The Brief

Business owners told Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass they felt abandoned by the city as a fire tore through a cold storage facility in Boyle Heights last month, forcing storefronts to close, driving potential customers away and leaving many unsure of what was in the air they were breathing. 

“We closed for two days, our workers were asking what to do, and we didn’t know,” said Francisco Valderrama, co-owner of Picaresca Barra de Cafe. “The lack of communication was the most insulting.”

During a roundtable discussion with about two dozen Boyle Heights business owners and street vendors inside Picaresca Tío Pepe on July 2, Bass and District 14 Councilmember Ysabel Jurado acknowledged communication failures in the city’s response to the weeklong warehouse fire and pledged to improve communication while exploring ways to help businesses recover. Boyle Heights Beat was the only media outlet invited to attend the meeting.

“I think it took us too long to get out there, and that’s something that we want to rectify now,” Bass told attendees. “We should have gone out door-to-door on day one.”

Jurado also acknowledged the challenges of responding to an emergency of the fire’s scale. 

“I’m still freshman over there [at City Hall] and figuring out how to deal with an emergency of this caliber,” she said. 

Businesses say communication fell short

Business owners criticized the city’s response, saying it was too slow and relied too heavily on social media to reach the people most affected.

Business owners told Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass they felt abandoned by the city as a fire tore through a cold storage facility in Boyle Heights last month, forcing storefronts to close, driving potential customers away and leaving many unsure of what was in the air they were breathing.

“Maybe a post on Instagram worked for a younger crowd, but for this community it doesn’t,” Valderrama said. 

Bass agreed the city should have done more. 

“You’re right, we could have done better communication on the grassroots level, that took a while before we did that,” Bass said.

Business owners offer solutions

Several businesses suggested the city should work directly with neighborhood businesses during emergencies.

“Why not come to us?” asked Judy Diaz, owner of El 7 Mares, a Mexican seafood restaurant with locations in Boyle Heights and East L.A. Diaz said businesses could help disseminate information to their customers and the surrounding community during a crisis. 

Jeanette Flores, owner of Super Pollos Rostizados, agreed, adding, “There’s only so many people that work for you, but you know, we would willingly do it.” 

Flores suggested that the city create a hub for business owners to get live updates on issues that may affect their regular operations. 

Bass appreciated their offer and said she would consider relying on local businesses to reach more people. “It’s not that I didn’t come; I wouldn’t have known to come, honestly,” Bass said.

Ana Perez, a local business owner who helps operate Café Café Mobile Coffee and Macheen out of Milpa Grille, said businesses are still struggling with slow foot traffic, higher utility bills from running multiple air purifiers and limited parking due to construction along the Cesar Chavez Avenue corridor.

Business owners told Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass they felt abandoned by the city as a fire tore through a cold storage facility in Boyle Heights last month, forcing storefronts to close, driving potential customers away and leaving many unsure of what was in the air they were breathing.

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Issac Ceja

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for Boyle Heights Beat

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She urged the city to provide a credit to cover the cost of businesses’ energy bills and suspend parking enforcement to help them recover. 

In response, Bass pledged to speak to the general manager of the Department of Water and Power (DWP) to discuss what can be done about utility bills and call the Department of Transportation to “suspend parking enforcement.” She said the boundaries would be determined at a later date. 

“We cannot leave this community with the damn DWP bills, which are high,” Bass said. “We have to figure out what we’re going to do around that. I don’t have an answer for you today, but I guarantee you I will get an answer.”

Jurado told Boyle Heights Beat that she will be working with the city’s Community Investment Department to explore waivers or subsidies to give affected businesses some financial relief.

The Beat has reached out to Bass’ office for more details on her commitments and will update this story when they become available. 

Business owners told Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass they felt abandoned by the city as a fire tore through a cold storage facility in Boyle Heights last month, forcing storefronts to close, driving potential customers away and leaving many unsure of what was in the air they were breathing.

