Andrea López, a domestic worker in Los Angeles, worked with one of her employers to create a contract in order to ensure on-the-job safety.
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Samanta Helou Hernandez
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LAist
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Topline:
California has no official workplace safety rules for domestic workers. Two recent legislative attempts have met with vetoes. But this year the state did issue voluntary guidelines for best practices. Some domestic workers and their employers are coming up with their own safety agreements.
Why it matters: Domestic employees, many of them immigrants, are excluded from many labor laws, and there are no official workplace safety regulations for domestic work. Household domestic workers are excluded from protection under California’s Occupational Safety and Health Act.
Why now: In California there have been two recent legislative attempts to include domestic work in Cal/OSHA safety regulations. Last September, in his veto message for the most recent bill, Gov. Gavin Newsom said homes can’t be regulated like traditional businesses. He was also concerned about the bill creating cost burdens for lower-income domestic employers.
Voluntary guidelines: The state issued the nation's first new voluntary health and safety guidelines for domestic workers, as well as day laborers. While not enforceable, they act as a template for domestic employers and employees to understand best practices to address workplace health and safety concerns.
One recent morning, Andrea López León swept the hardwood floor of a three-bedroom house in Alhambra, part of her regular cleaning routine as she prepared to mop.
She pulled out a bottle of old-fashioned oil soap. “Since it’s wood, we use a special oil (soap) for wood,” she explained in Spanish.
The floor cleaner she uses is also a product that she considers safe. This is by design.
When López began working for this family a couple of years ago, she asked her employer for a contract, “a written contract in which we ensure my health and safety,” López told LAist, “mine as well as hers.”
The gist of the contract between López and her employer, Marba Reyes, is simple.
"I’m not going to use chemicals,” López said. “They’ll give me my lunch hour. If I work a long day, they can pay me extra hours. And I am not going to lift heavy objects, so as to not hurt my back.”
Domestic employees are excluded from many labor laws
Safety rules for domestic workers are not the norm. Domestic employees, many of them immigrants, are excluded from many labor laws, and there are no official workplace safety regulations for domestic work. Household domestic workers are excluded from protection under California’s Occupational Safety and Health Act.
Worker advocates have long argued that workplace safety regulations for domestic employees are needed, given the harsh cleaning chemicals used, heavy lifting at times, and the risk of slips and falls.
Andrea López, a domestic worker, cleans a home in Los Angeles.
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Samanta Helou Hernandez
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LAist
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In California there have been two recent legislative attempts to include domestic work in Cal/OSHA safety regulations, both vetoed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Last September, in his veto message for the most recent bill, Newsom said homes can’t be regulated like traditional businesses. He was also concerned about the bill, which included potential fines, creating cost burdens for lower-income domestic employers “given that approximately 44% of the households that employ domestic workers are low-income themselves,” the veto message read.
Domestic worker advocates say they’ll try for legislation again.
“With the right guidance, and by making guidance more accessible to employers, employers will see it's actually not that onerous,” said Maegan Ortiz, executive director of the Instituto de Educación Popular del Sur de California, or IDEPSCA, a group that helps domestic workers organize.
The accessible guidance she refers to are new voluntary health and safety guidelines for domestic work, as well as day laborers, that were issued by California’s Department of Industrial Relations early this year. The most recent bill incorporated them. These voluntary guidelines, the nation’s first, are not enforceable, but they act as a template for domestic employers and employees to understand best practices when it comes to workplace health and safety concerns. Among other things, this includes identifying and controlling workplace hazards, and agreeing on tasks to be done.
“Not only does it protect the worker, it protects the employer as well…and the household of the employer,” Ortiz said. “These are commonplace things and common sense things that really we all should be doing in our homes anyway.”
Raise concerns, make suggestions about working conditions, and report an injury.
Minimum wage, breaks, overtime, and sick time.
Work in an environment free of sexual harassment or harassment based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, disability, age (age 40 or older) or genetic information.
Workers’ compensation benefits (including medical care) if injured on the job.
Employers and workers are advised to:
Agree on tasks and hours
Review information on workers’ rights
Identify, evaluate, and control hazards
Ensure workers are trained and receive information in language they understand
Encourage workers to report hazards, unsafe conditions, and any injuries or illnesses. Confirm how you will communicate with each other.
