Kris Perry (left) and Sandy Stier, two plaintiffs in the landmark 2010 lawsuit that overturned California's ban on same-sex marriage, share photographs from their wedding ceremony during an interview at the KQED offices in San Francisco on March 3. Stier and Perry came to the studio to watch clips of their testimony in federal court, which KQED had fought to get unsealed, for the first time.
(
Kori Suzuki
/
KQED
)
Topline:
Proposition 8 — eliminating a right to marriage by gay and lesbian couples — passed with 52% of the vote in the state in 2008. Two years later, two same-sex couples, Kris Perry and Sandy Stier, and Jeffrey Zarrillo and Paul Katami, had their day in federal court when they sued to overturn Prop. 8.
Why it matters: That trial, which included expert witnesses testifying under oath about anti-gay tropes, theories ,and political arguments, resulted in the measure being struck down. The federal judge presiding over that two-week trial deemed the case for banning same-sex marriage to be unconstitutional, a violation of the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The backstory: For more than a decade after it ended, videotapes of the trial were kept under seal, until San Francisco NPR station KQED successfully fought a long legal battle that resulted in the U.S. Supreme Court allowing them to be unsealed.
Why now: After the videotapes were released, KQED invited the four Prop. 8 plaintiffs — Kris Perry and Sandy Stier along with Paul Katami and Jeffrey Zarrillo — to view them for the first time and talk about the trial, its aftermath, and its significance today.
Election night 15 years ago — Nov. 4, 2008 — LGBTQ+ voters in California experienced a kind of political whiplash: euphoria and despair in one night as the states' voters overwhelmingly chose to elect Barack Obama president, while simultaneously taking away the right of same-sex couples to marry.
Two years later, on Jan. 11, 2010,two same-sex couples, Kris Perry and Sandy Stier, and Jeffrey Zarrillo and Paul Katami, had their day in federal court when they sued to overturn Prop. 8 after they were denied marriage licenses.
That trial, which included expert witnesses testifying under oath about anti-gay tropes, theories and political arguments, resulted in the measure being struck down. The federal judge presiding over that two-week trial deemed the case for banning same-sex marriage to be unconstitutional, a violation of the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
For more than a decade after it ended, videotapes of the trial were kept under seal, until KQED successfully fought a long legal battle that resulted in the U.S. Supreme Court allowing them to be unsealed.
After the videotapes were released, KQED invited the four Prop. 8 plaintiffs — Kris Perry and Sandy Stier along with Paul Katami and Jeffrey Zarrillo — to view them for the first time and talk about the trial, its aftermath, and its significance today.
Those videos can be viewed here and here. (Or watch them below)
Reflecting on the trial, its aftermath, and its significance now
One thing that stood out is the "Yes on 8" messagessuch as "Protect the Children," with television commercials saying unless the measure passed children would be encouraged to marry someone of their same gender.
Those messages still echo today in political rhetoric and legislation related to high school sports and the use of bathrooms by transgender youth.
"The sad part of it is, that campaign worked because the convenience of the lie won people over, and the lie was based on fear," recalls Paul Katami. "And that fear included children. So I would never say it was a brilliant tactic, but it was an evil tactic."
That tactic using the guise of protecting children from harm brought by LGBTQ people is still at work today by politicians and ultraconservative groups like Moms for Liberty, who talk about parental rights to push back against policies that support transgender youth and their families.
Attorney Thomas R. Burke led KQED's successful legal battle to unseal the tapes.
He says the trial tested the homophobic, hateful arguments promoted by opponents of LGBTQ+ rights. The witnesses, the withering cross-examinations, and the poignant testimony is all caught on video that is now available to anyone who wants to watch.
"The evidence didn't support you," Burke says, referring to "Yes on 8" defenders. "You had great lawyers arguing your cause and you didn't win. And if people thought you should have won, they can see and judge for themselves. If you didn't have that recorded, that couldn't happen."
The historic trial resulted in a landmark decision on Aug. 2, 2010 when Judge Vaughn R. Walker struck down the ballot measure — but it was hardly a foregone conclusion at the start.
"I remember feeling very anxious and scared, honestly, not knowing how any of it would turn out," lead plaintiff Kris Perry, now 59,says after viewing trial clips at KQED. "People were really, you know, counting on us to deliver. And there was a lot of pressure."
