Josie Huang
is a reporter and Weekend Edition host who spotlights the people and places at the heart of our region.
Published April 30, 2024 4:56 PM
Cleaning supplies sit in the window of Suehiro Cafe, which was evicted from Little Tokyo in January.
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Josie Huang
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LAist
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Topline:
In Little Tokyo, the eviction of an iconic Japanese restaurant has galvanized a neighborhood battle against gentrification. All eyes have been on what's coming in next. The landlord says it'll be another restaurant also serving Asian cuisine.
The backstory: Hundreds had petitioned and rallied against the eviction of the former Suehiro Cafe. Activists threatened landlord Tony Sperl with a boycott if he pursued a a business out of character with the neighborhood.
Rumored replacements: Among the businesses that neighborhood leaders feared would go into Suehiro's old space was a marijuana dispensary. Sperl says several years ago he had considered putting a dispensary in his two-story building on 1st Street, but no longer. He says stories have been fabricated about him and his business plans.
What's next: Sperl says he always intended to replace Suehiro with another restaurant and that several offers are on the table. He hopes to finalize a lease in the coming weeks. Suehiro, meanwhile, has opened a new location downtown.
When he made the move last year to evict a beloved Little Tokyo restaurant, landlord Tony Sperl went from relative obscurity to Public Enemy No.1 with neighborhood activists.
Hundreds of people petitioned or rallied against the displacement of Suehiro Cafe, which has been dishing up Japanese comfort food from its 1st Street perch for decades.
Community leaders threatened Sperl with a boycott of any new tenant that could harm a historic community already under gentrification pressures, and poised to see major future development.
Worrying them was a 2018 business filing with the state that listed Sperl as one of several managers for a marijuana dispensary to be located on the second floor of his building, above Suehiro.
The former dining space for Suehiro Cafe.
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Josie Huang
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LAist
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The former Suehiro kitchen.
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Josie Huang
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LAist
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Sperl said he had considered the “Tokyo Greens” idea pitched to him by a former tenant, but the proposal has been dead for several years.
“There is not a dispensary opening — and that's the truth, OK?” Sperl said.
Rather, Sperl says he’s on the cusp of entering into a lease with another Asian restaurant, more than three months after Suehiro was forced to leave.
Sperl said two different groups have leases in hand, noting that one of them already owns a restaurant in Little Tokyo.
Sperl, whose family has owned the building since 1882, said there are three backup offers from other groups on the table as well.
Which begs the question: If Sperl wanted a restaurant as a tenant, why not just keep Suehiro?
Sperl won’t say, his only response being: “Why don’t you ask him?”
The backstory
The “him” in question is Suehiro’s owner, Kenji Suzuki. It was his mother and aunt who founded the restaurant in 1972 at its first location on 2nd Street before relocating to 1st Street in the mid-1980s.
More than a decade ago, the restaurant’s lease with Sperl expired. Suzuki had previously told LAist that Sperl would not give him a new lease without a $100,000 negotiation fee.
The restaurateur continued to pay month-to-month and said he absorbed a rent hike to $10,000. Then Sperl stopped cashing the rent checks and last spring, started to pursue eviction, Suzuki said.
Passersby look at signs posted on the window of the former Suehiro Cafe.
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Josie Huang
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LAist
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The signs posted on a window outside the former Suehiro Cafe read "Fake News. No Dispensary. No Marijuana. Someone Lied?"
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Josie Huang
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LAist
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In the months that elapsed while the eviction was pending, community activists with the Little Tokyo Against Gentrification coalition mobilized to save the restaurant, part of a dying breed of legacy businesses they said had been felled by the pandemic, rising rents and the lack of successors to aging proprietors.
But the coalition took satisfaction in knowing that their protests had an impact. Last month, Monkawa received a message from Sperl promising there’d be “no dispensary, strip club, McDonald’s or franchise.”
“We were able to put up a strong picket line and embarrass Tony Sperl into agreeing to no inappropriate business,” Monkawa said.
David Ikegami, president of the Little Tokyo Business Association, said he was pleased to hear that a new restaurant was going into the former Suehiro location.
Little Tokyo Arts & Gifts, another legacy business a few doors down from the former Suehiro Cafe, announced it was closing last December.
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“We are Little Tokyo and it'd be nice if it's a Japanese restaurant but if it's not, that's OK, too,” said Ikegami, noting that everything from pizza joints to Chinese restaurants have fared well in the neighborhood.
Suzuki, who has since opened a new location downtown on Main Street, could not be reached comment by deadline. But his lawyer Clifford Jung said they wished nothing but the best for the new restaurant.
