Fiona Ng
is LAist's deputy managing editor and leads a team of reporters who explore food, culture, history, events and more.
Published January 3, 2026 5:00 AM
Kevin Cooley and his family's lot in Altadena. They lost their house in the Eaton Fire a year ago.
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Kevin Cooley
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Courtesy Kevin Cooley
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Topline:
Photographer Kevin Cooley takes photographs of wildfires for a living. A year ago, he and his family lost their home in the Eaton Fire.
The story: LAist has been following Cooley's life in the year since the January fire, as he ponders the long road ahead. The photographs he has taken in Altadena have helped to keep him anchored. He'd drive up to the neighborhood as many as several times a week to shoot anything that caught his eyes.
The context: It began with wildflowers and plants that pushed out from the fire rubble. And recently, Cooley has turned his lens on some of the folks who are living on their lots in makeshift dwellings. They call themselves, he said, "the homesteaders."
Read on ... for the story and to see the photographs that have led Cooley home.
The pull of Altadena has never let up for Kevin Cooley and his family — through fire, debris and the long, current stretch where the lot that once held their house on El Molino Avenue has sat barren.
"There's no more fire debris. It's all gone. I mean, there's certainly a reminder of the fire everywhere," Cooley said. "It's just all construction ... and lots that are for sale."
A rock denoting Kevin Cooley's home in front of his lot in Altadena. Cooley lost his house in the Eaton Fire a year before.
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Fiona Ng
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LAist
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The Altadena lot where Kevin Cooley and his family's house once sat before the Eaton Fire.
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Fiona Ng
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LAist
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Kevin Cooley sitting next to his cleared lot in Altadena.
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Fiona Ng
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LAist
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'Like a rollercoaster'
"It's been a lot of fluctuation, like a rollercoaster," Cooley said of the decision-making process. "Just not knowing what the right thing to do is."
The January fire wiped out nearly a decade's worth of life he and his family built in Altadena, confronting them with what Cooley called a "blank slate."
In a whirlwind year of trying to put their lives back together, the thought of whether it's just easier — and less costly — to start anew elsewhere has crossed their minds.
"It's daunting but also kind of interesting to think about all the possibilities that you could have," Cooley said.
Along the way, Cooley, a photographer, turned to his art to make sense of all that was lost — and ended up forging an even deeper relationship with this place.
A picture of roses found growing on a lot on Calaveras Street in Altadena. Cooley says this photo best encapsulates his intention for the series.
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Kevin Cooley
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He told me about his first impression of Altadena — how it seemed "impossibly far away." How the interminable drive that day up Lake Avenue deposited him on the Echo Mountain trail — "one of the most beautiful hikes I've ever been on." How the neighborhood quickly became their entire world after he and his wife bought the place on El Molino, some eight years later.
" I walked my kid to school. My wife, Bridget, she would ride her bike to work," he said. " I mean, that's not what you think of as living in Los Angeles, but yet, it's so close in a lot of ways to everything in L.A."
Home sick
Since the fire, Cooley has been coming up to Altadena, sometimes as many as several times a week. He would drive around the neighborhood, over and over again, to take pictures of whatever might catch his eyes.
His route always begins at his lot on El Molino.
Aloe on Harriet Street.
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Kevin Cooley
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Courtesy Kevin Cooley
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" It seems like a natural starting point and also a place to reflect on coming back, to seeing if it's really a place that I want to rebuild my life again," Cooley said.
About six months ago, he told me he was photographing flowers and plants that rose out of the fire's impossible ruins and burnt trees that managed to sprout new growth.
A redwood palm on Palm Street.
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Kevin Cooley
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Courtesy Kevin Cooley
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A ponytail palm on Athens Street.
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Kevin Cooley
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Courtesy Kevin Cooley
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The 'homesteaders'
Since Thanksgiving, he started to fix his lens on some of the folks living in temporary dwellings on their lots.
"They call themselves the 'homesteaders,'" Cooley said.
Homesteader Tom in Altadena.
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Kevin Cooley
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Courtesy Kevin Cooley
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Cooley took me on a drive, pointing out an Airstream on one block ... then a tiny box of an ADU down another ... then a trailer the size of a school bus ... then a tent ... then a giant RV. A sign in front of it says, "My entire life burned in Altadena and all I got was a stupid sign."
"They're all intending on coming back in a permanent way, but in the meantime, they have many different reasons for being here," Cooley said.
For some, they simply could not stay away.
An Airstream in Altadena.
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Kevin Cooley
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Courtesy Kevin Cooley
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"Being elsewhere has been really hard on them," he said. " They want to feel a connection to this place. They want to be back in Altadena."