(

Issac Ceja

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for Boyle Heights Beat

)

Another setback for local businesses 

For many business owners, the fire is the latest in a series of economic setbacks.

“For you in particular, small businesses, we know that it’s kind of like y’all can’t catch a break,” said Jurado. “You barely recovered from COVID. I mean, since the time I was in office last summer, it was the [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] raids and this summer, in this neighborhood, it was the fire.” 

Jurado and Bass said the city will continue meeting with businesses as recovery efforts move forward and pledged to hold Lineage and the companies responsible for the impacts of the fire.

The post Bass admits communication failures after Lineage fire, promises help for businesses appeared first on LA Local.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Businesses impacted by the Lineage warehouse fire have access to recovery resources.

Inclusive Action, the Boyle Heights Chamber of Commerce and the Hustle & Heart Collective have launched the Boyle Heights Fire Relief Fund for Small Businesses, which will provide financial assistance to brick-and-mortar businesses and street vendors directly affected by the fire.

Resources may also be available through the city’s BusinessSource Center, which offers grants, business advising, financial counseling and other services.

Boyle Heights Fire Relief Fund for Small Businesses

The program aims to award grants to 500 affected small businesses and vendors in Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles near the Lineage facility.

Who qualifies?

• Brick-and-mortar businesses
• Street vendors
• Home-based businesses

Grant amounts:

• Street vendors: Up to $1,000
• Brick-and-mortar businesses: Up to $3,000

Eligible ZIP codes:

• 90022
• 90023
• 90033
• 90063

Application requirements:

• Business website and email address (organizations will assist applicants who do not have these).
• Proof of address, utility bill and lease agreement (if applicable).
• Street vendors can upload photos of their business if they do not have traditional business documentation.
• Number of employees.
• Applicants will be asked how they plan to use the grant funds.

For additional information, visit the frequently asked questions page.

Apply by July 13 at inclusiveaction.jotform.com/261790764235059

Small Business Recovery Services

Through the city’s established BusinessSource Center, NEW Economics for Women, impacted businesses will have access to recovery resources to help stabilize operations and retain jobs, including:

• Small business recovery grants of up to $1,000 for eligible businesses directly impacted by the fire
• Industrial air purifiers for severely impacted businesses
• One-on-one business advising
• Assistance applying for disaster relief programs
• Access to capital and micro-loan opportunities
• Business continuity and recovery planning
• Commercial lease and financial counseling
• Marketing and customer recovery strategies
• Technical assistance with permitting and regulatory requirements
• Referrals to additional local, state, and federal business assistance programs

More recovery assistance

Visit the city’s Boyle Heights Recovery Updates website for more resources available to displaced workers and other employment services.

For Saizana Evans, manager of the Nile restaurant and bar in Inglewood, proximity to SoFi stadium has been a blessing over the years.

“The A$AP Rocky [concert] recently was good [for business] … Shakira was over here recently, that was great,” he said.

But when asked how those events compared to the influx of customers before and after recent World Cup matches, he was quick to respond.

“Definitely World Cup … definitely better,” he said.

One night particularly memorable so far, he said, was when Bosnia fans showed up for their team’s match against Switzerland.

“They were loud, and it was a joy to watch and to see them, like how they were supporting their team,” he said.

And, he added, “they are drinkers as well.”

While L.A. may not have run out of beer, as Boston reportedly did when Scottish fans visited, the region has been boosted by those who prefer to watch the games on a big screen with a beer in their hands.

“The excitement is palpable, not only in Inglewood, but throughout, and I think where you see it show up the most is in our bars and our restaurants,” said Maria Salinas, president and CEO of the L.A. Area Chamber of Commerce.

Crunching the numbers

As SoFi Stadium hosts the last of eight FIFA 2026 World Cup matches on Friday, and the tournament ends in less than two weeks, Southern California businesses will be looking at lessons learned.

“We expect to see an increase in spending when it comes to food and beverage,” said  Stephen Cheung, president of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation.

