The Brief

Southern California university administrators are now at the center of the turmoil over campus encampments that went up over the Israel-Hamas war.

USC’s faculty senate issued a censure resolution on Wednesday against university president Carol Folt and provost Andrew T. Guzman.

UCLA faculty will vote Friday afternoon on whether to censure Chancellor Gene Block, and will conduct a vote of no confidence.

USC has been in the national spotlight since the provost's decision last month to cancel the valedictorian's traditional commencement address over alleged safety concerns. That student, Asna Tabassum, had come under criticism by pro-Israel student and outside groups for her social media activity; her Instagram bio linked to a slideshow critical of Zionism.

In the weeks since that decision, the university canceled its main commencement ceremony altogether and has faced off with numerous student encampments now seen at universities throughout the country. Many students have been arrested or suspended.

Faculty have been critical of Folt and Guzman's ability to respond to these events, culminating, for now, in the censure resolution on Wednesday.

UCLA has also been under scrutiny for its handling of campus protesters and encampments, with many faculty condemning Block's ability to rise to the occasion.

What is a censure?

A statement of strong disagreement.

In its resolution, the USC Academic Senate wrote that faculty are dissatisfied with how top administrators decided to withdraw a valedictorian’s speech, cancel commencement ceremonies, and the treatment of student protesters and faculty.

“I understand there are many different viewpoints among members of the Trojan Community regarding our recent decisions," Folt said in a statement to LAist.

While Folt didn’t respond directly to the censure motion, she said she’s committed to working with the senate and other faculty through a task force recommended by the academic senate.

What is a vote of 'no confidence'?

Six years ago, USC faculty issued a vote of no confidence against then-president Max Nikias after several scandals rocked the campus. What’s the difference?

A vote of no confidence is basically asking the president to resign. That’s not the case here at USC. The resolution calls for a task force to investigate top administrators' decisions, and faculty say that will lead to transparency

A vote of no confidence is still an option.

"I hope the administration realizes ... it really depends on what they do next," said Devin Griffiths, an associate professor of English and comparative literature at USC. He is not a member of the academic senate, but he helped start the petition that led to the censure resolution, and attended the Wednesday meeting.

"[The academic senate] need to explain to faculty what a vote of no confidence would mean," Griffiths said.

But the bottom line: faculty are upset that top administrators haven’t shared decision-making with faculty or talked to student protestors and faculty to understand the various reasons they’re upset about the encampment and commencement.

How damaging is this action?

There are no real teeth to censure. USC trustees hire and fire the president. It’s unclear whether trustees have lost confidence in Folt.

It took much bigger problems and a no confidence vote for Nikias to step down.         

What's happening at UCLA?

An online petition said to be started by UCLA faculty and staff is asking UCLA Chancellor Gene Block to resign over the police clearing of protestor camps. Block had already announced he’s stepping down this summer.

On Friday, UCLA faculty announced they'd be considering a vote of censure and a vote of no-confidence.

UCLA did not reply to a request for comment.

The Republican chairman of the Senate intelligence committee says lawmakers will move ahead with a confirmation hearing Wednesday for Jay Clayton to serve as director of national intelligence.

That's despite an overnight post from President Trump, who said he is delaying the nomination and blocking the renewal of a surveillance tool at the center of the U.S. intelligence apparatus in order to pressure the Senate to advance a long-stalled voting bill and also advance another of his nominees for a separate position.

"Jay Clayton is a pending nominee before the Intelligence Committee. We will proceed with his hearing as scheduled unless the president directs him not to appear or withdraws his nomination," said Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., in a post on social media.

Trump's attempt to derail the confirmation came as a surprise social media post in the middle of the night less than 12 hours before Clayton was scheduled to appear before his confirmation hearing. Trump, who is currently at the G7 Summit in France, issued his demands in a post just before 4 a.m. eastern on Truth Social.

In the post, Trump said the plan to quickly approve Clayton was part of a deal with Democrats to derail his previous, temporary pick, Bill Pulte, who has no intelligence experience and has been criticized as a political attack dog for the president.

He went on to say he is demanding that reauthorization of the surveillance tool known as FISA Section 702 must be tied to passage of the SAVE America ACT, a GOP voting bill that would require voters to show a document proving their U.S. citizenship, like a passport or a birth certificate, when they register to vote. The legislation failed in the Senate earlier this month.

