The Brief

Culver City’s DMV office got a new paint job recently.

Usually, that’s not news. But in doing so, the state whitewashed an iconic Chicano mural painted on the building nearly 50 years ago. Now, one of the artists is working with the state to get it restored.

The cream colored wall covering over the most prominent part of the mural

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How the coverup was discovered

Artists David Botello and Wayne Healy, founders of East Los Streetscapers, painted “Moonscapes” in the late ‘70s with $10,000 from the California Arts Council. The Chicano science mural took about a year-and-a-half to paint, covering all the exterior walls of the DMV office.

The mural was a futuristic take on life and transportation with a bend toward environmentalism. For example, people drove through space with a dashboard computer warning the driver to switch to alternative energies. The four black walls were filled with vibrant displays of these stories. Then, crews painted over all but one.

Botello jokes the astronaut was holding the "first iPad" in its other hand — a handheld screen the muralists painted decades before the product. The screen referenced lowriders, barrios and his wife Lupe.

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“Over time, the wood deteriorated, and the mural often became a target for graffiti,” DMV spokesperson Ronald Ongtoaboc told LAist in a statement. “The DMV attempted to locate information on the mural, its artists and the organization(s) responsible for the mural, with no success.”

Botello, who lives in El Sereno, got in touch with the DMV in late February after he got wind of the whitewashing. His brother, a fellow muralist who also assisted on “Moonscapes,” sent him photos of contractors painting over the frontside of the mural, where a famed section showing an astronaut floating could be seen all who passed by Washington Boulevard.

David Botello is working with the DMV to have the mural restored

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“ We were devastated. We just felt so terrible because all that effort, overpainted,” Botello said. “Nobody could believe they would do that.”

Botello emailed the department that night. “ I said, ‘To whom it may concern, you painted out our mural. How come you didn’t contact us?’” The next morning, he was told to get in touch with the DMV’s facilities manager in Sacramento to ask them to stop painting over the artwork. The department agreed.

Botello marked on the wall to warn contractors not to paint anymore.

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Just one wall of mural was left — ironically because the long line of waiting DMV visitors who regularly snaked along it had made it hard to reach.

Why the mural matters

“Moonscapes” is significant because Chicanos didn’t paint often on the west side during L.A.’s mural movement, let alone one focused on science.

That work drew some attention. Botello recalled an interaction they had while working on the front of the building.

“ A lady from across the block came over, and said, ‘How come you’re putting graffiti on the wall? We’re gonna call the cops.’”

They had just put chalk on the walls to outline what to paint. Botello said he took out the designs and assured her they had permission. By the time they finished, the mural was popular and featured in magazines.

A young Botello stands in front of "Moonscapes III," which focuses on energy and transportation. To the left is a dipstick that shows the space car is low on oil, signaling the importance of reducing oil consumption. This display was where the driving test starts.

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"Moonspaces V" depicted the astronauts who died in the Challenger disaster.

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"Moonscapes III" also includes a portion where a large man, a mechanic, is holding up a glass jar that's meant to symbolize an eight cylinder engine.

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"Moonscapes II" is a cruise through time. Next to the  Aztec moon goddess are DNA molecules. Inside them are different forms of life, such as a whale, a brain and an embryo.

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“ Little by little, everybody accepted it because we were not doing an obvious Chicano mural,” he said.

But Botello and Healy injected bits of themselves across the mural. The astronaut’s helmet had a reflection of a “ zoot suiter,” and the Mexican flag was on its upper arm.

What comes next

This isn’t the first time one of Botello’s murals has been ruined. In the ‘80s, Shell Oil commissioned the East Los Streetscapers to paint a mural at a gas station. But in 1988, the wall it was on was torn down. Similarly, no one on the team got a warning.

That situation became a test case for the California Art Preservation Act. They took Shell Oil to court and won through an appeal in 1991. That case is why the act today also protects murals.

The act prohibits the destruction or altering of artwork without the artist’s consent or a chance to preserve it. And in the case of murals, building owners are supposed to “diligently” attempt to give the artist 90 days’ notice.

That being said, Botello doesn’t want to take the DMV to court.

“We want to go with the goodwill that I’m getting from the manager in Sacramento,” Botello said, “and believe first of all, that he’s gonna pay for restoring the walls. ”

Graffiti can be seen on what's left of "Moonscapes III."

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The wood panels — which were the mural's canvas — have also clearly worn and cracked over the years.

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Botello is working on an estimate of charges. He’s already put in more than 100 hours of work to save the mural. Botello and a restorationist are getting a paint remover from the University of Florence in Italy to test on the walls. If it works, it would remove the top layer of white paint.

