Headlines: Fire Damages ‘Karate Kid’ Apartment; Exploring Lao Cuisine in SoCal

Happy International Women's Day! Welcome to L.A. TACO’s daily news briefs, where we bring our loyal members, readers, and supporters the latest headlines about Los Angeles politics and culture. Stay informed and look closely.

—Melissa Lucio, a mother of twelve, is scheduled to be executed in Texas next month despite several judges concluding that her trail was unfair as well as a coerced confession in the falling death of her daughter. [Innocence Project/HBO]

—LAUSD has seen a 40% drop in enrollment in the last 20 years, as some schools struggle to operate with declining numbers. [LAT]

—A new book looks at the rise of Mexican neighborhoods in Chicago and their fight against gentrification. [Borderless Mag]

—Reseda's South Seas apartment building, made famous as Daniel LaRusso's place in Karate Kid and Cobra Kai, was damaged in a fire last night, with no reported injuries to residents. [KTLA]

—An injured, beached pygmy sperm whale was euthanized on Malibu's Surfrider Beach on Sunday. [KTLA]

—The New York Times explores four Lao restaurants in Southern California. [NYT]

—Artist Noni Olabisi, known for powerful community murals in Los Angeles, is dead at 67. [LAT]

—The City of L.A. is suing three companies, including Monsanto, for polluting our local waterways with dangerous PCBs. [SMDP]

—Help Stop Mobil Exxon's "dangerous proposal to restart three offshore oil platforms in the Santa Barbara Channel and send nearly 70 oil-filled tanker trucks per day on our coastal highways." [Environmental Defense Center]