Jill Replogle
covers public corruption, debates over our voting system, culture war battles — and more.
Published September 5, 2025 12:46 PM
A look inside the Huntington Beach Central Library.
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Jill Replogle
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LAist
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Topline:
An Orange County judge ruled today that Huntington Beach can’t prohibit minors from accessing books with sexual content at the public library.
What kind of books are we talking about? Books about puberty and sexuality, including It's Perfectly Normal and The Care and Keeping of You were moved to a restricted section and patrons under 18 need a parent’s permission to check them out.
The backstory: The city passed a resolution in 2023 prohibiting minors from accessing books with sexual content in the public libraries without a parent’s permission. “Sexual content”was never clearly defined and critics argued it was actually an excuse to restrict books with LGBTQ characters and themes. At one point, librarians were told to remove books from the children’s section that showed any body parts normally covered by a bathing suit.
Why it matters: Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with parents who sought to excuse their kids from public school during lessons with LGBTQ themes.
Read on ... for more about the ruling.
An Orange County judge ruled Friday that Huntington Beach can’t prohibit minors from accessing books with sexual content at the public library.
What kind of books are we talking about?
Books about puberty and sexuality, including It's Perfectly Normaland The Care and Keeping of You were moved to a restricted section and patrons under 18 have needed a parent’s permission to check them out.
Listen to LAist Orange County Correspondent Jill Replogle on Imperfect Paradise, talking about how censorship efforts are playing out at the Huntington Beach library.
The Huntington Beach library at the center of America’s culture wars
Listen to LAist Orange County Correspondent Jill Replogle on Imperfect Paradise, talking about how censorship efforts are playing out at the Huntington Beach library.
The city passed a resolution in 2023 prohibiting minors from accessing books with sexual content in the public libraries without a parent’s permission. However, “sexual content”was never clearly defined and critics argued it was actually an excuse to restrict books with LGBTQ characters and themes. At one point, librarians were told to remove books from the children’s section that showed any body parts normally covered by a bathing suit.
Why it matters
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with parents who sought to excuse their kids from public school during lessons with LGBTQ themes. Huntington Beach used the decision to argue the state’s Freedom to Read Act, which prohibits libraries from restricting access to books, is unconstitutional.
What did the judge rule?
Orange County Judge Lindsey Martinez rejected that argument, saying parents are still free to choose which books their kids can read at the Huntington Beach library. Martinez found the city’s resolution violates California’s Freedom to Read Act and ordered the city to comply with the law.
Didn’t voters decide all of this?
Partially. The city had also established a citizen review board with the power to censor children’s books at the library. Huntington Beach voters repealed that review board in a special election in June. But a legal challenge to the sexual content restrictions, led by several city residents and the group Alianza Translatinx, was still pending until now.
What’s next?
Lawyers for the two sides now have to hammer out an agreement detailing how the city will comply. Library advocates, including plaintiff Erin Spivey, hope that will include returning books currently isolated in a “youth restricted area” to the main children’s library, and restoring the now-defunct teen or “young adult” section.
“ Teenage readers are so reluctant to engage with reading anyways,” Spivey said. “When that's closed off and it's all seen as one adult section, you're basically disinviting teenagers to engage with the library.”
Listen
0:46
Huntington Beach suffers legal setback in library 'culture wars'
Huntington Beach can still appeal the judge’s decision.
How to keep tabs on Huntington Beach
Huntington Beach holds City Council meetings on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 2000 Main St.
You can also watch City Council meetings remotely on HBTV via Channel 3 or online, or via the city’s website. (You can also find videos of previous council meetings there.)
The public comment period happens toward the beginning of meetings.
The city generally posts agendas for City Council meetings on the previous Friday. You can find the agenda on the city’s calendar or sign up there to have agendas sent to your inbox.
Robert Garrova
explores the weird and secret bits of SoCal that would excite even the most jaded Angelenos. He also covers mental health.
