The Brief

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass has made speeding up the development of new affordable housing a centerpiece of both her successful campaign and her time in office.

During her first week on the job, Bass signed an executive order streamlining the approval of new affordable housing. Executive Directive One, or ED1, represents her biggest step toward making good on those promises. And exempting new affordable housing from lengthy environmental reviews has been a key pillar of ED1.

Now, about a year after her swearing in, LAist has found that city officials have quietly started accepting environmental challenges from groups opposed to new apartments.

One developer aiming to construct a four-story apartment building for low and moderate-income renters in the Westside neighborhood of Sawtelle was assured in writing by the L.A. Planning Department in mid-December that their project was exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Two weeks later, the same department accepted a CEQA appeal from opponents of the development.

Steven Scheibe — co-founder of Generation Real Estate Partners, the company behind the development — said the city signing off on a CEQA challenge was “highly unexpected.”

“It's pretty frustrating,” he said. “It has obviously delayed the start of construction, which we were expecting to do in the middle of February. We're unlikely to be able to start at that time period.”

Scheibe and his partners submitted the project through ED1, which promises to speed up the construction of 100% affordable housing projects by approving applications within 60 days, and issuing building permits within five days.

Exempting projects from CEQA allows developers to avoid lengthy environmental impact studies that can delay new housing construction, often for a year or more. So far, the city has fast-tracked dozens of projects under ED1 that bypass CEQA.

The Planning Department’s guidelines continue to say that ED1 projects are “exempt” from environmental review. A letter of compliance Scheibe received on Dec. 12 explicitly says his project “is statutorily exempt” from CEQA. Scheibe was surprised to see the city sign off on a CEQA appeal on Dec. 27, because he was counting on ED1’s guarantees.

Standing in a dirt parcel where two single-family homes were recently torn down to make way for the 44-unit project, Scheibe said, “We would not have acquired this lot if it wasn't for ED1.”

So far, affordable housing plans have nearly doubled

L.A. housing advocates have generally cheered ED1, saying it has convinced many private developers to build affordable housing without taxpayer funding.

The planning department reported in late November that in ED1’s first year, the program had received proposals for more than 9,000 units of new affordable housing, almost double the amount proposed the previous year.

But some housing advocates now worry that the Sawtelle project’s appeal could open the floodgates for all ED1 projects to be delayed.

“I think it was a bad decision. I think the city should have not accepted the appeal,” said Scott Epstein, the policy director for the pro-housing group Abundant Housing L.A. “This appeal directly attacks ED1 and its legitimacy.”

A street sign designating this neighborhood as “Sawtelle Japantown” hangs above a busy intersection on L.A.’s Westside.

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In response to questions from LAist, the mayor’s office said they’re currently working with the city attorney on how to handle the appeal moving forward.

“CEQA should not be used as a strategy to block affordable housing projects from moving forward,” said Clara Karger, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office, via email. She said ED1 “cuts through red tape and breaks down bureaucratic barriers.”

Could environmental appeals derail new low-income housing?

If time-consuming CEQA appeals are allowed to move forward, L.A. could struggle to meet obligations under state law to plan for nearly 185,000 new low-income homes by 2029.

City planning officials also recently accepted a CEQA appeal for an ED1 project in the San Fernando Valley’s Sherman Oaks neighborhood. Land use attorney Dave Rand, who represents the developers behind the project, described the appeal as a “Hail Mary” attempt by opponents.

Rand believes city officials’ hands were tied by opponents’ interpretation of state law, essentially forcing them to accept the CEQA appeals. But he expects the city to bat down the challenges.

“Even though this is an annoyance and a slight hiccup in the process, this by no means undercut the substantial benefit of ED1,” Rand said.

It’s unclear what happens next for the projects facing CEQA challenges. Typically, these appeals go to the city council, where public commenters will have a chance to express opposition or support for new housing projects. Affordable housing developers expected their ED1 projects to proceed without contentious public hearings and council votes.

