Topline:
If time is short, here's how to get ready to fast. In case of emergency, however, remember belongings can be replaced, lives cannot.
Why it matters: Southern California is experiencing extremely dangerous fire weather. We should all be ready to evacuate in an emergency.
Keep reading... for details on how to get ready and to get alerts.
These fires are fast-moving and straight up frightening. For the most up-to-date information about the fire you can check:
Palisades Fire
Eaton Fire
Watch CalFire for new incidents ▶
Want to take a closer look at some of your potential risks? First Street Foundation, a nonprofit research group, has a new tool called Risk Factor: Input your address for data about the risk for fire and flooding in your area. (The website notes, however, that this should not be relied upon for in-the-moment details about "active events.")
Sign up for local alerts. They’re a reliable clearinghouse for up-to-date news, and early warnings.
Be familiar with your reliable local news sources (we do our best here at LAist.com and LAist 89.3 to stay on top of any Southern California fires that lead to evacuations.)
Ideally you already have an evacuation plan in place. Ready for Wildfire suggests: “Make sure you know your community’s emergency response plan and have a plan on where to go when it is time to evacuate, and best routes for leaving your location.”
Consider making copies of all these items and saving them to a USB drive — and giving them to a trusted relative on the other side of the country. Then put that drive in the bottom of your go bag. Keep the real copies someplace safe where you could hopefully also grab them and go — but the USB drive will help you replace those valuables if that is not possible.
Ready to get started? This checklist at Ready For Wildfire is super helpful to get the ball rolling.
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Topline:
After a decade of expanding health coverage and safety net programs, the Golden State took a sharp detour in 2025. As federal funding reductions and policy changes rippled through the health care system, California confronted service cuts, coverage losses and growing uncertainty.
Medicaid coverage: During the summer, a congressionally-approved spending plan slashed nearly a trillion dollars from the Medicaid program over the next decade. Funding cuts and new rules — such as work requirements — are expected to push 3.4 million Californians off their Medicaid coverage as changes take effect.
Federal marketplace: In Washington, a dispute over whether to renew enhanced premium subsidies that help keep Affordable Care Act marketplace insurance plans affordable prompted the longest shutdown in history. Absent federal action, hundreds of thousands of people could be priced out of Covered California insurance in 2026. More than 2,300 Dreamers in California have already lost access to the state marketplace: The Trump administration overturned a rule that had allowed undocumented people brought to the country as children to buy subsidized health insurance.
ICE enforcement: Federal immigration raids prompted undocumented people to skip care, and families reported worsening mental health, and federal anti-trans policies pushed providers to scale back on gender-affirming care.
Read on... for more on the effects of federal changes and actions.
After a decade of expanding health coverage and safety net programs, the Golden State took a sharp detour in 2025. As federal funding reductions and policy changes rippled through the health care system, California confronted service cuts, coverage losses and growing uncertainty.
During the summer, a congressionally approved spending plan slashed nearly a trillion dollars from the Medicaid program over the next decade. Funding cuts and new rules — such as work requirements — are expected to push 3.4 million Californians off their Medicaid coverage as changes take effect.
In Washington, a dispute over whether to renew enhanced premium subsidies that help keep Affordable Care Act marketplace insurance plans affordable prompted the longest shutdown in history. Absent federal action, hundreds of thousands of people could be priced out of Covered California insurance in 2026. More than 2,300 Dreamers in California have already lost access to the state marketplace: The Trump administration overturned a rule that had allowed undocumented people brought to the country as children to buy subsidized health insurance.
Federal immigration raids prompted undocumented people to skip care, and families reported worsening mental health, and federal anti-trans policies pushed providers to scale back on gender-affirming care.
Shifting federal policy forced the state the state to inject millions into Planned Parenthood to try to keep clinics afloat. Anticipating more restrictive federal immunization rules under U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, California advanced its own vaccine guidelines.
Federal changes weren’t the only reversal. State budget constraints and overspending in the Medi-Cal program led California to freeze new enrollment for undocumented people and cut some costly benefits, such as weight loss drugs.
On affordability, Gov. Newsom delivered on his promise to cut down the cost of insulin. In 2026, diabetics will be able to purchase long-acting insulin pens at pharmacies for $11 a pen. After CalMatters shed a light on disappearing birth centers, state lawmakers approved a new law improving access in underserved areas, streamlining licensure requirements so that birth centers can more easily contract with Medicaid.
The Legislative Analyst’s Office projects that Medi-Cal spending will continue to grow. Paired with the uncertainty of federal funding cuts, lawmakers may again seek ways to control costs and weigh priorities.
