The Brief

L.A. County has commissioned a months-long outside investigation into allegations LAist brought to light about current and former high-ranking officials at the L.A. Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), according to the county’s investigations chief.

The investigation started around May 23 after LAist published the allegations and is being conducted by an outside investigator, according to Greg Hellmold, who heads the Office of County Investigations.

In an emailed response to LAist’s questions, he said none of the allegations LAist published had been reported by LAHSA to county investigators, despite a requirement to do so for all claims of fraud, waste and abuse of taxpayer resources.

The allegations were leveled in demand letters in May and June last year by two former high-ranking executives at LAHSA. They claimed former LAHSA CEO Va Lecia Adams Kellum wrongfully fired them in retaliation for pushing back on alleged misconduct by her and people she hired into high-ranking jobs.

The misconduct allegations against Adams Kellum include financial mismanagement, wasteful spending, hiring unqualified friends into highly paid powerful positions, trying to destroy public records of her communications with L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, and getting a lap dance while drunk from a consultant she had just hired.

A LAHSA spokesperson previously denied the allegations. In March, the agency agreed to $800,000 in payments to settle the claims, but no investigation had been commissioned to determine whether the claims were true, according to LAHSA.

[Click here to read the first demand letter’s claims and here for the second one.]

County investigations result in reports describing their findings, which the county investigations office can send to LAHSA’s staff and governing commission, as well as city and county officials, according to the investigations agreement.

If county investigations sustain any allegations as likely to be true, the agreement says LAHSA must take “appropriate” action in response. Adams Kellum left her post in late July and has not responded to requests for comment. It is unclear what repercussions, if any, the investigation could have for her or other current and former LAHSA officials.

The claims made allegations against several LAHSA executives Adams Kellum hired on from her previous job, and remain in their roles. They did not respond to a request for comment through a LAHSA spokesperson.

A failure to report

When LAist asked LAHSA spokespeople what the agency’s policies are for claims against their executives, agency officials pointed to the agreement with the county. It requires LAHSA to immediately report all allegations of waste, fraud and abuse of resources to the county Fraud Hotline.

That didn’t happen, according to the county investigations chief.

Instead, Hellmold said county officials learned about the allegations after LAist published the demand letters.

“LAHSA is required to report all allegations [of fraud, waste and abuse] to the County’s Fraud Hotline,” Hellmold said in an emailed response to LAist’s questions. “However, as of the publication date of the LAist’s May 6 article, no allegations matching the allegations in the article were reported to the County Fraud Hotline.”

By the time the article published, LAHSA officials had copies of the claims for nearly a year and had agreed two months earlier to the $800,000 in settlement payouts.

The county then contracted an outside investigator to look into the claims on behalf of the county’s human resources department, Hellmold said in an email.

After learning of the allegations, Hellmold told LAist his office reminded LAHSA’s internal affairs staff “of the need to notify us,” and that the staff agreed to do so going forward. He added that his understanding is that the missed report also was “brought to the attention of the LAHSA Commission Chair.”

When LAist published the claims, the commission chair was Bass appointee Wendy Greuel, who did not respond to LAist’s request for comment. Citing the ongoing probe, LAHSA spokesman Paul Rubenstein said the agency could not comment on the investigation nor answer questions about why LAHSA had not referred the claims for an outside review.

Speaking about the overall process, he said the agreement requires LAHSA to report fraud, waste and abuse allegations to the county hotline, but not personnel investigations, which are handled by LAHSA’s internal human resources staff.

“Our commitment is to ensure all matters are addressed through the correct and most effective channels, maintaining the integrity of both our internal operations and external relationships,” Rubenstein said in an email.

Email destruction attempt alleged

One of the allegations by former IT chief Emily Vaughn Henry was that Adams Kellum had asked her “to violate record retention laws and delete two emails that Mayor Karen Bass had sent from her personal email account to Kellum's LAHSA account.” LAHSA’s stated policy was to retain all emails for seven years, the claim states.

Adams Kellum previously told the L.A. Times she did not ask to delete any messages from the mayor. A spokesperson for Bass told the L.A. Times that the mayor had “no knowledge” of the deletion allegation. Bass did not respond to questions LAist sent to her spokesperson for this article.

