Jacob Margolis
covers science, with a focus on environmental stories and disasters, as well as investigations and accountability.
Published August 1, 2023 7:26 AM
The Desert Museum Palo Verde doesn't provide as much shade as other trees, but it sure is beautiful.
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Jacob Margolis
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Topline:
L.A.’s urban forest was established during a time when water seemed plentiful and climate change was barely a footnote in scientific journals. Now, it’s being threatened.
The experiment: There’s an experimental plot at UC Riverside where trees are being tested for their resilience to hot and dry conditions so that we have a better idea of what might do well as climate change worsens.
The results: The tests are expected to continue another decade, but so far trees including the red push pistache, the desert willow and the honey mesquite appear to be doing well.
The failures: The Texas live oak’s not looking too good in scorching hot riverside, but is apparently doing well in test plots in the more temperate coastal areas.
On a recent triple digit summer day, I made my way out to a dusty field at UC Riverside, the research center of California’s citrus universe.
The UC Riverside Citrus Research Center is lined with row after row of citrus trees. It's also home to the Climate Ready Tree test plot.
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Row after row of tangerines, oranges and pomelos —11,000 in total — baked under a heat dome. Off in the distance, wildfire smoke passed in front of the San Bernardino Mountains, which had been covered in thick snow just a few months ago.
The dusty field is just one of the many plots that the university uses to trial new trees, grow budwood for distribution and come up with solutions for devastating problems like Huanglongbing, a bacteria driven greening disease that’s threatening trees world wide.
However, I was there to check out a block of 48 trees sitting along a fence that look nothing like the thousands of citrus around them. Inconsequential at first glance, you could easily imagine them along any road in Los Angeles, but that’s kind of the point. The trees are being tested to see if they can survive our hellishly hot and dry future driven by climate change.
Where, how and why these trees are being tested
There are 12 different types of trees and four of each at the UC Riverside test plot.
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It’s a collection of 12 different species — four of each — pulled from around the world and being run through the gauntlet by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Planted seven years ago, they were given supplemental water to help them get established, but since then they’ve had to survive on their own through record-setting heatwaves and drought years.
The Texas, or escarpment, live oak was struggling and nearly dead at the UC Riverside plot. It's reportedly doing better at a plot along the coast.
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The trees are being assessed for a number of factors including attractiveness, whether they provide good shade, how much work it takes to maintain them (less pruning means lower maintenance costs) and whether they can survive without much water.
The experiment is expected to run for at least 20 years, but visit the plot today and it's clear which trees are thriving. Surprisingly, just because a tree comes from a hot climate doesn’t mean it’s going to do well.
“What kind of choices are we going to be able to make in the future?,” said Natalie van Doorn, U.S. Forest Service scientist and co-creator of the experiment known as Climate Ready Trees. “Are we going to have enough water to make that decision that yes we want to keep watering our trees?”
If not, we’ve got to have viable candidates that we know will thrive and provide critical tree cover, which for residents, can be a matter of life or death.
Why L.A.'s hundreds of thousands of trees matter so much
Trees are an absolutely critical part of our infrastructure. They have a marked impact on human and ecosystem health.
The red push pistache had one of the densest canopies at the test site.
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Trees can:
Help drop temperatures in urban areas by as much as 45 degrees
Reduce energy use
Suppress noise
Improve air quality
Sequester water
Help provide homes to all sorts of creatures, all according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Which is why any sort of major threat to the more than 700,000 street trees planted across the city of L.A. is of major concern, and that's what climate change is doing.
Much of our urban forest, as it’s known, was planted over the past 100 years as the region developed. As people migrated from other parts of the country they often wanted to plant the trees that they were familiar with, though that could mean species from wetter climates.
The sweetgum tree, whose spiky seed balls you’ve likely stepped on while walking through a park, is a decent example. It’s originally from the eastern area of the country and doesn’t love drought conditions, thriving in the moist soils of the Mississippi Delta. More than 25,000 of them are planted across the city, according to a tree inventory.
