A student hands over his phone upon arriving on the Venice High School campus this week.
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Brian Feinzimer
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LAist
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Topline:
Students across the Los Angeles Unified School District are banned from using their phones, smartwatches, earbuds and other personal technology during the school day. The district reported no major disruptions in the first week of implementation, though some schools are still waiting on their equipment.
The backstory: The LAUSD Board voted in June to expand the district’s existing phone ban to include lunch and passing periods (“bell to bell”). Board members cited rising concerns about the impact of phones and social media on youth mental health, bullying and distraction from classroom instruction. The policy took effect Tuesday.
How schools implemented the ban: The district set aside $7 million for schools to purchase pouches, lockers or other devices to store phones. A district spokesperson said in a statement that about half of schools chose to rely instead on the “honor system” and require students to keep their phones turned off and in their backpacks.
What students are saying, part 1: “I think banning our phones just makes us more focused on our phones and missing our phones,” said Miles, 15, a freshman at Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies. “If they want to get us more focused on our education, they have to make the education more interesting to us.”
What students are saying, part 2: “People are definitely communicating more,” said Cyrus, 17, a senior at the L.A. Center for Enriched Studies. “You hear students talking to other students ... rather than just people being isolated on their phones.”
Read on ... for teachers' perspectives and more about the first week without phones at LAUSD.
At Venice High School, students now report to their sixth-period class for the first 10 minutes of the day. They stow their phones in portable metal cases with a clear, locking door.
Listen
0:41
LAUSD’s ‘really, really annoying’ cellphone ban may be working
And retrieve them at the final bell.
The new schedule is part of the Westside high school’s strategy to keep 2,300 students away from their phones, smartwatches, earbuds and other personal technology during the school day.
Dean of students David Galley said about 70 phones were confiscated outside of classrooms on the first day of the new policy.
“The kids we caught, they were all very, ‘Oh my fault. I won't do it again,’” Galley said. “They handed [the phones] over. It was very peaceful.”
The district reported no major disruptions in the first week, though educators LAist contacted said several schools are still waiting on their equipment.
The district set aside $7 million to purchase lockers (like those used at Venice High), pouches and other devices to store phones. A district spokesperson said in a statement that about half of schools chose to rely instead on the “honor system” and require students to keep their phones turned off and in their backpacks.
Not a cellphone in sight in math teacher Charles Styrbicki's Venice High classroom.
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Brian Feinzimer
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LAist
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David Galley walks the Venice High halls looking for students who haven't yet turned over their cellphones.
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Brian Feinzimer
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LAist
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In interviews with LAist, students and educators reported seeing fewer devices on campus, though compliance with the rules varied.
In Jessica Quindel’s data science class at Venice High, just two of about 18 students slid their phones into the numbered foam locker slots Wednesday.
“ If they're self-regulating and keeping their phone in their backpacks all day, that gets to the same benefit,” Quindel said. “We're not here to be like police officers. We just really want kids to connect and put their phones away so they can learn and connect with each other.”
LAUSD cellphone policy
THE RULES
Students must turn off and store their cellphones, smartwatches and earbuds during the school day.
Students can use devices before and after school.
Schools must provide students access to their phones in case of an emergency.
THE EXCEPTIONS
During the school day, students who need to can use their phones for the following:
Help with translation.
Health-related reasons, e.g. to monitor blood sugar.
Students with disabilities who use a cellphone or other technology as part of an Individualized Education Program or 504 plan will also not lose access to their devices.
THE ENFORCEMENT
In February, district spokesperson said in a statement that about half of schools chose to rely on the “honor system” and require students to keep their phones turned off and in their backpacks and the rest purchased lockers, pouches and other devices to store phones
Parent Norma Chávez said her “well-behaved” 13-year-old daughter has gotten her phone confiscated in the past.
“We are struggling at home to get the kids to stop using" phones, Chávez said. She hopes that a stricter policy at school will make it easier to limit screen time at home.
