The Brief

Two people dressed in dark colors and wearing masks dart into a busy street on a hill in San Francisco. One of them hauls a big orange traffic cone. They sprint toward a driverless car and quickly set the cone on the hood.

The vehicle's side lights burst on and start flashing orange. And then, it sits there immobile.

"All right, looks good," one of them says after making sure no one is inside. "Let's get out of here." They hop on e-bikes and pedal off.

All it takes to render the technology-packed self-driving car inoperable is a traffic cone. If all goes according to plan, it will stay there, frozen, until someone comes and removes it.

An anonymous activist group called Safe Street Rebel is responsible for this so-called coning incident and dozens of others over the past few months. The group's goal is to incapacitate the driverless cars roaming San Francisco's streets as a protest against the city being used as a testing ground for this emerging technology.

Over the past couple of years, driverless cars have become ubiquitous throughout San Francisco. It began with human safety drivers on board who were there to make sure everything ran smoothly. And then, many cars started operating with no humans at all.

They're mostly run by Cruise, which is owned by GM, and Waymo, which is owned by Google parent company Alphabet. Both companies have poured billions of dollars into developing these autonomous vehicles. Neither Cruise nor Waymo responded to questions about why the cars can be disabled by traffic cones.

Waymo says it has a permit for 250 cars and it deploys about 100 at any given time. Cruise says it runs 100 in San Francisco during the day and 300 at night. The Department of Motor Vehicles made Cruise cut that number in half after one of its cars collided with a firetruck last week.

Street theater protests are nothing new in San Francisco

Earlier this month, the California Public Utilities Commission voted 3-1 to let the two companies run their vehicles at all hours of the day picking up passengers like taxis.

The lead-up to the commission's vote prompted the Safe Street Rebel group to start "coning," as they call it. Members have long used street theater shenanigans to gain attention in their fight against cars and to promote public transportation.

Coning driverless cars fits in line with a long history of protests against the impact of the tech industry on San Francisco. Throughout the years, activists have blockaded Google's private commuter buses from picking up employees in the city. And when scooter companies flooded the sidewalks with electric scooters, people threw them into San Francisco Bay.

"Then there was the burning of Lime scooters in front of a Google bus," says Manissa Maharawal, an assistant professor at American University who has studied these protests.

She points out that when tech companies test their products in the city, residents don't have much say in those decisions: "There's been various iterations of this where it's like, 'Oh, yep, let's try that out in San Francisco again,' with very little input from anyone who lives here."

That gets to the crux of Safe Street Rebel's protest. The group only agreed to speak to NPR if they could remain anonymous because it's unclear if what they're doing is legal.

"We thought that putting cones on these [driverless cars] was a funny image that could captivate people," says one organizer. "One of these self-driving cars with billions of dollars of venture capital investment money and R&D, just being disabled by a common traffic cone."

First responders aren't happy with driverless cars

Safe Street Rebel has cataloged hundreds of near misses and blunders with Cruise and Waymo vehicles over the past few months — even without traffic cones.

The cars have run red lights, rear-ended a bus and blocked crosswalks and bike paths. In one incident, dozens of confused cars congregated in a residential cul-de-sac, clogging the street. In another, a Waymo ran over and killed a dog.

"We don't really need traffic cones to show how vulnerable they are," says the Safe Street Rebel organizer.

Both Cruise and Waymo say their vehicles are far safer than human drivers and compared to humans they've had relatively few incidents. They say they've driven millions of driverless miles without any human fatalities or life-threatening injuries. An Uber self-driving car, operating in full autonomous mode and with a safety driver in the vehicle, killed a pedestrian in Arizona in 2018.

Safe Street Rebel isn't the only group that's had issues with the autonomous vehicles. San Francisco's police and fire departments have also said the cars aren't yet ready for public roads. They've tallied 55 incidents where self-driving cars have gotten in the way of rescue operations in just the past six months.

Those incidents include driving through yellow emergency tape, blocking firehouse driveways, running over fire hoses and refusing to move for first responders.

Autonomous vehicles are programmed to be overly conservative

Ziwen Wan, a Ph.D. candidate in computer science at University of California, Irvine, has studied why driverless cars may be acting this way. He used open source data for his research, so his findings aren't based specifically on Cruise and Waymo. Wan found that ordinary objects on the road can lead to dangerous driving behavior. Part of this, he says, is because the cars are programmed to be overly conservative.

