Topline:
Altadenans have teamed up with an L.A. County Public Works veteran to fight "sign" blight from businesses advertising post-disaster services.
The backstory: A loosely-organized group of Altadena residents have been removing and reporting signs in the public right of way. They found an ally in Constantino Kallimanis, who has alone taken down 1,500 signs.
Read on ... to find out more about this uphill battle.
The Eaton Fire had turned much of Altadena into a moonscape — dusty, gray, pitted where houses used to stand.
But amid the barren landscape, hundreds of signs started to sprout — disaster-related advertisements from the likes of investors, lawyers, builders and demolition companies.
Most signs have been illegally placed at public intersections and parks, on utility poles and trees. Others have gone on people's scorched yards. Some co-opt the language of fire survivors, with one sign reading “Rebuild Altadena Strong.”
“It was really upsetting,” said resident Linda Japha. “So many people had lost everything, and so many other people saw that as an opportunity to make a profit.”
Japha is part of a loosely-organized group of residents who have been taking down signs in the public right of way, with the help of county workers. One employee in particular has become a local hero, removing some 1,500 signs alone.
“It was important for me to get out here and help out, because I've been here a long time,” said Constantino Kallimanis, a veteran with L.A. County Public Works.
For 19 years, Kallimanis has monitored graffiti in unincorporated communities such as Altadena, keeping public spaces clear and free of vandalism.
In the weeks after the Eaton Fire, his focus in Altadena shifted to removing unauthorized signs.
Taking his usual west-to-east route through town on a recent morning, Kallimanis kept his eye out for sign solicitations, while pointing out favorite landmarks like the destroyed Bunny Museum.
He said he mourned with a community he’s developed great affection for.
“It's really diverse, and I like that it's clean, and there was a lot of good restaurants to eat here back in the day,” said Kallimanis who commutes from Alta Loma in San Bernardino County. “Everybody just was so nice up here.”
On approach to the Mountain View mortuary and cemetery, Kallimanis eagle-eyed a sign for debris removal that had been zip-tied to a stop sign. He walked out of the van gripping a pair of pliers.
In quick one turn, he pries off the sign. “And that's it,” he said, matter-of-factly.
Some contractors attach their signs so high up utility poles that they can’t be reached without a ladder. But Kallimanis has come up with a method that’s now copied by other residents. He demonstrates a move with a shovel at a stop on Christmas Tree Lane.
Kallimanis jams the blade behind a bright yellow plastic sign secured to a utility pole and loosens the wire ties until the sign clatters to the ground.
Japha coined it the “Kallimanis method,” the mention of which seems to embarrass him.
“It’s real simple,” he said. “Nothing to get crazy about.”
Kallimanis and colleagues on the county’s graffiti abatement team call offending businesses, and find that many apologize, saying they didn’t know county code and were just trying to help the community.
The focus has been education, rather than fines. But others don’t listen and keep putting up signs, said Kallimanis’ supervisor, Arienne Tellias.
“They get more firm phone calls and say, ‘Please, please don't do this. The residents have spoken, and we're trying to make things clean and nice for them, so please don't do it,’” Tellias said.
After a while, Tellias said, repeat offenders give up. It gets expensive replacing signs.
The removal of unwanted signs from public spaces in Altadena is part of the county’s larger effort to speed the recovery and rebuilding process.
Yonah Halpern, principal engineer at L.A. County Public Works, said the goal is for residents to feel safe and "not be distracted by signs or companies or advertisements.”
“We want the area to be free of graffiti and solicitation, so residents can really start to feel at home again and can start to rebuild," Halpern said.
The case could be made that Kallimanis is just doing his job, but residents single him out as a dedicated ally.
“I think it's the fact that somebody who didn’t even live here cared so deeply and identified with the blight that was being caused,” Japha said.
Japha, a set decorator who’s relocated to L.A. as her Altadena home undergoes remediation, said she hadn’t expected much from the county after the fire.
Many residents have been angry and disillusioned by the county response to the disaster, starting from the first night of a blaze that would kill at least 18 people in Altadena and destroy more than 9,000 structures.
Then came the county’s decision to re-open Altadena to the public in late January. By contrast, entry to Pacific Palisades remains restricted at checkpoints secured by the National Guard.
Since the fire, burglaries skyrocketed 450%, and some of Japha's neighbors have taken to hiring their own security details.
