Topline:
Southern California farmers are conserving a lot more Colorado River water, but that’s also causing the Salton Sea to dry up faster.
Why it matters: Since Southern California farmers agreed to a major new deal with the federal government to cut water use significantly, the Salton Sea has dropped about 10 inches and the sea has shrunk by some 3,500 acres, exposing more toxic dust from the lakebed.
Keep reading...to learn more about addressing this conservation conundrum.
Southern California farmers are conserving a lot more Colorado River water, but that’s also causing the Salton Sea to dry up faster.
That’s because the Salton Sea is filled primarily by agricultural runoff from farms in the Imperial Valley in far Southern California. Those farms have a single source of water: the Colorado River.
The Salton Sea is a landlocked, shallow lake in Riverside and Imperial counties. The lakebed has been contaminated for more than 100 years with pesticides and other chemicals that create dangerous air pollution for surrounding communities.
Balancing conservation with the impact on the Salton Sea is a long-running conundrum.
“It feels that we are responsible for conserving the Colorado River for the good of the many,” said Silvia Paz, director of grassroots group Alianza Coachella Valley, which is working to address the impacts of pollution from the Salton Sea.
“And on the flip side, I don't think it's fair that one particular community that's already an environmental justice community has to bear that responsibility — almost alone it feels like,” Paz said.
The Salton Sea is part of the massive Colorado River delta. For millennia, the area flooded periodically as the river shifted across the sandy delta region spanning across present-day Southern California, southern Arizona and northern Mexico.
Lake Cahuilla is some of the last evidence of that era of flooding before the river was controlled and diverted via dams and canals. Today, the river no longer meets the sea.
The Salton Sea as we now know it is California’s largest lake. And it's man made. It was first created back in 1905, when an irrigation canal gate failed and the river flooded into the historic lakebed of Lake Cahuilla.
Since then, the sea has been fed by agricultural runoff. Once a popular vacation destination in the 1950s, as farmers got more efficient with water use and climate change-driven heat worsened, the lake — and its tourists — has been drying up, and the lakebed has become increasingly exposed.
Researchers are finding that a naturally occurring toxin plus chemicals from farm runoff in the drying lakebed are worsening air quality and contributing to higher rates of asthma and other respiratory illness in surrounding communities.
Though it’s saltier than the ocean, the Salton Sea remains a biodiversity hotspot for fish and migratory birds.
Imperial Valley farmers in Southern California use more Colorado River water than anyone. They grow primarily hay as well as leafy greens and other produce that feeds much of the country and the world .
In August, the Imperial Irrigation District agreed to a major new deal with the federal government to cut its water use by an amount that’s more than double the amount the entire state of Nevada uses in a year. The cuts will happen through 2026.
And they're needed: Two wet years have helped, but the risk of Lake Mead reaching deadpool — meaning the water level has dropped so low that it can no longer flow downstream — remains a looming possibility. That could cut off the main water supply for tens of millions of people and farms downstream.
The first phase of this new program started this summer, and included a program where participating forage crop growers didn’t water those crops for 49 days, during the hottest part of the year. The main crop grown in the Imperial Valley is alfalfa.
In return, the Imperial Irrigation District got $589 million from the feds to pay those farmers who can then invest in more water-efficient technologies, pay workers, or otherwise invest in their farms.
The program was a success, said Tina Shields, the Imperial Irrigation District’s water manager. She said the district cut water use by about 175,000 acre-feet this summer. For comparison, the entire city of L.A. uses about 500,000 acre-feet of water every year.
The short duration of the program had little impact on the economy. If anything, it helped farmers stay in business because hay markets are bad right now — that’s a reason why so many farmers participated this summer, Shields said.
Plus, water use in the area is down in general because October has been abnormally hot, so watering would just burn crops.
Since that program ended at the end of September, the surface elevation of the Salton Sea has dropped about 10 inches and the sea shrunk by some 3,500 acres, exposing more dust from the lakebed, said Paz, whose group along with researchers from UCLA and the Pacific Institute measured the decline.
“Our communities don't have the luxury to escape the dust that is blown into the air,” Paz said. “Siloing this issue as a water-only issue leads to all these other consequences.”
In its review, the federal government found the new agreement with the Imperial Irrigation District, or IID, would have no significant new environmental impacts to the Salton Sea and surrounding communities. But many people in the area disagree.
