The Self-Realization Fellowship's Lake Shrine reopens today.
(
Kevin Tidmarsh/LAist
)
Topline:
The Self-Realization Fellowship’s Lake Shrine, a historic interfaith outpost for spiritual seekers, has reopened. LAist toured the site to see what’s changed.
The history: The lake, once a quarry and a Hollywood movie set, became a home base for Paramahansa Yogananda’s Self-Realization Fellowship in Los Angeles.
How it was saved: A pump installed on site and water pumped from the lake helped a majority of the Lake Shrine’s structures survive the blaze.
What survived: A 1,000-year-old sarcophagus containing some of Mahatma Gandhi’s ashes, along with a rose garden for world peace and a Dutch-style windmill converted into a chapel.
How to visit: Advance registrations are required to visit. Reservations open at 10 a.m. Saturdays for the week ahead. For more information, see the Lake Shrine’s website.
Read on ... for how the site is hoping to help the region recover.
Listen
4:24
The Palisades’ historic Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine reopens after the fires. A look at what’s changed
The Pacific Palisades’ Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine, a sanctuary for spiritual seekers, has reopened to the public after a lengthy recovery and remediation process.
The Lake Shrine is tucked away off Sunset Boulevard near the Palisades coast and narrowly escaped being burned in the Palisades Fire in January. It reopened Wednesday, and the shrine’s leaders hope it can provide a sanctuary for the fire-ravaged neighborhood, along with any other visitors who stop by for the peace and quiet.
The boat was used in old silent movie productions. The memorial in the background houses some of Mahatma Gandhi's ashes.
(
Kevin Tidmarsh
/
LAist
)
Saving the shrine
As it turns out, some foresight and a convenient water source are why the Lake Shrine managed to reopen just months after the devastating Palisades Fire. The shrine’s minister-in-charge Brother Satyananda told LAist that a new pumping system had been installed in advance of the fire.
“ We defended our own property here with our water from the lake, and it proved to be more effective than we ever imagined,” he said.
As the Palisades Fire raged on, volunteer firefighters affiliated with the shrine worked day and night to put out spot fires, even as hydrants failed to work due to water pressure issues and firefighters were dealing with unprecedented demand.
That firefighting process lasted about a week, Satyananda said. In the end, the shrine’s major historical assets were all saved.
But the Self-Realization Fellowship’s land didn’t make it out unscathed.
Some buildings used as dormitories were lost, including one where Brother Satyananda had slept, along with a Waldorf school on the fellowship’s property. Though those lots have been cleared, Satyananda said what the fellowship will do with them “still remains to be discussed and decided.”
Recovery and reopening
Visitors may notice the recovery still is a work in progress despite the reopening. Though the grounds and indoor spaces near the lake are open to the public, remediation work still has to be done on the shrine’s temple, perched higher up in the hills.
“There'll still be work going on in the background, but we'll have a nice quiet space for people to appreciate the value,” Satyananda said.
The path along the Lake Shrine takes visitors around the property. At a few points, like here, some burn scars from the Palisades Fire can be seen in the surrounding hills.
(
Kevin Tidmarsh
/
LAist
)
“Some of our neighbors have said when they come here, ‘Oh wow, it doesn't seem like any disaster ever happened here,’” Satyananda said.
The swans that call the lake home, named Shobha and Shanti, were nearly as quick to bounce back. They got blanketed with ash along with the rest of the lake, and Satyananda said their feathers were nearly black.
Shobha, meaning "radiance," is the younger of the two swans at about 15 months old.
(
Julia Paskin/LAist
)
Shanti, meaning "peace" in Sanskrit, is about two years old.
(
Julia Paskin/LAist
)
It took careful scrubbing to clean the swans, which was possible in large part because the swans knew and trusted the Lake Shrine’s ministers and staff, not to mention their stain-resistant feathers.
The shrine’s history
The site originally was a quarry used to extract building materials for roads in the early 1900s, before Los Angeles was anywhere close to the metropolis we know today. The mining stopped after workers hit the water table, which filled up the surrounding area and created the lake that you still can see today.
