Nereida Moreno
is our midday host on LAist 89.3 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Published May 21, 2024 3:30 PM
Parker and Enzo are 1-year-old bonded bull terrier mix siblings. They were rescued in December 2022 and are the last of their litter to find a home.
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Courtesy Giselle's Legacy
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Topline:
Los Angeles shelters are planning to euthanize about 100 dogs in the coming weeks as the city continues to grapple with overcrowding at its six locations.
Why it matters: L.A. Animal Services has 1,492 dogs in its care, but there's only room for 737, which means many of them have to share a single kennel. Volunteers said there aren’t enough resources to ensure proper medical care or to walk the dogs regularly.
Why now: Experts said overcrowding tends to peak during the warmer months because people are outdoors more and they travel. Some Angelenos start setting off illegal fireworks as early as May, which can stress pets out and prompt them to run away.
Los Angeles animal shelters are planning to euthanize about 100 dogs and other pets in the coming weeks as the city continues to grapple with overcrowding at its six locations.
According to its website, L.A. Animal Services had 1,547 dogs in its care – a 210% occupancy rate as of Tuesday. But municipal shelters only have room for 737 dogs, which means many of them have to share a single kennel. Volunteers said there aren’t enough resources to ensure proper medical care or to walk the dogs regularly.
Animals that are placed on a “Red Alert” list are in danger of being euthanized after 48 hours and need immediate adoption. About half the dogs currently listed are being housed at the city’s Chesterfield Square facility in South L.A.
Local rescue organizations said they’re in desperate need of public support, especially during the warmer months, when shelters are at their busiest.
“We’re in crisis and we need help,” said Sherrie Calderon, founder of Giselle’s Legacy. The group rescues animals that are placed on the city’s “red list” and connects them to foster homes. “We just want them to have a chance at the life they deserve,” she said.
Lily Thomas, a volunteer with the group, called on L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and shelter leaders to be more transparent about the overcrowding crisis and encourage more residents to foster and adopt.
Tucker is a 1-and-a-half-year-old, neutered, male Maltipoo. He is fun, outgoing and playful, and likes to play with dogs of all sizes.
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Courtesy Giselle's Legacy
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She said the lack of pet-friendly shelters, combined with “prohibitively expensive” veterinarian fees for spaying and neutering animals, is only making things worse.
Officials did not respond to requests for comment.
“We risk retaliation… but at this point, we need to get the word out. Go to a small rescue and try to help,” Thomas said. “None of them deserve to die.”
Summer uptick
Experts said the summer months are tough for local shelters and rescue groups because people are outdoors more and they travel. Some Angelenos start setting off (illegal) fireworks as early as May, which can spook pets into running from home.
“When the Fourth comes around, it's going to be extremely difficult,” said Mia Gysander, a professional dog trainer and founder of the rescue group Blue Man Dog. “And now the shelters already are at double capacity. So you can just imagine what's going to happen.”
Blue Man Dog rescues and adopts up to 100 dogs a year. It also partnered with the nonprofit A Purposeful Rescue to help foster dogs from the city’s South L.A. shelter.
“They don't have enough staff. There's not enough people that are fostering or adopting, so the animals are suffering. It's a terrible, terrible situation,” Gysander said.
What's being done?
Last month, the L.A. City Council approved a temporary moratorium on new dog breeding permits to help alleviate overcrowding at the city’s shelters. It would last until dog kennel capacity at the shelters is at or below 75% for three consecutive months.
“It's the aftermath of COVID,” Gysander said. “Everybody wanted dogs, so breeders also were breeding more dogs. During the pandemic, so many dogs did not get fixed. Now it's a snowball effect.”
How to help
Consider fostering or adopting a pet if you can — especially one from a small independent rescue group. Lily Thomas of Giselle’s Legacy said residents can call or text her at (310) 982-0706 to learn more about the process. Here are some other groups that partner with the city.
Also, spread the word. Even if you can't take in a dog at this time, you might be able to reach someone else who is interested.
Donations also help. Rescue groups use the money to pay for crates, medical supplies, and other resources.
Meet Irondale, a 3-year-old male Pit Bull Terrier. He loves to swim and he loves to chew on tennis balls, ropes and toys.
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Courtesy Giselle's Legacy
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Finding the right match
Gysander of Blue Man Dog said the goal is to match people with a dog that fits their lifestyle. Temperament and energy level are among the most important things to look out for.
