The Brief

It’s well before the lunch hour when a worker lugs a large plastic storage bin out of the kitchen at the Bluewater Grill in Newport Beach and into the back of Kaysha Kenney’s minivan.

The bin is full of discarded oyster shells from the previous night’s dinner service, plus some lemons and half-eaten bread. Kenney wants the shells, but the extra food bits are OK, she said, “because they sit out in a field and they have little animals that will come and kind of pick off the food scraps.”

This pickup is the first phase of a project led by Kenney’s group Orange County Coastkeeper. The goal is to use oyster shells from local restaurants to restore the once-abundant oyster beds along the coast and buffer the shoreline from erosion and rising seas.

Though the shells Kenney collects are non-native oysters, Coastkeeper’s project is focused on restoring Olympia oysters — the only native species along the West Coast. The species has been decimated by coastal development and overharvesting, starting in the Gold Rush days when they fed tens of thousands of hungry fortune-seekers.

In early fall, Orange County Coastkeeper collected dozens of oyster shell strings hanging off docks in Huntington Harbour. This year, they recruited more than 700 baby oysters or "spat" that will be transplanted to coastal restoration projects.

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Courtesy Coastkeeper

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Stop 2: San Joaquin Marsh

With the blue Coastkeeper minivan full of stinky shells, Kenney heads inland to a hot, sunny patch of land next to the San Joaquin Marsh in Irvine. Here, she weighs each restaurant’s contribution, and spreads the shells out to cure in the sun to rid them of pathogens — and any leftover horseradish and tabasco sauce.

California regulations require the shells to cure for at least six months before they can be put back into the water. These particular shells are destined for the Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge. Coastkeeper is working with California State University, Fullerton, and the U.S. Navy to build what’s called a living shoreline to help protect Navy buildings in the refuge that are threatened by erosion.

 ”A living shoreline is where we take an eroding shoreline and we effectively replant it with living plants and animals that can stabilize that shoreline,” explained Danielle Zacherl, a biology professor at Cal State Fullerton who’s leading the project.

And using discarded shells helps reduce restaurant waste.

“Think about this natural product that's getting sent to landfills that really could be doing so much more good,” Zacherl said.

Kenney spreads out the morning's collection from restaurants onto a patch of land near the San Joaquin Marsh in Irvine. The shells will cure in the sun for at least six months to rid them of pathogens.

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Jill Replogle

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LAist

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Living shorelines are becoming popular across the country. They’re seen as more cost-efficient and ecologically friendly compared to what’s known as hard armoring, like seawalls and riprap. Zacherl and Coastkeeper have teamed up on several living shoreline projects along the Southern California coast, including in Newport Bay and Long Beach’s Alamitos Bay.

Oyster beds anchor the shoreline, keeping it from washing away, Zacherl explained.

“They also encourage sedimentation by generating eddies. The shells popping up into the water column slow the water velocity and allow sediment to filter down,” she said. “That's really important for coastal habitats right now, especially in the face of climate change.”

Oysters also filter the water, removing excess nutrients that cause harmful algal blooms. In fact, a single adult oyster can filter up to 50 gallons a day. They also improve water quality for eelgrass — which sequesters carbon, provides habitat for ocean critters and also helps prevent erosion.

The living shoreline planned for the Seal Beach refuge will be made up of a combination of oyster beds, eelgrass and another coastal plant, cordgrass. But first, Zacherl needs live oysters.

That’s where folks like Craig Schauppner come in.

Craig Schauppner

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Jill Replogle

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LAist

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Stop 3: Huntington Harbour

Schauppner is one of close to 90 residents in Huntington Harbour, at the northwestern end of Huntington Beach, who has become a kind of oyster nanny. Last spring, Coastkeeper gave him and the other volunteers strings of discarded and cured oyster shells to hang off their docks.

Oyster larvae floating through the water settle on those shells and start to secrete their own shell. Combined with other oysters, they effectively glue themselves together to form oyster beds.

During a visit last month, Schauppner pulled up a wire strung with more than a dozen oyster shells and pointed out a small dark circle on the inside of one of them.

“ So you could see, like right there, there's a spot. There might've been an oyster there at one time, but maybe a predator came and ate it or something like that,” he said.

His shell strings weren’t particularly attractive to baby oysters this year. But that’s OK, he said.

An oyster bed restoration project in Jack Dunster Marine Biological Reserve in Long Beach.

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Courtesy of Danielle Zacherl

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“Part of the project is to figure out where we can harvest oysters, where they can grow and, you know, where to avoid,” he said. “So I’m contributing to the data, right?”

