The Brief

Take a line of string lights, add one clear Solo cup. Then add another, until 50 Solo cups later you are left with a sparkling, shimmering sphere of festive light.

Neighbors in a quiet, suburban neighborhood in Fullerton call them sparkle balls. Hundreds of these sparkling creations hang from trees, attracting thousands of visitors from across Southern California during the month of December.

In its 22nd year, the tradition has expanded to over 160 homes across 10 blocks.

Sparkle balls shimmer at night.

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Marie Murillo joined in the fun 10 years ago. She said the tradition is an “exciting time” when the neighbors come out to put on a festive experience for visitors.

“I love watching the kids walk around and being like, ‘Ah, look at the lights,’” she said, stringing lights around her tree. “I can hear it from my living room. And it's the best thing ever. I love it. Best time of the year for us.”

Marie Murillo says the sparkle ball tradition is an “exciting time” when the neighbors come out to put on a festive experience for visitors. Here she is decorating her front yard.

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The installation goes live on December 1.

The tradition grows

Shortly after Robert Pillon moved into his Yale Avenue home in 2004, his neighbor invited him over for smores and to discuss a tradition: four homes on the block hung these sparkle balls from the trees in their front yard. The neighbor wanted to know if Pillon would join in the tradition.

Robert Pillon has been making sparkle balls since 2004.

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He jumped on board. That year, over Monday night football, the four men would come together to make sparkle balls for 22 homes.

“ Our wives teased us and called it our mancraft in the beginning because it was like five guys getting together in the garage, drinking beers and making balls,” Pillon said.

The balls are perfect spheres, with circles of Solo cups welded together and with fairy lights inserted at the bottom of the cup.

 ”You insert the lights all the way through the sphere and close it up, and then you tie a string to it and we hang them from the trees,” Pillon said.

The cords are not visible at night.

“At night it just looks like they're orbs floating in the middle of the air,” he said.

A neighborhood effort

As the tradition has expanded, so have the logistics. Each block is assigned a leader to manage the making and installation of these sparkle balls.

The neighbors rent boom lifts to install the sparkle balls from trees road by road, with around 100 volunteers working over 10 days to install the balls.

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Courtesy Allison Castellano

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This year, Pillon created a limited liability company to acquire liability insurance and safety harnesses for the installation process. The neighbors rent boom lifts to install the sparkle balls from trees road by road, with around 100 volunteers working over 10 days to install the balls. Each home contributes $55 which covers the rental costs and fuel to power the boom lift.

Pillon said having the lights up all through December isn’t very expensive.

“Probably somewhere between $30 to $50 an extra for that month that they're up,” he said. Other neighbors have switched to LED lights to keep the costs down.

At the end of the month, neighbors store the sparkle balls in their garage. Some keep them in large plastic crates, others hang them in their garage. The lights last for a long time and the balls themselves are quite sturdy.

Come the week of Thanksgiving, they pull them out of the garage ready to be installed.

Sparkle balls led to a tight knit community 

 ”There are some houses that when the new homeowners come, they still have the balls that previous owners left them,” said Sardis Rodriguez. When she moved into the neighborhood in 2019, the previous owners took their sparkle balls. So one of the first things Rodriguez did when she moved in was make three sparkle balls.

Robert Pillon and Sardis Rodriguez

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When the COVID-19 pandemic hit soon after she moved in, the email lists for the sparkle ball community came in handy. Rodriguez said they used the email list to organize neighborhood happy hours.

“Everyone would go outside their houses, stay socially distanced, but say hi to everyone,” she said. “We really got to know each other during that time a little bit more.”

The new year doesn’t just bring new gifts and new resolutions. It also brings new laws.

State and local lawmakers have a lot on tap for 2026 when it comes to housing laws that will affect Southern California renters and landlords.

From refrigerators to fire damage, from development streamlining to rent control caps, LAist has rounded up the legal changes coming next year that you need to know.

AB 628: No more ‘no fridge’ apartment listings

Starting Jan. 1, landlords must provide tenants with a working refrigerator and stove. Many landlords already offer these appliances, but the L.A. area stands out nationwide for having an unusually high proportion of fridge-less apartments.

Next year, L.A. newcomers will no longer be taking to social media to express incredulity at all the city’s bring-your-own-fridge apartments. If landlords fail to provide refrigerators or stoves in good working condition, apartments will be considered uninhabitable under the new law.

SB 610: Landlords must clean smoke damage

In the weeks and months after the January fires, many renters struggled to get their landlords to address toxic ash that blew into apartments and rental homes that remained standing. Some landlords said cleaning up the smoke damage was not their responsibility. Initial communication from local public officials was confusing on what tenants were supposed to do.