A red pistache
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The flowers of the desert willow are a beautiful pink.
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“I think in general, many of urban forests contain what I would call legacy plantings that occurred after World War II, when people were building homes and moving in and planting trees. And so those trees now, maybe 40, 50, 60 years old, they were planted when water was abundant. They've grown accustomed to having water and of course they're not necessarily as well adapted to hot dry conditions,“ said Greg McPherson, retired research scientist with the U.S. Forest Service, and one of the creators of the experiment.
We were long able to satisfy a broad range of moisture requirements because we imported and dumped all but unlimited gallons of water all over our landscapes, often in an effort to keep our lawns green.
That is until this past decade, when drought and water cuts became the norm.
What happens to water-stressed trees
The flowers of the maverick mesquite.
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The flowers of the desert museum palo verde.
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Water-stressed trees are more susceptible to pathogens and insect attacks, and are, predictably, more likely to die than healthy happy trees. One only need look to the Sierra Nevada to understand how bad things can get. More than 100 million trees have died over the past decade in part due to drought stress.
There are no clear mortality estimates for LA’s urban forest over the past decade, so we can’t say whether extreme conditions have led to more tree deaths in our area. And unless we had a widespread, granular tree tracking program, it’s going to be tough to determine why an individual tree is lost.
There are hundreds of thousands of street trees across the city, and urban trees face all sorts of challenges trees in our forests don’t. Yard tools can damage them and lead to the introduction of disease, poor pruning practices can lessen tree resilience and sometimes people just cut them down because they want to redo their yards.
That said, conditions are becoming more challenging for our urban forest and we could be on the path to greater die off as a result. Longer, more sustained droughts are becoming more common, meaning less water for irrigated landscapes, and more extreme heat days mean trees require more water to survive.
While this palo blanco, originally from northern Mexico, was looking OK, another one was struggling substantially.
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Odds are we haven’t seen the worst of it. Even though we’ve had a handful of water cuts over the past decade, lawns are still green and trees still often getting supplemental irrigation.
Given how bad cuts got before this wet year, it’s easy to imagine a point where outdoor watering is limited to the point that lawns start to finally die off and the trees that rely on that same supplemental water start to die too.
“The roots of those trees are near the surface because turf is irrigated in frequent, but not heavy doses. So the water stays in the upper surface of the soil and that’s where the roots are,” McPherson said.
Depending on the variety, trees can take decades to become established and provide meaningful shade. If we’re planting something today with the expectation that it’ll survive in the lawn-less future we’re charging towards, it’s important to find species that can thrive on minimal supplemental inputs.
Our need for more resilient trees
McPherson’s efforts to find what the experiment is calling ‘climate-ready trees’ began about two decades ago, when he recognized what the existential threat of warming trends could mean for our urban forests.
The Desert Museum Palo Verde doesn't provide as much shade as the other trees, but it's nice to look at and likes hot weather.
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“I began in 1999 when I got a 18 wheeler full of desert trees from Arizona shipped up and planted them all around Sacramento and Davis, and really started evaluating their performance,” said McPherson.
Some, like the Palo Verde, even though it can thrive in hot climates, struggled.
“It just grew so fast that the top would outgrow the roots and it would blow over in our wind,” he said. “Some of them worked, some didn’t. But that led to the idea that we need to evaluate more species”
The rosewood tree had a sizable canopy that provided good shade.
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In 2015 he and van Doorn got a grant to begin trialing trees at a test site at UC Davis, and eventually along the coast in Irvine, and in the scorching hot environment of Riverside.
So which trees have been thriving?
Though the experiment still has a number of years to go, I made the trip to the Riverside plot because out of the two Southern California plots, I wanted to see which trees were doing the best in the most extreme conditions.
Many were thriving, but three stood out because they looked healthy, cast wonderful shade and were quite attractive. They’d be wonderful along any street.
