Teacher Claudia Ralston greets a student at the start of school at Marguerita Elementary School in Alhambra
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Elly Yu
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LAist
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Topline:
There’s a lot riding on the success of California’s transitional kindergarten program— including having enough teachers.
Why it matters: Researchers estimate that California schools will need 11,900 teachers to make good on the expansion of TK into every school district.
The bigger picture: There’s a lot riding on the success of California’s universal TK program. Supporters hope that a year of learning through play will help give a boost to children who may not otherwise have access to preschool. Districts facing declining enrollment hope that a surge of new students will improve their financial outlook.
Another path toward the classroom: Last year, California introduced a new teaching credential to teach TK through third grade. Uptake has been slow so far: Just over 400 educators have earned this credential, according to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, and about 200 more people are working toward fulfilling this requirement. The credential is currently available at 13 schools.
All 4-year-olds in California can now go to school for free in a grade called transitional kindergarten, or TK.
There’s a lot riding on the success of California’s TK program. Supporters hope that a year of learning through play will give a boost to children who may not otherwise have access to preschool. Districts facing declining enrollment hope that a surge of new students will improve their financial outlook.
Whether TK works at such a large scale depends on whether there are enough teachers qualified to work with children who have unique needs. Researchers estimate that California schools will need nearly 12,000 teachers to make good on the expansion of TK into every school district, as is required beginning this school year.
The state does offers multiple paths toward teaching in a TK classroom, including a new teaching credential introduced in May 2024 that lets educators teach TK through third grade, "designed and intended to help meet the demand for qualified teachers," the state said.
Thus far, uptake has been slow. Just over 400 educators have earned this credential, according to data provided to LAist by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. About 200 more people are working toward fulfilling this requirement.
Many educators have said the process to get credentialed for TK can be frustrating, especially for preschool teachers without experience in the public school system. The state said it doesn’t have data on how many teachers are coming over from the private preschool sector or from upper grades in public school.
In conversation with LAist, educators who have made their way into TK classrooms say they're glad they did.
In search of more structure
At Price Elementary School in the city of Downey, Samantha Elliott is teaching TK for the first time this year.
However, because she’staught preschool in the past, she runs her classroom with ease — and with the help of a state-mandated aide.
Elliott earned a credential and bachelor’s degree in early childhood development at Cal State Fullerton. This made it possible to move into TK without having to take on more coursework.
“Preschool was great,” she said, “but [at that level, students are] still learning [the] fundamentals of how to be a human, in a sense. [In] TK, we’re focusing a little bit more on academics, and I really was excited to teach the kids and get an early influence on their educational lives.”
Elliot keeps her students engaged throughout the day with music. She uses songs to help them learn their ABCs, colors, shapes — even their sense of time.
Often, Elliot has her students get up and dance. This helps the students get the wiggles out — it’s also part of learning through play.
Samantha Elliott made the switch to TK after teaching preschool for two years.
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Julia Barajas
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At Smith Elementary in Lawndale, teacher Lauren Bush lets parents know that while it may look like kids are just having fun, they’re experiencing a lesson that she’s crafted carefully.
“You see kids playing with dinosaurs,” she said. “I see kids sorting by color, doing eye-hand coordination and visual discrimination. I see them using their fine motor skills.”
Bush has over two decades of classroom experience and has been teaching TK for three years, but she still spends a lot of time making sure her lessons are just right. When people see her working nights and weekends, they’re often perplexed. “Why work so much?” they wonder aloud, she said. “You're just babysitting.”
Bush gently corrects them: “I'm, like, ‘Oh my gosh, no! You have to have a special degree to teach TK.’”
In search of something less rigid
Over at Marguerita Elementary School in Alhambra, teacher Lisa Vuong is working toward earning that special credential. On top of working full time, she’s fulfilling her required coursework at Pasadena City College. (Statewide, 13 institutions, including Cal State Long Beach and Cal State Dominguez Hills offer the new credential.)
Vuong is already credentialed to teach kindergarten through eighth grade. She also has 22 years of classroom experience and a master's in education. “But this is a whole different beast,” she said.