Trying to do her part to protect the community from "predator" businesses, Japha has removed 150 signs from public spaces.
“When you're displaced, or you've lost your house, you feel very powerless,” Japha said. “And if you can just go and do something for yourself and make that happen, it gives you a sense of agency.”
Through the Beautiful Altadena Facebook group, she found other residents doing the same, including Rob Moreland, who works in software. On his regular trips to visit his destroyed lot, he’s taken down 200 signs from public areas.
"There's probably some great contractors putting down signs who just don't know what the ordinances are," Moreland said. "Those signs are coming up too, because you can't tell good from bad just by looking at a sign if it's in the public right of way."
Nearly four months since the fire laid waste to his house, Moreland grows emotional talking about the immense loss. In the early morning hours, he fought the blaze at home alone, using buckets of water, as lawns and fences in the neighborhood started to catch fire, and the air grew thick with smoke.
Moreland had managed to put out all the embers he could see, but his heart sank as he heard ominous sounds in the distance.
“Eucalyptuses and other trees uphill were starting to explode,” Moreland said. “I could hear pops and bangs, and the number of embers just skyrocketed."
That’s when he said he knew to say goodbye to the house.
As Moreland struggles with the memory, and the uphill battle to rebuild, the act of taking down errant signs has proven cathartic.
“At a lot of the stops for signs, I'll screech on the brakes," Moreland said. "I could just take it out, but I rip it out. But the decision to do it is really based on wanting to help the community as much as anything."
Officially, the county recommends that citizens not to remove signs on their own but to call the public works helpline at (800) 675-4357.
But what’s typically happening is that residents like Moreland will just text or e-mail Kallimanis.
Through their collective efforts, the initial deluge of signs has subsided.
But with construction expected to ramp up in coming months, the signs will keep coming. And more will start to show up on private properties undergoing construction.
Signs on private property must also follow county code when it comes to size and the length of time they can be posted. Since the fire, the regional planning department has received 19 complaints about signs and issued seven notices of violations to homeowners. As with sign infractions on public property, the county has prioritized education over fines.
"We don't want to overburden an already-overburdened community by fines," said Sharon Guidry, deputy director of the enforcement division of the county's Department of Regional Planning.
While unauthorized signs on private property are not under Kallimanis’ purview, he will no doubt hear about them from locals.
He gets frequent communications from Melissa Michelson, a local educator who does community work in Altadena and helped launch the group Altadena Not For Sale.
On her rounds posting “Altadena Not For Sale” signs on behalf of homeowners who purchased them, Michelson would see illegally-placed signs and e-mail locations and images to Kallimanis. She said he would respond the next day with a simple "done."
Recently, she saw him in the flesh at a community event.
“I’m like, ‘Wait a minute, is this who I think it is?'” Michelson said. She asked for a photo. "He’s a legend. He’s a hero.”
Kallimanis said he’s never had this kind of reception from the public. He recounts an encounter a few weeks ago, when a woman found out who he was and grabbed both his hands.
“I had a citizen tell me, ‘Thank you for not giving up on us,'” Kallimanis said. “And it's like, but ‘Why would we give up on you? Like we love you guys.'”
Kallimanis said he got goosebumps talking to the woman.
“It just got me going again,” Kallimanis said. “Things have calmed down, but it's not time to let up now. It's time to just keep going now.”
Keep going, he said, until Altadena is back to being itself again.
Topline:
Less than 24 hours before season opener, longtime Dodgers fans demand the team divest from immigration detention centers and decline the White House visit.
More details: More than 30 people joined Richard Santillan on Wednesday morning for a press conference held near 1000 Vin Scully Drive to convey a message directly to the team. “We are demanding that the Dodgers stop participating in funding of inhumane treatment of families and do not go to the White House to celebrate with the criminal in chief,” Evelyn Escatiola told the crowd. “Together we have the power to make a change.”
The backstory: The team’s 2025’s visit to the White House drew ire from the largely Latino fan base, citing the Trump administration’s ongoing attacks on immigrants. In June, the team came under further scrutiny when rumors swirled online that federal immigration agents were using the stadium’s parking, which immigration authorities later denied in statements posted on social media accounts.
Read on ... for more on how some fans are feeling leading up to Opening Day.
This story first appeared on The LA Local.