"The software can make the autonomous vehicle behave as conservatively as possible because a safety violation would be very serious," Wan says. "But this may lead to concerns on the other side, like in some cases, even though it's safe it will fail to drive normally."

That abnormal driving includes abrupt halts, swerves, erratic behavior or just stopping in the middle of the road.

"The traffic cone protest is an example of how things in the real world can really confound machines, even ones as sophisticated and finely tuned as this," says Margaret O'Mara, a history professor at the University of Washington who studies the tech industry. "It's a reminder that in this very high-tech world, the most low-tech things can literally put a wrench in the machine."

Despite the bumps in the road, both Waymo and Cruise are rapidly expanding their robo-taxi programs throughout the U.S. Waymo is already giving rides in Phoenix and is testing with human safety drivers in Los Angeles and Austin. And Cruise is offering rides in Phoenix and Austin and testing in Dallas, Houston, Miami, Nashville and Charlotte.

Meanwhile, in San Francisco, members of Safe Street Rebel continue to go out at night and stalk the vehicles one cone at a time.

Conditions at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center have improved, but serious concerns remain, according to Rep. Robert Garcia, who represents Long Beach, and other members of Congress who visited the facility Friday.

At a news conference immediately following the visit, the representatives described unsanitary conditions in the showers and kitchen areas, food that looked inedible and inadequate access to medical care.

Improvements to water

Rep. Norma Torres of Pomona, who has visited Adelanto 25 times in an oversight capacity, said the only improvement she saw this time was that the facility installed water filtration systems in response to a July court order requiring ICE to ensure people held there have access to clean drinking water 24 hours a day.

Garcia told LAist he would leave it up to the independent monitors appointed by the court to determine if the facility was fully complying with the order. The monitor overseeing overall conditions at the facility released its first report, containing 12 recommendations for improvement, earlier this month. The federal government recently purchased the facility from the GEO Group Inc. for $950 million. GEO Group is still under contract to run day-to-day operations there.

The visit was unannounced

Garcia, the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said officials at the facility kept the delegation waiting in the lobby for half an hour before starting the tour, despite a recent court order requiring the Trump administration to grant elected officials access to immigration detention facilities.

“We should have been allowed to visit immediately,” Garcia said. “That is the law.”

Garcia and other representatives said it appeared the facility had been cleaned just before the tour started. The representatives also said they were not allowed to speak with people detained at the facility because ICE officials said they were conducting a point-in-time count and people were confined to their cells.

What’s next?

The representatives said they will take recommendations back to the oversight committee and plan to continue unannounced visits to immigration detention centers, including Adelanto. Should Democrats take control of the House of Representatives in November, Garcia and other representatives said they will increase oversight of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement. Attorneys representing people held at Adelanto in a class-action lawsuit have asked the court to enforce the July order requiring improvements to the facility based on the independent monitor’s first report and reports from people detained there.

In a rare move, Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia on Friday said his office issued a subpoena to Olympics organizing committee LA28, demanding it hand over documents detailing its finances, contracts and budgets for venue construction projects.

The action comes after LA28 failed to include a detailed list of its contracts in its recent budget report to the city, despite a contract requiring their disclosure.

The Games Agreement between the city and LA28 requires the committee to submit the name, type, amount, term and purpose of each contract it has entered into worth more than $1 million. It also requires the organizing committee to give updates on venue improvements, including schedules and budgets.

The controller issued a request for those details in a letter to LA28 in August, but said he turned to legal action because the organization still hasn’t satisfied its obligations. The city of Los Angeles is the financial backstop for the Games, and will be on the hook for cost overruns if LA28 doesn’t turn a profit.

“The Controller’s Office completed a review of all LA28 documents within the City’s possession and determined that the financial documents requested are either incomplete or wholly absent,” Mejia’s office wrote in a news release issued Friday.

The controller's office told LAist Friday that it worked with the city attorney on the LA28 subpoena and that it "has the full support and backing of the City Attorney’s office."

LA28 did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

There is precedent for city controllers issuing subpoenas, but they’re not common.

Former City Controller Ron Galperin told LAist that he only issued a subpoena while he was in office one time.

