ReportWire

Tag: los angeles times

  • Southern California winter rains break records, with another storm on the way

    California’s already wet winter is breaking rainfall records, with another powerful storm moving in this weekend along with the threat of new flooding and mudslides.

    After a remarkable dry streak in 2024 that helped fuel last January’s firestorms, this winter is making up for it, with some areas already approaching average rain totals for the entire season.

    “It’s been an interesting season,” said Mike Wofford, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. “We’re way above normal for precipitation.”

    The latest storm will usher in gusty wind, more precipitation and possible flooding in burn scar areas.

    The cold front moving into the state from the northwest is expected to reach the Los Angeles area by Saturday and bring rain and high-elevation snow through Sunday. In Los Angeles, the rain is expected to be less punishing than the previous storm that triggered significant flooding, road closures and rescues, but it will be heavier along the Central Coast, Wofford said.

    The one bright spot is fire conditions. With L.A. about to mark the first anniversary of the Palisades and Eaton fires, the wet winter offers some protections — at least in the short term.

    “The amount of rain that we’ve gotten is likely going to ensure that we’re not going to have any large fires in the next couple of weeks, but beyond that we really can’t say,” said David Acuña, a battalion chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. “If we were to transition into a dry spell, it does not take very long for those green and brown grasses to dry out completely.”

    A lot will depend on how much rain falls in the next several months, he added.

    The Los Angeles area has already seen higher-than-normal precipitation this rainy season, which began Oct. 1, with storms soaking the region each month with particularly strong systems hitting over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. The final rainy days of 2025 helped pull California almost completely out of drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. And that’s even before the wettest months of the year, traditionally January and February.

    The storm system was the first since 2006 to rain on Pasadena’s Rose Parade and ended up being a real doozy — toppling a host of daily rainfall records, several of which were set during that previous storm.

    In Oxnard, 1.09 inches of rain fell, breaking the previous New Year’s Day record of 0.83 of an inch set in 2006. In Sanberg, the record of 0.56 of an inch set in 2006 was broken by a whopping 1.25 inches. A record rainfall of 1.32 inches was set at Hollywood Burbank Airport on New Year’s Day, smashing the previous daily record of 0.35 of an inch, also set in 2006.

    At Long Beach Airport, a record 1.11 inches of rain fell, breaking the four-decade old record of 0.60 set in 1982. In Lancaster, 0.87 of an inch of rain fell on Thursday, breaking the previous record of 0.24 of an inch set in 2006.

    Thursday’s rainfall triggered flooding along the 5 Freeway in the San Fernando Valley, prompting officials to close lanes for several hours. In San Diego, a man and his young daughter were caught in their blue Jeep by fast-moving water and had to be rescued.

    In Orange County, the body of a woman was pulled from the Santa Ana River in Fountain Valley on Thursday afternoon. The woman had traveled about two miles in the rushing water before the Orange County Fire Authority’s swift water rescue team arrived. It’s not clear how she ended up in the water.

    In Sherman Oaks, hours of heavy rain on Thursday sent mud and debris flowing down a hillside at a residential construction site. No injuries were reported.

    The weekend storm is expected to bring 1 to 3 inches of rain to coast and valley areas and 3 to 6 inches to the foothills and mountains. Rainfall rates are projected to range from 0.25 to 0.5 inch per hour, but local rates of up to an inch per hour are likely, especially in foothill and mountain areas in Ventura County and farther north, which could cause flooding and mudslides, the weather service said.

    Snow levels will remain above 6,500 feet, although a rain-snow mix could drop down to 6,000 feet, especially Sunday night. Forecasters are predicting 2 to 6 inches of snow above 7,500 feet, with 9 to 12 inches possible on the highest mountain peaks.

    After heavy intermittent rain, crews work to clear a mud and debris flow that went into the backyard and down the side of a home in the 3900 block of Pacheco Drive in Sherman Oaks on Thursday. Two people were forced to evacuate. Southern California is heading into the new year with another round of rain and renewed flood risk.

    (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

    The weather service has issued wind advisories for higher-elevation areas of the Ventura and Santa Barbara county mountains, interior San Luis Obispo County and the Santa Lucia Mountains. Those advisories are in effect from Friday afternoon through Saturday evening and will probably be expanded into the Central Coast, forecasters said.

    The winds could be sufficiently strong enough to topple trees, given that soils are already saturated from previous storms, especially in the Santa Lucia range where gusts are expected to be the strongest.

    Los Angeles County Department of Public Health officials have warned the public to stay out of the water at beaches because of a rise in bacteria levels due to the rain. The advisory, which will be in effect until at least 4 p.m. Monday, could be extended if the rain continues.

    Forecasters say another, colder storm system is expected to hit the region between Monday and Tuesday. That storm could bring isolated thunderstorms with brief heavy downpours and hail, as well as snow levels down to 5,000 feet, according to the weather service.

    The weekend storm is expected to hit Northern California particularly hard with heavy rain bringing the risk of urban and roadway flooding and rising rivers and streams.

    On Friday in Corte Madera, an unincorporated town in Marin County, king tides were already resulting in significant flooding. Video posted on social media showed a resident surveying the damage by kayak.

    The start of the water year — from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31 — ranks in the top nine wettest for all official climate locations tracked by the weather service. It’s been the wettest ever start to the water year for several places including Oxnard and Santa Barbara.

    So far this season, downtown Los Angeles has received 11.64 inches of rain— roughly 82% of its normal rainfall for the entire water year, which runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.

    Sanberg, in the mountains of northwest Los Angeles County, has had its wettest start ever to the water year dating back to 1934, having received just over 16 inches of rain through Wednesday. Typically, Sanberg sees 13.14 inches over the course of the entire water year, according to weather service data.

    “We’re certainly well ahead of the game,” Wofford said. “It does look like after we get through this last storm cycle we’re looking at several days of dry weather after that, perhaps as many as two weeks. So we could be in for a long dry spell.”

    Hannah Fry, Alex Wigglesworth

    Source link

  • Neiman Marcus parent sells its Beverly Hills site

    The land below the Beverly Hills flagship store of luxury retailer Neiman Marcus has been sold to a New York investor as the owners of the department store chain sell property to pay debts.

    Neiman Marcus, which has occupied the 9700 Wilshire Boulevard store since it opened in 1979, will continue to serve customers there as a tenant.

    “We made the strategic decision to sell the land beneath the Neiman Marcus Beverly Hills store and enter into a long-term lease with the new owner,” said a spokesperson for Saks Global. “This opportunistic real estate transaction does not impact our day-to-day operations. We remain committed to serving our loyal Beverly Hills customers.”

    Saks Global, the parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Saks Off 5th and Bergdorf Goodman, sold the Beverly Hills Neiman Marcus site for an undisclosed price.

    The new owner of the property on the edge of the city’s prestigious Golden Triangle is Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp., a private real estate investment firm owned by Ben Ashkenazy.

    Ashkenazy also owns the former Barneys building on Wilshire Boulevard that is now occupied by Saks Fifth Avenue.

    “This strategic acquisition significantly expands Ashkenazy’s presence in Beverly Hills and reinforces the firm’s focus on irreplaceable, best-in-class retail assets located in globally recognized luxury corridors,” the company said in a statement.

    Executives at Saks Global have signaled plans to shore up cash by offloading stores, or raising emergency financing.

    It could also part with a stake in luxury retail chain Bergdorf Goodman to help pay off debts and reinvest in its core retail business, real estate data provider CoStar said.

    The company faces a $100-million debt payment deadline at the end of December and is considering Chapter 11 bankruptcy as a last resort, Bloomberg said. The scramble comes a year after Saks Global purchased Neiman Marcus in a $2.7-billion deal.

    The Beverly Hills retail property market is still one of the most robust in the country, said real estate broker Jay Luchs of Newmark. He was not involved in the Neiman Marcus property sale, but has brokered sales and leases of luxury stores in Southern California for more than two decades.

    “This is probably the best it’s ever been in Beverly Hills,” he said, with “essentially nothing available” on Rodeo Drive for merchants in search of store space and demand climbing on nearby streets such as Wilshire Boulevard.

    Some top-shelf brands are making their stores larger, and luxury brands, including LVMH, Chanel, Hermes and Richemont, are buying their stores instead of renting them, he said.

    “They don’t do that unless they’re making a tremendous amount of money, unless they want to be there forever,” Luchs said, “and they realize that Los Angeles and Beverly Hills is a very important market for them.”

    Roger Vincent

    Source link

  • Does Santa Monica need another Trader Joe’s?

    Trader Joe’s has purchased a former drugstore in Santa Monica, paving the way for a fourth location in the seaside city for the popular grocer.

    The retailer paid $22 million this month for a shuttered Rite Aid at 1331 Wilshire Blvd., according to real estate data provider CoStar.

    The Monrovia-based grocery chain, known for its inventive original products and frozen meals, has been on an expansion spree across the country and opened a branch in Costa Mesa earlier this month.

    In October, a store opened in La Verne.

    “We see ourselves as your neighborhood grocery store,” the company said on its website, announcing its latest store openings. “Step inside and you’ll find unconventional and interesting products in the Trader Joe’s label like Mandarin Orange Chicken and Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate.”

    There are more than 600 Trader Joe’s nationwide and about 200 in California.

    Santa Monica locations include 2300 Wilshire Blvd., where Trader Joe’s occupies 2,130 square feet on the ground floor of an apartment building, according to CoStar.

    The former Rite Aid location a few blocks away is much larger at 17,800 square feet and comes with 125 surface parking stalls.

    It’s unclear whether Trader Joe’s will continue to operate both locations, but there is precedent in Los Angeles, where there are two TJ’s across the street from one another in Sherman Oaks.

    The initial plan was to close the Sherman Oaks location when the new branch was ready — both are off the 101 Freeway on Riverside Drive.

    But in the end, the company decided it might be “fun” to keep both open, the new store’s manager said last June. Both stores are expected to remain open, the company confirmed.

    Trader Joe’s did not immediately respond to a request for comment about when the new Santa Monica store will open.

    The company’s expansion comes as grocery stores across Southern California and the country compete to win over budget-conscious consumers.

    Inflation has driven up supermarket prices in recent years, causing average Americans to cut back on discretionary spending and seek out bargains.

    Trader Joe’s is privately held and owned by families who also own part of the Aldi supermarket chain, according to its website.

    Its first location opened in Pasadena in 1967.

    Roger Vincent

    Source link

  • Photos: An army of volunteers getting floats prepared for the 137th Rose Parade

    • The 137th Rose Parade gets underway at 8 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2026.
    • The 5.5-mile parade features floral-covered floats, equestrian units and marching bands.

    The clock is ticking.

    And it’s all hands on deck as an army of volunteers get floats ready for their run down Colorado Boulevard on Thursday, Jan. 1.

    This year’s theme for the 137th Rose Parade is “The Magic in Teamwork” with Magic Johnson as grand marshal.

    Here’s a look at what’s happening behind the scenes.

    Volunteer Jeff Okayasu works on the Rotary International float titled “Unite for Good,” while other Rose Parade floats are constructed at the Phoenix Decorating Co. in Irwindale.

