Topline:
After the Eaton Fire, Altadena residents are getting inked with designs inspired by their homes, many of them by artists at the June Bug studio, which has relocated from Altadena to Eagle Rock.
The designs: Artists are working with residents to develop deeply personal tattoos that represent Altadena, from images of coyotes and the foothills to images of people's houses.
Read on ... to learn about the tattoo artist who came up with the idea to use tattoos to mark the events.
The night the Eaton Fire started, Isabela Livingstone was working in her Altadena tattoo studio June Bug, lit only by the sharp beam of her headlamp.
Howling Santa Ana winds had knocked the power out in the strip mall off Fair Oaks Avenue where her shop sat between a pizza parlor and a landscape architect. But Livingstone was determined to finish inking her last client of the night.
“The tattoo itself was a lantern surrounded by smoke, which is very eerie,” Livingstone said. “That’s the last tattoo ever done in that space before it burned down hours later.”
The five months since that night have been a whirlwind for Livingstone, who through adrenaline, grit and an outpouring of support from clients and the tattoo community has been able to get June Bug’s collective of tattoo artists back to work.
They opened a new Eagle Rock location in April that mirrors the calm, warmly-lit original location designed to welcome women, the queer community and people of color.
But Livingstone has not forgotten about Altadena, where her father and grandparents lived and where she attended the Pasadena Waldorf School. She and her fellow tattoo artists have inked more than 100 fire-affected residents who have been using tattoo art as a form of healing and remembrance.
“There's so much mutual aid out there and help with clothing and resources,” Livingstone said. “But I noticed what was really needed was an acknowledgement of the loss. And tattooing is an incredible way to support someone through loss.”
She and the June Bug artists have pre-drawn "flash" designs that include the name “Altadena” in stylized fonts, images of beloved local animals like bears and bunnies, and landmarks like Fox’s restaurant — as depicted by its fox logo on a wall next to a table and chair, and Rancho bar, as represented by the silhouette of a cowgirl that adorned its signage.
Many residents have chosen these flash designs, but some have worked with artists on custom art.
In consultation with Livingstone, Kari Kretch settled on a delicate black-and-white line drawing of a phoenix on the inside of a forearm.
“When I look down and I see this tattoo, it makes me kind of feel strong,” said Kretch. “It reminds me of the strength that I need to remind myself that I have.”
Kretch, an assistant professor at the University of Southern California teaching biokinesiology and physical therapy, said life has been filled with uncertainty since the fire destroyed the home she shared with her husband and 7-year-old son.
Like so many others in Altadena, their house was underinsured. Their insurance through the state’s FAIR plan didn't cover rental costs. Through the generosity of friends and family, they’ve been able to rent an apartment while forging ahead with plans to rebuild.
The idea to get a tattoo — her first one — came amid the tumult.
“I wanted to honor this enormous life-changing thing that had happened to me,” Kretch said. “I don't know. Maybe something about losing everything and wanting to have something that is a part of me that I can't lose was part of the appeal.”
Surviving the fire also inspired Kazi Pitelka, a retired musician who has lived in Altadena since 1995, to get her first tattoo at age 72.
She and her husband are staying in a friend’s backyard unit, waiting for their home to be remediated. While the house is still standing, Pitelka lost a barn and 25 trees.
Pitelka got the idea to get a tattoo after seeing that June Bug had held a one-day event offering free flash tattoos for fire survivors.
She knew whatever tattoo she picked would be a symbol of her love for the community. The question was where to place it.
“At 72, we're not as firm as we used to be, and it was important to me, not only for it to show — I didn't want it to hide it on my shoulder under my clothes — but to put it in place that that would last and look good for a long time,” Pitelka said.
Livingstone helped her choose the lower left forearm to place a flowering lemon tree branch, wrapped in the words “Beautiful Altadena,” as a hummingbird hovers close.
It's an homage to her property, where she lost 25 trees and a barn. Six hummingbird feeders remain in her orchard. Usually around dusk, hundreds of birds flock to her home.
