The Brief

To many locals, the Los Angeles River — hugged by concrete embankments and heavy vehicle traffic — hardly seems like a river at all.

The waterway bisecting the city was converted to a giant storm drain nearly a century ago to contain flood waters. Today, it's an extension of the urban network of concrete, running beneath freeways and bridges as it collects all kinds of refuse: spent tires, scrap metal, trash thrown from car windows.

But when Doug Rosenberg came upon a shopping cart tipped over in the river's shallow waters back in 2020, he saw the potential to meet nature halfway.

"It had begun to bloom some greenery around it, and there was a great blue heron perched on the cart, hunting in this little spot," Rosenberg recalled. "That was when it clicked for me — that any 3D geometry at all in that river channel will trap sediment, will begin a micro-bloom of ecosystem."

Doug Rosenberg is trying to push the grassroots guerrilla gardening movement forward in Los Angeles.

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The 36-year-old artist saw an amusing paradox — life sprouting from the metal cart — that planted the seed for his next project: a pop-up wetland in the middle of the LA River.

In a desolate part of downtown, he pushed large rocks from the riverbanks into the water and arranged them in loose, concentric circles. The structure would trap sediment, allowing life to take root.

In other words, Rosenberg produced a patch of watery land — like a marsh or swamp — to support plants and animals.

Over the course of 10 weeks, the simple assemblage of rocks spawned a totally new 10-by-20-foot green island in the middle of the 100-foot-wide channel.

Rosenberg calls it performance art: a visual statement that carries a call to action. The wetland installation isn't quite what he'd call "impactful ecology," but rather a work of art to show environmental good can be low-tech and small-scale.

"The impetus behind this project is to show that the barrier to entry doesn't exist. To basically provide a simple format for action," he said.

Guerrilla gardeners

It's not so much that the barriers don't exist — they do — he's just flouting them, city officials say. Despite his good intentions, none of this is legal. He's a guerrilla gardener: someone who plants where they're not supposed to. The federal government deems this flood control channel "navigable water," providing protections under the Clean Water Act and making any unauthorized changes to its course illegal. That includes obstructions and modifications in the channel, such as dredging or disposal of materials like rocks.

Across the country, as urban development replaces tree cover and natural landscapes with buildings and parking lots, guerrilla gardeners flout local ordinances to disperse seeds or otherwise alter their environment, usually with an overriding mission to reclaim underused public spaces. They seek to grow healthy produce in urban food deserts, capture greenhouse gases and beautify their neighborhoods.

The movement has taken many forms, from creating a verdant oasis for the nation's largest housing project in New York City, to planting a front-yard vegetable garden in defiance of state law in Florida, to grooming a busy bike path in Seattle.

Here in LA, Rosenberg's guerrilla tactics include trespassing and planting without permits in the publicly managed waterway. Getting to his wetland requires jumping railroad tracks and scaling down the steep side of the channel to the riverbed. But as far as he's concerned, it's open to the public.

Rosenberg (right) and a few volunteers walk past railroad tracks to get to the river.

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"I feel like it's possible to relate to a city the way we're used to relating to nature — or as we imagine we could relate to unspoiled wilderness," he said.

But officials and longtime river advocates say people can't plant wherever they want, and that guerrilla actors have the potential to do more harm than good.

"Even small changes can affect water quality, habitat, and safety downstream," said Ben Orbison, a spokesman for Friends of the LA River, an advocacy group focused on revitalization efforts, including cleanups along the waterway. "Restoration is incredibly important, but works best when guided by ecology and collaboration," with local and federal agencies to prioritize safety, he added.

Chief among the concerns is flooding.

"If you have rocks, if you have vegetation, if you have other things that slow the water down then it builds up faster. That's where you get the overtopping of the channel," said Ben Harris, an attorney with Los Angeles Waterkeeper, an environmental watchdog group.

Crews place rock on the LA River's banks during channelization in 1938.

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The whole reason the Los Angeles River became a concrete straightjacket was to prevent a repeat of the city's devastating floods in the 1930s. The Army Corps of Engineers channelized and paved the once-meandering river. The roughly 51-mile channel continues to serve as a hydro-highway shuttling stormwater runoff from the mountains to the sea.

Generally, local officials and river advocates are far ahead of Rosenberg in revitalizing the channel. In recent years, the city has built several projects under a master plan designed to resurrect some of the river's natural habitat and expand public access. But progress is slow. Legal roadblocks and budget constraints have delayed the implementation of many proposals.