Perry's wife, Sandy Stier, 61, recalls what seemed like days and days of preparation before going on the stand. She remembers worrying about how the trial might affect their lives, "not only for me, what it might be like for my kids, for my parents, my siblings and my community. And so it was very, very anxious going into court that day, not knowing."
Zarrillo and Katami were the first witnesses called to testify.
"I had so many fears going into the trial," Katami says. "I was not confident because this was uncharted territory for both of us as human beings."
"I said to Paul at one point, 'Even if we lose, we can go to our graves knowing that we didn't stand for being treated as second class citizens,' " Zarrillo recalls. "We tried to do something about it."
Jeff Zarrillo (left) and Paul Katami, plaintiffs in the landmark 2010 lawsuit that overturned California's ban on same-sex marriage, sit during an interview at the KQED offices in San Francisco on March 3.
(
Kori Suzuki
/
Kori Suzuki / KQED News
)
Trial makes people aware of rights denied
The trial was originally going to be televised on closed circuit TV via YouTube until Prop. 8 attorneys objected and the U.S. Supreme Court intervened to prevent it. But Judge Walker recorded the trial anyway, he said, for his personal use in writing the decision.
On the stand, Katami was asked by one of the attorneys who represented the plaintiffs,David Boies, what the big deal was about not being able to marry when they had the option of domestic partnership.
"The big deal is it's creating a separate category for us. And that's a major deal because it makes you into a second, third ... and fourth class citizen," Katami said that day in January 2010.
Reflecting on his testimony Katami, says until the Prop. 8 trial, many heterosexuals didn't know the hundreds of rights automatically afforded straight couples — but denied to LGBTQ people. For example, some rights are not automatically afforded same sex couples, like social security benefits of a partner who dies.
"And if you don't have that protection because marriage allows that protection, there's a bright spotlight that shines down on those rights when you don't have them," Katami says.
Viewing the trial tapes, Zarrillo notes that, "When you're on the stand like that, you have to really figure out, 'how do I answer this question [in a way] that is not going to hurt our cause?' " he says.
When Perry was asked in court to describe her relationship with Stier, whom she met while both were students at U.C. Santa Cruz, Perry testified that, "I met Sandy thinking she was maybe the sparkliest person I ever met. And I wanted to be her friend."
On the stand, Stier testified that after meeting Perry she "really felt like the thunderbolt of change for me." Unlike Perry, Stier wasn't an out lesbian at the time.
"I had moved to California, got married to a man, had two kids, and knew that something wasn't working for me," Stier tells KQED.
The trial tapes reveal the humanity of the issue, ably presented by the four plaintiffs, said Judge Walker recently.
"Both of the couples were very able witnesses — very attractive witnesses. ... So we're talking about matters that are intensely personal and important to them. That's pretty compelling testimony under any circumstances," Walker told KQED.
But the audible and visible emotion of their testimony was out of view, until the trial tapes were unsealed.
Of course, unlike TV shows, where every courtroom scene is riveting and entertaining, real-life trials are mostly "hours and hours of tedium broken episodically by sometimes emotions (or) events of great interest. But they are few and far between," Walker said.
Paul Katami (center left), a plaintiff in the landmark 2010 lawsuit that overturned California's ban on same-sex marriage, greets fellow plaintiffs Kris Perry (center right) Sandy Stier (right),and KQED Politics Editor Scott Shafer (left) ahead of an interview at the KQED offices in San Francisco on March 3.
(
Kori Suzuki
/
Kori Suzuki / KQED News
)
Tapes show how courts deal with social issues
Still, the retired judge said the tapes will be useful in law schools to show students how courts deal with" a social issue or a constitutional issue of widespread importance."
After Prop. 8 was struck down in 2010 both couples soon married and remain so today. But LGBTQ people are still under attack by people hoping to use them as political fodder on behalf of conservative causes.
"I think that is incredibly dangerous," says transgender activist Honey Mahogany. "These are tropes that have always been a part of emotionally manipulating people to advantage a certain political group or cause, right? They're not based in fact."
Mahogany, who also chairs the San Francisco Democratic Central Committee, says release of the trial tapes helps to humanize issues and the plaintiffs.
"Seeing what happened during the trial behind the scenes is really important because it helps expose the truth," Mahogany says. "It helps expose the fact that this is just about two people loving each other, wanting to cement their relationship, wanting to protect each other ... and their children."
