The Brief

Last week, General Sherman, California's most famous giant sequoia, got a checkup.

Climbers from the Ancient Forest Society scaled the tree looking for signs of a sequoia bark beetle infestation — entrance holes where adults had burrowed into the branches and laid their eggs; exit holes, where larvae chewed their way out; globules of pitch, indicating the tree was putting up a fight, trying to push the beetles out.

And, simply, whether Sherman's canopy looked healthy.

The beetles can kill a tree within a year, starting at the top and working their way down over several generations. Feeding on the cambium, they can interrupt the tree's ability to distribute water and nutrients.

A climber with the Ancient Forest Society examines General Sherman, the largest giant sequoia by volume.

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Larissa Perez

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National Park Service

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“There’s an attempted entry hole here and here," said Wendy Baxter, a forest canopy ecologist with the organization, which provided a video of the effort.

Holes in a giant sequoia created by bark beetles.

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Wendy Baxter

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Ancient Forest Society

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“This one may have gotten a little bit of a pitch response here," she said.

“It doesn’t look like the beetles have gotten much beyond the bark."

Drops of pitch pushed out by a giant sequoia trying to defend itself from beetle attacks.

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Wendy Baxter

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Ancient Forest Society

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The good news is that while the team found entry holes, they didn't see any evidence of an active attack. The beetles had either abandoned the effort or Sherman had shoved them out with its pitch.

For now, the world's largest tree (by volume), is safe. But an increasing number of deadly Sequoia bark beetle infestations have left scientists rushing to figure out why this is happening, the extent of the damage and potential treatments to prevent the deaths of some of California's most beloved trees.

The thick bark of a giant sequoia high in the Sierra Nevada has partially peeled away, revealing its insides.

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Jacob Margolis

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LAist

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A new-ish threat

While these native beetles have been known since the early 19th century, it wasn't clear they were capable of killing large sequoias.

"It was sort of like, 'oh neat, here's an insect that feeds on fallen sequoia branches, but we don't need to be worried about it,'" said Christy Brigham, chief of resources management and science at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.

"But during the 2012–2016 drought we detected large sequoia trees dying in this new way from the top down. And when we climbed those trees we found green branches that were completely infested with these beetles."

A closeup of a female Sequoia bark beetle.

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Joshua Dunlap

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Oregon Department of Agriculture

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So far, they've found 40 trees that've been killed by beetle attacks. Not nearly as catastrophic as the damage that wildfires have done, but given how fast the trees are dying, and that there are entire groves of trees that've not yet been inspected, there are reasons to be concerned.

Out of the 105 trees that the Ancient Forest Society has climbed, about 75% showed some evidence of attacks, according to Anthony Ambrose, the organizations executive director. That doesn't mean each of those trees is doomed, and it's unclear how each will hold up, all it means is that beetles appear to be widely present in ways that they weren't before.

Over the next two years the organization will survey multiple giant sequoia groves, including in Calaveras Big Trees State Park, Giant Forest in Sequoia National Park and Mariposa Grove in Yosemite National Park.

Signs of bark beetles on a giant sequoia.

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Wendy Baxter

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Ancient Forest Society

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It's not completely clear why this is happening.

Considering it seemed to start during the drought, it could be that the trees were so weakened by a lack of water and the extreme heat (associated with climate change), that the beetles were able to take advantage, similar to what happened in conifer forests across the Sierra Nevada. It can take sequoias multiple years to recover once rain returns.

As beetle attacks progress, trees tend to die from the top down.

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Nate Stephenson

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U.S. Geological Survey

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Fire could also be playing a role, according to Brigham. There seems to be a correlation between beetle attacks and severe fire scars at the base of the trees. While sequoias need fire to survive, extreme fires like those that we've seen in recent years, can damage their roots and trunks, compromising their ability to transport nutrients to the demanding, full green crown several hundred feet off the ground.

Is there any hope?

While there aren't any known solutions at the moment, a number are being explored.

Brigham said that they're considering tarping, chipping or removing fallen branches from around individual trees to see if it reduces beetle populations. Or, potentially watering trees under attack to reduce stress and enhance beetle fighting abilities.

Another possibility is the utilization of chemicals given off by the trees to attract beetles to traps — a technique that's used to help prevent the spread of the Red Palm Weevils throughout the state.

“The trees aren’t going to go extinct because of this beetle most likely," said Nate Stephenson, scientist emeritus with U.S. Geological Survey, who's long studied giant sequoias. “It is something worth watching and studying because we know so little at this point that better safe than sorry. Let’s understand it better and learn as much as we possibly can.”

Listen to our podcast: The Big Burn

Long-term eviction defense funding for Los Angeles renters could soon begin to flow now that city officials have announced a break in an impasse dating back to May 2025.

L.A. City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto said Thursday she intends to sign a new $107 million contract with the Legal Aid Foundation of L.A. She said the contract — which was approved by the City Council and the mayor in April, but still awaits her approval — was “nearly finalized.”

“I am fully committed to supporting these crucial eviction defense services for our vulnerable neighbors in need,” Feldstein Soto said in a statement.

Feldstein Soto — who will not secure a second term after placing third in last month’s primary election — pledged to continue investigating the legal aid group. She has frequently criticized the nonprofit for what she sees as a lack of transparency, though L.A. Housing Department officials say the group has consistently provided accounting and caseload data to the city.

“Taxpayers deserve transparency and accountability and to know that their money is being used as intended,” Feldstein Soto said.

