|
|
| A Line train extension to Claremont gets another push forward, with contracts for design, engineering, construction – Daily News | | The A Line light-rail just keeps on rolling.
On Thursday, Jan. 29, the longest all-electric, light-rail line in the nation was approved for yet another extension, a short, 2.3-mile addition from Pomona to Claremont that will take it to the eastern edge of Los Angeles County. [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Daily News. 2026-02-02 | | | | Trump officials’ loss of credibility in ICE cases seen in court defeats - Los Angeles Times | | Just a few hours after Border Patrol agents shot and killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a statement that said, without evidence, that the 37-year-old registered nurse “wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem would later imply Pretti had been “asked to show up and to continue to resist” by Minnesota’s governor.
Multiple videos from the scene immediately undercut those claims, and there has been no indication in the days since that Pretti threatened or planned to hurt law enforcement.
Several high-profile use-of-force incidents and arrests involving federal immigration agents have involved a similar cycle: strident statements by Trump administration officials, soon contradicted by video or other evidence. Some law enforcement experts believe the repeated falsehoods are harming federal authorities both in the public eye and in the courtroom.
The top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, Bill Essayli, has taken five defendants to trial on charges of assaulting officers — and his office has lost each case. Court records and a Times investigation show grand juries in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles have repeatedly rejected criminal filings from prosecutors in similar cases.
Despite the repeated judicial rebukes, administration officials have continued to push for criminal charges against people at protest scenes, including the controversial arrest of former CNN anchor Don Lemon on Friday.
“When top federal law enforcement leaders in the country push false narratives like this, it leads the public to question everything the government says going forward,” said Peter Carr, a former Justice Department spokesman in Washington who served in Democratic and Republican administrations. “You see that in how judges are reacting. You’re seeing that in how grand juries are reacting. You’re seeing that in how juries are reacting. That trust that has been built up over generations is gone.”
The credibility concerns played out in a downtown L.A. courtroom in September, when Border Patrol Cmdr. Greg Bovino served as the key witness in the assault trial of Brayan Ramos-Brito, who was accused of striking a Border Patrol agent during protests against immigration raids last summer. Video from the scene did not clearly capture the alleged attack, and Bovino was the only Border Patrol official who testified as an eyewitness.
Under questioning from federal public defender Cuauhtémoc Ortega, Bovino initially denied he had been disciplined by Border Patrol for calling undocumented immigrants “scum, filth and trash,” but later admitted he had received a reprimand. The jury came back with an acquittal after deliberating for about an hour. A juror who spoke to The Times outside court said Bovino’s testimony detailing his account of the alleged assault had “no impact” on their decision.
Last year, a Chicago judge ruled Bovino had “lied” in a deposition in a lawsuit over the way agents used force against protesters and journalists.
Spokespersons for Essayli and the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment. [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-02-02 | | | | Wildfire Economic Update: Rebuilding demand follows significant losses | News | ladowntownnews.com | | The Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) and the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC)’s Institute for Applied Economics hosted the second public webinar in a four-part series examining the economic impacts of the January 2025 Eaton and Palisades fires. This year’s long economic impact study is funded through the California Jobs First initiative by the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development and Labor and Workforce Development Agency. [Article] | | by , . 2026-02-02 | | | | Person infected with measles visited Disney California Adventure Park - Los Angeles Times | | As measles outbreaks grow nationally and internationally, cases are increasing in the Southland — including one confirmed Monday in an international traveler who arrived at Los Angeles International Airport and then later visited a Disney park.
In the last week, Orange County has confirmed two cases and L.A. County has confirmed three cases, with the most recent Los Angeles case announced Monday evening in a resident who visited a Sherman Oaks restaurant while infectious.
All infections thus far have been recorded in people who had traveled internationally, and public health officials in both counties are urging residents to get vaccinated.
On Wednesday, an infected person visited Goofy’s Kitchen from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Downtown Disney, the shopping and restaurant district adjacent to the park, and then Disney California Adventure Park from 12:30 p.m. to closing, according to a news release from the Orange County Health Care Agency.