    Volunteers work on cutting flowers that will be added to the the "Bee Magical Together" float.

    Volunteers work on cutting flowers that will be added to the the “Bee Magical Together” float at the Phoenix Decorating Co. in Irwindale.

    Volunteer Heather Tran, 16, helps decorate a float for the Rose Parade at the AES Rosamont Pavillion in Pasadena.

    Volunteer Heather Tran, 16, helps decorate a float for the Rose Parade at the AES Rosemont Pavilion in Pasadena.

    Clockwise from top left, cut flowers to be used for the Rotary Club float titled “Unite for Good”; volunteer Dulce Monico works on a flower that will be part of the City of Hope float titled “Overcoming Cancer and Diabetes Together”; volunteers help cup Spanish moss used to decorate the San Diego Zoo Safari Park’s float; and volunteer Susie Fundter of Pasadena helps decorate a zebra on the San Diego Zoo Safari Park float.

    Volunteers apply Spanish moss to an elephant on the San Diego Zoo Safari Park float.

    Volunteers John Hernandez, right, and his son, Leonidas, of Fontana, apply Spanish moss to an elephant on the San Diego Zoo Safari Park float.

    Volunteer Carlos Bo Bedia works on the Shriner's float titled "Building Dreams Together."

    Volunteer Carlos Bo Bedia works on the Shriners float titled “Building Dreams Together” at the Phoenix Decorating Co. in Irwindale.

    Volunteer Neal Gamble, from Scott City, Kansas, works on the Shriner's Children's float titled, "Build Dreams Together."

    Volunteer Neal Gamble, from Scott City, Kan., works on the Shriners float titled “Build Dreams Together.”

    Christina House, Genaro Molina

    Source link

  • Commentary: After a year of insults, raids, arrests and exile, a celebration of the California immigrant

    What comes next is a mystery, but I’d like to share a note of appreciation as 2025 fades into history.

    If you came to Greater Los Angeles from Mexico, by way of Calexico, Feliz Navidad.

    If you once lived in Syria, and settled in Hesperia, welcome.

    If you were born in what once was Bombay, but raised a family in L.A., happy new year.

    I’m spreading a bit of holiday cheer because for immigrants, on the whole, this has been a horrible year.

    Under federal orders in 2025, Los Angeles and other cities have been invaded and workplaces raided.

    Immigrants have been chased, protesters maced.

    Livelihoods have been aborted, loved ones deported.

    With all the put-downs and name-calling by the man at the top, you’d never guess his mother was an immigrant and his three wives have included two immigrants.

    President Trump referred to Somalis as garbage, and he wondered why the U.S. can’t bring in more people from Scandinavia and fewer from “filthy, dirty and disgusting” countries.

    Not to be outdone, Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem proposed a travel ban on countries that are “flooding our nation with killers, leeches and entitlement junkies.”

    The president’s shtick is to rail mostly against those who are in the country without legal standing and particularly those with criminal records. But his tone and language don’t always make such distinctions.

    The point is to divide, lay blame and raise suspicion, which is why legal residents — including Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo — have told me they carry their passports at all times.

    In fact, thousands of people with legal status have been booted out of the country, and millions more are at risk of the same fate.

    In a more evolved political culture, it would be simpler to stipulate that there are costs and benefits to immigration, that it’s human nature to flee hardship in pursuit of better opportunities wherever they might be, and that it’s possible to enact laws that serve the needs of immigrants and the industries that rely on them.

    But 2025 was the year in which the nation was led in another direction, and it was the year in which it became ever more comforting and even liberating to call California home.

    The state is a deeply flawed enterprise, with its staggering gaps in wealth and income, its homelessness catastrophe, housing affordability crisis and racial divides. And California is not politically monolithic, no matter how blue. It’s got millions of Trump supporters, many of whom applauded the roundups.

    But there’s an understanding, even in largely conservative regions, that immigrants with papers and without are a crucial part of the muscle and brainpower that help drive the world’s fourth-largest economy.

    That’s why some of the state’s Republican lawmakers asked Trump to back off when he first sent masked posses on roundups, stifling the construction, agriculture and hospitality sectors of the economy.

    When the raids began, I called a gardener I had written about years ago after he was shot in the chest during a robbery attempt. He had insisted on leaving the hospital emergency room and going back to work immediately, with the bullet still embedded in his chest. A client had hired him to complete a landscaping job by Christmas, as a present to his wife, and the gardener was determined to deliver.

    When I checked in with the gardener in June, he told me he was lying low because even though he has a work permit, he didn’t feel safe because Trump had vowed to end temporary protected status for some immigrants.

    “People look Latino, and they get arrested,” he told me.

    He said his daughter, whom I’d met two decades ago when I delivered $2,000 donated to the family by readers, was going to demonstrate in his name. I met up with her at the “No Kings” rally in El Segundo, where she told me why she wanted to protest:

    “To show my face for those who can’t speak and to say we’re not all criminals, we’re all sticking together, we have each other’s backs,” she said.

    Mass deportations would rip a $275-million hole in the state’s economy, critically affecting agriculture and healthcare among other industries, according to a report from UC Merced and the Bay Area Council Economic Institute.

    “Deportations tend to raise unemployment among U.S.-born and documented workers through reduced consumption and disruptions in complementary occupations,” says a UCLA Anderson report.

    Californians understand these realities because they’re not hypothetical or theoretical — they’re a part of daily life and commerce. Nearly three-quarters of the state’s residents believe that immigrants benefit California “because of their hard work and job skills,” says the Public Policy Institute of California.

    I’m a California native whose grandparents were from Spain and Italy, but the state has changed dramatically in my lifetime, and I don’t think I ever really saw it clearly or understood it until I was asked in 2009 to address the freshman convocation at Cal State Northridge. The demographics were similar to today’s — more than half Latino, 1 in 5 white, 10% Asian and 5% Black. And roughly two-thirds were first-generation college students.

    I looked out on thousands of young people about to find their way and make their mark, and the students were flanked by a sprinkling of proud parents and grandparents, many of whose stories of sacrifice and yearning began in other countries.

    That is part of the lifeblood of the state’s culture, cuisine, commerce and sense of possibility, and those students are now our teachers, nurses, physicians, engineers, entrepreneurs and tech whizzes.

    If you left Taipei and settled in Monterey, said goodbye to Dubai and packed up for Ojai, traded Havana for Fontana or Morelia for Visalia, thank you.

    And happy new year.

    steve.lopez@latimes.com

    Steve Lopez

    Source link

  • Suspected drunk driver charged with murder in death of high school tennis star

    An allegedly intoxicated driver who hit and killed high school tennis star Braun Levi in Manhattan Beach was charged with murder Tuesday, authorities said.

    Jenia Resha Belt, 33, of Los Angeles also faces charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and driving with a suspended license, said Pamela Johnson, a spokesperson for the L.A. County district attorney’s office.

    Around 12:46 a.m. on May 4, Belt struck Braun, who was walking near Sepulveda Boulevard and 2nd Street, authorities said.

    Belt, who was arrested at the scene, had a blood alcohol level nearly twice the legal limit and was driving on a suspended license from a prior DUI arrest, according to court records. Four passengers inside the car fled the area after the collision.

    Belt was released in June and then apprehended again months later.

    Braun’s parents, who lost their home in the Palisades fire and relocated to the South Bay, filed a $200-million wrongful death lawsuit against Belt in November.

    Their son was a standout at Loyola High School and had been slated to play tennis at the University of Virginia. The Levis started the Live Like Braun Foundation in his memory.

    Belt is in custody on $2 million bail and is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday, Johnson said.

    Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman and Jennifer Levi, Braun’s mother, plan to discuss the charges at a news conference Monday.

    Times staff writer Clara Harter contributed to this report.

    Terry Castleman

    Source link

  • Supreme Court rules against Trump, bars National Guard deployment in Chicago

    WASHINGTON  — The Supreme Court ruled against President Trump on Tuesday and said he did not have legal authority to deploy the National Guard in Chicago to protect federal immigration agents.

    Acting on a 6-3 vote, the justices denied Trump’s appeal and upheld orders from a federal district judge and the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals that said the president had exaggerated the threat and overstepped his authority.

    The decision is a major defeat for Trump and his broad claim that he had the power to deploy militia troops in U.S. cities.

    In an unsigned order, the court said the Militia Act allows the president to deploy the National Guard only if the regular U.S. armed forces were unable to quell violence.

    The law dating to 1903 says the president may call up and deploy the National Guard if he faces the threat of an invasion or a rebellion or is “unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States.”

    That phrase turned out to be crucial.

    Trump’s lawyers assumed it referred to the police and federal agents. But after taking a close look, the justices concluded it referred to the regular U.S. military, not civilian law enforcement or the National Guard.

    “To call the Guard into active federal service under the [Militia Act], the President must be ‘unable’ with the regular military ‘to execute the laws of the United States,’” the court said in Trump vs. Illinois.

    That standard will rarely be met, the court added.

    “Under the Posse Comitatus Act, the military is prohibited from execut[ing] the laws except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress,” the court said. “So before the President can federalize the Guard … he likely must have statutory or constitutional authority to execute the laws with the regular military and must be ‘unable’ with those forces to perform that function.

    “At this preliminary stage, the Government has failed to identify a source of authority that would allow the military to execute the laws in Illinois,” the court said.

    Although the court was acting on an emergency appeal, its decision is a significant defeat for Trump and is not likely to be reversed on appeal. Often, the court issues one-sentence emergency orders. But in this case, the justices wrote a three-page opinion to spell out the law and limit the president’s authority.

    Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who oversees appeals from Illinois, and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. cast the deciding votes. Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh agreed with the outcome, but said he preferred a narrow and more limited ruling.

    Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Neil M. Gorsuch dissented.

    Alito, in dissent, said the “court fails to explain why the President’s inherent constitutional authority to protect federal officers and property is not sufficient to justify the use of National Guard members in the relevant area for precisely that purpose.”

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta filed a brief in the Chicago case that warned of the danger of the president using the military in American cities.

    “Today, Americans can breathe a huge sigh of relief,” Bonta said Tuesday. “While this is not necessarily the end of the road, it is a significant, deeply gratifying step in the right direction. We plan to ask the lower courts to reach the same result in our cases — and we are hopeful they will do so quickly.”

    The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals had allowed the deployments in Los Angeles and Portland, Ore., after ruling that judges must defer to the president.

    But U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled Dec. 10 that the federalized National Guard troops in Los Angeles must be returned to Newsom’s control.

    Trump’s lawyers had not claimed in their appeal that the president had the authority to deploy the military for ordinary law enforcement in the city. Instead, they said the Guard troops would be deployed “to protect federal officers and federal property.”

    The two sides in the Chicago case, like in Portland, told dramatically different stories about the circumstances leading to Trump’s order.

    Democratic officials in Illinois said small groups of protesters objected to the aggressive enforcement tactics used by federal immigration agents. They said police were able to contain the protests, clear the entrances and prevent violence.

    By contrast, administration officials described repeated instances of disruption, confrontation and violence in Chicago. They said immigration agents were harassed and blocked from doing their jobs, and they needed the protection the National Guard could supply.

