Rev. Brendan Busse greets a parishioner in front of Dolores Mission Church in Los Angeles.
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Jeremy Lindenfeld
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Capital & Main
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Topline:
Dolores Mission is in L.A.’s Boyle Heights neighborhood, an unmistakably Mexican American area. In the summer, attendance at the Catholic church plummeted, according to the Rev. Brendan Busse, Dolores Mission’s pastor, who said the pews were about half as full as usual.
Immigration enforcement hits home: In the months after ICE aids began in the L.A. area, multiple Dolores Mission congregants told Capital & Main that their friends or family members were detained by DHS and later deported. Among them were two nephews of Dolores Mission’s pastoral assistant; they didn’t return home from their work as gardeners one day. By the time church members tracked them down days later, they were at separate ICE detention centers in California, and were later deported to their home country of Guatemala, according to the pastoral assistant who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of being targeted by authorities.
Why it matters: As for church attendance, Boyle Height’s Dolores Mission is far from the only heavily Latino parish to see faltering numbers as a result of immigration enforcement. In Chicago, the Rev. Carmelo Mendez, pastor of St. Oscar Romero Parish on the city’s South Side, told NPR in November that attendance at Mass had fallen by 40%. In Washington, the Rev. Emilio Biosca Agüero, pastor at Shrine of the Sacred Heart, estimated that one out of five parishioners had stopped going to Mass after federal agents were deployed on the city’s streets. The climate in California’s Southland is such that Bishop Alberto Rojas excused parishioners in the Diocese of San Bernardino from Mass if they feared immigration enforcement.
To outside observers, parishioners at the Dolores Mission Church in Los Angeles might seem less pious this year. In the summer, attendance at the Catholic church plummeted, according to the Rev. Brendan Busse, Dolores Mission’s pastor, who said the pews were about half as full as usual.
The disappearance of a substantial portion of the faithful was not altogether surprising: It came just days after the Department of Homeland Security launched immigration raids across the city in June — followed by others around the country — at the behest of President Donald Trump.
Almost immediately, social media feeds and then television news reports brought the initial immigration raids to life: Masked federal agents tackled and arrested Latinos in parking lots, on street corners and at workplaces. Those detained looked like they could be part of Dolores Mission’s overwhelmingly-Latino parish.
Dolores Mission is in L.A.’s Boyle Heights neighborhood, an unmistakably Mexican American area where vibrant Chicano murals adorn public walls, music from Jalisco often rings out in Mariachi Plaza and 93% of residents are Hispanic or Latino.
Following the raids, some Boyle Heights residents were afraid to leave their homes. Many worried that they too might get swept up by one of the armed government agents roaming their neighborhoods, grabbing people off the streets and forcing them into unmarked vehicles.
That fear was compounded when it became clear that immigrants were being transported to far-off detention centers that have racked up human rights complaints — including places such as the so-called Alligator Alcatraz in the Florida Everglades and the much-criticized prison camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
The impression of being under siege in Boyle Heights speaks to a larger disconnect in heavily Latino and predominately Catholic communities across the country.
Despite winning 55% of Catholic voters in the 2024 presidential election, Trump’s approach to immigration enforcement has disproportionately affected many Catholic communities and organizations around the country. It has also resulted in sudden drops in church attendance, according to Catholic officials in various parishes.
That may be because even though Catholics represent fewer than 20% of U.S. adults, they make up 61% of the population at risk of deportation, according to a March report by the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, the National Association of Evangelicals, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and World Relief. In 2022, about 43% of U.S. Hispanic adults considered themselves Catholic, according to Pew Research Center.
Rev. Brendan Busse stands outside his church after leading a Spanish-language Mass.
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Jeremy Lindenfeld
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Capital & Main
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In the months after the raids began, multiple Dolores Mission congregants told Capital & Main that their friends or family members were detained by DHS and later deported.
Among them were two nephews of Dolores Mission’s pastoral assistant; they didn’t return home from their work as gardeners one day, Busse said.
By the time church members tracked them down days later, they were at separate ICE detention centers in California, and were later deported to their home country of Guatemala, according to the pastoral assistant who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of being targeted by authorities. DHS did not respond to Capital & Main’s questions regarding both nephews’ detainment and deportation.
“Everybody here, no matter who they are, has felt the impact of fear and anxiety that has kept people from feeling safe in the streets,” Busse said.
