Nick Gerda
is an accountability reporter who has covered local government in Southern California for more than a decade.
Published December 18, 2024 5:00 AM
LAHSA's headquarters in Downtown Los Angeles.
(
Matt Tinoco
/
LAist
)
Topline:
More than two years after L.A.’s embattled homeless services agency acknowledged it was required to make more of its officials file state-mandated disclosures, the agency remains far less transparent than other local governments about its leaders’ potential conflicts of interest, an LAist review has found.
Why it matters: State law requires local government officials to disclose their personal financial interests — including gifts they’ve received, outside income to them and their spouses, and other interests — for public transparency and to ensure officials avoid conflicts of interest.
Where things stand: Local governments often require many of their staff to file these disclosures. In contrast, only one employee of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority — its CEO — files the annual forms, called form 700s, according to an LAist review of public documents.
What's next: LAist obtained a list of 39 positions LAHSA has proposed adding to its list of mandated reporters. A final vote is now expected in February.
State law requires local government officials to disclose their personal financial interests — including gifts they’ve received, outside income to them and their spouses, and other interests — for public transparency and to ensure officials avoid conflicts of interest. Agencies are required to make officials whose decisions could affect “any financial interest” file the disclosures, according to state law.
Local governments often require many of their staff to file these disclosures. In contrast, only one employee of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority — its CEO — files the annual forms, called form 700s, according to an LAist review of public documents.
But more than two years later, no additional staff have been required to file the forms, according to documents LAist obtained from LAHSA through a public records request.
Among those not on the mandated disclosure list are officials who oversee finance and contractor compliance.
Also not currently required to disclose financial ties on form 700s: LAHSA’s newly hired chief executive strategist who, according to state business filings, owns a consulting business with the leader of one of LAHSA’s largest contractors.
County officials on Tuesday provided a list of 39 types of positions LAHSA has proposed adding as mandated form 700 filers, after LAHSA did not provide a copy following repeated requests from LAist. The undated six-page proposal was approved by LAHSA’s governing commission this October, according to a county spokesperson.
It does not specifically list the strategist role, but it does include such positions as chief financial, staff, programming and operating officers, among other roles. None of the positions proposed to be added have been required to file the forms yet, a step that’s not expected until after county supervisors are scheduled to give final approval to the list in February.
Serious questions about oversight of contractors
LAist’s review of LAHSA’s form 700 filings comes as agency officials face a wave of criticism over their oversight of contractors the agency pays to provide homeless services. Two teams of auditors — separately overseen by the county and by a federal judge — have found the agency failed to both hold contractors accountable and properly monitor their performance.
Hundreds of staff work at LAHSA, which is a joint city-county agency. Many of those staff are involved in oversight, analysis and decisions about more than $700 million in annual taxpayer spending on contracts with homeless service providers.
Local governments often have many staff positions on their lists. The L.A. Housing Department, for example, has fewer staff than LAHSA and lists 72 types of employee jobsrequired to file— from the general manager down to finance officials, project managers, accountants and compliance analysts.
L.A. Councilmember Monica Rodriguez serves on the City Council’s Housing and Homelessness Committee and has been a vocal critic of LAHSA in recent months. She has called on the city, which sends about $300 million a year to LAHSA, to cut ties with the agency as the county pursues a similar move in the wake of the audit.
“It really is disappointing that what continues to be shown is a lack of transparency for conflicts, for performance of contracts, for data,” Rodriguez said after LAist described its findings.
“I don’t understand what it’s going to take for LAHSA to get the message that they’re a public agency that requires transparency and accountability to the taxpayers and to the governmental agencies that fund them.”
Who is accountable
Responsibility for updating LAHSA’s list falls on its leadership, according to information provided by county spokesperson Elizabeth Marcellino. Every two years, the agency’s chief executive has to file a form with the county certifying whether any changes are needed to who has to file. It was on that form in September 2022 that LAHSA’s then-chief noted more positions needed to be added.
