The Brief

Los Angeles is flipping the switch from wired to solar streetlights under a new pilot program. The city’s transition will swap out copper wiring in favor of the battery-enabled, all-in-one systems that go beyond savings on the power bill.

That's because traditional streetlights have been a popular target for copper thieves and vandals — costing the city of L.A. more than $20 million in repairs in the past year alone.

The pilot is kicking off with 104 solar streetlights across Van Nuys, but could expand to another 800 units in different neighborhoods. They’re part of the city’s efforts to get lights on quicker, and keep them on longer, Mayor Karen Bass said at a news conference Thursday.

How it can curb copper crimes

Thieves stealing copper wherever they can find it has been a growing concern in the city — with some thefts knocking out streetlights and endangering road safety. Because the solar lights do not have copper wire, they're a disappointing target for a thief. Bass said that's important because thefts have become so widespread.

There is a tradeoff. Miguel Sangalang, the director of the Bureau of Street Lighting, told LAist that the solar system is about 10 times more expensive than the ones the city uses now — between $3,000 to $5,000 each.

“However, the savings really comes from when we deploy people,” Sangalang said. “In the case of theft and vandalism, one streetlight only really takes us two deployments, so if we have to go back there twice, it already paid for themselves.”

Why start in Van Nuys?

The pilot started in Van Nuys because it's been one the areas hardest hit by copper wire crimes, he added.

Sangalang said that while someone can still dig into and damage the infrastructure of the lights, they’ll find out quickly there’s no copper wire to steal. The new lights were also engineered so they have little to no street value if stolen, and the Bureau of Street Lighting has added in some extra security measures as protection.

Kathy Schreiner, president of the Van Nuys Neighborhood Council, told LAist she gets regular complaints about streetlights at their monthly meetings, and it’s “miraculous” the new systems are starting in their neighborhood.

“It's a very important thing for our community, and we're really happy,” she said.

L.A. City Councilmember Imelda Padilla, who represents the area, said street lighting is integral to a neighborhood’s sense of community and safety.

“And through this program, we will be able to better illuminate public spaces, enhancing visibility during darker hours, delivering tangible improvements in quality of life issues,” Padilla said.

About the new solar streetlights

One of the new lights sits at the intersection of Sylvan Street and Cedros Avenue, right next to the Children's Community School.

Backers of the project say solar lights are brighter, and more resilient. They don’t rely solely on the power grid, so even if an earthquake takes out the city’s electrical system, the streetlights can sustain themselves.

And some of the parts were made right here in Los Angeles. Pieces of metal used in the lights are painted, poured, and assembled in the city by Grid Shift Solar Lighting, according to Ryan Lamb from the company's sales team.

Ryan Lamb shows off some of the parts used in the solar light systems, made in Los Angeles by Grid Shift Solar Lighting.

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Makenna Sievertson

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LAist

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The solar panel charges the battery in the light, the battery feeds into the LED, and the system is clamped onto the existing arm on the pole.

“Then you just turn it on, and basically it's self powered from there on out,” Lamb said.

What's next

The program is still considered a pilot because the city wants to prove that it works long term, Sangalang said.

“We'll be taking the next year to collect data, making sure that it operates in the parameters that we expect it to operate,” he said.

A new solar street light that's been installed just outside the Children's Community School in Van Nuys.

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Makenna Sievertson

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LAist

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For example, they’ll be checking to make sure the solar lights can last at least two or three nights, even after a few days of cloudy skies or rain.

The city is already looking at expanding into other neighborhoods. They’re hoping to have a little more than 900 new solar streetlights installed across L.A. by next July. Sangalang said they’re still trying to figure out which areas would be best.

Some factors under consideration:

• There can’t be too many buildings or other obstructions since they rely on the sun.
• They’re also looking at ways to reduce drive time for street lighting crews.
• And yes, high-theft areas will get special consideration.

Sangalang says opportunities to "reduce repeat customers of copper wire theft,” will be prioritized. “Those are all factors for us to take into account,” he said.

Topline:

The case: In September, the city settled a lawsuit brought forward by two brothers in their 70s who said they suffered serious injuries after an LAPD officer crashed into their car. Days before the $18 million settlement was reached, lawyers for the brothers said Feldstein Soto called an expert witness testifying for the plaintiffs and “attempted to ingratiate herself with him and asked him to make a contribution to her political campaign,” according to a sworn declaration to the court by the plaintiffs’ attorney, Robert Glassman.

The response: Feldstein Soto did not respond to an interview request. Her spokesperson said the settlement “had nothing to do” with the expert witness. Her campaign manager told LAist the city attorney had been making a routine fundraising call and did not know the person had a role in the case, nor that there were pending requests for her office to pay him fees.

What Jurado says: In a statement to LAist, Jurado said she wants to “make sure that the city’s legal leadership is guided by integrity and accountability, especially when their choices affect public trust, civic rights and the city’s limited resources."