Beyond the bike paths and trails lining the waterway, the efforts are most visible in parts of the river where the soil was left unpaved. Willows, egrets and frogs populate soft-bottom sections where springs and a high water table would reject a concrete casing. And, upstream from Rosenberg's wetland, there's a plan in the works to build what's essentially a larger, permanent version of the artist's project. Long before Rosenberg plunked his first rock into its waters, the city adopted a plan to turn an 11-mile section of the river into a wetland to allow the safe passage of salmon.

Still, some city staff give guerrilla artists a lot of credit for laying the groundwork.

"The biggest shift points in the river's history were made, in my opinion, not necessarily the legal way," said Kat Superfisky, an urban ecologist with the city, but from "the community advocate, artist, guerrilla kind of efforts."

'He's onto something'

On social media, Rosenberg shares his art with a wider audience than was made available to his artist-activist predecessors. People curious about his project have reached out to him, asking how they can help support it. He's invited them to join him on his visits to the wetland, where he's put them to work. Others have taken issue with Rosenberg's accommodation of an invasive plant species in his wetland. It's mostly populated by Goodding's willow, a native species, and creeping water primrose, a non-native invasive. Those non-native plants tend to crowd out native habitat, drink more water and lead to increased use of toxic pesticides.

Some people accustomed to reading the river's currents say the wetland will be gone before it can cause any lasting harm to the river. In the likely event of a heavy rain, the rising tide in the river channel could wipe out the wetland, washing it into the ocean.

Canadian geese come in for a landing near the mini-wetland, in a downtown section of the LA River.

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From an ecological standpoint, Superfisky says "he's onto something," in terms of thinking about how to recreate conditions found in a natural, sprawling river using the impractical medium he's given.

The channel functions like a straight, unobstructed tube, she said. But the placement of rocks allow sediment buildup and produce varied flow patterns — much like grooves in braiding streams — to set up stiller pockets where wildlife can thrive.

But it all falls apart if he's not accounting for flood risk, the ecologist said.

Harris, of the watchdog LA Waterkeeper, thinks flood management and ecological values can coexist in a concrete channel.

Removing the concrete would open up more possibilities, he said, adding that there are "a variety of nature-based solutions" for the channel that support flood management.

Volunteer Isaac Cohen places more rocks around the guerrilla wetland.

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But an overhaul of the existing concrete flood management system would also require big shifts in mindset.

"It's kind of a scary thought," he said. "If you imagine being a policymaker in government and you're trying to do that, you have to turn things on its head."

The Army Corps of Engineers has not responded to requests for comment. According to its website, the agency works to clear vegetation it warns can clog the channel and hamper flood control. But the agency has recently prioritized the removal of non-native species due to lack of funding, the site notes.

"They probably would just talk to him and explain rather than prosecute anything, or they might just go in and take it away," said Felicia Marcus, a fellow at Stanford University's Water in the West program and a former head of the city of Los Angeles' public works department.

Rosenberg says he understands the consequences.

"If they throw a book at me, it'll be quite a big book, but I'm at the point where that's less urgent to me than making art that obviously deserves to get made," he said.

Guerrillas lay the groundwork to rewrite the rules

Passersby who look down from nearby bridges can spot the pop-up wetland.

Artists have long exploited that legal gray area around what's considered public land.

Historically, it was the late Lewis MacAdams, a poet and activist, whose guerrilla tactics expanded public access to the LA River. In 1985, MacAdams and friends cut open a fence blocking its entry and declared the river open to the people.

Through Friends of the LA River, the advocacy group he founded, MacAdams made sure the city wouldn't forget the river that birthed it. He promoted it as a resource that people should protect, restore and enjoy.

During a meeting with the county, as MacAdams told it, whenever the head of the public works department referred to the waterway as a "flood control channel," he would shoot back with "river." In 2008, kayakers carried the baton, when writer George Wolfe led a scofflaw fleet of paddlers down the entire waterway to prove that it was "navigable waters" so it could keep its Clean Water Act protections. Two years later, the Environmental Protection Agency agreed with what MacAdams had started and designated the river as navigable.

"He didn't know jack doodle scratch about the river or river ecosystems at that time. He led with his artistic passion," Superfisky said. "But then, my golly, he is the one guy that really got us to start calling it a river again."

