The Brief

Young soccer players, coaches, and parents urged the Santa Ana City Council on Tuesday to stop the city from negotiating a contract that would give exclusive access to public soccer fields to the private youth soccer club La Academia.

City officials have said no deal has been reached yet. But residents expressed concerns the negotiations have taken place in private and are driven by a personal relationship between La Academia leadership and City Councilmember David Penaloza. In a city where green space is in short supply, they worry restricting field access to a private group would come at the expense of opportunities for the rest of the city’s youth.

“We learned that there's a specific group that wants to take over synthetic fields at Centennial [Park], and that's very concerning for everybody else,” Joaquín Olvera, owner and president of the Mesa Verde Youth Soccer League, told LAist. “If that happens, then where are the rest of the organizations and kids going to be playing?”

What we know about the deal 

Negotiations for said deal have been happening behind closed doors for at least the past several months, and no information from the city has been shared with the public.

“The city manager told me the intent was to give priority to a league with ties to the professional soccer system, supposedly to provide more opportunities for Santa Ana athletes,” City Councilmember Benjamin Vazquez told LAist. “I am upset this decision did not come before the council, and I want to see a more equitable and democratic process for awarding field use among all soccer leagues.”

City Manager Alvaro Nuñez did not respond to requests for comment but said during Tuesday night’s Council meeting that no deal is set in stone.

“We do not have a contract,” Nuñez said. “If we were to have a contract, we would bring it before the City Council, and at that point, it could be publicly discussed.”

Advocates are concerned that the deal may never reach a public meeting since the city manager is authorized to sign contracts of up to $50,000 without the need for Council approval.

“[Nuñez] has not signed any agreements with La Academia,” city spokesperson Paul Eakins said. “They contacted the city about using fields. If anything moves forward, details will be shared at that time.”

Oscar Reyes, director of La Academia, did not respond to requests for comment.

How it started

Dozens of public speakers Tuesday night pointed their comments at Penaloza, who they say stewarded the ongoing negotiation.

Penaloza refutes playing any active role in the talks, as well as the assertion he is best friends with La Academia’s leaders, whom he says he’s known since elementary school. The council member said all he did was connect the group with the city manager’s office.

“So they told me their idea, and I said great,” Penaloza said during his closing comments Tuesday. “So, like I had done with … hundreds of other residents and business owners and developers that have reached out to my office, I facilitated a meeting.”

Despite sitting in on one of the group’s meetings with the city for “10 minutes, briefly,” he added, he is not pulling any strings for La Academia.

Why it matters 

Santa Ana is a densely populated city in Orange County, and historically, residents have pushed for more open, green spaces.

According to the Public Trust for Land, residents in low-income neighborhoods have access to 47% less park space per person than those in the average Santa Ana neighborhood, and Latino neighborhoods have 55% less access.

Without recreational activities, like soccer, and the space to play, parents and coaches worry more young kids will be drawn to gang violence.

“Here in Santa Ana, everybody knows somebody, or even family members, who are gang-affiliated,” Maria Behana, a soccer mom and coach, said. “[We] want to keep our kids out of the streets because they start at a young age. You clearly can go into one of our schools and see who is already starting to affiliate, and it's really sad, but that is the culture here in Santa Ana. It is gangs and violence.”

Private soccer clubs are pricey, Behana said.

“You have to try out, and then on top of that, the fees start at $500,” Behana said. “And then if you want to travel, it's $2,000 to $7,000. It's very expensive to play soccer, and that's not even including uniforms and cleats.”

Julian Gonzalez joined his mom Maria Behana at the Santa Ana City Council meeting to urge council members to reject a deal that would give exclusive access to publci soccer fields to one private soccer club.

(

Destiny Torres

/

LAist

)

For Behana’s 9-year-old son, Julian Gonzalez, soccer is everything.

“My favorite part about soccer, when you score a goal, you get a part inside of you, you feel motivated and happy and excited,” Gonzalez told LAist. “I started soccer at 8 years old, and if I can't play that much, I can't put my dreams into it. My dream is to go pro in soccer and play for the top leagues.”

Officials say 

City Councilmembers Johnathan Ryan Hernandez and Jessie Lopez told LAist they are concerned about the way this negotiation is being handled.

Lopez said she is “strongly opposed” to the privatization of taxpayer-funded facilities.

