The Brief

The nation’s largest housing assistance program, Section 8, is a lifeline for tenants across the nation who would otherwise be priced out of expensive housing markets.

Under the program, tenants pay about a third of their income in rent, and the government subsidizes the rest. That’s life-changing in Los Angeles, where a one-bedroom apartment costs about $2,200 per month on average, and rent increases have outpaced wage growth, fueling an affordability crisis.

About 85,000 L.A. County residents rely on the Housing Choice Voucher program, as Section 8 is officially known, to afford their rent. Participants are allowed to live anywhere they choose, provided rents fall within limits set by local housing authorities.

Yet many tenants have difficulty finding landlords who will accept vouchers, even though in California and nearly two dozen other states, it’s illegal for landlords to reject Section 8 applicants solely because they pay rent with government aid. Under a California law that took effect last year, landlords also aren’t allowed to reject voucher holders based solely on their credit history. Instead, they must give them a chance to show pay stubs or other “lawful verifiable alternative evidence” they can pay their share of rent.

But some of the biggest landlords in the Los Angeles area are skirting anti-discrimination laws and turning away people seeking housing under the Section 8 program, a Capital & Main investigation found.

The yearlong investigation used public records, interviews and fair housing tests that included hundreds of inquiries to examine Section 8 voucher acceptance by some of the Los Angeles area’s largest landlords: Equity Residential, AvalonBay Communities, Essex Property Trust, Greystar, Prime Residential, G.H. Palmer Associates and Jamison Properties. While many of these landlords have national footprints, Capital & Main focused its investigation on their Los Angeles County operations.

As part of its reporting, Capital & Main hired and trained testers, who posed as Section 8 voucher holders and contacted leasing agents to ask about apartments listed on company websites.

Agents’ responses to testers’ questions suggested widespread violations of California housing law that would exclude many Section 8 voucher holders. Only one company — Jamison — categorically rejected Section 8 vouchers in many of its buildings.

In a statement, a Jamison spokesperson wrote “the management companies overseeing Jamison’s portfolio accept and welcome tenants utilizing Section 8 vouchers.”

Capital & Main based some of its findings on data collected by hired testers who called, emailed and exchanged text messages with leasing agents at 65 buildings across Los Angeles County in late 2024 and early 2025.

The U.S. Department of Justice, the California Civil Rights Department and nonprofit fair housing organizations have used such testing to ferret out evidence of illegal discrimination, and courts have held that the value the evidence testers provide outweighs the necessary deception in discovering it. Journalism organizations don’t often employ such testing, but when they have, as in a 2019 Newsday investigation of real estate agents, they have brought to light evidence of discrimination that would have otherwise remained unknown to the public. Marin County-based Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California provided training and materials for Capital & Main’s tests.

Capital & Main tested at six to nine buildings owned by each company. Then, after several Jamison agents said their buildings could not accept vouchers, Capital & Main conducted additional tests of its properties to determine how widespread such rejections were. The news organization tested only buildings with rental units priced within the limits set by the housing authorities in their areas. Testers made repeated attempts to understand leasing policies and practices at each building, sometimes reaching out several times to ensure accuracy.

The findings are also drawn from public records requests to local housing authorities for data on how many Section 8 tenants each company had. In all, the news organization reviewed documents obtained under the California Public Records Act from the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, and the Los Angeles County Development Authority, which covers unincorporated L.A. County and 62 cities within the county. Housing authorities in Glendale, Pasadena, Burbank, Santa Monica, Norwalk, Torrance and Long Beach also provided records. Several local housing authorities, including those in Inglewood, Compton, Culver City, Pomona, Hawthorne, Baldwin Park and South Gate declined to provide records, citing privacy concerns, or failed to respond to Capital & Main’s requests.

Capital & Main contacted each company several times to share test results and give each an opportunity to respond to its findings and answer specific questions about its policies.

Here are the results for each company.

The Roya Apartments in Koreatown is one of more than a dozen Jamison-owned properties where agents said they were not accepting Section 8 tenants. Photo by Barbara Davidson.

