The Brief

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

The Inglewood Unified School District headquarters erupted in applause Wednesday as auditors praised the district for meeting state requirements for the first time since 2012, moving it one step closer to leaving state control.

Representatives from the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team, or FCMAT, presented findings from their audit in February, which showed the school district improved in every category for the last three years that ranged from student achievement to personnel management. 

This means the district is expected to exit the first of two phases of receivership next year, according to Michael Fine, FCMAT’s chief executive officer. Entering the final phase means the district can hire a superintendent and the school board will regain voting power while it remains under the guidance of a county trustee who has the authority to override the board’s decisions, if needed, Fine said. 

“Everybody is waiting for it to get back to the way it was,” said Margaret Turner-Evans, Area 4 school board trustee. “People need to know about the good things happening in Inglewood.” 

The report comes as Inglewood Unified continues its efforts to improve overall. Since 2018, the district has closed nearly half of its schools, is facing declining student enrollment and has to pay a $29 million balance on an emergency loan it received from the state in 2012.

Inglewood’s FCMAT score summary, provided by the district, shows that on a scale of 1 to 10, no district can receive a score lower than four in any category and must have an average score of six or more.

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Courtesy of Inglewood Unified School District

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Inglewood can officially leave receivership after it fully repays the loan and the school board can decide if it wants to do that immediately or continue to make payments, according to Fine. 

“I think the community in Inglewood is anxious to have 100% local control and nobody looking over their shoulder, and so the only way to achieve that is to pay it all at once,” Fine said. “So the board will balance that and figure that out.” 

Here’s what was in the FCMAT report

During the presentation to the school board, the report covered five key operational areas including pupil achievement, community relations and governance, personnel management, facilities management and financial management. 

Shayleen Harte, FCMAT’s deputy executive officer who has worked with Inglewood for the last nine years, commended the district’s progress in three of the five areas while also highlighting where improvements can be made in the areas of facilities and financial management. 

With facilities management, some of the areas that need attention include improving the work order system, scheduling preventative maintenance and building internal staff. 

In terms of financial management, some of the areas of improvement include eliminating deficit spending, maintaining long-term financial stability and continuing to improve budget monitoring to align with spending. 

Read the full FCMAT report here.

Local coalition believes district’s financial outlook is far from stable

Led by Inglewood mayoral candidate Fre’Drisha Dixon, the Stop IUSD School Closures Coalition held a public meeting via Zoom to review the FCMAT findings on July 30. 

The coalition of parents and community members worked unsuccessfully to halt Inglewood school closures last year, but they remain tuned in to what’s happening with the district. 

Although the district appears to be exiting receivership based on the scores it received in this year’s FCMAT report, Dixon said Inglewood is far from being financially stable. 

“Cash reserves today do not equal long term stability when the district is predicting major deficits,” Dixon said, referring to the continued deficit spending noted in this year’s FCMAT report.  

This slide was presented by Fre’Drisha Dixon, Inglewood mayoral candidate and head of the Stop IUSD School Closures Coalition, during a July 30, 2026, meeting to highlight Inglewood’s financial standings based on the 2026 FCMAT report.

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LaMonica Peters

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The LA Local

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Dixon said she based her stance on FCMAT’s findings, which stated the district will have a $13.3 million deficit for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. 

Despite reservations from the local coalition, district officials still celebrated the latest news on Wednesday.

“There are a lot of folks in this room and on this board who have worked for 14 years to achieve this goal,” said James Morris, Inglewood county administrator, as he explained the latest district scores for the board. 

Echoing those sentiments, Joyce L. Randall, Area 1 school board trustee, talked about feeling overwhelmed with emotion. 

“After being under receivership for so long, to finally see the goal and we’re about to cross the finish line, I’m very excited,” Randall said. 

Ernesto Castillo, Area 5 school board trustee, approached the moment with the same gratitude and a little bit of humor. 

“You all are great people and I enjoy seeing you but I can’t wait to stop seeing you,” Castillo jokingly said to Fine and Harte. “I can’t wait for this relationship to finally end!”  

The next document review will begin in September and FCMAT will conduct interviews and site visits in February 2027. 

The final report will be issued next year in July and posted to FCMAT’s website. 

For years, roughly 700 beds at Cal State Los Angeles that could be occupied by students have sat empty, even in what officials call a “highly housing challenged area.” The reason? Officials say lack of funding and deferred maintenance.

The out-of-commission resource has languished despite the California State University 2025 Systemwide Housing plan stating there’s a need for about 500 beds at the campus.