As federal spending cuts phase in, they’ll have implications for hospitals and other providers, such as an uptick in uncompensated care.
California has been distributing $6.4 billion from a voter-approved mental health bond. Starting July 1, the Behavioral Health Services Act will also require counties to spend revenue received from a 1% tax on incomes over $1 million on services and housing for people who are homeless.
Topline:
All year, the Explore L.A. team has brought you stories of discovery and connection.
Why now: As we head into 2026, we bring you our favorite stories of the year.
The context: We went inside a Los Angeles institution that has been left untouched for more than a decade. We learned to make peace with our city's backyard urban critters. We marveled at street art painted decades ago, pulsing with contemporary relevance. We watched as old houses moved across the city to become new homes for fire survivors.
Read on... for more of our handpicked highlights from 2025!
We made it. Happy (almost) 2026.
All year, the Explore L.A. team has brought you stories of discovery and connection.
As we leave 2025 behind, we've handpicked our favorites of the year.
We did a lot.
We went inside a Los Angeles institution that has been left untouched for more than a decade. We learned to make peace with our city's backyard urban critters. We marveled at street art painted decades ago, pulsing with contemporary relevance. We watched as old houses moved across the city to become new homes for fire survivors. We had a leisurely day — one of us at least — hanging out at a lilac garden to hear stories of love and devotion. We witnessed the closing of a family business in Chinatown — and how that loss ricocheted across the neighborhood. We became obsessed with a cola from Japan bearing our city's namesake and tried to find the connection.
And there are so many more stories that took us to different parts of the region this year — stories that brought us closer to this place, stories that we have brought back to you.
We hope you like them as much as we liked writing and producing them. Catch you again next year.
"I got to spend the final days of Yue Wa Market with the family who runs it — watching them say goodbye to their customers and closing a chapter in a Chinatown that was transforming around them. It’s a story that stuck out for me this year because it showed, in a surprisingly intimate space, how every person leaves an imprint on their neighborhood."
– Josie Huang, Weekend Edition host and reporter
"My favorite story this year focused on flowers in bloom and the end of an era for the man who tended to them for over two decades. I particularly loved this story because it was one of the first where I was able to spend the entire day out in the field on my own. It was a nice little road trip where I crossed three county lines, drove into a mountain town, and shared an afternoon with lilac legend Gary Parton. It was an honor to catch the man at the end of his second career and an honor to tell his story."
– Dañiel Martinez, Explore L.A. producer
"For me, exploring L.A. means bringing readers and listeners into places they wouldn't normally have access to. It was an honor to get to go into a beloved building that thousands of Angelenos have a connection to, and learn about its future providing housing and mental health care. Oh, and decaying old art deco buildings are just cool and feel like a movie set."
– Robert Garrova, Explore L.A. reporter
"Most of my reporting tends to stick in our region's convoluted, quirky history — but I love this story the most because it's about making something old new again. A group of fire-affected residents are reviving the mostly-forgotten process of house moving to get back on their feet. This showed me nothing is ever truly antiquated if you have enough drive. (As a bonus: check out what moving a home across L.A. County actually looks like.)"
– Cato Hernández , L.A. Explained reporter
“Here's my thoughts about squirrels: It seemed to hit a nerve — I got readers telling me their methods of deterring squirrels, and others offering their fig preserve recipes. One person said they were only left with one fig on their fig plant, which they cut up into four to share with their family.”
– Suzanne Levy, Explore L.A. editor
"There’s a mural in L.A.’s Pico-Robertson neighborhood that stands apart from other Jewish themed public art in L.A. in that it does not focus on the religious or national part of Jewish identity.
It’s called 'A shenere un besere velt - A Better and More Beautiful World,' in yiddish. It covers a roughly 60 foot long and 15 feet tall wall on a building occupied by the Worker’s Circle in Pico-Robertson, a mutual aid group founded by Yiddish speaking Jewish immigrants that opened an office in L.A. in 1908, not long after it started in New York.
I love this story because people I interviewed said the mural's message of identity based on working class solidarity with people of other races and ethnicities is just as relevant now as when it was unveiled in 1998."
– Adolfo Guzman-Lopez, Explore L.A. correspondent
“I love this story because I had no idea where it was going to take me. I wanted to write about this soft drink named ‘Los Angeles' and the circuitous journey ended with me speaking with someone who grew up as part of a Korean minority group called Zainichi Koreans in Japan. The coolest thing of all? Hwaji Shin's story has so much heart."
– Fiona Ng, deputy managing editor, Explore L.A. and Weekend
Topline:
The deadline for choosing a health plan is quickly approaching. The official end of open enrollment in California is set for Jan. 15 for coverage starting Feb. 1. Here are five considerations in the decision-making process.
