The Brief

Comedians need a space to workshop their jokes — that’s universal.

So on a recent Saturday afternoon at the Tang Dynasty restaurant in San Gabriel, a handful of stand up performers were slinging their stuff at an open mic.

In Mandarin Chinese.

Liting Chen was third in the lineup, a self-proclaimed neophyte with a firm grasp of comedic timing.

"It's actually my third time doing Chinese stand up," Chen began. She then turned to a laowai — or foreigner — in the audience.

"Your Chinese is better than mine," she continued, and asked him where he learned it.

Online, from a teacher who lives in Southern China, he replied.

Chen interrupted him with a small apologetic laugh. "I don't understand," she said.

Liting Chen performs at a Chinese open mic event in San Gabriel.

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Iris Ouyang

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How to slay in Chinese

Welcome to Re-educated Comedy, a series of Chinese stand up shows and open mics in Los Angeles, where roasts, heckling, jokes that land and those that don't are all part of the experience. Just like they would be in English.

Re-educated is the brainchild of Lewis Liu, who works with Chinese-speaking entertainers, including film and TV professionals and social media influencers. In late 2023, Liu said a couple of his clients had wanted to do comedy in Chinese, but were bemoaning the lack of opportunities in L.A.

So like any good producer, Liu put an event together about a month later — a mixer and a stand-up show with a handful of performers in downtown. It packed the house.

"Because we had food, people showed up for that," Liu said. "Some people probably showed up for the comedians."

The audience is there

In March 2024, Re-educated had its first ticketed stand-up only show at a 140-seat comedy club. The first half of the sold-out performance was in English. The second, Chinese. It was bilingual, Liu said, because there weren't enough Chinese comics around.

There was another challenge.

"After our first show, our comedians were telling me, 'Lewis, it's great that we have a show, but we're running out of material,'" Liu said.

So they asked him to add free open mics to the programming.

"Having a small live audience really helps them test out the material," Liu said.

And all jokes are welcome at Re-educated Comedy. If the brand sounds like a political jab, Liu said to think of it more as a double entendre.

"When you come to a new country, you learn about the new things in the new world," said Liu, who came to the U.S. from central China more than a decade ago. "You essentially get reeducated."

As to any additional meaning, Liu said, "we let the audience interpret how they see it."

This year, the series is expanding from quarterly to monthly, with a mix of open mics and ticketed shows. As word about Re-educated gets out, more comedians are joining, from total newbies to bilingual comics who first cut their teeth in English stand-up.

Liting Chen, who roasted the guy in the audience at Tang Dynasty, started performing stand-up in English about a year-and-a-half ago and considers herself firmly in the bilingual camp. She learned about Re-educated from a fellow Chinese comic, went to her first show at the end of last year, and took the plunge shortly after.

" I was shocked to see there are so many Chinese-speaking [people in the] audience. Like, they're real people; they're not comics," Chen said.

In comparison, the audience of most English open mics she's been part of are other comics, waiting for their turn to go up.

Chen, who immigrated to the U.S. from northern China about a decade ago, said it's been interesting trying to figure out what makes the two different crowds tick.

"I don't think it translates," she said, bringing up a conversation she recently had with another bilingual comedian. "We feel like when we speak different languages, like Chinese and English, we switch our personality, we become another person."

Sliding between cultures

Jesse Appell, known in the Chinese-speaking stand up world as Ai Jiexi, performs at the open mic in San Gabriel.

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Fiona Ng

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LAist

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In between sets at Tang Dynasty, a comic with a close-cropped head of curls jumps on stage to work the crowd of about 30 people. His name is Jesse Appell, but he goes by another name in the Chinese stand-up scene.

"My name is Ai Jiexi," Appell said to the audience. "When you look at my face, you probably don't know where I am from. Well, I am a Dongbei ren."

Dongbei ren means someone who's from northeastern China.

"America's Northeast," Appell delivered the punchline. "I'm from Boston."

About 15 years ago, the Bostonian went to Beijing to study Chinese. He was already dabbling in improv in the U.S., and decided to check out the comedy scene in China. He discovered an old-school style of comedy known as xiangsheng — or crosstalk — that goes back some two centuries. A couple of years later, he returned to China on the Fulbright fellowship to research Chinese comedy, with the ulterior motive to study with the only crosstalk master in the country that would take on foreign disciples.

