Mariana Dale
explores and explains the forces that shape how and what kids learn from kindergarten to high school.
Published July 11, 2024 5:00 AM
Santa Monica's Tongva Park features more than six acres of walking paths, sculptures, and native plants. The six-acre expanse is one of more than a dozen landmarks identified by the San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians.
(
George Rose
/
Getty Images North America
)
Topline:
LAist operates within the homelands of the Gabrielino Tongva people. We collected resources for adults who want to learn more about California’s indigenous people— and now, a list of family-friendly places to visit to deepen your understanding of our region’s original stewards.
For grown-ups: “If parents really want to be diligent about it, they have to educate themselves first,” said Greg Castro, the culture director for the Association of Ramaytush Ohlone, a Northern California tribe. “Then go along that same path with their kids.” UCLA’s digital storytelling project, Mapping Indigenous LA, is a good place to start.
Read together: The Los Angeles Public Library curated Native American themed reading lists for children and teens. LAist is also a fan of Waa’aka’: The Bird Who Fell in Love with the Sun. Cindi M. Alvitre tells the Tongva creation story with help from beautiful illustrations by Carly Lake.
Take a field trip: University High School sits on the site of a Tongva village near a spring thought to be continuously inhabited for more than 8,000 years. Kuruvungna Village Springs is open and free to visit on the first Saturday of the month from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Read more ... for a big list of opportunities.
If you attend an LAist event or listen to one of our podcasts, you’ll hear an acknowledgement that we operate within the homelands of the Gabrielino Tongva people. The tribe is one of many that has lived on and tended the land now called California.
Listen
0:39
Where to take a family-friendly field trip to learn more about LA’s original, Indigenous stewards
“We recognize the painful history of displacement, settler colonialism, and erasure of the People, their language, including place names, and their sovereignty,” our statement reads.
We’ve also got resources for adults, but not a whole lot of kid-friendly ways to learn more about the original stewards of Southern California and today’s Indigenous communities.
“If parents really want to be diligent about it, they have to educate themselves first,” said Gregg Castro, the culture director for the Association of Ramaytush Ohlone, a Northern California tribe. “Then go along that same path with their kids.”
Castro, who is also T’rowt’raahl Salinan and Rumsien, suggested a locally produced documentary series “Tending the Wild,” which explores how Indigenous knowledge of plant and animal life has shaped the environment.
UCLA’s digital storytelling project Mapping Indigenous LA illuminates the lives of the original inhabitants of the Los Angeles Basin as well as those who have relocated and migrated here, including Pacific Islanders and the Indigenous diaspora of Latin America.
Tips for starting conversations with kids
Terms like “settler colonialism” and “displacement” might not be in young kids’ vocabulary yet, but the concepts of fairness and exclusion become clear at a young age.
Once you’ve done the homework, here are a few family-friendly places to explore, but keep in mind, much of the area we now live in was once someone else’s home.
“Let the sun shine on you, let leaves fall on you,” Castro said. “Let flies and critters buzz around you and understand that you're only part of it, not the apex of it.”
Read Native stories
The Los Angeles Public Library curated Native American themed reading lists for children and teens.
Cindi M. Alvitre tells the Tongva creation story in "Waa’aka’: The Bird Who Fell in Love with the Sun."
The Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians council of elders offers this guidance for visiting their homelands and we think it applies to any space you might explore on this list.
“Understand that the land beneath you contains thousands of years of our DNA. Be respectful of our Mother land and all her beings … We ask that you do not disturb our animal relatives, contaminate our sacred waters, or leave trash or belongings on our homelands during your visit.”
The Autry contains one of the country's largest collections of Indigenous art and artifacts.
Hours: Tuesday - Friday 10 a.m.– 4 p.m., Saturday - Sunday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Closed on several major holidays.
Admission:
Adults: $18
Discounts: Seniors and students ($14), children ages 3-12 ($8)
Free for: members; active-duty U.S. military and veterans; children age 2 and under; visitors on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons (if you pre-register).
