Libby Rainey
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Published May 28, 2025 5:00 AM
Los Angeles renovated and relaunched licensed childcare centers using federal pandemic relief money. Less than four years later, the city says it doesn't have the money to keep running them.
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Libby Rainey
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LAist
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Topline:
In 2021, the city of Los Angeles took $20 million of its COVID-19 relief money and put it toward a big plan: expanding and running its own child care centers. Fast forward four years and most of the city's programs have already run out of road.
What happened: The city says it doesn't have the money to continue operating the majority of its preschools and is looking for new providers to take them over.
How did the program go: The city missed its deadlines to reopen the centers, had more vacancies than seats filled, and never charged for the programs, despite city officials saying they never intended to run them for free. Two of the centers never reopened at all.
What happens next? The city has repeatedly told parents at the affected centers that there will be a "smooth transition" for families with children at the preschool, but the timeline they've presented tells a different story. On a recent call for child care operators interested in moving into the centers, one city representative said what had until then been only hinted at: The transition meant that the centers would need to temporarily close.
Read on ... for parents' reactions and details about the budget for the centers.
In 2021, the city of Los Angeles took some of its COVID-19 relief money and put it toward a big plan: expanding and running its own childcare centers.
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LA invested millions in preschools. Less than four years later, it's offloading most. What happened?
The City Council approved $20 million dollars of American Rescue Plan Act federal funds to renovate and reopen 10 licensed preschools at Recreation and Parks facilities. It highlighted a persistent problem that became all the more acute during the pandemic: There is not enough licensed childcare in Los Angeles. The plan, according to the City Council, was to expand options for working families in low-income neighborhoods.
Fast forward four years and the city says it doesn't have the money to continue operating the majority of its preschools and is looking for new providers to take them over.
Along the way, the city missed its deadlines to reopen the centers, had more vacancies than seats filled, and never charged for the programs, despite city officials saying they never intended to run them for free. The city received a state grant to provide care for low-income children ages 2 to 3, but city staffers said they couldn't actually use the funding at the new preschools because they weren't open enough hours in the day.
Two of the centers never reopened at all.
Now, parents say they've spent months trying to get answers from the city, and the responses have only made them angrier.
"It's an epic failure," said Lisa Shaughnessy, whose son attends one of the preschools. "They just blew through the money, didn't budget for anything, didn't plan for anything, and when they ran out of money, they said, 'Oh, sorry, program's gone.'"
The city says it has around $750,000 left to keep running the centers. After that, what remains is laid out in the city's 2025-26 proposed budget, which sets aside $1.62 million for continuing care at the remaining city-run preschools.
That represents just a tiny fraction of the Recreation and Parks Department's proposed budget: under 0.5%. Compared to the city's total budget, the number is just 0.01%.
The rapid expansion and contraction of funds has led some to wonder why the city moved forward with reopening its child care centers, and if there was a long-term plan at all.
" It's really a bad idea to use one-time money for ongoing services," said Kay Hartman, a member of the Neighborhood Council Budget Advocates. "Because it will always get you into budget trouble."
Others pointed out that American Rescue Plan Act dollars were short-term, emergency funds for a time of unprecedented crisis. The federal government poured more money into the childcare sector than the U.S. had seen since World War II. But it was never intended to be a long-term solution for endemic problems like lack of access to affordable child care.
" We knew that it was never going to be funding that would be transformational for the system,” said Arabella Bloom with the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment. "It was very much kind of a Band-Aid to protect the sector during this really stressful time."
In an email, a spokesperson for Rec and Parks said the city had used the federal funds to successfully renovate nine preschools and re-open eight of them. She pointed to rising operational costs and budget constraints as the reason city services couldn't continue.
"The city remains committed to ensuring that working families have access to safe, affordable, and high-quality childcare at these facilities by partnering with qualified early education service providers," she said.
Preschool openings were repeatedly delayed
The 10 centers that L.A. chose to reopen during the pandemic had been city-run preschools before, but they shuttered during the Great Recession. After 2008, Recreation and Parks ran just two preschool programs.
The city's goal was to renovate some of the previously closed spaces and make them operational again by July 2023, according to a 2022 report from the city administrative officer, which oversees the management of COVID-19 federal funds.
The city missed that deadline. As of June 2023, the city had opened just two of the 10 locations. More than 260 families had filled out forms expressing interest in the programs, and 100 had submitted applications. But the preschools were serving just 16 children.
"Due to construction delays and challenges onboarding resources, the number of children intended to have been served by this point is below performance goals," the report from the city administrative officer reads. A Recreation and Parks spokesperson also said licensing the preschools led to delays.