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Barbara Davidson

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Jamison

Jamison, a group of family-run real estate companies based in L.A.’s Koreatown, was the only landlord whose leasing agents turned away testers posing as Section 8 renters, saying they could not accept their vouchers.

Only one Section 8 tenant moved into a Jamison building between 2021 and 2024, according to documents Capital & Main obtained from the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles through a public records request.

Jamison entered the multifamily residential market in 2013 and has since built more than 6,000 residential units with at least 2,500 planned or under construction.

Last fall, leasing agents at some Jamison buildings told testers working for Capital & Main that they were not accepting Section 8 vouchers until they received city approvals. For example, in September 2024 notes taken by a tester show that when she called to ask if the Sienna on Serrano apartments in L.A.’s Koreatown accepted Section 8 vouchers, a leasing agent said:

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The leasing agent’s statement was misleading: L.A. housing authority officials said no inspection process is required before a building can accept Section 8 tenants. Housing authorities inspect individual apartments once a Section 8 tenant has selected a unit.

In March 2025, a Capital & Main-hired tester did another round of inquiries about available apartments at 15 Jamison properties. Again, a leasing agent said the company was awaiting city approvals before it could accept Section 8 tenants.

Five other Jamison leasing representatives initially said they accepted vouchers, but two of them didn’t return calls requesting information about income and credit requirements. At three of the those buildings, agents said they would reject Section 8 applicants for poor credit history, even though that’s prohibited under California law. Landlords are required to consider a Section 8 applicant’s pay stubs or proof of government benefits in lieu of credit reports to evaluate their ability to pay.

For instance, a tester who inquired by phone about rentals at the Arden and Sawyer apartments noted the following exchange with a leasing agent:

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At the Westmore in L.A.’s Koreatown, a tester uncovered another apparent violation of California’s fair housing law. In an April 2025 phone call, a tester’s notes show that a leasing agent described minimum income requirements for Section 8 voucher holders that would be impossible for a Section 8 tenant to meet:

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A Jamison spokesperson wrote in a statement that the management companies overseeing the company’s portfolio “take proactive steps, including engaging a broker and nonprofits, to help identify individuals and families who hold vouchers or qualify for income-restricted Affordable Housing units.”

The spokesperson said “It also appears that the tester misunderstood the income requirement stated for Section 8 tenants. The law permits an income requirement based on the tenant’s portion of the rent, not the full rental amount. All property managers overseeing these buildings have rules and procedures in place to comply with all applicable laws.”

Vantage Hollywood Apartments was one of six Equity Residential buildings where an agents said they would reject Section 8 tenants based on credit history alone.

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Equity Residential

Chicago-based Equity Residential owns nearly 15,000 apartments in about 60 properties in the Los Angeles area, its largest market. Its representatives — at eight buildings — said they accept Section 8 vouchers.

But at six of the buildings, agents told testers they wouldn’t consider alternative proof of creditworthiness in lieu of credit checks. For example, in response to a query about the Vantage Hollywood Apartments in Hollywood last September, a leasing representative said in this email exchange with a tester posing as a voucher holder that pay stubs would not be accepted as proof of creditworthiness:

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The Vantage Hollywood Apartments agent and five others at Equity misstated the company’s written policy. Its online rental application says the company accepts Section 8 applicants’ pay stubs, proof of government benefits or bank statements to show ability to pay rent. “If you provide us with that documentation, we will use that documentation instead of credit history,” the application says. But even though Equity’s policy is lawful, its agents’ misstatements would violate fair housing law, said Caroline Peattie, executive director of Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California. She noted that prospective renters would likely be deterred from applying after being told their applications would almost certainly be rejected.

Equity first vice president Marty McKenna said in a statement, “We are proud of our record of providing homes for our residents who qualify for Section 8 vouchers in a region where there is a shortage of affordable housing.” McKenna didn’t respond to an interview request or comment on specific test results Capital & Main shared with the company. “We are confident that we are operating by applicable regulations regarding Section 8 vouchers,” McKenna wrote.

A leasing agent for Santee Court in downtown Los Angeles said they would reject Section 8 tenants based on credit history alone.

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Essex Property Trust

The California-based company, whose board of directors includes former California first lady Anne Gust Brown, appeared to comply with fair housing law at five of nine buildings testers queried.

