A Flock license plate reader near one of the entrances to L.A. State Historic Park.
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Lexis-Olivier Ray
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L.A. TACO.
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Topline:
Flock Safety cameras, installed at L.A. State Historic Park in late 2024, are drawing privacy concerns. Critics argue that Flock’s license plate readers constitute unwarranted mass surveillance.
About Flock cameras: The cameras are license plate readers made by Flock Safety, a controversial private surveillance company that works with thousands of police departments and cities in the United States. Flock’s products—which range from automatic license plate readers (ALRPs) to more traditional cameras that can track people in real time—are marketed as AI solutions to help communities reduce crime. Research, however, shows that Flock Safety’s technology isn’t as effective at reducing crime as the technology company claims.
Why it matters: In recent months, amidst ongoing federal immigration raids, police across the country have faced increased pushback from members of the public who fear that federal authorities will get their hands on Flock data collected by local law enforcement agencies. Law enforcement agencies in Southern California—including the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and sheriff’s departments in San Diego and Orange County—searched license plate readers for ICE and Customs and Border Protection (Border Patrol) over 100 times, CalMatters reported.
As cars pull in and out of the parking lot at L.A. State Historic Park in Chinatown, two nondescript-looking black cameras powered by solar panels quietly keep an eye on every vehicle entering or leaving the property.
The cameras are license plate readers made by Flock Safety, a controversial private surveillance company that works with thousands of police departments and cities in the United States.
Flock’s products — which range from automatic license plate readers (ALRPs) to more traditional cameras that can track people in real time — are marketed as AI solutions to help communities reduce crime.
Research, however, shows that Flock Safety’s technology isn’t as effective at reducing crime as the technology company claims. And critics argue that Flock’s license plate readers constitute unwarranted mass surveillance.
“The problem with mass surveillance is that it always expands beyond the uses for which it is initially justified—and sure enough, Flock’s system is undergoing insidious expansion across multiple dimensions,” wrote Jay Stanley, Senior Policy Analyst for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
The cameras in L.A. State Historic Park were installed in late 2024, a spokesperson for California State Parks confirmed.
In recent months, amidst ongoing federal immigration raids, police across the country have faced increased pushback from members of the public who fear that federal authorities will get their hands on Flock data collected by local law enforcement agencies.
Last year, 404 Media reported that, although ICE does not have a contract with Flock Safety, researchers found that federal immigration authorities can access Flock’s license plate data by making requests to local law enforcement.
When reached for comment, a park official initially declined to answer basic questions about the Flock cameras.
“This is a public records request that needs to be requested through our legal office in Sacramento,” Public Safety Superintendent Captain Jeff Langley claimed when asked for the date the cameras were installed and for what purpose.
Langley also declined to confirm which law enforcement agencies have access to the license plate readers.
After multiple follow-up emails, Marty Greenstein, Director of Communications for California State Parks, told L.A. TACO in a written statement that the cameras were installed in late 2024, “to deter theft and vandalism, provide useful information for investigating incidents at the park, and provide important notices such as Amber Alert identification.”
Greenstein confirmed that park officials share data from the Flock cameras with “local and state law enforcement agencies in California.” They do not share data with “out-of-state law enforcement agencies or federal agencies,” according to Greenstein.
“State Parks has found these cameras to be a helpful tool at parks throughout the state,” Greenstein noted. “For example, the cameras have assisted in identifying stolen vehicles and locating missing, at-risk individuals.”
The south entrance to L.A. State Historic Park.
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Lexis-Olivier Ray
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L.A. TACO.
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California law prohibits local police from sharing data obtained through license plate readers with out-of-state and federal law enforcement agencies without a warrant.
However, previous reporting and audits have shown that California police regularly violate those laws.
Law enforcement agencies in Southern California — including the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and sheriff’s departments in San Diego and Orange County — searched license plate readers for ICE and Customs and Border Protection (Border Patrol) over 100 times, CalMatters reported.
While Flock license plate readers have become regular fixtures in Home Depot parking lots and on private property, it is not common to see Flock cameras in public settings like parks in Los Angeles.
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks confirmed with L.A. TACO that there are no Flock cameras across the city’s more than 500 parks and facilities.