Plan for emergency preparedness and first aid
Create access to bathrooms and washing facilities
Establish orderly work areas
In the meantime, some domestic workers have drawn advice from worker advocates and are taking it upon themselves to negotiate safety agreements where they work.
Heavy lifting and a miscarriage
Andrea López said she learned about workplace safety the hard way. In 2015, she’d only been in the United States for two years after arriving from Veracruz, Mexico. López was working for another employer then, a restaurant owner; she said she worked both in the restaurant and cleaning her supervisor’s home.
That year, López learned that she was pregnant. One day while cleaning the house, her employer asked her to carry a heavy plastic container full of water.
“I had told her I was pregnant, that I couldn’t,” López said, but her employer insisted. López, fearing for her restaurant job, complied.
“And then, I felt like something was tearing in my belly,” López said. “That was a Saturday at 5 p.m. The next morning, Sunday at 10 a.m., I was already bleeding.”
López suffered a miscarriage. The loss was devastating, she said, but it steeled her resolve to learn now to push back. Eventually López joined a domestic worker rights group and learned to advocate for herself with employers.
“Now, every time I go with an employer, I talk with them about that,” she said.
Andrea López worked with the Reyes family, one of her clients, to create a contract to ensure her safety on the job.
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Samanta Helou Hernandez
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LAist
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When she interviewed with the Alhambra family a couple of years ago, López asked if they’d be up for a contract with basic safety rules. Her new employer, Marba Reyes, was on board.
“I agree with her,” said Reyes, who works as a massage therapist. “Of course I’ll be taking care of her, I know that cleaning houses is not an easy job, you know.”
Reyes, who lives with her elderly parents, already used simple cleaning products, “just like water and vinegar…only like healthy stuff.”
A sympathetic employer
The family’s personal experience plays a role, too. Both of Reyes’s parents are immigrants themselves.
“I’m also from Mexico,” said Marta Rolón, Reyes’s mother. “And I arrived here doing the same thing.”
Rolón said she took cleaning work in San Marino as a new arrival, before she married her husband, who is from Puerto Rico. Rólon said she understands what it’s like.
“I also had to do it, so we’re going to treat her well, and help her as much as we can,” she said.
Andrea López with her daughter Samara.
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Samanta Helou Hernandez
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LAist
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López says things have gone well since. These days, she’s only cleaning for this family because she’s working part-time. That’s because López and her husband, who works in a restaurant, recently welcomed a new baby girl.
She said this time during her pregnancy, “I tried to take care of myself, and they took care of me.”
Her employers have gifted her baby clothes. There’s also a perk to working for a massage therapist: After cleaning, López gets to unwind her back on one of the automatic massage beds that Reyes uses for clients.
López also hopes there can be official safety rules one day for the work she does. But even if it’s just using the voluntary guidelines, she hopes to see more domestic employees and their employers agreeing on best practices.
“It would prevent miscarriages, it would prevent injuries,” she said. “We are human beings.”
Crews clean the scene along Cesar E. Chavez and Eastern avenues, where gallons of crude oil spilled onto the street.
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Andrew Lopez
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The LA Local
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Topline:
Health officials are advising residents to take precautions after a ruptured pipeline released more than 2,000 gallons of crude oil in East Los Angeles on Friday, with oil entering nearby storm drains and the Los Angeles River. The pipeline burst near East Cesar E. Chavez and North Eastern avenues as crews were installing a fiber optic line.
Avoid contact: Do not touch or walk through spilled oil or contaminated debris. Keep children and pets away from affectedareas. If your skin comes into contact with oil, wash the affected area immediately with soap and water. Remove contaminated clothing.
Indoor air precautions: Local residents should do their best to prevent odors inside their homes by closing windows and doors and turning off HVAC units until the odor outside has dissipated. After the odor outside is gone, ventilate the home by opening windows and doors and keep the HVAC system blowing air to vent the home. Limit exposure to odors as much as possible.
Health officials are advising residents to take precautions after a ruptured pipeline released more than 2,000 gallons of crude oil in East Los Angeles on Friday, with oil entering nearby storm drains and the Los Angeles River.
