Journalist Rubén Salazar, depicted on an East L.A. mural, was killed amid a police crackdown against the Chicano Moratorium protests.
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Airin Valdez
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Las Fotos Project
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Topline:
Events in Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles are set to mark the 55th anniversary of the Chicano Moratorium, a pivotal moment in the Chicano civil rights movement.
A deadly moment: On Aug. 29, 1970, nearly 30,000 people marched through the streets of East Los Angeles in one of the largest Mexican American anti-war demonstrations in U.S. history. The peaceful protest condemned the disproportionate number of Latinos dying in the Vietnam War. Though a crackdown by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies led to chaos, injuries and three deaths, including journalist Ruben Salazar, it became a pivotal moment in the Chicano civil rights movement.
Read on ... for a list of commemorative events beginning Friday.
Events in Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles are set to mark the 55th anniversary of the Chicano Moratorium.
On Aug. 29, 1970, nearly 30,000 people marched through the streets of East Los Angeles in one of the largest Mexican American anti-war demonstrations in U.S. history. The peaceful protest condemned the disproportionate number of Latinos dying in the Vietnam War.
Though a crackdown by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies led to chaos, injuries and three deaths, including of journalist Ruben Salazar, it became a pivotal moment in the Chicano civil rights movement.
This month, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors formally honored the Chicano Moratorium by approving a motion strengthening protections for journalists covering protests and other public demonstrations.
Whether you’re marching, watching a play, or reflecting on history, here’s are ways to honor the movement this weekend.
March and rally led by Centro CSO
Boyle Heights-based grassroots organization Centro CSO is holding a march and rally to Ruben Salazar Park to honor the 55th anniversary of the Chicano Moratorium. Learn about the history behind the movement, hear from Chicanos who were there and celebrate community together. Union del Barrio, UTLA and Black Lives Matter will also march in solidarity.
When: Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025, at 3 p.m.
Where: The march starts at 3 p.m. at Sounds of Music (4945 Whittier Blvd.) and ends at Ruben Salazar Park (3864 Whittier Blvd.) for a rally and program at 4:30 p.m.
August 29 is a play about Chicano identity, anchored by the legacy of journalist Ruben Salazar. The production blends personal stories with the larger Chicano Movement, offering emotional and relevant reflections on cultural pride, activism and justice. With strong performances and impactful storytelling, it’s a must-see for anyone who appreciates thought-provoking theater.
When: Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, at 8 p.m.
Where: East Los Angeles College, Recital Hall S2
Admission: Pay-what-you-can, suggested $10 at the door.
The 50th Chicano Moratorium Committee is uniting with the National Chicano Moratorium Committee for a march and rally. Demonstrators will march from Atlantic Park to Ruben Salazar Park. The program will then continue with vendors, booths, activities and music to celebrate the historic event.
When: Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025
Where: Assemble at 8 a.m. at Atlantic Park (570 S. Atlantic Blvd.), then march to Ruben Salazar Park (3864 Whittier Blvd.) at 10 a.m. The program begins at noon.
Support Chicano theater by attending Fernandomania at CASA 0101, a play festival featuring 12, 10-minute plays celebrating the life and legacy of the world-renowned Mexican Major League Baseball pitcher, Fernando Valenzuela. Join a Q&A on Friday to hear from Maria Fernanda Valenzuela, daughter of the legendary pitcher, as she makes her debut as a playwright.
When: Aug. 29, 2025, to Sept. 21, 2025. Fridays and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m.
Where: Gloria Molina Auditorium at CASA 0101 Theater, 2102 E. First St., Los Angeles, CA, 90033.
A “Tax the Ultra-Rich Now” bus parked outside the Curran Theater before the start of a "Ballots Over Billionaires" rally in San Francisco on Oct. 3, 2026.
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Manuel Orbegozo
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CalMatters
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Topline:
California voters are deciding whether the state will levy a first-of-its-kind tax on billionaires.
