David Wagner
covers housing in Southern California, a place where the lack of affordable housing contributes to homelessness.
Published August 28, 2024 5:00 AM
Voting booths inside L.A.'s Union Station during the 2022 primary.
(
Trevor Stamp
/
LAist
)
Topline:
As a Los Angeles County voter, you’re asked to make a lot of decisions, including on a dizzying array of complex ballot measures. This November is set to be the first time a nonpartisan fiscal analysis of each countywide measure will appear on your sample ballot.
What’s new: The change is happening because of a vote in July from the L.A. County Board of Supervisors. Elected leaders say voters are currently inundated with messages from supporters and opponents of various measures. The board has unanimously approved a plan for the county’s auditor-controller to prepare brief, impartial fiscal breakdowns of all countywide ballot measures for inclusion on election materials.
The context: This kind of analysis is already standard for statewide measures. The California Legislative Analyst’s Office prepares nonpartisan statements that tell voters how much measures could increase or decrease revenues, and what other impacts they could have on government programs.
Read more… to find out why this information matters according to local political onlookers, and what ballot measures it will apply to this November.
As a Los Angeles County voter, you’re asked to make a lot of decisions. Not just on candidates for local, state and national offices, but also on a dizzying array of ballot measures.
Figuring out the potential impact of these measures can be tough. But this time around, it could be slightly easier. This November, for the first time, the L.A. County Registrar will print a nonpartisan fiscal analysis of two countywide measures on your sample ballot.
What’s different this time
The change is happening because of a vote in July from the L.A. County Board of Supervisors. Supervisor Holly Mitchell, who introduced the idea with Supervisor Kathryn Barger, said voters are currently inundated with messages from supporters and opponents of various measures.
“This has resulted in confusion, and sometimes a lack of trust in the county’s budget process or program implementation,” Mitchell said.
“Ballot box budgeting — as challenging as that is — is a reality that the state of California and local governments face,” she added. “The least we can do is ensure that ballot measures include an impartial and competent fiscal analysis of the impact on the County’s revenues and expenditures.”
The board unanimously approved a plan to have the county’s Auditor-Controller prepare brief, impartial fiscal breakdowns of all countywide ballot measures. Those blurbs will be included in the official election materials registered L.A. County voters will start receiving soon.
How it works for other measures
This kind of analysis is already standard for statewide measures. The California Legislative Analyst’s Office prepares nonpartisan statements that tell voters how much measures could increase or decrease revenues, and what other impacts they could have on government programs.
Until now, no such process existed for L.A. County measures. Political onlookers say that’s a glaring omission for a county with a population — and budget — larger than many U.S. states.
“People really do need to pay more attention to county government, even though they tend to overlook it,” said Jack Pitney, a professor of politics at Claremont McKenna College. “It would be great if all county voters rigorously researched every measure on the ballot, but that's really not the way people vote. So they need one-stop shopping for nonpartisan analysis.”
Why it matters for past and future votes
The countywide measures up for a vote this November demonstrate just how consequential voters’ decisions can be. Measure A could increase sales tax revenue for homelessness efforts by more than $1 billion a year. Measure G would increase the number of L.A. County Supervisors from five to nine.
In recent years, L.A. County voters have approved measures that significantly increased local tax revenues and shifted budget priorities.
In 2017, more than 69% of voters approved Measure H, a sales tax increase that has raised hundreds of millions of dollars each year for homelessness efforts. In 2020, they passed Measure J. It dedicates at least 10% of unrestricted County funding to programs like youth development, job training and supportive housing — all meant to address racial injustice.
The fiscal impact statements you’ll see on your sample ballot
The L.A. County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s office sent LAist the language that will appear on your sample ballot for countywide measures. You can read those original fiscal impact statements at these links for Measure A and Measure G.
The text of the analysis signed by County of Los Angeles Auditor-Controller Oscar Valdez also appears below.
Measure A
This measure would establish a permanent half percent (0.5%) sales and use tax to reduce and prevent homelessness and provide affordable housing. This measure would repeal the one quarter percent (0.25%) sales and use tax enacted in 2017 that would otherwise expire in 2027. In accordance with the Elections Code, the scope of this fiscal impact statement is limited to the measure's effect on revenues and expenditures.
