Today’s Headlines: California’s young adults experience alarming rates of anxiety and depression

By Elvia Limón and Jason Sanchez

Hello, it’s Friday, Sept. 30, and here are the stories you shouldn’t miss today:

TOP STORIES

Alarming rates of anxiety and depression

Young adults in California experience mental health challenges at alarming rates, with more than three-quarters reporting anxiety in the last year, more than half reporting depression, 31% experiencing suicidal thinking and 16% self-harm, according to the results of a survey commissioned by the California Endowment.

The numbers reflect a years-long trend of worsening mental health among young people that was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, experts say.

The poll of nearly 800 Californians ages 18 to 24 also found young people facing significant barriers to getting help — with nearly half of those who wanted to speak to a mental health professional saying they had been unable to do so, and many saying cost or lack of access had stopped them.

Floods from Ian trap many in Florida

Rescue crews piloted boats and waded through inundated streets to save thousands of Floridians trapped amid flooded homes and shattered buildings left by Hurricane Ian, which crossed into the Atlantic Ocean and churned toward South Carolina.

The monstrous Category 4 hurricane, one of the strongest storms ever to hit the U.S., flooded homes on both the state’s coasts, cut off the only road access to a barrier island, destroyed a historic waterfront pier and knocked out electricity to 2.67 million Florida homes and businesses — nearly a quarter of utility customers.

The Oakland school shooting was gang-related

At least two gunmen and an accomplice are believed to have been involved in a gang-related shooting at an East Oakland high school campus this week in which two students and four staff members were wounded, two critically, police said.

The gunmen fired at least 30 rounds during the shooting at Rudsdale Newcomer High School, on the King Estates campus in the 8200 block of Fontaine Street, Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong said during a news conference. At least one other person was involved in the shooting, but there may be others, he said. No arrests have been made.

Supreme Court justices to tackle affirmative action, voting rights

The Supreme Court opens a historic term Monday by welcoming its first Black woman to the bench as it faces challenges to past liberal rulings on race, affirmative action and voting rights. At issue this year is a long-standing dispute over the role of race in the law.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson joins a court whose conservative majority has put itself on a collision course with progressives and civil rights advocates who insist that equal opportunity and fair representation requires considering race.

The rulings could have a broad effect, not only in higher education but also open the door to future challenges of racial diversity policies in the workforce.

The cost of cooling L.A.’s biggest houses in a heat wave

Cooling off a 1,500-square-foot bungalow in a heat wave is expensive enough. But how big are the bills for the ever-larger mega-mansions crowning our hills?

Granted, those who can afford a $50-million home likely aren’t sweating a bloated electric bill, nor perhaps the carbon footprint, but experts say the cost of keeping a mansion cool can run well north of $10,000 per month.

Take “the One,� a 105,000-square-foot home in Bel-Air that set a record this year when it sold to the highest bidder for $141 million. Last year, a court-appointed receiver tasked with finding a buyer for the property told The Times that the monthly electric bill was $27,000. At the time, the air conditioning worked only on one level.

CALIFORNIA

Former PG&E executives agree to a $117-million settlement over California wildfires. The agreement was reached in connection to the 2017 North Bay fires and the 2018 Camp fire. A dozen fires ripped through Northern California in October 2017 and were sparked by downed power lines owned by Pacific Gas & Electric, according to Cal Fire.

Three are charged with murder in the slaying of PnB Rock at Roscoe’s restaurant. Freddie Lee Trone, 40, was charged with murder, robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery, according to the L.A. County district attorney’s office, while 38-year-old Shauntel Trone was charged with robbery and being an accessory after the fact. A 17-year-old, who was not identified because of his age, was also charged with murder, robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery in connection with the Sept. 12 robbery and killing of the Philadelphia rapper, prosecutors said.

An LAPD captain was ‘gaslighted’ over a fake nude photo, and wants $8 million for the hostile work environment. Capt. Lillian Carranza said the photo of a bare-breasted woman whose face was Photoshopped to resemble her was shared within the Los Angeles Police Department and that top brass did nothing to stop its circulation or explain the image was a fake.

