The Brief

Los Angeles County public health officials agreed this week to settle a lawsuit that alleged government officials had systemically failed to protect renters dealing with toxic ash in the wake of the Eaton Fire.

As part of the settlement, the county will require landlords to carry out professional inspections and cleaning of rental housing units in Altadena, which from now on county officials will presume were impacted by the fire.

In a written statement to LAist, officials with the L.A. County Department of Public Health said: “The presumption that these properties were affected by the fire and require remediation will protect the health of the residents.”

During the fire that ignited in January, smoke residue from thousands of destroyed homes in Altadena was spewed into nearby apartments. The ash — which contained remnants of lead paint, plastic products and electric car batteries — was identified as toxic by public health officials.

But renters said when they contacted the county for help getting their homes cleaned, they were left to fend for themselves. Many reported that their landlords refused to deal with the ash, and the county initially would not order property owners to carry out inspections or professional cleaning.

Lena Silver, an attorney with Neighborhood Legal Services of L.A. County who represented the tenants who filed the lawsuit, said the settlement establishes clear responsibilities for the county to address tenants’ lingering health concerns from the fire.

“Nobody should live in a house covered in this toxic smoke, soot and ash,” Silver said. “I think we landed, finally, in the right place. So hopefully, nothing like this ever happens again.”

How to get help under the new settlement terms

Renters who live downwind of the Eaton Fire burn zone can ask for more information or file a complaint at this Department of Public Health website.

If tenants file a complaint by Dec. 31, an inspector from the recently established Rental Housing Habitability Program for unincorporated areas of L.A. County will be sent to their unit. That inspector also will contact the landlord and order them to pay for professional testing and, if needed, professional cleaning to bring the unit back up to the county’s habitability standards.

Landlords who fail to comply with these orders could face fines and other administrative punishments.

Lawsuit cites LAist reporting on lack of cleanup

The lawsuit was filed by renters with the Altadena Tenants Union, a group that sprung up in the aftermath of the Eaton Fire to advocate for tenant rights in the recovery process. The complaint they filed against the county cited LAist’s previous reporting on public officials’ lack of enforcement around smoke damage claims in rental housing.

Leora Mosman, an organizer with the Altadena Tenants Union, moved out of her smoke-damaged rental home after other units in her complex burned down. She said she was forced to move to Glendale because no one would remediate the ash quickly.

Now, more than eight months after the fire, Mosman said she is not sure she’ll ever return to her former unit in Altadena. But she hopes the settlement will help displaced tenants after future fires — as well as those renters who had no financial choice but to return to ash-filled homes.

“For me personally, this might be coming too late,” Mosman said. “But I do hope that for my neighbors and for other Altadena tenants, it will help their situations.”

The settlement also requires the county to conduct an outreach campaign to educate affected tenants about their rights, using physical mail, social media, library postings and collaboration with community groups.

The city of Pasadena is facing a separate lawsuit over similar issues. Tenants and city officials in that case have not reached a settlement.

Olympics organizers have released a first look at plans for a celebration of arts and culture across Los Angeles during the summer of 2028.

Known as the "Cultural Olympiad," the programming will include a poster series by local artists, film screenings across the city and a calendar of events, including live performances and art installations at different institutions. The city of L.A. will also put on its own events, including culture festivals in each council district, in the lead up to the Games.

Arts programming is a long Olympic tradition — starting in 1912 as artistic competitions and eventually evolving into festivals.

When Los Angeles last hosted the Olympics in 1984, the city hosted a weeks-long spectacle that included more than 400 performances and launched with the unveiling of a sculpture by artist Robert Graham topped with two statues depicting the naked female and male form, each without a head. The statues still stand at the entrance to the Coliseum today.

A closeup of the statues by artist Robert Graham atop the Olympic Gateway Arch at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

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David Madison

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The 1984 festival is credited with transforming the city's arts scene. After the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion put on opera productions in the summer of 1984, local patrons launched L.A. Opera, which had its first season in 1986.

“That moment — when this city chose to present itself to the world not only through sport but through the full force of its artistic imagination — gave rise to an institution that has, for four decades, reflected the scale, diversity and ambition of Los Angeles itself," Christopher Koelsch, president of L.A. Opera said in a statement provided by LA28.