At the end of September, Coastkeeper retrieved the shell strings from Schauppner and other volunteers in Huntington Harbour. They harvested more than 700 baby oysters, called “spat,” which were then transplanted to Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge for the living shoreline project.

Kenney from Coastkeeper said it’s sometimes hard for the oyster nannies to let go but hopefully a little easier knowing their slimy charges will be helping clean the water and reestablish a resilient California coast.

After opening a modern Korean pub called Yi Cha in 2025, chef Debbie Lee decided to pay homage to her heritage with Mokja, this time serving Korean goods and convenience.

Lee sat down with AirTalk Friday host Austin Cross to talk about her vision for gourmet Korean style snacks in L.A.

Grab-and-go convenience with a twist

Lee says the idea behind Mokja was to take the model of American convenience stores and blend it with Korean flavors.

It’s a place for people who want to grab something for the road, stop by for a quick snack or even meal prep for the week. The store also partnered with Frank and Michele La, creators of Be Bright Coffee, to offer Korean-style coffee drinks to pair with the snacks.

Daru Yu, Frank La, Debbie Lee and Michelle La

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Stan Lee

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Courtesy Mokja

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The Korean word Mokja translates to "let's eat."

“If your mom or your grandma was calling you over the table, they'd say, ‘Bali Mokja,’ which means, ‘Hurry, let's eat’”

What you’ll find at Mokja

One of the quick, to-go items you’ll find is Lee’s northern style mandu dumplings, stuffed with fatty pork and shrimp and inspired by her grandmother’s recipe.

Build your own ramen tray

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Stan Lee

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Courtesy Mokja

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Build your own Ramen station

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Stan Lee

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Courtesy Mokja

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Grab n' Go Banchan

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Stan Lee

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Courtesy Mokja

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For optimal convenience, the king-sized dumplings are offered in the grab-and-go fridge. Lee recommends popping them in the microwave at the store and enjoying them with a coffee.

Mokja also features a make-your-own ramen station, which Lee says has become incredibly popular for families with kids.

Korean hand pies with southern flair

One of the highlights on the menu is the oxtail hand pie, which features a braised Korean-style oxtail known as kkori-jjim. It’s inspired by southern soul food influences her parents picked up on.

Braised Oxtail aka “Gori Jjim” Hand Pie

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Stan Lee

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Courtesy Mokja

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“My mom learned how to cook from the Black cooks in Jackson, Mississippi, and she learned good old soul Southern food.”

Kimchee Cheese Biscuits

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Stan Lee

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Courtesy Mokja

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Yuja Cha Ice Box Pie

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Stan Lee

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Courtesy Mokja

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Lee said Mokja is all about telling the story through food.

The restaurant also features other Korean/Southern fusion, including a Yuju cha ice box pie and Kimchi cheese biscuits.

State lawmakers have reached a deal that would provide school districts some relief from the costs of childhood sexual abuse lawsuits filed after a 2020 law allowed victims to sue for abuse by public employees going back decades, EdSource has learned.

It was not immediately clear Thursday afternoon whether the last-minute deal, brokered days before the legislative session is set to end on Aug. 31, has enough support to reach Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.

At issue is Assembly Bill 218, a law that lifted the statute of limitations to sue for childhood sexual abuse and enabled a blitz of costly litigation against schools and public agencies. In some cases, victims have received tens of millions of dollars for sexual assaults and abuses they say took place decades ago at the hands of teachers and other public employees.

Details of the deal are included in amendments made to Senate Bill 577 co-authored by Sen. John Laird, D-Santa Cruz. According to the amended bill text, the deal would raise the legal standard required for people who are 40 years or older to sue for sexual assaults that occurred before Jan. 1, 2024. It also calls for schools and other agencies to have sexual assault prevention plans and codes of conduct.

“California stands with survivors, whose voices have shaped this process every step of the way, and the Legislature is taking action to defend and preserve survivors’ path to justice — that is not negotiable,” Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, D-Hollister, said in a statement. “With this solution, the state is safeguarding schools and public services, while investing in prevention and protecting against future abuse. California is committed to the safety of every child.”

The amendments do not appear to address a limit or cap on jury awards or settlement amounts for childhood sexual abuse cases in the state. Caps were a major demand from public agencies, including schools, counties and obscure agencies called joint powers authorities that serve as insurance pools for school districts.

Laird, who had attempted to pass an AB 218 reform bill last year, said in a phone interview Thursday evening that the negotiations that led to the compromise were difficult. Putting a complete cap on settlement amounts “was a bridge too far” for many lawmakers, Laird said.