The Red Push Pistache was the first to catch my eye in part because it had one of the thickest canopies and beautiful leaves. It’s originally from Arizona.
The red push pistache seemed to be thriving.
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The canopy of the rosewood, originally from India, rivaled the pistache and the Desert Willow, native to the southwest, put out gorgeous pink flowers.
A rosewood tree.
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The desert willow was thriving at the test plot.
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The Honey Mesquite, also native to the southwest, was covered in bright yellow flowers and teaming with so many bees that the whole tree appeared to vibrate.
The honey mesquite can be invasive in some environments.
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The ghost gum, a type of eucalyptus from Australia was also well established. However, because of their oil content eucalyptus tend to burn violently in wildfires. Maybe not the best choice for fire prone locations. And the tecate cypress is native to the region and looks like it could be trimmed into a hedge. It's struggled a bit at the plot.
The ghost gum is a type of eucalyptus from Australia.
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The Tecate Cypress is native to Southern California and could work well in a hedge.
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Then there were the ones that appeared to need more maintenance, like the Palo Verde, which I see planted in drought tolerant landscapes across the area. It can thrive in hot conditions, and with a bit of pruning it might’ve looked better. Problem is it didn’t provide much shade.
And, to me, the Texas Live Oak looked to be an outright failure, as they were close to dead. It's reportedly done better in cooler conditions at the team's other test site in Irvine.
A desert museum Palo Verde
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A live oak
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Go see the trees yourself
Each tree in the private research plot has a counterpart located in parks across the region, in an effort to help determine how they do when they’re not babied.
“If you were looking at reference versus park sites, the reference sites are doing better as far as survivorship and growth. In the park sites there just is a lot of variability,” said van Doorn.
Police and firefighters investigate the scene where a helicopter crashed and burst into flames Tuesday night in Chatsworth not far from a serious accident involving a Metro bus that also left three people dead.
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Ronaldo Bolanos
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Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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Topline:
NBC4's news helicopter crashed in a Los Angeles neighborhood tonight and burst into flames, killing at least three people while reporters were covering the nearby crash of an SUV and a city bus, officials said.
What we know: Colleen Williams, an NBC4 Los Angeles anchor, confirmed during a live broadcast that the station’s chopper went down just before 7 p.m. “We are going to take a couple of minutes to think about that, process it,” she said, her voice shaking with emotion. Moments later their coverage abruptly cut off.
This is a developing story
A news helicopter crashed in a Los Angeles neighborhood on Tuesday and burst into flames, killing at least three people near the scene of where an SUV had slammed into a city bus, officials said.
The helicopter crashed around 7 p.m. near a one-story commercial building in the neighborhood of Chatsworth in the San Fernando Valley, as news crews were covering the bus crash that left at least two people dead and six others injured, according the Los Angeles Fire Department.
An NBC4 Los Angeles anchor at the station confirmed during a live broadcast that its chopper went down just before 7 p.m.
At least one person killed in the helicopter crash was outside in the parking lot next to the commercial building, Capt. Branden Silverman, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Fire Department, said during a news conference. It was unclear if the other two who were killed were on the ground or inside the aircraft.
The scene of a deadly helicopter crash in Chatsworth broadcast be CBSLA.
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What NBC4 is reporting
NBC4 has confirmed the two people killed aboard the NewsChopper4 helicopter Tuesday night were reporter Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw. Both, the news outlet said, were employees of Angel City Air. In a story on NBC4's website, Moreno is described as "a familiar voice for NBC4 and Telemundo 52 during the station's aerial coverage."
Prior to confirming it was a helicopter reporting for NBC4, NBC reporters acknowledged the newsroom had lost contact with their team. The news helicopter was among several in the area covering a fatal bus crash.
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass said, in a statement on social media: "I’m absolutely devastated by the loss of life in Chatsworth tonight. My heart is with the families and loved ones of those we lost in the tragic bus collision and helicopter crash."
One person was taken to the hospital, but their condition was not immediately clear.
