The Brief

Three years ago, a Reddit user asked the internet this question: "What is it that makes you stay In Los Angeles? I used to live in L.A., and for me, it was the beautiful scenery and the great people I met. The food was great and the weather was always awesome. What's your reason?"

Down in the comments section, replies ranged from family and friends to bars and beaches — and while many people had overlapping answers for what keeps them in L.A., just below the surface was something personal.

One user, PlantinumElement, writes, "Both my wife and I have jobs that allow us to live comfortably in L.A., and we are thankful for that because we know how rare it is. So we try to make the most of it and enjoy the things L.A. has to offer. My wife enjoys the access to great food, and the large Korean community, and I also like the food and the fact that L.A. is one of the best places in the world for car enthusiast culture."

L.A. can be a difficult place to live.

In the decade since I moved here for graduate school I've considered leaving several times. "And go where?" I ask myself. In the absence of an answer, I usually resort to making a list of things I love about this city. In fact, I made one a few months ago with my friend Michelle, who moved to L.A. two years ago to pursue comedy. Like so many others, she has struggled to find affordable housing, consistent community and steady work. We plopped down on my couch and began as follows:

"I love L.A. because ..."

During AirTalk, LAist 89.3's live daily news program, we asked listeners to share their answers. Here's what they said.

The cultural and culinary richness

“I love that I can get a Korean body scrub and then go to Compton for barbecue," said Danica in Baldwin Vista, who was brought to SoCal for the entertainment industry but has stayed for the cultural diversity.

From Vietnamese to Ethiopian, Japanese to Armenian, people immigrate to L.A. from around the world and create their own ethnic enclaves that keep their rich cultural heritage alive. One in three Angelenos is an immigrant.

Keena in Sherman Oaks echoes Danica, saying "I love SoCal because of the variety of food, diversity in people and that literally whatever you can think up, you can find in L.A.! There’s a community for everything.”

One of the reasons community might be hard to find here is because there are so many of them. People immigrate here for opportunity, but they also come here with the hope of just being able to express themselves authentically.

For Shawn in Hermosa Beach, L.A.'s embrace of individuality is one of the reasons he stays.

“I just feel like L.A. celebrates individuality and encourages it. I grew up with a lot of pressure to conform. Individuality was frowned upon," he said.

Venice Beach: Shuttered shops at Venice's Boardwalk.

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Diane in Gardena said, "One of the best things about Southern California is the rich Latino culture and history. This keeps me here in L.A. because, as a Mexican American who grew up in the South, I was amazed and empowered by the passion and pride of Chicanos. I learned to be proud of my background and to be grateful for my community."

Cathy in South Central found her Oaxacan community here.

“My parents are from Oaxaca and there’s a huge Oaxacan community here, specifically from my own town. Friends and family all reside here," she said.

Nature, wilderness and unbeatable weather

There are tradeoffs to living in SoCal. Great weather for bad traffic or access to nature for a high cost of living. One of the most resounding answers people gave when we asked them "what keeps you in L.A.?" was nature, wilderness and unbeatable weather.

You can find the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium on the lower level of the popular tourist destination

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Sarah in Los Feliz said what keeps her in L.A. is "the ability to ski at Big Bear in the morning and go to dinner in Santa Monica in the afternoon.”

“I love the adaptive ski program at Big Bear, the beaches, and the smell of the ocean," said Catherine in Westchester, who moved here from England.

Brian in Torrance stays for “the coast and natural beauty of it all. Plus Death Valley, Big Sur and the Eastern Sierras.”

Lisa in Santa Monica grew up here but moved away for graduate school. One of the things that drew her back? The weather.

“I like to visit the snow, not live in it,” she said.

The personal

While the people and weather seem to be prevailing reasons keeping people around, it certainly doesn't cover everything.

For example, Annie in Los Feliz works as an art consultant and said, "the culture in Los Angeles is a wonderful place to work in the field of art.”

Others like Giovanna, a college student from from Santa Monica, stays for the in-state tuition and the many choices of great colleges.

Bennett in San Pedro moved here from the east coast and said, “There’s such an entrepreneurial spirit here. So much talent in this one area. It creates more opportunities.”

And then there is my friend Michelle, who has decided to stay in L.A. for the foreseeable future. When the going gets tough and she needs a reminder of why she's here, she can refer to this list.

Listen here:

The Los Angeles Unified School District is preparing for possible “Super El Niño” storms that could damage schools and lead to closures, the district announced in a media release Tuesday.

District staff are clearing drains, trimming trees and checking roofs, windows and doors. LAUSD is also testing emergency equipment, including pumps and emergency lighting systems, and stocking supplies such as flashlights and drinking water.

“Preparing for severe weather starts well before the first raindrop,” Superintendent Andrés Chait said in a statement. “We can’t control the weather, but we can take steps now to protect our students and employees and help our schools stay ready.”

The district will monitor weather patterns using information from the National Weather Service and local emergency officials, it said.

LAUSD encouraged families to update their contact information to ensure they receive district calls, texts and emails. Families should also monitor weather alerts, follow emergency officials’ instructions, avoid flooded roads and review safe routes to and from school, according to the release.

“Preparing for a storm is a shared effort — from the crews maintaining school buildings to the principals reviewing emergency plans and the families making sure they can receive critical updates,” LAUSD said in the release. “By taking these steps before the rain begins, Los Angeles Unified is working to help students and employees stay safe and keep school communities as prepared as possible for the winter ahead.”

Southern California is likely in for a solid dose of rain this week, just days after heat and Santa Ana winds helped fuel several wildfires across the region.

Forecasters expect the bulk of the rain to roll into the Los Angeles basin Wednesday night and continue into Thursday morning, with a small chance of thunderstorms and hail.

The San Fernando Valley, San Gabriel Valley and coastal areas across L.A. and Orange counties could get around an inch over the next few days. Hills and mountains could get up to 3 inches.

“We could see some pretty high rain rates,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Wofford. “It's a good storm for this time of year — it's a little stronger than what we would see normally.”

The possibility of significant rain in the mountains raises concerns about flooding in areas recently burned in wildfires, particularly around the Bryson Fire burn scar near Malibu, which is only a few days old. Burn scars can’t absorb heavy rainfall and are susceptible to landslides.

The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for the Santa Monica Mountains and surrounding communities from Wednesday afternoon through Thursday. That means heavy rain there could flood streets, creeks and rivers. The flood watch area includes both the Bryson Fire and Palisades Fire burn scars.

This will also be the first nontropical storm of the season, meaning it’s moving into the region from the north. Most storms that hit Southern California follow a similar path, especially during the winter, unlike the tropical storms that formed off the coast of Mexico and brought muggy weather to the region this summer.

Nontropical storms also bring cold air to the region. On Wednesday and Thursday, forecasters expect highs in the 60s and 70s. High elevations will be even cooler.

The science research institute that would likely receive $4.2 billion in public taxpayer money if voters approve Proposition 38 this November had only three employees as of last month — far fewer than the 51 staffers it planned to have hired by last year.

Public statements and public records CalMatters obtained raise questions about how well prepared the institute is to shepherd so much money if the bond measure passes.

Prop. 38 would allocate up to $8.4 billion in bonds for scientific research on diseases and cures concerning the immune system, with an emphasis on finding treatments for Alzheimer’s, cancer and heart disease. The ballot language stipulates that a single, unnamed research institute would receive half the bond’s money to conduct research and partner with other researchers if it meets highly specific criteria. Bonds are a type of debt that must be repaid.

Previous reporting by CalMatters found only one institute in California currently meets those criteria: the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy. The institute’s principal funder is billionaire Gary K. Michelson, who wrote Prop. 38 and is by far the largest donor to its political campaign.

Backers of the proposition said state bond money is needed to stabilize research funding after President Donald Trump repeatedly attempted to cut existing and future federal science grants.

The measure’s critics say Prop. 38 is well-intentioned but poorly designed because it overlooks the many established public and nonprofit university and hospital research labs in California. They also say California should not subsidize subsets of scientific research and instead should support research more broadly.

CalMatters obtained documents that included the five-year business plan of the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy. The plan was part of the formal affiliation agreement between UCLA and the institute, which the two parties signed in August 2024. Among other details, the agreement requires the institute to pay UCLA 7.5% of the net revenue of any drugs and technologies developed by the institute’s staff. The institute is one of the founding tenants at a UCLA-owned research park in West Los Angeles, where the institute is leasing 235,000 square feet of research space, the institute says.

Far fewer employees than plan called for

Between summer 2024 and summer 2025, the institute committed to hiring “approximately” 51 employees, including six executives, five “world-class” scientists who can lead research labs, and 40 other employees, such as data scientists, lab technicians, biologists and administrative personnel. Between 2025 and 2027, the institute would hire roughly 90 more workers, including 10 research lab leaders, according to the agreement.