“The deferred maintenance happened over a period of several years, under previous leadership for the university and housing,” Erik Hollins, a spokesperson for the university, told LAist in a statement. “The pandemic certainly appears to have been a factor. Addressing accumulated maintenance and then getting those units back in circulation has been a focus of new leadership.”

Housing and Residence Life (HRL), which is responsible for maintenance, runs independent of university operations but reports to the Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management. The department has its own budget with funding coming from the rent and meal plans students pay for.

In the most recent housing budget posted online, from the fiscal year 2024-25, no funds were allocated to maintenance. LAist has requested housing budgets for 2025-26 and 2026-27.

It’s not just the beds out of circulation that need maintenance. Cal State L.A.’s student-run news organization reported earlier this year that “work orders for maintenance by those residents have gone unanswered for months, or even in some cases for several consecutive semesters.”

Hollins told LAist there’s demand for housing on campus in addition to modernizing older facilities. Some of the housing that isn’t being used was built in 1984 to house athletes during the Los Angeles Olympics.

“Under new housing leadership, we are reengaging with our Cal State L.A. students on the benefits of living on campus, resolving perception issues around deferred maintenance, and seeking new partnerships with local colleges, universities, and community organizations,” Hollins wrote.

Hollins added that the university is located in a “highly housing challenged area, while also serving a majority of students who live with their families in the immediate surrounding area.”

Cal State LA’s housing troubles

In 2023, auditors reported years of operating losses at Cal State L.A.’s housing program, leading to reserves being depleted.

Auditors noted that occupancy has dropped to as low as 60% in recent years, and student housing required “unanticipated emergency repairs.” Responding to the audit, Cal State L.A.’s director of housing wrote that the university had taken “sweeping corrective measures.”

“Because its apartment complexes are aging, HRL has also been forced to pay for unanticipated emergency repairs and planned maintenance projects that have challenged its budget,” auditors wrote. “These repairs were partially due to HRL not prioritizing deferred maintenance projects during the COVID-19 recovery. There are also ongoing issues with the water system and fan coil breaks at the newer South Village residence hall.”

At the time, Cal State L.A. said it would address the issues by “implementing short-term strategies to boost occupancy rates, student engagement, and facility upgrades, along with long-term strategies to renovate its older facilities and improve affordability.”

The university also said it would partner with community colleges, expand summer conference programs and require first year students to live on campus. In response to the audit, Cal State L.A. also promised facility renovations.

Westminster City Councilmember Amy Phan West caught a break after she was accused of attempting to bribe parking officers who were about to tow her husband's car: A judge ordered her to take an ethics training course and do 20 hours of community service. In exchange, the charge would be dropped.

One year later, the Orange County District Attorney's Office says Phan West has learned nothing and is asking the judge to revoke the deal and send the case to trial.

In a recent court filing, Deputy District Attorney Matthew Bradbury gave examples of what he called Phan West’s “repeated and ongoing misuse of her official position” to argue that the councilmember hadn’t accepted responsibility for the alleged crime or taken the mandatory ethics training to heart.

“The Defendant’s actions only serve to undermine the public’s faith in the justice system,” Bradbury wrote, adding that they “warrant no leniency.” In the past, Phan West has denied wrongdoing and said she is being unfairly targeted for for being outspoken.

LAist called and left a text message on Phan West’s phone requesting comment on the DA’s recent filing. LAist also sent an email to Phan West’s defense attorney, Randy Collins. We will update this story if and when we get a response.

What the court records say

In the filing, Bradbury, the deputy district attorney, said that in the year since Phan West was charged with attempted bribery, she appears to have repeatedly violated rules intended to bar local officials from using public resources for campaign activities. She also mocked the case against her, Bradbury said, showing no sense of accountability.

The DA’s examples of Phan West’s alleged continued ethics violations include:

• At Westminster’s annual Tet parade in February, Phan West handed out flyers for her Congressional race — a potential violation of rules against local officials using public resources for campaign activities. (Phan West lost in the June primary.)  
  
• In May, Phan West gave a media interview about her Congressional run from her Westminster City Council office, a potentially similar violation. 
  
• Phan West has repeatedly downplayed the criminal charge against her and disparaged the legal process in public comments and social media posts. In response to a question at a candidate forum, she called it a “jungle-like court” and compared her legal problems to the President’s. “Like how they’re doing it to Donald J. Trump — it’s the same thing they’re doing to take me out,” Phan West said, according to the court filing. 

What happened at city hall?

