Frank Stoltze
is a veteran reporter who covers local politics and examines how democracy is and, at times, is not working.
Published October 27, 2025 4:58 PM
California Attorney General Rob Bonta.
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Getty Images
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Topline:
California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday denounced plans by the federal justice department to send election monitors to California, where voting is underway in the closely watched contest over Proposition 50.
The details: The Trump administration announced Friday that it would send monitors to five counties, including Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Kern and Fresno for the Nov. 4 special election. The Justice Department said in a news release that it would send monitors to polling places and to offices of registrars of voters “to ensure transparency, ballot security and compliance with federal law.”
The backstory: President Donald Trump has claimed there’s widespread voter fraud in California, where 81% of ballots are mailed in. He reiterated his position as recently as Sunday on his Truth Social account. California Secretary of State Shirley Weber says on her website that mail-in ballots provide more election security, not less.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday denounced plans by the Justice Department to send election monitors to California, where voting is underway in the closely watched contest over Proposition 50.
The Trump administration announced Friday that it would send monitors to five counties, including Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Kern and Fresno for the Nov. 4 special election. The Justice Department said in a news release that it would send monitors to polling places and to offices of registrars of voters “to ensure transparency, ballot security, and compliance with federal law.”
The move comes in response to a request for monitors by the California Republican Party, which claimed voting irregularities in past elections including that voters received incorrect ballots.
It's not uncommon for the federal government to monitor elections, but Bonta questioned the motives behind the decision.
“These are not normal times so it is with a great deal of concern that I see these so-called election monitors coming to California,” he said. “We have to look at the broader context here.”
President Donald Trump has claimed there’s widespread voter fraud in California, where 81% of ballots are mailed in. He reiterated his position as recently as Sunday on his Truth Social account.
“No mail-in or “Early” Voting, Yes to Voter ID! Watch how totally dishonest the California Prop Vote is! Millions of Ballots being “shipped.” GET SMART REPUBLICANS, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!!!”
Bonta said Monday that voter fraud is extremely rare in California, and Secretary of State Shirley Weber says on her website that mail-in ballots provide more election security, not less.
Bonta said the election monitors are designed to bolster the president’s claim of election fraud and to sow fear among citizen immigrant voters.
“This is a president who is trying to end vote-by-mail,” he said at the news conference.
Voters statewide are casting ballots on Proposition 50, which would temporarily redraw Congressional district lines in California so that more Democrats are elected to Congress. It comes in response to Texas, which redrew its lines to elect more Republicans to Congress.
It's all part of a battle for control of the House of Representatives after the midterm elections.
The attorney general promised to monitor the monitors.
“Of course there will be observers of the election monitors — so-called election monitors — that the DOJ is sending. They will not be allowed to do things that they are not allowed to do,” he said. “They can watch and observe like everybody else.”
Bonta said federal election monitors will observe another clean election in California.
“They will see what we have all seen for years and for decades here in California, that California’s elections are safe, that they are secure, that they are accurate, that there is election integrity of the highest order in our election,” he said. "Conspiracy theories are just that — conspiracy theories.”
The special election is scheduled for Nov. 4, but mail in voting and in-person voting at vote centers is already under way.
Erin Stone
is a reporter who covers climate and environmental issues in Southern California.
Published February 2, 2026 3:57 PM
Water companies that serve Altadena lost thousands of customers in the Eaton Fire.
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Mario Tama
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Topline:
Water companies that serve much of Altadena are expected to hold public meetings this week to discuss how they’ll rebuild and stay in business after the Eaton Fire reduced many of their customers’ homes to ash. Two out of the three mutual water companies in the area are holding public meetings this week to discuss raising rates.
The background: Last year’s fires not only destroyed homes and businesses, but also critical infrastructure, such as water delivery systems. Rebuilding that infrastructure is particularly challenging in unincorporated areas such as Altadena, which is primarily served by three tiny, private water companies — Las Flores (more on their situation here), Rubio Cañon and Lincoln Avenue water companies. Unlike public utilities, these private, not-for-profit companies have less access to state and federal funding resources to rebuild, so customers are likely going to have to foot much of the bill. Customers of these companies are actually co-owners, called shareholders. Each is governed by its own set of bylaws.
Complications: All of Altadena’s water agencies have sued Southern California Edison, accusing it of responsibility for the Eaton Fire, but the result and timeline of such lawsuits remain uncertain. In turn, Edison has sued the water companies (among others), claiming they didn’t provide enough water for firefighters during the fire.
Rubio Cañon Land and Water Association: Rubio Cañon Land and Water Association served about 9,600 people in Altadena but, after the Eaton Fire, about 30% of that customer base is now made up of empty lots. While insurance is covering much of the most critical infrastructure repairs, the company faces a $1.95 million revenue shortfall.
Its proposal: To close the budget gap, the company is proposing an 11% rate hike, plus a “fire recovery charge” between $10 and $30 a month.