Chávez, who volunteers at Richard E. Byrd Middle School in Sun Valley and leads the Parent Teacher Student Association there, is also worried about the academic impact of smartphones in the classroom. The majority of students at the school are not reading or meeting math standards for their grade level.
"During the pandemic, the phone was their friend," Venice High School Principal Yavonka Hairston-Truitt said. "As it became the friend, it became difficult to part from friend. Difficult to go five minutes without looking at friend."
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Brian Feinzimer
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LAist
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“We have to try anything we can so that we can help our kids improve their grades and do well in school,” Chávez said.
But some students LAist interviewed say the new policy strips them of a useful tool and doesn’t address underlying challenges in public education, including a lack of resources for extracurricular activities.
Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies freshman Miles, 15, said that prior to the policy, he’d use his phone to take photos of assignments and when he’d finished his work.
“For day-to-day school life, it’s just really, really annoying,” he said.
“I think banning our phones just makes us more focused on our phones and missing our phones. If they want to get us more focused on our education, they have to make the education more interesting to us.”
He said that although the district spent millions of dollars to implement the restrictions, students have to raise funds to pay for band trips that include clinics where he can practice trumpet and ample time to socialize with his peers.
There's other ways that you can re-ground yourself in a classroom without having your property or like something being stripped away from you like that.
— Sophia, 15, student
“It makes it a lot less fun when we have to jump through all these hoops to go to the places that we want to go,” Miles said.
Bravo Medical Magnet High School college advisor and parent Victoria Montes said students at the Boyle Heights campus were previously allowed to use their phones, with educator permission. Common tasks included scanning QR codes to sign into the campus college center or download information from prospective schools.
“I just wish that we could teach students how to use a tool rather than just take it away,” Montes said.
Venice High School math teacher and instructional coach Jessica Quindel said she was excited to see a student pull out a book in their homeroom class on the second day of the new policy. "I haven't seen a book in so long because they take out their phones," she said.
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Brian Feinzimer
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LAist
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Venice High sophomore Sophia, 15, said instead of limiting access to technology, teachers can capture students’ attention by changing up the school day. For example, her English teacher sometimes takes the class to the school’s garden.
“There's other ways that you can re-ground yourself in a classroom without having your property or like something being stripped away from you like that,” Sophia said.
‘You hear students talking to other students’
At Garfield High School students were already banned from bringing phones on campus and will now have to store them in “Cellphone Airbnb” boxes (once their shipment arrives) at the start of each class.
Elizabeth Ruff, who teaches English at the East L.A. high school, supports the move to keep phones away from students during class. But she's concerned about how much time enforcing the new policy will consume.
Listen
0:42
First week of LAUSD cellphone ban comes to a close
"Anytime you implement a big sweeping change like this, there are going to be hiccups that are frustrating,” Ruff said. "If we can try to be patient with one another and reflect on what's going well and work to improve what's not going well, I’m hopeful that the end result will be a better learning environment for our students.”
Among the more manageable struggles students mentioned are figuring out what time it is and where to meet up with friends for lunch or after school.
“I found it to be a little annoying for sure, but it's nothing I can't, like, work out,” said Cyrus, 17, a senior at Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies in Mid-City.
He said he’s seen fewer phones on campus since the school started using the locking pouches.
“People are definitely communicating more,” he said. “You hear students talking to other students … rather than just people being isolated on their phones.”
Josie Huang
is a reporter and Weekend Edition host who spotlights the people and places at the heart of our region.
Published October 23, 2026 6:05 PM
Jack Parsons used an area of the Arroyo Secco known as Devil's Gate as his rocket laboratory.
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Public domain
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Topline:
Paranormal investigator David Kalbeitzer at an event Saturday night explores Pasadena's past, one where rocket science meets ritual magic and ghost stories echo through its grandest buildings.
The backstory: Kalbeitzer began digging into Pasadena’s unusual history after buying a Victorian home north of Old Town that he says is haunted by a benevolent spirit.
Wild stories: Kalbeitzer found the lore to include rocket pioneer Jack Parsons' ritual magic and muckraker Upton Sinclair's experiments in telepathy.