LAHSA has denied multiple requests from LAist to disclose what their record retention policies have been.

State law generally requires cities and counties to retain public records for two years, according to a city of L.A. settlement agreement and a court ruling, respectively. But LAHSA is technically a separate type of agency called a joint powers authority. It was created, funded and overseen by the city and county, but it’s not clear what record retention laws apply to LAHSA.

LAist filed a records request with LAHSA in late May for copies of all emails between Bass and Adams Kellum, among other records. Agency officials said they needed time extensions to search for and review records, before ultimately stating in mid-August that they object to searching for the records. LAHSA said they considered that request unreasonably broad and unduly burdensome. They have not told LAist how many emails exist.

Published July 11, 2018 — This summer, the world's biggest sporting event has an American soundtrack. At every match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, players have walked onto the field to the opening strains of "Seven Nation Army," the song first released in 2003 by The White Stripes.

More than 2 million people have heard it blaring over PA systems in stadiums across Russia. So have hundreds of millions of television viewers around the world. That arguably makes it the world's most popular sports anthem — which isn't bad for a song from a country whose men's national team failed to qualify for the quadrennial world championship this year.

"It's simple, catchy and aggressive, so it's perfect for a sports anthem," says Alan Siegel, a Washington, D.C.-based journalist who reported on how "Seven Nation Army" found a home in stadiums around the world for the sports website Deadspin.

Siegel says that the first thing you'll notice hearing the song at a sporting event is that instead of Jack White's impassioned vocal line, fans sing the song's central guitar riff. "It's just, 'Ohh, oh-OH-oh-oh ohhhh, ohhh,' and that's it, just over and over and over. It just gets hypnotic."

It's a simple musical phrase: just five different pitches, spread out over less than an octave. "And with the exception of the second note, the notes are all in sequence in the scale — like consecutive steps on a ladder," explains Nate Sloan, co-host of the podcast Switched On Pop. "It's very egalitarian, the kind of riff that's the first thing you figure out when you're learning how to play guitar."

The minor key gives it an intimidating ring. "Those last two notes — from the flat six to the five — have a lot of weight in musical history. You hear them a lot in laments, which form a genre going back to the baroque," Sloan says. The rhythm compounds that feeling: "By holding on to that first note, it generates a feeling of suspense. Then you get the almost machine-gun rapid fire of the next four notes, and they're syncopated, on the off-beats. ... That gives the riff an urgency that makes it much more memorable."

"Seven Nation Army" didn't catch on right away: The song only made it to No. 76 on the Billboard Hot 100 after its release in March 2003 (though it did top the Alternative Songs chart). Its life as a sports anthem began six months later, when fans of the Belgian soccer team Club Brugge KV traveled to Italy for a UEFA Champions League match against one of the giants of European football, A.C. Milan.

"Some supporter groups were having some drinks before the match, and 'Seven Nation Army' was playing," Siegel says. "And then Brugge, which is not a traditional power, ended up upsetting Milan." The Belgians sang the riff as their team eked out a 1-0 victory, then brought it home as an unofficial club anthem.

Three years later, Club Brugge played host to another Italian team, A.S. Roma, and the tables turned the other way: The Romans headed home with a 2-1 victory — and a brand-new stadium anthem that they'd learned from the Belgians. That summer, Italian fans made the "Seven Nation Army" riff their own in the run-up to the 2006 World Cup, where they would score again.

"At that point, it sort of becomes the anthem of the Italian national team — and Italy wins the World Cup," Siegel says. "So it just takes off there."

Within a year, the song had made its way from European soccer to American football, starting with fans of Penn State's Nittany Lions. (Siegel says it was introduced by an executive in the school's athletic department who had heard fans singing it during Italy's championship run.) From there, other universities picked it up. NFL fans started singing it. NBA and NHL teams blared the recording during games. And music publishers sold thousands of arrangements for marching bands.

Within a few years, the song had entered the pantheon of stadium jams, alongside Metallica's "Enter Sandman" and Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger." But Sloan says "Seven Nation Army" has something that those anthems lack: singability.

"It's a folk melody," he says. "The riff has been deracinated and transformed into this instantly translatable chant."

