The Brief

The LAist newsroom rose to challenge after challenge throughout 2025:’

• When devastating fires hit Southern California in January, our reporters worked around-the-clock to bring life-saving news to people on our website and airwaves — even as colleagues lost homes and our headquarters was inundated by ash and smoke.
• As people took to the streets to protest ICE raids in L.A., our reporters were there again — to explain what we did and didn’t know.
• Over the course of this year, LAist delivered more accountability investigations than ever before and we invested in stories that explored L.A. and Orange County, to bring you a break from what has felt like a relentless news cycle.

As we look back on another year, I asked editors, reporters, producers and hosts to share the stories that stood out to them — and why. I hope you spot some stories that stuck with you, and have the time to explore others you missed.

I’m enormously proud of my team and their dedication to serving Southern Californians. And for readers who already support our independent nonprofit newsroom with financial contributions: Thank you. None of this would be possible without you.

— Megan Garvey | SVP of News, Editor-in-Chief

The fires and their aftermath

Jan. 9, 2025
This was one of the first stories we published that was off the breaking news, and it was successful for weeks because it was so helpful. Jill Replogle updated this relentlessly. To me, this is a prime LAist story — timely, newsy, helpful, inspiring and connected readers to the community.
— Rene Lynch, editor

Jan. 11, 2025
I was able to get a real estate agent on the record saying she encouraged her client to put her second home up for rent at an elevated price days after the fires because "people are desperate."
— David Wagner

Jan. 21, 2025
This segment gave listeners a more clear and concrete vision for what the next year would be like for those who survived the fires and were on track to rebuild. It provided some hope amongst the chaos that rebuilding was possible.
— Payton Seda

Feb. 7, 2025
When I heard the story of how Cupcake, the class pet, survived the Eaton Fire at Pasadena's Don Benito Elementary School, I needed to know how. The answer is a reflection of how a tight-knit community has weathered one of the region's worst natural disasters and what support students will need as they continue to recover.
— Mariana Dale

Feb. 26, 2025
For months, I have been fascinated by the landslide in my own backyard, watching as some homes literally split in two. This story let me go back in time to understand how development and policies of the past are affecting people's lives today and what that means for the future of some of SoCal's prime real estate.
— Yusra Farzan

Feb. 26, 2025
This was a good get, coupled with Frank Stoltze's skill at explaining complex/esoteric topics in ways that are accessible to a broad audience.
— Dana Littlefield, editor

April 3, 2025
California firefighting agencies regularly drop more fire retardant than water when fighting fires throughout the state. However, Cal Fire, the US Forest Service and Perimeter Solutions all refused to tell LAist whether that retardant also contained heavy metals. So, we went out, gathered some on our own and had it tested by researchers at USC. The results may point to one of the reasons why we so often see elevated levels of heavy metals in runoff when rains fall on a recently burned area.
— Jacob Margolis

May 6, 2025
This was a long booking process, but we got the CEO of Edison on AirTalk right when the company was beginning to align with the likelihood the Eaton Fire was their doing.
— Nic Perez

July 14, 2025
I obtained 911 calls via a records request from the home of two victims of the Eaton Fire to better understand how people with disabilities were left behind. The story has been cited by a state commission and used in trainings for emergency managers since.
— Erin Stone

Oct. 20, 2025
I loved the empathetic portrait of an uninsured family determined to rebuild their lives. And Erin Stone took an excellent photo that we used in the lead and really helped the story travel. The radio feature leaned into the main subject's interesting voice. All around great work.
— Matt Ballinger, editor

Oct. 23, 2025
I did a deep dive into what's changed 10 years after the Aliso Canyon gas leak. My story amplified unreported findings that the facility has continued to leak in recent years and highlighted the voices of survivors who continue to work about the aftermath.
— Erin Stone

Oct. 31, 2025
A great example of pre-planning the social as the story was being reported. Joshua Letona was able to go with Aaron Schrank to film these and have a complementary video package ready to publish the same day as the in-depth story.
— Dana Littlefield, editor

Oct. 16, 2025
A state lawmaker told me her new law, clarifying that landlords must address post-fire smoke damage, was in part driven by my reporting on renters struggling to get their homes cleaned.
— David Wagner