Superfisky says Rosenberg is having his "Lewis MacAdams moment."

Knowing his wetland experiment could wash away in an instant, Rosenberg said he feels there's some wiggle room to experiment and make mistakes.

Rosenberg acknowledges the dangers that can spring from an uneducated approach. "I wouldn't push back on someone calling it reckless, to be honest," he said.

But he's more focused on the good he says can come from "vigorous action." He says that, among his millennial peers and younger generations, "a sense of attainability and agency" is lacking when it comes to helping chip away at big-picture issues like climate change.

Rosenberg acknowledges the dangers that can spring from a freewheeling approach to ecological art. But he says there's also value in "vigorous action," adding: "There's a long history in ecological actions of perfect being an argument against the good happening at all."

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He's aware that there are legal avenues available to produce ecological art. He appreciates that artist Lauren Bon, for example, has secured more than 70 permits as part of an ongoing project to divert water from the river that could irrigate a state park nearby. But Rosenberg thinks there's room for some freewheeling.

"Maybe it's not about waiting for permits or even about waiting to feel like you've mastered the material," he said. "There's a long history in ecological actions of perfect being an argument against the good happening at all."

Nature bats last

On a recent Saturday evening, during one of his public tours, Rosenberg handed out scythes and an agenda to whack away the invasive plants.

Allie Baron, a lifelong LA resident, brought her two sons with her after reaching out to Rosenberg on Instagram.

Allie Baron brought her two sons with her to help Rosenberg tend to the guerrilla wetland.

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As she gleefully tore out a creeping primrose, the 36-year-old said, "All I can do is try to make my community better and make the river pretty. You do what you can to try to restore life to things that need help."

Caught in the wetland brush was a blue rubber bullet — just like the ones LAPD officers had deployed during the anti-ICE protests held in downtown LA this summer, over immigration raids.

"One of the cool things about a structure like this is that it's trapping that stuff," Rosenberg said. "The rubber bullet was here and not in the ocean yet."

That and some oily sheen on the watery patch of willows were another reminder of the intensely urban environment.

Later, the guerrilla group witnessed a hawk snatch its dinner from the water.

A few days after that, the forecast from river pundits proved accurate. It rained, filling the channel with a fast-moving current.

"The garden is gone," Rosenberg said.

He says he'll start gardening again in the spring.
Copyright 2025 NPR

Allie Baron's son Robert carries a bunch of invasive water primrose pruned from the guerrilla wetland.

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LOS ANGELES – Tributes poured in late Sunday following news of the death of filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife, photographer and producer Michele Singer Reiner. Officials said they were investigating a homicide at the couple's residence, but provided few details.

"It is with profound sorrow that we announce the tragic passing of Michele and Rob Reiner," a Reiner family spokesperson said in a statement shared with Variety and the Los Angeles Times. "We are heartbroken by this sudden loss, and we ask for privacy during this unbelievably difficult time."

The Los Angeles Fire Department said it responded to a medical aid request at around 3:40 p.m. local time Sunday and discovered the bodies of a 78-year-old man and 68-year-old woman inside the couple's home. Reiner turned 78 in March.

The estate of Norman Lear — the legendary producer who created All in the Family and cast Reiner in the series — released a statement remembering their close relationship.

"Norman often referred to Rob as a son," the statement said. "The world is unmistakably darker tonight."

On X, former President Barack Obama remembered Reiner for giving audiences "some of our most cherished stories" told on screen.

He added that "beneath all of the stories he produced was a deep belief in the goodness of people – and a lifelong commitment to putting that belief into action."

The author Stephen King, who collaborated with Reiner on the film adaptations for Stand by Me and Misery wrote he was "horrified and saddened" by the news, calling Reiner a "wonderful friend, political ally and brilliant filmmaker."

Beyond entertainment, Reiner was also active in politics, frequently supporting liberal causes and speaking out on social issues.

News media gather near Rob Reiner's residence Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles.

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Investigation underway in Brentwood

The Los Angeles Police Department says its investigation remains active. The area surrounding the Reiners' home was cordoned off overnight as homicide detectives worked at the scene.

Officials have declined to say whether there are any suspects. "At this time, the Los Angeles Police Department is not seeking anyone as a suspect or as a person of interest," Hamilton said. "We will not be doing this until we conduct our investigation and we move forward."

Authorities did not elaborate on the circumstances surrounding the deaths.

