suggest you start the same log. The clock is running either way.

Biting The Hands That Feed On You

Biting The Hands That Feed On You

Inglewood’s Battle of the Billboards: What Does It All Mean?

By Charles Jackson INGLEWOOD, Calif.

— If political signs could talk, Inglewood would be arguing with itself.

Drive around town and there they are: YES on BB. NO on BB. Signs warning about billboard blight. Signs warning about billionaires. Signs supporting candidates, opposing candidates and, in one of the better ironies of election season, signs complaining about signs.

Turn on the radio, television or social media and the argument follows you home.

At some point, voters might reasonably ask a simple question: What exactly are we fighting about?

Measure BB, on Inglewood’s Nov. 3 ballot, is officially called the “Ordinance to Eliminate Advertising on Public Right-of-Way.” It would eliminate the city’s authority to permit most commercial advertising on public streets, sidewalks and certain other public property.

That sounds straightforward.

The campaign surrounding it is anything but.

Supporters of BB argue that Inglewood has become saturated with digital advertising and that public streets and sidewalks shouldn’t become an expanding commercial advertising network.

Opponents argue that those advertisements generate millions of dollars for the city and that eliminating them would punch a sizable hole in city revenue.

Both are arguments worth hearing.

But then comes the part voters should pay particular attention to: Who is paying to make those arguments?

The Yes on BB campaign is backed by interests connected to Inglewood’s major sports and entertainment venues. The opposition campaign has received substantial backing from WOW Media, the billboard company with an advertising agreement with the city. Campaign finance reporting has shown millions of dollars flowing into the competing campaigns.

So this isn’t simply Mrs. Johnson down the street complaining that a digital billboard is shining through her bedroom window.

There are some serious financial interests at the table.

And everybody, naturally, says they are protecting Inglewood.

Imagine that.

City estimates cited in news reports indicate billboard agreements have produced millions of dollars annually for Inglewood, with officials estimating Measure BB could eliminate roughly $6 million to $8 million in current annual revenue.

That’s real money.

But residents who dislike the proliferation of digital advertising have a point, too. The question isn’t merely whether advertising produces revenue. It’s also how much advertising residents want occupying public space and whether the financial benefit justifies it.

Then things get even more interesting.

Some of the stadium interests supporting restrictions on public-right-of-way advertising have advertising displays of their own on private venue property. Opponents have seized upon that distinction, arguing that BB restricts one category of advertising while leaving another largely untouched.

Now we’re getting somewhere.

The argument isn’t simply billboards versus no billboards.

It’s also about whose billboards, where they’re located, who controls them and who collects the money.

And if that weren’t enough, Measure AT adds another layer to the political stew. That measure concerns admissions-tax revenue from major Inglewood venues, including SoFi Stadium and Intuit Dome. WOW Media has participated financially in the campaign surrounding that measure as well.

So the billboard company has interests in a fight involving stadium revenue, while stadium interests have interests in a fight involving billboard revenue.

Everybody got that?

Neither did I the first time around.

That’s precisely why voters should be cautious about allowing campaign slogans to substitute for reading the measures themselves.

A resident can dislike giant digital billboards without automatically accepting everything stadium interests say.

A resident can appreciate the millions of dollars those billboards bring into city coffers without automatically accepting everything the billboard industry says.

And residents can support Inglewood’s economic development while still asking whether City Hall, corporations and private developers are making arrangements that adequately benefit the people who actually live here.

Those ideas can coexist.

Unfortunately, campaign season doesn’t leave much room on a lawn sign for nuance.

Instead, voters get blight, bailout, billionaires, revenue and fair share — preferably printed in letters large enough to read while waiting for the light to change.

The messaging has become so loud that the underlying question is getting harder to hear.

So perhaps the most useful thing Inglewood voters can do between now and Nov. 3 is something considerably less exciting than planting another sign.

Read Measure BB. Read the arguments supporting it. Read the opposition. Read the financial disclosures. And whenever somebody spends a small fortune telling you which side is supposedly protecting you, take another minute and find out who’s paying them.

Because after all the billboards, commercials, mailers and yard signs disappear, Inglewood residents will still be here.

And we’re the ones who have to live with what the fine print actually says.

