Robert Garrova
explores the weird and secret bits of SoCal that would excite even the most jaded Angelenos. He also covers mental health.
Published December 6, 2024 10:17 AM
CARE Court launches in LA County on Dec. 1.
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Diandra Jay-Lopez
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Topline:
The number of people in Los Angeles County who participated in the first year of a program aimed at providing court-led treatment plans for people who live with serious mental illness remains far below initial state projections, according to data from county mental health authorities.
The backstory: Known as CARE Court, the new program was promised as an innovative approach to bringing thousands of Californians living with untreated serious mental illness under the care of mental health professionals.
Why? Some critics see the paltry engagement as indicative of a failed policy. But supporters say the program needs more time and effort from county behavioral health departments. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who championed the new approach, said he’s proud to see “early achievements,” including some 1,400 people throughout the state who were connected to CARE Courts or county services directly.
The need: The 2024 Point-In-Time count found that 24% of unhoused people over the age of 18 self-reported that they live with a serious mental illness, according to the Los Angeles Homelessness Services Authority, which conducts the annual count.
The number of people in Los Angeles County who participated in the first year of a program aimed at providing court-led treatment plans for people who live with serious mental illness remains far below initial state projections, according to data from county mental health authorities.
Known as CARE Court, the new program was promised as an innovative approach to bringing thousands of Californians living with untreated serious mental illness under the care of mental health professionals.
But numbers from the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health show the county received about 16% of the petitions it was projected to get during the first six months of the program. From December of last year through mid-November, 308 petitions were filed in L.A. Superior Court, authorities said.
The petition numbers from Orange and Riverside counties are similarly low compared to estimates of how many people in those areas are potentially eligible for CARE Court.
“It’s been very frustrating to watch the slow pace of petitions by anyone other than family members,” Lisa Dailey, executive director of the Treatment Advocacy Center, a group that advocates for policies that benefit people living with serious mental illness, told LAist. Still, Dailey has hope for the program and thinks it deserves more effort.
Some critics see the paltry engagement as indicative of a failed policy. But supporters say the program needs more time and effort from county behavioral health departments.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, who championed the new approach, said he’s proud to see “early achievements,” including some 1,400 people throughout the state who were connected to CARE Courts or county services directly.
In March 2022, Governor Newsom spoke with local mental health service providers and officials about CARE Court.
The discussion was held at a facility in South L.A. that’s a temporary home to about 30 people who are getting treatment for mental health or substance use struggles.
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Robert Garrova / LAist
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State officials estimated before the program’s launch that it could help between 7,000 -12,000 Californians a year.
Slow progress
CARE Court allows family members, behavioral health workers, first responders and others to ask a court — by way of a petition — to step in with a voluntary care plan for someone living with serious mental illness, like schizophrenia. If the plan fails, the person could be hospitalized or referred to a conservatorship.
Between Dec. 1, 2023 and Nov. 20, there were 308 petitions filed in Los Angeles County, far below the roughly 1,900 state officials projected for the first six months of the program. Of those, 28 participants signed on to agreements and four moved forward to the stage in which they were expected to receive a CARE Plan, ordered by the Superior Court.
Some experts say that progress has been slow, particularly in a county where thousands of people living with serious mental illness sleep on the streets every night.
The 2024 Point-In-Time count found that 24% of unhoused people over the age of 18 self-reported that they live with a serious mental illness, according to the Los Angeles Homelessness Services Authority, which conducts the annual count.
Martin Jones, a program manager with the L.A. County Department of Mental Health, said there are about 70 county staffers working on CARE Court. He said working with human beings — gaining their trust and establishing a rapport — takes time and that just physically getting someone to court can take multiple staffers.
“I think that we’ve seen a lot of success from individuals who we’ve been told if CARE had not intervened this person would have died on the streets,” Jones said. “How do you really calculate the value of those kinds of stories? And I believe that it’s incalculable.”
Jones said he expected the first wave of L.A. County CARE Court graduations to happen early next year.
“It was clear from the beginning that this was a program that would be very hard to access, and would serve a very narrow niche,” Barnard wrote in an email to LAist.
Eligibility criteria for CARE Court state that a participant must be diagnosed with a psychotic spectrum disorder, like schizophrenia. Bipolar disorder is not included. The criteria also say that the participant can’t be in ongoing treatment.
Barnard said he predicts that CARE Court will remain a small piece of the mental health treatment landscape, overshadowed by what was known as Senate Bill 43, a new state law that expands the criteria for involuntary treatment.
The measure, signed by Newsom in October 2023, changed state law to allow people living with a serious mental illness or severe substance use disorder who are unable to provide for their personal safety or medical care to be deemed “gravely disabled” and held against their will.
Barnard also questions whether the multi-million dollar investment in CARE Court might have been better spent on beds and services, which the county is severely lacking.
“It's really not clear why you need a court to get mental health departments to provide mental health care to individuals with mental health challenges, though, versus fixing issues around financing and prioritization within that system,” he said.
‘A policy failure’
Eve Garrow, senior policy analyst with the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, said funding directed towards CARE Court should instead be going to community-based care. The low participation numbers are evidence to her that the effort is not working.
“I think by any measure, I would say the CARE Act to date is a policy failure,” Garrow said. “It’s used precious resources — public funds — to fund a court system that is not even being used.”
In 2022, 40 groups — including JusticeLA, Disability Rights California and ACLU California Action — signed a letter saying the program would strip “people with mental health disabilities of their right to make their own decisions about their lives.”
Garrow said she believed CARE Court was the wrong response to a very real problem: “Which is people with serious mental health disabilities -- many of whom are unhoused -- living without access to the care and services they need,” she said.
In her experience, Garrow said, most people who are offered quality mental health care will accept it voluntarily.
More time
Still, other mental health policy watchers are sticking by CARE Court, even if its initial expansion has been sluggish.
Dr. Susan Partovi, a family physician who does street outreach with the L.A. Centers for Alcohol and Drug Abuse, said the low participation may be partly because the Department of Mental Health needs to make more people aware of CARE Court and who it might help.
“I think they really need to be advertising this on a regular basis, because it’s hard to remember,” Partovi said, adding that the underwhelming numbers were a reminder for her that she could be filing more petitions.
According to the L.A. County Department of Mental Health, just 10 petitions came from provider networks.
Dailey, with the Treatment Advocacy Center, said county efforts have been partly to blame for what she sees as “unfortunate” numbers in the program’s first year. Jones, with the Department of Mental Health, said the county was now making a push to train more first responders on how to file petitions and when they might be appropriate. Only 22 of L.A. County’s 308 petitions were filed by the county Department of Mental Health.
The overwhelming majority came from family members.
“If there was no need for it, you wouldn’t see this initial rush from family members to try to get people into care,” Dailey said.
In addition to California, voters went to the polls in New Jersey, South Dakota, Iowa, New Mexico and Montana to cast ballots in primary races for U.S. House, Senate and statewide offices.
What we know: Most of the attention is on California and Iowa, where there are competitive primaries for governor. In both states, the Democratic Party also sees a road map to control of Congress in the fall.
Keep reading... for the latest results.
Updated June 03, 2026 at 00:20 AM ET
Polls are officially closed in New Jersey, South Dakota, Iowa, New Mexico, Montana and California, where voters are casting ballots in primary races for U.S. House, Senate and statewide offices.
Most of the attention is on California and Iowa, where there are competitive primaries for governor. In both states, the Democratic Party also sees a road map to control of Congress in the fall.
In California's unique primary system, voters send the top two vote-getters to November's general election, regardless of candidates' political parties. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is term limited, and California voters will also pick who should move on to the general election in five new Democratic-leaning congressional districts.
In Iowa, Democratic voters picked state Rep. Josh Turek as their candidate in a key Senate race. In order to win a majority in the Senate, Democrats must pick up four seats, forcing the party to win in Republican-leaning states like Iowa. For the first time in years, Iowa Democrats have a shot at winning the governor's office.