“The reality is that, for our communities, it's not a negligible impact,” Paz said. “This is a cumulative impact to the conditions that we're already suffering.”
Research has shown that asthma rates and other respiratory diseases are far higher than average among communities near the Salton Sea.
Those impacts are why the Sierra Club recently sued the IID about the conservation deal . The organization says the district did not do a proper environmental review of the impacts to the Salton Sea and nearby communities.
“We believe that they should be paying the bill for some of the impacts,” said Richard Miller, director of the Sierra Club’s San Diego chapter.
The IID argues it's already done it's part to address the issues caused by a drying Salton Sea. Shields said the district only agreed to this recent round of additional conservation efforts because they negotiated that $250 million in federal dollars would go towards accelerating the state’s Salton Sea efforts .
“That funding is conditioned on IID implementing these additional conservation efforts,” Shields said. “So we up front took care of the Salton Sea from our perspective.”
But it’s the state that is primarily responsible for addressing the pollution impacts of a shrinking Salton Sea. They are behind on their 10-year plan , which aims to restore nearly 30,000 acres by 2028 of exposed lakebed to native desert habitat and man-made ponds that support endangered fish, migratory birds and reducing pollution.
In recent years, restoration efforts have accelerated, in large part thanks to that $250 million in funding from the Biden-Harris Administration, said Miguel Hernandez, a spokesperson for the state’s Salton Sea Management project, in a statement to LAist.
He wrote that, so far, the state has completed more than 2,000 acres of habitat restoration and dust control, with some 6,500 acres currently under construction and major construction complete for a 4,100-acre conservation area — additional federal funding is helping to expand that project by 750 acres.
See a map of completed and ongoing Salton Sea restoration projects here .
“IID is doing the right thing conserving water to stabilize the Colorado River, and our federal partners stepped up to provide funding for this water conservation and for California’s ongoing projects at the Sea to reduce dust emissions and restore habitat,” Hernandez wrote.
But Paz said the sea is shrinking faster than projects are being built to cover the exposed lakebed.
“We need to balance this out. They need to move a lot faster,” Paz said.
Everyone agrees the ongoing restoration efforts are key to addressing the impacts of a shrinking Salton Sea. But balancing necessary conservation with the impacts of that conservation can seem like an impossible problem to solve.
“It’s the rock and a hard place,” said Shields. “As we get more efficient, the downside is the Salton Sea has less water. It's a tough thing with an inland body of water that has no outlet and the only inlet is receiving drainage water from the adjacent areas. So it's a balancing act to keep everybody happy.”
It’s the rock and a hard place.
Shields continued: “But if the Colorado River crashes, that's not something you just fix the next year,” So we're going to do everything we can to ensure that our communities have a reliable and safe water supply. And it may be that there are impacts to the Salton Sea, but without the Colorado River, there would be no Salton Sea.”
Paz said she supports and understands the conservation needs, but that means that policymakers and water managers need to think more holistically about the mitigation efforts.
“If this is the only way, we need to broaden how we think about how we’re protecting and preparing our communities,” Paz said.
She said accelerating the state's restoration projects is essential, plus funding for air filters and weatherizing more homes, particularly mobile homes that house farmworkers, for which funding is lacking, she said.
But Paz said mitigation for conservation impacts to the Salton Sea could go beyond direct impacts, to improving general quality of life, especially as desert communities face some of the quickest accelerating impacts of the climate crisis.
One example? A new plan envisioned by the community and supported by local governments to build a commuter rail line connecting all the Coachella Valley communities, that will also add green space, shade and an emergency shelter to help communities ride out disasters and excessive heat.
“We’re talking about being very mindful of how our built environment is being developed to address the needs that we have, particularly when it comes to climate resilience,” Paz said.
She added that funding from Proposition 4, which is on the November ballot, would help speed up some existing efforts.
“We're very hopeful that Proposition 4 gets support statewide and that that funding will become available,” Paz said. (Update: Voters did indeed pass that proposition).
As for the state’s plan, it’s estimated it will cost more than a billion dollars to complete the necessary habitat restoration and dust mitigation efforts.
