The Brief

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

For nearly a century, MacArthur Park has been split in half by Wilshire Boulevard, but thanks to an ongoing project, that could change.

On Thursday morning, on a soccer field in MacArthur Park, Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez celebrated the end of phase one of the reconnecting MacArthur Park project, which asked over 2,500 residents how they would improve the park.

A glimpse of a possible future for the park will be visible on July 11 and 12 when the city closes the section of Wilshire Boulevard that runs through the park for Park to Park, a block party that will connect MacArthur Park to Lafayette Park.

Hernandez said the event is a pilot project with a “people centered” approach for Westlake’s future.

“For two days, Wilshire Boulevard will become something different,” Hernandez said during a press conference at the park on Thursday. “Instead of traffic, you’ll find families; instead of cars, you’ll find community; instead of just rushing through the space, you’ll have opportunity to enjoy it.”

The event will bring live music and a space for vendors to sell their goods to the green space. Other resources will include support from multiple city departments, like the Community Investment for Families Department and several nonprofits.

“When was the last time Wilshire Boulevard was closed for the community?” Hernandez told The LA Local. “This is going to be a good moment, especially for a lot of the residents in this area, where the park is their front yard and back yard.”

The event is an experiment in what it might look like to close the street and make it a space for pedestrians rather than cars, Hernandez said.

In recent months, the park has seen large-scale drug raids carried out by the US Drug Enforcement Administration, and the park and the surrounding area have seen a growing unhoused population, along with open-air drug use.

The Los Angeles Police Department said that there are more sanitation sweeps being conducted in and around the park in recent months.

The first phase of reconnecting MacArthur Park asked residents what they would like to see done to improve the park, with one option proposing to remove the stretch of Wilshire running through the park entirely and expand the green space. This option received the majority of the votes and was ultimately recommended by the report released this week.

Preliminary findings of the report were released in April and noted that the most popular option was among the most expensive and would take at least four years for construction.

Laura Rubio-Cornejo, the general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, said that if the project comes to fruition, it would be the largest pedestrianization project in Los Angeles history.

The second phase of the project will involve environmental reviews and cost estimates for each of the ideas proposed in the report. The second phase will be led by the city’s Bureau of Engineering.

“We will work together to develop design concepts and collect input from all of you throughout that process,” Crystal Lee, a city engineer with the department, said. “The city will use a final concept design to pursue additional funds and detailed architecture and engineering designs to go into construction.”

The projected timeline estimates that phase two will end in 2030. Hernandez said that community members will continue to receive updates throughout that time.

Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez on Thur. July 2 in MacArthur Park where she announced the beginning of a project to review possibly closing off Wilshire Boulevard to make the green space car-free.

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David Rendon

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The LA Local

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In the meantime, the report encouraged taking action to improve existing areas of the park, such as reopening and improving the pedestrian tunnels. It also recommended hosting events such as Park to Park to demonstrate interest in the space.

“We’re looking to secure more dollars to continue these different events; Park to Park is being funded by a Metro grant, and so we’re going to keep looking for those opportunities to bring those experiences to our neighborhood,” Hernandez said.

The report cautioned against making any significant investments to the stretch of Wilshire Boulevard, given the ultimate goal of its removal. It suggested that if anything were to be done, it should use temporary or “quick-build” materials.

The city is also planning to install fencing around MacArthur Park. The plan would add a wrought-iron fence around both halves of the park and would close the park at night, giving city employees time to clean the space overnight.

The report said that whatever happens next in MacArthur Park, the fence will need to be seriously considered. Hernandez said the fence’s future is not set in stone.

“Right now, we’re in a phase where there is a fence being talked about, being put around the park, but nothing is permanent,” she said. “If changes need to be made to make the space open for everybody, I’m sure we’re going to move in that direction.”

Hernandez said the reconnecting parks project is important because people shouldn’t have to wait for special occasions to see the park.

“MacArthur Park is a very special neighborhood, and people on the outside that are not from this area often talk about it as like the sky is falling,” she said. “We are here every day, all the time, and we’re going to continue to be here every day, all the time, for this neighborhood. Because our people deserve it.”

Los Angeles County education leaders say Inglewood Unified is emerging from a financial crisis that started more than a decade ago.

An estimated 5,000 students returned to district campuses this week for the start of what could be the last school year under the control of an outside administrator.

“ We spent the first day of school filled with joy,” said James Morris, the district’s county-appointed administrator since 2023. “Breakfasts were ready. Children were welcomed with balloons and red carpets.”

Morris said 95% of enrolled students showed up Monday and 96% on Tuesday— several percentage points higher than recent statewide attendance averages.

Last month, a state agency announced the district had met all the standards needed to regain local control, and if it maintains those improvements for another year, the board of education could again have the power to approve a budget and make other key decisions in 2027.

“This exit from receivership is something the community has been waiting for,” Morris said.

Morris told LAist he is “completely confident” the district’s scores on the state evaluation will continue to improve.

However, Inglewood, like other California school districts, faces continued budgetary and enrollment challenges.

The backstory

Inglewood Unified became one of 10 school districts in California to enter receivership in 2012 after the district requested a multimillion loan — and ultimately borrowed $29 million — from the state to balance its budget.

As a condition of the loan, the state, and later Los Angeles County, appointed a series of outside administrators to run the district.

To regain local control, Inglewood Unified must meet more than 100 standards related to finance, governance, staffing, student achievement and facilities established by the state’s Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT).

FCMAT’s July 2026 report found Inglewood Unified met all the standards. It now needs to maintain those standards for another year.

The district will continue to have additional oversight until it pays off the $29 million loan — with interest — and completes an external audit.

Challenges, opportunities ahead

Overspending was one factor that landed Inglewood Unified in receivership and the district's spending is expected to exceed revenue by $21 million this school year, according to the most recent FCMAT report.

The district has outlined a series of budget cuts, including nearly $7 million in the 2026-27 school year, that includes eliminating certificated educators, support staff and administrators because of declining enrollment.

The FCMAT report found the district enrolls 67% fewer students than it did in the 2003-04 school year.

The district closed nearly half of its schools since the start of the receivership. Five shuttered in June 2025.

Inglewood Unified, like other California districts, also expects enrollment to continue to decline. The state distributes funding based on an average of how many students show up to class each day, so fewer students means a smaller multiplier for education dollars.

However, Deputy Superintendent Bernadette Lucas, says new programs could help stem enrollment losses.

“ Historically, the district has seen its greatest drop between middle school and high school, as parents and students look for options that align to their passions and their futures,” Lucas said.

In response, Lucas said high schools are creating pathways for students to earn career and technical education certificates. In 2025, Dr. Dre and producer Jimmy Iovine partnered with the district to open a new high school focused on design, technology and entrepreneurship.

“I'm not saying it's a huge wave, but students are coming back slowly, and families are expressing more interest,” Lucas said.

How Inglewood families can get involved in the district’s future

Watch or attend a board meeting 

Five elected trustees represent Inglewood Unified residents. Even though the board doesn’t currently oversee the district directly, their meetings are where important decisions about finances, curriculum, school safety and other topics are discussed.

Community members can also share their experiences and ask questions during the public comment portion of each meeting. The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 19. The public portion of the meeting is expected to start at 5 p.m.

The agenda, livestream link and schedule of upcoming meetings are online.

Join a parent teacher group (PTA) at your child’s school

PTAs often organize fundraisers, student events and volunteer opportunities for their school. Parents, guardians, caregivers and other family members of students are welcome to join.

“ We're the fun arm of the school,” Marcie Brown, vice president of the Inglewood Council of PTAs, told LAist in July.

Vote in upcoming Inglewood elections

Several contests in November’s general election will shape the future of Inglewood schools.

