The Brief

Khloe Rios-Wyatt broke new ground nearly five years ago when she co-founded Alianza Translatinx, the first trans-led organization in Orange County that's dedicated to helping transgender people with resources relating to housing, mental health support, immigration and other services.

Recently, LAist asked her to tell us about the organization, its goals, and a report it released this summer on the current challenges facing the LGBTQIA+ community in Orange County, including housing injustice.

How it all began

Even at the age of 5, Khloe Rios-Wyatt knew that she didn’t identify with the gender she was assigned at birth and would tell her parents she was a girl. The response? Love and acceptance.

That love and acceptance helped her become the first person in her family to head off to college, Cal State Fullerton

She said she suffered some bullying from classmates there, but it wasn’t until entering the workforce that she realized how hard life could be for someone who is transgender. Four months after Rios-Wyatt started working at a marketing agency in Newport Beach, she says she lost the job when her employer cited discrepancies in her employment documentation compared to her driver’s license, Social Security and immigration documents — which all carried her dead name. To compound matters, she was also a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) permit holder at the time. To change all these documents and address her immigration status would have required the costly services of an attorney.

When she hit rock bottom

Rios-Wyatt says she plummeted into depression. Unemployed, she didn’t know where to turn to for help. Her mission now is to make sure others have a support system for some of the challenges she faced.

“At the time I was not informed,” she said. “I didn't have the knowledge that I have now.”

Rios-Wyatt would eventually begin working at a nonprofit in Los Angeles with other trans people, an experience that made her realize she was not the only one confronted with barriers to finding work, especially when immigration issues are also involved. And so, at the beginning of the pandemic, she began the grassroots effort to co-found Alianza Translatinx, the first trans-led organization in Orange County.

A mission is born

Alianza — “alliance” in Spanish — acts as a hub connecting people in Orange County's trans community with resources relating to housing, mental health support, immigration assistance and other services.

“I just wanted to be of more value going into my community and educating them, helping them update their documents, and making sure that they didn't go through the same thing that I went through,” Rios-Wyatt said.

Part of that mission is figuring out what people need.

That led to a first-of-its-kind reports by Alianza Translatinx, which made headlines with its survey of the trans community revealing the unique challenges they face and the lack of targeted resources. The results in the report titled "We Deserve Housing Justice" revealed that 44% of respondents in Orange County said they struggled to make a living, earning less than $10,000 annually. And over 60% of them said they had experienced discrimination based on their gender.

This discrimination, they say, is their biggest barrier to higher paying jobs, which makes it harder to find secure housing.

“We want this report to help inform other housing providers in the area how to better provide services, housing services for trans people and really improve the way that services are currently being delivered to transgender, gender non-conforming and intersex people in Orange County,” Rios-Wyatt said.

She added that Alianza Translatinx exists to help people get out of that cycle of despair. One of those who says she has been helped is Lucia Marlene Garcia.

Helping with the basics — such as housing

Garcia arrived from Tijuana two years ago, crossing the border with several friends. She eventually came to Santa Ana, staying at a hotel as she tried to find employment and housing.

She found part-time work at beauty salons and cleaning houses, but she's had trouble finding a full-time job, and only recently got her work visa. Housing has been an even bigger problem. Garcia said she visited around 60 apartments and homes over seven months, searching for an affordable room to rent so she could leave the hotel behind. (She was paying $2,000 a month there, and had to eat out for all of her meals.)

Garcia's lack of credit and job history have been major obstacles to finding a place. But sometimes, she said, the rental seemed like a done deal until she showed up in person. In one case, Garcia went to a house to meet a woman who had advertised a room for rent.

"When I got there, just seeing me and that I was a trans woman, she told me, 'No, I can't rent my room to you because I have little kids.' I mean, what does that have to do with anything?" Garcia recalled. "I felt very offended and very judged."

She is now staying with a friend, and working on becoming a licensed hair stylist while learning English and "getting a little more settled."

Alianza Translatinx connected Garcia with the Civic Center Barrio Housing Corp., which is helping Garcia in her search for permanent housing of her own. Garcia said she also relies on the Civic Center Barrio's food bank.

How services have grown

Alianza Translatinx initially started by preparing and then distributing hot meals to community members during the pandemic, Rios-Wyatt said. But people would also reach out with questions about name changes and where they could find information about medical care and hormone replacement therapy.

“It just became this community chain of passing on information and then more and more people started coming to us to ask for more resources,” Rios-Wyatt said.

Now, the organization works like a hub connecting community members with other organizations in Orange County. Alianza recently partnered with UC Irvine Health to provide medical services, such as hormone replacement therapy and laser hair removal. They have also created partnerships with organizations like CalOptima Health and local nonprofits to provide housing assistance, rental stipends and transportation reimbursements.