She means that in the best way. Even though she comes in with a lesson plan, she said, being a TK teacher often means having to improvise.
“You have kind of a platform that you launch off from, and the kids go in 18 million different directions,” she said.
When Vuong taught upper grades, she spent a lot of time making photocopies and stressing out about her students’ performance on standardized tests. TK — which is not graded or subject to those assessments — gives her a sense of freedom.
“I always say it doesn't even feel like a job,” she said. “ I don't wanna discredit the whole program or anything, but it's just so much fun.”
Officials have issued evacuation orders and warnings for residents near the Max Fire, which broke out late Monday afternoon.
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Courtesy Cal Fire
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Topline:
Evacuation orders and warnings are now in place for residents near a fire near Stevenson Ranch. As of this evening, 45 acres had burned in the Max Fire. Firefighters reported stopping forward progress of the fire about 6:25 p.m.
What we know so far: Aerial resources are up fighting the fire that was reported about 4:20 p.m. just west of the 5 Freeway.
Read on ... for more on evacuations.
This is a developing story and will be updated. For the most up-to-date information about the fire you can check:
A fire near Stevenson Ranch Monday afternoon prompted evacuation orders and warnings before firefighters were able to stop its forward progress hours later at 6:25 p.m. The Max Fire, which was reported at about 4:20 p.m., has so far burned 45 acres, according to the L.A. County Fire Department.
The fire is located just west of the 5 Freeway in Pico Canyon Park, near Stevenson Ranch Parkway, according to Cal Fire.
Mandatory evacuation orders were issued for parts of the communities of Southern Oaks and Sunset Pointe, including the Laing-Brookefield Open Space. Parts of Valencia and Newhall are under evacuation warnings.
The basics
Acreage: 45 acres as of 6:25 p.m. Monday.
Containment: 0%
Structures destroyed: None reported.
Deaths: None
Injuries: 0
Personnel working on fire: Not immediately available
Live maps show multiple aircraft over the fire
Evacuation map and orders
Mandatory evacuation orders have been issued for:
STV-PICO
And warnings have been issued for zones:
SCL-DELPRADO
SCL-MEADOWS
STV-CONSTITUTION
STV-E109
STV-POEEvacuation warnings
Authorities say those who require additional time to evacuate and those with pets and livestock should leave immediately.
What we know so far
The Max Fire broke out about 4:20 p.m. west of Stevenson Ranch. It's currently 0% contained.
It's among several fires in recent days, including the Hazel Fire near Lancaster, which burned 66 acres Monday before the L.A. County Fire Department said crews had stopped forward progress of the fire. Evacuation warnings for nearby residents are still in place for that fire. LAist media partner CBS LA reports aerial footage showed a few structures on fire.
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By Christopher Weber and Konstantin Toropin | The Associated Press
Published June 15, 2026 5:11 PM
A United States Air Force B-52 Stratofortress crashed shortly after takeoff.
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Courtesy CBS LA
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Topline:
A B-52 bomber crashed today and burst into flames, killing all eight people aboard, shortly after takeoff at a U.S. Air Force base in Southern California’s Mojave Desert, military officials said.
What we know: Aerial footage showed virtually nothing left of the aircraft that went down around 11:20 a.m. during a routine test mission at the base, which is north of Los Angeles. After reviewing footage of the crash, it was determined that no one could have survived, Col. James Hayes, the Deputy Commander at Edwards Air Force Base, said at a news conference.
About the victims: “We lost eight great Americans,” Hayes said, adding that officials were working to notify their families. On board was a mix of military service members and government and civilian contractors, Hayes said.
A B-52 bomber crashed Monday and burst into flames, killing all eight people aboard, shortly after takeoff at a U.S. Air Force base in Southern California’s Mojave Desert, military officials said.
Aerial footage showed virtually nothing left of the aircraft that went down around 11:20 a.m. during a routine test mission at the base, which is north of Los Angeles. Black smoke rose from a large swath of charred desert near what appeared to be a runway on the base, with emergency vehicles nearby.
After reviewing footage of the crash, it was determined that no one could have survived, Col. James Hayes, the Deputy Commander at Edwards Air Force Base, said at a news conference.
