The Brief

East Palo Alto, like cities across California, has a law on the books that forces developers of new housing projects to foot the bill for the state’s shortage of affordable homes.

New residential projects need to set aside a share of the units they plan to build for lower-income renters and homeowners under the terms of the city’s “inclusionary zoning” ordinance. Builders who refuse have to instead pay a fee, ranging from the tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

An East Palo Alto homeowner filed a lawsuit in federal court on Thursday challenging the constitutionality of that law, likening it to “extortion” — and he had a little help from the U.S. Supreme Court.

The implications of the lawsuit range far beyond the Bay Area. A 2017 report estimated that 149 cities and counties across California have some form of inclusionary zoning rule, though the specific terms vary. That makes it one of the most commonly used affordable housing programs both in California and in the country .

Now all that may be on the constitutional chopping block.

The case was filed in federal court in San Francisco by Wesley Yu, a husband and father between jobs, who was planning to build a home and backyard guest cottage for himself and his extended family on a neighboring parcel.

Because Yu was planning to construct two new structures, the city’s inclusionary zoning rules kicked in, requiring him to either sell or rent out one of the units at “affordable” rates or to pay a one-time fee of $54,891 to be deposited in the city’s affordable housing subsidy fund.

The core of Yu’s lawsuit, which was filed by the libertarian-oriented Pacific Legal Foundation , draws on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling from last year that also emerged from a heated California housing dispute.

That case was brought by Placerville septuagenarian, George Sheetz, who contested that the government of El Dorado County had not done enough to justify the $23,420 traffic fee it placed on his home construction project.

Sheetz’s case drew on the U.S. Constitution’s Fifth Amendment, which puts limits on when the government can take private property. Decades of court rulings have said that if a local government wants to base approval of a construction permit on certain conditions, those conditions have to directly relate to the costs associated with the development. A city, for example, might be able to hold off on approving a new dump until a developer pays an environmental clean up fee, but not a fee to fund local arts and recreation.

Courts have also ruled that such “exactions” on private development should be “roughly proportionate” to their cost. That is, the $23,420 that El Dorado County wanted to impose on Sheetz should match the cost of fixing the wear and tear his new home would leave on local roads.

The Supreme Court agreed that these standards ought to apply to the impact fee.

Now Yu and his legal team are asking a federal judge to apply that same rule to inclusionary zoning. For East Palo Alto’s program to pass constitutional muster, the city would have to show that the $54,891 fee or the requirement to set aside new units at a discount relates to and matches the cost that Yu’s development would impose upon the city.

The city won’t be able to show that, said David Deerson, the lead lawyer representing Yu.

“New residential development doesn’t have a negative impact on housing affordability. If anything, it has a positive impact,” he said.

A growing body of economic research has indeed found that local market-rate development puts downward pressure on neighborhood and city-wide rents.

Affordable housing in California zoning

In the past, California courts have ruled that the high constitutional bar set by the Fifth Amendment doesn’t apply to inclusionary zoning programs like the one in East Palo Alto. Requiring private developers to toss in some added affordable housing isn’t an “exaction,” the courts have found, but a standard land-use restriction akin to any other zoning rule.

Whether a city decides it needs more schools, apartment buildings, businesses or, in the case of inclusionary zoning, affordable housing, it has broad power under the constitution to “decide, for the good of the general welfare, that we’re going to require this,” said Mike Rawson, director of litigation at the Public Interest Law Project.

The state Supreme Court ruled as such most recently in 2015. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to weigh in, a tacit approval.

“They can always change their mind,” said Rawson. “I don’t see a basis for it, though obviously that doesn’t necessarily stop them.”

The composition of the court has changed since 2015, veering sharply to the right. The Sheetz decision from last year has offered new fodder for legal challenges to inclusionary zoning.

“Sheetz really helps out here a lot” in that campaign, said Deerson. He pointed to other challenges in Denver and Teton County, Wyoming . “I would expect them to keep coming.”

Tradeoffs in housing policy

If and when the nation’s highest court takes up the issue of inclusionary zoning, it will be wading into one of the more politically charged debates in housing policy.

Evidence on the impact of these laws is mixed . Requiring private developers to build affordable units can and regularly does result in more local housing options for lower income tenants at no additional cost to taxpayers. By putting affordable and market-rate units side-by-side, they also promote economic and racial integration, supporters argue.