Holding officials to account

March 28, 2025
This video takes what is a numbers-focused story and uses graphics and playful text to guide viewers through the info. It earned 325K+ views.
— Kavish Harjai, Brandon Killman

May 6, 2025
LAist pressed for weeks to get officials to reverse their position on disclosing whistleblower complaints. It worked. The records showed alleged financial mismanagement and hiring of unqualified friends. LAist's unearthing of the documents triggered a county investigation.
— Nick Gerda

May 22, 2025
This story demonstrates how combining several reporting methods, including building strong relationships, searching open records and retrieving court documents, come together to form a strong accountability narrative.
— Kavish Harjai

May 25, 2025
An investigation by LAist revealed that hundreds of thousands of tons of construction and demolition debris were illegally dumped at multiple sites. The practice creates significant environmental hazards, and regulatory gaps allowed those responsible to avoid accountability.
— Jacob Margolis

June 9, 2025
LAist's investigative work unearthed one of Orange County's biggest corruption scandals in decades. In requesting the maximum sentence, prosecutors cited Do's attacks on LAist's reporting as showing he was trying to suppress the truth.
— Nick Gerda

Sept. 2, 2025
This story uncovered behind-the-scenes decisions at Santa Ana City Hall happening without notice to the City Council. As a result, working-class families missed out on a much-needed nearly $7M child-care program.
— Destiny Torres

Sept. 10, 2025
This story is quintessential watchdog reporting. We covered protests against federal immigration action as they happened, then stepped back to provide deep reporting context. Our analysis highlighted key gaps in California's laws regarding police use of force.
— Jared Bennett, editor on work by Kahani Malhotra

Sept. 17, 2025
A strong example of watchdog reporting with a close eye for details. Jordan Rynning spotted this item in a public meeting and followed through. The story had immediate impact: Mayor Karen Bass agreed to convene the relevant departments to work toward a solution.
— Jared Bennett, editor

Nov. 6, 2025
This story lays out the city's unlimited financial exposure as host city for the 2028 Olympic Games and runs through the risks, which are being downplayed by L.A.'s city officials.
— Libby Rainey

Nov. 19, 2025
Sometimes government agencies don't answer questions adequately or outright ignore journalists' requests. This story shows how sometimes the information you're after is hiding in plain sight.
— Kavish Harjai

Dec. 9, 2025
Aaron Schrank's thorough reporting allowed him to tell the tale of what happened step by step. He reviewed about 70 emergency plans from residential care facilities so he could accurately explain where the deficiencies were.
— Dana Littlefield, editor

Navigating life in Southern California

April 1, 2025
Larry Mantle is a legend in L.A. journalism for good reason. For the entire 40 years that he’s had a daily radio show in the nation’s second largest market, his approach has been steadfast. While much of the industry moved to a style where the loudest voice in the room wins the day, Larry has continued to make space for context, nuance and civility on topics ranging from intractable world problems to memories of lost music venues in Southern California.
— Megan Garvey, editor

April 9, 2025
Neighborhood council elections don't have great participation in general, but we were the only local news outlet that seemed to have noticed the steep and continuous 10-year decline in voter participation across these elections.
— Brianna Lee

April 28, 2025
This story was an example of the city's short-sightedness and the challenges working parents face in Los Angeles. It also laid bare the city's priorities when child care centers were cut in the new budget.
— Libby Rainey

April 30, 2025
Parents say the process to choose a public school is bewildering. School Game Plan addresses families' top questions in a series of guides. We forged a new partnership with the LA Public Library to distribute 7,000 print editions.
— Mariana Dale

June 27, 2025
This was an in-depth look at a really intriguing and promising idea for involving residents in solving community problems. It offers readers a glimpse of what a different kind of civic participation can look like.
— Brianna Lee

June 27, 2025
Co-reported with CalMatters, this story coupled public records analysis with shoe-leather reporting to explore enforcement in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Grant’s Pass decision. We reported LAPD made 68% more camping arrests in the second half of 2024 than the first.
— Aaron Schrank

