The Brief

The race to represent State Senate District 25 has been shaping up to be one of the most hotly-contested in California.

There's an open seat in the largely-Democratic, ethnically-diverse district that sprawls from Glendale to Rancho Cucamonga with the San Gabriel Valley in between. The current senator, Anthony Portantino, is running to replace Rep. Adam Schiff in the 30th Congressional District.

That's set the stage for what's become one of the state’s most expensive and fractious battles. Ahead of the March 5 primary, more than $5 million in campaign contributions and spending by outside groups has flowed into a five-way race with four Democrats and one Republican.

One candidate has dug deep to fund her own campaign: Democrat Yvonne Yiu.

The most recent state fundraising reports show Yiu’s campaign funds total nearly $3.2 million, with $2.9 million — or 92% — coming from her own pocket and the rest from individual contributions.

That makes Yiu, a Monterey Park city council member who used to run her own investment banking firm, the biggest donor to any race in California — surpassing the California Democratic Party and influential unions representing construction workers and correctional officers, as first reported by CalMatters.

“The amount of money that one candidate has used for their own election is pretty astounding even at the state level of politics,” said Sean McMorris, who tracks transparency and accountability in politics for California Common Cause.

Only one other legislative candidate has generated more money. Kathryn Lybarger, who is running for state Senate District 7 in the East Bay, has raised more than $570,000 in contributions while independent groups are spending nearly $2.6 million to support her campaign.

Yiu is not getting help from outside groups. But some of her fellow candidates are, including Yiu’s main rival, fellow Democrat Sasha Renée Peréz.

Labor unions and other groups have spent more than $470,000 in support of Peréz — who’s raised more than $850,000 in contributions on her own.

Yiu, just with the money she gave her campaign, has outraised Peréz and the groups in support of Peréz by a margin of more than 2 to 1.

Yiu has invested in her own campaign before. During an unsuccessful 2022 run for state controller, she drew down nearly $6 million of her own funds.

Asked why she relies on her own money, Yiu told LAist that “first of all, as you all know, fundraising is not easy, and we all need money to run a campaign.”

She added: “I want to make myself a viable candidate and also be independent and not beholden with different interest groups.”

Main rivals

Yiu has used her hefty war chest to buy mass mailings and television and digital commercials in one of the country’s priciest media markets.

Her ads stress that Asian Americans, who make up 30% of the district's electorate, need more representation in the state Senate, especially with senators Dave Min and Janet Nguyen both leaving to run for other offices. Yiu also boosts her tough-on-crime messaging and endorsements by police unions.

Demcractic candidate Sasha Renée Pérez chats with campaign volunteers in Alhambra ahead of going out to meet voters.

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Josie Huang

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Her ads often target Peréz, the vice mayor of Alhambra, framing her as weak on public safety and juxtaposing her image in commercials next to that of L.A. County District Attorney George Gascón. His critics blame his progressive policies on cash bail and sentencing for emboldening criminals.

Peréz counters that she’s voted to fully fund the city’s police department, and has advocated for a program in which law enforcement works with mental health clinicians and social workers to help unhoused people.

Peréz’s ads tout her platform of reducing homelessness and expanding college opportunities, as well as endorsements by the California Democratic Party and Planned Parenthood.

Peréz has also fired back at Yiu in ads, spotlighting, for example, a $22,000 fine imposed on the investment banking firm that Yiu founded and led. Financial industry regulator FINRA found that Yiu’s firm had “improperly” deposited investor funds into a real estate account owned by a managing member. Yiu blames problems on financial advisers who worked for her firm, and said her own record is clean.

Peréz said she is in nonstop fundraising mode so she can keep advertising, which she recognizes is critical to winning over voters busy with jobs and feeding families.

“You don't want to spend several hours reading through people's websites,” Peréz said. “You want to make that decision as easy as possible.”

Democats Yvonne Yiu and Sasha Renée Pérez are the candidates sending out mailers to voters in Senate District 25.

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A random sampling of five voters across the district found that four of them recognized Yiu from ads but none of the other candidates. (The fifth voter didn’t know who any of the candidates were.)

Dana Chu, a marketing specialist from Alhambra, said she was online when an ad from Yiu made her perk up.

“It was different from the other advertisements I was getting when I watch YouTube — a campaign ad as opposed to an ad for Febreze or insurance,” Chu said.

UCLA political scientist Natalie Masuoka said ads give well-funded candidates an advantage especially in low-turnout, low-information elections like primaries.

“Advertising could inform swing voters and new voters who don't necessarily have really solidified views,” in contrast to highly partisan, motivated voters, Masuoka said.

But Matsuoka noted that self-funded candidates with advertising firepower are not guaranteed success at the ballot box.

Developer Rick Caruso sunk more than $100 million of his own money into his failed 2022 L.A. mayoral bid while former eBay CEO Meg Whitman lost a 2010 gubernatorial race after spending $170 million.

When Yiu ran for controller as a self-funded candidate in 2022, she received 15% of the vote, not enough for her to advance to the general election. 

Running with fewer resources

The other candidates in the state Senate race are Republican Elizabeth Wong Ahlers, a Crescenta Valley Town Council member and two other Democrats: Sandra Armenta, a Rosemead City Council member and Teddy Choi, who is a real estate agent from Pasadena, according to his campaign website.

Elizabeth Wong Ahlers is the lone Republican running in State Senate District 25.

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Ahlers, who’s been endorsed by the California Republican Party, is hopeful that the four Democrats will split the vote in the nonpartisan primary and she can land in the top two and advance to the general election.

“It's been kind of fun watching (the Democrats) squabble among themselves and I just stay on course and speak my message,” said Ahlers. Her priorities are to rein in inefficient state spending and ban the teaching of “gender ideology” to schoolchildren.

Ahlers has generated the third-largest amount of money in the race: $207,000 with $122,000 in outside spending to support her campaign.

Armenta, who has raised $126,000 with no outside support, says it’s been frustrating to see rivals with far more resources, whether through self-funding or getting help from unions, which she said should be investing money in its membership rather than on political mailers.

“There's many great elected officials that will never be able to be legislative members because they don't have the finances or they're not ‘the chosen one,’” Armenta said.

Armenta said she hasn’t quit as she still hopes to make it to Sacramento and push for greater investment in police training and workforce development opportunities, starting in high school.

Sandra Armenta is one of four Democrats trying to win a spot in the general election.

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Choi, who did not respond to requests for an interview, has not filed any fundraising reports with the state.

Courting Asian American votes

Yiu, a Hong Kong immigrant who speaks Cantonese and Mandarin, said she is hoping to consolidate the Asian American vote.

Yiu, formerly a Republican who said she switched her registration to Democrat several years ago, urged Asian American Republicans to vote for her instead, saying she is a more viable candidate than Ahlers in the safely-Democrat district.

Ahlers, who is fifth-generation Chinese American, also has been courting Asian American conservatives, texting them fundraising appeals in Chinese.

Democrat Teddy Choi is one of three Asian Americans running to represent the 25th state senate district, where Asian Americans make up about 30% of the vote.

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Teddy Choi campaign website

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It is a rare race with three Asian American candidates. Research shows that some Asian Americans have a propensity to vote for someone who looks like them. But in a district with as much ethnic and socioeconomic diversity as the 25th, Asian Americans may not coalesce behind a single candidate, said UCLA’s Masuoka.

Masuoka compares the wealthy Asian Americans living in San Marino to working-class Asian Americans in Monterey Park. Both cities have Asian majorities but their residents “have different socioeconomic interests and different immigration-related interests” that will inform their votes, Matsuoka said.

Emily Kim of La Crescenta said for her a candidate’s race is not a deciding factor. She is looking for elected leaders who prioritize education and will stand up to anti-Asian discrimination.

“I do want someone to represent my race, my voice,” said Kim, who is Chinese American and married to a Korean American. “But we do research for every single person.”

Voters have until 8 p.m. on March 5 to get educated and cast their ballot.

Maloy Moore contributed to this story.

This weekend's Long Beach Pride Festival was canceled by the city on Friday — hours before kickoff. The city said festival organizers failed to provide the required safety documentation.

The Pride Parade, managed and funded by the city, will continue as scheduled on Sunday at 10 a.m.