Capital & Main testers contacted leasing representatives at nine Essex properties, all of whom said they accept Section 8 vouchers. But four of them refused to consider Section 8 voucher holders’ pay stubs or other proof of creditworthiness, even though Essex official policy is to accept such evidence in lieu of credit history. At Essex’s Santee Court in downtown Los Angeles, a leasing representative insisted that a tenant would have to pass a credit check nonetheless, according to a tester’s notes:

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At the Fountain Park at Playa Vista, an agent said the building would “look at pay stubs and bank statements.” But poor credit, the agent said, would require a “guarantor” — an individual who would take legal responsibility for any unpaid rent.

Essex Property Trust representatives didn’t answer Capital & Main’s questions about their agents’ reliance on credit scores to vet applicants. But a company spokesperson said in a statement, “We have reviewed both our written policy and application process and we are in compliance with the law: all Section 8 applicants are approved based on their ability to pay their portion of the rent, not based on credit score.”

A leasing agent at AVA Toluca Hills said a Section 8 tenant would have to meet the building’s credit score requirements in order to rent an apartment.

A leasing agent at AVA Toluca Hills said a Section 8 tenant would have to meet the building’s credit score requirements in order to rent an apartment.

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AvalonBay Communities

At AvalonBay Communities properties, agents said they accepted Section 8 vouchers, but some representatives of the Arlington, Virginia-based company provided incorrect information about how the program works and described credit requirements that are now prohibited by California law.

At four of the six AvalonBay Communities properties queried, agents said they would reject Section 8 applicants based on credit history. And at one property, representatives didn’t return follow-up calls about credit and income criteria.

Several AvalonBay leasing agents showed a shaky understanding of the Section 8 program, suggesting they have little experience with it. When a tester asked in a phone call last October if there was any alternative way to prove their ability to pay if they failed a credit check, an agent at eaves Los Feliz said no. The credit check was “something we can’t override,” and proving with pay stubs was not an option, the agent said.

In response to a question in a September 2024 phone call about minimum income requirements, an agent at AVA Toluca Hills erroneously responded, “Normally when you have a voucher it’s because you have no income.” (Most Section 8 voucher holders who are able to work do so.) The tester followed up with an email asking “If I failed the credit check, would I be able to prove my ability to pay another way, for example, by showing my check stubs?” The agent responded:

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AvalonBay representatives didn’t respond to Capital & Main’s interview requests or written questions.

A Leasing agent for Park La Brea, a Los Angeles landmark, said that a credit check was required for Section 8 tenants, an apparent violation of state law.

A Leasing agent for Park La Brea, a Los Angeles landmark, said that a credit check was required for Section 8 tenants, an apparent violation of state law.

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Prime Residential

The San Francisco-based company owns and operates some 20,000 housing units on the West Coast, including the Park La Brea apartments in L.A.’s Miracle Mile, the largest apartment complex west of the Mississippi, with more than 4,000 apartments.

Capital & Main’s hired testers contacted leasing agents at five Prime Residential complexes. All said they accept Section 8 vouchers. At Park La Brea, an agent said in a September 2024 text message that they relied on credit history to screen all applicants:

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At four other Prime buildings, leasing agents said they didn’t know if credit history would disqualify Section 8 applicants until after credit and background checks were completed.

Prime Residential declined an interview request, but said in a statement, “We work hard to comply with all applicable state and federal fair housing laws, including seeking alternative evidence of ability to pay rent and never denying Section 8 voucher holders based on credit. As part of our efforts to help people take advantage of rental assistance programs, leasing agents and other staff at our properties receive annual training on relevant laws and Prime policies.”

A leasing agent at the Eden apartments in downtown Los Angeles said a Section 8 applicant who failed a credit check would be denied a rental at the building.