The museum was created after Chumash cultural sites were discovered in the area now known as Oakbrook Park in the 1980s. The center also hosts guided tours on the last Saturday of the month and workshops at varying times.
University High School sits on the site of a Tongva village near a spring thought to be continuously inhabited for more than 8,000 years. The Gabrielino-Tongva Springs Foundation restored the site in recent years and maintains the cultural center there now.
This community organization hosts presentations and nature walks throughout Southern California with the goal of raising Native American representation in the outdoors. Recent events included outings to Ernest E. Debs and San Gabriel River Parks.
Locations and hours: Vary by event
Coastal Live Oak tree (Quercus agrifolia) are one of the native plants found in Sycamore Canyon. The Chumash harvested, dried and created a flour with their acorns.
Nearby Sycamore Canyon was part of a Chumash trade route for many years. The Culture Center hosts workshops, presentations, and art shows. You can also picnic and hike the nearby trails throughout the year.
Address: Parking at N 34.1569 W -118.9733, Via Goleta and Lynn Road, Newbury Park, CA, 91320
Mojave Desert homesteader Howard Arden Edwards built the chalet-style building that now houses the museum in 1928. There are more than 3,000 objects that represent the American Indian cultures of the Great Basin. Can’t make the drive? There are also virtual museum tours hosted by tribal members with sign language interpretation.
Santa Monica's Tongva Park features more than six acres of walking paths, sculptures, and native plants. The six-acre expanse is one of more than a dozen landmarks identified by the San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians.
“There are all these beautiful hidden secrets everywhere,” Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians public relations director Kate Anderson told Condé Nast Traveler. “All culture is not for tourism, but a lot is.”
Videos and lesson plans created and vetted by educators, tribal scholars and native activists.
LAist pick: This middle school lesson teaches students about primary and secondary sources (we love media literacy!) through the lens of the Miwok Indians, but could be adapted to talk about other communities.
Enrollment in the nation’s workshops and camps is limited to Native American youth in L.A. County, but anyone can purchase this workbook that introduces the Fernandeño Tataviam language through stories, colors, animals, and numbers.
Early childhood reporter Elly Yu contributed to this story.
David Wagner
covers housing in Southern California, a place where the lack of affordable housing contributes to homelessness.
Published June 17, 2026 5:24 PM
President of the Los Angeles City Council, Marqueese Harris-Dawson, at a city council meeting in April, 2025.
(
Samanta Helou Hernandez
/
LAist
)
Topline:
After months of debate and false starts, the Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday in favor of developing a potential November ballot measure that would ask voters to rein in the city’s controversial “mansion tax.”
The proposed exemption: During the meeting, Councilmembers Tim McOsker and Katy Yaroslavsky put forward a motion asking the City Attorney to draft a ballot measure that would ask voters to cancel the tax on sales of multifamily and residential mixed-use buildings within the first 10 years of their construction.
What city leaders are saying: Ahead of the 9-5 vote to proceed with proposed tax breaks for new apartment buildings, Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson said he has seen affordable housing construction decline in his district after the policy — called Measure ULA — took effect in 2023. “I can tell you with certainty ULA has not helped,” he said. “Housing starts are as low in my district as they’ve been the entire time I’ve been in office.”
What happens next? The council’s proposed measure is still far from officially qualifying for the November ballot. Sending final language to the ballot will require another council vote, and the council could potentially decide later this summer to pull the measure.
Read on… to learn how we got here, and why L.A. voters may end up seeing multiple “mansion tax” measures on their November ballot.
After months of debate and false starts, the Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday in favor of developing a potential November ballot measure that would ask voters to rein in the city’s controversial “mansion tax.”
Ahead of the 9-5 vote to proceed with proposed tax breaks for new apartment buildings, Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson said he has seen affordable housing construction decline in his district after the policy — called Measure ULA — took effect in 2023.
“I can tell you with certainty ULA has not helped,” Harris-Dawson said. “Housing starts are as low in my district as they’ve been the entire time I’ve been in office.”
