The Brief

For over 12 years, Monica Vasquez made the trek from her home in South L.A. to her jobs in the Pacific Palisades. She started off as a nanny and later switched to cleaning houses.

To Vasquez, the families she worked for weren't just her patrones, or bosses.

“We don’t just go to work and leave,” Vasquez said in Spanish, adding that they share and connect over many things.

Version en español

“There are people who put their trust in us and make us feel like family,” she said.

Domestic workers’ place in the economy 

Vasquez is one of an unknown number of domestic workers out of work after the Palisades Fire wiped out homes and killed at least eight people. She said on Tuesday that five out of the seven homes she cleaned burned down, and the other two remain under evacuation orders.

Domestic workers — nannies, gardeners, attendants for older adults — are a huge part of the region’s economy. More than 100,000 of them work in L.A. County — many of them immigrants.

Eight out of 10 California domestic workers are people born outside of the country, according to a UCLA Labor Center report.

“They're always forgotten when it comes to resources, especially undocumented people,” said Odilia Romero, co-founder and executive director of Comunidades Indigenas en Liderazgo (CIELO), said.

Odilia Romero, co-founder and executive director of Comunidades Indigenas en Liderazgo, photographed in her home.

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Samanta Helou Hernandez

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LAist

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CIELO is one of several organizations helping domestic workers in the aftermath of the L.A. fires, particularly by providing food boxes and translating crucial information into indigenous languages including Yucatec Maya, Ayutla Mixe and K’iche’ that derive from Mexico and Central America.

Mutual aid has been crucial for immigrant communities, as some may not be eligible for federal assistance.

President Joe Biden recently announced that L.A. fire victims could receive $770 through a FEMA application, but only some workers will be eligible for the payments. A FEMA criteria lists that green card holders, refugees, DACA recipients and others are "qualified non-citizens." It also notes that immigrants in mixed-status families with minors may be considered for funds.

“Without migrants, there is no way the economy we have in California will exist,” Romero said. Domestic workers are high-skilled essential workers, she added. “Imagine someone raising your child – it's not just anybody.”

The Palisades as neighborhood and workplace 

Vasquez has built a network of clients over the dozen years she’s worked in the Palisades. She said all her jobs have been through referrals. As her client base of Palisades homes grew, so did her crew.

Vasquez employs her four “chicas,” mostly family members, including her daughter who uses her wages to help pay for college.

“Because of my referrals, I’ve been able to help many people find jobs,” she said. “I’ve helped my community.”

“People find love, they [find] forever friends, they eat together, they ride together,” Romero, from CIELO, said. “ It's such beautiful stories that these women, these men create in that part of our town.”

Monica Vasquez and her daughters Keyra, Jakelinne, and Estefania. Her eldest would often help Vasquez clearning houses in the Palisades.

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Samanta Helou Hernandez

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LAist

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It’s also a part of town that has sustained Vasquez’s livelihood. She and her crew work on a cluster of homes, sometimes several in the same day. Without her Palisades work, she has only two other cleaning jobs in other parts of town.

All Vasquez wants to do is find work. She has family members depending on her and car payments and other bills stacking up.

Thankfully, she said, she has gotten texts about possibilities in other areas.

Still, “it’s going to be hard to start all over again,” she said.

Highlighting workers

Although Pacific Palisades wasn’t where Vasquez lived, the beach town was also her community. The same was true for Fernando Lopez’s family.

Lopez’s mother cleaned houses in the Palisades when he was growing up. Through her work, she was able to enroll him in school there.

Many of his friends’ homes, businesses and local landmarks were destroyed by the Palisades Fire, including his alma mater – Palisades High.

Lopez, who is co-owner of the L.A. restaurant Guelaguetza, quickly mobilized last week to help workers who “often get lost in the shadows” in moments of crisis, he said. He got the word out about a GoFundMe for domestic workers created in partnership with nonprofit organizations, including CIELO. And his restaurant and others will donate portions of their profits.

They’re almost at their $80,000 goal as of Thursday morning.