    Trump Solicitor Gen. D. John Sauer said the president had the authority to deploy the Guard if agents could not enforce the immigration laws.

    “Confronted with intolerable risks of harm to federal agents and coordinated, violent opposition to the enforcement of federal law,” Trump called up the National Guard “to defend federal personnel, property, and functions in the face of ongoing violence,” Sauer told the court in an emergency appeal filed in mid-October.

    Illinois state lawyers disputed the administration’s account.

    “The evidence shows that federal facilities in Illinois remain open, the individuals who have violated the law by attacking federal authorities have been arrested, and enforcement of immigration law in Illinois has only increased in recent weeks,” state Solicitor Gen. Jane Elinor Notz said in response to the administration’s appeal.

    The Constitution gives Congress the power “to provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions.”

    But on Oct. 29, the justices asked both sides to explain what the law meant when it referred to the “regular forces.”

    Until then, both sides had assumed it referred to federal agents and police, not the standing U.S. armed forces.

    A few days before, Georgetown law professor and former Justice Department lawyer Martin Lederman had filed a friend-of-the-court brief asserting that the “regular forces” cited in the 1903 law were the standing U.S. Army.

    His brief prompted the court to ask both sides to explain their view of the disputed provision.

    Trump’s lawyers stuck to their position. They said the law referred to the “civilian forces that regularly execute the laws,” not the standing army.

    If those civilians cannot enforce the law, “there is a strong tradition in this country of favoring the use” of the National Guard, not the standing military, to quell domestic disturbances, they said.

    State attorneys for Illinois said the “regular forces” are the “full-time, professional military.” And they said the president could not “even plausibly argue” that the U.S. Guard members were needed to enforce the law in Chicago.

    David G. Savage

    Source link

  • California, other states file suit to prevent shutdown of federal consumer agency

    California joined 20 other states and the District of Columbia on Monday in a lawsuit that seeks to prevent the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from being defunded and closed by the Trump administration.

    The legal action filed in U.S. District Court in Eugene, Ore., by the Democratic attorneys general accuses Acting Director Russell Vought of trying to illegally withhold funds from the agency by unlawfully interpreting its funding statute. Also named as defendants are the agency itself and the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors.

    “For California, the CFPB has been an invaluable enforcement partner, working hand in hand with our office to protect pocketbooks and stop unfair business practices. But once again, the Trump administration is trying to weaken and ultimately dismantle the CFPB,” California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said in a news conference to announce the 41-page legal action.

    The lawsuit asserts that the agency is crucial for states to carry out their own consumer protection mission and that its closure would deprive them of their statutorily guaranteed access to a database run by the bureau that tracks millions of consumer complaints, as well as to other data.

    The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the lawsuit, led by Bonta and the attorneys general from Oregon, New York, New Jersey and Colorado.

    Established by Congress in 2010 after the subprime mortgage abuses that gave rise to the financial crisis, the agency is funded by the Federal Reserve as a method of insulating it from political pressure.

    The Dodd-Frank Act statute requires the agency’s director to petition for a reasonable amount of funding to carry out the CFPB’s duties from the “combined earnings” of the Federal Reserve System.

    Before this year, that was interpreted to mean the Federal Reserve’s gross revenue. But an opinion from the Department of Justice claims that should be interpreted to mean the Federal Reserve’s profits, of which it has none, because it has been operating at a loss since 2022. The lawsuit alleges the interpretation is bogus.

    “Defendant Russell T. Vought has worked tirelessly to terminate the CFPB’s operations by any means necessary — denying Plaintiffs access to CFPB resources to which they are statutorily entitled. In this action, Plaintiffs challenge Defendant Vought’s most recent effort to do so,” the federal lawsuit states.

    The complaint alleges the agency will run out of cash by next month if the policy is not reversed. Bonta said he and other attorney generals have not decided whether they will seek a restraining order or temporary injunction to change the new funding policy.

    Before the second Trump administraition, the CPFB boasted of returning nearly $21 billion to consumers nationwide through enforcement actions, including against Wells Fargo in San Francisco over a scandal involving the creation of accounts never sought by customers.

    Other big cases have been brought against student loan servicer Navient for mishandling payments and other issues, as well as Toyota Motor Credit for charging higher interest rates to Black and Asian customers.

    However, this year the agency has dropped notable cases. It terminated early a consent order reached with Citibank over allegations it discriminated against customers with Armenian surnames in Los Angeles County.

    It also dropped a lawsuit against Zelle that accused Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and other banks of rushing the payment app into service, leading to $870 million in fraud-related losses by users. The app denied the allegations.

    Vought was a chief architect of Project 2025, a Heritage Foundation blueprint to reduce the size and power of the federal bureaucracy during a second Trump administration. In February, he ordered the agency to stop nearly all its work and has been seeking to drastically downsize it since.

    The lawsuit filed Monday is the latest legal effort to keep the agency in business.

    A lawsuit filed in February by National Treasury Employees Union and consumer groups accuses the Trump administration and Vought of attempting to unconstitutionally abolish the agency, created by an act of Congress.

    “It is deflating, and it is unfortunate that Congress is not defending the power of the purse,” Colorado Atty. Gen. Philip Weiser said during Monday’s news conference.

    “At other times, Congress vigilantly safeguarded its authority, but because of political polarization and fear of criticizing this President, the Congress is not doing it,” he said.

    Laurence Darmiento

    Source link

  • Best of L.A. home design: The 14 most memorable rooms of 2025

    As a design writer, I feel lucky to get to peek inside some of Los Angeles’ most iconic homes.

    This year, I visited many places, from Midcentury Modern landmarks by Edward Fickett and Raphael Soriano to humble apartments filled with Facebook Marketplace finds.

    The rooms that stayed with me long after I left were not always the most luxurious or expensively furnished. Instead, they were the ones that made me smile and left a lasting impression of the person who lives there.

    Here are the 14 rooms that resonated with me this year and the people who live in them who inspired me even more.

    A colorful, sun-drenched kitchen in Mount Washington that connects to nature

    A wall of spices and an over in a kitchen.
    Lindsay Sheron stands inside her dining room in Mount Washington.

    (Mariah Tauger / For The Times)

    Priced out of much of Los Angeles, architect Lindsay Sheron and her husband Daniel bought a vacant hillside lot in Mount Washington and proceeded to design and build their own home. Working over a three-year period, the couple served as general contractors and did much of the work themselves. The kitchen is a standout, featuring bright green custom kitchen cabinets painted Raw Tomatillo by Farrow & Ball, which add vitality to the single-wall layout. A custom metal hood by Practice Fabrication, powder-coated the color of a Pixie tangerine, adds a sense of fun.

    “I wanted our house to feel really warm and bring nature inside,” says Lindsay, referring to the Western hemlock tongue and groove planks that she and Daniel installed on the walls and ceilings. “Wood does the heavy lifting in accomplishing that.”

    Tour the custom built home here.

    In Hollywood, a stunning living room that’s filled with second-hand furnishings

    Caitlin Villarreal, her cat Zuse, and their Hollywood penthouse in the Whitley Heights.

    Caitlin Villarreal, her cat Zuse, and their Hollywood penthouse in the Whitley Heights.
    Caitlin Villarreal, her cat Zuse, and their Hollywood penthouse in the Whitley Heights.

    (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

    Caitlin Villarreal felt giddy the first time she stepped inside the Whitley Heights rental, a storied 1926 Mediterranean-style penthouse with towering ceilings, hand-carved wooden beams and a pair of arched bookcases alongside an oversize fireplace.

    “It had good energy,” Villarreal said of the 1,500-square-foot apartment she rents in a historic neighborhood where Rudolph Valentino, Charlie Chaplin and Bette Davis once lived. “It’s iconic just by standing tall year after year. It has floor-to-ceiling Old Hollywood windows that blow open unexpectedly just like in the movies. It doesn’t feel like a rental. It feels like a forever home.”

    Tour the Hollywood penthouse here.

    A Midcentury Modern dining room in Studio City that Raphael Soriano would approve of

    The dining room in architect Linda Brettler's all-aluminum house.

    Linda Brettler walks through a living room with a blue carpet.
    Architect Linda Brettler poses for a portrait in her all-aluminum house.

    (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

    Architect Linda Brettler’s list of things she loves about her Raphael Soriano-designed home is long, even though the all-aluminum structure, which was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 1997, was in desperate need of updating when she purchased it in 2021. “I like doing projects like this where I get to have my own hand and feel, but I’m still honoring what was here,” Brettler says. “I’m trying to create an idealized version of what the house would look like now.” In the dining room, a reproduction of a Millard Sheets painting, rendered by Cal Poly Pomona students on Tyvek, is mounted on a cork-lined wall. Above the painting, she has mounted a projector screen for movie nights and video games.

    Tour the historic all-aluminum home here.

    A modern West Hollywood living room decorated with pets in mind

    Two people and a dog on a couch.

    Jeffrey Hamilton's cat, Romulus, reclines on a peach-colored sofa in his living room.
    An open living room and kitchen in a condo.

    (Kit Karzen / For The Times)

    “My original inspiration was to match the furniture to the kitties so I don’t see their cat hair,” anesthesiologist Jeffrey Hamilton says of the West Hollywood condo he shares with his boyfriend David Poli, his cats Romulus and Remus and Poli’s Husky mix, Janeway. “The cats very much informed the color scheme. I find them so handsome; it felt like having matching furniture was practical.”

    In the living room, Hamilton chose a camel-colored Curvo sofa in velvet by Goop for CB2, which he found on Facebook Marketplace. Similarly, the accompanying swivel chairs from HD Buttercup and the barstool seats in the kitchen are upholstered in Bengal and Husky-durable textiles that camouflage their rescues pet hair.

    “Jeffrey likes to say that everything in his apartment is a rescue, including me,” says Poli jokingly.

    Tour the West Hollywood condo here.

    A surprising Silver Lake kitchen that doubles as a retro video store

    Filmmaker Chris Rose poses for a portrait in his Silver Lake apartment.

    Filmmaker Chris Rose's VHS tapes are displayed in the kitchen of his Silver Lake apartment.
    Filmmaker Chris Rose's VHS tapes are displayed in the kitchen of his Silver Lake apartment.

    (Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)

    Chris Rose fondly remembers the days when he worked at the independent video store I Luv Video in Austin, Texas.

    Now an L.A.-based writer, director and producer, Rose, 41, recalls the Austin store’s eclectic assortment of cult oddities and world cinema.

    Although he can no longer visit the video store, Rose doesn’t have to go far to rent these days, as he has brought a similar yet distinctive collection to the kitchen of his one-bedroom bungalow in Silver Lake.

    Tour the Silver Lake apartment here.

    Two college friends transform a Glassell Park living room (and garage) into an art-filled escape

    Antonio Adriano Puleo's decorative living room at his Glassell Park home.

    The backyard of Antonio Adriano Puleo's Glassell Park home.
    Two people, one sitting and one standing, near a large bookcase and a glass table.

    (Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)

    Antonio Adriano Puleo didn’t intend to renovate his traditional 1946 bungalow, but after consulting with architectural designer Ben Warwas, who told him he could transform the house into a “forever home,” the artist changed his plans.

