Topline:
The city of Santa Ana shaved a multi-million dollar budget deficit down to $85. Proposed cuts are planned for several city departments.
What’s on the chopping block? Cuts are being made to after-school programming, park maintenance and vacant job positions.
What’s next? The city will host a public hearing to go over the budget draft on June 2.
Read on … for what cuts could be made to balance the budget.
The city of Santa Ana is just $85 short of closing what started as a $13 million budget deficit. On the chopping block: after-school programming, park maintenance and more.
The city manager’s office presented another round of cuts to balance the budget at yesterday’s City Council meeting. Officials reported that the current proposal avoids layoffs and furloughs. Most of the cuts will come from the Public Works Department at more than $3 million.
The Police Department is seeing a proposed $2 million in cuts, but could still be allocated $4 million more than last year, according to the budget draft.
The city is looking to cut 20 vacant full-time positions and reduce part-time spending.
Five non-mandated commissions will also be dissolved, including the youth, parks and recreation, and arts and culture commissions. The move will save the city nearly $28,000.
Ambulance services will be cut down from a 24-hour unit to a 12-hour unit, saving $250,000, and fees will increase.
At a City Council meeting earlier this month, officials reported that the city’s revenue increased by 3% compared to last year, but spending is up 6%, with hikes in labor and pension/liability costs.
The Santa Ana Police Athletic and Activity League, also known as PAAL, costs the city more than $877,000, about 80% of which goes toward salaries for its current fiscal budget.
PAAL costs the city about $5,400 per child, compared to youth programs run by the Parks and Recreation Department, which cost about $100 per kid.
PAAL’s after-school and summer programs serve 87 children, and more than 200 are mentored and coached through its sports programming. The program’s budget will be slashed by about half.
Councilmember Johnathan Ryan Hernandez said this move should not be seen as a cut to youth services.
“Through this new proposed recommendation, we’ll reinstate exercise instruction at four different elementary schools, and we will increase the services from 228 children to 2,200 children,” Hernandez said. “We are not cutting youth services, we're actually adding youth services while saving money for our city.”
Mayor Valerie Amezcua said the library and parks departments can do the same programs, but not the way PAAL does.
“I just want to make sure whatever cuts we're making, that we continue to include our Police Department. To me, that's very important for the public trust,” Amezcua said.
The city isn’t completely in the clear when it comes to its finances. Measure X, a voter-approved sales tax, will be reduced in 2029, resulting in the loss of at least $30 million in annual revenue before completely expiring in 2039. The City Council, aside from Councilmembers David Penaloza and Jessie Lopez, has supported asking voters if the tax should be made permanent.
A public hearing to review the drafted budget will be held on June 2. Details will be posted on the city’s website.
Topline:
Los Angeles Unified is blocking student access to artificial intelligence tools on district-issued devices. Yesterday’s announcement, made at the kickoff meeting of a new AI committee, was a surprise to board members and parents.
Why it matters: The district’s decision bars an estimated 378,000 students from using generative AI tools on LAUSD laptops and tablets. This is a departure from the current policy.
The backstory: The LAUSD board voted in June to enact what was then the most-widespread student screentime restrictions in the country, but did not specify limitations to student AI use. The resolution instead created an ad hoc generative AI committee.
Keep reading... for details on what's next and questions the policy change raises.
Los Angeles Unified is blocking student access to artificial intelligence tools on district-issued devices.
The district’s decision, announced at the kickoff meeting of a new AI committee, bars an estimated 378,000 students from using generative AI tools on LAUSD laptops and tablets. This is a departure from the current policy which allows students 13 and older to use AI tools under school supervision and after they complete a lesson about “digital citizenship.”
The announcement came as a surprise to board members and parents.
“Just based on the facial expressions of folks in this room, many parents, some of whom work at the district, some of whom don't," said LAUSD Board Member Nick Melvoin, after district staff explained the new AI restrictions. "I don't think it's well-publicized and I would encourage us to do more."