“We’re trying to determine how many patients were inside the helicopter,” said Silverman, who described the helicopter as “pretty well destroyed” and adding that officials would be sorting through the rubble to see how many victims were on board.
At least four cars and two storage containers on the ground burned after the helicopter caught fire, which was quickly put out, according to officials. More than 50 firefighters responded to the helicopter crash, according to the fire department.null
Police and LA Metro investigate the scene of a crash between an SUV and a LA Metro Bus that left three people dead on Tuesday in Chatsworth.
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Ronaldo Bolanos
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Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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About two hours before the crash, an SUV slammed into the middle of a city bus, killing at least two people and injuring six others. Photos and videos online showed half of the SUV lodged into the side of an MTA bus.
The helicopter crashed about a mile and a half from the bus crash.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration said it will be investigating the cause of the helicopter crash.
Aaron Schrank
has been on the ground, reporting on homelessness and other issues in L.A. for more than a decade.
Published September 15, 2026 7:30 PM
Garrett Lee (right), of Department of Mental Health's HOME Team, collaborates with LAHSA’s Homeless Engagement Team during outreach in the targeted COVID-19 testing efforts in the homeless community, April 2020
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Topline:
The Los Angeles region’s lead homelessness agency is effectively forfeiting the federal administrative roles it has held for decades, including applying for millions of dollars in funding for the region and leading the annual homeless count, the agency announced Tuesday.
How we got here: The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority's governing commission voted Tuesday not to apply to keep its four federal roles, including serving as the "collaborative applicant" that brings in about $240 million a year from the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development. The decision follows months of scrutiny over LAHSA's management, a HUD suspension in June and a stay imposed by an appellate court last week that cast doubt on whether LAHSA could even apply.
Other applicants: L.A. County's Department of Homeless Services and Housing is applying to take over all four roles — the homeless count, the federal funding application, and two HUD-mandated systems that track unhoused residents and match them to housing. The city of L.A. is applying for at least two of those roles, setting up a competition between the region's two largest homelessness funders.
What’s next?: Applicants have until Sept. 25 to file, and any pick by the region's Continuum of Care Board will be reviewed by HUD and the federal judge overseeing the case. LAHSA says it will keep performing the roles until they officially transition to a new entity.
The Los Angeles region’s lead homelessness agency is effectively forfeiting the federal administrative roles it has held for decades, including applying for millions of dollars in funding for the region and leading the annual homeless count, the agency announced Tuesday.
The decision comes as the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority faces mounting criticism from both the Trump administration and local leaders who accuse the agency of mismanaging homeless services.
It reverses a monthslong legal battle LAHSA had been waging with the federal government to continue in these duties.
The city of Los Angeles, L.A. County and other entities and organizations are now applying to take them over.
At a county meeting Tuesday, Supervisor Lindsey Horvath called it “a fundamental change that reflects the significant performance, contracting and financial concerns that have plagued LAHSA for too long.”
“ Officials avoiding accountability will no longer have LAHSA to hide behind, and the county and city must be accountable to each other and to our entire Los Angeles region,” Horvath continued.
LAHSA's decision
In June, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development suspended LAHSA from conducting its federal duties, including applying for or receiving grants, putting $241 million in anticipated funding and LAHSA’s future in limbo.
LAHSA sued.
U.S. District Judge David O. Carter paused LAHSA’s suspension on Aug. 13, but also instructed a regional planning body known as the L.A. Continuum of Care Board to solicit applications from other entities to replace LAHSA in those key roles.
The Continuum of Care Board opened its application process online last week, inviting qualified organizations to take on one or more of LAHSA’s current administrative roles.
LAHSA’s governing commission voted unanimously Tuesday to not apply, effectively forfeiting the federal roles that comprise most of its remaining responsibilities.
The city of L.A. and L.A. County are both applying, according to LAHSA.
