Mariana Dale
explores and explains the forces that shape how and what kids learn from kindergarten to high school.
Published February 7, 2025 5:00 AM
Marcia Workman holds Cupcake the classroom rabbit, who had to be rescued from Don Benito Elementary School in Pasadena.
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Carlin Stiehl
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LAist
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Topline:
The mission to retrieve Cupcake the bunny from a Pasadena first-grade classroom during the Eaton Fire grew into a district-wide effort to locate, rescue and care for lizards, snakes, rats and fish at a half-a-dozen schools.
The backstory: When Marcia Workman left her first-grade classroom at Pasadena’s Don Benito Elementary School on Jan. 7, she anticipated she’d be back the next day. But because of the fire, schools were closed for weeks and most visitors barred from the wildfire evacuation zones.
A history of class pets: Animals have been a feature of Workman’s classroom since she first started teaching in 1973. The very first class pet was Midnight, a rabbit donated by a family who was moving and could no longer care for her. “I didn't have pets as a child, so I thought, ‘Well, something I can put into the class to help the children have empathy for animals, take care of them, was ... some nice, wonderful bunnies,” Workman said.
The rescue: The operation to save Cupcake expanded: Administrators compiled a list of animals that included a bearded dragon, beta fish, rats and snakes at six different campuses.
Read on ... for the inside story of making sure the class pets were taken care of.
When Marcia Workman left her first-grade classroom at Pasadena’s Don Benito Elementary School on Jan. 7, she anticipated she’d be back the next day.
That night, a wildfire raged out of Eaton Canyon and into the surrounding neighborhoods.
Families emailed to ask if Workman, who lives in Pasadena, was OK.
Then they inquired about the class pets.
Workman said she wasn’t worried about the gecko hibernating beneath an artificial log, or the hardy gold orange loach fish. She figured as long as the school was still standing, they’d be OK.
But … what of the fluffiest creature in Room 4?
Cupcake, the black-and-white Polish rabbit with “dramatic eye make-up,” was trapped. And the National Guard had closed off the route to school.
“I had half of my heart thinking, ‘OK, what, what is the scenario?’” Workman said.
She said she wondered how she would explain the bunny’s demise to students who’d lost so much in the fires. “You can't sleep; you can't think of anything else.”
And so a mission to save the bunny was launched. It soon grew into “Operation Paw Patrol,” a district-wide effort to locate, rescue and care for classroom pets at half-a-dozen schools as the Eaton Fire burned.
Marcia Workman has taught at Don Benito Elementary since 2002. “We have kids that can walk to school with their families,” Workman said. Most of the teachers, like her, have been there for decades.
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Carlin Stiehl
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LAist
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Teaching ‘empathy for animals’
Animals have been a feature of Workman’s classroom since she started teaching in 1973.
The very first class pet was Midnight, a rabbit donated by a family who was moving and could no longer care for her.
“I didn't have pets as a child, so I thought, ‘Well, something I can put into the class to help the children have empathy for animals, take care of them, was … some nice, wonderful bunnies,” Workman said.
Maybe that animal in the classroom sparks something that's going to be a whole career for that child. You just never know what's going to turn them on. So it's up to me to bring that into the classroom.
— Marcia Workman, first-grade teacher, Don Benito Elementary
When she had students who were allergic to furry animals, she brought in snakes, lizards and a tarantula. All were adopted or rescued.
Cupcake (née Oreo, née Fluff — the students vote on the animals’ names at the start of each school year) is one of at least six bunnies that have hopped through her classroom over the years.
“I think [the vote on] ‘Cupcake’ this year was a little closer to lunchtime, so they were hungry,” Workman said.
The whiskery, red-eyed loaches, which are indistinguishable from one another, are 1, 2 and 3. The gecko is Gecky.
The students take turns feeding and caring for the animals. Workman welcomes any student who walks by to come say hi.
Workman said the kids compare her freckles to those on “Gecky” the gecko. “She's wonderful to come out during math time as we talk about repeating patterns,” Workman said.
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Carlin Stiehl
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LAist
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The student animal feeders for the week of Feb. 3 are posted on a wall in Marcia Workman’s first-grade class at Don Benito Elementary.
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Carlin Stiehl
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LAist
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“Maybe that animal in the classroom sparks something that's going to be a whole career for that child,” Workman said. “You just never know what's going to turn them on. So it's up to me to bring that into the classroom.”