The pipeline burst near East Cesar E. Chavez and North Eastern avenues as crews were installing a fiber optic line, according to the LA County Fire Department.
The leak has been controlled and is no longer releasing crude oil in the streets, health officials said.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued guidance for residents as agencies continue with cleanup efforts.
Avoid contact: Do not touch or walk through spilled oil or contaminated debris. Keep children and pets away from affected areas.
Skin exposure: If your skin comes into contact with oil, wash the affected area immediately with soap and water. Remove contaminated clothing.
Odor exposure: If you smell odors outdoors, close windows and doors, turn off HVAC systems and air conditioners that pull in outside air and stay indoors until the odor has passed. After the odor outside is gone, open the windows and doors to air out your home and turn on fans or HVAC system to help ventilate indoor air.
Try to limit exposure to strong odors as much as possible. Odors may cause or worsen:
Headaches
Nausea
Eye, nose, throat irritation
Dizziness
Breathing problems (asthma)
Brief exposures usually do not cause long-term health effects, but if you experience severe or persistent symptoms, talk to your medical provider. If you don’t have a medical provider, call the Public Health – Community Health Complaint Line at (626) 430-9821.
Indoor air precautions: Local residents should do their best to prevent odors inside their homes by closing windows and doors and turning off HVAC units until the odor outside has dissipated. After the odor outside is gone, ventilate the home by opening windows and doors, and keep the HVAC system blowing air to vent the home. Limit exposure to odors as much as possible.
At-risk individuals: Monitor those most at risk of developing symptoms, such as older adults, children, pregnant persons and those who are immunocompromised.
Report odors: Complaints of odor can be reported to the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD): (800) 288-7664
Manny Valladares
is always looking for the next tasty bite to feature on "AirTalk" Food Friday on LAist 89.3.
Published May 22, 2026 2:35 PM
Lucky Baldwin's most popular dish is their fish n chips.
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Lucky Baldwins
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Top line:
With the early history of soccer first documented in England, that's where you'll find the roots of the sport. Not always easy to get there from Los Angeles — but Lucky Baldwins Pub — with locations in Pasadena and Sierra Madre — brings you close.
What makes their fish and chips special? Using a British favorite — cod — and dipping it into their special beer batter.
Their ultimate experience: Sit on their patio with a Belgian beer in hand on a sunny day.
"Listen to the music and enjoy the California weather," says owner-operator Peggy Simonian.
Read more ... for more of their food and details on the events they host.
With the early history of soccer first documented in England, that's where you'll find the roots of the sport. Not always easy to get there from Los Angeles — but a local British pub with a few locations to choose from brings you close.
The operators of Lucky Baldwins Pub joined AirTalk Friday host Austin Cross to explain what makes their atmosphere special — it's all about the sports and traditional British bites, pints and pasties.
About the owner
Owner-operator Peggy Simonian was working for the British Tourist Authority when they decided to bring a pub to Pasadena. Three years after opening, they got their following after hosting their first Belgian Beer Festival.
Listen
13:39
World Cup pub crawl: Lucky Baldwins Pub
What sets their food apart? The beer batter
"I think there's this stigma around British food that it's a little bland," said general manager Patsy Sutton.
She says the fish and chips knock people's socks off — and it all comes down to the beer batter.
They use locally sourced Pacific cod instead of its Atlantic relative and an undisclosed pale ale. This combo drives the taste.
Lucky Baldwins' most popular dish is the fish 'n' chips.
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Courtesy Peggy Simonian
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The ultimate experience in the eyes of the owner
"I like it when it's a nice sunny day outside our patio in Old Towne ... enjoy a nice Belgian beer ... listen to the music and enjoy the California weather," Simonian said.
She added that her go-to beers currently include a Belgian lager, blonde or tripel. It's all about the mood.
Restaurant details
Lucky Baldwins Pub first opened in 1996 and now has two Pasadena locations and one in Sierra Madre.
They're an official bar partner with LAFC.
They host: Pasadena Reds, a local Liverpool FC support group; Los Angeles Hammers, a West Ham FC support group; and Eastside Gooners, a local support group for Arsenal FC.