Nov. 11, 2025
The education team spent quality time in the field to reveal what goes on inside TK classrooms, leading to a series of insightful stories and a delightful pinwheel radio feature.
— Julia Barajas, Mariana Dale, Elly Yu

Nov. 24, 2025
City and county officials celebrated homelessness declining overall, but that hasn't been the case for families. After the story aired, several LAist listeners reached out to donate to the family, allowing them to move out of state.
— Elly Yu

Immigration

June 10, 2025
This story really shows the power of collaboration. We partnered with the California Newsroom and NPR to produce a powerful narrative showing the human impacts of federal immigration enforcement action.
— Mark Betancourt, Julia Barajas

June 13, 2025
This summer, families risked racial profiling and separation to attend high school graduations. At Maywood High, the salutatorian said marching in protest of the raids was one of her proudest moments.
— Julia Barajas & Mariana Dale

July 23, 2025
This story features an AI-generated version of a corrido (ballad) and draws parallels between the mass deportation of Mexican descent people in the 1930s and what's happening now.
— Julia Barajas

Aug. 5, 2025
Luis Valentan, founder of a nationally known day laborer radio show, moves back to Mexico with his U.S.-born family. Valentan described the difficult decision-making that led to them leaving their longtime home.
— Adolfo Guzman-Lopez

Oct. 3, 2025
We jumped on a tip about an upcoming DHS operation and were one of the first outlets in the nation to verify rumors that the federal government was targeting children in its custody.
— Jordan Rynning

Oct. 9, 2025
It took months to develop sources in order to tell this story. It has since sparked a new policy at county hospitals designed to protect immigrant patients' rights.
— Jill Replogle

Exploring L.A. and beyond

March 13, 2025
Coverage of Ramadan tends to focus on the spiritual aspect. But for a different take, I got to do a fun piece looking at how Muslims come together during the nights to socialize and shop.
— Yusra Farzan

March 21, 2025
It became one of my most meaningful stories of the year. What made it special was the rare chance to write about a home-cooked meal where hospitality and heritage mattered most.
— Gab Chabrán and Yusra Farzan

March 28, 2025
When one of Jackie and Shadow’s chicks died, I wanted to explore how fans were handling the loss. I loved being able to connect with teachers across the country while taking home life lessons about grief.
— Makenna Sievertson

May 18, 2025
One of the first stories where I was able to spend the entire day out in the field on my own. It was a nice road trip and an honor to catch the "lilac legend" Gary Parton at the end of his second career.
— Dañiel Martinez

May 27, 2025
It was a major moment for me, but more importantly, many people told me that it made them appreciate their U.S. citizenship more, something they'd taken for granted before.
— Suzanne Levy

July 24, 2025
Everyone we talked to for this story was so fun and interesting. They are serious about their hobby, and we got some great responses, including a reader who offered "kudos and hurrahs."
— Monica Bushman and Antonia Cereijido

Aug. 30, 2025
I was drawn to telling the mural's story because its message of identity based on working-class solidarity with people of other races and ethnicities is just as relevant now as when it was newly painted.
— Adolfo Guzman-Lopez

Nov. 1, 2025
Came out from a callout where people shared memories of their loved ones. The feedback was people thanking us for creating the space for them to do that.
— David Rodriguez and Gillian Morán Pérez

Nov. 14, 2025
It was fun & challenging to write. I wanted to juxtapose my experience first tasting this snack with the (re)discovery of it in the SGV. I think I landed it.
— Fiona Ng

Dec. 4, 2025
In L.A., it can feel like music venues are closing more than they're opening. Sid the Cat's new venue bucks that trend and features lots of nuggets of music and local history.
— Kevin Tidmarsh

I remember feeling very adult the first time I sent out holiday cards with family photos on them.

But the overall cost of this sweet, but fleeting, gesture is getting hard to swallow. The cards are expensive, of course. And then there’s the price of sending them through the mail. Forever stamps now cost 78 cents. When did that happen?

I was rethinking the whole endeavor when I did a little Googling, and bingo! — I found a bunch of websites offering stamps for close to 20 cents a piece. A fraction of the price. Was this for real?

No, as it turns out. The majorly-discounted stamps advertised online are more than likely counterfeit. And if you use fake stamps, you risk your mail being confiscated or sent back.