California decides top two gubernatorial contenders
It's been a chaotic scramble to pick the next leader of the country's largest state. After three prominent Democrats — former Vice President Kamala Harris, Sen. Alex Padilla and state Attorney General Rob Bonta — decided not to run, Democratic voters haven't had a clear front-runner for the first time in decades. Voters have more than 60 candidates to choose from, but only a fraction of those are considered serious contenders. Only the top two vote-getters will move on to the general election in November.
California Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra hugs a supporter at the Long Beach Arena on May 31 in Long Beach, Calif.
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Apu Gomes
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Getty Images
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The race got a shakeup when former Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, the presumed favorite, dropped out of the race after he was accused of sexual misconduct by several women. Most recently, polls show the contest could be between two Democrats — the Health and Human Services secretary under former President Joe Biden, Xavier Becerra, and billionaire philanthropist Tom Steyer.
Before Becerra was appointed to Biden's Cabinet, he served 12 terms in Congress and was elected as the California attorney general in 2016. He's considered by many as the candidate with the strongest political background. Becerra's pitch is that he is a proven leader who can hold his own and protect California from President Trump.
Steyer has forked over more than $213 million of his own fortune on the race and is also financially backed by Our Revolution, a group aligned with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. Steyer's platform is centered on taking a stand against special-interest groups in politics.
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Polling just a few points behind Becerra and Steyer is Republican Steve Hilton. The former Fox News host was endorsed by President Trump in April, after which Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, another Republican in the race, quickly dropped in the polls. Hilton's platform focuses on increasing affordable housing supply for first-time homebuyers, bolstering tech industries and reviving California's film industry.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer speaks with students during a Get the Youth Vote with Bruin Democrats event at UCLA's campus on June 1 in Los Angeles, Calif.
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Mario Tama
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Getty Images
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The outcome of California's new congressional districts
In response to Texas redrawing its congressional lines to create five Republican-leaning districts at the behest of President Trump, Californians approved Proposition 50 in November last year. The measure temporarily sidestepped the independent redistricting commission tasked with drawing nonpartisan influenced congressional boundaries, in favor of politically gerrymandered districts. That allowed state Democrats to redraw their map so five previously Republican-held districts now lean Democratic.
This has left those Republican incumbents figuring out their political futures. Rep. Ken Calvert, the longest-serving Republican from California, and Rep. Young Kim are running in the same district, for example, in a race that's gotten quite heated.
Then there's Rep. Kevin Kiley. After being drawn into a much more Democratic-leaning district, he decided to run in a new seat and announced he was leaving the Republican Party and running as an independent instead, though Kiley said he would still caucus with the Republicans.
Because of California's primary system, some of these more competitive seats are creating competitive primaries between Democrats, allowing primary voters to signal to the party what kinds of candidates speak to them most in places that have the most to lose — and gain.
While the Associated Press hasn't called the race, Republican candidate businessman Zach Lahn narrowly led in the polls late Tuesday night. Out of five candidates vying for the spot, Rep. Randy Feenstra was the only one endorsed by Trump, but he conceded the race even though he trailed Lahn by less than 1%.
The governor's office is an important race for both parties. It's the state's first open race for governor since 2011, as sitting Gov. Kim Reynolds opted not to run for reelection.
There is a good chance, though, that Iowans won't know the outcome of the race on Tuesday because a candidate must secure 35% of the vote to win outright. If no one clears that threshold, the nominee will be decided at a Republican convention where delegates — not primary voters — make the final choice.
But the Republican-backed candidate isn't a shoo-in come November. Cook Political Report categorizes the governor's race as a toss-up with a slight Republican advantage. Whatever Republican wins on Tuesday will face unopposed Democratic state Auditor Rob Sand in the general election. Sand is popular among voters and has, so far, outraised any other candidate for governor.
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Iowa Senate matchup set: Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson and Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek
Democratic voters in Iowa selected state Rep. Josh Turek as their nominee against Trump-endorsed Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson for a competitive Senate seat, according to race calls from the AP.
The seat is one that Democrats believe they have a shot at flipping come November. It's part of a larger strategy of expanding their map — and winning in states currently held by Republican senators — if they want a chance to retake the Senate majority.
