The Brief

Los Angeles has no shortage of notable cemeteries filled with the graves of famous people and the history that goes along with them.

Maybe you’ve attended an event at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, where you can pay your respects to famous people like Judy Garland or Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell.

But in the hills of the Sunland-Tujunga neighborhood there’s another cemetery that holds the more than 100-year-old history of early residents in the area — and a macabre event that washed the dead out of their graves and into the surrounding streets.

At the Verdugo Hills Cemetery high above the neighborhood of Sunland-Tujunga, more than 2,000 people are interred on a piece of land with a panoramic view of the community below.

Another view from the Verdugo Hills Cemetery.

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Robert Garrova / LAist

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The Parson founder

“A lot of people amazingly don’t even know this is here,” said Craig Durst with the Friends of Verdugo Hills Cemetery.

As Durst explains, the cemetery was established in 1922. Back then, local Reverend James Wornum was looking for a plot of land where he could be buried among his flock.

A painting of James and Jenny Wornum.

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‘Parson’ Wornum and his wife Jenny have prominent placement in the cemetery, where two white rock crosses mark their graves atop the hill. The two were well-known for traveling around the community giving sermons from their horse-drawn wagon.

“And they used to come up that path up there which was Sunland Boulevard. And usually when they were coming home they’d be singing hymns," Durst said. "So as they arrived they’d come over the top of the hill and the whole community could hear them signing. And it was something that people just loved about this community."

Craig Durst of Friends of Verdugo Hills Cemetery.

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Robert Garrova / LAist

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Over the decades, hundreds of other prominent members of the community would be buried at the cemetery. That includes members of the Hatch family, who were known as Little Landers, a community of settlers with utopian ideals who came to the area to live an agrarian lifestyle just north of the chaos of downtown Los Angeles.

But in 1978, a weather event caused a grim scene that has become legendary.

A macabre catastrophe

In early February that year, a sudden deluge pummeled the landscape.

“Just after midnight on that night in 1978, the hillside gave way and a landslide went down the hill and it carried with it hundreds of caskets, many of which broke open," Durst said. "The body parts were thrown out into the roadway and the street and it was quite a mess."

The L.A. County coroner at the time, Thomas Noguchi, wrote about the gruesome catastrophe in his book titled Coroner:

“Down toward the city streets slid rotting caskets containing more than a hundred bodies borne on the lip of the mudslide. Within minutes caskets and corpses engulfed the area, plunging through windows into the living rooms of houses, into stores, and lodging against walls. One body ended up wedged in the doorway of a supermarket.” 

The Verdugo Hills Cemetery plot map

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Robert Garrova / LAist

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Longtime local resident and volunteer caretaker Bill Andrew said that in the years after the landslide, the graveyard fell into decay. There are stories about teenagers breaking into the mausoleum and pulling out some of the caskets.

“They did some terrible things. So this whole property has gone through disrepair, desecration, vandalism," he said. "And everybody that’s helped here — all the volunteers — are owed a great deal of gratitude for trying to restore what you see now."

About five years ago, Durst decided the historic grounds deserved better.

“There’s the famous saying by the Englishman that you can tell how a community is by how they care for their dead," he said. "And that struck me really hard and I thought, we need to do better."

Now, through the nonprofit Friends of Verdugo Hills Cemetery, Durst hosts monthly events where volunteers have helped clear vegetation and even repair stone work on the mid-century mausoleum.

The cemetery has even had at least one celebrity volunteer. Turns out actor Bill Pullman and his family are also supporters of the cemetery.

“[Pullman] and his wife came up here to work one day. And I sent them up here where we’re on top of this hill and just told them to clear debris,” Durst recalled. “I didn’t bother him and he was working up here all day long with his wife and then he came down at the end of the day all excited: ‘You gotta come see what we did!’ I’m thinking, ‘What did they do?’ So I came up and they had made this trail. So I call this the Pullman Path."

Durst said he wants more people to learn the history of the place and experience the beautiful views.

Andrew said it best: “We jokingly say — with a little bit of respect — that it’s a view to die for. And it is!”

Upcoming event

If you want to see the cemetery for yourself, Durst will be hosting a “dinner with the dead” event on Sept. 6.

Check out the Friends of Verdugo Hills Cemetery website for updates and to sign up for their newsletter.

As federal officials suspend funding to L.A.’s main homelessness agency — citing mismanagement — a recent audit found the agency did not spend tens of millions of dollars allocated to it.

The audit found the L.A. Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) underspent its overall budget by $108 million in the last fiscal year ending in June 2025, mainly because of “program delays.” The year before, the underspend was nearly $150 million. Some of it was carried forward to future years, auditors wrote.

