The Brief

Boyle Heights is one of the most culturally significant neighborhoods in Los Angeles.

Originally home to the Tongva people, the land was purchased by Andrew Boyle, an Irish immigrant who settled on the 22 acres in 1856.

Decades later, the area became known for years as the “Lower East Side of Los Angeles.” It contained the largest population of Jewish people outside of New York, with the first location of Canter’s Deli, on Brooklyn Avenue. It would also welcome many Japanese, Black, and Latino residents who all called the area home due in part to the integrated low-income community housing developments such as Estrada Courts.

The Boyle Heights of today is as vibrant as ever, with its bustling avenues and businesses still occupying many storefronts from the early 20th century, where music and art continue to flourish on every corner. Despite various changes the area has seen throughout the years, the neighborhood remains a community hub, with generations of businesses passed down to the subsequent cohorts, looking to make their mark in the neighborhood.

This is the Boyle Heights edition of Cheap Fast Eats, where I scout out the best meals you can get across Los Angeles for around $10.

Pioneer Chicken

The exterior of Pioneer Chicken in Boyle Heights, a Los Angeles favorite for fast, cheap eat.

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A piece of Los Angeles history stands on the corner of Soto Street and Whittier Boulevard. It’s one of the last two locations in L.A. belonging to the fried chicken fast-food chain Pioneer Chicken. (The other location can be found in the city of Bell Gardens.) At one point, Pioneer Chicken boasted 270 locations and was known for television commercials featuring O.J. Simpson.

These days, the fried chicken chain is pure nostalgia for those Angelenos looking to relive the heyday of the '70s and '80s. This is thanks to the hard work of the Aguirre family, who own the Boyle Heights location where brother and sister duo Ernesto and Val Aguirre are currently leading the daily operations. The Aguirre siblings have redone the interior with the orange, red, and yellow striped branding, along with a wall of black and white celebrity photographs and advertisements of yesteryear, exhibiting the cultural significance the chain once had for the city of Los Angeles.

For those who visited the chain back in the day, the recipe for fried chicken remains unchanged. The distinctive batter covers the entirety of the chicken, allowing for maximum flavor and locking in an exquisite amount of juiciness for each bite.

For the solo diner, the fried chicken basket ($7.99) comes with two pieces of chicken (legs and thighs) and your choice of side. Other options include a two-piece dinner ($11.99) with two sides, from a selection of mashed potatoes and gravy, spicy rice, crunchy coleslaw, and a fluffy biscuit. I recommend you use the condiment packet that comes with to add a squeeze of honey. Other options include the various buckets that range in size from eight, 12, or 20 pieces. The family pack ($28.99) is another great option for feeding a large group or the next picnic.

Brooklyn Ave. Pizza Co. 

The exterior of Brooklyn Ave. Pizza Company on Cesar Chavez Avenue.

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Head down to Cesar Chavez Avenue, where you’ll find another cool slice of history. Brooklyn Ave. Pizza Co. is a restaurant and bar known for serving wood-fired pies, wings, and other delicious sides. The name Brooklyn is an homage to the original name of the street, which dates back to the late 1800s and was seen as a way to entice New Yorkers interested in moving westward. The name was changed in 1994.

To pizza enthusiasts, the name has a double meaning since Pizza Co. serves Neapolitan-style wood-fired pies, the style that Italian immigrants popularized in New York in the early 1920s.

A trio of slices from Brooklyn Ave. Pizza Co. You can see how a single slice can easily make a meal.

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Elizabeth and Kevin Obando and their son Santiago dine recently at Brooklyn Ave. Pizza Co.

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The restaurant itself is part of The Paramount, a live music venue with a history of hosting seemingly everyone over the years, including Motown artists such as Stevie Wonder to Sonny & Cher. It later morphed into a legacy punk rock venue called The Vex, where it hosted luminaries of the scene, such as Black Flag and The Plugz. The venue would later become a community space for quinceañeras and a performance space for the nearby schools.

These days, for anyone looking to grab a bite before taking in a show or just stopping by the neighborhood, Brooklyn Ave. Pizza Co. is a suitable destination. While full-sized pizzas are a great option, since this is Cheap Fast Eats, we’re focused on the slice game, with a choice of cheese, pepperoni, and a daily special ranging from around $5 each. The slices contain a crispy and chewy crust that serves as an excellent canvas for the different toppings, from melty cheese to pepperoni, that curls into little cups when cooked under the 800-degree heat of the wood fire oven.