But inclusionary requirements can also make any given housing project less profitable, meaning that fewer units get built, leading to higher prices and rents overall . In housing markets, like California’s, that see relatively little new development, the rate at which these programs add designated affordable units to the housing stock is also quite slow.

That policy debate isn’t relevant to the legal case, which will be fought and won over abstract constitutional principles. But for libertarian-leaning groups like the Pacific Legal Foundation, building industry groups and many “Yes In My Backyard” housing development advocates, an end to inclusionary zoning would be a win on both fronts.

“In addition to being illegal, I think that these inclusionary zoning policies are also frankly stupid,” said Deerson.

Seven detainees at an immigration detention center in California City have sued U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, alleging the facility is polluted by sewage leaks, infested with bugs and is denying people access to food, water and their lawyers.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California also claims detainees do not have appropriate clothing for the chilly desert nights, nor appropriate medical attention for life-threatening conditions. The lawsuit alleges detainees with mobility issues don’t have access to wheelchairs, and in some cases are unable to bathe or dress themselves.

The plaintiffs are seeking to make the lawsuit a class action on behalf of all detainees housed at the California City Immigration Processing Center, which is about 75 miles east of Bakersfield and run by the private prison company CoreCivic.

“In their haste to warehouse hundreds of men and women in this isolated facility, defendants have failed to provide for the basic human needs of the people for whose lives and wellbeing they are legally responsible,” the lawsuit alleges.

ICE opened the immigration detention center at the site of a closed prison and began admitting detainees in August. On average, there were about 480 people held in the detention center each day in September, and the facility has the capability to house up to 2,560 people. The lawsuit asserts 800 people are now housed there.

A spokesperson for ICE declined to comment on the lawsuit for this story.

In September, a state disability rights group conducted a two-day inspection of the facility and found that its operators failed to distribute medication for life-threatening conditions and did not schedule timely surgeries for people that needed them.

CalMatters reported on conditions at the detention center last month. Ryan Gustin, a spokesperson for CoreCivic, in a written statement at the time said the site provides robust medical care. He said those services adhere to “standards set forth by our government partners.”

The detention center’s accelerated opening was part of the Trump administration’s plan to execute the largest deportation program in U.S. history. California City’s mayor previously told CalMattersthe federal government opened the facility without proper permits or a business license as required by state law.

“In the rush to expand capacity, ICE has cobbled together a patchwork system of county jails, private prisons, and newly converted facilities across the country. The rapid and haphazard growth of the detention system has outstripped any meaningful system of accountability or oversight,” the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit was filed by Prison Law Office, a nonprofit organization that focuses on conditions in California prisons; along with the American Civil Liberties Union, the advocacy group California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice and the law firm Keker Van Nest & Peters LLP.

Conditions in immigration detention facilities have long been the subject of complaints and lawsuits. Counties in California have the option to inspect immigration detention facilities, although few do. Three of the four counties in California that host the facilities have not held inspections .

Seventeen people have died in ICE facilities this year, two in California. The agency’s official list of deaths in custody documents 15. Two subsequent deaths — one each in California and New York have not yet been added to the ICE list.

One plaintiff in the lawsuit, Yuri Alexander Roque Campos, alleged that he has been denied medication for a heart condition for days at a time. The lawsuit alleges the lack of medication led to him being hospitalized twice.

“During the last hospitalization, a doctor told Mr. Roque Campos that he could die if this were to happen again,” the lawsuit alleges. “Mr. Roque Campos has yet to see a cardiologist and still does not consistently receive his medication.”

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

California plans to revoke 17,000 commercial driver's licenses given to immigrants after discovering the expiration dates went past when the drivers were legally allowed to be in the U.S., state officials said Wednesday.

The announcement follows harsh criticism from the Trump administration about California and other states granting licenses to people in the country illegally. The issue was thrust into the public's consciousness in August, when a tractor-trailer driver not authorized to be in the U.S. made an illegal U-turn and caused a crash in Florida that killed three people.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Wednesday that California's action to revoke these licenses is an admission that the state acted improperly even though it previously defended its licensing standards. California launched its review of commercial driver's licenses it issued after Duffy raised concerns.

