The Brief

If you're a Los Angeles County voter participating in the primary — we've got a game plan for that, by the way — your ballot will pass through a brand-new facility located in a throwback location: a former Fry's Electronics in the City of Industry.

That's where every ballot in the March 5 primary, as well as future elections, will be directed as part of a countywide initiative to consolidate and heighten security around the ballot counting process, according to Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean Logan.

"We've minimized the need to move ballots around the county to complete the process, and we've opened up a broader opportunity for those who want to observe the process and see the level of security and integrity of the voting process," Logan said.

Even votes that are cast in person will be tabulated, though the facility is also equipped to verify and count ballots sent by mail. About 3 million votes are cast countywide in a major election, according to Logan.

Watch votes being counted live

The livestream will run during business hours from Monday-Friday, where viewers can tune in to see the ballot verification process. You can also tune in to see poll workers tally the votes on the night of the election here.

Logan said the county also used the same location in 2022, though they've negotiated a longterm lease and installed increased security measures like a secure glass enclosure around the room where the ballots are counted. The county started moving toward this model in 2020, when the county used the grounds of the Pomona Fairplex to count ballots while it was shut down for the pandemic.

Logan said the ballot counting process will be expedited now that ballots won't have to move from location to location — though officials caution that this may not necessarily lead to faster results on election night.

"What slows that process down is we can't count the ballots until we actually have them — in California, the law allows for vote by mail ballots to be mailed on election day, as long as they're postmarked," Logan said. "We don't get those ballots into the facility until sometimes two or three days after the election."

The county will find other uses for the facility when it's not election season, including training, planning and even other county services. And if you're looking to get involved yourself or earn some extra money, Logan said they're looking for temporary employees for the upcoming election, including call center staff, vote by mail processing and community election work.

"We're also able to target our recruitment to the communities that surround the City of Industry where the facility is located," Logan said. "It's also a side opportunity to do a little bit of economic development and encouragement in the community in which we operate."

In-person early voting

You can now vote in-person at 119 vote centers across Los Angeles County. Vote centers are open daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Go here for a full list of locations.

A slow leak from a chemical tank smeared an orange cloud across the sky of a Southern California neighborhood on Tuesday, but authorities said they quickly got it under control.

Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Aaron Katon said authorities responded to a business that makes cleaning products after receiving a call shortly before noon about the cloud. Police evacuated a nearby middle school as a precaution, Katon said.

They do not yet know what the chemical was, but all shelter-in-place orders have been lifted, he said. The regional air quality management district has deployed staff to the area to investigate, said Connie Villanueva, a spokesperson for the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

The company, Shepard Bros., could not immediately be reached for comment.

Three company employees reported minor respiratory irritation and declined further treatment, Katon said.

The leak occurred in the city of La Habra near a mix of residential neighborhoods and industrial warehouses about 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Anaheim.

Keary Godinez, who works in a nearby restaurant, said she saw what appeared to be a dark yellow cloud spread across the sky. The 20-year-old said she watched students across the street board buses to evacuate, but police told her the eatery could remain open.

“It looked like pollen dust,” Godinez said, adding she didn’t detect a smell from the cloud. “It just kind of smeared in the sky and started going away.”

La Habra Mayor Jose Medrano had urged residents to shelter in place and said some streets were being evacuated.

Luis Gomez, who manages a nearby pickleball program, said earlier Tuesday he saw the cloud, called police and was told anyone within a mile radius of the location was under an evacuation order.

The Los Angeles Lakers will unveil a statue of former coach Phil Jackson outside their downtown arena next year.

The Lakers announced the plan Tuesday to honor Jackson, who led the Lakers to five championships and seven NBA Finals appearances during two stints totaling 11 seasons as their head coach.

The statue will be unveiled April 9 before the Lakers’ home game against Minnesota.

After his famed tenure leading Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls to six championships, Jackson joined the Lakers in 1999 and immediately began another era of major success for the 17-time NBA champion franchise.

His first three teams in Los Angeles won championships behind the dynamic duo of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, and the Lakers added two more titles in 2009 and 2010 led by Bryant and Pau Gasol. His Lakers also made the NBA Finals in 2004 and 2008.

Jackson set the Lakers franchise record for coaches with 610 victories while leading his teams to the playoffs in every year of his tenure, which ended in 2011.

“Phil Jackson defines championship basketball for a reason,” Lakers governor Jeanie Buss said in a statement. “His masterful approach to coaching brought out the best in some of the greatest athletes to ever play the game. After he accepted my dad’s invitation to join the Lakers, Phil’s unmatched creativity and commitment to excellence restored our championship legacy, bringing five titles and setting a standard of excellence for generations to come. It is a great joy to be able to mark that achievement with the statue he so richly deserves.”

Jackson will be the ninth person associated with the Lakers to be honored with a statue in Star Plaza outside their arena. He joins Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Bryant, O’Neal, broadcaster Chick Hearn and former coach Pat Riley, whose statue was unveiled earlier this year.

Jackson’s 11 championships as a head coach are the most in NBA history. The North Dakota native and former New York Knicks forward is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame.