The Brief

L.A. City Council President Paul Krekorian is pushing back hard on a city-commissioned analysis that found a major homelessness enforcement policy championed by himself and other council members has been ineffective.

Following a Saturday evening statement from Krekorian, Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) officials said they stand by their findings.

The LAHSA analysis was meant to feed into a broader report to the council about its 41.18 zones approach that is now eight months overdue. It was completed in November and delivered to the city’s legislative analyst, where it stalled and its info has not been provided to the full council.

LAist obtained a leaked copy of LAHSA’s analysis and published an article about the findings on Friday.

In the sharply-worded statement, Krekorian vigorously disputed LAHSA’s analysis and LAist’s coverage of it.

Krekorian disputed that the information was hidden from the public, alleging LAHSA’s November report had inaccuracies — and possibly “deliberately misleading” info — that still need to be sorted out.

“The information LAHSA provided…was clearly faulty and incomplete at best, and perhaps even deliberately misleading,” wrote Krekorian, who co-authored the 41.18 zone approach that was examined by LAHSA.

He said LAHSA hasn’t been responding to legitimate questions about it from the city’s legislative analyst — something LAHSA officials dispute.

“LAHSA has failed to respond to these basic questions,” Krekorian said, adding that the joint city-county agency “continues to dodge its responsibility to respond to the [legislative analyst]’s legitimate inquiries.”

LAHSA says they "offered impartial analysis"

LAHSA officials say that’s false, and disputed allegations that the report was faulty or deliberately misleading.

“LAHSA offered impartial analysis based on the available data. Our goal is always to provide honest assessments that will allow elected officials to make informed policy decisions,” said Paul Rubenstein, LAHSA’s head of external affairs, in a text message to LAist.

“LAHSA has responded to all questions to date from the [legislative analyst] regarding the report,” he added.

LAist asked Hugh Esten, Krekorian’s spokesperson, if he has any documentation supporting Krekorian’s allegations about LAHSA not responding to questions. Esten said he didn’t, and that he didn’t know if Krekorian did either.

Any such documents, Esten said, would be held by the legislative analyst, Sharon Tso. Tso didn’t return a text message Saturday requesting that info.

In an interview Friday evening, Tso said she had unanswered questions for LAHSA but declined to say what they were. LAist also has asked Rubenstein for documentation of questions being answered.

LAHSA is a joint city-county agency, and half of its governing commission is appointed by L.A.’s mayor and confirmed by the city council.

A spokesperson for L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, who chairs L.A.’s governing commission and the Board of Supervisors, said no concerns about the LAHSA analysis were raised with the supervisor.

“No one brought this to the Supervisor’s attention — no one at LAHSA and no one on the Council,” said Horvath spokesperson Constance Farrell in a text message to LAist, when asked about the council legislative analyst’s alleged questions and concerns.

What the city analyst told LAist

Tso declined to give a timeline for when her long-overdue city report would be completed and turned over to the full council and public.

“I am being diligent…That’s all I can tell you,” Tso said. She also declined to answer questions about any exchanges with council members about the underlying data or the report. “My conversations with my council members are my conversations.”

She said council members haven’t been demanding the information be disclosed immediately.

“There hasn’t been this screaming demand that we need to have something now,” Tso said.

Strong reactions from city hall

LAist’s article Friday generated strong reactions around City Hall.

In a statement responding to the article, Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez called 41.18 a "complete and total failure."

"Our office still has not officially received this report, but we know that encampments swept with 41.18 nearly always return, and we spend millions of dollars every year on this ineffective criminalization of homelessness," he said.

About the data

Rubenstein noted that LAHSA’s analysis acknowledged data quality issues around 41.18. The report says that’s largely because the council didn’t ask for data tracking for 41.18 zones when it created the policy back in 2021, under the motion Krekorian co-authored.

As for the 41.18 law, in his statement Krekorian objected to claims that it criminalizes homelessness, and said it’s “not an alternative to housing programs,” like Mayor Karen Bass’ Inside Safe initiative.