“I hope that they'll be an asset to the Little Tokyo community like Suehiro was,” Jung said.
Sperl shared a desire to move forward with a new tenant but also expressed bitterness over protests that vilified him. Some activists branded him as a gentrifier, and also attacked him for his time working as a police officer when 41 years ago, he shot dead a young boy after mistaking his toy for a gun.
Asked to comment on his law enforcement past, Sperl said he wasn’t “interested in that.” But he railed against the perception he was for gentrification, noting that he opposes development projects on the Westside and Little Tokyo that he said would negatively affect Japanese American communities in those neighborhoods.
He also disputed the claim that he wanted Little Tokyo to resemble Melrose.
“What?” Sperl snapped. “Was I like standing in the middle of 1st Street screaming, ‘I'm turning this place into Melrose?’ It never happened.”
His current tenant, Zac Vargas, owner of Space City Vintage, said that Sperl has been supportive of independent businesses like his and is building something good at his 1st Street property with a racially diverse group of creatives operating ventures such as an upcycle shop and leather works store.
“I mean, he's a good guy,” Vargas said. “They made him like he's an ugly person.”
Vargas said that Sperl is involved in rescuing strays and beautifying the neighborhood by getting rid of graffiti and cleaning the sidewalks.
Zac Vargas owns Space City Vintage, next to the former Suehiro Cafe.
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With the relationship between Sperl and community activists frayed to bits, Vargas acts as a go-between, passing messages between the two parties.
He’s also been in charge of showing the former Suehiro space to potential tenants and is eager for it to be occupied.
“All I want is peace,” said Vargas, who recalls the protests spilling onto his storefront. “I want everybody to make a living and move on.”
How LAPD responds when someone is experiencing a mental or behavioral health crisis is getting a closer look. Last week, Mayor Karen Bass issued an executive directive ordering an independent review of the department’s response, including its policies, training and use of force.
Why it matters: LAPD officers fatally shot more than 60 people between 2021 and 2025, according to the most recent data the department reported to the California Department of Justice. All of those deaths will be reviewed.
Why now: “There is a severe shortage of mental and behavioral health care, and too many people in crisis have nowhere to turn,” Mayor Bass said in a prepared statement. “People cycle between the streets, emergency rooms, and detention facilities, and too often come into contact with law enforcement.”
What's next: The Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners will need to retain an independent firm to conduct the audit and report back recommendations to the mayor’s office within six months. Bass said that the firm selected should be experts in constitutional policing and crisis response.
How LAPD responds when someone is experiencing a mental or behavioral health crisis is getting a closer look.
Last week, Mayor Karen Bass issued an executive directive ordering an independent review of the department’s response, including its policies, training and use of force.
“There is a severe shortage of mental and behavioral health care, and too many people in crisis have nowhere to turn,” Mayor Bass said in a prepared statement. “People cycle between the streets, emergency rooms, and detention facilities, and too often come into contact with law enforcement.”
The Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners will need to retain an independent firm to conduct the audit and report back recommendations to the mayor’s office within six months. Bass said that the firm selected should be experts in constitutional policing and crisis response.
The review will determine how officers identify people in crisis, including those with intellectual and physical disabilities, and people who are under the influence of illicit substances.
LAPD officers fatally shot more than 60 people between 2021 and 2025, according to the most recent data the department reported to the California Department of Justice. All of those deaths will be reviewed.
The audit will also look into how the department tracks repeat calls about a person who is in crisis or needs help. Yong Yang’s case is one example. Yang was fatally shot by police in 2024, after his parents attempted to get him help during a behavioral health crisis.
His parents previously told The LA Local about how Yong Yang had nonviolent encounters with police before the encounter that ended in his death. They question why officers failed to de-escalate the confrontation before he was shot.
They’ve continued to call for accountability, even after LAPD closed its investigation into his death. Under Bass’ new directive, his case is one that would be reviewed.
The audit will evaluate:
Use of force: Incidents over the last five years of uses of force and arrests that resulted in death or serious bodily injury to determine if the person was experiencing a behavioral health crisis or had an intellectual disability.
De-escalation: Incidents over the last five years that did not result in death or serious bodily injury to determine how they were de-escalated.
Repeat calls: The department’s procedures for keeping track of people involved in repeated calls to police, including those who have a disability.
Training: The training officers receive about incidents with people experiencing behavioral crises.
Less-lethal options: What less-lethal force options are available to officers.
Custody and care: Uses of restraint and processes for medical treatment for people in police custody.
Officer wellness: Protocols for providing officers with mental health care after these confrontations.