"Regarding the approval of our Great Patriot, Jay Clayton, we are cancelling the Senate Hearing RE: DNI today, and will not be going forward until Jamie McDonald is approved to be U.S. Attorney. In the meantime, Bill Pulte will remain as the Acting Director of National Intelligence. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" Trump concluded.

It is a dramatic reversal for a nomination that had the potential to speed through the Senate, possibly with bipartisan support, and exposes a notable rift between the Republican-controlled Senate and president of the same party.

Who is Jay Clayton?

Clayton currently serves as a federal prosecutor, in charge of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. In that role, he's overseen a number of high-profile cases including the indictment and arrest of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. He was previously confirmed by the Senate to serve as the head of the Securities and Exchange commission during President Trump's first term.

The director of national intelligence leads the intelligence community across 18 agencies and organizations and advises the president on national security issues, including through drafting and delivering the President's Daily Brief.

Senate lawmakers hoped for a speedy confirmation for Clayton, aiming to have him sworn in by June 19, the date that President Trump has said that his controversial pick for acting director, Bill Pulte, will step into the role on a temporary basis.

Controversy over Bill Pulte, Trump's interim pick

Pulte's appointment earlier this month was met with dismay on Capitol Hill. He currently serves as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and would enter the job with no national intelligence experience.

He has used his current sub-cabinet level role to assail the president's perceived foes. He was a cheerleader for Trump's pressure campaign that sought to push then-Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell to resign. Pulte has also used his social media following to broadcast accusations that several of the president's perceived enemies had committed mortgage fraud, including Fed official Lisa Cook, New York's Democratic Attorney General Letitia James and Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. Each has denied wrongdoing.

Given his record, Democrats and even some Republicans worry he will weaponize the key national security role. The uproar over Pulte contributed to the expiration on Friday of a nearly two decade-old spy law that underpins a great deal of U.S. intelligence gathering.

The president has suggested that Pulte will serve in the role for some amount of time. Trump told the Wall Street Journal he hopes to see Pulte declassify documents related to the 2020 election and downsize the agency.

Pressure to move quickly

Senators appeared highly motivated to move Clayton quickly through the process before Trump's sudden intervention. They had hoped to prevent or minimize Pulte's time in the job. Clayton's confirmation hearing date was set within hours of his nomination to the post.

If confirmed, Clayton would succeed outgoing director Tulsi Gabbard, who announced her resignation last month citing her husband's cancer diagnosis.

During her brief tenure, Gabbard had been a controversial director. A former Democrat, she was nominated to the role despite her lack of experience in U.S. intelligence and remarks supporting autocratic leaders in Syria and Russia. She was ultimately confirmed in a near-party line vote.

While serving as director of national intelligence, charged with presenting an objective view of the U.S. intelligence community's assessments to policymakers including the president, Gabbard attended an FBI raid on a Georgia election office that has been at the heart of Trump's baseless election fraud conspiracy theories.
Copyright 2026 NPR

When Chance the Rapper gave living in Los Angeles a go for six months back in 2014, it ended up being one of the most difficult times of his life.

Two years after moving back to Chicago and starting a family, he told GQ, “I was just f--king tweaking. I was a Xan-zombie, f--king not doing anything productive. [...] It wasn't where I was supposed to be.”

Ten years later, with the benefit of hindsight, the indie hip-hop artist said he’s realized that what made that time so challenging was less about L.A. and more about where he was mentally at the time.

He spoke with LAist host Julia Paskin about why he’s now “completely 180’d” his views of L.A., his upcoming Juneteenth show at the Hollywood Bowl, embarking on a tour celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the release of his mixtape Coloring Book — the first streaming-only album to win a Grammy — and his 2025 album STAR LINE’s L.A. ties.

From drugs and mansion parties to fatherhood and karaoke

Asked how he feels about L.A. today, Chance said, “I love L.A. now.”

“I completely 180'd on my views of L.A.,” he told LAist. “I was young and obviously having drugs in excess and just like not being like focused or myself, to be honest. I was just lit and I was young. I had just dropped Acid Rap. It was my first time not living with my parents.”

When he moved back to Chicago, he said, “I got to be more grounded.” He became a father and “the person that I am today, who I'm very happy to be.” Now that he’s in his 30s, he said, “It's way more chill, you know? I'm not a 20-year-old kid that's like throwing mansion parties every day and stuff.”

He’s also since spent extended amounts of time here for TV projects (he was a judge on the reality TV singing competition show The Voice for two seasons) and comes back frequently for performances, like the final stop of his STAR LINE tour last year.