That report laid out a new intended date for the preschools to be fully operational and licensed: April 2024. Yet another report published three months after that April date found that four of the 10 preschools still weren't open. Just 29% of the seats at the centers that had reopened were full — 79 out of 272 seats. The city had received more than 750 interest forms from families looking for child care.
That same report laid out a new timeline for opening all the preschools: 2025. In the same document, the city named two dates: January 2025 and June 2025. Two of the centers — Banning Child Care Center and Van Ness Child Care Center — are still not open. And they're not opening anytime soon: Representatives with L.A.'s Recreation and Parks Department say they'll soon begin the search for non-city providers to run eight of the preschools, including the two that never re-opened.
I was so excited to look at these beautiful centers that opened up. We wanted this to succeed.
— LaShon Tillie-Jones, Recreation and Parks Department
" The department does not have funding to continue operating and maintaining the centers that we opened back up," said Chinyere Stoneham, an assistant general manager for Recreation and Parks who has overseen the child care centers for about a year.
The city has repeatedly told parents at the affected centers that there will be a "smooth transition" for families with children at the preschool, but the timeline they've presented tells a different story.
The mayor's office told LAist that federal funds for the childcare centers will be fully used up by late fall 2025. In meetings with parents and childcare providers, other city officials said that the process of finding and contracting outside providers for the newly renovated facilities will take until at least January 2026 to complete. The new entities will also need to obtain licenses from the state of California, a process that can take months.
So on a recent call for childcare operators interested in moving into the centers, one city representative said what had until then been only hinted at: The transition means that the centers would need to temporarily close.
"We have a meeting scheduled with Community Care Licensing to discuss the details of the transition and explore ways to minimize disruption to childcare services," a spokesperson for Rec and Parks said in an email.
Some parents with kids at the centers say this means they have to look for new preschool options on short notice.
" The communication has been exceptionally disappointing," said Catherine Gillespie-Vargas, whose 3-year-old attends one of the centers. "Most parents have had to make decisions on where their child is going for the next academic year. Like the timeline has passed."
At a recent parent meeting at Evergreen Child Care Center in Boyle Heights, Recreation and Parks employee LaShon Tillie-Jones, who manages the child care program, responded to parent concerns.
"I was so excited to look at these beautiful centers that opened up. We wanted this to succeed, but with budget cuts we just can't do it. I apologize for that," she said. "We probably should have provided information earlier on.”
What happened?
It's unclear if the city ever intended to keep running all the preschools it invested in long-term. The majority of federal funds went into renovating the buildings, not running the actual programs. But from the beginning, city officials said the city centers faced issues with staffing. Tillie-Jones, who manages the child care program, said the centers were never staffed to capacity, due to struggles with recruitment.
Rose Watson, a spokesperson for Recreation and Parks, said that the city wasn't able to use a grant from the California Department of Social Services because it required the centers to operate between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m.
"The funding has not been utilized at the eight sites due to the inability to hire the appropriate number of staff to expand out the hours of operation and keep the required supervision ratios," Watson said in an email.
She said grant funding has been used to support families at the city's two long-standing preschools.
" This example demonstrates pretty clearly that we can't grow the supply of childcare without growing the childcare workforce," she said. "A lot of times, programs might have an empty classroom just sitting there where they could serve however many more kids, but they don't have a teacher to fill that slot."
According to the budget blue book, child care associates working for the city make between $41,843 and $62,911 a year. At the low end, that's around $20 an hour.
Staffing issues weren't the only hiccup. The city also didn't charge for its new programs, so all families were attending for free regardless of income. Multiple parents told LAist they would have paid for the service if it made the programs sustainable.
Even the city's website represents the aspirational version of the centers rather than the reality. It lists opening hours for all the centers as 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., even though multiple centers keep shorter hours.
The programs never had the chance to reach full hours or capacity. By last year, the plan to remove the new preschools from city control was already in motion. Mayor Karen Bass directed the Recreation and Parks Department to make a plan to transition the childcare operations to non-city providers, including a timeline and cost comparisons. More than a year later, that report has still not been produced.
What will the new providers look like?
Recreation and Parks staff say that transitioning the preschools to non-city providers will allow the city spaces to continue providing child care to Angelenos. Some parents expressed skepticism about the plan.
" They laid out all the problems they've had and why it was so difficult to operate, and now they just expect us to believe that a third party will come in and not have any of those problems?" Shaughnessy said.