The daily special rotates with options such as mole, topped with queso Oaxaca and curtido (pickled vegetables) and the Meat Lovers, which comes with house-made chorizo, pepperoni, and hatch chile. Wash it down with any of their various beverages, from their house-made agua frescas to anything from their full bar.

Mariscos Jalisco

You'll find the Mariscos Jalisco taco truck parked on Olympic Boulevard in Boyle Heights.

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When discussing the best tacos in Los Angeles, there’s a good chance the Mariscos Jalisco will come up. In 2002, Raul Ortega opened his nondescript-looking lonchera truck. He parked it in an industrial section of Olympic Boulevard across the street from Estrada Courts, where he served mariscos dishes from his hometown of San Juan de los Lagos in Jalisco, Mexico.

The menu at MJ is straightforward, consisting of tacos and ceviche. But for all its simplicity in its menu, it’s the care of each menu item that shines through, especially in dishes such as the tacos de camarón ($2.50 each).

This is not an Ensenada-style shrimp taco; it is something completely different. Ortega fills a corn tortilla with a minced shrimp-and-vegetables mixture and a few other secret ingredients. The tacos are then deep-fried and topped with a light red salsa de mariscos and a sliver of avocado. The end result is nothing short of taco magic.

The heavy crunch of the taco is a symbol of monumental things to come, as you reach the contents of the taco, with its soft and almost cream-like texture. There's also the rush of tanginess from the salsa roja that permeates the fried outer layer of the taco, and, with each bite, dribbles down the side of your hand.

Dive into a plate of tacos de camaron and oysters peinados from Mariscos Jalisco.

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If you want to ceviche-ify your life, you’ve also come to the right place. The Tostada Poseidon ($11) is a heavenly combination of shrimp ceviche, octopus, and spicy red agua chile that is destined to become part of your core memory. Most recently, we’ve been drawn to their delicious oyster peinados ($15 for half a dozen; $28 for a full dozen), which translates to "dressed up," meaning they're piled high with cooked shrimp and octopus. A fresh, simple slurp is the perfect send-off as you go about your day.

X'tiosu Kitchen

Located on the corner of Forest and Wabash avenues, directly across the humble-looking Malabar Library — one of the oldest libraries in Los Angeles — is where one finds X’tiosu Kitchen. If you’re searching on Google, the small walk-up window restaurant appears to be a Mediterranean restaurant; however, upon browsing the menu, you’ll realize it’s much more.

X'tiosu is located on the corner of Wabash and Forest avenues in Boyle Heights

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The chicken shawarma and falafel taco plate from X'tiosu mashes up Mexican and Middle Eastern fare.

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Sure, you’ll find the various kabobs and shawarma plates, but the tacos are the real draw at this Middle Eastern-meets-Oaxacan concept. The chicken shawarma taco ($2.25) oozes with spices along with the onions and cilantro garnish and topped with the bright brine of magenta-colored pickled turnips. The tacos are then drizzled with their “Arabesque salsa,” providing just the right amount of creaminess to help round out the taco’s profile. The equally great vegan options, including your choice of falafel or cauliflower (both $2.50), shouldn't be overlooked. The cauliflower taco contains equal amounts of cumin, coriander, and turmeric, achieving the proper level of spice. The falafel is crispy and blooms with notes of fresh herbs. The best option to consider is the taco plate ($12), which features your choice of two tacos and a simple side salad, hummus, and rice.

Santa Cecilia Restaurant

Head to Mariachi Plaza near the Metro station entrance, where you’ll find the cutest-looking walk-up taqueria window that is Santa Cecilia. The small white building with its hand-painted signage and air-brushed murals exudes a particular charm.

Santa Cecilia Restaurant in Mariachi Plaza.

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The tacos de tripas from Santa Cecilia Restaurant in Mariachi Plaza. Get them extra crispy.