District leaders said the web-filtering software Lightspeed allows LAUSD to categorically block student access to any website categorized as an AI tool.
The district does not stop students using AI on personal devices, though the software will continue to block access if a student signs in to their district profile on that personal device.
The LAUSD board voted in June to enact what was then the most-widespread student screentime restrictions in the country, but did not specify limitations to student AI use. The resolution instead created an ad hoc generative AI committee with the goal of developing policy recommendations for board approval by next year.
The board’s AI committee is scheduled to meet through April to develop recommendations for how students access AI. "This is an emerging technology,” said Pia Sadaqatmal, chief academic officer. “We will continue to be adaptive as needed, but we do know that the heart of it is really making sure that we keep teaching and learning at the center of our decision.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Topline:
Teachers in Inglewood are not happy with a new bond measure that will allocate hundreds of millions of dollars to improve school campuses, if approved.
Teacher's pushback: The Inglewood Teacher's Association wants the city to first conduct a full accounting of how prior bonds were spent. “They have to show accountability before asking the voters for another bond,” said John Hughes, president of the Inglewood Teachers Association. “It’s just responsible stewardship.” moves closer to exiting receivership
This story first appeared on The LA Local.
Teachers in Inglewood are not happy with a new bond measure that will allocate hundreds of millions of dollars to improve school campuses, if approved.
In November, Inglewood voters will decide if they want to approve Measure MM, a $396 million bond to modernize and upgrade campus facilities throughout the district.
The bonds would be paid for by a property tax on Inglewood property owners of $60 for every $100,000 of assessed property value. The measure would require 55% of votes to pass.
“They have to show accountability before asking the voters for another bond,” said John Hughes, president of the Inglewood Teachers Association. “It’s just responsible stewardship.”
In an Aug. 12 email to James Morris, Inglewood county administrator, Hughes wrote that he did not support “requesting another $396 million without first providing a full accounting of prior bond expenditures, addressing steep enrollment decline, and resolving ongoing accountability concerns.”
Hughes pointed out that the district already received $330 million from two bond measures — $90 million in 2012 and another $240 million in 2020.
The new bond measure comes as the Inglewood Unified School District moves closer to exiting receivership after being under state control for 14 years. Inglewood officials have expressed their desire to rebuild the district’s foundation on academic excellence, financial sustainability and upgraded facilities.
“We know firsthand that students and teachers perform better in safe, modern school facilities,” Morris told The LA Local. “The fact is we need to maintain and modernize all schools across the district.”
Morris added that the new Inglewood High School campus currently under construction is an example of what students will need for future success.
The LA Local reached out to all six Inglewood Board of Education candidates vying for seats in Trustee Areas 1, 2 and 3. Only Brandon Myers, who is the incumbent running for the Area 3 Trustee seat, responded.
“Unfortunately, due to the lack of accountability and expert construction experience, Inglewood taxpayers have had to foot the bill for delayed projects,” Myers said in reference to the previously approved bond measures.
“As a result of the school board’s continuous status of being in county receivership, I cannot support an additional tax burden on our Inglewood residents,” he said.
Hughes also noted that bond funds cannot be used for teacher salaries or operating expenses.
He said the district has not maintained a strategy for increasing teachers’ pay, he said, adding that Inglewood teachers are currently the lowest paid in the region.
“We cannot rely on long-term debt for facilities while leaving teacher pay structurally underfunded,” Hughes said. “A credible reform strategy must address both infrastructure and the workforce that delivers instruction.”
With the bond measure on the ballot, Morris believes it’ll be in the best interest of Inglewood, if approved.
“IUSD teachers and students deserve nothing less than safe, modernized schools that support high quality teaching and learning,” Morris said. “Measure MM is on the ballot this November to deliver on that promise.”
Topline:
A visit to Thrifty Ice Cream's El Monte plant was led by longtime quality assurance manager Tim Briggs, and comes as the brand narrowly survived Rite Aid's 2025 bankruptcy and store closures, much to the concern of thousands of hardcore fans.
