Julia Barajas
is following the impact of President Trump's immigration policies on Southern California communities.
Published October 11, 2023 4:34 PM
Photographs taken by AQMD Inspector Dillon Harris during multiple inspections of Baker's rendering facility in Vernon in 2022. Baker later filed an emergency motion asking a Los Angeles Superior Court judge to restrain the AQMD from publishing the inspector's photos and to take them down from AQMD hearing board videos on YouTube. The judge denied it in October 2022.
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Dillon Harris
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Screen shots from YouTube video of Sept. 27, 2022 AQMD Commission meeting
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Topline:
Baker Commodities, Inc. — the company that was the focus of an LAist investigation into hazardous odors last week — is asking a Los Angeles Superior Court judge to seal 80 photos that show inside its Vernon facility, along with court documents that describe the images and how they were obtained.
What’s at stake: Baker argues the images reveal trade secrets. If Baker’s motion is granted Friday at a scheduled hearing, the photos and documents would only be available to the judge and attorneys. Not the public.
About the images: Last year an AQMD hearing judge said of Baker’s argument: “It's mind-boggling to sit here and see anyone try to defend this position when we're all looking at these pictures with our eyes.”
Keep reading... for more about this latest move and for our full series.
Baker Commodities, Inc. — the company that was the focus of an LAist investigation into hazardous odors last week — is asking a Los Angeles Superior Court judge to seal 80 photos that show inside its Vernon facility, along with court documents that describe the images and how they were obtained.
The backstory
The South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) shut down the rendering company, which recycles expired meat and animal carcasses, in September 2022, citing multiple violations of a rule that’s meant to keep odors from seeping into neighboring communities.
Soon after, Baker filed a lawsuit against the agency and its hearing board, calling for $200 million in damages and for the shutdown order to be tossed out. Baker has since been allowed to partially reopen in a limited capacity doing trap grease and wastewater treatment. The case is still pending.
If Baker’s motion is granted Friday at a scheduled hearing, the photos and documents would only be available to the judge and attorneys … not the public.
Baker’s attorneys also say in the motion that if the court grants their request, they will ask to have the images “redacted or removed” from videos that are publicly available on AQMD’s YouTube channel.
LAist published photos shown in some of those videos last week, which also appear in a gallery at the top of this story.
About this new motion
Baker Commodities, Inc. in Vernon.
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Samanta Helou Hernandez
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LAist
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The new motion comes after Baker’s failed attempt to keep photos from public view that were taken by an AQMD inspector who visited the facilities throughout 2022. Last October, the company’s lawyers filed an emergency motion to “immediately remove all photos that relate in any way to Baker's proprietary processes from the internet.”
Then and now, Baker’s attorneys argue that the photos contain “highly proprietary, competitively sensitive trade secret information that, if publicized, would impair Baker’s ability to effectively compete.” They also maintain that the inspector took the photos without permission.
Baker’s lead attorney and a spokesperson for the company did not respond to a request for comment. AQMD told LAist it cannot comment on pending litigation.
Many of the images in the videos are difficult to look at — the graphic photos showed a waste bin overflowing with hooves, as well animal bones scattered across the floor. Here’s how a former AQMD hearing board member described them at a recorded hearing from last September.
“Every picture virtually that we see is of equipment that is absolutely filthy,” said Dr. Allan Bernstein.
Baker lawyers at that hearing made the argument that the photos included trade secrets and that they hadn’t broken the odor mitigation rule. Bernstein responded: “It's mind-boggling to sit here and see anyone try to defend this position when we're all looking at these pictures with our eyes.”
More about those photos
In court documents, AQMD’s attorneys say their inspector Dillon Harris was granted permission to take photos from a handful of people at the Vernon facility, including two managers. Harris also testified that he was accompanied by Baker staff during his inspections, but “nobody from Baker informed him that the photographs constituted trade secrets or needed to be kept confidential.”
As part of the motion, Baker’s attorneys aim to seal the documents that describe these details.
David Pettit, senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said restricting access to the photos could “make it harder for the public to understand the basis or the validity” of AQMD’s decision to shut down the rendering company.
Pettit said it’s not unusual for a court to seal documents where trade secrets are involved. During the past year of litigation over Baker’s shutdown, attorneys for AQMD have argued trade secrets weren’t violated because the company “made no attempt to designate the photographs as trade secret until the hearing," among other reasons.
David Loy, legal director of the California First Amendment Coalition, agreed that there can be exceptional trade secret claims. But he said that they should not be “abused to deprive the public of information that it would otherwise be entitled to.”
“The public has a right to monitor and oversee and verify. And it can't do that without access to the evidence,” he said.
How To Report Odors
Have you noticed bad smells in your neighborhood?
If you live within the South Coast Air Quality District’s boundaries (they cover most of L.A. County — you can look up details here), here’s where to file an odor report:
Gab Chabrán
covers what's happening in food and culture for LAist.
Published September 17, 2026 4:18 PM
The Darkroom burger, dry-aged beef, and swimming in a light au poivre bath.