Recent controversies on oversight
A recent county audit found major problems with the agency’s financial management and oversight of contractors, prompting L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath and L.A. City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez to introduce respective measures to pull county and city funding from LAHSA.
Adams Kellum said she has been working to fix many of the problems outlined in the audit.
Adams Kellum also faced controversy recently over her hiring of Lilly Simmering, as a top-level leader into LAHSA. Simmering, a former Orange County executive, oversaw a county department that paid out millions to an out-of-compliance nonprofit now embroiled in a fraud scandal involving former O.C. Supervisor Andrew Do. After questions were raised about her role in allowing those payments to go ahead, Simmering left LAHSA after less than two weeks on the job.
County officials then review proposed changes from LAHSA and bring them before the Board of Supervisors for final approval. Another L.A. County spokesperson, in a statement to LAist, said LAHSA declared changes were needed on the Sept. 30, 2022 form that gave a 90-day deadline. Agency officials made an initial proposal to top county officials nine months later, in June 2023, according to that county spokesperson.
Wendy Greuel, chair of LAHSA’s governing commission, told LAist the agency has been working to add more positions to its conflict-of-interest code. A final vote to implement it is now expected by county supervisors in February, some 28 months after that first acknowledgement that changes were due within 90 days.
“Once approved, we expect it will result in more employees having to complete the form 700,” Greuel wrote in an email to LAist. She said LAHSA’s governing commission approved a proposed list update in October, though it was not attached to the public agenda and agency officials have not provided a copy to LAist after requests over multiple days.
Greuel, who is an L.A. mayoral appointee appointed by then-Mayor Eric Garcetti, and Va Lecia Adams Kellum, LAHSA’s CEO, have not answered why that process has taken more than two years.
Most of that time has been under Adams Kellum, who took the helm in March 2023 after L.A. Mayor Karen Bass chose her for the role.
After LAist emailed the California Fair Political Practices Commission to ask about LAHSA’s list of form 700 filers and the state law requirements, agency officials said they will be looking into it.
Bass and county Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, who both sit on LAHSA’s governing commission, haven’t responded to requests made last week for comment through their spokespeople.
Will officials have to file retroactively?
Greuel and Adams Kellum have not responded to an email from LAist asking whether LAHSA positions being added to the list will be required to retroactively file form 700s for past years they were employed by the agency.
A statement from the county's Executive Office of the Board of Supervisors said that office, which is led by Edward Yen, “will not be asking for nor requiring retroactive filings of Form 700,” adding that’s a question for LAHSA.
State law requires certain officials to file form 700s even if their position is not on their agency’s list of who has to file. Anyone in a job position that was created after Jan. 1, 2010 must file the disclosures if their position meets the disclosure criteria set by state law, regardless of whether the position is on the agency’s list, according to a state regulation.
Until their position is added to the list, officials must fill out the forms using the broadest category for what they have to disclose, unless the agency describes in writing why that position should disclose under a more limited category, the regulation says.
When LAHSA’s governing commission voted in October to approve a new proposed list of who needs to file the disclosures and received a presentation on the process, the proposed code itself was not included in the public agenda documents.
It’s unclear whether the commissioners received a copy of the list before voting to approve it. Greuel and Adams Kellum haven’t responded to an email from LAist asking if they did.
“There’s no reason why it can’t be done in this day and age. You just post the agenda, you link to the supporting documents,” said David Loy, an attorney and legal director for the First Amendment Coalition.
“There’s no question for me that it’s absolutely best practice for transparency and accountability, that agenda is posted, and every single item is linked,” Loy said.
LAHSA officials haven’t provided LAist a copy of the list the commission approved, despite multiple requests. But county officials did.
LAHSA’s proposal, disclosed by a county spokesperson, includes seven tiers of required disclosure and assigns one or more of those tiers to each of the 39 job categories listed.
