The Brief

All-electric everything is the way of the future as cities across the Southland — and the world — work to get off gas and coal power to lower planet-heating emissions and local air pollution by supplying electricity via cleaner options such as solar and wind.

And buildings are where we use a lot of that dirty power. In L.A., largely the use of gas and electricity in buildings makes them account for more than 40% of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions. As we transition to a cleaner supply of electricity and electrify homes at the same time, those emissions will go down.

There’s a lot of money from the local to state to federal level to help folks begin the electric transition at home. One place to start? That old water heater.

Heating water is typically the second-largest source of energy use in a home, behind heating and cooling air. Electric heat pump water heaters are three to four times more efficient than gas ones, which can help with your bill, depending on how you use it. (Heat pump air conditioning and heating is also more efficient — more on that here.)

Heat pump water heaters as batteries

But not only does this technology use less energy to do more — these types of water heaters can actually serve as energy “batteries” as well. That means they can be programmed to heat water during the middle of the day when there’s an oversupply of solar power and electricity rates are the cheapest.

A 2018 study by the environmental legal group the Natural Resources Defense Council found heat pump water heaters can help shift electricity demand loads.

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Courtesy of Natural Resources Defense Council

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LAist

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Then they can store that heated water until later when you hop in the shower in the evening when electricity rates and demand are highest, and when solar power is waning (because we don’t yet have enough grid-scale battery storage).

Friday Apaliski of the Building Decarb Coalition hugs her heat pump water heater, which looks pretty similar to a gas one.

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Courtesy of Friday Apaliski

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This makes the heat pump water heater one of the most cost-efficient and simplest ways to help address the challenges we have of high electricity demand and higher risk for rolling power outages during increasingly hot summer evenings and nights.

“For the most part, you're using your water heater very consistently throughout the year, as opposed to an air conditioner or a furnace, which has a very seasonal usage,” said Friday Apaliski, a spokesperson for the Building Decarbonization Coalition, a nonprofit that works to get fossil fuels out of buildings and is a partner with the state in getting the word out about these financial incentives via switchison.org. “And so when we think about really getting efficient in our homes and our energy systems and doing right by the climate, the water heater is a really key piece of that.”

Money available to install more heat pump water heaters

Programming a heat pump water heater to use the most electricity during the times of day when power demand is lower and cheaper is a requirement of a state-funded program, called TECH Clean California, that provides some of the largest available financial incentives for swapping out that gas water heater for an electric heat pump.

The vast majority of available funding is currently for low-income households and renters. Whether you qualify depends on where you live — for example, a family of four in L.A. County qualifies if they make $100,900 a year or less.

The program was so popular it quickly ran out of funding in its first year and is once again almost out of funding for households that don’t qualify as low-income. But there’s still a lot of money available for low-income households — at least 40% of the funding is required to benefit low-income communities that have outsized pollution burdens.

And these aren’t rebates — the incentive is completed through the contractor, who has to be certified by TECH. That allows the customer to receive the financial benefit immediately, and the onus is on the contractor to complete the necessary paperwork.

For those households, the funding covers up to $4,185 for the new heat pump water heater and another $4,000 for any electrical upgrades in the house that may need to happen to support the new water heater.

A contractor’s perspective

One of the biggest barriers to more low-income households participating in these programs is that people simply don’t know they exist, said Josué Zepeda, a program manager with Paramount-based HVAC company Reliable Energy. The company primarily does installations for low-income houses and apartments across L.A. and Orange counties via TECH and Southern California Edison incentive programs.

“[Many of our customers] have yet to understand words such as heat pump or electrification,” said Zepeda. “They do hear on the news when it comes to vehicles. They do hear on the news when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions and helping the climate crisis in regards to California and overall the world. But when it comes to a personalized view to their homes, they're like, ‘Well, as far as I know, I have been told to set my thermostat at certain temperatures, or I've been told to do certain changes in my lifestyle, but I have yet to hear of changing my water heater out.'”

Heat pump water heaters and other more efficient electric appliances and air conditioning systems can also save you money, but it may not always be the case in reality, said Ron Garcia, who owns the company.

A heat pump water heater installed by Reliable Energy.

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Courtesy of Reliable Energy

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“We've had customers say ‘Well, before I used to go to a cool center throughout the day and stay there and now I stay in my home because it's more comfortable,’ so therefore they feel that 'Oh, I'm saving money, I can run it longer,’” Garcia said. “Well, when you’re running it longer, you're going to end up having to pay more in your bill. The costs on an annual basis to run a gas water heater versus a heat pump water heater are almost identical, but let’s see it in reality.”

He said there’s also the simple fact that electricity rates are going up, which the state is currently grappling to address.

Garcia emphasized these nuances are why a more holistic approach to education about electrification is needed: it’s not just about swapping out one appliance for another to save money — it’s about how energy is used and wasted in your specific home. But starting with an appliance often leads to the question — what’s next? For example, Garcia said, everything from weatherizing the home so it’s not wasting energy on leakage to getting solar panels and battery storage, where major bill savings can occur.

