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The Brief

The most important stories for you to know today
  • It's taking up another controversial policy
    A woman with long dark hair speaks passionately into a microphone while she is seated in front of a school district logo.
    Chino Valley Unified School Board President Sonja Shaw addresses the audience during an intense board meeting Thursday night.

    Topline:

    The Chino Valley Unified School District board is considering a new policy that could remove books with “sexually obscene content” from school libraries, classrooms, and all other district facilities.

    The proposed book policy was introduced at Thursday night’s board meeting shortly after a San Bernardino County judge blocked parts of another controversial Chino school district policy.

    Why it matters: Under the proposal, anyone living in the Chino school district, parent or not, would be able to file a complaint about a book if they believe the content is inappropriate for students. It would ultimately be left up to the five members of the Chino school board to decide if the book is appropriate.

    The backstory: Some parents, students, and teachers at the meeting drew similarities between the proposed book policy and the parental notification policy that was passed by the board in July. All school staff have been required to notify parents if their child asks to use a different name, gender, bathroom or program than what is listed on their official records.

    What's next: The Chino school board is expected to make a final decision and vote on the proposed book policy in November.

    The Chino Valley Unified School District board is considering a new policy that could remove books with “sexually obscene content” from school libraries, classrooms and all other district facilities.

    Under the proposal, anyone living in the Chino school district, parent or not, would be able to file a complaint about a book if they believe the content is inappropriate for students.

    Once a complaint is received, the school principal would be required to remove that book and notify the superintendent within three days. The book would then go to the school board, who would have 45 days to hold a public hearing on the content.

    It would ultimately be left up to the five members of the Chino school board to decide if the book is appropriate. If they believe the content is harmful for students, the book would be permanently pulled out of the district. However, it would not apply to books that are part of the state-approved curriculum.

    New policy, new problems?

    The proposed book policy was introduced at Thursday night’s school board meeting shortly after a San Bernardino County judge blocked parts of another controversial Chino school district policy.

    A parental notification policy was passed by the board in July, mandating that all school staff notify parents if their child asks to use a different name, gender, bathroom or program than what is listed on their official records. Attorney General Rob Bonta sued the school district for the move, describing it as a “forced outing policy.”

    Bonta wanted the policy to be paused while the case worked its way through the court system, and on Thursday, Judge Michael Sachs granted a preliminary injunction for two parts. As of now, if a student asks to change their pronouns or use different facilities, Chino school staff are not required to tell their parents.

    Board President Sonja Shaw said in Thursday’s board meeting she doesn’t see the injunction as a defeat. She said she expected the ruling because, “We’re in California, and we’re up against a wall.”

    Some parents, students, and teachers drew similarities between the policies. During public comment, opponents argued the proposed book policy is another lawsuit waiting to happen, while supporters celebrated an opportunity for more “parental rights.”

    While the meeting was intense, it was largely respectful. Almost every speaker, regardless of their stance on the issues, was met with a round of applause from the rest of the audience when their time was up.

    Supporters

    Several public speakers read excerpts from books they said are available to students in the district. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews, Looking for Alaska by John Green, and Perfect by Ellen Hopkins were specifically criticized for their content.

    Stephen Paez, who identified himself as a father of three children in Chino Valley, thanked the board for keeping parents involved.

    More than a dozen people stand together in front of a packed meeting room. A man in a blue button up shirt is standing at a podium and speaking into a microphone for the group.
    A group of supporters who thanked the Chino board members for standing up for parents.
    (
    Screenshot of CVUSD Youtube
    )

    A group of more than a dozen people approached the microphone together to show their support for the board members. One mother said she has a right and a responsibility to decide what her children are filling their minds with. Christine Collingsworth also thanked the board, but specifically Shaw.

    “All parents in California stand behind you, and we want to lock arms with you,” Collingsworth said.

    However, not everyone at the meeting was part of the Chino community. At least one person who spoke in support of the policy identified themselves as belonging to a different Southern California school district.

    Opponents

    Several Chino students spoke out against the proposal, including the district’s student representative Chloe Kubeldis.

    “I know that the board is trying to act and what they think are the best interests of us students, but this policy will do far more harm than good,” she said.

