Erin Stone
is a reporter who covers climate and environmental issues in Southern California.
Published April 15, 2024 5:00 AM
South L.A. resident Zaakiyah Brisker stands beside new electric bikes that will be available to rent for free for community members through the new South Central Power Up program.
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Erin Stone
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Topline:
E-bikes are becoming more popular as a sustainable way to get around, but many people, particularly in lower-income communities of color, don’t have access to them. It’s one reason why a new rental program has launched in South L.A.
What the program is: Called South Central Power Up, the program brings 250 e-bikes to South L.A., where, after a safety training, residents will be able to get an e-bike to take home for at least a month at no charge, and then can renew the bike for free, for the first six months of the program. After that, they’ll be able to rent them for a small fee that will be determined later.
Why it matters: Most car trips we take are relatively short, so e-bikes can help replace those and have a significant impact on climate pollution as well as help folks save money on gas. But they’re expensive. It’s why e-bike lending libraries are popping across L.A., from Pacoima to Wilmington and now South L.A. Not only are e-bikes good for getting to work or running errands, they’re also just plain fun — another important, and sometimes overlooked, aspect of the program, advocates say.
What’s next: If you live in South L.A. you can apply to check out an e-bike here. And read our full story to learn more about it.
On a recent spring Saturday, about 20 people gathered in a parking lot of a building off of Florence Avenue in South L.A. They each stood by a brand new, bright orange electric bike.
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3:43
An E-Bike Ride In South L.A. And How You Can Rent One For Free
“How often do we get to experience electric bikes in South L.A.?” said Adé Neff, founder of Ride On Bike Shop in Leimert Park. “Electric bikes are all over the city. But they're not within South L.A.”
Until now. Neff is part of a coalition of community-based groups that helped launch a new e-bike rental program called South Central Power Up.
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The program brings 250 e-bikes to South L.A., where, after a safety training, residents will be able to get an e-bike to take home for at least a month, and then they will be able to renew the bike for free, for the first six months of the program. After that, they’ll be able to rent them for a small fee that will be determined later.
It’s part of a growing trend to make e-bikes more widely accessible — e-bikes run at least a few hundred bucks, and more often are more than $1,000. And, most car trips we take are relatively short, so e-bikes can help replace those miles and have a significant impact on climate pollution as well as help folks save money on gas. The South L.A. program is modeled after similar programs in Pacoima and Wilmington.
Adé Neff, owner of a bike shop in Leimert Park and long-time L.A. bicyclist, is part of a coalition of community-based groups that helped launch the new e-bike rental program.
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E-Bike Lending Programs Across L.A.
Many of these programs are still in their pilot phases.
The goal is to bring a climate friendly and money-saving mode of transportation to an area that lacks dependable public transportation, has disproportionate levels of air and climate pollution, and where high gas prices are particularly burdensome.
“We're offering opportunities to folks that will allow them to have more autonomy and agency over their travel and commute,” said Lena Williams, program director for People for Mobility Justice, one of the community-based groups spearheading the program.
We're offering opportunities to folks that will allow them to have more autonomy and agency over their travel and commute.
— Lena Williams, People For Mobility Justice
Williams said they aim to serve street vendors and other entrepreneurs such as delivery drivers, and people who frequently use public transportation or walk or bike to get around, as well as folks who want to save on gas money, or just have some fun on a bike without the physical exertion of a traditional bike.
How it's funded
The South Central Power Up program is funded by California Climate Investments, which uses money from Cap-and-Trade auctions to fund programs that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve public health. Learn more here.
“There’s a place for e-bikes within our society and our communities,” said Neff. “I was on a bike for 10 years in L.A. — I didn't have an electric bike. And I was going from South L.A. to Santa Monica to Long Beach to Pasadena, downtown and by the time I got to my destination, I'm winded, I'm sweaty. Whereas, I can get on the e-bike and get to my destination and I'm not exerting that much energy.”
Lena Williams, program director for People for Mobility Justice, one of the community-based groups spearheading the South Central Power Up e-bike program.
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An e-bike tour of South L.A.
But on this particular Saturday, the group is going for a ride on the new e-bikes to have some fun and learn about South L.A. and the long fight for environmental and social justice.
