u/WeAreLAist

>Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass surprised some transit advocates during a speech at Union Station last month when she proclaimed she wants a "long-term financial strategy and plan" to make public transit on L.A. Metro free for everyone.

Light on details: How Bass plans to achieve this and what exactly the timeline is remains unclear. In a follow up statement, the mayor’s office told LAist that Bass “plans to introduce a motion to explore what further steps are needed to go fare-free.”

What has Metro said: Bass’ announcement comes just a few years after Metro executives said free transit would cost more than $1 billion annually for the region. At the same time, the agency, which is facing mounting political pressure to strengthen fare enforcement, is pouring tens of millions of dollars into taller fare gates that are designed to make it harder for riders to skip out on paying.

>Alexandra Lozano Kennedy, a former immigration attorney who made wide use of social media and Latino religious iconography to attract clientele — had offices across the country, including one in the city of Commerce in Southeast L.A. Because she has been suspended from practicing due to alleged misconduct, immigrant advocates have provided guidance on what former clients can do to track and manage their cases.

Why it matters: Lozano Kennedy, who had tens of thousands of clients, is accused of falsifying stories of trafficking and abuse without her clients’ knowledge, according to lawsuits and immigrant advocates. She is also accused of using nonlawyers to perform client consultations and provide legal advice.

What do advocates recommend?  If you were represented by Lozano Kennedy and have petitions or applications pending before USCIS*,* the Immigrant Legal Resource Center and Loyola Law School’s Immigrant Justice Clinic have provided guidance for former clients. M. Lucero Ortiz, the supervising attorney at the clinic, stressed that these are all steps community members can take for themselves, without the help of an attorney.

The deadly and destructive Eaton Fire was caused by Southern California Edison equipment, the L.A. County Fire Department said in a report released Tuesday.

The department's investigation into the cause of the fire found that arcing electrical lines ignited unidentified material that fell to the ground in dry vegetation at the base of the utility’s Eaton Canyon transmission tower. Twelve seconds later, the Eaton Fire exploded under windy conditions.

After a slow start, a program that aims to bring thousands of Angelenos living with serious mental illness under court-led care has seen a spike in petitions filed in recent months, Los Angeles County officials said.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬: CARE Court allows family members, first responders and others to ask a court — by way of a petition — to step in with a voluntary care agreement for someone living with serious, untreated mental illness, such as schizophrenia, to receive community-based mental health services.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲: Since launching in L.A. County in December 2023, the program saw thousands fewer petitions each year than were initially projected.

But county officials said petitions filed in L.A. County jumped by about 85% between November 2025 and March 2026, with March seeing a total of 68 petitions.

Family homelessness is down in the region, according to an official count released this month. But providers — and the agency that oversees the count itself — are skeptical.

What's new: While the number of people living on the streets went up by nearly 8%, the number of families living on the streets decreased by 27% in L.A. city and 34% across the county. But officials with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority say other indicators “tell a different story.”

Counting families: Officials use surveys administered to families at resource centers across the county, called Family Resource Centers, to estimate family homelessness. But with funding cuts slashing resources, fewer families have gone to these centers for help, LAHSA said.

What providers are seeing: Providers say they’ve seen sustained demand on the ground of families needing help. “I would look at it as if homelessness is increasing, family homelessness is definitely increasing as well,” said Katie Hill, CEO of Union Station Homeless Services.

>Screen time limits for Los Angeles Unified School District’s youngest students begin Aug. 12.

What’s changing: The policy eliminates digital device usage in early education (preschool), transitional kindergarten (TK), kindergarten and first grade. There are exceptions for testing, the district’s Virtual Academy program and some students with disabilities. The screen time limits for older students will take effect later in the school year. They range from 20 minutes a day for second graders to 90 minutes per class per week for high schoolers.

Why now: LAUSD is the first major U.S. school district to restrict screen time across all grades. The policy, along with a 2024 decision to ban student cellphone use, is part of a nationwide trend toward limiting young people’s exposure to tech during the school day.

The backstory: The LAUSD board adopted the policy in June after staff conducted research and outreach to parents, educators and community members.

>For decades, the Los Angeles Metro Board has operated without a member of the public who regularly rides trains and buses among its members. Now, calls to change that are growing. Tomorrow, the Metro Board is set to vote on what the future make-up of the governing body should look like.

Background: In light of the L.A. County voter-approved Measure G, which expands the Board of Supervisors and adds an elected county-level executive, the L.A. Metro Board has been considering how to reconfigure its make-up. Agency staff have recommended maintaining the size and geographic split of the governing body and expanding the pool of people who can be appointed to serve.

Hahn’s motion: While the recommendations would theoretically allow for a transit rider to be appointed to the board, there would be no guarantee. A separate motion from L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn would expand the Metro Board to include a dedicated voter seat. Both items, and a motion that competes with staff’s recommendation, are scheduled for a vote tomorrow.

