The Brief

Three councilmembers are raising concerns as to why the city of Santa Ana may be withholding records tied to its decision to quit a nearly $7 million state contract that would have provided free or low-cost childcare to hundreds of the city’s most vulnerable youth.

Santa Ana was awarded the first state contract in 2024 with approval from the City Council, only to return the money six months later without informing elected officials.

As LAist first reported in September, the decision has led councilmembers to question why the city gave up on the much-needed funding and why the decision was made behind closed doors.

Now, city officials have new questions concerning the city’s response to LAist’s records requests about the grant after Councilmember Jessie Lopez discovered hundreds of documents — flagged by city agencies as responsive — were deleted from the portal by the Santa Ana city clerk’s office.

The city told LAist the documents were deleted to allow for review and redaction. To Lopez and other members of the City Council, the deleted documents suggest the city is not forthcoming about the decision to return the grant money.

“If you're withholding records that you don't want the public to see, what do those records show? It does not matter if it puts the city in a bad public predicament,” Lopez said.

The discovery has Lopez questioning not only the decision to return the contract money and the city’s explanation — which Lopez finds unsatisfactory — but also shakes her trust in city management.

"Think about that. I am a current councilwoman telling you I cannot trust the leadership of the city,” Lopez said. “That is so, so concerning, not just to me as an elected [official]. It should be concerning to our constituents."

What happened to the funds? 

In 2023, Santa Ana was awarded a $6.7 million contract from the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) to set up seven childcare facilities and programming, serving more than 500 kids. The money was supposed to be used by the Parks and Recreation Department to pay for new staff, licensing, training, program equipment, community engagement and state-required facility upgrades.

In the city’s bid to the state’s Department of Social Services, the city’s parks department said the program would relieve parents who otherwise cannot afford after-school care or similar programming.

Santa Ana Mayor Valerie Amezcua highlighted the award in her 2023 State of the City address.

“It’s almost $7 million. What are we going to do with that? I have a list,” Amezcua said.

According to Councilmember Johnathan Ryan Hernandez, Amezcua met with the Parks and Recreation Department to discuss how the city planned to use the funds.

Hernandez said city staff told him that Amezcua had requested that a portion of grant funds be transferred to the police department’s Police Athletic and Activity League, a youth sports program led by officers.

Documents released to LAist do show the city was considering a partnership between the parks department, the police athletic league and the library. The records show the state rules would not allow the city to transfer funds outside the Parks and Recreation Department, except for supplies and personnel specific to enrichment activities.

Hernandez said when staff informed the mayor and city management that transferring funds was not allowed per state rules, the city manager’s office instructed the department to give up the grant.

Amezcua declined to answer LAist’s questions about meeting with the department. City spokesperson Paul Eakins told LAist that Amezcua was the only elected official to request a meeting to discuss the grant.

After that meeting, and six months after accepting the grant, the city quietly canceled the contract and returned the money. Members of the City Council told LAist they were surprised by the decision.

“It’s our responsibility, and not the city manager’s responsibility, to give back money, especially because we all voted yes [to accept the money],” Councilmember Benjamin Vazquez said.

In a Sept. 16 staff report, the city manager’s office said the council was informed of the decision to give up on the grant in individual meetings. Councilmembers Lopez, Hernandez and Vazquez, however, said that’s not true.

Assistant City Manager Kathryn Downs appeared before City Council on Sept. 16 to publicly explain the move to the council for the first time.

Downs said they gave up on the program because they didn’t believe staff could handle the state’s licensing and contracting requirements and that the initial $915,583 contract award wasn’t enough to jumpstart the program.

The city manager’s office also told the council the city would have had to spend millions on building toddler-sized bathrooms and other ancillary costs.

Downs also cited Santa Ana’s tightening budget as it faces slowing revenues and the looming threat of losing federal funds. The city is looking at a $35 million budget deficit in the next four years.

Lopez said the explanation provided by the city manager’s office didn’t make sense to her because she knew the city didn’t need to build smaller bathrooms, and the initial state contract was to start with building one facility, not all seven at once.

“At that point, I already knew that they were withholding information from me. I already knew that they were lying to me,” Lopez said.

Amezcua has expressed frustration about the continued discussion of the canceled grant.

“This whole CDSS grant keeps coming up. It’s like they don’t want to let it die,” Amezcua said at the Oct. 7 City Council meeting. The mayor accused members of the City Council of spreading lies about her role in returning the grant money.

“I do not have the authority to give back $6.9 million,” Amezcua said.

