The Brief

In the 1960’s, a raven-haired and svelte drag performer was one of the hottest acts in L.A.’s nightclub scene.

Sir Lady Java, an openly trans woman of color, had a popular dance and comedy routine that drew stars like Sammy Davis Jr. and Richard Pryor. When she showed up in the 1976 cult film “The Human Tornado,” she played herself with effortless charisma.

But behind her swishy gowns and tongue-in-cheek humor was a steely resolve that led to her becoming one of the country’s earliest activists for trans rights.

Sir Lady Java was a star attraction on L.A.'s nightclub circuit during the 1960's.

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MS Thr 1777, Harvard Theatre Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard University

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Java died on November 16 at age 82. Nearly six decades ago, she took on the LAPD when they went after her for performing in drag without police permission as was then required by law.

Actor Hailie Sahar with Sir Lady Java.

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Courtesy Hailie Sahar

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She brought a lawsuit with the help of the ACLU, becoming their first-ever trans client.

Those familiar with Java’s story are hoping she gets her roses even after her passing.

“She was being extremely brave trying to fight this fight,” said Amanda Goad of ACLU Southern California. “There has been a pattern of trans women of color leading the way in almost every area of LGBTQ progress, and that's not always understood and appreciated.”

Destined for the stage

Java’s story began in New Orleans, where she was born to a family with Black, Native American and European heritage.

As a young child, she moved with her family to Riverside, said Hailie Sahar, a longtime friend of Java’s who starred in the series “Pose.”

By Java’s late teens, she was waiting tables at an L.A. nightclub. Soon she was plucked to be on stage.

Skilled at costume design, Sir Lady Java wore elaborate outfits of feathers and sequins in her act.

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MS Thr 1777, Harvard Theatre Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard University

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“She was so stunning, so sexy, so beautiful,” Sahar said.

Her audiences were primarily straight people who experienced a “certain level of sort of voyeurism in imagining this person that they know is born male, that to them, looks like a woman,” said Trevor Ladner, director of Education Programs at One Institute, the oldest LGBTQ+ group in the country.

But “for many trans performers like Lady Java, female impersonation gave them an opportunity to have financial stability, to have a job and to also be able to express their gender and be affirmed in their gender, in the way that they perceive themselves,” Ladner said.

Java booked clubs like the Redd Foxx on La Cienega Boulevard, which took the stage name of the owner, actor-comedian John Elroy Sanford. Java recalled performances alongside James Brown and Etta James, Sahar said.

“The shows would be lined up around the block, limousines pulling up to see Java,” Sahar said. “People would come from all over town, all over the country to fly in to see Lady Java because they had never seen someone like her from that era.”

Sir Lady Java took on the LAPD in the 1960s when the department tried to shut down her performances.

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Courtesy Hailie Sahar

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She was gossiped over in Jet and Sepia magazines. Her appearances around the country, from San Francisco to Atlanta, attracted headlines.

Her 1967 performances at Le Bistro in Milwaukee inspired the opening of a cabaret that showcased trans talent, according to the Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project.

But with fame came scrutiny.

Rule No. 9

In the 60‘s, L.A. police began enforcing a city ordinance called Rule No. 9 which said it was illegal for a venue to hire someone to perform “by means of costume or dress a person of the opposite sex.” To do so required a special permit issued by the L.A. Board of Police Commissioners.

The rule was introduced during the “lavender scare” of the 1950s, but the LAPD was using it to target drag performers and in 1967 attempted to shut down Java’s show at Redd Foxx Club, said ACLU SoCal’s Goad who directs the group’s LGBTQ, Gender & Reproductive Justice Project.

“They ran everybody out,” Goad said. “They took photos of Java, treating her outfit as evidence of her wrongdoing.”

But Java was determined to challenge the city establishment. She picketed the club over Foxx’s protests, according to a November 1967 edition of Jet Magazine.

In an interview posted in 2016 by her filmmaker friend Tom Porter, she explained why.