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Greystar

Charleston, South Carolina-based Greystar is the largest landlord in the U.S. Leasing agents at all nine Greystar buildings contacted by testers said they accepted Section 8 vouchers. But only two agents said they would consider pay stubs, proof of government benefits or other documents as evidence of a voucher holder’s ability to pay rent. Leasing agents at Desmond didn’t return follow-up calls from a tester inquiring about the building’s credit check requirement. The La Plaza Village, built in partnership with the Cesar Chavez Foundation and managed by Greystar, was built to bring homes to “residents who need them most,” according to a 2019 Chavez Foundation news release. A La Plaza agent said the building didn’t require a specific credit score and that applicants could fail credit checks if their records included evictions or money owed to previous landlords. However, the agent said they would not accept a Section 8 applicant’s alternative evidence of creditworthiness, as this tester’s notes of a September 2024 phone call with a leasing staffer show:

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At the Eden, in downtown Los Angeles, a leasing agent told a tester in a September 2024 phone call that there was a “waitlist” for Section 8 tenants. However the law prohibits landlords from limiting the number of Section 8 participants in a property. Here’s how the tester recorded it in their notes:

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A Greystar representative said in a statement, “We remain committed to fair housing practices and to ensuring that all applicants are evaluated consistently and in accordance with the law.” The company provided Capital & Main a copy of a Greystar rental policy document that it says is given to all applicants. The document explains that “in lieu of a credit report, prospective tenants who use housing subsidies in California can show evidence of ability to pay their portion of rent.” The company’s statement said, “While Section 8 vouchers are distinct from the many other affordable housing programs, we understand that depending on how questions are asked, these programs can sometimes be conflated.”

The Medici Apartments near downtown Los Angeles is one of several Palmer buildings where a leasing agents said Section 8 applicants were welcome.

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G.H. Palmer Associates

Geoffrey Palmer, a competitive polo player and a major campaign donor to President Donald Trump, owns G.H. Palmer Associates, based in Beverly Hills. Palmer has built a reputation for hostility toward government housing programs. Nevertheless, his company appeared more welcoming than any other to Section 8 tenants, based on Capital & Main’s test results.

Leasing agents at all seven Palmer properties testers contacted said they accept Section 8 vouchers. They also showed familiarity with the program, and easily answered their questions about minimum income and credit requirements. Still, at one complex, the Riverpark Apartments, a leasing agent said Section 8 applicants could not provide pay stubs in lieu of passing a credit check. In a September 2024 phone call, according to a Capital & Main tester’s notes:

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Neither Palmer nor members of the company’s executive team responded to Capital & Main’s written questions or a request to discuss the company’s Section 8 policies.

This reporting was supported by a grant from the Fund for Investigative Journalism.

Annakai Hayakawa Geshlider, Arlen Levy, Jeremy Lindenfeld, Maison Tran, Emily Elena Dugdale and Lita Martinez contributed to this story.

Copyright Capital & Main 2025

Orcas, the lovable black and white marine predators, have taken over 10,000 square feet of the Natural History Museum of L.A. County.

Orcas: Our Shared Future, which opened Sunday, includes floor to ceiling screens that play orcas swimming in the wild and a life-size replica of Ruffles.

He was one of the first orcas Alisa Schulman-Janiger, lead research biologist for the California Killer Whale Project, saw in the wild back in the 80s.

“It’s not him but it represents him. And I can actually go back in time and replay: I was standing here and my boyfriend who became my husband was standing next to me... seeing them under us foraging for fish,” she said.

Schulman-Janiger, who is also a research associate for the museum, said there was a sighting of these giants – the largest members of the dolphin family – in our local waters just this month.

“In the Channel Islands,” she said. “I just looked at some photos today sent to me by one of the naturalists... and she saw at least 16 different orcas.”

There are 140 original artifacts and specimens to see and experience at the immersive show, including sculptures and masks by Indigenous artists of the Pacific Northwest Coast.

Fred DeNisco, an orca expert from British Columbia who goes by ‘The Orca Man’ on social media, said he fell in love with orcas at the age of three, while watching 1993’s Free Willy in the back of a mini-van.

An original 'Free Willy' VHS clamshell on display at the Natural History Museum of LA County

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He’s followed the exhibition all over the U.S. and Canada.

“It is just so unique in the breadth of topics that it covers, both in indigenous relationships with orcas, the research and more particularly our human relationship and the tumultuous relationship that has in media and captivity and even whale watching,” DeNisco told LAist.