“All of this is very new for both us and for the city,” said Scheibe. “We're unsure as to what it means. But we do know that we're going to be delayed.”

Why opponents are fighting new housing on L.A.’s Westside

State lawmakers passed the California Environmental Quality Act in 1970, and it was signed into law by Gov. Ronald Reagan. The law requires studies and disclosures of possible environmental harms from various development projects.

A fierce debate has raged over the years about CEQA’s role in slow-rolling, and even killing, new housing. Local governments exempt many projects from CEQA. The California Legislative Analyst’s Office has concluded that CEQA is often used to delay or scale down housing projects, and can result in years of review for projects in the state’s largest cities.

A “now leasing” sign advertises apartments for rent in L.A.’s Sawtelle neighborhood.

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Opponents of the Sawtelle project have raised some familiar objections to new housing, including concerns about street parking. Located about a mile from two Metro stops on the Gold Line, the project includes no on-site parking.

Other complaints have centered on perceived impacts to nearby property values and neighborhood crime levels. Manhattan Beach resident Allen Pachtman owns an apartment building next to the proposed 44-unit building. He helped organize the CEQA appeal filed by a group calling itself Missouri Avenue Neighbors.

“I can just picture somewhere down the line that it's going to end up being a high-crime neighborhood,” Pachtman said. “People will be leaving, and it'll just ratchet downwards.”

Pachtman, a doctor, said he’s relying on the apartment building on Missouri Avenue to help fund his retirement. But he worries new low-income apartments next door will harm that investment.

“It’s going to degrade the value of my building,” Pachtman said. “I don't know if that's environmental enough. I don’t know that you're going to be able to measure, like, air pollution is any worse. But the quality of life is certainly going to decline.”

Such concerns about the impact of low-income housing on neighborhoods have been studied, with academic researchers finding that these projects do not hurt nearby property values and do not increase crime. When LAist asked Pachtman by phone to elaborate on his concerns about increased crime, he hung up and ended the interview.

One-bedroom apartments near UCLA for under $1,900

The proposed Sawtelle project consists mainly of one-bedroom apartments. Most of the units will be restricted to tenants in the city who qualify as low-income (the cut-off is currently $70,640 for a one-person household).

The project also includes a few studios and two-bedroom apartments. Some units will be reserved for moderate-income tenants (those earning up to $82,500 for a one-person household).

If the apartments were being rented today, most one-bedroom units in the building would rent for no more than $1,892 per month.

“If you go two blocks over, you're looking at $3,000 rents for a one-bedroom,” said Scheibe. “We saw this as a really good opportunity to provide affordable housing that is at a major discount.”

Unlike other ED1 projects in areas such as South L.A., where existing renters are now facing relocation, no tenants were displaced for this project. Scheibe said many of the prospective tenants will likely be students and staff commuting to the nearby UCLA campus without a car.

Should ED1 projects be stopped in cultural districts?

Some opponents of the Sawtelle project have argued the entire neighborhood should be off-limits to ED1 projects. They’ve said it’s unfair that Bass banned ED1 projects in single-family neighborhoods, while allowing developments in designated ethnic enclaves such as Sawtelle’s Japantown.

“What we foresee is that this will be of catastrophic effect to us,” said Cesar Aranguri during a recent planning and land use committee meeting of the West Los Angeles Sawtelle Neighborhood Council. “It’s striking right at our core in terms of our culture and our history.”

A hand-written sign calls on residents to help “save Sawtelle” by weighing in on plans for a new affordable housing project in the neighborhood.

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Aranguri presented a plan calling on Bass to exclude all named cultural districts from ED1, just as she did back in June for single-family neighborhoods. California housing advocates have already sued over the city’s decision to halt projects in single-family zones, which make up 74% of the city’s residential land.

Scheibe says affordable housing benefits communities. In Sawtelle, he says new low-income housing could provide a place for aging Japanese American residents to live.