A career that spanned decades

Rob Reiner was born in the Bronx in 1947 to a show business family. He said his number one inspiration was his father, Carl Reiner, a comedy genius, from the early days of television. In the 1950s, the elder Reiner worked with Sid Caeser, Mel Brooks and Neil Simon. In the 1960s, he created The Dick Van Dyke Show.

Rob Reiner often spoke about how much he loved what his father did; he even told Fresh Air in September the story about how he wanted to change his name to Carl.

After studying at UCLA, he began with an improv company.

A police officer blocks off a street near Rob Reiner's residence Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles.

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Comedy really was "All in the Family" 

In the 1970s, Reiner co-starred in the TV sitcom All in the Family, which featured a generation gap that marked the era.

Reiner played Michael Stivic, the progressive son-in-law nicknamed "Meathead" by the bigoted but loveable Archie Bunker. They often butted heads about everything from politics to how to put on your shoes.

Reiner talked about how influential and controversial All in the Family was while speaking to Fresh Air's Terry Gross in September.

"I was 23" he recalled, "and it was groundbreaking at the time. Nobody had done a show like this. CBS when they put it on they had a big disclaimer at the beginning, saying – 'the views that are represented in the show don't represent the views of' — basically, it was a disclaimer saying, I don't know how this show got on here, but… watch it at your own risk."

All In The Family, as Reiner pointed out, was the number one TV show in America for five years straight.

Reiner went on to become a well-loved movie director.

His films were memorable and quotable.

"You can't handle the truth," Jack Nicholson says to Tom Cruise in the Aaron Sorkin-written thriller A Few Good Men, which was nominated for an Oscar in 1993.

"Inconceivable" is one of the many quotable lines from the 1987 fantasy adventure comedy The Princess Bride.

Reiner even cast his own mother, Estelle Reiner, to deliver the punchline of a scene in the 1989 rom-com When Harry Met Sally. After Meg Ryan's character fakes an orgasm at Katz' Deli in New York, Mrs. Reiner tells the waiter, "I"ll have what she's having."

Reiner gave credit to Billy Crystal for that line. But his films also created sensations.

The first feature film he directed, This is Spinal Tap, introduced mainstream audiences to the "mockumentary." In that 1984 parody of a rock documentary, Reiner also plays the filmmaker who asks a member of the fictional band Spinal Tap about the volume switch on an amplifier.

"The numbers all go to 11, right across the board," says the lead guitarist of the fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap, played by Christopher Guest.

"And does it mean it's louder?" asks Reiner's character. "Well, it's one louder," explains the rocker.

Earlier this year, Reiner brought Spinal Tap back together for a sequel, Spinal Tap: The End Continues.

One of the aging rockers, Derek Smalls, was played by Harry Shearer.

In an interview with NPR Sunday, Shearer remembered Reiner as "a great collaborator. He was a great appreciator. He was encouraging and it was fun to be around him."

"It's devastating, knowing the two of them and knowing how the story ended. It's just horrible, unspeakable. It's a Greek tragedy come to our lives in the most traumatic and awful way. Rob still had more work to be done, and it's a loss."
Copyright 2025 NPR

Happy Hanukkah to all celebrating the festival of lights. I am obsessed with this NY Times Cooking recipe for pickle latkes and plan to break all rules of tradition by attempting to make them.

If you, too, are jumping on the pickle latke trend this year, brush your teeth before heading out to one of the many options on the music menu. On Monday, popera icon Sarah Brightman is at the Dolby Theatre. On Tuesday, the Cool Kids play the Echo, and Robert Glasper begins his six-night residency at the Blue Note. On Wednesday, Death Angel is at the Belasco, Ariel Pink is at the Regent, Ella Mai plays the Roxy and Okkervil River is at Scribble. On Thursday, Queensrÿche and Accept bring some hard rock to Anaheim’s House of Blues, and Electric Guest plays the Regent. Licorice Pizza has even more music listings here.

Elsewhere on LAist.com, read up on NPR’s pick for best album of the year, find the best local last-minute gifts with our gift guides and choose your early Oscar favorites with our film aficionados.

Events

Ben Platt: Live at the Ahmanson

Through December 21
Ahmanson Theatre
135 N. Grand Ave., Downtown L.A.
COST: FROM $44.85; MORE INFO

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From waving through a window to waving from the stage, musical theater wunderkind-turned-pop star Ben Platt hits the Ahmanson for a week of shows featuring Broadway favorites — and some of his famous friends. A surprise guest will join him each night, and while we don’t know who yet, the 2024 Broadway residency featured the likes of Cynthia Erivo, Jennifer Hudson, Sam Smith and more.