The agency's attorneys are Dae “Dan” Kim from the County Counsel’s Office and Catrina Archuleta-Silva from the City Attorney’s Office. LAist sent them emails asking if LAHSA’s current code follows state law.
Kim didn’t respond, and a spokesperson for City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto replied saying the office does not “comment on client communications or legal advice.”
Va Lecia Adams Kellum, CEO of Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, at a news briefing at L.A. City Hall in June 2023.
(
Gary Coronado
/
Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
)
On her form 700s, Adams Kellum discloses spousal income from one of LAHSA’s service provider contractors, where her husband Edward Kellum works as director of operations and compliance. Adams Kellum told LAist in an email that procedures have “ ‘walled me off’ from any involvement in matters concerning” her husband’s employer.
“I am completely recused from matters that involve or impact Upward Bound House,” she wrote.
She and Greuel have not responded to a follow-up question asking about meeting minutes that show LAHSA commissioners granting Adams Kellum the authority to execute contracts with her husband’s employer.
After approving the proposed conflict of interest code on Oct. 30, the LAHSA commission’s next item was to authorize Adams Kellum to enter into a $2.6 million contract with her husband’s employer, among other contracts, according to the meeting agenda. That item was approved, the minutes show.
Greuel, Adams Kellum and her staff have not provided copies of the contracts with Adams Kellum’s husband’s employer, more than a week after LAist began asking.
What we know about the part-time strategist
Kris Freed was a consultant to LAHSA before being hired as the agency’s chief executive strategist on Nov. 1. She said in a LinkedIn post that she would continue consulting for clients in the homeless services industry while in her role at LAHSA, adding that her commitment to them “will remain unwavering and steadfast.”
Contacted by phone, she told LAist none of her clients work in L.A. County. She co-owns a consulting business with the leader of one of LAHSA’s largest service providers, HOPICS, according to its state business filings.
Freed’s role at LAHSA “does not entail oversight of finances or contracting,” said agency spokesperson Paul Rubenstein. “None of her work is in Los Angeles and she suspended her partnership with the head of a service provider for the duration of her time at LAHSA.”
The business partner at HOPICS temporarily stepped away from the consulting business with Freed according to an October agreement Rubenstein provided to LAist. The agreement cited “a conflict of interest” that had been identified from both business partners’ employment. A subsequent state business registration filing states the HOPICS leader continues to co-own the consulting business with Freed.
In her LAHSA executive role, Freed was scheduled to present a housing “Unit Acquisition Strategy Update” last month to county supervisors’ homelessness policy aides, according to the county’s meeting agenda. Among the information in her presentation slides was about housing acquired by HOPICS, the provider led by her consulting business partner. Freed presented the slides at the meeting, according to a county official.
The September job posting for Freed’s part-time executive position at LAHSA stated it would pay up to $322,587 for a maximum of 29 hours per week. The position was open for about a week, according to the posting.
How to watchdog local government
One of the best things you can do to hold officials accountable is pay attention.
Your city council, board of supervisors, school board and more all hold public meetings that anybody can attend. These are times you can talk to your elected officials directly and hear about the policies they’re voting on that affect your community.
Robert Garrova
explores the weird and secret bits of SoCal that would excite even the most jaded Angelenos. He also covers mental health.
Published December 13, 2025 5:00 AM
Interior of Healing Force of the Universe records in Pasadena, where a benefit concert is held on Sunday to help fire survivors build back their record collections.
(
Erin Grace Kim
/
LAist
)
Topline:
This Sunday, a special donation concert at Pasadena's Healing Force of the Universe record store helps fire survivors get their vinyl record collections back.
The backstory: The record donation effort is the brainchild of musician Brandon Jay, who founded the nonprofit Altadena Musicians after losing his home and almost all of his family’s musical instruments in the Eaton Fire. Now, he has turned his efforts on rebuilding people's lost record collections.
Read on ... to find details of the show happening Sunday.
