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| Anaheim Mayor Pushes for More Transparent Ethics Officer | | Anaheim has long been dogged by concerns from many residents and former elected officials that city hall is too close with Disneyland Resort interests. [Article] | | by , Voice of OC. 2026-02-05 | | | | L.A. Council Members Roast Chief McDonnell For Suggesting That LAPD Will Not Enforce Mask Ban ~ L.A. TACO | | On Tuesday morning, several city council members expressed their frustrations during a council meeting about the Los Angeles Police Department’s (LAPD) communication with the public regarding the ongoing ICE raids in Los Angeles, as well as Chief Jim McDonnell’s response to a question about whether or not the LAPD will enforce a state law banning law enforcement officers from wearing face masks in public. [Article] | | by , . 2026-02-05 | | | | Trump says California is full of fraud. Bonta pushes back - Los Angeles Times | | With the Trump administration reportedly in talks to create an anti-fraud task force for California, state Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta on Thursday vehemently denounced what he described as the administration’s “reckless” and “false” rhetoric about fraud plaguing the state.
At a news conference at the Ronald Reagan State Building in downtown Los Angeles, Bonta said the Trump administration’s claims that state programs are overrun by fraud and that its government was itself perpetrating or facilitating this fraud was “outrageous and ridiculous and without basis.”
Bonta said most states struggle with some fraud from outside actors, saying that “anywhere there’s money flowing there’s a risk” and that the state’s Department of Justice has thrown immense resources into cracking down on illicit activities and recovering funds for taxpayers.
As a politicized national fight over waste, fraud and abuse led by Republicans have targeted California and its Democratic leadership, Bonta and other state officials have moved swiftly to combat the claims.
In California, Bonta said, authorities have recovered nearly $2.7 billion through criminal and civil prosecutions since 2016, including some $740 million through Medi-Cal fraud related prosecutions, about $2 billion under the state’s False Claims Act, and an additional $108 million from a task force focused on rooting out tax fraud in the underground economy.
State authorities have frequently partnered with the federal government in the past on such investigations and welcome a good-faith partnership in the future, Bonta said.
CBS News reported on the creation of a California-focused fraud task force earlier this week, citing multiple unnamed sources familiar with the plans. The outlet, whose new editor in chief, Bari Weiss, has been aligned with Trump and spearheaded a major overhaul of the news organization, reported that the president plans to soon sign an executive order naming Vice President JD Vance as head of a group that would also include the head of the Federal Trade Commission as vice chairman.
Trump’s rhetoric fueled doubts about California programs and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s leadership at the start of the year, when he declared that “the fraud investigation of California [had] begun.” [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-02-05 | | | | Trump plans to speed up rebuilding of homes after fires | News | avpress.com | | Trump administration officials traveled to Los Angeles on Wednesday to outline the president’s plan to override state and local rules and speed up the permitting process for the reconstruction of tens of thousands of homes destroyed by last year’s wildfires. [Article] | | by , . 2026-02-05 | | | | How failing talks could spark a legal fight over Colorado River water | | With the leaders of seven states deadlocked over the Colorado River’s deepening crisis, negotiations increasingly seem likely to fail — which could lead the federal government to impose unilateral cuts and spark lawsuits that would bring a complex court battle.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has urged negotiators for the states to reach a deal by Feb. 14, but substantial disagreements remain.
“All seven states know that if we’re unable to achieve an agreement, it would likely fall to the courts, and that would be a lengthy and uncertain process,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said in an interview.
“I’m confident that Colorado would prevail based on the merits,” Polis said, but a court fight is “something that I don’t think any state desires.”
The Colorado River provides water for about 35 million people and 5 million acres of farmland, from the Rocky Mountains to northern Mexico. The water was originally divided among the states in 1922 under an agreement called the Colorado River Compact.