Published December 6, 2025 4:32 AM
Camp Josepho's Malibu Lodge as it looked before the Palisades Fire
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Christopher J. Campbell
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Topline:
As the one year anniversary of the Palisades fire approaches, a group of volunteers and Scouts with Scouting America are headed back to the beloved Camp Josepho for the first time since it was lost in the blaze.
An historic site: The 110-acre site nestled in the Santa Monica Mountains has welcomed thousands of Scouts since the 1940s.
What happened: A change in the direction of the wind during the Palisades Fire meant it would never look the same again. Pretty much everything was lost in the blaze, save for a concrete pool house.
How you can help: Organizers said they are looking for support from the community as they breathe new life into the camp. You can visit their website to learn how you can help.
Read on... to learn about the unique history of the camp.
As the one year anniversary of the Palisades fire approaches, a group of volunteers and Scouts with Scouting America are headed back to a beloved camp for the first time since it was lost in the blaze.
An historic site
The 110-acre site nestled in the Santa Monica Mountains known as Camp Josepho has welcomed thousands of Scouts since the 1940s. But a change in the direction of the wind during the Palisades Fire meant it would never look the same again. Pretty much everything was lost in the blaze, save for a concrete pool house.
“It’s a bit of a gut check, it almost doesn’t feel real, 85 years of camp... was just decimated that fast and that suddenly,” Nathan Erlandson, chief operating officer of Scouting America’s Western Los Angeles County Council, told LAist.
An undated photo of Camp Josepho
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Courtesy Dr. John S. Dahlem
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Listed as a Los Angeles Historical Cultural Monument, the land was gifted to the organization by the Josepho family. Ganna Josepho was a silent film star. Her husband, Anatol Josepho is credited with inventing the photo booth, which was coined the ‘Photomaton.’
Anatol Josepho
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Courtesy Dr. John S. Dahlem
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For decades, Scouts young and old have made the pilgrimage back to the place.
“Some of the older generation, a lot of them are no longer with us, they absolutely loved their experiences down there. It was just such a beautiful location,” said Lee Harrison, Scout executive for Western Los Angeles County Council. He’s been involved with his local council since he was 15, nearly four decades ago.
Harrison remembered Camp Josepho before the fire, when it was complete with the towering Malibu Lodge, which was built with redwood by aircraft manufacturer Donald Douglas and resembled a hangar.
Harrison used to love throwing his sleeping bag down in front of the lodge’s towering stone fireplace.
“It is irreplaceable and had a tremendous amount of history in it. And that’s the saddest part is that you would walk into that cavernous space, you could look at all the names that were written on the walls... And all of that’s gone,” he said.
Many famous and notable people visited Camp Josepho over the years, at least one of them uninvited.
Camp Josepho post Palisades Fire
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Aaron Kupferman
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There was the time Adam Sandler buzzed onto the historic grounds.
“He drove his gold cart down into the camp one day, and the site manager who was there had no idea who he was and chased him out of the camp. And he [Sandler] said ‘I’ll never come back here again,’” Harrison recalled.
This weekend, Scouts and members of the community will start to bring the place back to life, weeding out non-native plants and invasive species that have sprung to life around the ruins.
What's left of a pool at Camp Josepho
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Aaron Kupferman
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Harrison said the hope is to build the camp back with a lighter footprint, blending it more with the surrounding nature.
“People were -- and are -- very passionate about this place. And I think primarily because we’re able to bring lots of kids who don’t necessarily get access to the outdoors... in a very easy and quick way,” he said.
Harris and Erlandson said they are looking for support from the community as they breathe new life into the camp. You can visit their website to learn how you can help.
Fiona Ng
is LAist's deputy managing editor and leads a team of reporters who explore food, culture, history, events and more.
Published December 6, 2025 4:31 AM
Mulholland Highway directional sign in 1937.
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Herman J. Schultheis
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Courtesy Herman J. Schultheis Collection, Los Angeles Public Library
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Topline:
An iconic stretch of Mulholland Highway has reopened with little fanfare, seven years after the Woolsey Fire shut it down.
Why it matters: Nicknamed "The Snake," this 2.4-mile stretch is notorious for its hairpin turns that bring out a constant stream of motorists to test their skills.
