Los Angeles Times - 07.09.2019

CALIFORNIA

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2019:: LATIMES.COM/CALIFORNIA

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SANTA BARBARA —
Addressing a mournful
crowd, Don Barthelmess de-
scribed the unique shared
experiences of divers. The
weightlessness of being
underwater. Sliding into a
damp and cold wetsuit at 6
in the morning. The sway of
an underwater kelp forest.
The longtime diver stood

in front of several hundred

people spread out on the

grass at Santa Barbara’s

waterfront Chase Palm Park

at a vigil Friday evening for

the 34 victims of the deadli-

est maritime disaster in

modern California history.

The victims came from

across the country and, like

many in Santa Barbara,

were united by their passion

for the ocean and adventure.

“Our common love of div-

ing binds us together for

eternity,” Barthelmess said.

“When you see a dolphin, re-

member our brothers and

sisters.”

Passengers aboard the

Conception, a 75-foot diving

boat, were thought to be

sleeping below deck when a

fire broke out before sunrise

Monday while the vessel was

about 20 yards off Santa

Cruz Island. Five crew mem-

bers on deck survived by

jumping off the boat, which

was largely destroyed.

The cause of the blaze re-

mains under investigation,

and the body of the 34th vic-

tim has yet to be recovered.

The dead included members

of several families celebrat-

ing birthdays, three sisters,

a marine biologist and an en-

gineer who loved making

wine.

At the vigil, chaplains

and an official from Santa

Barbara County’s Depart-

ment of Behavioral Wellness

spoke about the need to heal

after the tragedy and how

the sea can be a source of

comfort. They stood in front

of an arrangement of 34

scuba cylinders — one for

each victim.

Mourners placed long-

stemmed carnations in a

basket as Jackson Gillies, 20,

strummed his guitar and

MOURNERS GATHER at a vigil at Chase Palm Park in Santa Barbara on Friday night to honor victims of the boat fire off Santa Cruz
Island. “When you see a dolphin, remember our brothers and sisters,” said one. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.

Luis SincoLos Angeles Times

United by love of the ocean

Fellow divers turn out in force to honor the 34 people who died aboard the Conception

By Leila Miller

[SeeVigil,B4]

Air quality regulators on

Friday killed a years-long

push for stronger regulation

of a dangerous acid used at

two South Bay refineries

that has frightened many

neighbors, voting instead to

accept a voluntary oil indus-

try pledge to enhance safety

measures.

The decision by the

South Coast Air Quality

Management District gov-

erning board came just one

week after the two refineries,

in Torrance and Wilming-

ton, offered a way to avoid

tougher restrictions. They

sent letters offering to install

improved safety systems in

the coming years if regula-

tors ended their pursuit of a

rule or agreement to reduce

the risk of a catastrophic re-

lease of modified hydro-

fluoric acid, also referred to

as MHF.

The board adopted the

refineries’ plan on an 8-

vote, handing a major vic-

tory to labor and industry

groups, which have fought

community groups and

regulators’ attempts to re-

strict the highly toxic chemi-

cal following a 2015 explosion

at the Torrance refinery.

Hydrofluoric acid can

form a deadly, ground-hug-

ging cloud that could drift

into the densely populated

communities surrounding

the two refineries, and could

cause mass casualties in a

major leak. About 400,

people live within three

miles of either the Torrance

AQMD

gives

refiners

a break

Air board opts for a

voluntary industry

pledge over stronger

rules on use of acid.

By Tony Barboza

[SeeAQMD, B4]

SACRAMENTO — Cali-

fornia lawmakers are on the

verge of approving one of the

only state laws in the nation

to limit rent increases after

Gov. Gavin Newsom an-

nounced a deal with legisla-

tive leaders last week on a

bill to cap annual rent hikes.

The measure, Assembly

Bill 1482, would limit yearly

rent increases statewide to

5% plus inflation for the next

decade. Experts believe the

measure would provide

more stability for renters

while potentially leading to

more regular rent hikes for

tenants.

Powerful interest groups

have lined up against the

measure, and its passage by

the Legislature’s Sept. 13

deadline is far from assured.

What would the bill do?

Supporters of the mea-

sure have pitched it as a way

to prevent sudden increases

in rents that could drive peo-

ple from their homes as the

state experiences a surge in

housing costs.

