United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) is on strike for the first time since 1989 over demands for increased pay and the hiring of additional teachers; their wide-ranging demands include a 6.5% pay increase for teachers retroactive to July 2016, the hiring of more teachers and service staff, and greater regulation of charter schools in Los Angeles.
On August 28, California governor Jerry Brown, signed SB-10 , a law that made California the first state in the U.S. to put an end to the cash bail system. The law, which goes into effect in October 2019, was sponsored by Senator Robert Hertzberg (D-CA) of California’s 18th Senate District, and aims to put an end to cash bail, which many on the left believe is highly discriminatory against those who are lower income and/or members of ethnic minorities. However, some believe that the new law has the potential to spawn a bail system that is more biased than ever before.
