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| Deputy convicted for pepper spraying woman departs LA County Sheriff’s Department – Daily News | | A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy who remained employed a year after he was convicted of excessive force and four months after he lost his certification to work as a peace officer has been removed from his job.
Trevor Kirk’s separation Friday from the Sheriff’s Department came one day after activists at a Civilian Oversight Commission meeting questioned the deputy’s continued employment despite his decertification by the state in November. [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Daily News. 2026-02-23 | | | | San Diegan was given 60 days to vacate. It's now an Airbnb | | Around this time last year, Kathleen Cuizon was scrolling through San Diego listings on Airbnb. But she wasn’t looking to schedule her next vacation getaway. She was looking for her old apartment. [Article] | | by , iNewSource. 2026-02-23 | | | | ICE and Border Patrol weapons spending exploded in 2025, says new report | LAist | | Federal immigration enforcement agencies' weapons spending exploded last year, according to a new report put out by U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff of California.
The report, issued Thursday, found that ICE spending commitments increased by 360% in the last year on guns, less lethal weapons, ammunition and related gear, compared to contracts from 2024. [Article] | | by , . 2026-02-23 | | | | The company Ridwell tries to recycle the really difficult plastics - Los Angeles Times | | SAN LEANDRO — A start-up recycling company has a message for its potential, environmentally conscious customers: Don’t send your problem garbage to the landfill; put it on your front porch.
The company is Ridwell, and if you drive the residential streets of the San Francisco Bay Area or Los Angeles, you’re likely to see the company’s signature white metal boxes on porches.
The boxes are for empty tortilla chip and plastic produce bags, used clothing, light bulbs and batteries. In some locations, polystyrene peanuts. All the things you’re not supposed to put in the blue recycle bin, but wish you could.
The Seattle-based waste service is geared toward people who worry their waste will end up in the landfill, or get exported to a developing country in Asia. They sort their waste into colorfully labeled canvas bags the company provides, and wait for a Ridwell pickup.
“Sorting is our special sauce,” said Gerrine Pan, the company’s vice president of partnerships. Part of the reason the company is successful at finding markets — or buyers — for its waste, she said, is that it’s sorted and pretty clean (unlike the food-contaminated jumble of waste that gets stuffed in many blue bins).
The company promises to distribute all that waste to specialty recyclers, manufacturers, even thrift shops. [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-02-23 | | | | LAUSD borrowing $250 million to settle sex abuse claims — on top of earlier half billion - Los Angeles Times | | With costs mounting for alleged sexual misconduct cases, the Los Angeles school board has approved $250 million in bonds — on top of $500 million already authorized less than a year ago — to fund payouts to victims.
The cost of both bond issues, including financing, is expected to be more than $1 billion, based on cost estimates provided by the district, and will be paid out of the district’s general fund over at least a decade. The gradual repayment will lessen an immediate budget strain.
The board’s unanimous action this week authorized the administration to purchase a new round of “judgment obligation bonds.” This special instrument is essentially a loan from investors that can be drawn down as needed to pay off sexual misconduct claims as they arise.
The additional money is needed, said L.A. schools Supt. Alberto Carvalho, because “we are exhausting funds available to us to satisfy sex and molestation cases that have been brought against the district, in many instances, reflecting cases that go back decades, that the district is not willing — not able — to successfully defend.
“So, these multi, multimillion-dollar judgments against the district need to be satisfied, and without the judgment-obligation bonds, we would have to use general fund as cash to satisfy them,” he said. [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-02-23 | | | | PacifiCorp reaches $575M settlement with feds over 2020 wildfires | Jefferson Public Radio | | Since 2020, the federal government has filed multiple lawsuits against PacifiCorp, an electrical utility owned by Berkshire Hathaway and the parent company of Pacific Power. [Article] | | by , . 2026-02-23 | | | | Trans athletes face intense efforts to sideline them. These California teens are resisting - Los Angeles Times | | At a recent meeting of California’s high school sports governing board, two seniors from Arroyo Grande High School spoke out against a transgender peer competing on their track and field team and allegedly “watching” them in the girls’ locker room.