The parade will start at Ocean Boulevard and Lindero Avenue and travel along the Ocean Boulevard coastline to Alamitos Avenue in Downtown Long Beach.

Roads will close and parking will be restricted starting hours before the parade. Streets are expected to reopen by 2 p.m.

No parking on these streets

Between 4 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Sunday parking won’t be allowed on:

• Ocean Boulevard from Redondo to Atlantic Avenues
• The immediate side streets on the north and south sides of Ocean Boulevard from Redondo to Atlantic Avenues

And these streets will be closed

The following streets will be closed to traffic during their designated times:

• 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. — Ocean Boulevard between Redondo and Lindero, including side streets on the north and south side of Ocean Boulevard
• 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. — Shoreline Drive between Ocean Boulevard and Shoreline Village Drive
• 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. — Ocean Boulevard between Lindero and Atlantic, including all side streets on the north and south side of Ocean Boulevard
• 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. — Alamitos Avenue between Ocean Boulevard and Broadway

Where you can park

Long Beach Pride says that parking will be available at the Long Beach Convention Center at 400 E. Seaside Way. Accessible parking and viewing will be available at Junipero and First Street, near Bixby Park.

Ride the Metro

Take the LA Metro A Line and exit 1st Street Station in Downtown Long Beach. After you exit, it's roughly a 10-minute walk down Ocean Boulevard to the parade festivities at Marina Green Park.

Editor's note: This story includes descriptions of allegations of sexual assault and rape.

Harvey Weinstein's latest sex crimes trial ended with a hung jury Friday, on the third day of deliberations.

It was the second time in a year a jury was unable to reach a verdict on the same charge.

Accusations against the former Hollywood mogul came to define the #MeToo movement, and he was first convicted of assaulting Jessica Mann in 2020. The former aspiring actress testified Weinstein raped her at a DoubleTree hotel in Manhattan in 2013. But that verdict, along with another charge, was later overturned.

In a second New York trial last summer, Weinstein was found guilty on one count of a criminal sexual act in the first degree and not guilty on another. But a third charge, of raping Mann, ended in a mistrial after the jury foreperson declined to return to deliberations, citing concerns for his safety.

Weinstein had returned to court for a third New York trial in April, this one focusing on Mann's allegations. But on Friday morning, Judge Curtis Farber received a note from jurors stating they were unable to reach a unanimous decision. Farber then read jurors a modified deadlock charge, known as an Allen charge, urging them to resume deliberations.

Jurors soon responded with another note restating their position. "We feel that no one is going to change where they stand," it said. Nine jurors fell on the side of not guilty; three supported a guilty verdict, Weinstein's lawyers told press outside of the courtroom.

The prosecution has until late June to decide whether they'll try the case again.

Outside of court, 55-year-old juror Rick Treese said that the group diverged on "where we actually had facts." He told reporters, "We didn't have enough facts to grasp onto, so it was emotion." People in the group "had varying emotions about it based on [their] experience in life."

"Everybody respected each other. Everybody respected their backgrounds. It was very civil. I feel certain that we dug into it enough."

Another juror, Josh Hadar, said his vote was for "not guilty," in part because he felt there might be parts of Mann's testimony that were "fabricated."

"I think the prevailing thought was that the witness had a lot of inconsistencies in her story," he said.

The mistrial concludes a month-long trial that was quieter than Weinstein's previous court appearances, with a diminished media presence and less public attention. Earlier this year, Weinstein hired a new legal team, including high-profile criminal defense attorneys such as Marc Agnifilo, known for representing Luigi Mangione and Sean "Diddy" Combs.

Defense attorneys argued that Mann and the then-married Weinstein had a consensual, on-again, off-again relationship over many years. But Mann testified that on that 2013 morning at the DoubleTree hotel, Weinstein "command[ed]" her to undress and penetrated her despite Mann repeatedly saying "no." Weinstein has denied all allegations of sexual assault.

Now 74, Weinstein has been incarcerated since 2020. In 2022, he was convicted of rape and sexual assault in a separate case in California and sentenced to 16 years in prison. He is appealing that verdict.