“We lost eight great Americans,” Hayes said, adding that officials were working to notify their families.
On board was a mix of military service members and government and civilian contractors, Hayes said.
It was not immediately clear what caused the crash, and it could take up to six months to complete an investigation, Hayes said, but shared that the B-52 was supporting the “radar modernization program.”
In 2025, a B-52 flew to Edwards with a new, modernized radar system. A test team planned to conduct ground and flight test activities on the aircraft throughout 2026 to feed a production decision, the air force said in a 2025 news release. The modern Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar system replaced the aircraft’s antiquated radar for efficacy.
Edwards Air Force Base is home to a large portion of the U.S. Air Force’s aircraft test and development efforts and is about 100 miles (161 km) north of Los Angeles. The 412th Test Wing, which runs the base, also conducts developmental testing of all Air Force aircraft, weapons systems, software and components before purchase by the service as well as throughout their lifespan.
The vast desert base is also where Air Force test pilot Chuck Yeager reached a speed of Mach 1.05 and broke the sound barrier in 1947.
The airfield was closed most of Monday and all inbound aircraft were being diverted, but it reopened by late afternoon. Non-commercial visitor passes for the base were suspended as emergency crews doused the flames.
It’s too soon to say what might have happened.
The way the B-52 crashed so quickly after takeoff without getting very high or going far makes aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti suspect some kind of flight control malfunction.
It’s possible the controls were rigged wrong after maintenance, he said, or a catastrophic engine problem or a failure of a piece of equipment that was being tested.
“I think it was definitely a controllability issue. Now, whether that was tied to an engine failure, a flight control failure, or some new testing device failure, I’m not sure,” said Guzzetti, who used to investigate crashes for both the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.
Although the Air Force has been flying B-52 bombers for more than 70 years, testing out new equipment on a plane can create new challenges.
“A flight test is always riskier than normal operations, so that’s why you have specially trained test pilots, and you should have other safety protocols,” Guzzetti said.
___
Toropin reported from Washington D.C. AP Transportation Writer Josh Funk contributed to this story from Omaha, Nebraska and AP reporter Hallie Golden contributed from Seattle.
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Erin Stone
covers climate and environmental issues in Southern California.
Published June 15, 2026 3:35 PM
Several historic cabins in Crystal Cove State Park, like this one, suffered damage and flooding during heavy surf and high tides.
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Erin Stone
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LAist
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Topline:
Heavy surf, high tides and rip currents have done some damage to the Southern California coast, with potentially dangerous conditions expected to last at least until Thursday.
Why it matters: A young girl was recently swept into the ocean and killed, and some coastline infrastructure has been damaged.
Keep reading...for more on the recent heavy surf and high tides.
Heavy surf, high tides and rip currents have done some damage to the Southern California coast, with potentially dangerous conditions expected to last at least until Thursday.
The conditions already have had devastating consequences. Just last week in Laguna Beach, a 5-year-old girl drowned after she was swept into the ocean by powerful surf. Authorities said they were able to rescue her mother and brother, who were caught in the same swell.
In Crystal Cove State Park, tides over 7 feet and heavy surf damaged part of a historic cabin, and nearly flooded another. A lifeguard tower was nearly pulled into the water.
Heavy surf and high tides pulled sand from beneath a cabin at Crystal Cove Historic District.
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Erin Stone
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LAist
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'Biggest waves I've ever seen'
“ At the peak of it, just the biggest waves I've ever seen here in my experience as a lifeguard,” said Jake Beckley, who’s been a Crystal Cove lifeguard for six years. “We've lost pretty much the entire beach at certain points.”
The tide reached as high as The Beachcomber restaurant at one point, and pulled chunks of a historic seawall from beneath a cabin nearby.
About Crystal Cove
In the 1910s, the area became popular with both beachgoers and Hollywood movie makers who used it as a filming location. From there, it grew into a bustling community for summer visitors, and later residents. In 1979, it became a California State Park.
Sandra and Rigo Garcia of San Dimas have been visiting Crystal Cove to stay in those historic cabins since the late 1990s. They’ve seen the beach change over the decades.