South L.A. resident Patrena Shankling, 62, came out to try the bikes with her 32-year-old son Lonnie, who joined from Bellflower.
“I want to get out of my car and get some exercise in,” said Shankling. “It's good for the environment, good for me, health-wise.”
She said she also wants to save money on gas.
South L.A. resident Patrena Shankling, left, and her son Lonnie, came out to try the e-bikes and have some mother-son time together.
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South L.A. resident and community advocate Blanca Lucio said she’s long used regular bikes to get around but this is her first time on an electric one.
“Tengo muchos años este usando bicicleta,” she said. “En mi comunidad, la gente siempre anda caminando, anda en el bus, entonces cuando yo llegué a vivir en sur centro, yo era la mamá que siempre llevaba a los hijos en la bicicleta, la dejarlos a la escuela.”
“I have for many years used a bicycle,” she said. “In my community, people are always walking, taking the bus, so when I came to South Central I was the mother who always took the children on the bicycle to drop them off at school."
She said e-bikes are one way to get around more easily and address air pollution, an issue that’s particularly important to her.
Community advocates Blanca Lucio, left, and Guadalupe Rivas hanging out before the e-bike tour on a recent Saturday.
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Zaakiyah Brisker grew up in South L.A. and only uses a bike to get around. She got rid of her car because of the financial stress of paying the car off, the registration, and maintaining the vehicle, but also because it’s better for the environment.
“When I started riding my bike, it was easier because I used to live in mid-city and all of the shopping that I would do would be in Culver City, which is a totally walkable neighborhood,” Brisker said. “Since moving back to South Central, it's been a challenge because this is not a walkable area. But I love riding my bike so much and I believe in the values of not harming the planet and not adding to climate change as much as possible, especially as it relates to hood areas like South Central.”
It’s one reason why Brisker is a communications associate at Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education, or SCOPE for short, a long-time civil rights organization in South L.A. and another partner on the project, and the launching point for our ride today.
South L.A. resident Zaakiyah Brisker stands beside new electric bikes that will be available to rent for free for community members through the new South Central Power Up program
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Turning points for justice in South L.A.
After a safety briefing and getting comfortable on the bikes in the parking lot, it’s time to head out on our ride.
The group listens to Williams discuss safely using the e-bikes.
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We get off to a rough start. As soon as we tried to cross Florence Avenue, an aggressive driver tried to nose through our line of bikes crossing the street — evidence of the dangers bikers face every day on L.A. roads, especially here in South L.A., which has some of the least infrastructure for bikes.
But we safely make it to our first stop — the corner of Florence and Normandie, the very spot where the 1992 unrest began.
Once we got off Florence and onto quieter neighborhood streets, everyone started to relax and have some fun. Soon, the party grew.
Juan Brown, 21, and his buddy decided to join us on their own bikes. They popped wheelies and did other tricks, riding alongside us as we and people watching from outside their homes cheered.
“I ride my bike every day,” Brown said. “For fun, to get around, everything. It's bike life all day.”
21-year-old South L.A. resident Juan Brown joined us for part of our ride.
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But he said dangerous drivers and the lack of infrastructure for bikes is a major, and sometimes deadly, challenge. He says he’s lost friends who have been hit by cars. But it hasn’t stopped him. He said that’s because of the community that biking provides.
Our next stop is Exposition Park, where we talk about how gentrification and housing costs around USC are impacting the community. Next, we head to a former oil drilling site that, after a decade of organizing, the community successfully got shut down.
A map showing the "hubs" where South L.A. residents will be able to pick up e-bikes as part of the South Central Power Up program.
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Courtesy of South Central Power Up
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We end our ride at Village Market Place off Vermont, which sells fresh, locally grown produce and other goods at an affordable price. And, by the way, it’s powered by solar panels.
The ride was 12 miles altogether, but all of us barely broke a sweat.
Our group rides towards Exposition Park.
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Each stop we made on our ride showed how the climate problem is really a justice problem, like how the racism and disinvestment that sparked the L.A. uprising is the very same disinvestment that makes south L.A. worse off when it comes to climate impacts such as extreme heat. And how the climate crisis intersects with food insecurity, and housing costs driving displacement and exacerbating financial stress.
