The Brief

The South Pasadena City Council moved Wednesday not to renew a contract with Flock Safety, a controversial surveillance company that operates AI-powered automated license plate readers in thousands of communities across the U.S.

The move ends the use of 14 cameras installed around town while city officials seek alternative camera vendors.

The city still has a second contract with Flock for 13 operating cameras, which capture the license plate numbers and locations of passing cars. That information is temporarily stored in a database that's shared with law enforcement agencies across the state.

The council's decision follows public outcry after reports that some local law enforcement agencies in Southern California illegally shared license plate reader data with federal immigration agents. Those included the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office, which South Pasadena shares its data with.

"We probably wouldn't be here tonight if it'd been a different federal administration. We could trust more, not so much chaos," City Councilmember Michael Cacciotti said at Wednesday's meeting. "Many of our residents are very concerned about the misuse and abuse of data."

The decision was not unanimous. City Councilmember Jon Primuth said he thought people speaking out against Flock did not represent the majority of residents in South Pasadena. He also expressed concern about moving to a different vendor for automated license plate readers, since so many surrounding cities use the Flock network. Pasadena and San Marino both have Flock cameras, as do many cities in the L.A. area.

"I don't think there's anything to be gained by canceling a contract right now," Primuth said.

Council members also discussed shortening the time period that the city holds onto its data from 30 to 15 days.

South Pasadena joins a handful of California cities that have reconsidered their contracts with Flock in recent months. The first was Santa Cruz, which killed its contract with Flock in January following reports that the city's data was accessed by agencies outside of California and shared with ICE.

The Oxnard Police Department also suspended its use of Flock license plate readers, after an audit revealed that data from the city's cameras was made available to federal law enforcement agencies between February and March of 2025 through a "nationwide query" setting, against the city's wishes and state law.

Flock responded to the incident, saying out-of-state law enforcement agencies' access to some of its camera networks was "inadvertent" and it had strengthened its protections. The company also says it does not work with ICE or any agency within the Department of Homeland Security.

The incidents have sparked a deeper debate around automated license plate readers, which have become ubiquitous in many communities without much notice. Local law enforcement agencies say the cameras have greatly enhanced their ability to solve crimes, while privacy advocates including the ACLU have called the technology a dangerous "dragnet."

While South Pasadena scales back Flock's presence, some of its neighbors are adding more. Pasadena has 61 Flock automated license plate readers and plans to install 11 additional cameras.

California voters are split along party lines on two controversial proposed ballot measures — a billionaire tax and an initiative requiring voters to show government ID when they cast a ballot — according to a new poll.

The survey from UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies found 52% of voters backing a proposed one-time, 5% tax on the net worth of billionaires. The money would be used to fund health care programs, which are being cut by the Trump administration; 33% of registered voters said they were opposed and 15% said they are still undecided.

Whether voters back the measure, which is being pushed by a health care labor union, is highly correlated to their partisan leanings: 72% of Democrats said they’d support the billionaire tax if it qualifies for the November ballot, while the same percentage of Republican voters are opposed. Voters with no party preference were more split, with 51% backing the wealth tax.

The voter ID ballot measure is more evenly divided, with 44% of voters in support and 45% opposed. Republican voters said they would overwhelmingly vote “Yes.” Democrats are unified in opposition, with only 19% in support.

IGS co-director Eric Schickler said that while neither measure has qualified yet for the ballot, most voters surveyed said they are aware of the proposals.

“The Billionaire Tax Initiative starts out in a relatively strong position, but with it polling just above 50%, that still leaves room for what will be an intense, expensive campaign,” he said. “The Voter ID Initiative looks like it faces an uphill climb: given the strong Democratic opposition, it needs very strong support among nonpartisan voters, and it currently seems to be falling short. But it is still very early.”

If they move forward, the campaigns around both measures are expected to be expensive and bruising. Democrats are split on the billionaires tax: Gov. Gavin Newsom is opposed, Silicon Valley Rep. Ro Khanna said he’s in support, and many other Democrats — including legislative leaders and candidates for governor — have offered support for the concept but expressed concerns with the details of this proposal.