The net effect of this measure is to increase the sales and use tax rate by one-quarter percent (0.25%) on all taxable sales occurring in the County, and to make the increase permanent. Based on California Department of Tax and Fee Administration records for the period September 2023 through August 2024, the half percent (0.5%) sales and use tax is estimated to generate approximately $1.076 billion in local government revenue in the first year. Local government expenditures are expected to increase by a similar amount as these new revenues are used for the purposes specified in the measure.
The measure allows for not more than one half percent (0.5%) of the gross tax amount collected (estimated to be approximately $5 million in the first year) to be used for reasonable costs to collect and distribute the tax. Under the allocation plan specified in the measure, net local government revenues generated by the tax (estimated at approximately $1.071 billion in the first year) must be apportioned for the following programs, as defined in the measure:
61.25% (approximately $656 million in the first year) to the County for Comprehensive Homelessness Services, the Local Solutions Fund, Homelessness Solutions Innovations, and Accountability, Data, and Research;
35.75% (approximately $383 million in the first year) to the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency for Affordable Housing and Prevention; and
- 3% (approximately $32 million in the first year) to the Los Angeles County Development Authority for Local Housing Production.
The measure also allows the Board of Supervisors to change this apportionment beginning in Fiscal Year 2030- 31. Of the 61.25% apportioned to the County, at least 15% must be used for the Local Solutions Fund which will be distributed to cities, councils of governments, and to the County on behalf of its unincorporated areas, via a formula based on the point-in-time count required by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and/or similar measures of people experiencing homelessness, as the Board of Supervisors determines in consultation with cities within the County.
All the sales and use tax revenues will be restricted to and must be spent on the purposes specified in the measure. In addition to the costs to collect and distribute the tax which are accounted for in the measure, certain costs will be incurred to monitor compliance. However, those costs would be met by the increased revenue associated with the measure.
Measure G
This Charter Amendment would make changes to the structure of County government. In accordance with the Elections Code, the scope of this fiscal impact statement is limited to the Charter Amendment’s effect on revenues and expenditures.
Overall, this Charter Amendment will likely result in additional future costs in two categories — for implementation of the Charter Amendment, and for the ongoing costs of operating the new offices and positions it creates.
The Charter Amendment requires that implementation costs be funded with existing County funding sources and result in no additional costs to, or taxes imposed on taxpayers. Accordingly, implementation costs including, but not limited to, the office and space requirements of the four new Supervisorial districts, establishing new departments and officials as outlined in the Charter Amendment, and additional technology and election costs may be addressed by reallocating funds from other County functions/programs, setting aside future growth of existing funding sources, and/or realizing savings from operating efficiencies. Overall, estimates indicate onetime implementation costs could be $8 million or more, depending on future policymaker decisions.
Ongoing costs of the Charter Amendment would include salaries and benefits for newly created positions and offices, ongoing costs for office space, and other administrative and support needs. However, the amount of these future costs and their funding source(s) cannot be estimated since some of the changes will not begin until 2030, and their impacts are contingent on future policymaker decisions. The financing of ongoing costs as opposed to implementation costs is not addressed in the Charter Amendment. Ongoing costs are not subject to the same requirement that they be funded with existing County funding sources and offset by cost savings. They may be funded by reallocating existing resources, reserving future revenue growth, achieving operating efficiencies, or by utilizing alternative and/or new funding sources. Ultimately, policymakers will determine the mix of new and existing funding sources to pay for ongoing operating costs, as well as the impact on the operations and finances of other County functions/programs.
Our estimates were based on cost information provided by County departments and projections regarding the operational impacts of this Charter Amendment and are subject to uncertainty. If the actual impact differs significantly from our projections, costs could be higher or lower than our estimates.
Adolfo Guzman-Lopez
is an arts and general assignment reporter on LAist's Explore LA team.
Published May 2, 2026 5:00 AM
Steve Campos sits on a bench he calls the "LA Bench" that approriates the logo used by the Dodgers in a statement of civic pride.
(
Courtesy Steve Campos
)
Topline:
LA welder-artist uses the well-loved "L.A." logo to create an “LA Bench” to spark civic pride. It may look like a tribute to the Dodgers, but it's more complicated.
Why it matters: Steve Campos is a second-generation welder born and raised in L.A. who is using his training and education to create work with more artistic designs.
Why now: The Dodgers’ success is making their logos ubiquitous. But the team's success, some Angelenos say, came at the cost of mass displacement after World War II of working class communities where Dodger Stadium how stands.
The backstory: The interlocking letters of the L.A. logo were used by the L.A. Angels minor league baseball team before the Dodgers moved to L.A. in 1958.