“I love this tattoo,” Pitelka said. “Sometimes it even makes me a little teary, because it's so representational of my home, and that gives me comfort."
Livingstone said she hopes that a decade from now, when Altadena will hopefully have recovered and kept its unique character, the tattoos she's inked will serve as symbols of residents' resiliency.
"It would mark a moment in time where a community of really incredible people overcame something really difficult," Livingstone said. "I just hope it carries that meaning through the years."
Topline:
The Argentina team, which plays England in the World Cup semifinals Wednesday, is attracting a lot of criticism online. Some comments are about soccer; others border on hate and are based on cultural clichés and stereotypes. They touch open cultural wounds for some Argentine Americans.
Why it matters: Local Argentine Americans say they have experienced decades of being told they’re not “real Latinos” and have been excluded from the immigrant narrative.
Why now: California’s Argentine population grew in the past couple of decades. The state is home to the second-largest concentration of Argentines in the U.S. after Florida.
The backstory: Argentina has been a soccer powerhouse for decades. Soccer is said to have been a key way large immigrant populations were integrated in the 20th century.
What's next: Argentina’s national team has won the World Cup three times. It competes Wednesday against England’s national team for a spot in the final.
Go deeper: Spain beats France and heads to the World Cup final game Sunday
If you're online, anywhere adjacent to the World Cup, you'll see that the Argentina team, which will play England in the semifinals Wednesday, is attracting a lot of criticism.
It can be largely grouped into two categories: soccer and culture. In soccer, Argentina’s comeback win against Egypt last week prompted accusations, including from Egypt’s head coach, that the FIFA referees in that match favored Argentina.
Meanwhile, cultural clichés online accuse Argentines of being arrogant and looking down on other Latin Americans.
“I get sad, I must say, that when I see that, it hurts me a little bit, to be honest,” said San Fernando Valley resident Roxana Lissa. She was born and raised in Argentina and moved to the U.S. more than 30 years ago.
But she's used to it.
“The thing about Argentines is we have such thick skin,” Lissa said.
California’s Argentine population has grown in the past couple of decades. The state is now home to the second-largest concentration of Argentines in the U.S. after Florida.
The negative comments are not new, but social media has fueled them into a firestorm.
Some Argentines in Southern California say they’ve not seen negativity this bad against their culture before.
Mariana Ferrero, who moved to the U.S. from Argentina when she was 13 years old, said the comments are opening old wounds of exclusion by other Latino immigrants in Southern California.
“What bothers me is [the criticism] goes beyond soccer. It's more of saying, "Oh, you're Argentinian. You're not a real Latina,'” Ferrero said.
What bothers me is [the criticism] goes beyond soccer. It's more of saying, "Oh, you're Argentinian. You're not a real Latina."
She says many Latinos assume she’s privileged because she’s lighter skinned.
But Ferrero says her background is not like that at all. Argentina’s struggling economy led Ferrero’s parents to leave their home, their language and their country.
“We packed up. We came here. We lived with nothing in a tiny one-bedroom apartment, worked really hard, odd jobs,” she said.
Ferrero has some explanation for the hostility, however.
“I think some of it is just a perception that we come from a country that tends to be proud and tends to be loud and tends to be boisterous about our wins and about our accomplishments. And let me tell you, there's not many of them,” Ferrero said.
Since soccer prowess is one of those few wins, she says she and other Argentines are going to take this World Cup as an opportunity to be loud and proud.
Ferrero and Lissa say people who’ve visited Argentina gush to them about the warmth and hospitality of its people and the country’s beauty. And few people question that Argentina soccer star Lionel Messi is one of the greatest soccer players of all time.
“I was wearing my Argentina jersey,” Lissa said of a visit during the World Cup to L.A.’s Guelaguetza Oaxacan restaurant to watch Mexico play.
“People were coming to me and saying, 'I love Messi. I love Messi.' And I felt for the first time, 'Damn, I'm not being criticized,'” she said.
Pablo Baler, a professor of Latin American literature at CSU L.A., says the disconnect during this World Cup may be that people don’t believe Argentina represents the underdog soccer nations of Latin America anymore.
“At times, [the team] can feel more like a corporation than a national team, but the country it represents was in many ways the victim of the same imperial powers now competing for the title: France, England and Spain,” he said.
It ... was in many ways the victim of the same imperial powers now competing for the title: France, England and Spain.
Baler grew up in Argentina and has many Latin American friends. He doesn’t believe the negativity against his homeland will tarnish its reputation. He said a Nicaraguan friend said to him this week that he’s proud Argentina made it to the World Cup semifinals because the team is “one of us.”
Topline:
The City Council in Culver City voted 4-0 to extend a moratorium on approving building permits for new drive-thrus. The vote, which took place last night, will keep the ban in place into next year. Councilmember Dan O’Brien recused himself from the vote due to his role with the city’s Chamber of Commerce.
The background: In June, the City Council voted to establish the moratorium as city staff drafted a proposal for a permanent citywide ban. At the time, the moratorium was authorized for 45 days. The issue first made its way to city hall earlier this year after a group of neighbors raised concerns that a proposed new In-N-Out in Culver City could hurt air quality and create safety issues for pedestrians.
Status of citywide ban: Culver City staff wrote in a report to City Council this week that they’ve begun drafting a potential permanent ban on new drive-thrus citywide. The proposal will first go to the city’s planning commission, a five-person body that makes recommendations to the City Council on development and zoning matters in the city, then head to the City Council for a final vote. Those dates have not yet been set.
One councilmember left the door open for a different approach: At yesterday’s meeting, Councilmember Albert Vera, who was among the four votes supporting the moratorium extension, said he would be open to seeing recommendations from the planning commission that don’t ban drive-thrus citywide outright.
Topline
The City Council in Culver City voted 4-0 to extend a moratorium on approving building permits for new drive-thrus. The vote, which took place Monday night, will keep the ban in place into next year. Councilmember Dan O’Brien recused himself from the vote due to his role with the city’s Chamber of Commerce.
The background: In June, the City Council voted to establish the moratorium as city staff drafted a proposal for a permanent citywide ban. At the time, the moratorium was authorized for 45 days.
The issue first made its way to city hall earlier this year after a group of neighbors raised concerns that a proposed new In-N-Out in Culver City could hurt air quality and create safety issues for pedestrians.
Status of the proposed ban: Culver City staff wrote in a report to City Council this week that they’ve begun drafting a potential permanent ban on new drive-thrus citywide.
The proposal will first go to the city’s planning commission, a five-person body that makes recommendations to the City Council on development and zoning matters in the city, then head to the City Council for a final vote. Those dates have not yet been set.
One councilmember left door open for a different approach: At Monday’s meeting, Councilmember Albert Vera, who was among the four votes supporting the moratorium extension, said he would be open to seeing recommendations from the planning commission that don’t ban drive-thrus citywide outright.
Topline:
The contractor building the long-awaited LAX people mover project has filed a lawsuit alleging the city of L.A. breached its contract in several disputes.
The lawsuit: In the suit, filed with the L.A. County Superior Court on July 9, LINXS alleges that the city is misplacing blame in construction-related disputes and refusing to extend contract deadlines. LINXS also alleges it’s owed additional compensation as a result of the delays.
The status of the People Mover: The project, a 2.25-mile-long elevated train designed to transport riders between airport terminals and local transit, is currently undergoing testing. Work on the train is scheduled to be complete “in a few months,” according to a June interview with Los Angeles World Airports CEO John Ackerman on the L.A. in a Minute podcast.
Read on … for more details about the lawsuit and LINXS warnings of potentially becoming “insolvent.”
The contractor building the long-awaited LAX People Mover project has filed a lawsuit alleging the city of L.A. breached its contract in several disputes.