The event: The talk at Mesmer Mesmer in Old Town is currently full, but there's a wait list and Kalbeitzer plans to give more talks at the shop.
Beyond the Rose Bowl and historic bungalows, Pasadena has stranger tales to tell. David Kalbeitzer has been seeking out those stories where rocket science meets the occult and ghosts haunt the city’s grandest buildings.
For Kalbeitzer, a Disney executive who investigates the paranormal in his free time, his fascination with the city’s mysterious side started when he bought a Victorian north of Old Town.
He sensed a spirit at the open house a dozen years ago and took it as a reason to move his family to Pasadena. Then he started learning the city’s history.
David Kalbeitzer, a paranormal investigator from Pasadena, is giving a talk about the city's strange history Saturday night in Old Town.
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Courtesy of David Kalbeitzer
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“I realized, ‘Oh, this place called us just as much as we were looking for it,’” he said.
On Saturday night, he’s sharing the lore he’s collected at Mesmer Mesmer an Old Town shop and event space. While the event is full, there’s a waitlist, and more talks featuring Kalbeitzer are in the works.
A city of ghost stories
Ask Kalbeitzer about haunted Pasadena, and the list stretches from alleyways to the Colorado Street Bridge to Castle Green, the turreted former hotel overlooking Central Park.
“The Pasadena Playhouse theater is, you know, very haunted,” he added.
He says playgoers have reported hearing disembodied voices.
Theatergoers over the years have described hearing voices and seeing apparitions at the Pasadena Playhouse.
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Jeff Lorch
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Courtesy of Pasadena Playhouse
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“And you look, and there’s no one there, or apparitions that have been seen sort of standing in the corner, and then you walk up, and they kind of disappear,” he said.
As for the spirit that helped draw him to his current Pasadena home?
Kalbeitzer says she’s still around — and his psychic friend Michael Kouri shared her name: Dolores.
“It’s actually haunted by a very kind ghost that looks out for the house, protects my family and has been able to activate our alarm,” he said.
Having a Dolores in the house might send some people running, but Kalbeitzer said he grew up in a haunted house in Idaho Falls, Idaho.
And when his family moved to Charleston, South Carolina, a teenage Kalbeitzer started seeking out places known for paranormal activity.
Rocket science, ritual magic and mind-reading
Having lived in different neighborhoods in L.A., Kalbeitzer says there’s something uniquely otherworldly about Pasadena — and it goes beyond ghost stories.
He said the city has an energy that draws people exploring the unknown, perhaps most famously Jack Parsons.
The rocket pioneer who helped launch the Jet Propulsion Laboratory also practiced ritual magic at his Pasadena home with the likes of L. Ron Hubbard before he founded Scientology.
“Many people call it the occult. I don’t know that I fully subscribe to that, but there is spiritualism and occult mixed in there,” Kalbeitzer said.
Then there was Upton Sinclair, the muckraking author of The Jungle, whose interests while living in Pasadena extended to telepathy and séances.
Upton Sinclair, pictured with his wife Mary Craig Sinclair in 1935, several years after he published a book examining her reported telepathy.
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Los Angeles Times via Wikimedia Commons
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In 1930, Sinclair published Mental Radio, a book about experiments in mind-reading. Albert Einstein provided a preface. Yes, that Einstein, who would spend the following winter at Caltech expanding on the theories of relativity and cosmology.
“Like it’s the craziest mixture of things that were happening at that time and all of it at the same time,” Kalbeitzer said.
A presence in the shop
The event couldn’t have found a more appropriate venue.
Since opening five months ago in Old Town, Mesmer Mesmer has embraced the dark and mysterious, offering tarot and crystal readings and hosting events on subjects such as hip-hop’s relationship with ghosts.
Tyke O'Brien opened her shop Mesmer Mesmer earlier this year to create a third space and offer books and esoterica alongside clothing.
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Tyke O'Brien
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At that event, a medium told owner Tyke O’Brien she could sense a presence in the shop, which formerly housed a bridal store.