Danielle Cameron, a director at CalOptima Health, said Alianza provides "important advocacy for and support to Orange County’s Transgender, gender-diverse and intersex (TGI) community" and noted that "the TGI community faces structural barriers and discrimination when seeking essential health care, housing and accommodations."

"We are in the early stages of our partnership and are committed to the work ahead," Cameron added.

The jobs and housing challenge

In the wake of the survey responses, Rios-Wyatt created a housing case management program at Alianza Translatinx. It helps clients with services like trauma-informed housing management, where an individual’s experience is centered in case management, rent assistance vouchers and mental health access.

“We're speaking to politicians, to community leaders, at the state level and at the local level, to also include trans people in workforce development, to foster leadership and to invest in trans leadership,” Rios-Wyatt said. “We want this report to help inform other housing providers in the area how to better provide services, housing services for trans people and really improve the way that services are currently being delivered to transgender, gender nonconforming and intersex people in Orange County."

The key to making a difference

Rios-Wyatt may be at the helm of the organization, but she says its success is a shared victory.

"We just did the work and everything else just came to be what it is now. It has been a team effort. It hasn't just been me," Rios-Wyatt said. "This was built under my leadership, but I recognize that this was a team effort... Alianza Translatinx has become a cornerstone in the community because it's based in community."

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has filed the state’s 100th lawsuit against the federal government since President Donald Trump took office for a second time in 2025.

Bonta reached that milestone in 21 months. During the first Trump administration, California officials sued the federal government a total of 123 times in four years.

The lawsuit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California alleges that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement overstepped its Constitutional limits by taking people into custody at state courthouses, a practice forbidden by a U.S. District Court judge that the lawsuit alleges ICE nevertheless continues to employ.

For instance, the California Justice Department found that ICE detained 34 people at state courthouses in June 2026. In July 2026, the month after the judicial order to stop making arrests at courthouses, ICE detained 28 people at courthouses.

“ICE’s directive on courthouse enforcement and the resulting enforcement activities have had a profound chilling effect that has hindered California’s ability to enforce the law and protect public safety,” the state Justice Department said in a news release.

Picking people up at a courthouse can have a chilling effect on witnesses, victims and even suspects who are afraid to show up for court, California Supreme Court Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero said last year.

“Making courthouses a focus of immigration enforcement hinders, rather than helps, the administration of justice by deterring witnesses and victims from coming forward and discouraging individuals from asserting their rights,” Guerrero said.

In September, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a measure that requires federal immigration agents to present a judicial warrant and identify themselves before making arrests within 1,000 feet of a state courthouse.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

Rancho Palos Verdes’ landslide woes have hit the city’s coffers hard. By the end of June 2027, the city will have spent around $75 million just on landslide-related damages over the last three and a half years.

So now, they are looking at one of the city’s best-known attractions for help: the Terranea Resort. Voters in the city are being asked to vote in November on Measure RS, which would increase the tax overnight hotel guests pay from 10% to 13%.

A two-star inn in the city would also be affected if the tax measure passes.

How would the tax help?

If Measure RS passes, it could bring in around $2.2 million annually.

“We reached out to Terranea as we were exploring different revenue streams and talked to them about the possibility of increasing the [transient occupancy tax] from 10% to 13%,” said Ara Mihranian, the city manager. “We looked at comparables of similar resort hotels in the greater Los Angeles area and Orange County that are generally their competitors or similar establishments to see where they ranked. And Terranea was below the market rate in terms of the transient occupancy tax.”

The 102-acre resort sits on bluffs along the coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean and offers guests casitas, villas and rooms that start at $350 and can exceed $1,500 during peak seasons.

A spokesperson for Terranea Resort declined to comment for this story.

How we got here

The Portuguese Bend area in Rancho Palos Verdes was once green rolling hills offering spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean and Catalina Island. Now, much of that land is riddled with 20-foot chasms, some spanning 12 feet.

For decades, land movement was minimal. But with above-average rainfall in 2022 and 2023, that movement rapidly accelerated — up to 1 foot per week in some places. Land movement has since slowed to about an inch a week, thanks in part to wells the city installed that suck water out of the ground. But damage to the area remains and will likely never be abated.

RPV has spent a significant amount of money to lessen the erosion.

Mihranian said the city has filled fissures in the landslide area, installed protective lining in the canyons and has checked all the deep dewatering wells to make sure they can pump water out of the ground so it cannot collect and cause land movement — especially important ahead of El Niño.

“We're also making sure that the wells and the generators that support and energize the wells are encased and housed so that in the event of extreme weather, they are protected from any elements,” he said.