    “The living room wasn’t big enough, and it featured a huge red brick fireplace that had doors on either side of it, leading to the backyard,” said Warwas.

    The living room of the main house is now open and airy, with custom cabinets and millwork by James Melinat that showcase the artwork Puleo made himself and the pieces he has collected for more than 30 years. The living room’s fireplace is gone, but the wooden mantle remains atop a console behind the sofa, graced with a series of colorful ceramic planters by Ashley Campbell and Brian Porray of Happy Hour Ceramics.

    “Little tweaks totally transformed the house,” Warwas said.

    Tour the house and ADU here.

    A fabulous wet bar in a West Hollywood apartment that’s perfect for parties

    A wet bar in a West Hollywood apartment.

    Glasses in a wet bar.
    Tyler Piña stands at his bar in his penthouse apartment in the Sunset Lanai Apartments.

    (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

    Growing up in a small town outside of Cleveland, Tyler Piña was fascinated by Los Angeles and the glamour of Hollywood.

    “My dad grew up out here, and it’s where my parents met,” says the 33-year-old screenwriter. “I remember looking at old Polaroids of them in the ‘80s and seeing how much fun they had.”

    His attraction to Los Angeles, however, was more than just nostalgia. “I was mesmerized by the landscapes and architecture,” he says.

    Looking back, he can’t believe he realized his dream of moving to Los Angeles from San Francisco in 2018 and eventually renting a Midcentury Modern penthouse by Edward Fickett steps from the Sunset Strip.

    “A Midcentury Modern penthouse on Sunset Boulevard in the heart of West Hollywood, with a bar in the living room? I mean, does it get more iconic? I am, in no way, cool enough to live here,” says Piña.

    Tour the Midcentury apartment here.

    A bedroom in Beachwood Canyon is transformed into an art-filled office (and occasional guest room)

    Samuel Gibson's office is decorated with artwork.

    Samuel Gibson's office is decorated with artwork by a local artist, his sister and one found on the street and from eBay. He appear here seated.
    Samuel Gibson and wife Natalie Babcock at a table near a vase of flowers.

    (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

    When Natalie Babcock and Samuel Gibson found a listing for a sunny apartment in Beachwood Canyon five years ago, they immediately fell for the two bedroom’s charming built-in bookshelves, faux fireplace, hardwood floors and formal dining room. Practical amenities such as an in-unit laundry and a garage, which are often elusive in Los Angeles rentals, didn’t hurt.

    Today, however, the couple says they are most impressed by the sense of belonging they have found in the community just outside their 1928 Spanish fourplex. Here, where tourists and brides in wedding gowns often pose for photographs in the middle of the street in an effort to capture the Hollywood sign in the background, Babcock and Gibson have become part of a larger family. “Everyone knows our dogs’ names,” says Babcock.

    The couple’s taste is vibrant, and the colorful interiors reflect their sense of fun and love of design. They painted one wall in Gibson’s office a dramatic Kelly green, which makes the white-trimmed windows and his extensive art collection pop.

    “Art is one thing that I am always happy to spend money on,” Gibson says.

    Tour the Beachwood Canyon apartment here.

    A treasures-filled living room in Eagle Rock that’s a colorful showstopper

    A black-and-white couch below colorful gallery wall of art.

    The living room and work station area with colorful artwork and a black-and-white striped sofa.
    Isa Beniston sits on the sofa with partner Scotty Zaletel and her dogs.

    (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

    Isa Beniston and Scotty Zaletel are romantics. Not just in their love for each other, which they are as vocal about three years in as budding high school crushes, but also in the way they describe the contents of their 412-square-foot one-bedroom apartment. They can recall the season they discovered each treasure — from fruit-shaped throw pillows to more than 30 animal portraits — and the cross streets of the flea markets from which they bought them. They gush about the time they’ve spent together in fabric stores and flooring supply shops as if they were dimly lighted restaurants primed for date night.

    “We both just love stuff,” the two said in near-unison.

    — Lina Abascal

    Tour the 412-square foot apartment here.

    A tricked-out garage/ADU in Venice that serves as an office, gym and family hub

    A garage with blue cabinets and espresso maker.

    A two-story ADU from a backyard view.
    Will Burroughs sits in his downstairs garage.

    (Luke Johnson / Los Angeles Times)

    “They’re fun,” architect Aejie Rhyu says of the creative couple Will Burroughs and Frith Dabkowski, as she walked by the undulating two-story ADU she helped them realize.

    Rhyu’s assessment helps to explain the joy that permeates the family compound, from the pink Los Angeles Toile wallpaper in the bedroom (humorously adorned with illustrations of L.A.’s beloved mountain lion P-22, the La Brea Tar Pits and Grauman’s Chinese Theatre) to the tricked-out garage on the first floor, which includes overhead bike storage, an espresso maker, a mini-fridge and a large flat-screen TV that allows Sydney-born Burroughs to watch Formula One car races and cricket games at 4 a.m. when his family is asleep.

    Burroughs even installed a subwoofer speaker beneath the sofa to give the garage the feel of a movie theater during family movie nights. “Jack went flying off the couch when we watched ‘Top Gun,’ ” he said of their son, laughing.

    Tour the two-story ADU with a rooftop deck here.

    A serene guest room in Mid-Wilshire that’s a light-filled studio for a textile artist

    A guest room filled with textiles and baskets of yarn and crafts.

    Debra Weiss' apartment in Mid-Wilshire with colorful hangings.
    Artist Debra Weiss is photographed at her apartment in Mid-Wilshire.

    (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

    After living in her two-bedroom apartment in Los Feliz for more than a decade, Debra Weiss encountered a problem experienced by many renters in Los Angeles: She was evicted.

    When her son-in-law spotted a charming two-bedroom apartment near the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on Zillow, her initial reaction was, “I want this,” Weiss said of the fourplex.

    The rental had high ceilings, oak floors, ample sunlight, an appealing fireplace, a garage and a washer and dryer.

    In the guest room, a wall hanging composed of three separate weavings in a gingham check pattern is embroidered with a series of characters she based on her 5-year-old granddaughter’s drawings. “It’s about people coming together in chaos and supporting each other,” Weiss said.

    Even though the process of having to move was stressful, Weiss is happy with her new home and neighborhood. “I take the Metro bus everywhere and hardly ever drive,” she said. “Everything worked out perfectly.”

    Tour the sunny Mid-Wilshire fourplex here.

    A ’70s-inspired speakeasy/lounge in Highland Park that’s hidden behind a bookcase

    Colorful den decked out in orange and red printed fabrics.

    Dani Dazey sitting in her Highland Park home.
    Dani Dazey with husband Phillip Butler at their Highland Park home.

    (Carianne Older / For The Times)

    Standing beneath a glittering tiered chandelier in her pink “cloffice,” designer Dani Dazey shares the essence of her colorful style: “From the wallpaper to the artwork, my home is a reflection of me right now,” she explains. “It’s a personal and hip twist on traditional design.”

    Rather than embrace rustic farmhouse style or minimalist Midcentury Modern design as is often the case in Los Angeles, Dazey has taken the Highland Park home she shares with husband Phillip Butler and given it an over-the-top maximalist spin.

    The speakeasy lounge, accessible through a hidden door sliding bookcase, is a ‘70s-inspired sanctuary with a modular sofa, curtains and wallpaper in the same floral pattern.

    Their home is proof, that our homes should make us happy by reflecting who we are. In Dazey’s case, that translates to bold color, lush textures and retro vibes.

    Tour the Highland Park home here.

    A memento-filled living room in Long Beach is an ode to ‘the people we love’

    Abraham and Cecilia Beltran enjoy a light moment in their decorated living room.

    A bookshelf is filled with mementos, photographs and books.
    A smiling pillow and stuffed pineapple add to the quirkiness of the Betrans' apartment.

    (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

    A sense of fun permeates the rooms of Cecilia and Abraham Beltran’s colorful one-bedroom Midcentury apartment in Long Beach.

    “We both have a deep passion for Midcentury design and color,” Cecilia shares.

    The Beltrans’ apartment encapsulates their design sensibility and “above all, the people we love,” Cecilia says. There’s bold, Midcentury Modern-inspired furniture the couple found on Craigslist, tongue-in-cheek smiling pillows and the “Hole to Another Universe” wall decal by Blik, which can be removed when they move. Peppered throughout the space are mementos from their travels, such as the limited-edition art print “La Famille” purchased on a trip to London in 2023.

    Ultimately, Cecilia says, she wants the apartment “to feel like us. I think we pulled it off.”

    Tour the Long Beach apartment here.

    In Reseda, an apartment where every antique tells a story

    Various antiques, art and collectibles at Evelyn Bauer's apartment.

    Various antiques, art and collectibles at Evelyn Bauer's apartment.
    Evelyn Bauer at her two-bedroom apartment in Reseda.

    (Stephen Ross Goldstein / For The Times)

    When Evelyn Bauer, 97, downsized from her four-bedroom home in Sherman Oaks to an apartment in Reseda in 2014, the longtime collector and antiques dealer was forced to relinquish many of her personal belongings.

    “Collecting is my passion, my addiction, and I’m so happy to be afflicted with it,” says Bauer, whose two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment at an independent living facility for seniors is filled with furnishings and decorative arts from her 65 years as a collector.

    Step inside her living room, and the vast collection of antiques feels like entering the former Encino Antique Center, where she was once the proprietor during the 1990s. Each item has a story, a memory and a unique charm that she cherishes.

    “There’s always room for one more gem,” she says.

    Tour the Reseda apartment here.

    Lisa Boone

    Source link

  • They graduated from Stanford. Due to AI, they can’t find a job

    A Stanford software engineering degree used to be a golden ticket. Artificial intelligence has devalued it to bronze, recent graduates say.

    The elite students are shocked by the lack of job offers as they finish studies at what is often ranked as the top university in America.

    When they were freshmen, ChatGPT hadn’t yet been released upon the world. Today, AI can code better than most humans.

    Top tech companies just don’t need as many fresh graduates.

    “Stanford computer science graduates are struggling to find entry-level jobs” with the most prominent tech brands, said Jan Liphardt, associate professor of bioengineering at Stanford University. “I think that’s crazy.”

    While the rapidly advancing coding capabilities of generative AI have made experienced engineers more productive, they have also hobbled the job prospects of early-career software engineers.

    Stanford students describe a suddenly skewed job market, where just a small slice of graduates — those considered “cracked engineers” who already have thick resumes building products and doing research — are getting the few good jobs, leaving everyone else to fight for scraps.

    “There’s definitely a very dreary mood on campus,” said a recent computer science graduate who asked not to be named so they could speak freely. “People [who are] job hunting are very stressed out, and it’s very hard for them to actually secure jobs.”

    The shake-up is being felt across California colleges, including UC Berkeley, USC and others. The job search has been even tougher for those with less prestigious degrees.

    Eylul Akgul graduated last year with a degree in computer science from Loyola Marymount University. She wasn’t getting offers, so she went home to Turkey and got some experience at a startup. In May, she returned to the U.S., and still, she was “ghosted” by hundreds of employers.

    “The industry for programmers is getting very oversaturated,” Akgul said.