4 Non Blondes

December 15-16, 8 p.m. 
The Roxy 
9009 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood
COST: MORE INFO 

INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 13: Linda Perry of 4 Non Blondes performs onstage during the 2025 KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas at The Kia Forum on December 13, 2025 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Audacy)

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One of the (only?) good things about social media is its ability to introduce classic hits to a new generation of fans (see: Kate Bush). The 4 Non Blondes' iconic 1993 hit “What’s Up” has been showing up in TikTok mashups — and the Linda Perry-led band is reuniting for two shows at the Roxy on their current tour.

Broadway Brass Band Hanukkah Party 

Tuesday, December 16, 8 p.m.
The Venice West
1717 Lincoln Blvd., Venice
COST: $20; MORE INFO 

Showtunes, Hanukkah and brass bands — pretty much my trifecta of fun. If it’s yours, too, head to the Venice West and celebrate the festival of lights Westside-style with musician Benny Lipson, who gives a New Orleans spin to Tom Lehrer’s “Hanukkah in Santa Monica” (oh the rhyming). Happy hour goes till 7:30, so get there early!

Read to a rescue dog 

Tuesday, December 16, 4 p.m.
Wilshire Branch Library 
149 N. Saint Andrews Place, Mid-Wilshire
COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

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Rescue dogs like a good book, too! All ages are invited to read books to therapy dogs at the Wilshire Branch Library. Who’s helping whom here, I wonder…

Jane Lynch’s A Swingin’ Little Christmas

Wednesday, December 17, 7:30 p.m. 
Broad Stage
1310 11th Street, Santa Monica 
COST: SOLD OUT, WAITLIST AVAILABLE; MORE INFO

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It’s no secret that Glee star Jane Lynch knows how to belt it out, and she brings friends Kate Flannery, Tim Davis and the Tony Guerrero Quintet together for comedy and classic holiday tunes at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica.

Gimme Shelter: Songs for LA Fire Relief Launch Party

Tuesday, December 16, 5 p.m. 
Amoeba Hollywood 
6200 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood
COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

We’re fast approaching the one-year anniversary of the fires, and there’s never a better time than the holidays to support the ongoing relief efforts. Flood Magazine is hosting this in-store launch and listening party at Amoeba for the new double vinyl benefit album, Gimme Shelter: Songs for LA Fire Relief. The album features rare tracks from Elliott Smith, Flaming Lips, Rilo Kiley, Local Natives, Chromeo, Norah Jones and more — on double gatefold red vinyl, with a cover by Shepard Fairey.

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Robert Therrian: This is a Story

Through April 5
Broad Museum 
221 S. Grand Ave., Downtown L.A.
COST: $19; MORE INFO

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Joshua White

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If you’ve been waiting since Thanksgiving to get down to the Broad to see the larger-than-life installations by Robert Therrian, wait no longer to book your tickets for the quiet holiday week. You know his big chair and table from visits to the permanent collection, but This is a Story features over 120 works that inspire wonder and awe, including enormous hanging beards and stacked dishes that create an optical illusion.

Jeopardy! Bar League

Tuesday December 16, 8 p.m.
Brennan’s
4089 Lincoln Blvd., Marina del Rey 
COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

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Test your knowledge with fellow Jeopardy! fans at the (show-sanctioned) Jeopardy! Bar League night at Brennan's in Marina Del Rey. If you’ve ever thought about auditioning for the classic trivia game show, members of the Jeopardy! team will be on hand to answer questions about the contestant journey and offer a mini contestant test. Try out — take it from this Jeopardy! loser — you won’t regret it!

Hammer Museum: "MoMA Contenders" screenings

December 15-18
10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood
COST: $10 members, $20 general admission; MORE INFO 

Head to the Hammer for four more nights of screenings of potential awards nominees at the annual “MoMA Contenders” series. On Monday, you can catch the George Clooney Hollywood drama Jay Kelly; Tuesday has art heist film The Mastermind; on Wednesday, director Scott Cooper joins for a screening of his film, Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere; and Thursday’s feature is Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another.