In the suit, filed with the L.A. County Superior Court on July 9, LINXS alleges the city is misplacing blame in construction-related disputes and refusing to extend contract deadlines. LINXS also alleges it’s owed additional payment for the work as a result of the delays.
The project, a 2.25-mile-long elevated train designed to transport riders between airport terminals and local transit, is currently undergoing testing. Work on the train is scheduled to be complete “in a few months,” according to a June interview with Los Angeles World Airports CEO John Ackerman on the L.A. in a Minute podcast.
Chief among the disputes detailed in the lawsuit is one involving repairs to faulty electrical equipment in the system that powers the train, resulting in testing delays last year. LAist reported on this dispute last November and in April.
A spokesperson for LINXS said it has attempted to engage in “extensive good-faith efforts over the past two years” to resolve the ongoing contractual disputes.
LINXS stands for LAX Integrated Express Solutions. It is the name of the group that formed in 2018 to design, build and operate the LAX Automated People Mover. It’s made up of four large engineering and construction companies: Fluor, Balfour Beatty Infrastructure, Flatiron West and Dragados.
A spokesperson for Los Angeles World Airports, the city agency that manages LAX, said the agency does not comment on pending litigation. They added that the agency remains committed to “delivering a safe, durable and reliable” train as soon as possible.
The L.A. City Attorney’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In its lawsuit, LINXS said that by not granting the contractor’s compensation and time-extension requests, the city is attempting to evade accountability for the delayed train, which was once expected to open in 2023 and is nearly a billion dollars over budget.
The contractor warned in its lawsuit that without an extension of contract deadlines, it might be forced to repay lenders who financed the project as soon as this fall. In that case, the contractor said in its lawsuit that it could become “insolvent and unable to perform,” adding that possibility would have “catastrophic consequences.”
Last February, staff from Los Angeles World Airports and the city’s Department of Water and Power directed LINXS to repair equipment in a metering cabinet that had degraded due to moisture and debris, as LAist previously reported.
LINXS completed the repair work, which required power to be partially shut down between February and July 2025. That temporary power disruption delayed critical testing of the technology that allows for central control of the People Mover’s systems.
LINXS said last year, and also in the current lawsuit, that the repair work is not in its scope of work. As a result, the contractor has said it's owed compensation and a minimum of a 141-day extension to complete construction.
If you have a tip, you can reach me on Signal. My username is kharjai.61.
“Since then, [Los Angeles World Airports] has stonewalled the discussions of [LINXS’] compensation and a time extension,” the contractor alleges in its lawsuit.
LINXS, citing information it received from a public records request, alleges the issue stemmed from an instance where LADWP opened the metering cabinet in September 2024 to rectify design issues with the equipment contained in it.
Whereas past disputes between LINXS and the airport were resolved through settlements that have so far totaled hundreds of millions of dollars and resulted in schedule extensions, the dispute over maintaining electrical equipment has been uniquely contentious.
“Other relief events that we’ve dealt with up to this point … we could agree there were some things that were not totally within LINXS’ control,” Jake Adams, an airport executive who is overseeing $5.5 billion in LAX upgrades, said in an interview with LAist in April. “This relief event is very different. We believe there is absolutely no merit to this claim.”
The lawsuit also alleges that the contractor is owed additional time and money for several other ongoing disputes, including that Los Angeles World Airports is refusing to sign a power agreement with LADWP for solar panels installed as part of the People Mover project and that workers on separate airport projects have “demolished” work LINXS completed for the train.
The People Mover is operating in a testing phase where it simulates how the train will operate when it begins shuttling travelers between airport terminals and the L.A. Metro system.
The testing of the train won’t be impacted by the lawsuit, a spokesperson for Los Angeles World Airports told LAist.
A hearing on the case filed last week has been scheduled for December, according to the L.A. County Superior Court’s website.
Topline:
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will pause non-urgent vehicle stops after two deadly shootings in less than a week, Maine Sen. Angus King's office tells NPR.