    The engineers’ most significant competitor is getting stronger by the day. When ChatGPT launched in 2022, it could only code for 30 seconds at a time. Today’s AI agents can code for hours, and do basic programming faster with fewer mistakes.

    Data suggests that even though AI startups like OpenAI and Anthropic are hiring many people, it is not offsetting the decline in hiring elsewhere. Employment for specific groups, such as early-career software developers between the ages of 22 and 25 has declined by nearly 20% from its peak in late 2022, according to a Stanford study.

    It wasn’t just software engineers, but also customer service and accounting jobs that were highly exposed to competition from AI. The Stanford study estimated that entry-level hiring for AI-exposed jobs declined 13% relative to less-exposed jobs such as nursing.

    In the Los Angeles region, another study estimated that close to 200,000 jobs are exposed. Around 40% of tasks done by call center workers, editors and personal finance experts could be automated and done by AI, according to an AI Exposure Index curated by resume builder MyPerfectResume.

    Many tech startups and titans have not been shy about broadcasting that they are cutting back on hiring plans as AI allows them to do more programming with fewer people.

    Anthropic Chief Executive Dario Amodei said that 70% to 90% of the code for some products at his company is written by his company’s AI, called Claude. In May, he predicted that AI’s capabilities will increase until close to 50% of all entry-level white-collar jobs might be wiped out in five years.

    A common sentiment from hiring managers is that where they previously needed ten engineers, they now only need “two skilled engineers and one of these LLM-based agents,” which can be just as productive, said Nenad Medvidović, a computer science professor at the University of Southern California.

    “We don’t need the junior developers anymore,” said Amr Awadallah, CEO of Vectara, a Palo Alto-based AI startup. “The AI now can code better than the average junior developer that comes out of the best schools out there.”

    To be sure, AI is still a long way from causing the extinction of software engineers. As AI handles structured, repetitive tasks, human engineers’ jobs are shifting toward oversight.

    Today’s AIs are powerful but “jagged,” meaning they can excel at certain math problems yet still fail basic logic tests and aren’t consistent. One study found that AI tools made experienced developers 19% slower at work, as they spent more time reviewing code and fixing errors.

    Students should focus on learning how to manage and check the work of AI as well as getting experience working with it, said John David N. Dionisio, a computer science professor at LMU.

    Stanford students say they are arriving at the job market and finding a split in the road; capable AI engineers can find jobs, but basic, old-school computer science jobs are disappearing.

    As they hit this surprise speed bump, some students are lowering their standards and joining companies they wouldn’t have considered before. Some are creating their own startups. A large group of frustrated grads are deciding to continue their studies to beef up their resumes and add more skills needed to compete with AI.

    “If you look at the enrollment numbers in the past two years, they’ve skyrocketed for people wanting to do a fifth-year master’s,” the Stanford graduate said. “It’s a whole other year, a whole other cycle to do recruiting. I would say, half of my friends are still on campus doing their fifth-year master’s.”

    After four months of searching, LMU graduate Akgul finally landed a technical lead job at a software consultancy in Los Angeles. At her new job, she uses AI coding tools, but she feels like she has to do the work of three developers.

    Universities and students will have to rethink their curricula and majors to ensure that their four years of study prepare them for a world with AI.

    “That’s been a dramatic reversal from three years ago, when all of my undergraduate mentees found great jobs at the companies around us,” Stanford’s Liphardt said. “That has changed.”

    Nilesh Christopher

    Source link

  • Amazon distribution center at LAX sells for record price

    An Amazon warehouse near the gates of Los Angeles International Airport has sold for a record price as logistics centers near transportation hubs grow in value.

    The real estate investment arm of global financial services firm Morgan Stanley recently paid $211 million for the distribution center on 98th Street amid several private long-term parking structures that serve LAX.

    It was the biggest industrial real estate deal of the year in greater Los Angeles, according to real estate data provider CoStar.

    The distribution center was built earlier this year to serve Amazon, which occupies the entire 143,060-square-foot facility in what CoStar said is “one of the most in-demand industrial corridors in the country. “

    With industrial property vacancy near historic lows in the region and a shortage of land around LAX, investors continue to crowd into the few modern developments that come online, said Jesse Gundersheim, a senior analyst at CoStar.

    Having a prominent tenant in place made the distribution center even more desirable, he said.

    “The rise of e-commerce has fundamentally increased demand for well-located, modern logistics assets, which we believe are critical infrastructure for today’s economy and offer strong, long-term growth,” said Will Milam, head of U.S. Investments at Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing.

    The seller was Overton Moore Properties, which paid $115 million for the site in 2020 before redeveloping it for Amazon. Torrance-based Overton Moore develops and operates logistics properties in the Western U.S.

    Morgan Stanley manages $53 billion in gross real estate assets worldwide and has been building a foothold in industrial hubs near major ports and transportation links.

    “We are pleased to acquire this facility in a highly strategic distribution location, underscoring our continued strategy of securing key net lease investments in core logistics markets,” said David Gross, managing director at Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing.

    “This facility in particular is a critical asset for distribution and logistics needs in a significant region of Southern California where both a lack of space and regulatory hurdles present development constraints,” he said

    Industrial sales volume is up 4% year over year in Los Angeles, as capital costs have come down, driven by lower interest rates, Gundershiem said.

    The year-to-date deal count has topped 800 transactions, surpassing the full-year totals of the past two years, with sales volume above $5 billion.

    Institutional investors such as Morgan Stanley have been responsible for about one-third of the acquisition volume in Los Angeles this year, Gundersheim said.

    Roger Vincent

    Source link

  • Kristi Noem grilled over L.A. Purple Heart Army vet who self-deported

    The saga of a Los Angeles Army veteran who legally immigrated to the United States, was wounded in combat and self-deported to South Korea earlier this year, became a flashpoint during a testy congressional hearing about the Trump administration’s immigration policy.

    Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was grilled Thursday on Capitol Hill about military veterans deported during the immigration crackdown launched earlier this year, including in Los Angeles.

    “Sir, we have not deported U.S. citizens or military veterans,” Noem responded when questioned by Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.).

    Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.) speaks while joined on a video call by a man who he said was a U.S. military veteran who self-deported to South Korea, during a hearing of the House Committee on Homeland Security on Thursday.

    (Mark Schiefelbein / Associated Press)

    An aide then held up a tablet showing a Zoom connection with Purple Heart recipient Sae Joon Park in South Korea. The congressman argued that Park had “sacrificed more for this country than most people ever have” and asked Noem if she would investigate Park’s case given her discretion as a cabinet member. Noem pledged to “absolutely look at his case.”

    Park, reached in Seoul on Thursday night, said he was skeptical that Noem would follow through on her promise, but said that he had “goosebumps” watching the congressional hearing.

    “It was amazing. And then I’m getting tons of phone calls from all my friends back home and everywhere else. I’m so very grateful for everything that happened today,” Park, 56, said, noting that friends told him that a clip of his story appeared on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” show Thursday night.

    The late-night host featured footage of Park’s moment in the congressional hearing in his opening monologue.

    “Is anyone OK with this? Seriously, all kidding aside, we deported a veteran with a Purple Heart?” Kimmel said, adding that Republicans “claim to care so much about veterans, but they don’t at all.”

    Park legally immigrated to the United States when he was 7, grew up in Koreatown and the San Fernando Valley, and joined the Army after graduating from Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks in 1988.

    Photo of Sae Joon Park, an Army veteran with a Purple Heart, who self-deported to South Korea under threat of deportation.

    Photo of Sae Joon Park, an Army veteran with a Purple Heart, who self-deported to South Korea under threat of deportation.

    (Courtesy of Sae Joon Park)

    The green card holder was deployed to Panama in 1989 as the U.S. tried to depose the nation’s de facto leader, Gen. Manuel Noriega. Park was shot twice and honorably discharged. Suffering PTSD, he self-medicated with illicit drugs, went to prison after jumping bail on drug possession charges, became sober and raised two children in Hawaii.

    Earlier this year, when Park checked in for his annual meeting with federal officials to verify his sobriety and employment, he was given the option of being immediately detained and deported, or wearing an ankle monitor for three weeks as he got his affairs in order before leaving the country for a decade.

    At the time, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Park had an “extensive criminal history” and had been given a final removal order, with the option to self-deport.

    Park chose to leave the country voluntarily. He initially struggled to acclimate in a nation he hasn’t lived in since he was a child, but said Thursday night that his mental state — and his Korean language skills — have improved.

    “It hasn’t been easy. Of course, I miss home like crazy,” he said. “I’m doing the best I can. I’m usually a very positive person, so I feel like everything happens for a reason, and I’m just trying to hang in there until hopefully I make it back home.”

    Among Park’s top concerns when he left the United States in June was that his mother, who is 86 and struggling with dementia, would pass away while he couldn’t return to the county. But her lack of awareness about his situation has been somewhat of a strange blessing, Park said.

    “She really doesn’t know I’m even here. So every time I talk to her, she’s like, ‘Oh, where are you,’ and I tell her, and she’s like, ‘Oh, when are you coming home? Oh, why are you there?’” Park said. “In a weird way, it’s kind of good because she doesn’t have to worry about me all the time. But at the same time, I would love to be next to her while she’s going through this.”

    Seema Mehta

    Source link

  • Car drives onto active taxiway at O.C. airport; driver is hospitalized, official says

    A contract security guard was hospitalized Monday afternoon after he drove onto an airport taxiway and sped past planes, authorities said.

    On Dec. 8 around 1:12 p.m., the guard assigned to a security checkpoint “drove a vehicle into an airport taxiway at a high rate of speed,” according to a statement from John Wayne Airport spokesperson AnnaSophia Servin.

    Video shared with ABC7 showed a white sedan speeding down the taxiway near planes. The news outlet reported that an air traffic controller advised a Southwest plane to “hold position.”

    “There’s a high-speed chase on the taxiway,” the controller said.

    Orange County sheriff’s deputies detained the driver shortly thereafter and requested a medical assessment from the Orange County Fire Authority, the statement said.

    “The individual was evaluated on scene and determined to be experiencing a possible medical emergency,” Servin said.

    He was subsequently hospitalized and suspended from his job, according to the statement. Airport operations continued on schedule.

    Terry Castleman

    Source link

  • High school bullying is up, attendance down as ICE raids sow ‘climate of distress,’ study says

    High school principals across California and nationwide say raids by Immigration, Customs and Enforcement have provoked a “climate of distress” among immigrant students who have been bullied on campus and whose attendance has dropped, according to a study released Tuesday.

    Seventy percent of public high school principals surveyed said students from immigrant families expressed fears for themselves or their families because of ICE crackdowns or political rhetoric related to immigrants, according to the report by researchers at UCLA and UC Riverside.

    The findings echo the narrative of what schools and districts have reported across Southern California since President Trump took office in January and began aggressive immigration raids.

    One California principal told researchers she has seen staff members “breaking down in tears about a student.”

    “It just doesn’t feel very American,” she added.

    John Rogers, a UCLA education professor who co-authored the report, said it was “striking” that principals “across every region in the country spoke of fear and concern in their school communities related to immigration enforcement.”

    The researchers surveyed 606 public high school principals from May to August to understand how schools have been affected by Trump’s immigration enforcement. More than 1 in 3 principals, about 36%, said students from immigrant families have been bullied, and 64% said their attendance has dropped.

    A drop in attendance has been verified by other researchers who collected data from California’s Central Valley and the Northeastern states. There’s also been a decline in K-12 enrollment that appears to number in at least the tens of thousands, affecting cities including Los Angeles, San Diego and Miami, based on figures provided by school district officials.

    Principals, including in Minnesota, Nebraska and Michigan, noticed an uptick in students using hostile and derogatory language toward classmates from immigrant families. Some said a political climate that has normalized attacks on immigrants was to blame.

    The vast majority of principals surveyed, nearly 78%, said their campuses created plans to respond to visits from federal agents and nearly half have a contingency plan for when a student’s parents are deported.

    In this effort, schools in Los Angeles County have been leaders, taking quick and unprecedented steps to protect and reassure families. L.A. Unified, for example, has provided direct home-to-school transportation for some students.

    Their fears are not without cause. In April, Los Angeles principals turned away immigration agents who tried to enter two elementary schools, claiming to be conducting a wellness check with family permission. School district officials said no such permission had been granted.

    At a public meeting in November, L.A. school board member Karla Griego reported that a parent was taken into custody on his way to a school meeting about an updated education plan to manage his child’s disabilities.

    Charter schools have taken measures to reassure families as well. In the days following a major ICE raid in L.A., attendance rates at Alliance Morgan McKinzie High School in East L.A. slipped from the typical high-90% range to the low 90s, principal Rosa Menendez said.

    “A lot of our families have been really impacted and terrified,” Menendez said. “A lot of our kids are afraid to come to school.”

    As ICE raids escalated last summer, the charter school ramped up supervision, posting staff members around bus and train stations to watch students arrive and leave. The school will stay open during winter break, offering sports, video games and arts and crafts so students have a safe place to go.

    Immigration enforcement is personal for Menendez, who is a child of Salvadorean immigrants and has undocumented family members.

    “Coming off the heels of COVID, we were trying to keep our kids safe and healthy, and now it’s a whole other layer of safety,” Menendez said. “But we’re also worrying about our own families … It does add a very intense layer of stress.”

    Earlier this year the Department of Homeland Security issued a statement saying ICE does not “raid or target schools.” However, the Trump administration in January rescinded long-standing protections for “sensitive” locations that since 2011 had prevented ICE from arresting people in schools and churches.

    A double duty to protect and teach

    In addition to the survey, the researchers conducted 49 follow-up Zoom interviews with principals chosen to reflect a diverse mix of schools. Names were withheld over concern that their schools could become targets for immigration enforcement.

    One California principal, whose school is located in a predominantly immigrant neighborhood, told researchers her school’s sense of safety evaporated in the spring when news of nearby ICE raids broke during an assembly.

    This account was an echo of the unease that spread through a spring graduation ceremony at Huntington Park High School when an ICE raid began at the adjacent Home Depot.

    The principals noted that parents have felt torn between keeping themselves and family members safe and supporting their children’s education. In L.A. high schools, many parents elected not to attend graduation last spring.

    Immigration enforcement isn’t just affecting students. Many school staff members feel a “double sense of duty” to protect as well as teach, the California principal said.

    This administrator also said teachers have joined local immigrant rights networks, walking the blocks in the neighborhood before school each day to ensure there is a safe pathway to campus. One teacher, whose father is undocumented, frequently worries about suspicious cars in the school’s parking lot, the principal said.

    “[W]e always want to make sure we’re not caught off guard,” she said. On top of longstanding fears of a potential active shooter situation, she now worries daily that ICE agents will show up. “It’s a lot,” she added.

    Maria Nichols, president of Associated Administrators of Los Angeles and a former LAUSD principal, praised the district for taking quick action to provide school leaders with protocols to follow in case of a raid. But she said the job of a principal has become even more taxing because LAUSD staffing cuts reduced the number of assistant principals.

    “The leader, of course, is responsible for the logistics, protocols and procedural matters, but … also has to uplift their school and their community,” Nichols said. “They’re dealing with a crisis right now and it is a very, very difficult and heavy toll at a time where we have less human capital at schools.”

    School leaders across the country echoed the sentiments of the California principal.

    One Idaho principal told the researchers she worries each day that ICE agents would show up with a judicial warrant to detain students. “As the building leader,” she said, “I feel like I’m responsible for their safety. I hate that, because I don’t feel I’m able to protect them.”

    Iris Kwok, Howard Blume

    Source link

  • Californians sharply divided along partisan lines about immigration raids, poll finds

    California voters are sharply divided along partisan lines over the Trump administration’s immigration raids this year in Los Angeles and across the nation, according to a new poll.

    Just over half of the state’s registered voters oppose federal efforts to reduce undocumented immigration, and 61% are against deporting everyone in the nation who doesn’t have legal status, according to a recent poll by UC Berkeley’s Possibility Lab released to The Times on Wednesday.

    But there is an acute difference in opinions based on political leanings.

    Nearly 80% of Democrats oppose reducing the number of people entering the United States illegally, and 90% are against deporting everyone in the country who is undocumented, according to the poll. Among Republicans, 5% are against reducing the entries and 10% don’t believe all undocumented immigrants should be forced to leave.

    “The big thing that we find, not surprisingly, is that Democrats and Republicans look really different,” said political scientist Amy Lerman, director of UC Berkeley’s Possibility Lab, who studies race, public opinion and political behavior. “On these perspectives, they fall pretty clearly along party lines. While there’s some variation within the parties by things like age and race, really, the big divide is between Democrats and Republicans.”

    While there were some differences based on gender, age, income, geography and race, the results largely mirrored the partisan divide in the state, Lerman said.

    One remarkable finding was that nearly a quarter of survey respondents personally knew or were acquainted with someone in their family or friend groups directly affected by the deportation efforts, Lerman said.

    “That’s a really substantial proportion,” she said. “Similarly, the extent to which we see people reporting that people in their communities are concerned enough about deportation efforts that they’re not sending their kids to school, not shopping in local stores, not going to work,” not seeking medical care or attending church services.

    The poll surveyed a sample of the state’s registered voters and did not include the sentiments of the most affected communities — unregistered voters or those who are ineligible to cast ballots because they are not citizens.

    A little more than 23 million of California’s 39.5 million residents were registered to vote as of late October, according to the secretary of state’s office.

    “So if we think about the California population generally, this is a really significant underestimate of the effects, even though we’re seeing really substantial effects on communities,” she said.

    Earlier this year, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement launched a series of raids in Los Angeles and surrounding communities that spiked in June, creating both fear and outrage in Latino communities. Despite opposition from Gov. Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and other elected Democrats, the Trump administration also deployed the National Guard to the streets of the nation’s second-largest city to, federal officials said, protect federal immigration officials.

    The months since have been chaotic, with masked, armed agents randomly pulling people — most of whom are Latino — off the streets and out of their workplaces and sending many to detention facilities, where some have died. Some deportees were flown to an El Salvador prison. Multiple lawsuits have been filed by state officials and civil rights groups.

    In one notable local case, a federal district judge issued a ruling temporarily blocking federal agents from using racial profiling to carry out indiscriminate immigration arrests in the Los Angeles area. The Supreme Court granted an emergency appeal and lifted that order, while the case moves forward.

    More than 7,100 undocumented immigrants have been arrested in the Los Angeles area by federal authorities since June 6, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

    On Monday, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach), Bass and other elected officials hosted a congressional hearing on the impact of immigration raids that have taken place across the country. Garcia, the top Democrat on the House’s oversight committee, also announced the creation of a tracker to document misconduct and abuse during ICE raids.

    While Republican voters largely aligned with Trump’s actions on deportations, 16% said that they believed that the deportations will worsen the state’s economy.

    Lerman said the university planned to study whether these numbers changed as the impacts on the economy are felt more greatly.

    “If it continues to affect people, particularly, as we see really high rates of effects on the workforce, so construction, agriculture, all of the places where we’re as an economy really reliant [on immigrant labor], I can imagine some of these starting to shift even among Republicans,” she said.

    Among Latinos, whose support of Trump grew in the 2024 election, there are multiple indications of growing dissatisfaction with the president, according to separate national polls.

    Nearly eight in 10 Latinos said Trump’s policies have harmed their community, compared to 69% in 2019 during his first term, according to a national poll of adults in the United States released by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center on Monday. About 71% said the administration’s deportation efforts had gone too far, an increase from 56% in March. And it was the first time in the two decades that Pew has conducted its survey of Latino voters that the number of Latinos who said their standing in the United States had worsened increased, with more than two-thirds expressing the sentiment.

    Another poll released earlier this month by Somos Votantes, a liberal group that urges Latino voters to support Democratic candidates, found that one-third of Latino voters who previously supported Trump rue their decision, according to a national poll.

    Small business owner Brian Gavidia is among the Latino voters who supported Trump in November because of financial struggles.

    “I was tired of struggling, I was tired of seeing my friends closing businesses,” the 30-year-old said. “When [President] Biden ran again I’m like, ‘I’m not going to vote for the same four years we just had’ … I was sad and I was heartbroken that our economy was failing and that’s the reason why I went that way.”

    The East L.A. native, the son of immigrants from Colombia and El Salvador, said he wasn’t concerned about Trump’s immigration policies because the president promised to deport the “worst of the worst.”

    He grew disgusted watching the raids that unfolded in Los Angeles earlier this year.

    “They’re taking fruit vendors, day laborers, that’s the worst of the worst to you?” he remembered thinking.

    Over a lunch of asada tortas and horchata in East L.A., Gavidia recounted being detained by Border Patrol agents in June while working at a Montebello tow yard. Agents shoved him against a metal gate, demanding to know what hospital he was born at after he said he was an American citizen, according to video of the incident.

    After reviewing his ID, the agents eventually let Gavidia go. The Department of Homeland Security later claimed that Gavidia was detained for investigation for interference and released after being confirmed to be a U.S. citizen with no outstanding warrants. He is now a plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by the ACLU and immigrant advocacy groups alleging racial profiling during immigration raids.

    “At that moment, I was the criminal, at that moment I was the worst of the worst, which is crazy because I went to go see who they were getting — the worst of the worst like they said they were going to get,” Gavidia said. “But turns out when I got there, I was the worst of the worst.”

    Seema Mehta, Brittny Mejia

    Source link

  • $10-billion One Beverly Hills project gets off the ground

    Development of the massive One Beverly Hills residential and hotel complex reached a milestone over the weekend as construction started going vertical.

    The work to erect the two tallest towers in Beverly Hills started Friday with an overnight continuous pour of 3,800 cubic yards of concrete, the equivalent of 41,000 wheelbarrows-full. It was the first of multiple foundation pours that will take place over the next 12 months, developer Cain said.

    The project near the intersection of Santa Monica and Wilshire boulevards broke ground early last year and has so far included demolition, drilling geothermal wells, installing utility lines and digging a deep hole to house underground parking.

    One Beverly Hills will be anchored by the Aman Beverly Hills, a 78-room, all-suite hotel that will be the brand’s first West Coast property.

    One Beverly Hills Gardens

    (Foster + Partners)

    The tower residences will also be branded and serviced by Aman, a Swiss company owned by Russian-born real estate developer Vlad Doronin, which Forbes describes as “the world’s most preeminent resort brand,” and attracts affluent guests such as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and George and Amal Clooney.

    The two towers — 28 and 31 stories — will have a total of fewer than 200 condos.

    Interspersed among the property will be as many as 45 stores and restaurants, including a Dolce & Gabbana boutique, Los Mochis restaurant and Casa Tua Cucina restaurant and marketplace.

    “Over the next few months, you will start to see the buildings emerge from the ground,” said Jonathan Goldstein, chief executive of London-based Cain. “Reaching vertical construction is a powerful moment for everyone involved.”

    One Beverly Hills is one of the biggest real estate developments by cost under construction in North America, Goldstein said. He valued it at $10 billion upon completion.

    One Beverly Hills aerial rendering of two towers near other buildings.

    One Beverly Hills aerial rendering.

    (Kerry Hill Architects)

    It was conceived by London-based architect Foster + Partners. The firm is led by Norman Foster, an English lord perhaps best known for designing a landmark lipstick-like skyscraper in London known as the Gherkin and the hoop-shaped Apple Inc. headquarters in Cupertino, Calif.

    Set for phased completion beginning in 2027, the development connects the Beverly Hilton and Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills hotels in a unified, landscaped compound.

    City officials agreed to let Cain build by far the two tallest towers in Beverly Hills with the understanding that stacking the condominiums high would leave open space for 8.5 acres of gardens on the 17.5-acre site.

    The most public aspect of One Beverly Hills will be the gardens designed by Los Angeles architecture firm Rios, which also designed the 12-acre Gloria Molina Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles and created a new master plan for Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge.

    One Beverly Hills will feature botanical gardens that reflect the diverse landscape of Southern California, with drought-resistant native plants fed solely on recycled water, including rainfall and the runoff from residents’ sinks and showers. The gardens are designed to have more than 200 species of plants and trees, including palms, oaks, sycamores, succulents and olives.

    Set within the historic grounds of the former Beverly Hills Nurseries, which later became the Robinsons-May department store, the gardens will feature two miles of walkways, trails, sitting areas and water features.

    “We’re entering an exciting new chapter with the One Beverly Hills project, and I’m delighted to see it moving closer to becoming a reality,” said Beverly Hills Mayor Sharona Nazarian. “This is an important addition to Beverly Hills, and I’m proud of the progress we’re making.”

    Roger Vincent

    Source link

  • Iconic Stahl House, a Midcentury Modern stunner, up for sale

    For decades, the Stahl House in the Hollywood Hills has been a rarity — a globally known icon of Midcentury Modernism and Los Angeles glamour, still in the hands of the family who commissioned it in 1960. But now it’s for sale.

    The asking price is $25 million, which might seem a startling figure for a two-bedroom, 2,300-square-foot home on a snug lot. But that figure might not surprise lovers of modernist architecture who know it as Case Study House #22.

    It was designed for the Stahl family by architect Pierre Koenig, captured on black-and-white film by photographer Julius Shulman and has been admired worldwide ever since.

    The Architect’s Newspaper called it “one of the world’s most famous buildings.” Los Angeles magazine called Shulman’s image “perhaps the most famous picture ever taken of Los Angeles.”

    “There are no comps for the Stahl house. It’s incomparable,” said William Baker, architecture director for the real estate firm the Agency Beverly Hills. The home was included in the company’s fall catalog Nov. 12.

    By Friday afternoon, Baker said, he had received hundreds of inquiring calls. In considering offers, Baker said, the family is open to individuals or institutions — “someone who’s going to understand it, honor the house and the story about it.”

    The Stahls purchased the lot in 1954 for $13,500 and enlisted Koenig to design the house after other architects were daunted by the slope of the lot. Koenig’s solution was a cantilevered L-shaped structure with walls of steel and glass, a pool and a free-standing stone-faced fireplace between the living and dining areas.

    The second bedroom can only be accessed through the primary bedroom — “an efficient use of space” for a family of five, Baker said. The Stahl family has said the home cost $37,500 to build.

    Shortly after the home’s completion, photographer Julius Shulman made a black-and-white photograph that became emblematic of the era. It shows the home at night, with two young women sitting inside in a cantilevered corner, its floor-to-ceiling windows revealing the lights of the L.A. Basin glittering in the background.

    To bring up the lights, Shulman later told Los Angeles magazine, he used a seven-minute exposure. The resulting image, along with others Shulman made of the house, is now owned by the Getty Research Institute.

    In years since, the home has served as a filming location for many TV and film productions, including the 1968 pilot episode of “Columbo” and the movies “Galaxy Quest” (1999) and “Nurse Betty” (2000).

    “This home has been the center of our lives for decades, but as we’ve gotten older, it has become increasingly challenging to care for it with the attention and energy it so richly deserves,” the Stahl family announced on its website. Bruce and Shari Stahl, the surviving children of original owners Buck and Carlotta Stahl, added, “[O]ur tour program will continue unchanged for the time being, and we will provide ample notice before any adjustments are made.”

    For the last 17 years, the house has been open for tours, most recently on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, starting at $60 per adult during the day, $90 in the evening, with advance booking required and tight limits on photography. However, the Stahl website indicates all tours are sold out through the end of February.

    The real estate listing notes that the home is “a protected landmark and the only Case Study House with original family ownership.”

    In nominating it for the National Register of Historic Places in 2009, Amanda Stewart of the Los Angeles Conservancy called it “perhaps the most iconic house constructed in the Case Study House Program.” That program, sponsored by John Entenza’s Arts & Architecture magazine from 1945 to 1966, yielded 25 completed homes, today considered top exemplars of Midcentury home design.

    “There’s not a lot of these Case Study houses left. I think there are 19 now,” Baker said. (Baker also said he had recently handled the sale of Case Study House #10 in Pasadena to a buyer who lost a home in January’s Pacific Palisades fire.)

    The Stahl home stands on Woods Drive just north of West Hollywood’s city limit, about a quarter of a mile from Chateau Marmont.

    Many architecturally important Southern California Modern homes have landed in the hands of institutions, including Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House (1921), owned by the city of Los Angeles; the Schindler House (1922), owned by the Friends of the Schindler House and operated by the MAK Center for Art and Architecture; and the Eames House (1949), owned by the nonprofit Eames Foundation. The Sheats-Goldstein Residence, designed by John Lautner in 1961-63 and renovated by Lautner in the 1990s, has been promised by owner James Goldstein to the L.A. County Museum of Art.

    Christopher Reynolds

    Source link

  • This L.A. car wash depends on immigrant labor. Can it survive Trump?

    The car wash hadn’t yet opened for the day, but its owner was already on edge.

    He scanned the street for law enforcement vehicles and hit refresh on a crowdsourced map that showed recent immigration sweeps.

    “They were busy in our area yesterday,” he warned his employees. “Be careful.”

    But except for staying home, there were few precautions that the workers, mostly men from Mexico, could take.

    The business is located along one of L.A.’s busiest thoroughfares. Workers are exposed to the street as they scrub, wax and buff the parade of vehicles that streams in between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m., seven days a week.

    Immigration agents descended on the business multiple times this summer as part of a broader campaign against L.A. car washes. Masked men hauled away around a dozen workers, most of whom were swiftly deported. The Times is not identifying the business, the owner or the workers.

    The raids had spooked remaining employees — and many had stopped showing up to work. The replacements the owner hired were mostly other immigrants who showed him Social Security cards that he hoped were legitimate.

    Still, it was an open secret that the car wash industry, which paid low wages for back-breaking labor, largely attracted people without legal status.

    “Americans don’t want to do this work,” the owner said.

    After the raids, he had been forced to close for stretches during the typically lucrative summer months. He was now operating normally again, but sales were down, he had maxed out his credit cards and he was unsure whether his business would survive. Clients — frightened by the raids — were staying away.

    “My target is to pay the rent, pay the insurance and pay the guys,” the owner told his manager as they sipped coffee in the early morning November chill and waited for their first customer. “That’s it.”

    The manager, also an immigrant from Mexico, nodded. He was juggling his boss’ concerns with personal ones. He and his team had all seen friends, relatives and co-workers vanish in immigration raids. He left home each morning wondering whether he would return in the evening.

    The mood at the car wash had once been lighthearted, with employees joking as they sprayed down cars and polished windows. Now everybody, the manager included, kept one eye on the street as they worked. “We say we’re OK,” he said. “But we’re all scared.”

    A few minutes before 7 a.m., a BMW sedan pulled in for a wash. The manager flipped on the vacuum and said a prayer.

    “Protect me. Protect my colleagues. And protect the place I work.”

    The owner was born abroad but moved to Los Angeles after winning the U.S. green card lottery.

    He used his life savings to buy the car wash, which at the time seemed like a sound investment. There are some 36 million vehicles in California. And in Los Angeles, at least for most of the year, people can’t rely on rainfall to keep them clean.

    His business already took a major financial hit this year during the L.A. wildfires, which filled the air with smoke and ash. Customers didn’t bother to clean cars that they knew would get dirty again.

    Then came President Trump, who promised to deport record numbers of migrants.

    I’m not brave. I need the work

    — Car wash employee

    Previous administrations had focused on expelling immigrants who had committed crimes. But federal agents, under pressure to meet arrest quotas, have vastly widened their net, targeting public-facing workplaces that pay low wages.

    Car wash employees — along with street vendors, day laborers, farmworkers and gardeners — have become low-hanging fruit. At least 340 people have been detained in raids on 100 car washes across Southern California since June, according to the CLEAN Car Wash Worker Center, which advocates for workers in the industry.

    The owner was shocked when agents toting rifles and dressed in bulletproof vests first stormed his business, blocking exits with their vehicles and handcuffing employees without ever showing a search warrant.

    “It was a kidnapping,” he said. “It felt like we were in Afghanistan or Iraq, not in the middle of Los Angeles.”

    Some of the men that the agents dragged away in that raid and subsequent ones had been living in the U.S. for decades. Many were fathers of American children.

    The manager was racked with survivor’s guilt. He was from the same small town in Mexico as one of the men who was detained and later deported. Another worker taken by agents had been hired the same morning as the raid.

    That’s when many employees stopped showing up. One stayed home for almost a month straight, surviving on groceries his friends and family brought to his apartment.

    But eventually that employee — and his brother — returned to the car wash. “I’m not brave,” the brother said. “I need the work.”

    The brother had been in the country for nearly 25 years and had three U.S.-born children, one of whom had served as a Marine.

    He had toiled at car washes the whole time — crouching to scrub tires, stretching to dry roofs and returning home each night with aching heels and knots in his neck. Less punishing industries weren’t an option for somebody without valid work documents, he said, especially in the Trump era.

    He had been at the car wash during one of the raids, and had avoided being detained only when the owner stepped in front of him and demanded agents speak to him first.

    The man said he had made peace with the idea that his time in the U.S. might come to an end. “At least my children are grown,” he said.

    The two brothers were working this brisk November day, hand-drying Audis, Mercedes and a classic Porsche. They earned a little over minimum wage, and got to keep most of their tips.

    Their bosses had told them that if immigration agents returned, the workers should consider locking themselves inside the cars that they were cleaning. “Don’t run,” the manager said. “They’ll only chase.”

    At the cash register, the cashier watched a website that tracked Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions around the region. So far, there was no activity nearby.

    She had been present during the immigration sweeps, and was still mad at herself for not doing more to stop agents from taking her co-workers. “You think you’re gonna stand up to them, but it’s different when it happens,” she said. “I was like a deer in the headlights.”

    As workers cleaned his Toyota Camry, a retired history professor waited on a bench, reading a biography of Ulysses S. Grant. The ICE raids had scared some clients away, but had prompted others to express their support. He said he had made a point to patronize the business because he was angry at the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

    “They’re not getting the worst of the worst, they’re getting the easiest,” he said.

    He noted that a friend of his — a Latino born in the U.S. — now carried a copy of his birth certificate. Just in case.

    “That’s not the America I grew up in,” the customer said.

    The owner of the car wash, too, was trying to square the promise of the United States with the reality that he was living.

    “I thought Trump was a businessman,” he said. “But he’s really terrorizing businesses.”

    The owner had paid taxes on his employee’s earnings, he said. So had they. “They were pushing the economy, paying rent, paying insurance, buying things.”

    “Fine, take the criminals, take the bad guys,” he continued. “But these are hard workers. Criminals aren’t working at a car wash or waiting in front of a Home Depot.”

    The owner had recently obtained American citizenship. But he was disillusioned — by the raids, L.A.’s homelessness crisis, high healthcare costs. He said his wife longed to leave the U.S. and return home.

    “This is not the American dream,” he said. “This is an American nightmare.”

    As the sun began to sink on the horizon, the last car of the day pulled out of the car wash — a sparkling clean Tesla.

    The manager turned off the vacuum, recoiled hoses and exhaled with relief. He and his staff had survived another day. Tonight — at least — they would be going home to their families.

    Kate Linthicum

    Source link

  • Snow-starved California ski resorts delay openings despite powerful recent storms

    It may have felt like the recent rain would never end in Los Angeles, but the record-breaking precipitation in Southern California has failed to translate into a much-desired dumping of snow at ski resorts across the state.

    While Friday was originally set as the opening date of the Heavenly and Northstar ski resorts in the Lake Tahoe area, officials said mild weather and stubbornly insufficient flurries have delayed those plans.

    Vail Resorts, which owns both resorts, has yet to announce an updated opening date. But the forecast ahead does not look promising.

    “A dry forecast is in store for the next week through Thanksgiving and Black Friday,” Open Snow wrote in its Tahoe area forecast Friday. “We could see a change in the pattern the weekend of the 29th with colder air moving in and maybe some snow. Overall, through the long-range, there are no big storms showing up, but hopefully that changes as we go deeper into December.”

    Mammoth Mountain, California’s highest-elevation ski resort, was also recently forced to delay the start of its season.

    The Sierra Nevada resort had initially announced a Nov. 14 opening date, but pushed it off as an atmospheric river storm swept across the state. While forecasters hoped the low-pressure system would blanket the slopes in Mammoth, mountainside temperatures remained too warm for serious snow.

    Disappointed skiers and snowboarders took to social media to share videos of the muddy slopes.

    Fortunately, thanks to a moderate storm earlier this week and robust use of snow machines, Mammoth was able to open for the season Thursday with around one-third of its lifts running. Nevertheless, season snowfall totals remain below average.

    Other major Golden State ski resorts are eyeing late November and early December openings. Palisades Tahoe is scheduled to open on Wednesday, just in time for Thanksgiving. Kirkwood resort, located south of Lake Tahoe, is hoping to open on Dec. 5.

    Those seeking to hit the slopes closer to Los Angeles will have to have patience. Big Bear Mountain Resort in San Bernardino County has yet to set an opening date and currently has just 1 to 2 inches of snow on the ground.

    Climate change has made the art of predicting and managing snowfall at California’s ski resorts much more challenging.

    Recent years have been characterized by extreme boom and bust cycles, going from alarmingly low-snow winters in 2020 and 2021 to extreme accumulations in the 2022-23 season, when Mammoth Mountain received a record-breaking snowfall of more than 700 inches at its main lodge.

    “We’re going through this climate whiplash of extreme drought years to extreme wet years — there are just no average years anymore,” Doug Obegi, a senior attorney at the National Resources Defense Council, said in a statement on 2023’s record-breaking season. “And we’re seeing that we are not prepared for either of those extremes.”

    Overall, snow seasons are expected to trend warmer and drier. Researchers predict that from the 2050s to 2100, rising temperatures could push average snowlines 1,300 feet to 1,600 feet higher across the Sierra Nevada compared to a century earlier.

    And extreme snow years, while welcomed by snowsport enthusiasts, come with their own challenges.

    When snow falls in extreme storms as opposed to steadily over the course of the season, it increases the risk of avalanches and can force resorts to stop running lifts due to safety concerns. Then in the spring, deep snowpacks melt faster than normal, which can lead to dangerous flooding and even worsen the upcoming fire season.

    Clara Harter

    Source link

  • An L.A. man was detained in an immigration raid. No one knows where he is

    WASHINGTON — No one seems to know what happened to Vicente Ventura Aguilar.

    A witness told his brother and attorneys that the 44-year-old Mexican immigrant, who doesn’t have lawful immigration status, was taken into custody by immigration authorities on Oct. 7 in SouthLos Angeles and suffered a medical emergency.

    But it’s been more than six weeks since then, and Ventura Aguilar’s family still hasn’t heard from him.

    The Department of Homeland Security said 73 people from Mexico were arrested in the Los Angeles area between Oct. 7 and 8.

    “None of them were Ventura Aguilar,” said Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant Homeland Security public affairs secretary.

    “For the record, illegal aliens in detention have access to phones to contact family members and attorneys,” she added.

    McLaughlin did not answer questions about what the agency did to determine whether Ventura Aguilar had ever been in its custody, such as checking for anyone with the same date of birth, variations of his name, or identifying detainees who received medical attention near the California border around Oct. 8.

    Lindsay Toczylowski, co-founder of the Immigrant Defenders Law Center who is representing Ventura Aguilar’s family, said DHS never responded to her inquiries about him.

    The family of Vicente Ventura Aguilar, 44, says he has been missing since Oct. 7 when a friend saw him arrested by federal immigration agents in Los Angeles. Homeland Security officials say he was never in their custody.

    (Family of Vicente Ventura Aguilar)

    “There’s only one agency that has answers,” she said. “Their refusal to provide this family with answers, their refusal to provide his attorneys with answers, says something about the lack of care and the cruelty of the moment right now for DHS.”

    His family and lawyers checked with local hospitals and the Mexican consulate without success. They enlisted help from the office of Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Los Angeles), whose staff called the Los Angeles and San Diego county medical examiner’s offices. Neither had someone matching his name or description.

    The Los Angeles Police Department also told Kamlager-Dove’s office that he isn’t in their system. His brother, Felipe Aguilar, said the family filed a missing person’s report with LAPD on Nov. 7.

    “We’re sad and worried,” Felipe Aguilar said. “He’s my brother and we miss him here at home. He’s a very good person. We only hope to God that he’s alive.”

    Felipe Aguilar said his brother, who has lived in the U.S. for around 17 years, left home around 8:15 a.m. on Oct. 7 to catch the bus for an interview for a sanitation job when he ran into friends on the corner near a local liquor store. He had his phone but had left his wallet at home.

    One of those friends told Felipe Aguilar and his lawyers that he and Ventura Aguilar were detained by immigration agents and then held at B-18, a temporary holding facility at the federal building in downtown Los Angeles.

    The friend was deported the next day to Tijuana. He spoke to the family in a phone call from Mexico.

    Detainees at B-18 have limited access to phones and lawyers. Immigrants don’t usually turn up in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement online locator system until they’ve arrived at a long-term detention facility.

    According to Felipe Aguilar and Toczylowski, the friend said Ventura Aguilar began to shake, went unconscious and fell to the ground while shackled on Oct. 8 at a facility near the border. The impact caused his face to bleed.

    The friend said that facility staff called for an ambulance and moved the other detainees to a different room. Toczylowski said that was the last time anyone saw Ventura Aguilar.

    She said the rapid timeline between when Ventura Aguilar was arrested to when he disappeared is emblematic of what she views as a broad lack of due process for people in government custody under the Trump administration and shows that “we don’t know who’s being deported from the United States.”

    Felipe Aguilar said he called his brother’s cell phone after hearing about the arrests but it went straight to voicemail.

    Felipe Aguilar said that while his brother is generally healthy, he saw a cardiologist a couple years ago about chest pain. He was on prescribed medication and his condition had improved.

    His family and lawyers said Ventura Aguilar might have given immigration agents a fake name when he was arrested. Some detained people offer up a wrong name or alias, and that would explain why he never showed up in Homeland Security records. Toczylowski said federal agents sometimes misspell the name of the person they are booking into custody.

    The family of Vicente Ventura Aguilar, 44

    Vicente Ventura Aguilar, who has been missing since Oct. 7, had lived in the United States for 17 years, his family said.

    (Family of Vicente Ventura Aguilar)

    But she said the agency should make a significant attempt to search for him, such as by using biometric data or his photo.

    “To me, that’s another symptom of the chaos of the immigration enforcement system as it’s happening right now,” she said of the issues with accurately identifying detainees. “And it’s what happens when you are indiscriminately, racially profiling people and picking them up off the street and holding them in conditions that are substandard, and then deporting people without due process. Mistakes get made. Right now, what we want to know is what mistakes were made here, and where is Vicente now?”

    Surveillance footage from a nearby business reviewed by MS NOW shows Ventura Aguilar on the sidewalk five minutes before masked agents begin making arrests in South Los Angeles. The footage doesn’t show him being arrested, but two witnesses told the outlet that they saw agents handcuff Ventura Aguilar and place him in a van.

    In a letter sent to DHS leaders Friday, Kamlager-Dove asked what steps DHS has taken to determine whether anyone matching Ventura Aguilar’s identifiers was detained last month and whether the agency has documented any medical events or hospital transports involving people taken into custody around Oct. 7-8.

    “Given the length of time since Mr. Ventura Aguilar’s disappearance and the credible concern that he may have been misidentified, injured, or otherwise unaccounted for during the enforcement action, I urgently request that DHS and ICE conduct an immediate and comprehensive review” by Nov. 29, Kamlager-Dove wrote in her letter.

    Kamlager-Dove said her most common immigration requests from constituents are for help with visas and passports.

    “Never in all the years did I expect to get a call about someone who has completely disappeared off the face of the earth, and also never did I think that I would find myself not just calling ICE and Border Patrol but checking hospitals, checking with LAPD and checking morgues to find a constituent,” she said. “It’s horrifying and it’s completely dystopian.”

    She said families across Los Angeles deserve answers and need to know whether something similar could happen to them.

    “Who else is missing?” she said.

    Andrea Castillo

    Source link