>L.A.’s homeless services agency has not completed any internal audits in years — and one that was started two years ago is still incomplete because management is taking months to provide responses, officials said Monday.

Details: The delayed audit has been looking into why the L.A. Homeless Services Authority, known as LAHSA, failed to spend $7 million in federal dollars it was granted to house and serve people in need. The roughly six-page audit report hasn’t been released because it’s missing LAHSA management responses that were requested over two months ago, officials said.

Why it matters: Internal audits are considered critically important to protecting taxpayer dollars at every level of government. L.A. County auditors, for example, issued about 100 reports in a recent fiscal year.

Not the first rodeo: The audit is examining a repeat problem. A previous audit in January 2022 found LAHSA had left $3.5 million in federal grants on the table by not using them.

>Altadena residents with homes that survived the Eaton Fire will soon have a chance at getting their soil cleaned up. The L.A. County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a new remediation program focused on lead contamination.

Didn’t this already happen? The federal government previously remediated properties where homes burned, although that thoroughness has been scrutinized. Helen Chavez Garcia, a spokesperson for Supervisor Kathryn Barger, said the county’s new program will be for properties that are still-standing, to help residents facing insurance obstacles.

What we know: The program will use $3 million of state and county funds for administrative and remediation costs. It will prioritize applicants who live with pregnant women or children under 6 years old. These groups face serious health risks with lead exposure.

What’s next: The program structure is being figured out, but it will be under the L.A. County Development Authority. A cohort of community organizations and researchers are helping design it. That's expected to launch this fall.

>Southern California air quality officials have given Lineage LLC a deadline of Tuesday to present a plan to mitigate the odors of decomposing food at the company’s Boyle Heights warehouse.

About South Coast AQMD’s notices: South Coast AQMD outlined more than 20 steps for Lineage to take to comply with state law on public nuisances, such as requiring them to apply odor neutralizer to food waste and trucks containing it, requiring coverings for parked trucks loaded with food waste, and notifying the community of any activities that may increase odors.

Why now: Air quality officials have cited Lineage on at least seven consecutive days since July 12. In a statement issued Friday, the agency said it has worked with Lineage for weeks to recommend ways for the company to lessen the spread of odors, but “the company has not yet incorporated several key actions.”

The backstory: The move comes after residents filed more than 900 complaints of “rotten, sour, garbage-type smells” last week. The rotting food is a result of last month’s fire at the Lineage cold-storage warehouse, which burned for a week and spewed acrid smoke around L.A., inundating Boyle Heights and surrounding neighborhoods.

What's next: Lineage has until the end of Tuesday, July 21, to present its plan to South Coast AQMD. It has not yet confirmed to LAist if it has done so.

>A bald eagle, believed to be Jackie, has been rescued in Big Bear after a brief fight with two other eagles, according to Friends of Big Bear Valley, the environmental nonprofit that runs a YouTube livestream of Jackie and Shadow’s famous nest.

Why it matters: The eagle was taken in by the L.A. County Department of Parks and Recreation’s San Dimas Raptor Rescue and transferred to a specialized rehabilitation facility for further care, according to county officials.

Why now: The eagle’s sex and identity have not been confirmed, but Friends of Big Bear Valley said “it is apparent that the rescued eagle is likely Jackie.”

The backstory: The last time Jackie was seen in the nest was July 12, according to organization records.

>L.A. city leaders have pushed back the timeline to start prepping a plan to strip hundreds of millions of tax dollars from the region’s troubled homeless services agency and move it under different control.

The backstory: For years, some members of the City Council’s homelessness committee have urged their colleagues to consider an exit, after major data accuracy issues and official reviews and audits that found major oversight failures.

The latest: About three months ago, a City Council committee recommended a July 1 deadline for a report on how to move parts of the money away from the L.A. Homeless Services Authority. That work has yet to begin, according to city records and officials. The City Council has not approved starting the analysis nor funding for consultants to prepare it.

The timeline: The recommended deadline for the analysis was pushed back nearly a year and a half, to December 2027, by the most recent council committee to take up the item. A spokesperson for Katy Yaroslavsky, the councilmember who chairs the budget committee and suggested the later timeframe, said that deadline is likely to move up to a sooner date.

>The city of Pasadena and Pasadena Unified School District continue to clash over the fate of nearly 200 trees, and time is running out. Already, 78 of the trees have been destroyed, authorities said.

What’s the backstory: The concern is about the contamination of soil in the wake of the Eaton Fire. Testing around the trees has found evidence of toxic metals, such as lead, left behind. The school district decided that the best way was to remove the trees located on district land to better address the soil contamination. The city is now fighting to stop that.

Why this matters: Towering, majestic trees are an integral part of Pasadena's identity.

>Nearly six months after volunteers counted the L.A. region's homeless population, the results still haven't been released — and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority won't say when they will be. Instead, the agency says it's waiting on the federal housing department to validate its data, a review it once expected to be done by May 30.