Some billionaires have already left California, and others, like Google co-founder Sergey Brin, are lining up huge campaign war chests to fight the measure.

And Democrats are gearing up to fight the voter ID measure, which several Southern California Republican lawmakers are pushing. The proposed ballot measure comes as the U.S. Senate debates what’s known as the SAVE Act, a far more draconian voter ID measure.

Backed by President Donald Trump, that legislation would require a passport or birth certificate to register to vote, essentially eliminate mail-in ballots and require states to hand over their voter rolls to the federal government. It already passed the House but is facing a steep climb in the Republican-led Senate.

The poll was conducted between March 9 and 15 among more than 5,000 registered California voters. It has a sampling error of plus or minus 2 points.

The Los Angeles Unified board members who represent schools named for César Chávez are calling for their renaming.

A New York Times investigation published Wednesday found the famed labor leader Chávez sexually abused girls and women including United Farmer Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta.

“In light of this information, we believe it is necessary to move away from traditional César Chávez-centered celebrations and lessons tied to the state holiday and instead prioritize student safety, dignity and truth,” read a statement from board member Kelly Gonez and Vice President Rocío Rivas.

The renaming process would likely take months and include meetings with school staff, students and parents. In the meantime, district leaders and educators are grappling with how the allegations of abuse change lessons about a figure who helped galvanize generations of activists.

“ I think we are all deeply, deeply troubled by the allegations that have come forward over the last couple of days,” said Andres Chait, the acting Los Angeles Unified superintendent.

Chait said that March 27 will continue to be a school holiday (the currently named César Chávez Day, on March 31, falls during LAUSD’s spring break).

A district spokesperson provided a statement Wednesday that said a review of curriculum and resources related to Chávez is underway “to ensure the emphasis remains on the important work of the farmworker movement, not on any one individual.”

How are community members and educators reacting?

Last semester, students at STEM Academy of Hollywood learned about Chávez and the movement to unionize farmworkers in Irene Atilano’s ethnic studies class.

Atilano said students walked into her classroom Wednesday with questions after seeing the allegations of Chávez’s abuse on social media.

“ They were just like, ‘What do you think?’” Atilano said. “And I'm like, 'It doesn't matter what I think. What do you guys think? Let's learn together.'”

Their reactions ranged from “this really sucks,” to a sense of loss.

“This is why we don't try to idolize people,” Atilano said. “We want to make sure that we focus on the community, we focus on the movement.”

Atilano said she plans to teach ethnic studies again and is thinking about how misogyny and patriarchy intersect with political and social justice movements.

“It can be found everywhere,” Atilano said. “I’m trying to see how I can make those connections in the future, but it's a work in progress.”

On March 10, the LAUSD board unanimously approved a resolution recognizing Chávez — one of many such resolutions over the years — and pledging to provide curriculum and resources aligned with the foundation that promotes his legacy, education and economic development. The board last year also passed a resolution honoring Huerta.

In response to LAist’s questions about curriculum related to Chávez, an LAUSD spokesperson provided a statement that said the district is providing additional instructional materials “to support classroom learning, ensuring students continue to engage with themes of leadership, service and social justice in age-appropriate and meaningful ways.”

LAUSD board member Tanya Ortiz Franklin issued a statement Wednesday morning with links to resources related to sexual and domestic violence.

“Just my own team, we’re seven women … and our own triggers, our own stories are coming out,” Ortiz Franklin said. “You can imagine that happening everywhere in homes, in classrooms, the adults having to manage this, and then also, helping students process.”

César Chávez Elementary in El Sereno is one of several schools in Southern California named after the labor leader.

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How would renaming work?

Blanca Juarez was at César Chávez Elementary in El Sereno on Wednesday to pick up her daughter. With a father and grandmother who were both farmworkers, she said she was troubled by the news.

“He was like the only hope in those days — the only one speaking for all of the — and now, well, I don’t know. I don’t know what to say,” Juarez said.

