The Brief

More than 13,000 years ago, when an abundance of saber-toothed cats roamed the Los Angeles Basin, the giant mammal would hide in tall savanna grasses or behind juniper shrubs and stalk its prey.

“We think they were probably ambush predators,” says Emily Lindsey, associate curator and excavation site director at the La Brea Tar Pits museum and paleontology research site.

When it spotted its target — horses, camels, mammoths or other large animals known as megafauna — it would use its powerful forearms to leap out and pin down its prey.

Then, using its 8-inch-long curved canines — serrated like a steak knife — it would slice through a vein and let the animal bleed out.

“All of that information is based on research here because we have this incredible collection of more than 2,000 saber-toothed cats,” Lindsey says. “It’s really rare that we have the whole record. You don't usually get that in paleontology.”

L.A.'s climate past and future

The La Brea Tar Pits — home to more than 3.5 million Ice Age fossils — is one of the planet’s best-kept records of what it was like in the area we now know as Southern California over the last 60,000 years. It’s also the world’s only active urban fossil dig site.

Fossils found in the asphalt help paint the picture of the life that once flourished here during the Ice Age: saber-tooth cats, giant sloths, dire wolves, grizzly bears, bison as well as juniper and oak trees.

Emily Lindsey, an assistant curator at the LA Brea Tar Pits, places a fossil inside the fossil collection room.

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Zaydee Sanchez

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LAist

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But it's not just telling the story of the region’s past. This collection of Ice Age fossils also helps scientists understand what led to the most massive extinction of megaspecies on Earth since dinosaurs, when droves of large mammals suddenly died as extreme heat, drought and large-scale wildfires overwhelmed the region.

And as we endure another period of significant environmental change, these fossils also offer a window into the future.

“There was this ‘ah ha’ moment for paleontologists,” Lindsey says. “We said: ‘Oh wait, we have a really unique insight on that story because we can actually look at these different windows of different habitats from different times and see how they respond to climate change in real time.”

It’s part of a growing field called paleoecology, which aims to use the knowledge of prehistoric ecosystems that fossils yield to predict how plants and animals will respond to environmental events now and in the future.

“The fact that we have particular species of plants, or insects, or birds, or rodents can tell us a lot about how hot or cold it was, how wet or dry it was, and how that environment changed through time,” Lindsey says.

This link between the end of the Ice Age and the global warming we’re experiencing now is a focus of the ongoing research at the Tar Pits. Particularly, scientists seek to use fossil data to make decisions about how to preserve biodiversity today.

“You can only get that by looking at the fossil record,” Lindsey says.

The tar pits

About 1,000 feet beneath the metropolis of L.A. sits the Salt Lake Oil Field.
(The Los Angeles Basin is the richest in terms of oil by unit volume on earth). That, paired with the abundance of earthquakes in the region, which create cracks and chasms in the earth, paves the way for the tar pits.

Tar pits — sticky, shallow pools of asphalt that seep up through cracks and fissures in the ground — are essentially naturally occurring preservation deposits. The asphalt is so sticky that when animals stepped into it — even enormous ones like the now extinct pre-Columbian mammoth — they got trapped and couldn't get out.

Inside Tar Pit 91, where research is currently being done.

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Zaydee Sanchez

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The result? Meticulously preserved fossils that have been embalmed in asphalt for tens of thousands of years without exposure to air.

“So we get phenomenal preservation not just of bones, but of leaves and wood, insects and shells,” Lindsey says. “That’s what’s allowed us to build up the richest record of Ice Age life anywhere.”

Researchers examine fossils discovered in the tar pits.

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Zaydee Sanchez

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Using the fossil record to inform conservation decisions

Studies from Tar Pits researchers suggest extreme heat, drought and large-scale wildfires might be at the root of the last major extinction event.

Last year, a study published by researchers there found that large-scale wildfires — possibly started by humans — wiped out many of the large Ice Age mammals. The research broke new ground in an ongoing scientific debate over what triggered the Earth’s last major extinction event.