Recreation and Parks officials said the city won't charge rent at the facilities to help providers keep costs down, and will require whoever operates the facilities to charge below market rate for tuition and fees. It's unclear if that means they'll be affordable.
One example of how the programs may look after the transition is the Joy Picus Child Development Center, a privately run program in L.A.'s City Hall. It charges $1,372 a month for preschool-aged children, with a slight discount for city employees.
City staff also said at one parent meeting that they'll start charging at the new centers that will remain under city control — $300 a week, or $1,200 a month, with considerations based on income. For comparison, the Los Angeles Unified School District's early education centers charge a maximum of around $500 a month. An LAUSD spokesperson said they were unaware of the city's preschool programs and the plan to close them until reading about it in the news.
A lost opportunity
As the end of the city's free childcare programs looms, parents who still have kids there say the programs represent a lost opportunity for Los Angeles. Multiple families told LAist that they loved the preschools, adored the city staff there and felt proud to be bringing their children to a successful city program.
"We all found a gem of a preschool," said Lucia Fabio, who has a child at one of the childcare centers. " This is working and it's working well."
Last year, the city surveyed around half of the parents at the preschools, and 100% said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the program quality.
"We missed the chance as a city to do something that almost no one else is doing," said parent Xavier Vargas. "There's this social acknowledgement [that] this is a fundamental core right. That if people want to work, they have a place to be able to afford child care. And we just dropped it."
People grab stickers on the first day of early voting in New York, on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026.
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Heather Khalifa
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AP
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Topline:
Vote counting will start Tuesday night but could go on for days or even weeks. As results are being tallied this election Tuesday, here is a guide to watch election night as polls close across the country (all times in Eastern Time and organized by latest poll close time).
Earliest results: Beginning at 4 p.m. PST, some results will begin to come in. Georgia and Florida are in this group where all eyes are on the senate and gubernatorial races in those states. In Georgia, Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff is likely to defeat Republican Rep. Mike Collins in the race for Senate. The governor's race is tighter, one of the most competitive in the south between Republican nominee, billionaire businessman Rick Jackson and Democratic candidate, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.
Later results: California, the Pacific Northwest, and Idaho are done casting ballots come 8 p.m. PST. After California voters opted to redraw the congressional boundaries in the state in 2025, the decision made the state less competitive for Republicans and the close races have mostly tilted toward Democrats in the final weeks. But in California's Central Valley, there is a true toss-up race. There are also tax-related propositions on California's ballot, including a billionaire tax. California is a slow counting state so races may not be called quickly.
Read on . . . for more results times and key races in those states.
Vote counting will start Tuesday night but could go on for days or even weeks.
While control of the House could become clear sooner because of bigger margins, control of the Senate could take much longer — the margins are tighter, seven states are especially competitive and two states use ranked choice voting which can prolong count time. Control of the House likely won't come down to one seat, but control of the Senate very well could.
As results are being tallied, here is a guide to watch election night as polls close across the country (all times in Eastern Time and organized by latest poll close time).
7 p.m. ET: Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Virginia, Vermont
To get things started, all eyes are on the senate and gubernatorial races in Georgia and Florida.
Georgia: Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff is likely to defeat Republican Rep. Mike Collins in the race for Senate. The governor's race is tighter, one of the most competitive in the south between Republican nominee, billionaire businessman Rick Jackson and Democratic candidate, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. Despite delays in elections past, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has told local news that new laws require counties to report results within an hour of polls closing.
South Carolina: This is an unexpectedly tight Senate race between Sen. Darline Graham, who was appointed to the seat after her brother Linsdey Graham died, and Democratic nominee Annie Andrews. Many national polls say the race in this heavily Republican state is a toss up, while the Cook Political Report says Republicans have the advantage.
7:30 p.m. ET: North Carolina, Ohio, West Virginia
North Carolina and Ohio have Senate and governor's races to watch.
North Carolina: Polls and pundits show North Carolina's Republican-held Senate seat is the most likely flip for the Democrats. The contest is between former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and Michael Whatley, the former Republican National Committee chairman and close Trump ally. The last time Democrats won a Senate race in the state was in 2008, and the path to a Democratic majority becomes much less likely if the party loses this one.
Ohio: This is the first of the seven tight Senate races on Tuesday night that could define control of the Senate. Republican Sen. Jon Husted and former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown are deadlocked. Ohio used to be thought of as a swing state but in the last decade, it's become solidly Republican, so the close races have attracted attention. For governor, former state health director, Democrat Amy Acton is leading in the polls against venture capitalist, Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, who recently launched an attack ad against Acton featuring her estranged mother. The blowback to the ad was so significant, it could hurt Husted as well as Ramaswamy.