Aidan, 6, was one of the week’s two “animal feeders” when I visited.
Her favorite creature is Cupcake, but she also enjoys how the fish tickle her fingers, and she likes the spotted gecko.
“The only thing I don't like about him is that he eats worms,” Aidan said. “I had to feed him once, and it was disgusting, because I had to touch the worms.”
‘Operation Paw Patrol’
When the Eaton Fire broke out, Workman fled her Pasadena home along with her son, her daughter, their spouses, two dogs and a cat. She grabbed several boxes of Nilla Wafer Cookies. She forgot her late husband’s ashes.
The fire "just set us into panic mode,” Workman said.
She also grabbed the class hamster, who had joined her household over an extended winter break.
By the time she tried to return to the school to retrieve Cupcake, the National Guard had blockaded the roads.
John Maynard became the principal at Don Benito Elementary School in 2023 and has worked in Pasadena Unified since 1998. He said the Eaton Fire is hard to compare with any experience in his career.
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Carlin Stiehl
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LAist
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She reached out to Principal John Maynard to ask for help. Fellow first-grade teacher Amethyst Juknavorian had also emailed Maynard, anxious about the other animals’ conditions.
“It's so easy for people to feel so helpless when so much destruction is going on around them. And, you know, you're thinking, what can I do?” Juknavorian said. “I couldn't have this bunny sitting in that classroom.”
Maynard shared the message Friday, Jan. 10, in a virtual meeting with other Pasadena principals.
“All of a sudden, the chat started getting filled with ‘This school has reptiles in it here’ ... and then ‘there's fish here,’” Maynard said.
So began “Operation Paw Patrol.”
Administrators compiled a list of animals that included a bearded dragon, beta fish, rats and snakes at six campuses.
They just needed an inside man.
Tracking down the animals
Facilities Program Manager Michael Dunning started as a carpenter nine years ago and now oversees contracts and construction in the district’s 24 schools.
“ I know every nook and cranny of this district for the most part,” Dunning said. “I've been in the basements, to the attics, to the roofs.”
Dunning helped coordinate the more than 1,500 contracted workers who joined existing maintenance staff to clean schools and remove more than 159 tons of debris.
“ I haven't stopped since that first morning of the fires,” Dunning said. “Seven days a week, just trying to get the kids back, get everybody safe ... get as much back to normal as much as possible. But I'm one of lots of people that are doing the same thing.”
And as a member of maintenance and operations, he could pass through the National Guard checkpoints.
Marcia Workman adopted Cupcake from the Pasadena Humane Society. "I think that some animals, when you rescue them, they give you even more love," she said.
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Carlin Stiehl
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LAist
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Workman said she picked up this rabbit pin while shopping for new shovels for the first-graders' garden.
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Carlin Stiehl
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LAist
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Dunning worked with school staff to assess whether each class pet needed to be relocated or whether a wellness-check and some food would suffice.
He escorted the principal of Sierra Madre Elementary as she retrieved a gecko. He brought the bearded dragon at San Rafael Elementary some Dubia roaches to snack on courtesy of his own family's bearded dragon, Fiji. A contracted cleaner had already started to feed the fish at Marshall High School.
“ I love all these schools,” Dunning said. “Just knowing that the schools are in danger for me was difficult to deal with.”
Maynard hitched a ride from Dunning in a maintenance and operations pick-up truck on the morning of Jan. 11 to retrieve Cupcake.
Despite having prior clearance, they still had to tell the National Guard “we were coming up to rescue a rabbit,” Maynard said.
The principal wasn’t sure what he’d find at Don Benito, which sits at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. There were rumors the school had burned down. Ash and debris covered the hill that borders the school’s north side, but the buildings were still standing. Several homes across the street to the east were leveled. The mountains were charred brown in the distance.
“Looking at the damage around the school and what had occurred.” Maynard said. “I don't have words for it. It's just shock, just not really even sure how to process that.”
The classrooms were coated in ash … but Cupcake was unscathed.
Maynard texted Workman’s son: “Bunny lives.” And he arranged to meet at the district office near downtown Pasadena.
Workman wanted Cupcake back in her classroom when school resumed.
“That would kind of give a sense of relief to some of the students who had lost everything,” Workman said. “They needed to see the classroom as they remembered Tuesday afternoon leaving it, and that certainly included the animals.”
