The Brief

Rent gobbles up more than 30% of income for most tenants in the city of Los Angeles, putting 59% of L.A. renters in the federal government’s “cost-burdened” category. In a few weeks, many of those tenants could see their rent rise again.

New rent caps are scheduled to take effect next month for apartments covered by L.A. rent control. Increases could be as high as 5% — unless the City Council acts quickly on a pending proposal that would lower rent caps to 2%.

It’s been more than one year since an independent rent control study was submitted to the city, recommending changes that would reduce annual rent hikes. But so far, no council votes have been scheduled.

Tenant advocates say they’re frustrated by the delays on updating a formula that is now more than 40 years old.

“Other things have been prioritized, with the wildfires ... and the budget crisis,” said Pablo Estupiñan, a coordinator with the Keep L.A. Housed coalition. “There's a lack of commitment from council offices on moving forward.”

The report was commissioned by the City Council in 2023. It was submitted to the city in May 2024 by the Economic Roundtable, a local nonprofit research group. LAist made the study public after obtaining it through a public records request.

The 193-page report highlighted provisions in L.A.’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance that have benefited landlords at the expense of tenants. Based on the report’s findings, the L.A. Housing Department issued recommendations that — if passed — would lower allowable rent increases to 2% starting July 1.

A politically charged debate 

A spokesperson for Councilmember Nithya Raman, chair of the council’s Housing Committee, said her office is working to schedule a vote this month on updating the rent control rules. But it’s unclear if the full council can pass an overhaul before council members begin their four-week summer recess on July 2.

Throughout this process, landlords have urged elected leaders to not further limit their ability to offset rising costs of property ownership.

The city "is creating a stifling environment,” said Fred Sutton, spokesperson for the California Apartment Association. “You had a four-year rent freeze. You had eviction moratoriums under COVID... The City Council is continuously sending signals to the entire world that it is not a safe place to do business.”

There were significant challenges for L.A. landlords during the pandemic, according to the Economic Roundtable report. Local restrictions on rent hikes and evictions for non-payment of rent came at a time when building maintenance, utility and insurance costs were rising faster than inflation.

Coupled with broad economic pressures, the city’s policies have convinced some landlords to leave the L.A. rental market. Bruce Painton told LAist that after owning a 33-unit rent-controlled apartment building for 11 years, he recently sold.

“Some months I had no income — it was all expenses,” Painton said of his experience during the pandemic. He said he now plans to buy real estate in Texas.

“They don't have all the fees and problems that we have in Los Angeles,” Painton said.

Will the City Council be able to vote on the new rent control rules before their summer recess begins?

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Makenna Sievertson

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LAist

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Balancing landlord and tenant interests 

The Economic Roundtable report found that many landlords were able to absorb the shock of the pandemic because of turnover rates in rent-controlled apartments. About 40% of units became vacant between 2020 and January 2023. Under the city’s rent control rules, landlords are allowed to raise rents to higher, market rates when new tenants move in.

On the other side of the equation, the report found a significant number of L.A. renters are living on a financial knife’s edge. About 1-in-10 L.A. tenants are spending more than 90% of their income on rent alone.

Council members have been hearing from tenants like Cristina Campos, who told LAist she can’t afford the city’s current annual increases. She and her husband have lived for 23 years in a rent-controlled South L.A. apartment, where they raised two children who are now in college.

Campos said she already struggles to pay rent, and other units in their neighborhood are now renting at cost far out of her family’s reach.

“I always say, I don't want to go live with my neighbors under the bridge,” Campos said, speaking in Spanish. “But I might have to leave the unit if they keep raising the rents so high.”

Cristina Campos has joined organizers with the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment to call for lower rent control caps in L.A.

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David Wagner

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LAist

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Other tenant protections have stalled

The L.A. City Council passed some of the longest-lasting tenant protections in the nation during the COVID-19 pandemic. But recently, votes affecting tenants and landlords have become more politically fraught inside City Hall.

A proposal to temporarily freeze rents and limit evictions after the Palisades and Eaton fires failed after weeks of heated debate in council chambers. Similar protections were instead enacted by the L.A. County Board of Supervisors.

Dan Flaming, co-author of the Economic Roundtable report, said rent control policies are technically complex and politically charged. The issue directly pits the interests of landlords against those of renters, he said.