A Lifeline for South Los Angeles:

A Lifeline for South Los Angeles: Kaiser Permanente Invests in MLK Community Hospital

By Charles Jackson

In South Los Angeles, where access to timely medical care can mean the difference between recovery and tragedy, two respected health care institutions are joining forces to strengthen a hospital that has become indispensable to the community.

Kaiser Permanente announced Aug. 11 that it will provide a $25 million grant to Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital, along with the use of a modular medical building valued at $7 million. Together, the commitments represent an investment of up to $32 million in expanded emergency care for South Los Angeles.

The partnership is worth celebrating—not simply because of the dollar amount, but because it responds directly to a critical and growing need.

MLK Community Hospital opened in 2015 as a private, nonprofit, 131-bed acute-care facility. Its Hope Emergency Center was designed with as many as 29 treatment bays and an anticipated capacity of approximately 25,000 visits annually. Today, it handles about 125,000 visits a year—five times the number it was originally designed to accommodate.

That extraordinary demand has forced the hospital to triage and sometimes treat patients in temporary tents erected in its parking lot. Kaiser Permanente’s investment will help fund a permanent expansion of the emergency department while providing temporary modular treatment space so patients can continue receiving care during construction.

The numbers tell only part of the story.

As a technician, I have installed and serviced medical equipment at both MLK Community Hospital and Kaiser Permanente facilities. I have seen firsthand that a hospital is much more than a building with beds. It is a complicated, carefully coordinated network of medical professionals, technology, equipment and support systems—all of which must function properly when a patient arrives in distress.

A monitor, imaging system or other medical device may look like another piece of machinery to an outside observer. To a doctor, nurse or patient, however, that equipment can provide the information needed to make an urgent decision. Technology, physical capacity and skilled medical personnel must work together. When any part of that system is stretched too thin, the consequences can affect an entire community.

I am also a longtime Kaiser Permanente member. From that perspective, this partnership demonstrates an important understanding of what community health should mean. Kaiser is investing beyond the walls of its own hospitals and medical offices to reinforce another institution serving people with some of the greatest health care needs in Los Angeles County.

Approximately 80% of MLK Community Hospital’s patients are covered by Medi-Cal. Nearly 95% of its emergency department visits involve people insured through Medi-Cal or Medicare, or patients who have no insurance. The hospital also states that it serves everyone, regardless of immigration status or ability to pay.

Those figures help explain why MLK is more than a neighborhood hospital. It is an essential part of the region’s medical safety net.

Despite its financial and capacity pressures, MLK Community Hospital has maintained strong federal quality ratings. Its work is especially important in communities that continue to experience higher rates of chronic illness and preventable hospitalization, along with longstanding barriers involving transportation, housing, income and access to primary and specialty care.

“This gift—the largest in MLK’s history—strengthens our ability to offer care in the safe, dignified setting our community deserves,” MLK Community Healthcare CEO Dr. Elaine Batchlor said in announcing the partnership.

That emphasis on dignity is important. Patients should not have to receive emergency treatment in an overcrowded setting simply because of their ZIP code, income or insurance status. Families in South Los Angeles deserve the same safe, efficient and technologically capable health care environment available in more affluent communities.

Kaiser Permanente Chairman and CEO Greg A. Adams described the investment as more than an emergency department expansion. He said it is intended to strengthen the health care infrastructure Los Angeles families will depend upon for generations.

The partnership also offers a practical model for how major nonprofit health systems can support independent community hospitals. Instead of viewing institutions such as MLK only as facilities handling overflow or serving patients outside a particular membership system, Kaiser is recognizing that every strong hospital contributes to a healthier and more resilient region.

When one emergency department becomes overwhelmed, the effects do not remain inside that building. Ambulances may be redirected, waiting times may increase elsewhere, and patients may postpone treatment until their conditions become more serious. Expanding MLK’s capacity can therefore benefit South Los Angeles while easing pressure across the broader county health care network.

The $25 million grant will help build permanent capacity. The $7 million modular facility will help preserve access while that work is underway. One addresses the future; the other recognizes that people need care today.

For those of us who have worked inside these institutions, used their services or watched family members depend upon them, this investment carries special meaning. It represents confidence in MLK Community Hospital, respect for its medical professionals and a commitment to the people they serve.

The name Martin Luther King Jr. carries a continuing call for justice, equality and human dignity. By helping this hospital expand emergency care, Kaiser Permanente is supporting those principles in a direct and measurable way.