Bass’ order comes about a month after the police department released graphic videos of men who died during police encounters. One video captured officers sitting on and restraining a handcuffed man for an extended period of time at a holding facility in the San Fernando Valley. The man, Jose Carlos Hoyos-Munoz, died soon after.
“When an encounter results in death or serious injury, we must rigorously examine whether our policies, training, tactics, supervision, and accountability systems are sufficient,” Bass said after the videos were released.
State audit says county health response fell short
Elly Yu
Elly Yu covers public health as part of her beat on early childhood.
Published September 30, 2026 5:00 AM
An aerial view of a truck driving through trash at Chiquita Canyon Landfill in Castaic on Feb. 22, 2024. An aerial view of a truck driving through trash at Chiquita Canyon Landfill in Castaic on Feb. 22, 2024. Photo by Allen J. Schaben, Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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Allen J. Schaben
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Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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Topline:
The California State Auditor says L.A. County Public Health’s response to the health conditions around the Chiquita Canyon landfill was inadequate.
The backstory: An underground chemical reaction at Chiquita Canyon landfill has burned for years, producing large amounts of noxious chemicals and bad odors. Residents nearby have complained about symptoms like headaches and nausea.
What’s new: The State Auditor released a report this week that found the county’s public health department hasn’t done enough to help or inform the community. For example, the audit says the department got reports from the landfill operator every quarter at times showing chemical levels that exceeded state thresholds, but didn’t let the public know. The department in its response said it considers a number of factors on deciding what poses a potential health risk.
More about LADPH response: The department said the report lacked context as to the department’s role within a multi-agency response and said it has been proactive to community health concerns. “It is therefore disappointing that the focus of the audit largely evaluates Public Health’s actions in isolation and not as part of a response structure created by federal, state, and local agencies,” a spokesperson told LAist in a statement.
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A detention officer waits outside the main entrance of the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego on Feb. 20, 2026.
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Adriana Helditz
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CalMatters
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Topline:
A new law will require local agencies to publicly disclose audio recordings and written records of 911 calls originating from privately run immigration detention facilities.
The Detention Facility Transparency Act: Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 423, called the Detention Facility Transparency Act, on Tuesday. It was one of 21 immigration-related bills in a package his office announced the same day. The law will require local agencies to turn over recordings and written records of 911 calls from privately run detention facilities if a member of the public requests them. It includes an exception if an active investigation is underway and requires redacting the names of affected individuals.
The backstory: In February, L.A. Taco reported that detainees inside Otay Mesa were throwing lotion bottles wrapped with notes about conditions inside over the wall of the facility to organizers standing outside. Earlier this year, CalMatters sought information, including 911 audio records and other reports, about alleged serious incidents at detention facilities through a California Public Records Act request. While a San Diego County sheriff’s spokesperson said the agency was not investigating those cases, he said he was unable to turn over additional records because they were part of “a law enforcement investigation.”
A new law will require local agencies to publicly disclose audio recordings and written records of 911 calls originating from privately run immigration detention facilities. The bill was prompted by CalMatters reporting on alleged sexual assaults at the Otay Mesa Detention Center.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 423, called the Detention Facility Transparency Act, on Tuesday. It was one of 21 immigration-related bills in a package his office announced the same day.
The law will require local agencies to turn over recordings and written records of 911 calls from privately run detention facilities, if a member of the public requests them. It includes an exception if an active investigation is underway and requires redacting the names of affected individuals.
“Well, it goes without saying, these past two years, Donald Trump has brought fear and has brought anxiety, disruption and stress to our immigrant communities,” Newsom said in a recorded video statement on his website.
“So, today, I sign a number of bills to strengthen transparency and to strengthen accountability and oversight over federal immigration enforcement and civil detention in our state,” the governor said.
State Sen. Lena Gonzalez, a Democrat from Long Beach, introduced SB 423 as state investigations and courts found serious gaps in essential medical care within the facilities. She said the aim was to stop private operators, and the agencies that work alongside them, from keeping what happens behind detention walls from the public's view.
In February, L.A. Taco reported that detainees inside Otay Mesa were throwing lotion bottles wrapped with notes about conditions inside over the wall of the facility to organizers standing outside.
“For 280 days we haven’t eaten a single piece of fruit, banana, apple, orange, or anything fresh," an Otay Mesa detainee wrote, the news outlet reported. "We are all in one big room with no doors or windows. We can’t see any grass or trees. We are all constantly sick.”
Gonzalez, who is chair of the Legislative Latino Caucus, said no person “should have to resort to throwing notes over the walls of a detention facility to have their needs met and their voices heard.”