Harris-Dawson said neighboring cities, such as Inglewood and Gardena, where new apartment buildings are not subject to L.A.’s tax, have not seen similar declines.
While a majority of the council voted to proceed with a possible ballot measure, Councilmembers Ysabel Jurado, Imelda Padilla, Monica Rodriguez, Eunisses Hernandez and Hugo Soto-Martinez voted against the proposal.
Reform advocates cheered the vote, but said more work is needed. Miguel Santana, president of the California Community Foundation, has pushed for changes with the “Mend It, Don’t End It” coalition, a group of affordable housing developers, labor organizations and business leaders.
“Today the City Council took another important step towards reforming Measure ULA in a way that will allow us to start building housing again while saving a critical funding source that we desperately need," Santana said in a written statement.
‘Mansion tax’ nuts and bolts
Measure ULA taxes the sale of real estate worth $5.3 million or more. That includes large, luxury single-family homes, which is why the measure is often called the city’s “mansion tax.”
However, the tax also applies to apartment buildings and other commercial real estate. Economists have said that’s causing a slow-down in new multi-family construction at a time when L.A. needs more housing supply to keep up with demand and prevent rents from spiking.
During Wednesday’s meeting, Councilmembers Tim McOsker and Katy Yaroslavsky put forward a motion asking the City Attorney to draft a ballot measure that would ask voters to cancel the tax on sales of multifamily and residential mixed-use buildings within the first 10 years of their construction.
That reform proposal is somewhat similar to earlier failed attempts at changing the tax, including from Councilmember (and now mayoral candidate) Nithya Raman and a separate effort from state legislators.
What happens next?
The council’s proposed measure is still far from officially qualifying for the November ballot. Sending final language to the ballot will require another council vote, and the council could potentially decide later this summer to pull the measure.
If it does appear on the ballot, a majority of L.A. voters would need to approve the changes before new apartment buildings would be exempt. Close to 58% of the city’s voters supported Measure ULA when it first came up for a vote in November 2022.
In a separate vote Wednesday, the council moved forward with another potential ballot measure that would ask voters to exempt Pacific Palisades homeowners from the tax if they sell their properties after the January 2025 Palisades Fire.
To complicate matters further, voters are likely to encounter yet another measure on the November ballot related to the city’s “mansion tax.”
The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association has qualified a measure that would repeal L.A.’s tax, and similar taxes across the state, while simultaneously raising the voter-approval threshold for new taxes.
How we got here
Though reforms are tentative at this point, the council’s decision to pursue a ballot measure is an about-face from a committee’s earlier decision to keep changes off the November ballot.
Jurado, the chair of that committee, repeated her argument that it’s too soon to conclude the tax has caused apartment developers to retreat from L.A.
“When we focus just on housing production alone, we’re missing the mark about what this measure was actually intended to do, which is to keep Angelenos housed,” Jurado said during Wednesday’s meeting.
What has tax revenue funded so far?
Measure ULA has raised $1.2 billion over the last three years, far less than the $1.1 billion in annual funding supporters said the tax could raise. That funding has gone toward affordable housing construction and tenant aid programs, such as rent relief and eviction defense.
However, the city has encountered trouble spending the money on its intended purposes.
City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto has refused to sign contracts approved by the city council and the mayor in April for $177 million in tenant aid. And the measure’s strict rules on how tax revenue can be spent to support affordable housing projects have required city leaders to pursue changes to funding restrictions.
Tax supporters expressed disappointment with the council vote. Joe Donlin, executive director of the United to House L.A. Coalition, said a local ballot measure aimed at carving out certain types of real estate could help fuel the argument for full repeal being made by tax opponents.
"Such a move plays into the hands of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Association and its allies in the real estate lobby," Donlin said in an written statement.
He went on to say tax breaks would lead to less revenue meant to keep city residents housed.
"If this ballot measure were to pass, it could mean tens of millions of dollars per year cut from programs that build affordable housing and combat homelessness," Donlin said.