That agreement overpromised what the river could provide. And in the last quarter-century, relentless drought intensified by climate change has sapped the river’s flow and left its giant reservoirs severely depleted. [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-02-05 | | | | LA County Supervisors to consider rental protections for families disrupted by ICE raids – Daily News | | The federal immigration enforcement raids in Los Angeles County continue to ripple through families, causing loss of breadwinners, employment, income and resulting in nonpayment of rents leading to evictions and homelessness.
As a way to stop or at least slow down this disastrous domino effect, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors will consider two separate rent protection ordinances on March 3. [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Daily News. 2026-02-05 | | | | Opinion | LA voters are moving ever leftward this election year | | How liberal is Los Angeles?
That question is very much on the minds of political insiders and observers these days as the city turns to its municipal elections and makes important decisions about its future: how much to invest in public safety, how much to tax its wealthiest residents, how to treat those who live here but without formal immigration documents. [Article] | | by , CalMatters. 2026-02-05 | | | | Siskiyou home care workers seek more than minimum wage | Jefferson Public Radio | | Home care workers are fighting for their first union contract with Siskiyou County, the only California county where providers receive just minimum wage.
In-home supportive services workers, who assist older adults and people with disabilities, are seeking a union contract with Siskiyou County that would raise their pay above the minimum wage.
SEIU Local 2015 representative Laticia Guerrero said they’ve been trying for a contract since 2022. [Article] | | by , . 2026-02-05 | | | | State provides funding for Union Station revamp and wildlife bridge | Urbanize LA | | The state has approved $988.7 million in funding for various highway and transit infrastructure projects statewide, the California Transportation Commission announced yesterday.
"This level of support funds wide-ranging transportation upgrades that provide the backbone of California’s vibrant economy by improving goods movement, expanding transit and rail systems and making our system more bikeable and walkable," said California Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin in a news release. "These benefits will be experienced by every region, including disadvantaged communities throughout the state.” [Article] | | by , . 2026-02-05 | | | | California job losses slow in January as cuts surge nationwide | | Job cuts surged nationwide in January following large layoffs, but California’s losses slowed after a year in which it led the nation in staff reductions.
U.S. employers announced 108,435 cuts in January, more than twice the 49,795 during the same month last year — and triple the 35,553 announced in December, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
The January totals were the highest for the month since 2009, when the financial crisis was ongoing. They included 30,000 cuts by UPS as it winds down ties with Amazon, and 16,000 cuts by the online retail giant itself, which closed retail stores and thinned management ranks.
“Generally, we see a high number of job cuts in the first quarter, but this is a high total for January,” said Andy Challenger, an executive at the outplacement firm.
U.S. employers last month announced plans to hire just 5,306 workers, the lowest total for the month, Challenger said, since it began tracking hiring plans in 2009. In December, employers said they planned to hire 10,496 workers.
Tariffs and persistent inflation have been cited by economists as a drag on the economy.
The massive California economy, by contrast, saw employers announce only 8,286 job cuts in January. That was nearly a third fewer than the same month last year, when the state was battered by disruption in tech and entertainment. [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-02-05 | | | | LA County considers plans to remove unhoused people and clear encampments around Olympic venues | LA Local | | L.A. County is considering plans to remove potentially thousands of unhoused people from areas around sports venues ahead of the Olympic Games in 2028. [Article] | | by , . 2026-02-05 | | | | Palisades fire victims will see building permit fee relief during recovery - Los Angeles Times | | The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday signed off on a plan to give financial relief to Palisades fire victims who are seeking to rebuild, endorsing it nearly 10 months after Mayor Karen Bass first announced it.
On a 15-0 vote, the council instructed the city’s lawyers to draft an ordinance that would spare the owners of homes, duplexes, condominium units, apartment complexes and commercial buildings from having to pay the permit fees that are typically charged by the Department of Building and Safety during the recovery.
Forfeiting those fees is expected to cost as much as $90 million over three years, according to Matt Szabo, the city’s top budget analyst.
The vote came at a time of heightened anxiety over the pace of the city’s decisions on the recovery among fire victims. Bart Young, whose home was destroyed in the fire, told council members his insurance company will cover only half the cost of rebuilding.