“It's contentious,” Flaming said. “It’s challenging for the council to parse this and enact changes to the status quo.”

How rent control currently works in L.A.

Rent control in L.A. generally applies to apartments built before October 1978. Those older units make up about 70% of all apartments in the city.

With about 64% of L.A. households renting rather than owning their homes, the city’s rent control policies play a huge role in housing affordability for hundreds of thousands of families.

Existing tenants in rent-controlled units can only have their rent raised by a set percentage each year. The limits change every year, ranging from 3% to 8%, depending on how high inflation is running in the L.A. area.

Landlords who pay for a tenant’s gas and electricity can add another 1% for each utility they cover, bringing L.A.’s maximum allowable rent hike to 10%. That’s much higher than in most other Southern California cities with rent control policies.

By comparison, rent hikes are capped at 3% in Santa Monica and Santa Ana, and up to 5% for certain units in unincorporated L.A. County.

A "For Rent" sign hangs outside an apartment building in northeast Los Angeles.

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David Wagner

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LAist

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Where do council members stand?

LAist contacted all 15 City Council district offices to ask where council members stand on updates to L.A.'s rent control policies. Only three took a firm position.

Spokespeople for Councilmembers Hugo Soto-Martinez and Eunisses Hernandez said they support capping rent hikes at 3%, in line with demands from Keep L.A. Housed.

A spokesperson for Councilmember Bob Blumenfield said he supports the recommendations from the L.A. Housing Department, which call for a new range of 2% to 5%.

Councilmembers Imelda Padilla, John Lee, Ysabel Jurado and Tim McOsker did not take a clear stance on the issue. Neither did Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson or Housing Committee Chair Raman.

A spokesperson for Councilmember Curren Price noted that he recuses himself from votes on the city’s rent control policies because he is a landlord.

The offices of Councilmembers Adrin Nazarian, Katy Yaroslavsky, Monica Rodriguez, Heather Hutt and Traci Park did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Why this matters now

The lack of clarity from city leaders comes just weeks away from new rent caps taking effect, despite acknowledgements from L.A. housing officials that the formula used to determine those limits is out of step with other rent control policies across the state.

Increases of up to 3% are scheduled for July 1, with the utilities bump bringing the maximum rent hike to 5%. That’s slightly down from the 4% to 6% range last year, when inflation was higher.

The authors of the Economic Roundtable study identified L.A.’s 2% utilities surcharge as a policy heavily weighted in favor of landlords. Those extra annual rent increases are higher than the actual increased costs of providing gas and electric service each year, the study found. Over time, the increases can exceed landlords’ total cost of providing those utilities.

Building on the study’s findings, the L.A. Housing Department recommended doing away with the 2% utilities bump. Housing department officials also agreed with the study’s recommendation to base annual rent hikes on a different measure of inflation, one that measures rising consumer costs but excludes shelter from the equation.

The Keep L.A. Housed proposal would further lower annual rent increases. Under the L.A. Housing Department’s recommendations, landlords would get at least a 2% increase each year. But the tenant advocacy group wants to let the city’s allowable increases go as low as 0% in years with flat or negative inflation.

Keep L.A. Housed also wants to end the current 10% bump landlords are allowed to charge when tenants bring additional residents into their household. The Housing Department did not recommend eliminating the increase for additional occupants.

Tenant advocates and some city councilmembers rallied outside L.A. City Hall last year to call for lower increases in rent-controlled housing.

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David Wagner

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LAist

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Under proposals from both the L.A. Housing Department and Keep L.A. Housed, allowable rent increases would be 2% starting on July 1. If the council fails to act, rents will be allowed to rise between 3% and 5%.

Christina Boyar, an attorney with Public Counsel and a member of Keep L.A. Housed, said minor policy tweaks can greatly affect housing stability. Rent increases of an extra 1% or 2% each year compound over time, and can quickly outpace inflation and wage gains for many tenants.

“While it may seem like a small difference,” Boyar said, “that is hundreds of dollars for working families who are already struggling.”

Boyar pointed to a 2020 study from the U.S. Government Accountability Office that found a $100 increase in median rents is associated with a 9% increase in homelessness.

This weekend's Long Beach Pride Festival was canceled by the city on Friday — hours before kickoff. The city said festival organizers failed to provide the required safety documentation.