"After weeks of claiming they did nothing wrong, Gavin Newsom and California have been caught red-handed. Now that we've exposed their lies, 17,000 illegally issued trucking licenses are being revoked," Duffy said, referring to the state's governor. "This is just the tip of iceberg. My team will continue to force California to prove they have removed every illegal immigrant from behind the wheel of semitrucks and school buses."

Newsom's office said that every one of the drivers whose license is being revoked had valid work authorizations from the federal government. At first, his office declined to disclose the exact reason for revoking the licenses, saying only they violated state law. Later, his office revealed the state law it was referring to was one that requires the licenses expire on or before a person's legal status to be in the United State ends, as reported to the DMV.

Still, Newsom's spokesperson Brandon Richards shot back at Duffy in a statement.

"Once again, the Sean 'Road Rules' Duffy fails to share the truth — spreading easily disproven falsehoods in a sad and desperate attempt to please his dear leader," Richards said.

Fatal truck crashes in Texas and Alabama earlier this year also highlight questions about these licenses. A fiery California crash that killed three people last month involved a truck driver in the country illegally, only adding to the concerns.

Duffy previously imposed new restrictions on which immigrants can qualify for commercial driver's licenses. He said earlier this fall that California and five other states had improperly issued commercial driver's licenses to noncitizens, but California is the only state Duffy has taken action against because it was the first one where an audit was completed. The reviews in the other states have been delayed by the government shutdown, but the Transportation Department is urging all of them to tighten their standards.

Duffy revoked $40 million in federal funding because he said California isn't enforcing English language requirements for truckers, and he reiterated Wednesday that he will take another $160 million from the state over these improperly issued licenses if they don't invalidate every illegal license and address all the concerns. But revoking these licenses is part of the state's effort to comply.

The new rules for commercial driver's licenses that Duffy announced in September make getting them extremely hard for immigrants because only three specific classes of visa holders will be eligible. States will also have to verify an applicant's immigration status in a federal database. The licenses will be valid for up to one year unless the applicant's visa expires sooner.

Under the new rules, only 10,000 of the 200,000 noncitizens who have commercial licenses would qualify for them, which would only be available to drivers who have an H-2a, H-2b or E-2 visa. H-2a is for temporary agricultural workers while H-2b is for temporary nonagricultural workers, and E-2 is for people who make substantial investments in a U.S. business. But the rules won't be enforced retroactively, so those 190,000 drivers will be allowed to keep their commercial licenses at least until they come up for renewal.

Those new requirements were not in place at the time the 17,000 California licenses were issued. But those drivers were given notices that their licenses will expire in 60 days.

Duffy said in September that investigators found that one quarter of the 145 licenses they reviewed in California shouldn't have been issued. He cited four California licenses that remained valid after the driver's work permit expired — sometimes years after.

Newsom's office said the state followed guidance it received from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security about issuing these licenses to noncitizens.
Copyright 2025 NPR

The longest government shutdown in U.S. history is officially over after President Trump signed a bill passed by Congress on Wednesday night.

The federal government is reopening. But after 43 days on pause, things may not return to business as usual right away. For instance, federal workers are still awaiting backpay and air travel disruptions are expected to linger.

And some impacts could continue much longer than six weeks, whether that's national parks trying to make up for lost visitor revenue or taxpayers waiting longer for refunds from a backlogged Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

There's also the looming threat of another potential shutdown in the not-too-distant future, since this bill only funds the government through Jan. 30.

Here's a look at where things stand for now.

Keep scrolling for updates, and jump by category here:

Federal workers | SNAP | Smithsonian

Federal employees return to work, awaiting back pay 

Roughly 1.4 million federal workers have gone without pay for six weeks. Roughly half of them were required to keep working without paychecks, while hundreds of thousands of others were furloughed.

Russ Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, told agency heads to direct furloughed employees to return to work Thursday.

"Agencies should take all necessary steps to ensure that offices reopen in a prompt and orderly manner" on Thursday, Vought wrote in a Wednesday memo .

The timing of backpay is a different question.

After the government shutdown ending in January 2019 — then the longest in history — Congress passed a law ensuring back pay for federal workers "at the earliest date possible after the lapse in appropriations ends, regardless of scheduled pay dates."

But Trump appeared to suggest otherwise in public comments last month, leaving many feds worried.

The bill that Congress passed to end the shutdown guarantees back pay. It also reverses several agencies' attempted staffing reductions during the shutdown, which were paused by a federal judge , and prevents additional layoffs of federal employees through January.