Since 1977, Richard Santillan has been to every Opening Day game at Dodger Stadium.
“The tradition goes from my father, to me, to my children and grandchildren. Some of my best memories are with my father and children here at Dodger Stadium,” Santillan told The LA Local, smiling under the shade of palm trees near the entrance to the ballpark Wednesday morning. He was there to protest the team less than 24 hours before Opening Day.
Santillan, like countless other loyal Dodgers fans, is grappling with his fan identity over the team’s decision to accept an invitation to the White House and owner Mark Walter’s ties to ICE detention facilities.
More than 30 people joined Santillan on Wednesday morning for a press conference held near 1000 Vin Scully Drive to convey a message directly to the team.
“We are demanding the Dodgers stop participating in funding of inhumane treatment of families and do not go to the White House to celebrate with the criminal in chief,” Evelyn Escatiola told the crowd. “Together, we have the power to make a change.”
Escatiola, a former dean of East Los Angeles College and longtime community organizer, urged fans to flex their economic power by “letting the Dodgers know that we do not support repression.”
Jorge “Coqui” Rodriguez, a lifelong Dodgers fan, spoke to the crowd and called on Dodgers ownership to divest from immigration detention centers owned and operated by GEO Group and CoreCivic.
In a phone interview a day before the protest, Rodriguez told The LA Local he did not want the Dodgers using his “cheve” or beer money to fund detention centers.
“They can’t take our parking money, our cacahuate money, our cheve money, our Dodger Dog money and invest those funds into corporations that are imprisoning people. It’s wrong,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez considers the Dodgers one of the most racially diverse teams and said the players need to support fans at a time when heightened immigration enforcement has become more common across L.A.
The team’s 2025’s visit to the White House drew ire from the largely Latino fan base, citing the Trump administration’s ongoing attacks on immigrants.
In June, the team came under further scrutiny when rumors swirled online that federal immigration agents were using the stadium’s parking, which immigration authorities later denied in statements posted on social media accounts.
The team again came under fire after not releasing a statement on the impacts of ICE raids on its mostly Latino fan base at the height of immigration enforcement last summer. The team later agreed to invest $1 million to support families affected by immigration enforcement.
When he learned the Dodgers were pledging only $1 million to families in need, Rodriguez called the amount a “slap in the face.”
“These guys just bought the Lakers for billions of dollars and they give a million dollars to fight for legal services? That’s a joke,” Rodriguez said. “They need to have a moral backbone and not be investing in those companies.”
According to reporting from the Los Angeles Times, former Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershawsaid last week that he is looking forward to the trip.
“I went when President [Joe] Biden was in office. I’m going to go when President [Donald] Trump is in office,” Kershaw said. “To me, it’s just about getting to go to the White House. You don’t get that opportunity every day, so I’m excited to go.”
The Dodgers have yet to announce when their planned visit will take place.
Santillan sometimes laments his decision to give up his season tickets in protest of the team. His connection to the stadium and the memories he has made there with family and friends will last a lifetime, he said. On Thursday, he will uphold his tradition and be there for the first pitch of the season, but with a heavy heart.
“It’s a family tradition, but the Dodgers have a lot of work to do,” he said.
Topline:
The warmer weather and high water flow are causing an early outbreak of black flies in the San Gabriel Valley, according to officials.
What are black flies? Black flies are tiny, pesky insects that often get mistaken for mosquitoes. The biting flies breed near foothill communities like Altadena, Azusa, San Dimas and Glendora. They also thrive near flowing water.
What you need to know: Black flies fly in large numbers and long distances. When they bite both humans and pets, they aim around the eyes and the neck. While the bites can be painful, they don’t transmit diseases in L.A. County.
A population spike: Anais Medina Diaz, director of communications at the SGV Mosquito and Vector Control District, told LAist that at this time last year, surveillance traps had single-digit counts of adult black flies, but this year those traps are collecting counts above 500.
So, why is the population growing? Diaz said the surge is unusual for this time of year.
“We are experiencing them now because of the warmer temperatures we've been having,” Diaz said. “And of course, all the water that's going down through the river, we have a high flow of water that is not typical for this time of year.”
What officials are doing: Officials say teams are identifying and treating public sources where black flies can thrive, but that many of these sites are influenced by natural or infrastructure conditions outside their control.