Why it matters: If it passes, Proposition 40 would assess a one-time 5% tax on the net worth of the state’s roughly 200 billionaires, targeting their stocks, bonds, business holdings and other valuable personal property.
Props. 41 and 42: The results could also be complicated by two competing ballot measures: Propositions 41 and 42. Proponents of those measures designed them to conflict with Prop. 40, which means if either countermeasure receives more votes than Prop. 40, it nullifies the billionaire tax.
Read on... for more on the propositions.
California voters are deciding whether the state will levy a first-of-its-kind tax on billionaires.
If it passes, Proposition 40 would assess a one-time 5% tax on the net worth of the state’s roughly 200 billionaires, targeting their stocks, bonds, business holdings and other valuable personal property.
Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, the union pushing the measure, says it would generate an estimated $100 billion for healthcare and education to be spent over the next five years. The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office estimates the tax would raise “tens of billions of dollars” over several years, well short of the union’s projection, and says billionaires leaving the state could cut income tax revenue by less than $1 billion a year.
The results could also be complicated by two competing ballot measures: Propositions 41 and 42. Proponents of those measures designed them to conflict with Prop. 40, which means if either countermeasure receives more votes than Prop. 40, it nullifies the billionaire tax.
The union and other supporters argue that billionaires should pay their fair share to support social services programs the Trump administration cut last year.
From the outset, Prop. 40 revealed divisions in the Democratic Party and galvanized some of Silicon Valley’s wealthiest executives to spend hundreds of millions to defeat it.
Gov. Gavin Newsom became one of its earliest opponents, attempting through backroom negotiations to keep Prop. 40 off the ballot altogether. He endorsed Prop. 42, the billionaire-backed countermeasure designed to ban all wealth taxes in California and kill Prop. 40. Newsom, along with a cadre of Democratic allies such as Planned Parenthood of California and the California Teachers Association, argued a one-time tax would not solve the state’s fiscal woes and would drive wealthy residents out of state.
Despite party and labor divisions, the California Democratic Party and California Federation of Labor Unions supported the initiative and opposed its counter measures, arguing the state needs more revenue to shield workers and everyday Californians from the effects of dramatic federal healthcare cuts expected to kick 2 million residents off health insurance.
Billionaire opponents spend heavily
Billionaire opponents and business interests poured $316.7 million into the campaign to stop Prop. 40 — including support for Props. 41 and 42 — telling voters nearly the same message: Wealthy residents who contribute jobs to the economy and income tax to state coffers have already left, and more will follow if the initiative passes. They also made a largely misleading claim that lawmakers could lower the threshold of the wealth tax to include everyday Californians.
Google co-founder Sergey Brin led the opposition, publicly moving out of state and donating $102 million to Building a Better California, a political committee he founded to oppose the tax. The group has served as a passthrough for other billionaire donors to oppose Prop. 40.
Billionaire tax opponents also placed Props. 41 and 42 on the ballot.
Prop. 41 prohibits the state from collecting taxes that circumvent the state spending limit set in 1979, which Prop. 40 is designed to do. It also requires the state to audit future tax proposals before they reach voters and identify potential spending cuts in the programs they’d fund.
Prop. 42 prohibits the state from taxing financial assets, private businesses, pensions and other forms of wealth. It also prohibits retroactive taxes. These provisions directly conflict with the billionaire tax.
The state constitution dictates that when there are multiple competing ballot measures on the same ballot, the one that receives the most votes wins, nullifying its competitors.
Allegations against healthcare union's leader
Prop. 40 is the brainchild of Dave Regan, president of Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West. He has been mired in scandal in recent months. Some members of SEIU California, the political umbrella organization representing the healthcare workers union, have accused him of threatening and intimidating women over the years and of attempting to “extort” support for the measure, according to an internal investigation commissioned by SEIU California and SEIU, the union’s national parent organization.