    A group of adults stand in front of a busy meeting room. Most of them are holding hand-written signs. A dark-skinned woman stands at a podium and speaks into a microphone for the group.
    President Brenda Walker speaks for a group of Associated Chino Teachers (ACT) at Thursday's board meeting.
    (
    Screenshot of CVUSD Youtube
    )

    Dozens of teachers and staff also expressed their concerns. A group of Associated Chino Teachers (ACT), led by their president Brenda Walker, said they are heartbroken just thinking about books being taken out of libraries and classrooms.

    Some parents asked the board to explain why they are considering this proposal when there is already a district policy in place that outlines a complaint process. However, as Shaw pointed out, that policy does not mention “sexually obscene content.”

    Other parents argued the proposal will actually take away their parental rights by allowing other members of the community to have power over what is available to their children.

    Where the board members stand

    James Ma said he was shocked and disgusted to hear some of the books being read in the meeting. He said the proposal is not about banning books because those aren’t books, they’re “trash.”

    “If the previous system was working, then why should we still have those trash in our public system?” he said to his colleagues.

    Donald Bridge and Jonathan Monroe were much more hesitant about the proposal. Both board members requested a legal opinion and complaint data before the next meeting.

    Shaw echoed Ma’s sentiment. She said the system is broken, and she is willing to take “any beating” if it means kids in the Chino community aren’t exposed to sexually obscene content.

    The Chino school board is expected to make a final decision and vote on the proposed book policy in November.

  • Program is open to impacted residents, businesses
    The Lineage warehouse in Boyle Heights
    The Lineage warehouse in Boyle Heights on Aug. 31, 2026.

    Topline:

    The Los Angeles City Council approved the transfer of $5 million Wednesday to support residents and businesses affected by the Lineage warehouse fire, part of a $10.5 million recovery package proposed by Councilmember Ysabel Jurado. Households and businesses will soon be able to apply to receive assistance through a program established by the city’s Community Investment Department. A timeline on when the applications will open or when grants will be provided was not immediately available.

    How the money will be used: A significant portion of the initial funding will go toward improving sanitation services near Lineage, including paying for workers’ overtime salaries to enhance pressure washing, bulky item pickup and to respond to illegal dumping.

    The backstory: Months after the fire, residents reported dealing with exorbitant utility bills caused by running air purifiers and air conditioners over the summer. Some residents told Boyle Heights Beat that they lost work due to the fire and that support from Lineage, the city and county in the immediate aftermath was not enough. 

    What's unknown: It is still unclear when the application will open, how soon grants will be provided and how many residents and businesses will be chosen to receive financial relief. It is also unclear how soon L.A. Sanitation will begin additional cleanup near Lineage. Boyle Heights Beat has reached out to the CID with those questions and will update this story when we find out more. 

    The Los Angeles City Council approved the transfer of $5 million Wednesday to support residents and businesses affected by the Lineage warehouse fire, part of a $10.5 million recovery package proposed by Councilmember Ysabel Jurado.

    Households and businesses will soon be able to apply to receive assistance through a program established by the city’s Community Investment Department (CID). A timeline on when the applications will open or when grants will be provided was not immediately available.

    A significant portion of the initial funding will go toward improving sanitation services near Lineage, including paying for workers’ overtime salaries to enhance pressure washing, bulky item pickup and to respond to illegal dumping.

    Jurado addressed the council at Wednesday’s meeting, describing how the June fire had impacted residents’ health, livelihoods and peace of mind.

    “The emergency is still ongoing, and it won’t end until the city can fulfill the long-term commitment we made with them to set a new bar for the level of care that the Eastside deserves. The funding that we can advance today is a milestone in turning that commitment, the promise that Boyle Heights can once again believe in its own future, into action,” Jurado said.

    Months after the fire, residents reported dealing with exorbitant utility bills caused by running air purifiers and air conditioners over the summer. Some residents told Boyle Heights Beat that they lost work due to the fire and that support from Lineage, the city and county in the immediate aftermath was not enough. 

    Here’s how the initial $5 million breaks down: 

    • $2.5 million in direct financial assistance will go to more than 100 qualifying Boyle Heights businesses and Lineage workers in ZIP codes 90033, 90032, and 90063.
      • Qualified businesses with fewer than 6 employees will be eligible to receive $2,500 per month for six months.
      • Qualified businesses with 6 or more employees will be eligible to receive $5,000 per month for six months.
      • LA City residents employed by Lineage and experiencing economic hardship because of the fire will be eligible to receive $2,000 per month for six months. 
    • $1.8 million in direct financial awards will go toward qualifying Boyle Heights households that were affected by the fire.
    • $664,460 will go toward funding supplies and overtime salaries for pressure washing, bulky item pickup, and illegal dumping responses in Boyle Heights through the end of the current fiscal year on June 30, 2027.