“Don't just look at a dog and be like, ‘Oh, I want that dog because it's cute.' That's the worst way of selecting a dog, and that's what a lot of people do,” she said.
The group also offers free online training manuals to answer any questions and help families adjust to caring for a pet.
Gloria Steinem, a trailblazing journalist and activist who devoted her life to fighting for women's rights, died on Wednesday. She was 92.
Women's champion: Starting in the 1960s, at a time when women were largely limited to domestic roles, Steinem challenged gender stereotypes and championed feminist ideals like equality, sisterhood and reproductive freedom. In doing so, she inspired generations of women to do the same. Today, she's a household name that is synonymous with the women's rights movement. "Because of her work, across America and around the world, more women are afforded the respect and opportunities that they deserve," then-President Barack Obama said when he awarded Steinem the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her commitment to activism in 2013. "She also changed how women thought about themselves."
Ms. magazine: After graduating from Smith College in 1956, Steinem was briefly involved with a CIA-backed organization that sent American students to Soviet-sponsored youth festivals to promote pro-American principles. When she returned her journalism career began, when she went on to become a freelance journalist in New York during the 1960s — when newsrooms were largely run by men and female reporters were typically restricted in the topics they were allowed to cover. Steinem went on to serve as a founding editor and writer at New York magazine and, a few years later, in 1972, launched her own publication, Ms. magazine, which was named after the honorific title given when a woman's marital status is unknown. It was widely regarded as the first national magazine run by and written for women.
Gloria Steinem, a trailblazing journalist and activist who devoted her life to fighting for women's rights, died on Wednesday. She was 92.
Her passing was announced in a statement posted on her Instagram. It did not give a cause of death.
"Gloria Steinem passed away peacefully at her home in New York City, surrounded by some of the many who loved her," the post read.
Starting in the 1960s, at a time when women were largely limited to domestic roles, Steinem challenged gender stereotypes and championed feminist ideals like equality, sisterhood and reproductive freedom. In doing so, she inspired generations of women to do the same. Today, she's a household name that is synonymous with the women's rights movement.
"Because of her work, across America and around the world, more women are afforded the respect and opportunities that they deserve," then-President Barack Obama said when he awarded Steinem the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her commitment to activism in 2013. "She also changed how women thought about themselves."
President Barack Obama awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Gloria Steinem in the East Room at the White House on Nov. 20, 2013.
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Win McNamee
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Getty Images
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An early impact
Steinem was born in Toledo, Ohio, in 1934. She graduated from Smith College in 1956 with a bachelor's degree in government studies. After Steinem finished school, she spent two years in India on a fellowship, where she traveled with people organizing against caste violence and wrote for Indian publications — an experience that she said shaped her activism in the U.S.
When Steinem returned home, she was briefly involved with a CIA-backed organization that sent American students to Soviet-sponsored youth festivals to promote pro-American principles. This would become a point of contention for some feminists later in Steinem's career. She defended her role, asserting that the CIA never attempted to alter the organization's policies.
Steinem then went on to become a freelance journalist in New York during the 1960s — when newsrooms were largely run by men and female reporters were typically restricted in the topics they were allowed to cover.
"I and lots of women could not write about political subjects for the existing magazines," Steinem recalled in an interview with NPR in 2020. "We were thought to be the experts on, you know, food, makeup, babies and celebrities."
Still, she did not allow those limitations to stop her from pursuing hard-hitting investigative stories. And in 1963, Steinem gained national attention for going undercover at one of Hugh Hefner's nightclubs. Her exposé for Show magazine, "A Bunny's Tale," revealed the sexism and low wages endured by cocktail waitresses, challenging Hefner's claim that his Playboy empire was a sexual revolution, beneficial for men and women alike.
Steinem appears in New York on Feb. 17, 1970.
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Anthony Camerano
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AP
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Steinem went on to serve as a founding editor and writer at New York magazine and, a few years later, in 1972, launched her own publication, Ms. magazine, which was named after the honorific title given when a woman's marital status is unknown. It was widely regarded as the first national magazine run by and written for women.
"The women's magazines that are around, most of which all of us who work on Ms. have worked for, are really talking about women in their roles as wives and mothers," she told NPR at the time.
