The Brief

Starting this fall, a major thoroughfare of the Eastside community of El Sereno will get a makeover to bring better bike paths, safer sidewalks, more trees, and ways to reduce traffic speed on Eastern Ave. The project is one of three road improvement schemes in the works that could transform the face of this 4.1 sq mile neighborhood at the border of Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley.

All of that is thanks to the defunct 710 freeway extension project, which left hundreds of millions in unused funding.

"Most of the money is for the El Sereno area because that was where obviously the freeway was going to be," said Nate Hayward, Deputy Chief of Staff for Councilmember Kevin de Leon who represents Council District 14 that encompasses the neighborhood. "So the thought was, let's re-invest in infrastructure improvements for biking, walking, transit, etc, on the major corridors in El Sereno."

The plan to overhaul the three arteries — Eastern Ave., along with Huntington Dr., and Valley Blvd. — started several years back. The City of Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering, in partnership with Councilmember de Leon, are leading the projects and have held community meetings seeking feedback since 2021.

Eastern Ave.

Work on Eastern Ave. will begin as early as this fall, according to Hayward, with construction projected to take 18 months. The 1.5-mile stretch will see a variety of improvements, including new street trees, painted bike lanes, and repaired sidewalks for easier accessibility. One particular concern was pedestrian safety, as two schools sit on the busy street.

"A lot of the community engagement on that project was, 'Okay, how do we slow things down with a school?'" said Hayward.

Dedicated bus lane in front of one of two schools along Eastern Ave.

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Courtesy LA Council City 14

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One solution is to install a dedicated school bus drop-off lane.

"The whole point is, how do you reconfigure all that to maximize it for people walking, biking, and taking transit, right? That's sort of the very essence of it," said Hayward.

The plan is part of a greater effort to connect these upgrades to Valley Blvd. and Huntington Dr., the two corridors that bookend Eastern.

Valley Blvd.

Under the proposed project, a 5-mile stretch of Valley Blvd. between the end of the 710 and Union Station will see improvements, with a peak hour bus lane reserved for bus usage during morning and afternoon rush hours.

"The goal of Valley was how do we connect Cal State L.A., L.A. General County Hospital/USC and Union Station, and then how do we make it so it's easier to get between all those, because you have a lot of people who commute in," said Hayward.

Another highlight of the plan is the expansion of Lincoln Park to create a more unified green space.

Aerial shot of Valley Blvd., with Lincoln Park at the top of the photo.

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Courtesy of L.A. City Council District 14

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Rendering of the planned Valley Blvd. improvements, with more trees, a bike path and an expansion of Lincoln Park so it's connected to the small green island at the center.

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Courtesy L.A. City Council District 14

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"We're shifting the park into the street," said Hayward.

About half the funding for the project has been secured, said Hayward. The district is awaiting word on a state grant for the remainder $60 or so millions.

Huntington Dr.

A new round of community meetings on the Huntington Dr. plan started in June. The project, said Hayward, is at a more initial phase, with a fraction of the projected funding currently secured.

What Huntington Dr. North at Hilldale Dr. looks like now.

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Courtesy of L.A. City Council District 14

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Proposed concept of turning the street into a pedestrian and bike path.

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Courtesy L.A. City Council District 14

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One of main focus of the proposal is to introduce more green space along the route, be it in the median of the wide main drag, or to convert a segment of Huntington Dr. into a pedestrian and bike friendly open area.

"The goal is just walkable, bikeable, transit friendly communities that are good for the communities that live there now," he said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s former chief of staff, Dana Williamson, and four co-conspirators were indicted Wednesday on 23 counts of bank and wire fraud, allegedly committed from 2022 to 2024, during her time working for the governor.

The indictment alleges that Williamson, a longtime Democratic strategist, worked with Greg Campbell, a prominent Sacramento lobbyist, and Sean McCluskie, the former chief of staff to former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, as well as two other unnamed co-conspirators to steal $225,000 from an unnamed former official’s dormant campaign account for McCluskie’s personal use.

“Collectively, they funneled the money through various business entities and disguised it as pay for what was, in reality, a no-show job,” FBI Sacramento Special Agent in Charge Sid Patel said in a news release.

Prosecutors allege that Williamson and one of the unnamed co-conspirators, described only as a former California public official who owned a political consulting firm, used their political strategy firms to funnel money out of a campaign account, believed to be Becerra’s, into an account controlled by McCluskie. They allegedly disguised the funds as payments for McCluskie’s spouse, who was described in the indictment as a stay-at-home parent.

Williamson is also accused of falsely claiming more than $1.7 million in business expenses on her taxes. She used the funds to purchase luxury handbags, chartered jets and a nearly $170,000 birthday trip to Mexico, the indictment alleges.

Williamson, who previously held a high-level position in Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration, was well known for her negotiating ability. When she left his office, Newsom said in a statement that he would miss her "insight, tenacity and big heart.”

The indictment indicated that Becerra had no knowledge of the scheme, and he confirmed as much Wednesday afternoon in a written statement via his spokesperson, Owen Kilmer.

“The news today of formal accusations of impropriety by a long-serving trusted advisor are a gut punch,” said Becerra, a prominent candidate to succeed Newsom in next year’s gubernatorial election. He added that he had fully cooperated with the U.S. Justice Department and would continue to do so.