Concerns over public records

LAist has submitted a total of four records requests related to the state grant.

One request filed by LAist on July 9 asked for a copy of the city’s contract with the state and any related expense reports. The next day, city staff responded, saying the program was never implemented, so “we do not have records related to your request.”

The request was closed days later without releasing a copy of the state’s contract, which was provided in a later request.

The city has provided some documents in response to LAist’s requests. Those documents include emails, newsletters, FAQ sheets about the grant program and the state contract that was initially withheld. The city also released email exchanges between Library Services Director Brian Sternberg and staff from the city of La Habra in which Sternberg asks for a tour of their childcare facility tied to the same state grant program.

The documents do not provide any more insight into the decision to give up the money. Two of LAist’s requests still are pending three months after the requests were submitted.

Lopez followed up on the requests because she believed there were more responsive documents that the city wasn’t providing. She accessed a portion of the city’s public records system portal that is only available to city officials.

The portal shows an index of hundreds of responsive files uploaded by staff from the library, parks and recreation, human resources and police departments between the opening of the requests and Sept. 30.

Most of these records were deleted by the city clerk’s office and not released, according to a printout of the public records system Lopez provided to LAist.

The contents of the documents are not available in the system Lopez accessed, only the file names. File names of deleted documents include “Recap Meeting CDSS Library PAAL” and “Discuss CDSS Startup- Next Moves,” which seem to be relevant to the city’s decision.

Lopez believes the deleted documents include information the public should see.

“There's a lot in these documents that clear up some of the misinformation, some of the blatant lies that were said to the public, on the record,” Lopez said.

California law requires government bodies to turn over public records when requested, with some exceptions.

What was the city’s explanation? 

The records go through more than one round of vetting, according to the city.

City Clerk Jennifer Hall, in a statement, told LAist that potential records uploaded by staff were removed from the system for review and redaction.

“Review is then done to determine that the identified records respond to the request as submitted, including relevant parties and the date range of the records sought,” Hall said.

Records are then added back to the system and released.

Eakins and Hall did not respond to LAist’s request for the city’s written public records policy.

Lopez said she asked the city attorney if deletions like this are a normal practice when responding to open records requests, and the city attorney said no.

"It leads me to ask questions like, who told the clerk to delete records?” Lopez said. “It tells me that conversations have happened where these records were vetted, uploaded, and then somebody went into this portal and deleted them."

Councilmember Hernandez echoed the concerns shared by Lopez.

“This is an item of public interest, so I expect our city manager's office and the city clerk to be fully compliant with state law as it pertains to public records, and that is, release them all,” Hernandez said.

City Manager Alvaro Nuñez and council members Phil Bacerra, Thai Viet Phan and David Penaloza did not respond to LAist’s request for comment.

How to watchdog local government

One of the best things you can do to hold officials accountable is pay attention. Your city council, board of supervisors, school board and more all hold public meetings that anybody can attend. These are times you can talk to your elected officials directly and hear about the policies they’re voting on that affect your community.

• Read tips on how to get involved.
• The next regular meeting of the board is Tuesday, Oct. 21 at 4 p.m. You can check out the Santa Ana City council meetings and agendas here.
• Learn how to submit a public comment.

Some government funding streams for L.A. County’s public health system are drying up, and officials are turning to private philanthropy to fill the gap.

A new privately funded foundation launched Thursday to strengthen public health services after $50 million in federal, state and local funding cuts to the county’s Department of Public Health since early last year.

“It is really a hard day for our community when we have to ask for private donations to fund a public good, but unfortunately, we've lost too much money to not take this important step,” said Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer.

In February, the county’s Public Health Department closed seven clinics, with six remaining open. About half of the patients seen in those clinics are uninsured, according to county officials. The department also cut hundreds of staff positions.

Ferrer is on the board of the new foundation, The Fund for Advancing Public Health LA, which held its first meeting Thursday.

She said the fund will help the county maintain its basic public health infrastructure, including disease prevention, health promotion, environmental health, and emergency response efforts.

Other board members include several health insurance executives, as well as actors Sean Penn and Danny Trejo. Board member Saree Kayne of the R&S Kayne Foundation pledged $150,000 to the fund Thursday. Kayne said she hopes the donation encourages others to give.

The foundation aims to raise $2 million this year.

More cuts expected

L.A. County Supervisor Holly Mitchell said it’s crucial to have an alternative funding stream to protect services for the county's most vulnerable residents.

“We are saving public health,” Mitchell said. “This fund represents a new approach, one that brings together government philanthropy in the private sector to invest in community-based solutions, protect vulnerable populations, and strengthen our public health infrastructure.”