What's next: Campos is offering the LA Benches for sale and hopes he can get permission from the Dodgers to install a few at Dodger Stadium.
It’s about the size of a park bench and made of steel and wood. The bench’s arm rests are formed by the letters “L” and “A” in a design that’s unmistakable to any sports fan. But the welder-artist who created it says it’s not a Dodgers bench.
“This is about civic pride, L.A. pride. I made a design statement saying that it has nothing affiliated with the Dodgers,” said Steve Campos.
Campos grew up near Dodger Stadium, raised by parents who were die-hard Dodgers fans. So much, that they named him after Steve Garvey but that legacy doesn’t keep him from confronting how the Dodgers benefitted from the mass displacement of working-class people from Chavez Ravine after World War Two. That’s why he calls it an L.A. Bench, and not a Dodgers Bench.
The logo may be synonymous with the city's beloved baseball team, but the design of the interlocking letters was used by the L.A. Angels minor league baseball team before the Dodgers moved to L.A. in 1958.
“The monogram was here before the Dodgers,” Campos said.
A second-generation welder
Welding is the Campos family business. His father created gates and security bars for windows and doors for L.A. clients. That was the foundation for the work Campos has done for two decades since graduating from Lincoln High School, L.A. Trade Tech College, and enrolling in a summer program at Art Center in Pasadena.
The inspiration for the L.A. Bench came last year while he was playing around in his shop creating versions of the L.A. logo. A friend he hangs with at Echo Park Lake asked Campos to make him a piece of furniture.
“I was trying to figure out what my friend Curly wanted. He liked Dodgers and drinking and getting into fights, so I was like, 'Let me make something with the LA monogram,'” he said.
Welder-artist Steve Campos created whimsical steel sculptures with the LA logo.
(
Courtesy Steve Campos
)
It didn’t design itself. He said he had to lengthen the legs on the “A” and lean the back of the “L” in order to make the bench functional. In the process, he’s made a piece of furniture with a ubiquitous logo that he’s embedded with his own L.A. pride, as well as city history past and present.
LA civic pride travels to Japan
Campos vacationed in Japan the last week of April and took advantage of the trip to reach out to people who may be interested in the L.A. Bench. He was caught off guard by people’s reaction when he showed them pictures of it.
“They look at it and they go, 'Oh, Ohtani bench,'” he said.
For them, it’s still a bench embedded with pride, he said, but centered around Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, an icon in his native Japan.
I would love to get a couple of them installed at Dodger Stadium.
— Steve Campos, welder-artist
Campos has made four L.A. benches and is selling them fully assembled, he said, for $2,500 each — taking into account his labor and how costly the raw materials have become. For now, he’s offering the metal parts as a package for $500, which requires the buyer to purchase the wood for the seat and the back — an easy process, he said.
While he has no plans to mass produce the L.A. Bench, he does have one goal in mind that shows how hard it is for him to separate L.A. civic pride and the Dodgers.
“I would love to get a couple of them installed at Dodger Stadium,” he said.
The former Snapchat buildings on the Venice Boardwalk are now pop-up art spaces, free for all to visit.
(
Laura Hertzfeld
/
LAist
)
Topline:
A new art installation on the Venice Boardwalk features local and international artists, pop-up evening performances, and projects that explore the themes of childhood and home.
Why it matters: The Venice Boardwalk is usually a daytime playground, but a new art installation and performance pop up aims to breathe new life into the evening scene at the beach.
Why now: Two formerly vacant buildings with spaces facing the Boardwalk have been turned into free art installations after a new owner took over the former Snapchat-owned buildings.
The backstory: Stefan Ashkenazy, founder of the Bombay Beach Biennale, brings some of his favorite collaborators into a new space on the Venice Boardwalk, giving a chance for tourists and locals alike to check out projects from artists including William Attaway, James Ostrer, Greg Haberny, Robin Murez, and more.
Read on ... to find out how you can visit.
The Venice Boardwalk after sunset has generally been a no-go zone for tourists and locals alike, as the beachside bars and restaurants close on the early side and safety is often an issue. Now, a group of artists is out to bring some vibrancy to the creative neighborhood with a series of new installations that will include live evening performances – and even a “Venice Opera House.”
“Let's play with light and let's play with sound and give people a reason to come to the Boardwalk after sundown,” said artist and entrepreneur Stefan Ashkenazy, who is curating the project and owns the buildings housing them. “I mean, let's just be open 24 hours a day.”