“I’m living on Social Security. I’ve lost everything,” he said. “I’m not asking for special treatment. I’m asking for something fair and with some compassion.”
The ordinance must come back for another council vote later this year. Councilmember Traci Park, who pushed for the financial relief, described the vote as a “meaningful step forward in the recovery process.”
“Waiving these fees isn’t the end of a long road, but it removes a real barrier for families trying to rebuild — and it brings us closer to getting people home,” she said in a statement. [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-02-05 | | | | A city that can't win | | Even before the news of the past week — is it really only Thursday? — there was an uneasy tension weighing on the city's conscience. Sure, there are a growing number of reasons for Los Angeles to finagle its way out of hosting the economically risky 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. But if they didn't happen, for whatever reason, wouldn't this be just as economically risky for the region — if not potentially worse? [Article] | | by , . 2026-02-05 | | | | Jim McDonnell, LAPD & the Olympic Imperative | | When LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell publicly announced last week that his department would refuse to enforce California’s “No Secret Police Act,” it revealed more than a policy disagreement—it laid bare a philosophy of policing at odds with decades of reform in Los Angeles. [Article] | | by , . 2026-02-05 | | | | L.A. County cuts nearly $200 million in homeless services - Los Angeles Times | | The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved sweeping cuts to an array of homeless services, a move some advocates said will push more people onto the streets.
Though county voters in 2024 approved a sales tax increase to combat the homelessness crisis, county officials said they faced a more than $270-million budget shortfall in trying to maintain current homeless service operations.
That’s because the cost to run the entire system is rising, while some state and federal funds that previously paid for certain programs are going away, according to the newly created Los Angeles County Department of Homeless Services and Housing.
“We are having to make extremely difficult decisions ... given our fiscal realities,” Sarah Mahin, the department’s director, told supervisors before the vote Tuesday.
Mahin described the new spending plan as one that tries to preserve as much interim and permanent housing as possible.
Instead, $27 million will be cut from outreach and navigation programs that help homeless individuals get into housing.
Other cuts are coming to some forms of rental assistance, as well as a program that funds the acquisition of apartment buildings to house homeless people.
Pathway Home, the county program that cleans up encampments and moves people into motels and shelters, will see a $92-million cut in funding, according to the county homeless department.
Rachel Kassenbrock, a spokeswoman for the county department, said the number of new encampment cleanups in which people are moved into motels will drop from 30 to 10 next fiscal year. Any additional cleanups are “to be determined” and must rely on other forms of interim housing, such as congregate shelters. [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-02-05 | | | | After court ruling, Democratic lawmakers carry out congressional oversight at ICE facility in Los Angeles - Los Angeles Times | | U.S. Reps. Norma Torres and Jimmy Gomez conducted a congressional oversight inspection of the ICE facility in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday amid reports of an undisclosed holding area for immigrant families.
The visits comes three days after a federal court judge granted the lawmakers and others a temporary restraining order, blocking the Trump administration and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem from enforcing a policy requiring members of Congress to provide a week’s notice before visiting immigration detention facilities.
Torres (D-Pomona) and Gomez (D-Los Angeles) and other plaintiffs filed a lawsuit last year challenging the Homeland Security policy. They won the lawsuit in December but are challenging it once more after several Congress members allege Noem “secretly reimposed” the seven-day-notice requirement.
Congress has stipulated in yearly appropriations packages since 2020 that federal funds may not be used to prevent a member of Congress “from entering, for the purpose of conducting oversight, any facility operated by or for the Department of Homeland Security used to detain or otherwise house aliens.”
The 14-day restraining order allowed Gomez to gain access for the first time since Noem reimposed the advanced notice policy last month. Since June, when immigration enforcement escalated in Los Angeles, he has attempted to conduct several oversight visits there but was denied access.
Gomez, whose district covers downtown, said he was also visiting the facility to look into reports that immigrant families and children and U.S. citizens were being held in an previously unknown area dubbed “B-17.”
