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The demands: The Kaiser employees — including therapists and social workers — say they’re fighting for better patient care. They said they’re not given enough time in the day to manage their caseload, which some therapists have said is 10 to 18 patients a day. They also want the HMO to restore pensions and agree to better pay.

Regulators watching: The California Department of Managed Health Care says it is monitoring access to behavioral health care at Kaiser. Regulators say they’ve set up a hotline for patients to call if they run into problems getting care. The hotline can be reached at (888) 466-2219

Kaiser response: In an emailed statement, Kaiser claimed the union was “putting pickets before patients.” The HMO is required by law to ensure that services continue during the work stoppage. It said all Kaiser members will continue to have timely access to individual therapy appointments throughout the strike.

Go deeper: Kaiser mental health workers could strike tomorrow. What does that mean for patients?

A pair of federal court battles unfolding in the coming weeks could reshape the future of homelessness funding across the Los Angeles region.

Two separate lawsuits challenging recent actions by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will help determine whether L.A.’s embattled lead homelessness agency can compete for up to $241 million in federal grants this year and how that money can be spent.

Both legal challenges reflect a broader fight over the Trump administration's efforts to remake federal homelessness policy and crack down on perceived misspending by local governments overseeing federal assistance programs.

Will lead L.A. agency stay suspended?

The lawsuits center on HUD’s national Continuum of Care grant competition, the largest source of federal homelessness dollars flowing to L.A. each year.

Since the 1990s, HUD has required metropolitan areas like L.A. County to submit one single application for the region’s entire chunk of annual funding. The L.A. Homeless Services Authority, known as LAHSA, has been responsible for submitting that application on behalf of the region.

That changed in June, when HUD suspended LAHSA from federal grant activity pending a federal investigation into alleged financial mismanagement. The federal agency said LAHSA’s suspension meant it was not allowed to apply for this year’s grants, even though the agency has been working on an application.

LAHSA sued to overturn the suspension and is moving forward with its application while awaiting guidance from the court. U.S. District Judge David O. Carter has scheduled a hearing for Aug. 6 on LAHSA’s motion for a preliminary injunction.

HUD has since formally invited homeless service providers to apply directly for the federal homelessness money, bypassing LAHSA entirely.

Meanwhile, the L.A. County Development Authority has offered to apply for the region instead of LAHSA, if necessary.

HUD’s application deadline is Aug. 26. That’s when LAHSA, or an alternative applicant, would submit its final application to the federal government.

Shift away from permanent housing

The second lawsuit between HUD and local officials focuses on how federal homelessness dollars can be spent.

The L.A. Continuum of Care historically spends about 90% of its more than $200 million federal funding allocation on permanent housing interventions — including subsidies to help cover people’s rent, according to LAHSA.

That approach is part of a philosophy and strategy known as “housing first,” which prioritizes providing unhoused people with a stable place to live as the first step towards recovery from life on the streets. Additional issues, like unemployment, addiction, mental illness or other health problems, are typically addressed only after first moving someone indoors.

But that approach is now under fire from the Trump Administration, which has made multiple attempts to remake the federal Continuum of Care program to fund fewer permanent housing beds and focus more on drug treatment, recovery and enforcement.

As the Trump administration geared up to pivot away from the “housing first” model, HUD initially proposed rules limiting permanent housing to 30% of local spending. Last year, the city of L.A. and other municipalities joined litigation challenging the HUD guidance.

This June, Judge Mary McElroy struck down the proposed HUD rules, but denied cities’ request for a permanent injunction.

HUD had already issued new grant regulations, this time capping permanent housing at no more than 60% of local spending plans, forcing the states to start over with a new legal complaint assigned to the same federal judge.

U.S. President Donald Trump greets United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Scott Turner during the congressional picnic on the South Lawn of the White House on May 19, 2026 in Washington, DC.

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Heather Diehl

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States push back

Last month, nearly two dozen states, including California, sued HUD over those regulations, asking McElroy to again throw out HUD’s new funding rules.

The proposed rules put more than 5,000 Angelenos at risk for homelessness, according to projections by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, a nonprofit research and advocacy group.

The states hope for a ruling by Aug. 10, so that regions like L.A. have time to align their applications. The lawsuit argues the restrictions conflict with federal law and undermine the federal government's long-standing “housing first” strategy.

The Trump administration says the new rules are intended to move federal policy toward approaches emphasizing mental health treatment, addiction recovery and personal accountability.

If HUD prevails, local officials warn the consequences could ripple across L.A. County, affecting one of the region’s largest sources of funding for permanent supportive housing and other homelessness programs.

The federal funding at stake has been roughly a quarter of LAHSA’s annual budget in recent years and is among the largest single sources of money for the region’s homelessness programs, which are also funded by the state, county and city.

The story behind the Trump admin’s LAHSA fight

HUD imposed the suspension earlier this year amid mounting scrutiny of LAHSA's financial oversight and operations. Auditors and local officials have raised longstanding concerns about the agency’s internal controls, contract monitoring and oversight of homelessness funds.

