Erin Stone
covers climate and environmental issues in Southern California.
Published May 26, 2025 5:00 AM
L.A. accounts for about 1.3% of the state’s total oil production.
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Gary Kavanagh
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iStockphoto
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Topline:
L.A. city and county are facing a strange limbo in their efforts to end oil drilling. Local rules to phase out oil drilling have to be repealed so that new ones in line with state law can be enacted. But in the meantime, oil companies can operate much as they have for decades — and residents are urging the city and other regulators to do more to curtail activities they say put their health at risk.
What's new: The latest development came Friday, when the Los Angeles City Council unanimously voted to repeal a 2022 law to phase out oil drilling in the city over the next 20 years. It comes after the same move by the county earlier this month. Both jurisdictions have faced lawsuits over their oil phaseout rules brought by oil companies who argue the rules usurp state law.
Read on ... for more on the economics of L.A. oil and what protections communities are calling for as the city rewrites its phaseout rule.
L.A. city and county are facing a strange limbo in their efforts to end oil drilling.
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LA repeals oil phaseout law as residents near wells seek health protections
Local rules to phase out oil drilling have to be repealed so that new ones in line with state law can be enacted. But in the meantime, oil companies can operate much as they have for decades — and residents are urging the city and other regulators to do more to curtail activities they say put their health at risk.
The latest development came Friday, when the Los Angeles City Council unanimously voted to repeal a 2022 law to phase out oil drilling in the city over the next 20 years. It comes after the same move by the county earlier this month. Both jurisdictions have faced lawsuits over their oil phaseout rules, brought by oil companies that argue the rules usurp state law.
Counterintuitively, the repeal is part of the city’s ongoing effort to end reliance on fossil fuels. That’s because they have to repeal and then reintroduce the phaseout ordinance after a state law that went into effect this year that explicitly gave local governments the authority to regulate drilling within their jurisdictions.
L.A. city accounts for about 1.3% of the state’s total oil production, and that production, here and across the state, has trended downward since the early 1980s.
A graphic of where oil and gas is produced in California, created by one of the consultants, CJM Petroleum Consulting Inc., that the city of L.A. hired to study the feasibility of phasing out oil.
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Courtesy CJM Petroleum Consulting Inc.
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Three long-awaited studies have found the majority of oil companies operating in the city have already recouped the costs of their initial investments, or will in the relatively near future.
The reports, called amortization studies, were carried out by three independent contractors and analyzed public well and economic data.
A more conservative oil phaseout scenario, developed by consulting firm Baker & O'Brien, Inc. for the city of L.A., shows that many oil and gas wells in the city could be phased out within a period of 20 years.
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Courtesy Baker & O'Brien, Inc.
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They found that some of the well sites in the densest parts of the city, such as the Murphy drill site in South L.A., owned by E&B Natural Resources Inc.; the Warren E&P, Inc. drill site in Wilmington with over 230 wells; and the Packard site owned by E&B in Wilshire Vista, could recoup costs within five years. However other sites, such as those operated by the California Resources Corporation in Wilmington, could take 40 years to recoup costs.
Those time frames mean decades more of the health effects research has shown in communities closest to oil operations. People living near oil wells are more likely to have higher rates of asthma, preterm births and cancer. Extracting fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal is also the leading driver of human-caused climate change, which, for example, made January’s fires even worse.
L.A. oil drilling by the numbers
More than 1,900: number of active and idle wells in L.A. city
24: number of oil well operators
2: companies that own the majority of operations (Warren E&P Inc. and E&B Natural Resources Inc.)
About a third of L.A. County residents live a mile or less from a drilling rig, and communities of color are more likely to live closer to that infrastructure: A 2017 UCLA survey found that Black people were 44% more likely to live near oil and gas wells, Asian communities were 38%, and Latinos 37%, compared with 31% of whites.
L.A. city is expected to introduce a new phaseout ordinance this year.
In the meantime, communities living closest to oil drilling are calling for additional health and safety protections.
Acid maintenance
One effort involves halting what’s called “acid maintenance,” when oil companies inject chemicals into wells in order to dissolve mineral buildup and thus improve production.
Oil companies have told the city that the chemicals are mostly made up of “weak hydrochloric acid,” but some community members worry there are more harmful chemicals involved.
Richard Parks stands across the street from the Murphy drill site in South L.A.
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Jeremy Lindenfeld
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“ We have seen ambient fumes from this kind of work be so intense that they have burned to a brown crisp the plants outside the drill site on the downwind corner, so we're very concerned about this work and its impact on our children and families,” said Richard Parks, longtime South L.A. resident and president of nonprofit Redeemer Community Partnership, which for years has worked to end drilling at the Murphy drill site, operated by E&B Resources and linked to reduced lung function in nearby residents according to 2021 research by USC.
