Pacific Coast Highway will be closed from Chautauqua Boulevard in L.A. to Carbon Beach Terrace in Malibu.
Why: Caltrans said the closure is “out of an abundance of caution” after the Palisades Fire as two storm systems are expected to bring moderate rainfall to Los Angeles County. The National Weather Service said the risk for debris flow from burn areas remains “minimal.”
Read on ... for details on the changing status of the PCH in the aftermath of the fire.
Pacific Coast Highway will be closed “out of an abundance of caution” from Chautauqua Boulevard in L.A. to Carbon Beach Terrace in Malibu, according to Caltrans.
The roughly 9-mile closure starts Tuesday, Feb. 4, at 3 p.m. until at least Friday, when Caltrans engineers will assess whether it’s safe to reopen the highway to the public. Caltrans announced the closure on Monday — the same day it had reopened for the first time in weeks following the Palisades Fire, with one lane of traffic moving in each direction at limited speed.
“The highway must be closed due to soft soils on both the hill and ocean sides of the road,” Caltrans said in a news release. “Mud and debris flows may occur and canyons may overtop, blocking the road or causing further damage.”
Damage from the Palisades Fire extended to the infrastructure, homes and businesses along PCH, resulting in a weeks-long closure. The L.A. mayor’s office kept a three-mile stretch of PCH closed until Monday morning following concerns from residents about allowing the general public into the area amid worries about toxic pollution and looting.
Two storms are expected this week in Los Angeles. The highest chances of rainfall will be early to midday Wednesday and on Thursday night into Friday, according to the National Weather Service. It said that the risk for debris flow from burn areas remains “minimal.”
During the closure, only first responders, recovery agencies and utility companies will be permitted to access the PCH, according to Caltrans.
Residents of Pacific Palisades should still be able to get to their homes using Chautauqua Boulevard as long as they have resident passes, which they can acquire at the Disaster Recovery Center in Westwood from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Sunday that the state has been working to mitigate debris flow in burn areas. Crews have installed thousands of feet of material designed to prevent erosion, according to a news release from his office.
“Our top priority is to protect people and the environment from the cascading effects of wildfire damage,” Newsom said in the release. “Through coordinated collaborative efforts, we are reducing the risk of debris flows and maintaining the integrity of our natural resources.”
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Rancho Palos Verdes city officials announced Tuesday that five more homes ravaged by land movement could be eligible for a buyout. That’s because the city is set to receive around $10 million from a FEMA grant.
How we got here: Land movement in the Portuguese Bend area has increased in Rancho Palos Verdes in recent years, triggered by above-average rainfall since 2022. Those landslides have left around 20 homes uninhabitable and forced dozens of people off the grid after being stripped of power, gas and internet services.
About the grant: Any time a state of emergency is declared in a state, that state, in this case California, can apply for the Hazard Mitigation Grant from FEMA. Those funds are then allocated to cities, tribal agencies and other communities for projects that will help reduce the impact of disasters. The city has a buyout program underway for around 22 homes, also funded through a FEMA grant.
What’s next: Rancho Palos Verdes has applied for additional federal funds to buy out homes in the area, with the goal of demolishing the structures and turning the lots into open space.
Topline:
The University of Southern California board of trustees has appointed interim president Beong-Soo Kim to be its 13th full president. Kim was named as the interim leader in February 2025 and began the role this summer.
Who is he? Kim most recently served as USC’s senior vice president and general counsel and as a lecturer at the law school. Prior to joining USC, he worked at Kaiser Permanente and was a federal prosecutor for the Central District of California.
What’s he stepping into? Kim succeeds Carol Folt, who was brought on to stabilize the university following a series of scandals under the administration before hers. She formally stepped down from her role in July, following criticism of her ability to handle student protests and concerns over fiscal stewardship.
What’s happened under Kim’s interim presidency: USC faced a $200 million dollar deficit last fiscal year; Kim oversaw the layoffs of hundreds of employees since July.
The University of Southern California board of trustees has appointed interim president Beong-Soo Kim to be its 13th full president.
Kim was named as the interim leader in February 2025 and began the role this summer. He most recently served as USC’s senior vice president and general counsel, and as a lecturer at the law school. Prior to joining USC, he worked at Kaiser Permanente and was a federal prosecutor for the Central District of California.