“With both the City and County preparing their own applications, competing against our founding partners would only fracture regional collaboration during an already complex time,” the LAHSA Commission and the agency's leadership said in a statement.
“This decision reflects the shared judgment of LAHSA’s Commission and executive leadership,” the statement continued.
Federal roles
LAHSA will forfeit the following federal homelessness roles:
1. Coordinating and submitting annual federal homeless assistance funding applications to HUD on behalf of the entire L.A. region — about $240 million in the coming year.
2. Planning, executing and reporting the region’s annual point-in-time homeless count.
3. Operating and administering a HUD-mandated database that tracks who's being served and whether they're moving into housing.
4. Managing and operating a HUD-mandated system to match unhoused people to available housing and services based on need.
How we got here
After Carter paused LAHSA’s suspension, the federal housing agency appealed the decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Last week, the appeals court issued a temporary stay on Carter's order.
LAHSA said that ruling created more uncertainty about whether the agency was eligible to apply for the federal roles it has held for the past three decades.
“Stepping aside now supports alignment with the direction the City and County are heading with their applications, and focuses public resources where they belong: on the people who depend on the rehousing system every day,” the LAHSA statement said.
LAHSA is a joint powers authority between the city and county, created three decades ago to manage the region’s response to homelessness.
City and county officials are collectively responsible for LAHSA, which has administered federal, state, county and city homelessness funding across the region.
Citing LAHSA’s management problems, L.A. County pulled more than $300 million annual homelessness funding from the agency starting this year, choosing instead to administer the funds through a new county homelessness department.
The city of L.A. is considering a similar move away from LAHSA. Mayor Karen Bass and her election rival Councilmember Nithya Raman both say the city needs its own independent homeless system.
In the current budget year, 73% of LAHSA’s nearly $500 million budget comes from the city of L.A., 20% from the federal government and 4% from L.A. County.
What’s next?
LAHSA said it will continue to fulfill its ongoing federal responsibilities “until those duties transition to a new entity or entities.”
The agency has agreements with the city of L.A. to manage programs and contracts through June 30, 2027.
The county’s Department of Homeless Services and Housing is applying to take over all four of LAHSA’s federal responsibilities, according to county officials. The city of L.A. is currently applying for at least two of those roles, putting the city and county in competition with each other.
“Moving forward, another entity will be leading the [Continuum of Care], which I believe should be the county, given our ability to most effectively administer contracts for our region,” Horvath said Tuesday.
Other organizations have also expressed interest. Better Angels, a homelessness nonprofit led by former L.A. mayoral candidate Adam Miller, contacted the court seeking to apply.
Applicants looking to take over LAHSA’s federal roles have until Sept. 25 to submit applications, but had to communicate their intent to apply by Sept. 15.
The applicants selected by L.A.’s regional Continuum of Care Board will have to be reviewed by HUD and the federal court.
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Mariana Dale
explores and explains the forces that shape how and what kids learn from kindergarten to high school.
Published September 15, 2026 6:08 PM
The L.A. Unified School District has significant budget issues driven in part by lower enrollment than anticipated.
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Brian Feinzimer
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LAist
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Topline:
The Los Angeles Unified School District’s falling enrollment and fiscal challenges are fueling conversations planned for later this year about potential school closures and consolidation.
Why now: District leaders presented a snapshot of LAUSD’s finances Tuesday, showing steeper enrollment declines and lower state revenue and reserves than previously projected. The board adopted a $3.5 billion savings plan alongside the most recent budget in June that, among other cuts, envisions saving $30 million a year through school consolidation and repurposing in the 2028-29 school year.
Falling enrollment: Almost 4% fewer students are attending LAUSD schools this academic year compared to last year, according to preliminary data— nearly a percentage point lower than expected. The district’s chief financial officer said that each 1% drop in enrollment is a loss of about $20 million a year for the next three years because California funds schools based on how many students show up to class each day.
The Los Angeles Unified School District’s falling enrollment and budget challenges are fueling conversations planned for later this year about potential school closures and consolidation.