Resources for domestic workers

• Informal service workers (street vendor, gardener, housekeeper, caretaker, or other self-employed worker) who live or work in Council District 7 can apply here. Funding is provided by the council district and is first come first served.
• Small businesses or self employed people who make under 250,000 can apply to TMC Community Capital’s lottery program, which is funded by the Latino Community Foundation and others
• For indigenous communities: Contact CIELO at Info@mycielo.org or via their Instagram. / Para las comunidades indígenas: Póngase en contacto con CIELO en Info@mycielo.org o a través de su Instagram.
• For outdoor workers – street vendors, landscapers and recyclers: Apply to Inclusive Action’s emergency fund. / ara trabajadores al aire libre: vendedores ambulantes, paisajistas y recicladores: Solicite al fondo de emergencia de Acción Inclusiva.
• For Filipino workers: Contact Pilipino Workers Center at (213) 250-4353.
• For unemployed workers: Connect with L.A. County’s Department of Economic Opportunity services here. There is also a small grant for residents living in an area of the San Fernando Valley. / Para los trabajadores desempleados: Conecte con los servicios del Departamento de Oportunidades Económicas del condado de Los Ángeles aquí.
• For workers in the U.S. without authorization: You may qualify for public funds. Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) has a fund and you can get more information by calling (888)-6-CHIRLA. / Para trabajadores en EE.UU. sin autorización: Es posible que pueda optar a fondos públicos. La Coalición por los Derechos Humanos de los Inmigrantes de Los Ángeles (CHIRLA) ha creado una guía en Instagram o llame al (888)-6-CHIRLA.
• The California Domestic Workers Coalition also launched a relief fund to help workers pay their rent and buy food. You can call them for more info (415) 625-3124.
• LAist has compiled a list of resources, though not all may be available to people of every immigration status. / LAist ha recopilado una lista de recursos, aunque puede que no todos estén disponibles para personas con cualquier estatus migratorio.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Since 1977, Richard Santillan has been to every Opening Day game at Dodger Stadium. 

“The tradition goes from my father, to me, to my children and grandchildren. Some of my best memories are with my father and children here at Dodger Stadium,” Santillan told The LA Local, smiling under the shade of palm trees near the entrance to the ballpark Wednesday morning. He was there to protest the team less than 24 hours before Opening Day.

Santillan, like countless other loyal Dodgers fans, is grappling with his fan identity over the team’s decision to accept an invitation to the White House and owner Mark Walter’s ties to ICE detention facilities.

More than 30 people joined Santillan on Wednesday morning for a press conference held near 1000 Vin Scully Drive to convey a message directly to the team. 

“We are demanding the Dodgers stop participating in funding of inhumane treatment of families and do not go to the White House to celebrate with the criminal in chief,” Evelyn Escatiola told the crowd. “Together, we have the power to make a change.”

Escatiola, a former dean of East Los Angeles College and longtime community organizer, urged fans to flex their economic power by “letting the Dodgers know that we do not support repression.”

Jorge “Coqui” Rodriguez, a lifelong Dodgers fan, spoke to the crowd and called on Dodgers ownership to divest from immigration detention centers owned and operated by GEO Group and CoreCivic.

Jorge Coqui H Rodriguez speaks at a press conference outside Dodger Stadium on March 25, 2026, to demand the Dodgers not to visit the White House following their 2025 World Series win.

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J.W. Hendricks

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The LA Local

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In a phone interview a day before the protest, Rodriguez told The LA Local he did not want the Dodgers using his “cheve” or beer money to fund detention centers. 

“They can’t take our parking money, our cacahuate money, our cheve money, our Dodger Dog money and invest those funds into corporations that are imprisoning people. It’s wrong,” Rodriguez said. 

Rodriguez considers the Dodgers one of the most racially diverse teams and said the players need to support fans at a time when heightened immigration enforcement has become more common across L.A.

The team’s 2025’s visit to the White House drew ire from the largely Latino fan base, citing the Trump administration’s ongoing attacks on immigrants. 

In June, the team came under further scrutiny when rumors swirled online that federal immigration agents were using the stadium’s parking, which immigration authorities later denied in statements posted on social media accounts.

The team again came under fire after not releasing a statement on the impacts of ICE raids on its mostly Latino fan base at the height of immigration enforcement last summer. The team later agreed to invest $1 million to support families affected by immigration enforcement.

When he learned the Dodgers were pledging only $1 million to families in need, Rodriguez called the amount a  “slap in the face.” 

“These guys just bought the Lakers for billions of dollars and they give a million dollars to fight for legal services? That’s a joke,” Rodriguez said. “They need to have a moral backbone and not be investing in those companies.”

According to reporting from the Los Angeles Times, former Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershawsaid last week that he is looking forward to the trip.

“I went when President [Joe] Biden was in office. I’m going to go when President [Donald] Trump is in office,” Kershaw said. “To me, it’s just about getting to go to the White House. You don’t get that opportunity every day, so I’m excited to go.”

The Dodgers have yet to announce when their planned visit will take place. 

Santillan sometimes laments his decision to give up his season tickets in protest of the team. His connection to the stadium and the memories he has made there with family and friends will last a lifetime, he said. On Thursday, he will uphold his tradition and be there for the first pitch of the season, but with a heavy heart.

“It’s a family tradition, but the Dodgers have a lot of work to do,” he said.

A local favorite mom-and-pop bookshop in Eagle Rock is facing displacement due to a steep rent hike. The owners say theirs is just one of several small businesses along Eagle Rock Boulevard struggling to keep up with lease increases.