Agnifilo said outside court on Friday, "It's our job not just to win this case. There is an entire legal knot that needs to be untangled. And we're going to start untangling that knot strand by strand with the New York case and then the California case. So this really is just a first step." He said that this latest mistrial might not be "the win [Weinstein] wanted, but it's a win."

A statement from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said prosecutors were "disappointed that the proceedings ended in a mistrial" and would consider next steps in consultation with Mann.

"For nearly a decade, Jessica Mann has fought for justice. Over the course of many weeks during three separate trials, she relived unthinkably painful experiences in front of complete strangers," the statement said. "Her perseverance and bravery are inspiring to the members of my office, and more importantly, to survivors everywhere."

Weinstein's lawyers have said that he is in poor health. He used a wheelchair in court and did not testify on the stand in this trial, nor during any of his previous criminal cases. At one point during jury deliberations, Judge Farber announced Weinstein could not appear in court due to complaints of "chest pains."

Weinstein has given a limited number of interviews from prison, including with far-right podcaster Candace Owens and the Daily Mail. Most recently, he spoke with The Hollywood Reporter from Rikers Island.

When asked whether he had apologized to any of the women who brought charges against him, Weinstein told The Hollywood Reporter, "I apologized to them generally. You can't call them when you're in a trial with them. But I'll say it here today: I apologize to those women. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been with them in the first place. I misled them."

Citing his health issues, including bone marrow cancer, Weinstein said, "I'm dying here. And the DA's idea is probably to have me dying in prison. But I am dying."

More than 30 teams will take their handmade cars through a custom downhill course of twisty turns and obstacles Saturday as the Red Bull Soapbox Race returns to Los Angeles for the first time in nearly a decade.

Teams from across the country were selected from hundreds of applicants to compete on creativity, design, showmanship, course navigation and time.

There are no engines allowed in this race — all soapboxes must be gravity-powered.

Fully-functioning brakes and steering are required, but almost every other aspect of the engineering and design is left up to the competitors’ imaginations. According to Red Bull, the soapbox should be an extension of its team, the wilder and more outrageous the better.

From real racers to a car made out of bicycle parts

Contestants take on the course at the Red Bull Soapbox Race in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2025.

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The race includes competitors from across Southern California and beyond.

UCLA Bruin Racing, made up of the school’s Formula SAE Squad (which also design and race specialized cars), entered with its “Mk. 9 racer” soapbox that was originally an out of commission EV car.

Metro LA repurposed parts from some of the unclaimed bikes left behind on the transit system for its “carrot-colored” bus design (and yes, that is the agency’s nod to Tyler, the Creator’s song "Rah Tah Tah." IYKYK).

The Seagrave 13 team from Las Vegas is dedicating their soapbox to Pasadena first responders who battled last year’s Eaton Fire. They’re planning to donate the car to the L.A. County Fire Museum after the race.

Built on a patio

One of the homegrown teams trying their luck this year is made up of a group of renters and friends in Santa Monica and Victorville who built their “Runaway Hotdog Stand” soapbox on an apartment patio.

“The fact that we're able to do this shows that I mean anybody could do this, and honestly could do anything else,” Carlos Monson, captain of the Speedy Wiener team, told LAist.

The Speedy Wiener team drew their design inspiration from L.A.’s iconic hot dog carts, typically a small grill that serves bacon and veggie toppings outside concerts, sporting events and tourist attractions.

The Speedy Wiener team modeled their soapbox after L.A.'s iconic hotdog carts.

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“For us, luckily, a majority of them are Latino and we're like, you know what, this is actually a perfect opportunity because the whole team is Latino,” said Monson, who will also be driving the soapbox.

The group of friends, between 18 and 21 years of age, built most of their cherry-red car on Monson’s apartment patio under Victorville’s glaring sun.

The Speedy Wiener repurposed the base of an old, rickety go-kart frame for their "Runaway Hotdog Stand" soapbox.

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They repurposed the base using an old, rickety go-kart frame that Monson said took about an hour just to carry up the stairs and get through the front door.

They worked on the soapbox in between classes and shifts at work. The final touches include stamping their Speedy Wiener logo and adding a mock-menu to the frame. There’s also ketchup and mustard bottles with yellow and red streamers hanging from the nozzles and a rainbow umbrella over the wheel.