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena and Pasadena’s music community have really shown up to support fire survivors, especially fellow musicians who lost instruments and record collections.
That effort continues this weekend with a special donation concert at a Pasadena record store, with the aim of getting vinyl records back in the hands of survivors who lost their collections.
“You know, our name is Healing Force of the Universe, and I think that gives me a pretty clear direction… especially after the fires,” said Austin Manuel, founder of Pasadena record store, where Sunday’s show will be held.
The record donation effort is the brainchild of musician Brandon Jay, who founded the nonprofit Altadena Musicians after losing his home and almost all of his family’s instruments in the Eaton Fire. Through Altadena Musicians’s donation and registry platform, Jay said he and his partners have helped some 1,200 fire survivors get their music instruments back.
Brandon Jay.
(
Robert Garrova
/
LAist
)
Now, that effort has fanned out to restoring vinyl record collections.
“All of that stuff evaporated for thousands of people,” Jay said. “Look at your own record collection and be like, ‘Wow, what if that whole thing disappeared?’”
You might know Jay from several bands over the years, including Lutefisk, a 1990s alt-rock band based in Los Angeles. He and his wife, Gwendolyn Sanford, composed music for TV shows, including Orange is the New Black and Weeds.
Jay plans to play some holiday tunes at Sunday's record donation show (which LAist is the media sponsor), along with fellow musician Daniel Brummel of Sanglorians. Brummel, who was also a founding member of Pasadena’s indie-rock sensation Ozma, said he was grateful to Jay for his fire recovery work and to Manuel for making Healing Force available for shows like this.
Brummel, who came close to losing his own home in the Eaton Fire, recalled a show he played at Healing Force back in March.
Ryen Slegr (left) and Daniel Brummel perform with their band, Ozma, on the 2014 Weezer Cruise.
(
Even Keel Imagery
)
“The trauma of the fires was still really fresh,” Brummel said. After playing a cover of Rufus Wainwright’s “Going to a Town,” that night — which includes the lyrics “I’m going to a town that has already been burnt down” — Brummel said his neighbors in the audience told him the rendition hit them hard. “It felt really powerful. And without that space, it just wouldn’t have occurred.”
Details
Healing Force of the Universe Record Donation Show Featuring: Quasar (aka Brandon Jay), Sanglorians (Daniel Brummel) and The Acrylic. Sunday, Dec. 14; 2 to 5 p.m. 1200 E. Walnut St., Pasadena Tickets are $15 or you can donate 5 or more records at the door. More info here.
Fire department honored with 'Award of Excellence'
Makenna Sievertson
covers the daily drumbeat of Southern California — events, processes and nuances making it a unique place to call home.
Published December 12, 2025 4:30 PM
The "Award of Excellence Star" honoring the Los Angeles Fire Department on Friday.
(
Matt Winkelmeyer
/
Getty Images
)
Topline:
The Hollywood Walk of Fame has a new neighbor — a star dedicated to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Why it matters: The Fire Department has been honored with an “Award of Excellence Star” for its public service during the Palisades and Sunset fires, which burned in the Pacific Palisades and Hollywood Hills neighborhoods of L.A. in January.
Why now: The star was unveiled on Hollywood Boulevard on Friday at a ceremony hosted by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and Hollywood Community Foundation.
Awards of Excellence celebrate organizations for their positive impacts on Hollywood and the entertainment industry, according to organizers. Fewer than 10 have been handed out so far, including to the LA Times, Dodgers and Disneyland.
The backstory: The idea of awarding a star to the Fire Department was prompted by an eighth-grade class essay from Eniola Taiwo, 14, from Connecticut. In an essay on personal heroes, Taiwo called for L.A. firefighters to be recognized. She sent the letter to the Chamber of Commerce.
“This star for first responders will reach the hearts of many first responders and let them know that what they do is recognized and appreciated,” Taiwo’s letter read. “It will also encourage young people like me to be a change in the world.”