Short-term plans: They are often less expensive than ACA plans. But they cover less. Some ACA shoppers might find themselves considering short-term insurance plans sold outside the government-run marketplaces — or steered toward the plans by insurance brokers. Be wary. They can look a lot like traditional coverage, with deductibles, copayments, and participating networks of hospitals and doctors. Still, they are not ACA-compliant plans and are not available on the official ACA marketplaces.
Plan options with high deductibles: For those wanting to stay with ACA plans, the lowest premiums are generally in the categories labeled “catastrophic” or “bronze.” They have lower premiums but high annual deductibles — the amount a customer must spend before most coverage kicks in. Deductibles for bronze plans average nearly $7,500 nationally, according to KFF. Another option, new for 2026, is expanded eligibility for catastrophic plans, which used to be limited to people younger than age 30. As the name suggests, they’re intended for people who want health insurance just in case they suffer a catastrophic health condition, such as cancer or injuries from a car accident. The plans can have deductibles as high as $10,600 for an individual or $21,200 for a family
Read on . . . for more things to consider when purchasing health insurance.
For the millions of Americans who buy Affordable Care Act insurance, there’s still time left to enroll for 2026. But premium increases and the expiration of enhanced tax subsidies have led to larger-than-expected costs.
Concerned shoppers, wondering if there’s anything they can do, are consulting insurance brokers or talking to representatives at ACA marketplace call centers.
“We’re hearing from people with complex medical conditions who don’t think they can survive if they don’t have access to medical care,” said Audrey Morse Gasteier, executive director of the Massachusetts Health Connector, that state’s insurance marketplace.
And some are considering going outside the ACA to find more affordable options. But that requires caution.
Congress looks increasingly unlikely to extend the enhanced subsidies before the year’s end. Late Wednesday, the House passed a package of measures favored by conservatives that does not address the subsidies and is largely viewed as dead on arrival in the Senate. Earlier Wednesday, however, four GOP moderates joined with Democrats to sign a discharge petition to force a vote — likely in January — on a three-year extension. The Senate and President Donald Trump would also have to approve the measure, but if extended the subsidies could be applied retroactively.
Meanwhile, the deadline for choosing a health plan is quickly approaching. The official end of open enrollment is set for Jan. 15 for coverage starting Feb. 1. In most states, it’s already too late to enroll for coverage starting Jan. 1.
Here are five considerations in the decision-making process:
Some ACA shoppers might find themselves considering short-term insurance plans sold outside the government-run marketplaces — or steered toward the plans by insurance brokers. Be wary.
Short-term plans are just that: insurance originally designed as temporary coverage for situations like changing jobs or attending school. They can look a lot like traditional coverage, with deductibles, copayments, and participating networks of hospitals and doctors. Still, they are not ACA-compliant plans and are not available on the official ACA marketplaces.
They are often less expensive than ACA plans. But they cover less. For example, unlike ACA plans, they can impose annual and lifetime caps on benefits. The vast majority do not cover maternity care. Some might not cover prescription drugs.
Short-term plans require applicants to complete a medical questionnaire, and insurers can exclude coverage or cancel a policy retroactively for those with preexisting medical conditions. Also, depending on the terms of the particular plan, a person who develops a medical condition during the coverage period might not be accepted for renewal.
In addition, short-term plans are not required to cover care on the ACA’s checklist of essential benefits, such as preventive care, hospitalization, or emergency services.
The shortcomings of the plans, which critics say are sometimes marketed in misleading ways, have led Democrats to label them “junk insurance.” The Trump administration argues they’re suitable for some people and has sought to make them more widely available.
“We recommend it when it makes sense,” said Joshua Brooker, a Pennsylvania insurance broker. “But if you’re going to enroll in short-term coverage, you need to know which boxes are unchecked.”
“They’re not for everyone. You have to be healthy,” said Ronnell Nolan, the president and CEO of Health Agents of America, a trade group.
And they’re available in only 36 states, according to KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News. Some states, such as California, prohibit them. Others set tight restrictions.
There are other types of health coverage offered by sales brokers or other organizations.
One kind, called an indemnity plan, is meant to supplement a traditional health insurance plan by paying toward deductibles or copayments.
Those plans do not have to follow ACA coverage rules, either. Generally, they pay a fixed dollar amount — say a few hundred dollars a day — toward a hospital stay or a smaller amount for a doctor’s office visit. Typically those payments fall short of the full costs and the policyholder pays the rest. They generally also require consumers to fill out medical forms stating any preexisting conditions.