Maynard welcomes students back to school on Jan. 29, 2025 along with Superintendent Elizabeth Blanco, right.
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Mariana Dale
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LAist
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Lessons from Cupcake
Don Benito reopened Jan. 29, more than three weeks after the Eaton Fire burned more than 14,000 acres and destroyed 9,400 buildings, including Eliot Arts Magnet Academy and several charter schools in the district.
Principal Maynard stood at the school’s front gate holding a sign that said “Welcome Back, Bobcats!” and offering hugs and high-fives.
“For today and the next couple days, I really just hope we actually have space for healing and the ability to express what we're feeling,” Maynard said that day.
A student works on a feelings sheet in Workman's class this week.
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Carlin Stiehl
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LAist
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In Workman’s class, students selected which of 20 colorful faces on a worksheet represented their feelings.
Ella, 6, drew an arrow to the yellow frowning sad face.
“My house didn't make it through the fire — it's gone,” she said.
District-wide, at least 862 student families lost homes, and 90 students have unenrolled since the start of the fires. It’s unclear how the fallout will reshape a district that, like other Los Angeles-area districts, has shrunk in recent years.
Workman is focused on helping students make up for three weeks away from the classroom.
“It's so important for us to get back on track, because everything is based on what we accomplished in first grade,” Workman said. “Every grade is on our shoulders.”
On Wednesday, a parent volunteer practiced reading with individual students while Workman rearranged magnetic letters on a white board and sounded out the words aloud with the rest of the class.
After discussing the A sound in "always," Workman asked the students to take out their feelings sheets again.
Ella hasn’t selected the sad face since the first day back.
“I was very excited to learn,” Ella said. “And happy that my school didn't get burned down.”
This week she's one of the animal feeders, which means she gets to top the bunny’s bowl of pellets with hay and vegetable scraps from the soup Workman made the night before.
Cupcake was called Oreo and Fluff by previous first-grade classes. "We have kids that'll knock on the door if they're in other grades. They come and visit her," Workman said.
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Carlin Stiehl
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LAist
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“We feed [Cupcake] hay," Aidan, a first-grader, said. "Sometimes we feed her carrots. Sometimes we feed her celery. Sometimes we feed her apples. She's living her best life right now."
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Carlin Stiehl
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“I think her ears are cute,” Ella said. “Her whole body is cute, and the design on her back is cute too.”
The way Cupcake hops and zooms around her cage? “So cute.”
I asked Ella if she’d learned anything from the animals. She looked at the rabbit as she lay still, except for the wiggling of her nose.
“She's very calm,” Ella said. “And she teaches me how to be calm sometimes.”
A sign on Atlantic Boulevard welcomes drivers into East L.A.
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Kate Valdez
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Boyle Heights Beat
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Topline:
An overwhelming majority of East Los Angeles residents who participated in a series of community forums support creating a local community council, according to an interim report released this week that details the community’s priorities.
Why now: The report, produced by the Los Angeles Economic Equity Accelerator and Fellowship (LEEAF), summarizes six community meetings held between February and June as Los Angeles County explores new forms of local governance for the unincorporated community of nearly 120,000 people.
More details: Across more than 300 participants and 200 written comments, transparency and trust were the most frequently raised concerns. Issues around public safety, including homelessness and police reform, ranked as the second most common concern from the thousands of conversations prompted by the report’s research. Uplifting East L.A.’s residents’ political voice and influence was also among the top concerns.
An overwhelming majority of East Los Angeles residents who participated in a series of community forums support creating a local community council, according to an interim report released this week that details the community’s priorities.
The report, produced by the Los Angeles Economic Equity Accelerator and Fellowship (LEEAF), summarizes six community meetings held between February and June as Los Angeles County explores new forms of local governance for the unincorporated community of nearly 120,000 people.
Among the findings, 93% of participants supported establishing a community council, either a town council or Municipal Advisory Council (MAC), to give residents a stronger voice in county government. Another 95% said council members should be elected rather than appointed.
Across more than 300 participants and 200 written comments, transparency and trust were the most frequently raised concerns. Issues around public safety, including homelessness and police reform, ranked as the second most common concern from the thousands of conversations prompted by the report’s research. Uplifting East L.A’.s residents’ political voice and influence was also among the top concerns.