LAHSA argues HUD's suspension is unlawful and could jeopardize the region's ability to secure funding.

On July 2, Carter directed HUD and LAHSA to propose an order to temporarily keep the current funding process in place while the case moves forward. The two sides couldn't agree on the terms.

LAHSA sent an email to service providers last week urging them to continue with the current process.

“Please do not let this notice disrupt your current application preparation,” the letter said. “We strongly urge all service providers to stay the course.”

Other regional homelessness officials clarified they’re moving forward with the consolidated application and working to protect existing program funding.

Sarah Mahin, director of L.A. County’s new Department of Homelessness and Housing, said the county expects to receive more direction from the court before or at the August 6 hearing. Until then, Mahin said, “The existing competition process and LAHSA’s role as collaborative applicant should remain undisturbed while the court considers the preliminary injunction motion.”

U.S. District Judge David O. Carter walks on a tour of the VA's West LA facilities on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024 in West Los Angeles, CA.

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Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

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Los Angeles Times

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How the feds are planning for court decisions

In a July 21 court filing, HUD said it intends to delay any final action against the L.A. Continuum of Care until Aug. 10, or whenever the court rules on LAHSA’s request for a preliminary injunction.

HUD also said that if the suspension holds and LAHSA and the court determine local applicants must apply directly, the federal agency will give providers an additional 30 days to submit their applications.

Carter is also overseeing a major L.A. legal settlement stemming from a lawsuit by the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights over the city and county’s response to the homelessness crisis. Carter ordered all of the parties in the Alliance settlement to also appear at the Aug. 6 hearing in the case between LAHSA and HUD.

How service providers are preparing

Homeless service providers, caught in the middle of HUD’s legal battles with LAHSA and with states, say they want to make sure services aren’t disrupted.

LAHSA’s own deadline for local homeless service providers to submit their individual applications as part of the collaborative application process was last week. More than 100 local nonprofit service providers have already submitted theirs.

Several organizations told LAist they’re prepared to submit applications directly to HUD, including Hope the Mission, a large homeless services provider operating primarily in the San Fernando Valley.

“While larger organizations have the administrative capacity to pivot quickly, we are concerned about smaller, specialized community providers who may struggle to navigate a direct HUD submission without localized technical assistance,” said Ivet Samvelyan, a vice president at Hope the Mission.

Service providers told LAist they’re watching the two court cases closely, and awaiting clearer guidance from local officials about what to do next.

“Our concern is less about the application process itself and more about the policy direction it represents, which is an attempt to take funding away from evidence-based practices such as permanent supportive housing and instead fund programs that require sobriety and compliance,” said Tian Martinez, a spokesperson at Union Station Homeless Services.

The Alhambra City Council voted unanimously Monday to put a measure on the November ballot that will ask local voters to ban data centers citywide.

Why it matters

If the measure passes, Alhambra could become the second city in California to pass a ban on data centers through a public vote.

In June, Monterey Park became the first city to pass such a ban.

The details

Council members previously voted to establish an official definition of what qualifies as a data center. At an earlier meeting last month, they also added data centers to a list of prohibited facilities in office and industrial zones.

The new ballot measure proposes expanding the prohibition. It would effectively ban data centers in all of the city.

Residents weigh in

Andrew Yip, an Alhambra resident and an organizer with the group SGV Progressive Action, spoke about the importance of ballot language during Monday’s council meeting.

Yip said the name of Monterey Park's June ballot measure — Measure NDC, which stood for "No Data Center" — left some data center opponents unsure about whether to vote yes or no.

“It was very confusing,” Yip said. “I encourage the city to consider a different acronym if possible, maybe BAN, so people know to vote yes on a ban.”

The backstory

Local citizens and groups like No Data Centers San Gabriel Valley and No Data Center in Monterey Park have been organizing to oppose the construction of data centers and other infrastructure that supports them, such as battery energy storage systems.

Plans for a proposed data center in Monterey Park were pulled in March, and the Covina Planning Commission voted down a proposed storage system in June following public input.

What’s next

Alhambra voters will decide the fate of data centers in the city in the general election on Nov. 3. The ban needs a simple majority of support from local voters in order to pass.

How to keep tabs on the Alhambra City Council

The Alhambra City Council tends to meet a few times per month, generally on Mondays. Meetings typically start at 6 p.m.

Here’s how you can follow along:

• Attend in person: The council meets at City Hall, Council Chambers, 111 S. First St., Alhambra.
• Watch the live broadcast.
• Here’s how to submit a comment or contact the council.

Long Beach has a fluffy new resident.

Ari, a Magellanic penguin chick born this spring, made a splashy debut at the Aquarium of the Pacific on Thursday. He’s the first chick raised and displayed at the aquarium in eight years.