Today, many soccer fans use the "Seven Nation Army" chant to sing the praises of players — especially those with five-syllable names, which notch neatly into the riff's last five notes. "We'll do it with Maxi Moralez, our No. 10, " says Neil Govoni, a supporter of the Major League Soccer team New York City FC. "And when [Italian player] Andrea Pirlo was here, that was also used for him. That cadence works a lot with many different players."

Professional soccer players disagree on whether chants make a difference down on the pitch. NYC FC defender Sebastien Ibeagha says he is too busy to listen when he's playing: "Half the time I don't really hear them," he says. "I can't say I've heard one yet that I've really picked up on. Sometimes I don't even know what they're saying, 'cause they're just so loud."

But two-time Olympic gold medalist and World Cup champion goalkeeper Briana Scurry says fan chants make a big difference to professionals."A lot of players might say professionally, 'Oh, we don't hear it,' " Scurry says. "But we do. We're human. It's a big energy boost. To have your home fans chanting together — it's very powerful and a moving experience."

Part of that power comes from hearing so many fans chant together in unison — an experience Sloan likens to being "a tuning fork in a sea of tuning forks."

"This is how people sang for a long time, especially before the advent of notation when music was strictly an oral tradition," he says. "Technology has eroded that in many ways, because so much music is now recorded. The moments today that allow us to access that more ritual and more social role of music are rare — like when we're singing 'Happy Birthday' or 'Auld Lang Syne.'

"At a moment when music education and arts education is at such a crisis point, I find any moment of public group singing is exciting," he adds. "It might get people interested in music who might not otherwise be — like, 'Maybe I'll join the choir!' "

Govoni agrees in principle, but he's over "Seven Nation Army" as a chant — especially after all the exposure at this summer's World Cup. Fan culture, he says, is a living thing that's always changing: "There are some songs that we sang in the first season that aren't really sung as much anymore, because we come up with new ones gradually."

As far as sporting events worldwide, however, Siegel says The White Stripes' riff hasn't worn out its welcome just yet.

"To be honest, I started to get tired of hearing it," he says. "But at every major soccer tournament, you start hearing it again. It's got a life of its own. It ebbs and flows, but you're gonna hear it."

Daoud Tyler-Ameen adapted this story for the Web.
Copyright 2026 NPR

The state of California is walking back protections meant to keep destructive golden mussels out of Lake Oroville, one of the largest and most important reservoirs in the state.

The move follows a new state-funded risk assessment that the invasive species poses a lower risk to the lake, which water managers say changes the state’s calculus on costly and difficult measures aimed at keeping the invaders at bay.

No state agencies or scientists have found mussels in Oroville yet. But invasive species experts say the revised policy of the Department of Water Resources increases the likelihood that golden mussels will invade Lake Oroville and hitch a ride on boats to other lakes. They disagree, though, about whether preventing such an incursion is even possible.

”California is under an epidemic of golden mussels,” said Anthony Ricciardi, a professor of biology and the director of the Bieler School of Environment at McGill University. “Like in any epidemic, you got to control the key hubs — or else the war is lost.”

Reopening Lake Oroville

California water managers first discovered golden mussels invading California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta in October 2024 — marking their first detection in North America.

The voracious and rapidly spreading mussels can encrust surfaces so thoroughly that they choke off water supplies and damage dams and power plants.

They are now invading critical infrastructure in the Delta. And the very pumps, canals and aqueducts that keep water flowing to much of the state are funneling the larvae to irrigation districts and water suppliers downstream.

San Joaquin and Kern Counties have declared states of emergency, and state officials are updating key facilities along the state’s nature-defying water delivery system to reduce mussel damage.

With summer weather coming in hot, state water managers said that they are ending a program to prevent mussels and their larvae from stowing away on boats to invade Lake Oroville, one of California’s largest reservoirs.

The department now no longer requires inspections and decontamination for boats launching at Lake Oroville and nearby reservoirs — the Thermalito Forebay and the Thermalito Afterbay.

The Department of Water Resources says lakes and launches upstream in the Feather River watershed didn’t take similar precautions, raising the risk that golden mussel larvae would wash into the reservoir on river flows regardless of the boat inspections.