The report also details several governance models, including a county-recognized MAC or an independently organized town council. LEEAF estimates a startup cost of a community council to be around $13,500 with an annual, running cost of about $33,000 a year.
“Founding a community council that genuinely serves the people of East L.A. would be a major step toward advancing political voice and equitable power in East L.A. – and putting East L.A. in the lead of a movement to open opportunity and amplify voice throughout the county and beyond,” the report reads.
Visions for a community council
Community members also suggested alternative models, The Republic of East Los Angeles and Neighborhood Councils for East L.A.
The Republic of East Los Angeles calls for an elected town council with authority over local infrastructure, services, and development and was framed as a first step toward full incorporation as an independent city.
The proposal also called for community control of the Sheriff’s office serving East L.A. and an annual itemized budget detailing tax sources, county contracts or associated salaries with a council of its type.
Neighborhood Councils for East L.A. proposes a system of multiple advisory councils, each with 15 to 21 members, modeled on the existing Los Angeles Neighborhood Councils system. Participants consistently emphasized the need for neighborhood-based representation to address each community’s unique needs.
Representing the community
Residents also emphasized accountability. More than half of participants said any future council should have regular and responsive public oversight.
More than half also said “an effective council should bring real resources to East L.A., with programs like youth activities and public health support mentioned roughly twice as often as funding alone.”
About 61% of community members suggested that members of a council should be residents, while another 22% noted a “long term connection to the community” should be a characteristic of any council member.
One community member quoted in the report said they want to see the next generation of leaders in East L.A. include a wide demographic of residents.
“I want to make sure groups that know about the area…are included in conversations. There is so much talent and so many people who want to be involved.”
What’s next?
LEEAF will hold two public feedback meetings next month before submitting a final report to L.A. County. The meetings will be held on:
Aug. 8 at 2 p.m. at Garfield High School, 5101 E. 6th St., East Los Angeles.
Aug.15 at 10:30 a.m. at Salazar Park, 3864 Whittier Blvd., Los Angeles.
The meetings will sharpen the results from the report while offering a chance for community members to refine and guide its priorities, according to an email from a LEEAF representative.
A virtual question and answer session about the interim report will be held July 29 at 4:30 p.m. RSVP here.
Two pedestrians walk near the Lineage fire site in Boyle Heights on June 22, 2026.
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Isaac Ceja
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Boyle Heights Beat
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Topline:
Neighbors near the Lineage warehouse in Boyle Heights continue to report concerns about air quality more than a month after the June fire, according to a new survey by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health released Monday.
Why now: The department conducted door-to-door outreach on July 15 and 16 to assess community needs, identify health concerns and connect residents with resources, including air purifiers, masks and health information.
The backstory: The warehouse fire began on June 17 and burned for a week, but residents say its impacts have continued. Many residents and small business owners have complained of foul odors and pests after tons of food was left rotting inside the cold storage facility.
Read on... for more on the results from the new survey.
Neighbors near the Lineage warehouse in Boyle Heights continue to report concerns about air quality more than a month after the June fire, according to a new survey by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health released Monday.
The department conducted door-to-door outreach on July 15 and 16 to assess community needs, identify health concerns and connect residents with resources, including air purifiers, masks and health information.
The warehouse fire began on June 17 and burned for a week, but residents say its impacts have continued. Many residents and small business owners have complained of foul odors and pests after tons of food was left rotting inside the cold storage facility.
Among 240 households that completed the survey, 90% reported a constant odor, 82% said they noticed very strong odors, and 85% said they were concerned about air quality.
Public health teams visited 650 households within the area bordered by Calzona Street to the west, the 5 Freeway to the north, South Herbert Avenue to the east, and Noakes Street to the south. Residents were invited to participate in the voluntary survey and 633 households received resource packets, the agency said in a news release.
The survey also found that 84% of respondents reported an increase in pests, while 74% were concerned about health symptoms. In addition, 79% of public health field staff reported a strong odor during the home visits.
The L.A. County Public Health Department has cited Lineage Logistics for unsanitary and nuisance conditions related to rodent and pest control violations following a complaint investigation on July 15. The department said it will continue to monitor corrective actions and conduct regular reinspections to verify compliance.
