| San Clemente approves Border Protection surveillance tower - Los Angeles Times |
| A new U.S. Customs and Border Protection surveillance system will keep watch over San Clemente’s shores for any incoming panga boats that could be carrying migrants aboard.
The San Clemente City Council on Tuesday approved a lease agreement with the federal agency to station the $1-million maritime surveillance tower on a hilltop at the Avenida Salvador Reservoir.
Under the terms, CBP would foot the bill for associated utilities costs and pay a one-time $10 fee.
“From a public safety standpoint, I want to deter these pangas from coming in, period,” said Mayor Rick Loeffler. “I just want them to know that it isn’t safe for them to come here and come this way.” [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-01-22 |
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| LA Metro approves Sepulveda Pass high-speed rail plan with UCLA stop - Daily Bruin |
| The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority unanimously approved a multibillion dollar high-speed rail plan through the Sepulveda Pass – which includes a stop on UCLA’s campus – Thursday. [Article] |
| by , . 2026-01-22 |
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| 'Unconstitutional and cruel': ICE memo allows agents to enter homes without judicial warrant - Los Angeles Times |
| WASHINGTON — Democratic lawmakers and constitutional rights experts expressed outrage after reports that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials had written a memo stating that deportation agents are allowed to enter immigrants’ homes — by force, if necessary — without a judicial arrest warrant.
The internal memo authorizes ICE agents to forcibly enter a residence to arrest someone as long as the agents have an administrative warrant with a final deportation order.
Administrative warrants are internal documents issued by immigration authorities and are not signed by judges. Arrest warrants are court orders based on probable cause that a crime has been committed.
Government critics say the memo, first obtained by the Associated Press, represents a reversal of longstanding guidance that aimed to adhere to constitutional limits on government searches. Immigrants have long been advised not to open their doors to agents unless they see a warrant signed by a judge.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committe, demanded an investigation into the new policy, which he said should “appall every American.”
Blumenthal, expressing his concerns in a letter Wednesday to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, said the guidance constituted a “flagrant disregard for the lawful protections that have safeguarded the American public and our democracy for the last 250 years.” [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-01-22 |
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| Why does the Trump administration want your personal voter data? LAist explains | LAist |
| California is among several dozen states that have thus far resisted the Trump administration’s demands for access to sensitive information, including driver’s license and Social Security numbers, about tens of millions of voters. Earlier this month, a federal judge in L.A. dismissed the administration’s lawsuit against California, saying the federal government doesn’t have a right to the personal information of the state’s 23 million voters. [Article] |
| by , . 2026-01-22 |
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| Commentary: A walk through promising, problem-plagued MacArthur Park with its council member - Los Angeles Times |
| I’m standing in the northern section of MacArthur Park with City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, and the modern-day struggles of the historic space are all around us.
People lie on the sidewalk or stand hunched over and motionless. Others lounge on spotty lawns near overflowing trash cans. Graffiti besmirch trees. Police and firefighter sirens wail in the distance.
So much to see, so much to consider in a place that has transformed into a Rorschach test for how some people see the challenges of Los Angeles. And what Hernandez initially wanted me to pay attention to were ... faded red curbs.
“We redid all of them in this area,” the first-term council member proudly said. “And you’re probably thinking, like, ‘Girl, like, that does not look like it’s redone.’ But the amount of labor and resources that we had to put in to get this done, even if it’s not pretty anymore, that’s just a little tiny bit of the work you do around MacArthur Park.”
What I was thinking, in fact, was that I was quite underwhelmed by the faded red curbs as a signpost for progress. [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-01-22 |
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| LA Metro OKs underground rail through Sepulveda Pass – Daily News |
| By unanimous vote, the LA Metro Board on Thursday, Jan. 22, approved an underground rail project through the Sepulveda Pass, setting the stage for the first transit connection between two key Los Angeles areas: The Westside and the San Fernando Valley. [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Daily News. 2026-01-22 |
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| The Trump administration continues to politically target California’s transportation funding – Daily News |
| The Trump administration claims California has failed to follow its order to cancel 17,000 commercial driver’s licenses held by non-U.S. citizens, so the US Department of Transportation is withholding $160 million from the state. The California Department of Motor Vehicles says it is in full compliance with federal rules, and this is just the latest example of the administration threatening to pull funds from Democratic states for political reasons. [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Daily News. 2026-01-22 |
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| Arcata to Humboldt County: Cell tower project opposed unless there are changes |
| The Arcata City Council approved a letter of opposition to a proposed telecommunications tower on Wednesday. The letter, which recommends conditions be put on the project, was approved unanimously without discussion during the meeting’s consent agenda.