In L.A. County, an infected person visited Mardi Gras Tuesday restaurant at 14543 Ventura Blvd. on Jan. 24 from around 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., according to a news release from the L.A. County Department of Public Health. [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-02-02 | | | | Their homes burned in the LA wildfires. A year later, thousands still can’t return | Los Angeles | The Guardian | | Esmeralda Rodas sits on the ground in front of what was once the front door of her home, haunted by memories of her previous life. She remembers jumping for joy in 1989, when her husband, Hector Rodas, presented her with the Altadena house as a birthday gift.
It was small, Esmeralda says, but it was her castle – with windows overlooking purple mountains that, one night last January, glowed ominously red with wildfires which razed many homes on her street.
One year later, Esmeralda, 64, a longtime nanny, is still in exile. She and her family now live in the nearby city of Glendale in a small house owned by an aunt. It’s comfortable, but sleep eludes her husband. [Article] | | by , . 2026-02-02 | | | | West Sacramento nonprofit opens sustainable farming internship | Sacramento Bee | | A new internship in West Sacramento is teaching youth about becoming leaders in sustainable farming and nutritious food.
Three Sisters Gardens, a nonprofit organization in West Sacramento, is offering a six-week paid internship for youth ages 14 to 24 in its Urban Farm Youth Leadership Development Program.
Participants will learn how to grow nutritious food through sustainable farming technologies and design urban landscapes that support biodiversity. [Article] | | by , Sacramento Bee. 2026-02-02 | | | | Public Health Department confirms first two 2026 measles cases in Los Angeles County - Los Angeles Times | | The Department of Public Health has confirmed the first two measles cases this year in Los Angeles County.
Officials say one person who tested positive for measles had recently traveled outside the country. There were no public exposure locations associated with that case outside of a healthcare facility. The department is now working to identify people who may have been in contact with the individual and are checking their vaccination status.
A second measles case, linked to an international traveler who was infectious while passing through Los Angeles International Airport, was confirmed by the agency Saturday. The department warned that individuals who were at Terminal B on from late Jan. 26 to 1 a.m. Jan. 27 — or at a Dunkin’ Donuts shop in Woodland Hills on Friday afternoon — may have been exposed to the virus.
“Measles is a serious respiratory disease that spreads easily through the air and on surfaces, particularly among people who are not already protected from it,” Los Angeles County Health Officer Dr. Muntu Davis said in a statement.
“A person can spread the illness to others before they have symptoms, and it can take seven to twenty-one days for symptoms to show up after exposure. Measles can lead to severe disease in young children and vulnerable adults. As L.A. County residents begin to travel this summer and with measles cases increasing among those who have recently traveled, we remind everyone that the best way to protect yourself and your family from infection is with the highly effective measles vaccine.” [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-02-02 | | | | Pepper spray usage, violence surged after LA County juvenile hall transfers – Daily News | | Pepper spray usage and violence skyrocketed at Los Angeles County’s second largest juvenile facility last year after dozens of youth were shifted there from the beleaguered Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall, newly released figures from the county Probation Department show. [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Daily News. 2026-02-02 | | | | Healthcare experts warn 'people will die' unless state steps up amid federal cuts - Los Angeles Times | | SACRAMENTO — As massive federal cuts are upending the healthcare system in California, analysts and healthcare professionals are urging state lawmakers to soften the blow by creating new revenue streams and helping residents navigate through the newly-imposed red tape.
“It impacts not only uninsured but also Medicare and commercially insured patients who rely on the same system,” said Dolly Goel, a physician and chief officer for the Santa Clara Valley Healthcare Administration. “People will die.”
Goel was among more than a dozen speakers this week at a state Assembly Health Committee hearing held to collect input on how to address cuts enacted by a Republican-backed tax and spending bill signed last year by President Trump. The committee’s Republican members — Assemblymembers Phillip Chen of Yorba Linda, Natasha Johnson of Lake Elsinore, Joe Patterson of Rockin, and Kate Sanchez of Trabuco Canyon — did not attend.