“It’s a power that controllers don’t necessarily exercise a lot, but when it’s the right time, it’s an important tool,” he said.

City officials have seen some of the documents Mejia is demanding, but only in passing. Sharon Tso, Chief Legislative Analyst and a top Games negotiator for the city, told a city council committee last month that she had seen a list of LA28's contracts in a meeting, but that the city didn't have hard copies due to concerns that public disclosure could harm negotiations sponsor deals.

After city councilmembers demanded to see the contracts, Tso and City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo requested LA28 submit its contracts. Tso told LAist in an email Friday that they were still waiting on LA28's response.

LAist has reached out to the mayor’s office for comment.

This is a developing story and will be updated. For the most up-to-date information about the fire you can check:

• CalFire incident page
• Evacuation map
• OC Fire Authority
  

Six homes burned in the Norte Fire, which broke out Friday in the San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano areas. The fire spread to more than 460 acres and forced evacuations, Orange County Fire Authority Chief T.J. McGovern said at a news briefing Friday evening.

Who’s under evacuation orders

The evacuated areas are San Juan Capistrano Zones 4, 5 and 10 and San Clemente Zones 12 and 13.

Shelters in the area — the San Juan Capistrano Community Center and the San Clemente Community Center (addresses below) — have space and will accept small pets, said Justin Chevalier, chief of police services for San Clemente.

Chevalier said police would maintain “high visibility” as a deterrent to anyone wanting “to take advantage of the situation.”

How fast the fire moved

Due to weather and topography, this fire moved fast,” McGovern said. “It was a wind-driven event.”

The fire ignited around 11:30 a.m. near Portico Del Norte and Eminencia Del Norte in San Clemente, according to Cal Fire. The Orange County Fire Authority received a call at 11:33 a.m. and sent crews that were already on standby, McGovern said.

“When the call came in, we had a robust response already ready to go from the air and the ground, and I can tell you — that made a difference,” he said.

Injuries and containment

No residents were hurt, but two firefighters were injured and were being treated at a local hospital, McGovern said.

The fire, which was at 465 acres Friday night, was 0% contained as of 6:45 p.m. About 400 firefighters were working the fire, with 400 more on the way, and crews planned to stay on the fire line overnight, McGovern added.

Fire weather across Southern California

Other fires have broken out across Southern California amid gusty winds and dry conditions, including the Bryson Fire in the Santa Monica Mountains above Malibu. Red flag warnings are in effect through Saturday, according to National Weather Service, with cooler weather and a chance of light rain expected over the next few days.

 

The basics

• Acreage: 465 acres as of Friday night
• Containment: 0%
• Structures destroyed/impacted: At least six homes
• Deaths: None
• Injuries: 2 firefighters injured and receiving treatment at a local hospital
• Personnel working on fire: Multiple helicopters and water-dropping aircraft, along with ground crews
  

Evacuation map and orders

Orange County evacuation map

• SCL12
• SCL13
• SJC04
• SJC05
• SJC10

Evacuation shelters

San Juan Capistrano Community Center
25925 Camino del Avion,
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675

San Clemente Community Center
100 N Calle Seville
San Clemente, CA 92672

Listen to our Big Burn podcast

Fire resources and tips

Check out LAist's wildfire recovery guide

If you have to evacuate:

• Why fire officials don't want you to stay and defend your home
• How to get packed up
• How to leave your house
• What evacuation terms mean and how to sign up for alerts

Navigating fire conditions:

• How to drive in high winds and fire danger
• How to prep for power outages
• How to navigate poor air quality

How to help yourself and others:

• Resources for fire victims, evacuees and first responders
• If you want to help fire victims, resist the urge to volunteer
• How to help find lost pets

How to start the recovery process:

• What to do — and not do — when you get home after a wildfire
• How to make an insurance claim
• How to safely clean up wildfire ash

What to do for your kids:

• How to talk to children about wildfires and losing a home
• What parents should know about wildfire air quality

Prepare for the next disaster:

• Fire season is here. Make sure you're signed up for these alerts
• Every day is now fire season. Let's get you ready for the next wildfire
• Yes, wildfires are getting worse. The history that got us to this moment

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a time to honor the memory of loved ones who have died. The holiday’s most beloved traditions include building ofrendas at home or visiting cemeteries to decorate the graves of those who have departed. 