Earlier this year, CalMatters sought information, including 911 audio records and other reports, about alleged serious incidents at detention facilities through a California Public Records Act request. While a San Diego County sheriff’s spokesperson said the agency was not investigating those cases, he said he was unable to turn over additional records because they were part of “a law enforcement investigation.”
“When journalists and reporters attempted to obtain records about reported incidents at these facilities through the Public Records Act, they faced severe pushback from law enforcement, citing vague investigatory records exemptions, despite there being no active investigation,” said Gonzalez.
Immigrant Defense Advocates and the First Amendment Coalition co-sponsored the bill.
“The governor has sent a powerful message: No more secrecy. SB 423 makes clear that 911 calls and related records about events in detention must be released upon request. This will shed more light on a notoriously opaque system, leading to stronger oversight and accountability,” Ginny LaRoe, Advocacy Director, First Amendment Coalition, said in a written statement.
Gonzalez’s bill was one of several detention oversight bills Newsom signed Tuesday. Others impose a new 25% tax on private detention facilities, expand health, safety and oversight requirements for the centers, and add to the state attorney general’s oversight role.
Why now: The ride has been closed since the evening of July 12, after two women who rode the coaster less than a week apart both needed to be rushed to the hospital after they exited. One of them, 25-year-old Naomi Greer-Wilkinson, collapsed shortly after the ride ended and was found to have massive brain bleeding inside the skull that required emergency brain surgery. She remains in a vegetative state in the hospital, unable to speak or move and dependent on a ventilator. Her family filed a lawsuit against Six Flags on her behalf.
Why it matters: Six Flags recently settled a wrongful-death lawsuit from the family of a 22-year-old man who died after riding the coaster in 2022, and three more lawsuits alleging traumatic brain injuries were filed last week. “While X2 consistently passed a multitude of safety tests, we have decided to close the ride because we believe it’s the right thing to do,” park President Brian Oerding said in an online announcement. “Ride safety is a cornerstone of our business, and when we see guest confidence affected, we take it seriously.”
The backstory: According to the Six Flags Magic Mountain website, the X2 roller coaster reaches a top speed of 76 mph (122 kph) and has a total length of 3,610 feet (1,100 meters). The seats rotate 360 degrees “so your body will be flipping around the entire time,” and the ride features two “raven turns” — half loops that turn into sheer drops midway. It debuted at the park in 2002 under the name X as the world’s first “fourth-dimension” roller coaster and reopened in 2008 as X2 with new trains and special effects. The uniqueness of the ride drew thrill-seekers from around the world and garnered a fervent fanbase.
The Southern California theme park said Tuesday that it is permanently shuttering the ride after nearly 20 years. Six Flags recently settled a wrongful-death lawsuit from the family of a 22-year-old man who died after riding the coaster in 2022, and three more lawsuits alleging traumatic brain injuries were filed last week.
“While X2 consistently passed a multitude of safety tests, we have decided to close the ride because we believe it’s the right thing to do,” park President Brian Oerding said in an online announcement. “Ride safety is a cornerstone of our business, and when we see guest confidence affected, we take it seriously.”
The ride has been closed since the evening of July 12, after two women who rode the coaster less than a week apart both needed to be rushed to the hospital after they exited.
One of them, 25-year-old Naomi Greer-Wilkinson, collapsed shortly after the ride ended and was found to have massive brain bleeding inside the skull that required emergency brain surgery. She remains in a vegetative state in the hospital, unable to speak or move and dependent on a ventilator. Her family filed a lawsuit against Six Flags on her behalf.
Her attorneys said more than 100 people claimed they suffered brain injuries from the roller coaster in the past two years, and more lawsuits would be filed in the coming weeks.
According to the Six Flags Magic Mountain website, the X2 roller coaster reaches a top speed of 76 mph (122 kph) and has a total length of 3,610 feet (1,100 meters). The seats rotate 360 degrees “so your body will be flipping around the entire time,” and the ride features two “raven turns” — half loops that turn into sheer drops midway.
It debuted at the park in 2002 under the name X as the world’s first “fourth-dimension” roller coaster and reopened in 2008 as X2 with new trains and special effects. The uniqueness of the ride drew thrill-seekers from around the world and garnered a fervent fanbase.
The park settled a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by the family of Christopher Hawley, a 22-year-old who died the day after he rode X2. He was taken to the hospital after the ride with severe brain bleeding. The medical examiner’s office said his death was from blunt head trauma. The case was settled at the end of August, a few days before the trial was scheduled to start.