The lake passed through a number of hands, including some who developed the property for use as sets in the burgeoning film industry. You still can see a boat docked, and a Dutch-style windmill on the site has been repurposed into a chapel.
The windmill was once used in silent film productions in the early days of Hollywood.
(
Kevin Tidmarsh
/
LAist
)
After the Self-Realization Fellowship acquired the land in 1950, it became a base for its founder, Paramahansa Yogananda, and his spiritual teachings. They proved very influential in California’s spiritual spheres throughout the 20th century. Yogananda is notable for embracing universal elements from all religions in his work: One of his best-known books is titled “The Yoga of Jesus.”
Yogananda’s influence lasted long after his death in 1952. The Self-Realization Fellowship’s Lake Shrine is just one of dozens of locations around the world, and some of the most influential figures in the world have counted themselves as devotees. Just one example: The late Apple cofounder Steve Jobs gifted copies of Yogananda’s autobiography to the people who attended his funeral, according to CNN.
One of several spiritual quotes you'll encounter walking around the Lake Shrine.
(
Kevin Tidmarsh
/
LAist
)
The Lake Shrine’s significance
In keeping with Yogananda’s beliefs, the shrine is interfaith — you’ll see quotations and markers representing major world religions as you walk around.
The path is circular, meant to inspire reflection on spiritual principles, and there are lots of stopping points for meditation. Satyananda, told LAist that some of the Shrine’s regular visitors have specific spots that they prefer to sit and meditate.
Many of the shrine's meditation benches pay tribute to its wildlife.
(
Kevin Tidmarsh/LAist
)
Another bench that pays tribute to the shrine's wildlife.
(
Kevin Tidmarsh/LAist
)
One of the stopping points along the way is the shrine’s Gandhi World Peace memorial, which has a 1,000-year-old sarcophagus that holds some of Mahatma Gandhi’s ashes. The Self-Realization Fellowship says they’re the only portion of his ashes outside India.
The ashes were sent to Yogananda because he was a close personal friend of Gandhi. Yogananda was also — fun fact — the driving force who brought yoga to Los Angeles (and the country).
This sarcophagus contains a portion of Gandhi's ashes.
(
Kevin Tidmarsh
/
LAist
)
“ We see that in all different kinds of people, the location invokes kind of a natural reverence," Satyananda said. “In the East, meditating in front of a calm body of water is historically symbolic because there's the calmness of the surface, and as you sit quietly and gaze on it, it quiets the mind.”
Brother Satyananda meditates on one of the Lake Shrine's benches.
(
Julia Paskin
/
LAist
)
He hopes that by reopening the Lake Shrine, he can bring a measure of peace back to the fire-stricken neighborhood.
“I think everybody in the Palisades agrees that this is a time of change,” Satyananda said. “ What I'm seeing as a counselor is people that have been meditating, they have resilience and they tend to bounce back. There's the shock, there's the trauma, but they bounce back rather quickly.”
How to visit
The Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine is now open from Wednesday through Sunday. Visitors have two options: A morning visit at 10 a.m. or an early afternoon visit at 1 p.m.
Advance registrations are required to visit.
Reservations open at 10 a.m. Saturdays for the week ahead. For more information, see the Lake Shrine’s website.
Kevin Tidmarsh
has been covering restrictions to health care for trans youth under the second Trump administration.
Published January 23, 2026 6:13 PM
Protesters outside Children's Hospital Los Angeles on July 17.
(
Kevin Tidmarsh
/
LAist
)
Topline:
The records of more than 3,000 patients at CHLA’s former Center for Transyouth Health and Development will now be protected from federal subpoenas until at least February 2029 under a settlement.
What the federal government was seeking: The DOJ wanted to pull a wide swath of information from CHLA’s records related to hormone therapy prescriptions, including the identities and social security numbers of the people it was prescribed to.