L.A.'s artistic contributions in 1984 in turn transformed the Olympics. John Williams composed the "Olympic Fanfare" for the Opening Ceremony, which is still associated with the Games today.

The legacy of 1984 means expectations for the 2028 Olympiad are high — but most details on what's in store are still to come. Some in Los Angeles have criticized LA28, saying that planning is lagging.

Another big question is funding. The city of L.A.'s initial plan for cultural programming estimates a budget of $15 million, which would cover local festivals in each council district. But the city also painted a vision for what it could do with $45 million in funding, including a seven-week arts festival across the city.

Documents from the city's Department of Cultural Affairs says full funding will depend on external partnerships, including LA28. LA28 told LAist that the Cultural Olympiad will be funded through private fundraising but didn't provide further details.

The first event associated with the Olympiad will launch in July 2027, when winners of the local artist poster contest are announced.

Some Los Angeles County residents are worried about how surveillance data is being used and stored as the Sheriff’s Department tries to address fears about cooperation with civil immigration enforcement.

The department has 480 high-speed cameras that can be used to track vehicles and their activity around the region, according to officials.

The L.A. County Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission held a virtual forum Wednesday focused on surveillance technologies in the county, specifically around the department's use of Automated License Plate Readers, otherwise known as ALPRs.

The public was invited to share their concerns about unchecked use of the technology and ask experts questions about how the data is collected and shared.

A vast majority of the attendees — 91% — reported that they or someone they know has changed behavior or plans due to concerns about ICE or immigration enforcement. Most attendees said their top concern was who the surveillance data is shared with, and about a third said they were most concerned with how the information is being used.

Hans Johnson, chair of the commission, said there is a sense of a new, chilling reality taking hold in immigrant communities.

“ The fear that everyday activities like traveling to work, taking children to school, seeking medical care or gathering in public spaces could expose people to tracking, data sharing and hunting that threatens their safety and constitutional freedoms,” Johnson said during the forum.

Sheriff officials said it’s difficult to engage with county communities if they believe the department is involved in civil immigration enforcement.

Ernest Bille, a department commander, said officials need to ease those fears so people feel comfortable connecting with local law enforcement, including for Amber Alerts or reporting a crime, so that the Sheriff’s Department can more effectively serve L.A. County.

Sheriff cameras in the county

The Sheriff’s Department only contracts with Motorola Vigilant for its Automated License Plate Readers, Bille said. The cameras can capture license plate numbers, dates, times and geographic locations, as well as images of the vehicle and license plate.

“ It is important to note that our current ALPR system does not capture any personal identifying information whatsoever, and it is stored in the database for authorized law enforcement use,” he said.

Of the 480 Motorola Vigilant cameras operated by the Sheriff’s Department around the county, 42 are mobile, meaning they’re attached to the top of a patrol car while roaming the region. The more than 430 others are fixed, powered and solar cameras.

Bille added that there may still be Flock cameras in L.A. County, specifically from cities that’ve contracted directly with the controversial surveillance company.

In South Pasadena, for example, the city council recently moved to not renew a contract with Flock Safety following public outcry after reports that some local law enforcement agencies in Southern California illegally shared license plate reader data with federal immigration agents.

Flock did install cameras in burn areas after last year’s Eaton Fire to deter crime and looting, especially in Altadena, Bille said. He added that L.A. County contracted with Flock and made the cameras available to the department, but they’re currently deactivated.

When asked, Bille said he didn’t know how long the cameras have been out of commission in those areas.

How are they used?

The data collected from the department’s cameras can be used in a number of ways, including criminal investigations and recovering stolen vehicles. According to officials, they’ve been used successfully to locate missing people and for life-saving efforts.

Bille said the data is mostly used as an investigatory lead, and it’s not standalone evidence. If an investigator wants to get a license plate from the system, for example, they would have to have a legitimate law enforcement purpose for doing so.

“ It cannot be used for personal or non-work-related purposes, and it absolutely cannot be used for civil immigration enforcement,” he said.

The data is stored for two years in most cases, which was revised down from the department’s five-year policy.

After two years, the records are archived. After five years, the data is permanently deleted.

But there are some exceptions, including ongoing investigations, prosecutions or legal proceedings like appeals.

How is the data shared?

The Sheriff’s Department doesn’t share data from Automated License Plate Readers with any federal agencies, officials said.