How to protect yourself: Black flies can be hard to avoid outside in dense vegetation, but you can reduce the chance of a bite by:
SGV Mosquito and Vector Control District
Submit a tip here
You can also send a tip to district@sgvmosquito.org
(626) 814-9466
Greater Los Angeles Vector Control District
Submit a service request here
You can also send a service request to info@GLAmosquito.org
(562) 944-9656
Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control
Submit a report here
You can also send a report to ocvcd@ocvector.org
(714) 971-2421 or (949) 654-2421
Local favorite mom and pop shop READ Books in Eagle Rock is facing displacement due to a steep rent hike. The owners say they’re just one of several small businesses along Eagle Rock Boulevard struggling to keep up with lease increases.
What happened? The building where Kaplan and his wife Debbie rent was recently sold and the rent increased by more than 130% to $2,805 a month, Kaplan said. He told LAist it was an increase his small business simply could not absorb.
What's next? While he looks for a new spot, Kaplan says he’s forming a coalition of local businesses and activist groups to see what can be done to help other small businesses facing similar displacement. He wants to address the displacement issue for businesses like his, which have made Eagle Rock the distinctive neighborhood that it is today.
Read on... for what small businesses can do.
A local favorite mom-and-pop bookshop in Eagle Rock is facing displacement due to a steep rent hike. The owners say theirs is just one of several small businesses along Eagle Rock Boulevard struggling to keep up with lease increases.
Over the past 19 years, many in the neighborhood have come to love READ Books for its eclectic collection of used titles and shop dog Florence.
Co-owner Jeremy Kaplan said it’s been a delight to grow with the community over the years.
“Like seeing kids come back in, who were in grade school and now they’re in college,” Kaplan said.
But the building where Kaplan and wife Debbie rent was recently sold, and the rent increased by more than 130% to $2,805 a month, Kaplan said. He told LAist it was an increase his small business simply could not absorb.
Kaplan said he originally was given 30 days notice of the rent increase. After some research, assistance from Councilmember Ysabel Jurado’s office and some pro-bono legal help, Kaplan said he pushed back and got the 90-day notice he’s afforded by state law.
California Senate Bill 1103 requires landlords to give businesses with five or less employees 90 days’ notice for rent increases exceeding 10%, among other protections.
Systems Real Estate, the property management company, did not immediately respond to LAist’s request for comment.
Nadia Segura, directing attorney of the Small Business Program at pro bono legal aid non-profit Bet Tzedek said California law does not currently allow for rent control for commercial tenancies.
Outside of the protections under SB 1103, Segura said small businesses like READ Books don’t have much other recourse. And even then, commercial landlords are not required to inform their tenants of their protections under the law.
“There’s still a lot of people that don’t know about SB 1103. And then it’s very sad that they tell them they have these rent increases and within a month they have to leave,” Segura said.
She said her group is seeing steep rent hikes like this for commercial tenants across the city.
“We are seeing this even more with the World Cup coming up, the Olympics coming up. And I will say it was very sad to see that also after the wildfires,” Segura said.
Part of Bet Tzedek’s ongoing work is to advocate for small businesses, working with landlords who are increasing rents to see if they are willing to give business owners longer leases that lock in rents.
After READ Books posted about their situation on social media, commenters chimed in to express their outrage and love for the little shop.
While he looks for a new spot, Kaplan says he’s forming a coalition of local businesses and activist groups to see what can be done to help other small businesses facing similar displacement. He wants to address the displacement issue for businesses like his, which have made Eagle Rock the distinctive neighborhood that it is today.
Owl Talk, a longtime Eagle Rock staple selling clothing and accessories in a unit in the same building as READ Books, is facing a “more than double” rent increase, according to a post on their Instagram account.
Kaplan said he’s been in touch with the office of state Assemblywoman Jessica Caloza and wants to explore the possibility of introducing legislation to set up protections for small businesses like his, including rent-control measures or a vacancy tax for landlords. Kaplan said he also reached out to the office of state Sen. Maria Durazo.
By his count, Kaplan said there are about a dozen businesses within surrounding blocks that are at risk of closing their doors or have shuttered due to rent increases or other struggles.
When READ Books was founded during the Great Recession, Kaplan said he knew it was a longshot to open a bookstore at the same time so many were struggling to stay in business.
“It was kind of interesting to be doing something that neighborhoods needed. That was important to me growing up, that was important to my children, that was important to my wife growing up,” Kaplan said.
