Topline:
The Metro light rail project that will connect Artesia to downtown L.A. will have a new name by next year — and Angelenos get to vote on it.
Why it matters: The project has long been called the West Santa Ana Branch, named after a historic rail corridor used by Pacific Electric until the mid-1950s — but it’s caused confusion.
What's next: Voting will run until Dec. 17. The new name will be announced in January 2024.
The Metro light rail project that will connect Artesia to downtown L.A. will have a new name by next year — and Angelenos get to vote on it.
The project has long been called the West Santa Ana Branch, named after a historic rail corridor used by Pacific Electric until the mid-1950s — but it’s caused some confusion.
“Every time we've gone to pitch this project, it just feels like the majority of the time we're explaining why it's called the West Santa Ana Branch, and how that has absolutely nothing to do with where it will run, the people it will serve,” says LA County Supervisor and Metro Board member Janice Hahn.
Supervisor Hahn represents much of the area the new line will serve. She’s been trying to get the project renamed for years.
“I was told by staff at Metro that that was not going to happen, because it would jeopardize a future funding request, but I think it's been just the opposite. I think we have lost funding because of this weird name that nobody can pinpoint where it is in Los Angeles County,” Hahn says.
The new name is going to remedy that. A panel of judges — made up of city leaders from along the route — sorted through 12,000 submissions and came up with 12 finalists. Some submissions came from contestants as young as 13.
“It was very heartening to me to see how people really have connected to the history of this territory,” Supervisor Hahn says. “They suggested names that were women-empowering… There were names that related to our Native American history. There were many Spanish names that the translations were everything from “hope,” to “rivers,” to “safe route.” It was just amazing how creative everybody was.”
The name will follow the project until its completion, which is currently estimated for 2035 then, the line will receive its designated letter and color. But Hahn is optimistic that this new name won’t just stick around, it’ll accelerate the project as a whole.
“I think the enthusiasm and energy that naming this train will create, in all my heart, I believe it will help with funding, it will help speed up the project, and I believe it will connect those who live in these cities now as well as way into the future for generations to come. I think the naming of this train will be a story that we tell for a long time.”
Here is a list of the 12 final names and their descriptions, courtesy of Supervisor Hahn’s office:
Voting will run until Dec. 17. The new name will be announced in January 2024.
Topline:
An East Hollywood nursing home that nearly lost its license this year because of repeated state citations for deaths of residents at the facility was cited again last month after another death.
What happened? The California Department of Public Health cited Brier Oak on Sunset after a 92-year-old resident bled to death on Sept. 27. Staff members had continued injecting her with blood thinners over a 40-hour period despite evidence that the patient had been bleeding internally.
Why it matters: It’s an AA citation, the most severe the department issues when violations of care standards are determined to be a substantial factor in someone’s death. These kinds of citations are rare. State regulations require authorities to suspend or revoke the licenses of any facilities that get two AA citations within a period of 24 months. Brier Oak has received three AA citations for patient deaths since late 2022.
What's next? The state Public Health Department said Brier Oak submitted a required written response before a Dec. 6 deadline, showing how it will fix the problems and prevent them from happening again. Brier Oak has until Dec. 19 to notify the department whether it intends to appeal the state citation.
An East Hollywood nursing home that nearly lost its license this year because of repeated state citations for deaths of residents at the facility was cited again last month after another person died.
The California Department of Public Health cited Brier Oak on Sunset after a 92-year-old resident bled to death on Sept. 27. Staff members had continued injecting her with blood thinners over a 40-hour period in violation of clinical guidelines.
It’s an AA citation, the most severe the department issues when violations of care standards are determined to be a substantial factor in someone’s death. The facility faces a $120,000 fine.
These kinds of citations are rare. The department has recently issued, on average, fewer than 20 AA citations yearly across more than 1,200 skilled nursing facilities in California.
Brier Oak has received three AA citations for patient deaths since late 2022.
State regulations require authorities to suspend or revoke the licenses of any facilities that get two AA citations within a period of 24 months.