“I didn't so much need the money because I was working, but my sisters after me needed it, and I had to make a way for the drag queens to be able to work in the city of Los Angeles, and that was important to me,” Java said.

Sir Lady Java drew attention and acclaim in her appearances in and out of L.A.

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MS Thr 1777, Harvard Theatre Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard University

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After the ACLU took Java's case, they bumped up against what Goad called a technicality: the club owner was the one being harmed, not Java. So the ACLU looked for owners who’d be willing to file their own suits.

“But that didn't work out, probably because club owners were invested in keeping a good relationship with the LAPD,” Goad said.

Goad says the case was dismissed, but Java didn’t give up. She led protests in L.A. that widened awareness about Rule No. 9.

After being the target of separate legal action, the rule was no longer in effect in 1969. Performers could wear whatever they want — a big win that resonates to this day with younger generations.

“She was not ashamed, which I love,” said Bailey Linares, a 17-year-old from Wilmington who has been studying LGBTQ+ history through a teen program with One Institute.

It boggles her mind to imagine what Java went through.

Sir Lady Java was written about in Sepia and Jet magazines.

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MS Thr 1777, Harvard Theatre Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard University

)

“You go outside and you get arrested for — I don't know — wearing just something that doesn't correlate to your gender, which is crazy to think of,” Linares said. ”And now we don't even think of that.”

But with progress comes new challenges for the LGBTQ+ community. ACLU SoCal's Goad cites recent attempts to ban drag performances around the country.

“They're really not that different from Rule No. 9 in terms of prohibiting certain kinds of entertainment performance that's perceived as gender bending and somehow harmful,” Goad said.

Goad says she’s reminding herself of pioneers like Java who have fought this battle before.

Taking stock of her impact

Java’s friend Hailie Sahar said the performer stayed humble, even after she was featured in a Hollywood mural and museum exhibit and chosen to lead L.A. Pride as community grand marshal in 2022.

“I would say, ‘Java, do you realize that you laid the groundwork to ignite this community?’” Sahar recalled. “And she would take a beat, and she would say, ‘You know what? I don't think about it that way, but I did.’

Java, in an interview several years ago, expressed joy at how the LGBTQ+ community had grown in strength over her lifetime — a stark contrast to when she was young.

“There was nothing to help us,” she said. “No one cared. So I had to care, and I kept on, kept on and kept on.”

Java’s long life, which saw her suffer two strokes, is itself a testament to her resiliency in a world where trans people, especially those of color, face heightened threats of violence and discrimination, says Rory Hayes, One Institute’s public programs manager.

“It is something powerful as a young trans person to see the length of her life,” said Hayes, who is 25. “It's a relief to know that she was loved and cared for up until her last day.”

A Hollywood mural commissioned by the city of L.A. features, from left, Sir Lady Java, Jewel Thais-Williams, Tim Dang, Alan Bell, Mia Yamamoto and Katrina Samala.

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Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times via Getty Image

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Los Angeles Times

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Sahar hopes more people will learn about Java in the near future.

The actor is working on bringing Java’s story to life onscreen in a project she said is in pre-production.

Sahar would play the Java, having been coached for the role for years by none other than the pro herself.

As Los Angeles homeowners grapple with the expense of rebuilding after last year’s devastating fires, an L.A. City Councilmember is putting forward an idea that could lower some costs.

Councilmember Traci Park, who represents the Pacific Palisades, has introduced a motion to explore waiving part of the city’s portion of the local sales tax for fire victims who purchase rebuilding materials in the city.

The 1% of the local 9.75% sales tax that goes into the city’s general fund would be given back to consumers under the proposal. The waiver could apply to lumber, appliances and other rebuilding goods purchased within the city.

The motion, introduced Friday by Park and seconded by Councilmember John Lee, says: “The City should do everything within its power to alleviate the financial burden for these residents and businesses in order to facilitate their return and stabilize the Pacific Palisades community.”

Would it make much of a difference? 

