🌱 $16.04 Minimum Wage On July 1 + Firearm Liability Insurance?

Get on up, Los Angeles, and happy National Thank A Mail Carrier Day! Here's everything you need to know to get this Friday started off right.

The minimum wage in Los Angeles is going up again. Also, several council members want gun owners to buy liability insurance. Finally, the LAPD is looking for a 2016 Hyundai Elantra that was involved in a (non-fatal) hit-and-run.

First, today's weather:

Sunny and pleasant. High: 70 Low: 47.

Here are the top stories in Los Angeles today:

1. Mayor Eric Garcetti announced Thursday that the City’s minimum wage will increase from $15 to $16.04 on July 1. City officials connected the raise to the recent “increase in inflation, which reached a nearly 40-year high in December.” “We fought to raise the minimum wage because hard work should always be met with the dignity, respect, and opportunity that fair pay brings,” the Mayor explained. (KTLA)
2. We learned Wednesday that Councilmen Paul Koretz, Paul Krekorian, and Mitch O'Farrell want L.A. gun owners to buy “firearm liability insurance.” A similar ordinance is already in effect in San Jose, where liability insurance comes through homeowner or renter’s insurance. “The councilmen said in the motion that insurance would encourage people who own firearms to take safety courses, make sure firearms are properly stored and secured, install trigger locks and use loaded chamber indicators.” (ABC)
3. The LAPD is looking for a silver 2016 Hyundai Elantra “likely to have right front-end damage and missing its right front hubcap” that was involved in a hit-and-run on January 16 on Glendale Boulevard near Allesandro Street (Silver Lake). The car hit a bike, threw the rider into the street, and ran over the bike. If you have information, please contact Detective Juan Campos, Central Traffic Detectives, at 213-833-3713 or email him at 31480@lapd.online. (CBS)
4. Black Los Angeles religious leaders contacted L.A. City Council President Nury Martinez on Wednesday to issue “their plea for the immediate restoration of voting authority for the people of the city’s 10th Council District.” This district is represented by Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, who was “suspended from office following his indictment on federal corruption charges.” The religious leaders “are concerned that the Council may make a precipitous move to appoint a ‘temporary’ replacement for Councilmember Ridley-Thomas and/or hold a special election.” (Our Weekly, Spectrum News 1)
5. Ella is now open inside the Sixty Beverly Hills (9360 Wilshire Blvd.). If offers guests “a bold dinner menu featuring a variety that celebrates the Mediterranean, Asian, & Italian flavors found in the backyard of Los Angeles.” However, it is also a daytime café. The venue “has room for 120 diners, with a front section like a middle garden room and booth seating.” (Resy, LA Eater)

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Today in Los Angeles:

• Hypercars at the Peterson Automotive Museum (10 AM to 5 PM)
• Kiss Me In The Dark EP Launch at Troubadour (11:30 AM to 5 PM)
• Heav3n at 1720 (9 PM)
• Emo Nite at Avalon Hollywood (9 PM)
• The Poor Rich at The Elysian Theater (10 PM)

From my notebook:

• Mayor Eric Garcetti is calling all LAUSD HS students! S2S is now giving over 600 young Angelenos the opportunity to receive paid work experience and job skills training. Make a difference in your community! (Instagram)
• The folks at LA City Recreation & Parks want you to know that Griffith Observatory will be temporarily closed February 4-6, 2022. The grounds will still be open. (Instagram)
• A Hollywood El Capitan neighbor is trying to connect with the couple trying to get their cat. It was on a leash and got loose and ran into our apartment alley. They swapped numbers, but you may have tapped it in wrong because I never got a text back. (Nextdoor)
• Our Chinatown El Pueblo neighbor knows that the LA Public Library is hiring cybernauts. If you’re great with computers and love helping people, this job is for you. $15 an hour and part-time. Great for college students and adults with a flexible schedule. (Nextdoor)
• A kind Highland Park North neighbor picked up a puppy running through traffic on Avenue 57 and York. Please contact me if she belongs to you. (Nextdoor)

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Events:

• Westridge Summer opportunities Fair (February 5)
• Estate Planning for Your Loved Ones - Webinar w/ Live Chat Q&A (February 5)
• Benefits of a Medi-Cal Trust Webinar (w/ Live Chat Q&A) (February 5)
• Estate Planning Webinar 2/7 & 2/9 (February 7)
• Taxes in Retirement Webinar (February 8)
• Understanding the Probate Process (Webinar w/ Live Chat Q&A) (February 9)
• Taxes in Retirement Webinar (February 9)
• Avoid Trust Administration Mistakes! (Webinar w/ Live Chat Q&A) (February 12)
• BIG GAME WEEKEND EXPERIENCE: East Meets West (February 12)
• 41st Annual CARSplus Convention : Networking for Success and Best Practices (February 25)
• [Free Masterclass] Increase Your Website Sales & Leads Using SEO (February 26)
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Thanks for following along and staying informed! I'll see you around.

— Sylvia Cochran

About me: Sylvia Cochran works out of sunny Southern California and has been freelance writing full-time since 2005. She loves dogs, cats, books, plays Best Fiends (don't judge), embraces social justice, and tries to live out Micah 6:8.