The Brief

Los Angeles police defended the use of chemical agents against people protesting the federal immigration crackdown last year, the first time police had used the hazardous munitions since the 1970s. 

Department administrators claimed at Tuesday’s Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners meeting that the chemical agents were needed to control crowds and could be used again during major events in the future, such as the Super Bowl and the 2028 Olympics.

What LAPD said happened

Lt. Joseph Franzen and Commander Mario Mota discussed the use of tear gas, rubber bullets and other projectiles referenced in a 60-page LAPD report on the 2025 protests.

The report analyzed demonstrations, including ones at federal buildings in downtown L.A., between June 6 and June 17, 2025, which the department estimated peaked at about 20,000 participants. 

Franzen, one of the report's authors, said it was intended to be a reflection on the department’s actions for future reference. The report does not detail injuries to members of the public and journalists, and does not include statements from them about what they experienced. 

Commission President Rasha Gerges Shields asked the department to provide more information at a future meeting about injuries to members of the public and the amount and type of force used.

While the department said the chemical agents were needed to disperse crowds, their use has been the subject of ongoing debate. In January, a federal judge ordered the Police Department to stop using certain crowd-control weapons that posed risks to the public.

Shields said that order should have been included in the report.

Franzen and Mota said officers used chemical agents on June 8 and June 14, respectively, in response to large crowds that had grown unruly. They reported that officers had various items thrown at them.

Police Chief Jim McDonnell told the commissioners that most of the crowd exercised its First Amendment rights, but that a small portion of the crowd was “exceptionally violent.” He said he had never experienced that level of violence at a public gathering in his decades of police service.

Questions raised about the report

Several people at the Police Commission meeting contested the department’s account, saying chemical agents were used on journalists and members of the public they said were protesting peacefully or doing their jobs — with little warning.

The League of Women Voters of Greater Los Angeles wrote a letter in advance of the meeting, disagreeing with the characterization of the protests as "riots" in the report and urged better word choice.

“‘Rioting’ connotes serious violence,” wrote Carolina Goodman on behalf of the organization.

During her first meeting as a police commissioner, Heather Aubry asked Mota to clarify that whatever violence did occur was not sanctioned by the organizers of the various protests that took place over the study period.

L.A. resident Kayla Esmond joined a preplanned march that included children, seniors and disabled people hoping to protest federal immigration enforcement. She told the commissioners that people in the large crowd began yelling that police were preparing to use tear gas.

“There was no dispersal order,” Esmond told The LA Local. “Someone yelled that there were children present. They fired the canisters without any response or warning that we could hear.”

Mayor Karen Bass eventually issued a curfew for downtown L.A. on June 10. Franzen and Mota reported that 435 people were arrested during the protests. Of those, 344 were arrested on suspicion of unlawful assembly. It’s unclear how many were charged with a crime. 

The department paid about $17.4 million for personnel during the protests, with about $12.2 million going toward overtime.

The LAPD’s actions during the federal immigration operations last year have been widely cited as a source of confusion for city residents who remain uncertain about what police were responsible for during the operations. 

The American Civil Liberties Union and other advocacy groups previously reported to the commission about a federal raid at a garment warehouse last June where LAPD set a perimeter for federal agents while they detained workers there. During the presentation, the groups advised that police make it clear to the community in the future what they are there to do.

People echoed during public comment that the same confusion persists in the protest report, which describes the immigration raids and the public response to them as a “complex challenge” for local police.

“The Department’s role was limited to providing public safety support when demonstrations escalated into violence or when federal personnel were at risk of being overwhelmed,” it reads.

For months, immigration advocates and other elected leaders called on McDonnell and Bass to provide more clarity on LAPD’s role in federal immigration sweeps. In February, Bass issued an executive directive explicitly limiting LAPD’s role during these operations and calling for greater transparency about the department's interactions with federal agents. 

LA Documenter Martin Romero contributed to this piece from the LAPD Board of Police Commission meeting. LA Documenters trains and pays LA residents to take notes at local government meetings around Los Angeles. You can find meeting notes and audio at losangeles.documenters.org

Lawmakers and the governor on Monday failed to extend a state grant program that helped schools upgrade their air conditioner systems, a decision that will allow utilities that funded the program to claw back funds for their ratepayers.

The California Schools Healthy Air, Plumbing and Efficiency program — CalSHAPE for short — set aside nearly $1 billion in utility funds to help schools assess and upgrade aging HVAC and plumbing systems. But the California Energy Commission abruptly closed applications in 2024, leaving $191 million unused — money that must now be returned to utilities by law.

After last-minute negotiations, lawmakers passed a budget trailer bill giving schools that had already received funding an additional three years to finish projects before the state claws back the money. But they dropped a separate measure that would have reopened applications for schools to make upgrades because it did not have support from Gov. Gavin Newsom, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.