It adds more evidence to the growing understanding that extreme heat, drought and wildfires can drastically change habitats, leading to species extinction.

“This is just one example of how we can use fossil data to inform conservation and land management decisions today,” Lindsey says.

In an ongoing partnership with the Nature Conservancy, La Brea Tar Pits is now developing a practitioner's guide for land managers, mapping out ways to use fossil data in environmental decision making.

“In other words: How do you use historical and paleontological data to help inform conservation and restoration work in urban areas?” Lindsey says. “This will help address that.”

"When planning for these types of projects, The Nature Conservancy sets goals using information from a variety of sources," says Sophie Parker, director of science for climate and land use at The Nature Conservancy. "Knowing what was present at a site at multiple timepoints in the past, including the more distant past, is useful because it gives us a broader perspective on how to craft our goals."

Asphalt can be observed flowing from the gated tar pits, allowing visitors to witness the phenomenon.

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The Tar Pits also dedicates a small section of the park as the “Pleistocene Garden,” which contains plants that grew at La Brea at different times in history found in the fossil record. With plans for a major re-landscaping of the park currently in the works, there is a focus to significantly expand plants in line with the paleontological science on the grounds.

“It’s a way to viscerally communicate that story but also bring back some of those plants and serve as seed banks and help support urban nature,” Lindsey says.

Sharing the climate story

Beyond the rich scientific research backed by tens of thousands of years of fossil data, Lindsey says the most important part of the work they do at this critical environmental moment is public education.

By presenting current climate research alongside Ice Age fossil data, the hope is that it will drive a deeper understanding of our environmental crisis and emphasize a dire conclusion: then, as now, climate changes and human activities can intersect to drive large scale extinctions.

It's all laid out for the public to see in the La Brea Tar Pits museum and across its grounds.

“To have a place in the third biggest city in North America where people can see an entire scientific process," says Lindsey, "that’s another very powerful thing.”

Remains of mammoths can be seen at the La Brea Tar Pits.

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Zaydee Sanchez

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LAist

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There is one notable, but perhaps hopeful, difference between then and now, Lindsey says.

The climate change that occurred at the end of the Ice Age 13,000 years ago was purely related to the earth’s orbital cycles.

Today, it’s 100% us.

“Meaning we completely have the ability to stop it if we want to,” Lindsey says. “It’s just a matter of political and societal will. I hope this helps people understand that small human actions could push the ecosystem to a tipping point.”

L.A. County Office of Education’s letter to Los Angeles Unified School District earlier this month, warning it was at risk of running out of money, has escalated tensions between county overseers and the state’s biggest school district.

LACOE has told the district it must revise its $21 billion budget by mid-August — or risk the appointment of an external advisor with the power to override the LAUSD board and superintendent’s decisions.

The district has already announced the elimination of hundreds of jobs, primarily in its administrative offices, and approved another plan to cut an estimated $3.6 billion over the next three years through furloughs, layoffs and school consolidations.

But LACOE says it wants a more specific plan with more details, and has assigned a fiscal expert to help.

What does it all mean — for teachers, staff and most importantly, the almost 400,000 students in LAUSD schools? We break it down.

What’s in the letter?

The letter outlines a list of why the County has determined the district will become insolvent.

These include:

• Running out of money: The district's own projection has shown that its operating cash will be $231 million in the red by November 2027. “A district that cannot maintain a positive cash balance is unable to meet payroll and other obligations as they come due,” wrote Debra Duardo, the L.A. County superintendent. 

• New labor agreements with teachers, principals, school support staff and other employees: Recently approved contracts, which the unions say are essential to helping employees weather the region’s increasingly high cost of living, will cost an additional $1 billion in the next school year. These increases outpace the state’s  cost of living increases. 
  
• Declining enrollment and attendance: About 40% fewer students attend LAUSD schools than two decades ago, in part because of lower birthrates and families leaving because of the region’s high cost of living. Over time, this can reduce revenue because state funding is calculated based on how many students show up for class each day. 
  