“Typically, there is no such thing as a discounted stamp,” said Marjan Barrigan-Husted, a federal agent with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Barrigan-Husted said “typically” because the postal service does have agreements with a select number of vendors, mostly big box stores and stamps.com, to sell stamps at a slightly discounted rate — for example, you can get a whopping 25 cents off a roll of 100 stamps from Costco.

That’s not even close to the steals I was finding online with just a little scrolling. And the stamps looked, to me, just like the latest stamps coming hot off the USPS press.

“It takes 'em about six weeks to turn around from the time the stamp is issued until it's available in the United States as a counterfeit,” said Wayne Youngblood, a writer and philatelist — an expert in stamps.

What’s behind the surge in counterfeit stamps?

Youngblood said there has been an “explosion” in counterfeit stamps in recent years, mostly coming from China. Many also come from India, Barrigan-Husted said.

Federal postal agents seized more than 4.4 million fake stamps, worth more than $3 million, just in the first quarter of this fiscal year, according to Barrigan-Husted.

Why the surge? For one thing, they are not easy to detect. “ It's very difficult to tell unless we are analyzing these stamps side-by-side in our lab with very technical equipment,” Barrigan-Husted said.

Plus, she thinks the temptation might just be too great for those on a tight income.

“The economy has been rough ever since COVID,” Barrigan-Husted said. “People with no ill intentions are thinking that they can save some money here and there by cutting costs, and one of those ways of cutting costs is to get discounted stamps.”

‘It’s like wack-a-mole’

Shutting down the websites that sell fake stamps seems like an obvious answer to the problem, or so I thought.

“ We are doing our best to shut these websites down,” Barrigan-Husted said. “But there are millions of them that just keep popping up.”

Plus, the Postal Inspection Service that Barrigan-Husted works for is a small agency, with arguably bigger fish to fry.  They also investigate child exploitation crimes, money laundering, elicit drug trafficking and other major crimes associated with the mail system.

“And so those kinds of things kind of take their priority,” Youngblood said.

What happens if you use fake stamps?

Mail fraud is a federal crime. But postal agents are more focused on suppliers of counterfeit stamps than the often unwitting consumers who buy them. But Barrigan-Husted said your mail might be confiscated and even opened if it has a fake stamp on it. Or, it could be sent back.

She said consumers should also be wary of giving their credit card information to online businesses offering stamps that are too cheap to be legit.

“ The scammers are using that information as well,” Barrigan-Husted said.

In the end, the postal service is likely the biggest victim of the illicit stamp industry — Youngblood estimates that USPS loses more than $1 billion annually when people use counterfeit stamps instead of buying the real ones.

That loss also translates to higher prices for all mail users — including the continual rise in the cost of stamps.

“ We're having to make up for all of the counterfeit stamps that have gone through the mail stream,” Barrigan-Husted said, “we still have to make up that revenue.”

For me, this all translates into an excellent excuse not to send cards this year. It’s getting late anyway. Maybe next year.

This story will be updated. Check back for details.

Whether you call it a "pineapple express" or atmospheric river, officials are warning that a massive storm moving across Southern California could pose serious threats to the region during the holidays.

Here's what we know as of Tuesday morning.

Rainfall totals

Coastal and valley areas are expected to receive 4 to 6 inches of rain over the course of the storm. Up to 10 inches is forecast for the foothills and mountains. We'll keep track of running rain totals here as the storm progresses.

Evacuations and closures

One of the main concerns with the holiday storm is mud and debris flows, and properties near recent burn scar areas are especially of concern. To prepare, officials in Orange and L.A. counties have issued evacuation warnings orders for recent burn scar areas.

Some areas are slated to get mandatory evacuation orders over the course of Tuesday and Wednesday.

If you're unsure of whether your home is in one of the evacuation warning zones, you can see this map on L.A. County's webpage for the current emergency. Go here for the latest orders in Orange County.

Nearly 400 properties in recent burn scar areas are under an evacuation order in L.A. County that went into effect at 11 a.m. Tuesday.

"Those recommendations are based on technical science, forecasting of the current weather event and our best estimate for who would be most vulnerable," Mark Pestrella, the director of the L.A. County Department of Public Works, said Tuesday morning.