The celebration, widely observed in Mexico and other Latin American countries, also brings colorful, vibrant events to Los Angeles. On or before Nov. 1 and 2, cempasúchil-covered altars, intricately designed sugar calaveras and pan de muerto will spring up. 

We’ve rounded up a list of mostly free events on L.A.’s Eastside and downtown to celebrate the cherished cultural holiday.

Oct. 17: Día de los Muertos at El Sereno Community Arts 

El Sereno Community Arts presents its 17th annual Día de los Muertos community celebration with a day full of activities for the whole family. The event will feature free arts and culture programming, community altars, live musical performances and food from local vendors. The festival will also feature artwork and handmade catrinas made from the arts center’s community workshops. 

Oct. 17: What We Carry: East L.A. to Palestine at Tonalli Studio 

Tonalli Studio will open its Día de los Muertos exhibition and ofrenda to showcase how land, home and family are threatened today. What We Carry tells the stories of resilience across generations from the communities of East L.A. to Palestine. Guests are invited to add names, prayers or written statements to this year’s “East L.A. to Palestine” ofrenda. 

Oct. 18: Paint and Sip at Cafe Niña 

Join the beloved coffee spot for a morning decorating a miniature altar to add to your ofrenda at home.  Each ticket will include your choice of a coffee or matcha, a paint set with a miniature ofrenda and a light brunch. Tickets are limited, so be sure to grab yours through their Instagram page. 

Oct. 18: Crafting Party at Benny Boy Brewing 

Benny Boy Brewing is hosting its 4th Annual Día de los Muertos Crafting Celebration, featuring sugar skull decorating sessions. There will be an assortment of crafting materials to choose from and additional items include a clear box to display your completed sugar skull, ribbon, cempasuchil flowers and a customized tealight candle. Guests can purchase a small or large skull and get free face-painting. Please note that the event is for guests 21 and over. 

Oct. 24: Calavera LGBTQ+ Festival by Latino Equity Alliance 

The Latino Equity Alliance will celebrate its annual Calavera LGBTQ+ Festival with an evening of drag and musical performances, dancing, community resource booths and an altar. In collaboration with the Get Out the Vote Initiative, the festival will also feature a free, nonpartisan, L.A. County Mobile Voting Center located outside the venue for the public to access. 

Oct. 24 – Nov. 2: Día de los Muertos at Gloria Molina Grand Park 

For 10 days, Gloria Molina Grand Park will transform into an exhibition space honoring cultural traditions through art, community altars and remembrance. Kicking off the festivities with an opening ceremony, attendees can enjoy live musical performances from El Río, Grupo Bella, Anaís Azul, and Mariachi Arco Iris de Los Angeles. The celebration will honor indigenous roots by including a sacred processional and blessing from Ohtli Yollotl Collective. Guests can explore up to 17 unique altars from local artists and organizations on display and are encouraged to contribute to the event’s designated community altar by leaving a photo, note, or memento in remembrance of a loved one. This year’s theme is “The Power of One” and is curated by artist Consuelo G. Flores. Guests will be able to participate in family-friendly activities, including free face painting, sugar skull workshops and wellness offerings from community partners. 

Oct. 25: Family Day at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes 

For an afternoon full of family-friendly activities and entertainment, LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes welcomes attendees to participate in this year’s community celebration. Featuring three workshops that explore traditional practices, including painting skull masks, flower accessories and herb bundles. Food from Tamales Veracruz y Más and Sammy’s Elotes y Más will be available for purchase. This year’s celebration will feature a number of live entertainment acts, including Banda Filarmónica Los Alebrijes, Grupo Folklórico Princesa Donaji, and Los Elejidos de Asís de los Muertos. LA Plaza encourages guests to contribute to their Ofrenda Comunitaria.

Oct. 25: Las Fotos Project Community Wellness Day 

In partnership with Youth to the People, Las Fotos Project is hosting its bi-monthly community wellness day with a Día de los Muertos celebration. The event will feature family-friendly activations like art-making, including their signature vela decorating station, calavera or catrina face painting,  a community ofrenda, and a stylized portrait station. Guests can enjoy light bites and beverages and explore the free clothing swap station and community resources available, including special guest Soluna to discuss their free mental health resources. In partnership with Polo’s Pantry and Saticoy Food Hub, there will also be fresh produce available while supplies last. 