One of the Central Coast students said she is “more comfortable” changing in her car now. The other cited a Bible verse about God creating men and women separately, and accused the California Interscholastic Federation of subjecting girls to “exploitative and intrusive behavior that is disguised through transgender ideology.”
“Our privacy is being compromised and our sports are being taken over,” she said.
During the same meeting, Trevor Norcross, the father of 17-year-old transgender junior Lily Norcross, offered a starkly different perspective.
“Bathrooms and locker rooms are the most dangerous place for trans students, and when they are at their most vulnerable,” he said. “Our daughter goes to extreme lengths to avoid them. Unfortunately, sometimes you can’t.” [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-02-23 | | | | Cities gearing up for a fight against LA County’s one-half cent healthcare sales tax – Daily News | | A half-cent sales tax before L.A. County voters in June that attempts to backfill deep federal cuts to health care services faces growing opposition from dozens of cities and local anti-tax-watchdog groups who are expected to campaign against the measure. [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Daily News. 2026-02-23 | | | | Hundreds of San Diego County schools, parks and care facilities are near potentially dangerous oil wells, data show – San Diego Union-Tribune | | Hundreds of schools, child cares, parks and other care facilities around San Diego County are located near idle oil wells, which can emit toxic gases, a new study finds.
They’re among the nearly 4,500 wells statewide that an analysis of state data by the Center for Biological Diversity found are within 3,200 feet of such sensitive locations. That’s the minimum distance state law requires new oil and gas drilling to be from such sites. [Article] | | by , San Diego Union-Tribune. 2026-02-23 | | | | In LA neighborhoods hardest hit by ICE, residents step up when local leaders won't | | Most days, but especially on weekends, the sidewalks between the Valley Indoor Swap Meet and the El Super grocery store in Panorama City are vibrant, bustling with vendors and neighbors chatting over music as steam rises from food stalls. [Article] | | by , . 2026-02-23 | | | | ICE whistleblower documents reveal deep cuts to training program - Los Angeles Times | | WASHINGTON — New whistleblower documents detail substantial cuts by the Trump administration to the training requirements for new immigration officers.
Among the cuts are the elimination of practical exams, use of force and legal training courses, and an overall reduction in training time, contrary to an official’s testimony to Congress earlier this month.
The documents, provided to Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) by whistleblowers from the Department of Homeland Security, were publicly revealed ahead of a forum Monday with congressional Democrats — the third in recent weeks probing what the members view as abusive and illegal tactics used by federal agents.
Lauren Bis, deputy assistant public affairs secretary at Homeland Security, said no training hours have been cut.
“Our officers receive extensive firearm training, are taught de-escalation tactics, and receive 4th and 5th Amendment comprehensive instruction,” she said. “The training does not stop after graduation from the academy. Recruits are put on a rigorous on-the-job training program that is tracked and monitored.” [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-02-23 | | | | Frustrated by chronic homelessness, they found an answer hiding in plain sight - Los Angeles Times | | SAN DIEGO — Light rain slicked the pavement in San Diego’s East Village neighborhood on a recent morning, forcing some homeless people to scatter while others huddled under tents or slept through the drizzle.
I was on foot with Dr. Aaron Meyer, a psychiatrist frustrated by California’s most visible crisis: The failure to provide help for many of the people who need it most, despite all the programs rolled out over the years, and all the billions of dollars spent.
We see them in parks, on sidewalks and in other public spaces in obvious distress, and we’ve heard the never-ending conversations and political promises of better days. The problem goes well beyond homelessness: Thousands of severely ill people live with exasperated family members who wear themselves out trying to get help for loved ones.
“We have a history of services that have ended up prioritizing less severe people rather than the most severe,” said Meyer, a UC San Diego associate clinical professor of psychiatry who was speaking on his own behalf, not as a university rep.
In searching for answers, Meyer teamed with lawyer Ann Marie Council, a former San Diego deputy city attorney who once worked in drug court. She was struck by the number of clients spun through the system countless times without getting treatment for addiction or mental illness.