“It simply prohibits encampments in specified limited areas,” he said, “that are especially dangerous to the unhoused themselves, or that unreasonably impede the public’s use of the public right of way, or are adjacent to sensitive areas such as schools and child care centers.”

Krekorian, in his statement, specifically criticized the LAHSA report for saying an encampment had been repopulated even if one person returned. LAist is working on a deeper analysis of the data.

It’s unclear how long Krekorian has had the November report from LAHSA. Esten said he didn’t know, and LAist requested Saturday night that he ask the council president that question. An answer hadn’t been provided as of publication time Sunday afternoon.

Esten said it’s common in L.A. for report-backs ordered by the council to take much longer than their 60-day deadlines, and for there to be no public update about the delay.

Advocates have asked for report for months

A leading advocacy group for unhoused people has been calling for the report’s release for months. The full report-back to the council on 41.18’s effectiveness was due by mid-June. Multiple council members told LAist they have yet to receive LAHSA’s November analysis, which states that it “was performed as requested by the Los Angeles City Council” under its April 2023 directive for a 60-day report-back.

In October, the group LA Community Action Network filed a written comment with the council wondering why the report was taking so long.

On Wednesday, it again urged for the report to be published, both in a letter to the council and during public comments at the council meeting.

The 60-day report-back “is now 261 days past due,” wrote Pete White, LA CAN’s executive director, in the letter. He noted that, on average, six unhoused people die each day across L.A. County.

“It is imperative upon the LA City Council to recognize the urgency of this matter.”

Read the LAHSA summary

LAist made a public record request for LAHSA's report and underlying data. LAHSA released both Sunday night. Here's the summary dated Nov. 28, 2023.

Page 1 of 41.18 Efficacy Summary Report

Contributed to DocumentCloud by Megan Garvey (Southern California Public Radio) • View document or read text

Survey after survey shows that the cost of housing is a top concern for Los Angeles voters. And the issue sharply divides candidates vying for mayor in the June 2 primary.

Mayor Karen Bass says her efforts to fast-track affordable housing are working. But few apartments have been built so far. She has fought to keep new apartments out of most of the city’s residential neighborhoods, pleasing homeowners but angering some housing advocates.

City Councilmember Nithya Raman has said her different vision for tackling housing affordability was pivotal in her decision to run against Bass. Citing unaffordable rents and home prices, Raman has promised to accelerate building in more parts of the city.

Raman’s housing platform has won her the backing of many in the Yes In My Backyard (YIMBY) movement. But critics say her support of density could drastically transform some single-family neighborhoods.

Political outsider Spencer Pratt has promised a downtown L.A. housing boom once he “gets rid of” tens of thousands of unhoused people. But he has been called out for spreading false information about state housing legislation.

Other candidates have presented their own ideas about the city’s housing affordability issues, but they’re behind in the polls.

Here are where the top three candidates stand on housing in L.A.

What Bass says she’s accomplished so far

When asked what she has done to bring down rents, Bass has pointed to a program she created in her first week in office: Executive Directive One. It speeds up city approvals of 100% affordable apartment projects.

By some metrics, ED1 has been a major success. After the program launched, developers flooded the city with applications.

L.A.’s Planning Department has received plans for 43,360 apartments since ED1 launched in December 2022 and has approved 34,298 of them. Under the directive, developers must agree to keep all units in these buildings affordable to low and moderate-income Angelenos.

Karen Bass

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Courtesy of the campaign

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But few of those units are actually getting built. The city’s Building and Safety Department says 8,058 apartments have been issued building permits. Only 298 have received certificates of occupancy, the last step in getting an apartment ready to rent to tenants.

In a recent mayoral debate, Bass said some variables are out of her control.

“Some of the factors are the price of construction materials, just the general economy,” Bass said. “We are doing everything we can to make sure we are able to fast-track that housing.”

Bass has also said the city’s adaptive reuse program, which allows office buildings to be converted into housing, has enabled the creation of more than 43,000 potential units. But the Building and Safety Department told LAist it could only find two units that have received certificates of occupancy since she took office.