Kim succeeds Carol Folt, who was brought on to stabilize the university following a series of scandals under the administration before hers. She formally stepped down from her role in July, following criticism of her ability to handle student protests and concerns over fiscal stewardship.
Soon after his term began, Kim oversaw the university’s effort to manage a $200 million deficit, which also led to hundreds of layoffs.
“We did have to make some difficult decisions last year with respect to our budget and layoffs,” Kim told LAist. “And I'm really pleased that as a result of those difficult decisions, we're now in a much stronger financial position and really for a number of months have been really focusing on the opportunities that we see on the horizon.”
In a call with LAist, and joined by USC board chair Suzanne Nora Johnson, Kim touched on bright spots and some of his priorities. He also touched on the relationship between USC and the Trump administration before a sudden ending to the call.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
LAist: You've talked about addressing the mass layoffs and budget challenges. What do you see as the way forward?
Beong-Soo Kim: Our research expenditures have actually been going up over the last year, over the last couple of years. We're focusing on: How do we provide the best possible educational value to our students? We're focusing on how to maintain and strengthen our academic culture of excellence, open dialogue and engagement with different viewpoints.
And we're also really kind of leaning into artificial intelligence and asking questions as a community about how we incorporate AI responsibly into our education, into our operations, into our research. And there are obviously a lot of important ethical questions that we're working on, and it's really an quite an exciting time to be in the position that I'm in.
What are you excited for?
Well, a couple things that we're really looking forward to are, as part of the anniversary of the United States, we're going to be hosting a National Archives exhibition [of] founding documents in late April. We're also looking forward to helping host the L.A. Olympics in 2028. We have our 150th anniversary coming up in 2030 as a university.
So there's a lot that's on the horizon. We also have the Lucas Museum opening up across the street later this year and, of course, George Lucas is one of our most beloved Trojan alumni. So there's so much vitality, so much energy on the campus right now.
USC has, for the most part, avoided the sort of conflicts that the University of California system and elite private institutions across the country have had with the Trump administration. What can you share about how you plan to manage USC’s relationship with the federal government?
Well, we really make an effort to engage with all levels of government, as well as foundations, the private sector, community groups. That kind of engagement is really more important nowadays. Universities can't just go off on their own. It's important for us to partner and find opportunities to work with others. And that's what we've been doing.
And that's part of the reason why I think that our research has continued to go strongly. And I give a lot of the credit to our faculty and researchers who can continue submitting grant applications and continue to do research in areas that are critically important to the benefit of our community, our nation, and our world. And I think that we -—
Suzanne Nora Johnson: —Actually I'm so sorry, but we have to complete the board meeting, and we've got to run. Thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it. We'll be in touch. Bye. Thanks. Bye.
Topline:
Huntington Beach will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review a decision striking down the city’s controversial voter ID law.
What’s the backstory? Huntington Beach voters approved a measure in 2024 allowing the city to require people to show ID when casting a ballot. The state and a Huntington Beach resident promptly sued to block it. But the fight isn't over. The City Council voted unanimously this week to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in.
Does the city have a shot? The Supreme Court gets 7,000 to 8,000 requests to review cases each year. The Court grants about 80 of these requests, so the city’s chances of getting the court’s attention are statistically slim.
Read on ... for more about the legal battle.
Huntington Beach will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review a decision striking down the city’s controversial voter ID law.
Huntington Beach voters approved a measure in 2024 allowing the city to require people to show ID when casting a ballot. That contradicts state law — voters in California are asked to provide ID when they register to vote but generally not at polling places.
The state and a Huntington Beach resident promptly sued the city over the voter ID law and won an appeals court ruling striking down the law. The California Supreme Court declined to review the decision earlier this month. The state also passed a law prohibiting cities from implementing their own voter ID laws.
Then, the City Council voted unanimously this week to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in.
The Supreme Court gets 7,000 to 8,000 requests to review cases each year. The Court grants about 80 of these requests, so the city’s chances of getting the court’s attention are statistically slim.
There’s also a question of whether or not the city’s voter ID case meets the Court’s criteria for review — SCOTUS addresses questions of federal law. Mayor Casey McKeon said it does, in a news release, noting a 2008 Supreme Court decision that upheld a state’s voter ID law — in Indiana. But Huntington Beach is a city, and the question in its voter ID case is whether or not a city can implement its own requirements for voting, even if it clashes with state law.
Topline:
The Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center burned down in last year's Eaton Fire, taking with it nearly all of the special and ceremonial items housed inside. Since then, many supporters have donated items large and small, including prayer books, clothes and candlesticks.