His favorite thing to do in L.A. now is spend time with friends and do karaoke.

“I have a karaoke spot that I go to every Monday if I'm in town,” he told LAist — Monday Night Vibes at Station1640. “Everybody's welcome.”

Chance the Rapper attends the Apple Music 10th anniversary celebration and global live Apple Music Radio broadcast on June 30, 2025 at Apple Music’s new studio space in Culver City, California.

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’A retrospective on liberation, faith and love’

Chance’s show at the Hollywood Bowl this Friday, Juneteenth — with an opening set from D-Nice, a gospel performance by DC6 Singers Collective and a few special guests — marks his first return to the storied venue since performing there in 2017 during his first solo headlining tour, on the heels of winning best new artist and best rap album for his streaming-only mixtape Coloring Book.

The Juneteenth show, Chance explained, is “a retrospective on liberation, faith and love, and what those mean for Black folks” — both throughout history and “on June 19, 2026, on the 250th anniversary of this country.”

His latest album’s LA connection

The show is also closely tied in spirit to his latest album STAR LINE, which is connected to Los Angeles through Wattstax, the 1973 documentary that Chance sampled on the album and which he said also “guided and inspired” it.

The documentary takes its name from the massive 1972 concert at the Los Angeles Coliseum, sometimes referred to as the “Black Woodstock,” when the Watts Summer Festival — an annual commemoration of the 1965 Watts uprising — partnered with Stax Records for a community benefit concert featuring artists like the Bar-Kays, Isaac Hayes, Carla Thomas and The Staple Singers.

“In the time that we're living in right now,” Chance said, “I think a lot of us can relate to the rage that was felt during those riots, and as musicians” to a desire “to bring the community together.  And even if that is our movement, like collectively empower that group and speak to them.”

Chance the Rapper plays at The Hollywood Bowl on Friday, 7 p.m. Click here for more information.

A plan to remove nearly 200 trees from Pasadena Unified School District campuses has angered some local residents.

School district officials say 193 trees across 11 campuses need to be removed to clean up soil contaminated by the Eaton Fire.

Residents say they were not properly notified about the project, and some are pushing for ways to remediate the soil without taking down so many trees.

Pasadena resident Paloma Muñiz Ochoa spent eight hours in an oak tree slated for removal at the district’s headquarters.

“There's been a lot of destruction, and there's no reason to destroy more,” said the 17-year-old as she sat at the base of the tree on Tuesday.

At another side of the district’s administrative building, certified arborist Sabine Höppner stood guard at the base of two huge sycamore trees, also on the chopping block. She estimated them to be more than 100 years old.

Paloma Muñiz Ochoa guards a native oak tree slated for removal at PUSD's headquarters.

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"These are so important to the whole neighborhood," she said. "They're a hub for birds. Raptors land in them, owls perch in them at night. You can find the owl droppings all throughout here.”

More than a dozen trees have been removed already, mostly at San Rafael and Washington elementary schools. Opponents of the plan say they want the soil cleaned without the removal of so many trees.

“We in Altadena lost so much of our tree canopy to the Eaton Fire that the idea of taking additional trees away, especially mature trees, is just so hard to think about,” said Ariane Vielmetter, who lost her home in the Eaton Fire.

Her son lost his school and now attends a PUSD elementary school, though not one of the ones affected by the tree removal plan.

Certified arborist Sabine Höppner guards two sycamores slated for removal at PUSD's headquarters.

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Officials, however, say they’ve exhausted all other options.

“After months of consultation with [the state’s Department of Toxic Substances Control], PUSD determined that removing the selected trees is the safest and most appropriate course of action for schools to complete remediation and reopen as quickly as possible,” the district wrote in a statement.

PUSD’s superintendent and the Department of Toxic Substances Control declined to be interviewed for this story.

How we got here

Just a few weeks after the fires started, PUSD entered into a “voluntary cleanup agreement” with the Department of Toxic Substances Control, or DTSC, to address potential contamination at 15 campuses. The state agency oversees removal of such contaminants at places like schools.

Pasadena Unified then hired environmental consulting firm Verdantas to test soil at those campuses.

Last May, the school district released the results of those soil tests, which found elevated levels of toxic metals, primarily lead, at 13 campuses.

Multiple trees have already been removed at San Rafael Elementary.

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The district said in a statement Monday that over the last year, it has “met extensively with the DTSC” to address the contamination.

“These detailed discussions encompassed review of the types of toxins identified, and site-by-site and test by test assessments were performed to evaluate various soil removal approaches,” the district wrote.