What CHLA patients’ lawyers are saying: “This is a massive victory for every family that refused to be intimidated into backing down,” said Khadijah Silver, Director of Gender Justice & Health Equity at Lawyers for Good Government. “The government's attempt to rifle through children's medical records was unconstitutional from the start.”
What’s in the settlement: Under the agreement, which was first reported by Reuters, the federal government has withdrawn its requests for personal information like social security numbers, records and “documents relating to the clinical indications, diagnoses or assessments that formed the basis for prescribing puberty blockers or hormone therapy.”
What the hospital and DOJ say about the win: LAist has reached out for comment to both entities and has not heard back.
The backstory: The subpoenas were issued on or about June 11, 2025, according to the settlement. They were made public in July, though many patient families remained in the dark about whether they were affected. CHLA announced it planned to close its clinic for trans youth June 12.
After the Department of Justice issued a wide-ranging subpoena to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles last June, the records of more than 3,000 patients now will be protected until at least February 2029 under a settlement reached between patient families and the federal government.
What the federal government was seeking
The DOJ wanted to pull a wide swath of information from CHLA’s records related to hormone therapy prescriptions, including the identities and social security numbers of the people it was prescribed to. Lawyers for CHLA patient families said the broad request also included details of patients’ sexual health data and records of their mental health and said the inquiry violated their constitutional rights.
What CHLA’s lawyers are saying
“This is a massive victory for every family that refused to be intimidated into backing down,” said Khadijah Silver, director of gender justice and health equity at Lawyers for Good Government. “The government's attempt to rifle through children's medical records was unconstitutional from the start.”
Silver also noted that DOJ confirmed it had not received any sensitive patient data under the parts of the subpoena that had been struck down.
What’s in the settlement
Under the agreement, which was first reported by Reuters, the federal government has withdrawn its requests for personal information like social security numbers, prescription records and “documents relating to the clinical indications, diagnoses or assessments that formed the basis for prescribing puberty blockers or hormone therapy.”
The government cannot make new requests of this type to CHLA until February 2029. The settlement also establishes a process for the DOJ to continue to pursue seeking some limited redacted medical records from CHLA.
What it means for parents and children
In the aftermath of the subpoenas, many advocates were worried that families would face federal prosecution for seeking gender-affirming care for their children.
However, according to the settlement, the DOJ said it “is not currently aware of information that would support the federal prosecution of parents or guardians who have sought and consented to receiving gender-related care for their children at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles.”
What the hospital and DOJ say about the win
LAist has reached out for comment to both entities and has not heard back.
The backstory
The subpoenas were issued on or about June 11, 2025, according to the settlement. They were made public in July, though many patient families remained in the dark about whether they were affected. CHLA announced it planned to close its clinic for trans youth June 12.
Judges have ruled against similar requests and struck down subpoenas seeking records from other hospitals, like Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Boston Children’s Hospital.
David Wagner
covers housing in Southern California, a place where the lack of affordable housing contributes to homelessness.
Published January 23, 2026 4:23 PM
Apartment complexes in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles on Aug. 7, 2019.
(
Anne Wernikoff
/
CalMatters
)
Topline:
Los Angeles voters could soon get another chance to weigh in on Measure ULA, better known as the city’s “mansion tax.”
The backstory: First approved by voters in November 2022, the measure has taxed real estate selling for more than $5 million. It funds tenant protection programs and affordable housing construction. But economists have found that because the tax also applies to apartments — not just mansions — housing developers are pulling back on building in the city relative to other parts of L.A. County. One UCLA study concluded the city would have more low-income units on balance if the tax did not apply to new apartments.
What’s new: Now, there’s a new effort brewing at City Hall to change how the “mansion tax” works. City Councilmember Nithya Raman, chair of the council’s Housing and Homelessness Committee, introduced a motion Friday to place a new measure on the ballot. It would ask voters to exempt recently constructed apartment buildings from the tax, among other changes.
Read on… to learn why tax supporters are calling the reform effort “irresponsible.”
Los Angeles voters could soon get another chance to weigh in on Measure ULA, better known as the city’s “mansion tax.”