Parks added that when acid maintenance occurs, workers wear “ head-to-toe protective gear, face shields, gas sensors on their helmets. And they're working behind red danger tape. But outside on the other side of the wall, there’s really no protection for communities.”
In 2019, Redeemer and its partners successfully got the nearby Jefferson drill site to shut down and have purchased the property through a land trust. The goal is to eventually build a park and an affordable housing complex there.
Meanwhile, at the Murphy site on the border of the West Adams and Jefferson Park neighborhoods, residents are now supposed to receive mailed notices when acid maintenance is set to occur.
The Murphy drill site in the Jefferson Park neighborhood of Los Angeles.
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Sarah Craig
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Faces of Fracking
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A Google maps screeshot of the Murphy drill site, owned by E&B Natural Resources, in the Jefferson Park neighborhood of L.A.
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Google Maps
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But Parks said that’s far from enough.
“ They don't tell residents what chemicals are going to be used, they don't specify the quantity of chemicals, they don't share what the health concerns are with each chemical, and they don't provide residents with same-day certainty about when the work is going to take place so that we can move our families out of harm's way,” Parks said.
Acid maintenance ramps up
Parks and his group have held four protests in recent weeks ahead of scheduled acid maintenance operations. They had hoped a motion introduced by Councilmembers Tim McOsker and Katy Yaroslavsky in December would stop the practice and help shut down the Murphy site quicker than the timeline of 20 years set by the previous oil ordinance.
“The idea was to protect our communities until the new phaseout ordinance was readopted,” Parks said.
In the meantime, in recent months, Parks said acid maintenance operations have ramped up.
A notice sent to residents, with an address obscured, ahead of acid maintenance operations.
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Courtesy Richard Parks
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A notice in Spanish sent to residents near the Murphy drill site.
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Courtesy Richard Parks
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That’s because the city was enforcing an aspect of the municipal code that went into effect in 2023, which requires a public hearing to be set ahead of such operations. Oil companies instead stopped performing the acid maintenance. But when the city’s oil ordinance was overturned in 2024 after lawsuits brought by oil companies, that enforcement ended.
“From October 4, 2023 to September 1, 2024, there were no instances of acid maintenance activities in the City of LA. However, from September 2, 2024 to March 12, 2025, after the ordinance was overturned, there were 32 notices of acid maintenance from operators,” Yaroslavsky wrote in a letter to the city’s zoning administrator on May 5. “This dramatic increase is due to the City’s inability to force the oil operators to file for a discretionary review to conduct acid maintenance after the ordinance was struck down.”
The city is expected to reintroduce the phaseout ordinance this year. Meanwhile, Parks hopes for additional protections, such as once again enforcing the acid maintenance code, electric equipment where possible, enclosing drill sites (which the city had called for at the Murphy site, but then reneged after the oil company appealed the decision), and additional communication from the oil companies and pollution monitoring.
“There are all these health and safety impacts of neighborhood oil drilling, and it's urgent that we protect the children and families who live around these sites while oil extraction is being phased out,” Parks said.
What we know: The city is in the very early stages of planning how to transform the 192 acres into a park. The preliminary report shows some potential amenities of the park, such as gardens, biking trails, art galleries, a community center and much more.
Background: After a long legal battle between the city and the Federal Aviation Administration, a settlement was reached that ruled that the city could close the more than 100-year-old airport. The park was controversial among residents because of air quality and noise concerns, and was the subject of many legal battles in recent decades.
What’s next? The city wants to hear from residents. You’re encouraged to review the framework and fill out this survey. Feedback will be accepted until April 26.
Elly Yu
typically reports on early childhood issues and from time to time other general news.
Published April 1, 2026 1:41 PM
Thousands of immigrants, including refugees and asylees, in California are set to lose their food assistance benefits, known as CalFresh, starting this month.
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Brandon Bell
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Getty Images
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Topline:
Thousands of immigrants who are lawfully in California are set to lose their food assistance benefits, known as CalFresh, starting this month.
What’s new: The changes apply to certain immigrants who are here lawfully, including refugees and asylees. It also applies to people from Iraq and Afghanistan who have special visas for helping the U.S. military overseas.
Why now: The new restrictions stem from H.R. 1 — also known as the “Big Beautiful Bill” — which Congress passed last year.
What’s next: Officials estimate 23,000 people in Los Angeles County will be affected. State officials say noncitizens who are currently receiving benefits will continue to get them until it’s time to renew their benefits — adding that people might be able to receive benefits again if their legal status changes to lawful permanent residents.
Thousands of immigrants who are lawfully in California are set to lose their food assistance benefits, known as CalFresh, starting this month.
The new restrictions stem from H.R. 1 — also known as the “Big Beautiful Bill” — which Congress passed last year.