Why it matters: The annual count shapes how hundreds of millions of federal dollars get spent in the county with the largest unhoused population in the country. It also drives policy and politics. The last two counts showed homelessness falling, a drop L.A. Mayor Karen Bass is running on for reelection.

Why now? LAHSA sent its data to HUD on April 30 and said the review would take about a month. Two months past that, neither agency will say whether it's finished. Meanwhile, HUD suspended LAHSA from federal grant activity in June over alleged mismanagement. LAHSA then sued, and a judge paused the suspension until an Aug. 6 hearing. HUD says nothing it has done stops L.A. from publishing its homeless count results.

The backstory: Last year, LAHSA broke precedent and rushed out preliminary numbers in March, weeks before county leaders voted to strip it of more than $300 million. A HUD review last year, though, found small errors in LAHSA's data. This year, interim CEO Gita O'Neill said the agency will wait for federal sign-off before releasing anything "to ensure total data integrity."

>Los Angeles housing officials say they’ve averted a crisis that could have put thousands of families at risk of homelessness by the start of 2027.

The backstory: During the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of low-income Angelenos moved into apartments with the help of federally funded emergency housing vouchers. More than 4,300 households in the city and county still rely on those vouchers to subsidize their rents.

The problem: L.A. officials have warned that federal funding to support the emergency program will dry up at the end of December 2026, potentially leading to evictions and homelessness for tenants unable to pay the full rent on their units.

What’s new: On Thursday, city and county housing authorities announced that increased federal funding and improved local budgets will now allow all emergency housing voucher holders.

>As of today, Altadena’s Historic Highlands neighborhood is L.A. County’s first historic district.

Background: Last year, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors approved the designation following a years-long effort to preserve the area. The Historic Highlands neighborhood is known for its Craftsman, Spanish Colonial Revival, Tudor and other period architectural styles that set Altadena apart.

What does it mean? The historic designation means that the unique architecture of nearly 80 homes will be preserved. The neighborhood is bordered by North Lane, Washington Boulevard, North Lake Avenue and New York Drive.

Why it matters: L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said the designation was important prior to the Easton Fire, but the disaster made the move even more critical. “It preserves the Historic Highlands' unique character and the architectural heritage for future generations,” Barger told LAist. “Knowing that the fire destroyed thousands of structures, preserving neighborhoods like this maintains that sense of place that makes Altadena special.”

>As it looks to rebuild after the Eaton Fire, Pasadena Rosebud Academy is holding its biggest fundraiser yet on Sunday featuring comics showcased by Kevin Hart's Funny AF.

The backstory: The TK-8 charter school displaced by the Eaton Fire serves a predominantly Black and brown student body and was founded nearly 20 years ago to promote student excellence through academics and financial literacy. About a third of Rosebud students lost homes in the fire, and many families are still displaced.

Why now: Their temporary setup at a Pasadena public school has required constant workarounds, from classrooms without sinks to annual uncertainty over facilities. Still, enrollment is growing, and some displaced families continue to drive in from downtown Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley.

What's next: Rosebud hopes to raise upwards of $50 million to rebuild in the Pasadena or Altadena area, with a timeline set by the pace of fundraising.

>The city council in Culver City will consider a citywide ban on new drive-thrus after a group of neighbors raised concerns that a proposed In-N-Out could hurt air quality and create safety issues for pedestrians.

Status of the ban: In June, the City Council approved a 45-day moratorium on approving permits that involve a new drive-thru. In the meantime, city staff is drafting an ordinance banning new drive-thrus. The ordinance will first appear in front of the city’s planning commission for guidance and recommendation before heading to the City Council for a vote. Dates have not yet been set.

Community concern: An online petition urging Culver City residents and the City Council to oppose the In-N-Out drive-thru gathered just under 950 signatures in recent months.

>Business has been up at one Inglewood bar during SoFi World Cup matches, even more than when A$AP Rocky and Shakira performed in recent years. Economists are paying close attention and will be crunching the numbers later to help inform planning for the Olympics.

Why it matters: The last time the U.S. hosted the World Cup was in 1994, so the last few weeks have been instructive. Some bar and restaurant managers in Inglewood say business is up during the matches, and they’d like to keep some of that momentum after the World Cup ends July 19.

Why now: Friday is the last of eight World Cup matches that will have been held at SoFi stadium.

What's next: The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation will use data from phone carriers, credit card companies and hotels to assess if, and by how much, business has increased. They hope their findings can inform planning for the LA28 Olympics.

>Santa Ana voters will be asked in November whether to keep a 1.5% sales tax from sunsetting in 2029. Money from this tax has helped the city fund street maintenance, public safety, youth services and homelessness services.

Background: The tax measure was voter-approved in 2018 with an end date in mind. The measure included plans for the rate to go down to 1% by 2029 before completely going away in 2039.

Why it matters: Santa Ana, like most cities, is dealing with a tight budget. If the Measure X tax were to sunset in 2029 as planned, the city would lose out on $30 million in revenue.