“I was really sick and tired of watching people go to jail when they weren’t getting the help they needed,” said Council, who retired from public service and started Quarter Turn Strategies, a consulting firm focused on practical solutions to fractured public services.
It turns out the doctor and the lawyer make a pretty good team. In their research, they came upon a tool that could address chronic severe mental illness and addiction, and it was hiding in plain sight: in a book of California statutes, namely Section 5200 of the California Welfare and Institutions Code.
The state law governing involuntary commitments and conservatorships for people with severe mental illness is known as the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act, and it includes the commonly used Section 5150 for those deemed “gravely disabled.” The process begins with a 72-hour hold that can lead to a longer commitment, but often does not.
Section 5200 outlines a far more thorough evaluation and care plan than 5150. The 5200 process can be initiated by anybody concerned about someone who is gravely disabled or a danger to themselves or others (with misdemeanor penalties for abuse of the reporting privilege).
Dr. Susan Partovi, who has practiced street medicine in Los Angeles for many years, has a term for the 72-hour hold under 5150:
“We call it the 72-second hold,” she said.
I’ve written previously about Partovi’s moral outrage over the number of severely ill people who either are not deemed “gravely disabled” or who spin repeatedly through three-day holds and return to the same self-destructive routines. I’ve also heard her talk about who among her clients is likely to die next. [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-02-23 | | | | Thousands of seniors in San Diego County forced to find new doctors – San Diego Union-Tribune | | Patricia “Patti” and Myron Monroe of Poway were surprised recently when they received new medical cards in the mail, printed with the names of doctors they had never met.
They were stunned to see that these new doctors worked for medical groups outside UC San Diego Health and, as they began to read the accompanying paperwork, a feeling of déjà vu descended. [Article] | | by , San Diego Union-Tribune. 2026-02-23 | | | | Border Report: The Detention Facility Inspection that Almost Happened | Voice of San Diego | | A little after 2 p.m. on Friday, I drove south on the 805 to Otay Mesa Detention Center, squeaking by before the afternoon border rush hour stopped traffic. Two county supervisors, Terra Lawson-Remer and Paloma Aguirre, were supposed to be speaking with the press after inspecting the facility with the county health officer. [Article] | | by , . 2026-02-23 | | | | L.A. fire victims say state regulators ignored complaints about State Farm - Los Angeles Times | | Last spring, victims of the Los Angeles wildfires complained loudly and en masse over how State Farm General was handling their insurance claims, especially for smoke damage.
Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara urged them to lodge formal complaints with the department.
“That’s how we track and how we monitor, and we make sure that we follow through ... make sure that those claims are being addressed,” he told several hundred fire victims in a Zoom forum in May. [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-02-23 | | | | Despite spotlight on Palisades, Altadena sees win for post-fire justice - Los Angeles Times | | The Los Angeles firestorm of January 2025 was a double disaster, burning thousands of homes and taking dozens of lives across Pacific Palisades and Altadena.
But over the last year, much of the national conversation has drifted toward Pacific Palisades and away from Altadena — despite glaring shortcomings in both fires that deserve scrutiny and accountability.
Concern and anger about issues from the Palisades fire have been amplified by celebrity victims and well-connected critics of Los Angeles City Hall, their plight swept up in the nation’s highly polarized politics. In the fall, Republican members of Congress launched an investigation into the L.A. fires, but the probe has so far only focused on the Palisades fire. More recently, as the Trump administration pushed for expedited rebuilding, officials met only with victims from the Palisades.
Many in west Altadena have been left with a frustrating — but familiar — feeling: like they are being overlooked.
“If you just dropped in from another planet and you didn’t know and you started looking at L.A. wildfires … you would think the only area that was hit was Pacific Palisades,” said Earl Ofari Hutchinson, president of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable. “West Altadena has gotten lost in the shuffle.”