Do apartments belong in single-family neighborhoods?

Bass has scaled back ED1 from its original design. She banned projects in historic zones and on many lots with existing rent-controlled apartments. She also blocked projects in the nearly three-quarters of residential land reserved for single-family homes.

Bass says new housing belongs on commercial main streets, so homeowners in single-family zones don’t have to see apartments going up next to their lots. That’s one of the reasons she asked Governor Gavin Newsom to veto Senate Bill 79, a major new state housing law allowing taller, denser apartment buildings near transit stops, including in some single-family zones.

Raman has said she views this issue differently. She has said all kinds of neighborhoods need to accept denser housing. She defended an ED1 project in a single-family neighborhood in her district, even as city leaders tried to kill it. Courts eventually ruled the city fought that project illegally.

Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman announced Saturday that she is running for mayor.

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Raman Campaign

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Joining a minority of City Council members, Raman voted not to oppose SB 79. She has said young families are leaving L.A. because they can’t afford housing, and the city should do more to plan for increased density throughout the city, including in some single-family neighborhoods.

“We desperately need this housing,” Raman said in a recent debate. “What I want to do is go out here and not lie to you that we can keep everything the same, and Sacramento will not intervene. That is not possible.”

Raman has said that as mayor, she’ll make departments respond to zoning-compliant housing applications within 60 days.

Pratt’s plan for a downtown building boom

On his Substack, Pratt has said that L.A.’s housing supply shortage is “a myth.” But the former reality TV star also promised on a recent podcast to “speed up building” and work with architects to “bring Art Deco back.”

In a recent debate, Pratt said as mayor he’d get up to 20,000 apartments built in downtown L.A. by removing unhoused people.

“I’m gonna have 40 blocks when I get rid of all the drug addicts that are sleeping on the sides of all these empty buildings,” Pratt said. “We will have so much high-density… We have plenty of places to build. We don’t need to put a seven-story cement structure in a single-family neighborhood with no parking.”

Spencer Pratt

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Courtesy of the campaign

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Last year, Pratt drew attention on social media for opposing SB 79. He said the law would bring high-rises to the Pacific Palisades, where his home burned down.

Critics pointed out that was never true, because there are no qualifying transit stops in the Palisades.

What about the city’s controversial 'mansion tax'? 

In 2022, L.A. voters passed Measure ULA, perhaps better known as the city’s “mansion tax.” It has taxed the sale of real estate valued at $5 million or more. It applies not just to single-family mansions, but also to apartment buildings and other commercial real estate.

Economists argue the tax has led to a slow-down in apartment construction at a time when L.A. needs more housing. Defenders say it has raised more than $1 billion for affordable housing construction and tenant aid programs.

Raman surprised many of her colleagues earlier this year when she proposed putting a measure on the June ballot to ask voters to exempt apartments built within the last 15 years. That effort failed, but Raman has continued to push for changes to Measure ULA.

Last year, Bass asked state lawmakers to pull a last-minute bill aimed at similar reforms, saying more tweaks were needed to get the policy right.

Pratt has said he would push for a full repeal of Measure ULA. The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association has qualified a measure for the November ballot that, if passed, would do just that.

Where do the candidates stand on rent hikes and tenant protections? 

As housing committee chair, Raman has said she pushed the council to pass the first update to the city’s rent control limits in 40 years. She has also said her efforts to pass new tenant eviction protections and legal aid programs are helping keep vulnerable renters housed.

Bass also supported the city’s new, lower rent hike limits. She says she’s been working with the Mayors Fund, an outside nonprofit, to provide eviction defense services to many tenants.

Pratt has said that state and city tenant protections amount to “squatter’s rights.” He has said he will work with the city attorney to streamline evictions and remove tenants within 72 hours.

Hands up. What is the most well-known British food? You probably guessed fish and chips, which can easily be found in Los Angeles, in British pubs and restaurants, as well as more home-grown venues.

But what happens when top-notch L.A. chefs play with British influences, melding tradition with California’s diverse, sustainably grown approach to create new flavors and textures?