In response to questions from Capital & Main about the impact of immigration enforcement on Catholic communities across the country, Tricia McLaughlin, the DHS assistant secretary for public affairs, said that “lawbreakers should unquestionably be living in a climate of fear and anxiety that they will be caught and sent home,” meaning the countries in which they were born.
Mass deportations
A news release on the DHS website claimed that as of Oct. 27, the agency had carried out more than 527,000 deportations during Trump’s second term.
According to the Council on Foreign Relations, the vast majority of deportation flights during the first several months of 2025 were to countries whose populations are predominantly Catholic, such as Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.
The sometimes violent tactics used to detain and later deport immigrants have convinced some to abandon the United States. That includes Juan González, a longtime Catholic resident of Southern California who attended St. Andrew Church in Pasadena and earlier this year chose to move back to his home country of Mexico after three decades.
As for church attendance, Boyle Height’s Dolores Mission is far from the only heavily Latino parish to see faltering numbers as a result of immigration enforcement.
Parishioners walk past a shrine depicting the Virgin of Guadalupe in Dolores Mission Church.
In Washington, the Rev. Emilio Biosca Agüero, pastor at Shrine of the Sacred Heart, estimated that one out of five parishioners had stopped going to Mass after federal agents were deployed on the city’s streets, the Religion News Service reported in August.
At St. Thomas Mission in Brownsville in Texas’s Rio Grande Valley, the Rev. Joel Flores told the New York Times that he too has seen a significant drop in the size of his flock in recent months.
The climate in California’s Southland is such that Bishop Alberto Rojas excused parishioners in the Diocese of San Bernardino from Mass if they feared immigration enforcement.
McLaughlin, who has spoken about her own Catholic faith, said that “ICE does not raid churches” but added that the Trump administration will “not tie the hands” of federal agents, clarifying that “there may be a situation where an arrest is made” inside of a church.
In Southern California, Christmasparades and other events have been canceled for fear of ICE raids targeting Latinos. Dolores Mission Church alone canceled numerous gatherings — including an annual community volunteer picnic, a women’s conference and a series of public religious services called “Misas del Barrio” (Neighborhood Masses) — to protect the community.
Parishioner Alejandra Benavides summed up the situation as she sees it: “Immigration enforcement is kicking our ass and breaking our hearts.”
Cafeteria Catholics
Trump has claimed to “stand for everything … that the church stands for,” and has selected Catholics to some of the nation’s most powerful positions: Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, press secretary Karoline Leavitt, border czar Tom Homan and Health and Human Services Director Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
In January, Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, defended the Trump administration’s deportation policy by invoking a Catholic theological concept called “ordo amoris” (Latin for order of love), asserting that people should love their families before loving strangers. The claim was quickly rebuked by Pope Francis, who wrote that true ordo amoris is discovered by meditating on love “open to all, without exception.”
In February, soon-to-be Pope Leo also publicly challenged Vance’s interpretation, sharing an article titled “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others” on his X account.
A recent survey conducted by the right-wing Catholic media organization EWTN News and conservative pollster RealClear Opinion Research found that 54% of Catholic voters surveyed supported “the detention and deportation of unauthorized immigrants on a broad scale.”
In contrast, many Catholic leaders now say that some of the administration’s policies — such as the targeting of immigrants and the defunding of humanitarian programs — run directly counter to deeply held Catholic teachings.
“What they confused for Christianity is a white nationalist vision of racial purity and national purity that should be called out by anybody of faith as a real heresy,” Dolores Mission’s Busse said.
Good works
Catholic organizations that have long mobilized to support vulnerable communities, including immigrants, have in some cases ramped up such efforts in response to Trump’s policies.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, hardly known for liberal beliefs when it comes to issues like abortion and same-sex marriage, seemingly stayed the course when the the nation’s bishops elected conservative Archbishop Paul S. Coakley as their new president in November.
But nearly all of those same bishops — 96% of those who voted in a fall assembly — took aim at the Trump administration’s immigration policies in a Special Message, the first such message it has agreed upon in more than a decade. In it, the bishops called for an end to Trump’s “indiscriminate mass deportation” and “dehumanizing rhetoric and violence.”
“To our immigrant brothers and sisters, we stand with you in your suffering, since, when one member suffers, all suffer (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:26),” the statement said. “You are not alone!”