The so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill” passed by Republicans shifts federal funding away from safety-net programs and toward tax cuts and immigration enforcement. A recent report from the Legislative Analyst’s Office, which advises the state Legislature on budgetary issues, estimated this will reduce funding for healthcare by “tens of billions of dollars” in California and warned about 1.2 million people could lose coverage through Medi-Cal, the state’s version of the federal Medicaid program providing healthcare coverage to low-income Americans.
Congress allowed enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies to expire, which is dramatically increasing the cost of privately-purchased health insurance. Covered California, the state’s Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplace, estimates hundreds of thousands of Californians will either be stripped of coverage or drop out due to increased cost.
Sandra Hernández, president of the California Health Care Foundation, said the federal legislation creates administrative hurdles, requiring Medicaid beneficiaries to meet new work or income requirements and to undergo the eligibility re-determination process every six months instead of annually.
“We are looking at a scenario where otherwise eligible working parents lose their coverage simply because they aren’t able to navigate a complex verification process in a timely way,” she said. [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-02-02 | | | | California can reduce electric rates by easing state mandates – Daily News | | California is a unique state in many ways, but when it comes to energy prices, that’s not a good thing. The Golden State not only has the highest electric rates in the country, rates in California have been rising more than twice as fast as any other state in inflation-adjusted terms.
Why are California’s electric rates so high? [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Daily News. 2026-02-02 | | | | Rent is finally decreasing in Los Angeles, surrounding county. No joke - Los Angeles Times | | Perhaps unnoticed among the issues in this state related to housing affordability is the slight reprieve taking place throughout Los Angeles County.
The price of rent in the city and surrounding county is dropping, bucking regional and statewide trends.
That’s at least the situation discovered by my colleague Jack Flemming, who wrote about the change last month.
Let’s jump into his reporting and see what’s happening.
What the numbers say
Data suggests that the market could be ever-so-slightly shifting.
The median rent in the L.A. metro area dropped to $2,167 in December — the lowest in four years, according to data from Apartment List, which analyzes new leases for one- and two-bedroom apartments in a given month.
The median rent for L.A. County also dropped to a four-year low of $2,035.
Not a common occurrence
The last time L.A. rents were that low was January 2022, in the wake of a furious pandemic home-buying market that saw a wave of renters purchase homes for the first time, leaving apartments empty and bringing prices down.
The drop-off mirrors a national trend, as the U.S. median rent fell to a similar four-year low in December. But within Southern California, the downturn is unique to L.A.
Over the same stretch, rents rose or remained steady in Orange, Ventura and San Bernardino counties and in California as a whole.
One woman’s experience
Sandra Gomez braced for impact as she opened the lease renewal offer for her East L.A. apartment in September. She paid $2,000 for the last 12 months, but since the unit wasn’t covered by L.A.’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance, her landlord could jack up the price for the next lease.
The new price? $1,950.
“I thought it was a mistake,” Gomez said. “Since when does rent get cheaper in L.A.?” [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-02-02 | | | | Public health officials confirm LA County's first measles case of the year | LAist | | The first measles case of the year in Los Angeles County has been confirmed by the L.A. County Department of Public Health. [Article] | | by , . 2026-02-02 | | | | Amid immigration raids, a coalition of U.S. leaders gather in L.A. to share resistance strategies - Los Angeles Times | | On a warm Friday morning, a group of organizers, academics and public officials stood in MacArthur Park, peering at an empty soccer field.
They came from as far away as Florida, Georgia and Chicago as members of the steering committee for Mijente, a national grassroots group that organizes activism within Latino and Chicano communities.
Mijente’s Leadership Circle, meets in person once a year to discuss strategic planning for the Phoenix-based organization.