8 p.m.: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Washington, D.C.
Polls would now be closed in more than half the country. There is potential for calls at poll-close in governor's races in favor of Republicans in Alabama, South Dakota and Tennessee and in favor of Democrats in Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.
Maine: Despite the late entry by the Democratic candidate, Troy Jackson, the race is tough for incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins. But Collins has remained resilient in face of challenges in the past. This is another seat targeted by Democrats to pick up, in the only place a Republican holds a Senate seat in a state won by Kamala Harris in 2024.
Florida: Another former swing state that has become solidly red in recent elections, the governor's race between Republican Rep. Byron Donalds and his Democratic opponent David Jolly favors Republicans. But for Donalds to hold only a slight poll advantage follows the national trend of Republicans lagging behind in traditional strongholds. The Senate race is slightly less competitive. Incumbent Sen. Ashley Moody is poised to win over Democratic state Rep. Angie Nixon. Where Florida has a lot of political consequence on election night is in its competitive House races. Florida is a state that redrew its congressional maps ahead of this election and this will be the first test. According to the Cook Political Report, seven House seats are competitive with two toss-ups.
Pennsylvania: For a significant portion of this election cycle, Pennsylvania has been the state with the most competitive House races — four, including three toss-ups. But as the map has solidified in the last month, all three toss-ups now lean toward Democrats. The last is a toss-up. Democrats could have a big night here.
New Hampshire: At one point, this race was quite close but the gap between Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas and former Republican Sen. John Sununu has widened, giving Pappas the edge. Still, New Hampshire is a state with a popular Republican governor expected to win in the same election and Republicans see this as a potential long-shot pick up opportunity.
8:30 p.m.: Arkansas
Arkansas: The Senate race is not very competitive but if Republicans' margin is smaller than usual, that could show that Democrats got more votes than usual in places that they haven't traditionally won. Plus, there's a House race here that Republicans have poured money into in the final days. Not a state to watch closely but could give insight into the larger electorate.
9 p.m.: Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming
Another major hour for poll closures. At this point, polls are closed in more than 80% of the states. Eyes and energy will begin shifting to initial results out of Iowa, Kansas, Michigan and Texas, where competitive senate races are at play that could decide control of the chamber.
Arizona: One of the most competitive gubernatorial contests is happening in this swing state. Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs is hoping to fend off MAGA-aligned Republican Rep. Andy Biggs. This has tilted toward Hobbs at the end but Arizona is known for an independent streak in politics.
There are major Senate races in Iowa, Kansas, Michigan and Texas. Three of those states are reliably Republican and Democrats' ability to be neck-and-neck in those states shows the frustration voters feel about the economy and the Trump presidency.
In Texas, a Democrat hasn't won statewide since the early 1990s. Democratic nominee state Rep. James Talarico faces off against Republican nominee Ken Paxton, who has had to grapple with a scandal-riddled past. Talarico could take an early lead as early voting data and mail in ballots are counted but Paxton will probably start to gain ground as counties will start reporting their totals. While the governor's race between Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and state Rep. Gina Hinojosa is also close, Abbott is still favored.
Kansas Republicans are trying to keep Sen. Roger Marshall in the Senate. This seemed like a safe seat for Republicans until Democrat Adam Hamilton entered with his moderate message. Add to that, the Trump brand is not having the same impact in Kansas as it once did and we have another race that's become too close to call.
Republicans are nervous about Iowa because the open Senate race is a little too close for comfort. Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson is up against Democratic moderate state Rep. Josh Turek. Plus, three of the state's four Republican-held congressional seats are competitive, with two leaning toward Democrats. Democrats have their strongest chance for a pick up at governor in Iowa with state auditor Rob Sand. He's favored after running a very strong campaign, deemphasizing partisan politics.
A lot of media oxygen this election cycle focused on Michigan as the race between Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers unfolded. Republicans spent money running Islamophobic ads against El-Sayed who responded by leaning deeper into his personal story. Tuesday night will reveal which struck a chord with Michiganders. If El-Sayed wins, it will be a massive victory for the progressive wing of the party but this race remains a toss-up, even as the swing state's governor contest favors the Democrat, secretary of state Jocelyn Benson over Republican Rep. John James.
Then there's Minnesota, which, like New Hampshire, is a long-shot pick up target for Republicans. What's different here is that Democrats nominated progressive Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan who has had to answer questions about fraud in state agencies that happened under her watch. Plus, Republican candidate, former NFL sportscaster Michelle Tafoya has run a solid race and been able to toe the line between distancing from Trump and backing Republican policies. Tafoya isn't expected to win but Minnesota could be too close for comfort for Democrats.