This new law, which partially was driven by LAist’s reporting, clarifies that in the wake of a natural disaster, “it shall be the duty of a landlord” to remove “hazards arising from the disaster, including, but not limited to, the presence of mold, smoke, smoke residue, smoke odor, ash, asbestos or water damage.”

SB 79: Upzoning LA neighborhoods near transit

L.A.’s City Council voted to oppose it. Mayor Karen Bass asked the governor to veto it. But California’s big new upzoning law passed anyway. Its changes are set to take effect July 1, 2026.

Under the law, new apartment buildings up to nine stories tall will be allowed next to rail stations, and buildings up to five stories tall will be allowed within a half-mile of rapid bus stops. This upzoning applies to neighborhoods within those transit zones, even if they’re currently zoned only for single-family homes.

Next comes the implementation. The law could give renters more options once new housing is constructed. But L.A. could choose to delay the law’s effects in some areas for years. Ahead of the law’s passage, City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto sent legislators a letter opposing the bill, signaling what could turn into a legal showdown over the bill.

AB 246: Protecting Social Security recipients during government shutdowns

Tenants can face eviction three days after missing their rent. During this year’s federal government shutdown — the longest on record — that swift timeline was a cause for anxiety among tenants who count on federal benefits to cover their rent.

Though this year’s shutdown did not affect regular Social Security payments, this law will give Social Security recipients a defense in eviction court if they ever stop receiving benefits because of any future shutdowns. Under the law, renters will be required to repay their missed rent, or enter a repayment plan, within two weeks of their Social Security payments being restored.

Lower rent control caps in the city of LA

After years of debate, the L.A. City Council passed a new cap on annual rent hikes in the roughly three-quarters of city apartments covered by local rent control rules.

The City Council enacted a new 4% limit, replacing a 40-year-old formula that allowed increases as high as 10% in some units during periods of high inflation. Councilmembers also ended a 2% additional increase for landlords who cover tenants’ gas and electricity costs.

The city had a nearly four-year rent freeze in place during the COVID-19 pandemic that ended in February 2024. That means many L.A. tenants are scheduled to receive their next rent hike Feb. 1, 2026. They should be getting a 30-day notice soon. Each year’s limit is determined by recent inflation data. The current cap of 3% is set to last until June 30.

The Justice Department has begun to publish documents from the Epstein files in its possession regarding the life, death and criminal investigation of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

NPR is reviewing the website the Justice Department created to make the documents publicly available. The Epstein Library includes documents broken into Court Records, DOJ Disclosures, FOIA Records and House Disclosures. Under the law, the DOJ was required to put the documents on a website and make them downloadable and searchable.

On Friday morning, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche indicated in an interview with Fox News "several hundreds of thousands" of pages would be released on Friday, with more to follow.

The release of the Epstein files is the latest development in a political saga that has dogged President Trump's second term in office and caused bipartisan backlash against Trump's conflicting and shifting commentary on the subject.

Trump amplified conspiracy theories about the files relating to his onetime friend Epstein on the campaign trail, vowing to publicize information about the financier's crimes and ties to powerful people that he alleged was being covered up by the government.

After he returned to the White House, Trump fought efforts by lawmakers and his supporters to release those files, calling Republicans who demanded transparency "stupid" and blaming Democrats for pushing a "hoax" before ultimately signing a law that was passed with near unanimous support.

The Epstein Files Transparency Act gave Attorney General Pam Bondi 30 days to publish "all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials" about Epstein available in a searchable and downloadable format. That deadline was Dec. 19.

The law also directed the Justice Department to share documents related to Epstein's accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell and "individuals named or referenced in connection with Epstein's criminal activities," information regarding plea deals and decisions not to charge Epstein for other alleged crimes, as well as records pertaining to his 2019 death by suicide in federal custody.

Over the summer, the FBI put out a memo that said their files include "a significant amount of material, including more than 300 gigabytes of data and physical evidence."

Some of that includes photos and videos of Epstein's accusers, including minors, and disturbing material that will not be made public. The bill from Congress also says anything "that would jeopardize an active federal investigation or ongoing prosecution" can be withheld or redacted, too.

Trump called on the Justice Department to investigate some Democrats and institutions he said were complicit in Epstein's crimes or mentioned in other documents made public, including tens of thousands of emails and private files turned over to the House Oversight committee under subpoena, FBI records and numerous court cases over the years.

"I will be asking A.G. Pam Bondi, and the Department of Justice, together with our great patriots at the FBI, to investigate Jeffrey Epstein's involvement and relationship with Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, Reid Hoffman, J.P. Morgan, Chase, and many other people and institutions, to determine what was going on with them, and him," Trump wrote on Truth Social in November.

In a separate Truth Social post announcing his signing of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, Trump said Democrats were using the issue to distract from what he says are victories for his administration.