Why it matters: Generations of Angelenos grew up on the iconic ice cream, creating an unbreakable emotional connection that continues to this day.
What it was like: Writer Gab Chabrán described it as a visit to SoCal’s version of the Wonka factory, and walking onto the factory floor like walking on hallowed ground. It also reminded him of his Depression-era grandfather, whose only indulgence was a scoop of Rocky Road, a love he passed on to his grandson.
My grandfather, Charles Echternacht, came of age during the Great Depression, and it never left him. I don't think I ever saw him eat at a restaurant. But there was one exception: a boxed pint of Thrifty Ice Cream, orange sherbet or Rocky Road, that my grandmother, Betty, would bring home during her weekly shopping trips. He'd share it with us when we visited their house in Belmont a few times a year.
For many Angelenos, Thrifty Ice Cream stirs a kind of multigenerational nostalgia that's increasingly rare, with memories of summer, family trips, or weekday treats. In summer 2025, when Rite Aid announced it would close all of its locations, there was a howl of despair — how could the ice cream of our youth disappear? People made their case for favorite flavors — Black Cherry, Mint Chip, Medieval Madness — and reminisced about the cool, weird scooper shape and how much they appreciated the truly thrifty prices.
But Thrifty Ice Cream did not melt away. Instead, an investment group tied to Monster Beverage Corporation executives stepped in with a $19 million purchase, and now sells the iconic containers in supermarkets and a few scattered scoop shops. For many, the brand's continued existence since its start back in 1940 feels like nothing short of a miracle.
So when I got an email recently inviting me to tour the factory — SoCal's version of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory — it was as if I'd received my own golden ticket. (The brand is expanding onto Shakey's Pizza Parlor menu.)
When I saw the address, I was surprised to realize that I’d driven past it more times than I could count. It is located in El Monte, only a few neighborhoods over from my hometown of Whittier, off Rosemead Boulevard. The plant has been there since the 1970’s, having moved from its original location in Hollywood. Off a little stretch of winding industrial road, it’s not really visible to passersby until you pull up in front and see their modest signage.
Leading the tour was Tim Briggs, the quality assurance manager, who's worked there since the '80s. He had a long white beard (enclosed in a hairnet that matched the one on his head), and a warm smile, like Santa Claus if Santa had grown up surfing and listening to rock 'n' roll. He wore a custom white coat, embroidered with the Thrifty logo and his name, and walked about with a quiet pride.
I was fitted with a synthetic hairnet, just like the one Briggs wore, and led onto the production floor — the most visceral part of the whole tour. I couldn't believe I was standing on what felt like hallowed ground. If the tasting room was Wonka's chocolate room, this was the factory floor — conveyor belts running in every direction, workers pouring dried milk into massive steel vats, machinery loud enough to feel in your chest.
It's staggering, watching it happen. The plant employs nearly 100 people, though only a handful were on the floor the day I visited — this small crew cycling through Thrifty's current lineup of 64 flavors, based on the month's demand. At full capacity, the plant can turn out up to 75,000 gallons of ice cream a day — something like 2 million scoops, if you're counting. Rocky Road is always saved for last. It's the only flavor in the lineup that isn't kosher, Briggs explained — the marshmallows contain gelatin from animal by-products — which means every line has to be fully cleaned before production can start again.
That day, they were mixing Chocolate Malted Krunch. I'd never been much of a fan before, but once I caught the smell of fresh malt going into the mix — and watched the little white balls that give it its crunch get shot through metal piping before being folded into the rest of the ice cream — I understood the appeal. It's officially my next purchase.
Watching it all come together, I thought of the old Mister Rogers' Neighborhood episode where he tours a crayon factory — big vats of raw material, slowly turning into something wonderful.
Eventually, we were led to a small tasting area, where a cooler of tubs sat ready to be scooped. Behind it were two rolling coolers decked out in Thrifty ephemera, and on top sat a row of boxed pints. As I looked closer, I realized they were vintage containers, just like the ones my grandfather used to share with my brother and me. And there it was: Rocky Road. I found myself studying the font, the imagery, getting lost in my own little palace of nostalgia.