And in case you’re wondering, the exhibition does include an original clamshell for a VHS copy of Free Willy, the film that inspired a generation of orca-lovers like DeNisco.

You can check out Orcas: Our Shared Future through April 25, 2027.

Ticket info is at the Natural History Museum website.

LAist is one of the Natural History Museum’s media partners for the exhibition, Orcas: Our Shared Future.

I’ve loved reading your reactions to the new LACMA David Geffen Galleries. Here are just a few of the many responses we received; most were positive, but there were some smart criticisms as well:

“The architecture by Peter Zumthor and the uniquely designed way of displaying the collection across time and place was brilliant! The joy is in finding the connections.” —Marlan

“Time and place braid together in a continuum unleashed from the strictly defined spaces typical of an encyclopedic museum. Truly radical in the best way possible.” —Bianca

“The art seemed to be presented in an almost random order, as if they took LACMA's collection like a deck of cards, shuffled them twice, and then just hung everything in the resulting order.” —Steve

Licorice Pizza has your music picks for the week, including post-hardcore band La Dispute at the Belasco, indie-folk star Cut Worms at Pacific Electric and rock en español sensation Julieta Venegas at the Grammy Museum — all on Tuesday. Wednesday, Charlie Puth is at the Forum, dream-pop trio Sunday (1994) is at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, singer-songwriter and breakout The Voice contestant Carol Ades plays the Troubadour and Latin rock band Zoé plays the first of two nights at the YouTube Theater. Thursday, Chet Faker plays the Novo, Maro is at the Fonda, King Tuff plays Sid The Cat Auditorium and a cappella legends Take 6 begin their four-night residency at the Blue Note.

Elsewhere on LAist, you can get a first look at the new Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, find out more about this King Taco’s historic designation, and grab your tickets for Wild Card with NPR’s Rachel Martin Live at the Crawford on May 2.

Events

Enormous Things

Tuesday and Wednesday, April 28 and 29
Elysian Theater
1944 Riverside Drive, Elysian Valley
COST: $25; MORE INFO

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Courtesy The Elysian

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A more up-my-alley musical has never before landed in my Instagram feed. Do you, like me, enjoy modern art and showtunes more than almost anything else? Enormous Things — a musical about Claes Oldenburg where Jeff Koons is the villain — might also be for you.

Just Sing 

Thursday, April 30, 7:30 p.m. 
Laemmle NoHo 7
5240 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood
COST: $14.50; MORE INFO

Fans of Pitch Perfect will want to check out this local real-life story. Just Sing follows the USC a cappella group SoCal VoCals as they make their way to the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella in New York City. Co-directors and cinematographers Angelique Molina and Abraham Troen will host a Q&A following the screening.

Japanese Heritage Night at Dodger Stadium

Monday, April 27, 7:10 p.m.
Dodger Stadium 
1000 Vin Scully Ave., Elysian Park 
COST: FROM $70; MORE INFO 

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Courtesy Los Angeles Dodgers

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Japanese superstar Yoshiki will perform at the Dodgers vs. Marlins game ahead of his headliner performance at Disney Hall in July, marking Japanese Heritage Night at the stadium. Get there early to hear the music, enjoy Japanese food specials and grab your special game jersey.

Old Woman Naked

Wednesday and Thursday, April 29 and 30, 7:30 p.m. 
The Broadwater Second Stage
6320 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood 
COST: $45; MORE INFO 

Acclaimed author Pamela Redmond is no stranger to using her own life for inspiration for her beloved fiction, like Younger (which later became the hit Freeform show) and Older. But baring all — emotionally and physically — onstage? That’s new territory for the 72-year-old. First performed in New York to a sold-out one-night-only crowd, Old Woman Naked digs into the truth about aging, sexuality, feminism, motherhood and coming into your own. An additional date of May 17 has just been added.

Comedy, at Night 

Tuesday, April 28, 8:30 p.m. 
UCB Franklin 
5919 Franklin Ave., Hollywood
COST: $20; MORE INFO 

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Courtesy UCB Comedy

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Bob Odenkirk, Sarah Silverman and many more bold-faced comedy names join this showcase at UCB Franklin, hosted by Nate Odenkirk and Ari Mostow.