The conference also praised and encouraged many activist Catholics to continue their work on behalf of immigrants.
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the largest in the country, is also trying to adapt.
Isaac Cuevas, the archdiocese’s director of immigration and public affairs, said parishioners who normally run food pantries are now combating hunger by delivering food to the homes of immigrants who are too afraid to go out in public.
The archdiocese has also provided court accompaniment training to about 180 priests, deacons and religious sisters. The hope, Cuevas said, is that by accompanying immigrants to court hearings, judges, bailiffs and clerks “all understand that that moral presence is there,” and that legal officials will be “as graceful as they can when dealing with these cases.”
Despite such actions, some Catholics feel the church has not taken a courageous enough humanitarian stand to protect immigrants.
Silvia Muñoz, who runs the department of social action at the Pedro Arrupe Jesuit Institute in Miami, is trying to pick up the slack.
Silvia Munoz sits at her home in Doral, Florida
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Jeremy Lindefeld
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Capital & Main
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“I’m in contact with other Catholic women who are as passionate about the rights of immigrants as myself, to try to do something in South Florida to wake up a silent church,” Muñoz said.
Every Wednesday, Muñoz, who arrived in the United States as a Cuban refugee in 1961, joins other activists outside the ICE detention center in Miramar, Florida, to accompany immigrant families as they wait to learn the fates of their loved ones.
Muñoz has also attended interfaith vigils in front of Alligator Alcatraz — where Amnesty International has accused guards of subjecting detainees to cruel treatment “which may amount to torture,” such as confining shackled prisoners to an outdoor cage smaller than a standard dryer for hours — calling for operations at the site to be halted.
DHS did not respond to Capital & Main’s request for comment on alleged abuse at Alligator Alcatraz.
Despite being 79, Muñoz said, “I cannot sit at home and do nothing. I believe this is a calling from God that I, even at my age, need to do.”
On Nov.13 — the feast day for St. Francis Xavier Cabrini, the patron saint of immigrants — Muñoz helped organize a procession and prayer service in front of the immigration courthouse in downtown Miami.
That event was part of a national day of action spearheaded by the Ignatian Solidarity Network, a nonprofit Catholic organization dedicated to social justice advocacy.
Christopher Kerr, executive director of the network, told Capital & Main that the purpose of his organization’s public advocacy events is to “demonstrate that the church stands with immigrant people and that our faith, to be Catholic, is to uphold the dignity and humanity of immigrant people.”
Kerr said the gatherings are increasingly important now that the Trump administration has drastically cut funds that many Catholic organizations and institutions relied on to facilitate humanitarian services such as refugee resettlement.
On the first day of his second term, Trump suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program — which just last year awarded the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and its affiliates more than $62 million — and froze its funding. The move forced hundreds of layoffs of church employees and halted humanitarian services such as housing assistance and migrant child foster care for thousands of refugees across the country.
Trump later allowed his then-special adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development. That action decimated Catholic Relief Services, which was the largest recipient of USAID funds, receiving about half of its $1.5 billion annual budget from the agency.
“The Trump administration has … reduced the funding so drastically that none of the organizations that were settling refugees are really able to sustain their operations,” Kerr said.
People in the pews
At Dolores Mission Church, Busse said the pews have been fuller recently.
December — with Advent, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe and Christmas — is usually the busiest time of the year. But he said he sees increased attendance as more than just a sign of a loyal flock.
Busse leads a well-attended Mass during Advent — the period leading up to Christmas.
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Jeremy Lindefeld
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Capital & Main
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To Busse, a well-attended church is its own defense against the immigration enforcement activities that he said many local Catholics are enduring like “a terror campaign.”
“When people are together, there’s less fear,” Busse said. “When a community actually shows up, the [ICE activity] falls apart” — not just because it becomes harder to carry out on a logistical level, but also because the community’s solidarity shows that the enforcement actions are clearly against the will of the people.
For Busse, protecting immigrants is one of the most foundational manifestations of his faith.
“It’s not an exaggeration to say that Catholics fundamentally believe that God’s self is kind of an immigrant, that the act of hospitality, of welcoming others in our homes and in our hearts is the central precept of Christianity and the Catholic faith,” Busse said. “It’s not just a nice thing to care for immigrants, it’s really the most sacred thing we can do.”
Skylight Books in Los Feliz is one of 13 stores participating in the Indie Book Crawl.