Specifically to federal dollars, the audit shows LAHSA spent at least $7 million less than it had budgeted last fiscal year. LAHSA had budgeted $61.5 million in such dollars. It spent only about $49 million to $54.4 million, per the audit.

Underspending at LAHSA was called out more than four years ago, in a January 2022 audit that found the agency left $3.5 million in federal grants on the table by not using them.

A spokesperson for LAHSA has not responded to a request for comment.

LAHSA is governed by a 10-member commission that is half appointed by L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, and half appointed by each of the five county supervisors. Bass has served on the commission since she appointed herself to it in fall 2023.

Bass’ office said in a statement that the mayor “has grave concerns about LAHSA and zero tolerance for mismanagement and negligence.” The federal money suspension puts lives and progress on homelessness at risk, the statement added.

The mayor’s office statement says the mayor “previously directed the city to evaluate how to move away from the agency.”

When the City Council considered in March whether to withdraw the city’s funds from LAHSA and instead have the city directly oversee the dollars, Bass cautioned that the city first would need “a serious, thoughtful transition plan,” adding that “the last thing we need is a new department and more bureaucracy.”

Spokespeople for the county supervisors have not returned messages for comment on the underspending.

City of L.A. also underspends

The city of L.A. also has been underspending its homelessness budget — to the tune of $513 million in Bass’ first full fiscal year as mayor that ended June 2024, according to an analysis later that year by City Controller Kenneth Mejia’s office.

Federal officials cited that in their letter Thursday as one of many reasons for their suspension of funds to LAHSA. The letter incorrectly attributed the full underspend to LAHSA. The findings were instead about the city’s overall homelessness spending, a portion of which goes to LAHSA.

Spokespeople for HUD have not responded to an emailed request about the inaccuracy.

A controller’s analysis for the following fiscal year, ending June 2025, found the city again underspent its homelessness budget, by at least $473 million.

“Breaking City Hall from its decades old dysfunctional system is how we finally brought homelessness down by 17%,” Bass said in a statement at the time. “I’m glad to support the controller’s recommendations to further reform the status quo.”

Other problems found in audit

The federally required audit, known as a single audit, must be done each year by an accounting firm hired by LAHSA.

The latest one, finalized last month and covering the fiscal year that ended last June, found failures surrounding poor bookkeeping and accounting of taxpayer money at the agency — which spent over $800 million in public funds last fiscal year.

The agency’s financial statements initially included “significant” inaccurate amounts that needed to be adjusted late in the audit process, the auditors found.

It found the inaccuracies stemmed from a "significant deficiency” in LAHSA’s “internal controls,” which are supposed to safeguard against financial inaccuracies and fraud.

Vacant tax-funded apartments

LAist reported Thursday that LAHSA has been using tax dollars to pay for more than 250 empty apartments as part of an initiative Mayor Karen Bass introduced years ago to make housing readily available to unhoused people. That’s just over a third of the units in the strategy, known as master leasing, according to an LAist review of official data.

The vacancies have been tying up tax dollars — largely overseen by the county — that could house hundreds of people in other approaches, according to official financial data.

Other funds leaving LAHSA

In response to previous audits that found major problems with LAHSA’s oversight of tax dollars, county supervisors decided last spring to withdraw all of the county’s $300 million-plus in annual funding of services through LAHSA and instead have the county directly manage it starting July 1.

Problems identified in the latest audit reiterate why the county pulled its funding, Supervisor Kathryn Barger said in a statement Monday.

The city is considering moving in a similar direction as the county. A key City Council panel — its homelessness committee — recently recommended the full council start shifting city homelessness funding out of LAHSA over the course of the next fiscal year. Bass urged caution, saying moving too quickly to shift funding could disrupt services for unhoused people.

LAHSA has long functioned as the L.A.’s homeless services department, with over $300 million in city money expected to flow through LAHSA this fiscal year.

A cookie business with well over a dozen flavors ranging from Mexican hot chocolate to mango sticky rice? How very L.A.! Lei’d Cookies started as a pandemic pop-up. Nowadays, you'll find them in the Culver City Arts District.

About the owner

Baker and owner Leilani Terris posing, holding two cookies from Lei’d Cookies.

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Courtesy Leilani Terris

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Co-owner Leilani Terris originally thought she'd become a physical therapist. After applying to school, she took a gap year, taught herself to bake and connected with co-owner James Lewis to start their cookie business.

Terris sat down with Austin Cross, who hosts AirTalk every Friday, to explain how their cookies take customers on a bite-sized journey to other countries.

What's the best way to experience Lei'd Cookies?

Add ice cream to a warm cookie at their Culver City shop. If you want a more communal experience, take a trip with a group of friends to Smorgasburg L.A., which takes place every Sunday in downtown L.A.