What about merging with other water companies? While Lincoln and Las Flores water companies have submitted paperwork to the state to study consolidation, Rubio Cañon has rejected being part of the effort. “Such consolidation could trigger a 7-12 year state process and significant shareholder costs, as Altadena is not classified as a disadvantaged community to qualify for the full menu of state resources,” the company wrote in its update ahead of this week’s meeting, calling such consolidation discussions “premature” and “unproductive.”
Upcoming board meeting: The board will hear from the public about the proposal at a meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Altadena Community Center. Attendees will have to prove they're a customer. More details here.
Lincoln Avenue Water Company: Lincoln Avenue served more than 16,000 people in Altadena before the Eaton Fire. Now, about 58% of its customers and revenue are gone. Although the company says it has sufficient reserves and is not facing bankruptcy in the near term, it has decided to raise water bills by $15 a month for existing customers. To improve its long term resilience, the company is also considering merging with Las Flores water company, but that will take time.
Upcoming board meetings: The board will discuss the rate hike at a special meeting at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Loma Alta Park Community Room. The meeting is open to shareholders only.
Destiny Torres
is LAist's general assignment and digital equity reporter.
Published February 2, 2026 3:24 PM
The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan begin Friday, and eight athletes have roots in Southern California.
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Luca Bruno
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Topline:
The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan begin Friday and eight athletes have roots in Southern California, including Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
Read on … for a full rundown on the SoCal’s Olympic athletes.
The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan begin Friday and eight athletes have roots in Southern California, including Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
Team USA’s 232-member roster includes 21 athletes from California. The Winter Games begin Feb. 6 and end on Feb. 22.
What about the 2026 Paralympics? The Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympics will start on March 6 and run through March 15. Not all qualifying athletes have been announced yet.
You can watch the games starting Friday on NBC and streaming on Peacock.
Keep up with LAist.
If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less.
Jordan Rynning
holds local government accountable, covering city halls, law enforcement and other powerful institutions.
Published February 2, 2026 3:21 PM
The LAPD deployed munitions and mounted units.
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Topline:
A federal judge banned LAPD from using 40mm projectiles at protests last month, but researcher Scott Reynhout of the nonprofit Physicians for Human Rights says the department still utilizes other crowd control weapons that can be just as dangerous — if not more so.
Why it matters: Local, state and federal law enforcement agencies have used thousands of crowd control weapons against protesters in L.A. since June 2025, when federal immigration raids began escalating tensions in the region. Many people who were never accused of breaking the law have still been struck by what are known as “less-lethal” crowd-control weapons, including rubber bullets, tear gas and flash bang grenades.
The most dangerous crowd control weapons: The LAPD uses a 37mm launcher that is inherently risky, Reynhout said. Even though the 37mm rubber bullets are smaller than the 40mm projectiles the LAPD was banned from using at protests, they are more likely to hit sensitive areas like the face and neck because they fire multiple projectiles in each shell.
Read on... for more on the crowd control weapons used by local law enforcement agencies.
Local, state and federal law enforcement agencies have reported using thousands of crowd control munitions against protesters in L.A. since June 2025, when federal immigration sweeps began escalating tensions in the region.
Many people who were never accused of breaking the law nonetheless have been struck by what are known as “less-lethal” crowd control weapons, including rubber bullets, tear gas and flash bang grenades.
While a federal judge banned the LAPD from using 40mm projectiles at protests last month, the department still uses other crowd control weapons. According to Scott Reynhout, who researches these weapons for Physicians for Human Rights, a nonpartisan nonprofit, some of these weapons can be just as dangerous as the banned projectiles — if not more so.
LAist spoke with Reynhout to better understand what they do and how people protesting lawfully can protect themselves.
Reynhout said it's very important that people pay attention if law enforcement declares an unlawful assembly, which they are required to do before using crowd control weapons in most cases.
“ If the police have declared an illegal assembly, it would behoove you to take steps to isolate yourself from that particular situation,” Reynhout said. “If that is not possible for you, for whatever reason — say, you live in the particular area where you are — then you could consider [protecting] yourself from chemical irritants or potentially from impact projectiles.”
Some of the most dangerous crowd control weapons used in L.A.
Physicians for Human Rights’ international study, Lethal in Disguise, found weapons that fire multiple projectiles at once were “far and away the most dangerous” type of crowd control weapons.
"82% of all the recorded injuries in the medical literature that came from impact projectiles were from ... multiple projectile impact projectiles,” Reynhout told LAist. “And 96% of all the ocular injuries from impact projectiles were from these multiple projectile impact projectiles."
He said the LAPD is the only police department in the U.S. he is aware of that uses this type of weapon. The department uses a 37mm less-lethal launcher (LLM) that shoots five rubber bullets with each shell.
According to reports required by Assembly Bill 48, the department used more than 600 of these shells — that’s over 3,000 projectiles — against anti-ICE protesters last June. They have continued to report using the 37mm launcher, most recently to disperse crowds after the Dodgers World Series win on Nov. 2, according to AB 48 reports.