Cooley photographed the homesteaders the same way as the wildflowers and the trees, with strobe lights illuminating his subjects against a darkened backdrop at dusk.
Homesteaders Michael and Brooke in Altadena.
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Kevin Cooley
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Courtesy Kevin Cooley
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" Those homesteaders are like the human equivalent of what the plants are doing," he said. " My idea was to have them match conceptually and visually."
As we drove around, with the majestic mountains sporting a dense coat of Kelly green as our constant North Star, it's impossible to miss the new phase Altadena has entered — as debris and wreckage gave way to neat, empty lots and "For sale" signs to now the wooden frames sprouting into shape on many blocks, all within a year's time.
A fact of life
And these in-between moments of resiliency — be it the plants or the homesteaders — are disappearing quickly.
"People are building so fast and some people have already built, finished and have moved in. Photographing people in these temporary conditions is almost, again, a race against time," he said.
But their resolve, their longing to be rooted, has reaffirmed his own decision to stay.
A rusted, beat-up VW bus in Altadena
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Kevin Cooley
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Courtesy Kevin Cooley
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Cooley and his wife still will rebuild. They now need to settle on one of the two companies on their shortlist for the job.
This time, the family will have a home tailored to their needs. For Cooley, that means a proper art studio space, instead of working out of the garage like he did before.
Above all, their new house will be built with the next fire in mind.
" Wildfires are a fact of life in California," he has told me every time we meet. "That would mean building the most fire-hardened house possible."
Every year, California agencies report to the state technology department on their use of "high-risk" decision systems.
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Martin do Nascimento
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CalMatters
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Topline:
State officials have found they are using six high-risk AI-like systems. One year ago, they reported using zero.
Why it matters: A year ago, California officials had to report under a new state law how they used automated systems to make important decisions about people’s lives. They said they never did — a startling answer for a number of reasons, sources told CalMatters at the time, including that there were several prominent examples to the contrary.
More details: Now, the state has issued a more expansive answer: It is currently using six automated systems to make consequential decisions about the lives of Californians. The systems are used to do things like:
Predict whether incarcerated people will re-offend
Evaluate whether unemployment claims are fraudulent
Remotely administer exams for California State University students
Detect when college students use generative AI to write assignments.
Read on... for more on the systems used by the state.
A year ago, California officials had to report under a new state law how they used automated systems to make important decisions about people’s lives.
They said they never did — a startling answer for a number of reasons, sources told CalMatters at the time, including that there were several prominent examples to the contrary.
Now, the state has issued a more expansive answer: It is currently using six automated systems to make consequential decisions about the lives of Californians.
The systems are used to do things like:
Predict whether incarcerated people will re-offend
Evaluate whether unemployment claims are fraudulent
Remotely administer exams for California State University students
Detect when college students use generative AI to write assignments.
That's according to a report released Friday by the state's technology department. The report is required under a 2023 law mandating that that state agencies annually disclose their use of “high-risk automated decision systems,” which the law defines as systems “used to assist or replace human discretionary decisions that have a legal or similarly significant effect, including decisions that materially impact access to, or approval for, housing or accommodations, education, employment, credit, health care, and criminal justice.”
The law was pushed by civil rights, privacy, and civil liberties groups concerned about harms from AI-like systems. Numerous such systems have been shown to produce results biased against marginalized groups, including those used for high-stakes testing, predicting recidivism, and detecting AI-generated texts.
CalMatters flagged last year’s report as surprising, noting that the state corrections department had reported using software to predict post-release behavior and that the employment department used a fraud detection system that paused benefits for 600,000 Californians between Christmas and New Years in 2020, according to a Legislative Analyst’s Office report.
Though the report names six high-risk systems in use today, state agencies have used some for several years now. Those include COMPAS, which has been used by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to assign recidivism scores to inmates for at least a decade.
The technology department said in the report that it found more systems for its report this year because it evaluated responses from state agencies more thoroughly, including by meeting with agencies and questioning them about their systems.
In addition to the six high-risk systems, the department’s report disclosed an additional six systems initially flagged as high risk but later determined not to be. One was AI used for legislative bill analysis by the California Department of Finance.
The report also notes two high-risk systems that are not currently in use: the Department of Cannabis Control is developing artificial intelligence to analyze whether marijuana packaging violates a law against appealing to children and California State University discontinued use of a language model for reviewing job applications.
Results of the second annual survey come after cities like San Jose and San Francisco released their first AI inventories in recent months. They also come at a time when California-based AI companies like Anthropic and OpenAI are going public and seeking government contracts. Americans are split on whether they trust AI and surveys last year by TechEquity and Carnegie California found that the majority of Californians want safety over innovation. A Gallup poll to evaluate the opinions of Americans found similar results.