It was around that point that Briggs pulled out a small photo album of glossy photographs from when the factory was first built, in the same sepia-toned style as the photos that hung on the walls around grandparents' house.
While I didn't sample any Rocky Road this time around, I did get to try some Chocolate Malted Krunch fresh off the line — some of the softest, creamiest ice cream I've ever had. I also sampled their Red, White and Blue sherbet, along with their new Circus Animal Cookie flavor, another one that pulled at the heartstrings for anyone who grew up eating the actual cookies from Mother’s back in the day.
After completing my visit, I'm still in awe of what I witnessed that day, off that stretch of Rosemead Boulevard I've driven past countless times. Except now I know exactly what's there — a piece of SoCal history that has touched so many, and continues to, generation after generation, one scoop of Rocky Road and Chocolate Malted Krunch at a time.
Topline:
The Los Angeles Clippers were fined $30 million and star player Kawhi Leonard was hit with a $700,000 penalty by the NBA on Wednesday for violating salary cap circumvention rules.
Why now? The league's decision against the organization after a nearly year-long investigation.
The suspensions: Owner Steve Ballmer has been suspended for one year, president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank has been suspended without pay for six months and president of business operations Gillian Zucker was suspended for one year, all for their involvement.
Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer was suspended for one year by the NBA, and the team was ordered to forfeit five first-round draft picks and pay a $30 million fine Wednesday for violating salary cap circumvention rules in a case involving Kawhi Leonard.
Also, president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank has been banned for six months and team president of business operations Gillian Zucker was suspended for one year. Leonard was hit with a $700,000 penalty.
The league came down hard on the organization after a nearly year-long investigation led by an outside law firm.
The Clippers had said multiple times that they had done nothing wrong and expected to be exonerated.
The team maintained that stance after the league’s announcement.
“We vehemently reject the NBA’s findings, which are the result of a heavily biased investigation seeking to justify a predetermined narrative rather than facts and evidence,” the team said in a statement. “What the league told us privately differs from what it announced today publicly, and they have not held themselves close to the standard Commissioner (Adam) Silver set at the start of this investigation to ensure it’s fairness and accuracy.”
The Clippers said they will “now fight just as hard to demonstrate our innocence. We intend to vigorously challenge these findings and penalties through every avenue available to us and look forward to an ethical and impartial arbitration process.”
The NBA opened the investigation in September 2025 into whether a $28 million endorsement contract between Leonard and Aspiration Fund Adviser LLC — a company that filed for bankruptcy last year — broke league rules, following a report by podcast journalist Pablo Torre. Earlier this year, Aspiration co-founder Joseph Sanberg was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to defrauding investors and lenders of at least $248 million.
“I accept full responsibility for lapses in judgment by people within my inner circle and regret the distraction this situation has caused the fans and my family,” Leonard said in a statement issued through his new agent, Harrison Gaines.
The NBA said Leonard, through his former business manager and uncle Dennis Robertson, “violated the circumvention rules by pressuring the Clippers to assist him in obtaining off-court income opportunities, successfully obtaining those opportunities, and failing to reimburse payments by the Clippers for personal expenses.”
“I entered into my contract with the Clippers as well as the agreements in question in good faith, fully committed to fulfilling my obligations and with no knowledge of any intent on anyone’s part to circumvent the salary cap,” Leonard said in his statement.
The league said Ballmer was suspended for “knowingly seeking to help Mr. Leonard obtain off-court income opportunities,” among other issues.
Leonard’s trade to the Toronto Raptors has been on hold pending the outcome of the investigation. The Raptors had said they still want Leonard, and he apparently is just as eager to return to the team where he won an NBA title in 2019, when he was Finals MVP.
“As I return to Toronto, I am focused on what I can control, closing this chapter, and moving forward with a clean slate,” Leonard said in his statement.