Mahogany says given the risks of failure, what the Prop. 8 plaintiffs did was "incredibly important and brave."
She hopes their example will embolden others to come forward today to humanize LGBTQ issues. "We can learn from history. We can, you know, find our champions and also our storytellers to help us tell our stories," Mahogany says.
With the videotapes now accessible online, the couples' stories told under oath can be seen by anyone who wishes to watch.
"They fought for a decade that this would not be seen," says attorney Burke. "And I think there's a reason for that," Burke adds, implying their arguments simply didn't hold up under legal scrutiny.
Although Walker's ruling striking down Proposition 8 was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, the wording of the Prop. 8 constitutional amendment remains in the California Constitution. But voters will have the chance to change that next November.
The State Legislature placed a measure on the fall 2024 ballot that removes that now-unenforceable language of Prop. 8 and replaces it with the statement that "marriage is a fundamental right" for all couples and is among " the inalienable rights to enjoy life and liberty and to pursue and obtain safety, happiness, and privacy."
It's an affirmation of the right of all couples to marry in California.
Erin Stone
covers climate and environmental issues in Southern California.
Published February 9, 2026 5:00 AM
Local high school students tour Eastern Municipal Water District facilities in Perris in the Inland Empire.
(
Courtesy Eastern Municipal Water District
)
Topline:
As water agencies across the state grapple with the increasingly extreme effects of climate change, they’re also facing another problem: the incoming “silver tsunami.” That’s the phrase coined by the industry to illustrate the fact that much of the workforce that keeps our water flowing and safe are baby boomers getting ready to retire.
The background: Nationwide, about a third of the nation’s water workforce is eligible for retirement within the next decade, “the majority being workers with trade jobs in mission critical positions,” the Environmental Protection Agency wrote in a 2024 report.
Why it matters: To deal with how pollution in our atmosphere is driving longer, hotter droughts as well as increasingly intense rain when it does come, water agencies across Southern California are working to boost aging infrastructure and invest in more diverse water supplies, such as recycled water. The lack of people to staff those changes is a problem for pretty much every water agency, urban and rural.
Read on ... to learn how one local water agency is bringing high schoolers into the water workforce pipeline.
As water agencies across California grapple with the increasingly extreme effects of climate change, they’re also facing another problem: the incoming “silver tsunami.”
That’s the phrase coined by the industry to illustrate the fact that much of the workforce — largely baby boomers — that keeps our water flowing and safe are getting ready to retire.
Nationwide, about a third of the nation’s water workforce is eligible for retirement within the next decade, “the majority being workers with trade jobs in mission critical positions,” the Environmental Protection Agency wrote in a 2024 report.
Climate resilience needs a workforce
To deal with how pollution in our atmosphere is driving longer, hotter droughts, as well as increasingly intense rain when it does come, water agencies across Southern California are working to boost aging infrastructure and invest in more diverse water supplies, such as recycled water.
The lack of people to staff those changes is a problem for pretty much every water agency, urban and rural.
L.A. is the second-largest city in the nation and is spending billions on water recycling and stormwater capture, for example, but it has been struggling to fill needed positions at its four wastewater treatment plants.
The city of L.A. plans to clean all wastewater that flows to the Hyperion plant.
(
Eric Garcetti via Flickr
)
The city plans to treat nearly all of the Hyperion wastewater facility’s water to drinkable standards in the coming decades. To support that massive expansion, Hi-Sang Kim, the operations director at Hyperion, told LAist in 2022 the facility will need to boost its workforce by at least 30%.
For less urban water agencies, the challenge is even greater. The Eastern Municipal Water District serves close to 1 million people (and growing), as well as agricultural customers in western Riverside County and northern San Diego County.
They estimate as much as half of their workforce could retire within five years.
"We are in dire need of technical skill sets."
— Joe Mouawad, general manger, Eastern Municipal Water District
“Not only are we investing in new infrastructure, but we have aging infrastructure, so we are in dire need of technical skill sets to operate, maintain everything from treatment plants to pipelines, to pump stations,” said Joe Mouawad, the water district's general manager.
Jobs in the water industry — potable water and wastewater treatment operators, engineers, managers, skilled maintenance, public relations and more — are well paid and secure, Mouawad said, but it’s hard to fill the needed positions.