The changes remove eligibility for certain noncitizens, including people with refugee status and victims of trafficking. It also applies to immigrants from Iraq and Afghanistan who have special immigrant visas for helping the U.S. government overseas.
”These are folks … many of whom have large families that we have a commitment to as a country because we welcomed them and invited them here to find a place of refuge,” said Cambria Tortorelli, president of the International Institute of Los Angeles, a refugee resettlement agency. “They’re authorized to work and they’ve been brought here by the U.S. government.”
The federal spending bill, H.R. 1, made sweeping cuts to social safety net programs, including food assistance and Medicaid. In signing the bill, President Donald Trump said the changes were delivering on his campaign promises of “America first.”
Officials estimate 23,000 people in Los Angeles County will be affected. The state estimates about 72,000 immigrants with lawful presence will be affected across California.
CalFresh is the state’s version of the federally funded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Undocumented immigrants have not been eligible to receive CalFresh benefits.
State officials say noncitizens who are currently receiving benefits will continue to get them until it’s time to renew their benefits — adding that people might be able to receive benefits again if their legal status changes to lawful permanent residents.
Who the changes apply to:
Asylees
Refugees
Parolees (unless they are Cuban and Haitian entrants)
Individuals with deportation or removal withheld
Conditional entrants
Victims of trafficking
Battered noncitizens
Iraqi or Afghan with special immigrant visas (SIV) who are not lawful permanent residents (LPR)
Certain Afghan Nationals granted parole between July 31, 2021, and Sept. 30, 2023
Certain Ukrainian Nationals granted parole between Feb. 24, 2022, and Sep. 30, 2024
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Nearly every student in the California State University system has used artificial intelligence tools, but most don’t trust the results, are worried about how AI will affect their future job security and want more say in systemwide AI policy.
CSU AI survey: CSU polled more than 94,000 students, faculty and staff, making it the largest survey of AI perception in higher education. Nearly all students have used AI but most question whether it is trustworthy. Both faculty and students want more say in systemwide AI policies. Faculty are divided about the impact of AI on teaching and research.
The results: Educators want a say in how and which AI tools are used. Students across the CSU system want to be included in those discussions. Some professors teach students how to use AI and encourage students to use it, while others forbid its use in the classroom. In addition to clarity around use of AI policies, students in this year’s survey said they want training that will be relevant to their careers. “I want to learn AI tools that are actually used in my industry, not just generic chatbots,” a mechanical engineering student responded. “Show me what engineers are actually doing with AI on the job.”
Nearly every student in the California State University system has used artificial intelligence tools, but most don’t trust the results, are worried about how AI will affect their future job security and want more say in systemwide AI policy.
That’s according to results of a 2025 survey of more than 80,000 students enrolled at CSU’s 22 campuses, plus faculty and staff — the largest and most comprehensive study of how higher education students and instructors perceive artificial intelligence.
Nationwide, university faculty struggle to reconcile the learning benefits of AI — hailed as a “transformative tool” for providing tutoring and personalized support to students — and the risks that students will depend on AI agents to do their thinking for them and, very possibly, get the wrong information. Educators want a say in how and which AI tools are used. Students across the CSU system want to be included in those discussions.
Some professors teach students how to use AI and encourage students to use it, while others forbid its use in the classroom, said Katie Karroum, vice president of systemwide affairs for the Cal State Student Association, representing more than 470,000 students.
“Both of these things are allowed to coexist right now without a policy,” she said.
Karroum said that faculty practices are too varied and that what students need are consistent and transparent rules developed in collaboration with students. “There are going to be students who are graduating with AI literacy and some that graduate without AI literacy.”
In February 2025, the CSU system announced an initiative to adopt AI technologies and an agreement with OpenAI to make ChatGPT available throughout the system. The system-wide survey released Wednesday confirms that ChatGPT is the most used AI tool across CSUs. The system will also work with Adobe, Google, IBM, Intel, LinkedIn, Microsoft and NVIDIA.
Campus leaders say the survey and accompanying dashboard provide much needed data on how the system continues to integrate AI into instruction and assessment.
“We need to have data to make data-informed decisions instead of just going by anecdote,” said Elisa Sobo, a professor of anthropology at San Diego State who was involved in interpreting the survey’s findings. “We have data that show high use, but we also have high levels of concern, very valid concern, to help people be responsible when they use it.”
Faculty at San Diego State designed the survey, which received more than 94,000 responses from students, faculty and staff. Among all responding CSU students, 95% reported using an AI tool; 84% said they used ChatGPT and 82% worry that AI will negatively impact their future job security. Others worry that they won’t be competitive if they don’t understand AI well enough.
“Even though I don’t want to use it, I HAVE TO!” wrote a computer science major. “Because if I don’t, then I’ll be left behind, and that is the last thing someone would want in this stupid job market.”
Faculty are divided about the impact of AI on teaching and research. Just over 55% reported a positive benefit, while 52% said AI has had a negative impact so far.