“She goes, ‘Do you ever feel it?’” O’Brien recounted, “And I’m like, ‘I am such a bummer. I really wish I could. How wonderful would that be to be able to?’”
The same can be said for this writer who’s lived and worked in and around Pasadena for years without so much as a brush with the otherworldly.
Kalbeitzer, on the other hand, reports supernatural encounters all around town.
“I think that how you see yourself in the world has a lot more to do with it, and whether you want to have those experiences,” he said.
Dark & Strange in Pasadena
When: Saturday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. Where:Mesmer Mesmer, 65 E. Holly St, Pasadena
The event is currently full but there's a wait list and Kalbeitzer plans to give more talks at the shop.
Los Angeles officials expect construction of a fence around MacArthur Park will start in November and continue through fall 2027.
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L.A. Department of Recreation and Parks
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Topline:
Los Angeles officials expect construction of a fence around MacArthur Park will start in November and continue through fall 2027. At a community meeting Thursday night at MacArthur Park Elementary School, officials said fence installation is now expected to continue through fall 2027, overshooting the previously announced spring 2027 completion date.
Why now: Thursday’s meeting highlighted the divide over the city’s plan to fence off MacArthur Park, with tensions rising during public comment. The Los Angeles Police Department says the fence will make drug enforcement easier, while some in the community who volunteer around the park questioned whether it will improve safety enough to justify the cost. The city has allocated $2.3 million for the project, but officials have not said whether that will cover the full cost.
What's next: Officials also outlined other planned improvements, including restoring access through the tunnels connecting the park’s north and south sides, making accessibility upgrades and providing free Wi-Fi for parkgoers. Residents who want to provide input on the fence’s decorative elements can email admin@themorcosgroup.com or call (310) 479-4727 for more information.
Los Angeles officials expect construction of a fence around MacArthur Park will start in November and continue through fall 2027.
At a community meeting Thursday night at MacArthur Park Elementary School, officials said fence installation is now expected to continue through fall 2027, overshooting the previously announced spring 2027 completion date.
Thursday’s meeting highlighted the divide over the city’s plan to fence off MacArthur Park, with tensions rising during public comment. The Los Angeles Police Department says the fence will make drug enforcement easier, while some in the community who volunteer around the park questioned whether it will improve safety enough to justify the cost.
The city has allocated $2.3 million for the project, but officials have not said whether that will cover the full cost.
Installation of the green metal fence around the park’s perimeter is expected to begin in November and take about a year. A second phase, adding decorative elements to the fence, is planned for fall and winter 2027. Officials said the schedule could change because of weather or other unforeseen circumstances.
Capt. Ben Fernandes with the LAPD’s Rampart Division said the fence would create a barrier along Alvarado Street and other areas where officers have seen people using narcotics. That would allow police to focus more of their enforcement efforts inside the park, he said.
“So if people are going deeper into the park to use, that’ll make it easier for us to go in and do enforcement on them and arrest them for that use,” Fernandes said.
MacArthur Park will close every night once an 8-foot-tall fence goes up around the green space, with Los Angeles police officers sweeping the park for encampments and people sleeping there before the gates shut. The Board of Recreation and Park Commissioners approved the plan Thursday.
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LA Recreation and Parks
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“I’ve been an officer for 29 years, and I’ve always known I can go buy drugs there, and I did as a narcotics officer. So what I’m saying is, we are trying to make it not convenient,” he added.
Fernandes also said the city plans to enhance the park’s existing camera network. LAPD officers and Los Angeles Park Rangers will be able to monitor the cameras from their respective stations, he said. City officials are still evaluating whether additional cameras will be needed to address blind spots in the park after construction is complete.
Ariana Walker, who visits MacArthur Park every Saturday with a group of friends who pool their own resources to distribute food and hygiene kits, questioned whether the city had shown that the fence would improve safety and how much it would cost to maintain.
“The fence is a $2.3 million fence at the base level,” she said. “And they haven’t given us any indication of how much more it’s going to cost for upkeep, to keep anybody safe. There’s no conclusive evidence that a fence is going to stop crime the way that they’re suggesting.”