They also have special events tied to the Belgian Beer Festival and Oktoberfest.
Menu items we tried
Fish 'n' Chips — cod dipped in ale batter with a side of steak fries and tartar sauce
Bangers and Mash — two pork sausages with peas and mashed potatoes (also available with fries).
Cornish Pastie — a handheld pie with minced meat
Chicken Curry Pastie — a handheld pie with traditional British chicken curry
How to visit
Address (Old Town Pasadena): 17 S. Raymond Ave, Pasadena
Hours: Monday–Sunday: 9 a.m.-1:30 a.m.
Cost: Fish 'n' chips cost $18; bangers and mash cost $19; and the pasties (with a choice of crisps or fries) cost $14.
You can find the times for their Delirium Pub by clicking here, and their Trappiste Pub by clicking here.
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The city of Long Beach provided this rendering of plans for the revamped 10th Street Greenbelt.
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Courtesy the city of Long Beach
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Topline:
A two-acre slice of parkland that runs diagonally between 8th Street and 10th Street near Wilson High School is slated to get new trees, landscaping and seating — a project that will complete its transformation from an old railway right-of-way into a welcoming greenspace.
The backstory: The land was once used by Pacific Electric, whose Red Car trains used to slash diagonally across the area from Wrigley to the Colorado Lagoon. For years, Long Beach has been slowly converting a 9.2-acre stretch of the former railway into parkland between 4th Street and Park Avenue to 11th Street and Loma.
What's next: This portion, called the 10th Street Greenbelt, runs between Termino and Grand avenues. It was outfitted with a 900-foot concrete path in 2022. This next phase will add 48 Redbud, Oak, and Sycamore trees, native shrubs, solar lighting, boulder and bench seating, and several granite auxiliary trails that connect the surrounding neighborhoods to the path. There are no plans for restrooms or tables, officials said.
Read on... for more on the changes to the parkland.
A 2-acre slice of parkland that runs diagonally between 8th Street and 10th Street near Wilson High School is slated to get new trees, landscaping and seating — a project that will complete its transformation from an old railway right-of-way into a welcoming greenspace.
The land was once used by Pacific Electric, whose Red Car trains used to slash diagonally across the area from Wrigley to the Colorado Lagoon. For years, Long Beach has been slowly converting a 9.2-acre stretch of the former railway into parkland between 4th Street and Park Avenue to 11th Street and Loma.
This portion, called the 10th Street Greenbelt, runs between Termino and Grand avenues. It was outfitted with a 900-foot concrete path in 2022. This next phase will add 48 Redbud, Oak, and Sycamore trees, native shrubs, solar lighting, boulder and bench seating, and several granite auxiliary trails that connect the surrounding neighborhoods to the path. There are no plans for restrooms or tables, officials said.
The city of Long Beach provided this rendering of plans for the revamped 10th Street Greenbelt.
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Courtesy the city of Long Beach
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Plans were informed largely by a survey and feedback gathered over the last four years by the Greenbelt Heights Neighborhood Association. Officials say surveys consistently pointed out a need for more seating, native plants and improved drainage in the nearby neighborhoods.
Sharon Turner, the association’s president, said it’s been a 15-year effort that originally inspired the creation of the neighborhood group. For years, the path was “a dumping area of tall grass,” she said. Now, the association is planning to hold meetings at the park.
“It’s been a long haul,” Turner said. “We’ve been really happy with the support, but it definitely started as a local resident push, and we got some support once it got legs.”
Planned for construction in early 2027, it is hoped to be finished by that fall. The project has a $2.58 million budget, mostly funded by a $1.5 million county grant.
Public Works staff are planning to unveil detailed plans at a meeting on May 28, starting at 6:30 p.m. at the Recreation Park Community Center (4900 E. 7th St.) Members of the public are encouraged to ask questions and share their thoughts. Interpretation services in Spanish, Khmer and Tagalog are available upon prior request.
Jill Replogle
covers breaking news, public corruption, and politics in OC.
Published May 22, 2026 1:07 PM
Residents of Garden Grove have been asked to evacuate Friday after officials warn that a tank holding a toxic chemical could explode.