“And then somebody comes in and says, ‘We’re gonna over double your rent.”
Topline:
The Los Angeles City Council approved a plan in a 13-1 vote on Tuesday to send ballots to more than half a million property owners asking if they are willing to pay more per year to fortify the city’s streetlight repair budget, most of which has essentially been frozen since the 1990s. The item still requires L.A. Mayor Karen Bass’ signature, but her office confirmed to LAist on Wednesday that she’ll approve it.
Frozen budget: Most of the city’s Bureau of Street Lighting budget comes from an assessment that people who own property illuminated by lights pay on their county property tax bill. The amount people pay depends on the kind of property they own and how much they benefit from lighting. A typical single-family home currently pays $53 annually, and in total, the assessments bring in about $45 million annually for the city to repair and maintain streetlights. Changing the amount the Bureau of Street Lighting gets from the assessment requires a vote among property owners who benefit from the lights.
Ballots: L.A. City Council’s vote gives city staff the green light to prepare and send out those ballots. Miguel Sangalang, who oversees the bureau, said at a committee meeting earlier this month that he expects to send out ballots by April 17. Notices about the ballots will be sent out prior to the ballots themselves.
Near unanimous vote: L.A. City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez was the only “No” vote on Tuesday, saying she wanted to see a more current strategic plan for the bureau. Sangalang said the bureau developed a plan in 2022 that lays out how money will be spent. Councilmember Imelda Padilla was absent for the vote.
Vote count: Votes will be weighted according to the assessment amount. Basically, the more you’re asked to pay yearly to maintain streetlights, the more your vote will count. Ballots received before June 2 will be tabulated by the L.A. City Clerk.
How much more money: According to a report, the amount needed in assessments from property owners to meet the repair and maintenance needs of the city’s streetlighting in the next fiscal year is nearly $112 million.
Use of the money: Sangalang said at a March 11 committee meeting that the extra funds would be used to double the number of staff to handle repairs and procure solar streetlights, which don’t face the threat of copper wire theft. That would all potentially reduce the time it takes to repair simple fixes down to a week. Currently, city residents wait for months to see broken streetlights repaired.The assessment would come with a three-year auditing mechanism.
Topline:
The Los Angeles City Council approved a plan in a 13-1 vote Tuesday to send ballots to more than a half-million property owners asking if they are willing to pay more per year to fortify the city’s streetlight repair budget, most of which essentially has been frozen since the 1990s. The item still requires L.A. Mayor Karen Bass’ signature, but her office confirmed to LAist on Wednesday that she’ll approve it.
Frozen budget: Most of the city’s Bureau of Street Lighting budget comes from an assessment that people who own property illuminated by lights pay on their county property tax bill. The amount people pay depends on the kind of property they own and how much they benefit from lighting. A typical single-family home currently pays $53 annually, and in total, the assessments bring in about $45 million annually for the city to repair and maintain streetlights. Changing the amount the Bureau of Street Lighting gets from the assessment requires a vote among property owners who benefit from the lights.
Ballots: L.A. City Council’s vote gives city staff the green light to prepare and send out those ballots. Miguel Sangalang, who oversees the bureau, said at a committee meeting earlier this month that he expects to send out ballots by April 17. Notices about the ballots will be sent out prior to the ballots themselves.
Near unanimous vote: L.A. City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez was the only “No” vote Tuesday, saying she wanted to see a more current strategic plan for the bureau. Sangalang said the bureau developed a plan in 2022 that lays out how money will be spent. Councilmember Imelda Padilla was absent for the vote.
Vote count: Votes will be weighted according to the assessment amount. Basically, the more you’re asked to pay yearly to maintain streetlights, the more your vote will count. Ballots received before June 2 will be tabulated by the L.A. City Clerk.
How much more money: According to a report, the amount needed in assessments from property owners to meet the repair and maintenance needs of the city’s streetlighting in the next fiscal year is nearly $112 million.
Use of the money: Sangalang said at a March 11 committee meeting that the extra funds would be used to double the number of staff to handle repairs and procure solar streetlights, which don’t face the threat of copper wire theft. That would all potentially reduce the time it takes to repair simple fixes down to a week. Currently, city residents wait for months to see broken streetlights repaired. The assessment would come with a three-year auditing mechanism.