• Leadership stability: The LAUSD Board appointed Andrés Chait, a longtime district administrator, as superintendent in June, just days after his predecessor resigned amid an ongoing federal investigation. ”This transition occurs at the moment the district must execute substantial corrective actions,” Duardo wrote.

It also includes next steps. We’ll discuss those below.

Why did LACOE send the letter July 2?

The letter is part of a process outlined in California law meant to prevent districts from going bankrupt.

Specifically, LACOE is required to intervene anytime it determines the district may be unable to meet its financial obligations in the current or subsequent two years (California requires districts to budget in three-year blocks.)

Has this happened to LAUSD before?

The requirement to issue this letter is fairly new and tied to a 2021 change in state law.

However, LACOE has intervened in LAUSD’s finances in the past. The agency assigned a fiscal expert team to the district from January 2019 to December 2021 after determining the district was at risk of not meeting its financial obligations.

The team helped analyze staffing, enrollment and make adjustments to the budget, according to a statement provided by Elizabeth Graswich, executive director of LACOE’s public affairs and communications department.

How did LAUSD get to this point?

The shortest explanation is that LAUSD is spending more money than it brings in.

The last three budgets relied on billions of dollars in reserves to offset the deficit.

Some of those reserves were built up when the district was receiving federal pandemic relief money and that funding ended in 2024.

LAUSD, like other districts in the state, also faces increased costs on everything from employee salaries and benefits to providing services for students with disabilities and settlements for decades-old sexual assault claims.

The district’s unions, parents, and several board members have also called for increased scrutiny on how much money the district spends on third-party contracts, including with tech companies.

Is LAUSD making cuts? How will they affect students?

LAUSD has already eliminated hundreds of jobs, primarily in its administrative offices, earlier this year.

This summer the board approved another plan to cut an estimated $3.6 billion over the next three years.

That plan includes furlough days for all employees, the elimination of thousands more jobs and cuts to the trust that funds retiree health benefits.

Among the cuts is the elimination of $900 million that helps high-needs schools pay for counselors, tutors and other student supports.

Most of these cuts aren’t scheduled to go into effect until the 2027-28 and 2028-29 school years.

The county said in its letter that the district plan needs to be more specific and include how each proposed change will be implemented, when the change will happen and how the outcomes will be measured.

Has there been any push back to the letter’s findings?

The district did not appeal the letter’s findings to the state, according to a district spokesperson.

However, when LAist asked if the district disputed any of the findings, a spokesperson wrote that the district is quote “continuing conversations” with the County, and that a revision to the budget may not be required.

“We will remain in conversation with LACOE to ensure our financial plan remains responsible, transparent, and aligned with our long-term commitments,” the spokesperson wrote.

The teachers union has said the letter unfairly targets the union’s new contracts.

“To me it feels as though the message is, ‘We warned you not to approve these contracts, and yet you did, and now we're going to overstep,’” said Gloria Martinez, president of United Teachers Los Angeles.

Martinez said the overall problem is that California doesn’t adequately fund public education.

We’re about a month away from the start of the next school year. What happens next?

The county has appointed a fiscal expert to help the district revise its budget by mid-August. Otherwise, the county says this advisor could be given the power to override decisions by the board and superintendent.

What happens if the district runs out of money?

Districts that become insolvent can lose the power to govern themselves in an arrangement called receivership. Instead of the elected school board and appointed superintendent making decisions about everything from curriculum to the budget, that power is transferred to an external administrator.

Receivership is a condition of accepting an emergency loan from the state. Only 10 school districts, out of nearly 1,000 statewide, have entered receivership since 1990, including Inglewood Unified.

The impact on students varies from district to district. The process was designed to protect students from sudden school shutdowns, but it comes at a cost. Districts must pay back the emergency loan and community-members lose the ability to elect or recall decision-makers during the receivership.

Contact your school board member

The LAUSD's Board's next meeting is a closed session scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday, Aug.11.

If you drive too quickly along West Adams Boulevard, west of 9th Avenue, you’ll likely miss the former home of the Mary Clay School, a two-story building that for decades provided innovative daycare and schooling to middle class Black children, starting in 1959.