Officials say more public health cuts are coming, through the federal budget law known as the "Big Beautiful Bill," which slashes funding for Medi-Cal.

The county Department of Public Health anticipates losing up to $300 million in revenue over the next three years because of the federal budget bill and other potential funding freezes. Federal funding accounts for almost 50% of the public health budget, according to county officials.

Mitchell also led an effort to put a half-percent county sales tax increase to fund public health on the June ballot.

If approved by voters, that proposal, known as Measure ER, is expected to raise about $1 billion a year for county safety net health services, including about $100 million for the public health department.

Board members

The Fund for Advancing Public Health LA announced its founding board of directors, which includes:

• Dr. Barbara Ferrer, LA County Department of Public Health director
• Debbie I. Chang, Blue Shield of California Foundation CEO
• Sean Penn, actor and co-founder of Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE)
• Martha Santana-Chin, LA Care Health Plan CEO
• Saree Kayne, R&S Kayne Foundation CEO
• Danny Trejo, actor and restaurateur
• Jarrett Barrios, an executive at the American Red Cross
• Dr. Deborah Prothrow-Stith, Charles R. Drew University College of Medicine Dean
• Kristin McCowan, an executive at the Los Angeles Dodgers

The Rose Bowl in Pasadena may be a centenarian, but it’s holding up pretty well as it continues to host events on its way to a starring role in the LA28 Olympics.

But before it can host the soccer final, it needs fixes, especially to the infrastructure serving the bathrooms and drinking fountains. Fears of a toilet backup while in the world’s spotlight led Rep. Laura Friedman to seek federal funds for upgrades. On Thursday she announced she secured just over $1 million.

“Two years from now, athletes around the world are going to compete for gold right where we are standing. This is not the time to find out whether or not these pipes are up to the task,” Friedman said.

The planned work, she added, will lead to improved water flow capacity and water drainage, eliminating the risk of backups and emergency maintenance.

The funds came from the House of Representatives Interior and Environment subcommittee. The fixes, an official said, will be completed by the LA28 Olympics.

The funds, however, are a drop in the bucket when it comes to what’s needed to make needed improvements to the Pasadena venue.

Officials, including (left to right) Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation President Dedan Brozino, Deputy Fire Chief of the City of Pasadena Tim Sell, Congresswoman Laura Friedman, and Rose Bowl Stadium CEO Jens Weiden announced infrastructure funding for the 103-year old Rose Bowl.

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Adolfo Guzman-Lopez/LAist

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“Over the  next 20 years there's about $200 million that we need to put in and that's everything from updating light fixtures to updating gas, water, wastewater lines, etc.,” said Dedan Brozino,  president of the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation, the nonprofit that supports the Rose Bowl stadium's preservation and enhancement.

Getting venues ready will be expensive

The money is a much-needed win at a time when elected officials in city, county, state and federal offices have been struggling to find the funds to get L.A.-area venues ready for the global Olympic stage in two years.

The entrance to a men's bathroom at the Rose Bowl.

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Adolfo Guzman-Lopez/LAist

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A $360 million proposal to spruce up asphalt in parking lots around Exposition Park won’t be done in time for the Olympics, as originally planned. Meanwhile, just up the street, there’s concern that a $2.6 billion expansion of the L.A. Convention Center, which is hosting Olympic wrestling, fencing and judo in 2028 won’t be ready for the Olympics.

Additionally, to save money, LA28 organizers moved Olympic diving to the Rose Bowl complex last year because it has two Olympic-sized pools, while the Exposition Park complex doesn't and would need expensive upgrades.

Topline:

About the chick: The chick hatched March 14. The zoo opened its Cape vulture enclosure in February 2025 after years of planning to encourage the birds to roost and nest, welcoming a new breeding pair that year. When it grows to be an adult, it’ll have a wingspan of 8 1/2 feet.

About the enclosure: The L.A. Zoo said it spent years developing the vulture habitat, which was designed to mimic the vultures’ natural environment in South Africa and nearby countries. Dominick Dorsa II, the zoo’s director of animal care, said in a statement the successful hatching is “a testament to the design and construction” of the habitat.

How to see the chick: You can’t for the time being. Zoo officials are keeping it away from visitors until the chick matures, though you can still see adult Cape vultures at the zoo’s enclosure.

Though visitors will have to wait until the chick matures to see it in the enclosure, you can still take in the impressive eight and a half foot wingspan of the adult Cape vultures.