There are many competitive House races in this time block, including toss up races in Arizona, Colorado, Michigan and New York. With such a narrow majority for Republicans in the chamber, each of these races will be closely watched to see which seats Democrats are able to flip.
10 p.m. Montana, Nevada, Utah
Polls in three more mountain west states are closed. Eyes are on Montana, another reliably Republican state, that could surprise the country by sending a Democrat to Congress.
Montana: The state's closest race is the toss-up House race in the 1st Congressional District where Sam Forstag, the Democratic nominee and former smokejumper, and Republican Aaron Flint, a combat veteran, are in a competitive race. Another interesting race in Montana is the Senate contest. The independent candidate, Seth Bodnar, feels like he has a shot at winning the race against a Republican incumbent and a Democrat who is on the ballot but Republicans are favored.
Nevada: Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo is fighting to keep his seat in a state that has been hit hard by economic conditions. Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford is the Democratic nominee and the race is considered a toss-up.
11 p.m.: California, Idaho, Oregon, Washington
At this point, voters in the Pacific Northwest, California and Idaho are done casting ballots. It could feel like a whole new election night has begun.
California: The state has a new congressional map affecting the state of some House races. In 2025, voters opted to redraw the boundaries in the state in response to President Trump's redistricting battle to secure more safe Republican seats. The decision made the state less competitive for Republicans and the close races have mostly tilted toward Democrats in the final weeks. But in California's Central Valley, there is a true toss-up race. There are also tax-related propositions on California's ballot, including a billionaire tax. California is a slow counting state so races may not be called quickly.
Oregon: Despite Oregon being a solidly blue state, voters are unhappy with the Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek. She faces a closer than expected race against Republican state Sen. Christine Drazan.
12 a.m. ET: Hawaii
1 a.m. ET: Alaska
Alaska: The final state to finish voting on Election Day and by this point in the night (early Wednesday morning on the East Coast), people will be eagerly awaiting the first drop of results for the toss-up Senate race. Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan is in a race against Democratic nominee, former Rep. Mary Peltola. But there's been some drama in the contest. There are two Dan Sullivans in the ballet. A recent investigation by the New York Times alleges the Democratic party may have recruited the other Dan Sullivan to run in order to siphon votes from the incumbent Dan Sullivan. Peltola denies any involvement in the alleged scheme.
The governor's race is also competitive, with three Republican candidates on the ballot and one Democrat. That Democrat, Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, picked up a key endorsement from Alaska's other Republican senator, Lisa Murkowski. The other statewide race, Alaska's at-large congressional seat, is leaning toward Republicans but still less competitive than in past years. A note of caution: Alaska uses ranked choice voting and the results could take weeks — yes, weeks — to be finalized.
From left, insurance commissioner candidates Ben Allen and Jane Kim.
(
Fred Greaves
/
CalMatters
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Topline:
Californians are choosing a new insurance commissioner after almost a decade of deadly wildfires that threw the state’s property insurance market into a crisis from which it is still trying to recover.
The two candidates: Two Democrats are competing for the position for the first time. Jane Kim, the former San Francisco supervisor, wants to create a public disaster insurance program. State Sen. Ben Allen says a comprehensive wildfire-mitigation plan is the way to fix what ails insurance in California: availability, especially in areas of high fire risk; and affordability, as insurers raise premiums, citing increasing disaster risk and rising replacement costs.
Why it matters: Almost half of the state’s residents report paying more for home or renters’ insurance than last year, according to a new poll by the Insurance Fairness Project, a national insurance information hub, and Data for Progress. The commissioner also regulates auto, life, pet and some types of health insurance, as well as workers’ compensation. It’s a wide-ranging position that some experts say requires a “brutal” balancing act.
Read on... for more on the candidates.
Californians are choosing a new insurance commissioner after almost a decade of deadly wildfires that threw the state’s property insurance market into a crisis from which it is still trying to recover.
Two Democrats are competing for the position for the first time. Jane Kim, the former San Francisco supervisor, wants to create a public disaster insurance program. State Sen. Ben Allen says a comprehensive wildfire-mitigation plan is the way to fix what ails insurance in California: availability, especially in areas of high fire risk; and affordability, as insurers raise premiums, citing increasing disaster risk and rising replacement costs.
Almost half of the state’s residents report paying more for home or renters’ insurance than last year, according to a new poll by the Insurance Fairness Project, a national insurance information hub, and Data for Progress.