In recent years, communities in Los Angeles have increasingly resorted to crowdfunding to pay for and install Flock license plate readers.
Flock Safety credits a camera that was installed by the Baldwin Vista Hillside Neighborhood Association at the only entrance into the neighborhood with helping law enforcement arrest a suspect who was accused of breaking into L.A. Mayor Karen Bass’ Baldwin Hills home and stealing two firearms.
Last year, a public debate ensued after wealthy residents in Cheviot Hills raised over $200,000 to buy Flock cameras. The residents donated the cameras to the Los Angeles Police Foundation with one stipulation: the police could use them only in Cheviot Hills.
Efforts to install Flock cameras in neighboring cities have been met with intense pushback.
Last month, the city of Santa Cruz became the first California city to cancel its contract with Flock Safety.
Zanja Madre (Mother Ditch) was the original aqueduct that brought water to the Pueblo de Los Angeles from the Rio Porciuncula (L.A. River).
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Lexis-Olivier Ray
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L.A. TACO.
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L.A. State Historic Park is unique in that it is a state-run park within the city of Los Angeles that is not only one of the few green spaces in the area but is also a park that regularly hosts community events, concerts, and film shoots, as well as multi-day festivals that bring tens of thousands of people to the park.
Joel Garcia, the director and co-founder of Meztli Projects, an Indigenous-based arts and culture collaborative, was surprised to learn about the Flock cameras in L.A. State Historic Park.
In January, Meztli Projects hosted an event there that brought together various drum-based communities to share in song and dance. At the event, screen printing stations were set up to create posters and other “pro-immigration” materials and resource guides, Garcia explained.
‘It was a response directly to what’s happening with ICE and the Trump administration," Garcia told L.A. TACO during an interview.
Garcia said he noticed the solar panel that powers one of the Flock cameras upon entering the parking lot. But he thought it powered a light.
“I always thought that was solar paneling for lighting,” he said.
When he checked with his colleagues, nobody said they were aware that there were license plate readers in the parking lot.
“I didn’t notice them either,” Garcia said.
“Unfortunately we are getting normalized to a level of surveillance [similar to] post 9-11, but this weaponizing of ‘public safety tools’ especially at a state park is unacceptable,” Garcia said in a written statement to L.A. TACO. “For many the state park [and] Yaanga, has been a place of convening and arrival since before this country. The irony of these cameras disrupting that legacy is upsetting."
Across from the present-day park once stood River Station, Garcia noted, a major passenger railroad stop during the late 1800s and early 1900s that brought huge numbers of immigrants to Los Angeles.
“[The park] has been a place of arrival for many different societies,” Garcia noted.
Having worked with the park before, Garcia said he’s noticed that there is sometimes a “disconnect” between what local park staff believes in and the decisions that regional park staff make for the park.
“There’s a huge disconnect between what happens up top and what happens at the park,” Garcia said.
Ultimately, however, Garcia sees this conflict as an “opportunity to empower.”
“[At times] there’s folks on the inside who want to help, and sometimes we as organizers have to provide them the tools to help,” Garcia said. “That may include connecting park staff with tribal leadership, or delivering the messaging that community members want to convey.”
O.C. Japan Fest, corgi beach day, the grunions are back, a new play festival, a talk with Sen. Cory Booker and more of the best things to do this weekend.
Highlights:
Experience sakura season without leaving the area at the O.C. Japan Fair, featuring 250 vendors, craftspeople, food booths, art activities and more, all celebrating Japanese culture.
Check out readings of five new plays – all for free! – at the Play L.A. New Works Festival, put on by Stage Raw and the Greenway Arts Alliance along with a number of L.A. indie theater powerhouses.
Spend Friday night with New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, whose new book, Stand, tells stories from his political life that aim to share “actionable insights” to help preserve democracy in these challenging times.
I hope you had luck in securing the first round of LA28 Olympics tickets — and that you’re not still waiting for page refreshes this morning! We’ve got all the info on how to get your tickets and why you shouldn’t fret if it doesn’t work out on this first try.
LAist’s Mariana Dale went to Hollywood High School this week to see how students and teachers felt about Mitski bringing a concert to the historic space. Seems like no one was missing class since perfect attendance meant a shot at tickets.