Among the donations is a hand-woven challah cover that serves not only as a symbol of faith, but — in this case — evidence of recovery.
Why it matters: Cantor Ruth Berman Harris told LAist the challah cover, made and donated by Karen Fink of Van Nuys, will be used for communal celebrations and holidays to give it an extra layer of “kavod” — of holiness. Challah covers are a traditional sight on a table prepared for a Shabbat meal, where both the bread and a cup of wine are blessed before eating.
The gift: Fink said her weaving guild was already making items for survivors of the L.A.-area fires. When someone suggested she make a challah cover, she got to work.
“I just always like to think about who it's going towards, what it's going to be used for, that it should be used well and loved,” she said.
Go deeper ... Rabbi of Pasadena synagogue that burned in Eaton Fire: 'We're no strangers to crisis'
When last year’s Eaton Fire burned the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center, cantor Ruth Berman Harris helped save what she could from the flames.
Despite best efforts, the campus and nearly everything in it was destroyed.
“I had a colleague calling me and asking me what I needed, and I wasn't able to say,” Berman Harris, one of the spiritual leaders of the synagogue, told LAist. “I don't think I was able to say what I needed for about a year.”
In the months that followed the fire, people from around the world stepped up to replace what was lost, including prayer books, clothes and candlesticks. Several donated challah covers, a decorative cloth that’s placed over the braided bread before being blessed and eaten on Shabbat.
And while much of the community’s focus is directed toward larger items that need to be replaced — the buildings included — smaller, ceremonial items can make a big difference, too.
Karen Fink, a Van Nuys resident, donated a hand-woven challah cover that she made for the temple. Her weaving guild was already making dish towels for L.A. fire survivors.
“You've got so many things that need to be done and replaced,” Fink said.
“I just always like to think about who it's going towards, what it's going to be used for, that it should be used well and loved,” she continued.
On Jan. 7, 2025, as the flames closed in on the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center, Berman Harris rushed through smoke and falling embers to rescue all 13 sacred Torah scrolls, pieces of parchment with Hebrew text used at services, including weekly on Shabbat.
Berman Harris now works out of an office building in Pasadena, a few miles away from where the center stood.
More than 400 families gathered to worship at the temple before the fire. About 30 families lost their homes, and 40 others were displaced, she said. The congregation has been gathering at the First United Methodist Church in Pasadena.
“The silver lining of when you go through a traumatic loss is that you don't realize A, how strong you are and B, how not alone you are,” said Berman Harris, who has been a part of the congregation for 14 years.
She said the temple has received many gifts to help them rebuild, but Fink’s challah cover will be used for communal celebrations and holidays to give it an extra layer of “kavod” — of holiness.
Challah covers, usually embroidered with Hebrew words and symbols, are a traditional sight on a table prepared for a Shabbat meal, where both the bread and a cup of wine are blessed before eating. The decorative cover is a symbolic way of honoring the bread, while the wine is being blessed first.
“Because you say the blessing over the bread last,” Fink told LAist. “It gets to have this lovely cover so it doesn't get embarrassed.”
Fink said she used one of her more intricate patterns, featuring white and blue threads in a repeating pattern of the Star of David.
She said it took a couple of hours to wind the thread, about a day to get the project set up on her small loom and another three days to get through the top six rows of stars.
Once the challah cover was complete, it took a few months to get it to Berman Harris, but Fink said she wanted to help in a way that felt more personal than mailing a check.
“They were able to get their Torah scrolls out,” Fink said. “But all the other things that maybe aren't required, but are helpful in enhancing the spirit of Shabbat, the spirit of a synagogue, you know, that was all lost.”
Berman Harris said the donations have not only helped rebuild their ritual spaces, they were gifted “with love.”
“They're not things you buy on Amazon,” she said. “These are things that you cherish because you can feel the love through the threads.”
The synagogue has received other challah covers that they’ve distributed to families in the congregation.
On the anniversary of the fire, Josh Ratner, senior rabbi at the temple, told LAist’s AirTalk program that Jewish people have overcome “so much” throughout history.
“I think that that gives us some firm foundation to know that we can recover from this as well,” he said. “And not just recover, but really our [history] … is one of rebuilding even stronger than before.
“Each time there's been a crisis, we've been able to reinvent different aspects of Judaism and to evolve."