Economists told LAist the proposal could help many homeowners mitigate the high cost of rebuilding, but likely wouldn’t tip the scales for under-insured, under-resourced property owners.

“It wouldn't hurt if it's very well designed and easy to use,” said Alexander Meeks, a director at the Santa Monica-based Milken Institute. “But I'm not sure if it's really going to tackle the scale of the financial challenge that survivors are facing.”

Meeks noted that the tax waiver wouldn’t lower up-front costs such as environmental testing, architectural design and permitting. And it may not help homeowners sourcing raw materials from outside the city.

Zhiyun Li, a UCLA Anderson School of Management economist, said the waiver could help some homeowners justify the additional cost of rebuilding more fire-safe structures.

“Homeowners must typically pay out of pocket to upgrade to IBHS+ standards, which are more stringent,” Li said. “The tax waiver could encourage upgrading to IBHS+ standards or investing more in mitigation, thereby reducing future risk and improving the likelihood of maintaining insurance coverage.”

What’s next for the proposal? 

The proposed tax relief would not be available to properties that have been sold since the fires started in January 2025.

The motion has been sent to the City Council’s budget and fire recovery committees. If approved by the full council, it would require the city administrative officer, the Office of Finance and the city attorney to report back to the council within 60 days on options for crafting a tax relief plan.

The motion calls for the report to consider factors such as how to minimize the burden of administering the tax relief, what documentation homeowners would have to submit and what it would cost the city to oversee the program.

Senate and House Republican leadership have resurrected a stalled plan to fund the Department of Homeland Security after a record 47-day funding lapse.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said in a joint statement on Wednesday that the House will take up a measure passed by the Senate last week to fund most of DHS except Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol through the end of September.

Republicans would then attempt to fund ICE and Border Patrol for three years using a party-line budget reconciliation bill that would not require support from Democrats.

"In following this two-track approach, the Republican Congress will fully reopen the Department, make sure all federal workers are paid, and specifically fund immigration enforcement and border security for the next three years so that those law-enforcement activities can continue uninhibited," Thune and Johnson wrote.

The agreement comes nearly a week after House Republicans dismissed an identical plan, refusing to take up the Senate-passed measure and instead passing a 60-day short term funding bill for all of DHS that had little chance of overcoming Democratic opposition in the Senate.

Johnson called the agreement a "joke" and President Donald Trump declined to publicly endorse the deal. Trump had previously resisted any package that did not include his push to overhaul federal elections known as the Save America Act.

"I think any deal they make, I'm pretty much not happy with it," Trump told reporters last week.

Democrats welcomed the agreement as in line with their pledge not to give ICE any more money without reforms after immigration enforcement agents killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis. But the deal does not include any of the policy demands Democrats are pressing for, such as a ban on masks for immigration enforcement officers and requiring warrants issued by a judge, not just the agency, to enter homes.

"For days, Republican divisions derailed a bipartisan agreement, making American families pay the price for their dysfunction," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote in a statement Wednesday. "Throughout this fight, Senate Democrats never wavered."

Trump seemed to bless the revived plan earlier Wednesday, writing on social media that he wants a party-line bill to fund immigration enforcement on his desk by June 1.

"We are going to work as fast, and as focused, as possible to replenish funding for our Border and ICE Agents, and the Radical Left Democrats won't be able to stop us," Trump wrote.

Despite the shutdown, ICE has been minimally impacted because Republican lawmakers approved $75 billion for ICE through another party-line budget reconciliation bill last year.

Congress is on a two-week recess, but the Senate and House could move to fund all of DHS except ICE and CBP as early as Thursday using a procedure known as unanimous consent that allows the chambers to circumvent formal voting as long as no member objects.

Even during a recess when most members are not in Washington, this could be unpredictable, especially in the House, where many hard-line conservatives oppose a deal that does not fully fund DHS.

"Let's make this simple: caving to Democrats and not paying CBP and ICE is agreeing to defund Law Enforcement and leaving our borders wide open again," Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., a member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus, wrote on X. "If that's the vote, I'm a NO."