He said his group plans to do a study of the economic effects of the World Cup on Southern California. To do that, his group plans to buy data from phone carriers, credit card companiesand others — without personal information — to see activity in and around bars and restaurants and other locations during matches.

“We should be tracking hotel data, and Airbnb data, so we can see whether there's an increase during the World Cup,” as well, he said.

The goal is to give public and private groups information about what kind of business activities are the most popular during the tournament.

“We want to make sure that we have competitive industries that can bring good investments and good jobs here locally,” Cheung said.

And that’s something businesses will be looking to do as the 2028 L.A. Olympics approaches.

Mariska Hargitay is set to host the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, airing on NBC on Sept. 14.

NBCUniversal announced Hargitay as host on Tuesday, the day before nominations are announced. The show will also stream on Peacock and will be held, fittingly, at the Peacock Theater, the longtime Emmys home that will also soon be home to the Oscars.

Hargitay, 62, has long been one of NBC’s signature personalities as the star since 1999 of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” one of the longest-running dramas in TV history. She’s been nominated eight times for her role as detective Olivia Benson, winning for lead actress in a drama series in 2006. “SVU” as it’s commonly known, is set to surpass 600 episodes as its 28th season airs this fall. Hargitay has used the platform to become an advocate for sexual assault victims.

She may be a nominee again this year as the director and producer of My Mom Jayne, a documentary on her mother, Jayne Mansfield. Hargitay was also a TV constant earlier this year as she sat in the front row for the championship run of her beloved New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

The role of airing the Emmys rotates between the four broadcast networks even as their nominations become more rare in the streaming era. Hargitay is the rare non-comedian to get the hosting job, held last year by Nate Bargatze on CBS.

NBC is unlikely to see too many nominations in key categories on Wednesday, though all-time Emmy leader “Saturday Night Live” always gets its share.“Pluribus” from Apple TV+ and HBO Max’s “The Pitt” starring former longtime NBC star Noah Wyle are expected to be among the leading nominees when they’re announced by recent winners Liza Colón-Zayas and Jeff Hiller at the Television Academy in Los Angeles.

Community college students in California could gain access to medication abortion through campus health centers under a proposal that would extend reproductive health services already required at the state’s public universities.

Assembly Bill 2540 would require community colleges with student health centers to offer access to medication abortion beginning in 2029, if the Legislature provides funding. The bill builds on Senate Bill 24, a 2019 law that requires University of California and California State University student health centers to provide medication abortion beginning in 2023.

Supporters say the bill would close an access gap for community college students who may face transportation, cost, privacy or insurance barriers when care is only available off campus. But campus health center directors warn that many community colleges may not have the funding, staffing or clinical capacity to provide the service.

Authored by Assemblymember Catherine Stefani, a Democrat from San Francisco, the bill would apply to community colleges with student health centers — estimated at roughly 92 campuses statewide. If the Legislature provides funding, those campuses would have to offer access to abortion by medication techniques beginning in 2029.

“We are closing a critical gap by ensuring that community college students, one of the most diverse and economically vulnerable populations in our state, have the same access to care as their peers at four-year institutions,” Stefani told lawmakers during an Assembly Health Committee hearing in April.

The bill would also require all campuses to promote awareness of the service, provide information to students and post availability online. The awareness requirement would extend to universities, which were not compelled to publicize medication abortion services under the previous law.

Community colleges fill healthcare gap for students

“Healthcare is a basic need for any human,” said Stephanie Goldman, executive director of the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges, a statewide advocacy organization that represents community college faculty and supports AB 2540. “And of course, abortion access and abortion is a healthcare issue.”

Goldman said community colleges increasingly operate under a “whole student” model that goes beyond academics to include food access, housing support, childcare, mental health and healthcare services. Reproductive healthcare access can directly affect whether students are able to remain focused on school, she said.

“It’s helpful that they understand that they have this kind of healthcare on campus and available to them, should they need it,” Goldman said.

Mifepristone and misoprostol at a Wyoming abortion clinic in Casper on March 10, 2025.