Steinem added that while those magazines served a purpose, she felt they missed the full picture of women's lives.
"I think that all of us, when we read those magazines, get a sense of dishonesty," she said. "It doesn't help you to change your life. And it's not really allowing women to tell the truth about their daily experiences."
The magazine boldly addressed topics that were considered off-limits, such as abortion, lesbianism, domestic abuse and gender roles. Its 1977 cover story about sexual harassment forced the long-silenced issue into the national spotlight and later became the basis of the 1980 hit movie 9 to 5 starring Dolly Parton.
An activist and political organizer
Beyond journalism, Steinem was an activist and political organizer. In 1971, months before she established Ms. magazine, Steinem helped form the National Women's Political Caucus, which focuses on recruiting, training and endorsing more women in politics.
"Women have been running the political campaigns in this country for generations. But by running means that they've been doing all the menial work, you know, addressing envelopes and driving cars and having fundraisings," Steinem told NPR in 1971. "We're not going to do that anymore. Let the male candidates do their own typing."
When the caucus began, there were 15 women elected to Congress, 363 women state legislators, and only seven women city mayors. Today, those numbers have grown to 150, 2,476 and 428, respectively.
Gloria Steinem (left) and presidential assistant Midge Costanza sit near one another at a July 1978 meeting of the House Judiciary Committee in Washington. The panel voted in favor of a time extension for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.
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John Duricka
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AP
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Among the legislative issues that mattered most to Steinem was reproductive freedom — driven by her own experience of having had an illegal abortion at age 22. In her 2015 memoir My Life On The Road, she dedicated her book to the English doctor who performed the procedure.
Referring to herself, Steinem wrote: "Knowing only that she had broken an engagement at home to seek an unknown fate, he said, you must promise me two things. First, you will not tell anyone my name. Second, you will do what you want to do with your life … I've done the best I could with my life. This book is for you."
Gloria Steinem speaks onstage during The Women's Media Center 2015 Women's Media Awards on Nov. 5, 2015, in New York City.
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Brian Ach
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Getty Images
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In 2022, a few weeks before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending the constitutional right to abortion, Steinem told NPR that even if the decision were reversed, she did not think her and others' work on reproductive justice was in vain.
"It will not change the basic fact that we either have decision-making power over our own bodies — women and men — or there is no democracy," she said.
Steinem added that over the years, she learned that real change is "like a tree."
"Too often we think the tree grows from the top, from Congress. Trees grow from the bottom," she said, adding that what mattered most was the work being done by everyday people and communities.
Copyright 2026 NPR
Rene Lynch
is a senior editor for Orange County, including food trends, politics — and whatever else the news gods have in store.
Published September 3, 2026 5:00 AM
Climate, weather and more will be up for discussion tonight in L.A.
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Patrick T. Fallon
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AFP via Getty Images
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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and challenger Nithya Raman will each lay out their plans Thursday night for tackling LA’s biggest environmental issues, while sharing their longer-term vision for a cleaner and healthier Los Angeles. And LAist will be asking the questions.
Can't make it in person? You can listen live from 6 to 8 p.m. here on LAist 89.3 FM and it will also be on our YouTube channel if you prefer to watch live — or watch later.
Read on ... for more about the forum.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and challenger Nithya Raman will each have a chance to lay out their plans for tackling L.A.’s biggest environmental issues, and share their longer-term vision for a cleaner and healthier Los Angeles.
And LAist will be asking the questions.
You can listen live from 6 to 8 p.m. here on LAist 89.3 FM and it will also be on our YouTube channel if you prefer to watch live — or watch later.
Just don’t expect finger pointing and empty sound bites: the event will take on a fireside chat-style format so that each candidate will have the opportunity to lay out their proposals for making the environment a top priority if they win the election on Nov. 3.
Each candidate will have 45 minutes with LAist’s award-winning climate and environmental senior reporter Erin Stone.
Stone said the evening’s format will allow voters to get a sense of how each candidate feels about crucial environmental issues, such as emergency preparedness and response, oil drilling, the city’s transportation policy, L.A.’s unique water challenges and efforts to transition to clean energy sources — all while trying to maintain affordable utility bills.
“The world’s top scientists are clear that this decade is a critical moment in history to take action to protect future generations from worse climate and environmental harms,” Stone said. “I hope the conversations help voters make the decision that is right for them.”