If a member does object, that could require waiting for another vote when all members are back from recess.

Claudia Grisales contributed reporting.
Copyright 2026 NPR

California clocked its second-worst snowpack on record Wednesday, a potentially troubling signal ahead for fire season.

It’s an alarming end to a winter that saw abnormally dry conditions briefly wiped from California’s drought map in January, for the first time in a quarter-century.

Though precipitation to date has been near average, much of it fell as rain rather than snow. Then March’s record-breaking heat melted most of the snow that remains. The state’s major reservoirs are nevertheless brimming above historic averages and are flirting with capacity, and a smattering of snow, rain and thunderstorms are dousing last month’s heat wave.

But experts now warn that California’s case of the missing snowpack could herald an early fire season in the mountains.

On Wednesday, state engineers conducting the symbolic April 1 snowpack measurement at Phillips Station south of Lake Tahoe found no measurable snow in patches of white dotting the grassy field.

“I want to welcome you call to probably one of the quickest snow surveys we’ve had — maybe one where people could actually use an umbrella,” joked Karla Nemeth, director of the California Department of Water Resources. “We’re getting a lot of questions about are we heading into a hydrologic drought? The answer is, I don’t know.”

State data reports that California’s snowpack is closing out the season at an alarming 18% of average statewide, and an even more abysmal 6% of average in the northern mountains that feed California’s major reservoirs.

Only the extreme drought year of 2015 beat this year’s snowpack for the worst on record, measuring in at just 5% of average on April 1st, when the snow historically is at its deepest.

“I think everyone's anticipating that it will be a long, busy fire season,” said Lenya Quinn-Davidson, director of the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources Fire Network.

“Without a snowpack, and with an early spring, it just means that there’s much more time for something like that to happen.”

‘It’s pretty bizarre up here’ 

In the city of South Lake Tahoe, which survived the massive Caldor Fire in the fall of 2021 without losing any structures, fire chief Jim Drennan said his department is already ramping up prevention efforts.

“It's pretty bizarre up here right now. It really seems like June conditions more than March,” Drennan said. “People are already turning the sprinklers on for their lawns.”

Without more precipitation, an early spring may complicate prescribed burning efforts. But Drennan said fire agencies in the Tahoe basin can start mechanically clearing fuels from forest areas earlier than usual.

“That means we can get more work done,” he said.

It also means homeowners need to start hardening their homes now, said Martin Goldberg, battalion chief and fuels management officer for the Lake Valley Fire Protection District, which protects unincorporated communities in the Lake Tahoe Basin’s south shore.

Goldberg urges residents to scour their yards for burnable materials, create defensible space and reach out to local fire departments with questions. The risks are widespread — from firewood, wooden fences, gas cans, plants, pine needles — even lawn furniture stacked against a house.

“In years past, I wouldn't even think of raking and clearing until May,” Goldberg said. “But my yard's completely cleared of snowpack, and it has been for a couple weeks now.”

‘A haystack fire’

Battalion chief David Acuña, a spokesperson for Cal Fire, said fire season is shaped by more than just one year’s snowpack.

Climate change has been remaking California’s fire seasons into fire years. And California’s recent average to abundant water years have fueled what Acuña called “bumper crops of vegetation and brush.”

“Most of California is like a haystack. And if you’ve ever seen a haystack fire, they burn very intensely because there's layers of fuel,” Acuña said.

Like Quinn-Davidson, Acuña wasn’t ready to make specific predictions about fires to come.

But John Abatzoglou, a professor of climatology at UC Merced, said the temperatures and snowpack conditions this year offer a glimpse of California in the latter decades of this century, as fossil fuel use continues to drive global temperatures higher.

How this year’s fires will play out will depend on when, where and how wind, heat, fuel and ignitions combine. But it foreshadows the consequences of a warmer California for water and fire under climate change.

“This,” Abatzoglou said, “is yet another stress test for the future in the state.”

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