The 383 properties currently under an evacuation order have been contacted directly by law enforcement or other emergency personnel. If no one answered their door, officials left flyers and will revisit the property Tuesday, according to the L.A. County Office of Emergency Management.

See latest road conditions in Southern California

Forecast

A flood watch is in place for most of Southwest California.

Tuesday morning in L.A. will be cloudy with a chance for some rain in the afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

Rain will pick up later Tuesday evening and into Wednesday.

The National Weather Service said "widespread gusts of 35 to 55 miles per hour are likely" in the area.

Here are some of the potential impacts of the storm outlined by the National Weather Service:

• Widespread and significant flooding in urban areas
• Debris flows that could affect areas outside of recent burn scar areas
• Saturated soil and strong winds could lead to downed trees and power lines

Take this upcoming storm seriously

Ariel Cohen, who leads the National Weather Service in the Los Angeles and Oxnard areas, told LAist's AirTalk Tuesday morning that a storm like this occurs only once every five to 10 years in the area.

That this storm is falling on a holiday week makes it a bit more concerning, Cohen said.

" The impacts are going to be potentially much higher with folks on the roadway," Cohen added. "So what you can do now is plan to not be on the road."

Cohen also said the storm's impact won't be felt equally in different parts of the county and warned that the "life-threatening" conditions will be throughout the foothills and mountains across the region.

Understanding National Weather Service warnings

Here’s an excerpt from our guide to understanding flood warnings, if any are issued:

• Flood advisories are how the NWS begins to raise the alarm. The goal is to give people enough time to take action.
• Flood watches are your indicators to get prepared to move.
• A flood warning is issued when a hazardous weather event is imminent or already happening. When one is issued for your area, you need to get to higher ground immediately.
• A flash flood warning is issued when a flash flood is coming or in progress. Flash floods are sudden and violent floods that can start within minutes.

Read more: Flash Flood Warnings? Watches? Here’s What You Need To Know

Tips for driving in the rain

Advice on driving in the rain:

• Check weather and road conditions all along your planned route.
• Slow down.
• Keep a wider-than-usual distance between your vehicle and the one in front.
• Don't drive through standing water — as little as 12 inches of rushing water can carry away most cars, and two feet can carry away SUVs and trucks.
• Make sure tires are fully inflated.
• Check windshield wiper blades and replace if necessary.

Read more: What you should do if you end up driving in a flooded area

Downed tree, power line or flooded road?

Dial 911 in an emergency.

However, if you need to report a flooded road or a downed tree, you can call the following non-emergency numbers:

• L.A. city: Dial 311 for a flooded road or downed tree. Call (800) DIAL-DWP if you see a downed power line.
• L.A. County: (800) 675-HELP
• Ventura County: (805) 384-1500
• Orange County: (714) 955-0200 or visit here.

If you're in L.A. County and need sand bags, you can find some at local fire houses.

Staying safe when the winds are high

• Watch for traffic signals that may be out. Approach those intersections as four-way stops.
• Make sure you have a battery-operated radio and flashlights. Check the batteries to make sure they are fresh. Use flashlights for lighting during a power outage; do not use candles because they may pose a fire hazard.
• If you’re in a vehicle with a fallen power line on it, stay in the vehicle and remain calm until help arrives. It is OK to use your cellphone to call 911. If you must leave the vehicle, exit away from downed power lines and jump from the vehicle, landing with both feet together. You must not touch the vehicle and the ground at the same time. Then proceed away from the vehicle by shuffling and not picking up your feet until you are several yards away. 
• Water and electricity don’t mix. Water is an excellent conductor of electricity. Do not step in or enter any water that a downed power line may be touching.
• Do not use any equipment indoors that is designed for outdoor heating or cooking. Such equipment can emit carbon monoxide and other toxic gases.
• If you use a generator, place it outdoors and plug individual appliances directly into it, using a heavy-duty extension cord. Connecting generators directly to household circuits creates “backfeed,” which is dangerous to repair crews.
• Leave the doors of your refrigerator and freezer closed to keep food as fresh as possible. Place blocks of ice inside to help keep food cold. Check food carefully for signs of spoilage. 
• Check on your neighbors to make sure everyone is safe.