What’s next: The motion needs to go through a few committees before reaching the full City Council. If it passes, the motion calls for the city attorney to “report to council in closed session within 45 days regarding the ethics breach violation and give updates to the City Council."

Every year in Santa Ana, Luis Cantabrana turns the front of his home into an elaborate altar in honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe that draws hundreds of visitors.

Along the front of the house, the multi-colored altar is filled with lights, flowers and a stained-glass tapestry behind a sculpture of the Lady of Guadalupe. Cantabrana’s roof also is lit up with the green, white and red lights that spell out “Virgen de Guadalupe” and a cross.

Visitors are welcomed with music and the smell of roses as they celebrate the saint, but this year’s gathering comes after a dark year for immigrant communities.

Luis Cantabrana stands in front of the stunning altar he built in front of his home in honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe. Every year, his display draws hundreds of visitors.

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Destiny Torres

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Why do they celebrate? 

In 1513, the Virgin Mary appeared before St. Juan Diego between Dec. 9 and Dec. 12, asking him to build a church in her honor. Her image — a brown-skinned woman wearing a green veil with her hands together in prayer and an angel at her feet — miraculously appeared on his cloak.

To celebrate in Santa Ana, worshippers gathered late-night Wednesday and in the very early hours Dec. 12 to pray the rosary, sing hymns and celebrate the saint.

Cantabrana has hosted worshippers at his home for 27 years — 17 in Santa Ana.

The altar started out small, he said, and over the years, he added a fabric background, more lights and flowers (lots and lots of flowers).

“It started with me making a promise to la Virgen de Guadalupe that while I had life and a home to build an altar, that I would do it,” Cantabrana said. “Everything you see in photos and videos is pretty, but when you come and see it live, it's more than pretty. It's beautiful.”

The Santa Ana home's elaborate altar in honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe draws hundreds of visitors each year.

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Destiny Torres

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LAist

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Gathering in a time of turmoil 

Many also look to the Lady of Guadalupe for protection, especially at a time when federal enforcement has rattled immigrant communities.

“People don’t want to go to work, they don’t want to take their kids to school, but the love we have for our Virgen de Guadalupe,” Cantabrana said. “We see that la Virgen de Guadalupe has a lot of power, and so we know immigration [enforcement] won’t come here.”

Margarita Lopez of Garden Grove has been visiting the altar for three years with her husband. She’s been celebrating the Virgencita since she was a young girl. Honoring the saint is as important now as ever, she said.

“We ask, and she performs miracles,” Lopez said.

Claudia Tapia, a lifelong Santa Ana resident, said the Virgin Mary represents strength.

“Right now, with everything going on, a lot of our families [have] turned and prayed to the Virgen for strength during these times,” Tapia said. “She's a very strong symbol of Mexican culture, of unity, of faith and of resilience.”

See it for yourself

The shrine will stay up into the new year on the corner of Broadway and Camile Street.

California’s unemployment agency kept paying cellphone bills for 4 1/2 years without checking whether its workers actually were using the devices.

That’s how it racked up $4.6 million in fees for mobile devices its workers were not using, according to a new state audit detailing wasteful spending at several government agencies.

The Employment Development Department’s excessive cellphone bills date to the COVID-19 pandemic, when it shifted call center employees to remote work and faced pressure to release benefits to millions of suddenly unemployed Californians.

It acquired 7,224 cellphones and wireless hotspots by December 2020. State auditors analyzed 54 months of invoices since then and found half the devices were unused for at least two years, 25% were unused for three years and 99 of them were never used at all.

The investigation, which auditors opened after receiving a tip, identified 6,285 devices that were unused for at least four consecutive months, and said the department spent $4.6 million on monthly service fees for them.

From the beginning, the department had about 2,000 more cellphones than call center employees, according to the audit. The gap widened over time after the pandemic ended and the department’s staffing returned to its normal headcount.

As of April, the audit said the department had 1,787 unemployment call center employees, but was paying monthly service fees for 5,097 mobile devices.

“Although obtaining the mobile devices during COVID-19 may have been a good idea to serve the public, continuing to pay the monthly service fees for so many unused devices, especially post-COVID-19, was wasteful,” the audit said.

Department officials told auditors they were unaware of the spending, but auditors pointed to regular invoices from Verizon that showed which phones were not being used.

“We would have expected EDD management to have reconsidered the need to pay the monthly service fees for so many devices that had no voice, message, or data usage,” the audit said.

The unemployment department began acting on the auditors’ findings in April, when it canceled service plans for 2,825 devices. It has since implemented a policy to terminate service plans for devices that go unused for 90 days.

The California state auditor highlighted the mobile devices in its regular report on “improper activities by state agencies and employees.” The audit also showed that the California Air Resources Board overpaid an employee who was on extended leave as he prepared to retire by $171,000.

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