The cost of the inspection program for the lake was also around $7.5 million to start it up, and $6.5 million per year to continue it. Installing UV treatment to prevent mussels from settling in the pipes at powerplants downstream from Oroville, by contrast, would cost an estimated $1 million.

“We severely impacted recreation at that lake,” said Tanya Veldhuizen, special projects section manager in the California Department of Water Resources’ environmental assessment branch. “We also evaluated the risk to our infrastructure and what it would take to mitigate mussels — and that was much lower than expected.”

Cold water, fewer mussels? 

The decision reflects the findings from a new risk analysis the department commissioned for these reservoirs and related hydropower and fishery hatchery facilities, as well as for the Upper Feather River Lakes.

Conducted by a Canada-based consulting firm specializing in aquatic invasive species, the assessment reports that, while surface temperatures are warm enough for the mussels to survive in shallower water at Lake Oroville, they’re too cold lower down for the mussels to reproduce at depths greater than 60 feet below the surface.

Unlike the Delta, the waters at Lake Oroville are also low in nutrients, Veldhuizen said. Between the scarce food, cold temperatures, and water levels that drop enough to dry out mussels on the shoreline, Veldhuizen said she doesn’t expect the mussels to reach nuisance levels.

The department also expects cold water released from the reservoir will slow the growth of any larvae that reach the Feather River Fish Hatchery and the Oroville-Thermalito Complex powerplants downstream.

But Oroville’s shoreline, boats and docks remain at risk — and that’s what worries Ricciardi.

“That's where the action is. The boats will be moving them,” Ricciardi said — because boats and aquatic weeds clinging to vessels and their trailers can ferry mussels from one lake to another.

Fish and Game Warden Mark Rose and Allee, a Belgian Malinois, who was trained to sniff golden mussels at Thermalito Forebay, in Oroville in June 2025. The dog sniffs watercraft in an attempt at detecting the golden mussel and preventing its spread into California lakes.

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Miguel Gutierrez Jr.

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CalMatters

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And adult mussels can actually survive even in very cold water, says Demetrio Boltovskoy, a retired researcher formerly at Argentina’s National Scientific and Technical Research Council. One study in China found they can live for weeks at near-freezing temperatures.

Still, Boltovskoy said that while he isn’t specifically familiar with Lake Oroville, reducing precautions may be reasonable.

“No matter what precautionary measures you take, sooner or later it will spread,” he said. “I don't think that stopping their range expansion is actually feasible at all.”

But invasive species experts are sharply divided on the subject. That’s true especially in California.

Last year, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife told CalMatters that invasions delayed translated to money saved. This year, the wildlife department directed inquiries about the new Oroville strategy to the Department of Water Resources.

“There’s so much to protect yet,” Martha Volkoff, environmental program manager for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Invasive Species Program, said last summer. “Yes, it’s a lot of work, but the long-term savings — to the environment and to all the other ways that it costs us — is investment well spent, even if we just delay new introductions.”

Relying on boaters: Clean, drain, dry

The responsibility now rests more heavily with boaters to ensure their boats are clean, drained and dry — especially when leaving an infested body of water, like the Delta.

If state water managers detect mussels at Lake Oroville, she said, the department will begin inspecting boats as they leave the lake.

It's a strategy already in use at other infested lakes, including Castaic and Pyramid.

Managers of other Northern California lakes told CalMatters they will continue their inspection programs, including at lakes Folsom, Tahoe and Berryessa.

Drew Gantner, manager of water resources at Solano County Water Agency, which oversees the mussel program at Lake Berryessa, called the Oroville decision concerning.

“If Lake Oroville does surrender its program and becomes infested with golden mussels it creates an increased risk for all waterbodies,” Gantner said. “At that point, any watercraft travelling to Berryessa (or anywhere else) from Lake Oroville would essentially be no different than watercraft coming from the Delta.”  

Ricciardi agreed that the stakes extend well past Oroville’s dam and downstream facilities.

“There is another thing about invasions. They often surprise you,” Ricciardi said. “Sometimes invaders don't act the way they're supposed to act.”