But each stop also revealed the opportunity to turn that around — such as the former oil drilling site, which has been bought by a community trust that has the goal of turning it into a park with permanent affordable housing. Or how growing food locally is a way to boost health and resilience. And the effort to get e-bikes here and get more people out of cars and spur deeper investment in bike infrastructure and public transportation.
The threads tying it all together were the folks who have long pushed for these changes in south L.A.
Throughout the ride, the lack of safe street infrastructure was glaringly obvious. It’s a problem across L.A., but more so in South L.A, where potholes are rampant, bike lanes are few and far between, and protected bike lanes are nonexistent.
So is it too soon to be pushing e-bikes?
“The streets of South Central are notoriously dangerous, whether you're walking, biking, driving,” Williams said. “But I think there is something super, super important about actually just taking up space — people being seen in this way that says, ‘This is what we're doing. The streets are intended to be multi-modal and we want to show the ways that we can coexist.’”
The slow progress on improving bike infrastructure has been a challenge that the e-bike lending program in Pacoima, Electro-Bici, which has now run for nearly three years, has also faced, said Miguel Miguel, policy director with Pacoima Beautiful, the grassroots group that is heading the project there.
“We're creating a program in a community where a program like this, the infrastructure for it, wasn't ever really thought of,” Miguel said. “It's almost like we're trying to paint the wall right before we fix the drywall. So some of the challenges have been like, we're offering this service, but how do community members now utilize the actual transportation network to be able to go from point A to point B.”
The Electro-Bici program received 100 refurbished electric bikes from the New York-based Shared Mobility Inc., which has provided "e-bike libraries" in several U.S cities.
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Courtesy Pacoima Beautiful
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The huge lack of even the simplest infrastructure such as bike racks to lock bikes at destinations like grocery stores is also a major barrier, Miguel said. But that hasn’t made the program a failure — far from it actually. Miguel said one big lesson learned has been that the “need” doesn’t always have to come before the “want.”
“This is an activity that community members have been asking for, for a while, but unfortunately there's some true income inequality issues that don't allow folks to have access even just to a regular mechanical bike,” Miguel said. “If we come into this first thinking we want to repair people's relationship with their inner child, we want to repair people's relationship with what it is to have a bike – I think that's what these programs are.”
If we come into this first thinking we want to repair people's relationship with their inner child, we want to repair people's relationship with what it is to have a bike — I think that's what these programs are.
— Miguel Miguel, policy director with Pacoima Beautiful
Miguel said many of the folks who regularly use the e-bikes through Pacoima’s program are either on the older side or the younger side, and rather than only using it to get to and from work or run errands, they’re often using the bikes for exercise, or to go to the park, or just ride around with friends.
“This is an opportunity to have community members step aside from the day to day of working, of living in a city, and into just being a child for a while and just enjoy playing and healing through playing.”
Williams would agree.
Biking is medicine. If we allow the fears to keep us from getting there, it's such a detriment to our experience.
— Lena Williams, program director with People for Mobility Justice
“Biking is medicine. If we allow the fears to keep us from getting there, it's such a detriment to our experience,” Williams said.
So e-bikes may be great for saving money on gas and getting around sustainably (they can truly help lower climate pollution), but they’re also just plain fun. And having fun — experiencing joy — well, that’s an important piece of building resilience too.
California community college districts are spending millions of dollars on artificial intelligence-powered chatbots intended to help students navigate admissions, financial aid and campus services. However, they struggle to consistently provide clear and accurate answers, leaving students frustrated and seeking help from others on unofficial social media channels.
Pricey contracts: Three community college districts that responded to a CalMatters survey reported annual costs ranging from about $151,000 to nearly half a million dollars. At the Los Angeles Community College District, the state's largest community college system, contracts and amendments approved since 2021 total about $3.8 million through 2029, according to district board documents.
Chatbot testing: Some of these chatbot platforms rely on manually maintained libraries of frequently asked questions and campus websites to answer questions, which can lead to errors when information is outdated or questions fall outside the system's database. In testing by CalMatters, they often answered general questions correctly but struggled with more specific ones. East Los Angeles College's bot couldn't even correctly name its own president.
Read on . . . for more on chatbot issues at East Los Angeles College, Santa Monica College, and the Los Angeles Community College District.