Shaun Southworth, a federal employment attorney, said in an Instagram video that the timing of backpay will vary by agency based on their payroll providers, but most employees should start seeing deposits within days.

"Many employees historically saw deposits within the first business days after reopening," he says of the last shutdown. "A minority may roll to the next cycle if the system needs extra processing."

SNAP is back 

The bill Congress passed to reopen the government funds the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) through September 2026.

The program, which some 42 million Americans rely on for food assistance, has been the subject of much uncertainty — and an escalating legal battle — in recent weeks. The Trump administration said last month that it would suspend SNAP funding in November due to the shutdown, prompting a wide outcry and a series of legal challenges.

While the administration initially said it would comply with two rulings requiring it to provide at least partial funding for SNAP in November, it balked — and ultimately appealed to the Supreme Court — after one of those judges said it must fund the program fully for the month. The Supreme Court paused that order (and extended that pause again on Tuesday, with the end of the shutdown in sight).

At this point, beneficiaries in some states have gotten their full monthly allocations, while others have gotten partial payments or nothing at all. Reopening the government means restarting SNAP, but it's not clear how quickly full payments will resume, since that varies by state. And, as NPR has reported , many who rely on the program are worried that benefits could be cut again.

Smithsonian institutions will reopen on a rolling basis

The Smithsonian, which encompasses 21 museums and the National Zoo, says its reopening will be gradual.

Its website says the National Museum of American History, as well as the National Air and Space Museum and its Virginia annex, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, will open their doors on Friday.

All other museums and the zoo — including its beloved live animal cams — will reopen to the public "on a rolling basis" by Monday.

This is a live story that will be updated throughout the day as we learn more.

Copyright 2025 NPR

Though there's a myriad of fun things scheduled for the weekend, double-check all listings, as the oncoming storm may see some events canceled or postponed.

At least indoors, there are some really special music events this weekend, too. Miguel is playing a set at The Broad on Saturday afternoon, and Patti Smith is rocking through her landmark album Horses on its 50th anniversary at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Plus, Tyler, the Creator’s sold-out Camp Flog Gnaw is happening all weekend long at Dodger Stadium. Licorice Pizza has even more music listings for you.

Elsewhere on LAist, you can find out how to make a treasure from the Getty your own or grab a ticket to AirTalk’s FilmWeek screening of The Big Lebowski in Gardena.

Events

Saturday, November 15, 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Yaya Bey 
The Airliner 
2419 N. Broadway, Lincoln Heights
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

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Bring a non-perishable food item and your dancing energy for a free hip-hop and R&B DJ set from Yaya Bey, who’s performing an intimate show to support Feed the Streets. Do some good to support those in our community struggling with SNAP benefit cuts and have some fun — a double win.

Friday, November 14, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.  
Innovation Social: Rhythmic Wave I: A Journey to 5054
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion Music Center 
135 N. Grand Ave., Downtown L.A. 
COST: FREE WITH RSVP; MORE INFO 

Dance meets immersive technology meets Afrofuturism in Rhythmic Wave I: A Journey to 5054, a performance from Faith “Aya” Umoh. Umoh, who won last year’s MIT XR Grand Prize, is also a Royal Shakespeare fellow who blends her theater and dance experience with motion capture, ancestral Nigerian dance, and AI. She’ll be performing (for free!) at this latest iteration of the Music Center’s Innovation Social series.

Friday, November 14 to Sunday, November 16
CONGRESS Vol. XII
L.A. Dance Project 
2245 E. Washington Blvd., Downtown L.A. 
COST: FROM $55; MORE INFO  

More dance! CONGRESS invites the audience to participate in a salon-style environment, creating a conversation that bridges genres and builds community through movement. Eight choreographers come together at the event to “create a unique piece showcasing both L.A.'s rising stars and established creative voices.”

November 15 to 23, 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. nightly
Mountains of the Moon 
1600 Lincoln Blvd., Santa Monica
COST: $10; MORE INFO  

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Calling all Deadheads, flower children and tie-dye enthusiasts — and I mean all that in the best possible way. Artist, skier and filmmaker Chris Benchetler is launching Mountains of the Moon, an immersive experience set to the music of the Grateful Dead. The week-long premiere event, in partnership with Arc’teryx, includes the film itself and background on how it was made.