Separately, the California Primary Care Association, which represents clinics and opposes Prop. 44, another ballot measure run by Regan’s union, alleged in a recent lawsuit that the health workers union violated anti-racketeering laws in part by asking clinics to support the billionaire tax in exchange for killing the clinic initiative.
The union and Regan have called these allegations “categorically false” and characterized them as a “smear campaign” designed to derail the billionaire tax.
If Prop. 40 survives, billionaires who lived in California on Jan. 1, 2026 would be assessed the tax based on their net worth as of Dec. 31, 2026. Payments would be due in one lump sum or in installments over five years.
Supported by the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF), which works to ensure that people have access to the care they need, when they need it, at a price they can afford. Visit www.chcf.org to learn more.
As polls close on Election Day and results start rolling in, these are some of the House races that will help explain how the midterms are unfolding.
Why it matters: Democrats appear poised to retake control of the House. If they do, will their majority be built upon a blue wave or a tiny trickle? A previous NPR analysis found both parties spending deep and wide in a competitive landscape that spans 70 districts, ranging from longtime tossups to newly-competitive seats in deeply conservative areas.
The backstory: Republicans came into Election Day with a narrow 218-214 seat advantage in the House and facing severe headwinds as the party in power. This midterm cycle has also seen a record number of departures from Congress, and polls show voters aren't happy about things like the economy and the ongoing war in Iran.
Read on... for more on the four types of house races to watch.
Democrats appear poised to retake control of the House on Tuesday. If they do, will their majority be built upon a blue wave or a tiny trickle? A previous NPR analysis found both parties spending deep and wide in a competitive landscape that spans 70 districts, ranging from longtime tossups to newly-competitive seats in deeply conservative areas.
Republicans came into Election Day with a narrow 218-214 seat advantage in the House and facing severe headwinds as the party in power. This midterm cycle has also seen a record number of departures from Congress, and polls show voters aren't happy about things like the economy and the ongoing war in Iran.
So what separates a good night for Democrats from a blue wave that sees dozens of House seats change hands? Here's NPR's cheat sheet to four types of House races to watch as results come in:
Early polls closing
The first results of the night with national implications will likely be from Kentucky's 6th Congressional District (KY-06) and Indiana's 5th (IN-05), two districts where polls close first (in the 6 p.m. ET hour) and whose 2024 margins for President Trump (15 and 17 points, respectively) could act as a preview for how much voters have soured on Republicans.
Democrats and Republicans alike have spent heavily in the Kentucky race, where Democrat Zach Dembo faces Republican Ralph Alvarado, so the increased investment is worth noting as a factor on the outcome. If Democrats flip one or both of these races, then it will likely be a long night for the GOP.
Florida also counts and reports its votes quickly, and is home to more than a half dozen races that are viewed as toss-ups or slightly favor one party or the other, so as these districts have projected winners there will be more insight into other races across the country.
Like the Kentucky contest, both parties have spent significant sums in races like the open seat in FL-22 with Democrat Pia Dandiya facing off against Republican Casey Askar and incumbent Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz versus Republican Scott Singer in the newly-redrawn FL-25 race.
In the final seven days of the midterms, a handful of House races have seen more than $10 million in ad spending, according to data from AdImpact. It's a sign of where both parties think the saying "It all comes down to turnout!" is more than a cliche. That includes districts in Michigan, such as MI-07, where progressive Democrat William Lawrence is challenging incumbent Republican Tom Barrett in a seat that Trump carried by just over one percent in 2024 and the open MI-10, where Democrat Christina Hines faces Republican Mike Bouchard.
New York Republican Rep. Mike Lawler in NY-17could be one of the rare Republicans who holds on to his seat thanks in part to his party's ad spending advantage in the closing stretch against Democrat Cait Conley.
Three of Iowa's four House races, IA-01, IA-02and IA-03are on the list of most expensive, in part because of the competitive governor and U.S. Senate races that are also on the ballot and driving up turnout.