No matter your music taste, there’s a show for you this weekend. It may not be the height of summer yet, but things will be heating up at the Hollywood Bowl as Ben Platt and Rachel Zegler reunite for their concert performance of Broadway hit The Last Five Years. Plus, Licorice Pizza recommends Mercury Prize-winning London rapper Dave at the Palladium, St. Paul & the Broken Bones are at the Belasco, Calum Scott plays the Wiltern, and there’s a really cool First Fridays night at the Natural History Museum with dub legend Adrian Sherwood. Saturday has pop trio LANY at the Intuit Dome, Lamb of God slaughtering the YouTube Theater, SoundCloud rapper Rich Amiri at the Fonda, post-hardcore band Hail the Sun at the Wiltern, pop sensation Nessa Barrett at the Masonic Lodge, and another rising pop star, Alexander Stewart, at Chinatown’s cool new venue, Pacific Electric.
Experience sakura season without leaving the area at the O.C. Japan Fair, featuring 250 vendors, craftspeople, food booths, art activities and more, all celebrating Japanese culture. From sake tastings to sushi-making workshops to musical performances and kimono try-ons, the annual event is one of the largest Japanese cultural fairs in California.
Play L.A. New Works Festival
April 3-4 Greenway Court Theatre 544 North Fairfax Ave., Mid-City COST: FREE, MORE INFO
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PLAY LA Festival
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Check out readings of five new plays — all for free! — at the Play L.A. New Works Festival, put on by Stage Raw and the Greenway Arts Alliance, along with a number of L.A. indie theater powerhouses. This year’s plays are Stonewall’s Bouncer by Louisa Hill, produced by The Victory Theatre; At Olduvai Gorge by India Kotis, produced by The Odyssey Theatre Company; Ghost Play by Mathew Scott Montgomery, produced by InHouse Theatre; The Incident by Rachel Borders, produced by The Road Theatre Ensemble; and Three Dates by Erica Wachs, produced by IAMA Theatre Company. Go see one, or go see them all!
SoCal Corgi Beach Day
Saturday, April 4, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 21351 California 1, Huntington Beach COST: FREE; MORE INFO
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Vlad D
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Unsplash
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Head to Huntington Beach for the cutest event of the year, the annual SoCal Corgi Beach Day. This year’s theme is "Tiki Beach Pawty," because of course it is. Honor Queen Elizabeth II’s favorite pets and spend the day at the beach with these short, stout, snuggly friends while they frolic and compete in events like — I am not making this up – Corgi Limbo.
Plaza Mexico Celebrates Easter
Sunday, April 5, 12:00 p.m. to 4 p.m. 3100 E. Imperial Highway, Lynwood COST: FREE; MORE INFO
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Plaza México
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You have your pick of Easter Bunny photo ops and egg hunts around town, and Plaza Mexico would be a great one with the family. Meet and take a picture with the Easter bunny, enjoy kids' arts & crafts, family activities, vendors and sweet treats.
Writers Bloc: Cory Booker
Friday, April 3, 7:30 p.m. John Adams Middle School (JAMS) Performing Arts Center 2425 16th St., Santa Monica COST: $33; MORE INFO
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 05: Senator Cory Booker attends PBS' "Black & Jewish America: An Interwoven History" Screening With Henry Louis Gates, Jr. And Conversation With Sen. Cory Booker at 92NY on February 05, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
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Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
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Getty Images North America
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Spend Friday night with New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, whose new book, Stand, tells stories from his political life that aim to share "actionable insights" to help preserve democracy in these challenging times. The conversation with Writers Bloc will be hosted by Sean Bailey, the former head of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production for 14 years and the current CEO of the new multi-platform production company B5 Studios. The event is sold out, but there is a waitlist available.
Behind the Canvas — An Exclusive Art Talk with the Jurors of A Woman's Place: Framing the Future
Saturday, April 4, 11 a.m. Ebell of Los Angeles 741 S. Lucerne Blvd., Mid-Wilshire COST: FREE; MORE INFO
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The Ebell
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Have coffee and doughnuts with the curators of the Ebell’s Women’s History Month exhibit, "A Woman’s Place: Framing the Future." You can catch the show before it closes and see work from women artists exploring new interpretations of womanhood, feminism and art.
