LA Examiner

Author: Molly Peck

  • Disney’s Cali Dream Town: A Real-Life Incredibles-Inspired Community Unfolds

    Disney’s Cali Dream Town: A Real-Life Incredibles-Inspired Community Unfolds

    Image credit: Unsplash

    Disney’s entertainment giant is back with a new venture outside the entertainment industry. Disney has unveiled new details about its upcoming Storyliving project in Riverside County, a master-planned community designed to showcase the company’s whimsy and wonder. A venture into real estate is a bold and revolutionary step by the entertainment giant. However, the project is an arena to diversify entertainment through different industry packages.

    One of the standout features of the development is the Parr House, a gathering space named after the mid-century style home of the superhero family in Disney and Pixar’s Incredibles 2. The Parr House will feature a main entertaining room, art studio, kitchen, dining room, boardroom, five bedrooms, and an elevated patio with views of the nearby mountains and the community’s grand oasis.

    Membership of the Artisan Club, which offers access to the Parr House and other features such as a designated beach area, will be available to Cotino residents and non-residents. Open to Cotino residents and non-residents, the club will provide members with Disney entertainment, events, and spaces inspired by Disney stories.

    Disney is building Cotino on 618 acres in Rancho Mirage, near where Walt Disney once owned a home. For the project, Disney is working with Arizona-based DMB Development, which specializes in planned communities. The project will ultimately include around 1,932 residential units, with sales expected to begin in 2023 and the first homes expected to be complete by 2024. Various home types, including estates, single-family homes, and condominiums, will be available. In addition, the project will dedicate at least one development section for residents aged 55 or older. The community will also include a professionally managed public beach park accessible to residents and visitors by purchasing a day pass.

    LA Examiner 4

    Disney plans to inspire Cotino residents to pursue their interests, create new friendships, and write the next exciting chapter in their lives. The company has also stated that it’s exploring other locations for potential future projects, but Disney has not publicly announced the details.

    However, Disney faces pressure to rein costs, particularly in the increasingly crowded streaming arena, where it competes with rivals like Netflix and Amazon. As a result, the company’s CEO, Bob Iger, recently announced plans to cut 7,000 jobs to raise its finances and increase profits in its streaming business. People familiar with the matter have disclosed that the layoffs will affect roles in the units formerly known as Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution and Disney General Entertainment. This is in addition to corporate positions and jobs in the theme parks, experiences, and consumer products business.

    Disney’s venture into real estate development is a departure from its traditional focus on entertainment, but it could provide a new avenue for growth and profitability. The company has a loyal following of fans eager to experience the Disney brand in new ways, and the Storyliving project could capitalize on that enthusiasm. As Disney seeks to navigate the rapidly changing media landscape, it will be interesting to see how it continues to innovate and expand its business beyond its core offerings.

  • LA Educators’ Triumph: 60K Workers Strike and Score Big-Time Victory

    LA Educators’ Triumph: 60K Workers Strike and Score Big-Time Victory

    Image credit: Unsplash

    Last week, sixty thousand education workers in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) went on strike to protest unfair labor practices, bringing classes to a halt. The SEIU Local 99 union, representing service workers and support staff, including bus drivers, cafeteria workers, and teaching assistants, was joined in solidarity by the United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) union, resulting in a massive show of support.

    The strike lasted three days and ended after the school district reached a tentative agreement with SEIU 99. The agreement includes a 30 percent raise, retroactive pay ranging from $4,000 to $8,000, a $1,000 one-time bonus, and total healthcare benefits for more classes of workers. The agreement also covers teacher assistants, community representatives, and after-school workers. If the agreement passes, the average salary of SEIU 99 members will increase from $25,000 to $33,000 per year.

    During the strike, SEIU 99 members voiced their frustration, revealing that many work two or three jobs to make ends meet. In this regard, many shared that they struggle to afford housing in a city where the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment exceeds $2,800 a month. Furthermore, nearly a quarter of SEIU members report facing hunger at some point.

    Before now, both SEIU 99 and UTLA unions had already been negotiating for higher pay and better working conditions; however, the strike was triggered by unfair labor practices, with allegations of harassment and surveillance of SEIU 99 union members. The strike became legally possible when SEIU 99 filed unfair labor practice charges with The Public Employment Relations Board.

    LA Examiner 1

    Despite having $5 billion in reserves, the unions have faced challenges in contract negotiations, which prompted support by several local and state politicians, including former LAUSD superintendent Austin Beutner. Beutner points out that the district could afford a wage increase, highlighting SEIU 99 workers’ vital roles during the pandemic in feeding children who relied on school meals even when instruction had moved online.

    The support, however, was met with opposition. Stuart Waldman, president of the Valley Industry & Commerce Association and a private LA28 Olympics Organizing Committee member, tweeted his opposition to UTLA’s involvement in the strike, claiming that the union does not care about kids and that “the entire strike was theater.”

    This is not the first strike to occur in LAUSD. In 2019, UTLA led a six-day walkout to protest large class sizes, the district’s funding of charter schools, and a lack of resources and support provided to teachers and students. The strike was successful in obtaining more concessions from the district.

    This recent strike by SEIU 99 and UTLA focused on the ongoing efforts of workers to achieve better working conditions and wages in a city with such a high cost of living. The tentative agreement between SEIU 99 and the district is a step in the right direction, as the bargaining between UTLA and the district remains open, and their fight for fair labor practices continues.