Many of the immigrants who have been taken into custody by federal immigration agents are typically held and booked at the downtown L.A. facility’s basement known as B-18. That holding area had become the center of litigation last year over reports of inhumane conditions and lack of access to legal counsel. Some immigrants said they have been held for weeks at the facility. [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-02-05 | | | | Yes, you can bike to LAX ... if you really, really… | KCRW | | Telling someone you’re a cyclist in LA is a little like saying all your clothes are made from animals you’ve hunted yourself: People are impressed, possibly annoyed at the unnecessary and performative difficulty, and slightly worried about your mental health. Civilization has moved beyond this, their eyes tell you as they back slowly away. [Article] | | by , . 2026-02-05 | | | | California bill would make fossil fuel companies help pay for rising insurance costs | | A bill that would make oil and gas companies pay for rising insurance costs due to climate-related disasters was introduced this week in the Legislature.
SB 982, the Affordable Insurance Recovery Act, would authorize California’s attorney general to file civil litigation against fossil fuel companies to recover losses from climate-induced disasters experienced by policyholders and the state’s insurer of last resort.
California home insurance premiums have been rising by double-digit rates following a series of devastating wildfires across the state over the last decade. The Jan. 7, 2025, Eaton and Palisades fires alone are expected to result in up to $45 billion in insured damages.
“With California’s paying such a massive cost for climate-related disasters, we have to ask who is not paying?” Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) said at a Thursday press conference held outside the state Capitol.
“We know who is — the survivors, taxpayers, policyholders, whose rates are going up throughout the state. But the answer in terms of who is not paying is fossil fuel corporations,” said Wiener, the bill’s lead author.
The recovered funds would compensate policyholders for rising premiums and other expenses, including the cost of fire-proofing their properties.
The California Fair Plan Assn. would be eligible for compensation, too. The insurer of last resort, operated and backed by the state’s licensed home insurers, has seen its rolls skyrocket as member insurers have dropped policyholders in wildfire-prone neighborhoods. [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-02-05 | | | | Are the Olympics worth the cost? A new report asks LA leaders to consider canceling | LAist | | The coming Olympic Games in Los Angeles have been under a harsh spotlight, as LA28 head Casey Wasserman faces calls to resign over his recently released racy emails with convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell and chatter around ICE agents operating at the Winter Games.
Now, a community organization is reiterating calls on Los Angeles elected officials to seriously consider canceling the Olympics altogether. [Article] | | by , . 2026-02-05 | | | | Moreno Valley votes against warehouse moratorium, bucking local trend | | Moreno Valley will not join other nearby areas in temporarily banning new warehouse developments after the City Council voted against a proposed moratorium Tuesday.
Concerns about warehouses have increased in recent years among Inland Empire residents who say they have clogged streets with diesel trucks and sometimes introduced heavy layers of smog.
In recent years, more than a half-dozen area cities have established moratoriums as they consider the environmental impacts and the health of residents.
Proponents argue that warehouses bring jobs to a region that has become dependent on the industry.
Moreno Valley, with a population of nearly 214,000 that is nearly 62% Latino, is the second largest city in Riverside County, which has seen a rapid influx of warehouse developments over the past decade. City staffers reported that there are only about 92 acres left for development.
The city is already the future home of the World Logistics Center, a 40-million-square-foot complex that is expected to house 27 buildings and create more than 33,000 jobs.
The moratorium proposal came at a time when Moreno Valley was set to update its general plan, which is a guide for future development in the city. A pause on warehouse development would have prevented complications with applications under the current general plan, said City Atty. Steven Quintanilla.
On Tuesday, speakers from labor unions were among those urging the City Council to vote down the 45-day moratorium.
“Moreno Valley has been a place where people come to work, build careers and move up,” said Juan Serrato with the Laborers International Union North America. “This moratorium sends the opposite message. It tells investors and developers to wait, and when they wait, our members sit at home.” [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-02-05 | | |
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