“It’s a step. Now we're telling them, go get solar because now you really need it,” Garcia said. “Now you'll truly get savings.”

Contractors themselves also need more education, said Zepeda. Often, contractors don’t know of the options or aren’t trained to install such appliances.

“My job as a contractor is I need to go and fix the situation,” Zepeda said. “Instead of saying, with what is coming with California's policies, well, maybe a heat pump water heater or a heat pump furnace would make sense for this home. So, it all circles back, whether it's for the public, whether it's for contractors, it's a big educational push.”

Resources

In just four days, the Los Angeles Official Martin Luther King Day Parade will take over South L.A.

The LA Local recently spoke with Sabra Wady, the parade’s lead organizer, who said this year’s parade will look much the same as recent years.

So, whether you’re attending the parade or watching it on TV, here’s everything you need to know about Monday’s parade:

The procession will begin at 10 a.m., with ABC7 set to begin a broadcast at 11 a.m.

What time does the parade start? How can I watch? Is anything happening after?

Wady said the best place to catch the parade in person is the intersection of Crenshaw Boulevard and Martin Luther King Jr. King Boulevard, or “camera corner,” where the parade will culminate and organizers are planning a live preshow. Bleacher seats, though, will be limited.

The Metro K Line runs directly to the intersection, dropping people off at the Martin Luther King Jr. Metro station.

Onlookers can also post up along the parade route with folding chairs and other self-arranged seating, Wady said.

The parade broadcast will run until 1 p.m., but Wady said the procession is expected to keep going until mid-afternoon.

“After the cameras stop rolling, it’s the people’s parade,” Wady said.

LA City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Councilmembers Curren Price and Heather Hutt – who represent council districts 8, 9 and 10, respectively — will organize the annual MLK Freedom Festival in the Leimert Park Plaza from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

What route will the parade take?

The route will remain the same, running down King Boulevard from Western Avenue to Crenshaw Boulevard before turning south down Crenshaw and heading to Leimert Park. Much of the route will be closed to traffic overnight before the parade.

More than 150 groups, including bands, floats, horseback riders and marchers, will trek down the boulevard. Wady said organizers cut off new sign-ups weeks ago in order to keep the parade manageable.

What will road closures look like?

Colin Sweeney, a spokesperson for the LA Department of Transportation, said in an email that the department will close off traffic down the main parade route overnight.

Here are the roads that will be closed to all vehicles for the duration of the parade and festival.

• King Boulevard from Vermont Avenue to Crenshaw Boulevard 
• Crenshaw Boulevard from King Boulevard to 48th Street
• Leimert Boulevard from 8th Avenue to Leimert Park 
• Degnan Avenue between 43rd Street and Leimert Park

Sweeney said only residents will be allowed to drive into the band of neighborhoods directly along the length of the parade route. That includes the blocks from 39th Street to 42nd Street along King Boulevard and the blocks between McClung Drive and Victoria Avenue along the Crenshaw closure.

The transportation department will allow traffic to cross the parade route at major intersections — including Western Avenue, Arlington Avenue and Stocker Street — but those crossings will be shut down at 10 a.m. All closed roads will stay blocked off until the parade and festival wrap up and transportation officials determine crowds have sufficiently dispersed, Sweeney said.

Wady said the parade is expected to peter out around mid-afternoon. The festival at Leimert Park Plaza is scheduled to end at 5 p.m.

Vehicles parked in the parade assembly area, parade route and disbanding area will be subject to impound or tickets, Sweeney wrote.

Topline:

By the numbers: Film and television shoot days totaled 4,625 in the final three months of 2025, up 5.1% in that timeframe. But overall last year, there were 19,694 shoot days, which is down 16.1% from 2024's total of 23.480.

Why it matters: Production in Los Angeles has been slow to rebound since the COVID-19 pandemic and the Hollywood writers and actors strikes in 2023. There is also increased competition from other states that offer appealing film tax credits and other incentives for productions that decide to take their shoot outside of California. This summer, Gov. Gavin Newsom expanded California's Film and TV Tax Credit Program in an effort to lure productions back to the Golden State.

What's next: Film L.A.'s Phil Sokoloski says that many of the productions approved under the expanded tax credit program are just now getting underway, and he hopes the industry will start to see the effects of not only the tax incentive expansion in 2026, but also L.A. Mayor Karen Bass' directives to streamline the permitting and shooting process in the city.

In L.A., there is no shortage of events to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day this year.

Since 1986, the federal holiday is observed on the third Monday of January to honor the life and legacy of the Civil Rights leader.

California African American Museum

The California African American Museum is hosting a King Day scavenger hunt on Sunday from 2 to 3 p.m. On Monday, it is hosting an all-day event honoring King that will culminate with a performance by the Inner City Youth Orchestra of L.A., which is billed as the largest majority Black youth orchestra in the country.