Tips on staying warm

• State law requires residential units to have heating systems that can keep indoor temperatures at a minimum of 70 degrees. That means every dwelling unit and guest room offered for rent or lease should offer heating equipment.
• Use heat smartly to save money: Cranking heaters can be expensive. If money is tight, be judicious about how and when you use your utilities. For example, only use heaters at night or only set the thermostat to around 70 degrees.
• Open and close those vents: If you have central A/C, look at where the vents are around your home. Are any open in places where you don’t stay long? Practice opening and closing those so warm air only goes where you need it (most vents should have a small toggle lever). Humidifiers can also help you warm things up — and it’s useful to add moisture into our dry air.
• Adjust your wall heaters: If you have a wall heater, you can change the output by adjusting the knob (usually at the bottom). Since wall heaters can only warm the areas where they’re placed, it’s essential to close doors to rooms you won’t be in so hot air doesn’t get wasted.
• Turn on your ceiling fan (really): If you have a ceiling fan, try turning it on. This sounds counterintuitive, but there’s science behind it. TSince hot air floats up, your fan can help move it around. For warming, your fan should spin clockwise to create an updraft. Not all fans will have this option.
  

Sign up for emergency alerts

• L.A. City: Notify L.A.
• L.A. County: Ready L.A. County
• Ventura County: Ready Ventura County
• Orange County: AlertOC
• Riverside County: AlertRivCo
• San Bernardino County

How we're reporting on this

This is a developing story. We fact check everything and rely only on information from credible sources (think fire, police, government officials and reporters on the ground). Sometimes, however, we make mistakes or initial reports turn out to be wrong. In all cases, we strive to bring you the most accurate information in real time and will update this story as new information becomes available.

Facing a mountain of lawsuits, California K-12 schools will have a system in place beginning this year to prevent teachers and other staff from sexually abusing students.

A new California law creates an array of measures to educate school staff, beef up reporting requirements and stop teachers credibly accused of abuse from getting jobs at other districts.

The law, Senate Bill 848, goes into effect Jan. 1 and schools must have protocols in place by July. The law applies to all schools, including private schools.

“I’m proud to see this bill move forward. It’s been really personal for me,” state Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, the bill’s author, told CalMatters after it passed. “For survivors, this is an important step toward justice.”

Avalanche of lawsuits

The law stems from a previous California law that made it easier for victims to sue school districts and counties. Under AB 218, which went into effect in 2020, victims can file suit until age 40 or even older if they didn’t remember being abused until later in life. That’s led to an avalanche of lawsuits and much greater public awareness of the scope of the problem.

So far, victims have filed more than 1,000 lawsuits against school districts and counties, with some resulting in enormous payouts. A jury in Riverside County in 2023 handed Moreno Valley Unified a $135 million verdict over abuse allegations, and Los Angeles Unified faces more than $500 million in claims.

Overall, California schools face nearly $3 billion in sex abuse claims from former students, according to the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team, a state agency that helps school districts with financial matters. Some of the incidents occurred decades ago, as early as the 1940s, and some of the payouts have been so large that they’ve led districts to financial insolvency.

School accountability

While the new law doesn’t address the lawsuits, it does institute measures intended to stop future abuse and hold schools more accountable. It requires schools to write comprehensive policies on appropriate behavior, and train students, teachers, coaches and other school staff on recognizing and reporting misconduct. It also broadens the number of staff who are required to report abuse allegations.

Perhaps the most noteworthy requirement is creating a database of teachers credibly accused of abuse. The database, to be administered by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, will be available to schools during their hiring processes. The aim is to stop teachers who’ve abused students from quitting and getting rehired elsewhere, only to abuse more students. Teachers who’ve been cleared of wrongdoing will be removed from the database.

Pérez, a Democrat from Alhambra, said she was inspired to author the new law after reading about generations of abuse at Rosemead High School, which is in her district. She also told CaMatters that she was the victim of a teacher’s unwanted attention when she was in high school.

“There are now dollars and cents being assigned to these cases,” she said in September. “It’s really opened up this conversation about what can we do to better prevent this abuse from happening.”

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.