Phan West has repeatedly clashed with the majority of her council colleagues in recent years. In 2024, the council officially censured Phan West for behavior that allegedly included improperly disclosing confidential information and lying. The city later sued Phan West and allied councilmember NamQuan Nguyen for repeatedly disrupting meetings and creating a “dysfunctional and raucous” atmosphere.

Phan West has accused her opponents on the City Council of violating her right to free speech and waging a personal vendetta against her.

What's next?

Phan West officially filed papers earlier this week to run for re-election to Westminster City Council in November.

A hearing to determine whether Phan West has complied with her court-ordered diversion program for the attempted bribery charge is scheduled for Aug. 11 in O.C. Superior Court in Westminster.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

An 80-unit affordable housing development opened Thursday in Koreatown, adding new housing in one of Los Angeles’ most densely populated neighborhoods.  

City leaders and community members gathered to celebrate the opening of Atto on Hobart, a seven-story affordable housing development in Koreatown that will provide 73 one-bedroom apartments and seven studios for households earning up to 80% and 120% of the area median income, depending on the unit.

Developer Leo Lee, who grew up in Koreatown, has spent years trying to redevelop the area. While he praised the city’s faster approval process, he said getting projects financed remains a major obstacle.

The opening comes as Koreatown continues to face mounting housing pressures. The area is one of the densest in Los Angeles, with more than 39,000 residents per square mile. About one in five residents lives below the federal poverty level, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

Lee said the building’s name reflects what he hopes the project represents.

“The name of the project is called Atto. The reason for the name is, my wife told me, ‘Atto is a Korean word. It means gift, it means thank you,'” he told reporters. 

Income eligibility will be verified by the Los Angeles Housing Department.

The project at 611 S. Hobart Blvd. is the first affordable housing development in Koreatown completed under Mayor Karen Bass’ Executive Directive 1, the 2022 order that streamlines city approvals for 100% affordable housing developments.

A staged bedroom is shown inside a unit at Atto on Hobart in Koreatown on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026.

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Hanna Kang

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The city’s goal is to remove bureaucratic hurdles that have historically slowed affordable housing construction, Bass said.

“Everybody has told me how difficult it is to build anything in the city, but especially housing, and that the number one reason it was difficult, because of all of the unnecessary red tape,” she said. 

City officials say the order has accelerated more than 47,000 affordable housing units through the development pipeline citywide, though many remain in various stages of planning and construction.

On Monday, city officials and nonprofit partners opened a converted Craftsman home with 19 affordable housing units for veterans in Harvard Heights and south of Koreatown.

Steve Kang, president of the Los Angeles Board of Public Works, said projects like Atto help address the challenges facing a neighborhood where many families struggle with high housing costs.

“So for our community, building more affordable housing isn’t just about adding units or density,” Kang said. “It’s about ensuring that our families, our seniors and working Angelenos get to stay right here in the heart of Koreatown.”

On an overcast morning in July, marine biologist Greg Rouse knelt next to a large tide pool near La Jolla’s Bird Rock.

“This place is incredibly diverse in habitats,” Rouse said, scooping a sample of seawater into a plastic bag.

A few miles down the beach, in his seaside lab at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, Rouse separated the sampled water into a petri dish.

At first glance it was just water and some floating ocean debris.

But when Rouse slid the petri dish under a microscope, hundreds of nearly-microscopic animals burst into life on a high-resolution monitor: shrimps and snails, pillbug-like isopods, worms of all sorts of different shapes, and at least one bright-orange sea slug.

Sampling tide pools like this is fairly routine for Rouse, but lately, it has been part of something bigger. Rouse is leading the first phase of an effort to document California’s intertidal ecosystems.

That means logging every organism found in the tidal seawater, sand and rocks from San Diego to the Oregon border over the next two years.

“It's a baseline of what is here right now,” Rouse said. “It's a shame we didn't do this 20 or 40 years ago. But in those times, we didn't really have the DNA technology and the cost efficiency that we have these days.”

The project, called the California Intertidal Biodiversity DNA Barcode Library project, is ambitious. Nothing of this scale has been attempted in the U.S. It’s being led by a coalition of top research institutions, including Scripps, the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, the California Ocean Protection Council and the Southern California Coastal Research Project.

The goal is to create a comprehensive picture of California’s tidal habitats by focusing on the algae and invertebrates that live in them, including their DNA profiles. Scientists say that will let them more effectively track changes in those ecosystems.

Scientists building the biological library are focused on the nearly microscopic invertebrates and algae that live in California's tidal regions, which are less well understood than more visible fish, birds and mammals.