This year's Supreme Court decision rolling back part of the Voting Rights Act led to many Republican-led states redrawing their House maps to eliminate districts that favor Democrats in a typical election year – but this year is not typical.
Now, the political environment has deteriorated so much that seats like AL-02, held by Democrat Shomari Figures, OH-09held by Democrat Marcy Kaptur and NC-01held by Democrat Don Davis are all considered toss-ups at best and favoring the Democrats at worst for Republicans.
In Texas, Latino voters seem poised to swing back to Democratic candidates and could prevent Republican Eric Flores from flipping the seat held by Rep. Vicente Gonzalez in TX-34or Tano Tijerina from unseating Democratic incumbent Henry Cuellar in TX-28.
As results continue to be reported, one thing to watch is how far into conservative communities the increased support for Democrats can go.
One race that has received a surprising amount of ad attention is in Arkansas's 2nd district (AR-02), where incumbent Republican Rep. French Hill faces a well-known challenger in Democrat Chris Jones. By the time polls close, closer to $10 million will have been spent in the final months on the Little Rock-based seat that Trump carried by 15 points in 2024.
There are also many districts in states that redrew their maps where the Republican gerrymander could backfire, likeOhio. In both OH-10held by Republican Mike Turner and OH-15 held by Republican Mike Carey, Trump won by closer to 10 points in 2024. They're also in a state with competitive governor and Senate races and stretch between the suburbs and exurbs of Dayton and Columbus with an electorate that could swing away from the GOP.
The margin in North Carolina's Senate race, where former Gov. Roy Cooper is expected to win against former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley, could determine if races like NC-03are in play as well too. Rep. Greg Murphy's district absorbed more Democratic-leaning voters after the latest map redraw.
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Vote centers are open until 8 p.m. People who are in line by 8 p.m. are legally allowed to cast their ballots.
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Apu Gomes
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Topline:
All vote centers are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday to vote in person or drop off your vote-by-mail ballot. If you're in line by 8 p.m., you are legally allowed to cast your ballot.
What's next: Keep in mind that in tight races, particularly, the winner may not be determined for days or weeks after Election Day. The first batch of results (typically ballots received before Election Day) will be posted shortly after the polls close.
Election Day is here, and with it comes your last chance to vote in the 2026 general election.
So far, a lot of people have cast ballots. Early voting turnout in L.A. and Orange counties has been higher than the previous midterm cycle in 2022.
All vote centers are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday for in-person voting or to drop off your vote-by-mail ballot — in L.A. County, there are more than 600 to choose from. Remember: If you’re in line to vote by 8 p.m., stay in line. You’re legally allowed to cast your ballot if you get in line by the 8 p.m. deadline.
Tip: You aren’t required to bring your vote-by-mail ballot with you — those get voided during the check-in process.
If you haven’t registered yet or you’re worried you’ll have an issue, election workers can help you. California allows same-day registration. (Check your registration status here.) If you register at the same time that you vote, you’ll cast a provisional ballot. Officials will verify your registration information and count all ballots of voters who are eligible.
You can also drop your ballot in an official ballot drop box anywhere in the state before 8 p.m.
If you prefer to mail your ballot in, just make sure it’s postmarked by Tuesday. No postage is required. (Pro tip: If you’re mailing your ballot, take it into the post office to ensure it’s postmarked on time. It'll be counted as long as it arrives within 7 days of Election Day.)
You can also designate another person to return your completed ballot, as long as they aren’t paid. Make sure they fill out the envelope as directed for another person returning your ballot.
Here’s a map of ballot drop boxes near Metro stations.
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Metro
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Lyft is offering discounted rides with the code “VOTE26.” You’ll get 50% off up to $10.
What to do if you can't get to your local vote center
Not to worry — if you’re out of town, you can drop off your ballot at an official ballot drop box or polling location anywhere in California. It will be routed to the correct county. There’s no need to drive back to the vote center closest to where you live.