The 37mm launcher is inherently risky, Reynhout said. Even though the 37mm rubber bullets are smaller than the 40mm projectiles the LAPD was banned from using at protests, they are more likely to hit sensitive areas like the face and neck.
The use of multiple projectiles causes the 37mm projectiles to scatter in a cone shape once they leave the launcher, making them much more difficult to control than a single projectile. He said LAPD’s policy of “skip firing,” which means officers are instructed to aim 5 to 10 feet in front of the person they are shooting at, also adds randomness.
A diagram showing LAPD's policy of "skip firing" the 37mm less-lethal launcher at targets.
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LAPD Use of Force Directive
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“ The real risk behind these multi-shot impact projectiles,” he said, “is that you just really don't have any control over where these bullets go in the end.”
Reynhout said people standing beside or behind the intended target could very easily get hit, which he believes was likely the case when Australian reporter Lauren Tomasi was struck in the leg by a rubber bullet in June.
[Note: LAist correspondent Adolfo Guzman-Lopez was struck in the throat by a projectile at a 2020 protest. Long Beach police later said they believed that injury was caused by a ricochet of a foam round.]
LAist reached out to LAPD for comment on their use of the 37mm launcher, but the department did not respond.
Another type of crowd control weapon found to be especially dangerous is the use of beanbag rounds, usually fired from a 12-gauge shotgun. These rounds fire small lead pellets sealed in a fabric bag.
Reynhout said the use of these rounds can be “horrific” and leave people with life-threatening injuries.
According to LAPD policy, beanbag rounds are not allowed to be used for crowd control, but other agencies have used them. The California Highway Patrol reported using beanbag rounds against anti-ICE protesters last June.
If you find yourself in a situation where projectiles are being deployed, Reynhout advises focusing on protecting your face and eyes. That’s where the most serious injuries occur.
Reynhout said ballistic eyewear that meets military standards (MIL-PRF-32432) could offer protection against some of the most severe injuries.
He said the 40mm or 37mm projectiles can be similar to getting hit by a golf ball by someone swinging just 6 feet away, and while things like bike helmets, paintball masks, hockey masks or even soft body armor might help to some degree, they aren’t designed to protect someone from that kind of impact.
What you may most likely be affected by: Chemical agents
Chemical agents like tear gas and pepper spray are crowd control weapons that saturate an area and affect everyone in it, Reynhout told LAist, and that includes people who may not even be part of a demonstration.
He said you should be especially aware of these weapons being used near you if you have asthma or any airway or respiratory system issues because they can provoke severe reactions in some cases.
In their report, Reynhout and other researchers found that children and older people are also at risk of severe reactions, which could be life-threatening.
There is gear on the market to mitigate those risks, including sealed safety goggles and respirators (N-, P- or R-100). If you find yourself exposed to a chemical irritant like tear gas or pepper spray, Reynhout said there is nothing shown to be more effective than flushing the area for 10 to 15 minutes with saline solution.
The saline solution should ideally be sterile and at body temperature, he told LAist, but plain water also works if that is what you have available. The important thing is that you continue to flush the area and dilute the chemicals.
For skin or clothing, Reynhout said dilution with water is still the key, but you can use some Dawn dish soap to help wash away pepper spray.
Other dangers
California law enforcement officers have also used flash bang grenades in response to protests since June. The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department and California Highway Patrol together used more than 300 aerial flash bang grenades on June 8, according to AB 48 reports. Those are crowd control munitions shot out of 40mm launchers that explode mid-air and create 170 dB of sound and 5 million candelas of light.
LAist asked the LAPD about their policy on using flash bang grenades for crowd control, but the department did not respond. The LAPD has not listed any uses of flash bang grenades in their AB 48 reports dating back to April 2024.
Aside from these, there are a number of other crowd control weapons and devices that are used by law enforcement agencies in the L.A. area: grenades that explode to release small rubber balls, pepper balls, batons or — unique to the LAPD — officers on horseback using wooden practice swords called “bokken.”
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Reynhout said deciding how much protection you might choose to take with you to a protest is very personal. Some bulkier items might restrict your movement, cause you to overheat or impede your ability to maintain situational awareness, so it is important to consider what risks you may face and use your best judgement.
Sometimes, he said, that best judgment might be to walk away from the situation.
Libby Rainey
is a general assignment reporter. She covers the news that shapes Los Angeles and how people change the city in return.
Published February 2, 2026 3:07 PM
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass delivers her 2026 State of the City address.
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Topline:
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass is scheduled to deliver her "State of the City" speech today at 3 p.m. She's expected to focus on the World Cup, particularly the city's plans for the upcoming eight matches that will take place at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, starting June 12.
Why now: Bass is making the remarks at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum, which will host a FIFA Fan Festival June 11-15 to coincide with the start of the tournament.
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass is delivering her "State of the City" speech Monday and is expected to focus on the World Cup, particularly the city's plans for the upcoming eight matches that will take place at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, starting June 12.
Bass is making the remarks at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum, which will host a FIFA Fan Festival June 11-15 to coincide with the start of the tournament.