“I don't understand why [Newsom] doesn't have the backs of everyday people in California, and why he doesn't think that children deserve a safe place to learn with air conditioning,” said Leah Stokes, a political science associate professor at UC Santa Barbara who has advocated for the program. “This is all on him.”

Diana Crofts-Pelayo, a spokesperson for the governor, declined to comment on the matter.

‘A disillusioning conclusion’ 

School administrators have praised CalSHAPE, saying the program offered schools the chance to improve class environments for students.

The program helped more than 4,500 schools assess the status of their HVAC systems. Of those, 172 schools made significant upgrades with program funds.

But the program’s future has been in question since 2024, when the California Energy Commission abruptly stopped accepting applications. Much of the controversy centered on whether ratepayers should be responsible for funding a school grant program.

Consumer advocates said the program doesn’t directly benefit ratepayers, while school advocates questioned why the state would pull back money already designated for schools.

In its June 2024 notice pausing the program, the commission cited budget constraints. Later that year, the governor signed an executive order directing the commission to examine ratepayer-supported programs “whose funding might more appropriately come from a source other than ratepayers.”

In a letter opposing the budget measure to extend CalSHAPE, San Diego Gas & Electric Senior Vice President Mitch Mitchell said its customers contributed about $189.6 million to the program.

The company stands to get back $100 million — the most of any participating utility — which would amount to about $24 per customer, divided into $2 monthly payments over a year, according to a legislative analysis. Utility officials said they are committed to returning all unspent funds to customers through bill relief.

“Policymakers cannot credibly elevate affordability while simultaneously redirecting unused customer dollars away from bill relief,” Mitchell said in the letter. “If affordability is truly a legislative priority, then these funds should be returned to customers as intended under existing law.”

School advocates questioned whether returning the money would make any meaningful impact for ratepayers. SoCal Edison ratepayers would receive $1.25 per month for a year and Pacific Gas & Electric customers would receive 20 cents per month for a year, according to the legislative analysis.

Meanwhile, the CalSHAPE-funded assessments revealed HVAC systems in California schools are aging and in disrepair.

“Extending CalSHAPE deadlines so existing funds could go to repair or replace broken school HVAC systems should have been an easy win,” said JuNelle Harris, founder of Clean Air Allies, a nonprofit that advocates for healthy air in schools. “Instead, this campaign has been a multiyear saga that’s come to a disillusioning conclusion.”

Schools cope with heat 

The most recent heat wave left classrooms sweltering as many students returned for their first weeks back to school. School districts throughout the state reported having to adjust school times or cancel classes altogether.

In Los Angeles, where students endured temperatures above 90 degrees for 12 consecutive days, the Los Angeles Unified School District limited outdoor time for some students. The district received $27 million to assess their air conditioning systems from CalSHAPE but no funds for upgrades.

In San Diego, average temperatures stayed in the mid to high 80s, far above the average for the coastal city. The Coronado Unified School District shut down classes for all students.

Cody Petterson, a trustee on the board of the San Diego Unified School District, said he’s disappointed the governor would rather see CalSHAPE funds returned to ratepayers, when there is so much need for air conditioning in schools. He also criticized the CalSHAPE process, saying it limited schools from completing projects on time and disincentivized applications.

“No child should be in a classroom that is overheating because they cannot learn, they cannot achieve, they cannot grow,” he said. Petterson added that he’d prefer the state fund HVAC upgrades as categorical investments, rather than through a grant program.

San Diego Unified received $12 million to assess school air conditioning systems, but no funds to upgrade them.

Advocates said they were confused about the governor’s lack of support, but will continue to advocate for school HVAC investments from the state.

“It’s deeply disappointing that lawmakers, starting and ending with the Governor, have chosen to treat our children’s and teachers’ interests as secondary to those of big utility companies,” Harris said. “As our outdoor environment is transformed by more extreme weather events and wildfires, safe classrooms where children can learn and grow have never been more important.”

Stokes said Newsom “sat on it as an executive for years,” while disadvantaged communities went without air conditioning. “Why would he do that? Seems very Trumpian to me.”

California schools won’t be able to access more funds for upgrades, but hundreds of schools could have more time to complete projects in the works. According to the energy commission, 216 out of 719 school districts that were awarded a grant have pending projects.

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

The largest cyclospora food poisoning outbreak in U.S. history is over, U.S. health officials said Friday.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials said they are confident that all recalled iceberg lettuce related to this specific outbreak is off the market.

Nearly 13,000 reported cyclospora cases were tied to the multistate outbreak, federal officials say. They represent the bulk of an unprecedented surge in the parasitic diarrheal illness this year.

