Leap Shares Insights Into LAPD Program

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News organizations reporting on the Los Angeles Police Department’s decision to expand its Community Safety Partnership (CSP) program called on Adjunct Professor of Social Welfare Jorja Leap for insights into the origins and implementation of the program. “The idea was to have a specially trained cadre of LAPD officers who would not be gladiators but who would be guardians and would build relationships and partnerships with residents on the ground,” Leap told KPCC’s Take Two. After a yearlong evaluation of CSP, Leap and her team made dozens of recommendations for improving the program. She cautioned that all organizations, and particularly law enforcement, can be resistant to change. “This is not something that’s going to happen overnight. … The change in the DNA of the LAPD is going to take a while,” she said. Leap also shared her expertise in extended interviews on Fox11 News In-Depth, beginning at minute 8:10, and Spectrum News, beginning at minute 4.

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Park on Schools, Extreme Heat, Racial Equity

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A Guardian story on the harmful impact of extreme heat on communities of color cited research by Assistant Professor of Public Policy R. Jisung Park. Data from the Union of Concerned Scientists shows that U.S. counties with large Black and Latino populations experience a disproportionately high number of days with temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, the article said. Research by Park, an environmental economist at the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation, focuses on the effect of extreme heat on students’ ability to learn. His analysis of data from 10 million U.S. students over 15 years found that minority and low-income students who attend schools that lack air conditioning are particularly vulnerable. “Adapting to climate change is a matter of racial and economic justice, especially in schools,” said Park, who also discussed his research in an interview with America Adapts, beginning at minute 3:18.

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Newton on Spirituality and Intellect of Jerry Brown

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Jim Newton, lecturer and editor of UCLA’s Blueprint magazine, spoke to KPCC’s AirTalk about the life of former Gov. Jerry Brown, which he chronicled in his book, “Man of Tomorrow.” Brown led California at two very different stages of his life — from 1975 until 1983, on the heels of the Vietnam War and Watergate, and again from 2011 until 2019. “He left California in far better shape than he found it,” with a rainy day fund of about $20 billion that steeled the state as it took on the COVID-19 pandemic, Newton said. “I have never met a person who thinks more deeply or attempts to draw bigger lessons out of spirituality and intellect and infuse them into politics than Jerry Brown,” he said. “He’s not always done that in ways that people would agree were successful, but I don’t know anyone who aspires to higher things.”

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Reber on Congress’ Next Steps to Support Schools

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Associate Professor of Public Policy Sarah Reber co-authored a Brookings article offering policy guidance as the federal government hammers out a relief package to help schools safely resume classes. “Whether schools are open for in-person instruction, for distance learning or use a hybrid approach, they will need federal funding to prevent recession-lengthening layoffs and to support student learning,” Reber and co-author Nora Gordon of Georgetown University wrote. To equitably allocate aid to states, Congress should avoid the Title I formula used to support children in low-income households, they argued. Instead, they laid out alternative formulas that would promote local flexibility, avoid unnecessary strings and minimize confusion. “Whether adopting social distancing protocols for live instruction or developing remote-learning offerings, all schools will face new costs this school year that, without federal support, will undermine their ability to provide a quality education,” they wrote.

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Taylor, Wachs on Fairness in Transit Planning

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Professors Brian Taylor and Martin Wachs of the Institute of Transportation Studies at UCLA Luskin co-authored a Streetsblog article calling for transportation equity as public officials decide how to move forward on transit projects in a pandemic-battered economy. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, L.A. Metro has reeled from revenue losses, raising questions about whether some planned rail and road construction projects should be postponed or even canceled. Taylor and Wachs argue that priority should be given to improving bus service in lower-income communities where most carless families live. “People of color and those from low-income households are more likely than others to depend on transit to get to health care, schools and jobs. Equity demands improving transit service where they live,” they wrote. They added that expanding transit operations creates stable, unionized jobs with health and retirement benefits, which are much needed in the current economy.

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Ong on Discrimination Against Asians During Pandemic

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LAist highlighted recent research led by Paul Ong, director of UCLA Luskin’s Center for Neighborhood Knowledge (CNK), on the economic impact of anti-Asian rhetoric during the pandemic. Ong said harassment of Asian-Americans, including an informal boycott of Asian restaurants, increased after President Trump called COVID-19 the “China virus” and “kung flu.” Research by CNK, the UCLA Asian American Studies Center and Ong & Associates found that Asians and whites started out on similar financial footing before the pandemic — but between February and April, Asian American joblessness jumped ahead by 5%. The article also cited a Pew survey that found that 31% of Asian adults say they have been subject to slurs or jokes because of their race or ethnicity since the outbreak began. Ong called on the federal government to step in to discourage discrimination but added that he is disappointed by political leadership so far. The research was also cited in the Asian Journal.