Why now: The most recent death happened Monday in Biddeford, Maine, where ICE agents tried to pull over the car of 26-year-old Joan Durán Guerrero, a Colombian national.
Backstory: After the shooting of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis in January, DHS vowed to quickly deploy body cameras to federal immigration agents nationwide. But that hasn't happened.
Read on ... for more on the decision to halt some traffic stops.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will pause non-urgent vehicle stops after two deadly shootings in less than a week, Maine Sen. Angus King's office tells NPR.
King spokesman Matthew Felling says the Department of Homeland Security confirmed the policy shift. Maine Sen. Susan Collins also posted Tuesday on X that she had called for change.
"I spoke with DHS Secretary [Markwayne] Mullin last night and urged him to cease all non-urgent vehicle stops," she wrote.
DHS told NPR in a statement that it will not "disclose or discuss law enforcement tactics," and it's unclear what this change will look like in practice.
The most recent death happened Monday in Biddeford, Maine, where ICE agents tried to pull over the car of 26-year-old Joan Durán Guerrero, a Colombian national.
"The vehicle attempted to flee the scene, and fearing for public safety, an officer discharged his weapon," DHS said in a statement. However, the agency has not provided any evidence to back the claims. The agents were not wearing body cameras.
Last week, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was shot by agents in Houston after they attempted to pull him over. The Department of Homeland Security says Salgado Araujo tried to use his van as a weapon, prompting an agent to fire their weapon. But passengers in the van have disputed this account.
Paul Hunker, the former chief counsel of ICE in Dallas, told NPR the standards and principles of when to discharge a firearm are clear.
"I was an attorney for the officers — the person has to pose an imminent threat of harm to use deadly force," Hunker said.
He said whether the person poses an imminent threat is always from the perspective of the officer.
The Department of Homeland Security's policy says deadly force cannot be used solely to prevent someone from fleeing … unless the person poses a significant threat of death or serious physical harm to the agent or others.
DHS accused Salgado Araujo of weaponizing his car against the ICE officer. In Maine, the agency said Durán Guerrero posed a public safety threat.
But in these cases, there hasn't been video evidence to back up those allegations.
The latest development has been welcomed by former DHS officials who said a reset is needed in order to regain the trust of the public and ensure no more lives are lost.
"That person could flee and present a big danger to people around them … that's one of the reasons I think there are few vehicle chases because of the danger and the harm that could happen if one of those goes bad." Hunker said.
He said in the past, ICE's preference has been to assume custody of the undocumented immigrants who were already in jails, making it safer for the agents.
Sarah Saldaña, a former ICE acting director under President Barack Obama, said the shift in policy is a good start.
"I think it's a very practical thing to do until the agency can get its officers more properly trained and attuned to what their effort is," Saldaña said. "Immigration enforcement should not be a deadly endeavor — it should be a method by which to make sure that people are complying with the law."
Despite the shift in policy, there are a lot of outstanding questions about what led to the fatal shootings of Salgado Araujo in Houston last week, and of Durán Guerrero in Maine this week.
None of the federal immigration agents were wearing body cameras, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
After the shooting of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis in January, DHS vowed to quickly deploy body cameras to federal immigration agents nationwide.
But that hasn't happened.
The agency is blaming Democrats in Congress and the partial government shutdowns for this. But it is, again, vowing to deploy body cameras for all agents in the next 60 days.
That footage would have been key to knowing whether the agents followed protocol or not, and to hold the agents accountable, said Lauren Bonds, the executive director of the nonprofit National Police Accountability Project.
"Luckily in both instances there were witnesses, independent witnesses, that observed some things and were able to share some information," Bonds said. "But it's really hard to be able to hold ICE agents accountable in any manner if all we're getting from DHS right now is kind of vague statements about the car being used in a way that was either threatening the ICE agents or, in the case of Maine, threatening the public."
Bonds said the public needs to keep demanding answers and independent investigations to create a change in policy — like the pause on traffic stops made public Tuesday.
NPR's Meg Anderson contributed reporting.