Senate Bill 1248, a bill that would have prohibited state employees from using automated decision systems as the sole basis for decisionmaking, was killed last month in the state’s rapid-fire appropriations process.
What’s missing
While the newly-released report shares more information than last year’s, several questions remain about the state’s use of artificial intelligence and other automated systems.
The report does not include generative AI pilot projects underway with support from the governor’s office to do things like help businesses file taxes, support state employees who work on homelessness, and an AI assistant named Poppy that uses language models like Anthropic’s Claude to do things like draft documents, research policy, or build custom AI tools, according to a state website. The website says that 67 state departments provided input during the pilot phase and statewide rollout of Poppy begins next month.
The 2023 law mandating the annual high-risk systems report excludes reporting by a number of state agencies, including the judicial branch and the University of California college system. Reporting by CalMatters last month found that a majority of the roughly 60 courts that operate statewide have adopted generative AI use policies. Courts in Los Angeles and Riverside counties have begun testing an AI tool to act as a clerk, drafting orders and producing research memos.
CalMatters is compiling an inventory of automated decisionmaking systems in use by state and local agencies throughout California in order to provide transparency into how governments are using decisionmaking systems and AI. Know about an AI system in use by a state or local agency? Email khari@calmatters.org.
Sena Chang
is a summer 2026 LAist intern and a junior at Princeton.
Published June 15, 2026 12:35 PM
The Dome Fire in 2020 burned more than 1 million Joshua trees.
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Sydney Glassman
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UC Riverside
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Topline:
After an estimated 1.3 million Joshua trees died in a fire, scientists found fungi thriving near the charred pants. These networks of fungi, which help extend the reach of the yuccas' root systems, could help the recovery of burned Joshua trees.
Why it matters: Fungi help Joshua trees absorb water and nutrients, helping them survive harsh desert conditions. Without the fungi, the beloved desert plants would struggle even more than they already are to recover from the 2020 Dome Fire.
The context: By 2100, Joshua trees are projected to lose up to 80% of their habitat if greenhouse gas emissions continue increasing. Amid concerns about climate change, experts said that the new study provided insight into how Joshua trees may fare in a hotter world.
Read on … to learn more about the underground fungal networks that survived the fire.
An estimated 1.3 million Joshua trees burned as the 2020 Dome Fire swept through 43,000 acres of the Cima Dome in the Mojave Desert. Scientists feared the damage extended far beyond the trees, reaching into the underground networks of fungi that help sustain desert ecosystems.
Instead, fungi are thriving underground.
That finding — published in a peer-reviewed study in the journal Fire Ecology — is important because the fungi extend the reach of Joshua trees’ root systems, helping them survive harsh desert conditions. Without the fungi, the desert plants would struggle even more than they already are to recover from the fire.
“Even though things die, there are always plants and microbes that will take advantage of the fire and will really bloom after them,” said Sydney Glassman, a fungal ecologist at UC Riverside and the lead author of the study. “So it’s not all doom and gloom."
Two weeks after the Dome Fire was contained in August 2020, Glassman and a team of researchers collected samples from burned and unburned areas around the Cima Dome volcanic structure east of Baker. The area is home to one of the densest Joshua tree forests in the world. The team collected soil samples near Eastern Joshua trees to assess the fire’s effect on fungal communities. The samples were frozen, processed for DNA extraction, and later sequenced to identify which organisms were present.
Over the next three years, researchers returned to the sites five times, focusing on measuring the amount of the symbiotic fungi and bacteria that live within Joshua tree roots.
They found a fungal system that remained largely intact.
“In this case, other plants survived — like cacti, or different kinds of desert forbs, or other yuccas — so they were maintaining the soil microbial community,” Glassman said.
Sydney Glassman of UC Riverside collects samples of fungi in the Mojave National Preserve.
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Lynn Sweet
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UC Riverside
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These fungi help plants absorb water and nutrients from the soil, while also protecting against pathogens and environmental stressors such as drought.
Experts think that the fungal networks remained resilient partly due to the sparseness of the Mojave, where Joshua trees are spread far apart.
“There’s not really a lot of ground cover in between them, so the fire moves really fast,” Glassman said, meaning the heat did little damage to the soil.
But efforts to restore Joshua trees have seen little success so far. Seedlings face a multitude of threats, including pack rats and increasing temperatures, Glassman said.
“The seedling has to get growing and survive first,” Glassman said. “And then once it’s growing, then it definitely requires these fungi, and those can help them tolerate drought and survive.”