Grunion Run
Saturday, April 4, starting at 10:30 p.m. Venice Breakwater Ocean Front Walk, Venice COST: FREE; MORE INFO
Thousands of grunions on the shore.
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Courtesy of the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium
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I have lived in Venice for more than 20 years and never actually seen a grunion, despite efforts, but that doesn’t mean it’s not fun to see all your neighbors scouring the beach by moonlight on a Saturday night. The Venice Oceanarium folks always organize an educational tent with lessons on how these unique fish show up on our shores to reproduce, and maybe you’ll luck out and time it right this year.
She’s Auspicious
Saturday, April 4, 7 p.m. Broad Stage 1310 11th St., Santa Monica COST: FROM $40; MORE INFO
L.A. native Mythili Prakash takes the Tamil dance form Bharatanatyam to new heights as a choreographer and performer. Her short dance film Mollika, commissioned by Sadler’s Wells Digital Stage in London, was nominated for a 2025 National Dance Award for Best Short Dance Film. She’s Auspicious, her latest production, "blurs the line between goddess and woman, exploring the dichotomy between celebration of the goddess versus the treatment of women in society." It was nominated for an Olivier Award in the category Best New Dance Performance in the U.K., and lucky for us, is on for one performance only at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica.
Julia Barajas
explores how college students achieve their goals, whether they’re fresh out of high school, pursuing graduate work or looking to join the labor force through alternative pathways.
Published April 2, 2026 5:00 AM
Cal State Long Beach is one of the 23 CSU campuses where Teamsters-represented workers held a strike last month.
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Brian Feinzimer
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LAist
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Topline:
The California Public Employment Relations Board (has issued a formal complaint against California State University trustees over the system’s alleged refusal to give raises to trades workers. The complaint follows a statewide strike earlier this year, in which workers at every campus walked off the job.
Why it matters: Teamsters Local 2010 represents 1,100 plumbers, electricians, HVAC techs, locksmiths and other building maintenance staff who work across the CSU system. A formal complaint from the Public Employment Relations Board means the two parties must resolve the dispute in a formal hearing process.
The backstory: According to Teamsters Local 2010, union members won wage increases in 2024 “after nearly three decades of stagnation.” That year, the union was on the verge of striking alongside the system's faculty, but it reached a last-minute deal with the CSU. The union has filed an unfair labor practice charge against the system, arguing that the CSU refused to honor contractually obligated raises and step increases for its members.
What the CSU says: The CSU maintains that conditions described in its collective bargaining agreement with the union — which “tied certain salary increases to the receipt of new, unallocated, ongoing state budget funding” — were not met.
What’s next: In an emailed statement, spokesperson Amy Bentley-Smith said the CSU welcomes “the opportunity to present the facts of this case before an administrative law judge.” After the formal hearing, the state board will propose a resolution to the dispute.
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Wind moves palm trees on Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, in Stanton.
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Mel Melcon
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Los Angeles Times
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QUICK FACTS
Today’s weather: Mostly cloudy then sunny
Beaches: mid to upper 60s
Mountains: mid 60s to around 70 degrees
Inland: 64 to 71 degrees
Warnings and advisories: Wind advisory
What to expect: A mostly sunny afternoon with temperatures sticking to the low to mid 70s for most of Southern California. Breezy conditions will pick up in the afternoon for some valleys and mountain communities.
Read on ... for more details.
QUICK FACTS
Today’s weather: Mostly cloudy then sunny
Beaches: mid to upper 60s
Mountains: mid 60s to around 70 degrees
Inland: 64 to 71 degrees
Warnings and advisories: Wind advisory
The cool weather continues for one more day in Southern California. Later this evening, strong winds will kick in for some mountains and highway corridors ahead of a Santa Ana wind event slated for Friday.
Temperatures at the beaches are going to stick around the mid to upper 60s, and around 70 degrees more inland.
Coachella Valley, San Bernardino and Riverside County mountains will continue to see gusty winds until tonight.
At noon, the Antelope Valley will be under a wind advisory, with winds expected to reach 20 to 30 mph, and some gusts up to 50 mph. Wind advisories will also kick in for the 5 Freeway corridor, Ventura County mountains and the Santa Susana mountains, where gusts could reach 45 mph.