First approved by voters in November 2022, the measure has taxed real estate selling for more than $5 million. It funds tenant protection programs and affordable housing construction.
But economists have found that because the tax also applies to apartments — not just mansions — housing developers are pulling back on building in the city compared to other parts of L.A. County. One UCLA study concluded the city would have more low-income units on balance if the tax did not apply to new apartments.
Now, there’s a new effort brewing at City Hall to change how the “mansion tax” works.
City Councilmember Nithya Raman, chair of the council’s Housing and Homelessness Committee, introduced a motion Friday to place a new measure on the June ballot. The ballot measure would ask voters to exempt recently constructed apartment buildings from the tax, among other changes.
“We've seen some real pressures on the market as a result of ULA,” Raman told LAist. “It was sold to voters and talked about as a mansion tax. I don't think it was intended to slow the construction of new apartments in a city with an acknowledged and widespread housing crisis.”
Supporters of the tax say it’s working as intended. They dispute claims that ULA is responsible for slower housing growth in the city.
No council votes have yet been taken.
Local reform effort follows failed state bill
Supporters say the tax has funded eviction defense and rent relief programs. It has also produced the city’s largest-ever pot of money for low-income housing development, though less than 200 apartments have been completed and leased so far.
Joe Donlin, director of the group United to House L.A., called the latest reform effort “irresponsible.”
The proposed tax exemption for apartments built within the last 15 years would be “a tax break for developers and billionaires,” Donlin said.
“That would be giving money away from ULA programs that are protecting renters, that are keeping people from falling into homelessness, and building affordable housing,” he said.
Raman’s motion would also cancel the tax on homeowners affected by the Palisades Fire. Another change would restructure certain financing terms in order to attract traditional lenders to participate in ULA-funded affordable housing projects.
Many of the changes are similar to those proposed by state lawmakers in a bill that failed to advance at the tail end of last year’s legislative session in Sacramento.
Dueling effort at repeal is underway
But those who support reform say without some changes, the tax could soon be thrown out entirely. The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association is collecting signatures for a separate ballot measure that would overturn not just Measure ULA, but similar taxes across the state.
Mott Smith, a reform proponent and the co-author of a UCLA study that found the tax had sharply reduced high-end real estate sales, said this is shaping up to be a tough political fight.
“I commend Councilmember Raman for doing her best to turn Measure ULA into something that might actually work before it goes away,” Smith said.
Some L.A. council members have already signaled opposition to the push for reform.
Alejandra Alarcon, a spokesperson for Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, said in a statement to LAist that Jurado opposes the motion as written.
“Voters overwhelmingly supported ULA to help build and sustain diverse communities,” the statement read. “Any changes to the measure should be made with community advocates at the table, not without them.”
What’s next?
The new City Council effort has a long way to go before any changes are made to the tax.
If a majority of the council approves it for the June ballot, a majority of local voters would need to sign off on changing a measure that received nearly 58% support from voters back in November 2022.
Keep up with LAist.
If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less.
Robert Garrova
explores the weird and secret bits of SoCal that would excite even the most jaded Angelenos. He also covers mental health.
Published January 23, 2026 3:00 PM
A computer rendering of the Inspiration' space shuttle mockup in its new Downey home
(
Courtesy Columbia Memorial Space Center
)
Topline:
On Saturday the Columbia Memorial Space Center in Downey will honor the 40th anniversary of the loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger as well as other pioneering missions.
The backstory: The event will honor Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher ever selected to go to space as well as other pioneering women astronauts. McAuliffe and her six fellow crew members were lost when Space Shuttle Challenger exploded a little over a minute after liftoff on Jan. 28, 1986.
What to expect: The free event will include hands-on activities – such as air rocket building –and a panel discussion with engineers who worked on the Challenger mission. A local retired teacher who was trained on the same curriculum that McAuliffe would have delivered from the shuttle will also give a talk about how she’s kept the legacy of the lost mission alive.