She said it was too soon to be talking about renaming the school.

Gonez and Rivas said they would work with the communities surrounding the elementary school and the César Chávez Learning Academies in San Fernando to identify new names.

In recent years, the school renaming process has included meetings with staff, students, parents and community members and a public vote. The LAUSD board must vote to finalize any name changes.

LAist Deputy Managing Editor Fiona Ng contributed to this story.

SHEFFIELD, U.K., and JERUSALEM — Mediators have given Hamas a formal proposal to lay down its weapons, a senior U.S. official told NPR. The proposal calls for Hamas and all other militant groups in Gaza to hand over all weapons, making an emerging governing authority responsible for all arms.

The demilitarization proposal was handed over to Hamas last week in Cairo, an additional official in the region said.

A third person briefed on the proposal called it a comprehensive framework to ensure the "complete handover" and "full decommissioning" of arms belonging to Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza, and that if Hamas accepts the proposal, it would ensure large-scale reconstruction of Gaza.

The person said Hamas has been asked to respond to the proposal in about a weeks time, after the Muslim Eid holiday. Senior Hamas officials did not immediately comment, and one Hamas official denied having received a proposal.

Hamas and Israel signed on to President Trump's ceasefire deal last October, in an effort to end two years of war that have devastated Gaza and triggered conflicts across the Middle East.

Trump's Board of Peace was established to oversee efforts to demilitarize Hamas, establish a multinational stabilization force for Gaza and ensure an Israeli military withdrawal from the territory. Hamas officials said they were willing to discuss their weapons but had been waiting for a formal proposal from mediators.

The work of the Board of Peace has been largely put on hold, however, since the U.S. and Israel launched the war against Iran on Feb. 28, triggering a new regional conflict that has engulfed more than a dozen countries.

The members of the new Palestinian transitional committee tasked to run postwar Gaza have still not entered the territory, and no new Palestinian police force or multinational force has been formed.

Despite the fragile truce agreement, Israeli forces have killed hundreds of Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to Gaza health authorities. Israel says the attacks targeted Hamas militants. Several Israeli soldiers have also been killed in attacks by militants.

Robert Danin, a former senior U.S. State Department and White House official specializing in the Middle East, said it was unlikely Hamas would be in any hurry to deliver its response to the demilitarization proposal or agree to it.

"Hamas sees time as being on its side right now," Danin said. "With each passing day, its influence and control on the ground in Gaza strengthens and expands, particularly as long as the Board of Peace's proposed alternative governance structures and forces for Gaza remain stuck outside of the strip. So the longer Hamas can prolong this status quo, the stronger it sees its hand growing for any day after."

Danin said the distraction caused by the war with Iran would also likely draw attention away from pressuring Hamas.

"This means that for the Board of Peace and those seeking to disarm Hamas, the key question is what tools does it have to see Hamas adopt this plan?" he said.

The Gaza war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants launched a surprise attack on southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people, according to Israel. Israel's massive military response killed more than 70,000 people in Gaza and left the coastal enclave in ruins, according to Palestinian health officials.

Despite the fragile ceasefire agreement, over the last six months Israeli forces have killed hundreds of Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to Gaza health authorities, in what Israel says were attacks targeting Hamas militants. Several Israeli soldiers have also been killed in attacks by militants.
Copyright 2026 NPR

It’s hard for me to square the slow, meticulous care with which Southern California baker Paris Rezaie packages a box of cookies with the fact that several thousand of these boxes must be shipped in time to make it to their destination — all over the U.S. and Canada — in time for Nowruz.

Nowruz, the Persian New Year, literally “new day,” starts Friday, an ancient celebration that marks the beginning of spring, new life, and the triumph of light over darkness.

Maison de la Fork Nowruz cookies

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When I visited Rezaie’s professional kitchen in Lake Forest earlier this week, she methodically packed the small, elegant boxes of cookies, securing each order with a wax seal imprinted with the letter “M” for her bakery and catering company, Maison de la Fork.

