The Brief

Update March 15, 5 p.m.: One of Jackie and Shadow’s chicks has died. Volunteers tell fans: 'Grieve and feel whatever you feel'

Jackie and Shadow’s chick triplets are eating well while growing bigger and stronger every day. But they face challenges ahead as they outgrow the protective shielding of their parents.

Chick 1 and Chick 2 are about a week old as of Tuesday. But Chick 3, who was welcomed into the world Saturday, is holding its own among the older eaglets.

This is the first time Big Bear’s famous bald eagle couple have cared for three chicks at once. And Sandy Steers, executive director of Friends of Big Bear Valley, the nonprofit that manages the YouTube livestream, told LAist she’s elated.

“It is beyond imagination, and I could never have expected feeling this good about something so beautiful in nature,” she said. “And seeing the impact it's having on people … it makes me really happy, deep in my heart.”

How the chicks are holding up

The eaglets hatch with poor vision and can barely see shadows at first, but Chick 3 is already getting better at figuring out where the food is coming from and holding its head up for bites of meat from its parents’ beaks.

And the chicks are eating during almost every feeding, Steers said, unless one accidentally sleeps through a session.

Sibling rivalry is common for bald eagle chicks, and the older two have been seen “bonking” into each other. That’s when they hit each other with their beaks or push their nestmates around.

“They fight with each other to get the most food, you know, to get the attention, to get everything,” Steers said. “Kind of like humans.”

But Chick 1 and Chick 2 have been so busy with each other, they’ve hardly bothered their youngest sibling. Steers noted that the behavior is harmless at this point, especially since those two are about the same age and strength.

“By the time they could be a danger to each other, they usually turn into buddies because they're getting plenty of food and plenty of parental attention,” Steers said. “And that's the only thing they're really fighting for, so they just kind of give up and get along.”

What’s ahead for the nest

Three eaglet chicks are huddled together as they continue to grow stronger.

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Friends of Big Bear Valley

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YouTube

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More rain and snow is headed for the nest overlooking Big Bear Lake this week, but the eaglets will likely be safe from the storms.

They’re still small enough to snuggle under their parents’ waterproof feathers for at least another few weeks, like we saw with the last round of wet weather.

In the coming months, the chicks will continue to get taller, their own feathers will grow in, and their feet are going to look huge while they learn to flap their wings and prepare to leave the nest.

When the eaglets are almost full size, Jackie and Shadow will stop sleeping on top of them and guard them from the front of the nest instead. They’ll then fledge when they’re about 10 to 14 weeks old, Steers said, before taking off to see the world.

“Jackie and Shadow will follow them around the area in any case, making sure they have food and taking care of them, showing them how to hunt, things like that before they leave,” Steers said.

Bald eagles are primarily scavengers for their first year, according to Peter Sharpe,  a wildlife biologist with the Institute for Wildlife Studies and Sharpe Wildlife Consulting. That can bring its own risks — about 70% of bald eagles survive that stage, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The biggest issues for the young eagles include getting hit by a car while they’re feeding on roadkill, flying into power lines, or lead poisoning from eating something that was shot.

“ Lead poisoning is probably the primary cause of mortality these days,” Sharpe said.

Two of the nest's previous chicks, Stormy and Simba, were both found dead in different parts of California about a year after fledging, Friends of Big Bear Valley reported. Stormy had fledged in April 2018 and Simba was last seen at the nest in August 2019.

They were identified based on the numbers they were banded with as chicks. It’s unclear what happened to them.

Nest guests

Jackie and Shadow may be the most popular, but they aren’t the only stars of the show.

San Bernardino flying squirrels have been making guest appearances since the first nest camera was installed about a decade ago.

A San Bernardino flying squirrel, known as Fiona, in Jackie and Shadow's nest overlooking Big Bear Lake.

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Friends of Big Bear Valley

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YouTube

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A San Bernardino flying squirrel in Jackie and Shadow's nest overlooking Big Bear Lake.

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Friends of Big Bear Valley

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YouTube

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The squirrels are affectionately known as Fiona and Fast Freddie, although no one knows which one is which. So the first squirrel to show up is always called Fiona, and the second is Fast Freddie. Any more would be known as friends of Fiona and Fast Freddie.

“ We don't know if it's the same ones … but they still have the same habits and the same cuteness,” Steers said.

The flying squirrels, which are about the size of an eagle egg, work as the nest’s nocturnal cleaning crew — snacking on leftover fish tails, eggshells and insects.

They’ve also been known to spook Jackie and Shadow at night, prompting warning “wingslaps” from the feathered couple.