Read on ... to learn the history of the thoroughfare — and why the hush with the reopening of The Snake.
It's the ultimate road for the ultimate driving machine, known for its coiling, hairpin turns that have lent a 2.4-mile stretch of Mulholland Highway the sobriquet of "The Snake."
On Tuesday, this famous squiggle etched through the Santa Monica Mountains finally reopened, seven years after it was shut down by the Woolsey Fire.
Here’s the catch: People who live in the area and enthusiasts who frequent the route wish you didn’t know. More about that later. But first, let’s take a short drive down memory lane.
Connecting L.A.
Groundbreaking ceremony for Mulholland Drive in 1923, called Mulholland Highway at the time.
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Keystone Photo Service
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Courtesy Security Pacific National Bank Collection, Los Angeles Public Library
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Aerial view of Mulholland Drive taken in 1924, looking east over the Hollywood Hills from a point just east of Girard.
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Robert E. Spence
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Courtesy Security Pacific National Bank Collection, Los Angeles Public Library
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The Mulholland corridor, all 50-some miles of it, has long lured motorists chasing speed against a scrolling backdrop of the city. In fact, when the thoroughfare carrying the name of the man who brought water to modernLos Angeles first opened in 1924, the prediction was that it'd become "one of the best known scenic roads in the United States."
The project, backed by landowners who wanted to bring development to the Hollywood Hills, was conceived to link the burgeoning city to the mountains and the sea.
The road has inspired art, film — and since its earliest days, movie stars. Before World War II, it was Gary Cooper and John Carradinetaking their Duesenbergs there for a spin. In the 1950s, James Dean used its turns and switchbacks as a training course of sorts.
"All I've been doing is driving around Mulholland Drive," said the actor, according to lore, after placing second overall in the Palm Spring Road Races.
A winding Mulholland Drive in Hollywood Hills in 1933.
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Courtesy Security Pacific National Bank Collection, Los Angeles Public Library
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View of the Hollywoodland sign from Mulholland
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Herman J Schultheis
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Herman J Schultheis Collection / Los Angeles Photographers Collection, Los Angeles Public Library
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A decade later, it was Steve McQueen, taking The Snake on his Jaguar or Triumph, before making a pit stop at the Rock Store, the nearby biker hangout.
The bad stretch
As legends of the road grew, so too did the crowd, including thrill-seekers — locally and from all corners of the world — looking to strut their stuff.
For years, aYouTube channel documented theserides and wipeouts, with cameras set up at the unofficial end of The Snake, dubbed Edwards Corner.
Officer G. H. Yeaton gives Norman Norlander directions atop Mulholland Drive at Beverly Glen as children wave placards urging traffic safety in 1937.
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Gordon Dean
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Courtesy Valley Times Collection, Los Angeles Public Library
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Those videos stopped in 2018 after the Woolsey Fire and mudslides a year later caused major damage to The Snake.
Keeping it low key
Now, those 2.4 miles finally have reopened. But instead of fanfare, it’s been met with controversy and a hope that outsiders don’t notice.
On the one side, you have homeowners and residents who have long been turned off by the noise and the open exhaust pipes — not to mention the crashes — from a constant stream of motorists.
Skyline view of downtown Los Angeles from Mulholland Drive
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Jeff Thurlow
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COVID-19 Community Archive, Los Angeles Public Library
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On the other, you have the riding clubs and Mulholland regulars wary of the same thing: that overuse will bring the callous riders, complaints and crashes of the before times.
“Sadly, irresponsible riders will have it closed again before you know it,” a poster in a Facebook thread said of The Snake’s reopening.
The question was even addressed by L.A. County Public Works officials in an FAQ issued this year, where they said the roadway did not meet the criteria for a permanent closure and that closing it permanently would cut off a key access point for residents.
LAist reached out to a number of riders for the story, to no avail. Same with our request to the CHP division that oversees The Snake.
So there you have it. The famed route is now open. Just don’t expect any welcoming waves if you venture through.
Actor Patrick Heusinger in "Paranormal Activity" at Chicago Shakespeare Theater.