At a Pasadena City Council meeting Monday, several councilmembers and Mayor Victor Gordo said they planned to look into what the city’s role may be in approving the removal of certain protected trees.

“As far as the trees go, if there's anything that the city can do to stop this process until we have a better understanding, if they need to come through us for approval,” Councilmember Tyron Hampton said.

Pasadena Unified’s goal is to clean up the remaining campuses before students return from summer break. The estimated cost is about $6.6 million.

What’s next 

Some residents and tree advocates are urging the school district to consider other ways to remediate their campuses, without cutting down so many trees. That can include phytoremediation, which uses plants to clean up toxins in the soil.

Chris Shogren, an environmental horticulture advisor with the University of California cooperative extension, said such natural remediation strategies can be effective, but are more complex to design and can take months to years to complete.

“Remediation is just a really tough task,” Shogren said. “If you want something immediate, you really do just have to come in, remove the soil and replace it. Everything else is going to take time for it to actually work.”

Tree advocates put up a banner in front of PUSD's headquarters Tuesday.

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Timing is short. The district said it’s required by the DTSC to carry out the bulk of the removal and remediation when students aren’t on campus “for safety reasons,” wrote the district’s Superintendent Elizabeth Blanco and facilities director Michael Dunning in a recent statement.

Shogren said that some trees currently slated for removal may be able to be saved — for example, there’s less risk of toxic exposure if they’re emerging from concrete rather than bare soil — but that ultimately it depends on testing.

“It really should be based on the soil reports, so you’re going highest exposure risk to lowest exposure risk,” he said.

The removal of so many trees would be “unfortunate,” Shogren said, but he hopes that what comes next can better serve future generations of children and wildlife.

“We’re going to have to rebuild and redo things at some point,” he said, “and the sooner we start, the sooner those trees are going to start maturing and providing all those benefits that we want from them.”

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Property owners in Boyle Heights’ industrial corridor, near the Sixth Street Bridge, are proposing a plan to fund private security, street cleaning and landscaping, a move that could significantly change how the area is maintained.

The proposed plan would cover an area stretching from 1st to 7th streets and between Mission Road, Clarence and Anderson streets where sound stages, film studios and warehouses sit alongside the public housing complex of Pico Gardens and a residential neighborhood near Dolores Mission Church. Property owners say the city has failed to adequately provide services to keep the area clean and their employees safe. Meanwhile, some community advocates and nearby residents are wary of the area’s growing concentration of entertainment venues, just across the river from the Arts District, which have drawn crowds for electronic music festivals and special events like Olivia Rodrigo’s album release pop-up.

David DaCosta, of the 18-acre Ace*Mission Studios, is among those pushing for what’s known as a Business Improvement District, or BID, in the area that proponents refer to as the Boyle Heights Industrial Flats, which runs adjacent to the Los Angeles River. 

At a meeting at Dolores Mission Church in May, DaCosta touted the effort as a rare private-public partnership that should be cherished. “There’s a natural relationship between us all, a natural path for us all to want to work together,” he said.

Not everyone is convinced. The proposal comes as Boyle Heights continues to grapple with tensions over displacement and who benefits from development. Supporters see privately funded services as a solution to neglect and public safety. Opponents say it could eventually lead to gentrification and over-policing.

To Elizabeth Blaney, with Union De Vecinos, a local branch of the Los Angeles Tenants Union, the BID would “put control of public space in the hands of those businesses who are part of the BID.” 

Property owners in Boyle Heights’ industrial corridor, near the Sixth Street Bridge, are proposing a plan to fund private security, street cleaning and landscaping, a move that could significantly change how the area is maintained.

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What is a BID?

Business Improvement Districts are self-funded associations that collect revenue through property taxes within a geographically defined area. 

In this case, the proposed BID encompasses over 160 parcels that are owned by more than 70 property owners within the so-called “flats” area adjacent to a series of railroad tracks. The proposed tax would only apply to commercial property owners within the industrial district — not residents of nearby apartments and single-family homes.

Property taxes collected through the BID would fund landscaping services, including weed removal throughout the proposed district, as well as sanitation personnel who would sweep up trash and litter from sidewalks and gutters seven days a week.

Security services may also be provided “to ensure that petty crime and vandalism are reduced” within the district, according to the BID plan. Proponents say they will work toward “minimizing the impact of unhoused individuals” within the district by collaborating with social services. 