The three-month-old male chick hatched on May 9, weighing about 2.5 ounces. He’s the first offspring of Kate and Robbie, two Magellanic penguins rescued by the aquarium after being stranded along the coast of Brazil in 2010.

“To see a chick hatch from them is very exciting, and it’s a great full circle moment for us,” said Ashley Loper, an aviculturist who has closely monitored Ari’s development at the aquarium.

Ari is the result of a cooperative breeding program aimed at maintaining genetic diversity and health in zoos and aquariums.

Magellanic penguins are not endangered, but their numbers have decreased significantly in recent years due to climate change and overfishing.

Ashley Loper, an aviculturist at the Aquarium of the Pacific, helped raise Ari, a Magellanic penguin chick. Here, she feeds him at the aquarium on Thursday.

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“It’s very important that we have this backup population in case things were to get worse out in the wild,” aquarium CEO and President Jeffrey Flocken said.

Magellanic penguins are medium-sized birds with distinctive black-and-white bands that wrap around their heads and chests. They’re native to the arid coastlines of Argentina and Chile. Colonies usually settle around beaches to build nests for their chicks.

Like Magellanic penguins in the wild, Ari spent his earliest weeks under the watchful care of his parents. Once he was large enough, Ari was moved to a behind-the-scenes nursery, where aquarium staff monitored his development and introduced him to swimming.

Now, he’s out on display with fellow members of the Magellanic penguin colony.

People watch the penguins at the Aquarium of the Pacific on Thursday. Magellanic penguins build nests on beaches, and this area of the aquarium is intended to simulate that environment.

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On Thursday, Ari partook in his first feeding with the entire colony. Megan Smylie, the sea otter program manager, said Ari is integrating nicely into the group, and he is expected to reach adult size soon.

In the aquarium’s opening minutes, the energetic penguin kept darting back and forth in front of the display, impressing visitors. Still developing his swimming muscles, Ari occasionally lagged behind when the older penguins glided through the water together, and he kept paddling determinedly to catch up.

“It’s actually amazing to see,” said Kris Laidlaw, a visitor who stopped by the aquarium on her way to LAX on Thursday morning. “You don’t see this very often anywhere, and it’s a lot cheaper than going to the wild to see them.”

Ari takes a swim on Thursday, his first day in the public eye at the Aquarium of the Pacific.

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Visitors can now see Ari and the rest of the Magellanic penguin colony in the June Keyes Penguin Habitat during regular aquarium hours, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Those unable to visit in person can watch Ari through the live webcam.

Ari can be identified by his light gray plumage and small stature. For now.

“That baby chick is growing fast at this point,” Flocken said. “It’s almost the same size as adults. So I would say, come soon.”

Since its opening in 1919, Fosselman’s Ice Cream Co. has learned a thing or two about the art of ice cream, offering more than 50 flavors, ranging from the classics to the regionally inspired.

Co-owner John Fosselman sat down with Austin Cross, who hosts AirTalk Friday on LAist 89.3, to discuss the history of his family's business and how four generations have had a hand in keeping the business alive.

About the owners

The original concept for the ice cream venture came from Christian Fosselman, who started his business as a young man in Waverly, Iowa. While attending a bottling convention, he got his first taste of ice cream. Family lore says he was fascinated by the latest ice cream manufacturing equipment available. This led him to start a new business and move his family to Pasadena in 1924.

Fast forward to today, the business is now in the hands of the third generation of Fosselmans — Chris and John.

They currently run two brick-and-mortar locations: Fosselman's Ice Cream Co. in Alhambra, and The Ice Cream Shop in Glendora.

What goes into making their ice cream?

In the case of their "Coffee & Cookies" flavor, a lot went into perfecting it.

Freeze-dried Colombian coffee is how they capture the taste. By minimizing the amount of water used in the process, they're able to keep the ice cream quality high.

John Fosselman says they've been using this blend for 70 years.

"We've tried every other alternative — cold brew and different brewing techniques — but the best way to nail it is the freeze-dried that we use," he said.

The best way to experience Fosselman's

Photo of Fosselman's ice cream sundae

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Sample all the flavors you want or ask their clerks for their favorites.

If you aren't in the mood for just ice cream, John suggests a malt, shake or even a hot fudge sundae.

Shop details:

A fleet of Fosselman's Ice Cream cars and drivers.

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Courtesy Grace Fosselman

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• Originally founded in Iowa in 1919, the family came to California’s San Gabriel Valley in 1924.
• What started as a wholesale dairy company was mostly shuttered in the 1970s when the family shifted attention to their ice cream shop in Alhambra.
• In 2019, as they reached their centennial, they opened The Ice Cream Shop in Glendora.
• John and Chris, both third-generation Fosselmans, have led the shops’ operations for 40 years.

Flavors we tried

• Fresh Peach
• Coffee & Cookies
• Cookie Monster
• Chocolate Dipped Strawberry
• Watermelon Sorbet

What should we try next?