The concept doesn’t have an official name yet, but he’s been calling it “See World.”
Artist James Ostrer's space looks out from a bed through the fence to the ocean at Venice Beach.
(
Laura Hertzfeld
/
LAist
)
William Attaway, a longtime Venice artist, created a gallery space filled with various paintings and sculptures.
(
Laura Hertzfeld
/
LAist
)
The pair of modern buildings on the Venice Boardwalk at Thornton Ave. – with their big balconies, floor-to-ceiling glass windows, and seven open garage-style retail spaces – have sat mostly empty since Snapchat vacated their beachside offices in 2019. Ashkenazy recently bought the building and recruited artists to fill those front-facing spaces with creative work until a full-time tenant comes in.
Over the past several weeks the installations have been created in real-time, in public.
Venice Boardwalk art pop-ups The installations are open now and can be seen from the Boardwalk for free 24/7. They will be up for several months and evening performances are ongoing.
All of the projects are loosely along the theme of “home,” with each artist claiming a “room” in the two buildings that stretch across a full block on the Boardwalk. Several local Venice artists are featured, including William Attaway, whose intricate mosaic work is recognizable on the Venice public restrooms along the beach. Attaway’s space features a floating larger-than-life-sized statue and various works in a mini-gallery. In the next room is Robin Murez’s pieces, featuring carved wooden seats from her beloved neighborhood Venice Flying Carousel.
Ashkenazy is no stranger to wild (and wildly successful) art ideas. He’s the owner of the Petit Ermitage hotel in West Hollywood, a longtime haven for visiting artists, and the founder of the decade-old Bombay Beach Biennale, where artists install all kinds of work in an annual event near the Salton Sea. Many of the artists from that community are featured at the Venice project.
A "Venice Opera House" will host pop-up music events throughout the summer.
(
Laura Hertfeldz
/
LAist
)
New York-based artist Greg Haberny's paintings on the wall of his Venice space.
(
Laura Hertzfeld
/
LAist
)
New York-based artist Greg Haberny and London-based artist James Ostrer have brought some of their work in the Bombay Beach Biennale to the Venice project. Their windows on the Boardwalk both speak to a child-like sense of wonder and creativity.
“I think it's just kind of exploring and playing a little bit, to have the freedom to be able to do that,” Haberny says of his imagined child’s bedroom space, which includes a fort made out of puffy cheese balls. “It's a big space, too. It's beautiful.”
Ostrer is experimenting with a performance art idea where he sits in bed amongst a room full of his own artwork, which he describes as “happy art with an edge.” Looking out at the ocean from the bed, he’s invited passersby to sit and have chats with him about his work or anything else they want to talk about.
“It’s a very intimate space, so you have a different kind of conversation,” he said. “I use art to channel human creativity, and [talk about] dark things.”
While there are open fences that block off the spaces, they aren’t sealed up at night. Both Ashkenazy and the team of artists seemed open to the idea that anything could happen and that the installations are a conversation with the public – and with that comes some risk.
Greg Haberny (right) works with his assistants on an installation featuring kid-inspired graffiti art and a "cheesy puff" fort.
(
Laura Hertzfeld
/
LAist
)
“I don't really know if I [would] say worried, but I guess it's just the cost of doing business,” Haberny said. “I don't really make things to get damaged or broken, sure. But I have done [things like] burned all my paintings and then made paint out of ash.”
While he’s felt safe – and even slept overnight in the installation – Ostrer has been collaborating with a local female artist who performs in a pig mask in front of his installation some nights. Watching her perform, he said, has taught him about the vulnerability of women in public spaces like the Boardwalk. “I've started to, on a very fractional level, have seen how scary that is. Because I've sat in the bed behind her performing at the front here… the way in which men are approaching her and shrieking at her … it's shocking.”
Ashkenazy says he will keep the artists in the space, potentially rotating new ones in, until a fulltime tenant takes over.
“This is an experiment … and after acquiring the building, the intention wasn't, ‘let's open a bunch of public art spaces,’ he said. “It is kind of …what the building wanted and listening to what the Boardwalk needed. Let's play, let's have the artists that we love and appreciate have a space to play and engage and give the locals and the visitors to the Boardwalk something to experience.”
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.
Fiona Ng
is LAist's deputy managing editor and leads a team of reporters who explore food, culture, history, events and more.
Published May 2, 2026 5:00 AM
Elephant Hill in El Sereno.