The same goes for voting by mail. Remember: If you have a vote-by-mail ballot, you can get it postmarked at any post office. As long as it’s postmarked by Tuesday and arrives within 7 days of Election Day, it will be counted.
What to do if you make a mistake on your ballot
If you make an error on your vote-by-mail ballot, you can draw a line through it and make your correction.
You can also go to any vote center, request a new ballot and vote in person.
How to sign your ballot
Make sure to sign your ballot envelope with the signature that matches what your county registrar has on file, which is probably the signature on your driver’s license or state ID. Otherwise, your ballot might get flagged. If that happens, you’ll be notified by mail and will have a chance to fix it.
What to do if you come across an unfamiliar ballot item
It’s not required to vote on every item. If you haven’t had time to research, it’s OK to skip a race or ballot measure you’re unsure about — or several of them if you like. Whatever votes you do cast will still be counted, even if parts of your ballot are left blank.
Follow LAist’s Voter Game Plan. We’ll keep you updated as results come in after 8 p.m.
When will my ballot be counted?
Keep in mind that in tight races particularly, the winner may not be determined for days or weeks after Election Day.
Election results will start posting shortly after the polls close at 8 p.m.
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In L.A. County, the first batch of results released includes vote-by-mail ballots received before Election Day (8:30 to 8:45 p.m.), followed by early votes cast at vote centers before Election Day (8:45 to 9:00 p.m.), then votes cast in-person on Election Day. This process is expected to wrap up in the early hours of Nov. 4. Then, additional results will be released following a schedule you can see on the county's site. In California, ballots postmarked on or before Nov. 3 are counted toward the results as long as they arrive within seven days of the election.
County election officials must certify election results by Dec. 3.
If your mail-in ballot is rejected for any reason (like a missing or mismatched signature), your county registrar must contact you to give you a chance to fix it.
If you come across any other challenges, be sure to let us know. We have reporters out across L.A. County, along with staff standing by to answer your questions.
What questions do you have about this election?
You ask, and we'll answer: Whether it's about who's funding the campaigns or how to track your ballot, we're here to help you understand the 2026 election.
Editor's note: A version of this story was first published in 2022, and we continue to update it for subsequent elections.
Erin Stone
covers climate and environmental issues in Southern California.
Published November 3, 2026 5:00 AM
Gayle Nicholls-Ali thanks the crowd at the end of the show. At left, Zaire Calvin looks on.
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Mykle Parker
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Mykle Parker
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Topline:
Eaton Fire survivors recently took their experiences to the stage. It's part of a national tour of disaster survivors putting on similar events in their own communities.
Why it matters: In a play by and for fire survivors, longtime Altadena residents Gayle Nicholls-Ali and Rasheed Ali turn interviews with displaced neighbors into a script for a play.
Read on ... for more about what the performance meant to the people who made it happen.
Altadena artist and muralist Austin Scott is painting a portrait in a courtyard outside the Union Center for the Arts in Little Tokyo. As a steady stream of people walk in, he sketches some details of the face of a woman holding a bouquet of flowers. She wears a wide-brimmed purple hat, her eyes are closed, her face tilts upward toward sunbeams.
Her name is Evelyn McClendon. The retired Pasadena school bus driver was the first victim whose body was found in the rubble of the Eaton Fire in Altadena.
“It’s going to be a portrait of her face made up of little portraits of all the other faces of the people we lost in the fire,” Scott says.
Something like a memorial, he says, for the 19 people who perished.
Altadena muralist and artist Austin Scott paints a portrait of Evelyn McClendon, the first identified victim of the Eaton Fire.
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Erin Stone
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In front of the building entrance, as people eat tacos and chat, Emeka Chukwurah starts the music.
“Can you see it? We rising up,” he raps as his father, Onochie, and members of their band play drums, guitar and traditional African instruments. They specialize in Nigerian highlife fusion music.
Chukwurah lost his Altadena business, Rhythms of the Village, in the fire. The store sold goods sourced from countries across Africa and hosted drum, dance and Nigerian language classes.