From there, Appell started to make a career for himself in China as a stand-up comic, performing some 300 shows in one year, including on Royal Caribbean cruises, a popular Chinese internet knock-off of SNL, and at his own comedy club in Beijing.

"Then I came home to the States for what I thought would be a nine-day vacation, and COVID hit in midair," Appell said. "I found myself locked back in America after having not lived here for basically my whole adult life."

Which pretty much sums up one major theme across his jokes.  "A lot of my comedy in Mandarin and even in English comes down to being this person that lives between the two worlds," Appell said.

A global phenomenon

Despite the vast Chinese-speaking diaspora in Southern California, the local Chinese comedy scene isn’t as developed as other cities. Re-educated's Liu said stand-up comedy started blowing up in China and Taiwan in the late 2010s, with variety and late night-type shows devoted to the artform.

" I actually was not surprised there's an audience out there for Chinese-language comedy," Liu said, referring to Los Angeles. "Because of the popularity of these shows, there are many other Chinese language comedy clubs that started to pop out around the world."

New York, Seattle, Vancouver, Toronto, the Silicon Valley, according to Liu, all have their own spots.

But what Los Angeles has is the San Gabriel Valley.

" The SGV is different," said Appell, who has performed in a number of Chinese-speaking communities, including in Paris, London and Seattle. He calls it a kind of cultural confidence that he hasn't seen elsewhere, like the fact that the signage of an entire mall could be in Chinese, the fact that zero thoughts are given to whether you know the language.

"I feel like [in] the SGV, people are living their life and they're thriving and they're doing what they want," Appell said.

Details for the next show

Re-educated Comedy
Date: Saturday, Feb. 22
Time: English stand-up: 7 – 9 p.m. Chinese stand-up: 9 - 11 p.m.
Venue: Happy Humble Hub, 117 East Main Street #Unit A & B, Alhambra
Tickets: Starting at $28.52

The city of Santa Ana is just $85 short of closing what started as a $13 million budget deficit. On the chopping block: after-school programming, park maintenance and more.

The city manager’s office presented another round of cuts to balance the budget at yesterday’s City Council meeting. Officials reported that the current proposal avoids layoffs and furloughs. Most of the cuts will come from the Public Works Department at more than $3 million.

Santa Ana's current budget proposal includes an estimated $85 deficit for the upcoming fiscal year.

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Courtesy of the city of Santa Ana

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More on what’s being cut 

The Police Department is seeing a proposed $2 million in cuts, but could still be allocated $4 million more than last year, according to the budget draft.

The city is looking to cut 20 vacant full-time positions and reduce part-time spending.

Five non-mandated commissions will also be dissolved, including the youth, parks and recreation, and arts and culture commissions. The move will save the city nearly $28,000.

Ambulance services will be cut down from a 24-hour unit to a 12-hour unit, saving $250,000, and fees will increase.

How did we get here? 

At a City Council meeting earlier this month, officials reported that the city’s revenue increased by 3% compared to last year, but spending is up 6%, with hikes in labor and pension/liability costs.

What’s the deal with youth programming? 

The Santa Ana Police Athletic and Activity League, also known as PAAL, costs the city more than $877,000, about 80% of which goes toward salaries for its current fiscal budget.

PAAL costs the city about $5,400 per child, compared to youth programs run by the Parks and Recreation Department, which cost about $100 per kid.

PAAL’s after-school and summer programs serve 87 children, and more than 200 are mentored and coached through its sports programming. The program’s budget will be slashed by about half.

Councilmember Johnathan Ryan Hernandez said this move should not be seen as a cut to youth services.

“Through this new proposed recommendation, we’ll reinstate exercise instruction at four different elementary schools, and we will increase the services from 228 children to 2,200 children,” Hernandez said. “We are not cutting youth services, we're actually adding youth services while saving money for our city.”

Mayor Valerie Amezcua said the library and parks departments can do the same programs, but not the way PAAL does.

“I just want to make sure whatever cuts we're making, that we continue to include our Police Department. To me, that's very important for the public trust,” Amezcua said.

What’s next? 