    The initial $5 million from the city’s unappropriated balance will go to L.A. Sanitation and CID. The additional proposed $5.5 million will come from Measure A funding to further support residents, according to Jurado’s office.  

    What we still don’t know: 

    It is still unclear when the application will open, how soon grants will be provided and how many residents and businesses will be chosen to receive financial relief. It is also unclear how soon L.A. Sanitation will begin additional cleanup near Lineage. Boyle Heights Beat has reached out to the CID with those questions and will update this story when we find out more. 

    The post LA approves initial $5 million to help Boyle Heights residents, businesses recover from the Lineage fire appeared first on LA Local.

  • Sponsored message
  • Keeping people alive “one more day”
    Three men and a woman walk down a sidewalk next to a public park.
    From left, Immanuel Camacho, Aurora Morales, Joseph Cathey and Angel Borjas of the Homeless Health Care Los Angeles overdose response team patrol the park on Nov. 3, 2025.

    Topline:

    L.A. officials and community organizations have brought a wide range of services to MacArthur Park in an attempt to save lives.

    Why aid workers have concerns: As they struggle to reverse overdoses and get people housed, service workers say recent drug enforcement operations targeting people using drugs have made that work more difficult.

    More support on the way: Expanded services nearby from the St. Vincent Behavioral Health Clinic, USC Street Medicine team and a planned drop-in center could help bring additional support to many in the area who need it.

    Read on . . . for more about the people serving some of MacArthur Park’s most vulnerable.

    Aurora Morales was walking through an alley near MacArthur Park on Nov. 3, 2025, when she spotted something hidden behind a small group of people.

    “There’s a guy,” Morales called out to her teammate, Angel Borjas. “He’s behind his wheelchair. He’s really hard to see.”

    The man was squatted down and bent over at the waist, his forehead nearly touching the ground. For the Homeless Health Care L.A. overdose response team out that day, it was a familiar pose and a common sign of opioid use — known as "riding" or the "fentanyl fold."

    The man bent over in front of them was behind buildings off Alvarado Street. It’s known as "Fentanyl Alley" and is half a block from MacArthur Park, where the team patrols every day. Fentanyl has devastated the area.

    At the scene, team members gave the man an oxygen mask to breathe into. They explained to me how oxygen counteracts an often-deadly effect of fentanyl called respiratory depression — when the person's brain stops telling their body to breathe.

    When the man regained his composure, he introduced himself as Sal. He told me he was feeling much better. He had recently returned to the park after his friends were concerned about his health and called LAFD paramedics, who took him to a hospital.

    He seemed unfazed by his latest close call. “I’m just getting started, man!” Sal told me.

    Aid workers handed Sal a package of naloxone, an overdose-reversing drug also known by the brand name Narcan. One of the aid workers, Joseph Cathey, told him the team would be back around to check on him.

    A note on sources

    Some of the people who spoke to me for this series were involved in illegal activities, did not have legal U.S. residency status or feared for their safety if they talked to a reporter. In some cases, people agreed to use a first name or nickname to speak more openly about their situations. Others would only talk to me on the condition that they remain anonymous. I only used information from anonymous sources that was corroborated by others.

    Had the service workers not been there, Morales said, he would have overdosed.

     "Now he's up, he's breathing, he's talking." Morales said. "We got to prolong his life just one more day."

    They saved a man’s life that morning — and they said it was a slow day.

    MacArthur Park, once a destination for the most affluent Angelenos, has become a symbol of the opioid overdose epidemic that has torn across the U.S. in recent years.

    The area is also recovering from a 2023 spike in violent crime — though still second only to Skid Row as the most violent place in L.A., according to an LAist analysis of LAPD crime data. Daily dangers at the park have left many afraid to go.

    In an attempt to save lives, local officials have contracted a wide range of services to serve MacArthur Park, including free medical programs and gang violence reduction teams. Community organizations have also rallied to the area to regularly bring food, clothing and other necessities for people in need.