Ex-CSU chancellor failed to handle allegations against a friend at Fresno State, a probe finds. Former CSU Chancellor and Fresno State President Joseph I. Castro had a “blind spot� toward his friend Frank Lamas, who was hired as a campus vice president overseeing student life and later was accused in nine reports of sexual harassment, bullying and workplace retaliation from 2014 to 2019, according to the findings of the report.

NATION-WORLD

Six GOP-led states sue the Biden administration over the student loan plan. It’s at least the second legal challenge this week to the sweeping proposal laid out by President Biden in late August, when he said his administration would cancel up to $20,000 in education debt for huge numbers of borrowers. In the lawsuit, the Republican states argue that Biden’s cancellation plan is “not remotely tailored to address the effects of the pandemic on federal student loan borrowers,� as required by the 2003 federal law that the administration is using as legal justification.

Virginia Thomas appears for an interview with Jan. 6 panel. The committee has for months sought an interview with Thomas, a conservative activist and wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, in an effort to know more about her role in trying to help former President Trump overturn his election defeat. She texted with White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and contacted lawmakers in Arizona and Wisconsin in the weeks after the election. The testimony from Virginia Thomas was one of the remaining items for the panel as it eyes the completion of its work.

Migrants endure retaliation at a U.S. detention center, advocates say. A public letter signed this week by at least a dozen migrants within the Torrance County Detention Facility describes broken plumbing, insect infestations, insufficient access to medical care and rationed bottles of drinking water. A companion complaint documents retaliation, including restrictions on access to legal representation and a falsified accusation of misconduct against an immigrant under the Prison Rape Elimination Act.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

Author responds to a family’s unrest over a controversial new Anthony Bourdain book. Charles Leerhsen’s new biography about the late “No Reservations� star includes some of the last text messages Bourdain sent before dying by suicide in 2018. “I used these like biographers of a previous era used personal letters. I didn’t steal them; they were given to me by a source or sources, the way letters have been given to biographers,� Leerhsen told The Times.

“The Five’s� unlikely breakout star. As the most outspoken liberal Democrat regularly seen on the conservative Fox News, predictions of Jessica Tarlov’s demise come with the territory. But Tarlov isn’t going anywhere. The audience for “The Five� has grown 21% over last year, when she joined as a co-host, alternating with former congressman Harold Ford and veteran journalist Geraldo Rivera. Although online critiques from viewers who disagree with Tarlov can be harsh, she believes the audience increasingly understands and accepts her role.

He does what Brad Pitt and George Clooney can’t do. Although Demián Bichir had long been among Mexico’s most highly regarded actors, it wasn’t until 2011’s “A Better Life� — along with a recurring role on Showtime’s “Weeds� — that Hollywood began to take notice, landing him roles in films such as “The Hateful Eight� and “Godzilla vs. Kong.� But the new Showtime series “Let the Right One In� is new terrain for the actor: a leading role in a buzz-worthy genre property from the network behind last year’s breakout “Yellowjackets.� “I never, ever dreamed of such a beautiful life,� the actor said.

BUSINESS

U.S. long-term mortgage rates are up for 6th week in a row. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average on the key 30-year rate climbed to 6.70%, marking new highs not seen in 15 years, before a crash in the housing market triggered the Great Recession. By contrast, the rate stood at 3.01% a year ago. Rapidly rising mortgage rates threaten to sideline even more homebuyers after more than doubling in 2022.

Will you ever be able to stop working? A guide to retirement in California. Don’t let the bear market keep you from retiring. But there are a bunch of other financial and emotional factors to consider before taking the leap. Plus, here’s how people are making retirement work.