This image shows what's known as an arbuscule, a fungal structure, from an Eastern Joshua tree's root.
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Arik Joukhajian
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UC Riverside
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By 2100, Joshua trees are projected to lose up to 80% of their habitat if greenhouse gas emissions continue increasing. Amid concerns about climate change, experts said that the new study provided insight into how Joshua trees may fare in a hotter world.
Brendan Cummings, conservation director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said Joshua trees face increasing fire and drought risk as human-caused climate change accelerates.
“If we do everything necessary to save the Joshua tree, we will also be saving the broader desert ecosystem,” said Cummings, who has worked on Joshua tree conservation.
Glassman said her research will continue. She hopes to understand the traits of bacteria and fungi that survive fires, and how they're doing it.
Ohio State University evolutionary ecologist Alison Bennett said future research could investigate whether soil fungi play a role in improving the germination and growth of Joshua tree seedlings. However, Bennett noted that challenges in procuring Joshua tree seedlings and waiting for them to reach maturity over decades could make such research difficult.
“There are other aspects of restoration and looking at soil microbiology that need to be built more, and I feel like this paper lays a good foundation for a lot of that future work,” said Andrew Kaiser, an environmental scientist at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife who was not involved in the study.
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From left, Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel and state Sen. John Laird.
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Miguel Gutierrez Jr. and Fred Greaves
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CalMatters
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Topline:
State lawmakers’ budget plan would reject or delay many of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s social service cuts. Now, the budget negotiations begin in earnest.
Why it matters: Today’s vote is only a formality, because lawmakers are constitutionally required to pass a balanced budget by June 15 each year to continue collecting their pay. They have until the end of the month to strike a deal with Newsom before the new fiscal year starts July 1.
What's next: In the next two weeks, legislators will have to settle their differences with Newsom on health care cuts, funding for schools and homelessness and more.
Read on... for five takeaways from the Legislature's spending plan.
California lawmakers are expected to adopt a $356 billion state budget today that would largely avoid or delay billions of dollars in social service cuts Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed last month.
Then, the (real) budget negotiations can begin.
Today’s vote is only a formality, because lawmakers are constitutionally required to pass a balanced budget by June 15 each year to continue collecting their pay. They have until the end of the month to strike a deal with Newsom before the new fiscal year starts July 1.
In the next two weeks, legislators will have to settle their differences with Newsom on health care cuts, funding for schools and homelessness and more.
Here are five takeaways from the Legislature’s spending plan:
Punt and soften healthcare cuts
Faced with federal funding cuts under the tax and spending law President Donald Trump signed last year, Newsom proposed several measures to limit healthcare coverage for undocumented immigrants as well as refugees, asylees and human trafficking survivors.
Top legislative Democrats want to delay those cuts by a year while looking for alternatives to soften the impact.
Newsom also wants to raise the monthly Medi-Cal premium undocumented immigrants pay from $30 to $50. But lawmakers prefer waiting him out, proposing to leave the decision to the next governor.
“I don’t think it’s about Gavin Newsom,” said Sen. John Laird, a Santa Cruz Democrat who chairs the budget committee. “It’s really about trying to stretch as far as we can in the hope that we don’t have to make those cuts.”
The Legislature rebuked Newsom’s proposal to reinstate stringent Medi-Cal asset tests for seniors and adults with disabilities by July, instead pitching a less restrictive limit to take effect in fiscal year 2027-28. With bipartisan support, the lawmakers also rejected Newsom’s proposed cuts to the In-Home Supportive Services program.
They did, however, agree to Newsom’s plan to spend $300 million to subsidize private healthcare for low-income Californians.
Restoring some child care, TK-12 money
Democratic lawmakers want to add 22,000 state-funded child care slots over the next few years. They also rejected Newsom’s proposed reduction of 6,800 state-supported spaces due to declining federal and state funding.
Banking on a rosier revenue forecast, state lawmakers proposed $2.7 billion more in funding for TK-12 schools and community colleges than Newsom did in May.
Schools and educators were hoping for more. They wanted the Legislature to reject Newsom’s proposal to withhold $3.9 billion in constitutionally guaranteed school money — an accounting mechanism to prevent overpaying schools in case the projected revenue doesn’t materialize.
“We demand that the Legislature and the governor follow the law, stop with the gimmicks and the shell games, and fully fund our schools,” said David Goldberg, president of the California Teachers Association. “Our union is prepared to do whatever it takes to hold them accountable if they don’t. Our students deserve no less.”