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Santa Cecilia has been feeding the locals since the mid-90s with its small menu of tacos, burritos, and other daily specials consisting of chile rellenos and menudo served on weekends. However, one particular item that has taken hold of our hearts is the tripas taco ($3). For those unfamiliar, tripas are small intestines from either a cow or a pig that are boiled and then fried. Sure, it's an acquired taste for many, but once you get past the ick factor, there’s a good chance you’ll go goo goo for guts.

When you order tacos de tripas, they’ll ask if you want them “bien dorados,” which means well-browned or fried to the crispiest, which is the best way to go. What arrives is a jagged and slightly unctuous piece of meat that exists in a space between a well-seasoned chicharron and fried wonton. The taco comes in a handmade, soft corn tortilla containing a few shards of white onion and is drenched in lovely homemade green salsa.

A federal judge on Thursday ordered major changes to reported conditions at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in San Bernardino County, granting a preliminary injunction that requires federal immigration officials provide people with clean drinking water and adequate medical care.

U.S. District Judge Sunshine Suzanne Sykes ruled that the detainees who brought the lawsuit “demonstrated they are likely to prevail” on their claims that conditions at the facility violate Fifth Amendment protections against inhumane conditions of confinement. While the case will continue to work its way through the courts, the judge issued the ruling now, finding that people being detained could suffer irreparable harm without court intervention.

The suit came after two deaths at the facility within weeks of each other last fall: Ismael Ayala-Uribe, a 39-year-old former DACA recipient, and 56-year-old Gabriel Garcia-Aviles. Both deaths are still under federal investigation as scrutiny over the conditions inside immigrant detention centers in the Trump administration continues to mount.

In their lawsuit, lawyers for the detainees said Adelanto violated ICE detention guidelines by failing to provide clean drinking water, nutritious meals, sanitation, access to medical care and medicine, as well as medical intake screening upon arrival at the facility. They also alleged violations of rules around recreation time outside, visitation time for family, daily headcount to ensure detainees are alive, and accommodations for people with disabilities.

In response, Sykes ordered 24-hour access to clean drinking water, meals with a sufficient number of calories, and access to soap and hygiene products free of charge. The injunction also requires the facility to be cleansed daily and for mold to be identified and removed. Detainees are to be provided blankets and temperature-appropriate clothing, as well as access to recreational yard time outside for at least four hours every day.

The order prevents Adelanto, which is located about 90 miles northeast of Los Angeles, from limiting family visitation during regular business hours, including removing time restrictions and physical contact, such as hugging or holding hands, with family members. It also says the facility can not cancel a visitation if a family member needs to use the restroom during the visit.

The majority of people being held in immigration detention centers in California have not been accused of committing crimes, only of civil immigration violations.

The court ordered Adelanto to perform at least two headcounts every day, once overnight and once during the day, to ensure detainees are present and not incapacitated. The court also ordered restrictions on sending detainees to isolation, barring a life safety risk to staff or if the detainee requests it.

The ruling requires Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other named defendants to immediately provide detainees with the condition upgrades the judge ordered.

The Department of Homeland Security declined to comment on the ruling. DHS attorney Pushkal Mishra argued in court last week the federal government couldn’t be held liable for the actions of its contractor, GEO Group, which runs Adelanto and 18 other immigration facilities around the country.

In a motion to dismiss the case, DHS argued that it should not have “to take over the daily management of a federal contract from a private contractor.”

GEO Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Disability access in ICE facilities has been a recurring issue since the Trump administration took office for a second term. According to the complaint, one person described being placed in handcuffs and ankle chains for court appearances despite using a cane. Others alleged people with mobility issues were routinely assigned top bunks. The new court order requires the government to provide people with disabilities with reasonable accommodations.

The court has given the federal government 14 days to create a plan to address medical care and disability needs for detainees. The order requires all detainees to be given an intake screening upon arriving for physical or mental illnesses, ensure ongoing treatment and medication, and treat and segregate detainees to prevent the spread of communicable diseases. The order also mandates that every detainee must have access to primary, secondary, and tertiary medical care and be advised of their patient rights.

Sykes ordered that the government must provide two independent monitors for the duration of the lawsuit to ensure compliance with the court orders. Detainees must also be given the opportunity to submit grievances to the monitors in English or Spanish that are contained in a lockbox only accessible to the monitors.