But if that doesn’t pan out, the mural will need to be redone.

“ It is possible to repaint it, but I’m not healthy enough,” he said. “I would maybe supervise. We have to get a good team.”

Botello is interested in updating the mural too. Some of it is tied to specific historical events, such as the Challenger disaster, so repainting is a chance to bring panels up to date.

“ I would like to see the most beautiful parts of the mural fully restored and maybe come up with something new for other parts,” he said.

As Los Angeles homeowners grapple with the expense of rebuilding after last year’s devastating fires, an L.A. City Councilmember is putting forward an idea that could lower some costs.

Councilmember Traci Park, who represents the Pacific Palisades, has introduced a motion to explore waiving part of the city’s portion of the local sales tax for fire victims who purchase rebuilding materials in the city.

The 1% of the local 9.75% sales tax that goes into the city’s general fund would be given back to consumers under the proposal. The waiver could apply to lumber, appliances and other rebuilding goods purchased within the city.

The motion, introduced Friday by Park and seconded by Councilmember John Lee, says: “The City should do everything within its power to alleviate the financial burden for these residents and businesses in order to facilitate their return and stabilize the Pacific Palisades community.”

Would it make much of a difference? 

Economists told LAist the proposal could help many homeowners mitigate the high cost of rebuilding, but likely wouldn’t tip the scales for under-insured, under-resourced property owners.

“It wouldn't hurt if it's very well designed and easy to use,” said Alexander Meeks, a director at the Santa Monica-based Milken Institute. “But I'm not sure if it's really going to tackle the scale of the financial challenge that survivors are facing.”

Meeks noted that the tax waiver wouldn’t lower up-front costs such as environmental testing, architectural design and permitting. And it may not help homeowners sourcing raw materials from outside the city.

Zhiyun Li, a UCLA Anderson School of Management economist, said the waiver could help some homeowners justify the additional cost of rebuilding more fire-safe structures.

“Homeowners must typically pay out of pocket to upgrade to IBHS+ standards, which are more stringent,” Li said. “The tax waiver could encourage upgrading to IBHS+ standards or investing more in mitigation, thereby reducing future risk and improving the likelihood of maintaining insurance coverage.”

What’s next for the proposal? 

The proposed tax relief would not be available to properties that have been sold since the fires started in January 2025.

The motion has been sent to the City Council’s budget and fire recovery committees. If approved by the full council, it would require the city administrative officer, the Office of Finance and the city attorney to report back to the council within 60 days on options for crafting a tax relief plan.

The motion calls for the report to consider factors such as how to minimize the burden of administering the tax relief, what documentation homeowners would have to submit and what it would cost the city to oversee the program.

Senate and House Republican leadership have resurrected a stalled plan to fund the Department of Homeland Security after a record 47-day funding lapse.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said in a joint statement on Wednesday that the House will take up a measure passed by the Senate last week to fund most of DHS except Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol through the end of September.

Republicans would then attempt to fund ICE and Border Patrol for three years using a party-line budget reconciliation bill that would not require support from Democrats.

"In following this two-track approach, the Republican Congress will fully reopen the Department, make sure all federal workers are paid, and specifically fund immigration enforcement and border security for the next three years so that those law-enforcement activities can continue uninhibited," Thune and Johnson wrote.

The agreement comes nearly a week after House Republicans dismissed an identical plan, refusing to take up the Senate-passed measure and instead passing a 60-day short term funding bill for all of DHS that had little chance of overcoming Democratic opposition in the Senate.

Johnson called the agreement a "joke" and President Donald Trump declined to publicly endorse the deal. Trump had previously resisted any package that did not include his push to overhaul federal elections known as the Save America Act.

"I think any deal they make, I'm pretty much not happy with it," Trump told reporters last week.

Democrats welcomed the agreement as in line with their pledge not to give ICE any more money without reforms after immigration enforcement agents killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis. But the deal does not include any of the policy demands Democrats are pressing for, such as a ban on masks for immigration enforcement officers and requiring warrants issued by a judge, not just the agency, to enter homes.

"For days, Republican divisions derailed a bipartisan agreement, making American families pay the price for their dysfunction," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote in a statement Wednesday. "Throughout this fight, Senate Democrats never wavered."

Trump seemed to bless the revived plan earlier Wednesday, writing on social media that he wants a party-line bill to fund immigration enforcement on his desk by June 1.

"We are going to work as fast, and as focused, as possible to replenish funding for our Border and ICE Agents, and the Radical Left Democrats won't be able to stop us," Trump wrote.