There are elections for three of the district’s five board seats. The winners of these races will likely serve on the first board with decision-making power since the district entered receivership.

• In Trustee Area 1, incumbent Joyce Randall is running against challenger Cheryl Williams. 
• In Trustee Area 2,  Joe W. Bowers Jr. will face off against Shelby Richardson. Incumbent and Board President Carliss McGhee cannot run again after serving three consecutive terms. 
• In Trustee Area 3, incumbent Brandon Myers is running against challenger Yaritza A. Gonzalez. 

Voters will also decide whether to approve a new property tax to raise up to $396 million to pay for repairs and classroom upgrades.

LAist will have a guide to Inglewood Unified’s bond measure in our upcoming Voter Game Plan.

Since fall 2025, the Trump administration has moved to make it more challenging for people to become U.S. citizens.

In the past, candidates for naturalization studied the answers to 100 questions issued by the federal government. During their civics test, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officers would ask 10 questions from the list; to pass, candidates had to answer six correctly. Now, candidates must be prepared to answer 128 questions, and more correct answers are required to pass.

The Department of Homeland Security has also reintroduced “neighborhood investigations” into aspiring citizens — a discretionary practice that had been shelved since the 1990s.

About a year since those changes were implemented, advocates in Southern California say they are seeing additional barriers, including delays in the scheduling of naturalization interviews and heightened scrutiny of applicants who request waivers for testing requirements due to a physical, developmental, or mental disability.

DHS has also proposed changes that could make it significantly more expensive to apply for naturalization; more expensive for candidates to appeal denials; and eliminate fee waivers and reduced fees for low-income applicants.

The agency has said that these changes are needed to cover the cost of adjudicating naturalization applications.

For Dahni Tsuboi, CEO of the nonprofit Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California, this claim rings hollow.

“When you compare the $240 billion that have been invested by Congress in the last 18 months on the enforcement side, and then, for the people who are taking all the steps to become citizens, we're just making that much harder, I think that's very alarming,” she said.

A sharp drop in naturalization interviews

In recent months, local immigrant advocacy groups have seen a drop in the number of people getting scheduled for naturalization interviews.

At the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, “we still have folks who applied before the [changes to the civics tests were implemented last October] that are still awaiting an interview,” said staff attorney Shawntel Williams.

Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California has been doing naturalization work for 40 years, Tsuboi said. Typically, 5 to 10 of their clients get scheduled for naturalization interviews every month. Since April 2026, that number has dropped to zero.

According to the nonprofit, the total number of naturalization adjudications per month — including approvals and denials — went from 78,379 in September 2025 to 37,832 by January 2026.

Tsuboi fears that naturalization rates could drop even further if DHS’s fee changes are implemented.

The changes, she said, could have an outsized impact on Asian Americans communities, who make up the largest share of naturalized U.S. citizens. At the nonprofit she represents, Tsuboi added, “75% of the individuals who apply for naturalization use the fee waiver or the reduced fees.”

How advocates are responding to changes  

To support immigrants navigating the evolving naturalization landscape, the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles’s Shawntel Williams and her colleague, Eugenia Kim, have been hosting free citizenship education workshops at the nonprofit’s offices in Westlake.

They also offer free pre-screening clinics for people who are interested in determining their eligibility.

For people with a physical, developmental, or mental disability, Kim said “we strongly recommend — more than ever — that if you believe that you qualify to apply for an N-648." The form is a medical certification that's completed by a doctor who has personal knowledge of your disabilities and has actually treated you over the years.

"We also recommend that applicants have that completed N-648 reviewed closely by an attorney,” Kim said.

She and Williams plan to continue hosting their legal clinics for the foreseeable future.

For aspiring U.S. citizens, Williams added, legal advice has become essential, as news of all the changes to the naturalization process could be discouraging.

“We don't want people to count themselves out,” she said.