Resources and information
Find nearby clinics or doctors:
Call the L.A. County Public Health Department at (833) 540-0473, daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
How to report odors:
Call South Coast AQMD
Dial (800) CUT-SMOG / (1-800-288-7664)
Submit a complaint online
File a report through South Coast AQMD’s complaint form at aqmd.gov/complaints.
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The U.S. Open of Surfing is happening this week and weekend, with special concerts two nights in a row.
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Robert Gauthier
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Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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In this edition:
This weekend and beyond, check out line dancing at the zoo, a burger-eating contest, the U.S. Open of Surfing and more of the best things to do.
Highlights:
Head south to Huntington Beach for the annual U.S. Open of Surfing. Watch the world’s best surfers take to the waves or grab a ticket for the music stage where the Allah-las and Local Natives will play this weekend.
Burgers Never Say Die is hosting six contestants to see who can devour 20 burgers in just 10 minutes. The winner will be crowned the “Shmasters Champion” and be escorted in a limo to Dodger Stadium for the Red Sox vs. Dodgers game that same night. If one burger is plenty for you, a spectator ticket ($15) gets you a burger, fries and unlimited Skyduster Beer during the two-hour competition — pretty good deal!
Put on your cowboy boots for a line dancing night amongst the animals at the L.A. Zoo. The Zoo’s regular after-dark events this week feature music from Pulp Vixen, food trucks, lawn games, and a silent disco.
This is not a drill. The Cinerama Dome is reopening. I repeat, the Cinerama Dome is reopening! Could 2028 get more exciting for this town? I don’t think so.
Thanks for bearing with us this week as we transition Best Things to Do to once a week, which we hope will give you more time to plan your weekend and the week ahead. Let us know if you have feedback or event suggestions at bestthingstodo@laist.com
In music this week, we are spoiled for choice. Licorice Pizza’s picks include the Violent Femmes’ residency at the Bellwether every night through Friday. Let me go on!
On Wednesday, Tower of Power and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band get horny at the Hollywood Bowl, while Cypress Hill is with Ozomatli at the Pacific Amphitheatre.
Thursday, the Fixx is at the Belasco, Sublime plays the Grammy Museum roof and Flyleaf begins their three-night run at House of Blues Anaheim. Friday, Motionless In White plays the Forum, the Pretty Reckless with special guest Paris Jackson play the Wiltern, and Black Moth gets their freak on at the Pacific Amphitheatre.
Saturday, K-pop girl group Ive is at the Forum, Of Montreal is at the Regent, John Legend is at Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts and Lil Wayne with 2 Chainz and The Game play Long Beach F&M Bank Amphitheater.
Rock Goddess Kim Gordon plays two nights at Pacific Electric this weekend, and another rock goddess, St. Vincent, takes on the Hollywood Bowl with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and Anoushka Shankar on Saturday. Plus, Death Cab for Cutie and Nation of Language are at the Greek. Looking ahead to next week, Sarah McLaughlin will take the Greek stage on Tuesday.
Below are the rest of the events you should know about this weekend and beyond.
Events
The People of Pompeii
Through Sunday, Oct. 4 Theatricum Botanicum 1419 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga COST: FROM $40; MORE INFO
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Ian Flanders
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Lucy PR
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A new (and timely!) comedy by award-winning playwright Bernardo Cubría, The People of Pompeii opens this weekend at Theatricum Botanicum and runs through the fall.Set in a far-far-away land — ok not really, it’s Topanga — the play takes place in the aftermath of the Palisades Fire as evacuated residents return home and try to regain a sense of normalcy. Cubría, who moved to Topanga five years ago, addresses issues of “performative progressivism, gentrification, race, class and the uneasy social dynamics between longtime canyon residents and wealthy newcomers” in the show, which features characters based on his real life (Cubría co-stars alongside his wife, Lauren Saffa). Plus, Saturday — opening night — is also taco night!
Surf Guitar 101 Festival
Friday, July 31 through Sunday, Aug. 2 Garden Grove Elks Lodge 11551 Trask Ave., Garden Grove COST: FROM $44; MORE INFO
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Courtesy Surf Guitar 101 Fest
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Grab yourself a tiki drink and groove on down to the Surf Guitar 101 Festival in Garden Grove. Southern California’s own invention, surf guitar bands like the Bomboras, Los Straitjackets and Slacktone will play the annual event; plus, you can stick around for a vintage swimsuit contest, guitar seminars and more.