“As California’s former Attorney General, I fully comprehend the importance of allowing this investigation and legal process to run its course through our justice system.”

Williamson was scheduled to appear in federal court Wednesday afternoon.

A spokesperson for Newsom distanced the governor from his former top aide.

“While we are still learning details of the allegations, the governor expects all public servants to uphold the highest standards of integrity,” said Izzy Gardon, Newsom’s spokesperson, in a written statement.

“At a time when the president is openly calling for his Attorney General to investigate his political enemies, it is especially important to honor the American principle of being innocent until proven guilty in a court of law by a jury of one’s peers,” the statement said.

Patel, the special agent in charge, said in a news release that the charges were “the result of three years of relentless investigative work.”

“The FBI will remain vigilant in its efforts to uncover fraud and corruption, ensuring our government systems are held to the highest standards.”

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

After more than two years of discussion and debate, the Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to significantly lower annual rent increases in most of the city’s apartments.

L.A.’s current rent control rules guarantee landlords the right to raise rents at least 3% every year. Increases can be as high as 10% in some apartments during periods of high inflation.

But under the reforms passed by 12 of the council’s 15 members, rent increases would be capped at 4% annually, and an additional 2% increase for landlords who cover utilities would be eliminated. The exact rate each year would be equal to 90% of the change in the region’s consumer price index, a government measure of economic inflation.

“We need to make a change to this formula,” said Nithya Raman, chair of the council’s Housing and Homelessness Committee ahead of the vote. “Extraordinary rent increases are driving people out of the city.”

The rules passed by the majority of councilmembers would set a new floor of 1% in years of low inflation. Councilmembers Bob Blumenfield and John Lee voted against the changes, and Councilmember Curren Price recused himself from the vote because he is a landlord.

This is the first overhaul of the city’s rent increase formula since 1985. Tenant groups have long argued that the current rules increase costs faster than incomes for many renters, pushing some toward eviction and potential homelessness.

Landlord groups decried the changes, saying the city is further clamping down on their ability to keep up with skyrocketing insurance premiums and steep maintenance costs.

Before the new rules take effect, they still need to be drafted by the City Attorney’s Office and returned to the council for a final vote.

‘We would end up homeless’

The changes represent a step toward but not a full adoption of the demands for a 3% cap at 60% of inflation from tenant groups. Humberto Altamira, an unemployed cook living with his wife in L.A.’s downtown Fashion District, said his family’s rent went up about $50 per month earlier this year, and they would struggle to afford another increase of 3% or more.

“We would end up homeless and living on the street,” Altamira said, speaking in Spanish.

Humberto Altamira and his wife stand in front of L.A. City Hall ahead of a City Council vote on rent control.

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David Wagner/LAist

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, the city banned increases for nearly four years . The new cap, while comparable to caps in many other Southern California cities, does not reflect the rising costs property owners face, said California Apartment Association spokesperson Fred Sutton.

“Reject arbitrary magic numbers,” Sutton said. “These changes will not create a single new home, but they’ll make it even harder to build, making the housing crisis worse for everyone.”

Where LA rent control applies

The city’s rent control rules generally cover apartments built before October 1978, as well as new units that replace demolished rent-controlled units or are attached to older buildings.

Nearly two-thirds of L.A.’s residents live in rental housing. And because most of them live in older properties, the city’s rent control rules affect about 42% of all L.A. households.

Some councilmembers, including John Lee, said stricter rules would run counter to other local policies to spur housing development, such as Mayor Karen Bass’ executive directive to speed up the approval of affordable housing projects.

“Just as we are gaining momentum, we are considering a change,” Lee said. “This sends the message, ‘Do not build here. Do not invest in Los Angeles.’”

Other councilmembers said getting rental costs under control is key to addressing homelessness. At last count , about 43,500 people lack housing in the city.

“We have an eviction-to-homelessness pipeline,” Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez said. “We get calls constantly from property owners about people experiencing homelessness around their buildings.

“We are struggling to deal with that crisis,” Hernandez continued. “We can’t house the number of people every year that are falling into homelessness. And a majority of that is because they can’t afford it.”

To build or not to build?

Renters and landlords crowded into City Council chambers to give public comment ahead of Wednesday’s vote.

Megan Briceño, who owns eight rent-controlled apartments, told LAist she has building permits to construct an accessory dwelling unit on her four-unit property in Mid-City L.A. Because the unit will be rent-controlled, she said the city’s changes could halt her building plans.

“I don't know how much longer I can continue to do business in a city that constantly feels like I'm fighting for my basic property rights, for a basic fair return,” Briceño said.

The process of reforming L.A.’s rent control ordinance was kickstarted in October 2023, when councilmembers Hugo Soto-Martinez and Bob Blumenfield asked for an in-depth review of the city’s rules.

LAist obtained the city-commissioned report produced in that process and was the first to publish it in September 2024.

Among other observations and recommendations, the report argued for eliminating an additional 2% annual increase landlords can impose if they pay for a tenant’s electricity and gas service. The report found that over time those increases can eclipse the entire cost of providing those utilities.

The reforms passed Wednesday include the elimination of this utility bump.