The historically Black community, made up primarily of working-class families, didn’t receive evacuation alerts until the fire had already descended on their neighborhoods. More affluent areas received prompt warnings and orders. Times investigations uncovered the alert failure in January of last year, and later found that almost no fire trucks were in that side of the community as the inferno raged through. Nearly all of the 19 people who died in the Eaton fire — all found within two square miles of one another — lived in this western section of town. It also experienced some of the most widespread fire damage. [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-02-23 | | | | San Clemente looks to revamp its use of goats in wildfire prevention. - Los Angeles Times | | For the past year, goats have munched their way through San Clemente’s hillsides as part of a pilot program aimed at preventing wildfires.
The approach has proven a cost-effective and environmentally sound way to clear overgrown brush and invasive plants — fuel that would otherwise feed a wildfire instead of a hungry herd of goats.
But the pilot program is set to wind down next month after San Clemente City Council voted to extend it last summer. City officials are not giving up on grazing goats. They are rethinking, though, how to move forward with them as original expansion plans met unexpected challenges. [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-02-23 | | | | L.A. wanted to dismantle homeless RVs. A judge just shut that down - Los Angeles Times | | A judge has struck down the latest effort by the city of Los Angeles to tow and destroy broken down recreational vehicles, handing a legal victory to a group of Westside homeless advocates.
In a two-page ruling, Superior Court Judge Curtis A. Kin said Los Angeles officials lack the legal authority to carry out a state law that permits the dismantling of abandoned or inoperable RVs in key parts of the state.
Assembly Bill 630 allows just two jurisdictions — Los Angeles and Alameda counties — to create programs for taking apart and ultimately discarding RVs that are worth up to $4,000, Kin said in Thursday’s ruling.
“AB 630 provides no such authority to the City of Los Angeles,” he wrote.
Los Angeles County government covers 10 million people. Los Angeles is one of 88 cities within the county.
AB 630, and the city’s effort to implement it, had been strongly opposed by advocates for homeless Angelenos, who said it would make it easier for the city to seize and destroy vehicles that serve as much-needed shelter for the city’s unhoused residents.
The state’s vehicle code currently requires that cities and counties sell impounded vehicles that are worth more than $500 at auction.
AB 630, which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law in October, increased the financial threshold for L.A. and Alameda counties, allowing them to dismantle vehicles worth up to $4,000. That, in turn, spares those jurisdictions from going through the more cumbersome process of auctioning off the vehicles, backers of the bill said. [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-02-23 | | | | L.A. County seeks to change law behind billions in sex abuse payouts - Los Angeles Times | | At a luncheon this week for L.A. County politicos, Supervisor Kathryn Barger pitched what she framed as a common-sense reform.
Legislators in Sacramento, she argued, need to change a 2019 law that extended the statute of limitations for sex abuse lawsuits, opening the floodgates for decades-old claims that have cost the county nearly $5 billion and counting in payouts.
“I want them in Sacramento to fix it,” she said. “I have to believe that we are the tip of the iceberg.”
The controversial law, Assembly Bill 218, has led to thousands of claims over abuse that took place in schools, juvenile halls and foster homes. Supporters say it continues to give survivors a chance at justice, while Barger and other officials warn the cost of the litigation is driving local governments to the brink of bankruptcy.
Rolling back AB 218, critics argue, is the single most obvious thing state lawmakers can do this legislative session.
The push has gained momentum amid concerns of fraud in the first of two payouts approved last year by L.A. County officials. At $4 billion, it was the largest sex abuse settlement in U.S. history, with the money set aside for more than 11,000 victims.
The Times reported last fall on allegations of fabricated claims filed by plaintiffs within the settlement, which prompted L.A. County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman to open an investigation. Hochman told the supervisors this week that his office is reviewing “thousands of claims” for fraudulent submissions and predicted savings in the “hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars.” [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-02-23 | | | | US Supreme Court says no to taking up Huntington Beach's appeal to defy state housing law | LAist | | The U.S. Supreme Court will not review a lower court’s ruling that Huntington Beach has to comply with state housing mandates.
The backstory: The Orange County beach city filed suit against California in 2023 in an effort to fight the state's order to make way for 40,000 new homes. Last year, a federal appeals court ruled against the city. [Article] | | by , . 2026-02-23 | | |
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