"Perhaps the truth about these Democrats, and their associations with Jeffrey Epstein, will soon be revealed, because I HAVE JUST SIGNED THE BILL TO RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES!" he posted.

The president had the authority to release the files without congressional action.

Thousands of pages are already public

Jeffrey Epstein in Cambridge, Mass. in September 2004.

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****Xday's release of Justice Department files joins tens of thousands of other records made public over the years, including court cases, government document dumps and subpoenas from Congress.

Spread throughout roughly 23,000 documents released by the House Oversight Committee in early November, emails and texts revealed a list of powerful people in politics, academia and business that sought his counsel and friendship in the years after he pleaded guilty to state charges of solicitation of prostitution and of solicitation of prostitution with a minor under the age of 18 in 2008.

The people who consulted with Epstein in those documents rarely acknowledged the severity of the crimes that required him to register as a sex offender, though simply corresponding with Epstein does not implicate individuals in his criminal activities, convicted or accused.

There's an apparent letter of recommendation for Epstein from linguist Noam Chomsky, calling him a "highly valued friend," that recalled how Epstein connected him with former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak — another frequent Epstein correspondent.

"Jeffrey constantly raises searching questions and puts forth provocative ideas, which have repeatedly led me to rethink crucial issues," the letter reads.

There's advice Epstein gave to Steve Bannon, Trump's former strategist, about ways to build a far-right political movement overseas.

"If you are going to play here, you'll have to spend time, [E]urope by remote doesn't work," Epstein wrote in 2018. "Lots and lots of face time and hand holding. Europe can be a wife not a mistress."

Former Harvard University president and onetime Treasury Secretary Larry Summers is documented numerous times having intimate personal chats with Epstein, including asking for romantic advice and joking about women's intelligence.

"I yipped about inclusion," wrote Summers in 2017. "I observed that half the IQ [in the] world was possessed by women without mentioning they are more than 51 percent of population...."

In the weeks since the latest Epstein emails release, he has resigned from the board of OpenAI and abruptly left his teaching role at Harvard, as the university announced a probe of "information concerning individuals at Harvard included in the newly released Jeffrey Epstein documents to evaluate what actions may be warranted."

Summers isn't the only high-profile Democrat who found himself in Epstein's orbit. Kathryn Ruemmler, former White House counsel in the Obama administration and current chief legal officer for Goldman Sachs, messaged with Epstein before and during Trump's first term.

"Trump is living proof of the adage that it is better to be lucky than smart," she wrote in August 2015.

"I regret ever knowing Jeffrey Epstein," Ruemmler told the Wall Street Journal in 2023.

Trump's name appears repeatedly

Trump was a frequent subject of emails and text messages in the latest private Epstein file tranche — well over a thousand different mentions — though mainly the subject of Epstein's near-obsession with his presidency, as the latter positioned himself as a Trump whisperer of sorts to his powerful associates.

In one 2015 email between Epstein and author Michael Wolff, the pair discuss a potential question from an upcoming CNN appearance about Trump and Epstein's personal ties.

"I think you should let him hang himself," Wolff wrote. "If he says he hasn't been on the plane or to the house, then that gives you a valuable PR and political currency. You can hang him in a way that potentially generates a positive benefit for you, or, if it really looks like he could win, you could save him, generating a debt."

Another email Epstein sent in 2011 to Ghislaine Maxwell, his associate who has been convicted on trafficking charges, called Trump the "dog that hasn't barked" and says Trump spent "hours at my house" with one of the alleged sex trafficking victims.

Still another is a 2019 message between Epstein and Wolff in which the disgraced financier wrote that "of course [Trump] knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop." The email does not elaborate any further.

"I have met some very bad people, none as bad as Trump," Epstein wrote in 2017 to Summers. "Not one decent cell in his body."

In September, House Democrats released more than 200 pages of a birthday book for Epstein created more than two decades ago that includes a lewd drawing and letter that appears to be signed by Trump.

The president, who has consistently denied any meaningful connection to Epstein, called the drawing and signature "fake."

In July, Trump told reporters that he and Epstein fell out because Epstein hired away young female employees who worked at the spa at Mar-a-Lago.
Copyright 2025 NPR

A program that aimed to bring thousands of Angelenos living with serious mental illness under court-led care remains far below initial participation projections, a review of county data shows.

LAist reported earlier this year that participation in the CARE Court program in Los Angeles County was relatively low — a little more than 380 petitions more than a year after its launch.

Now that the program has hit the two-year mark, there have been roughly 700 local petitions filed with the court, according to officials. That’s in a region where there thousands of people are estimated to be living with severe mental illness. And it's about 18% of the number the state projected for CARE Court’s first two years.