“Any attempt to hand out city contracts to friends and political donors behind closed doors is unacceptable,” Lopez said. “These decisions must be part of a public conversation — it’s the ethical thing to do, and it’s what our residents are demanding.”

The process lacks transparency, Hernandez said, adding, “We should not prioritize profit over the needs of our most vulnerable youth.”

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

A few dozen protesters rallied outside of Councilmember Ysabel Jurado’s Eagle Rock office Tuesday morning in opposition to a 111-unit apartment complex slated to be built on Huntington Drive in El Sereno.

Residents also say due to the unpermitted demolition at the property, a homeless encampment has grown inside and around the site of the demolished building, inviting drug use, violence and prostitution to the corner of the historic business corridor. 

According to organizers for the community group El Sereno Neighbors, emails from Jurado’s office show a willingness to advance the project despite fierce community opposition. Now, residents are calling for the Council District 14 representative to meet with the community and requesting impact records from the developer, who they say has been reluctant to produce them publicly. 

Am abandoned building at the corner of Huntington Drive and Portola Ave is the site of a proposed five-story, 111-unit development. Residents of the area say the development company is operating outside the rules and creating problems.

(

Courtesy of Claudette Contreras

)

In an emailed statement to The LA Local, a spokesperson for CD 14 said, “Councilmember Jurado believes affordable housing and community voice should not be treated as opposing values.” 

“Our priority is to make sure residents receive accurate information, the site is made safe, the rules are enforced, and the community’s concerns are represented at every point where the City has authority,” the statement said. It also pointed out that under Mayoral Executive Directive 1, the development does not need to go through the usual approval process. 

“Because this is a 100% affordable housing project, it qualifies for a by-right approval under the City’s Affordable Housing Incentive Program,” the statement said. “That means if a project meets the basic requirements, it can move forward without a public hearing, and neither City Planning nor the City Council has discretion to delay or deny it.”

The statement added that Jurado’s office has been working since April 2025 to hold the property owner accountable for fixing issues at the site.

SoLA Impact did not respond to The LA Local’s request for comment in time for publication.

Protesters along Colorado Boulevard in Eagle Rock say the issue of ED1 developments isn’t just limited to the Eastside and called for an end to the public safety crisis at the development on Huntington Drive in El Sereno.

(

Andrew Lopez

/

The LA Local

)

Records obtained by the group and reviewed by The LA Local show that the city of Los Angeles opened a code enforcement case against SoLA Impact in April 2025 after a complaint that the building at 5100 E. Huntington Dr. had been left open to the public. City inspectors subsequently cited the South Los Angeles-based developer for unpermitted demolition of the structure. As of late April 2026, the case remained under investigation, with a third order to comply issued just days ago.

But now, over a year since issues began, residents say they’re out of patience.

“The idea that a developer would come in, tear something down illegally without permits, not be held accountable for those permits and start a homeless encampment right across the street from a previous one is upsetting to people. It’s upsetting to the community,” organizer Claudette Contreras told The LA Local. 

Contreras also said the group chose to protest outside the Eagle Rock CD 14 office to show that the issue is city-wide, not just limited to El Sereno. 

Protesters outside Ysabel Jurado’s Eagle Rock office speak with CD 14 representative Troy Carbajal about their issues with a development in El Sereno on April 28, 2026.

(

Andrew Lopez

/

The LA Local

)

At one point, 10 protestors surrounded Troy Carbajal, a spokesperson for CD 14, outside the office and confronted him about what they see as a public safety crisis near the structure. 

“Our community does not need to see that. It’s been an eyesore for months and months, and our children deserve better,” a protestor told Carbajal, who fielded several questions and concerns from the community during the action.

Contreras said she’s also concerned that a five-story high-rise will be out of place in the largely single-family home neighborhood, and she said an additional hundred residents may increase tension over parking between neighbors. 

“Imagine 111 units, five stories, with 150, 200 additional cars in this area with no parking. It’s kind of outrageous. It also is on the business corridor, so it’s kind of devastating to the small businesses in this area who already have minimal parking on a very busy street,” Contreras said.

Am abandoned building at the corner of Huntington Drive and Portola Ave is the site of a proposed five-story, 111-unit development. Residents of the area say the development company is operating outside the rules and creating problems.

(

Courtesy of Claudette Contreras

)

El Sereno resident Daniela Bailes said she feels like SoLa Impact and the councilmember’s office should have consulted with neighborhood groups to determine the best uses for the property.