Funds would also support marketing efforts, website development and public relations campaigns to promote business and activities within the BID.

The Boyle Heights Industrial Flats BID would operate for five years, from January 2027 to December 2031, and is projected to generate $6.9 million over that period, with about $1.2 million in its first year. If approved, the BID would be managed by a nonprofit.

Property owners in Boyle Heights’ industrial corridor, near the Sixth Street Bridge, are proposing a plan to fund private security, street cleaning and landscaping, a move that could significantly change how the area is maintained.

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Residents express concerns

Residents and community members have mixed feelings about the proposal.

On one hand, Boyle Heights residents like Margarita Amador see it as a win “when someone in the community wants to invest to improve our quality of life.” 

Amador grew up in the area at a time when gang violence was at its peak. “No one would want to come into that side of town,” Amador said. Redevelopment and investments have changed the neighborhood for the better, she added. “We’re not in a position to turn away dollars,” she said.

Meanwhile, Ana Hernandez, a Pico Gardens resident, is wary of stakeholders behind the BID proposal. 

Businesses in the industrial area, she said, host late-night events, including raves, that disrupt their quality of life. Residents have complained of loud parties and music late into the night. Their dogs get scared, and they have to shut their windows, one neighbor said. 

“They don’t bring business for the community. What they want are earnings,” she said. “The ones who dominate the streets are people who are not from the community.”

Homeowners like Sylvia Sifuentes aren’t necessarily opposed to the BID. 

Instead, Sifuentes wants residents who live near the proposed district to receive clearer information about how the plan would operate and who it would affect. Sifuentes, 67, has lived near Dolores Mission since she was born and only recently found out about the proposed district.

The meeting in May was her formal introduction to the BID proposal. Initially, Sifuentes incorrectly heard homeowners like her would also be taxed. She also wondered why a tax was necessary. The city, she noted, already provides graffiti removal and trash pick-up services.

Union De Vecinos has organized a petition opposing the BID that organizers said has garnered more than 300 signatures. The petition argues the BID could contribute to rising rents and parking congestion.

Blaney, the organizer with the group, finds the BID problematic because property owners would “get to decide what goes on there” instead of the community as a whole.

“They get to decide the aesthetics of the neighborhood. They get to decide who can hang out and at what hours on the street. They can hire security on bikes and cars that patrol and enforce and harass.”

Property owners in Boyle Heights’ industrial corridor, near the Sixth Street Bridge, are proposing a plan to fund private security, street cleaning and landscaping, a move that could significantly change how the area is maintained.

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Proponents respond

Alfred Fraijo, Jr., whose law firm Somos Group is helping with the BID formation process, said proponents are looking at “alternative modes” of creating public safety. Fraijo, who is from Boyle Heights, acknowledged at the May meeting that communities like Boyle Heights have suffered from over-policing.

He said providing better lighting could make the area more inviting and walkable. “Having eyes on the street is a way to do it,” he said. “We want to partner with organizations that are already doing the good work [in] Boyle Heights, creating intersection safety for children crossing the street.”

Proponents like Mark Borman of Bridge & Corner, which hosts film production in the area, said the BID could address environmental concerns impacting the well-being of their tenants.

“We suffer [from] illegal dumping, often of toxic materials,” Borman said at the May meeting. “There are zero actions, zero street services that we received. Our streets are not swept. Our buildings are tagged … on a daily basis. Our cars are broken into regularly.”

Borman said property owners call the city’s 311 system to no avail. “As a property business owner, I have tenants … who tell me that they do not feel safe going to their cars after work,” he said.

For DaCosta, the BID could make all the difference in retaining employees.

“As an employer, if you employ people and they are driving early in the morning or they are working late … and if the area is not safe and secure, it’s difficult to recruit people, and it’s difficult to keep people,” DaCosta said. “Why would anyone want to come and work in an area that’s not safe?”

Property owners in Boyle Heights’ industrial corridor, near the Sixth Street Bridge, are proposing a plan to fund private security, street cleaning and landscaping, a move that could significantly change how the area is maintained.

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What happens next?

The proposal’s next stop is the city’s Economic Development and Jobs Committee on Tuesday. 

Property owners in Boyle Heights’ industrial corridor, near the Sixth Street Bridge, are proposing a plan to fund private security, street cleaning and landscaping, a move that could significantly change how the area is maintained.

If approved, it would advance to the full City Council for consideration before ballots are sent to property owners within the district. After about 45 days, the city will tally those votes, and the City Council will decide whether to formally establish the district.