This article was originally published on CalMatters — sign up for their newsletters — and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

Some years ago, we were living in South Jersey, outside of Philadelphia. We had friends visiting, so we decided to take them to Independence Hall, where, as all Americans know, the Declaration of Independence was signed. As a Brit, I was excited to see the actual origins of American democracy.

We’d joined a tour, and I was admiring a particularly lovely wooden molding on the wall when I heard the guide say, “And that was when the British surrendered.”

I stopped in my tracks. Excuse me? You see, we, the British, do not surrender. You may have heard that, via our publicist Winston Churchill. We do not surrender on beaches. Or fields, or streets or hills, or any manner of geographic landmark.

I turned to my American husband. "What’s this place he’s talking about, Yorktown?" He stared at me in faint disbelief. “Um, you’ve heard of it, right? It’s where the British lost their final battle?” I shook my head. Nothing. Why did I not know this?

I mean, I had a pretty good British education. I remember learning that the American colonies had declared their Independence, but I thought that was because of the cost of tea or something — and not wanting to be judged for how posh your accent was. But the idea that Britain actually fought to keep those damn colonies — and LOST — well, that was a shock to my system.

From what I remember in the school text books, it was “America declared independence, never mind, we still ruled a lot of the world, let's move on.”

Yet as my American daughter went through school over here, U.S. history was a constant theme. The colonies, George Washington, the Civil War. What you choose to teach your children, that’s the way a country passes on its values.

What I learned in England was a lot about kings, like an Alfred who burnt the cakes, or a Henry who kept on marrying women.

Which makes me realize how much myth-making all countries do. And as an immigrant, to move from one mythology to another rattles all the marbles in your brain. How could this thing, that is so important to millions of your new co-patriots, be reduced to nothing in your childhood textbooks?

But the longer you live here, the more it shifts. And as you absorb more American history and go through Fourth of July holidays, the more you appreciate what was sacrificed to bring the nation into existence.

If I ever get to go back to Independence Hall, I hope I'll have a very different reaction. I’ll be much more aware of the import of what happened and the bravery and determination behind it.

And for that, as a comparatively new American, I am truly grateful.

Ask anyone in Los Angeles and they’ll swear that their favorite burrito spot is the best. While I can’t guarantee mine is the best, I can confidently say it’s unlike anything you’ve ever had. Enter: The chicken tikka burrito.

Four years ago, when I was accepted to USC, I immediately started looking online for food around the area. I bookmarked a tweet from 2018 that said if there was one place I had to eat at in my four years there it was 23rd Street Cafe — now Cafe 23.

The first time I had a bite, I knew I had to sing its praises to everyone I knew.

Cafe 23 is a perfect amalgamation of what makes University Park such a special place: how global it truly is. With USC — a school whose student body is roughly one-quarter international students — and the neighborhood’s many longtime residents, there’s something for everyone. 

And for those who don’t know it, South L.A. is a hotbed of food culture. With the historic 27th Street Bakery and the anticipated reopening of Chef Marilyn’s restaurant, there’s plenty to eat. For those hankering to try something new, however, these three restaurants offer a culinary twist on Mexican staples.   

So whether you’re in the area visiting the Los Angeles Public Library’s oldest brand, on your way to a biweekly knitting night in Inglewood, or need a quick bite before heading to the Koreatown Run Club, these cross-cultural Mexican fusion spots are well worth the visit.

Thai Corner Food Express

Thai Corner Food Express offers three Thai Taco varieties every Tuesday: from left, the spicy shrimp with mango and guacamole; chicken with coconut and mango; and beef with shredded coconut and mango.

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Erick Galindo

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The LA Local

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Located in the back corner of Mercado La Paloma is Thai Corner Food Express, owned by Aritsa Elliot, who has served Thai food in the Figueroa corridor for nearly 20 years.

But, in April, the restaurant started offering the “Thai Taco.” Elliot said the idea came from a desire to satisfy her own curiosity. 

“I wanted to try Mexican masa with Thai spicy sauce or the herbs in a taco,” Elliot told The LA Local. 

Every Tuesday, Thai Corner offers choices such as a coconut beef taco, a spicy shrimp taco or a drunken noodle chicken taco served on homemade blue-corn tortillas made with masa from Komal, another popular Mercado La Paloma restaurant.