More generous with counties
The Legislature’s spending plan would give counties more money to step up eligibility checks for Californians applying for food stamps and health care benefits, reviews that are now required under Trump’s spending bill.
It would also allocate $125 million to help counties reestablish indigent care — a program serving low-income Californians that largely went away under Obamacare.
State lawmakers also want to set aside $900 million for the state’s homelessness fund, whereas Newsom included just $500 million in his proposal.
More revenue, please
Newsom proposed three new tax measures and lawmakers are on board with them:
Applying a sales tax on most company software, like Slack and Microsoft Suites
The proposals come at a time when California voters have rejected most local tax initiatives during the June primary. But Newsom’s proposals require no voter approval — just the support of two-thirds of each legislative chamber.
There’s still an appetite among lawmakers to make corporations pay up. Senate Democrats had proposed a monthly charge on big employers for having employees enrolled in Medi-Cal, but have now backed away from the plan, instead asking the next governor to pitch “fully viable options” next year.
Save more money for rainy days
There’s a consensus between the Legislature and the governor to raise the ceiling on the revenue the state can deposit into its rainy day fund. The question is how much. State leaders are constitutionally required to make deposits into the account each year, but the balance cannot exceed 10% of the state’s general fund tax revenue under current law.
Changing that amount would require voter approval. Lawmakers are considering placing a measure on the November ballot that would allow them to sock away more money for lean years. They have a tight deadline of June 25 to settle on what they want to put before voters.
Libby Rainey
has been covering the World Cup in Los Angeles.
Published June 15, 2026 10:41 AM
(From left) Iran's defender Ramin Rezaeian, midfielder Saeid Ezatolahi, midfielder Roozbeh Cheshmi and forward Mehdi Taremi walk around the pitch at SoFi Stadium.
The latest: The Iranian national team arrived in L.A. yesterday, ending months of speculation about if they would make it to the tournament.
The context: The team's participation in the World Cup has been in question since the U.S. and Israel first bombed Iran in late February.
What the team is saying: "I have felt the tension from the first moment we arrived at this World Cup," Iran captain Mehdi Taremi said through an interpreter at a press conference at SoFi Stadium on Sunday, the Associated Press reported. "At any tournament when there is tension, we won’t have the same beautiful experience we always talk about with peace and joy."
Read on... for how the Iranian diaspora in L.A. is responding to the national team.
The Iranian national team arrived in L.A. on Sunday, ending months of speculation about whether they would make it to the tournament. The team's participation in the World Cup has been in question since the U.S. and Israel first bombed Iran in late February.
"I have felt the tension from the first moment we arrived at this World Cup," Iran captain Mehdi Taremi said through an interpreter at a press conference at SoFi Stadium on Sunday, the Associated Press reported. "At any tournament when there is tension, we won’t have the same beautiful experience we always talk about with peace and joy."
Iran's forward Mehdi Taremi gives a press conference at Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood on June 14, 2026.
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Patrick T. Fallon
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Getty Images
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The road to L.A.
Iran's team faced a number of obstacles to make it to Los Angeles. In March, the sports minister for Iran said the team could not participate. President Donald Trump also made conflicting comments on whether Iran should come to the U.S. to play.
“Without any doubt, this will impact negatively the spirit of football,” Iran's head coach Amir Ghalenoei said Sunday, per AP. “These conditions, they have impacted our technical focus, but I have really tried to make sure that my players focus on strategy and techniques.”
Iran's head coach Amir Ghalenoei takes part in a training session at Carson Sports Park in Carson, California on June 14, 2026.
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Patrick T. Fallon
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Getty Images
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FIFA President Gianni Infantino insisted last week that Iran's participation was never in question.
"When people were saying well, it would be impossible for Iran to come to the World Cup, I told them and I promised them that they would come," he said at a press conference.
People wave US and pre-revolutionary Iranian flags as they protest the Iranian regime outside of SoFi Stadium on June 7, 2026, ahead of the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Some in Los Angeles can't separate their feelings about the government from their opinion of Iran's national team. Others say they're rooting for Iran. One thing many agree on is that there are bound to be demonstrations in and around the stadium.
There's also the question of how Iran's national team will perform, and if it can make it past the first round of the World Cup.
Game details
Time: Tonight's game kicks off at 6 p.m.
Where: Broadcast on TV on FOX (English) and Fox Deportes (Spanish)
Watch parties at 6 p.m.:
See Iran vs. New Zealand on Monday, June 15:
MacArthur Park, 2230 W 6th St., Los Angeles
Lanark Recreation Center, 21816 Lanark St., Canoga Park
Northridge Recreation Center, 18300 Lemarsh St., Northridge