California community college districts are spending millions of dollars on artificial intelligence-powered chatbots intended to help students navigate admissions, financial aid and campus services.
However, they struggle to consistently provide clear and accurate answers, leaving students frustrated and seeking help from others on unofficial social media channels.
In testing by CalMatters, they often answered general questions correctly but struggled with more specific ones. East Los Angeles College's bot couldn't even correctly name its own president.
Contracts for these chatbots can be pricey and last for years. Three community college districts that responded to a CalMatters survey reported annual costs ranging from about $151,000 to nearly half a million dollars. At the Los Angeles Community College District, the state's largest community college system, contracts and amendments approved since 2021 total about $3.8 million through 2029, according to district board documents.
Community college districts that responded to CalMatters have contracted with chatbot platforms such as Gravyty and Gecko, which district officials say handle thousands of conversations each month, many outside regular office hours, helping to reduce calls and save students unnecessary trips to campus.
Some of these chatbot platforms rely on manually maintained libraries of frequently asked questions and campus websites to answer questions, which can lead to errors when information is outdated or questions fall outside the system's database.
However, officials are working to improve them. Districts like the Santa Monica Community College District have moved to ChatGPT-integrated AI systems that scrape the college's website to generate answers, which officials say seem more reliable. In the Los Angeles district, officials say they plan to transition to a new AI chatbot platform as early as late spring.
Looking for answers
Improvements to the chatbot couldn't come soon enough for students like Pablo Aguirre, a computer science major at East Los Angeles College and an information technology intern at the Los Angeles college district office.
Aguirre mostly avoids the chatbot himself because, he said, it might provide unreliable or outdated information. He recalled using the bot to find financial aid information, but said he gave up after it kept asking him questions instead of giving him a clear answer.
"I just didn't find it as useful," Aguirre said. He usually turns to Google, social media platforms like Reddit and the college's website when looking for answers.
"Online, some pages don't work," Aguirre said, recalling a 404 error message on the college's website. Even when pages load, he said, it can be difficult to find the right one, such as when he was trying to figure out where to sign up for Extended Opportunity Programs and Services, a state-funded program that supports disadvantaged students. "That's where I just jump on Reddit," he said.
Students walk through the Fresno State campus on Feb. 9, 2022.
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Larry Valenzuela
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CalMatters
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Aguirre's experience isn't unique. Reanna Carlson, a commercial music major at Fresno City College and student government vice president, said her college's chatbot, dubbed Sam the Ram after its mascot, repeatedly gave her unclear or incorrect answers to basic questions about campus services. Her district, the State Center Community College District, has a nearly $870,000, three-year contract for Gravyty, formerly Ocelot, through June 20, 2026, according to district board documents. Officials pointed out that the contract comes with other services, including tools that let staff engage in live chats or send text messages to students.
"I think the chatbot is outdated and can't navigate the services we provide on campus effectively," Carlson said. "I don't think it's the most beneficial option when it comes to asking questions."
Oddly, Carlson got accurate information on the availability of free food at her campus' Ram Pantry only when accidentally adding a typo to her query. Repeated CalMatters testing confirmed the same outcome, though the bot sometimes lists links that include the food pantry after clicking an adjacent "sources" button.
"If it weren't for the amazing staff on campus that constantly remind students of our services, I'd be lost," Carlson said.
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Screenshots via Fresno City College website
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Testing chatbots
When CalMatters tested community college chatbots, they generally returned quick, accurate responses to common questions but were less consistent with more specific ones.
For example, when asked, "Who is the current president of ELAC?" East Los Angeles College's chatbot incorrectly named Alberto Román, who left the position last year to become the district's chancellor. In another test, when asked, "What is the financial aid office's current schedule?" the bot provided incorrect hours and dates.
East Los Angeles College in Monterey Park on March 14, 2024. Photo by Jules Hotz for CalMatters
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East Los Angeles College in Monterey Park on March 14, 2024. Photo by Jules Hotz for CalMatters East Los Angeles College's chatbot claims to support several languages, including English, Spanish, Chinese and Vietnamese. But CalMatters found inconsistencies when asking it in Spanish, "Do I need a Social Security number to enroll?" Instead of answering the question, the system directed users to visit the registrar's office to update their Social Security number. When asked the same question in English, the bot pivoted to discussing financial aid.