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Lucas Brady Woods

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LAist

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The intertidal region is made up of the narrow strip of coastline that alternates between being submerged at high tide and exposed at low tide. It’s habitats are some of the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, including rising water temperatures and sea levels.

The two-year project launched with $10 million in state funding earlier this year but kicked into high gear this summer.

Last month, Rouse led a group of dozens of scientists to the tide pools, where they pulled more than 7,000 samples from the area around Bird Rock.

“Anything we could see, we took. But also we took a lot of stuff you can't see back to the lab and had many people on microscopes finding all the tiny creatures,” Rouse said. “Because most of the diversity is actually too small to see.”

Testing is still underway, but so far the samples represent 1,600 species of invertebrates and algae, hundreds of which could be new to science.

Biological library housed in L.A. 

Once collected and analyzed at Scripps, the physical specimens and their DNA profiles will be sent to the L.A. County Museum of Natural History where they will be stored in a massive library.

The museum was chosen in part because it has the largest collection of invertebrates in the U.S., outside of the Smithsonian Institution.

The project will be focused on invertebrates and algae because fish, mammals and other big, visible animals have been sampled plenty. Scientists say there is a major gap in the understanding of the tiny tide pool organisms that play a key role in the wider ecosystem.

“It's all about a food chain … and we don't have a good grounding of who's eating whom,” said Regina Wetzer, curator of marine biodiversity at the Natural History Museum. “It's a whole cascade of networks that feed the larger things that are carnivorous fish or that are birds."

A nudibranch mollusk, a type of sea slug called Vassyeria, was one of the thousands of organisms collected recently in La Jolla. It's seen here under a microscope.

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Greg Rouse

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Scripps Institute of Oceanography

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Among the new species found by the recent tide pool sampling is this polychaete scaleworm, seen here under a microscope.

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Greg Rouse

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Scripps Institute of Oceanography

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Protecting the coast

Building this biological library is not just for the sake of expanding scientific understanding. It’s also practical.

Without a clear baseline to reference, said Dean Pentcheff, project manager of the Diversity Initiative for the Southern California Ocean, scientists have been largely operating in the dark.

“To responsibly manage the shore and manage our resources and manage the life on it, we need to know who's where and who's who,” Pentcheff said. “And right now, for the intertidal [zone], we don't know that.”

The DNA library will lay the groundwork for new, powerful tools scientists can use to monitor changes in the tidal ecosystem.

One of those is environmental DNA, or E-DNA, the biological detritus that naturally sloughs off organisms. Collecting samples of water or sand, and the E-DNA in it, can provide a quick snapshot of an ecosystem when compared to a baseline.

At L.A.'s Natural History Museum Regina Wetzer, left, a curator, and Dean Pentcheff, head of the Diversity Initiative for the Southern California Ocean, discuss the logistics of building the tidal "biolibrary."

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“That's a list of all the organisms that are there, but you can't put a name to any of them unless you have a reference library to look it up in,” Pentcheff said. “So our job in this project is to cruise up and down the state and create that library of genetic reference sequences to enable environmental DNA to be used in the future.”

The library will also be designed to allow for different levels of DNA sequencing, from basic DNA profiles, called barcodes, that are quick and easy to produce, to much more complex profiles that provide detailed information on an organism.

Backed by California taxpayers 

The tools the project is expected to unlock have also galvanized the officials in charge of protecting the state’s marine environments.

“Where are invasive species showing up? What's happening with species range shifts as things migrate northward? Those are the kinds of questions that we can answer, start to answer with a lot of this information,” said Mike Esgro, a member of the California Ocean Protection Council who oversees the state’s Marine Protected Areas.

California’s Marine Protected Areas cover about 16% of California’s coastal waters. They are specific geographical areas in the ocean or around coastal estuaries designed to protect and conserve marine life and habitats.

Esgro hopes the DNA library, and emerging tools like E-DNA that rely on it, will improve how officials manage these places. For example, it could help officials better understand which ones are most vulnerable and identify additional marine environments that need state protection.

It could even help scientists figure out how to shift tidal habitats inland to compensate for rising sea levels.

He also wants to see continued collaboration with state agencies like the Ocean Protection Council and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

And he hopes the California project, which he calls the “Noah’s Ark of intertidal diversity,” can serve as an example. Scientists in California are already looking at other possible DNA libraries focused on insects and fungi.

“The climate crisis is very real. It's very urgent. We're seeing the impacts right now,” Esgro said. “And so I think adopting that kind of mindset of — ‘We gotta go big; we gotta swing for the fences’ — that's crucial.”