A fire at a Boyle Heights commercial building sent massive plumes of black smoke up Wednesday and prompted a shelter-in-place order.
(
Alejandra Molina
/
Boyle Heights Beat
)
Topline:
Fire broke out around 2:35 p.m. at 1400 S. Los Palos St., according to the Los Angeles Fire Department
What we know: A shelter in place order has been issued for the area south of Interstate 5, east of Soto Street, north of Washington Boulevard and west of Indiana Street. According to East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, the structure is an industrial freezer facility.
A fire at a Boyle Heights commercial building sent up a massive plume of black smoke on Wednesday and prompted a shelter-in-place order due to hazardous materials, including ammonia.
Fire broke out around 2:35 p.m. at a 1,000-foot by 500-foot cold storage facility at 1400 S. Los Palos St. with solar panels on the roof, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. The fire reached an ammonia line, officials said, prompting firefighters to pull back as it started off-gassing and order people nearby to shelter in place.
The ammonia is not toxic to individuals unless they have respiratory issues or come into direct contact with it, LAFD Chief Jaime Moore said. Adjacent structures were evacuated to keep people from breathing in the ammonia that was in the air, and firefighters pivoted to using water drops from helicopters to take on the flames as they spread across the building’s rooftop solar panels “almost like a brush fire would,” he said.
“Get inside IMMEDIATELY and close all windows and doors. Turn off air conditioning/heating. Bring all people and pets to an inside room until you receive more instructions,” an LAFD alert said.
The shelter-in-place order was in effect for the area south of Interstate 5, east of Soto Street, north of Washington Boulevard and west of Indiana Street. As of 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, LAFD Capt. Anthony Tubbs said officials did not know when it would be lifted.
East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice urged people outside the shelter-in-place boundaries to also take precautions.
“The 5 freeway is not an air filter. The smoke is spreading and everyone in adjacent neighborhoods should reduce the risk of smoke exposure ASAP,” the organization wrote in an Instagram post.
By 4 p.m., authorities added a smoke advisory covering East LA, Commerce and parts of downtown. Heavy, black smoke was visible across the region.
The water drops via helicopter were helping to get the fire under control by Wednesday evening. Authorities planned to use an LAFD robot to get inside and assess the building, Moore said.
“This is a very unique situation because of the size of the building,” he added.
The business at 1400 Los Palos is called Lineage, a logistics company that offers cold storage services, according to the company’s website.
According to LAFD firefighter Jennifer Middleton, over 120 firefighters were on scene battling the blaze. Air quality was being monitored in the area, Middleton said.
“Any sort of structure fire with [solar] panels burning, there’s going to be some sort of hazardous materials in the air,” Middleton said.
No injuries have been reported, she added, but she also urged people to stay inside if smoke was reaching their area.
“Close your windows, stay indoors, turn off your air conditioning, and just shelter in place. We don’t want anyone breathing that smoke. And don’t go outside to watch the fire,” Middleton said. “If need be, you can leave the area to more clear air.”
Local organizations including Neighborhood Music, Centro CSO and Plaza de la Raza announced on social media they were either canceling classes and meetings or moving them online.
In a statement, District 14 Councilmember Ysabel Jurado said her office was monitoring the situation.
“Right now, the most important thing is to follow the shelter-in-place order that has been issued because of the smoke,” Jurado said. “Residents should stay indoors, keep windows and doors closed, avoid unnecessary travel in the area, and follow instructions from first responders.”
Mayor Karen Bass also urged people to stay inside.
“I urge everyone in the impacted area to get indoors immediately, close windows and doors, turn off air conditioning, and avoid unnecessary travel to the area,” she said. “I want to thank the brave LAFD and public safety personnel who responded quickly and remain on scene.”
Officials in the neighboring city of Maywood also urged people to stay away from the area.
Keep up with LAist.
If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less.
Erin Stone
covers climate and environmental issues in Southern California.
Published June 17, 2026 3:32 PM
A street sign in the City of Compton.