Troy Flint, spokesperson for the California School Boards Association, said the group was grateful for lawmakers’ efforts, but added that it’s “highly questionable” whether the deal would do enough to prevent school districts from getting slammed with seven-figure settlements.

“We’re grateful to Speaker Rivas and Pro Tem (Monique) Limón for their efforts to address this issue,” Ben Adler, director of public affairs for the California State Association of Counties, said in a statement. “It’s clear the status quo is broken, and the unintended consequences have grown out of control.”

Democratic California lawmakers are pushing a last-minute bill to ban federal agents from using electric shock gloves, becoming one of the first states in the nation to respond to reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to purchase thousands of gloves next year as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown.

Democrats this week advanced Assembly Bill 2760, which would prohibit ICE agents and state and local officers from wearing any device that can deliver electric shocks. It would also block California police departments from purchasing the devices with state money.

San Diego Assemblymember LaShae Sharp-Collins, a Democrat, introduced the bill only last week, with days remaining in the legislative session, in a process known as a “gut and amend,” in which an unrelated bill is rewritten and fast–tracked.

The eleventh-hour move follows a notice published earlier this month by the Department of Homeland Security that said ICE is seeking to spend up to $20 million to buy thousands of taser-like gloves from Compliant Technologies, a Kentucky-based company. The product, called G.L.O.V.E. for Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter, is marketed as a non-lethal, de-escalation device on the company’s website. The Associated Press first reported about the notice.

ICE announced on Thursday it was awarding the Kentucky company a $16.7 million contract for 6,000 pairs of gloves.

“While the gloves are not currently being used in California, waiting for a tragedy to act, in my personal opinion, and so many others, would be something that California could not handle,” Sharp-Collins said at a hearing on Wednesday.

She said the gloves pose a public safety risk and cited the case of a Kentucky man who died after allegedly being shocked 27 times with the gloves and 13 times with a Taser while in jail last year.

On Thursday, U.S. Sen Alex Padilla and other congressional Democrats wrote a letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin urging the department to cancel its contract with the company providing the gloves, calling them “hand-worn tasers disguised as restraint equipment.”

Civil rights groups strongly support the bill and argue that electric shock gloves are inhumane and an excessive use of force.

“Electroshock gloves by any law enforcement agency makes Californians less safe,” Anallely Martin, of the California Immigrant Policy Center, said at the hearing.

The California State Sheriffs’ Association and numerous other law enforcement groups oppose the bill, arguing it would unnecessarily limit officers’ ability to de-escalate a situation.

“This is a bad policy from a California law enforcement perspective, and it’s really only gonna be a message to the feds that’s going to fail to land,” California State Sheriffs’ Association lobbyist Cory Salzillo said at the hearing.

It’s the latest move by California lawmakers to clamp down on ICE agents in response to President Donald Trump’s sweeping immigration raids. Just this week, Democrats passed a bill that would ban federal agents from working for state or local police agencies and another to make it easier for people to sue agents for civil rights violations.

In April, a federal court struck down a 2025 law forcing masked immigration agents to identify themselves. Judges ruled the state had stepped out of bounds when it tried to enforce rules against federal officers.

Similar to that law, if Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signs the new bills, they’re expected to face nearly identical legal challenges.

“States simply can’t regulate how federal officers do their jobs, even if we don’t like how they do their jobs. That’s up to the federal government,” UC Davis law professor Vikram Amar said.

Without a clear argument on how the gloves violate people’s constitutional rights, the legislation would likely hold little weight in court, Amar said.

“It makes a lot of bills like this kind of more performative than real,” Amar said.

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

Have you ever had trouble getting or updating a government ID … like a driver's license or state ID card? Or was it super simple? LAist wants to hear from you.

Proposition 39 is on the ballot this fall, which would require voters to show a government-issued ID when casting a ballot. For mail-in ballots, voters would have to include the last four digits of that ID on the envelope. 

This would be a big change from how voting currently works in California. So we want to know: What will that mean for eligible voters? Tell us, and your answers could help shape our coverage.

Wait, voters don't currently have to show ID?

Currently, California law asks voters to prove their identity when they register to vote, but not when they actually cast a ballot. And the state accepts a wide variety of documents as proof of voter eligibility, including a student ID or bank statement. That would also change under Prop. 39.

What we want to know

How easy, or hard, is it to get a government-issued ID? Have you faced barriers to getting an official ID? What were they?

Go deeper

• A voter ID measure will be on California's November ballot: Here's what you need to know
• A guide to Proposition 39: Take our quiz to weigh the pros and cons
• Voter ID: Initiative gathers enough signatures for the ballot