The data can only be shared with other public agencies under an inter-agency agreement that includes compliance with privacy protections and applicable laws.

“ We have no inter-agency agreement with any federal agencies,” Bille said. Officials later noted that federal agencies do not qualify as a public entity for this purpose under California law.

The data cannot be sold or used for commercial, personal and non-work related purposes. It cannot be shared for civil immigration enforcement unless required by law or under a judicial warrant, according to officials.

How to get involved

There are internal audits of the sheriff’s Automated License Plate Reader system at least once a year, according to the department.

Semi-annual reports of the system will also be provided to the Office of Inspector General, the Civilian Oversight Commission and the L.A. County Board of Supervisors. Another report will be published on the department’s public transparency page.

Dara Williams, chief deputy of the county’s Office of the Inspector General, said the department wants to engage with the people they serve and have residents feel comfortable coming forward to report crimes.

“ It’s important to them to be sure that their policies don't overly share with the federal government because the Sheriff's Department does not like the consequences of what oversharing with the federal government would bring to them,” Williams said.

The commission is encouraging the public to join its upcoming monthly meetings to share thoughts on department policies and procedures:

• 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 21
  
  • St. Anne's Conference Center, 155 N. Occidental Blvd., Los Angeles
    
    • Register for webinar here
    • Sign up for emailed agendas here

When I went to the Natural Products Expo West earlier this year, a conference that highlights innovations in food and drink, I learned two things. One is that I could get my 10,000 steps by walking the Anaheim Convention Center. And two, that tea is really popular right now. As I walked around, I was given dozens of samples for teas from various flavors and brands, many of which were unknown to me.

Later, when I got home, I realized I had far more tea than I could drink. I have a pet peeve about waste, so I went to the one person I knew who could help……my mother, Jacqueline Richie.

Ryan's mom, Jacqueline Ritchie.

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Courtesy Ryan Ritchie

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My mom drinks multiple cups of tea a day, and has a wooden sign in the dining room that reads “A cup of tea and all is fine.”

While I have a background as a a food writer, I’m not a massive tea drinker, so I figured getting her perspective would help. It would also give me a good reason to spend quality time with my mother and get to know her better, perhaps through a different lens.

So we set up multiple afternoons and evenings to get through them all.

Ryan Ritchie on his tea drinking journey with his mother

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Courtesy Ryan Ritchie

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For the first session, I brought three teas for us to try: Lord Bergamot Full Leaf Black Tea by Steven Smith Teamaker, Moroccan Mint by Numi and Sapphire Bay by Bigelow.

First the bergamot tea. “This one is really good,” she said. "It has bergamot oil from Italy, not like some cheapo off brand. The bergamot is not overpowering. Some cheap teas hit you like 'ooh.'”

Next was the Moroccan mint. “It’s, uh, minty,” my mother said, “and I’m tasting the cinnamon and vanilla. Cinnamon can be overpowering, but this one is a faint, light taste. It lingers at the bottom of the cup as the water decreases. They did a good job of blending. A perfect combination.”

Two thoughts occurred: One, my mother knows way more about tea than I imagined. Two, she seems to have a strong palate, a term I’d never think to use when describing her. Most of the meals we had growing up were store-bought items she could heat up in the oven.

We ended our session with the Sapphire Bay tea. It was, unexpectedly, a majestic purple-blue, apparently from butterfly pea flower. My mom, a black tea lover, surprised herself — and me — by liking it.

The blue-purple hue of Bigelow's Sapphire Bay is only slightly stronger than the tea's floral taste.

Her adventurous palate was news to me. Could there be more adventure to a woman who wears holiday-themed sweaters?

For the next session, we started with Dandelion Masala by Yaygit. “I have no idea what dandelion tastes like,” she said, warily.

Apparently the dandelion root was blended with cardamom, cinnamon, ginger and clove as "an ode to chai," as it says on the website. Her verdict after she sipped it? She approved of its "earthy, sweet taste. This is a nice afternoon or after-dinner tea as a palate cleanser.”

“Palate cleanser?” "Earthy"? I’d never heard my mother use those terms. She described another tea we had later as “robust” and “malty.” Had my mom been the Anthony Bourdain of tea for decades and I was just now realizing it?