Fresno City College's chatbot, powered by the same AI provider as East Los Angeles College's system, Gravyty, showed similar problems when asked whether a Social Security number is required to enroll. It also often failed to direct students to the correct offices and, in some cases, listed incorrect locations and hours.
Concerns with chatbots have surfaced elsewhere. In New York City, reporting by The Markup and THE CITY found that a city-run AI chatbot provided guidance that could lead to illegal behavior, prompting Mayor Zohran Mamdani to terminate it in February.
'Good answers with fewer errors'
Santa Monica College's chatbot, powered by Gecko, was more successful in answering most questions. The single-college district uses a ChatGPT-integrated chatbot that scans the college's website, which staff regularly update and monitor. The district has contracted with Gecko since 2019 and renewed its annual contract for the tool late last year for $57,000, according to district board documents. It initially showed a major hiccup: when asked about mental health counseling, the bot did not mention the campus' Center for Wellness and Wellbeing. It does now.
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District officials say chatbots' problems stem from how the tools are configured and the information they draw from, rather than the technology itself.
The Los Angeles district originally adopted its chatbot through Ocelot, which later merged with Gravyty The same chatbot platform is also used on the California Student Aid Commission website.
Betsy Regalado, one of the district's associate vice chancellors, said the current system relies on a manually maintained library of frequently asked questions that staff at each of the district's nine colleges help maintain and review at least once or twice a year for accuracy. She added that chatbots are primarily geared for the public rather than enrolled students, who can access more detailed personal information through their campus portal.
"The current chatbot that we have uses a library of questions. If you don't have that question in that library, then those poor people don't get an answer or they won't get an accurate answer," Regalado said.
She said the district plans to transition all nine colleges to Gravyty's platform as early as late spring at no additional cost under its existing contract, which runs through 2029. The new system will use AI to scrape college and external websites to generate responses.
"We're ready for the modernization of (the chatbot) and the change to generative AI. That is the new world out there," Regalado said.
Santa Monica College is one of 116 campuses in the California community college system.
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Courtesy Santa Monica College
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Santa Monica College's chatbot similarly initially relied on a manually loaded library of common questions and answers before transitioning to its fully AI system, according to Esau Tovar, the college's dean of enrollment services. In an email, he said the bot "was never designed to address all aspects of the student journey," but to answer general questions from students.
Tovar said the bot draws responses from the college's website, meaning accuracy depends on how current and complete that information is. As a result, the college prioritizes keeping its website up to date so the bot provides "good answers with fewer errors" rather than "great answers with potentially more errors."
Widely used, cautiously trusted
Acknowledging limitations, community college districts justify the costs by pointing to heavy student use, which would cost significantly more if performed by call center staff around the clock.
Regalado said the Los Angeles district colleges average 5,000 to 7,000 interactions per month. Other districts reported similar monthly use, including 5,000 interactions at the State Center Community College District, which includes campuses in Fresno and nearby counties, and 4,000 conversations at Santa Monica College. Regalado said that as long as the chatbot remains heavily used, her district would continue to support it.
Tovar said the chatbot provides 24-hour support regardless of time zone or location, which he said is helpful for international students when they are out of the country. He said that answering the tens of thousands of questions the chatbots receive around the clock would cost significantly more if handled by staff.
"Every technology has a cost. We would simply not be able to assist all students if they could only reach us using traditional methods," Tovar said.
But high usage and expanded access do not always translate into trust, especially when students need precise answers to delicate topics.
Bryan Hartanto, a civil engineering major at Santa Monica College from Indonesia, said the college's newer chatbot system is smoother and can be a useful starting point, especially for students more comfortable communicating in languages other than English. But as an international student he worries that following inaccurate guidance could jeopardize his visa status.
"Maintaining status as an international student right now is very, very sensitive," Hartanto said. "I would still rely on human or email communication."
Martin Romero 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.
Frank Stoltze
is a veteran reporter who covers local politics and examines how democracy is and, at times, is not working.
Published March 6, 2026 4:52 PM
LAPD officers stand guard outside City Hall following a dispersal order after a day of mostly peaceful protests June 14, 2025.