Developing the flavors was no easy feat and was the result of experimentation and collaboration. The owner of Komal suggested to Elliot that she should incorporate shaved coconut into the beef taco to really represent Thai flavors.

The blending of these two cuisines allows for flavors and spices that are typically muted by rice or noodles to be the main attractions.

As a side dish, you can order the Thai guacamole. It’s a creamy, sweet take on the classic dish, topped with diced mango. It doesn’t taste like any other guacamole I’ve tried, but it kind of works — especially with the tacos. Each taco is served with a dollop of it and sliced Thai chili peppers. 

3655 S Grand Ave. C-4, Los Angeles

Taqueria Vista Hermosa

The Al Pastor Cheeseburger from Taqueria Vista Hermosa is one of their best-selling items

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Erick Galindo

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The LA Local

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Right next to Thai Corner is Taqueria Vista Hermosa. For 25 years, owner Raul Morales has been using his family’s al pastor adobo — which goes back three generations to his ancestral home in Vista Hermosa, Michoacán — to feed customers of Mercado La Paloma.

Now, he’s using that adobo to make a brand new al pastor cheeseburger. The taqueria began selling the burger two months ago because nowhere else in Mercado La Paloma offered one, and the restaurant wanted to fill that niche.

“At first, I was like that sounds weird. I’ve never heard of that,” Sarah Morales said. She’s the owner’s daughter and an employee of Taqueria Vista Hermosa. 

“We had all the employees here taste it,” Sarah added. “Everybody kept saying it’s the best burger they’ve ever had. It’s been one of our most popular selling items.”

The behemoth burger comes with a ground beef patty slathered in adobo, a giant pineapple ring, grilled red onions, oozing provolone cheese and a generous helping of their superb avocado aioli. Make it a combo and it will come with a bucket of fries perfect for dipping the house-made aioli. Just trust me. Dipping in that aioli is worth the extra carbs.

Raul said he prides himself on the fact that the burger doesn’t come with many typical burger staples. His inspiration: burgers from Michoacán. This choice has been met with some pushback from customers who expect a more traditional burger.

“People say ‘Oh I want a classic, you don’t have a classic? … You don’t have lettuce?’ No. I have it, but I don’t want [to add it],” Raul said. “This isn’t a burger place … I make my own unique burger.”

In the future, the taqueria may expand its cross-cultural menu to include a pizza or a flatbread, Sarah added. 

“When you have a bite, you remember the flavor,” Raul said. “I want that, I want a memory. I want a ‘Disneyland.’ When you go to Disneyland you have memories, same thing with food.”

3655 S Grand Ave. C-5, Los Angeles

Cafe 23

A paneer tikka quesadilla at Cafe 23 comes stuffed with spiced paneer and melted jack cheese, served on a metal tray alongside the restaurant’s signature red and green salsas.

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Nick Ducassi

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Just a mile away from Mercado La Paloma, at the end of a residential block on 23rd St. you will find a cafe that’s been serving Indian-influenced Mexican food for more than a decade. Cafe 23 proudly serves Indian street food and has given some classic menu items a Mexican twist. 

They have things like burritos and quesadillas but you can get them loaded with chicken tikka, lamb or paneer tikka.

The burritos come with whatever Indian protein you like, plus rice, beans and onions. The quesadillas come with jack cheese and  are served with the restaurant’s signature red salsa and green salsa.

For a little extra, you can turn your burrito into a breakfast burrito by adding eggs and hash browns. Their breakfast burritos have even gotten attention from Eater and, yes, LAist.

In an interview with LA Weekly,  the owner at the time Hari Singh, said that the restaurant opened in 2006 and originally had a completely different menu. Back then, they were serving things like burgers and pastrami sandwiches.

“There were a lot of Indians in this neighborhood — mainly students at USC — and they kept asking me, ‘Why don’t you make Indian food?’ So we started with a few Indian dishes,” Singh said. “Then we came up with this idea to start mixing Indian with Mexican. And people loved it.”

936 W 23rd St., Los Angeles

Thai tacos, paneer quesadillas and al pastor burgers: How the area around USC became a cross-cultural culinary hub appeared first on LA Local.