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Courtesy Jamie Pham/L.A. Zoo

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What zoo officials are saying: “Welcoming a Cape vulture chick is a thrilling moment for our team and a beacon of hope for African vultures,” the L.A. Zoo’s curator of birds Rose Legato said in a statement. “Vultures are one of nature's most misunderstood marvels, and I cannot wait for our guests to eventually watch this chick grow and learn just how vital they are to our ecosystems.”

About the species: Cape vultures are listed as a vulnerable species due to human activities and encroachment. According to the L.A. Zoo, African vultures are more closely related to eagles and hawks than vultures native to the Americas, like the zoo's California condors that hatched last year.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

What should have been a celebration for formerly incarcerated youth completing a reentry program at the Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory (BHAC) last week instead ended with seven students and two staff members detained by the Los Angeles Police Department, according to witnesses. 

Now, nearly a week later, BHAC staff and city officials are demanding answers from the LAPD, with some accusing officers of racial profiling. 

According to the LAPD, officers observed a large group gathered on the corner of Cesar E. Chavez Avenue and Mott Street around 4:16 p.m. on March 26. Authorities then requested backup for what they described as “a large group surrounding officers,” LAPD Public Information Officer Tony Im said. 

The group, classified by police as an “aggressive gang group,” consisted of seven 18-year-old students from the BHAC’s Bridge Academy Movement (BAM) program and two BHAC staff members.

The BAM program pays formerly incarcerated youth to complete 200-250 hours in media and visual arts training to prepare them for creative careers. That day, students were set to showcase their work at the BAM program graduation for families and community members. 

Rene Weber, a teaching artist at the BHAC, had been with the students setting up for the ceremony minutes before the incident occurred. 

According to Weber, the students had gone to coffee across the street at Milpa Kitchen as they often did, when staff were alerted that they were being detained. 

Weber said he arrived to find students and a staff member pressed against the wall in handcuffs. 

Video from the scene, taken by a staff member at the BHAC, shows multiple officers surrounding the group. At one point, an officer orders a person to “get on the wall” and displays a stun gun.  

“No, none of that, these are kids right here,” the staff member replies.

Another staff member, Teotl Veliz, recorded a large police response.  

“I counted 12 cop cars, that’s at least 25 cops, and they had a helicopter,” Veliz said. “It was just so comedic, tragically comedic, that it was on their graduation day too.”

Officers established a perimeter with yellow tape along the side of Ashley’s Beauty Salon as local business owners and witnesses gathered around the students. 

“I was just incredibly disappointed in LAPD… because it became so apparent to everybody, all at the same time, that it was racial profiling and nothing else,” Veliz said.

Weber said officers gave shifting explanations for the stop at the scene, including blocking the sidewalk and possible underage vaping. After Weber told the officers that all of the students were 18, they said they would investigate whether the group had any gang affiliation. 

Police have not responded to questions about what led officers to believe that the group was gang-affiliated. 

Weber recalled pleading with the officers to let the group go and explaining to them that they worked across the street. Community members and local business owners also stepped in to vouch for the students. 

“Our job is to help them gain a new perspective on life,” Weber said. “They’re coming out of juvenile detention and they’re turning their lives around. We can do our part in keeping them off the streets and keeping them doing better but what does it mean if they’re going to be profiled and treated exactly the same way?” 

In total, seven 18-year-old students and two staff members were detained. BHAC staff said one student and one staff member were taken to Hollenbeck Community Police Station and released less than two hours later after advocacy from community members and Councilmember Ysabel Jurado.

The incident ultimately resulted in an infraction for smoking a cannabis e-vape on a public sidewalk, according to a photo of the infraction shared with the Beat. LAPD did not provide details about the people taken to Hollenbeck Station or the infraction. 

The graduation ceremony was cancelled that night and is expected to be rescheduled in April. 

“Graduation should be a moment of pride and possibility — not fear,” Jurado said in a statement. “I’m seeking answers about what occurred, and this underscores the need for stronger relationships between law enforcement and community organizations so moments like these are protected, not disrupted.”

Carmelita Ramirez‑Sanchez, the conservatory’s executive director, said she was grateful to the community and Jurado for advocating for the students’ release. Jurado met her at Hollenbeck Station within 20 minutes of being alerted to the incident, she said. 

“They had store owners, señoras, barbers, that ran out and were trying to explain to the police who our kids were,” Ramirez‑Sanchez said. 

Still, she said the incident tarnished what should have been a joyous celebration.

“I imagine that what this does is derail this entire idea that you can be an active participant in your own restorative growth,” she said.