That’s what’s happening at two L.A. restaurants, Tomat and Wilde's. And as a Brit who’s lived in L.A. for 13 years, I was intrigued to find out exactly what it was like. Can British food be easily spruced up? Would I want it to be?

Tomat

Tomat's modernist exterior in Westchester.

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jimsimmonsphotography.com

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Courtesy Tomat

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I first headed to the Westside to try Tomat, a beautiful, serene haven in the center of a Westchester shopping complex. Few hints of Britishness here — more warm Scandinavian modernism. While its seasonal, ever-changing menu also includes Mexican, Japanese and Persian dishes, sprinkled throughout are offerings which reflect Chef Harry Posner’s London upbringing. (He’s half-British and half-Persian; co-owner and wife Natalie Dial is from L.A.)

Co-owners Harry Posner and Natalie Dial of Tomat.

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Danielle G. Adams

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Posner says he “tried to be playful,” when creating the dishes, while incorporating top-notch, fresh local produce, (much grown in their own garden a few blocks away), and the approach has apparently succeeded, with the restaurant being included in the prestigious Michelin guide just months after it opened last year.

Tomat's warm, inviting dining room.

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Courtesy Tomat

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He says the restaurant has elements of London’s vibrant food scene. “I'd say the thing that is happening in London more and more is the sourcing of ingredients, really high quality ingredients,” he explains. “There's been some amazing food all over the UK… And the food has gotten way, way better. I mean, the food in London is fantastic.”

Looking at the menu’s starters, I immediately spotted a snap pea salad which included roasted parsnips, a British Sunday roast favorite. Then I saw the Welsh rarebit.

Tomat's Welsh rarebit, a British delicacy.

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Natalie Dial

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Welsh rarebit is a traditional British version of a grilled cheese sandwich, except the cheese is replaced with a savory cheese sauce which usually includes worcestershire sauce, mustard and beer. Tomat’s version had been cooked into a dark rich brown color, using a Porter beer from Inglewood. I took a bite and was immediately transported home — well, home if my mother had baked her own bread (which she didn't) and had been a top class chef (which she wasn’t). It was phenomenal.

Then on to the fish and chips. A quick note. Fish and chips in the U.K. usually come in the form of cod or haddock, fried in batter. Here, Posner uses rainbow trout (California steelhead) covered in tempura, which comes with a homemade tartare sauce. Audacious! Did it work? Yes, and then some. The fish was fresh and creamy and the tempura wonderfully crunchy.

“Loads of people would say, "oh no, you never fry salmon or trout, because it's too fatty or oily,” says Posner. “And I was like, ‘well, that's why it tastes so good."

Fish and chips Tomat-style: rainbow trout and sweet potatoes, fried in tempura batter.

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Natalie Dial

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Courtesy Tomat

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The chips… were another experience. Instead of the usual thick fried chunks of potato, Tomat offers sweet potato, again fried in tempura batter. Delicious? Certainly. Were they the chips from my childhood? Um, no. (Pause for sad face). It was too far off the beaten track for me. But for Americans without the taste memory, they’ll likely receive rave reviews. (My American husband certainly loved them).

For dessert — British options included banoffee pie and bakewell tart (watch Great British Bake-off if you don’t know what I’m talking about). I, however, ordered the deconstructed Jaffa cake. Jaffa cakes are a popular British cookie, spongey and orangey. My family loves them — when we score a packet we parade it around the house like Simba.

The deconstructed Jaffa cake, miracle upon miracles.

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Steve Holtzman

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Courtesy Suzanne Levy

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Here it came as layers of sponge, passion fruit jelly and chocolate mousse, with tempered chocolate on top and an orange cream around the base. I scooped up all the elements in one spoonful and tentatively tasted it. Perfection. If I was looking for an elevated British experience, this was it. I closed my eyes and was swept away in dreams of London — or maybe it was just my London Fog cocktail (gin, campari, sweet vermouth and earl grey tea) going to my head.

Wilde’s

The rustic interior of Wilde's in Los Feliz.