(
Kevork Djansezian
/
Getty Images
)
Topline:
Air quality regulators say an oil recycling facility in Compton violated pollution rules and improperly maintained some of its equipment.
The details: The South Coast Air Quality Management District issued four notices of violation to World Oil Recycling in Compton, and one notice of violation to a contractor operating leaky equipment on its property.
Keep reading ... for more on the violations and what's next.
Air quality regulators say an oil recycling facility in Compton violated pollution rules and improperly maintained some of its equipment.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District issued four notices of violation to World Oil Recycling in Compton, and one notice of violation to a contractor operating leaky equipment on its property.
The Compton facility “receives used oils, glycol and wastewater and re-refines these materials into engine oil and glycol products for reuse,” according to the air district. The largest oil recycler in the state, it’s located in some of the most pollution-burdened and low-income neighborhoods in California, as well, where asthma rates are higher than 95% of census tracts, according to state data.
The violations came after the air district started receiving odor complaints from residents at the start of this year. The agency received more than 70 complaints of strong odors of gas, including from the nearby Jefferson Elementary School, the agency said in a news release.
Officials then carried out more than a dozen on-site inspections, including using an infrared camera to identify gas leaks. They found hydrocarbons leaking from a wastewater storage tank, as well as a centrifuge pump. A small fire at the facility in late May also led to nuisance notices from the agency.
The company told LAist it is working to remove the leaky storage tank that may have caused the odors.
“World Oil Recycling provides an essential environmental service by recycling used oil and other materials, helping to keep them out of landfills and waterways,” a spokesperson for the company said in a statement. “We are committed to meeting or exceeding the highest standards at our facility in Compton, where we have operated safely for more than 40 years and serve as a major local employer.”
If World Oil Recycling doesn’t comply, it could face fines or litigation.
The company has faced such issues in the past. In 2019, the Environmental Protection Agency reached a settlement with World Oil’s Compton and Vernon facilities for violating hazardous waste regulations. The agreement required the companies to pay a $39,092 penalty and spend $167,967 on air filtration systems in nearby schools to reduce indoor air pollution.
The facility has received dozens of violation notices from the air district over the years, as well, mostly for minor maintenance issues.
In a statement to LAist, Compton Mayor Emma Sharif said the city “is working with the appropriate regulatory agencies as they continue their investigation.”
How to report smoke, dust, smells or other air pollution near you
The South Coast Air Quality Management District is tasked with regulating air pollution in the region. The public can report odors, dust, smoke or other air quality concerns by:
Is there a potentially hazardous facility near you? How to find out
At a local level, the South Coast Air Quality Management District regulates air pollution across the region, but it has just one inspector for every 200 industrial sites, according to the Voice of O.C. You can search for violations by facility through the agency’s public search tool here. You can report any concerns about strong odors, excessive dust, smoke or other air pollutants here. Find LAist’s in-depth guide on reporting air pollution concerns here.
You can search for violations by various types of regulated facilities across the state using this map from the California Environmental Protection Agency, or CalEPA. GKN Aerospace, for example, has dozens of violations logged there. You can also file a complaint with CalEPA here or to the federal EPA directly here.
The California Department of Toxic Substances Control regulates hazardous waste sites. You can use their tool, EnviroStor, to search for public information about hazardous sites near you.
The California Geologic Energy Management Division oversees oil and gas facilities across the state. You can search for wells near you via their searchable map here. L.A. County also has its own searchable map for oil and gas wells here.
Kavish Harjai
writes about how people get around L.A.
Published June 17, 2026 2:44 PM
The intersection of San Pedro and Second streets is included in the scope of the Skid Row Connectivity and Safety Project, one of the projects L.A. city officials had won state grants for.
(
Chava Sanchez
/
LAist
)
Topline:
California will not consider the city of Los Angeles’ request for a time extension on three mobility projects in underinvested communities that are largely funded by more than $100 million from the state.
The city’s request: In April, the city formally requested a six-year time extension on state-mandated deadlines to complete pre-construction work on the projects in Boyle Heights, Skid Row and Wilmington. The projects won grant funding in 2022 and 2023. Staffing constraints have prevented progress, city officials have said.