Sandra and Rigo Garcia have been coming to Crystal Cove for decades and have seen the beach change.
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Erin Stone
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“The tide is just so high that it took all the sand, and we're just like, ‘Oh, where's my beach?’” Sandra Garcia said as they sat under an umbrella on the sand of a small road.
Rigo Garcia pointed to the patch of sand in front of them.
“This spot was always the greatest spot, because I would come early in the morning, set up the easy-ups and chairs, and we always had plenty of real estate,” he said. “The kids would be able to swim maybe 10, 15 yards while they're out there. But now it's so dangerous…too many rocks.”
How we got here
A strong southern swell, combined with high tides, has led to the coastal erosion and flooding. The highest tides of the year, however, usually come in the winter, but over the last week some beaches have seen record high tides for this time of year, according to the National Weather Service.
“As sea levels rise, things like this are gonna become more common."
— Riley Pratt, environmental scientist
Riley Pratt, an environmental scientist with California State Parks Orange County District, said these events are a window into the future — as pollution in our atmosphere heats up the planet and melts glaciers, sea levels rise.
“As sea levels rise, things like this are gonna become more common, and their impact is going to be proportionally greater because the baseline is shifting,” he said. “That's going to change what is this just annual cycle into something that's new and that we haven't seen before.”
But for now, the beach is crowded, the sun is shining, and summertime is in the air. And for the Garcias and their fellow beachgoers, there’s no time like the present.
“Earth changes, so you have to go with it,” said Sandra Garcia. “Even though it has changed so much, we still can enjoy it… and be thankful that we have this paradise here.”
What's next
In Orange County, the National Weather Service warns that dangerous surf conditions, including rip currents, are expected to continue through Friday evening.
This creates dangerous conditions for swimming. Anyone caught in a rip current is advised to swim parallel to the shore to clear it. And, as the NWS says, "always swim near a lifeguard."
In L.A. County, conditions are expected to continue through Wednesday night, including coastal flooding, high tides and rip currents.
Southerly swell combined w/increased tides will bring dangerous rip currents & elevated surf from Pt. Conception southward today into early this coming week. Remain off rocks & jetties, always keep an eye on the ocean, and follow local lifeguard advice before swimming. pic.twitter.com/WNBxUK2igi
David Wagner
covers housing in Southern California, a place where the lack of affordable housing contributes to homelessness.
Published June 15, 2026 3:31 PM
Small aircraft are parked just off the runway at Santa Monica Airport.
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David Wagner/LAist
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Topline:
Voters in Santa Monica will not see a measure on the November ballot aiming to allow 3,000 affordable housing units on one-quarter of the land for the city’s soon-to-close airport.
The backstory: Proponents have been gathering signatures for a measure that would ask the city’s voters to set aside a quarter of Santa Monica Airport’s land for income-restricted housing. The airport is set to close at the end of 2028. Santa Monica voters have already supported turning it into a large park. But some say the city needs to create more opportunities for low- and moderate-income workers to live near their jobs.
What’s new: Supporters of the housing initiative had until mid-June to submit 7,038 signatures in order to qualify for the November 2026 ballot. They now say they will not meet that deadline. “Community volunteers are continuing to gather signatures,” said Rachele Smith, a spokesperson for the hospitality workers union Unite Here Local 11. Smith said proponents now aim to submit enough signatures by Aug. 12 to qualify for the ballot in November 2028.
Park planning moves forward: In 2014, more than 60% of Santa Monica voters supported Measure LC, which prohibited using airport land for any development purpose other than parks and recreation. However, Measure LC left open the possibility of altering course through another public vote. The City Council recently accepted $10.5 million in county and state funding for park planning. Supporters of the housing measure want to keep 75% of the airport’s land dedicated to the creation of a park, with the rest available for housing development.
What’s next: Whether housing supporters will be able to qualify for the 2028 ballot remains to be seen. Ann Bowman, a Santa Monica Great Park Coalition board member, said park supporters “are very excited” by recent developments. “This land must not be privatized as it's been by a small aviation clique for the past 70-plus years,” Bowman said.