The letter, addressed to the Humboldt County Planning and Building Department, surrounds a tower in the Sunny Brae area near the Arcata Community Forest at 422 Shirley Boulevard.
Residents have met in opposition to the tower as the Friends of Grotzman Creek Watershed and took their cause to the council, pointing to preserving the natural environment of the forest and traffic issues surrounding the around 180-foot tower proposed to be used for up to three wireless service carriers.
While the tower is outside city limits, the council noted the city’s vested interest in the property, given its location within Arcata’s Planning Area and its access via Shirley Boulevard, which is under the city’s jurisdiction.
“The city holds concerns regarding its proximity to Arcata residences and the potential impacts on public safety, environmental resources, and nearby neighborhoods,” the letter states. [Article] |
| by , Eureka Times-Standard. 2026-01-22 |
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| New LA County pumping station to beat gravity and ensure water delivery during drought – Daily News |
| Los Angeles and Ventura county officials broke ground Wednesday on a $280 million pump station project designed to ensure water is available in Southern California communities that were hard hit during recent California droughts. [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Daily News. 2026-01-22 |
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| Trump administration calls 7 governors to Colorado River talks in D.C. - Los Angeles Times |
| With Western states deadlocked in negotiations over how to cut water use along the Colorado River, the Trump administration has called in the governors of seven states to Washington to try to hash out a consensus.
The governors of at least four — Utah, Arizona, Nevada and Wyoming — say they’ll attend the meeting next week led by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, but California Gov. Gavin Newsom won’t.
Newsom is “unable to attend but plans to send key representatives of his administration to attend in his place,” spokesperson Anthony Martinez said in an email.
Representatives of the seven states that depend on the river have met regularly for two years trying to agree on how much less water each will take after the current rules expire at the end of this year.
Federal officials have told the states’ leaders to come to an agreement, giving them until Feb. 14.
The states are “actively engaged and doing the hard work needed to reach consensus,” said JB Hamby, chair of California’s Colorado River Board, who will attend the meeting.
Hamby said California will “continue to lead” with real commitments of water reductions “because shared responsibility means every state has to do its part.” California has used less water the last three years under a temporary deal, with farmers being paid to leave some of their hay fields dry part of the year.
“My expectation for this meeting is that everyone comes prepared to put forward what every state can contribute … to support the system that sustains us all,” he said in an email.
In the negotiations, the three downstream or lower basin states — California, Arizona and Nevada — are at odds with the four states in the river’s upper basin — Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico. [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-01-22 |
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| Long Beach vowed to eliminate deadly crashes; instead, they’re the highest in over a decade • Long Beach Post News |
| Along busy streets in Long Beach’s Washington neighborhood, longtime resident Jesus Esparza says locals will consider just about anything to keep themselves safe from speeding drivers.
The latest idea: leaving reflective vests on the worst street corners so pedestrians can don them while crossing and leave them for the next passerby. [Article] |
| by , . 2026-01-22 |
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| The annual homeless count is underway, but families remain hard to track | LAist |
| Volunteers are fanning out across the region tonight for the last night of L.A.’s annual homeless count to get a census of the unhoused population. But advocates say there’s one population that’s especially hard to get an accurate count of: families.
The way the count works is that volunteers count who they can physically see on the streets. [Article] |
| by , . 2026-01-22 |
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| LA Metro Board says heck yeah to proposed Sepulveda Transit Corridor train route — with a warning | LAist |
| The Los Angeles Metro Board unanimously voted Thursday to proceed with developing a 14-mile-long subway under the Santa Monica Mountains. It’s one of the first significant steps in what city and county leaders are describing as the region's most consequential transit project and perhaps one of the most important in the country. [Article] |
| by , . 2026-01-22 |
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| Metro Board goes against staff recommendation for South Bay extension | LAist |
| Metro’s Board of Directors voted Thursday in favor of a different route for a light rail extension farther into South Bay than the one staff for the countywide transportation agency recommended.