ShrimpMas

Through December 23
San Pedro Fish Market 
760 S. Harbor Blvd., San Pedro 

And 
6550 E. Marina Drive, Long Beach
COST: VARIES; MORE INFO

It’s not hard to come up with an excuse to go to San Pedro Fish Market, and this is an especially easy one. Through December 23, they’re featuring 12 days of World Famous Shrimp Trays, holiday offerings and exclusive seasonal specials at both the Long Beach restaurant and the newly opened Landing in San Pedro.

Hanukkah at Miznon 

Through December 22
Grand Central Market, Downtown L.A. 
COST: $16; MORE INFO 

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Courtesy Miznon

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It’s always overwhelming choosing where to eat at Grand Central Market. To celebrate Hanukkah, the popular Miznon is serving up latkes for $16, with four golden potato latkes served with rich, tangy Runover Cream.

State regulators are poised to vote on how much profit utility companies can make, a decision with big implications for Californians’ bills and the aging power grid.

The California Public Utilities Commission, which regulates privately owned utilities in the state, will vote on a proposed decision to lower the payout to shareholders from the state’s investor-owned utilities — Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas & Electric, Southern California Gas Co. and Pacific Gas & Electric.

Unlike public utilities, such as the L.A. Department of Water and Power, investor-owned utilities are private companies that operate as government-regulated monopolies.

California’s electricity rates are the second-highest in the nation, behind only Hawai’i. As the state works to transition to a cleaner energy economy that runs largely on electricity, those high bills threaten to derail progress.

Experts say lowering utility profits is just one piece, albeit a big one, in the puzzle to address energy affordability.

The background

Every three years,  the CPUC, which is made up of five commissioners appointed by the governor, oversees applications from the state’s private utilities during which they ask for a certain “rate of return” — essentially their amount of expected profits above the cost of operations — to attract the capital they say they need to make necessary investments in California’s aging power grid. That includes building new power plants, transmission lines and other infrastructure.

These profits are also important to ensure the utilities don’t go into bankruptcy and can maintain reliable service.

Over the last two decades, the amount of profits allowed has only gone up — it hovers at a little over 10% for the state’s big three investor-owned electric utilities, which is slightly higher than the industry average across the nation.

Mark Ellis — a former executive at Sempra Energy (the parent company of SoCal Gas and SDG&E) turned ratepayer advocate — estimates that profit, plus income taxes on profit, which are passed through to ratepayers, accounts for about one-quarter of Californians’ utility bills.

The CPUC is expected to vote on whether to approve a slight decrease to those returns at a meeting Thursday.

What the proposal says

The proposed decision would lower the return on equity for each utility by about 0.35% — even such a small change can mean millions of dollars in reductions for ratepayers.

If approved, SoCal Edison’s maximum return on equity would be 9.98%, down from 10.33%, and San Diego Gas & Electric would be 9.88%, down from 10.23%.

What critics say

Some stakeholders say the return percentage should be far lower. Ellis, who provided testimony in the proceeding on behalf of the Sierra Club and Protect Our Communities Foundation, argues the return should be as low as 6%. He estimates that could reduce Californians’ electric bills by as much as 10%.

“There's no other industry that really has that type of return that's virtually guaranteed,” Ellis said. “We haven't touched their profits for decades, and what has it gotten us? It's gotten us really expensive electricity and a very brittle system.”

He says current returns on equity incentivize the state’s monopoly utilities to overinvest, raising rates for customers and the expense of the energy transition.

“So I'm saying, the first step is, get the incentives right and see how they behave,” Ellis said.

The Little Hoover Commission, the state’s independent watchdog agency, cited Ellis’ work in a recent report on lowering electricity rates, as well as two UC Berkeley studies showing how “utility regulators often approve profit levels that exceed what is truly needed to attract investment.”

In the report, the commission recommends shifting the initial proposal of the rate of return on equity to the state Treasurer’s Office, instead of the utilities themselves. The report also calls for an audit of California Public Utilities Commission staffing to assess whether the agency has enough capacity to provide rigorous oversight of these proceedings.

“We want to make sure that the rate of return isn't so high that this is just a cash grab from everyday customers and rate payers to big corporate interests,” said Katherine Ramsay, a senior attorney with the Sierra Club. “You want to make sure the number is no more and no less than what is necessary for the utilities to remain financially healthy.”

What the utilities say

The utilities had asked to increase or maintain their current rates of return. They’ve called on the commissioners to reject the proposed reduction.