L.A.’s Cultural Heritage Commission voted on Thursday to ask the L.A. City Council to give the building historical cultural monument status.

“[I] think it’s important to recognize this building… for the stories it tells… what it tells us about the history of Los Angeles,” said commission President Barry Milofsky, just before members unanimously voted to approve the request.

The Mary Clay School opened in L.A.'s West Adams neighborhood in 1959.

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Courtesy LA Office of Historic Resources/Clay family archives

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If approved by the City Council, the designation would protect the 102-year-old building from alterations, new construction, or demolition that would alter or erase elements that are of historic importance and irreplaceable.

The proposal for monument status comes as organizations work to preserve the under-recognized heritage of African Americans in L.A. after decades of demographic shifts in the city that have shrunk the city’s Black population.

Supporting Black families

Mrs. Mary Clay relaxing in her private residence which was upstairs above the Mary Clay School operations, 1961-62.

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Courtesy LA Office of Historic Resources/Clay family archives

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The building is an important site of Black education in L.A., where school founder Mary Elizabeth Smith Clay lived and worked. Clay was a trailblazing educator, civic-minded volunteer, and a nationally recognized expert on children’s education.

According to reports prepared by the cultural heritage commission staff, the school operated from 1959 to 1998 and used innovative methods to help kids with issues such as speech disabilities, while becoming also an important part of the social life of young people in middle-class Black families.

The school's origins

African Americans had moved to Los Angeles in the 40s to fill job openings created by the war effort, including Black women, who entered the workforce in large numbers. Publicly funded and integrated daycare was made widely available to help mothers from all income levels,

The Music Room of Mary Clay School. Children get situated on their cots at the beginning of nap time,1961-1962.

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Courtesy LA Office of Historic Resources/Clay family archives

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In the years after the war, public funding for daycare shifted to low-income families. Quality daycare for middle class Black families became difficult to access due to racism and high costs.

Clay opened a private school in her home to address that gap, and then moved into a bigger house to meet the growing demand. The school employed three teachers and introduced innovations like a psychologist, scientific methods to address speech issues, and foreign languages in kindergarten to third grade.

Mary Clay School annual photograph in 1989. Pre-school students are together with school owner/teacher Elenore “Sue” Clay (left) and teacher Miss Riggs (right).

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Courtesy LA Office of Historic Resources/Clay family archives

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It was also used for fundraisers hosted by Clay for Black-focused and child-oriented causes such as the L.A. chapter of the Links Incorporated, the Anchorettes, Jack and Jill of America, the Pitt-Los Club, and the 12 Big Sisters.

In 1965 Clay was appointed by President Lyndon Johnson to direct the Title Five Project, a program that gave training to people interested in working in childcare. She died in Los Angeles in 1971.

The building's history

Mary Clay was not the building’s original owner. The building was built in 1924 for F. Irwin Herron, whose family rode the waves of wealth created by L.A.’s oil and real estate booms in the early 1900s. Herron helped found what became the Los Angeles Stock Exchange.

He hired Edwin C. Thorne to design the home. Thorne would go on to design public buildings later in the 1920s in Colton and La Puente, as well as private homes.

The owner of the property is listed in commission documents as Andre Gaines, associated with West Adams LLC. The document says the owner does not support the historical monument status. Rafael Fontes, planning associate in L.A.’s Office of Historic Resources said the owner had not permitted staff to see the interior of the building.

A contemporary photo of the former site of the Mary Clay School.

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Courtesy LA Office of Historic Resources

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The designation was begun earlier this year by L.A. Councilmember Heather Hutt, who represents the 10th council district.

Another stretch of scorching summer heat has been baking Southern California this week.

For renters wondering how to stay safe, free cooling kits and heat-safety information will be provided this weekend at a workshop hosted by Strategic Actions for a Just Economy, or SAJE.

The workshop — a collaboration between SAJE, the ARCH Collaborative and Cal State L.A. — will be from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Saturday at 152 W. 32nd St. in Historic South-Central and is free to the public.