The Pride Parade, managed and funded by the city, will continue as scheduled on Sunday at 10 a.m.

The parade will start at Ocean Boulevard and Lindero Avenue and travel along the Ocean Boulevard coastline to Alamitos Avenue in Downtown Long Beach.

Roads will close and parking will be restricted starting hours before the parade. Streets are expected to reopen by 2 p.m.

No parking on these streets

Between 4 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Sunday parking won’t be allowed on:

• Ocean Boulevard from Redondo to Atlantic Avenues
• The immediate side streets on the north and south sides of Ocean Boulevard from Redondo to Atlantic Avenues

And these streets will be closed

The following streets will be closed to traffic during their designated times:

• 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. — Ocean Boulevard between Redondo and Lindero, including side streets on the north and south side of Ocean Boulevard
• 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. — Shoreline Drive between Ocean Boulevard and Shoreline Village Drive
• 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. — Ocean Boulevard between Lindero and Atlantic, including all side streets on the north and south side of Ocean Boulevard
• 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. — Alamitos Avenue between Ocean Boulevard and Broadway

Where you can park

Long Beach Pride says that parking will be available at the Long Beach Convention Center at 400 E. Seaside Way. Accessible parking and viewing will be available at Junipero and First Street, near Bixby Park.

Ride the Metro

Take the LA Metro A Line and exit 1st Street Station in Downtown Long Beach. After you exit, it's roughly a 10-minute walk down Ocean Boulevard to the parade festivities at Marina Green Park.

Editor's note: This story includes descriptions of allegations of sexual assault and rape.

Harvey Weinstein's latest sex crimes trial ended with a hung jury Friday, on the third day of deliberations.

It was the second time in a year a jury was unable to reach a verdict on the same charge.

Accusations against the former Hollywood mogul came to define the #MeToo movement, and he was first convicted of assaulting Jessica Mann in 2020. The former aspiring actress testified Weinstein raped her at a DoubleTree hotel in Manhattan in 2013. But that verdict, along with another charge, was later overturned.

In a second New York trial last summer, Weinstein was found guilty on one count of a criminal sexual act in the first degree and not guilty on another. But a third charge, of raping Mann, ended in a mistrial after the jury foreperson declined to return to deliberations, citing concerns for his safety.

Weinstein had returned to court for a third New York trial in April, this one focusing on Mann's allegations. But on Friday morning, Judge Curtis Farber received a note from jurors stating they were unable to reach a unanimous decision. Farber then read jurors a modified deadlock charge, known as an Allen charge, urging them to resume deliberations.

Jurors soon responded with another note restating their position. "We feel that no one is going to change where they stand," it said. Nine jurors fell on the side of not guilty; three supported a guilty verdict, Weinstein's lawyers told press outside of the courtroom.

The prosecution has until late June to decide whether they'll try the case again.

Outside of court, 55-year-old juror Rick Treese said that the group diverged on "where we actually had facts." He told reporters, "We didn't have enough facts to grasp onto, so it was emotion." People in the group "had varying emotions about it based on [their] experience in life."

"Everybody respected each other. Everybody respected their backgrounds. It was very civil. I feel certain that we dug into it enough."

Another juror, Josh Hadar, said his vote was for "not guilty," in part because he felt there might be parts of Mann's testimony that were "fabricated."

"I think the prevailing thought was that the witness had a lot of inconsistencies in her story," he said.

The mistrial concludes a month-long trial that was quieter than Weinstein's previous court appearances, with a diminished media presence and less public attention. Earlier this year, Weinstein hired a new legal team, including high-profile criminal defense attorneys such as Marc Agnifilo, known for representing Luigi Mangione and Sean "Diddy" Combs.

Defense attorneys argued that Mann and the then-married Weinstein had a consensual, on-again, off-again relationship over many years. But Mann testified that on that 2013 morning at the DoubleTree hotel, Weinstein "command[ed]" her to undress and penetrated her despite Mann repeatedly saying "no." Weinstein has denied all allegations of sexual assault.

Now 74, Weinstein has been incarcerated since 2020. In 2022, he was convicted of rape and sexual assault in a separate case in California and sentenced to 16 years in prison. He is appealing that verdict.