“They have tried to do this under the radar under ED1, to allow for this building to sprout up with zero community input,” Bailes said, referring to Mayor Karen Bass’ directive to accelerate the development of affordable housing around the city. 

Signed in 2022, ED1 was meant to address the housing crisis throughout the city by helping eliminate the red tape that affordable housing developments can get tangled in. In 2024, Bass rolled out an amended version of the directive, limiting where and how some developers build in L.A. 

Protesters outside Ysabel Jurado’s Eagle Rock office speak with CD 14 representative Troy Carbajal about their issues with a development in El Sereno on April 28, 2026.

(

Andrew Lopez

/

The LA Local

)

Another El Sereno resident, Ezequiel Olvera, considered the developer’s process problematic because it circumvents the legal process. He said the planning department needs to correct the violations on the property. 

“If you knock down a building, you need to bring it back to code. You can’t just go in there and demolish a building and say, ‘Let’s red tag this building so that we can get permits so we can start our process,’” Olvera said. “The city inspector should have them comply with the rules and regulations of the [Los Angeles Municipal Code].”

Olvera said Jurado has the authority to hold the developer accountable and a responsibility to listen to the needs of her constituents. El Sereno Neighbors has more than 1,100 signatures of affected residents demanding a public meeting with the councilmember.

“We’ve seen the pattern several times with different council members that put developers first and bring in the community at the last minute to get their input. By then, it’s already too late,” Olvera said, adding that residents are growing impatient with Jurado’s office. 

Contreras continued to urge increased communication and transparency from city leadership. 

“There should at least be a voice. There should at least be the normalcies that go with building a large development in an area,” Contreras said. “We’re not even asking for outrageous things. There should be parking and impact and safety reports, those are norms. And everyone is hiding behind ED1.”

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

For several months, Westlake residents have been waiting for more information about a proposed $2.3 million project to install a permanent fence around MacArthur Park. The locals want to have a voice in how the project moves forward.

“We want to ensure that this $2.3 million fence does not become yet another eyesore in our neighborhood,” residents said in a letter and sent in early March to city officials requesting more details on the project.

The letter, signed by Mireya Valencia, president of the MacArthur Park Neighborhood Council, on behalf of the council, adds that residents should help inform the design of the fence before any final plans are approved.

So far, Valencia said city officials have not meaningfully engaged with residents, pointing to a lack of routine check-ins. They were also promised conceptual renderings in January that would show what the fence would look like. Those have not materialized either.

The Board of Recreation and Park Commissioners, County Supervisor Hilda Solis and Mayor Karen Bass did not respond to requests for comment and were all addressed in the residents’ letter.

A spokesperson for Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez’s office said in a statement that Council District 1 has been a part of discussions around the proposed fence and attended a MacArthur Park Neighborhood Council meeting when the letter was drafted.

“We appreciate the MacArthur Park Neighborhood Council’s engagement on this issue and have communicated our support for an inclusive community engagement process,” Hernandez’s office said in the statement.

The office added that while the Department of Recreation and Parks is at the forefront of the effort, Hernandez’s office will “support efforts to ensure that community voices are meaningfully incorporated as the project moves forward.”

For several months, Westlake residents have been waiting for more information about a proposed $2.3 million project to install a permanent fence around MacArthur Park.

(

Gary Coronado

/

for The LA Local

)

The neighborhood council wants to know how the $2.3 million project funds would be spent and an explanation on  the project’s timeline and delays. 

Valencia said some neighborhood council members gave public comment when the project was first considered by the Los Angeles Board of Recreation and Park Commissioners last October, but felt the decision had already been made.

“Basically, we were told the fence is happening,” Valencia said. 

The fence would allow the park to close the space overnight and make it easier to maintain and secure facilities, according to what city officials told the LA Local in February.

But some residents and park users, like Josefina Portillo, a local vendor who has sold snacks and drinks in MacArthur Park for more than thirty years, said they worry the fence would make the space even more inaccessible.

Valencia, who has lived in the area for five years, said the council has yet to receive a formal response to its March letter. She added that she understands why some residents support a fence, given the park’s ongoing safety concerns for families, but said a fence alone will not address the deeper issues affecting the park, including homelessness.

“A fence is just going to push the problem somewhere else,” she said. “So instead of money being spent on fencing, I would love to see money be spent on social services.”