Saturday, November 15, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Grandma’s House 
Hollywood, exact location upon RSVP 
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

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Grandmas are the best. Enter this unique experience — part museum, part culinary adventure, all heart — which takes you into the homes of several real-life and much-admired L.A. grandmas. The team behind the Netflix film Nonnas has created a series of themed rooms curated by the women who share their stories, recipes and keepsakes in this walk-through experience. The grandmothers featured are: Fran Jemmott , co-founder of the California Black Women's Health Project; Odilia Romero , a pivotal figure in advocacy for Indigenous migrant communities; and Pauline Bunt, a doting grandmother of four with Sicilian and Neapolitan Calabrian roots. The experience also includes bites from Komal chef Fatima Juarez, sharing the flavors of her native Mexico City.

Sunday, November 16, 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. 
Venice Open Studios 2025
Multiple locations in Venice 
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

Take a peek inside many of the artist studios in one of the city’s most artsy neighborhoods: Venice. Learn about the beachside community’s art-centric history and visit artist spaces to learn more about the creative processes behind the work of locals like William Attaway (who did the shell mosaics on the Boardwalk) and Alejandro Gehry, and visit local favorite spots like Sunset Avenue gallery Arcane Space.

Saturday, November 15, 8 p.m.  
An Evening With Baratunde Thurston 
Carpenter Center 
6200 E. Atherton Street, Long Beach
COST: FROM $33.75; MORE INFO

Baratunde is coming to Long Beach.

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Comedian and host Baratunde Thurston (The Daily Show, America Outdoors) brings his take on the future, AI and more to the Carpenter Center in Long Beach. It’s part of the venue’s Wit & Wisdom series, and promises to be an evening of laughs and community.

Through January 10, 2026
Opening reception: Saturday, November 15, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Perspective and Plane
Louis Stern Fine Arts 
9002 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood 
COST: FREE; MORE INFO  

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Perspective and Plane is a group exhibition pairing works by Louis Stern Gallery artists with those of artists from a different era, encouraging the viewer to reflect on the relationship between past and present. The show includes paintings, photography and sculptures by artists like Lorser Feitelson, Helen Lundeberg, Karl Benjamin and Alfredo Ramos Martínez, as well as contemporary artists like James Little, Mark Leonard, Mokha Laget and Cecilia Z. Miguez.

Outdoor Pick

Saturday, November 15, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Native Bees with Krystle Hickman
Los Angeles County Arboretum
301 North Baldwin Ave., Arcadia
COST: $20; MORE INFO  

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National Geographic Explorer and community scientist Krystle Hickman leads a conversation about one of our most precious natural resources — bees — at the Arboretum. Her work centers on native bees and the ecosystems they call home.

Viewing Pick

Sunday, November 16, 5 p.m.
Organist Roger Sayer: Interstellar in Concert 
First Congregational Church of Los Angeles 
40 South Commonwealth Ave., Rampart Village
COST: $33.85; MORE INFO

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While this is more of a listening pick than a viewing pick, I hope you’ll forgive the loose interpretation. The magic of the music of Interstellar, Christopher Nolan’s 2015 epic space adventure, was a collaboration between Hans Zimmer and organist Roger Sayer, who is performing pieces from the soundtrack at the First Congregational Church. Those acoustics! Get it! The concert also includes additional space-themed pieces, like the opening theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey and selections from The Planets by Gustav Holst. The concert *does* include a short documentary about the creation of the Interstellar soundtrack, followed by an audience Q&A.

Dine & Drink Deals

Saturday and Sunday, November 15 and 16
Benny Boy Brewing’s 4th Annual Applefest Fall Festival
1821 Daly Street, Downtown L.A.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

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Benny Boy Brewing

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Celebrate all things cider at Benny Boy Brewing’s 4th annual Applefest Fall Festival — including actually crushing the apples. Get hands-on in the harvest and help sort, crush and press apples on Benny Boy’s old-fashioned rack and cloth press to make a community cider. Nearly 500 volunteers have collectively crushed and pressed 3 tons of apples at the annual event!

Saturday, November 15, 11 a.m. 3 p.m.  
Joimo Kombucha 'Sips of Pure Joy' Tasting Event 
1375 E. 15th Street, Arts District
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

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More fermentation is on the menu at Joimo Kombucha. Get a tour of the fermentation room, learn about the brewing process, and try free tastings of the pungent, sparkly, probiotic brew.