Known for international flavors

Terris wants customers to get a taste of other cultures. Lei'd Cookies has put a spin on ghriba, a type of shortbread cookie from Morocco, and spicy Mexican hot chocolate.

Bakery details

• Although Terris didn't start with professional culinary experience, her co-owner, James Lewis, worked in restaurant management for years prior to opening.
• They joined Smorgasburg L.A.'s list of vendors in 2021.
• Lei'd Cookies opened its brick-and-mortar in Culver City in 2023.

Cookies we tried

• Orange Date Blossom Cookie (Ghriba inspired and includes apricot jam and walnuts)
• Mayan (cinnamon, cayenne, and chocolate from Tabasco, Mexico)
• Mango Sticky Rice
• Guava and Goat Cheese (their best-seller)

What should we try next?

Southern Californians could face floods and fires this year.

A hot, dry winter has led to fires already, and experts said Friday at a news conference in Los Angeles that that is projected to continue.

Different from previous wildfire seasons, though, experts are also closely watching El Niño, a powerful weather pattern that causes changes in winds and ocean temperatures.

“California is faced with multiple disasters, whether it be fires, floods, hazardous material incidents,” said Brian Marshall, fire and rescue chief with the California Office of Emergency Services. Marshall said the El Niño “could impact fires and could impact flooding across the state.”

The National Weather Service is predicting a 63% chance of a “very strong” El Niño from November to January. It could be one of the most powerful since 1950, according to the weather service’s Climate Prediction Center.

Heavy El Niño storms could trigger flash flooding and debris flows in wildfire burn scar areas.

The effects of the rapidly developing El Niño on this year’s wildfire season remain uncertain, and experts urged residents to stay vigilant.

“Even very strong El Niño events do not lead to the expected impact everywhere,” according to the Climate Prediction Center.

William Deverell, director of the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West, said more rain can also increase plant growth, which can eventually dry out and create more fuel for fires.

Robert Garcia, fire chief in the Angeles National Forest, said the recent Burro Fire provided “some indicators of what may be ahead” as vegetation starts to dry. The Burro Fire charred 30 acres and burned for about a week in May in the San Gabriel Mountains north of Glendora.

What you can do to stay safe

Fire officials advised people to create defensible space around their homes by clearing it of dry vegetation and other flammable materials.

Pre-fire conditions, including the abundance of dry vegetation, were “dominant drivers” of burn severity in the Eaton, Palisades and Hughes fires in January 2025, according to a new study led by San Diego State University in collaboration with NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory researchers.

“Regions like Los Angeles … have a lot of human populations who are living closer to these environments that are susceptible to wildfires,” said Madeleine Pascolini-Campbell, a scientist at JPL and a co-author of the study.

Beyond fire prevention, defensible space also helps firefighters enter properties to extinguish flames.

“Wind-driven, ember-casting wildfires moving through a community without defensible space makes it very difficult for us to be able to combat those fires,” Los Angeles Fire Chief Jaime E. Moore said at the news conference. “It makes it unsafe for our firefighters and those that are working hard to protect your home.”

Los Angeles Unified has renamed two campuses previously named for Cesar Chavez. The move follows a New York Times investigation that found the famed labor leader sexually abused girls and women.

The board voted to rename the schools Friday following town hall meetings and a vote among staff, students and parents at each campus.

Cesar Chavez Learning Academies in San Fernando is now Arroyo High School, and Cesar Chavez Elementary School is now Oakland Street Elementary School.

How did the change come together?

A March New York Times investigation found survivors of Chavez’s abuse included United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta. The LAUSD Board voted unanimously a week later to begin a renaming process for the two campuses after a consultation with the schools’ communities.

With one exception, none of the other prospective names were associated with specific people.

Arroyo High School

Previously called: Cesar E. Chavez Learning Academy

Other names considered:

• Valley High School
• Rudy Acuña High School (Rodolfo "Rudy" Acuña is a Chicano studies scholar who died earlier this year at age 93.)

The vote: Arroyo High earned 557 of 1,063 votes, and was the most popular choice among each of students, parents and staff. It’s based on the street where the school is located. (“Arroyo” is Spanish for “creek.”)

Oakland Street Elementary School

Previously called: Cesar Chavez Elementary School

Other names considered: 

• Eagles Elementary
• Arroyo Elementary

The vote: Oakland Street Elementary received 211 out of 314 votes, and was the favorite among each of students, parents and staff.

What's next?

The district has designated $209,000 for renovations associated with the name changes, including changing signs and marquees.

The single largest cost is refurbishing the high school’s hardwood gym floor, which will cost an estimated $120,000. Other significant costs include removing and replacing metal lettering on the front of the high school for $25,000, as well as removing and replacing crash pads and banners in the gym for $30,000.

Have other thoughts on school names?

Senior editor Ross Brenneman contributed to this story.