Among other things, a large chunk of the $250 million from the Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act will go towards a more than 4,000-acre restoration area to plant habitat that supports migratory birds and reduces dust pollution, said Mike Lynes, public policy director for Audubon California. Other ongoing projects are showing preliminary promise .
“We cannot lose our hope,” said Paz. “Transforming our communities takes a lot of work, but at the end of it, this is a work of hope and that is what allows us to keep envisioning and to keep trying. Because I believe that a different future is possible.”
Topline:
The federal government is reopening. But after 43 days on pause, things may not return to business as usual right away.
Where things stand: The longest government shutdown in U.S. history is officially over after President Donald Trump signed a bill passed by Congress last night.
But... some impacts could continue much longer than six weeks, whether that's national parks trying to make up for lost visitor revenue or taxpayers waiting longer for refunds from a backlogged Internal Revenue Service (IRS). There's also the looming threat of another potential shutdown in the not-too-distant future, since this bill only funds the government through Jan. 30.
The longest government shutdown in U.S. history is officially over after President Trump signed a bill passed by Congress on Wednesday night.
The federal government is reopening. But after 43 days on pause, things may not return to business as usual right away. For instance, federal workers are still awaiting backpay and air travel disruptions are expected to linger.
And some impacts could continue much longer than six weeks, whether that's national parks trying to make up for lost visitor revenue or taxpayers waiting longer for refunds from a backlogged Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
There's also the looming threat of another potential shutdown in the not-too-distant future, since this bill only funds the government through Jan. 30.
Here's a look at where things stand for now.
Keep scrolling for updates, and jump by category here:
Federal workers | SNAP | Smithsonian
Roughly 1.4 million federal workers have gone without pay for six weeks. Roughly half of them were required to keep working without paychecks, while hundreds of thousands of others were furloughed.
Russ Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, told agency heads to direct furloughed employees to return to work Thursday.
"Agencies should take all necessary steps to ensure that offices reopen in a prompt and orderly manner" on Thursday, Vought wrote in a Wednesday memo .
The timing of backpay is a different question.
After the government shutdown ending in January 2019 — then the longest in history — Congress passed a law ensuring back pay for federal workers "at the earliest date possible after the lapse in appropriations ends, regardless of scheduled pay dates."
But Trump appeared to suggest otherwise in public comments last month, leaving many feds worried.
The bill that Congress passed to end the shutdown guarantees back pay. It also reverses several agencies' attempted staffing reductions during the shutdown, which were paused by a federal judge , and prevents additional layoffs of federal employees through January.
Shaun Southworth, a federal employment attorney, said in an Instagram video that the timing of backpay will vary by agency based on their payroll providers, but most employees should start seeing deposits within days.
"Many employees historically saw deposits within the first business days after reopening," he says of the last shutdown. "A minority may roll to the next cycle if the system needs extra processing."
The bill Congress passed to reopen the government funds the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) through September 2026.
The program, which some 42 million Americans rely on for food assistance, has been the subject of much uncertainty — and an escalating legal battle — in recent weeks. The Trump administration said last month that it would suspend SNAP funding in November due to the shutdown, prompting a wide outcry and a series of legal challenges.
While the administration initially said it would comply with two rulings requiring it to provide at least partial funding for SNAP in November, it balked — and ultimately appealed to the Supreme Court — after one of those judges said it must fund the program fully for the month. The Supreme Court paused that order (and extended that pause again on Tuesday, with the end of the shutdown in sight).
At this point, beneficiaries in some states have gotten their full monthly allocations, while others have gotten partial payments or nothing at all. Reopening the government means restarting SNAP, but it's not clear how quickly full payments will resume, since that varies by state. And, as NPR has reported , many who rely on the program are worried that benefits could be cut again.
The Smithsonian, which encompasses 21 museums and the National Zoo, says its reopening will be gradual.
Its website says the National Museum of American History, as well as the National Air and Space Museum and its Virginia annex, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, will open their doors on Friday.
All other museums and the zoo — including its beloved live animal cams — will reopen to the public "on a rolling basis" by Monday.
This is a live story that will be updated throughout the day as we learn more.
Copyright 2025 NPR
Topline:
Metro riders once again will have to tap to enter and exit the North Hollywood and Union stations starting Monday . The agency says the program will also expand to include the A Line’s Pomona North Station.
