Nearly 180 USC professors, postdoctoral scholars and graduate students gathered inside Taper Hall on Monday. Even after a year of funding reductions for many research units, the energy in the room remained high as attendees greeted colleagues and took their seats for a discussion on the challenges facing research.
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The masterclass highlighted how accessible music creation can be today — with Wi-Fi and simple software, artists can record and produce from anywhere, no fancy studio required. The workshop was facilitated by six-time Grammy Award-winning producer Derrick Milano. California state Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas was in attendance. She recently helped fight for $2.5 million in funding for the Historic South LA Black cultural district.
What started as the white women’s quest to break the glass ceiling, also known as the original model of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion during the ’80s and ’90s, soon left Black workers and people of color out of luck. Decades later, it’s back to square one. Despite shifts in California’s labor market, unemployment continues to rise for Black workers still fighting long-standing racial hiring and firing.
For two decades, the former EDD building at 5401 Crenshaw Boulevard served as a place where residents accessed job support and opportunity. In 2017, the building closed when a lease-purchase agreement between the state and the property owner broke down. When the dispute could not be resolved, EDD vacated the building, and the property entered a long period of vacancy.
The government shutdown may be over, but for millions of families across the country, the damage is done. Food assistance was delayed for over 40 million people, health care access has become uncertain for the tens of millions who rely on Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, lines at food pantries have doubled and veterans and active-duty members are waiting for benefits they rely on. Once again, political stunts in Washington have treated people as bargaining chips—a stark reminder that we cannot rely on federal leaders to protect everyday families.
Community-based organizations across California are feeling the sting of federal budget cuts. Programs that once fed families, housed foster youth, and offered vital community services have seen their funding slashed or disappear entirely.
With a little more than a year to go, State Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas, representing the 28th District in California, is doing a bit of stretching before setting off to run. Working to be re-elected to her current seat in 2026, she held a modest fundraiser in Culver City on October 11, 2025,. Smallwood-Cuevas had a moment to tout some of the things she’s accomplished, and the list was impressive.
On Monday, Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a series of bills that would have advanced reparations in California.