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Yaroslavsky on ‘Governance Mess’ in L.A. County

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Zev Yaroslavsky, director of the Los Angeles Initiative at UCLA Luskin, spoke to the Los Angeles Times about continuing vitriol between the county’s sheriff and Board of Supervisors. Discord dates back to the election of Sheriff Alex Villanueva in 2018. Most recently, Villanueva has come under fire for using a slur against Supervisor Hilda Solis in a public address. In challenging Solis’ comments about police brutality against people of color, Villanueva said, “Are you trying to earn the title of a La Malinche?” The term, used to demean a woman as a traitor or sellout, refers to a historical figure in Mexican culture. Solis called the comment “highly unprofessional, inappropriate, racist and sexist.” Yaroslavsky, a longtime public servant in Los Angeles, said the ongoing antagonism could stifle good policy. “It’s a governance mess. And the people are the ones that will be hurt in the end,” he said.

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Bass, Castro Join Dialogue on Black-Brown Coalition-Building

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Black and Latino advocates and elected officials explored ways that communities of color can build coalitions to transform the nation’s social and political landscape during a webinar hosted by UCLA’s Latino Policy and Politics Initiative (LPPI). Rep. Karen Bass, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, and Julián Castro, former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, spoke of the importance of finding common ground in an era when communities of color are bearing the brunt of COVID-19, police violence, joblessness, housing insecurity and disenfranchisement. “We have to never allow ourselves to be divided,” said Bass, who noted that Congress members of Black, Hispanic, Asian and Native American descent work in sync to craft a common agenda. Castro argued that real change requires lifting up the next generation of leaders. “What we need to do is be intentional about passing that baton on,” he said. Bass and Castro were joined by Genny Castillo of the Southern Economic Advancement Project and Jonathan Jayes-Green of the Marguerite Casey Foundation, who weighed in on barriers facing candidates of color. Politico reporter Laura Barrón-López moderated the July 22 dialogue. “What we’ve learned today is that Latinos have an important role to play in the Movement for Black Lives and really in protecting Black life,” LPPI Director Sonja Diaz said. “One thing is clear to me from this conversation. We can’t return to the old normal. And when we chart a path forward, especially in the streets and in chambers of power, we’ll only get stronger if we work together.”

 

LPPI Focuses on ‘Shaping a 21st Century Latino Agenda’

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The Latino Policy and Politics Initiative’s release of an ambitious policy agenda to promote equity and opportunity for Latino communities nationwide received widespread media coverage. The 38-page document, titled Shaping a 21st Century Latino Agenda, was created after LPPI convened 80 prominent Latino leaders to discuss the biggest issues facing U.S. Latinos amid the coronavirus crisis. The agenda lays out recommendations for action on climate change, voting rights, health, immigrant rights, education, housing, criminal justice and economic opportunity. “Part of this exercise was really identifying ways that we can promote Black-brown unity but also identify ways that policy can actually include communities of color instead of leaving us further behind,” Sonja Diaz, LPPI’s founding executive director, told Fox40 News. Other news outlets covering the agenda’s release include the Sacramento Bee, Telemundo and Voice of San Diego.

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Spotlight on the ‘Next Disaster Under COVID-19’

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KABC7 and FOX11 covered a forum featuring several UCLA Luskin scholars who weighed in on the impending threat of eviction and homelessness facing many Angelenos. Calling the tenants rights crisis “The Next Disaster Under COVID-19,” the forum brought together Paul Ong of the Center for Neighborhood Knowledge, Ananya Roy of the Institute on Inequality and Democracy, Gary Blasi of UCLA Law and moderator Karen Umemoto of UCLA’s Asian American Studies Center, along with several housing justice advocates. The news segment focused on the latest UCLA Luskin research identifying the region’s most vulnerable neighborhoods and outlining steps public officials can take to protect Angelenos at risk of losing their homes. Recommended policies include rent subsidies and the conversion of hotel and motel rooms, which have remained vacant during the pandemic, into housing. The research has also been shared by the Daily Journal, World Journal, LAist and NextCity, among other outlets.

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