You might see the squirrels launch themselves off the nest to avoid those wingslaps, but Friends of Big Bear Valley said you don’t need to worry, Fiona and Fast Freddie can fly for more than 300 feet.

Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said Thursday that he will run for Senate Majority Leader in the next Congress, setting up a challenge to Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer after the party swept to power in the midterm elections.

Van Hollen said in a statement that “the American people called for change” and that is why he is running.

“It’s now on us to meet this moment, and to do that we need new leadership,” Van Hollen said. “This is not about any one person — it’s about answering the call of the American people. That is why I’m running for Senate Majority Leader.”

Van Hollen’s challenge comes after he said he was considering a bid and after Schumer has said he has the necessary support to win. The closed-door, secret-ballot election will be held in early December.

The race will be the first contested election for Democratic leader in decades. The question of whether to reelect Schumer has already divided the caucus and many senators will not say publicly how they will vote. They have privately deliberated about what message to take from the election, and Schumer recruited many of the party’s winning candidates and raised money for them.

Schumer has been talking to Democratic senators since the election about forming an agenda for 2027.

“I’m going to win it,” Schumer told The Associated Press in an interview last week.

The Los Angeles Unified School District may lease spaces in its elementary, middle and high schools to use as childcare spaces for babies. 

The district is putting together a list of qualified providers and looking to identify spaces it could lease.

Ranae Amezquita, executive director of the district’s early childhood education division, said once the district has a list of spaces, it will start a request for proposal process that childcare providers can apply to during the 2027-2028 school year.

Why is LAUSD looking to expand childcare options now?

In April, LAUSD board members passed a resolution in an aim to expand childcare and early education slots in the district.

The district currently runs about 90 preschools, called early education centers, for children 2 to 4 years old, but it has only four centers that serve children under 2. “The problem with infant care — the reason we can't open them ourself at this time, is because of the cost,” said Amezquita at a board meeting Thursday.

The need for local infant and toddler childcare is high. In 2022, L.A. County assessed that the county only had enough licensed spaces to care for 4% of kids under 2. At the same time, the district has been facing declining enrollment amid lower birth rates. The resolution to expand early childhood care aims to, in part, strengthen the enrollment pipeline into the district.

Learn more about affordable childcare in LA

• For many California parents, paying for childcare means racking up credit card debt
• Why childcare in California may get harder to find

In an extraordinary turn of events, the state’s judicial watchdog has removed Judge Robert Draper, 84, from the Los Angeles County Superior Court after 14 years of service. He faced several counts of misconduct prior to losing reelection earlier this year.

The California Commission on Judicial Performance concluded Tuesday in an 87-page decision that Draper engaged in 17 instances of behavior that made him no longer fit for office. He hasn’t heard a case since 2023 because of the issues.

“Judge Draper persistently violated the standards governing judicial behavior and engaged in extensive and severe misconduct,” the commission said in a statement, adding that it was “aggravated by his refusal to accept responsibility for his misconduct, and his lack of insight or remorse for his misconduct and its effect on others.”

Draper previously admitted to some of the claims and denied others in interviews with LAist earlier this year. In a statement this week, he called the decision “deeply disappointing.”

“Any individual put under such intense and meticulous scrutiny likely would find themselves in a similar situation, albeit with slightly different facts,” he said.

Draper said the investigation came at a time when he raised concerns within the judiciary, and that it was used “presumably for purposes of dismissing his dissent by discrediting him.”

He plans to pursue “other avenues” to change the system, according to the statement. Draper's attorney declined to share what those would be.

 “It’s very rare for a judge to be removed from the bench,” said Laurie Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School. “It’s the ultimate sanction against a judge.”

The commission has only removed 15 judges since it gained the authority to do so in 1995, according to its records, with the last for an L.A. County Superior Court judge happening in 2006.

The misconduct

The decision comes after a yearslong investigation and legal proceedings with independent evaluators. Prior to that, Draper had never been disciplined. According to the commission, his long list of misconduct includes:

• Making “offensive” and “insensitive” comments in court about race and gender.
• Sending “abusive” emails and unnecessary graphic pictures of his naked backside to colleagues.
• Acting with “deliberate defiance of his presiding judge’s orders” by continuing to access court systems and work on cases while on involuntary leave.

Some allegations the commission reviewed were dismissed for lack of evidence, including one that he inappropriately touched an attorney’s hair.

What happens next

While Draper lost reelection, his seat is now empty sooner than usual. Judge-elect Tal Khan Valbuena is on deck to replace him in January.

It’s possible Gov. Gavin Newsom may decide to appoint Khan Valbuena sooner. The court could also move another judge into his department.