Another type, a faith-based sharing plan, pools money from members to cover their medical bills. The plans are not required to keep any specific amount of financial reserves and members are not guaranteed that the plans will pay their health expenses, according to the Commonwealth Fund, a foundation that supports health care research and improvements to the health system.
Sharing plans expanded beyond faith communities after the ACA was adopted. Like short-term plans, they cost less than ACA plans but also don’t have to follow ACA rules.
They are not considered insurance, and some have been accused of fraud by state regulators.
“Yes, it is cheaper, and yes, it does work for some people,” Nolan said. “But you need to understand what that plan does. It would be my last resort.”
For those wanting to stay with ACA plans, the lowest premiums are generally in the categories labeled “catastrophic” or “bronze.”
Jessica Altman, executive director of California’s ACA exchange, said her state has noticed an uptick in enrollments in bronze-level plans. They have lower premiums but high annual deductibles — the amount a customer must spend before most coverage kicks in. Deductibles for bronze plans average nearly $7,500 nationally, according to KFF.
Another option, new for 2026, is expanded eligibility for catastrophic plans, which used to be limited to people younger than age 30. As the name suggests, they’re intended for people who want health insurance just in case they suffer a catastrophic health condition, such as cancer or injuries from a car accident, and the plans can have deductibles as high as the ACA’s annual limit on out-of-pocket spending — $10,600 for an individual or $21,200 for a family.
But now people losing subsidies because of the expiration of the enhanced tax credits can also qualify for the plans. However, they may not be available in every region.
Lauren Jenkins, a broker in Oklahoma, said some of her clients earning less than $25,000 this year had qualified for very low-cost or free plans with the enhanced subsidies. Next year, though, their costs may rise to $100 or more per month for a “silver”-level plan, a step up from bronze.
So she is showing them bronze plans to bring down the monthly cost. “But they might have a $6,000, $7,000, or $10,000 deductible they now have to pay,” Jenkins said. “For people only making $25,000 a year, that would be detrimental.”
Both bronze and catastrophic plans are eligible to be linked with health savings accounts, which can be used to save money tax-free for medical expenses. They are more popular with higher-income households.
It can pay to shop around. Some people may be able to find a lower premium by shifting to a different plan, even one offered by the same insurer. There are also different levels of coverage, from bronze to “platinum,” where premiums also vary. Brooker said that in some locations “gold”-level plans are less expensive than silver, even though that seems counterintuitive.
Also, some people who run their own businesses but have only one employee might qualify for a group plan rather than an individual policy. Sometimes those can be less expensive.
Not every state allows this, Nolan said. But, for example, Nolan said, she has a client whose only employee is his wife, so she’s going to see whether they can get a group plan at lower rates.
“That might work out for them,” she said.
ACA rates for small group plans (fewer than 50 employees) vary regionally and are not always less expensive than individual coverage, Brooker said.
“It’s pretty all over the board as to where the rates are better,” he said.
Insurance experts encourage people not to wait until the last minute to at least take preliminary steps. Shoppers can go onto the official federal or state marketplace website and fill out or update an application with required income and other information necessary to determine what the 2026 plan year holds for them.
For instance, even without congressional intervention, subsidies will not go away entirely. They will be smaller, though, and there is an upper income limit — a cutoff for households earning more than four times the poverty level, which comes to $62,600 for an individual and $84,600 for a couple for 2026.
When shopping, consumers should make sure they land on an official ACA website, because there are look-alikes that may not offer ACA-compliant plans. Healthcare.gov is the official federal site. From there, people can find websites serving the 20 states, along with the District of Columbia, that run their own ACA exchanges.
The government sites can also direct consumers to licensed brokers and other counselors who can help with an application.
And a reminder: Consumers also need to pay their first month’s premium for coverage to take effect.
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.
Topline:
A coalition that advocates for renters and unhoused residents is demanding that the city of Los Angeles halt its planned rollout of a new state law that gives local officials authority to dismantle more recreational vehicles that the city deems a problem.
The state bill: Assembly Bill 630 gave L.A. County authority to dispose of abandoned or inoperable RVs that have an estimated value of $4,000 or less, an increase over the previous $500 threshold. Supporters of the new law argue that abandoned RVs often pose public safety, health and environmental hazards. It goes into effect in the new year.
The problem: Attorneys representing the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles and the Western Center on Law and Poverty argue that the new law only authorizes the county to launch the program, not the city of Los Angeles.
“The City's planned implementation of AB 630 is illegal,” attorneys wrote in a demand letter sent to L.A. City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto last week.