Mikaela Ruiz, a Westlake community member who works in the area, believes the fence proposal was created by people who don’t understand all the meaningful interactions that take place at MacArthur Park.

“If you go to MacArthur Park on a regular Saturday, you still see families interacting with the park,” Ruiz said. “You still see the kids football games in the summer, you still see the Levitt Pavilion having shows and events.” 

Westlake residents want to have a voice in how the project moves forward.

(

Gary Coronado / For The LA Local

)

Ruiz said the city should focus on what she sees as a fentanyl crisis happening at the park and services for unhoused people. She added that she doesn’t believe a fence would make the area feel any safer.

“What we’ve taken from the fences that Karen Bass decided to put on Sixth Street is that they just accumulate the trash,” Ruiz said. 

Valencia said meaningful community engagement would mean city officials change how and when they reach out to local residents.

“I would like to see proactive community engagement instead of reactive community engagement,” Valencia said. “Again, they come to our meetings after the decision has been made and after we write these letters, but they’re not asking us what we think beforehand.” 

If the fence does move forward, Valencia said she hopes it reflects the community and does not make the park feel closed off, pointing to the fence that the Frida Kahlo theater nearby has, as being more welcoming.

“I would love to see it incorporate artwork and our culture somehow,” Valencia said. “I would hate to see it blemished by an ugly carceral fence.”

The House of Representatives voted Thursday to reopen most of the Department of Homeland Security, ending the longest agency shutdown in U.S. history.

The House passed a bill funding DHS, minus dollars for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. The measure passed by voice vote on what was the 76th day of the shutdown.

Democrats refused to back funding for many of the agency's immigration functions in an unsuccessful effort to secure reforms including body-worn cameras and broad restrictions on face coverings after federal law enforcement killed two American citizens in Minnesota earlier this year.

The Senate, led by Republican Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., unanimously advanced this funding legislation in March. At the time, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., referred to the proposal as "a joke" and refused to bring it up for a vote. Many members of the House Republican conference refused to fund the agency in a piecemeal fashion and did not want to negotiate over reforms to immigration enforcement operations.

On April 1, Johnson reversed course. He announced the funding bill would be voted on "in the coming days." More than four weeks later, he finally made good on that commitment.

In an effort to appease his hardline members, Johnson waited to bring the Senate's proposal to a vote until that chamber's Republicans started the arcane procedural process, known as reconciliation, to fund all of DHS — including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) — for the remainder of Trump's term without any backing from Democrats.

The funding bill comes as Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin warned the agency was close to running out of funds to pay staff.

"We have reached all the emergency funds we can reach into," Mullin told Fox News on Friday. "I am completely out of the slush fund, I have no place to move at the end of the month."

Mullin said the agency was relying on appropriated funds from last year's One Big Beautiful Bill, which allocated more than $150 billion to DHS on top of its regular annual appropriations funding.

President Donald Trump signed a memo this month authorizing DHS to use some of the money from that legislation to fund the department's operations — potentially infringing on the powers granted to Congress by the Constitution to direct how taxpayer money is spent.
Copyright 2026 NPR

The candidates running for lieutenant governor are apt to hint at the post’s largely symbolic and overlooked status when discussing their ambitions for the statewide office.

It’s true that California’s lieutenant governor is mostly a ceremonial position. Eleni Kounalakis, who currently holds the position, is next in line if the governor is absent or vacates the office, such as when they’re out-of-state, undergoing surgery or if they die. Kounalakis, who terms out this year, is also president of the state Senate and can cast a rare tie-breaking vote if called upon. Most of her influence lies within higher education, where she sits on all three of the state’s higher education boards.

Because of this, the four major leading candidates for the office in the upcoming June primary are emphasizing the sway they’d like to have on higher education, such as freezing tuition or cutting back on remedial coursework.

Previous lieutenant governors have used the office as a stepping stone to the state’s top job, including Gov. Gavin Newsom who held the position for eight years before his election in 2018.

But it’s still mostly unknown to voters and suffers a poor reputation.

“I called the lieutenant governor sort of the Seinfeld of state government, because nobody knows who it is, and then they think it’s a job about nothing,” Gloria Romero, a Republican candidate, told CalMatters.

The major Democratic candidates include Josh Fryday, who leads volunteer programs in the Newsom administration, state Treasurer Fiona Ma who terms out this year, and former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs.

Here is what each candidate, in alphabetical order, said about how they’d approach the gig.

