Editorial: Even in trying times, we find plenty to be thankful for

This Thanksgiving, let’s be grateful for giving thanks. Analysis has proven that working towards gratitude is an effective approach to cope with stress or anxiousness. The straightforward act of claiming a honest thanks, or simply counting one’s blessings, can provide a cornucopia of mental and physical benefits.

So we’re lucky to have a nationwide vacation devoted to exhibiting appreciation, reminding us to hunt the great in our fellow People, our shared experiences and ourselves. In that spirit, listed here are a number of the individuals, occasions and extra for which we’re grateful:

— Voters within the metropolis and county of Los Angeles embraced main ethics and authorities reforms this fall. The town will get unbiased redistricting and a stronger Ethics Fee, whereas the county will acquire a bigger Board of Supervisors, an elected government (a sort of county mayor) and, for the primary time, its personal ethics fee. These adjustments ought to give residents extra illustration, transparency and accountability.

— The federal authorities designated the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary off California’s Central Coast to guard the realm’s biodiversity and cultural heritage. The greater than 4,500-square-mile protect would be the first in California to be managed in cooperation with Indigenous peoples.

— Californians handed Proposition 3, guaranteeing marriage rights for same-sex {couples}. The state’s voters had outlawed such marriages in 2008 by approving Proposition 8, and though that initiative was overturned by the courts, its language remained within the state Structure. Now voters have amended the Structure to acknowledge a elementary proper to marry and a larger measure of dignity for all.

— The Dodgers clinched their eighth World Collection title with an exciting, come-from-behind Game 5 victory over the New York Yankees. Freddie Freeman’s MVP efficiency all through the collection was one thing to behold, from his walk-off grand slam within the first sport to the two-run single that helped the Dodgers win all of it.

— The Los Angeles Unified Faculty District is transferring ahead with a ban on pupil cellphone use through the college day. It gained’t be simple to pry the telephones out of youngsters’ arms, however it’s the fitting factor to do for his or her tutorial success and well-being.

— Disneyland will substitute the fume-spewing gasoline engines powering its fashionable Autopia attraction with clear, climate-friendly electric vehicles by 2026 — lastly bringing the park’s Tomorrowland again to the long run.

— Due to voters’ help for a gross sales tax enhance below Measure A, Los Angeles County will get billions of {dollars} a yr for intervention and prevention providers and inexpensive housing to alleviate the area’s homelessness disaster.

— The nation is more and more embracing the concept not everyone needs to go to college to have a significant, well-compensated profession and a full life. New alternatives in coaching and employment are opening up, and it’s about time; Switzerland has been doing this for years.

— California voters approved Proposition 4, a $10-billion state bond measure to finance clear water, local weather and conservation tasks. A few of the cash shall be spent to guard in opposition to wildfires, scale back air air pollution and cope with excessive warmth occasions.

— School admissions may turn out to be fairer now that many faculties are bringing back the requirement that candidates submit SAT or ACT scores. The standardized checks are imperfect, however they’re nearer to an goal, across-the-board measure than anything obtainable, particularly in mild of grade inflation.

— Angelenos overwhelming backed Measure HLA on the March poll, requiring town so as to add bike and bus lanes and pedestrian enhancements. The robust help despatched a transparent message that voters need safer streets and climate-friendly transportation selections.

— DreamWorks launched the humorous and exquisite animated movie “The Wild Robotic,” which reminded us of the which means of household and the liberty to like even below oppression.

— Wild creatures nonetheless handle to share our city and suburban areas with us: Deer decide their method by L.A.’s hillsides, coyotes howl at passing sirens, mockingbirds run by their repertoires like DJs making megamixes, and mountain lions slink out of canyons and into backyards earlier than vanishing once more into the darkish.