Oct. 27: Community Ofrenda at SuperNova Thrift 

Beginning Oct. 24, SuperNova Thrift invites the community to take part in the making of their Día de los Muertos altar. People are encouraged to bring a photocopy of their loved ones with their name, a letter, drawing, or memory, flowers, and small nonvaluable offerings. Participants are also welcome to join by being a helping hand in the making of the altar. The altar will be open for viewing at the storefront from Oct. 27 to Nov. 2, with three special days of remembrance.

Oct. 30: 1st Street Community Block Party

The 1st Street Collective, a hub for the businesses along Boyle Heights’ 1st Street corridor, is back with its Día de Muertos Community Block Party at Mariachi Plaza. This year’s celebration will feature music, dancing, family-friendly activations and local vendors. Enjoy free face painting, live art installations, performances, a community altar and more for people of all ages. 

Nov. 1: Día de los Muertos at Plaza de la Raza 

Join Plaza de la Raza’s annual outdoor community celebration, which will include hands-on workshops, musical entertainment, art and local vendors. Attendees can join a variety of crafting workshops, from calaca puppet making to papel picado, alebrije making, and flower making with altarista Ofelia Esparza and family. Attendees can also walk through a vendor marketplace and explore the artwork and altar installations that will feature over 25 participating artists.  Live performances include members of Ozomatli, El Mariachi Manchester, Danza Divina de Los Angeles, Tiny Tots Folklorico, Plaza de La Raza Mariachi and Folklorico students, and Folkor Pasión Mexicana.  

The Boathouse Gallery will also be open for its “El Velorio” exhibit, featuring original work from over 200 local artists and curated by Superchief Gallery, Irene Hernandez and Manny Martinez. The exhibit will be on display from Oct. 10 to Nov. 7. 

Nov. 6 – 8: Every Altar Begins with a Story by Colibri Dance Theatre & Casa 0101 Theater 

This Día de Los Muertos, a contemporary theatrical dance production takes center stage at Casa 0101. Presented by the Colibri Dance Theatre, the performance will be full of stories of love, family, resilience, joy, grief, forgiveness and strength.  In this showcase, an altar comes to life as told through the eyes of CUENTOS characters “La Catrina,” “El Catrin,” “Alebrije,” and “Calacas.” Attendees can experience a night of movement, music, and poetry that honors Día de Muertos traditions and cultural practices. 

Nov. 7 : Cafecito + Little Piñata Workshop 

Join this community collaboration between Healing in Spanglish and Little Piñata Guy for a mini piñata workshop to dedicate and honor loved ones. Each attendee ticket includes coffee from Anhelo Coffee, Pan de Muerto by Repostería Aguilar, and materials to create your own mini piñata. Spend your morning remembering your loved ones and crafting with community. Tickets are limited. 

Nov. 7: Día de los Muertos at Self Help Graphics & Art 

To round out their monthlong community art workshops and events, Self Help Graphics and Art will host its 53rd Annual Día de los Muertos celebration. This year’s celebration is in partnership with the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Latino. The communal gathering will begin with a procession at 2 p.m. at Mariachi Plaza led by Danza Azteca Chicomecoatl and will end on the corner of 1st Street and Anderson Street, outside Self Help Graphics, for the festivities. Attendees can shop through the “Muertos Market,” featuring local artists and artisans, local food vendors, Self Help Graphics prints for sale, face painting, and arts activities for all ages. The celebration will also include a main stage for live musical performances from Extra Ancestral, Chulita Vinyl Club L.A., Jimetta Rose and the Voices of Creation, La Santa Cecilia, The Red Alibi, Mendez High School Mariachi, and headliners, Los Lobos. 

Nov. 7 – 8: Floricanto’s Fiesta de Día de los Muertos

The Floricanto Center for Performing Arts and Danza Floricanto will host a Día de los Muertos-themed showcase for its 24th annual program. For one weekend only, the Center will be transformed into a cemetery, and a series of characters, including the show’s guide “La Catrina,” will lead audiences through an evening of storytelling and dance. The showcase will feature themes of love, death, mental illness, teen pregnancy and immigration. Show doors open 30 minutes before showtime.