“A lot of seniors who want to stay in their neighborhood feel like they're being priced out,” he said. “This would provide an opportunity for them.”

Where lawmakers stand on the appeals

The district’s council member, Traci Park, said she has not yet taken a position on whether the CEQA appeal should move forward.

“I was surprised that it had been accepted,” Park told LAist. “Now that it’s there, and the question exists, it's going to have to be answered. I don't know that there is any kind of process to roll back the appeal.”

Kristina Kropp, the attorney helping opponents of the Sawtelle and Sherman Oaks projects pursue the CEQA appeals, declined to comment for this story.

Councilmember Nithya Raman, who represents Sherman Oaks, has supported the ED1 project in that neighborhood. The full council is currently considering a plan to transform ED1 from a mayoral directive into a permanent ordinance.

What happens next?

Meanwhile, L.A. faces a lawsuit aiming to overturn ED1 in its entirety. The Westside nonprofit Fix The City, which frequently sues the city over land use issues, filed the complaint in December, claiming ED1 “eliminates public hearings, due process and the right of appeal.”

The developers behind the Sawtelle project have sent the city a letter demanding a dismissal of the CEQA appeal. They said if the city fails to overturn the challenge within 90 days, it will be in violation of the state’s Housing Accountability Act.

The legal sparring is playing out against the backdrop of a worsening housing crisis. Most L.A. County tenants pay more than 30% of their income on rent according to the U.S. Census Bureau, a level deemed unaffordable by federal government standards. The number of people experiencing homelessness in the city of L.A. increased 10% last year to 46,260.

Scott Epstein with Abundant Housing L.A. said environmental challenges, which he sees as often abuses of CEQA’s original intent, are slowing down much-needed new housing.

“We need to shift our attitude away from the notion that housing is an impact, and toward the notion that housing is a benefit,” Epstein said.

DUARTE, Calif. — Veteran actor T.K. Carter, who appeared in the horror film "The Thing" and "Punky Brewster" on television, has died at the age of 69.

Carter was declared dead Friday evening after deputies responded to a call regarding an unresponsive male in Duarte, California, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Police did not disclose a cause of death or other details, but said no foul play was suspected.

Thomas Kent "T.K." Carter was born Dec. 18, 1956, in New York City and was raised in Southern California.

He began his career in stand-up comedy and with acting roles. Carter had been acting for years before a breakthrough role as Nauls the cook in John Carpenter's 1982 horror classic, "The Thing." He also had a recurring role in the 1980s sitcom "Punky Brewster."

Other big-screen roles include "Runaway Train" in 1985, "Ski Patrol" in 1990 and "Space Jam" in 1996.

"T.K. Carter was a consummate professional and a genuine soul whose talent transcended genres," his publicist, Tony Freeman, said in a statement. "He brought laughter, truth, and humanity to every role he touched. His legacy will continue to inspire generations of artists and fans alike."

Copyright 2026 NPR

Downtown Los Angeles

A person in an inflatable frog suit holds a sign during a protest in Los Angeles, California on January 10, 2026 against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis.

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A woman holds incense during a protest in Los Angeles, California on January 10, 2026 against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis.

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A person holds up a sign during a protest in Los Angeles, California on January 10, 2026 against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis. (Photo by ETIENNE LAURENT / AFP via Getty Images)

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A person holds up a sign during a protest in Los Angeles, California on January 10, 2026 against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis.

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A tourist bus drives past as people protest in front of the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), in Los Angeles, California on January 10, 2026 against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis.

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Pasadena

Alison Brett (far right) of La Crescenta at the Ice Out For Good protest in Pasadena on Jan. 10, 2026.

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Casey Law of South Pasadena at Ice Out For Good protest in Pasadena on Jan. 10.

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People have been taking to the streets nationwide this weekend to protest the Trump administration's immigration enforcement tactics following the death of Renee Good in Minneapolis, a 37-year-old woman who was shot and killed by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer this week.