Despite the shutdown, ICE has been minimally impacted because Republican lawmakers approved $75 billion for ICE through another party-line budget reconciliation bill last year.

Congress is on a two-week recess, but the Senate and House could move to fund all of DHS except ICE and CBP as early as Thursday using a procedure known as unanimous consent that allows the chambers to circumvent formal voting as long as no member objects.

Even during a recess when most members are not in Washington, this could be unpredictable, especially in the House, where many hard-line conservatives oppose a deal that does not fully fund DHS.

"Let's make this simple: caving to Democrats and not paying CBP and ICE is agreeing to defund Law Enforcement and leaving our borders wide open again," Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., a member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus, wrote on X. "If that's the vote, I'm a NO."

If a member does object, that could require waiting for another vote when all members are back from recess.

Claudia Grisales contributed reporting.
Copyright 2026 NPR

California clocked its second-worst snowpack on record Wednesday, a potentially troubling signal ahead for fire season.

It’s an alarming end to a winter that saw abnormally dry conditions briefly wiped from California’s drought map in January, for the first time in a quarter-century.

Though precipitation to date has been near average, much of it fell as rain rather than snow. Then March’s record-breaking heat melted most of the snow that remains. The state’s major reservoirs are nevertheless brimming above historic averages and are flirting with capacity, and a smattering of snow, rain and thunderstorms are dousing last month’s heat wave.

But experts now warn that California’s case of the missing snowpack could herald an early fire season in the mountains.

On Wednesday, state engineers conducting the symbolic April 1 snowpack measurement at Phillips Station south of Lake Tahoe found no measurable snow in patches of white dotting the grassy field.

“I want to welcome you call to probably one of the quickest snow surveys we’ve had — maybe one where people could actually use an umbrella,” joked Karla Nemeth, director of the California Department of Water Resources. “We’re getting a lot of questions about are we heading into a hydrologic drought? The answer is, I don’t know.”

State data reports that California’s snowpack is closing out the season at an alarming 18% of average statewide, and an even more abysmal 6% of average in the northern mountains that feed California’s major reservoirs.

Only the extreme drought year of 2015 beat this year’s snowpack for the worst on record, measuring in at just 5% of average on April 1st, when the snow historically is at its deepest.

“I think everyone's anticipating that it will be a long, busy fire season,” said Lenya Quinn-Davidson, director of the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources Fire Network.

“Without a snowpack, and with an early spring, it just means that there’s much more time for something like that to happen.”

‘It’s pretty bizarre up here’ 

In the city of South Lake Tahoe, which survived the massive Caldor Fire in the fall of 2021 without losing any structures, fire chief Jim Drennan said his department is already ramping up prevention efforts.

“It's pretty bizarre up here right now. It really seems like June conditions more than March,” Drennan said. “People are already turning the sprinklers on for their lawns.”

Without more precipitation, an early spring may complicate prescribed burning efforts. But Drennan said fire agencies in the Tahoe basin can start mechanically clearing fuels from forest areas earlier than usual.

“That means we can get more work done,” he said.

It also means homeowners need to start hardening their homes now, said Martin Goldberg, battalion chief and fuels management officer for the Lake Valley Fire Protection District, which protects unincorporated communities in the Lake Tahoe Basin’s south shore.

Goldberg urges residents to scour their yards for burnable materials, create defensible space and reach out to local fire departments with questions. The risks are widespread — from firewood, wooden fences, gas cans, plants, pine needles — even lawn furniture stacked against a house.

“In years past, I wouldn't even think of raking and clearing until May,” Goldberg said. “But my yard's completely cleared of snowpack, and it has been for a couple weeks now.”

‘A haystack fire’

Battalion chief David Acuña, a spokesperson for Cal Fire, said fire season is shaped by more than just one year’s snowpack.

Climate change has been remaking California’s fire seasons into fire years. And California’s recent average to abundant water years have fueled what Acuña called “bumper crops of vegetation and brush.”

“Most of California is like a haystack. And if you’ve ever seen a haystack fire, they burn very intensely because there's layers of fuel,” Acuña said.

Like Quinn-Davidson, Acuña wasn’t ready to make specific predictions about fires to come.

But John Abatzoglou, a professor of climatology at UC Merced, said the temperatures and snowpack conditions this year offer a glimpse of California in the latter decades of this century, as fossil fuel use continues to drive global temperatures higher.

How this year’s fires will play out will depend on when, where and how wind, heat, fuel and ignitions combine. But it foreshadows the consequences of a warmer California for water and fire under climate change.

“This,” Abatzoglou said, “is yet another stress test for the future in the state.”

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