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Kort Havens

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Courtesy Wilde's

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A few weeks later I headed to Wilde’s in Los Feliz, which has been packed since it opened last October. As I walked down Hillhurst, with the sun just beginning to set, I was definitely in L.A. But as I went through the door I was transported into the dining area of a cosy British country pub. Wood panelling, antique mirror, vintage sconces. Nailed it. Well done.

Natasha Price, the executive chef and co-owner with beverage director Tatiana Ettensberger, says they lucked out by finding an old building with character. But they were mindful of making the British vibe feel authentic.“You can easily fall into something that feels sort of Disneylandesque,” she said.

Wilde's co-owners Natasha Price (left) and Tatiana Ettensberger.

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Kort Havens

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Courtesy Wilde's

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Price’s parents are British, and while she grew up in L.A., she spent most summers with her grandparents in the British countryside, so has a good sense of what makes for an excellent country pub. “Places that really are just using good ingredients and cooking simple rustic food. I think that’s inherently British, and it’s maybe the element of British food that’s not necessarily widely regarded, especially here in L.A.”

For the first course I plumped for Shropshire Blue cheese, home-made marmalade using California oranges and a fantastic fresh house bread, a mash-up of Irish soda bread and traditional bread that’s a unique Price creation. (The combo of cheese and marmalade, Price says, came from “snacking in the kitchen”). The mixture of the smooth cheese, the bittersweet marmalade and the bread was a revelation. I couldn’t get enough.

Wilde's salt and (malt) vinegar chips.

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Kort Havens

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Courtesy Wilde's

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Wilde’s also offers fish and chips. Here the fish is skate, an unusual fish even for American palates. Price says she chose it because she loves its “sweet, buttery flavor”, but for me, encased in batter, it was somehow too rich.

The chips, however, scratched all the itches. Sumptuous, fried chunky potato pieces, which came with malt vinegar, a must for classic British fish and chips, and ketchup for dipping. (The accompanying aioli was a tad too European, I felt). The British friend I went with and I fell upon them, oohing and aahing as we ate our way through to the bottom of the dish. (You get a lot. Believe me. I shouldn’t have eaten all that bread).

Wilde's sticky toffee pudding

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Courtesy Wilde's

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The minimalist menu changes often, with simple but inventive dishes. Fish and chips are a staple, however, as is the lone dessert, sticky toffee pudding, something they developed with care. “We wanted it to feel very British in its texture, truly pudding-like rather than cake,” said Price. Sticky toffee pudding is a popular British dessert, a sponge mixed with dates and doused in a caramel toffee sauce. Here there were some innovations — it’s served with creme fraiche instead of custard, but as my friend said, the dish was perfectly sticky and creamy in itself, so it didn’t need a custard dunking.

In some ways I felt like Goldilocks in both places, searching for the perfect British taste sensation, which seems a little unfair given we’re a) in America and b) I’m far from home and am probably operating a little too much on nostalgia. Tomat and Wilde’s are both excellent restaurants, and for Americans who want to taste test some British dishes, you won’t be disappointed.

Nearly 150 graduating high school seniors who’ve experienced homelessness were celebrated Thursday at a ceremony held by the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Some of the students, who came from 60 schools around the region, had been chronically unhoused, struggled with finding transportation to school or didn’t know where they were going to sleep at night.

But educators said the 13th annual graduate recognition ceremony, held in downtown L.A., wasn't just about the “tremendous obstacles” they had to overcome to earn their diplomas. It was a celebration of their resilience and of their futures.

Sadie Stockdale Jefferson, executive director of the LAUSD Education Foundation, said the honored students have proven they can weather a storm.

“ You deserved calm waters, you deserved a boring, easy journey to get across the stage this morning,” she said during the ceremony. “And while it's absolutely unfair that you've had to be so resilient … look around the room, all the people here today, [and] how incredibly proud everyone is of you.”

Students’ stories

During the ceremony, the students listened to speeches from educators and classmates, some were awarded scholarships and others won raffled gift baskets with themes like “college move in” or “cozy night.”