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Robert Gauthier
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Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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In this edition:
This weekend, check out the first L.A. indie bookstore crawl, Recoding the Codex, Sounds of L.A. County and more.
Highlights:
You might spend more time driving than reading, but whoever says L.A. isn’t a book town has it all wrong. Visit 13 independent booksellers at theinaugural L.A. Indie Book Crawlfrom Venice to Ventura, Pasadena to the Palisades, at this first-of-its-kind small-business celebration.
Narsiso Martinez is one of the featured artists at the new exhibit, ReCoding the Codex at ReflectSpace, which opens Saturday in Glendale. The show features artists from the U.S. and Korea addressing “colonization, Japanese American incarceration, and exploitation of agricultural workers, creating an international dialogue about harnessing the power of text and word in innovative ways.”
Sounds of L.A. County features three great concerts across the area. This Saturday, George Lane Park hosts Country Nights with Breakin' Boots, DJ Maxey, Gilbert Louie Ray Band; East Rancho Domínguez Park in East Compton features the Utopia One Love Summer Fest: Awdiv Band, KG Superstar, DJ Adé, Jerry Flores, DJ UnieQ and Joy Christos; and San Angelo Park in La Puente has the Gabby Tamez Corazón Norteño Tour: Gabby Tamez, Jessica Ballesteros and Grupo La Virtud.
I spent last Saturday night in a time machine to the '90s, reliving my high school days at the Hollywood Bowl, where I realized I knew nearly every note of the Gin Blossoms, Spin Doctors and Blues Traveler lineup. If you also donned Doc Martens and flannel once upon a time (or still do!), you’re in luck with this weekend’s music picks, too.
Lyndsey Parker at Licorice Pizza recommends the Totally Tubular '80’s festival at the Hollywood Palladium on Friday if you want to swap the Docs for Day-Glo, or you can catch early aughts favorites the Fray and Dashboard Confessional at the YouTube Theater.
On Saturday, legends Smokey Robinson and Gladys Knight are at the Hollywood Bowl, Walk Off the Earth plays the United Theater, and KCRW Summer Nights features Tijuana Panthers, Mariachi El Bronx and more at Grand Performances, free with RSVP.
Sunday has Summer Sounds with Nikka Costa, free at West Hollywood’s Plummer Park; Teddy Thompson at McCabe’s; or the Pacific Amphitheatre is back to the ‘90s with Sugar Ray, Smash Mouth and Tonic. And of course, the Vans Warped Tour is on, with 3OH!3, All Time Low, Bowling For Soup, Jimmy Eat World, Third Eye Blind and dozens more all weekend long at Long Beach’s Shoreline Waterfront.
This weekend, Sounds of L.A. County features three great concerts across the area. All summer long, you can catch local and international sounds at parks and unique venues around L.A. This Saturday, George Lane Park hosts Country Nights with Breakin' Boots, DJ Maxey, Gilbert Louie Ray Band; East Rancho Domínguez Park in East Compton features the Utopia One Love Summer Fest: Awdiv Band, KG Superstar, DJ Adé, Jerry Flores, DJ UnieQ and Joy Christos; and San Angelo Park in La Puente has the Gabby Tamez Corazón Norteño Tour, featuring Gabby Tamez, Jessica Ballesteros and Grupo La Virtud.
ReCoding the Codex: Cultural Heritage through Language
Through Oct. 10; Opening reception Saturday, July 25, 6:30 p.m. ReflectSpace Glendale Central Library 222 E. Harvard St., Glendale COST: FREE; MORE INFO
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Courtesy ReflectSpace
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At Frieze in 2023, Narsiso Martinez blew me away with his images of agricultural workers on CSA farm boxes. He’s one of the featured artists at the new exhibit, ReCoding the Codex, at ReflectSpace, which opens Saturday. The show features artists from the U.S. and Korea addressing “colonization, Japanese American incarceration, and exploitation of agricultural workers, creating an international dialogue about harnessing the power of text and word in innovative ways.”
Disco Vino
Friday, July 24, 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. Little Dom's 2128 Hillhurst Ave., Los Feliz COST: FROM $25; MORE INFO
The ever-popular Barnsdall Friday night wine events are getting the extra special treatment this week, as WONDERWERK takes over the event with Silver Lake Wine (tickets here) and then hosts an after-party at the delish Los Feliz standby Little Dom’s. From 9 p.m. to 11 p.m., guests will enjoy WONDERWERK pours with the purchase of a $25 glass you can keep, light bites and an all-vinyl DJ set from Chelsea Dean, who will be spinning house, funk and disco records in the Little Dom’s deli.