The city isn’t completely in the clear when it comes to its finances. Measure X, a voter-approved sales tax, will be reduced in 2029, resulting in the loss of at least $30 million in annual revenue before completely expiring in 2039. The City Council, aside from Councilmembers David Penaloza and Jessie Lopez, has supported asking voters if the tax should be made permanent.

A public hearing to review the drafted budget will be held on June 2. Details will be posted on the city’s website.

At least 20 detainees have launched a hunger strike at Desert View Annex, an immigrant detention center in Adelanto, California, where about 400 people are being held.

At a news conference Wednesday, immigrant rights groups, including the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, said the strikers were motivated by the detention center’s inadequate response to life-threatening health conditions among detainees, “decreasing portions of food” as commissary prices rise and “retaliation and suppression” against those who’ve spoken out against conditions inside. The media event included family members and legal representatives, who described hearing from detainees about how the hunger strike began.

The strike follows the recent release of a critical report from the California Department of Justice. Grounded in interviews with 194 detainees across the state, the report details how the surge in immigrant apprehensions strained conditions and access to medical care at all of the facilities operating in California. State investigators also described the recent deaths of multiple detainees.

The annex strikers’ demands include:

• bond reform
• remediation of mold, repair of water infrastructure, clean water and functioning facilities
• timely medical appointments, “appropriate treatment for chronic conditions” and “substantive mental health support”
• “a diet that sustains basic physical health”
• accountability for detainee deaths, including a man who died shortly after being released 
• “The ability to meet collectively, speak with outside advocates, and communicate with family and the public without interference or retaliation.”

Desert View Annex is operated by The GEO Group, a private prison company, under contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. No one at the press conference could confirm whether any detainees at the main Adelanto detention facility were on a hunger strike, too.

What is the response from authorities?

In response to a request for comment, The GEO Group referred LAist to the federal government. In an emailed statement, an unnamed Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said: “There is no hunger strike at Adelanto.”

The department also added: “For the record: During hunger strikes, ICE continues to provide three meals a day, delivered to the detained alien’s room, and an adequate supply of drinking water or other beverages.”

The department also said: “It is a longstanding practice to provide comprehensive medical care from the moment an alien enters ICE custody. This includes medical, dental, and mental health services as available, and access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care. For many illegal aliens this is the best healthcare they have received their entire lives.”

What do detainees experience?

Caleb Soto, an attorney with the National Day Labor Organizing Network, represents people currently detained at the Adelanto detention center. He said he goes inside the facility every week.

“I watch [detainees] deteriorate week by week,” he said. “The food they're given ... provides almost no nutrition. Medical appointments can take weeks or even months to be approved, and often last 60 seconds ending with the prescription of Tylenol, Advil or even a salt packet. People with serious conditions go untreated, and I've watched people age in front of me in a matter of months.”

Soto also described his experience with the bond system. “Discretionary releases have fallen 87%,” he said. “And for those who do get a bond hearing, the average bond is now over $14,000, which is a stark increase from the previous administration.”

Detainees have filed grievances, raised formal complaints and written officials about the conditions they’re experiencing, Soto added. “A hunger strike is not a first resort," he said. "It's what people do when every other option has been taken from them.”

Detainees say staff use solitary confinement to retaliate against those who speak out against these conditions, and to isolate detainees who are experiencing mental health crises.

Earlier this year, a coalition of immigrant rights groups filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of detainees, calling for conditions at Adelanto to be improved. The coalition has since requested an emergency court order to prevent further harm. A hearing is scheduled for July 10.

Top line:

The restaurants:

- ALTO in Studio City: Argentine/Uruguayan live-fire cooking.

- Casa Leo in Los Feliz: Spanish tapas.

- Electric Bleu in Mar Vista: French bistro with a California twist.

- Kojima in Sawtelle: 8-seat omakase-style, no menu.

- Lielle in Pico Robertson: Nordic-meets-California tasting menu.

- Lynx in the Arts District: pizza-only with refined toppings.

-The Mulberry in Sawtelle: Korean American comfort food.

-Sonoratown (various locations): Mexican classics.

-SORA Craft Kitchen in DTLA: Modern Anatolian/Turkish.

-Good Alley in Rosemead: Chinese, xiao long bao and more.

One addition is outside L.A.