The meeting grew tense when John Alle, a local property owner whose family owns the building that houses Langer’s Delicatessen across the street from the park, objected to having his comments read from a written comment card rather than speaking directly to officials. Alle has been a vocal critic of the city’s response to drug activity and public safety concerns around MacArthur Park.
He was allowed to comment during the meeting and said the city needs to take a tougher approach to drug use and sales around the park.
“We see knife attacks at all hours of the day. It’s out of control. And it’s not gotten any better,” he said. “We want to bring it back to where it was 15 or 20 years ago.”
Los Angeles officials expect construction of a fence around MacArthur Park will start in November and continue through fall 2027.
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Gary Coronado
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The LA Local
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Alle pointed to public events at the park, including an upcoming Día de los Muertos celebration and a Labor Day weekend picnic hosted by Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman as positive developments for the space. But he added those events do not reflect conditions throughout the park.
Officials also outlined other planned improvements, including restoring access through the tunnels connecting the park’s north and south sides, making accessibility upgrades and providing free Wi-Fi for parkgoers.
Residents who want to provide input on the fence’s decorative elements can email admin@themorcosgroup.com or call (310) 479-4727 for more information.
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Destiny Torres
covers all things SoCal, from breaking news to local government, with a focus on Orange County.
Published October 23, 2026 1:43 PM
Metrolink’s Orange County service between the Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo and Oceanside stations will be temporarily suspended starting Monday, Oct. 26, through Friday, Oct. 30, due to high tide forecasts.
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Photo Courtesy of OC Transportation Authority.
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Topline:
Metrolink’s Orange County service between the Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo and Oceanside stations will be temporarily suspended next week, starting Monday, Oct. 26, through Friday, Oct. 30.
What lines will run? Orange County Line trains will operate only between L.A. Union Station and the Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo Station. According to Metrolink, alternate transportation such as buses will not be available.
Why now? A coastal flood warning is in effect for the entire Orange and San Diego coastline Sunday through Thursday. “Astronomical” high tides could create significant coastal flooding starting Sunday, according to the National Weather Service. Morning high tides could reach nearly 7 feet Saturday morning and are likely to exceed 7.5 or 8 feet by Monday.
Officials said: “The temporary service adjustment is intended to minimize the potential for widespread delays and cancellations if coastal conditions disrupt rail operations,” Metrolink officials wrote in an announcement Thursday. “This shift will also reduce competing rail traffic and shorten potential weather-related delays for other carriers, including Amtrak Pacific Surfliner and freight trains, that operate along the beachfront corridor near San Clemente.”
Background: The service suspension is along the troubled rail corridor from South Orange County to the San Diego County line. Erosion and landslides along the coastal rail have caused disruptions since 2021.
Students at Ensign Intermediate School have been parking their e-bikes in the neighborhood since the district outlawed them on elementary and middle school campuses.
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Jill Replogle
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LAist
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Topline:
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office filed charges Wednesday against six parents and one relative of children involved in illegal e-motorcycle use. O.C. District Attorney Todd Spitzer joined AirTalk, LAist 89.3's daily news show, to talk about the charges and rising e-bike-related incidents.
What he's saying: "We have about a 430% increase in emergency room visits by young people today, underage minors, who are being injured as a result of these e-bikes," Spitzer said, referring to incidents in Southern California.
A growing issue: Spitzer pointed out thatWednesday’s charges are the latest in a growing number of cases involving e-bikes, including one incident that resulted in a 13-year-old rider’s death.
Why charge the parents? Spitzer clarified that parents are not being charged with a crime just for giving their child an e-bike. "We're filing when the adult who's responsible for the actions of that child has additional special knowledge that their kid is a danger to the community and, in most cases, to themselves," he said, such as a history of reckless riding or knowledge of illegal modifications.
Example: In the case of the 13-year-old who died after crashing his e-motorcycle, his father could face up to six years in prison.
Listen to the full conversation:
Listen
9:51
Orange County D.A. announces charges tied to e-bike usage