Over the past 19 years, many in the neighborhood have come to love READ Books for its eclectic collection of used titles and shop dog Florence.

Co-owner Jeremy Kaplan said it’s been a delight to grow with the community over the years.

“Like seeing kids come back in, who were in grade school and now they’re in college,” Kaplan said.

But the building where Kaplan and wife Debbie rent was recently sold, and the rent increased by more than 130% to $2,805 a month, Kaplan said. He told LAist it was an increase his small business simply could not absorb.

Kaplan said he originally was given 30 days notice of the rent increase. After some research, assistance from Councilmember Ysabel Jurado’s office and some pro-bono legal help, Kaplan said he pushed back and got the 90-day notice he’s afforded by state law.

California Senate Bill 1103 requires landlords to give businesses with five or less employees 90 days’ notice for rent increases exceeding 10%, among other protections.

Systems Real Estate, the property management company, did not immediately respond to LAist’s request for comment.

What can small businesses do? 

Nadia Segura, directing attorney of the Small Business Program at pro bono legal aid non-profit Bet Tzedek said California law does not currently allow for rent control for commercial tenancies.

Outside of the protections under SB 1103, Segura said small businesses like READ Books don’t have much other recourse. And even then, commercial landlords are not required to inform their tenants of their protections under the law.

“There’s still a lot of people that don’t know about SB 1103. And then it’s very sad that they tell them they have these rent increases and within a month they have to leave,” Segura said.

She said her group is seeing steep rent hikes like this for commercial tenants across the city.

“We are seeing this even more with the World Cup coming up, the Olympics coming up. And I will say it was very sad to see that also after the wildfires,” Segura said.

Part of Bet Tzedek’s ongoing work is to advocate for small businesses, working with landlords who are increasing rents to see if they are willing to give business owners longer leases that lock in rents.

What’s next 

After READ Books posted about their situation on social media, commenters chimed in to express their outrage and love for the little shop.

While he looks for a new spot, Kaplan says he’s forming a coalition of local businesses and activist groups to see what can be done to help other small businesses facing similar displacement. He wants to address the displacement issue for businesses like his, which have made Eagle Rock the distinctive neighborhood that it is today.

Owl Talk, a longtime Eagle Rock staple selling clothing and accessories in a unit in the same building as READ Books, is facing a “more than double” rent increase, according to a post on their Instagram account.

Kaplan said he’s been in touch with the office of state Assemblywoman Jessica Caloza and wants to explore the possibility of introducing legislation to set up protections for small businesses like his, including rent-control measures or a vacancy tax for landlords. Kaplan said he also reached out to the office of state Sen. Maria Durazo.

By his count, Kaplan said there are about a dozen businesses within surrounding blocks that are at risk of closing their doors or have shuttered due to rent increases or other struggles.

When READ Books was founded during the Great Recession, Kaplan said he knew it was a longshot to open a bookstore at the same time so many were struggling to stay in business.

“It was kind of interesting to be doing something that neighborhoods needed. That was important to me growing up, that was important to my children, that was important to my wife growing up,” Kaplan said.

“And then somebody comes in and says, ‘We’re gonna over double your rent.”

Topline:

Frozen budget: Most of the city’s Bureau of Street Lighting budget comes from an assessment that people who own property illuminated by lights pay on their county property tax bill. The amount people pay depends on the kind of property they own and how much they benefit from lighting. A typical single-family home currently pays $53 annually, and in total, the assessments bring in about $45 million annually for the city to repair and maintain streetlights. Changing the amount the Bureau of Street Lighting gets from the assessment requires a vote among property owners who benefit from the lights.

Ballots: L.A. City Council’s vote gives city staff the green light to prepare and send out those ballots. Miguel Sangalang, who oversees the bureau, said at a committee meeting earlier this month that he expects to send out ballots by April 17. Notices about the ballots will be sent out prior to the ballots themselves.

Near unanimous vote: L.A. City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez was the only “No” vote Tuesday, saying she wanted to see a more current strategic plan for the bureau. Sangalang said the bureau developed a plan in 2022 that lays out how money will be spent. Councilmember Imelda Padilla was absent for the vote.

Vote count: Votes will be weighted according to the assessment amount. Basically, the more you’re asked to pay yearly to maintain streetlights, the more your vote will count. Ballots received before June 2 will be tabulated by the L.A. City Clerk.

How much more money: According to a report, the amount needed in assessments from property owners to meet the repair and maintenance needs of the city’s streetlighting in the next fiscal year is nearly $112 million.

Use of the money: Sangalang said at a March 11 committee meeting that the extra funds would be used to double the number of staff to handle repairs and procure solar streetlights, which don’t face the threat of copper wire theft. That would all potentially reduce the time it takes to repair simple fixes down to a week. Currently, city residents wait for months to see broken streetlights repaired. The assessment would come with a three-year auditing mechanism.