The Brief

Last month, the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board passed new rules saying that firework shows over major bodies of water – including streams, lakes and the ocean – have to meet certain standards under the Clean Water Act.

Fireworks can produce a good amount of trash once the casings explode and fall out of the sky. How much exactly is unclear, but the board will be monitoring that going forward.

“Basically what we want to do is eliminate the trash that goes into the waters,” said Norma Camacho, chair of the board.

Vendors are now required to obtain a permit from the water board and meet new restrictions meant to contain the trash.

Best management practices going forward will include the use of biodegradable fireworks, building a barrier to keep the stuff that falls out of the sky contained and making sure that all trash is cleaned up within 12 hours of the event.

A Fourth of July show in Redondo Beach was reportedly canceled because the vendor didn’t meet the new requirements. However, the fireworks display at the Port of Los Angeles is still scheduled.

Shohei Ohtani has become the first player to lead Major League Baseball jersey sales at the end of four straight seasons since the sport started tracking figures in 2010, among four players in the top 20 on the two-time World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge was second for the second straight season, MLB and the players’ association affiliate MLB Players, Inc. said Friday. Judge finished third in 2023 and ’24.

Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Chicago Cubs was third, up from 16th at the end of last season, and Atlanta’s Ronald Acuña Jr. was fourth, an increase from 11th last year.

San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr. was fifth, followed by the Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman, Philadelphia’s Bryce Harper, the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and the New York Mets’ Juan Soto.

Munetaka Murakami of the Chicago White Sox was 20th, and he joined with Ohtani and Yamamoto to become the first trio of Japanese players in the top 20.

Texas’ Corey Seager was 11th, followed by Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Boston’s Adley Rutschman, the Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber, Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes, Seattle’s Cal Raleigh, Cincinnati’s Elly De La Cruz, San Diego’s Jackson Merrill and Arizona’s Nolan Arenado.

MLB’s list tracked sales on Fanatics’ sites, including MLBShop.com, since opening day.

Millions of dollars from workers’ unions and special interest groups are flowing to the Orange County Board of Supervisors races this year.

The Board of Supervisors is O.C.’s powerful governing body, controlling a $10 billion budget for critical departments such as social services, public health and public works. The board also sets laws and oversees more than 16,000 county employees.

The five-member board is nonpartisan, but its members have drawn criticism and praise for their political party affiliations, especially during election season. This November, two seats are up for grabs, and county Republicans see the potential for seizing control of the board from its current three-member Democratic majority.

LAist looked at who is financing their campaigns and how much they're putting down. The latest deadline to submit campaign finance records was Thursday. Here’s what we know.

How much did each candidate raise? 

In District 4, which represents Brea, Buena Park, Fullerton, La Habra, Placentia and others, Connor Traut is running against Tim Shaw.

Shaw raised nearly $58,000 in the last year, according to recent filings. Traut raised over $200,000 — three times as much as his opponent.

For District 5, which represents Costa Mesa, Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, San Clemente and others, incumbent Supervisor Katrina Foley is facing Republican Assemblywoman Diane Dixon.

In the last year, Foley raised nearly $480,000, just short of Dixon’s $514,000 in contributions.

Who are the big spenders? 

Outside groups have spent more than $2 million on Board of Supervisors races. Some of the highest amounts came from workers’ unions and political donor groups during this campaign cycle.

The firefighters' union spent more than $575,000 on the board elections — about $380,000 in support of Traut and $195,000 in support of Foley. The union has endorsed both candidates, according to Traut and Foley’s websites.

The Orange County Employees Association, which represents more than 11,000 of the county’s rank-and-file employees, spent more than $330,000 in support of Foley and over $30,000 in opposition to Dixon. The union also spent nearly $76,000 in support of Traut.

The Lincoln Club of Orange County spent over $448,000 — about $333,000 in opposition of Foley and about $115,000 in support of her opponent, Dixon. The Lincoln Club is a major conservative donor group that has had deep influence in California politics for more than 60 years.

