The secluded beachside community of Boca Chica Village was once a haven for retirees, snowbirds and outdoorsy people.

Today, the unincorporated area is home to only about half a dozen residents — and SpaceX’s Starship facility.

@smasunaga reports:
latimes.com/business/story…
More change could be in the Texas neighborhood’s future.

In March, SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk tweeted that he wanted to create a city encompassing Boca Chica Village and the surrounding area.

Its name? Starbase. latimes.com/business/story…
Creating a city could have several benefits for SpaceX.

In theory, it might help attract future employees and foster a political climate friendly to a business that’s bound to be a noisy neighbor. latimes.com/business/story…
Incorporating Starbase could give SpaceX more control over local ordinances, such as zoning, which could enable the company to conduct more test flights and launches without having to evacuate the nearby area for safety. latimes.com/business/story…
Workers could be left in a vulnerable position.

“The place’s own viability is tied to the survival of the company,” said Tracy Hadden Loh, a fellow at Brookings.

“It produces really tough outcomes if the place doesn’t make it.” latimes.com/business/story…
Planning appears to be in early stages. Neither Musk nor SpaceX have turned in the paperwork to start the incorporation process.

“There’s a lot associated with incorporating, other than just wanting to,” said Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño Jr. latimes.com/business/story…

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More from @latimes

9 Apr
🛑 When California shut down in March 2020, it halted businesses and required people to stay home. 🛑

Tens of thousands of businesses were ordered to close immediately, and most Californians were asked not to go out.

latimes.com/projects/track… Image
What unfolded over the following year was a dizzying path of openings and closures.

@sandhya__k and @maloym tracked it all ✍️ and found a typical business owner faced seven rule changes over the course of the year.

latimes.com/projects/track…
📈 📉 Over the year, Californians experienced a complex set of guidelines that frequently changed, varied from county to county and created a whipsaw effect where businesses were open one week and sometimes closed within days. 📉📈

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Read 6 tweets
8 Apr
UC students do not have access to equal resources and services across its 10 campuses.

UC Riverside students fall far behind their peers when it comes to receiving essential services — transfer student support, counseling, academic advising.

Thread 👇
latimes.com/california/sto…
Many Riverside facilities are in deep disrepair. Students have endured falling ceiling tiles, leaking roofs, antiquated air systems that emit mold and lab equipment breakdowns. Staff morale has been low and turnover high.

latimes.com/california/sto… Image
Yet the Inland Empire campus educates a larger share of needy students — about half are low-income, underrepresented minorities or the first in their families to attend college — than all other campuses except for UC Merced.

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8 Apr
Even when state restrictions lift, experts say it may be a year or more before California convention centers host the kind of mega-crowds that flocked to Comic-Con, NAMM and E3 in past years.

@hugomartin reports: latimes.com/business/story…
Among the reasons for the smaller events: State officials say COVID-19 protocols for large-scale indoor events will require testing or vaccination verifications, which could exclude some would-be attendees. latimes.com/business/story…
Surveys show that many business travelers still don’t feel safe meeting face-to-face indoors with thousands of strangers. latimes.com/business/story…
Read 5 tweets
8 Apr
As supplies of the vaccine have increased recently some parts of California now have periodic excess.

And that is leading officials to make doses available to all adults, even those not eligible under current rules.
latimes.com/california/sto…
That occurred this week in several places, including Riverside County, Bakersfield, the Bay Area and even parts of Los Angeles. But those extra slots have been filled quickly, leading some to be turned away.

latimes.com/california/sto…
Vaccines remain hard to get for some. But in some parts of the state, access is being thrown open.

latimes.com/california/sto…
Read 5 tweets
8 Apr
By Thursday morning, the site had so many walk-ins that staff started turning people away, said Brian Ferguson, a spokesman with the Office of Emergency Services.

“They weren’t turned away because of eligibility, just because of availability,” he said.
latimes.com/california/sto…
Ferguson said the decision to cut off walk-up access was based on the rate that people with appointments were filling up at the site.
latimes.com/california/sto…
The site typically administers about 7,000 vaccines a day, he said, and about 1,500 of them were spoken for by people who made new appointments overnight or walked up Thursday morning.

latimes.com/california/sto…
Read 4 tweets
8 Apr
A group of parents — who say their children have been illegally shortchanged by Los Angeles Unified School District’s return-to-school plan — is seeking a court order to force the district to reopen “to the greatest extent possible” within seven days.

latimes.com/california/sto…
The lawsuit, filed late Wednesday, asks the court to prohibit L.A. Unified from using a six-foot distancing standard in classrooms because it effectively prevents the school district “from providing in-person instruction to the greatest extent possible.” latimes.com/california/sto…
It also seeks to prohibit the district from requiring students to take regular coronavirus tests as a condition for returning to campus.

latimes.com/california/sto…
Read 4 tweets

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