“Our goal is not simply to have fewer schools; our goal is to have stronger schools, schools that are better resourced, schools that offer more programs for our students,” Superintendent Andrés Chait said during a school board meeting Tuesday. The superintendent shared a similar message in a video sent to families Monday.
“That deficit spending is only possible while we have reserves and the very significant challenge that we’re facing as a district is that those reserves are being depleted very quickly,” said Saman Bravo-Karimi, the district's chief financial officer. “They’re eventually going to go negative and we can’t have negative balances as a school district.”
How is enrollment changing?
Almost 4% fewer students are attending LAUSD schools this academic year compared to last year, according to preliminary data — nearly a percentage point lower than expected.
Bravo-Karimi said that each 1% drop in enrollment is a loss of about $20 million a year for the next three years because California funds schools based on how many students show up to class each day.
Fewer students have attended LAUSD schools over the last two decades, in part because of falling birth rates and the region’s high cost of living, but those declines were steeper than anticipated in recent years.
Board member Kelly Gonez said the schools in East San Fernando Valley communities targeted by federal agents have double the enrollment declines of other campuses.
“That increase in enrollment decline last school year was not a coincidence,” Gonez said. “Something changed … that is the presence of a federal administration that is attacking our immigrant communities.”
How is LAUSD approaching school closures?
The district pulled a scheduled vote Monday night on a $960,000 contract with a school closure consultant.
Several members of the public and a leader in the district’s teachers union spoke out against the contract and any similar future consultants.
“It’s hard for us to seriously work with this district to fight for more state funding when you squander limited funds you have on contracts with vultures and privatizers like the Alvarez company,” said Julie Van Winkle, United Teachers Los Angeles vice president.
Chait said the decision to remove the contract from consideration was in response to messages from school, community and district stakeholders over the weekend.
“One of the core leadership principles that I’ve always really tried to live by is to listen to folks, especially when they disagree,” Chait said.
Chait said the district needs external support to convene community meetings and compile and analyze data.
“This is arguably the most complex, the most difficult endeavor we will ever take on,” Chait said of school consolidations. “It will reset the footprint of our district for years to come.”
Chait said the district will begin holding community conversations related to school closures in the next few weeks and will share more details during a Sept. 22 meeting.
How did LAUSD’s budget become so strained?
The district’s current $20.6 billion budget projects a $2 billion deficit.
L.A. County education officials approved the district’s most recent budget Tuesday on the condition that LAUSD provide additional information about how it is implementing cuts this school year.
However, L.A. County Superintendent Debra Duardo also called out the district's “unsustainable” use of reserves.
“The district’s fiscal status necessitates continued monitoring for both immediate and future corrective actions,” Duardo wrote in a letter to district leadership, referencing the July appointment of a fiscal expert to advise the district.
LAUSD’s board has approved a series of plans to reduce spending and increase revenue. For example, the district eliminated hundreds of jobs, primarily in its administrative offices, earlier this year.
The district’s most recent fiscal stabilization plan includes furlough days for all employees, the elimination of thousands of jobs and cuts to programs that help high-needs schools pay for counselors, tutors and other student supports.
Most of these cuts aren’t scheduled to go into effect until the 2027-28 and 2028-29 school years.
Find Your LAUSD Board Member
LAUSD board members can amplify concerns from parents, students and educators. Find your representative below.
Nick Gerda
is an accountability reporter who has covered local government in Southern California for more than a decade.
Published September 15, 2026 5:17 PM
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass speaks at a news conference before LAHSA's annual homeless count at El Rio Community School on Feb. 18, 2025.
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Carlin Stiehl
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Topline:
The leader of a congressional panel warned Tuesday he would use “every tool” to get Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to testify after she skipped a hearing that put L.A.’s homeless services system in the hotseat.
The context: The House panel came as multiple audits, reviews and court rulings have found L.A. has failed to ensure proper tracking of large-scale spending on homeless services — particularly through the joint city-county L.A. Homeless Services Authority, known as LAHSA.