“We are finding it more challenging to backfill retirees,” he said. “It's not so much a lack of interest — I think it's a lack of awareness.”
Building a pipeline for water jobs
Those job gaps are why Eastern Municipal has become a leader in building the water workforce pipeline. For decades, the water district partnered with local schools to provide education about water conservation and what they do. But over the last decade, as the retirement forecast grew more dire, the agency has shifted to prioritize skills-based programming and partnerships with local high schools.
Local high school students tour Eastern Municipal Water District facilities in Perris.
(
Courtesy Eastern Municipal Water District
)
In 2013, they launched the Youth Ecology Corps program, for young adults between 18 and 24. Many who went through the program and paid internships are now full-time employees, said Calen Daniels, a spokesperson for the agency, who himself went through the program.
In recent years, the water agency has focused on younger potential future employees through a variety of Career and Technical Education programs at local high schools, including in automotive tech, engineering, agriculture, construction and information systems, said Erin Guerrero, Eastern Municipal’s public affairs manager overseeing its education programs.
“We're starting earlier and getting these kids real world experience,” Guerrero said.
Michelle Serrano teaches a two-year pre-apprenticeship Environmental Water Resources program at West Valley High School in Hemet. Students leave the program equipped to take the state-level certification exam for a job as a water treatment operator or water distribution operator once they turn 18.
Clayton Gordon, GIS mapping administrator at EMWD, talks to West Valley High students in the GIS Engineering certification summer program.
(
Courtesy Eastern Municipal Water District
)
Already more than 200 students have gone through the program since it launched last year. While local community colleges have similar Career and Technical Education programs, this is the first program of its kind targeting high schoolers in the region. Eastern Municipal hopes to expand to other area schools as well.
“Once the kids get out of the program, they're set if this is the direction they want to go,” Serrano said. “We have these students set for a job or a career for the rest of their life.”
"Once the kids get out of the program, they're set if this is the direction they want to go."
— Michelle Serrano, teacher, West Valley High School
She said the program is a gamechanger for students who don’t see themselves going to college or who are unsure of their future career path.
“We really are pushing hard for college, and that's a good push,” Serrano said. “However, we have kids who don't see themselves going to college. It's opening up an amazing path for students who otherwise may not see a job direction.”
They’re not only finding a stable career path, she said, but fulfilling roles necessary to our society, Mouawad said.
“It's working for us,” he said, “and we want to see this serve as a model for the rest of the industry.”
This week, get relationship advice, go to a game night, see a chat with the Silversun Pickups, listen to poetry at Oxy and more.
Highlights:
National Book Award winner and former Poet Laureate of Los Angeles Robin Coste Lewis visits Occidental College for poetry and conversation with Oxy Live's host, celebrated visual artist and cultural collaborator Alexandra Grant.
Channel family game night with new friends over drinks in Highland Park at a classic board game night with Cat Darling Agency and Asian American Collective.
Hometown heroes Silversun Pickups are back with a new album and tour. Dive deep with a conversation at the new Sid the Cat venue between singer Brian Aubert and producer and musician Butch Vig about the making of their new album, Tenterhooks.
It’s almost Valentine’s Day, and author Lindsay Jill Roth has the questions that will make your new (or long-term!) relationship last. Her book, Romances & Practicalities, lays out 250 questions you should ask each other to make your love a time and challenge-tested success. She’s in conversation with love, sex, and relationship therapist Dr. Laura Berman at Zibby’s in Santa Monica.
It takes an icon to know an icon. If you haven’t seen the new Harry Styles video, check it out and you’ll recognize downtown’s Westin Bonaventure in a starring role. The hotel has been in plenty of movies — including True Lies— and now it’s the stage for Styles’ music video for his new single, “Aperture.” Fiona Ng takes you behind the scenes.
Speaking of cool movie settings, Kristen Stewart bought the abandoned Highland Theatre and plans to restore it to its original grandeur. Good news for film lovers.