Turek, a two-time gold medal paralympian, won the nomination against state Sen. Zach Wahls. Both candidates are courting different Iowa voters though. Turek sought the independent-leaning vote, while Wahls was hoping to gain the support from committed Democrats. Turek flipped a state House district held by a Republican, and now Democrats hope he can do the same with the Senate seat.
And with three competitive congressional races on the ballot, some Democrats in the state are feeling like the road to a Democratic majority in Congress runs through Iowa.
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Looking beyond Tuesday
New Jersey and Montana also have competitive races that could decide which party has control of Congress.
In New Jersey, Democrat Rebecca Bennett won the primary in the competitive Congressional District 7, according to an AP race call. Voters there believe Bennett is the best shot the party has flipping the swing seat blue in November.
Bennett will face the uncontested Republican Rep. Thomas Kean Jr. in the general election. The sitting congressman has been notably absent from Washington for weeks due to what Kean cites as unspecified medical issues. He has missed more than 100 House votes since his last recorded vote on March 5.
Bennett, who is a former Navy helicopter pilot, beat three other Democrats for the nomination. Bennett's platform is centered around affordability, lowering healthcare costs and protecting America's national security interests.
Two races in Montana may be more competitive than originally expected with the last-minute announcements — shortly before the filing deadline — by Republicans, Sen. Steve Daines and Rep. Ryan Zinke, that neither would seek reelection. When Zinke announced he was retiring from Congress, it was seen as an opening for Democrats to compete.
But the Democratic nominee for Montana's 1st Congressional District is too close to call, according to the AP. As of Tuesday night, Ryan Busse, an author and sales professional, maintained a small, 2-point lead, against Sam Forstag, a smokejumper who is supported by popular progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. Whoever wins the Democratic primary will face Republican Trump-endorsed nominee Aaron Flint.
While an open Senate seat does not make Montana, which has long been considered a Republican stronghold, necessarily competitive for Democrats, an independent candidate is outraising candidates in both major parties. Seth Bodnar, Iraq war veteran and former president of the University of Montana, is hoping voters will send him instead, mostly on the message that he won't work for either party and is focused on changing the direction America is heading. In Bodnar's case, he has enough voter signatures to land himself on the November ballot, but the Montana Secretary of State's Office hasn't yet certified those signatures.
But two Senate candidates who will for sure appear on November's ballot are Republican nominee Kurt Alme, an attorney endorsed by Trump and Democratic nominee Alani Bankhead.
An Uber rider exits at Los Angeles International Airport in March 2026 (and hopefully didn't forget anything in the car).
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Myung J. Chun
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Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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Topline:
Los Angeles came in fifth on Uber's list of most "forgetful" cities over the last year — that is, the cities where people most frequently leave items in their rideshare. The ranking was part of Uber's annual Lost & Found Index, a report on what folks forget in Ubers each year and the cities where people leave things most frequently.
Start spreadin' the news, I'm leaving (my stuff): New York, New York topped the list of most "forgetful" cities in Uber's rankings. Miami was second, Chicago third and San Francisco fourth.
The frequent fliers: Items most commonly forgotten in Ubers won't surprise you — phone, wallet, luggage, keys and headphones were the top five.
Fish tanks and toboggans and Gushers, oh my! And then there were the more ... unique items that folks left behind. Here are just a few:
A 75-gallon fish tank
A toboggan
A textured photo with a rhinestoned picture of Jesus
Two pounds of blue raspberry Gushers fruit snacks
420 donuts
A dishwasher
A child's prosthetic eye
What if I actually leave something important? Uber says it's rolling out a new lost item feature in some markets that will allow you to report a missing item, receive a report back if and when the driver finds it and set up a time for it to be delivered to you. You'll still have to pay the driver a fare for bringing it back to you, though.
Wait but I need to know more absurd things people forgot: Obviously! You can see Uber's full Lost & Found Index here. And if you've lost something, here's how to find some help.
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Tuesday’s election results may offer an early clue about how vulnerable legislative California Republicans will fare in November.
