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