On tap in the music space this week, Licorice Pizza recommendations include new wave goddess Dale Bozzio and her Missing Persons at the Whisky, rock goddess Melissa Etheridge at the Canyon Club in Agoura or Roxy Music’s Phil Manzanera in conversation onstage at the Roxy — all on Wednesday. Thursday, experimental hip-hop group Clipping is at the Observatory, Atmosphere is at the Novo, UK singer-songwriter Erin LeCount plays the Roxy and Long Beach Dub All Stars & Bedouin Soundclash hit the stage at the Wayfarer. Plus, Aloe Blacc kicks off the first of four nights at the Blue Note.
Tuesday, February 10, 7:30 p.m. Cheerio Collective 5917 N. Figueroa Street, Highland Park COST: $25; MORE INFO
(
Nik
/
Unsplash
)
Channel family game night with new friends over drinks in Highland Park at this classic board game night with Cat Darling Agency and Asian American Collective. Play Connect Four, Jenga and Uno while meeting some folks and enjoying a free drink!
Concert reading of Dogfight
Through Sunday, February 15 The Morgan-Wixson Theatre 2627 Pico Plvd., Santa Monica COST: $23; MORE INFO
(
Joel Castro
/
Morgan-Wixson Theatre
)
Before there was The Greatest Showman, there was Dogfight. Benji Pasek and Justin Paul’s musical about a group of young Marines in San Francisco on the eve of the war in Vietnam is presented in a concert reading at Santa Monica’s Morgan-Wixson Theatre. Dogfight “explores themes of love, loss, and coming of age.”
OXY LIVE! with Robin Coste Lewis in conversation with Alexandra Grant
Tuesday, February 10, 7 p.m. Thorne Hall Thorne Road, Occidental College COST: FREE; MORE INFO
(
Courtesy Oxy Arts
)
National Book Award winner and former Poet Laureate of Los Angeles Robin Coste Lewis visits Occidental College for poetry and conversation with Oxy Live's host, celebrated visual artist and cultural collaborator Alexandra Grant (you may recognize her from excellent grantLove series… and her red carpet photos with beau Keanu Reeves). A book signing hosted by beloved Pasadena bookstore Octavia’s Bookshelf will follow, and attendees will have the opportunity to have their books signed by the author.
Dance at the Odyssey
Through Sunday, February 15 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., West L.A. COST: $28; MORE INFO
(
Courtesy of Dance at the Odyssey
)
Next weekend is the last weekend of Odyssey Theatre’s six-week-long Dance at the Odyssey festival, which features two world premieres: Silent Fiction from Intrepid Dance Project in Odyssey 2, and One World from choreographer Hannah Millar and her Imprints company in Odyssey 3.
Author Lindsay Jill Roth with Dr. Laura Berman
Thursday, February 12, 6 p.m. Zibby’s Bookstore 1113 Montana Ave., Santa Monica COST: FREE; MORE INFO
(
Courtesy Zibby's
)
It’s almost Valentine’s Day, and author Lindsay Jill Roth has the questions that will make your new (or long-term!) relationship last. Her new book, Romances & Practicalities, lays out 250 questions you should ask each other to make your love a time- and challenge-tested success — alongside Roth’s own long-distance love story and interviews with couples of all stripes. She’s in conversation with love, sex and relationship therapist Dr. Laura Berman at Zibby’s in Santa Monica.
An evening in conversation with Silversun Pickups’ Brian Aubert & Producer and Musician Butch Vig
Wednesday, February 11, 7 p.m. Sid the Cat 1022 El Centro Street,South Pasadena COST: $32.75; MORE INFO
(
Sid the Cat
/
Dice FM
)
Hometown heroes Silversun Pickups are back with a new album and tour — catch them this week for free at Amoeba’s in-store show on Monday. Then dive deep at this conversation at the new Sid the Cat venue between singer Brian Aubert and producer and musician Butch Vg about the making of their new album, Tenterhooks. Plus, Lyndsey Parker of Licorice Pizza (friend of Best Things to Do) will moderate the chat.
Stronger Together: Nurturing Mind, Body, and Spirit
Monday, February 9, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. St. Monica Catholic Community Grand Pavilion 725 California Ave., Santa Monica COST: FREE; MORE INFO
(
Courtesy St. John's Foundation
)
Recovery is an ongoing process, and the medical and spiritual communities of L.A. are reminding you they're here to help. Providence Saint John’s Health Center and St. Monica Catholic Community are marking the anniversary of the Palisades and Eaton fires with an evening of community, commemoration and healing.
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.
