The Brief

For days, police say, Samuel Patrick Groft cruised through the streets of Los Angeles on his bicycle, single-handedly chopping down about a dozen city trees with an electric chainsaw in three different neighborhoods.

Groft sometimes hacked away at large, decades-old trees in the middle of the night, others, he wielded his cordless power saw on busy sidewalks in broad daylight, according to surveillance videos reviewed by the Los Angeles Police Department.

The footage also showed that Groft's destruction spanned at least five days, beginning on April 17 and continuing until his arrest on April 22 — Earth Day.

He has since been charged with felony vandalism and is being held on $150,000 bond. Efforts to reach Groft or an attorney were unsuccessful.

During a press conference, police said the cost of replacing the trees will be at least $347,000. But that estimate does not include three additional toppled trees discovered by the LAPD.

The root of outrage

A tree is shown chopped down in a Los Angeles neighborhood.

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Los Angeles Police Department

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Media Moussavy was on a morning walk when he came across about a half dozen felled shade trees in downtown Los Angeles where he lives. He told NPR he was livid at the sight of the severed trees and immediately posted about it on his Instagram account @DTLAInsider.

Moussavy's videos showed several of the older trees likely measured between 20 to 30 feet — only about 5 feet of their trunks remaining in the ground. Others were cut closer to their roots.

The stories went viral, touching off tens of thousands of angry comments from users who were equally perplexed and dismayed over the loss of any piece of the city's already meager urban canopy. In post after post they called for justice and revenge. They demanded that the culprit be forced to replant new trees.

Within days, the public outrage was so fervent that Mayor Karen Bass issued a statement calling the attacks "beyond comprehension." She promised residents that all of the trees would be quickly replaced. No small feat in a city that's looking to cut a billion dollars from its budget.

"I think that the uproar from everybody that we heard and saw online definitely shows how people feel when it comes to nature," Moussavy said.

"You can replace graffiti, you can replace broken glass, but trees that take that much time to grow and honestly do nothing but provide us with a benefit … I mean at the end of the day, what did the tree ever do to you?" he asked.

Downtown's downturn

A tree is felled in Los Angeles.

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Los Angeles Police Department

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Beyond the blamelessness of the foliage, the bizarre act of vandalism has incensed locals who say they're fed up with the chaos that seems to have taken over downtown since the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the last five years, once bustling neighborhoods have become ghost towns. Residents have moved out, homeless encampments have spilled onto streets lined with newly built luxury buildings. Businesses and restaurants that drew in crowds of shoppers, and weekend and nightlife goers have shuttered. And many residents who have stuck it out, told NPR that the general absence of people has allowed for rampant open drug use.

All in all, the changes have taken a toll on the 90,000 people who live downtown.

That's why Leslie Ridings is so demoralized by this latest bout of destruction.

As co-founder of the Downtown Los Angeles Residence Association, Ridings is actively trying to build a thriving downtown community.

"Part of downtown's job is to be a gathering place. It's the heart of the city; We come here to watch sports games. We come here to celebrate, to mourn, and that's awesome. We want everybody to come and spend time here and live here. We want more density, more residents. We want all of it," Ridings said.

But a crime like this, which he described as "wanton destruction for destruction's sake," gives the public the impression that antisocial behavior will be overlooked.

"It really highlights the presumption of impunity," Ridings said, adding that it also signals that city and county officials are returning to an era wherein they "used downtown as sort of the carpet they swept stuff under."

City Councilmember Ysabel Jurado represents the district where half of the trees were felled. She held a press conference on Thursday, calling on city leaders to quickly replace the trees. She told NPR that losing such "living infrastructure" is an eerie but apt metaphor in two ways.

"For how historic this neighborhood is, and how it's been chopped down by forces that are external to it, whether it's COVID or another economic recession," Jurado explained.

It also serves as a metaphor for Jurado as a council member, she said.

"We're in a crisis. Our city government is broken in this upcoming hostile fiscal environment. So much labor is being put on the table to be laid off, and our city services are being cut down even more."

The urban canopy

A woman shields her eyes from the sun as she walks in downtown Los Angeles during a heatwave Friday, Sept. 6, 2024.

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Etienne Laurent

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AP

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The tree canopy across Los Angeles leaves a lot to be desired. A 2021 study by the city, found that 20% of the tree canopy within the city limits was located in just four neighborhoods. The research said that the root of the problem, as in many cities across the nation, stems from federal redlining policies that refused to insure mortgages in non-white neighborhoods. Over the long term, those practices have resulted in a lower investment in parks and other public green spaces. All of which confer a variety of benefits to residents.

"It's no wonder, then, that so many of those communities suffer disproportionately some of the most ill effects of climate change – be it heat, illness, or the stresses that are associated with pollution," Bryan Vejar, associate director of community forestry at TreePeople told NPR.

The organization is involved in a citywide program seeking to increase the urban tree canopy "in areas with the greatest need" by 50% by 2028.

But, Vejar said, it's not as easy as just planting new trees. Research shows Los Angeles is in desperate need of large, mature trees, which provide more shade, better storm water management and energy savings.

If there's a silver lining to an otherwise senseless spate of arbor violence, Vejar said, the city now has an opportunity to diversify its urban forest.

The majority of the trees that were felled were ficuses. While they are often used in unwelcoming hardscaped areas because they can endure high radiant heat, they're not native to California and can be really destructive.

Streets LA, the department that oversees public works spaces for the city, said the trees ranged in age from 10 to more than 50 years old. The agency did not give a timeline or cost estimate to replace them.

