The Brief

As of Monday afternoon, around 6,700 Los Angeles Department of Water and Power customers were without power as the utility worked to restore service disrupted by a week long heatwave. The communities with the most number of impacted customers are Lincoln Heights, Arlington Heights, and Pacoima.

LADWP reported that the number of customers without power in any given neighborhood is "relatively low." However, the hottest neighborhoods, including areas with fewer trees and green space that help cool concrete, have been hit with the most outages.

Meanwhile, about 2,047 SoCalEdison customers are without power across the system due to 55outages as of Monday morning.

SCE serves about 15 million people, while LADWP has roughly 1.5 million customers.

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• LADWP outage map
• SCE outage map
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It's a matter of heat

On Friday, LADWP's power load was 6,300 megawatts, which almost hit an all-time record. People blasting their air conditioners isn't the only thing stressing the power grid. LADWP CEO and chief engineer Janisse Quiñones told LAist that sustained high temperatures over multiple days.

"The easiest way to explain this is, when you have your iPhone and it gets super hot, and then it sends you a message like, 'I'm overheating, I'm shutting down to cool down' — that's exactly the same thing that's happening to our equipment," Quiñones said. "It gets to a level of temperature that it's dangerous for it."

The concentration of outages in the San Fernando Valley is not a coincidence — temperatures there have been in the 100s and even 110s for much of this week, with nighttime lows in the high 80s or 90s.

"Our transformers have been loaded with high temperatures, and they have not been able to restore or rest at night," Quiñones said. "We need our equipment to cool down at night, and the temperatures have been sustained through the night."

Quiñones said the outages aren't related to a power generation problem — Quiñones said the utility has enough solar, wind and gas-fired electricity to meet demand — but rather the main issue is that many aspects of the electricity distribution system need upgrading.

The high temperatures led to failures in distribution components of the power grid like transformers, circuit breakers and cables. Even though LADWP officials say they had been working to update equipment since last year — and the upgraded equipment has held up — the severity of the current heat wave caught them off guard.

"We saw where our areas of interest were based on last year's performance, and we started replacing transformers," Quiñones said. "But this temperature has been unprecedented in the Valley."

"We're starting to see a trend of hotter summers and heat waves," Quiñones added. "I think that this heat wave has been longer sustained. I'm telling my team we gotta get ready for the new normal. These temperatures are gonna be here every summer."

What to do if you're without power

To report an outage, Quiñones requested that you call LADWP at 1-800-DIAL-DWP (that's 1-800-342-5397) or submit a report on their website, especially if you've been without power for longer than 24 hours. (SCE customers can report here.)

"I think the biggest challenge is just the sheer amount of outages. We have more outages than we have crews," Quiñones said. "The equipment is constantly failing, so we're chasing failures."

Reporting outages that last longer than 24 hours will help LADWP officials prioritize longer power shutoffs, since the estimated response time to arrive on site is between 12 and 24 hours.

"It's challenging in L.A. because a lot of our infrastructure, especially downtown L.A., it's underground and the conduits where the cables are were designed 100 years ago and they're small," Quiñones said. "So expanding the system will require huge investment in the underground infrastructure to upgrade that system."

Quiñones said now that LADWP is aware of more areas that are prone to outages, they will work on identifying more equipment that needs to be replaced for future heat waves.

If you have power, conserve it

While we can't do anything about today's extreme weather, customers who still have power can help do their part to reduce overall power usage. Unfortunately, that does mean you should only run your air conditioner when you have to.

"It helps everybody. It definitely helps us," Quiñones said "It helps the customers that are experiencing outages. It helps California, right? Like, the heat wave is not just L.A."

Relief in sight

Even with LADWP crews working around the clock to restore power, they may not go away entirely until the underlying problem (i.e. the heat wave) is gone.

Luckily, the National Weather Service predicts that Monday will be the last day of excessive heat in most areas of Southern California. Temperatures are expected to drop 10 degrees on Tuesday and even further on Wednesday and into the rest of the week.

Read more about the forecast here.

A federal court struck down the Trump administration's latest attempt to shift federal homelessness funding away from permanent housing. The decision could change the pace of a separate legal battle between the L.A. region's lead homelessness agency and the federal government.

U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy in Rhode Island found Friday that the Department of Housing and Urban Development violated federal law by issuing new requirements for federal homelessness grants without first seeking public comment.

As a result, the judge threw out the department’s 2026 funding notice for its main federal grant application as a result. That notice officially set the terms and conditions for how communities like L.A. can apply for federal grants.

It's the second time McElroy has struck down HUD's grant regulations on the same grounds. Friday's decision means HUD will have to issue new guidelines for its annual homelessness grant funding competition.

"The court ruled that HUD violated the law when it attempted to shift Congress's priorities away from housing first and towards its own priorities of interim shelter and services," said Shayla Myers, an attorney with the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles.

The L.A. region was already in the process of preparing its application for federal grants based on regulations that were thrown out Friday. The deadline to submit was just weeks away.

The regulations would have directed a significant portion of funding away from permanent housing and toward transitional housing and treatment programs, prompting California and nearly two dozen other states to sue.

The Rhode Island decision could also change the pace of a separate legal battle between LAHSA and the federal government. The federal government suspended LAHSA from federal grant activity in June, putting $240 million in funding for the region in limbo.

Judge David O. Carter presided over a federal hearing this week, where LAHSA is looking to overturn the suspension. Carter is expected to decide early next week whether to temporarily block the suspension while the case proceeds to trial next year.

Chef Johnny Lee stepped away from the food business for a short time after feeling burned out. With additional support from Last World Hospitality, Lee regained the energy to help build Rasarumah, a fusion restaurant influenced by Malaysian cuisine.