Josh Fryday

Fryday said one of his biggest priorities as lieutenant governor would be to try to get California community colleges to credential more trade workers to help build more clean energy projects and boost the state’s renewable energy supply.

Prior to becoming part of the governor’s cabinet in 2019, he was the chief operating officer of NextGen America, a clean advocacy organization started by billionaire Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer.

He also said he would push for developing more student housing on public land to increase enrollment and create more revenue to stem rising tuition costs.

The former mayor of Novato also emphasized expanding the volunteer service program he helped develop as chief service officer in Newsom’s cabinet. He would like it to include more community colleges and universities. In addition to Newsom’s support, he’s endorsed by the California Teachers Association and California Federation of Teachers.

Janelle Kellman

Former Sausalito mayor Janelle Kellman wants to make community college free and expand training programs for in-demand jobs as a member of the state’s higher education boards. But the lieutenant governor is one of 18 members on the UC Board of Regents and has limited capacity to enact a single policy change.

She’s received support from the California Legislative Jewish Caucus and the LGBTQ Stonewall Democratic Club.

The lieutenant governor has no role in electricity regulation or insurance. But Kellman, a climate attorney, said she would work to cut utility costs by getting rid of extra electricity fees. She also said she’d work with the insurance commissioner to reduce premiums for homeowners who take preventive measures to mitigate wildfire risks.

Kellman spent 10 years in local government on Sausalito’s planning commission and city council and is the founder of a climate nonprofit focused on sea level rise.

She also supports building more student housing.

Fiona Ma

Finding other ways to generate revenue for Cal State universities outside the general fund is one way Ma would look to lower the cost of housing and tuition. She supports partnering more with private companies to lease out spaces such as campus theaters when they’re not being used.

Ma has an exhaustive resume in local and state politics: She spent six years in the Assembly after one term on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and was on the Board of Equalization for four years before she was elected state treasurer in 2019.

State Treasurer Fiona Ma in the Senate chambers at the state Capitol in Sacramento on Jan. 5, 2026.

(

Miguel Gutierrez Jr.

/

CalMatters/Pool

)

As treasurer, she has issued housing bonds to California universities, which she said has given her “a different perspective” on how to build more student housing.

“Some of them do have land and they are working with some of the developers that have a speciality with building student housing” she said.

Ma is endorsed by construction and hospitality unions. She was accused of sexual harassment by a former employee in 2021, who accused Ma of requiring her to share a hotel room with her and buying her gifts. The state, using taxpayer dollars, settled the lawsuit for $350,000 in 2024.

Ma has repeatedly denied the accusations and called the lawsuit "frivolous."

It took up three years of her life, and voters still elected her, she said. “I still got all the same endorsements that I got the first time I ran in 2018,” Ma said. “I’ve gotten even more support for my lieutenant governor’s race.”

Gloria Romero

Romero, a former Democrat-turned-Republican, supports school vouchers to let parents use taxpayer dollars to pay for private school education — which teachers unions vehemently oppose. She also supports slashing remedial coursework to help students finish their degrees faster.

Former state Sen. Gloria Romero in Culver City on April 18, 2024.

(

Ryan Sun

/

AP Photo

)

A former assemblymember and first woman to become Senate Majority Leader, Romero spent 12 years representing east Los Angeles in the state Legislature as a Democrat until 2010. She switched parties in 2024 and announced her lieutenant governor run as a joint ticket with Steve Hilton, one of the leading Republican candidates for governor.

On how she’d navigate negotiating with the Democratic supermajority in the Legislature and on numerous boards as a rare Republican, Romero said she would individually meet with each colleague to see where their priorities overlap.

Michael Tubbs

Tubbs is looking to return to office to help drive down the cost of higher education more than a decade after skyrocketing to political stardom in Stockton as one of the youngest big city mayors in the county.

His ascent as the city’s first Black and youngest mayor at 26 in 2016 garnered him national attention as the son of a single mother raised in a poor neighborhood who climbed his way to full ride at Stanford.

He supports freezing tuition at all public colleges by cutting “administrative bloat,” cutting remedial coursework that doesn’t count toward graduation requirements and streamlining programs for in-demand industries such as nursing.

Tubbs is a special economic adviser to the governor and leads the nonprofit organizations Poverty in California and Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, dedicated to implementing universal basic income pilot programs in cities across the state, a flagship initiative of his mayorship.

California’s major public employee union, Service Employees International, is supporting Tubbs.

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