The event is organized by a coalition of local environmental and environmental justice groups including the Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters, SCOPE-LA, the Sierra Club, Clean and Healthy California, the Neighborhood Council Sustainability Alliance and Communities for a Better Environment.
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.
Naboo Starfighter at the entrance to the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
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Lou Caltabiano
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Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
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Topline:
The museum, which opens to the public Sept. 22, unites the Star Wars universe with all kinds of illustration and classic art.
What you can see: Illustrations and props relating to the original Star Wars films, among many other intellectual properties — not to mention an extensive collection of murals and paintings from fine artists.
About the building: The 300,000-square-foot building designed by architect Ma Yansong with the firm Stantec, could easily blend into the scenery of Coruscant or Bespin in the Star Wars universe.
About the grounds: The gardens outside the museum are free and open to the public.
Read on... to see pictures of the collection.
Exposition Park’s new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art opens to the public on Sept. 22 — and LAist got a preview.
The 300,000-square-foot building, designed by architect Ma Yansong, working with the firm Stantec, could easily blend into the scenery of Coruscant or Bespin in the Star Wars universe.
For the fans of that certain long-time ago, far, far-away universe, you are immediately greeted by a Naboo Starfighter big enough to fit inside at the museum entrance with a life-size R2-D2 in the co-pilot seat.
Star Wars fans will definitely get their fill with pieces like this in the cinema section:
Doug Chiang, Podrace Crash, production art for "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace," 1995–99. Digital print.
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Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
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You can find designs and set pieces from other George Lucas production companies, Industrial Light and Magic and Skywalker Sound, but the museum is dedicated to impactful storytelling of all kinds, with a special focus on the work of illustrators.
“Most of the stories are myths, they're not real, but the illustrations make them real,” George Lucas said at a preview event. “A picture is very powerful, and the stories are very powerful, and you combine them together, and those two elements create a society.”
So, you’ll also see works like this E.H. Shepard illustration from Winnie-the-Pooh in a section dedicated to children’s stories.
E. H. Shepard, “Christopher Robin at the enchanted place,” illustration for Home Chat, 1928.
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Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
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And that’s not the only significant work you’ll see there.
“You can see one of the first historically important ‘dogs playing poker’ paintings made in 1894 as a whiskey advertisement, very close to Frida Kahlo, very close to Batman,” Lucas Museum senior curator Ryan Linkof said.
The museum’s umbrella of “narrative art” encompasses fine art like these works from painter, pro-football player and actor Ernie Barnes, photographer Dorothea Lange, and comic book artist Rafael Navarro:
Ernie Barnes, The Critic’s Corner, 2007. Acrylic on canvas.
Rafael Navarro, art for Sonámbulo: Mexican Stand-Off, 2006.
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Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
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Murals and public art
The museum features public art installations — both reproductions of works by Diego Rivera and Banksy.
Three of the featured works by Banksy.
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Matthew Kroening
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Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
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You'll also experience an extensive video installation of Judith Baca’s The Great Wall of Los Angeles, which you can take in while sitting instead of having to walk the whole length.
A new green space in the middle of the city
The museum boasts extensive grounds built on a former parking lot. There, you can see a number of sculptures, including one of Jabba the Hutt and Princess Leia.
Jabba the Hutt and Princess Leia statue.
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Kevin Tidmarsh
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LAist
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“This public park is available and accessible to everyone all the time, even if you don't come to the museum, even if the museum's not open. You can come to the research library,” Linkof said. “It's an asset and a resource for everyone, including and especially the community.”
How to visit
Location: One Lucas Plaza, Exposition Park, Los Angeles
Tickets: Timed tickets cost $25 for adults, $21 for seniors and are to free to minors, active-duty military, members and LM37 passholders. See your options ▶
Frank Stoltze
is a veteran reporter who covers local politics and examines how democracy is and, at times, is not working.
Published September 2, 2026 4:58 PM
Councilmember Nithya Raman at a campaign news conference in May 2026.
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Aaron Schrank
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LAist
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Topline:
Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman Wednesday won the backing of the Democratic Socialists of America L.A. in her challenge to incumbent Mayor Karen Bass.
Why it matters: The endorsement places the resources of DSA-LA to work for Raman in what’s expected to be a close race for mayor, but also opens her up to criticism that she’s too far left in her political views for the voters of L.A.