Three members of Metro’s Board formally asked their colleagues to approve the alternate route Friday, less than a week before the meeting. [Article] |
| by , . 2026-01-22 |
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| LA transit agency seeks to override state law allowing more homes near train and bus lines | LAist |
| Before it passed last year, a major new California housing law that allows more apartments near public transit stops faced stiff opposition from Los Angeles politicians.
L.A. elected leaders are continuing to fight it, arguing the law jeopardizes efforts to expand local transportation infrastructure. [Article] |
| by , . 2026-01-22 |
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| Calabasas loses court case to stop LA County from sending fire debris to its landfill | LAist |
| Calabasas sued L.A. County in February 2025 in an attempt to stop the trucking of Palisades Fire debris to the city's landfill, citing concerns about hazardous materials. This week, an L.A. County Superior Court judge denied the city's petition, writing that the county followed appropriate processes. [Article] |
| by , . 2026-01-22 |
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| Mike Hestrin: Proposition 36 is working but the state must fund treatment – Daily News |
| With the overwhelming passage of Proposition 36 in November 2024, California voters sent a clear message to state lawmakers: it is time to end the public safety and public health crises of untreated addiction and rampant retail theft. [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Daily News. 2026-01-22 |
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| Anduril to invest another $1 billion in California with new Long Beach campus - Los Angeles Times |
| Anduril Industries, one of the leading defense companies in Southern California, will expand in Long Beach with a new $1-billion complex near the city’s airport.
Anduril is developing new defense technologies that include drones, missiles, robotic submarines, and autonomous fighter jets. The Long Beach operation will include offices for designer engineers and coders, along with lab space and prototype manufacturing facilities, the company said Thursday.
The new facility will be built at Douglas Park, an industrial park just north of Long Beach Airport with a history of aerospace manufacturing. Anduril has leased more than 1 million square feet of land from real estate developer Sares Regis Group, which will build the new campus.
Construction will begin by the middle of the year, Anduril co-founder Matt Grimm said, and the first building in the complex will open by the end of 2027.
The campus will span approximately 1.18 million square feet across six buildings, combining 750,000 square feet of office space with 435,000 square feet of industrial space dedicated to research and development.
“As we look at the next five to 10 years of growth for the company, we’re going to be embarking on a whole bunch of new programs,” Grimm said. “That means we’re going to need to hire people.” [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-01-22 |
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| 11 crashes recorded in last 3 years at Huntington Beach intersection – NBC Los Angeles |
| A Huntington Beach resident who’s been documenting the number of crashes that have happened along a busy intersection near his home is pushing for changes to improve safety. [Article] |
| by , KNBC Los Angeles. 2026-01-22 |
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| Port of Los Angeles plans for growth after 'roller coaster' year - Los Angeles Times |
| As economic uncertainty and steep tariffs shook global trade in 2025, the Port of Los Angeles remained the busiest marine gateway in the country and recorded its third busiest year ever.
Executive Director Gene Seroka outlined investments in infrastructure, technology and climate initiatives at the 11th annual State of the Port on Thursday. Near the waterfront in San Pedro, Seroka addressed a 930-person crowd that included Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Los Angeles City Councilmember Tim McOsker.
The port is getting ready to meet ambitious climate goals and accommodate increasing cargo volume in the decades ahead, Seroka said. In 2028, the port will host six boating and sailing events during the Summer Olympic Games.
“From accelerated dips in volume to record highs, [2025] truly was a roller coaster,” Seroka said Thursday. “Cargo remains the lifeblood of the U.S. economy. American farmers, manufacturers, retailers and consumers all depend on how well we move that cargo.”
The Port of Los Angeles moved 10.2 million cargo containers last year, representing a less than 1% decrease from 2024. The port’s busiest year on record was 2021, when it processed 10.6 million containers in the midst of the pandemic.
2025 was characterized by volatility, Seroka said, as manufacturers and merchants scrambled to keep up with President Trump’s changing tariffs on key trade partners. As shippers frontloaded their goods to get ahead of import taxes, cargo volumes swung high and low.
In April, the port moved 842,806 containers, 9% more compared with the same time period in 2024. In May, cargo volume fell to 5% lower than the year prior. July was the busiest month in the port’s 118-year history with more than 1 million containers moved.
“Despite uncertainty and global instability regarding changing tariffs policies, the port stood strong, rising to the occasion and meeting this moment,” Bass said Thursday. [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-01-22 |
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