    The high level of assistance creates tension between people who view the help as compassionate and others who see it as enabling drug use and criminal activity. Those in favor of more enforcement argue that local government leaders should focus on cracking down on crime, not making it easier for people to use drugs around the park.

    “There's a trend for people wanting punishment,” said Immanuel Camacho, a member of Homeless Health Care L.A.’s overdose response team. “But for us it's the opposite of that, it's kindness, it's being part of the community and showing care and affection.”

    More services are available to unhoused people at the park than anywhere else in the city except Skid Row — and still, people told me it’s not enough. Service providers from multiple organizations said they have limited resources and face bureaucratic hurdles that can make it a challenge to connect people with the things they need most, like long-term medical care or housing.

    As drug enforcement operations near the park transitioned in June from targeting dealers and distributors to people who were there to use drugs, several service providers told me people with substance use disorders were driven deeper into the shadows, where they are less likely to get the help they need and risk overdosing without anyone there to save them.

    Mental health and drug treatment resources

    Overdose response and street medicine

    Two men stand next to a black jeep.
    The Homeless Health Care L.A. team prepares to head into MacArthur Park on Nov. 3, 2025.
    (
    Jordan Rynning
    /
    LAist
    )

    The Homeless Health Care L.A. team is in MacArthur Park every day, carrying naloxone and small oxygen tanks to prevent overdoses, first aid supplies and a biohazard box for used needles they pick up from the ground.

    The team says they have prevented hundreds of people from dying of overdoses, either by their own intervention or through community members they trained how to recognize and respond to an overdose. They also report picking up more than 43,000 units of hazardous waste like used needles and other drug paraphernalia within just 15 months.

    Walking into the park, the team is recognized almost immediately.

    “There’s our people, Wawa,” one man said to his dog. He called the team over to check out his new skateboard. Several people approached to chat or thank them for their work.

    Morales told me it took a while to build that kind of trust. Some people still refuse services, she said, but many who stay in the park appreciate having someone there to look after them.

    Camacho said he believes their work benefits the community beyond the people they help directly. By reversing overdoses, they are also reducing the strain on local first responders and the healthcare system.

    Still, they can’t stop every overdose in the park, and some people need more help than their team can provide — that’s when paramedics or physicians need to get involved.

    Paramedics from the Los Angeles Fire Department's nearby Station 11 respond to more emergency calls than they did during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. In recent years, about one-fifth of EMS calls near the park have been for suspected drug overdoses.

    Capt. Erik Scott, a spokesperson for LAFD, told me that the department added a new unit in the area to bring field-based medical care to MacArthur Park.

    In September 2025, Advanced Provider Response Unit 13 started treating patients around the park where they are, often without a trip to the hospital, and connecting frequent EMS users with preventive or primary care.

    A red Los Angeles Fire Department SUV stops at a red light. In the background workers in bright vests clean the sidewalk.
    Members of the LAFD's Advanced Provider Response Unit 13 drive near MacArthur Park on Aug. 23, 2026.
    (
    Jordan Rynning
    /
    LAist
    )

    Scott said the specialized team also aims to reduce the number of emergency calls for fire companies and rescue ambulances, which could improve response times in the area — only Fire Station 9 in Skid Row had more emergency calls last year than Station 11.

    Scott provided statistics from the department that showed a 10% decrease in 911 calls for medical emergencies near the park in 2025 compared to the previous year. Calls about overdoses proved to be more persistent, decreasing about 2%.

    A woman talks with five men wearing uniforms.
    Mayor Karen Bass spoke with LAFD firefighters in MacArthur Park on Feb. 28, 2026. Bass told the firefighters she used to be a nurse and suggested she ride along one day on emergency calls. “Make sure you dress comfortably,” one of the firefighters replied, “because we’re going to be busy.”
    (
    Jordan Rynning
    /
    LAist
    )

    Along with paramedics, there are also doctors, nurses and social workers in the park every week.

    “We go to the people on the streets — under the bridges, places like MacArthur Park — to provide the same level of care on the street that you'd expect in a brick-and-mortar clinic,” Brett Feldman told me.

    Feldman is the director of USC’s street medicine program, which he founded in 2018. The program has received funding from the City of L.A. since 2022.

    “Of all the places I've done street medicine, MacArthur Park was the most challenging to cover,” Feldman said.