They’re finally about to reopen in a temporary space.
“What we went through is life-changing. It was very traumatic,” Chukwurah says. “But to turn something so traumatic into triumphant moments like these and create new memories, I'm truly grateful for how far we have come.”
Emeka Chukwurah lost his business, Rhythms of the Village, in the Eaton Fire. He's close to reopening in a temporary space.
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Putting real experiences on stage
The idea for tonight’s play was born after the Eaton Fire, when photographer Gayle Nicholls-Ali and her husband, Rasheed, returned to Altadena after a trip to the Bahamas. Their home and community of 30 years were gone.
So they sought out their displaced neighbors. Gayle photographed them. The two collected more than 20 hours of interviews. After the fire, during mutual aid efforts, they happened to meet Sunder Ganglani, the artistic director for Cornerstone Theater Company. With Ganglani’s help, they turned the interview transcripts into the play’s script.
Union Center for the Arts is the theater home of East West Players, considered the nation's first Asian Pacific American theater company.
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Mykle Parker
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“And so the four speakers on stage, all of whom are fire survivors, end up speaking around 20 different people, you know, from every walk of life,” Ganglani says.
Eventually, the nonprofit Extreme Weather Survivors, which connects disaster survivors with each other, got in touch as well. The play became a part of a national tour of similar events hosted by disaster survivors across the country ahead of the midterms.
On this October evening, the crowd settles into the seats of the David Henry Hwang Theater. Gayle Nicholls-Ali takes the stage to applause.
“Tonight is a chance to see one another more fully, to feel something together, to remember that we still belong to Altadena even if we're not living there right at the moment,” she says.
The show begins
The lights go down. Four actors walk onto the stage, one by one.
“My name is Rasheed. My name is Francesca. Shakira. My name is Sam. Darina. My name is Sunny.”
As they speak the stories, Nicholls-Ali rotates pictures of the people she interviewed, projected onto sheets hung behind the actors.
The performers onstage during "From Ashes We Gather."
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The building that houses this theater — the Union Center for the Arts — has been privy to some of the biggest events in Los Angeles history. It was a church for Japanese Americans before their mass incarceration during World War II, then a community center for Black Americans during the Great Migration. It was witness to racial attacks known as the Zoot Suit Riots, and was damaged by the Northridge earthquake.
Today, the art space and theater continues to be a place to process pain, to find refuge.
Like the actors in the play. All of them are fire survivors.
Their voices become a chorus with phrases repeated by survivors.
“Driving back to Altadena for the first time was really chimney after chimney after chimney…”
“They killed 19 of our neighbors.”
“This is our generational wealth. We don't want to lose that.”
The questions they were constantly asked: “How are you? Where are you? What's going on? Were you affected?”
Rasheed Ali performs the piece he composed for the play.
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Mykle Parker
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At the close, the actors exit one by one. Rasheed Ali is alone on stage. The musician and composer sits at the keyboard and plays a piano piece telling the story of Altadena before, during and after the fire.
At the end of the night, some special guests take the stage, including Zaire Calvin, the brother of Evelyn McClendon, whose portrait was being painted earlier. He performs a rap he wrote with his cousin. The show ends with Medusa, who grew up in Altadena and is a hip-hop legend who has collaborated with icons like Tupac Shakur, Erykah Badu and Common.
A healing moment
Gayle Nicholls-Ali thanks the crowd at the end of the show. At left, Zaire Calvin looks on.
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After the show, as everyone packs up, Rasheed Ali is reflective.
“For me, it was a breakthrough,” he says. “The fire has a paralyzing effect on your creativity.”
Gayle Nicholls-Ali feels the same.
“I have not been able to feel creative because this fire is like a big knot in your stomach that you can't get rid of,” she says. “And so this helps to unknot the knot.”
Not just for her and Rasheed, she hopes, but for their community too.
