Ballot Drop Boxes: Which to Use, Which to Avoid
By now, you’ve probably heard that unauthorized ballot drop boxes have been sprouting up in Los Angeles, Orange and Fresno counties. The boxes are the work of CA Republican Party officials, who have made it clear that they have no intention of either apologizing for or removing the boxes, despite their illegality, and will continue to distribute them across the state. So if you’re bringing your ballot to a drop box before November 3, use only drop boxes authorized by the state – they are the ones with a California county seal (and yes, this is a Wikipedia link, but you can also find official seals on each county’s website). The unauthorized boxes appear to be found near churches, gun shops, and Republican party offices, and reportedly sport a piece of paper, if you can believe that, indicating that it’s an “Official Ballot Drop Box.” It’s not. You can find the location of authorized boxes on the state government’s election website – enter your county, city, and zip code, and you can find the box nearest to you (early voting locations can also be found here). – Paul Gaita
The Save Our Stages Fest Raises Funds For Live Music Venues
Today through Sunday (October 16 – October 18), the Save Our Stages Fest will be live on YouTube, with artists playing at independent venues all over the country. Hosted by Reggie Watts, the virtual festival will be free to watch, but viewers are encouraged to donate to the National Independent Venue Association’s Emergency Relief Fund for venues struggling in the pandemic. Artists performing include Rise Against, Foo Fighters, Leon Bridges, Portugal. The Man, Black Pumas and many more. The L.A. venues are the Hotel Cafe, Teragram Ballroom, The Whiskey and the Troubadour. – Simone Snaith
LA City Council Approves Plan to Develop Unarmed Crisis Response Team
A motion introduced in June to have a chief administrator develop an unarmed team to respond to nonviolent 911 calls was approved in a unanimous decision yesterday, making L.A. the first major city to form a team to deal with people experiencing problems with substance abuse, homelessness, and mental illness. “It has become more apparent that unnecessarily dispatching armed police officers to incidents that do not require their presence oftentimes escalates situations to a dangerous and unnecessary level,” said Councilman Mitch O’Farrell. Source – Elise Thompson