Los Angeles Indie Book Crawl
Through Sunday, July 26 Various locations COST: FREE; MORE INFO
A map of the LA region and all the Indie Book Crawl locations.
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LA Indie Book Crawl
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You might spend more time driving than reading, but whoever says L.A. isn’t a book town has it all wrong. Visit 13 independent booksellers from Venice to Ventura, and Pasadena to the Palisades, at this first-of-its-kind small-business celebration. Dañiel Andres Martinez spoke to some of the folks organizing it; read up on the event here and head out to find your next read this weekend.
Introductory Welding Workshop
Saturday, July 25, 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Lincoln Electric 12979 Sandoval St.,Santa Fe Springs COST: $125; MORE INFO
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Women Who Weld
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Eventbrite
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Women Who Weld is a Detroit-based nonprofit that teaches women how to weld and find employment in the welding industry. Their one-day L.A. workshop on Saturday is already sold out, but it’s worth getting on the waitlist if your 2026 bucket list includes learning metalwork in a safe, inclusive environment.
Pretzel Fest
Saturday and Sunday, July 25-26; Saturday, August 1 Old World Biergarten 7561 Center Ave. #49, Huntington Beach COST: FROM $5; MORE INFO
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Courtesy Old World Biergarten
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We may be a few months away from Oktoberfest, but get a head start by celebrating everyone’s favorite twisty treat at Pretzel Fest. With tons of pretzels, plus other food, beer, family-friendly events and free parking, there’s no need to get salty.
The Legacy of Jesse Ed Davis
Saturday, July 25, 6 p.m. Venice Heritage Museum 1234 Pacific Ave., Venice COST: FREE; MORE INFO
Jesse Ed Davis was an indigenous rock star and Venice resident who died in 1988; now he’s the focus of a new book, Washita Love Child: The Rise of Indigenous Rock Star Jesse Ed Davis. Learn more about him during a special presentation in partnership with Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Bob Dylan Center by author Dr. Douglas Miller and a Q&A with legendary musicians Jim Keltner, Elliot Easton, Bob Glaub and Mark Shark. Plus, there will be a live musical performance by Scott McCaughey.
Elly Yu
reports on early childhood. From housing to health, she covers issues facing the youngest Angelenos and their families.
Published July 23, 2026 5:00 AM
Alpha School, an AI-powered school, plans to open up its second location in Santa Monica at what used to be the Santa Monica Montessori School.
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Agustin Aleman
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For LAist
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Topline:
A Montessori school in Santa Monica founded in 1960 that focused on child-led learning closed its doors last Friday. A new AI-powered school is moving in and plans to open this fall.
What’s new: Parents with children at Santa Monica Montessori School, which served kids from preschool through 5th grade, said they learned about the abrupt closure of the school with a little over a week’s notice.
The backstory: Parents said they received a letter dated July 5 in which the school’s director, Pamela Crisman, wrote that the decision to close "was not made lightly.” “Due to family circumstances that now require my full attention, I have made the difficult decision to prioritize those responsibilities after much reflection and consideration,” Crisman wrote. Crisman, who became the school’s director in 2003 according to the school’s website, has not responded to LAist’s repeated requests for comment.
A new school: Alpha School, an “AI-powered private school,” plans to open up its second Santa Monica location at the site of the old Montessori school this fall, said MacKenzie Price, the school's co-founder.
A Montessori school in Santa Monica founded in 1960 closed its doors last Friday. Now, a new AI-powered school plans to move in and open this fall.
Parents with children at Santa Monica Montessori School, which served kids from preschool through elementary, said they learned about the abrupt closure of the school with a little over a week’s notice.
“We were surprised, like everyone else — it was a pretty established place … a lot of great community, teachers, students,” said Michael Ho, a parent of a 4-year-old that attended the school for about two years. He had planned to keep his 4-year-old there for the following school year and had put in a deposit.
Parents said they received a letter dated July 5 in which the school’s director, Pamela Crisman wrote that "the decision was not made lightly."
“Due to family circumstances that now require my full attention, I have made the difficult decision to prioritize those responsibilities after much reflection and consideration,” the letter said. “Beginning in August, a new school will assume occupancy of the facility as they prepare for the upcoming academic year.”