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Courtesy Darkroom
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Topline:
Chef-owner Zach Scherer's Darkroom sits in an unmarked business park on the Costa Mesa/Santa Ana border — a deliberate choice that's turned the restaurant into a word-of-mouth destination rather than a drive-by discovery.
Tell me more: The menu changes constantly, tracking real-time seasonal shifts — this visit caught the tail end of summer's Jimmy Nardello peppers giving way to fall's first honeynut squash. Scherer runs the kitchen with longtime partner Drew Adams, and the two also operate Chrysalis, a tasting-menu concept sharing the same space some nights.
Why is it important? Most diners expect flashy fine dining to come with flashy real estate. Scherer, aiming to make Orange County "nationally competitive" with cities like San Francisco and Chicago, is proving serious technique doesn't need a serious address — or a serious attitude.
Step into the darkness: Scherer's next concept, Three Eyed Tiger, is currently in development nearby.
Just off the 405 freeway at the border of Costa Mesa and Santa Ana, a block down from IKEA and a couple of business parks over, you'll find Darkroom.
It's the kind of address where you'd expect to find a dentist's office or a logistics company — instead, it's home to some of the most inventive food in Orange County, and arguably beyond, anchored by a formidable wine program featuring small producers.
The location is a deliberate choice by Zach Scherer, Darkroom’s chef-owner, that has turned the restaurant into a growing word-of-mouth destination. For Scherer, hiding in plain sight was never a compromise. It was the plan.
Inside Darkroom
The interior of the restaurant is a completely different story. Its decor matches that of an angsty teenager who shops at Hot Topic, with an affinity for industrial and goth music, and a bit of new wave mixed in.
Darkroom's interior leans into its irreverent, gallery-meets-Hot Topic aesthetic.
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Courtesy Darkroom
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Your eyes might take a minute to adjust to the low light before a friendly server wearing a tattered band T-shirt greets you and escorts you to your table.
Scherer wears his nonconformist attitude with pride — and intention. "If you're a little too serious, Orange County won't love it," he said, and it shows: the room is built to feel like the opposite of a hushed tasting menu.
Chef Zach Scherer (right) and Drew Adams work the pass together — the same partnership they describe as "like a band."
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Courtesy DARKROOM
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Scherer runs the kitchen with longtime partner Drew Adams — a lifelong Orange County resident — who also oversees the pastry program. The two think of Darkroom's identity "like a band," Scherer said: a shared core sound, no matter who's guesting on a given dish. (Their tasting-menu concept, Chrysalis, runs out of the same kitchen some nights — a five-course tasting menu happening in parallel.)
The menu
Start off with the Scotch olives, fried Castelvetrano olives with anchovy and lamb merguez, served over spiced sumac yogurt. Meanwhile, a couple of slices of their zucchini bread with koji butter, topped with silky jamón serrano, provide some comforting bites.
Grilled and marinated Jimmy Nardello peppers — a short-season ingredient the kitchen deliberately doesn't overwork.
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Courtesy Darkroom
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From there, seasonal produce takes center stage, with grilled, marinated Jimmy Nardello peppers served with fennel-pollen labneh and sprinkled with walnut dukkah, hitting equal notes of sweet, spicy, nutty, and fresh. Followed by honeynut squash from Weiser Farms — poached in a light broth known as nage, made with bits of country ham and horseradish, topped with rainbow chard, a dish that reads Southern-meets-European.
The Darkroom burger, cut in two — only 10 are made a night.
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Courtesy Darkroom
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Cap things off with The Darkroom burger, cut in half, made with dry-aged beef, molten Comté cheese, and gooey caramelized onions, served between soft, glossy brioche-style buns, swimming in a light au poivre bath. It's a dish that, like the others, exhibits strong technique but still wears its fun on its sleeve — all the makings of a truly memorable meal.
The philosophy
Scherer's goal is to make the Orange County food scene nationally competitive with San Francisco, New York, and Chicago — and the seasonal fluency on display that night, from summer's last Jimmy Nardellos to fall's first honeynut squash, is the technical proof behind that claim.
The fried Scotch olives — Castelvetranos stuffed with anchovy and lamb merguez, set over sumac yogurt.
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Wales Communications
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Courtesy Darkroom
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The menu's dynamic approach — its ability to oscillate between cuisines — reflects that same nonconformist identity, reinforcing the idea that the food doesn't take itself too seriously, just like the space around it.
Scherer's ambitions don't stop at Darkroom's walls; he's also developing Three Eyed Tiger, a cocktail-forward concept nearby.
"The food we're making now is the food that I'm the most proud of, because it really shows our identity," said Scherer.
Driver who rammed into bus was under the influence
Destiny Torres
covers all things SoCal, from breaking news to local government.
Published September 17, 2026 3:46 PM
Police and LA Metro investigate the scene of a crash between an SUV and an LA Metro Bus that left two people dead on Tuesday in Chatsworth.
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Ronaldo Bolanos
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Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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Topline:
The driver connected to the tragic bus crash in Chatsworth on Tuesday night is facing two second-degree murder charges, as well as charges for driving under the influence and reckless driving. Bailee Lynn Rios is expected to be arraigned Friday, according to L.A. District Attorney Nathan Hochman.