The city has also installed pipes along the main road through the landslide complex so that, instead of flooding the road, water will be diverted to the ocean.

Still, even if the measure passes, the $2.2 million annually will still not cover all landslide-related costs. A spokesperson told LAist the city is still “aggressively” pursuing grants to cover mounting costs.

"No Kings" protests are returning for a fourth round Saturday, Oct. 17.

This time, the focus is on the November midterms and getting people prepared to vote. Previous protests had drawn large crowds.

"We expect tens of thousands of people to attend the various No Kings rallies throughout the greater Los Angeles area, and we would not be surprised to see tens of thousands at the downtown rally itself," said Nick Miller, a press coordinator with 50501 SoCal, a partnering organization.

That protest is taking place at 1 p.m. at Gloria Molina Grand Park.

LAPD said they are aware of the rally and don’t anticipate any issues.

Pasadena, Long Beach and Riverside are also holding rallies.

Where are they happening in SoCal?

• Burbank: 10 a.m. to noon at Abraham Lincoln Park
• Culver City: 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Culver City Hall
• Downtown L.A.: 1 to 5 p.m. at Gloria Molina Grand Park
• Fontana: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Seville Park
• Huntington Beach: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Huntington Beach Pier
• Irvine: 3. to 5 p.m. at Trabuco Center
• Pasadena: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Colorado Boulevard and Fair Oaks Avenue
• Riverside: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Market Street and University Avenue
• Santa Clarita: 9 a.m. to noon at Valencia Boulevard and McBean Parkway
• Torrance: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Torrance City Hall
• Whittier: 12:30 to 2 p.m. at Whittier City Hall
  

Garrett Mitchell hit a go-ahead homer in the sixth inning, Milwaukee’s brilliant bullpen slammed the door late and the Brewers rallied past the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-4 on Thursday in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series to earn their first trip to the World Series since 1982.

No. 9 hitter David Hamilton’s two-out solo shot off Edwin Díaz gave the Brewers a two-run cushion in the ninth. Hamilton had just four homers in the regular season.

“We got down early tonight and we were like, it’s going to be a great story,” Brewers captain Christian Yelich said. “We’re going to come back and win this. Like, stay together, start chipping away. And that’s exactly what they did.”

Shohei Ohtani’s first home run this postseason helped put the Dodgers ahead 4-0 in the second inning before the Brewers came back to complete a four-game sweep of the two-time defending World Series champions a year after getting swept by Los Angeles in the NLCS.

Milwaukee became the first major league club to complete a postseason sweep after getting swept by that same opponent in the previous postseason.

“Playing with that chip on our shoulder,” Brewers reliever Aaron Ashby said. “You don’t ever know what to expect going into a series like that last year. You don’t know how bad it can be, and then it was as bad as it was. And we came out and we survived, and we came back this year, and those guys played their tails off.”

The Brewers lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games in their only other World Series appearance, when Milwaukee played in the American League.

With the score tied 4-all, Mitchell fell behind 0-2 before reliever Tanner Scott threw three straight balls for a full count. Mitchell’s 409-foot leadoff drive to center field — the first homer of his career on an 0-2 count — put the Brewers ahead for the first time. Mitchell also homered in their 6-2 victory Wednesday.null

“I’ve always dreamt of moments like these as a kid,” Mitchell said.

The Brewers’ bullpen coolly turned away multiple threats when the Dodgers had the potential tying run on base.

Winning pitcher JoJo Romero struck out Max Muncy with Kyle Tucker at third to end the sixth.

Ashby, who worked three scoreless innings for a save, struck out Ohtani swinging before Mookie Betts grounded out with Andy Pages at third to end the seventh. Will Smith doubled to right with one out in the eighth and was safe at third when the ball got away from Sal Frelick for an error before Ashby got Tucker to fly out and Teoscar Hernández to strike out.

The Brewers tied it in the fifth, when the Dodgers bullpen issued four walks and Milwaukee stole two bases. Hamilton’s single chased starter Tyler Glasnow and scored Frelick, who walked and stole second, to pull Milwaukee to 4-3.

Alex Vesia came in and promptly walked Brice Turang and William Contreras to load the bases. Vesia then walked NLCS MVP Jake Bauers with two outs to force in Hamilton with the tying run.

Glasnow retired his first 10 batters — six on strikeouts — before the Brewers got to him in the fourth. Turang walked, Contreras hit a ground-rule double and Bauers followed with another ground-rule double that closed Milwaukee to 4-2.

Ohtani broke out of his postseason slump with a three-run homer after Pages’ RBI single in the second. The four-time MVP released weeks of pent-up frustration by raising his arms and yelling and the crowd of 49,104 joined him in celebration.