Crisman, who became the school’s director in 2003 according to the school’s website, has not responded to LAist’s repeated requests for comment.
The school is among a growing number of preschools that have closed in recent years in L.A. County and across the state. A report by UC Berkeley researchers found that between 2020 and 2024, at least 167 pre-K centers across L.A. county have closed. That’s as enrollment in universal transitional kindergarten — the new grade for 4-year-olds in public schools — has grown.
“ It's so heartbreaking that, we won't have that community resource to teach kids in such a humanistic way,” said Alex Mulvaney, a parent of two who attended the school, and had planned to send his third child there. He said he understands businesses close, but was upset by the short notice. “You don’t just kick kids, toddlers, out on the street with a week’s notice.”
Jocelyn Ranne said she’s scrambling now to find a place to send her 3-year-old daughter, and said the Montessori school, which she was paying about $21,000 a school year for, was a special place for her children.
“The teachers there were just so phenomenal. They were so good with the kids, and the Montessori approach — it's just really special. Like, everything's at their eye level, and they just have the freedom to just go into the class and just find something and start working on it.”
What is Alpha School?
Alpha School, an “AI-powered private school" based in Texas plans to open up its second Santa Monica location at the site of the old Montessori school this fall, said MacKenzie Price, the school's co-founder. The private school has about a dozen locations across the country, and is expanding.
She said eight new schools are set to open this fall across California, including in Malibu, Palo Alto, and Piedmont. They already have established programs in San Francisco, Santa Barbara and Orange County.
Alpha’s growth comes as communities are debating the role of AI and technology in schools. Earlier this year, the Los Angeles Unified School District board voted to ban one-to-one devices for children from preschool through 1st grade, and set time limits to screen time for upper grades.
Price said Alpha began looking for a second location in Santa Monica because of the demand they saw for the first location they announced earlier this year, which quickly filled up.
“As a result, we're always interested in making sure that there's more availability for families that are interested in Alpha,” she said.
At the K-8 school in Santa Monica, which lists tuition at $65,000, students learn subjects like math on a computer for 2 hours a day using AI-powered software that customizes curriculum. She said the rest of the time is off a screen.
”Most importantly, we're giving kids back their most valuable resource, which is time, to be able to go and develop the life skills in the afternoon and work in workshops together and get outside and do activities and connect not only with each other, but also with their teachers, who we call guides,” Price said.
Price said there’s a lot of overlap that Alpha has with Montessori principles.
“Montessori has always had a really good focus on helping students have sort of a self-driven, proactive engagement with learning and develop life skills, and Alpha does so much of that, but we have made the technology component of our experience really be able to result in phenomenal learning," Price said.
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A California State University president who stepped down following a multi-million dollar settlement in a case accusing him of gender-based discrimination and harassment will earn a six-figure salary this coming year while he’s in between Cal State jobs.
New role: Former Cal State San Bernardino President Tomás Morales will provide international consulting for Cal State and work on strengthening the university’s international initiatives and global partnerships. Morales announced his plans for departure last August and officially left the university at the end of this school year, joining an executive transition program in which he will be paid $343,920 over a year-long period starting this August. This salary is typical for Cal State executives in this program, said Cal State Chancellor Mildred Garcia, who announced Morales’ interim role at a board of trustees committee meeting Wednesday. The board of trustees also unanimously granted Morales president emeritus status Wednesday afternoon, a title given as a gesture of appreciation for his service to the university.
The backstory: Morales, and a former dean at San Bernardino’s Palm Desert campus, Jake Zhu, were accused of gender-based discrimination, harassment and retaliation in a 2023 lawsuit that Cal State recently settled for $12 million. Clare Weber and Anissa Rogers, both former San Bernardino administrators, alleged they were instructed to resign after reporting a gender pay gap and discriminatory bullying to higher-ups. Cal State continues to deny any wrongdoing and determined Morales to be in good standing, which renders him eligible for the transition program.
A California State University president who stepped down following a multi-million dollar settlement in a case accusing him of gender-based discrimination and harassment will earn a six-figure salary this coming year while he’s in between Cal State jobs.
During the transition period, former Cal State San Bernardino President Tomás Morales will provide international consulting for Cal State and work on strengthening the university’s international initiatives and global partnerships.