The Democratic Party of Orange County has spent about $135,000 in support of Traut and about $77,000 in support of Foley. Among the biggest donors to the local party are the Orange County Professional Firefighters Association at $160,000 and the Orange County Employees Association at $65,000.

What’s next? 

Ballots for the Nov. 3 General Election go out early next month. LAist has a full voter guide here.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday signed into law four bills aimed at curbing a startling rise in DUI fatalities in recent years, including measures that make it easier to charge repeat drunk drivers with a felony and, if they kill someone, with murder.

The legislation follows a CalMatters series that revealed the state was unable — or unwilling — to get dangerous drivers off the road before it was too late. Many kept driving recklessly even after killing someone, and some even killed again.

The bills were the last ones standing from an initial package of 17 aimed at addressing traffic deaths. Most failed in the face of fierce opposition from progressive groups that argued increasing enforcement and penalties will disproportionately harm low-income and historically marginalized residents, and are not the best way to address traffic safety.

While some of the bills that passed were pared back during the legislative process, the new laws still notably increase potential penalties for repeat DUI offenders in a state that’s historically had some of the weakest DUI laws in the country.

“The fact that four bills got through to the finish line leaves me very hopeful that California is ready for change and sees the need to make the state safer,” said Jennifer Levi, whose 18-year-old son Braun was killed in May 2025 by a suspected drunk driver with a prior DUI arrest. “I have mixed emotions. My victory is the result of losing a child and I’d do anything in the world to have my son back alive with our family. But I cannot let this happen to other people.”

Levi became a fierce road safety advocate after her son’s death, working with Mothers Against Drunk Driving and pushing state leaders to act. She partnered with state Sen. Bob Archuleta, a Democrat from Norwalk on a bill to significantly increase criminal penalties for repeat drunk drivers. Archuleta’s own granddaughter was killed by a drunk driver. Levi said Newsom and his wife came to her home recently to mark the signing of the bill.

A photo, showing the smiling first couple along with Archuleta and Levi in her dining room, was included with the bill signing announcement.

The resulting law will make it easier to charge drunk drivers with murder if they have a prior DUI arrest – which had been difficult if the previous DUI charge had been pled down to a lesser crime. The law will also increase the criminal penalties for drivers who kill someone in a hit and run if they had a prior DUI at the time of the fatal crash.

“Having lost my granddaughter to a repeat drunk driver, this is personal. No family should have to endure what mine has, or what has happened to the Levi family,” said Archuleta, according to the statement announcing the bill signing. “Thank you to Governor Newsom for taking bold action to support families that have been devastated by drunk drivers. These are preventable tragedies. Nothing will ever bring my Samantha back or bring Braun back to the Levi family, but in signing SB 907 California is finally stepping up for victims.”

Other bills the governor signed included one from Assemblymember Nick Schultz, a Democrat from Burbank. That new law will allow prosecutors to charge a third DUI within 10 years as a felony. Previously, it wasn’t until a fourth DUI that law enforcement could seek the stiffer charges.

Newsom also signed into law two bills from Assemblymember Tom Lackey, a Republican from Palmdale who spent years working as a California Highway Patrol officer before joining the Legislature. One increases the points that most drivers convicted of killing someone while driving drunk get on their license from two to three. The bill initially would have increased the points for all vehicular manslaughter convictions and not just those involving intoxication, but it was watered down during the session. Lackey’s other successful bill requires the DMV to revoke a driver’s license for six years if they drive drunk and hurt someone after having four prior DUIs.

While the bills do increase penalties for drunk driving, several road safety measures failed this session as the state grapples with a more than 50% increase in alcohol-related roadway deaths over the past decade. One measure that notably failed would have required first-time DUI offenders to install in-car breathalyzers. Most states have such a requirement, but California only mandates the devices for repeat offenders.

In a signing statement accompanying one of the bills, Newsom referenced his office’s work on that failed bill saying that “the Legislature should return to that broader effort next year” and work on “comprehensive, long-term framework for DUI sanctions” that are clear and consistent.

Jennifer Levi says she’ll continue pushing the Legislature to act.

“I’m ready to keep fighting, there’s more work to be done,” she said.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.