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Natalie Behring

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Getty Images

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Student leaders backing the bill say community college students often face challenges accessing reproductive healthcare outside campus systems, particularly in rural areas.

“Where you go to school should not determine what access you get just because you went to a community college system versus a four-year system,” said Alisha Nagpal, a student at Folsom Lake College who serves as vice president of legislative affairs for the Student Senate for California Community Colleges.

Nagpal said some community college students live hours away from providers, lack transportation or may not know what health services already exist on campus. She pointed to online-only students, low-income students and undocumented students as groups that may face additional barriers obtaining reproductive healthcare off campus.

Community college health centers vary in size and services

But while supporters frame the bill as a matter of equal access, health center directors say implementing the proposal statewide may be far more complicated than applying the UC and Cal State models.

According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee analysis, the community college health centers “vary widely in structure and capacity, with many operating under limited staffing models or contracting services out to community providers and hospitals.”

The Health Services Association of California Community Colleges, which represents student health programs across the system, opposes the bill. In an April 15 letter to lawmakers, the organization said many community college health centers do not prescribe medication, nor do they have sufficient staffing or the infrastructure needed to provide medication abortion onsite.

Michelle Barkley, president of the association and a nurse at Cosumnes River College, said many community college health centers function more as public health entry points than full-service clinics.

“Some of our campuses have 5,000 students,” Barkley said. “Their health center is run by a single registered nurse.”

Barkley said many campuses currently rely on referrals to outside providers rather than onsite reproductive healthcare services.

Funding may be a challenge

The bill’s projected cost has become a key point of disagreement between supporters and community college health center directors.

The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office estimates implementing the bill could cost between $7 million and $27.9 million in one-time startup costs across all 93 community college health centers, plus between $5.6 million and $9.3 million annually to maintain services. Those estimates are not limited to the cost of medication. The appropriations analysis says the expenses could include staffing, training, equipment, telehealth services, billing support and other infrastructure needed for campuses to provide or coordinate care.

Community college health centers may be partially funded through student health fees, though not all campuses charge them. The analysis said most campuses charge an average health fee of about $23 per academic term. The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office lists the 2025-26 maximum health services fee at $27 per semester and $22 for summer, intersession or quarter terms.

Supporters of the bill argue the projected costs may overstate the financial burden. According to the committee analysis, Stefani’s office argues medication abortion services could become financially sustainable through Medi-Cal reimbursement, private insurance billing, third-party vendors and telehealth partnerships.

Nagpal pointed to language making the bill contingent on legislative funding, saying community colleges would not be expected to implement the requirement without state support.

“If funding is not provided at community college campuses, there’s no legal expectation for (community colleges) to provide the service,” Nagpal said.

The bill was put on hold in the Assembly Appropriations Committee on May 6 because of its potential cost. On May 14, the committee advanced the bill on an 11-4 vote after making amendments.

The amendments changed how the bill would apply to community colleges. Earlier language would have required community colleges with student health centers to offer medication abortion onsite, but the amended bill now says campuses must “offer access” to the service beginning in 2029. The bill still allows care to be provided by campus staff, through telehealth or through contracted external agencies, but it now also includes partnerships with community health providers “as appropriate.”

The amendments also broadened what colleges would report to the state, allowing campuses to count services provided through outside healthcare providers instead of only those performed at campus health centers.

AB 2540 was referred to the Senate Health and Education committees on June 10. After additional amendments, the bill was re-referred July 2 to the Senate Appropriations Committee, where lawmakers will review its fiscal impact.

The latest amendments further define how community colleges could comply, including through referrals, “warm handoffs,” written partnerships with licensed providers or a statewide provider agreement through the Chancellor’s Office. They also clarify that state funding could support costs such as telehealth, staffing, training, billing support, outreach and reporting.

Andrea Baltodano is a contributor with the College Journalism Network, a collaboration between CalMatters and student journalists from across California. CalMatters higher education coverage is supported by a grant from the College Futures Foundation.

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