Also, the much-loved, pint-sized actor and social media star Leslie Jordan, known for his roles in ”Hearts Afire” and ”Will & Grace,” is dead at 67.
TODAY’S ESSENTIAL NEWS
» L.A. City Council President Paul Krekorian Pens Letter To Kevin de León Calling For “Immediate Resignation” Krekorian’s impassioned request comes nearly a week after Councilmember Kevin de León announced his refusal to resign from his position. De León claims that he has offered profuse apology to Councilmember Mike Bonin, whose family was specifically targeted in the leaked audio, in which his adopted Black son was compared to a “little monkey.” “This city is still reeling and suffering deeply from the revelation of what happened in that meeting,” Council President Paul Krekorian wrote in his letter. “The city, your constituents, and the City Council itself all desperately need to turn the page and begin the process of healing.” [CBS]
» California Student Test Scores Take a Big Plunge The gist of the scores, the most extensive measure so far of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on student achievement: The percentage of California students meeting state math standards plummeted 7 percentage points to 33%; and, the percentage meeting English language standards dropped 4 percentage points, to 47%. However, there is some good news. Scores for students of color and those from low-income households dropped less dramatically than their counterparts, an indication that the state’s funding formula, which sends more money to high-needs districts, worked to soften the blow of two years of disrupted learning. [CalMatters]
» Judge Rules In Favor of California Baker Over Refusing To Make Same-sex Wedding Cake The State Department of Fair Housing and Employment had sued Tastries Bakery in Bakersfield, arguing that owner Cathy Miller had intentionally discriminated against a same-sex couple by refusing to make them a wedding cake, citing her Christian faith. However, Miller’s attorneys argued her right to free speech and free expression of religion trumped her violation of California’s anti-discrimination Unruh Civil Rights Act. [KCRA]
» How To Celebrate Diwali, The Hindu Festival Of Lights, In L.A. Diwali, known as the festival of lights, is one of India’s biggest holidays. The five-day festival celebration gets its name from the row (avali) of clay lamps (deepa) that Indians light outside their homes to symbolize the inner light that protects from spiritual darkness or good over evil. The festival is typically observed around the last week of October or the first week of November. Journalist Neha Shaida highlights the best places to eat great food and celebrate Indian culture in Los Angeles this Diwali, which officially began Monday. [LAist]
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ONE MORE THING
City of Angels: Anne Heche’s Family Feud, Tyra Banks’s Model Theme Park and More
Nobody knows exactly how much Anne Heche left behind after she died, at 53, in that fiery car crash in Mar Vista in August—but family members are fighting over it anyway. In one corner, there’s Heche’s ex-partner, Canadian actor James Tupper, with whom Heche had one child, 13-year-old Atlas Tupper. In the other, there’s Homer Laffoon, Heche’s 20-year-old son with Coleman Laffoon, the cameraman Heche dumped Ellen DeGeneres for in 2001, after meeting that year on DeGeneres’s stand-up comedy tour. Heche and Coleman Laffoon were married in 2001 and divorced in 2009.
Judging from an email that Heche sent to the elder Tupper in 2011, it seems pretty clear what the troubled actress’s last wishes were. “FYI In case I die tomorrow and anyone asks,” she wrote, “my wishes are that all of my assets go to the control of Mr. James Tupper to be used to raise my children and then given to the children. They will be divided equally among our children, currently Homer Heche Leffoon and Atlas Heche Tupper, and their portion given to each when they are the age of 25.”
[FULL STORY]
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