Adding even small numbers of EVs leads to measurable reductions in pollution, a study by USC researchers has found.
(
Justin Sullivan
/
Getty Images
)
Topline:
A new study out of USC finds that even relatively small upticks in EV adoption can have a measurably positive impact on a community.
The findings: Researchers used satellites to measure actual emissions. The study, conducted between 2019 and 2023, focused on California, which has among the highest rates of EV use in the country, and nitrogen dioxide, one of the gases released during combustion, including when fossil fuels are burned. Exposure to the pollutant can contribute to heart and lung issues, or even premature death. Across nearly 1,700 ZIP codes, the analysis showed that, for every increase of 200 electric vehicles, nitrogen dioxide emissions decreased by 1.1%.
"It's remarkable": “A pretty small addition of cars at the ZIP code level led to a decline in air pollution,” said Sandrah Eckel, a public health professor at USC’s Keck School of Medicine and lead author of the study. “It’s remarkable.”
What's next: Eckel hopes that, eventually, advances in satellite technology will allow for more widespread detection of other types of emissions too, such as fine particulate matter. That could even help account for some of the potential downsides of EVs, which are heavier and could therefore kick up more tire or brake dust than their gasoline counterparts. On the whole, though, she believes the picture overwhelmingly illustrates how driving an electric car is better not just for the planet but for people.
Read on ... to learn more about the study's findings.
The logic behind electric vehicles benefiting public health has long been solid: More EVs means fewer internal combustion engines on the road and a reduction in harmful tailpipe emissions. But now researchers have confirmed, to the greatest extent yet, that this is indeed what’s actually happening on the ground. What’s more, they found that even relatively small upticks in EV adoption can have a measurably positive impact on a community.
About this article
This article originally appeared in Grist, an LAist partner newsroom.
Grist is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Learn more at Grist.org. Sign up for Grist's weekly newsletter here.
Whereas previous work has largely been based on modeling, a study published in January in the journal Lancet Planetary Health used satellites to measure actual emissions. The study, conducted between 2019 and 2023, focused on California, which has among the highest rates of EV use in the country, and nitrogen dioxide, one of the gases released during combustion, including when fossil fuels are burned. Exposure to the pollutant can contribute to heart and lung issues or even premature death. Across nearly 1,700 ZIP codes, the analysis showed that for every increase of 200 electric vehicles, nitrogen dioxide emissions decreased by 1.1%.
“A pretty small addition of cars at the ZIP code level led to a decline in air pollution,” said Sandrah Eckel, a public health professor at USC’s Keck School of Medicine and lead author of the study. “It’s remarkable.”
The group had tried to establish this link using Environmental Protection Agency air monitors before, but because there are only about 100 of them in California, the results weren’t statistically significant. The data also were from 2013 through 2019, when there were fewer electric vehicles on the road. Although the satellite instrument they ultimately used only detected nitrogen dioxide, it did allow researchers to gather data for virtually the entire state, and this time the findings were clear.
“It’s making a real difference in our neighborhoods,” said Eckel, who said a methodology like theirs could be used anywhere in the world. The advent of such powerful satellites allows scientists to look at other sources of emissions, such as factories or homes too. “It’s a revolutionary approach.”
Mary Johnson, who researches environmental health at Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health and was not involved in the study, said she’s not aware of a similar study of this size, or one that uses satellite data so extensively. “Their analysis seems sound,” she said, noting that the authors controlled for variables such as the COVID-19 pandemic and shifts toward working from home.
The results, Johnson added, “totally make sense” and align with other research in this area.
When London implemented congestion pricing in 2003, for example, it reduced traffic and emissions and increased life expectancy. That is the direction this latest research could go too.
“They didn’t take the next step and look at health data,” she said, “which I think would be interesting.”
Daniel Horton, who leads Northwestern University’s climate change research group, also sees value in this latest work.
“The results help to confirm the sort of predictions that numerical air quality modelers have been making for the past decade,” he said, adding that it could also lay the foundation for similar research. “This proof of concept paper is a great start and augurs good things to come.”
Eckel hopes that, eventually, advances in satellite technology will allow for more widespread detection of other types of emissions too, such as fine particulate matter. That could even help account for some of the potential downsides of EVs, which are heavier and could therefore kick up more tire or brake dust than their gasoline counterparts. On the whole, though, she believes the picture overwhelmingly illustrates how driving an electric car is better not just for the planet but for people.