This is what an effective health care partnership should look like: one institution recognizing another’s essential role, responding to an urgent need and investing in a healthier future for the entire community.

Skunked!

Republic Services Reminds Inglewood Customers to Avoid Overage Charges

INGLEWOOD, Calif. —

Republic Services is reminding Inglewood residents and businesses that keeping trash, recycling and organics containers properly closed is essential for safe and efficient collection and can help customers avoid unnecessary service issues or additional charges.

An “overage” occurs when a cart or dumpster is filled beyond its capacity, preventing the lid from closing completely.

Overage conditions also include materials protruding above the rim of a container or bags and other items placed on top of or around the cart or dumpster.

According to Republic Services, overfilled containers create safety hazards for collection crews, slow service routes and can contribute to litter in neighborhoods. Keeping container lids fully closed helps maintain clean streets and ensures waste is collected safely throughout the City of Inglewood.

Customers can reduce the likelihood of overages by:

Keeping all materials below the rim of the container.

Making sure the lid closes completely before collection day.

Breaking down cardboard boxes before placing them in recycling carts.

Upgrading to a larger cart or dumpster, or scheduling additional collection service if containers are consistently full.

Commercial customers should be aware that repeated overages may result in additional service charges. Before fees are assessed, customers will be notified and given an opportunity to correct the problem. Continued overfilling, however, could lead to added charges.

Residential customers with overfilled carts may find their containers tagged to indicate an overage. In situations where an overfilled container cannot be collected safely, Republic Services may be unable to provide service until the issue has been corrected.

Republic Services encourages all customers to properly manage waste volumes to help keep Inglewood neighborhoods clean, improve collection efficiency and protect the safety of sanitation workers.

URGENT SIDE NOTE

As a 25 year resident, I have only recently noticed the presence of mephitis, the the scientific name for the stripped skunk. I spotted one wandering nocturnally, eastbound on west Hillsdale, off of Eucalyptus. A week later my dog came in the house “skunked”, and I smelled one nearby last week, and my neighbor’s dog was having a fit on his side of the fence. Just another good reason to keep it tidy in and around you trash cans.

Litter bug alert!

ALERT. Litter bug alert!

While California has not yet authorized standard, automated traffic cameras, to issue citations for litterbugs.

State-level vehicle code only allows automated traffic enforcement systems for specific violations like running red lights, speeding, or illegally using bus lanes.

. However, there are two related surveillance rollouts causing recent buzz:

Garbage Truck Cameras:

Major waste management companies in California (like Recycling and Waste Management) have recently equipped their residential collection trucks with cameras to photograph and fine customers for overfilled trash bins.

Localized Anti-Dumping Cameras: Cities like San Jose, Oakland, and Vallejo utilize localized, mobile surveillance cameras hidden at known hotspots to catch and prosecute major illegal dumping, rather than tracking casual littering on standard roads.

BUT Here’s a BOLO Alert.

Those discretionary Cameras on the sanitation trucks only look down into the hopper and at the bins to flag overfilled or contaminated dumpsters. They are managed by the waste disposal companies to assess fees, not by traffic enforcement to issue parking tickets on trash pickup days.

. However, if a vehicle blocks a trash pickup zone, the driver can still be cited the traditional way if parking enforcement or a street sweeper with automated cameras passes by.

I’ve been known to participate in – let’s call it, the prediction markets, like Kalshi. I can’t help but wonder about the odds that some wise guy in the tech department might not cross connect the trash sweeper and the parking control folks and turn the trash sweepers into an A.I. snitch.

Ok. I’ll pause here. I’m headed into the twilight zone…

Hyundai: Warranty Promise vs. Customer Reality

The 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe: Warranty Promise vs. Customer Reality

The 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe was marketed with one of the most aggressive value propositions in the auto industry: a 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty, positioned as a safeguard against exactly the kind of catastrophic engine issues that concern long-term owners. On paper, it is a compelling offer. In practice, a growing number of cases suggest that the pathway to actually using that warranty can be far more complicated.

A Pattern of Deflection at the Dealership Level

Across multiple service encounters, a consistent pattern emerges: initial symptoms are minimized, redirected, or reclassified in ways that move responsibility away from Hyundai.