Morales announced his plans for departure last August and officially left the university at the end of this school year, joining an executive transition program in which he will be paid $343,920 over a year-long period starting this August. This salary is typical for Cal State executives in this program, said Cal State Chancellor Mildred Garcia, who announced Morales’ interim role at a board of trustees committee meeting Wednesday.
The board of trustees also unanimously granted Morales president emeritus status Wednesday afternoon, a title given as a gesture of appreciation for his service to the university.
Morales, and a former dean at San Bernardino’s Palm Desert campus, Jake Zhu, were accused of gender-based discrimination, harassment and retaliation in a 2023 lawsuit that Cal State recently settled for $12 million. Clare Weber and Anissa Rogers, both former San Bernardino administrators, alleged they were instructed to resign after reporting a gender pay gap and discriminatory bullying to higher-ups.
Cal State continues to deny any wrongdoing and determined Morales to be in good standing, which renders him eligible for the transition program. Executives may become ineligible if the chancellor finds they violated university policy or engaged in serious misconduct.
Weber, who alleged she was fired weeks after asking Morales for a raise over email to bridge what she called a gender-based pay gap, said the ex-president should not remain in good standing.
Male Cal State employees “are protected when they behave badly, when they mistreat women, when they harass women, when they retaliate against them,” Weber said. “The tendency is to protect the university.”
Morales’ office did not respond to a request for comment.
Morales, new campus president still high earners
During the year-long transition period, Morales will be required to submit a monthly report to the chancellor chronicling “activities and milestones completed,” according to a board document.
“President Tomás Morales has served Cal State San Bernardino with distinction for 14 years, demonstrating exceptional leadership on behalf of the university and his students,” Garcia said at the meeting.
Morales will also provide guidance and support to incoming Cal State San Bernardino president S. Terri Gomez, Garcia said at the meeting. Gomez, the current provost and vice president of Academic Affairs at Cal Poly Pomona, will assume the role on Aug. 3.
The committee approved a $426,916 annual salary, $60,000 annual housing allowance, and additional auto allowance of $1,000 per month for Gomez when she takes office.
Gomez made $338,255 in base pay in 2024, per the latest available data from Transparent California.
In 2024, 69 out of Cal State’s 118,843 employees earned a salary higher than $343,920, according to the State Controller’s Office. Morales’ salary was $527,834 in 2024 — the sixth-highest earning salary in the Cal State system, behind the chancellor and four other campus presidents. The average university salary in 2024 was $39,870, according to the office.
San Bernardino’s chapter of the California Faculty Association labor union asked Cal State to open an investigation into university administrators perpetuating gender discrimination and deny Morales executive transition benefits in a social media post yesterday.
Morales’ transition assignment will last from Aug. 3, 2026, to Aug. 2, 2027. During this period, Morales will transfer to the Management Personnel Plan, granting him the employment rights and benefits of university managers and supervisors, Cal State spokesperson Amy Bentley-Smith said.
Bentley-Smith did not respond to a request for comment on what job Morales will take after the transition period, which should have been previously decided, according to a 2022 Board of Trustees agenda item outlining the policy.
“We are deeply grateful for President Morales’ outstanding leadership at Cal State San Bernardino and systemwide,” Garcia said at Wednesday's meeting.
No members of the board of trustees committee made any comments or asked any questions after Garcia’s announcement.
Phoebe Huss is a contributor with the College Journalism Network, a collaboration between CalMatters and student journalists from across California. CalMatters higher education coverage is supported by a grant from the College Futures Foundation.
A stiff drink without the sticker shock at Cento raw bar.
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Cecilia Seiter
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LAist
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Topline:
Getting a stiff drink in L.A. is expensive. These five spots graciously serve $10 martinis at happy hour.
Why try them: The martini is, as writer H.L. Mencken put it once, the only American invention as perfect as the sonnet. And while there’s no shortage of them in L.A., getting one that costs less than $15 can prove a journey. These five happy hour martinis all come in at $10 and don’t fall short on strength or flavor.
What to expect: Martini Mondays at the Nice Guy, martinis in a mermaid cave, and tricolor olive martinis in Beverly Hills.
Possibly the chicest and most indulgent way to unwind after a long day of work is with a perfectly-chilled martini in hand. Still, it’s usually a treat: martinis are famously high-brow beverages, and finding one that won’t break the bank in L.A. can prove difficult.