- Alice B. in Palm Springs: Californian cuisine with Mediterranean influences.

Why it matters: It's a big honor for these restaurants to be recognized, some of whom have been around for a long time.

What's next: Some of these restaurants could receive a Michelin star or Bib Gourmand award at the annual ceremony on June 24.

With President Donald Trump dragging them down in the polls, California Republicans are repackaging one of his core crusades into an idea they hope will be more palatable to voters.

They are framing their successful push to get a voter ID law on the November ballot as a “common sense” measure.

“We’ve structured this initiative based on what voters across the political spectrum would want,” Republican Assemblymember Carl DeMaio of San Diego said in a March interview, adding that showing an ID at the polls shouldn’t be any different than using one to buy alcohol or pass airport security.

DeMaio and other backers point to polling that shows 56% of California voters support requiring ID at the ballot box and that most states require or recommend an ID to vote.

But even in their pursuit to appeal to moderates, GOP lawmakers haven’t given up pushing Trump’s debunked claims of widespread voter fraud.

Last month, GOP legislators held a “stop the fraud” press conference, where they alleged without proof rampant corruption across state government, from elections to homelessness programs, and urged Newsom to call a special election to “audit” the alleged fraud.

The polling they point to also shows, however, that support for requiring identification at the polls drops to 39% when voters are told it is backed by DeMaio and could suppress turnout.

Voting rights groups say the measure would create needless barriers and would stifle turnout among low-income and disabled voters.

Current law already requires counties to routinely review voter registration databases to remove anyone who is ineligible to vote in case of a move, incarceration or death.

“Those checks and that maintenance of that list is already happening,” League of Women Voters executive director Jenny Farrell said. “We don’t need to erect new barriers.”

Voter suppression concerns tank voter ID support

If passed, as many as 1 million eligible voters could be kept from voting. Another 500,000 aren’t registered and don’t have the necessary documents it would require, according to UCLA Voting Rights Project director Matt Barreto.

“There’s been a very consistent finding in almost any state, in any environment, that lower-income and working-class voters are less likely to have an updated, valid ID,” he said.

Labor groups who bankrolled Democrats’ campaign for last year’s redistricting proposal, Proposition 50, are funding a similar opposition campaign focused on Trump’s push for a proof-of-citizenship bill in Congress.

Meanwhile, Democrats want to increase penalties for violating election laws after Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a candidate for governor, seized hundreds of thousands of ballots earlier this year over baseless claims of voter fraud in the 2025 election.

Bianco, who seized the ballots in response to unproven claims from a right-wing activist group, supports voter ID.

Critics say he’s stoking fear among voters and that there are already adequate safeguards.

“We have a two-person rule where no ballots are ever in an area that’s not with at least two people observing what’s happening,” said Gail Pellerin, Democratic chair of the Assembly elections committee, at a UCLA elections panel last month.

Ramping up the base?

Experts agree voter fraud is rare.

However, fears about election integrity have risen among Republicans since Trump falsely claimed the 2020 election was stolen, spurring GOP lawmakers across the country to introduce bills seeking to tighten voter restrictions.

This is DeMaio’s third attempt at a voter ID ballot initiative. It qualified for the ballot last month.

Assemblymember Carl DeMaio announces that supporters of the CA Voter ID Initiative will submit more than 1.3 million signatures to qualify the measure for the November 2026 ballot during a press conference at the west steps of the state Capitol in Sacramento on March 3, 2026.

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Fred Greaves

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CalMatters

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Strategists say there’s little evidence that ballot initiatives actually turn out voters, but this measure is something intended to activate voters in what will likely be a difficult election year for Republicans.

“Issues like this, that are kind of red meat issues for Republicans when the governor’s race is fairly lackluster, it helps,” Stutzman said. “It’s all upside. It’s not going to hurt Republicans to have this on the ballot.”

Following bruising losses after Prop. 50 and in other states, GOP leaders are hoping to hold onto three statehouse seats they flipped in 2024 and gain others. But Trump — and his push for national voter restrictions — threatens Republicans’ success at the ballot box.

“It’s a loop that Republicans keep hammering on, either fraud or ineptitude, or waste in dollars,” Stutzman said. “It’s kind of traditional Republican messaging.”

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