Double Chin pop-up 

Monday, April 27, 9 a.m. until sold out 
Petitgrain Boulangerie 
1209 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica 
COST: VARIES; MORE INFO

Double chin? More like double yum. Get in line early for this pop-up at Petitgrain, featuring Leah Chin-Katz’s popular pastries and jams.

Glowworm Full Moon Night Hike 

Thursday, April 30, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.  
Gabrielino Trail, Western Trailhead
915 Ventura Street, Altadena
COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

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Jason Journeyman

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Eventbrite

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Rattlesnakes sleep at night (right?), so head out for a late-night hike to see the rare California pink glowworms that come out this time of year in the Altadena foothills. Intrepid hiker Jason Wise (Journeyman) leads this nature-filled evening with L.A. Rises.

Screening: Dead City Punx 

Thursday, April 30, 7:30 p.m.
Brain Dead Studios
611 N. Fairfax Ave., Melrose 
COST: $18; MORE INFO 

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Courtesy Gold Atlas

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Dead City Punx exhibit 

Through Saturday, May 30
Beyond the Streets 
434 N. La Brea Ave., Mid-City
COST: FREE, MORE INFO 

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Punk in Los Angeles is far from dead. Dead City Punx, whose shows have shut down streets and seen fans start fires, are the focus of a new documentary and gallery show at Beyond the Streets. Dead City Punx (trailer here) tells the story of the band that built a following through “chaotic, illegal outdoor shows during the pandemic — complete with bonfires, fireworks, graffiti and clashes with law enforcement — ultimately sparking a movement that challenged what DIY and punk culture mean today.” Produced by Rage Against the Machine’s Zack de la Rocha, the film and gallery show are out now.

Los Angeles County is home to the largest homeless population in the U.S. — more than 72,000 people, according to official estimates.

In 2024, county voters approved Measure A, a half-percent sales tax increase aimed at raising $1 billion a year for homeless services and affordable housing.

Its backers promised voters more transparency, accountability and results.

As new revenue flows in, questions about how L.A. County spends homelessness dollars aren’t going away.

How Measure A came to be 

Homeless service providers and advocates wrote and campaigned for Measure A in 2024. Their goal was for it to replace a smaller, temporary county sales tax for homeless services known as Measure H, which was set to expire in 2027.

That quarter-percent sales tax, approved by voters in 2017, delivered about $500 million a year.

That new funding helped move more people into shelter beds, and the number of unhoused people in shelters in L.A. County increased from about 15,000 in 2017 to about 23,000 in 2024, according to official estimates.

But the county's overall unhoused population — which includes people staying in shelters as well as those living on the streets —- grew by 37%, from about 55,000 in 2017 to more than 75,000 in 2024.

Measure A’s solution was to double the special sales tax for homelessness, make it permanent and use the extra revenue to help build more affordable housing in addition to homeless services.

A majority of county voters agreed. The county enacted the “Affordable Housing, Homelessness Solutions, and Prevention Now Transactions and Use Tax Ordinance” — and then started collecting the Measure A tax in April 2025.

Elise Buik, President and CEO of United Way of Greater Los Angeles presents an award to Peter Laugharn, President and CEO of Conrad N. Hilton Foundation at the United Way "Annual HomeWalk To End Homelessness" in 2017. Both organizations were major backers of Measure A, along with the California Community Foundation and others.

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Greg Doherty

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Measure A’s promises

Voters approved Measure A amid increasing concerns about the regional agency long tasked with managing public homelessness dollars by the county and city of L.A.

A county audit in late 2024 found that the Los Angeles Regional Homelessness Authority, or LAHSA, had regularly paid service providers late and failed to properly monitor contracts. A separate court-ordered report found L.A. city officials had made it impossible to accurately track homelessness spending, largely by outsourcing to LAHSA.

Measure A proposed a new approach to the region’s homeless services system, which many have described as “dysfunctional.” Written into the ordinance were clearer systemwide goals, increased accountability over spending and consequences for programs that fail to perform.

