A bill to forcibly disband the tiny city of Vernon, California and incorporate it into Los Angeles County failed to pass earlier this week on concerns that it would economically weaken the county.
If you're just catching up on the Vernon story, the city has been the center of much controversy and suspicion over the government's almost autocratic control over its citizens. With only 112 residents, the city actually owns much of the city's housing stock and even manages it. Similar to the Bell scandal, Vernon city officials have made exorbitant salaries that they awarded themselves.
Assembly Speaker John Pérez had proposed the bill to disincorporate the city as a way to "permanently root out corruption there." The bill failed to pass on a 13-17 vote.
The L.A. Times quoted a statement by Speaker Pérez:
""Today's action by the Senate is a deep disappointment to the men and women of the Southeast Communities. I introduced AB 46 to finally end the toxic corruption that has poisoned the Southeast Communities by disincorporating Vernon."
"The fact is clear: Senators Calderon and De León, along with their colleagues, have given Vernon a free pass to continue doing business as usual, and those senators will own the responsibility for any misdeeds that may occur in the future."
FULL STORY: State Senate rejects controversial plan to disband city of Vernon [Updated]

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning
SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.

Vehicle-related Deaths Drop 29% in Richmond, VA
The seventh year of the city's Vision Zero strategy also cut the number of people killed in alcohol-related crashes by half.

Downtown Portland Ready for Maine's Tallest Building
The city of Portland anticipates a major new urban development addition called the “Old Port Square” project.

The EV “Charging Divide” Plaguing Rural America
With “the deck stacked” against rural areas, will the great electric American road trip ever be a reality?

Judge Halts Brooklyn Bike Lane Removal
Lawyers must prove the city was not acting “arbitrarily, capriciously, and illegally” in ordering the hasty removal.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Borough of Carlisle
Smith Gee Studio
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)