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Mario Tama
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Getty Images
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Topline:
A city of Los Angeles commission on Thursday recommended increasing the power of the City Council over the Police Department, a shift supporters said would make the agency more accountable to the people.
The backstory: Right now, the council has no direct authority over the LAPD. Instead, a five-member Police Commission appointed by the mayor oversees the department.
Frustrations: The structure has sometimes frustrated members of the City Council who want to weigh in on police policy — especially amid what some see as the department’s heavy handed approach to protestors.
The proposal: Under the proposal, any police-related ordinance enacted by the council would be reviewed by the Police Commission. The panel would have the option of vetoing it within 60 days. After that, if the commission takes no action, the ordinance would become law.
A city of Los Angeles commission on Thursday recommended increasing the power of the City Council over the police department, a shift supporters said would make the agency more accountable to the people.
Right now, the council has no direct authority over the LAPD. Instead, a five-member Police Commission appointed by the mayor oversees the department.
The structure has sometimes frustrated members of the City Council who want to weigh in on police policy — especially amid what some see as the department’s heavy-handed approach to protestors.
Under the proposal, any police-related ordinance enacted by the council would be reviewed by the Police Commission. The panel would have the option of vetoing it within 60 days. After that, if the commission takes no action, the ordinance would become law.
The Los Angeles Charter Reform Commission voted down stronger language that would have given the council more direct control over police policy.
Community activists hailed the recommendations.
“Months ago, police reform wasn’t even on the Charter Commission’s to-do list,” Godfrey Plata of LA Forward said in a statement. “Today, because community members came together to force conversations that likely never would have happened on their own, we have multiple reforms headed to City Council. That’s a huge victory.”
The recommendation goes to the City Council, which will decide whether to place it on the November ballot, along with a series of other recommended charter changes.
Criticism of police commission
The recommendation comes amid growing frustration over the rising liability costs caused by police misconduct and a sense the Police Commission has done too little to reform the department.
“The police commission is borderline useless,” Baba Akili of Black Lives Matter told the Charter Commission during public testimony.
In addition, the charter reform panel recommended strengthening the role of the council to terminate officers involved in misconduct. Right now, the City Council has no such role. Under the recommendation, the council would be able to override a decision by the police chief and civilian Board of Rights panel if they decide to retain an officer accused of wrongdoing.
The commission also voted to recommend the police department be required to buy $1 million worth of liability insurance for each officer to be paid out if there is a legal settlement or judgment when an officer engages in misconduct. The cost would not be able to exceed $20 per officer.
Commissioners said skyrocketing judgments and settlements connected to police misconduct necessitated the creation of an insurance program.
Other recommendations
Previously, the Charter Reform Commission recommended increasing the size of the City Council from 15 to 25 members, shifting to a ranked-choice voting system and lowering the voting age to 16 in city and school board elections.
Each of those recommendations would need to be approved by the City Council before it can appear on the ballot.
The commission was born out of calls for reform in the wake of the 2022 City Hall tapes scandal. Three members of the City Council and a labor leader were caught on audio tape making racist and disparaging remarks during a discussion of how to retain power through political redistricting.
City Council President Nury Martinez and the labor leader, L.A. County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera, resigned their positions.
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LA28, the committee behind the upcoming Summer Games and Paralympics in Los Angeles, made recent headlines after supporting and defending their chair, Casey Wasserman, whose name appeared in the ongoing Epstein files released last month. Who sits on the LA28 planning committee?
Exponential influence: The official LA28 website only lists the names of the 35-member committee, failing to provide any additional information on their external position, affiliation, or background. Despite the limited information that the board provides about its members, the influence they hold is exponential. Overall, they are in charge of the successful execution of the 2028 games through things like ensuring the games remain on budget, managing environmental sustainability and venues and securing corporate partnerships with companies such as Starbucks, Delta, Google, and Comcast.
Who sits on the committee: Among the committee members who continue to defend Wasserman are local business, sports, and political leaders. They include Pete Rodriguez, a labor union leader, Jessica Alba, actress and founder of the Honest Company, Reince Priebus President Donald Trump's Trump’s former chief of staff, and Jeffrey Katzenberg former chairman of Walt Disney Studio and DreamWorks Animation.