Why now: Embattled Republicans from Sacramento to San Diego have drawn a crowded field of Democratic challengers. The primary, where the top two vote-getters advance to the general election regardless of party, will decide which Democrats will face off against those GOP incumbents in November.
Why it matters: Democrats in those competitive districts are banking on President Donald Trump’s waning popularity and the impact of his policies — chiefly high tariffs, immigration crackdowns and the war in Iran — to hurt Republicans. To fend off the challenges, GOP incumbents have tried to keep Trump’s name at a distance while appealing to their base of Trump loyalists.
Read on... for more on how today's election offers a clue.
California Democrats are targeting a handful of vulnerable GOP state legislators in hopes of flipping their seats blue.
What are their chances? Tuesday’s election results will offer an early clue.
Embattled Republicans from Sacramento to San Diego have drawn a crowded field of Democratic challengers. The primary, where the top two vote-getters advance to the general election regardless of party, will decide which Democrats will face off against those GOP incumbents in November.
Democrats in those competitive districts are banking on President Donald Trump’s waning popularity and the impact of his policies — chiefly high tariffs, immigration crackdowns and the war in Iran — to hurt Republicans. To fend off the challenges, GOP incumbents have tried to keep Trump’s name at a distance while appealing to their base of Trump loyalists.
In Riverside County, expect a rematch between Assemblymember Leticia Castillo, a Corona Republican, and Democratic Riverside City Councilmember Clarissa Cervantes, who lost two years ago by a razor-thin margin despite amassing a significant war chest. Tonight’s election will likely foreshadow the results in November, when the two will meet again for a final matchup.
In the Coachella Valley, three Democrats are vying to unseat GOP Assemblymember Jeff Gonzalez of Coachella, who has adopted a more moderate perspective on immigration than his fellow Republican colleagues. Similarly, in three other purple districts, from northern Sacramento County to Orange County, tonight’s election will test the Republicans’ popularity.
Democrats are also playing defense in Southern California: Sen. Catherine Blakespear, an Encinitas Democrat, faces Republican challenger Laura Bassett tonight in the toss-up district in San Diego County.
In some of California’s deepest blue corners, Democrats running for open seats are fighting each other to break through. In the coastal Southern California district that includes Malibu and Santa Monica, half a dozen Democrats are vying to succeed Sen. Ben Allen, who is running for insurance commissioner. In Los Angeles, a fierce five-way race has split some of the most powerful labor unions and Democratic groups to replace Democratic Assemblymember Mike Gipson, who will term out by the end of the year.
In San Diego, the race to replace GOP Sen. Brian Jones, who is also terming out, is a battle between two Republican factions that offers a glimpse into the future direction of the party: Will a moderate San Marcos city councilmember endorsed by Jones be more palatable than a far-right firebrand? We’ll find out.
Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis at the State of the State ceremony on March 8, 2022.
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Miguel Gutierrez Jr.
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CalMatters
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Topline:
The race for California’s second-highest political office features a competitive slate of Democratic candidates, from Treasurer Fiona Ma to Newsom administration official Josh Fryday and the former mayor of Stockton.
Why now: Some elected offices are pit stops. California’s lieutenant governor is one of them. Voting ends on Tuesday and voters are choosing between an unusually competitive roster of candidates for the No. 2 job in the state, an office few aspire to without one key disclaimer: It’s a step on their way to another job in politics.
Why it matters: The lieutenant governor wields little power beyond stepping in when the governor leaves the state. But it’s been used as a slingshot to the governor’s office before, by Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Gov. Gray Davis, and seeking the office is often a signal that its officeholder has higher political ambitions.
Read on... for more on the race for lieutenant governor.
About our live results
The first batch of results released by officials typically includes vote-by-mail ballots received before Election Day and early votes cast at vote centers. After that first release, we'll get in-person votes from Election Day. Later releases will include by mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day or returned to a voting center or dropbox.
Keep in mind that, in tight races particularly, the winner may not be known for days or weeks after Election Day. That's because early voting and mail-in ballots have fundamentally reshaped how votes are counted and when election results are known.