Unlike Measure H, which focused on getting people off the street, Measure A was written to also focus on preventing people from falling into homelessness. It directs more than 35% of its roughly $1 billion in yearly revenue to a new county affordable housing agency. Supporters estimated it could produce 18,000 new affordable units in L.A. County over 10 years.

It directs 60% or revenues towards homeless services — and dedicates a portion of that funding to be split directly among L.A. County’s 88 cities.

Measure A delegated oversight responsibilities for the spending to the county Board of Supervisors and two governance bodies the board had established in 2023 to coordinate regional planning on homelessness.

The first is an advisory group called the Leadership Table for Regional Homelessness Alignment. It includes nonprofit service providers and experts who meet regularly and inform policy decisions.

That group advises a more powerful one called the Executive Committee for Regional Homelessness Alignment, which sets Measure A’s goals and makes plans and funding recommendations.

Its nine members include two county supervisors (currently Kathryn Barger and Lindsey Horvath), the L.A. mayor (currently Karen Bass), an L.A. City Council member (currently Nithya Raman), a representative from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration and four officials from cities across the county.

The committee’s recommendations go to the county Board of Supervisors, which has the final say.

Last March, the supervisors formally adopted five-year Measure A goals with 2030 deadlines. They include: reducing unsheltered homelessness in the county by 30%, moving twice as many people annually into permanent housing and boosting affordable housing production by about 50%.

Measure A’s effects

One of the early after effects of passing Measure A has been a reorganization of who controls the growing pot of county homelessness dollars.

In April 2025, the Board of Supervisors voted to divert more than $300 million from LAHSA and create a new county department, the Department of Homeless Services and Housing, to manage homelessness funding directly.

Supporters of the move said it was necessary because Measure A voters were demanding accountability that LAHSA wasn’t delivering. The new county department formally launched in January.

The full transition of LAHSA programs to the county is planned in July. The Board of Supervisors recently directed the new department to create strict oversight procedures for all homeless service contracts.

Last March, L.A. County approved its first annual budget that included projected allocations from Measure A, totaling about $1 billion. The county had twice as much funding at its disposal but still cut tens of millions of dollars in programs and services for unhoused people, citing a strategic shift.

Now, the county is finalizing the budget for the next fiscal year, which starts July 1. It again includes $1 billion for homeless services and affordable housing because of Measure A, but the homelessness spending plan includes nearly $200 million in program reductions.

County officials said those reductions were necessary to cover rising shelter costs and the loss of pandemic-era state and federal funding.

Measure A has allocated about $100 million annually, or roughly 9% of all Measure A revenues, directly to the 88 cities within L.A. County to address homelessness in what’s known as the Local Solutions Fund. The county publishes a regional plan showing how that money is used.

The funding is awarded based primarily on a city’s recent unhoused population numbers, using estimates from the official annual homeless count.

Some city leaders complain that their residents are paying way more into the Measure A tax than they are getting out of it.

Torrance mayor George Chen says his city will generate about $26 million annually for the county through the Measure A sales tax, and it will receive about $559,000 in local funding through the measure.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath supported the Measure A sales tax, and also championed the effort to break from LAHSA and form a new county homelessness department.

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Brian Feinzimer

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Affordable housing focus 

The major structural difference between Measure A and its predecessor is that it earmarks roughly 36% of its proceeds — about $363 million a year — for affordable housing development. Those funds flow through a new independent regional agency called the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency, or LACAHSA.

The agency’s mandate is to create new affordable homes, preserve lower-rent housing and prevent displacement. It is still in its early stages.

As of March, the agency had received $275 million from Measure A and distributed $25 million to recipients, according to its Measure A Funds Tracker. Most of what had been awarded was emergency rental assistance.

On April 15, the agency’s board conditionally approved its first major round of housing production funding, approximately $102 million for 10 projects that will add 566 units of affordable housing, according to a recent report.

Projects are required to break ground within one year of receiving awards. A second round of awards is scheduled for the board's May 13 meeting.

Demand for funding far outpaced what was available: LACAHSA received 242 applications for 127 projects totaling $1.56 billion and representing 11,484 units.

What’s next?

The goals Measure A set are ambitious, and the deadline is 2030. A county dashboard tracking progress shows the region gaining ground reducing unsheltered homelessness while falling behind on other targets.