A report by the California attorney general this year found that six people have died in detention facilities in the state since the start of the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign. Nationwide, 22 people have died this year in immigration detention.

This week, the Mexican federal government called on state attorneys general to criminally investigate cases where Mexican nationals have died in ICE custody.

The White House has released a series of documents that President Donald Trump said in a primetime address reveals "shocking vulnerabilities in our election infrastructure."

Yet Trump, who for years has baselessly claimed the 2020 election was stolen from him, did not detail allegations of widespread illegal votes in that election. Numerous reviews have debunked his claims about that election.

Instead, he focused on allegations that China had accessed voter data and that noncitizens are found on certain states' voter rolls, among his claims.

Yet Trump has often spoken of issues with elections that fall apart under scrutiny. His administration's system for identifying noncitizens on voter rolls has incorrectly flagged citizens, for example.

The remarks came as his war in Iran approaches the five-month mark, some Republican lawmakers want him to focus on the economy, and as his approval rating remains near second-term lows.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
Copyright 2026 NPR

The state is often knocked by the rest of the country as being "slow" to count votes. But here's the deal: that's a feature, not a bug, of the election system.

The backstory

Things take a while here largely because California works so hard to expand the ways people can vote. For example:

• Californians in recent years overwhelmingly vote by mail — nearly 90% of votes cast in the 2024 presidential election were mail-in ballots. In that same year's primary the percentage was just as high. Those ballots can be postmarked up to and including Election Day. They're counted as long as the ballot arrives within seven days (for the June primary, that was June 9).
• California offers same-day voter registration at any voting center. These new voters must cast a provisional ballot, which is counted once election officials confirm their eligibility (they are overwhelmingly accepted — for example, Los Angeles County reports that historically between 85% to 90% have been counted.)
• Voters also have the right to cast provisional ballots if there's any problem on Election Day — like if poll workers aren't able to void an outstanding mail-in ballot, or if there’s any issue calling up voter information from e-pollbooks. Again (see above), provisionals take longer to process because eligibility has to be confirmed.
• Vote-by-mail ballots require signature matching. When the one received doesn't match the one on file, county registrars must contact that voter to let them know — and give them the chance to correct it.
• And, with more than 23 million registered voters, we're really, really big. In the 2024 general election more than 16 million Californians voted (down from nearly 18 million in the 2020 presidential election). Either way, that’s more people than the total populations of all but three other states.

Why things have sped up, some

But things have sped up considerably in the 30 counties that have adopted a 2016 law called the Voter's Choice Act, including L.A., Orange and Riverside counties. In recent elections, the changes associated with that law — like voters not being locked into a designated polling location — drastically cut down the number of provisional ballots cast, which helped move things along faster than they had before.

A closer look at ballot counting times in California where an increasing number of vote-by-mail ballots has slowed ballot counts.

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Still, accuracy and a commitment to "expanding the franchise" — translation: allowing more people to vote — means the process is not designed to produce instantaneous results.

L.A. County Office of Education’s letter to Los Angeles Unified School District earlier this month, warning it was at risk of running out of money, has escalated tensions between county overseers and the state’s biggest school district.

LACOE has told the district it must revise its $21 billion budget by mid-August — or risk the appointment of an external advisor with the power to override the LAUSD board and superintendent’s decisions.

The district has already announced the elimination of hundreds of jobs, primarily in its administrative offices, and approved another plan to cut an estimated $3.6 billion over the next three years through furloughs, layoffs and school consolidations.

But LACOE says it wants a more specific plan with more details, and has assigned a fiscal expert to help.

What does it all mean — for teachers, staff and most importantly, the almost 400,000 students in LAUSD schools? We break it down.

What’s in the letter?

The letter outlines a list of why the County has determined the district will become insolvent.

These include:

• Running out of money: The district's own projection has shown that its operating cash will be $231 million in the red by November 2027. “A district that cannot maintain a positive cash balance is unable to meet payroll and other obligations as they come due,” wrote Debra Duardo, the L.A. County superintendent. 

• New labor agreements with teachers, principals, school support staff and other employees: Recently approved contracts, which the unions say are essential to helping employees weather the region’s increasingly high cost of living, will cost an additional $1 billion in the next school year. These increases outpace the state’s  cost of living increases. 
  