What the mayor says: Bass had declined to testify at Tuesday’s hearing, saying she was unavailable and that it would be a “politically-motivated” attack. Her public schedule showed she planned to attend a groundbreaking of a shopping and community center in the Pacific Palisades two hours after the hearing was set to start.
The warning: Rep. Tim Burchett, the Tennessee Republican who chairs the House Oversight Committee's DOGE subcommittee, said she won't get off that easily. Bass "seems intent on evading accountability, but she knows we will not let her off the hook," Burchett said at the hearing. He added that he and the Oversight Committee’s chair would "use every tool at our disposal to secure her appearance if she does not cooperate.”
The leader of a congressional panel warned Tuesday he would use “every tool” to get Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to testify after she skipped a hearing that put L.A.’s homeless services system in the hot seat.
It came as multiple audits, reviews and court rulings have found L.A. has failed to ensure proper tracking of large-scale spending on homeless services — particularly through the joint city-county L.A. Homeless Services Authority, known as LAHSA. Much of the money is federal dollars authorized by Congress.
Bass had declined to testify at Tuesday’s hearing, saying she was unavailable and that it would be a “politically motivated” attack. Her public schedule showed she planned to attend a groundbreaking of a shopping and community center in the Pacific Palisades two hours after the hearing was set to start.
Rep. Tim Burchett, the Tennessee Republican who chairs the House Oversight Committee's DOGE subcommittee, said she won't get off that easily.
Bass "seems intent on evading accountability, but she knows we will not let her off the hook," Burchett said at the hearing. He added that he and the Oversight Committee’s chair would "use every tool at our disposal to secure her appearance if she does not cooperate.”
House committees and subcommittees can issue subpoenas to compel witnesses to testify or provide documents.
Just before the hearing got underway, Bass called it "the latest attack on Los Angeles by the Trump Administration and his allies in Congress.”
"I don't run LAHSA," she said, adding that she was the first mayor to sit on its board and that street homelessness has dropped since she took office. The latest official count for the city showed a 8% year to year jump in street homelessness.
Bass stepped off LAHSA’s governing commission last week, after LAist reported she had missed most of its meetings since she appointed herself to it in 2023. The mayor cited “time and all” as her reason for stepping down. She continues to appoint — and has the power to remove — half the commission’s members, including its current chair.
What happened at the hearing
Much of the hour-and-a-half hearing focused on Republican members’ criticism that Democrat-led cities distribute drug paraphernalia and don’t require unhoused people with addictions to get treatment as a condition of living in publicly funded housing.
Some proposals raised Tuesday would change how money reaches Los Angeles.
Burchett said he will introduce the Recovery First Housing Act, to require federally funded housing to offer substance abuse treatment. He has also introduced a bill restricting federal housing dollars to only support U.S. citizens.
LA's fights on a national stage
Burchett noted LAHSA’s audit committee chair, Justin Szlasa — who was proactive in rooting out wasteful spending — was demoted by Stephanie Graves, a Bass appointee who has declined to give her reason for doing so. The move was first reported by LAist.
Burchett also made claims that don’t hold up. He said 50,000 people are homeless in the city with "another 75,000" in the surrounding county. The latest official count found a total of 73,000 unhoused people across L.A. County — a figure that includes the city.
Burchett also said, “ LAHSA recently doled out funds to an L.A.-area nonprofit whose CEO had just been indicted for fraud.” LAist recently investigated LAHSA’s awarding of funds to that nonprofit, Abundant Blessings, and found no indication that LAHSA awarded it any funds after the fraud indictment. However, the review did find that long before the indictment, LAHSA kept awarding millions in contracts to the group even after it was flagged internally as high-risk for failing to do its job.
Burchett, however, was correct in saying “a court-ordered independent assessment of LAHSA's finances found alarming financial control weaknesses that leave the door open to rampant fraud.”
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