But this year’s gathering was unlike any other. It came as immigration raids were taking place in each of the members’ cities. They were curious to learn how each of their towns were responding to the Trump administration.
So they met in Los Angeles, where the administration first launched its aggressive, sometimes violent, and indiscriminate raids.
Among the places hit hard by the sweeps were neighborhoods in L.A. City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez’s first district. Hernandez is also a member of the steering committee. [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-02-02 | | | | With immigration crackdown, CA child care hard to find - CalMatters | | On a recent weekday morning in Los Angeles, a young mother dropped off her 2-year-old and 4-year-old at a child care center located in a neighbor’s home. It was the 2-year-old’s birthday, so she also brought a treat for the staff and kids: a “Cars”-themed red velvet cake, the child’s favorite.
Then she went off to her job as an office cleaner. The child care provider never saw her again. [Article] | | by , CalMatters. 2026-02-02 | | | | Second measles case confirmed in LA County. Infected person was at LAX and Disneyland | LAist | | A second case of measles has been confirmed in Los Angeles County. [Article] | | by , . 2026-02-02 | | | | Why California is years late on mandated disaster reports — and why it matters for the next big fire | LAist | | On a fall morning 34 years ago, a fire, rekindled and supercharged by Diablo winds, began its assault on the East Bay hills. Many times since, Californians have lived through similar disasters.
The fire then was fueled by brush — desiccated by both long-term drought and days of 90-degree heat during the peak of California’s fire season. Powerful winds cast embers wide, setting shake roofs alight throughout hilly, narrow neighborhood streets.
First responders were overwhelmed.
Water pressure fell as service lines ruptured and homes burned. [Article] | | by , . 2026-02-02 | | | | California plans not to expand child-care subsidies, leaving families in limbo - Los Angeles Times | | Jazmine Locke has filled out the paperwork and checked all the boxes. As a middle-income worker, she qualifies for California-subsidized day care for her 7-month-old daughter. Yet she holds little hope she will ever make it off the waitlist. Her older son, now 12, never did.
“In my mind, I plan to pay for child care until she doesn’t need it anymore,” said Locke, who lives in Antelope Valley. “That’s not until high school, pretty much.”
Locke, like thousands of other families and providers, is confronting the effects of stalled progress to expand in California’s child-care industry after Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget — with an estimated $3-billion deficit — did not fund his promised expansion of subsidized child care for the second straight year.
The proposal is a blow for low- and middle-income working parents who were hoping that affordable child care would be in their future. But the demand is so high among eligible families that they remain on waitlists for years, and many children age out before they secure a spot. Leaders in the child-care industry are disappointed that Newsom, who has championed early childhood education, has not fulfilled his pledge.
“We are in a difficult budget situation right now, both within California, as well as so much uncertainty federally right now,” said Nina Buthee, executive director of EveryChild California. “But realizing that this is our child-care governor, there was a lot that was promised to the early care and education field, which I feel is half-done.” [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-02-02 | | | | City Moves ‘Better Overland’ Forward with Option B – Culver City Crossroads | | The Culver City Council meeting of Jan 26, 2026 took up the Better Overland project, and passed Option B as the best way to slow down speeders, create protected bike lanes, and keep parking available. The project, which was on both the Consent Calendar and Action Items, sought a green light for grant money and a decision on design. [Article] | | by , . 2026-02-02 | | | | LA County reports third measles case in the past week; all cases are travel-related | | Public health officials confirmed a third case of measles in a resident who recently traveled internationally and visited at least one public location in L.A. County while infectious.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said the three cases reported in the past week are not related. [Article] | | by , . 2026-02-02 | | | | California audits 428 schools with low vaccination rates | LA Local | | The state of California is auditing 428 of its public schools because more than 10% of their kindergartners or seventh grade students were not fully vaccinated last school year. An additional 80 schools did not report their vaccination information to the state. [Article] | | by , . 2026-02-02 | | |
| Showing matches 1 through 20 | |
|
|
|
|
|