At least 1,000 events across the U.S. were planned for Saturday and Sunday, according to Indivisible, a progressive grassroots coalition of activists helping coordinate the movement it calls "ICE Out For Good Weekend of Action."

Leah Greenberg, a co-executive director of Indivisible, said people are coming together to "grieve, honor those we've lost, and demand accountability from a system that has operated with impunity for far too long."

"Renee Nicole Good was a wife, a mother of three, and a member of her community. She, and the dozens of other sons, daughters, friends, siblings, parents, and community members who have been killed by ICE, should be alive today," Greenberg said in a statement on Friday. "ICE's violence is not a statistic, it has names, families, and futures attached to it, and we refuse to look away or stay silent."

Large crowds of demonstrators carried signs and shouted "ICE out now!" as protests continued across Minneapolis on Saturday. One of those protestors, Cameron Kritikos, told NPR that he is worried that the presence of more ICE agents in the city could lead to more violence or another death.

"If more ICE officers are deployed to the streets, especially a place here where there's very clear public opposition to the terrorizing of our neighborhoods, I'm nervous that there's going to be more violence," the 31-year grocery store worker said. "I'm nervous that there are going to be more clashes with law enforcement officials, and at the end of the day I think that's not what anyone wants."

Demonstrators in Minneapolis on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026.

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The night before, hundreds of city and state police officers responded to a "noise protest" in downtown Minneapolis. An estimated 1,000 people gathered Friday night, according to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara, and 29 people were arrested.

People demonstrated outside of hotels where ICE agents were believed to be staying. They chanted, played drums and banged pots. O'Hara said that a group of people split from the main protest and began damaging hotel windows. One police officer was injured from a chunk of ice that was hurled at officers, he added.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey condemned the acts of violence but praised what he said was the "vast majority" of protesters who remained peaceful, during a morning news conference.

"To anyone who causes property damage or puts others in danger: you will be arrested. We are standing up to Donald Trump's chaos not with our own brand of chaos, but with care and unity," Frey wrote on social media.

Commenting on the protests, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told NPR in a statement, "the First Amendment protects speech and peaceful assembly — not rioting, assault and destruction," adding, "DHS is taking measures to uphold the rule of law and protect public safety and our officers."

Good was fatally shot the day after DHS launched a large-scale immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota set to deploy 2,000 immigration officers to the state.

In Philadelphia, police estimated about 500 demonstrators "were cooperative and peaceful" at a march that began Saturday morning at City Hall, Philadelphia Police Department spokesperson Tanya Little told NPR in a statement. And no arrests were made.

In Portland, Ore., demonstrators rallied and lined the streets outside of a hospital on Saturday afternoon, where immigration enforcement agents bring detainees who are injured during an arrest, reported Oregon Public Broadcasting.

A man and woman were shot and injured by U.S. Border Patrol agents on Thursday in the city. DHS said the shooting happened during a targeted vehicle stop and identified the driver as Luis David Nino-Moncada, and the passenger as Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras, both from Venezuela. As was the case in their assertion about Good's fatal shooting, Homeland Security officials claimed the federal agent acted in self-defense after Nino-Moncada and Zambrano-Contreras "weaponized their vehicle."
Copyright 2026 NPR

Bob Weir, the guitarist and songwriter who was a founding member of the popular and massively influential American rock band the Grateful Dead, has died. According to a statement from his family posted on his website and social media pages, Weir died from underlying lung issues after recently beating cancer. He was 78.

A member of the Dead for its first three decades, and a keeper of the flame of the band's legacy for three more, Weir helped to write a new chapter of American popular music that influenced countless other musicians and brought together an enormous and loyal audience. The Grateful Dead's touring, bootlegging and merchandising set an example that helped initiate the jam-band scene. Its concerts created a community that brought together generations of followers.