The commissioner also regulates auto, life, pet and some types of health insurance, as well as workers’ compensation. It’s a wide-ranging position that some experts say requires a “brutal” balancing act.
Allen, whose constituents include Palisades Fire survivors, would bring recent legislative experience in insurance and other related topics, such as utility liability for wildfires.
Kim last held office in 2019, with experience that includes passing the state’s first $15 minimum wage and free community college for San Francisco residents.
An Allen victory would also be a win for the California Democratic Party, which endorsed him, and the varied labor and business advocacy groups that supported him. Business interests also spent millions of dollars supporting him and opposing Kim, including outside political action committees funded by investor-owned utility companies such as Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison, as well as tech companies and billionaires.
Kim said at a debate last month between the two candidates that she is running “against the status quo.”
A win by Kim would be the latest triumph in the progressive wave and proof of the enduring popularity of the populist message of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, her most famous endorser. Her top direct donors are labor unions. The California Labor Federation endorsed her, and the Working Families Party, the group she used to lead, provided the bulk of outside funding to her campaign.
Kim has acknowledged that launching public disaster insurance would be hard, and could take years. Her plan involves diverting insurance premiums homeowners pay to their insurance companies to a public program that guarantees wildfire coverage. The idea has many critics, including not only the insurance industry but also consumer groups with insurance expertise, which warn of tremendous risk to the state.
Allen said at the debate that Kim’s public insurance plan would not work in California, calling it “unmoored and unresearched.” Kim called his plans more of the same.
Whoever voters choose to replace Commissioner Ricardo Lara will face plenty of challenges in dealing with past disasters as well as preparing for future ones.
The new commissioner will have to hold insurers accountable for paying claims quickly and fairly, as survivors of last year’s Los Angeles County fires continue to deal with insurance delays and denials. Lara’s department has pending actions against State Farm, the biggest individual insurer in the state, and the last-resort FAIR Plan over their handling of claims from the Eaton and Palisades fires.
As California braces for El Niño, insurance will play an important role. The current commissioner, the insurance industry and other experts are urging the state’s residents to protect their properties against flooding and wind damage, and to consider flood insurance.
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Students at Roosevelt High School preregister to vote at an InnerCity Struggle event on campus.
(
Alyssa Lopez
/
Boyle Heights Beat
)
Topline:
To prepare for this year’s election, young people on L.A.’s Eastside have been working with local nonprofit InnerCity Struggle to encourage their neighbors to make their voices heard, educate them about their rights and push for stronger civic participation — at a time when some community members are facing the consequences of immigration enforcement, housing insecurity and other issues.
Why now: The nonprofit, which was founded in 1994, is aiming to restore faith in democracy by hosting voter registration drives at high schools and voter protection workshops, as well as educating local residents on their rights and where and when to cast their ballots. Local teens told Boyle Heights Beat that it’s important to them that Eastsiders get a chance to weigh in on issues affecting their lives.
Getting involved in elections: Although U.S. citizens must be at least 18 to vote, California allows eligible 16 and 17-year-olds to preregister, which, Steven Ortega, the director of youth organizing, said gives students an opportunity to get involved before they reach voting age.
Read on... for more on how Eastside youth worked to make community concerns heard this election.
To prepare for this year’s election, young people on L.A.’s Eastside have been working with local nonprofit InnerCity Struggle to encourage their neighbors to make their voices heard, educate them about their rights and push for stronger civic participation — at a time when some community members are facing the consequences of immigration enforcement, housing insecurity and other issues.
The nonprofit, which was founded in 1994, is aiming to restore faith in democracy by hosting voter registration drives at high schools and voter protection workshops, as well as educating local residents on their rights and where and when to cast their ballots. Local teens told Boyle Heights Beat that it’s important to them that Eastsiders get a chance to weigh in on issues affecting their lives.
“I am tired of seeing our communities get attacked,” said Aholiabama Beltran, a senior at Lincoln High School, who also volunteers for the organization through its youth program.
She expressed frustration at the immigration enforcement raids happening in Los Angeles in addition to the rising costs of living and the gentrification of her community. “We are living in a time where young people worry about their parents not coming back home after work,” Beltran said.
Beltran, who is voting for the first time in this election, said voting is one way community members can push back against these challenges and advocate for change.
“My parents always encouraged me to go out and vote, especially since I have a brother who’s unable to go vote due to having a disability. I am not just voting for myself, but for my family, my brother, and the people who might not be able to vote due to their immigration status,” Beltran said.
For InnerCity Struggle, encouraging voter participation is a way to rebuild trust in the political process among residents who feel their communities and concerns have been overlooked by elected officials.