Democrat Fiona Ma, California’s state treasurer, and Republican Gloria Romero were leading in early returns in the race for lieutenant governor. Ma is leading a crowded field of high-profile Democrats, including Newsom administration official Josh Fryday and former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs. Romero, a longtime former legislator hailing from Los Angeles, is the sole prominent Republican candidate.
Voting ends on Tuesday and voters are choosing between an unusually competitive roster of candidates for the No. 2 job in the state, an office few aspire to without one key disclaimer: It’s a step on their way to another job in politics.
The lieutenant governor wields little power beyond stepping in when the governor leaves the state. But it’s been used as a slingshot to the governor’s office before, by Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Gov. Gray Davis, and seeking the office is often a signal that its officeholder has higher political ambitions.
Ma, Newsom administration official Fryday and former Stockton Mayor Tubbs are the leading Democratic candidates in a top-two primary that will send two candidates on to the November general election. Fryday, who heads volunteer programs for the state, has amassed the biggest treasure chest — nearly $4 million — and is backed by teachers unions and the governor.
Ma, a longtime politician with deep roots in San Francisco, has endorsements from influential labor unions and has raised about $2.8 million. But her run for the second-highest statewide office is shadowed by 2021 sexual harassment allegations that Tubbs supporters have latched onto. Ma has called the allegation “frivolous”, but the state paid $350,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by one of her former employees.
Tubbs was among the first to announce his campaign in 2024. Once a progressive star, he rose to political stardom 10 years ago as a young big city mayor who piloted a guaranteed income program in Stockton. Ousted by a Republican newcomer, his political career seemed to fade and he went on to lead Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, an advocacy organization. It’s his first crack at public office since then, and he’s garnered support from progressive Democrats and the powerful union SEIU California.
Longtime state lawmaker Romero is the leading Republican. Romero spent 12 years representing east Los Angeles in the state Legislature as a Democrat. She switched parties in 2024.
Higher education at the forefront
The major Democratic candidates have struggled to set themselves apart on policy. Because the lieutenant governor sits on all three college governing boards, each has claimed they would work to make universities build more housing and lower tuition costs. This has included practical solutions from directing Federal Student Aid applicants to food assistance program CalFresh, to more far-fetched ones such as free tuition for in-demand programs such as nursing.
Ma, Newsom administration official Fryday and former Stockton Mayor Tubbs are the leading Democratic candidates in a top-two primary that will send two candidates on to the November general election. Fryday, who heads volunteer programs for the state, has amassed the biggest treasure chest — nearly $4 million — and is backed by teachers unions and the governor.
Ma, a longtime politician with deep roots in San Francisco, has endorsements from influential labor unions and has raised about $2.8 million. But her run for the second-highest statewide office is shadowed by 2021 sexual harassment allegations that Tubbs supporters have latched onto. Ma has called the allegation “frivolous”, but the state paid $350,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by one of her former employees.
Tubbs was among the first to announce his campaign in 2024. Once a progressive star, he rose to political stardom 10 years ago as a young big city mayor who piloted a guaranteed income program in Stockton. Ousted by a Republican newcomer, his political career seemed to fade and he went on to lead Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, an advocacy organization. It’s his first crack at public office since then, and he’s garnered support from progressive Democrats and the powerful union SEIU California.
Longtime state lawmaker Romero is the leading Republican. Romero spent 12 years representing east Los Angeles in the state Legislature as a Democrat. She switched parties in 2024.
The major Democratic candidates have struggled to set themselves apart on policy. Because the lieutenant governor sits on all three college governing boards, each has claimed they would work to make universities build more housing and lower tuition costs. This has included practical solutions from directing Federal Student Aid applicants to food assistance program CalFresh, to more far-fetched ones such as free tuition for in-demand programs such as nursing.
The lieutenant governor also sits on the commission responsible for millions of acres of public land. Fryday thinks identifying more undeveloped land to build student housing on will help lower tuition costs.
Ma wants Cal State universities, which rely heavily on state funding, to find other revenue sources through partnerships with private companies.
At an April candidate debate in Los Angeles, Tubbs said he supports freezing tuition but did not elaborate on how he would make up the loss in revenue.