Known to fans as "Bobby," he was born in San Francisco as Robert Hall Parber, but was given up for adoption and raised by Frederick and Eleanor Weir. In 1964, when he was still a teenager, Weir joined guitarist Jerry Garcia in a folk music band, Mother Mcree's Uptown Jug Band. In May of 1965 Weir and Garcia were joined by bassist Phil Lesh, keyboard player Ron "Pigpen" McKernan and drummer Bill Kreutzmann to form an electric, blues-based rock and roll band that was briefly named The Warlocks. After discovering that there was another band using that name, Jerry Garcia found a phrase that caught his eye in a dictionary and in December of that year they became the Grateful Dead, launching a 30-year run over which time they grew into a cultural institution.

Weir was a singular rhythm guitarist who rarely played solos, choosing instead to create his own particular style of chording and strumming that gracefully supported Garcia's distinctive guitar explorations especially during the extended jams which were the heart of the band's popularity.

Lyrics were largely a product of a communal effort between Weir and Garcia, as well as lyricists John Perry Barlow, Robert Hunter, that often blurred the lines between who wrote what. The opening lines to "Cassidy," which first appeared on Weir's 1972 solo album Ace and was played by the Dead on live recordings including the 1981 double album Reckoning, reflect the combination of metaphor, rhyme and storytelling set to memorable melodies that the band's audiences could memorize, analyze and sing along to:

I have seen where the wolf has slept by the silver stream
I can tell by the mark he left you were in his dream
Ah, child of countless trees
Ah, child of boundless seas
What you are, what you're meant to be
Speaks his name, though you were born to me
Born to me, Cassidy

Weir's emotive singing, on "Cassidy" and other songs like "Sugar Magnolia," "One More Saturday Night" and the band's unofficial theme, "Truckin', " often included whoops and yells, in contrast to Garcia's calm and steady approach. His occasional tendency to forget lyrics was usually greeted by thunderous applause from fans.

After Garcia's death in 1995, at age 53, the surviving members of the band carried on in various forms and arrangements, the longest running of which was Weir's Dead & Company, which also featured Grateful Dead drummers Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart. Weir and the band concluded their "final tour" in July of 2023, but then returned to the stage for two extended residencies at the Sphere in Las Vegas, in 2024 and 2025.

A self-described "compulsive music maker," in 2018 Weir formed yet another band to mine the depths of the Grateful Dead catalog. It was a stripped-down guitar, acoustic bass and drums outfit that he called Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros. Its members included renowned bassist and producer Don Was.In October of 2022, Weir & Wolf Bros worked with a classical music arranger to present yet another iteration of the Dead's catalog, notable for never being played the same way twice, with a group that largely only plays what's written on the paper in front of them, the 80-piece National Symphony Orchestra.

In a 2022 interview with NPR, Weir explained the reason for that collaboration, and in doing so, seemed to offer a possible explanation for why the band's music stayed so popular for so long: "These songs are … living critters and they're visitors from another world — another dimension or whatever you want to call it — that come through the artists to visit this world, have a look around, tell their stories. I don't know exactly how that works, but I do know that it's real."

After Jerry Garcia's death in 1995, Weir kept the legacy of the Grateful Dead alive, touring with bands that came to include generations of musicians influenced by the group. Here, Weir performs with The Dead at Madison Square Garden in New York City in 2009.

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Weir's work to shepherd and sustain the Dead's legacy was rewarded by ever younger generations of Deadheads, the band's loyal following, who attended tour after tour, often following the band from city to city as their parents and grandparents did during in the 1960's, '70s, '80s and '90s.

In an interview with Rolling Stone in March 2025, Weir shared his thoughts on his legacy, as well as on death and dying, that had a hint of the Eastern philosophies that were popular when the Grateful Dead emerged from the peace and love hippie movement of San Francisco. "I'll say this: I look forward to dying. I tend to think of death as a reward for a life well-lived," he said.

Copyright 2026 NPR