The 35-member committee, which seems to be the only entity that could remove and unseat Wasserman, said that after they reviewed his documented interactions with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, they did not go “beyond what has already been publicly documented.”
"The Executive Committee of the Board has determined that, based on these facts, as well as the strong leadership he has exhibited over the past ten years, Mr. Wasserman should continue to lead LA28 and deliver a safe and successful games,” the committee said in a statement.
Despite the limited information that the board provides about its members, the influence they hold is exponential. Overall, they are in charge of the successful execution of the 2028 games through things like ensuring the games remain on budget, managing environmental sustainability and venues and securing corporate partnerships with companies such as Starbucks, Delta, Google, and Comcast.
Among the committee members who continue to defend Wasserman are local business, sports, and political leaders, including the following:
Latinos
Beatriz Acevedo
Beatriz Acevedo is a Latina entrepreneur, co-founder and president of Mitú, or we are Mitú, a digital news and culture source for Latinos. Acevedo, who was born in Tijuana and raised in Mexico City, also co-founded SUMA Wealth, a financial wellness company and app that is said to help Latinos with tips about financial literacy and wealth-building tools.
The app uses AI “financial coaches” that help subscribers with budgeting, investing and receive personalized financial coaching.
“Your financial future can shine brighter than your abuela's saints' candles with our unlimited money-making tips, deals, and financial tools,” the official website states.
Acevedo is also the president of her family’s foundation, the Acevedo Foundation, which, according to its website, is committed to creating more equitable access to capital and mentorship for Latino entrepreneurs to elevate the community's needs and build generational wealth. She is also a member of the Latino Community Foundation.
Jessica Alba
Jessica Alba is known for acting roles in movies like “Fantastic Four” and “Good Luck Chuck,” among others. She is also the founder of the Honest Company, an L.A.-based consumer goods company specializing in baby, beauty and personal care items, including diapers and wipes, utilizing non-toxic, plant-based ingredients.
In 2015, numerous lawsuits claimed the company had deceptive labeling of ingredients, specifically sodium lauryl sulfate in laundry detergent.
José E. Feliciano is a Puerto Rican-born American businessman, investor and multi-billionaire.
He is the co-founder of investment firm Clearlake Capital, a private investment firm in the technology, industrial and consumer sectors, managing over $90 billion of assets. The company is the majority owner of Chelsea Football Club, having acquired the team in May 2022.
Pete Rodriguez is a labor union leader and member of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, one of North America's largest building-trades unions, representing over 500,000 members in the construction and wood-products industries.
Besides joining the union in 1996, when he was doing highway and bridge work, there is not much public information about him. His father was an immigrant who arrived in the U.S. undocumented and worked as a union laborer as well.
Members Tied to President Donald Trump
Kevin McCarthy
Kevin McCarthy served as the Speaker of the House of Representatives from January to October 2023. The Republican from Bakersfield, California, concluded his 16-year career after he was the first Speaker of the House in U.S. history to be formally removed from the position. McCarthy was initially a supporter of Trump until he stated Trump “bears responsibility” for the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, a statement that he later retracted and once again became a vocal supporter of Trump's return to power.
Reince Priebus
Reince Priebus served as Trump’s chief of staff for the first six months of his first term. He was removed as White House chief of staff in July 2017 after being blamed for poor performance and leaking of documents. He also serves as a political analyst for Fox News, appearing across their platforms and news segments.
Diane Hendricks
Billionaire Diane Hendricks, considered to be the wealthiest person in Wisconsin, has been a Trump mega-donor for years. Hendricks, who has openly said to be anti-union, faced controversy in the past for paying zero state income taxes in 2010, 2012, 2013, and 2014, although it was classified as legal due to business tax classifications. She has previously said to have built the majority of her multi-billion-dollar fortune through ABC Supply, one of the largest roofing supply companies in the U.S. Before that, she worked as a Playboy Bunny for about a year as a teenager, a job she said she took to support her child and pay her bills.
Jeffrey Katzenberg served as chairman of Walt Disney Studios from 1984 to 1994 and later as the chief executive officer and founder of DreamWorks Animation. For decades, he has been a top Democratic Party fundraiser, involved with campaigns for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and was a co-chair for Joe Biden’s 2024 campaign.