Orchestra at Skirball

The orchestra will also perform at the Skirball Cultural Center on Saturday evening. The free event is already at capacity, but you can try your luck by signing up for the waitlist here. Earlier Saturday, the orchestra will join the Santa Monica Symphony for its annual MLK concert.

Parades and celebrations

Cedric the Entertainer will be the grand marshal of this year’s official L.A. MLK Day Parade on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard between Western and Crenshaw avenues on Monday. If you’re looking for a parade earlier in the weekend, you can head to Long Beach’s MLK Day parade on Saturday. Also on Saturday is a celebration of King’s legacy at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Culver City.

Volunteer opportunities

In 1994, President Bill Clinton officially decreed MLK Day as a day of service. If you’re looking for opportunities to volunteer, grab free tickets to Monday’s MLK Day Volunteer Festival at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum.

Free access to state parks

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday that more than 200 California state parks will be free to enter on Monday. The move comes after the Trump administration eliminated MLK Day and Juneteenth from the list of days when it’s free to access national parks. There are 12 free state parks on the list in L.A. County, including Los Angeles and Will Rogers State Historic Parks, as well as Topanga and Malibu Creek State Parks. See the full list here.

A 2017 Los Angeles Times article tells the tragic story of Lai Hang, a terminally ill woman who killed her 18-year-old son George, who’d been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

It’s a carefully reported story by journalist Frank Shyong about a family, about the shame and stigma that can surround mental illness in Asian American communities, and how media portrayals of people with mental disorders can perpetuate harmful misconceptions.

So when Shyong was first approached about the idea of adapting the story he wrote into a narrative film, he had some “very intense” concerns about whether a film would get the story right.

But after conversations with the filmmakers, and thinking through the potential value of telling fictionalized stories based on real-life events, Shyong says, “ I think I realized that my story was in a lot of ways incomplete.”

Nine years later, the film, titled Rosemead, is finished. Directed by Eric Lin and written by Marilyn Fu, the film stars Lucy Liu as Irene, a character based on Hang, and Lawrence Shou as Joe, who’s based on George.

And Shyong, who is credited as an executive producer and served as a consultant on the film, says “it’s sort of completing the circle a little bit” — fleshing out Hang and George as “full 360 degree human beings” and giving glimpses of how their story might have ended differently.

Reporting on trauma in Asian American communities

Back in 2015, when the events depicted in Rosemead happened, the breaking news coverage revealed the basics of what was known at the time — that a woman had fatally shot her son in a Rosemead motel and turned herself in.

“ I think a lot of people probably realized there was more story there,” Shyong says. But the only person who knew the details, Hang’s longtime friend Ping Chong, had declined to talk to the media.

Still, Shyong kept following up because the court records hinted at a story that he thought should be told.

The court records revealed that Hang had been dying of cancer, and that Chong continued to visit her after she turned herself in, performing Buddhist rituals for her.

“Just knowing those two facts,” Shyong says, “and knowing Asian American families, and how complete and terrifying the sense of responsibility that a parent can feel toward a child, I just thought there's gotta be something there.”

He would visit Chong’s shop, a traditional Chinese pharmacy, leaving notes for her and talking to her about why he wanted to know more. And he gained her trust.

 ”You just have to say, ‘This is [the] story I think is here. And do you think that story is true? And if so, can you help me tell it?’ And that's all I did,” Shyong says. “I think that's all any journalist ever does.”

It’s a story that Shyong says he would come to learn is more common than many may expect.   “When you are a caregiver in these communities,” Shyong says, “you can find and name a tragic story like this in probably every zip code.”

How filmmaking and journalism can complement each other

Shyong’s article ends with this poignant quote from Chong, about her friend: “People will only know her as the mother who killed her son [...] But she was more.”

The piece itself goes a long way toward dispelling Chong’s concern, including details about Hang’s life — that she was a talented graphic designer, that she was “beautiful, smart and ambitious,” that she’d lost her husband to cancer, and that she deeply cared about her son.

But “in this case fiction,” Shyong says, “could give closure to characters in a way that I couldn't in reality. It could tell the fullness of this family story.”

The film shows Liu’s character Irene having fun with her son at the beach, and joining his therapy sessions at the urging of a psychiatrist, despite being visibly uncomfortable doing so.

It shows George (Joe in the film) with his friends, who come to visit him after he has an intense schizophrenic episode at school.

The sound design gives a sense of what it’s like to experience schizophrenia, and a part of the film where Joe runs away shows how quickly a boy with a mother and friends who care about him can become an unhoused person who someone might fear on the street.

Ultimately, the film ends on a note of hope, which grew out of something that Shyong learned from Chong after the article was published. In a way that he couldn’t do in print, “It added parts to the story that I wanted to see depicted.”