Steven Ortega, the director of youth organizing, said immigration raids, family separations, housing insecurity and challenges facing public education have contributed to a sense of hopelessness among some Eastside residents.
“I feel that people are losing hope because they’re seeing that there’s no point at this moment,” Ortega said.
He said he believes young people can help change that outlook by learning about their rights, understanding what’s on the ballot and encouraging others to participate.
Although U.S. citizens must be at least 18 to vote, California allows eligible 16 and 17-year-olds to preregister, which, Ortega said, gives students an opportunity to get involved before they reach voting age.
In October, InnerCity Struggle held a voter registration drive for students at Roosevelt High School in Boyle Heights, where students were encouraged to either preregister or, if they are 18 or older, register to vote.
Volunteers work at an InnerCity Struggle voter registration information booth at Roosevelt High School.
(
Alyssa Lopez
/
Boyle Heights Beat
)
Ortega said the hope is to get teenagers activated and ready to accept the “power and privilege” of voting.
“Young people play a really deep role in this,” he said.
According to Ortega, students involved in InnerCity Struggle’s fellowship program received training on voter registration and then led outreach efforts at their schools.
One of the students helping encourage civic participation is Kelly Woo, a junior at Woodrow Wilson High School and president of the school’s United Students Club, a student-led group affiliated with InnerCity Struggle that focuses on civil rights and community advocacy.
“I realized that if I want to create change … I have to go out of my way to, like, seek it out. It won’t just come to you naturally,” Woo said.
Although she is not yet 18, Woo said she has preregistered to vote and is encouraging her peers to do the same.
However, Woo said some of her peers question whether their individual votes can really make a difference.
“They feel like … their voice doesn’t matter,” Woo explained. “They’re like … I’m just one person.”
Woo hopes to change that mindset by showing other students that their voices play a role in decisions affecting their neighborhoods. She said she often has conversations with her peers about voting and elections in a democracy, emphasizing that young people need to understand the democratic process now to participate meaningfully in the future.
A student at Roosevelt High School urges students to preregister to vote by scanning a QR code to the online form.
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Alyssa Lopez
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Boyle Heights Beat
)
InnerCity Struggle has also worked to educate older residents about their voting rights.
On Oct. 16, the nonprofit brought together teenagers, adults and older residents for a voter protection workshop, where information was provided in English and Spanish. At the workshop, California attorney Buddy Norton joined virtually to explain voters’ rights and answer questions from residents.
Norton discussed laws prohibiting voter intimidation and interference at polling locations, and he shared information about how residents can protect their rights and those of others.
An InnerCity Struggle staff member facilitates a voter registration and voter protection workshop for the local community at the nonprofit’s headquarters.
“As a resident of El Sereno, I have noticed an increase in our local prices, homelessness and a lack of resources for our community,” Woo said.
She also spoke about watching her immigrant parents struggle and how their experiences have motivated her to advocate for change at school and in her community.
Together, these events have brought students and older residents into conversations about voting, giving young people opportunities to take leadership roles while helping their neighbors better understand their rights.
A student member of InnerCity Struggle’s youth program, the United Students Club.
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Alyssa Lopez
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Boyle Heights Beat
)
As Beltran explained, she wants her peers to recognize the issues facing their community.
“Some students say it doesn’t affect me, so why should I care? But…it affects everyone, even if it doesn’t happen to you, it still affects your neighbor, your mom’s friend, or your friend’s friend,” Beltran said.
This story was produced under The LA Local’s Youth Journalism Program. To learn more or to get involved, click here.
From left, gubernatorial candidates Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton.
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Fred Greaves and Rahul Lal
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CalMatters
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Topline:
Polls have for months widely favored Democrat Xavier Becerra for governor in the most populous Democratic state in the country. Republican Steve Hilton is banking on dissatisfaction with the cost of living to get independents and even some liberals to consider him.
Why it matters: The race between Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom is one of the most consequential on the ballot. Polls for months have put Becerra ahead of Hilton by double digits, a predictable lead in a state with nearly twice as many registered Democrats as Republicans and where a Republican hasn’t won a statewide office in nearly two decades.
The backstory: The election comes at a particularly delicate time for California. Street homelessness rose for years and only began to decline again in 2025. Wildfires have made it harder to buy homeowners insurance. Inflation, much of it attributable to Trump’s warin Iran, tariffs and immigration crackdown, have added to the already-high cost of living. The state budget, always subject to the boom and bust of the stock market, has become particularly dependent on the fortunes of the artificial intelligence industry.
Read on... for more on the governor's race in California.