What’s provided? 

The 25 kits include a wall thermometer, a cooling neck band and towel, and emergency water tablets, among other products.

Attendees will learn how to use the products and best practices for beating the heat from a group led by Cal State L.A. environmental health science professor Evelyn Alvarez. You’ll also learn how to make your own kit to keep at home as a low-cost cooling strategy.

Why now? 

The National Weather Service issued an extreme heat warning for much of the region that remains in effect through 8 p.m. Thursday. Forecasters also expect humid conditions into next week.

Prolonged heat can increase the risk of dehydration, heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

An estimated one-fifth of Californians lack air conditioning, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

“Renters in the inner city, particularly those experiencing AC insecurity and those who are not able to access cooling centers, may face increased risks of heat-related illnesses like heat exhaustion and heat stroke that can be life-threatening,” Alvarez said.

Last year, L.A. County passed an ordinance that requires landlords with homes in unincorporated areas to keep temperatures at or below 82 degrees. But enforcement won’t begin until 2027 or 2032, depending on how many units the landlord owns.

“A lot of folks don’t have the right to a cool house, so we’re really excited to offer this emergency service to folks,” said Alejandro Campillo, an assistant director at SAJE and another leader of the workshop.

Will there be more workshops? 

Yes — if you can’t make this one, another is scheduled for July 27, when another 25 free cooling kits will be distributed.

To attend, sign up for the July 18 or July 27 workshop here.

In Venice Beach, some are outraged after they say a FIFA Fan Zone misled the public and disrupted their neighborhood.

The fan celebration by the beach took place at a city park and cost anywhere between $15 and $125 a ticket, but organizers had also advertised a block party and free area to go along with it. The license agreement for the event between organizers and the L.A.'s Recreation and Parks Department described an LED screen and two beer gardens that would be available to the public, free of charge.

Instead, no screens were outside the ticketed fan zone, which took place on July 10 and 11. Some were surprised when they showed up to the block party on Windward Avenue and found just a few tents and no way to watch the game besides ducking into a bar.

Alex Kissin, a Venice resident, attended a Rec and Parks meeting Thursday morning to complain that the Fan Zone didn't deliver.

"The park was effectively unavailable to the community for more than a week," said Kissin, who is also a member of the Venice Chamber of Commerce. "The free public, public elements described in the report simply did not materialize."

Event organizer John Cohn told LAist that around 2,500 free tickets were made available for the Fan Zone, but acknowledged that the free viewing party didn't happen.

" This was a spectacular event about which all of us should be proud," said Cohn, CEO of Venice Beach FWC, LLC, the company that put on the event. "Not only did we put a lot of smiles on faces of people all across Venice and Los Angeles, but I think that this gave an opportunity for Venice to put a positive face on the world."

Cohn said that he had to change plans for the free viewing area after LAPD prohibited plans to put up screens showing the matches on the closed-down street, citing concerns about security and crowd control.

" We actually had planned a free block party along Windward," he said. "It had been included in our planning, and LAPD scotched it."

LAPD did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The License Agreement with the city had also included plans for a "free Health and Wellness Fair" in Windward Plaza on July 12, the day after the Fan Zone ended. But that event required a ticket, too, which Cohn said cost between $25 and $90.

Both event organizers and representatives for the Recreation and Parks Department said that there was a last-minute change in who would put on the Fan Zone, which caused a big organizational challenge.

Cohn, who runs Venice Soleil Nails & Spa, said Councilmember Traci Park's office approached him about taking over the fan zone after the original person who won the FIFA bid pulled out just around ten weeks before the World Cup.

Sonya Young Jimenez, a Recreation and Parks Department superintendent, told the Rec and Parks Commissioners Thursday that there would be an after-action meeting to figure out what could have been done differently.

" I know with the Olympics coming, we want to use this as a way to make it better for next time," she said.

LAist reached out to Park, who represents Venice, but her office did not respond in time for publication.

On Instagram, the councilmember posted an article about the Fan Zone with the caption, "Venice Beach just showed the world what’s possible."