    He pointed to a USC study released in 2025 that found most of the people who receive treatment in MacArthur Park don’t live nearby.

    “Only about 20% of people live in and around the park,” he told me, “so the rest are coming from different places around the city.”

    It’s hard for healthcare workers to stay in touch with patients who have no fixed address, Feldman said. He said his team has tried to maintain contact by keeping a consistent schedule so people know how to find them. They’ve also hired a new full-time team this year to be able to serve the park Monday through Friday.

    Contrary to a popular belief, Feldman said people who are unhoused or struggling with substance use do usually want treatment.

    The USC study found that many people there desire treatment for mental health and substance use disorders, he said, but had never been offered those treatments.

    “Even though our perception was there were so many services coming [to the park], we still weren't coming anywhere close to meeting the need,” Feldman said.

    Some healthcare providers and local government officials are hopeful that new facilities and services could also help fill some of that need with supportive housing, recuperative care and addiction treatment.

    Notably, the long-shuttered St. Vincent Hospital has reopened as a Behavioral Health Campus with beds to house more than 200 people struggling with mental illness and substance use disorders — there are another 600 beds planned for the site. That effort has raised millions of dollars from healthcare organizations and the state government.

    L.A. Care Health Plan, a provider for public healthcare coverage like Medi-Cal and Medicare Plus, is also partnering with the city and county to roll out the MacArthur Park Care Collaborative. Along with expanding street medicine services in the area, the collaborative is expected to build a drop-in center near the park for people who are unhoused or suffering from substance use.

    The collaborative will provide “low-barrier medical care, mental health services, overdose prevention, and pathways to longer-term care,” L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis told me in a statement.

    Solis represents both Skid Row and MacArthur Park on the Board of Supervisors and serves on the L.A. Care board of governors.

    “The focus is on meeting people where they are and reducing the barriers that keep individuals experiencing homelessness and substance use disorders from accessing care,” she said.

    Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, who represents the area on L.A.’s City Council, told me she has also been working to open a healthcare hub in the area since she took office, collaborating with the county and service providers. She got $3 million of the city’s opioid settlement funds approved to go toward a brick-and-mortar facility in 2024.

    About the opioid settlement

    The City of L.A. sued Purdue Pharma L.P. and other opioid manufacturers, distributors and retailers beginning in 2018 that expanded to include cities across the country and led to a series of legal settlements with the companies. In 2023, L.A. began receiving payments that city analysts have estimated could total up to about $60 million to go toward opioid related projects like prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery services through 2038.

    “We are not trying to saturate this neighborhood with services in the way that people oftentimes compare it to Skid Row,” Hernandez said, “but we are offering the spaces for people to be, because right now there's nowhere else for them to be except in our park and on our sidewalks.”

    Medicine second to housing

    Without housing, healthcare can be a “losing battle,” said Dr. Absalon Galat, medical director of L.A. County’s mobile clinic and street medicine program, which has been serving the park with comprehensive healthcare for two years.

    “Housing is really the core, in terms of stabilizing somebody,” Galat said.

    As a division of the county Department of Health Services, Galat said his program serves as a “one-stop shop.” They can help people who need substance use treatment or general healthcare, while connecting people to housing resources.

    Dr. Lorenzo Gonzalez also works in the department as a physician and has led the mobile clinic that serves MacArthur Park every Thursday. He agrees that healthcare takes a back seat to housing needs for the people he treats in MacArthur Park.

    A group of medical professionals stand under a canopy near a sidewalk in a public park. A large truck, serving as a mobile clinic, is parked on the other side of the sidewalk.
    The L.A. County Department of Health Services’ mobile clinic brings comprehensive medical care to the park every Thursday.
    (
    Jordan Rynning
    /
    LAist
    )

    Gonzalez said he hears from patients who lost their homes in recent years, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    “I think medicine comes second to housing needs and more immediate needs of shelter, safety,” Gonzalez said.  “ We provide comprehensive medical care, and we also have folks here like a social worker and a community health worker that can help you with your social needs.”

    Gonzalez said he also acts as a liaison between housed residents near MacArthur Park and his patients by attending local government and community meetings.

    “We walk a line, right? We want to be there to support the MacArthur Park folks that live, rent and are taking their children to the park,” he said. “And we want to make sure that our [unhoused] patients have a voice and are seen in these spaces where they're normally not at.”