LAFD Chief Jaime E. Moore, Eniola Taiwo and LAFD firefighters with the "Award of Excellence Star" Friday.
(
Matt Winkelmeyer
/
Getty Images North America
)
The Award of Excellence Star is in front of the Ovation Entertainment Complex next to the Walk of Fame; however, it is separate from the official program.
What officials say: Steve Nissen, president and CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement Taiwo’s letter was the inspiration for a monument that will “forever shine in Hollywood.”
“This recognition is not only about honoring the bravery of the Los Angeles Fire Department but also about celebrating the vision of a young student whose words reminded us all of the importance of gratitude and civic pride,” said Nissen, who’s also president and CEO of the Hollywood Community Foundation.
If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less.
L.A. City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto was accused of an ethics breach in a case the city settled for $18 million.
(
Carlin Stiehl
/
Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
)
Topline:
Fallout from allegations of an ethics breach by Los Angeles’ elected city attorney has reached the City Council. Councilmember Ysabel Jurado introduced a motion Friday requesting a closed-session meeting about an allegation that City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto improperly contacted a witness days before her office entered into one of the city’s biggest settlements in recent years. The motion came a day after LAist reported about the allegation.
The case: In September, the city settled a lawsuit brought forward by two brothers in their 70s who said they suffered serious injuries after an LAPD officer crashed into their car. Days before the $18 million settlement was reached, lawyers for the brothers said Feldstein Soto called an expert witness testifying for the plaintiffs and “attempted to ingratiate herself with him and asked him to make a contribution to her political campaign,” according to a sworn declaration to the court by the plaintiffs’ attorney, Robert Glassman.
The response: Feldstein Soto did not respond to an interview request. Her spokesperson said the settlement “had nothing to do” with the expert witness. Her campaign manager told LAist the city attorney had been making a routine fundraising call and did not know the person had a role in the case, nor that there were pending requests for her office to pay him fees.
What Jurado says: In a statement to LAist, Jurado said she wants to “make sure that the city’s legal leadership is guided by integrity and accountability, especially when their choices affect public trust, civic rights and the city’s limited resources."
What’s next: The motion needs to go through a few committees before reaching the full City Council. If it passes, the motion calls for the city attorney to “report to council in closed session within 45 days regarding the ethics breach violation and give updates to the City Council."
Topline:
Fallout from allegations of an ethics breach by Los Angeles’ elected city attorney has reached the City Council. Councilmember Ysabel Jurado introduced a motion Friday requesting a closed-session meeting about an allegation that City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto improperly contacted a witness days before her office entered into one of the city’s biggest settlements in recent years. The motion came a day after LAist reported about the allegation.
The case: In September, the city settled a lawsuit brought forward by two brothers in their 70s who said they suffered serious injuries after an LAPD officer crashed into their car. Days before the $18 million settlement was reached, lawyers for the brothers said Feldstein Soto called an expert witness testifying for the plaintiffs and “attempted to ingratiate herself with him and asked him to make a contribution to her political campaign,” according to a sworn declaration to the court by the plaintiffs’ attorney, Robert Glassman.
The response: Feldstein Soto did not respond to an interview request. Her spokesperson said the settlement “had nothing to do” with the expert witness. Her campaign manager told LAist the city attorney had been making a routine fundraising call and did not know the person had a role in the case, nor that there were pending requests for her office to pay him fees.
What Jurado says: In a statement to LAist, Jurado said she wants to “make sure that the city’s legal leadership is guided by integrity and accountability, especially when their choices affect public trust, civic rights and the city’s limited resources."
What’s next: The motion needs to go through a few committees before reaching the full City Council. If it passes, the motion calls for the city attorney to “report to council in closed session within 45 days regarding the ethics breach violation and give updates to the City Council."
Destiny Torres
is LAist's general assignment and digital equity reporter.