Barbara Schultz, a Legal Aid Foundation attorney overseeing the city-funded Stay Housed L.A. program, said both parties have been negotiating final contract details for more than a week. She said the city attorney’s announcement was encouraging.

“[Feldstein Soto] said she was going to approve the contract, so I'm very excited to hear that,” Schultz said. “Moving forward… we can continue to grow, fully implement the ‘Right to Counsel,’ and tenants in Los Angeles will be much better off as a result.”

In response to Feldstein Soto’s claims that more than $58 million in eviction defense grants remain “unaccounted for” in the foundation’s financial audits and IRS forms, Schultz said taxpayer dollars have not been misspent and that no findings have been made to that effect.

“[The Legal Aid Foundation] is a very large nonprofit law firm that has over 40 federal, state and local government contracts,” Schultz said. “We are very used to being audited. Any audit the city wants to do to satisfy itself is absolutely fine with us.”

Feldstein Soto denied a five-year contract to the legal aid group last year, arguing it should have gone through a competitive bidding process. After the city solicited applications and selected the group for new long-term funding, she later told city councilmembers in a confidential memo that they should consider withholding support for “a frequent litigant against the city.”

While she announced the contract should be ready for her signature by July 7, Feldstein Soto said her office would move forward with plans to assign forensic accountants to study how the legal aid group has spent more than $90 million in city funds since 2021.

At the Bristol Swap Mall in Santa Ana, people are flocking to buy their Mexico soccer team jerseys and paraphernalia.

“The color is green and that says Mexico right here,” said Catherine Hernandez, who’s entering third grade, as she pointed to the replica Mexico soccer jersey her mother had bought her at a nearby stall.

She asked her mother to get her one the day after Mexico’s win against Ecuador and is already thinking about how she’ll feel wearing it Sunday during Mexico’s knockout game against England in the Round of 16.

“Excited, very excited because I’m Mexican and I love this shirt,” she said.

Hernandez was born in the U.S. and her mother was born in Mexico. Both say their Mexico jerseys symbolize those similar but different prides in their Mexican backgrounds.

They're among fans rooting for Mexico’s men’s national soccer team to advance further than ever before into the World Cup tournament. A win against England would move the team to the Round of 8, the quarterfinals, for the third time. Along the way, this Mexico team has captured the imagination of many in the U.S. who have, or are close to, those of Mexican heritage.

Proudly wearing the green jersey

The market vendor at the stall said only one adult-size 2026 jersey remained. So many had been sold they'd had to place an order for more.

A replica of Mexico's 2026 FIFA World Cup soccer jersey.

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Adolfo Guzman-Lopez

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LAist

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Many Mexico fans have been wearing their jerseys on the days leading up to the team's World Cup matches.

“On Monday, I looked around to see a sea of green, white and red, and it nearly brought me to tears in line at Costco,” said Alex Alcantar, who lives in Norwalk.

He was born and raised in the U.S. and he says his Mexico soccer jersey symbolizes that experience.

“Why I wear my Mexico jersey is because I want to visibly represent this community when our contributions to society are so heavily discounted,” he said.

The team’s growing prominence has also coaxed some others in Mexican communities in the U.S. to feel more confident in their identity.

“I've never used [a Mexico jersey] before,” said Xochi Flores, who was born in Oxnard and whose great-grandparents were Mexican.

“I didn't feel like I could go around representing Mexico when I'm a Chicana, third generation, not the best Spanish speaker,” she said.

Xochi Flores (left), with her husband Cesar Castro, has become more comfortable wearing the soccer jersey recently.

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Courtesy Xochi Flores

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In the past year, she said she’s felt closer to her Mexican roots as she’s seen reports of farmworkers and other people of Mexican descent arrested by ICE agents.

So to her, wearing her Mexico soccer jersey means leaving behind insecurities she used to have about not being “Mexican enough,” as well as “not being American enough.”

“I want my kids to see me embracing all of the parts of me. … They don't have those insecurities, and that makes me happy,” Flores said.

Wearing the jersey when you're Mexican-ish

The stalls are attracting all types of customers. “I'm just looking for a Mexican soccer jersey,” said Son Lam, who lives in nearby Orange and identifies as Vietnamese.

Lam says he’s become devoted to soccer since the World Cup started June 11. Buying and wearing a Mexican soccer team jersey means showing off his newfound sports fandom already embraced by his extended family

“My wife is Mexican and to me, [wearing the Mexico jersey] means I can fit in with the family more," he said as he laughed.

However they identify, all these shoppers will likely be wearing their jerseys as they watch Mexico compete against England on Sunday, July 5. Joining millions of fans rooting for their team to advance to the next round, and keeping dreams of a 2026 FIFA World Cup championship alive.

Santa Ana voters could be asked in November to maintain the city’s 1.5% sales tax, which was set to decrease in 2029 and eventually expire.

Voters approved the citywide sales tax in 2018 on the condition that it sunset in 20 years. Now, the Santa Ana City Council will vote Tuesday on whether to ask voters in November to make the tax permanent.

The big picture

Only about one-third of cities in Orange County have a local sales tax on top of the county-imposed sales tax of 7.75%. Sales taxes in most of Los Angeles County are much higher — L.A.’s countywide sales tax is 9.75% and the highest total sales taxes for cities in L.A. County are in Lancaster and Palmdale, at 11.25% each, according to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration.

Other potential tax hikes in OC

Voters in Orange will be considering a sales tax hike on their November ballot, after failing to get voters’ approval in 2024. San Clemente voters will also consider a local sales tax in November to pay for more sand to shore up local beaches.