But John Mazziotta, a senior UCLA official who also serves as a board member of the immunology institute, last month said the institute has hired just three employees: a chief operating officer, a general counsel, and a scientific advisor, and “they're well into the search” for a director. Mazziotta, the CEO of UCLA Health and vice chancellor for health sciences at UCLA, made his comments during the Sept. 16 UC Regents meeting.

The Yes on Prop. 38 campaign has repeatedly refused to comment on whether the bond was written specifically for the immunology institute. Claudia Briggs, a spokesperson for the campaign, told CalMatters in July that whichever nonprofit receives the $4.2 billion portion of the bond fund should be a sophisticated one that “is prepared to accelerate lifesaving research immediately while maintaining the highest standards of scientific quality, accountability, and stewardship of public funds.”

At a September press conference, a Yes on Prop. 38 spokesperson appeared to confirm CalMatters’ findings that only one institute currently qualifies to be the one to receive half the bond money. “It is very likely that CIII, which is a research institute affiliated with UCLA, will qualify for half of the funds under the current criteria,” said Robin Swanson. CIII is the initialism for the immunology institute.

According to the five-year plan, the institute was supposed to spend $25 million on personnel between 2024-25 and 2025-26 and $45 million total on operating expenses in that time, including maintenance, utilities and rent. It was also supposed to spend an additional $167 million in that time on capital expenses, such as construction and demolition. However, Mazziotta told UC regents that the institute had so far spent a total of $20 million on “operating expenses, hires” and other expenses.

The Yes on 38 campaign refused CalMatters’ request to interview Michelson for this story, as did Michelson himself in a separate email. A spokesperson for the institute, Becky Warren, sent a written statement that didn't answer CalMatters' questions about employing far fewer people than the five-year plan laid out. Instead, she highlighted the promise of the institute and a few of its milestones, including signing the affiliation agreement with UCLA and clearing a state environmental review of its forthcoming research facility.

The institute won’t get state bond money if it isn’t ready to begin work, “plain and simple,” wrote Swanson, the Yes on 38 spokesperson, in an email. She stressed that though the institute very likely qualifies, the ultimate decision to award half the bond funding is up to the California Department of Public Health.

Institute facility will be built by 2028

The UCLA research park that houses the institute isn’t slated to be fully built until at least late 2028, according to the agenda item of the September UC regents meeting. The research park is a former mall UCLA acquired in late 2023 that’s now undergoing major retrofitting.

But the 2024 affiliation agreement between UCLA and the institute anticipated this. The agreement permitted the institute to use UCLA health research space on another campus property on an interim basis. Mazziotta told regents that research is underway there.

Mazziotta also told the regents the institute's construction costs are not fully funded — it still needs roughly $100 million. He said UCLA was in serious talks with a donor to provide about $50 million to the institute.

If Prop. 38 passes, the bond funding would be provided in increments based on how often the institute requests new money that senior state officials approve. If all the funds are depleted, Californians would repay the bond at a rate of $500 million to $600 million annually for about 20 years.

Institute would be exempt from public records act

CalMatters submitted the public records request to UCLA, which must comply with the California Public Records Act. The institute, as a private nonprofit, does not have to comply. And while Prop. 38 would channel billions of dollars in taxpayer money to the institute, the proposition’s language specifically exempts the nonprofit that will receive the $4.2 billion from state public meetings laws, political reform laws and the public records act. The other half of the funds would go to a council that’ll pick projects led by researchers from a limited pool of universities and nonprofits. The council would generally be governed by the state’s political reform act, which prohibits financial self-dealing.

Briggs defended the institute’s exemption in Prop. 38, writing that applying state transparency laws to existing private organizations would “not fit well with how private entities are organized and operate.” Instead, she noted the selected nonprofit institute would be required to publish annual reports on its research progress and financial plans plus commit to annual state audits, among other disclosures written into the ballot measure.

Still unclear to the UC regents is the relationship between UCLA and the institute on matters of public disclosure. Four senior UCLA officials sit on the institute’s board. So is a document held by those UCLA officials public because it’s related to UCLA affairs or private because it’s related to the institute’s affairs? UC’s general counsel couldn’t explain where that dividing line is after a regent member asked him. The regent member, Michael Cohen, said he wants more clarity when the regents meet again in November.

Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California Democratic Party endorsed Prop. 38, as have dozens of patient and research advocacy groups, plus the state GOP. The union of graduate students and post-doctoral researchers, whose pay often relies on science research funding, has also endorsed the proposition. The union doesn’t represent faculty.

Money raised in support of Prop. 38 now exceeds $66 million, including at least $61.2 million in contributions from Michelson and his policy institute. Roughly $14 million of that includes loans from Michelson. The no camp has raised about $8,800

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