State’s response: The California Transportation Commission is the state body that administers the grant program. Justin Behrens, the spokesperson for the commission, said that while the state grant program offers time extensions in certain cases, “The requested time exceeded what is allowable under the guidelines” and the extensions were ultimately not recommended to be considered by the commission.
Read on … for reactions from local leaders.
California will not consider the city of Los Angeles’ request for a time extension on three mobility projects in underinvested communities that are largely funded by more than $100 million from the state.
The exclusion of the request from the California Transportation Commission's June agenda spells an uncertain fate for the projects in Boyle Heights, Skid Row and Wilmington, which involve repairing sidewalks, adding bike lanes and installing traffic-calming measures to make streets friendlier to non-vehicular modes of transportation.
In April, the city formally requested a six-year extension on state-mandated deadlines to complete pre-construction work on the projects, saying recent staffing and funding constraints in the public works and transportation departments have hampered progress.
Justin Behrens, the spokesperson for the commission, said that while the state grant program offers time extensions in certain cases, “The requested time exceeded what is allowable under the guidelines,” and extensions were ultimately not recommended to be considered by the commission.
The state funds for pre-construction work, including environmental review and design, are set to lapse at the end of June.
L.A. officials said in a March report that without the time extension, “The city will be unable to meet these deadlines and lose the opportunity to provide these critical improvements for the city.”
The Bureau of Street Services, which is the lead agency on the three projects, did not respond to requests for comment.
'A deeply disappointing moment'
A statement from the office of L.A. City Councilmember Ysabel Jurado said the situation is “disappointing” and that the councilmember is taking time to “fully understand” what the California Transportation Commission’s decision means for the projects in her district.
“What we can say clearly is this: We are not giving up,” the statement read. “Boyle Heights and Skid Row have waited far too long for safer, more accessible streets, and the residents who organized for these improvements deserve more than a setback and a closed door.”
Jurado advocated for additional staffing resources across the bureaus of Street Services, Street Lighting and Engineering, as well as the Department of Transportation, to deliver the projects.
For Jens Midthun, the president of the DTLA Neighborhood Council, any investment in improving the walkability of downtown L.A. is a worthy one.
“People in downtown L.A. are here because they want to be,” Midthun said about the neighborhood’s transition from a business hub to a residential destination. “People want to be part of a vibrant city center.”
L.A. City Councilmember Tim McOsker's office said in a statement that infrastructure improvements in Wilmington “remain a priority.”
“We will continue exploring funding opportunities and other available options to advance as much of the project as possible,” McOsker's office said.
The grant program
Since its launch in 2013, the state’s Active Transportation Program has funded capital projects that promote walking, cycling or other non-motorized ways to get around. Behrens said the program is competitive and over-subscribed, meaning the applications for funds “far exceeds the available resources.”
Over the course of the grant program, L.A. has secured $500 million to fund 46 transportation projects across the city, according to a June report from Laura Rubio-Cornejo, the general manager of the city’s Department of Transportation.
Twenty of those projects have been constructed and staff is actively working on designing, implementing or closing out another 22.
Jurisdictions that win the funds have to adhere to strict timelines to retain the money, which is allocated based on different phases of a capital project. Failing to meet the program’s deadlines can jeopardize a city or county’s likelihood of clinching future grants.
The program’s deadlines require the city to allocate funds for construction for the three projects in question by the end of June 2027. In its request for a time extension, the city said it would need an additional six years to get to that point.
Absent a time extension, it’s unclear what the path forward is for the three projects.
The city in June submitted its application for the next round of Active Transportation Program grants, though its ambitions were tempered by “staff resource limitations and the city’s existing grant commitments.”
The projects it submitted for consideration to the state include extending the LARiverWay bike path and enhancing mobility along Huntington Drive.
How to reach me
If you have a tip, you can reach me on Signal. My username is kharjai.61.
You can follow this link to reach me there or type my username in the search bar after starting a new chat.