Next steps: The lawyers who sent the letter represent the CD11 Coalition for Human Rights. The letter gives L.A. city officials a deadline on Dec. 29 at 5 p.m. to confirm in writing that the city will not implement the new law, or at least that it will wait until the issue can be resolved in court. No lawsuit has been filed yet.
LAist has reached out to the L.A. city attorney, Mayor Karen Bass and others for comment. None have responded so far.
A coalition that advocates for renters and unhoused residents is demanding the city of Los Angeles halt its planned rollout of a new state law that gives local officials authority to dismantle more recreational vehicles the city deems a problem.
Assembly Bill 630 gave L.A. County authority to dispose of abandoned or inoperable RVs that have an estimated value of $4,000 or less, an increase over the previous $500 threshold.
Supporters of the new law argue that abandoned RVs often pose public safety, health and environmental hazards.
The law goes into effect in the new year. It was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October. That same month, L.A. City Councilmembers approved a motion instructing various city departments to “immediately implement” the new RV enforcement program.
The problem, according to attorneys representing the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles and the Western Center on Law and Poverty, is that the new law only authorizes L.A. County to launch the program, not the city of Los Angeles.
“The City's planned implementation of AB 630 is illegal,” attorneys wrote in a demand letter sent to L.A. City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto last week.
The lawyers who sent the letter represent the CD11 Coalition for Human Rights, an organization that includes individuals living in RVs in Los Angeles and advocates for renters and unhoused residents in the city’s Westside.
The letter gives L.A. city officials a deadline on Dec. 29 at 5 p.m. to confirm in writing that the city will not implement the new law, or at least that it will wait until the issue can be resolved in court.
No lawsuit has been filed yet.
L.A. City Attorney Hydee Feldstein-Soto did not immediately respond to LAist’s requests for comment on the demand letter.
Mayor Karen Bass proposed AB 630 in partnership with Assemblymember Mark González, who sponsored the California assembly bill.
Representatives from Bass' office told LAist Friday that the mayor is working with the state to "secure the authority necessary for the City to fully implement this landmark legislation."
They also said raising the threshold to $4,000 allows "local jurisdictions to dismantle more of these dangerous, inoperable RVs and get them off the street for good."
Councilmember Traci Park, who represents westside communities including Venice and Culver City, sponsored the City Council motion to “immediately implement” the new RV law.
It instructed the city administrative officer to work with the city’s Department of Transportation, city attorney and Police Department to start enforcing AB 630 on L.A.'s streets.
Park told LAist that the city needs to be able remove unsafe vehicles from public roads.
“These vehicles create unacceptable health, environmental, and safety risks, putting entire neighborhoods, critical infrastructure, and sensitive environmental areas at risk,” Park said in a statement. “Residents want solutions, not ideological wars, delay tactics, and frivolous lawsuits.”
The City Council approved an amended motion this month, instructing city staff to move forward with implementing the new law as they prepared informational reports for various City Council committees.
The attorneys challenging L.A.’s actions say the City Council moved too quickly, without realizing the legal limitations of the new statute.
“The City Council passed this motion without really fully understanding the consequences of it or even what it said it all,” said Shayla Myers, an attorney with Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles told LAist.
“As a result of that, it’s a policy that could really harm Angelenos, but also could result in costly litigation,” she continued.
The legal challenge centers on the language stating that the “Counties of Alameda and Los Angeles may implement a program” to dispose of recreational vehicles. The statute makes no mention of cities having this authority.
Lawyers for the coalition warn that if the city proceeds with implementation, it would be acting beyond its legal authority under state law.
There are nearly 6,500 people living in more than 4,000 RVs parked across the city of L.A., according to last year’s homeless count estimates.
L.A’s city administrative officer is involved in coordinating and managing the removal of RVs from city streets, along with LAPD and the city’s Transportation Department.
It oversaw more than 370 RV clearing operations between May 2022 and June 2024, according to a CAO report. As part of those operations, the city issued more than 1,000 citations, towed more than 600 vehicles and moved nearly 200 people into housing, the report said.
City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo did not respond to LAist’s request for comment on AB 630.
Three L.A. City Council members voted against the city’s AB 630 implementation plan: Hugo Soto-Martinez, Isabel Jurado and Eunises Hernandez.
Hernandez’ communications director Naomi Villagomez Roochnik told LAist the councilmember remains opposed to the city-led effort.
“Moving forward without clear legal authority exposes the City to unnecessary litigation and cost during an already severe budget crisis,” she said. “It is imperative we get that clear legal analysis before the city moves forward in any way.”
The state law goes into effect Jan. 1.