Agnifilo said outside court on Friday, "It's our job not just to win this case. There is an entire legal knot that needs to be untangled. And we're going to start untangling that knot strand by strand with the New York case and then the California case. So this really is just a first step." He said that this latest mistrial might not be "the win [Weinstein] wanted, but it's a win."

A statement from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said prosecutors were "disappointed that the proceedings ended in a mistrial" and would consider next steps in consultation with Mann.

"For nearly a decade, Jessica Mann has fought for justice. Over the course of many weeks during three separate trials, she relived unthinkably painful experiences in front of complete strangers," the statement said. "Her perseverance and bravery are inspiring to the members of my office, and more importantly, to survivors everywhere."

Weinstein's lawyers have said that he is in poor health. He used a wheelchair in court and did not testify on the stand in this trial, nor during any of his previous criminal cases. At one point during jury deliberations, Judge Farber announced Weinstein could not appear in court due to complaints of "chest pains."

Weinstein has given a limited number of interviews from prison, including with far-right podcaster Candace Owens and the Daily Mail. Most recently, he spoke with The Hollywood Reporter from Rikers Island.

When asked whether he had apologized to any of the women who brought charges against him, Weinstein told The Hollywood Reporter, "I apologized to them generally. You can't call them when you're in a trial with them. But I'll say it here today: I apologize to those women. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been with them in the first place. I misled them."

Citing his health issues, including bone marrow cancer, Weinstein said, "I'm dying here. And the DA's idea is probably to have me dying in prison. But I am dying."

More than 30 teams will take their handmade cars through a custom downhill course of twisty turns and obstacles Saturday as the Red Bull Soapbox Race returns to Los Angeles for the first time in nearly a decade.

Teams from across the country were selected from hundreds of applicants to compete on creativity, design, showmanship, course navigation and time.

There are no engines allowed in this race — all soapboxes must be gravity-powered.

Fully-functioning brakes and steering are required, but almost every other aspect of the engineering and design is left up to the competitors’ imaginations. According to Red Bull, the soapbox should be an extension of its team, the wilder and more outrageous the better.

From real racers to a car made out of bicycle parts

Contestants take on the course at the Red Bull Soapbox Race in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2025.

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Long Nguyen

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Courtesy Red Bull

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The race includes competitors from across Southern California and beyond.

UCLA Bruin Racing, made up of the school’s Formula SAE Squad (which also design and race specialized cars), entered with its “Mk. 9 racer” soapbox that was originally an out of commission EV car.

Metro LA repurposed parts from some of the unclaimed bikes left behind on the transit system for its “carrot-colored” bus design (and yes, that is the agency’s nod to Tyler, the Creator’s song "Rah Tah Tah." IYKYK).

The Seagrave 13 team from Las Vegas is dedicating their soapbox to Pasadena first responders who battled last year’s Eaton Fire. They’re planning to donate the car to the L.A. County Fire Museum after the race.

Built on a patio

One of the homegrown teams trying their luck this year is made up of a group of renters and friends in Santa Monica and Victorville who built their “Runaway Hotdog Stand” soapbox on an apartment patio.

“The fact that we're able to do this shows that I mean anybody could do this, and honestly could do anything else,” Carlos Monson, captain of the Speedy Wiener team, told LAist.

The Speedy Wiener team drew their design inspiration from L.A.’s iconic hot dog carts, typically a small grill that serves bacon and veggie toppings outside concerts, sporting events and tourist attractions.

The Speedy Wiener team modeled their soapbox after L.A.'s iconic hotdog carts.

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Courtesy Carlos Monson

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“For us, luckily, a majority of them are Latino and we're like, you know what, this is actually a perfect opportunity because the whole team is Latino,” said Monson, who will also be driving the soapbox.

The group of friends, between 18 and 21 years of age, built most of their cherry-red car on Monson’s apartment patio under Victorville’s glaring sun.

The Speedy Wiener repurposed the base of an old, rickety go-kart frame for their "Runaway Hotdog Stand" soapbox.

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Courtesy Carlos Monson

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They repurposed the base using an old, rickety go-kart frame that Monson said took about an hour just to carry up the stairs and get through the front door.

They worked on the soapbox in between classes and shifts at work. The final touches include stamping their Speedy Wiener logo and adding a mock-menu to the frame. There’s also ketchup and mustard bottles with yellow and red streamers hanging from the nozzles and a rainbow umbrella over the wheel.