As of late November, six participants in L.A. County graduated from the program, according to data from the L.A. County Department of Mental Health.

Sergio Tapia, presiding judge of the Superior Court of L.A. County, said that number represented a kind of success.

“Did it meet the unrealistic expectations that were set up before CARE Court opened? Obviously it didn’t meet those expectations,” Tapia told LAist. “But I think those expectations were not realistic.”

He said it took up to six months just to get the first participants into the program.

But the low numbers and other concerns have caused some advocates for people with mental health diagnoses to doubt the program is viable.

“The program is not working,” said Monica Porter Gilbert, associate director and senior counsel of public policy at Disability Rights California.

She told LAist state data show that about half of participants statewide last year did not receive at least one of the services ordered for them, including therapy. (Tapia said he was not aware of any shortfalls in carrying out the CARE Court plans in L.A. County.)

Porter Gilbert also said she’s concerned about the expense.

An analysis from the state Assembly Committee on the Judiciary on CARE Court found that the cost per participant statewide during fiscal year 2023-24 was $713,000.

L.A. County officials working with CARE Court say the numbers are low because the work takes time, in some cases months just to locate people who may be unhoused.

And some state authorities agree.

Anne Hadreas, supervising attorney with Judicial Council of California, which organizes training programs for judges, said those who have started the program are making progress.

“Maybe the numbers aren’t what people expected, but there’s still been a lot of successes there,” she said.

How it’s supposed to work 

CARE Court allows family members, behavioral health workers, first responders and others to ask a court — by way of a petition — to step in with a voluntary care agreement for someone living with serious mental illness, like schizophrenia. If the agreement fails, a judge could order the individual to sign on to a treatment plan.

Between Dec. 1, 2023, and mid-December of this year, there were about 700 petitions filed in L.A. County, far below the roughly 3,800 state officials projected for the first two years of the program.

San Diego County, the second most populous in the state, received 445 petitions between October 2023 and November of this year. Orange County, the third most populous, received 206 petitions, according to our media partner CalMatters.

As of October, statewide data for the first two years of the program show that courts throughout California had received a total of 3,092 petitions, according to CalMatters. That’s still about 700 petitions short of what was expected just for L.A. County.

Martin Jones, a program manager with the county Department of Mental Health, said the six local graduations don’t tell the whole story. At least another 16 participants chose to stay in the program for an additional year.

Jones noted one recent CARE Court graduate who was subsequently able to get an apartment and a job.

“When you think about the impact on the individual — on their family, on their loved ones, on the community — the success is multiplied probably many times over,” he said.

But Porter Gilbert said family members of some CARE Court participants have told her they were sold false hope.

“Because many believed that their loved ones would finally get connected with meaningful services,” she said. “And instead they’re getting court dates that don’t lead to immediate housing or recovery-oriented clinical care.”

Data from the state’s CARE Act Annual Report showed that about 56% of participants statewide between October 2023 and June 2024 did not receive at least one mental health service that was ordered for them. The most common services ordered but not provided included medication supports and therapy services.

Porter Gilbert said CARE Court is failing to hold counties accountable for providing the services, even after they appear before a judge. And she said compelling participants into treatment through the court system can feel punitive for some participants.

“It’s blaming individuals for the failure of the system,” Porter Gilbert said.

Expanding eligibility

Next year, a new law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom will expand eligibility for CARE Court to include people living with bipolar disorder who experience psychotic symptoms.

CARE Court currently only applies to people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders and a limited list of other psychotic disorders.

Marco Saenz, program director of the Independent Defense Council’s Office of L.A. County — which is tasked with representing CARE Court participants throughout the process — said the expansion is a good move.

“Hopefully these changes in the law that extend eligibility will see more people participating and getting the services that they desperately need,” he said.

Saenz also said the county and state need to do more outreach to increase the number of CARE Court petitions from first responders and other eligible petitioners.

About 67% of all petitions in L.A. County were filed by family members who sought to get their loved one into the program, according to data from the Department of Mental Health. Authorities said the county is working to get other eligible petitioners — like first responders and social workers — to file more requests.

“Many of these individuals are known to... fire or ambulance or other first responders. So it’s a matter of leveraging those relationships to really access the help that many of these individuals would benefit from,” said Jones, the program manager.

He and Hadreas at the Judicial Council said the program was still a work in progress, and they noted that while numbers remain far below what the state expected, many people are finding a door into mental health care through the petition process, even if CARE Court isn’t a good fit.

Hadreas said CARE Court was not intended to be a fast process, as many county workers must take time to build relationships with vulnerable people dealing with some of the most difficult times in their lives.

“It’s not an emergency process," Hadreas said. "It is about outreach and engagement and that can take months."