Published December 12, 2025 3:38 PM
Luis Cantabrana turns the front of his Santa Ana home into an elaborate altar in honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe.
(
Destiny Torres
/
LAist
)
Topline:
Today marks el Día de La Virgen de Guadalupe, or the day of the Virgen of Guadalupe, an important holiday for Catholics and those of Mexican descent. In Santa Ana, Luis Cantabrana builds an elaborate altar in her honor that draws hundreds of visitors.
What is the holiday celebrating? In 1513, the Virgin Mary appeared before St. Juan Diego, asking him to build a church in her honor. Her image — a brown-skinned woman, wearing a green veil with her hands clasped in prayer and an angel at her feet — miraculously appeared on his cloak. Every year on Dec. 12, worshippers of the saint celebrate the Guadalupita with prayer and song.
Read on … for how worshippers in Santa Ana celebrate.
Every year in Santa Ana, Luis Cantabrana turns the front of his home into an elaborate altar in honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe that draws hundreds of visitors.
Along the front of the house, the multi-colored altar is filled with lights, flowers and a stained-glass tapestry behind a sculpture of the Lady of Guadalupe. Cantabrana’s roof also is lit up with the green, white and red lights that spell out “Virgen de Guadalupe” and a cross.
Visitors are welcomed with music and the smell of roses as they celebrate the saint, but this year’s gathering comes after a dark year for immigrant communities.
Luis Cantabrana stands in front of the stunning altar he built in front of his home in honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe. Every year, his display draws hundreds of visitors.
(
Destiny Torres
/
LAist
)
Why do they celebrate?
In 1513, the Virgin Mary appeared before St. Juan Diego between Dec. 9 and Dec. 12, asking him to build a church in her honor. Her image — a brown-skinned woman wearing a green veil with her hands together in prayer and an angel at her feet — miraculously appeared on his cloak.
To celebrate in Santa Ana, worshippers gathered late-night Wednesday and in the very early hours Dec. 12 to pray the rosary, sing hymns and celebrate the saint.
Cantabrana has hosted worshippers at his home for 27 years — 17 in Santa Ana.
The altar started out small, he said, and over the years, he added a fabric background, more lights and flowers (lots and lots of flowers).
“It started with me making a promise to la Virgen de Guadalupe that while I had life and a home to build an altar, that I would do it,” Cantabrana said. “Everything you see in photos and videos is pretty, but when you come and see it live, it's more than pretty. It's beautiful.”
The Santa Ana home's elaborate altar in honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe draws hundreds of visitors each year.
(
Destiny Torres
/
LAist
)
Gathering in a time of turmoil
Many also look to the Lady of Guadalupe for protection, especially at a time when federal enforcement has rattled immigrant communities.
“People don’t want to go to work, they don’t want to take their kids to school, but the love we have for our Virgen de Guadalupe,” Cantabrana said. “We see that la Virgen de Guadalupe has a lot of power, and so we know immigration [enforcement] won’t come here.”
Margarita Lopez of Garden Grove has been visiting the altar for three years with her husband. She’s been celebrating the Virgencita since she was a young girl. Honoring the saint is as important now as ever, she said.
“We ask, and she performs miracles,” Lopez said.
Claudia Tapia, a lifelong Santa Ana resident, said the VirginMary represents strength.
“Right now, with everything going on, a lot of our families [have] turned and prayed to the Virgen for strength during these times,” Tapia said. “She's a very strong symbol of Mexican culture, of unity, of faith and of resilience.”
See it for yourself
The shrine will stay up into the new year on the corner of Broadway and Camile Street.
![A Black woman sits at a dais with a flag in the background. A name placard in front of her reads: Dr. Va Lecia Adams Kell[um].](https://scpr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/f36d470/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6298x4198+0+0/resize/1920x1280!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fscpr-brightspot.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2F76%2F00%2Febed9a7a4fbd9e5ba12997e51d59%2Fgettyimages-1258669633.jpg)