San Diego State conducted its first campuswide survey in 2023 in response to complaints from students about inconsistent rules about AI use in courses, said James Frazee, vice president for information technology at the campus.
“Students are facing this patchwork of expectations even within the same course taught by different instructors,” Frazee said. In one introductory course, the professor might encourage students to use AI, but another professor teaching the same course might forbid it, he said. “It was a hot mess.”
In that 2023 survey, one student made this request: “Please just tell us what to do and be clear about it.”
Following that survey, the San Diego State Academic Senate approved guidelines for the use of generative AI in instruction and assessments. In 2025, the Senate made it mandatory that faculty include language about AI use in course syllabi.
“It doesn’t say what your disposition has to be, whether it’s pro or con,” Frazee said. “It just says you have to be clear about your expectations. Without the 2023 survey data, that never would have happened.”
According to the 2025 systemwide survey, only 68% of teaching faculty include language about AI use in their syllabi.
Sobo and other faculty who helped develop the 2025 survey hope other CSU campuses will find the data helpful in informing policies about AI use. The dashboard allows users to search for specific campus and discipline data and view student responses by demographic group.
The 2025 survey shows that first-generation students are more interested in formal AI training and that Black, Hispanic and Latino students are more interested than white students. At San Diego State, students are required to earn a micro-credential in AI use during their first year — another change that was made after the 2023 survey.
Students in this year’s survey said they want training that will be relevant to their careers. “I want to learn AI tools that are actually used in my industry, not just generic chatbots,” a mechanical engineering student responded. “Show me what engineers are actually doing with AI on the job.”
The California Faculty Association, which represents about 29,000 educators in the CSU system, said in a February statement that faculty should be included in future systemwide decisions about AI, including whether the contract with OpenAI should be renewed in July.
“CFA members continue to advocate for ethical and enforceable safeguards governing the use of artificial intelligence,” the CFA said in the statement, asking for “protections for using or refusing to use the technology, professional development resources to adapt pedagogy to incorporate the technology, and further protections for faculty intellectual property.”
EdSource is an independent nonprofit organization that provides analysis on key education issues facing California and the nation. LAist republishes articles from EdSource with permission.
Fiona Ng
is LAist's deputy managing editor and leads a team of reporters who explore food, culture, history, events and more.
Published April 1, 2026 12:00 PM
Tennis courts featured in an April Fools' Day social media post by Irvine.
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City of Irvine / Instagram
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Topline:
Many Southern California cities and institutions are dropping big, grabby news today — from the city of Irvine going "pickle-ball" only, to the Huntington Botanical Gardens announcing it'll be bottling the scent of the famed corpse flower as a perfume.
Why now: Before you go "what the what" — remember today's the first day of April.
Read on ... to find a roundup of some of the April Fools' jokes from your city and local trusted institutions.
Many Southern California cities and institutions are dropping big, grabby news today. Before you go "what the what" — remember, it's the first day of April.
Here's a roundup of some of the April Fools' news dump items.
Irvine, the 'pickleball-only' city
Irvine announced that it'll be converting all tennis courts into pickleball courts by 2027. That's one notch for Team Pickleball in the ongoing turf war between tennis lovers and pickleball players over the fight for court space to engage in their beloved sport.
"Starting today, April 1, all tennis courts are being converted to pickleball courts as part of a citywide effort to make Irvine a pickleball-only City by 2027," the post stated. "We don’t just think this is a good idea … we dink it’s a great one."
Over in Long Beach, Mayor Rex Richardson announced the city's reigning royalty, the Queen Mary, will be renamed after another queen.
"After careful consideration, I am proud to announce that the Queen Mary will officially be renamed the RMS Queen Latifah," he said. "Long Beach is stepping into a new era as a major music destination — with a new amphitheater, a deep cultural legacy, and a future built on sound. It’s only right that our most iconic Queen reflects that energy."
In real-real news, LBC native and everyone's favorite Olympics commenter Snoop Dogg is headlining the grand opening show of the Long Beach Amphitheater in June. That's the new waterfront venue near the RMS Queen Latifah.
Suspense writer James Patterson has more than 200 novels to his name, selling more than 450 million copies. If anyone deserves his own namesake branch, it would be Patterson, no?
The Los Angeles Public Library certainly dinks so, announcing today the James Patterson Canoga Park branch, "with wall to wall Patterson books and programming centered around this prolific author."
The opening of the corpse flower has become an annual event at the Huntington Botanical Gardens. The event brings legions hoping to get a whiff of the famed flower's "pungent aroma."
The San Marino institution announced that it's bottling the scent, as part of its new "The Huntington's Stank Collection."
"A musky gym sock note opens this unique fragrance, with a sweet, rotten-egg base to ground it. Smells like you – but smellier," the post explained.