What I don’t know about my mother could fill volumes of encyclopedias. But, to be fair, I’ve never inquired about things like her first boyfriend or why her bathrooms don’t have hand towels. Perhaps I don’t want to know the answers to these questions. Perhaps I’ve always assumed my mom doesn’t have an adventurous side, that she’s happy baking desserts for my dad and reading on the couch.

But now she’s drinking dandelion tea like a pro.

We ramped up the new discoveries next time with Magiktea’s Palo Azul. What is Palo Azul exactly? I didn't know, and I eat nutritional yeast with my salads. Neither did my mom.

Turns out it is, according to a Google search, a medicinal shrub found in the Southwestern United States and Mexico.

And the tea it makes is also blue (clearly a color of the moment), but with a florescent sheen. It came not as a packet of tea leaves, but as two wooden sticks she poured hot water over.

“It looks like wood pulp,” she said. “All I can say is it’s interesting. I guess the more you drink it the more you’d get used to it. The first sip was not what I expected — not that that's bad. Maybe we should have used alkaline water as they recommend on the packet?”

I would have bet good money that my mother would have hated any tea that looked like wood pulp, but I was wrong. What else had I been wrong about?

Another session, we wanted to end with a nightcap and turned to Pure Chamomile from Twinings.

“It’s chamomile, alright,” she said. “It’s soothing and good if you’re sick or want to take a two hour nap and forget about everything. I prefer my chamomile mixed with something else. It’s not like I hate it, but it’s not my cup of tea.”

Hmmm. What is “everything” my mom wants to forget, exactly? She’s a retiree who gardens, practices yoga and enjoys time with her two grandchildren. Also, her use of “It’s not my cup of tea?” My mom is Anthony Bourdain and Jerry Seinfeld.

23 cups of tea later, (ginger, Lady Grey, wild berries to name a few) over a few sessions, we finally finished our tea time with mother sessions. And it did, in fact, bring us closer together. We don’t normally schedule much time to see each other… but she texted me a few days later with another idea.

“When is our next tea time?😀Maybe next time we can sample chocolates! 🍫I'll do the eating. You do the writing! 😂”

It sounded great, but I had to remind her I had two housesitting gigs that would keep me busy for three weeks.

“Okay,” her text read. “So you're gone until the 16th? I'm going to miss my tea buddy.🙉.”

Me too, mom. Me too.

The California State University Board of Trustees voted on Wednesday to approve three new bachelor’s degree types, including one for people interested in becoming teachers.

The new degree types could be achieved with fewer credits than what’s typically required for Bachelor of Science and Arts degrees. They were designed to be flexible for adults, people returning to higher education and those who have a job while in school.

It’s the first time in 30 years that the university system is introducing new bachelor’s degrees.

At a committee meeting earlier in the week, Associate Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Nathan Evans said the new degree types aren’t meant to replace traditional bachelor's degrees.

“They will provide more options for more nimble innovative program designs for a broader set of new learners,” Evans said during a presentation at the May 5 committee meeting.

Evans cited lowering rates of high school graduation in California, more competition and changing technology, including AI, as challenges facing higher education.

“Additional undergraduate degree frameworks … can better align with particular career goals, reduce the time required for students to earn a degree or … to offer more immediate access to economic and social mobility,” he said.

The degree types

One of the new degree types is a Bachelor of Education. CSU campuses could design programs through the degree to “complement other pathways to the teaching and education profession,” according to a CSU news release. California has had persistent issues with teacher staffing, a result of teacher turnover and the expense of getting certification, among other issues.

Another one of the new degree types is a Bachelor of Professional Studies, which would include courses of study that are interdisciplinary and focused on management, communication and leadership. CSU said in its news release that this degree type is flexible and would allow people to “integrate prior college coursework, professional certifications, military training and work experience.”

In board documents about the new degree types, CSU officials said universities across the country offer such programs, including Syracuse University. The private university in central New York offers several programs ranging from cybersecurity to project management as a Bachelor of Professional Studies.

The Bachelor of Applied Studies is focused on “students with backgrounds in applied, technical or vocational fields.” Programs offered through this degree type at other universities in the country cited by CSU, like the University of Pennsylvania, include data analytics, communication and physical and life sciences.

When do these new programs start?

CSU campuses are not required to offer programs through the new degree types; the new policy instead allows each individual campus to “begin to envision and design” such programs, the university system said in a statement. Those that choose to do so have flexibility in determining the number of credits required to achieve the degree.