“It’s critical that this

passes to address the plight

of millions of tenants during

the worst housing crisis in

our state’s history,” said the

bill’s author, Assemblyman

David Chiu (D-San Fran-

cisco).

The bill would also limit

landlords’ ability to evict

tenants without docu-

mented lease violations af-

ter a renter has lived in an

apartment for a year. If a

landlord wants to convert a

building to condominiums

or make substantial renova-

tions to units, he or she could

evict tenants but would have

to pay relocation assistance

equal to one month’s rent.

Apartments built in the

last 15 years would be ex-

empt from the cap. So would

single-family home rentals

unless they’re owned by cor-

porations or other institu-

tional investors, such as In-

vitation Homes, which has

about 12,000 single-family

home rentals in the state.

The legislation would not

override existing rent con-

trol rules in L.A., San Fran-

cisco, Oakland and other cit-

ies that have them or want to

adopt them. However, the

new bill would expand the

number of properties sub-

ject to some restriction on

rent increases in those cities.

Under state law, L.A. is

prohibited from extending

rent control to apartments

built after October 1978;

most cities are barred from

implementing controls on

units built after 1995.

UC Berkeley’s Terner

Center for Housing Innova-

tion analyzed the potential

effect of the legislation in

Los Angeles’ Boyle Heights

neighborhood, the Mission

District in San Francisco

and Fruitvale in Oakland

and found that an additional

23,400 apartments would fall

under the rent cap in each of

those neighborhoods.

According to the Terner

Center, the rent cap would

apply to 2.4 million apart-

ments statewide in addition

to single-family home rent-

als that meet the bill’s re-

quirements.

How the state

would limit

rent increases

By Liam Dillon

[SeeRent control,B4]

Sometimes a
good idea
spreads so fast
it’s like watch-
ing a stone skip
across water.
Remember
when you saw
your first Little Free Li-
brary? Take a book, leave a
book — so eye-catching, so
simple, so I-want-to-do-
that-too inspiring.
Ten years in, more than
90,000 Little Free Libraries
have been registered in at
least 91 countries world-
wide, according to the non-
profit that oversees that
movement.
And now a spinoff they
sparked is starting to catch
on. Maybe you’ve seen a
Little Free Pantry near you?

CITY BEAT

Like a library, but with peas

Little Free Pantry in Burbank started with a mother’s brush with need

NITA LELYVELD

[SeeCity Beat,B6]

TARA DUFFYstocks a Little Free Pantry she started last year at the South Hills

Church in Burbank. “I wanted to do something to give back,” she said.

Brian van der BrugLos Angeles Times

SACRAMENTO — Resi-
dents of California’s capital
city might not have been fol-
lowing every development in
the sweeping summertime

effort to remake state em-

ployment law, but it was

hard to ignore the sound of

protests circling the historic

statehouse this week.

Truckers and ride-hail

drivers took to the streets to

honk their horns in protest

of Assembly Bill 5, legisla-

tion that seeks to limit the

number of Californians clas-

sified as independent con-

tractors. Supporters of the

bill, meanwhile, responded

by stepping off sidewalks

and into the roadways to

block the vehicles — bring-

ing the city’s downtown traf-

fic to a crawl.

The uproar will reach a

crescendo next week as the

Legislature takes its final

votes on AB 5. Should it

pass, Gov. Gavin Newsom

has signaled that he will sign

it into law.

“Reversing the trend of

misclassification [of work-

ers as independent contrac-

tors] is a necessary and im-

portant step to improve the

lives of working people,” the

governor wrote in a Labor

State’s fierce battle over who’s an

employee nears a decisive vote

Assembly Bill 5 calls

for fewer contractors.

Businesses want

carve-outs.

By John Myers,
Liam Dillon
and Johana Bhuiyan

[SeeEmployees,B5]

Tenaja wildfire

threat eases

Evacuations are lifted

as favorable weather

helps crews get blaze

25% contained. B

Disease linked

to vaping kills 5

National toll includes

an L.A. County man,

who was over 55 and

had health issues. B

Hiker dies in

Half Dome fall

Woman plunged 500

feet from the cables

used to scale Yosemite

landmark. B

Lottery......................B