Burger-Eating Competition
Saturday, August 1, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Burgers Never Say Die 2388 Glendale Blvd., Silver Lake COST: FROM $15; MORE INFO
Why should Joey Chestnut have all the fun? Watch or eat (or both) at the first-ever Burgers Never Say Die Burger-Eating Competition. The local spot is hosting six contestants to see who can devour 20 burgers in just 10 minutes. The winner will be crowned the “Shmasters Champion” and be escorted in a limo to Dodger Stadium for the Red Sox vs. Dodgers game that same night. If one burger is plenty for you, a spectator ticket ($15) gets you a burger, fries and unlimited Skyduster Beer during the two-hour competition — pretty good deal!
MVMTFest LA
Through Sunday, August 9 2245 E. Washington Blvd., West Adams COST: VARIES; MORE INFO
If you've been hesitant to get involved in the dance community in LA, MVMT Fest is your chance to take a drop-in class, catch a performance, check out a dance party or watch a screening. With events going almost a full two weeks, there is something for everyone
U.S. Open of Surfing
Through Sunday, Aug. 2 Huntington Beach COST: VARIES, CONCERTS START AT $73.20; MORE INFO
Sawyer Lindblad jumps from her board after finishing a ride during last year's US Open of Surfing.
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Robert Gauthier
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Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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If you didn’t get enough surf at the Surf Guitar fest, keep heading south for the annual U.S. Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach. Watch the world’s best surfers take to the waves, or grab a ticket for the music stage where the Allah-las and Local Natives will play this weekend.
L.A. Stone Fruit Festival
Sunday, August 2 through Saturday, 8 Various local farmers market locations COST: FREE; MORE INFO
I have eaten the plums that were in the icebox. And now I have to go to the L.A. Stone Fruit Festival to buy more. Going all week at many farmers markets around the area, Food Access LA is hosting special events featuring all the plums, peaches and nectarines the area is famous for this time of year.
Movies at the Steps: Wicked
Friday, July 31, 8:30 p.m. Culver Steps 9300 Culver Blvd.,Culver City COST: FREE; MORE INFO
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Courtesy The Culver Steps
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What better place to watch Wicked than at the doorstep of where The Wizard of Oz was filmed? Sunset movies on the Culver Steps happen every Friday in the Summer. This week’s pick is sure to be a popular one.
Madonna: The Rise of the Material Girl (1980-1985)
Opening Saturday, August 1, 6 p.m. Musichead Gallery 7420 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood COST: FREE; MORE INFO
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Musichead Gallery
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Eventbrite
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It’s always been Madonna’s world; we’re just living in it. The Queen of Pop is back with Confessions II on the charts, but you can relive her early days at a new photography exhibit, Madonna: The Rise of the Material Girl at the Musichead Gallery.
Country Line Dancing
Friday, July 31, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. L.A. Zoo After Dark 5333 Zoo Drive, Griffith Park, Los Feliz COST: $30; MORE INFO
Howdy! Put on your cowboy boots for a line dancing night amongst the animals at the L.A. Zoo. The zoo’s regular after-dark event this week features music from Pulp Vixen, food trucks, lawn games and a silent disco.
Frank Stoltze
is a veteran reporter who covers local politics and examines how democracy is and, at times, is not working.
Published July 28, 2026 5:35 PM
The Jail complex in downtown Los Angeles
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Robert Garrova / LAist
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Topline:
A proposed charter change aims to ensure that a portion of the Los Angeles County budget be set aside for programs that fund alternatives to jail. The measure, approved Tuesday by the county Board of Supervisors, would restore funds accidentally removed under a previous charter measure. The measure is headed to the ballot in November.
The backstory: In 2020, voters approved Measure J, which required dedicating at least 10% of locally generated, unrestricted general funds to alternatives to incarceration, including job training, mental health treatment and youth development. It explicitly banned the use of those specific funds for prisons, jails or law enforcement agencies.
What happened: A clerical error in 2024 at the county led to the inadvertent repeal of Measure J. It happened when voters approved Measure G. That measure included language that had the unintended effect of making Measure J null and void starting in December 2028.
The details: The Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 Tuesday to put on the November ballot a measure that would “continue uninterrupted the County's commitment to community investment and alternatives to incarceration.” Supervisor Holly Mitchell was absent from the meeting.