How to attend: The Astronaut Commemoration Day event will be at the Columbia Memorial Space Center at 12400 Columbia Way in Downey from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Why now: Jackie laid the first egg of the season around 4:30 p.m. Friday, according to organization records, as more than 14,000 people watched on the livestream.
The backstory: Jackie also laid the first egg of the season around this time last year, with the second and third a few days later.
Southern California's famous bald eagle couple, known as Jackie and Shadow, appear to have something new to take care of, as seen on the popular YouTube livestream run by Friends of Big Bear Valley that has captivated thousands of people.
Jackie laid the first egg of the season around 4:30 p.m. Friday in the nest overlooking Big Bear Lake, according to organization records, as more than 14,000 people watched the livestream.
In recent months, the birds were seen working on their "nestorations"— bringing in fresh sticks and fluff furnishings to the top of the Jeffrey pine tree they’ve claimed as their home, according to the nonprofit.
Last year, Jackie laid the first egg of that season around the same time, following up with a second and third a few days later.
Fans are once again eagerly watching the eagles for signs of more eggs in the clutch, which refers to the eggs laid in each nesting attempt, usually three days apart.
Jenny Voisard, the organization’s media and website manager, told LAist the Big Bear bald eagle fan community grew when the couple successfully raised two bald eagle chicks, Sunny and Gizmo, last season.
“The building of the nest, the bonding, the flirting, the mating, the bickering, the moving the sticks around, defending against intruders, you know, that's all been new for a lot of people,” she said.
“People are all kind of like nervous aunties and uncles,” she continued. “So we just try to keep everybody calm.”
As always, Jackie and Shadow are in charge. Fans will have to wait and see what this season will bring, Voisard said.
What to watch for
Friends of Big Bear Valley has been keeping track of the nesting season milestones, including a new daily record of at least 28 sticks delivered to the nest in November. The eagles’ previous single-day stick record was 25, according to the organization.
Other milestones include Shadow dropping off the first fluff in December, and the first mating a few weeks later.
“Pancaking” is a term Friends of Big Bear Valley uses to describe when the eagles lay flat in their nest bowl, before the eggs have arrived, for increasingly longer stretches of time.
The organization said Jackie had her longest “pancake session” of the season so far this week, laying in the nest for a little more than a half hour.
“That activity is a sign that we're getting closer to egg-laying,” Voisard said. “[Jackie’s] doing a few things, she's making the shape and she's testing it out.”
Jackie will likely also eat more fish from the nest so she has enough energy for the egg-laying process, Voisard said. Last January, the eagles brought two fish to the nest in the hours before the first egg was laid and three fish a day earlier, according to Friends of Big Bear Valley records.
When eggs are imminent, she said Jackie will “pancake” on the nest for long periods of time before rousing and puffing up her feathers. Then, Jackie typically makes a high-pitched, whistling tea kettle noise as she has contractions, according to the organization.
On Friday, Jackie made the tea kettle noise about three minutes before the first egg was laid, according to Friends of Big Bear Valley records.
“She looks almost royal, because all of her feathers are out and it's just — I cry,” Voisard said with a laugh. “It's usually pretty amazing.”
The eagles know best
While there are signs of new life coming to the nest, every season is different for Jackie and Shadow, and Friends of Big Bear Valley is encouraging people to be patient.
It was unseasonably warm in the area this past fall, and last season was the first time Jackie and Shadow successfully raised two chicks to fly away from the nest instead of just one. The organization has said both factors could delay this season’s egg-laying timeline.
“I'm sure [two] was a lot more work than with just one,” Sandy Steers, executive director of the organization, told LAist previously. “So I think that had something to do with them needing a longer break.”
Voisard said while we can’t predict what’s going to happen this year, fans don’t have to watch in fear or let human emotions get in the way of enjoying the eagle experience.
“We feel all of the feels with Jackie and Shadow … happiness, laughter, we get worried, we feel joy, we felt sorrow,” she said. “It's all OK, and Jackie and Shadow move forward, no matter what.”
Jackie and Shadow in Big Bear's famous bald eagle nest on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026.