(
Courtesy Save Elephant Hill
)
Topline:
A new trail across the beloved natural area of Elephant Hill in Northeast Los Angeles officially opens this weekend.
Why it matters: The route is years in the making, and it's a big milestone in the decades-long conservation efforts to preserve this local jewel in the community of El Sereno.
What's next: The trail is part of a decades-long effort to preserve the entire 110 acres of Elephant Hill. Read on to learn more.
The route is years in the making, and it's a big milestone in the decades-long conservation efforts to preserve this local jewel in the community of El Sereno.
The hiking trail connects one side of Elephant Hill to the other — from the corner of Pullman Street and Harriman Avenue all the way across to Lathrop Street.
It's 0.75 miles in total, but packs a punch.
"It's a pretty straight shot, but because of the terrain — the trail is kind of twisty and curvy. There's switchbacks — and great views," Elva Yañez, board president of the nonprofitSave Elephant Hill, said.
People have always been able to access the 110-acre green space, but Yañez said the new trail provides a safe and easy way to navigate the steep hillsides.
The El Sereno nonprofit has been working for two decades to preserve the land. Illegal dumping and off-roading have damaged the open space over the years. And the majority of the 110 acres are privately owned by an estimated 200 individual owners.
Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA) joined the efforts in 2018, spurred by a $700,000 grant from Los Angeles County Regional Park and Open Space District, in part, to build the trail. The local agency received some $2 million in grants from the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy to add to the 10 acres of Elephant Hill it manages and conserves. This year, MCRA acquired an additional 12 parcels — or about 2.4 acres.
And the spiffy new footpath — with trail signage, information kiosks and landscape boulders — is not just a long-sought-for victory but a beginning in a sense.
"We know that it means a lot to the community," Sarah Kevorkian, who oversees the trail project for MRCA, said. "We're wrapping up the trail, but it really feels like the beginning of all that is to come."
A hint of that vision already exists — for hikers traversing the new route, courtesy ofTest Plot, the L.A.-based nonprofit that works to revitalize depleted lands.
"They're able to see at the end of the trail, at the 'test plot' — exactly what a restored Elephant Hill would look like," Yañez said.
Josie Huang
is a reporter and Weekend Edition host who spotlights the people and places at the heart of our region.
Published May 2, 2026 5:00 AM
Battery storage hubs are used to stabilize the energy grid but have led to lithium battery fires.
(
Sandy Huffaker
/
AFP via Getty Images
)
Topline:
San Gabriel Valley residents are rallying today against a battery storage project in the City of Industry. They warn it could bring environmental and health impacts and pave the way for more industrial development, like data centers.
The backstory: City leaders approved the 400-megawatt Marici battery facility in January. But residents in nearby communities say they were not adequately informed and are concerned about safety risks.
What's next: Some local activists have challenged the approval of the battery facility under the California Environmental Quality Act.
The rally: Protesters will be at the Peter F. Schabarum Regional Park in Rowland Heights from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
A coalition of residents from across the San Gabriel Valley are mobilizing over a battery storage project and possibly more industrial development in the City of Industry they say could pollute communities next door.
WHAT: Protest against battery storage facility in the city of Industry
WHERE: Peter F. Schabarum Regional Park in neighboring Rowland Heights
WHEN: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Because of the City of Industry’s unusual, sprawling shape stretching along the 60 Freeway, it borders on more than a dozen communities, meaning what happens there can have far-reaching impact.
“Pollution does not end right at the border,” said Andrew Yip, an organizer with No Data Centers SGV Coalition. “Pollution travels.”
Beyond environmental concerns, locals have also been frustrated with how decisions are made by officials in the City of Industry, a municipality that’s almost entirely zoned for industrial use and has less than 300 residents.
Organizers say they’ve struggled to get direct responses from city officials whom they say have replaced regular meetings with special meetings, which under state law require less advance notice.
A city spokesperson has not responded to requests for comment.
Today’s protest is taking place at Peter F. Schabarum Regional Park in Rowland Heights across the street from the Puente Hills Mall, a largely vacant “dead” mall, which activists fear could be redeveloped into a data center and bring higher utility costs and greater air and noise pollution.
Yip pointed out that industrial developments make a lot of money for the City of Industry.
“But none of these surrounding communities receive any of those benefits,” Yip said. “Yet we have to put up with all the harmful effects and impacts from this city that does all this development without really reaching out.”