    Jennifer Haid has worked in the park since 2021, connecting people to housing and other services through her nonprofit HumanKind LA.

    Haid, who has an office across the street, said she sees the park as a place for community that everyone can share in.

    A woman sits behind a desk and smiles at a man sitting on a chair across from her.
    Jennifer Haid of HumanKind LA meets with a client at her office near MacArthur Park on Aug. 5, 2026.
    (
    Jordan Rynning
    /
    LAist
    )

    “The park can serve many things,” she said. “It can serve as a place for wound care and food. It can serve as a place for healing and peace for people just as much as it can serve as a place for sports and whatever else.”

    Haid told me that service providers in the area like herself have spent a long time building trust and gathering the required paperwork to get people housed. She said recent drug enforcement raids have made her job “infinitely more difficult,” making the park an unwelcoming, unsafe place for her clients and leading most of them to stay out of the area.

    Haid said many of her clients have already been met with a lifetime of broken promises and believe the system isn’t on their side. It’s tragic, she said, when people who have put in the work to receive housing are now missing the opportunities they applied for.

    “Finally, something has come to fruition,” Haid said, “and they can't be here to get it.”

    A man pushes a grocery cart past an alleyway. Three men stand in the alley in the background.
    A man pushes a cart past an alleyway half a block from MacArthur Park on Feb. 11, 2026. People often go to the alleys near the park to use drugs out of sight, but service providers say this can increase the risk they overdose with no one around to help.
    (
    Jordan Rynning
    /
    LAist
    )

    Preventing gang violence

    Many of the people bringing services to MacArthur Park grew up in the area or know what it's like from their own experiences to deal with drug use, organized crime or homelessness.

    Several service workers from different organizations told me their personal experience gives them a sense of compassion and understanding toward the people they are trying to help.

    Tina Padilla-Zamora said her father was a gang member. She told me she didn’t see any other way of living life when she was growing up in Northeast L.A. For a while, she followed in his footsteps.

    “Being in a gang was what you're supposed to do,” she said. After experiencing life in prison, she said, she decided to take another path.

    Padilla-Zamora became a case manager for local violence intervention organizations before she started Community Warriors 4 Peace, a non-profit organization now contracted by the city as part of the Gang Reduction and Youth Development program.

    A group of six people pose for a photo in a public park.
    Tina Padilla-Zamora and her son, center, stand with members of Community Warriors 4 Peace in MacArthur Park, on Oct. 31, 2025. Padilla-Zamora started the organization to help reduce gang violence in L.A.
    (
    Jordan Rynning
    /
    LAist
    )

    She told me personal experience like hers gives gang violence intervention workers the tools they need to lower tensions between neighboring gangs.

    They know where the “invisible boundaries” are that divide the territories of different gangs around the park, she said, and they know how to pick up on signs other people might miss — subtle warnings that violence might erupt. They provide safe passage for children to local schools and help gang members to find their own paths away from organized crime.

    Two other organizations, Homies Unidos and Healing Urban Barrios, are also contracted by the city to work in the park as peace ambassadors and reduce community violence.

    About the allegations

    While lived experience can give contracted service workers insight and credibility — what some call their “license to operate” — at least two former service workers have faced allegations that they crossed the line into illegal activity near MacArthur Park.

    Christopher Barret Johnson, 42, worked at People Assisting the Homeless (PATH) as a substance use disorder specialist before he was arrested in May on charges of possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute.

    Johnson pleaded not guilty in June, with a trial expected in April 2027.

    Federal agents arrested Michael Angel Alvarez, 41, in June on felony charges that he had body armor in his possession, which is illegal under federal and California law for those who have violent felony convictions.

    Federal and county prosecutors each charged Alvarez, who pleaded not guilty.

    U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang found that Alvarez did not have a violent felony conviction that could apply in the case, and ordered the federal case against him to be dismissed on Sept. 9.

    County prosecutors dropped their felony body armor case against Alvarez on Oct. 28.

    The District Attorney’s office told LAist Alvarez admitted to a probation violation and was sentenced to time served.

    Padilla-Zamora said that while she understands that law enforcement has their own job to do, the city can’t arrest its way out of the problems in MacArthur Park.

    Eventually, she said, those people who are arrested will come home, where they will need other resources and opportunities to avoid returning to gangs. Those resources — like quality jobs and housing — have been in short supply around MacArthur Park for decades.

    Supporting community

    Although homelessness and substance use issues are among the most apparent problems facing MacArthur Park, some people — housed and unhoused alike — lack even simple things like food or community. To fill those needs, local non-profit and faith-based organizations are in the park nearly every day, providing mobile food banks, free meals and religious services.

    Chris Turner works for L.A. Dream Center, which is one of the organizations that brings food to the park through a mobile food bank.

    Turner spoke to me as dozens of people lined up behind a white box truck for their turn to receive groceries. He said his organization works with the L.A. Regional Food Bank to serve low-income communities across L.A., and they come to MacArthur Park once a week.

    “I've been on the other side of the line of the people that I feed every day,” Turner told me. He said he grew up going to food banks, and sees this work as a chance to make a difference when 1 in 4 L.A. County households face food insecurity.

    Others work to carve out space in the park for family-friendly activities that celebrate the neighborhood’s rich culture.

    Allegra Padilla is the executive director of Music, Arts & Community · Los Angeles, which hosts a wide range of concerts every year — everything from cumbia and big band to punk rock.

    Padilla told me that these events provide a space to reconnect with tradition, experience something new and connect with people through music and food.

    “Not only might someone see themselves reflected on stage,” she said, “but they might also be able to connect to a valuable resource while they're on the lawn or get to make some art with their grandmother.”

    Padilla said she sees different groups working to uplift MacArthur Park in the midst of the fentanyl crisis, and hopes that there will be longer-term commitments and opportunities for people in the area.

    “This was not something that was happening before, you know, five years ago,” Padilla told me. “So how can we all rise to the occasion and figure it out?”

    How to reach me

    If you have a tip, you can reach me on Signal. My username is jrynning.56.

    How to get involved

  • We toured the OC Registrar of Voters' headquarters
    A look at a large steel bin that is the official ballot drop box for Orange County: On the side and door is language explaining how the box works, along with directions to a website to help with more information: OCVote.gov
    The official ballot drop box for Orange County: It's made of steel, weighs more than 1,000 pounds and is bolted to the concrete when placed out at various locations across the county.

    Topline:

    The Orange County Registrar of Voters, Bob Page, gave a tour of the offices on Wednesday to show the careful multi-step process each ballot goes through. He said they've received more than 380,000 ballots as of Oct. 27. That’s around 80,000 more ballots than was received around the same time in 2022.

    Why it matters: Page said he's fielded more questions from the public this year about the potential for law enforcement to interfere with the election.

    Legal challenges: On Wednesday, a federal judge denied an emergency request from the Department of Justice to segregate 20,000 ballots across California that the federal government said were sent to "likely" noncitizens.

    On a tour of Orange County’s voting headquarters on Wednesday, Registrar Bob Page demonstrated the careful, multi-step process through which voters’ ballots are validated and counted.

    As the federal government raises the specter of unsubstantiated voter fraud, Page’s message was clear: “ I want voters to know that we're doing everything we can to make sure they can vote safely and securely."

    More than 380,000 Orange County ballots have been returned as of Oct. 27, Page said. That’s about 80,000 more ballots than was received around the same time in 2022, the last mid-term elections.

    An individual wearing a suit and tie stands at a podium that reads, Orange County elections. There are two other individuals standing nearby on the stage. The stage is flanked by an American flag on the left, and a flag of California on the right. There is a backdrop for the photo that reads "Orange County Registrar of Voters."
    Orange County Registrar of Voters Bob Page addresses the media and other members of the public in attendance as part of a tour of the voting operations on Wednesday, less than one week before Election Day.
    (
    Kavish Harjai
    /
    LAist.com
    )

    The journey of a ballot in Orange County

    Collecting, and counting, all those ballots takes time. Page explained that two-person teams are dispatched to collect dropped-off ballots every day during election season.

    The ballot drop-off boxes in Orange County are made of steel, weigh more than 1,000 pounds and are bolted to the concrete, Page said.

    The ballot retrieval duos are required to follow a strict process to ensure the chain of custody remains secure, including taking photos showing they’ve picked up the ballots, properly locked the retrieval door and that the internal fire suppression canister is intact.