They argue that their return on equity has to be competitive with nationwide utilities or else investors will go elsewhere, which could slow long-term investments in public infrastructure to improve wildfire safety and boost clean energy and hurt the companies’ credit.

And, especially since the 2025 L.A. wildfires and other catastrophic fires in the last decade, they say California electric utilities are seen as riskier, increasing costs of equity.

“We are disappointed that the proposed decision does not fully reflect current market conditions or the unique risks California utilities face,” a spokesperson for SDG&E wrote to LAist.

David Eisenhauer, a spokesperson for Southern California Edison told LAist that “when investors view the rate established by the CPUC as not commensurate with the risk, that impacts investor willingness to invest in California, which then drives up the cost of capital and increases customer costs over time.”

In their latest comments to the commission, Edison said the company has already not been meeting the return approved by the CPUC “since at least 2017, with 2024 actual earnings at 6.38% as compared to 10.75% authorized, in part due to financing of wildfire claims and SCE’s contributions to the Wildfire Fund.”

“The commission’s objective is not to maximize customer savings by setting the authorized [return on equity] as low as possible,” they write, but rather to set a rate “commensurate with market returns on investments” so that company can attract investors to finance infrastructure and “fulfill its public utility service obligation.”

How to share your comments ahead of the vote

The CPUC is expected to vote Thursday. You can submit a comment by calling into the meeting, or submitting one online ahead of time. To submit online, you’ll have to enter the proceeding’s docket number, which is A2503010, then click the tab that says “Add public comment.”

Hollywood director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer Reiner were found dead Sunday at their home in Brentwood. LAPD officials said they are investigating “an apparent homicide” at the residence, but declined to give additional details.

Authorities said early Monday they expect to release more information shortly. Overnight, L.A. County jail records now show the felony arrest of Nick Reiner, 32, the couple's son, who was arrested last night and booked into custody at 5:04 a.m. He is being held in lieu of $4 million bail. No initial court appearance was listed.

The deaths of his parents were confirmed in a statement released by the family to the media — and in social media posts by L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday evening.

The family statement said: "It is with profound sorrow that we announce the tragic passing of Michele and Rob Reiner. We are heartbroken by this sudden loss, and we ask for privacy during this unbelievably difficult time."

A police officer blocks off a street near the Brentwood home of Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer.

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The Associated Press was among numerous media outlets reporting that sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said investigators believe the couple suffered stab wounds. The AP also reported the same source said investigators were questioning a family member.

Reiner, 78, became a household name playing Michael "Meathead" Stivic on TV’s All In The Family — but went on to eclipse that early success with a decades-long career in film. He directed dozens of movies including such legendary romantic comedies as When Harry Met Sally and The American President, as well as revived the art of the mockumentary with This Is Spinal Tap. Other beloved films include Stand By Me and The Princess Bride.

He was nominated for an Oscar for directing A Few Good Men.

Michele Singer Reiner, 68, was a photographer who met her husband while he was filming When Harry Met Sally. He said he changed the ending of the film after their meeting.

In addition to Nick, the couple have two other children together. Reiner was previously married to the late Penny Marshall and adopted her daughter.

Nick Reiner and his father had been open about Nick's addiction issues, which led to his first stint in rehab at age 15. In 2015, the father and son released the film Being Charlie directed by Rob Reiner co-written by Nick Reiner and Matt Elisofon. The film documents the addiction struggles of a young man with a prominent father. that they said was based on Nick's own experiences with drug addiction.

Reactions

Bass issued a statement calling the deaths "a devastating loss." She recalled Reiner for a career in Hollywood that spanned roles as an actor, director, producer and writer, but also as a political activist who "always used his gifts in service of others."

Reiner helped to create an early childhood education initiative — dubbed First 5 California — paid for by a tax on tobacco sales. He and his wife were also “true champions for LGBTQ+ rights,” Bass said.

Newsom also released a statement expressing heartbreak over the news, calling Reiner "the big-hearted genius behind so many of the classic stories we love."

He added: "That empathy extended well beyond his films. Rob was a passionate advocate for children and for civil rights — from taking on Big Tobacco to fighting for marriage equality to serving as a powerful voice in early education. He made California a better place through his good works."

Reiner’s father, comedy legend Carl Reiner, died at age 98 in 2020. When his father died, Rob Reiner called him "my guiding light."

This is a developing story. It will be updated as LAist learns more.