Why now? Metro reported that 86% of surveyed riders felt safer because of the feature at the North Hollywood station last year. The agency also says reports in the Transit Watch app , which tracks crime and other issues, dropped by more than 40% on the B Line.
How it works: When you tap when hopping on transit, your fare is deducted — tapping out confirms your charge. But if you didn’t pay your fare at the beginning of your trip, you will be charged when you tap out.
“You are expected to pay fare when entering the system and you could be warned, cited or removed from the system for failure to pay fare when entering,” according to Metro.
Where else is the program operating at? The program has been ongoing at the E Line’s Downtown Santa Monica Station.
This isn’t new: Metro launched the pilot program last year in an effort to crack down on fare evasion and improve safety. The agency says the feature is common for other major transit systems, including BART in San Francisco.
Dig deeper … into the TAP-to-Exit program .
In this edition:
Benny Boy Brewery wants YOU to crush apples. Plus, Venice Open Studios and Baratunde Thurston in Long Beach.
Highlights:
There are some really special music events this weekend. Miguel is playing a set at The Broad on Saturday afternoon, and Patti Smith is rocking through her landmark album Horses on its 50th anniversary at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Plus, Tyler, the Creator’s sold-out Camp Flog Gnaw is happening all weekend long at Dodger Stadium. Licorice Pizza has even more music listings for you.
Elsewhere on LAist, you can find out how to make a treasure from the Getty your own or grab a ticket to AirTalk’s FilmWeek screening of The Big Lebowski in Gardena.
Saturday, November 15, 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Yaya Bey
The Airliner
2419 N. Broadway, Lincoln Heights
COST: FREE;
MORE INFO
Bring a non-perishable food item and your dancing energy for a free hip-hop and R&B DJ set from Yaya Bey, who’s performing an intimate show to support Feed the Streets. Do some good to support those in our community struggling with SNAP benefit cuts and have some fun — a double win.
Friday, November 14, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Innovation Social: Rhythmic Wave I: A Journey to 5054
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion Music Center
135 N. Grand Ave., Downtown L.A.
COST: FREE WITH RSVP;
MORE INFO
Dance meets immersive technology meets Afrofuturism in Rhythmic Wave I: A Journey to 5054, a performance from Faith “Aya” Umoh. Umoh, who won last year’s MIT XR Grand Prize, is also a Royal Shakespeare fellow who blends her theater and dance experience with motion capture, ancestral Nigerian dance, and AI. She’ll be performing (for free!) at this latest iteration of the Music Center’s Innovation Social series.
Friday, November 14 to Sunday, November 16
CONGRESS Vol. XII
L.A. Dance Project
2245 E. Washington Blvd., Downtown L.A.
COST: FROM $55;
MORE INFO
More dance! CONGRESS invites the audience to participate in a salon-style environment, creating a conversation that bridges genres and builds community through movement. Eight choreographers come together at the event to “create a unique piece showcasing both L.A.'s rising stars and established creative voices.”
November 15 to 23, 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. nightly
Mountains of the Moon
1600 Lincoln Blvd., Santa Monica
COST: $10;
MORE INFO
Calling all Deadheads, flower children and tie-dye enthusiasts — and I mean all that in the best possible way. Artist, skier and filmmaker Chris Benchetler is launching Mountains of the Moon, an immersive experience set to the music of the Grateful Dead. The week-long premiere event, in partnership with Arc’teryx, includes the film itself and background on how it was made.
Saturday, November 15, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Grandma’s House
Hollywood, exact location upon RSVP
COST: FREE;
MORE INFO
Grandmas are the best. Enter this unique experience — part museum, part culinary adventure, all heart — which takes you into the homes of several real-life and much-admired L.A. grandmas. The team behind the Netflix film Nonnas has created a series of themed rooms curated by the women who share their stories, recipes and keepsakes in this walk-through experience. The grandmothers featured are: Fran Jemmott , co-founder of the California Black Women's Health Project; Odilia Romero , a pivotal figure in advocacy for Indigenous migrant communities; and Pauline Bunt, a doting grandmother of four with Sicilian and Neapolitan Calabrian roots. The experience also includes bites from Komal chef Fatima Juarez, sharing the flavors of her native Mexico City.