"We're big fans of oaks," Vejar said, noting that they are native. "We have to plant trees that are climate adaptive that can withstand some of the average heat and drought conditions that are commensurate with the built environment. And so I would advocate, not simply just for one species, but many different species."
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The case: In September, the city settled a lawsuit brought forward by two brothers in their 70s who said they suffered serious injuries after an LAPD officer crashed into their car. Days before the $18 million settlement was reached, lawyers for the brothers said Feldstein Soto called an expert witness testifying for the plaintiffs and “attempted to ingratiate herself with him and asked him to make a contribution to her political campaign,” according to a sworn declaration to the court by the plaintiffs’ attorney, Robert Glassman.

The response: Feldstein Soto did not respond to an interview request. Her spokesperson said the settlement “had nothing to do” with the expert witness. Her campaign manager told LAist the city attorney had been making a routine fundraising call and did not know the person had a role in the case, nor that there were pending requests for her office to pay him fees.

What Jurado says: In a statement to LAist, Jurado said she wants to “make sure that the city’s legal leadership is guided by integrity and accountability, especially when their choices affect public trust, civic rights and the city’s limited resources."

What’s next: The motion needs to go through a few committees before reaching the full City Council. If it passes, the motion calls for the city attorney to “report to council in closed session within 45 days regarding the ethics breach violation and give updates to the City Council."

Every year in Santa Ana, Luis Cantabrana turns the front of his home into an elaborate altar in honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe that draws hundreds of visitors.

Along the front of the house, the multi-colored altar is filled with lights, flowers and a stained-glass tapestry behind a sculpture of the Lady of Guadalupe. Cantabrana’s roof also is lit up with the green, white and red lights that spell out “Virgen de Guadalupe” and a cross.

Visitors are welcomed with music and the smell of roses as they celebrate the saint, but this year’s gathering comes after a dark year for immigrant communities.

Luis Cantabrana stands in front of the stunning altar he built in front of his home in honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe. Every year, his display draws hundreds of visitors.

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Destiny Torres

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LAist

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Why do they celebrate? 

In 1513, the Virgin Mary appeared before St. Juan Diego between Dec. 9 and Dec. 12, asking him to build a church in her honor. Her image — a brown-skinned woman wearing a green veil with her hands together in prayer and an angel at her feet — miraculously appeared on his cloak.

To celebrate in Santa Ana, worshippers gathered late-night Wednesday and in the very early hours Dec. 12 to pray the rosary, sing hymns and celebrate the saint.

Cantabrana has hosted worshippers at his home for 27 years — 17 in Santa Ana.

The altar started out small, he said, and over the years, he added a fabric background, more lights and flowers (lots and lots of flowers).

“It started with me making a promise to la Virgen de Guadalupe that while I had life and a home to build an altar, that I would do it,” Cantabrana said. “Everything you see in photos and videos is pretty, but when you come and see it live, it's more than pretty. It's beautiful.”

The Santa Ana home's elaborate altar in honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe draws hundreds of visitors each year.

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Destiny Torres

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LAist

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Gathering in a time of turmoil 

Many also look to the Lady of Guadalupe for protection, especially at a time when federal enforcement has rattled immigrant communities.

“People don’t want to go to work, they don’t want to take their kids to school, but the love we have for our Virgen de Guadalupe,” Cantabrana said. “We see that la Virgen de Guadalupe has a lot of power, and so we know immigration [enforcement] won’t come here.”

Margarita Lopez of Garden Grove has been visiting the altar for three years with her husband. She’s been celebrating the Virgencita since she was a young girl. Honoring the saint is as important now as ever, she said.

“We ask, and she performs miracles,” Lopez said.

Claudia Tapia, a lifelong Santa Ana resident, said the Virgin Mary represents strength.

“Right now, with everything going on, a lot of our families [have] turned and prayed to the Virgen for strength during these times,” Tapia said. “She's a very strong symbol of Mexican culture, of unity, of faith and of resilience.”

See it for yourself

The shrine will stay up into the new year on the corner of Broadway and Camile Street.

California’s unemployment agency kept paying cellphone bills for 4 1/2 years without checking whether its workers actually were using the devices.

That’s how it racked up $4.6 million in fees for mobile devices its workers were not using, according to a new state audit detailing wasteful spending at several government agencies.

The Employment Development Department’s excessive cellphone bills date to the COVID-19 pandemic, when it shifted call center employees to remote work and faced pressure to release benefits to millions of suddenly unemployed Californians.

It acquired 7,224 cellphones and wireless hotspots by December 2020. State auditors analyzed 54 months of invoices since then and found half the devices were unused for at least two years, 25% were unused for three years and 99 of them were never used at all.

The investigation, which auditors opened after receiving a tip, identified 6,285 devices that were unused for at least four consecutive months, and said the department spent $4.6 million on monthly service fees for them.

From the beginning, the department had about 2,000 more cellphones than call center employees, according to the audit. The gap widened over time after the pandemic ended and the department’s staffing returned to its normal headcount.

As of April, the audit said the department had 1,787 unemployment call center employees, but was paying monthly service fees for 5,097 mobile devices.

“Although obtaining the mobile devices during COVID-19 may have been a good idea to serve the public, continuing to pay the monthly service fees for so many unused devices, especially post-COVID-19, was wasteful,” the audit said.

Department officials told auditors they were unaware of the spending, but auditors pointed to regular invoices from Verizon that showed which phones were not being used.

“We would have expected EDD management to have reconsidered the need to pay the monthly service fees for so many devices that had no voice, message, or data usage,” the audit said.

The unemployment department began acting on the auditors’ findings in April, when it canceled service plans for 2,825 devices. It has since implemented a policy to terminate service plans for devices that go unused for 90 days.

The California state auditor highlighted the mobile devices in its regular report on “improper activities by state agencies and employees.” The audit also showed that the California Air Resources Board overpaid an employee who was on extended leave as he prepared to retire by $171,000.

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