The state Public Health Department began that process with Brier Oak in May based on resident deaths in 2022 and 2024. But officials dropped that effort later because they say they determined the two patient deaths had occurred 26 months apart — just outside of the two-year window.
A spokesperson for the company that owns Brier Oak told LAist it has appealed the first two citations and is considering whether to appeal the third.
Advocates for nursing home residents say the recent death could have been avoided if the state had taken action.
“There were red flags, and a lot of these red flags existed prior to the death of this poor resident,” said Tony Chicotel, senior staff attorney with California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform.
The state said Brier Oak has until Dec. 19 to notify the department if it intends to appeal.
In the recent death at Brier Oak cited by the state, multiple communication and technical failures by nursing staff led to the patient bleeding out over a period of 40 hours, according to the citation.
The 92-year-old patient was immobile and had been prescribed a blood thinner called heparin to help prevent blood clots from forming. But once a patient is bleeding, those injections make bleeding worse, and potentially fatal.
When nursing staff found bright red blood in the resident’s diaper the day before she died, Brier Oak failed to follow established processes for documenting the bleeding or communicating it to a nurse practitioner or medical doctor, according to the citation.
Nurses told state authorities they delayed informing physicians because they “get mad” when contacted in the middle of the night.
The facility’s staff also failed to fully assess the patient to determine the possible causes of the bleeding and or to properly monitor the issue during crucial periods, according to the citation.
She suffered four internal bleeding episodes over 40 hours and continued to receive blood thinner injections.
The citation says a nurse practitioner at Brier Oak told state licensing authorities later that if she’d been informed about the patient’s ongoing bleeding, she would have stopped the blood thinner and sent her to a hospital.
In 2022, Brier Oak received a AA citation after a 62-year-old woman died from respiratory failure in part because nurses hadn’t been trained to operate her breathing machine.
In 2024, the nursing home got another AA citation. This time, a 63-year-old woman with paraplegia and severe obesity fell from her bed and died while a nursing assistant was changing her. The assistant was alone, even though the woman’s care plan required two staff members.
Brier Oak on Sunset is primarily owned by Genesis Healthcare, a publicly-traded nursing home operator that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July.
Once the largest nursing home operator in the U.S., Genesis was facing billions in debt when it declared bankruptcy, according to court filings. That includes millions in potential damages from lawsuits related to patient care failures.
In a brief statement to LAist, a company spokesperson said it's still considering whether or not to appeal the recent citation at Brier Oak.
The citation should trigger a suspension or revocation of the facility's license, according to state regulations. The latter means it would have to close its doors. The two most recent deaths and citations at the facility occurred within the two-year window.
The California Department of Public Health confirmed it cited Brier Oak on Nov. 26.
The department said the facility submitted a required written response before a Dec. 6 deadline, showing how it will fix the problems and prevent them from happening again..
The department determined Brier Oak was back in compliance during an onsite visit last week, a representative told LAist.
Brier Oak on Sunset currently houses about 150 patients, according to state records.
A bankruptcy judge has stalled the proposed sale of Genesis Healthcare to an affiliate of one of its investors.
Experts say it’s unclear whether the state would revoke the license of an owner who is actively trying to sell and turn over operations to someone else.
Topline
It’s been a rough start to ski and snowboard season for California mountain towns. Snowfall is well below average, but Christmas could come with some of the white stuff.
Hmmm. Didn’t we just have a record storm? Yes. That big atmospheric river that hit Southern California last month made it one of the wettest Novembers on records. But since then, it’s been unusually warm and dry, which is not good for mountain towns that depend on snow, and the outdoor enthusiasts that flock to them.
Read on ... for more about the conditions at Big Bear Mountain resort, and whether we'll have more snow in time for Christmas vacations.
It’s been a rough start to ski and snowboard season for California mountain towns. Snowfall is well below average, but Christmas could come with some of the white stuff. Here's where things stand:
Yes. That big atmospheric river that hit Southern California last month made it one of the wettest Novembers on records. But since then, it’s been unusually warm and dry, which is not good for mountain towns that depend on snow, and the outdoor enthusiasts that flock to them.