The seniors were joined by friends, family and loved ones who helped support them on their way to the graduation stage.

After they get their diplomas next month, many of the students will go on to attend college — some of them at Ivy League universities — enroll in trade schools or join the military, among other plans.

Daniel Jammal, an 18-year-old from John Marshall High School in Los Feliz, told LAist he lived in Syria for most of his life before flying to California about three years ago, all on his own.

His most impactful memories include using Google Translate to get through class assignments, making new friends and video chatting with his family “where they support me even with the distance and the miles — the thousands of miles,” he said.

Jammal lived in Syria during the civil war, during which his uncle was injured. He said the wounds were treatable, but his uncle didn’t have access to the healthcare he needed and later died.

“ His legacy and honor still lives in me and motivates me every single day to push harder and study biomedical engineering,” he said.

Jammal said he will be going to Dartmouth College in New Hampshire in the fall. His goal is to one day create devices that will help people in healthcare, especially those facing discrimination or accessibility issues, he said.

Lesley Davila, 18, from Dr. Maya Angelou Community High School in South Park, said she wants to become a flight attendant to learn more about the world and other cultures.

Davila had a message for other students: You are capable of doing anything.

“ You're more than capable,” she said. “You have to believe in yourself and go for it, no matter what they tell you.”

After the ceremony, each of the students was given a $100 gift card and a new laptop.

Cheering them on

Denise Miranda, the school district’s  director of student support programs, said the ceremony is a result all educators want to see.

While in school, some of the students didn’t have a parent or guardian in the picture. Others stayed with extended family or couch-surfed with friends. Miranda said the role of the Homeless Education Office is to help monitor attendance, support students with basic needs and be “that caring adult so they can thrive successfully every day as they come to school within LAUSD.”

Elsy Rosado,  administrator of LAUSD’s Student Support and Attendance Services branch, compared the process to an onion — peeling back layers of life so the students can do their best at school each day.

“ There were probably moments when this day may have felt far away. Moments of stress, uncertainty, exhaustion and doubt,” Rosado said during the ceremony. “But despite all of that, you are here and you made it.

“A high school diploma is not the end. It is the beginning of new opportunities, new experiences and new possibilities.”

California State University officials have renewed the system's contract with OpenAI, a leading generative artificial intelligence company that has established business deals with universities across the country.

Under the renewed contract, the CSU will pay $13 million a year to use OpenAI’s ChatGPT college product for three years, “with the option to cancel annually with advance notice,” said CSU spokesperson Amy Bentley-Smith. The new agreement also expands access to 675,000 users (up from 500,000) and enables students to continue using the product up to one year after graduation.

University officials say providing access to quality AI tools is an equity issue and that the CSU needs to prepare students for the future.

But when ChatGPT was first implemented across the system, faculty raised concerns about AI’s toll on the environment. They also noted that chatbots have been known to generate inaccurate information and can have built-in racial and gender biases. Some students and faculty still refuse to use it.

According to Bentley-Smith, the CSU’s decision to renew the contract “was made following extensive evaluation and input from across the system. Our stakeholders, including the CSU’s Generative AI Advisory Committee and its three subcommittees unanimously recommended renewing the contract. ... This was not a one-time consultation, but an ongoing and iterative process intended to balance innovation, risk management and educational outcomes.”

"We recognize that artificial intelligence is a topic that has sparked important debate and a wide range of perspectives, and we take seriously the concerns expressed about the ethical and responsible use of AI,” Bentley-Smith added. She also noted that, under the new contract, “the per-subscriber cost is lower than during the first contract [with OpenAI] and substantially lower than the price offered by any other vendor.”

Public records obtained by LAist showed that under the system’s first contract with the company, CSU paid a much better rate than other universities, albeit for a lot more users — roughly $1.9 million dollars to make ChatGPT available to 40,000 users during the first six months of 2025. Then, from July 2025 to June 2026, the university system paid another $15 million to make the product available to 500,000 users.

The system is now carrying out 63 faculty-led projects, aiming to use AI to revamp pedagogy in everything from Japanese language instruction to computer science.