Contrary to popular belief, the majority of the board is not made up of former Paralympic athletes; instead, the majority of its members are billionaires and prominent political and business figures.
CNN reported last week that, according to their sources, the U.S. and International Olympic committees, which oversee and approve major LA28 decisions, have been engaged in backchannel conversations about Wasserman’s role, with a potential replacement floating around.
Homeless outreach workers are now roaming daily across the Eastside, including Boyle Heights, to provide hygiene kits and tents and connect unhoused residents to temporary housing.
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Andrew Lopez
)
Topline:
Homeless outreach workers are now roaming daily across the Eastside to provide hygiene kits and tents and connect unhoused residents to temporary housing. The effort is part of a new year-long program launched last Thursday by Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, which works in partnership with Urban Alchemy, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that provides services to unhoused people.
Program details: The team is made up of three people, which includes two on-the-ground outreach practitioners and a third person directing their operations. Workers will exclusively offer daily outreach to CD 14 neighborhoods, which include El Sereno, Lincoln Heights, Boyle Heights, Eagle Rock, Highland Park and downtown Los Angeles. The program — Leading Outreach with Valued Engagement, or LOVE — will be in effect through March 2027.
Services offered: Outreach workers are tasked with providing crisis intervention and de-escalation, assessing individual needs and connecting people to interim housing referrals. They will also distribute food and Narcan, as well as offer “post-placement follow-up to help people remain housed.”
Homeless outreach workers are now roaming daily across the Eastside, including Boyle Heights, to provide hygiene kits and tents and connect unhoused residents to temporary housing.
The effort is part of a new year-long program launched last Thursday by Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, which works in partnership with Urban Alchemy, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that provides services to unhoused people.
The program — Leading Outreach with Valued Engagement, or LOVE — will be in effect through March 2027. The program costs $300,000 and is funded through Jurado’s discretionary funds. The team is made up of three people, which includes two on-the-ground outreach practitioners and a third person directing their operations.
Boyle Heights has seen a recent rise in homeless encampment reports. In the first quarter of 2025, 635 encampments were reported in Boyle Heights, compared with 379 during the same period in 2024, according to an analysis by The Eastsider.
Homeless encampments were also a source of discussion at January’s Community Police Advisory Board hosted by the Hollenbeck Community Police Station.
Attendees expressed frustration about unhoused people living in an alley behind the Benjamin Franklin Library and a growing encampment near Hollenbeck Drive and South Boyle Avenue, according to a summary of the meeting.
Encampments move from one place to another, said Susana Betancourt, a member of the Community Police Advisory Board. Betancourt talked about pressuring property owners to clean up. “They not only have tents, the encampments there, but they put their vehicles,” she said.
Jurado, in a statement to Boyle Heights Beat, said her office works with service providers “to respond to encampments thoughtfully.”
“We coordinate every two weeks to prioritize areas of greatest need, making sure neighbors get consistent support and that unhoused residents are connected to housing, health care, and other services,” she said.
Jurado touts the new program as giving unhoused residents better access to “life-saving health care, stable housing, [and] pathways to recovery.” The LOVE program, Jurado said, will help “reach neighbors before situations become emergencies.”
“Addressing homelessness isn’t one-size-fits-all. I invested in the LOVE Team because every person’s needs are different,” Jurado said. “The team is out in the community every day, visiting every neighborhood in the district each week, building trust, and connecting neighbors to housing, health care, and support services that help them regain stability.”
Outreach workers are tasked with providing crisis intervention and de-escalation, assessing individual needs and connecting people to interim housing referrals. They will also distribute food and Narcan, as well as offer “post-placement follow-up to help people remain housed.”
Jurado said workers will exclusively offer daily outreach to CD 14 neighborhoods, which include El Sereno, Lincoln Heights, Boyle Heights, Eagle Rock, Highland Park and downtown Los Angeles.
Mason Santa Maria, a spokesperson for Jurado, said outreach workers have already identified unhoused residents who are not yet logged into the Homeless Management Information System, an online database tracking services accessed by people who are unhoused or at risk of homelessness.
“It’s hard to keep track of people when they don’t have a stable address,” Santa Maria said. “This is a way to keep track of them.”