California’s snowpack is about 20% of normal for this time of the year, according to the state’s snow-tracking website. Southern California isn’t quite as bad off — we’ve gotten about half our normal snowfall so far.
As for the resorts, only about 20% of the terrain at Bear Mountain in Big Bear is open. About 35% of Mammoth Mountain is open.
They are, but the unusually warm temperatures have curbed resorts’ ability to make enough snow to open more terrain. “If you're blowing water into 40-degrees, it's going to stay water,” said Justin Kanton, a spokesperson for Big Bear Mountain Resort. “ So as much as people probably would want us to just crank the snow guns all day, every day up here and just get things moving, that's not really possible.”
The dry weather has allowed Caltrans to make good progress toward opening Highway 38, said Evan Engle, who chairs the board of the Big Bear Chamber of Commerce. The road typically handles up to 40% of traffic up to the mountain town, Engle said. But it’s been closed since September when it got washed out by Tropical Storm Mario.
Getting it open as soon as possible is key to keeping visitor traffic manageable, and getting supplies to Big Bear.
SoCal mountains are likely to see some precipitation around Christmas, said Kyle Wheeler, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. But with temperatures not expected to drop much, it’s uncertain how much of it will be white, Wheeler said.
If you have a tip, you can reach me on Signal. My username is @jillrep.79.
Topline:
The Los Angeles Police Department used 2,431 less-lethal projectile rounds and 35 canisters of tear gas from June 6 through 14, according to newly released documents. The department reported causing 12 injuries with those weapons.
Why now? The LAPD released a new document last week after LAist found the department did not publish state-mandated reports for four days when officers used crowd control weapons over that period. The department said on Dec. 10 the delay “stems from the extraordinary volume and complexity of incidents” over that time.
This report is different: Unlike most of the LAPD’s reports after using crowd control weapons, this one covers multiple days and protests. The report includes the first “No Kings” protest on June 14, but lacks detailed descriptions of specific dates or incidents.
Read on… for more about the newly-released report.
The Los Angeles Police Department used more than 2,400 crowd control munitions in response to protests from June 6 to 14, according to a new report.
Officers used a total of 2,431 less-lethal projectile rounds and 35 canisters of tear gas over the nine days, according to LAPD reports. The department recorded 12 injuries officers caused with those weapons.
The LAPD released the missing report last week after LAist identified the use of crowd control weapons on four different days in June that had not been reported according to state law. Assembly Bill 48, which went into effect in 2022, limits when and how crowd control weapons can be used, and requires law enforcement agencies to publicly release reports on their use within 60 days.
A 30-day extension for these reports can be granted in some cases, but the LAPD released this report about three months late even if an extension was justified.
Officials acknowledged they were out of compliance on Dec. 10 before releasing the report, saying the delay “stems from the extraordinary volume and complexity of incidents” over that time.
It is unusual for a crowd control report to include more than one day, and the report for June 9 through 14 covered six days and “45 sepearte [sic] non categorical use of force incidents.”
It does not describe any of those use of force incidents specifically, and the LAPD has not yet responded to LAist’s request for more detailed descriptions of those incidents.
If you have a tip, you can reach me on Signal. My username is jrynning.56.
The report also considered the entire six days to have been one continuous protest, though it included several anti-ICE protests over the week and the national “No Kings” protest on June 14.
Two reports released earlier this year for June 6 and 8 covered single days and provided more detailed descriptions of incidents where the LAPD used less-lethal munitions against protesters.
Topline:
Registration for tickets to the 2028 Olympic Games will open on Jan. 14, LA28 organizing committee officials announced today.
How it works: Registering for the draw puts you in the running to buy Olympics tickets. If you're selected, you'll get an email with a time slot to purchase tickets.
When will tickets actually go on sale? There are no firm dates yet, but LA28 says tickets for the Olympics are slated to go on sale in 2026 and Paralympics tickets will follow in 2027.
How much will tickets cost? Details on ticket pricing aren't out yet. LA28 has said the least expensive tickets will be $28. If the World Cup is any indication, tickets could also get pretty pricey.
Go deeper: The Olympics are a multi-billion dollar business. Here's what that means for LA taxpayers