    The locations of the two-person teams are GPS-tracked by separate teams, which also review the photo evidence before giving the ballot retrieval duos the green light to go to their next stops.

    A horizontal screen hangs on a metal fencing. On the screen is an overhead view of a set of hands working at counting election ballots.
    An overhead camera shows the process that occurs after the signatures on a ballot have been verified and the ballot is then ready to be counted.
    (
    Kavish Harjai
    /
    LAist.com
    )

    Signature verification

    Once a ballot reaches the Registrar of Voters’ office, the next step is ensuring the signature on the envelope matches the voter's signatures in their registration file.

    “If we do challenge [a signature], we’re required under state law to send a first-class letter notice to that voter,” Page said, adding that state statute affords voters until the day before Thanksgiving this year to correct errant signatures.

    Page said three election workers must agree that enough of a discrepancy exists before the decision to challenge a signature is made.

    Around 1.9% of the nearly 718,000 vote-by-mail ballots returned in the June primary election in Orange County were rejected, largely due to signature mismatch or because they weren’t received in time, according to the California Secretary of State.

    Verified ballots are then separated from their envelopes and sorted before they’re prepared to be scanned and, finally, counted. The equipment used to tally votes isn’t connected to the internet, and access to the room the equipment is housed in is limited, according to Page.

    Threats from the federal government

    On Wednesday evening, a federal judge denied an emergency request from the Department of Justice to segregate 20,000 ballots across California that the federal government said were sent to “likely” noncitizens.

    More than 1,750 of those people identified were in Orange County, according to a letter Bill Essayli, top federal prosecutor for the Central District of California, delivered to the county registrar’s office Monday.

    The Department of Justice said it will appeal the ruling from U.S. District Court Judge David Carter, who, in his decision, said the federal government’s attempted move could “wreak havoc and disrupt the election that is already underway.”

    California Attorney Gen. Rob Bonta called the ruling an “important victory,” but warned “the fight is not over.”

    On Wednesday, before the ruling came down, Bonta released resources about election integrity in the state, including guidance for local election officials if law enforcement attempts to “access election sites where ballots are cast, processed, or counted.”

    Page said he’s fielded more questions from the public this year about the potential for law enforcement to interfere in the election. He said he will have open lines of communication with partners with the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and  Orange County Intelligence Assessment Center should the threat arise.

    What’s on your ballot?

    Our LAist Voter Game Plan is here to help guide you through the Nov. 3 election with guides to races across Los Angeles and Orange counties — and that long list of state propositions — to help you cast a ballot that’s in line with your own personal beliefs and values.

    But the one thing we don’t do? We don’t tell you how to vote. That part is left up to you.

    You can find it all at LAist.com/Vote.

    How to reach me

    If you have a tip, you can reach me on Signal. My username is kharjai.61.

  • State officials pull funding for major project
    Various sized boats docked in the ocean with a hilly background.
    Catalina Island is home to more than 4,000 residents, and it draws thousands of tourists each year.

    Topline:

    The California Public Utilities Commission pulled back a $37.5 million grant for a project that would have brought fast, reliable internet to Catalina Island. The commission voted unanimously at Thursday’s board meeting to terminate its contract with telecommunications company AVX Networks.

    How did we get here? The CPUC awarded AVX the grant in December 2025. Months later, CPUC staff accused the company of breaking federal spending rules. Lance Ware, CEO of AVX Networks, has denied those allegations. In July, CPUC staff sent AVX Networks a termination letter.

    Why it matters: The island is home to more than 4,000 residents, and it draws thousands of tourists each year. Its slow, unreliable internet connection affects everything from remote learning to emergency response.

    Ware told LAist he’s disappointed by the commission’s vote and lack of public discussion, but it doesn’t necessarily mark the end of the project. “I'm certainly not the person to quit,” he added. “There's all these downstream effects of not having reliable connectivity that are unacceptable.”

    More on the project: The proposed plan would build a fiber-optic network under the San Pedro Channel, running from two points on Catalina Island to landings near Huntington Beach. Those cables will then connect to the Middle Mile Broadband Network in Stanton.

    What’s next? AVX Networks filed a federal lawsuit against the CPUC in July, arguing that CPUC staff terminated the deal without notice and without a formal CPUC vote, according to court documents. A hearing is scheduled for early December, according to Ware. Attorneys for CPUC did not immediately respond to LAist’s request for comment.