What possible punishment is she facing? Hochman announced Thursday that his office was seeking the maximum sentence of life in prison for the 36-year-old driver.
What else is there? Drugs were found in her system at the time of the crash, Hochman said. His office did not share what kind of drugs.
Adding to the tragedy, an NBC4 helicopter covering the incident also crashed nearby, killing pilot George Marciniw and reporter Eliana Moreno, as well as a pedestrian, Edy Gutierrez Mejia.
Rios, who is in custody, could not be immediately reached for comment.
Background: Rios sped through a red light and plowed her SUV into a Metro bus, killing two passengers, Daniel Castillo and Gage Weida. Five other passengers were injured, according to prosecutors.
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Exterior of Chino Valley Unified School District building
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Chino Valley Unified
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Facebook
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Topline:
A San Bernardino County Superior Court judge on Tuesday rejected Chino Valley Unified School District’s request to dissolve an injunction blocking its policy requiring employees to notify parents when students identify as transgender or use different names or pronouns at school.
More details: Judge Michael Sachs upheld his 2024 injunction blocking Chino Valley Unified from enforcing a policy the school board adopted in 2023. The policy required district employees to notify parents within three days if their student asked to go by a name or pronoun different from official school records or join a sex-segregated program, such as athletics, that did not correspond to those records.
Why now: The school district had asked Sachs to overturn a permanent injunction after the U.S. Supreme Court issued an emergency docket ruling in a separate case, Mirabelli v. Bonta. The district argued that the ruling affirmed parents’ constitutional right to be informed about information critical to their children’s health and well-being.
A San Bernardino County Superior Court judge on Tuesday rejected Chino Valley Unified School District’s request to dissolve an injunction blocking its policy requiring employees to notify parents when students identify as transgender or use different names or pronouns at school.
Judge Michael Sachs upheld his 2024 injunction blocking Chino Valley Unified from enforcing a policy the school board adopted in 2023. The policy required district employees to notify parents within three days if their student asked to go by a name or pronoun different from official school records or join a sex-segregated program, such as athletics, that did not correspond to those records.
The school district had asked Sachs to overturn a permanent injunction after the U.S. Supreme Court issued an emergency docket ruling in a separate case, Mirabelli v. Bonta. The district argued that the ruling affirmed parents’ constitutional right to be informed about information critical to their children’s health and well-being.
Sachs rejected the request, saying his injunction does not conflict with the Supreme Court’s ruling. During Tuesday’s hearing, he distinguished between the two cases, saying the school policy at issue in the Mirabelli case required school employees to withhold information from parents when asked.
“The school’s policy essentially mandated that staff lie to the parent about their child, and the court did not accept that,” Sachs said of Mirabelli v. Bonta.
The Chino case involves a different question: whether school employees can be required to disclose a child’s gender identity to their parents.
“There is no mandatory duty for the school district to voluntarily release information about the student,” Sachs said in court.
Chino Valley Unified was disappointed by the ruling, said Emily Rae, the district’s attorney and president of the California Justice Center, a conservative legal nonprofit focused on protecting individual liberty.
“The main problem is that it puts the burden on parents to know whether they’re having a secret kept from them,” Rae said.
Rae said Sachs’ ruling misinterpreted the Mirabelli opinion, which she said made clear that schools should not withhold information from parents. She said it was too soon to say whether the district would appeal the ruling or make changes to any of its policies.
Sonja Shaw, president of the Chino Valley Unified school board and a candidate for state superintendent of public instruction, also criticized the ruling. In an interview with EdSource, she called the proceedings a “kangaroo court” that has caused “so much confusion.”
Shaw said she planned to ask the superintendent whether the district could ask all parents to check a box: “Do you want secrets to be held from you?”
“They shouldn’t have to do that,” she said. “At the end of the day, it’s insane we have to go through all these hoops to uphold a parent’s right to know.”
Christine Parker, senior staff attorney with the ACLU Foundation of Southern California, said the ruling was consistent with the Supreme Court’s order in Mirabelli v. Bonta and other applicable law.
“The court got it right: Blanket policies like Chino Valley USD’s, in which school employees must — in all circumstances — disclose a student’s gender identity to their parents, remain unlawful in California,” Parker said in a statement to EdSource.
Another pending case referenced in Tuesday’s proceedings was the City of Huntington Beach v. Newsom, which hinged on a dispute over AB 1955, known as the SAFETY Act. The law, signed by Newsom in 2024, bars school districts from requiring staff to disclose a student’s sexual orientation or gender identity to parents. It went into effect before the injunction in the Chino Valley Unified case.
In the wake of the Mirabelli v. Bonta case, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a preliminary injunction for parents in the City of Huntington Beach v. Newsom who sued to block enforcement of the SAFETY Act.
We don't want to scare you, but the Big One is coming. We don't know when, but we know it'll be at least 44 times stronger than Northridge and 11 times stronger than the Ridgecrest quakes in 2019. To help you get prepared, we've compiled a handy reading list:
