Articles in the “news” category

Sizeable outbreaks could impact wildfire response.

While retail sales bounced back in May after a deep drop in March and April, the wealthiest Americans are not spending as freely as they did before the pandemic. And that could limit the recovery.

Los Angeles is in a housing crisis, yet up to 100,000 units, many of them luxury apartments, sit empty. Could a vacancy tax help?

Many Black neighborhoods now have levels of unemployment that are double -- and in some cases triple -- the rates seen in predominantly White neighborhoods.

Orange County Chief Health Officer Dr. Nichole Quick resigned June 8, after receiving threats over her order for residents wear to face masks in public. She's just one of several local health officers in California to quit since the pandemic began.

Melina Abdullah told council members, "this is a moment where the world has cracked open, and you all have the opportunity to really be courageous."

The district will also review the budget -- including the allocation for school police -- over the summer.

Because there's more that can be done beyond cutting money

The L.A. County coroner now says he needs to look at the case "a little more deeply and carefully."

The Replace Your Ride program from AQMD gives low- to moderate-income owners of older cars a shot at the same kind of rebates higher-income people get when they buy new electric cars.

About half the recyclable materials put out on the curb in L.A. County Sanitation Districts territory ended up in local landfills.

The All Black Lives Matter rally is underway, with protesters marching from Hollywood to West Hollywood.

Protesters gathered Saturday around the tree in a Palmdale park where Robert Fuller was found hanged. (Josie Huang/LAist) Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: Sign up for our daily newsletters. To support...

Get ready to spin outside, 6-feet apart.

The Antelope Valley NAACP says the grieving family deserves to know if foul play was involved.

For some reason, I've been granted a platform to highlight the beauty and strength of L.A.'s most invisible communities. But that's not something I can do if I'm broken.

The state Judicial Council had imposed the program to fight the spread of COVID-19 in the jails; it's ending it June 20.

Social media is alight with #JusticeForRobertFuller messages.

An effort to restore affirmative action at California's public universities and state agencies is gaining steam amid the Black Lives Matter movement.

For three months we've been following small businesses along a stretch of Lincoln Blvd. in Venice to document the pandemic shutdown. This month: entrepreneurial ingenuity.

It's the inheritance I never wanted, but also kind of need every day. It was delivered in pieces over the course of 30 years with no receipt. What can I say? Thanks. I hate it.

Now other surfing organizations are planning future paddle-outs.

When Christopher Street West decided to host a "Black solidarity march," they did it without consulting any Black activists outside of the organization -- and that says a lot about West Hollywood's Whiteness problem.

Cheryl Farrell had a lovely Spanish-style home in a foothill suburb. She enjoyed her morning jogs along the tree-lined streets. Until she noticed people avoiding her.

A dismaying reveal during a dismaying time; homelessness jumped another 13% this year.

The audit is the latest mess for the West Valley Water District, which has has been in turmoil for years amid accusations of cronyism and overspending.

"This is just more little bits of injustice that people are feeling if they're peacefully protesting, and they're getting hurt."

Applications to live in Los Angeles public housing surged last month, a sign of the pressure Angelenos are feeling.

The Supreme Court is expected to decide this month whether President Trump can end the DACA program.

The bystander video shows three deputies roughly pinning Price on the ground, with one holding Price's head down with his leg and punching him once, and another kneeing him five times in the side.

During the protests "we had numerous, numerous folks who were hit in the back as they were retreating, or in the shins, and on the neck," said a member of the National Lawyers Guild.

A review board found no evidence to support Officer Salvador Sanchez' claim that Kenneth French was holding a handgun. It also was presented with evidence that French was moving away from Sanchez when the officer shot him.

Leaders of the district's teachers union have endorsed the idea -- but would the LAUSD board enact it?

In their own words.

Los Angeles child care centers braced for a wave of new kids -- instead, many reported low enrollment. 

An LAist analysis finds that by late April, L.A. County saw a surge in infections among Latinos.

While a large number, it falls far short of Governor Newsom's 15,000 goal. And as the hotel rooms have only been leased for three months, the future is uncertain

This is what it looks like when thousands of people demonstrate in front of the L.A. Mayor's house, demanding systemic change.

"It is our sacred duty to fight for the full freedom of our people, not a comfortable place in oppression," Melina Abdullah said during a memorial for George Floyd.

Schools will likely follow "hybrid" models at first.

The Santa Ana winds driving the fires are uncommon for this time of year.

Protesters helped force city leaders to target up to $150 million in LAPD spending for cuts.

Cherished rituals like taking communion have been altered but parishioners expressed relief and joy at returning to the pews.

Mr. Huerta in his 1950s Chevy Deluxe at today's "Eastside Ride" protest caravan in Boyle Heights. (Robert Garrova / LAist) Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: Sign up for our daily newsletters....

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The councilman later removed the post and told CBS News that it was a joke.

Anti-police brutality protests continue for an 11th day in Los Angeles. Here's what you need to know.

The stakes are incredibly high. Did I come up short?

"I asked everyone what group they were with and they said 'We're here with L.A., volunteering.'"

"This isn't new to us." Students have been on the front lines, but their voices haven't often been heard in the media coverage of this week's demonstrations.

About 300 people would wind up shutting down Brookshire Avenue and marching along Firestone Boulevard, two of the city's busiest streets, for the biggest display of civil disobedience Downey has seen in my lifetime.

The director of the union representing L.A. police called the mayor's mental health into question and criticized his leadership during a time of crisis for the city.

The state of California and philanthropies are disbursing $125 million to immigrants lacking legal status. It's enough to help a small fraction of California's 2 million undocumented. 

LAPD Chief Michael Moore said personnel expenses make up about 96% of the department's budget and these cuts would require a significant reorganization.

LAist Data Editor Dana Amihere struggles to find peace within her personal divisions -- as a black woman, journalist and wife of a white man -- following the past few months of police brutality and protests.

We need to brace ourselves for the possibility that the coronavirus pandemic will knock thousands of California children measurably behind in school, perhaps for years.

Protests are underway at City Hall and other locations in Los Angeles.

It seems that not everyone got the heads up shaking was coming.

Angelenos live race every day: We get profiled, we get pigeonholed, we pass, we get the what-are-you question, we get nervous behind the wheel, we get uncomfortable, we get the message that we're never American enough. We want to hear your stories.

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And there's a 5% chance we could see a larger earthquake in the next few days.

If campuses do reopen, students will likely spend only a few days in a classroom each week and learning from home the rest of the time.

We drove across L.A. asking people about their relationship with police.

Metro says it's following state law to provide mutual aid in times of emergency. Some transit advocates say it's a misuse of resources.

Protesters called for "Care Not Cops" and justice for black people killed by police.

Jackie Lacey said of the officer charged with George Floyd's murder: 'That's somebody that shouldn't have been in the policing to begin with.'

Law enforcement says curfews are necessary to keep people safe. Experts say curfews could do more harm than good.

Hollywood. Hancock Park. Downtown L.A. On Day 7 of nationwide demonstrations, Angelenos continue showing up to protest racism and police brutality.

Police in multiple cities are using supposedly "nonlethal" crowd-control methods from rubber bullets to tear gas bombs to pepper-spray projectiles.

What L.A. parents are doing to start conversations about race and help their kids dream of a better future.

People in Watts talk about how their area has so far been on the sidelines.

Assemblywoman Shirley Weber's AB 3121 would establish a reparations committee to educate Californians about slavery and recommend ways the state can help remedy generations of inequality and discrimination.

The focus in this moment, UCLA's Isaac Bryan told us, should be "the movement for Black lives."

Protests continue for a sixth night around Southern California as people take to the streets to express their anger over the killing of George Floyd.

Today, I carry on and do the most that anybody can do during this time: try to create something that heals the world, even if true change is something that I may never see.

An interview with Civil Rights lawyer Connie Rice on the legacy of the 1965 Watts Rebellion, the real, longest American war, and what we already know about how to stop police killings of black men.

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LAX might start taking passengers' temperatures this summer, part of a series of COVID-19 changes as the airport rebounds from its worst-ever slump in traffic.

Our reporter Adolfo Guzman-Lopez said he had just finished interviewing a kneeling protester when he felt something strike his throat. 'It just doesn't square up with, you know, what is the policy towards using rubber bullets.'

Photos from our reporters in Long Beach, Santa Monica and L.A.

Demonstrators have converged at 3rd Street Promenade and have begun marching in downtown L.A.

Store owners were helped in cleanup efforts by local good Samaritans Sunday after some were looted and vandalized the night before.

Melina Abdullah of Black Lives Matter-L.A. says demonstrations are meant to push for an end to police killings and pushing city spending away from police toward more safety net programs.

The latest events bring up a wide range of emotions and reactions to this country's tumultuous and troubled history with race and policing

He tells us: 'Almost all of the people who were out on the streets yesterday -- and I know many of them were there peacefully and peaceably -- did absolutely nothing wrong.'

"We're tired. I'm tired of the hashtag 'rest in power, this person's son,' 'rest in power, this person's daughter. We want to live in power."

A collection of images from the weekend, in chronological order.

Los Angeles is heading into a fourth day of planned protests over police brutality

Police worked early Saturday morning to disperse crowds in downtown Los Angeles as multiple businesses were looted following demonstrations against police brutality spurred by the in-custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis earlier in the week.

In much of Los Angeles, anger over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis comes on top of more pain and anxiety -- including from the pandemic, which has hit some communities harder than others.

The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis has resonated across the country, once again sparking protests and riots. Angelenos share their thoughts about what made this one in particular strike a nerve.

It's apparent to me that Derek Chauvin would not have faced justice had protests in Minneapolis and across the country forced Chauvin's arrest four whole days later. It's not right and you know it. God, I hope you know it. 

Metro's leaders outlined which projects will move forward and which are being delayed as the agency works to weather an estimated $1.8 billion shortfall.

Safety-net health care programs that keep low-income Californians out of nursing homes are on the chopping block as Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers attempt to plug a massive budget deficit caused by the COVID-19 emergency.

It was a couch commencement for this community college grad, and a time to honor those who helped her get to this moment.

A coalition of community groups and activists is pushing to cut funding for LAPD in favor of spending on social workers, housing, public transportation, health care and other services.

A fitness industry group has drafted what it hopes California will adopt as guidelines for reopening gyms and health clubs.

California politicians are worried Wall Street will swoop in and buy up single-family housing -- in a repeat of the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.

Delivery rooms are becoming less crowded. Here's how one family found support for birth in the midst of the pandemic.