Californians are choosing their next governor: a longtime liberal politician pitching his government experience or a Republican first-time candidate vowing to dramatically upend Democratic power structures.
The race between Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom is one of the most consequential on the ballot. Polls for months have put Becerra ahead of Hilton by double digits, a predictable lead in a state with nearly twice as many registered Democrats as Republicans and where a Republican hasn’t won a statewide office in nearly two decades.
Hilton, a former Fox News host who has urged voters to end “16 years of one-party rule,” is banking on frustration with the state’s high cost of living to drive undecided voters, independents and even some Democrats to support a Republican for a change.
He represents the best hope in years for a GOP victory. He has raised more than $33 million to Becerra’s $38 million and is running hard on a series of ambitious promises to lower costs by slashing regulations and taxes. He portrayed Becerra as the embodiment of the California political status quo, someone who would make decisions that benefit influential special interest groups like organized labor.
“It’s the people against the machine,” he said of his campaign in a virtual town hall last week.
His message of change, promises to slash gas prices and frequent invocations of Californians moving out-of-state resonated with Brad Gerig, who voted in Roseville last week. It was the first time Gerig, 34, could recall voting for a Republican, he said. The EMT and firefighter said he wants to be able to afford to stay and raise a family in California, so he was willing to “try something different.”
“I think it’s worth a shot,” Gerig said. “I think for everybody living in this area there’s an inherent angst for a little bit better. There’s no reason it should be as expensive as it is.”
But Hilton has struggled to rid himself of the baggage from President Donald Trump’s endorsement in a state Trump lost by 20 percentage points in 2024.
Becerra has reminded voters of Hilton’s link to Trump at every turn, and cast himself as a fighter who would, like Newsom, challenge decisions in Washington such as Trump’s aggressive deportation campaign.
He has dismissed Hilton as unserious and primarily campaigned on his longtime experience representing Los Angeles in Congress and serving as state attorney general and as U.S. health secretary. Those roles have earned him a wide swath of influential liberal allies.
“Xavier Becerra has stood with us for more than 30 years,” said Tony Hoang, executive director of the LGBTQ+ rights organization Equality California, at an event in San Francisco last week.
He highlighted Becerra’s role as one of the small minority of congressmembers who voted against the anti-gay marriage Defense of Marriage Act in 1996.
At the same event, Becerra touted his opposition to Trump.
“Donald Trump is on this ballot,” he said, without naming his opponent once. “We see right through you, Donald Trump. And we see through all those MAGA friends and relatives who are trying to push that agenda on us.”
Becerra’s comfortable standing is reflected in the relatively muted nature of his campaign: Becerra agreed to meet for only one debate with Hilton this fall. He has spent much of his time campaigning not for himself but against a Republican-backed voter ID measure and on behalf of other California Democrats.
The election comes at a particularly delicate time for California.
Street homelessness rose for years and only began to decline again in 2025. Wildfires have made it harder to buy homeowners insurance. Inflation, much of it attributable to Trump’s warin Iran, tariffs and immigration crackdown, have added to the already-high cost of living.
The state budget, always subject to the boom and bust of the stock market, has become particularly dependent on the fortunes of the artificial intelligence industry. Under Newsom, the state has made aggressive regulatory moves to curb the use of climate-warming fossil fuels. But despite recent polling that shows a majority of Californians support the green transition, fewer are willing to pay higher prices for energy than were a decade ago.
And the state’s liberal politics have often put it in the crosshairs of the Trump administration, which has withheld federal funds, challenged California’s environmental policies and attempted to intervene in this election.
Both candidates agree the state has become unaffordable for working families. That’s about all they agree on.
Becerra has proposed mostly incremental changes to existing state policies, such as continuing recent efforts by Newsom and lawmakers to reduce the bureaucratic hurdles to approving new housing construction.
He wants to expand state mortgage assistance programs and said he’s committed to the clean energy transition, but open to delays or tweaks to trim costs. He has not endorsed any new taxes on residents, but wants the state to assess a fee on corporations whose employees make so little they qualify for public healthcare.
Hilton, a British American who was once a close adviser to former British Prime Minister David Cameron, ran on a deregulatory agenda, promising to slash environmental rules and the gas tax and allow more home construction on exurban, undeveloped land.
One of his signature campaign promises was to eliminate the income tax on residents’ first $150,000 in earnings and make the income tax flat above that — amounting to an expensive tax cut for the highest earners that he’s said he would pay for with spending cuts. It’s one of his many promises that would need legislative approval, and he has not said how he would get Democrats in the Capitol to support them.