The county hasn’t made any progress decreasing the number of people falling into homelessness or decreasing homelessness among people with mental health or substance use disorders. The dashboard does not yet include affordable housing production metrics.

The transition from the regional Homeless Services Authority to the new county Department of Homeless Services and Housing is still underway, with a full handoff of staff and programs targeted for July 2026.

LAHSA recently announced it will lay off 284 employees at the end of June.

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According to new data from TikTok and theater trade group Cinema United fan-made TikToks can now do what big marketing campaigns couldn't always achieve: keep a movie thriving after opening weekend.

At this year's CinemaCon, the annual convention for movie theater owners, director Denis Villeneuve showed the first seven minutes of his third Dune film. He told the crowd he made his latest installment of the science fiction saga for the fans. And long before the December opening, fans have been posting their own reactions on TikTok.

"There's this incredible chant in Dune 3 that's in the trailer and what we've seen is it's a soundbite that users on TikTok have embraced and made their own content with," says Cameron Curtis, executive vice president of global digital marketing for Warner Bros.

He says TikTok is a tremendous platform for reaching new audiences.

"We often see that the creator content on [the] platform outperforms our traditional advertising content by 3-to-1. It's become just critical to our strategy and everything that we do," says Curtis.

He says Warner Bros. and other studios have been partnering with TikTok creators to market their films. According to TikTok executives, that's for good reason. "We really saw that the buzz doesn't stop with the opening weekend," says Dennis Papirowski, TikTok's global head of Entertainment and News.

He says every day, the platform's users create 6.5 million posts related to content from new and classic films and TV shows. According to TikTok, half of their users say they discovered a new movie through the platform. And of those, more than a third looked up showtimes and purchased a movie ticket.

Dawn Yang, the company's global head of entertainment partnerships and business development, says studios tend to do a lot of marketing for the first weekend a film opens.

"But on TikTok, it really takes off after the first weekend," she says, "because people have seen the entire movie and they want to talk about it."

TikTokers post enthusiastic movie reviews, they cosplay and reenact scenes, and some create new edits from the official trailers and footage. For instance, 24-year-old college student Josiah Pilet remixed Spider-Man clips set to music.

Fan edits would have been no-nos in the old Hollywood strategy of protecting intellectual property, says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore, which analyzes the box office.

"There was a time when studios did not want marketing messaging going out that wasn't from them," he says. Now, he says even negative responses to movies are welcome "as long as it's not something horrible, that can boost the profile of a movie and excitement around it, because sometimes people want to see what the fuss is all about."

Dergarabedian says studios are increasingly embracing and harnessing the power of short TikToks made by the key Gen Z audience.

"You have some movies that open huge, have a huge opening weekend, then drop by 70% or more in their second weekend," he says. "But the way you keep people coming back is that you not only have a great movie, but the social media engagement continues, amplifies and creates that excitement and the FOMO factor among potential moviegoers."

Take last year's box office hit Sinners. Cinema United and TikTok's report found that buzz about the film surged on the platform during its opening week — and ticket sales barely dipped the following week.

But social media platforms, including TikTok, have also sometimes caused minor headaches for theaters. Last year, fan-made posts chronicled the mayhem sparked by a line spoken by Jack Black's character in The Minecraft Movie.

Audiences shouted "chicken jockey" along with him and tossed popcorn in theaters. The ruckus was so chaotic that one fan even carried a live chicken into the movie, as shown by one viral video.

At CinemaCon, Warner Bros. executives offered a good-natured apology to theater owners for the mess.

But it's not just fans posting TikToks. As executive director of communications and content for B&B Theatres, Paul Farnsworth makes funny TikToks, starring himself and the staff — often in the lobby, playing around with the latest movies.

"It's like a little wink-wink joke, nothing that you're going to like, pay money to go see a stand-up comedian say," he says. "But I think for us, it indicates to our guests a sensibility of like the playfulness of the movies, the magic of the experience, the shared communal thing that we're all trying to achieve with them."

Farnsworth says he asks the studios for guidance on the material — hoping his viral TikToks get people into movie theaters.