But if you know where to look, you’ll find that the city has plenty of martini deals. These five spots all stir up a delicious martini, and all of them offer generous happy hours where each ‘tini is $10 a pop.
Cento Raw Bar (West Adams)
There are many reasons to love Cento Raw Bar, the sister restaurant to Cento Pasta Bar next door, and one of L.A.’s dining scene’s newest darlings. For starters, it looks like a mermaid’s cave, but looks aren’t all this sweet oceanic outpost has to offer. Martinis and oysters, obviously, are a match made in heaven, and diving into Cento’s $10 “golden hour” (from 5-6 p.m.) martini-oyster is as delightful as it sounds. The martinis are made with gin or vodka and arrive in fun, color-blocked glassware. If you order yours dirty, you’ll get your olives on a little dish on the side. They’re well-balanced, perfectly chilled, and wonderful to wash down oysters with.
Location: 4919 W. Adams Blvd. Hours: Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday 5-10 p.m. (happy hour 5-6 p.m.); Friday and Saturday 5-11 p.m.
Dante (Beverly Hills)
The dirty and Dante martinis play nice together.
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Cecilia Seiter
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LAist
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I’ve never had a bad martini in New York City, which is why Dante— a classic New York joint with a stunning location in Beverly Hills — is a must for a martini happy hour in my book. It’s famous for the tricolor olives in its signature ‘tini (a powerful blend of Ford’s gin, Ketel One vodka, Noilly Prat vermouth, Dolin Blanc vermouth, Nardini Cedro liqueur, olive and lemon bitters), but the dirty here never disappoints.
Like all good things, Dante’s dirty martini is deceivingly simple: Reyka vodka, olive oil, olive bitters and a pinch of salt with a dose of olive brine mist. Olives come chilled on the side. Martini hour is 3-5 p.m. daily.
Location: 225 N. Canon Dr., Beverly Hills (inside the Maybourne Hotel) Hours: Monday to Friday 12 p.m. to 12 a.m. ; Saturday to Sunday 10 a.m. to 12 a.m. (happy hour from 3-5 p.m. daily)
Found Oyster (East Hollywood)
Olive lovers will find Found Oyster’s martini delightful.
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Cecilia Seiter
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LAist
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The folks behind Found Oyster knew what they were doing when they married excellent seafood, wine and martinis in their bustling neighborhood bistro.
You’ll find $10 martinis everyday from 4-6 p.m. here, and you can order your martini with olives, onion or a twist. The dirty martini is generous, with fat, blue cheese-stuffed olives served on the lip of a chilled Nick and Nora. There’s plenty to sample from the raw bar — seafood platters, scallop tostadas and sea urchin service — and the large plates, like the wedge salad and the pork caesar schnitzel, are not to be missed.
Location: 4880 Fountain Ave., East Hollywood Hours: Monday to Thursday 4-10 p.m.; Friday to Sunday 12 p.m. - 10 p.m. (happy hour from 4-6 p.m. daily)
Maydan (West Adams)
Don’t miss out on Maydan’s happy hour snacks.
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Courtesy Maydan
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There’s something beautiful about a martini that subtly departs from tradition, and Maydan, the acclaimed Lebanese-inspired restaurant inside its eponymous food hall, delivers on this front.
The Za’atar martini brings together olive oil washed vodka, dry vermouth and sumac-sesame oil for a savory spin on a classic cocktail. Happy hour is Tuesday through Thursday 5-7 p.m. You’ll also find discounted snacks on the happy hour menu, like charcoal-grilled kebabs and housemade dips.
Location: 4301 W. Jefferson Blvd., West Adams Hours: Closed Mondays; Tuesday to Thursday 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 8 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.; Sunday 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. (happy hour from 5-7 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday)
The Nice Guy (West Hollywood)
Jazz and martinis were made for each other.
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Courtesy The Nice Guy
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Martini Mondays are a great excuse to leave the house on a weeknight. West Hollywood’s The Nice Guy offers a generous range of $10 martinis, including dry, dirty and espresso martinis paired with live Italian jazz. You can also order a $30 martini meal to the tune of a burger, fries and martini (the Classic) or a Caesar salad, rigatoni Bolognese and a martini (the Mr. Nice Guy.)
Location: 401 N. La Cienega Blvd., West Hollywood Hours: Open daily, 6 p.m. to 2 a.m.