Customers report bringing vehicles in with check engine lights, oil consumption, or drivability issues—only to receive:

Temporary fixes, such as clearing diagnostic codes

Secondary explanations (like EVAP system issues) that do not address underlying engine performance

Diagnoses that attribute problems to “external damage,” which can immediately disqualify warranty coverage

In many instances, the first diagnosis becomes the most important—not because it is correct, but because it shapes how warranty claims are evaluated downstream.

The “Damage” Narrative and Warranty Denials

One of the more consequential trends involves labeling issues as impact-related or customer-caused damage. Once this classification is entered into the service record:

Third-party warranty providers often deny claims outright

Hyundai’s own warranty coverage may be sidestepped

The financial burden shifts to the customer

Independent inspections in some cases have contradicted dealership claims of damage, raising concerns about whether these determinations are always technically sound—or strategically convenient.

Engine Concerns: The Issue Beneath the Surface

Beyond isolated components, the more serious concern centers on engine reliability in certain Hyundai and Kia models from this era.

Reported symptoms include:

Excessive oil consumption

Engine knocking or ticking

Stalling at idle or in traffic

Sudden loss of power or complete shutdown

These issues have been widely discussed in both mechanic circles and owner communities, often tied to internal engine wear involving bearings and other core components. Hyundai has acknowledged some of these risks through recalls and extended warranties, but accessing those remedies typically requires specific diagnostic confirmation—which not all dealerships appear eager to establish early.

Delayed Recognition, Escalated Damage

A critical failure point in many cases is timing. When early warning signs appear:

Vehicles are often returned to service without deep mechanical inspection

Drivers continue operating cars with unresolved internal issues

Minor symptoms evolve into major engine failure

By the time the problem becomes undeniable—stalling in traffic, failure to restart, or severe knocking—the damage may be extensive. At that stage, customers often face a new hurdle: proving that the failure qualifies under warranty terms.

Structural Tension: Warranty vs. Business Incentives

There is also a structural dynamic at play. Dealerships operate within a system where:

Warranty repairs are reimbursed at controlled rates

Customer-paid repairs are more profitable

This creates a subtle but important incentive: classifying a repair as non-warranty can be financially advantageous. While not universal, this tension appears frequently enough in customer accounts to raise legitimate concern about consistency and objectivity in diagnostics.

Recall Awareness Without Resolution

Hyundai has issued recalls and software updates tied to engine monitoring systems, such as knock detection. However, owners often report that:

Recall visits focus narrowly on the required update

Broader engine complaints are not addressed unless failure thresholds are met

Preventative intervention is limited

This approach can leave customers in a reactive cycle—waiting for failure rather than preventing it.

The Customer Experience: Friction and Financial Exposure

For many Santa Fe owners, the result is a frustrating loop:

Repeated service visits with inconsistent conclusions

Out-of-pocket expenses for disputed repairs

Difficulty getting independent mechanics involved

Escalation attempts through consumer channels with limited resolution

Even with warranty coverage theoretically in place, customers may find themselves paying thousands of dollars while driving vehicles that remain mechanically unstable.

Conclusion: A Warranty That Requires Navigation

The 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe is not defined solely by its engineering or its features, but increasingly by the experience owners have when something goes wrong.

The central issue is not whether Hyundai offers strong warranty coverage—it does. The issue is how that coverage is applied, interpreted, and accessed in real-world situations.

For many customers, the challenge is not just mechanical failure. It is navigating a system where:

Diagnoses can shift

Responsibility can be reassigned

And the burden of proof often falls on the owner

In that environment, the promise of long-term protection becomes less about coverage—and more about persistence.

As a member of the Hyundai owner losers club, I can only offer a cautionary tale. I foolishly ignored the fact that my service technician never looked me in the eye when he was lying to my face. Because I have been a consistent cash cow, replacing tires and brakes on their say so. He misdirected my vehicle’s problem to a damaged canister. (whatever that is) But when a retired relative sent me to another certified mechanic, I discovered that the canister was not defective and not the cause of my problem. I have the part stashed away.

But where does one go from here? The internet has hinted at a class action lawsuit already underway, but I was hoping to just have my car repaired. The BBB has already failed to resolve the matter through arbitration, and a Lemon Law Lawyer is standing by waiting for discussions with the Office of the Attorney General, who might be looking to make a stink as we approach the election.