The backstory: Raman, a member of the organization, was first elected with its help in an upset victory over an incumbent City Council member in 2020. She was the first of four DSA-LA members elected to the council in recent years.
Read on ... for details about the endorsement and response from Bass' campaign.
Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman on Wednesday won the backing of the Democratic Socialists of America L.A. in her challenge to incumbent Mayor Karen Bass. The DSA-LA is a potent political organization known for mounting successful door-knocking campaigns for candidates for political office.
The endorsement places the resources of DSA-LA to work for Raman in what’s expected to be a close race for mayor, but also opens Raman up to criticism that she’s too far left in her political views for the voters of L.A.
The endorsement came after Raman won more than 60% of the vote in an online election held within the organization over the past week. Of the more than 6,000 members in the L.A. region, 1,400 participated in the vote.
“With Raman at the top of the ticket, DSA-LA is organizing to unite tenants, union members, immigrant communities, and working Angelenos behind a slate that can break corporate interests’ grip on city government,” DSA-LA said in a statement. “Our vision is clear: win office, build a governing majority, and deliver a city working people can afford to call home.”
Raman, a member of the organization, was first elected with its help in an upset victory over an incumbent City Council member in 2020. She was the first of four DSA-LA members elected to the council in recent years.
“A socialist movement with a path to the mayor’s office in Los Angeles should make the political establishment nervous,” said Sean Wakasa, DSA-LA co-chair. “The opportunity in front of us is enormous, and we intend to meet it.”
Raman was not immediately available for comment.
A spokesperson for the Bass campaign did not comment specifically on the endorsement but pointed to some of the issues that surfaced in debates between the candidates, including how to handle homeless encampments and Police Department funding.
"Nithya Raman said kids aren't safer if an encampment is 500 feet away from a school and voted repeatedly to cut basic public safety funding to make LA safer," Alex Stack said. "Those are positions she now fully owns as she tries to flip-flop and convince voters otherwise."
Raman has defended her opposition to a ban on camping next to schools, saying moving them merely shuffles homeless people from one neighborhood to the next.
A 'double-edged sword'
Some voters will likely be turned off by the DSA’s endorsement of Raman, according to USC Political Science Professor Christian Grose.
“The DSA endorsement is definitely a double-edged sword,” he said. “It's going to hurt her with the Pratt voters, who will be decisive potentially in the election.”
Conservative T.V. personality Spencer Pratt finished third in the primary with 26% of the vote.
Grose added that Raman already has come under fire for her association with the DSA-LA.
“So those attacks were kind of happening already,” he said.
Wasaka said Raman nonetheless has a lot of appeal to progressive voters.
“Nithya Raman has had a long history with DSA-LA and has helped pass transformative policies at the city level,” Wasaka said. “Her leadership and progressive vision have aligned with DSA members, and we are excited to canvas for her and help her win.
“We’re knocking on tens of thousands of doors, we’re hosting fundraisers and we’re talking to all of our neighbors and families about how these candidates are going to build political power for the working class.”
The DSA-LA endorsed several other candidates in local elections, including Marissa Roy over John McKinney in the L.A. city attorney’s race.
Raman is a member of the DSA-LA, but was not endorsed in the primary, in part because some members said she didn’t hew closely enough to the party line. Raman, for example, wants to roll back part of the mansion tax, which places an extra tax on the sale of properties worth more than $5.4 million. Raman has said it discourages the building of affordable housing.
Other endorsements
The DSA-LA backing comes on the heels of another big endorsement of Raman from a major labor union. Earlier this week, Unite HERE Local 11, which represents hotel and restaurant workers, said it is backing Raman.
“Nithya Raman will fight alongside our members to protect working families, enforce our laws, preserve our housing, and hold corporations like Airbnb accountable when they take desperately needed homes off the market,” said Ada Briceño, co-president of UNITE HERE Local 11.
Political scientist Fernando Guerra of Loyola Marymount’s Center for the Study of Los Angeles said the union’s endorsement is important.
“I would 10 times more want the endorsement from UNITE HERE that has 30,000 members,” said Guerra. “They are one of the most powerful electoral bodies in terms of mobilization in all of California, especially in Los Angeles.”
Most labor unions back Bass in the election, including the powerful L.A. County Federation of Labor. The Democratic Party and Chamber of Commerce also have endorsed Bass.