• Declining enrollment and attendance: About 40% fewer students attend LAUSD schools than two decades ago, in part because of lower birthrates and families leaving because of the region’s high cost of living. Over time, this can reduce revenue because state funding is calculated based on how many students show up for class each day. 
  
• Leadership stability: The LAUSD Board appointed Andrés Chait, a longtime district administrator, as superintendent in June, just days after his predecessor resigned amid an ongoing federal investigation. ”This transition occurs at the moment the district must execute substantial corrective actions,” Duardo wrote.

It also includes next steps. We’ll discuss those below.

Why did LACOE send the letter July 2?

The letter is part of a process outlined in California law meant to prevent districts from going bankrupt.

Specifically, LACOE is required to intervene anytime it determines the district may be unable to meet its financial obligations in the current or subsequent two years (California requires districts to budget in three-year blocks.)

Has this happened to LAUSD before?

The requirement to issue this letter is fairly new and tied to a 2021 change in state law.

However, LACOE has intervened in LAUSD’s finances in the past. The agency assigned a fiscal expert team to the district from January 2019 to December 2021 after determining the district was at risk of not meeting its financial obligations.

The team helped analyze staffing, enrollment and make adjustments to the budget, according to a statement provided by Elizabeth Graswich, executive director of LACOE’s public affairs and communications department.

How did LAUSD get to this point?

The shortest explanation is that LAUSD is spending more money than it brings in.

The last three budgets relied on billions of dollars in reserves to offset the deficit.

Some of those reserves were built up when the district was receiving federal pandemic relief money and that funding ended in 2024.

LAUSD, like other districts in the state, also faces increased costs on everything from employee salaries and benefits to providing services for students with disabilities and settlements for decades-old sexual assault claims.

The district’s unions, parents, and several board members have also called for increased scrutiny on how much money the district spends on third-party contracts, including with tech companies.

Is LAUSD making cuts? How will they affect students?

LAUSD has already eliminated hundreds of jobs, primarily in its administrative offices, earlier this year.

This summer the board approved another plan to cut an estimated $3.6 billion over the next three years.

That plan includes furlough days for all employees, the elimination of thousands more jobs and cuts to the trust that funds retiree health benefits.

Among the cuts is the elimination of $900 million that helps high-needs schools pay for counselors, tutors and other student supports.

Most of these cuts aren’t scheduled to go into effect until the 2027-28 and 2028-29 school years.

The county said in its letter that the district plan needs to be more specific and include how each proposed change will be implemented, when the change will happen and how the outcomes will be measured.

Has there been any push back to the letter’s findings?

The district did not appeal the letter’s findings to the state, according to a district spokesperson.

However, when LAist asked if the district disputed any of the findings, a spokesperson wrote that the district is quote “continuing conversations” with the County, and that a revision to the budget may not be required.

“We will remain in conversation with LACOE to ensure our financial plan remains responsible, transparent, and aligned with our long-term commitments,” the spokesperson wrote.

The teachers union has said the letter unfairly targets the union’s new contracts.

“To me it feels as though the message is, ‘We warned you not to approve these contracts, and yet you did, and now we're going to overstep,’” said Gloria Martinez, president of United Teachers Los Angeles.

Martinez said the overall problem is that California doesn’t adequately fund public education.

We’re about a month away from the start of the next school year. What happens next?

The county has appointed a fiscal expert to help the district revise its budget by mid-August. Otherwise, the county says this advisor could be given the power to override decisions by the board and superintendent.

What happens if the district runs out of money?

Districts that become insolvent can lose the power to govern themselves in an arrangement called receivership. Instead of the elected school board and appointed superintendent making decisions about everything from curriculum to the budget, that power is transferred to an external administrator.

Receivership is a condition of accepting an emergency loan from the state. Only 10 school districts, out of nearly 1,000 statewide, have entered receivership since 1990, including Inglewood Unified.

The impact on students varies from district to district. The process was designed to protect students from sudden school shutdowns, but it comes at a cost. Districts must pay back the emergency loan and community-members lose the ability to elect or recall decision-makers during the receivership.

Contact your school board member

The LAUSD's Board's next meeting is a closed session scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday, Aug.11.