My car sat in the repair shop as I was forced to retreat into a rental car for a week. The initial problem was a bad starter. I suggested that the starter failed because the engine kept stalling, which forced repeated restarts. Fortunately, the extended warranty covered that resolution. There still remained the check engine light that had plagued the vehicle for over a year. The same codes were displayed, and the technician initially called it a failure due to a non OEM, aftermarket MAP SENSOR, but when an OEM part was installed, the system still failed. after a week of testing, and a $600 repair, the check engine light and several other lights appeared. The engine sputtered, failed and then would not start for an hour.

Now I am back in a rental car, and likely will require another flatbed tow.

Jesse and Me

“Jesse and Me”

A Statement from Congresswoman Maxine Waters

The very Reverend Jesse Jackson, presidential candidate and civil rights leader, was not only my close friend and confidant, he was my longtime political ally and mentor. Rev. Jesse Jacskson was my idol and spiritual and political leader. He was a brilliant, gifted and courageous civil rights leader who inspired millions. He registered millions to vote and challenged and changed Democratic Party politics.

Rev. Jackson was one of the youngest followers and supporters of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and spent his life continuing to protect and save the gains that were made during the civil rights movement. I became a dedicated and committed follower of Jesse Jackson. I worked with Rev. Jackson in both the 1984 and 1988 presidential campaigns. I was a top advisor on the national campaign and was appointed by Rev. Jackson to Chair and lead the California campaign.

I was a closeup witness to Rev. Jackson’s brilliant campaign strategies and developments. He used his voice and his organizing skills to create the beautiful Rainbow Coalition. Long before there was any understanding or appreciation for diversity, equity, and inclusion, for all intents and purposes, Rev. Jackson created diversity, equity, and inclusion in his campaign. His campaign included Blacks, Latinos, Asians, Native Americans, Whites, women, LGBTQ, organized labor and others. He brought together pastors, preachers, and multi-faith leaders from all over the country. I recall his work and his outreach to small farmers in rural areas and to Native Americans on reservations.

He was responsible for cracking open the doors of America’s corporate community and those in Silicon Valley. Rev. Jackson was also an international ambassador for peace. He used his tremendous influence to champion human rights. I worked with him in the Free South Africa movement where we helped free Nelson Mandela and bring an end to apartheid in South Africa. We had a wonderful experience of attending the inauguration when Nelson Mandela became president of South Africa. And of course, Rev. Jackson helped to secure the release of U.S. hostages around the world, but the one that stands out to me is when he went to Syria and negotiated the release of U.S. Navy Lt. Robert. Goodman Jr.

Rev. Jackson has more than earned his place in history and rightfully so. His work will never be forgotten and will be taught in communities all over the world, in places low and high, in our schools and universities. I will live the rest of my life with the memories I cherish for the time, the effort, and the phenomenal work that I experienced with The Reverend Jesse Jackson, presidential candidate and civil rights leader.

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I had to jump in for a second with my own message…

Back in 2010, in the aftermath of the Bush administration, I was losing my home. I received an invitation to attend an assistance program hosted by “NACA” (National Assistance Corporation of America) Although I was there seeking assistance, I was also there in my role as a news hound for Inglewood Today. News. At that gathering, Ms. Waters happened to be there. She incidentally introduced me to the Reverend Jesse Jackson. We shared a quick laugh when he quipped that “We may have started on the same plantation.”

That’s the end of my segment of the story – I did manage to receive a loan modification due to that event, and we are still in the home.

New Rules Jan. 27

Under California Vehicle Code sections 23123 and 23123.5 (often referred to as the “Hands-Free” or “No-Touch” laws), the price of a ticket is:

First Offense: $162 minimum total (based on a $20 base fine plus mandatory court fees and assessments).

Subsequent Offenses: $272 minimum total (based on a $50 base fine).

Key Penalties & Rules

License Points: A second violation within 36 months adds one point to your driving record, which can increase your insurance rates.

No Touching: As of 2025, the law is strictly “no-touch.” You cannot hold or touch your phone for any reason—even at red lights—unless it is mounted and requires only a single swipe or tap to operate.

Minors: Drivers under 18 are prohibited from using any electronic device, even in hands-free mode.

Category: Local