OPINION

The technology to fight climate change that we’re not using nearly enough. The ocean has absorbed more than 90% of the extra heat we’ve created since 1955 and 25% of our carbon dioxide emissions. But this capacity has limits, and the warming ocean can take in only so much of our emissions. Using geographic information system, or GIS, technology allows us to map these limits and solve a much larger puzzle: mapping the entirety of the ocean in detail by 2030.

SPORTS

‘It’s the right time.’ Dodgers legend Jaime Jarrín is ready to sign off with gratitude. After a 64-year career, Jarrín is retiring at the end of this season — whenever the Dodgers’ playoff run ends — as a broadcaster but will continue to represent the organization as a community ambassador. He carries six-plus decades of memories, spanning from Sandy Koufax to Clayton Kershaw, and no regrets.

Why UCLA’s plans for an on-campus football stadium were spiked. More than a half-century ago, UCLA students nearly got to experience the buzz of home games much closer to home. Momentum was building for the construction of an on-campus stadium in 1965, back when the Bruins played their home games at the Coliseum. But decades later that dream remains unrealized, and UCLA and Miami remain the only Power Five conference teams to play home games more than a short drive from campus.

YOUR WEEKEND

At sunset, people relax on the lawn at Barnsdall Art Park.

(Teena Apeles)

Visit the L.A. gem that is Barnsdall Art Park. Named after oil heiress, socialite and passionate arts supporter Aline Barnsdall, who donated the property and its structures to the city in 1927, the 11.5-acre park may be tiny compared with the 4,210-acre Griffith Park about a mile north, but it is mighty in its offerings. With activities for everyone to enjoy, here are seven things to do at the park.

Never tried a Chinese doughnut? Start with these L.A. spots. The old adage “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet� can easily be applied to Chinese doughnuts. The savory pastry — two golden strips of lightly salted fried dough, attached at the hip — goes by many monikers: you tiao in Mandarin, pathongko in Thai and dầu cháo quẩy in Vietnamese. Many of the best ones happen to be in the San Gabriel Valley and are enjoyed with other dishes. It’s time to get your carbs on.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

Note: Some of the sites we link to may limit the number of stories you can access without subscribing.

Inside the incredibly shrinking Southern California starter home. As home prices have soared and higher mortgage interest rates have made everything less affordable, wish lists have become more and more wishful, and buyers have been forced to find something smaller and less practical. Want two bedrooms? How about one, plus an office that might fit a twin-size bed. Want a backyard? How about a space shared with the rest of the condo complex? Los Angeles Times

Coming into focus. Once thought to affect overstimulated boys primarily, diagnoses for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, have sharply increased among adult women. But women aren’t suddenly waking up with a neurological disorder. It’s likely been there all along, masquerading as low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, “she’s difficult,� “she’s an airhead,� “she’s unlucky,� “she’s lazy,� and other labels that tend to mark a girl as she moves through her life. For writer Carla Ciccone, coming to terms with her diagnosis later in life has put her past and family history in a new light. Bazaar

After being bitten by a rabid fox, a congressman wants cheaper rabies treatments. Rabies deaths are rare in the U.S. A lot of that is thanks to the effective treatment available. But that lifesaving treatment is expensive, especially for those without health insurance, and can leave people saddled with thousands of dollars of debt. Rep. Ami Bera (D-Elk Grove) introduced legislation that would create a government program to reimburse healthcare providers who administer the treatment to uninsured people. NPR

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Front page the day after Isadora Duncan died.

(Los Angeles Times)

Dancer Isadora Duncan died in an automobile accident 95 years ago this month. Duncan was trying out a new car on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France, when a gust of wind blew a long scarf that she was wearing around her neck over the side of the car. It became entangled in one of the wheels and dragged the dancer out of the machine into the roadway. Her neck was broken. A French chauffeur was teaching her to drive the new car, which was speeding along when the dancer met death.

Auto accidents seemed to play a significant role in Duncan’s life. On several occasions she was injured, sometimes seriously, in them, and in 1913 her two children, Beatrice, 5, and Patrick, 3, were drowned in the Seine, near Paris, when their vehicle ran into the river.

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