Sunday, November 16, 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Venice Open Studios 2025
Multiple locations in Venice
COST: FREE;
MORE INFO
Take a peek inside many of the artist studios in one of the city’s most artsy neighborhoods: Venice. Learn about the beachside community’s art-centric history and visit artist spaces to learn more about the creative processes behind the work of locals like William Attaway (who did the shell mosaics on the Boardwalk) and Alejandro Gehry, and visit local favorite spots like Sunset Avenue gallery Arcane Space.
Saturday, November 15, 8 p.m.
An Evening With Baratunde Thurston
Carpenter Center
6200 E. Atherton Street, Long Beach
COST: FROM $33.75;
MORE INFO
Comedian and host Baratunde Thurston (The Daily Show, America Outdoors) brings his take on the future, AI and more to the Carpenter Center in Long Beach. It’s part of the venue’s Wit & Wisdom series, and promises to be an evening of laughs and community.
Through January 10, 2026
Opening reception: Saturday, November 15, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Perspective and Plane
Louis Stern Fine Arts
9002 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood
COST: FREE;
MORE INFO
Perspective and Plane is a group exhibition pairing works by Louis Stern Gallery artists with those of artists from a different era, encouraging the viewer to reflect on the relationship between past and present. The show includes paintings, photography and sculptures by artists like Lorser Feitelson, Helen Lundeberg, Karl Benjamin and Alfredo Ramos Martínez, as well as contemporary artists like James Little, Mark Leonard, Mokha Laget and Cecilia Z. Miguez.
Saturday, November 15, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Native Bees with Krystle Hickman
Los Angeles County Arboretum
301 North Baldwin Ave., Arcadia
COST: $20;
MORE INFO
National Geographic Explorer and community scientist Krystle Hickman leads a conversation about one of our most precious natural resources — bees — at the Arboretum. Her work centers on native bees and the ecosystems they call home.
Sunday, November 16, 5 p.m.
Organist Roger Sayer: Interstellar in Concert
First Congregational Church of Los Angeles
40 South Commonwealth Ave., Rampart Village
COST: $33.85;
MORE INFO
While this is more of a listening pick than a viewing pick, I hope you’ll forgive the loose interpretation. The magic of the music of Interstellar, Christopher Nolan’s 2015 epic space adventure, was a collaboration between Hans Zimmer and organist Roger Sayer, who is performing pieces from the soundtrack at the First Congregational Church. Those acoustics! Get it! The concert also includes additional space-themed pieces, like the opening theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey and selections from The Planets by Gustav Holst. The concert *does* include a short documentary about the creation of the Interstellar soundtrack, followed by an audience Q&A.
Saturday and Sunday, November 15 and 16
Benny Boy Brewing’s 4th Annual Applefest Fall Festival
1821 Daly Street, Downtown L.A.
COST: FREE;
MORE INFO
Celebrate all things cider at Benny Boy Brewing’s 4th annual Applefest Fall Festival — including actually crushing the apples. Get hands-on in the harvest and help sort, crush and press apples on Benny Boy’s old-fashioned rack and cloth press to make a community cider. Nearly 500 volunteers have collectively crushed and pressed 3 tons of apples at the annual event!
Saturday, November 15, 11 a.m. 3 p.m.
Joimo Kombucha 'Sips of Pure Joy' Tasting Event
1375 E. 15th Street, Arts District
COST: FREE;
MORE INFO
More fermentation is on the menu at Joimo Kombucha. Get a tour of the fermentation room, learn about the brewing process, and try free tastings of the pungent, sparkly, probiotic brew.
Topline:
The L.A. City Council has approved funding for a project that will teach San Fernando Valley residents how to build and run a hydroponic system to grow food indoors and outdoors.
The details: Mid Valley Family YMCA will teach residents in Mission Hills, Panorama City and North Hills about hydroponic gardening, a process whereby plants grow in water instead of soil. The program will cover skills to build your own system and best practices for planting.
The money: The nonprofit will get nearly $390,000 to run the program. The money comes from funds already set aside for L.A. REPAIR, the city’s participatory budget program, which asked Angelenos in 2023 to vote on how to spend a pot of money. The designated neighborhoods are part of the Valley’s L.A. REPAIR Zone, designated neighborhoods impacted by structural and historic racism.
The backstory: Mid Valley Family YMCA is stepping in because the original grantee dropped out recently. Another program is the works for urban farming.