Even with the outbreak deemed over, several questions remain, including about its origin. The parasite is spread through human feces, and it still isn’t clear how sewage could have contaminated enough food to sicken so many people.

“This contamination can happen if produce is grown in soil or comes into contact with water that has been contaminated,” said Ellen Shumaker, director of outreach for a North Carolina State University food safety program, Safe Plates.

Since May 1, the government has received reports of nearly 20,000 lab-confirmed cases, or more than 16 times the number reported during the same period last year. More than 6,100 suspected cases also have been reported.

The worst previous year in the U.S. for infections was 2019, when about 4,700 illnesses were reported nationally.

This year’s surge in cases was dominated by an outbreak in 21 states linked to iceberg lettuce. But there are thousands of other cases that have not been linked to that outbreak.

Michigan was the hardest hit state, with the most reported cases and the two U.S. deaths tied to the outbreak.

Cyclospora is a microscopic, spherical parasite that commonly causes watery diarrhea “with frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements,” according to the CDC. Outbreaks tend to occur most often in the late spring and summer.

The illness, called cyclosporiasis, is less common than foodborne illnesses caused by other germs, including salmonella and E. coli. Many cases are never linked to a specific food or other source.

In this outbreak, investigators initially zeroed in on lettuce served at Taco Bell. Federal officials subsequently focused on Taylor Farms as the source of the lettuce, and the company recalled iceberg lettuce grown in central Mexico.

The Taylor Farms recall involved thousands of packaged salad products combining iceberg lettuce with other vegetables. The products were shipped to major U.S. restaurant chains, including Yum Brands, which owns Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC.

The FDA has ended its on-site inspections and sample collection at iceberg lettuce growers and the processing facility in Mexico, the agency said Friday. Samples from the on-site inspections are pending analysis, the FDA said.

The outbreak cast a spotlight on a worsening problem: U.S. regulators are conducting fewer international inspections to catch contaminated produce before it lands on American plates.

The Associated Press’ health and science coverage receives financial support from the AP Fund for Journalism and private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

For 16 years, Carlos Ortez, 64, has opened the doors of his restaurant, Un Solo Sol, near Mariachi Plaza, eager to share the philosophy behind his plant-based dishes and the importance of nourishing the body through holistic food. 

It’s what he’ll miss the most when the restaurant closes on Sept. 28, Ortez said. 

“This decision was not made lightly,” Ortez wrote in an Instagram post announcing the restaurant’s closure. “Rising operational costs, inflation, and the broader challenges facing the restaurant industry have made sustaining a small footprint increasingly difficult.”

The announcement comes after years of declining sales and mounting economic crises that have driven customers away, including the COVID-19 pandemic, immigration raids, and recently, the Lineage warehouse fire. 

The restaurant stopped making a profit in 2022, and ever since, Ortez has been using personal funds to sustain it, he said. 

“We’re closing the front door right now so that I can think,” Ortez said. “How am I going to fit a small restaurant with these ideals … in Los Angeles, in Boyle Heights, in the world?”  

Carlos Ortez, 64, owner of Un Solo Sol, stands in front of the restaurant on Sept. 10 in Boyle Heights.

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Laura Anaya-Morga

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Boyle Heights Beat

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Un Solo Sol’s origin 

Ortez, a career engineer-turned-business owner, launched Un Solo Sol in 2005 with his ex-wife as a food-service provider for charter schools. In 2010, Ortez opened the brick-and-mortar across the street from Mariachi Plaza, serving primarily vegan and vegetarian dishes before becoming fully vegan in 2022. 

The menu features Latin-American staples like pupusas from Ortez’s native El Salvador, pozole and enchiladas, as well as cuisine from cultures around the world.  

The yellow and green storefront near the corner of Boyle Avenue and 1st Street has become part of the fabric of the 1st Street business corridor. In neighborhoods like Boyle Heights, losing a small business disrupts “the cohesiveness of the community,” Ortez said. 

On social media, customers grieved the loss of one of the only vegan restaurants on the Eastside.  

“Thank you for the many years of delicious meals made with love,” one user commented. 

“Carlos you poured your heart out for the Vegan community and Boyle Heights,” another wrote. 

What’s next

While the restaurant will close its doors, Ortez said his work isn’t over. He plans to stay in the community and take time to consider how his naturopathic, whole-foods-oriented restaurant concept can continue in a different form.

“The plan is to reemerge,” Ortez said. “It’s not that I don’t have the capacity to let go, it’s that I’m still alive.” 

Want to visit?

The restaurant will close on Sept. 28. Until then, hours are Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 12 to 3 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 12 to 3 p.m. and 5 to 8 p.m The restaurant closes Tuesdays and Wednesdays. 

Un Solo Sol is located at 1818 E. 1st St.