Research like this, she says, underscores the importance of continued EV adoption, the sales of which have slumped recently, and the need to do so equitably. Although lower-income neighborhoods have historically borne the brunt of pollution from highways and traffic, they can’t always afford the relatively high cost of EVs. Eckel hopes that research like this can help guide policymakers.
“There are concerns that some of the communities that really stand to benefit the most from reductions in air pollution are also some of the communities that are really at risk of being left behind in the transition,” she said.
Previous research has shown that EVs could alleviate harms such as asthma in children, and detailed data like this latest study can help highlight both where more work needs to be done and what’s working.
“It’s really exciting that we were able to show that there were these measurable improvements in the air that we’re all breathing,” she said.
Another arguably hopeful finding was that the median increase in electric vehicle usage during the study was 272 per ZIP code.
That, Eckel says, means there is plenty of opportunity to make our air even cleaner.
Gab Chabrán
covers what's happening in food and culture for LAist.
Published February 8, 2026 8:15 PM
Bad Bunny celebrates Latino culture — and tacos — at the 60th Super Bowl
(
Kathryn Riley
/
Getty Images North America
)
Topline:
Villa's Tacos founder Victor Villa appeared with his taco cart during Bad Bunny's Super Bowl LX halftime show, marking a rare moment of L.A. street food culture being showcased on one of the world's biggest stages.
Why it matters: The appearance was more than a cameo — it underscored the cultural significance of L.A.'s taquero tradition and immigrant entrepreneurship. Villa's journey from his grandmother's Highland Park front yard to the Super Bowl reflects the broader story of how Latino food vendors have shaped Los Angeles' culinary identity.
The backstory: Villa launched his business more than eight years ago, selling tacos from his grandmother's front yard in Highland Park. The operation has since expanded to brick-and-mortar locations in Highland Park and downtown Los Angeles, earning recognition as one of the city's standout taco spots.
What he said: "Villa's Tacos is a product of immigrants," Villa wrote on Instagram. "As a 1st generation Mexican-American born & raised in LA, it was an honor to represent my raza & all the taqueros of the world by bringing my taco cart to @badbunnypr's Super Bowl LX 2026 Halftime show."
The bigger picture: Villa dedicated the moment to immigrants who paved the way, emphasizing the performance as a celebration of Latino culture alongside Bad Bunny's shoutouts to Spanish-speaking countries worldwide.
Victor Villa brought his taco cart to Bad Bunny's Super Bowl Halftime performance.
Los Angeles residents likely know the name — Villa's Tacos is an award-winning taco business based in Highland Park. Villa began in his grandmother's front yard and now has brick-and-mortar locations in Highland Park, off Figueroa Avenue, and at Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles.
The restaurant has won L.A. Taco's Taco Madness championship three times (2021, 2022 and 2024) and earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand award for three consecutive years for its signature quesotacos.
A celebration of Latino culture
The entire performance was a celebration of Latin American culture's prominence in the United States, with Bad Bunny taking a moment to recognize Spanish-speaking countries worldwide.
Villa appeared during the opening number, "Tití me preguntó" from Bad Bunny's 2022 album "Un verano sin ti." In the sequence, Bad Bunny visits a piragüero cart — piraguas are iconic Puerto Rican shaved ice treats shaped like pyramids — before the camera pans to Villa and his cart, where Bad Bunny hands him the frozen treat. The moment bridges two beloved Latin American street food traditions: Puerto Rico's piraguas and L.A.'s taco culture.
After the performance aired, Villa took to Instagram to express his thanks and call it a historic moment, He traced his journey from selling his first taco more than eight years ago to the Super Bowl stage.
"I want to give a huge thank you to @badbunnypr for hand selecting me & allowing me to represent my people, my culture, my family & my business," Villa wrote on Instagram.
'A product of immigrants'
As a first-generation Mexican American, he dedicated the moment to the immigrants who made it possible, emphasizing that Villa's Tacos is a product of immigration and that he is honored to represent his culture and all taqueros and Latinos everywhere. The post closed with shoutouts to Puerto Rico, Mexico, and all Latinos.
In August last year, Villa appeared on a Food Friday segment on LAist 89.3's AirTalk, bringing his freshly cooked tacos for host Josie Huang.