The team, made up of renters between 18 and 21 years old, built most of the soapbox on their captain's apartment patio in Victorville.

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Courtesy Carlos Monson

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For the car’s structure, Monson turned to a collection of cardboard boxes he had lying around after a recent move and attached the various pieces with zip ties.

“We'll be able to hopefully last when they make it down the race track,” he said.

Engineering students’ big break

Another entrant on Saturday is the Los Ingenieros, a group of mechanical engineering students from Cerritos College in Norwalk, who has taken inspiration from the team’s Hispanic heritage and Los Angeles culture.

Their car is lucha libre-themed with rails modeled after a wrestling ring and the driver donning a muscle suit and mask.

The red, white and green colors represent the Mexican flag and features Chicano-style pinstriping from L.A.’s lowriders, as well as some Aztec patterns.

The Los Ingenieros team is made up of a group of mechanical engineering students from Cerritos College.

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Courtesy Ruben Orozco

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“It's definitely going to be a powerful testimony to our culture,” said Ruben Orozco, a Los Ingenieros member from La Mirada.

The team never expected to be picked for the race, and Orozco said the invitation has been “mind-blowing” and “surreal.”

Arelie Marquez, another member from Long Beach, told LAist she sketched the design for the modified go-kart frame before the team chopped the wheels, boosted the back axle and added suspension. While some of the students drew up blueprints on engineering computer software, Marquez used her welding experience to help mount the brackets — all in Orozco’s backyard.

As a community college student, Orozco said he’s felt like he’s missed out on opportunities to showcase their knowledge and innovations compared to students in the Cal State or UC system, but the Red Bull Soapbox Race has helped shed that notion.

“Not only has it been reassuring to myself, but also we've used it as a platform to kind of show others in STEM, in community colleges, that you could do crazy things as a student,” he said.

And yes, the team is already highlighting the unique engineering experience on their resumes, according to Gabriel Ramirez, a Compton resident and another member along with his twin brother, Hector.

Their next challenge? Cramming for finals next week.

The Surfrider Foundation is hosting a protest in the Pacific Ocean on Sunday to oppose what it sees as mounting threats to our California coastline.

In 2015, a pipeline operated by Plains All American spilled more than 100,000 gallons of crude oil near Refugio State Beach in Santa Barbara County. Hundreds of marine mammals were killed or injured and beaches across the region were contaminated.

Bill Hickman, a senior regional manager with the Surfrider Foundation, remembers it well.

“I live in Ventura. We had a bottlenose dolphin wash up here that was covered in oil,” Hickman told LAist. “That was really sad to see. And there was oil on the beach all the way down to L.A.”

The spill also “shut down fisheries, closed multiple beaches, and impacted recreational uses such as camping, non-commercial fishing, and beach visits,” according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

In March, the Trump administration invoked the Defense Production Act to bring that same pipeline, now run by Texas-based Sable Offshore, back online. The company says that the system will produce tens of thousands of barrels of oil a day, as well as “provide a secure, consistent source of domestic crude oil, replacing approximately 1 million barrels per month of imports.”

But Hickman and other environmental advocates say restarting the pipeline raises serious concerns. California sued the Trump administration in March to keep it shut.

The restart, along with the Trump administration’s push to open the California coast up to new oil and gas drilling for the first time in decades, has Hickman sounding the alarm.

“Right now it seems like if you’re not outraged you’re not paying attention,” Hickman said. “And luckily a lot of people are really fired up about all of the threats to the environment and particularly the Santa Barbara channel.”

Oil spills like the one in 2015 could also deeply affect tourism, the fishing industry and lead to billions in cleanup costs, according to Gov, Gavin Newsom’s office. In a January 2026 statement opposing the Trump administration’s new offshore drilling plans, the governor’s office said the state's coastal economy “supports hundreds of thousands of jobs and generates over $44 billion annually.”

On Sunday morning, Hickman will be part of a spiritual ritual in surf culture: a paddle-out into the ocean at Refugio State Beach.

He said anyone with a human-powered craft is welcome to join the circle to oppose drilling on our coasts.

“People are standing up. There’s a lot of opposition,” Hickman said. “Californians really treasure our coast, our beaches, our waves and really want to protect them.”