About the chef

Lee grew up watching Japan's version of Iron Chef, but didn't see it as an option.

That changed after he graduated from college during the 2008 as he found work at restaurants, falling in love with the fast pace and hands-on work.

He sat down with Austin Cross, who hosts AirTalk every Friday, to explain what makes his Southeast Asian fusion cuisine stand out.

What inspired his menu?

Lee grew up in a Cantonese-Chinese family, having grown his knowledge of Southeast Asian cuisine through his work at Pearl River Deli, his Cantonese restaurant that's now closed.

One of the reasons he was interested in veering into Malaysian food?

"It's an extremely diverse group," Lee said.

The ideal Rasarumah experience

Lee recommends starting with a tiki drink and their pu pu platter, which gives you a little bit of everything.

Next, try one of their cold salads to lighten things up. And for the finale, the Rendang.

Restaurant details

• Chef-owner Johnny Lee was born in China, but grew up in Lincoln Heights.
• His collaborators at Last World Hospitality have helped build other L.A. restaurants like Queen’s Raw Bar & Grill and Hermon’s.
• Rasarumah recently introduced a whole menu of tiki drinks.
  

Menu items we tried

• Beef rendang (slow-braised wagyu, pickles, raita, lime and roti)
• Rojak (salad with pineapple, cucumber, green apple, watermelon radish, herbs, tamarind and crispy shallots)
• Pork Skewers (char siu pork jowl, sesame, chive and hot mustard)
  

What should we try next?

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Sara Mijares moved to Los Angeles from Yucatan, Mexico when she was 15 years old. She had left her home behind but not her culture.

Thousands of miles away from her hometown of Muna, she’s preserving the Maya culture she grew up with for the indigenous community in Los Angeles. 

Sunday will mark the 8th annual Mundo Maya Day at MacArthur Park. The celebration returns for the first time since the summer of 2024 after planners postponed the event for a year due to immigration enforcement concerns. Mundo Maya Day is being held in partnership with MAC·LA, formerly Levitt Pavilion, who are currently curating the summer concert series at MacArthur Park.

The event will celebrate Maya culture and indigeneity through a Maya ceremony, a game of Maya ball, food, and marimba. The event will also feature dances from Chiapas, Yucatan, and Guatemala. The event will go from 5 – 8 p.m. and will include a backpack giveaway. 

“MacArthur Park is the heart of the Maya immigrant community,” said Mijares. “When we come here, we don’t leave our culture behind. It comes with us.” 

The area has seen more activity this summer with World Cup watch parties and the summer concert series hosted by MAC LA, formerly known as Levitt Pavilion.

She remembers going to MacArthur Park as a child with her father and seeing groups of Maya Yucatecos from Yucatan. She remembers how beautiful and safe the park felt, the community environment that reminded her of home.

Mundo Maya Day organizers gather at the “Grieving Sun Mural” in MacArthur Park in an undated photo.

(

Courtesy Mundo Maya Foundation

)

It was this feeling she wanted to bring back to the community when she had the idea for the Mundo Maya Day. Around 900 guests attended the first official celebration at MacArthur Park in 2018.

A census study conducted by the local indigenous woman-led nonprofit organization CIELO (Comunidades Indígenas en Liderazgo) showed roughly 24,000 residents of Mayan descent lived in Los Angeles. 

The CIELO Organization says, “The ‘Maya’ category aggregates all Mayan groups. However, this is an umbrella term that includes communities from Guatemala and Mexico that often have different and distinct languages, cultures, and traditions.” 

The regions of Pico Union, Koreatown, and Westlake consist of a highly diverse indigenous population ranging from Zapotec, K’iche’, Chinanteco, Mixe and many more groups according to CIELO. 

The celebration will also add a final-hour dedication to Yucatan and honor Armando Manzanero, a Mayan Grammy winner who died in 2020. 

Mijares admits there is always a concern with the risks of immigration enforcement, but is confident families will feel safe at this year’s event. The celebration will have security guards present throughout the event. 

During this time last summer, federal agents arrested over 4,000 people, according to a report by the Department of Economic Opportunity. By the end of 2025, that grew to over 14,000 people, who were mostly residents without a criminal record, according to researchers from UCLA and UC Berkeley.

In June, Immigration and Customs Enforcement recorded 43,138 arrests across the nation, the highest monthly total of the current administration. Immigration enforcement in Los Angeles has been much more subtle in its execution in comparison to last year but enforcement numbers continue to increase in the city.

Still, Mundo Maya organizers felt like they could not deprive their community of the event.

“At some point in life we need to decide if we let fear control us or not. So we have to take that step and say we’re here,” said Mijares. 

She hopes that for at least the three hours they can bring life, music, and healing to the community. She welcomes anyone interested in learning about Maya and indigenous cultures to show up.

“We want people to feel proud of who you are and where you come from. Feel proud of who we are here, the backbone of the country.”

Organizers recommend several ways to get to the event:

Via the train: The Metro B Line to the MacArthur Park / Westlake Station

Via the bus: Metro bus lines 18, 20, 51, 351, 603, 720

Parking: Athena Parking at 611 S. Carondelet St.

Attendees are welcome to bring their own picnics, blankets and lawn chairs.

What happened: Architectural Digest recently published their list of the prettiest towns in each state. Their pick for California?  Carmel-by-the-Sea.

But: Of course Carmel-by-the-Sea is gorgeous, but Hailey Branson-Potts of the L.A. Times thinks the publication got it wrong. She’s traveled all over California to report from small, quirky (and pretty) towns.

So: She joined us during an episode of AirTalk, LAist 89.3’s daily news show, and we asked listeners what California town they think is the prettiest.

Listen: To the AirTalk episode above, and maybe have a notepad handy to jot down your next California destination.