For Rezaie, Nowruz is a time to share Persian culture, and deliver a taste of home to her fellow Iranians in the diaspora through delicate, beautifully decorated cookies flavored with saffron, cardamom and rose water.

 ”These are all very old recipes,” she said. “ When you eat them, it tastes very familiar. …  I just redesign or redefine them and I have my own twist to the way that I present them.”

Rezaie offers a dozen different cookies and takes special orders like this one, for cookies painted with objects typically laid out for Nowruz in a symbolic arrangement called haftseen.

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Cookies are a key ingredient in the Nowruz holiday, which stretches for two weeks beyond the actual day. In Iran, businesses shut down and families are usually on vacation. Gathering with friends and family to make and eat cookies is part of the tradition, Rezaie said.

Rezaie and her assistants prepare boxes of cookies for shipping out of Maison de la Fork's kitchen in Lake Forest.

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This year, though, the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran has severely curbed the celebratory nature of the holiday, especially in Iran, but also among Iranian-Americans like Razaie.

“It was very hard baking and happily baking with all the war and the death that is going on,” she said.

After shipping 3,000-4,000 boxes of cookies last year, Rezaie even thought about sitting this year out.

“Should we even consider selling the cookies this year as a part of a celebratory program?” she wondered. “Because we do not want to celebrate this time. But then we all decided, ‘No, we want to keep Nowruz going.’ It's a duty that we just keep it going,” she said.

Beauty in a bite

Achieving a cookie that is, at once, delicious, not overly sweet, and gorgeous is a rare feat and one that Rezaie has mastered. Opening a box of her Nowruz cookies is like opening an elegant gift. A hint of cardamom hits the nose while the colors and patterns exude Spring.

Among Rezaie’s specialties are sugar cookies topped with pressed, edible pansies in purple and yellow hues. Pansies are a common feature of Norwuz, and for Rezaie they have a special significance, a tribute to her late father.

“Every time the spring comes around, Nowruz, he used to buy boxes of pansies and he used to plant them in our backyard,” she said.

Now Rezaie grows most of the pansies for her cookies in a garden behind the kitchen, and she supplements with local growers when needed.

Rezaie’s version of walnut cookies, which are typical during Nowruz, are molded to look like actual walnuts and filled with salted caramel and walnut chunks. Other specialties include toot, an Iranian treat similar to marzipan, which she rolls into multicolored balls and stacks into impossible-looking towers topped with a bow.

Most impressive to me are her rice cookies, noon berenji (sometimes written as naan berenji or nan-e berenji), which she tops with a thin layer of white icing as a canvas for tiny, hand-painted flowers.

“Normally it's only me that does all the painting,” Rezaie said. “So many people are telling me I should get a stamp, I'm like, ‘No, I want to just suffer through and do the hand painting."

It’s important to Rezaie that everything in her kitchen is done by hand — her way of keeping up the Nowruz tradition of homemade cookies.

Wartime Nowruz

Rezaie moved to the U.S. in 2005 and has visited Iran nearly every year since. But now, for the time being, she is forced to worry about friends and family from thousands of miles away, with little concrete information as Iranian officials maintain a near total internet blackout.  

”We don't know exactly what's going on, which is horrible,” Rezaie said.

She especially worries about a cousin who she said was arrested by the regime during the ongoing crackdown on dissent.

“We  are just hoping that he's safe and sound,” she said.

As a way of tempering the celebratory nature of her Nowruz sweets, this year Rezaie is also offering Persian halva, a dessert typically served at funerals.  

”We all feel the pain and sorrow,” she said, “we have lost so many good people, so many family members, all of us.”

More than 1,300 people have been killed in Iran since Israel and the U.S. launched their joint offensive last month, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society, a humanitarian relief group. Like many in the diaspora, Rezaie hopes the bloodshed will lead to the downfall of the current regime.

“ I hope for a free Iran, I hope that people can live the way they deserve,” she said.

Until she can visit, Rezaie will be baking cookies and other sweets, sending a bit of spring hope to what she considers a vast extended family in the Persian diaspora.