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CBS LA
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Topline:
About 40,000 residents in Garden Grove and surrounding Orange County cities on Friday were told to evacuate an area around a tank full of a toxic, flammable chemical that public safety officials say will almost certainly either leak out or explode.
Why now? Public officials said they have run out of options for securing the volatile tank after discovering a faulty valve early Friday morning. "To everyone still in evacuation areas, please leave immediately," Garden Grove Mayor Stephanie Klopfenstein at a news conference.
Evacuation information: The evacuation area is between Trask Avenue to the north, Ball Road to the south, Valley View Street to the east and Dale Street to the west. It encompasses parts of Garden Grove, Cypress, Anaheim, Buena Park and Westminster.
Evacuation zone announced Friday.
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Screengrab from city of Garden Grove website.
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Two evacuation centers have been set up:
Garden Grove Sports and Recreation Center, 13641 Deodara Drive, Garden Grove
Cypress Community Center, 5700 Orange Ave., Cypress
How we got here: On Thursday afternoon, vapor began seeping from storage tanks holding an industrial chemical used in plastics manufacturing at aerospace manufacturing facility GNK, which is about a mile north of the 22 Freeway in Garden Grove. Evacuation orders were issued but later lifted after officials thought the situation was under control. But this morning, evacuation orders were reissued and expanded because hazmat teams were unable to secure the largest tank, officials said.
What to expect: Officials say it's almost certain that the tank will either explode or crack and spill out toxins into the surrounding area. " At some point, this is gonna fail, and we're doing our best to figure out the when or how we can prevent it," Craig Covey, division chief with Orange County Fire Authority, said Friday.
Read on ... for more on the tank's dangers.
About 40,000 residents in Garden Grove and surrounding Orange County cities on Friday were told to evacuate an area around a tank full of a toxic, flammable chemical that public safety officials say will almost certainly either leak out or explode.
Public officials said they have run out of options for securing the volatile tank after discovering a faulty valve early Friday morning.
"To everyone still in evacuation areas, please leave immediately," Garden Grove Mayor Stephanie Klopfenstein at a news conference.
Evacuation zone
The evacuation area is between Trask Avenue to the north, Ball Road to the south, Valley View Street to the east and Dale Street to the west. It encompasses parts of Garden Grove, Cypress, Anaheim, Buena Park and Westminster.
Evacuation zone announced Friday.
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Screengrab from city of Garden Grove website.
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Two evacuation centers have been set up:
Garden Grove Sports and Recreation Center, 13641 Deodara Drive, Garden Grove
Cypress Community Center, 5700 Orange Ave., Cypress
How we got here
On Thursday afternoon, vapor began seeping from storage tanks holding an industrial chemical used in plastics manufacturing at aerospace manufacturing facility GNK, which is about a mile north of the 22 Freeway in Garden Grove. Evacuation orders were issued but later lifted after officials thought the situation was under control. But this morning, evacuation orders were reissued and expanded because hazmat teams were unable to secure the largest tank, officials said.
Officials say it's almost certain the tank will either explode or crack and spill out toxins into the surrounding area.
" At some point, this is gonna fail, and we're doing our best to figure out the when or how we can prevent it," Craig Covey, division chief with Orange County Fire Authority, said Friday.
He said the tank contains around 7,000 gallons of a chemical called methyl methacrylate, which is used in manufacturing plastic for the aerospace industry.
Covey said barriers had been placed around the tank to try to contain the chemical in case of a spill and to keep it from getting into storm drains and out to the ocean.
What's in the tank
Methyl methacrylate, known as MMA, is highly flammable and toxic, safety officials said. Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong, Orange County's chief health officer, said the substance can cause skin and eye irritation and respiratory illness. She said there are few case studies of the effects of exposure to the chemical on humans.
"This is where we really need everybody to heed all of the evacuation orders," she said. "We don’t know the long-term consequence."
The company's response
The tanks are owned by GKN Aerospace. In a statement, a spokesperson for the company wrote:
We are currently responding to a situation at our Garden Grove site. Emergency response protocols were activated and Fire Brigade and specialized hazardous material teams remain on site and assessing the situation. There are no reports of injuries at this time and our priority remains the safety of our employees, responders, and the surrounding community. We will provide verified updates as soon as more information becomes available.