The team, made up of renters between 18 and 21 years old, built most of the soapbox on their captain's apartment patio in Victorville.

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For the car’s structure, Monson turned to a collection of cardboard boxes he had lying around after a recent move and attached the various pieces with zip ties.

“We'll be able to hopefully last when they make it down the race track,” he said.

Engineering students’ big break

Another entrant on Saturday is the Los Ingenieros, a group of mechanical engineering students from Cerritos College in Norwalk, who has taken inspiration from the team’s Hispanic heritage and Los Angeles culture.

Their car is lucha libre-themed with rails modeled after a wrestling ring and the driver donning a muscle suit and mask.

The red, white and green colors represent the Mexican flag and features Chicano-style pinstriping from L.A.’s lowriders, as well as some Aztec patterns.

The Los Ingenieros team is made up of a group of mechanical engineering students from Cerritos College.

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Courtesy Ruben Orozco

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“It's definitely going to be a powerful testimony to our culture,” said Ruben Orozco, a Los Ingenieros member from La Mirada.

The team never expected to be picked for the race, and Orozco said the invitation has been “mind-blowing” and “surreal.”

Arelie Marquez, another member from Long Beach, told LAist she sketched the design for the modified go-kart frame before the team chopped the wheels, boosted the back axle and added suspension. While some of the students drew up blueprints on engineering computer software, Marquez used her welding experience to help mount the brackets — all in Orozco’s backyard.

As a community college student, Orozco said he’s felt like he’s missed out on opportunities to showcase their knowledge and innovations compared to students in the Cal State or UC system, but the Red Bull Soapbox Race has helped shed that notion.

“Not only has it been reassuring to myself, but also we've used it as a platform to kind of show others in STEM, in community colleges, that you could do crazy things as a student,” he said.

And yes, the team is already highlighting the unique engineering experience on their resumes, according to Gabriel Ramirez, a Compton resident and another member along with his twin brother, Hector.

Their next challenge? Cramming for finals next week.

The Surfrider Foundation is hosting a protest in the Pacific Ocean on Sunday to oppose what it sees as mounting threats to our California coastline.

In 2015, a pipeline operated by Plains All American spilled more than 100,000 gallons of crude oil near Refugio State Beach in Santa Barbara County. Hundreds of marine mammals were killed or injured and beaches across the region were contaminated.

Bill Hickman, a senior regional manager with the Surfrider Foundation, remembers it well.

“I live in Ventura. We had a bottlenose dolphin wash up here that was covered in oil,” Hickman told LAist. “That was really sad to see. And there was oil on the beach all the way down to L.A.”

The spill also “shut down fisheries, closed multiple beaches, and impacted recreational uses such as camping, non-commercial fishing, and beach visits,” according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

In March, the Trump administration invoked the Defense Production Act to bring that same pipeline, now run by Texas-based Sable Offshore, back online. The company says that the system will produce tens of thousands of barrels of oil a day, as well as “provide a secure, consistent source of domestic crude oil, replacing approximately 1 million barrels per month of imports.”

But Hickman and other environmental advocates say restarting the pipeline raises serious concerns. California sued the Trump administration in March to keep it shut.

The restart, along with the Trump administration’s push to open the California coast up to new oil and gas drilling for the first time in decades, has Hickman sounding the alarm.

“Right now it seems like if you’re not outraged you’re not paying attention,” Hickman said. “And luckily a lot of people are really fired up about all of the threats to the environment and particularly the Santa Barbara channel.”

Oil spills like the one in 2015 could also deeply affect tourism, the fishing industry and lead to billions in cleanup costs, according to Gov, Gavin Newsom’s office. In a January 2026 statement opposing the Trump administration’s new offshore drilling plans, the governor’s office said the state's coastal economy “supports hundreds of thousands of jobs and generates over $44 billion annually.”

On Sunday morning, Hickman will be part of a spiritual ritual in surf culture: a paddle-out into the ocean at Refugio State Beach.

He said anyone with a human-powered craft is welcome to join the circle to oppose drilling on our coasts.

“People are standing up. There’s a lot of opposition,” Hickman said. “Californians really treasure our coast, our beaches, our waves and really want to protect them.”