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Kyle Flubacker
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Courtesy Center Theatre Group
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Topline:
Inspired by the found-footage style of the "Paranormal Activity" film franchise, the stage production takes place in a two-story house so the audience feels like they’re watching someone in their home.
How it got so scary: Director FelixBarrett told LAist that he and Tony Award-winning illusionist Chris Fisher worked on the illusions first. Later, they built around them so the effects are integrated into the set. “We knew that we wanted the illusions, the sort of haunting, to be so baked into the core of the piece,” Barrett said.
What to expect: The audience is pretty vocal due to all the jump scares and special effects, so the vibe is closer to a scary movie than a traditional play.
The audience: Barrett says his team’s approach appears to be attracting new and younger theatergoers. “I think we're getting a huge amount of audience who wouldn't normally go to a theater to see a play,” Barrett said. “My favorite thing is people saying, 'Oh, my gosh, I'm gonna go and see more plays,' because we've got them hooked from this one.”
How to see it: Paranormal Activity, A New Story Live on Stage is at the Ahmanson Theatre through Sunday.
For more ... listen to our interview with Barrett above.
A Trump administration official today signaled a potential rollback of the racial and ethnic categories approved for the 2030 census and other future federal government forms.
Why it matters: Supporters of those categories fear that any last-minute modifications to the U.S. government's standards for data about race and ethnicity could hurt the accuracy of census data and other future statistics used for redrawing voting districts, enforcing civil rights protections and guiding policymaking.
What are those changes?: Among other changes, new checkboxes for "Middle Eastern or North African" and "Hispanic or Latino" under a reformatted question that asks survey participants: "What is your race and/or ethnicity?" The revisions also require the federal government to stop automatically categorizing people who identify with Middle Eastern or North African groups as white.
A Trump administration official on Friday signaled a potential rollback of the racial and ethnic categories approved for the 2030 census and other future federal government forms.
Supporters of those categories fear that any last-minute modifications to the U.S. government's standards for data about race and ethnicity could hurt the accuracy of census data and other future statistics used for redrawing voting districts, enforcing civil rights protections and guiding policymaking.
Those standards were last revised in 2024 during the Biden administration, after Census Bureau research and public discussion.
A White House agency at the time approved, among other changes, new checkboxes for "Middle Eastern or North African" and "Hispanic or Latino" under a reformatted question that asks survey participants: "What is your race and/or ethnicity?" The revisions also require the federal government to stop automatically categorizing people who identify with Middle Eastern or North African groups as white.
But at a Friday meeting of the Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics in Washington, D.C., the chief statistician within the White House's Office of Management and Budget revealed that the Trump administration has started a new review of those standards and how the 2024 revisions were approved.
"We're still at the very beginning of a review. And this, again, is not prejudging any particular outcome. I think we just wanted to be able to take a look at the process and decide where we wanted to end up on a number of these questions," said Mark Calabria. "I've certainly heard a wide range of views within the administration. So it's just premature to say where we'll end up."
OMB's press office did not immediately respond to NPR's request for comment.
In September, OMB said those Biden-era revisions "continue to be in effect" when it announced a six-month extension to the 2029 deadline for federal agencies to follow the new standards when collecting data on race and ethnicity.
Calabria said the delay gave agencies more time to implement the changes "while we review."
The first Trump administration stalled the process for revising the racial and ethnic data standards in time for the 2020 census.
The "Project 2025" policy agenda released by The Heritage Foundation, the conservative, D.C.-based think tank, called for a Republican administration to "thoroughly review any changes" to census race and ethnicity questions because of "concerns among conservatives that the data under Biden Administration proposals could be skewed to bolster progressive political agendas."
Advocates of the changes, however, see the new categories and other revisions as long-needed updates to better reflect people's identities.
"At stake is a more accurate and deeper understanding of the communities that comprise our country," says Meeta Anand, senior director of census and data equity at the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. "I am not concerned if it's reviewed in an honest attempt to understand what the process was. I am concerned if it's for a predetermined outcome that would be to ignore the entire process that was done in a very transparent manner."