Voters wait in line at the Riverside County Registrar of Voters office in Riverside on Nov. 5, 2024
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Jules Hotz
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CalMatters
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Topline:
CalMatters and a national consortium of news organizations Wednesday filed a motion in Riverside County court seeking public access to the warrants a judge approved allowing Sheriff Chad Bianco to seize hundreds of thousands of ballots for an unprecedented investigation into the outcome of the November 2025 special election.
Background: A Riverside County judge had ordered the warrants sealed, along with the sworn statements Bianco’s deputies made to a judge justifying their request to seize more than 1,400 boxes of Proposition 50 election materials from the Riverside County Registrar of Voters.
Why it matters: The coalition argues that it’s vitally important for the records to be made public, since they’re central to a bitter dispute over election integrity between two powerful state officials: Bianco, who is running for governor as a Republican, and Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat who is running for re-election.
Read on ... for more on the case.
CalMatters and a national consortium of news organizations Wednesday filed a motion in Riverside County court seeking public access to the warrants a judge approved allowing Sheriff Chad Bianco to seize hundreds of thousands of ballots for an unprecedented investigation into the outcome of the November 2025 special election.
The groups are also filing a separate petition with the California Supreme Court that also seeks to have the records unsealed.
A Riverside County judge had ordered the warrants sealed, along with the sworn statements Bianco’s deputies made to a judge justifying their request to seize more than 1,400 boxes of Proposition 50 election materials from the Riverside County Registrar of Voters.
Lawyers representing CalMatters along with The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Riverside Record, other newspapers and local television network affiliates filed a motion to unseal the warrants and the sworn statements.
The coalition argues that it’s vitally important for the records to be made public, since they’re central to a bitter dispute over election integrity between two powerful state officials: Bianco, who is running for governor as a Republican, and Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat who is running for re-election.
“The public should not be forced to navigate these competing allegations without the facts on which the investigation is based,” Jean-Paul Jassy, attorney for the news outlets, wrote in the motion. “Nor does the law require them to.”
Bianco obtained three warrants in February and March from Riverside County Judge Jay Kiel authorizing the sheriff’s office to begin seizing ballots and other election materials from Riverside County elections officials. Kiel, whom Bianco endorsed when he ran for the bench in 2022, sealed the warrants at the request of the sheriff’s office.
Bianco intended for his deputies to recount the more than 600,000 ballots cast in the county last year as part of an investigation over what a local activist group called discrepancies between the number of ballots cast and number tallied. The county’s top elections official, Art Tinoco, has rejected those claims and explained in February to the county’s Board of Supervisors that they were the result of the activist group using flawed and incomplete data.
The investigation and recount are on hold, Bianco said earlier this week, after Bonta and the UCLA Voting Rights Project filed several legal challenges seeking to halt them. Bonta had ordered Bianco to turn over the warrants and supporting statements. He said in his lawsuits that the sheriff had failed to allege a crime or provide enough cause to justify seizing the ballots, and accused Bianco of using the investigation as a campaign stunt.
Bonta’s office has refused to release those documents, citing the judge’s order sealing them.
Keeping them under seal has prevented the public from being able to scrutinize both politicians’ statements, in a hyper-partisan dispute ahead of a contentious election.
Bianco, in an interview last week, also refused CalMatters’ request for copies of the warrants. “No, you’re not going to,” he said. “When (the investigation’s) over, like every other case that’s sealed, when it’s unsealed, you’ll get to see it. … Don’t you act like this is something out of the ordinary, because it is not.”
Under state law, police must execute warrants within 10 days of obtaining them, after which the documents and the police’s supporting statements must be made public. But it is common for law enforcement to ask for them to remain sealed during active criminal investigations.
In the ballot case, attorneys for the media outlets argue Bianco himself publicized the investigation during a press conference on March 20. They wrote that even if Bianco’s department had confidential information to protect, that does not justify Kiel’s sealing of all the records.
“It is hard to imagine a stronger public interest,” Jassy wrote, than “access to a proceeding purporting to resolve allegations relating to election integrity — allegations at the heart of our democracy.”
