For many prospective homebuyers, the last two years have been brutal as high home prices and mortgage rates produced the most unaffordable housing market since the 2000s bubble.
Many experts don’t expect drastic improvement soon, but a shift could finally be underway.
The cost of a 30-year fixed mortgage has fallen from above 7% in May to the low-6% range as of last week. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve is expected to cut its benchmark interest rate for the first time since it began raising it in 2022 in a bid to fight inflation.
“I think for the next two years, we are in a world where the pressure is on rates to come down,” said Daryl Fairweather, chief economist with real estate brokerage Redfin.
How much mortgage rates will decline is unclear.
The cost for a mortgage is heavily influenced by inflation because institutional investors that buy 30-year mortgages that are packed into bundles don’t want to see the value of their investment eaten away.
Experts attribute the recent decline in mortgage rates to easing inflation, as well as expectations that because consumer prices are rising less, that will enable the Fed to cut its benchmark interest rate.
The central bank’s federal funds rate does not directly affect mortgage rates, but it can do so indirectly since it sets a floor on all borrowing costs and provides a signal of how entrenched the Fed thinks inflation is.
Keith Gumbinger, vice president of research firm HSH.com, said a Fed cut Wednesday may not move mortgage rates much because, to some extent, mortgage investors have already priced in the expectation that rates would decline.
More cuts, however, are expected in the future.
Gumbinger said if the Fed achieves a so-called soft landing — taming inflation without causing a recession — he would expect mortgage rates to be in the mid-5% range by this time next year.
If the economy turns sour, mortgage rates could fall further, though even in that scenario Gumbinger doubted they’d reach the 3% and below range of the pandemic.
Orphe Divounguy, a senior economist with Zillow, predicted that rates would not even fall to 5.5% but would stay around where they are, arguing that the economy is relatively strong and inflation is unlikely to ease much.
“I don’t think we are going to see a huge drop, but what we have seen has been great for homebuyers so far,” he said.
Indeed, even modest drops in borrowing costs can have a big effect on affordability.
If a buyer puts 20% down on an $800,000 house, the monthly principal and interest payments would equal $4,258 with a 7% mortgage; $3,837 with a 6% mortgage; and $3,436 with a 5% mortgage.
Whether dropping rates bring lasting relief is another question. Falling borrowing costs could attract a flood of additional buyers and send home prices higher — especially if increased demand isn’t met by an increase in supply.
For now, the number of homes for sale is increasing modestly, rates are falling and home price growth is slowing.
In August, home prices across Southern California dipped slightly from the prior month. Values were still up nearly 6% from a year earlier, but that was smaller than the 12-month increase of 9.5% in April, according to data from Zillow.
In theory, this combination of factors could provide prospective buyers an opportunity to get into the market. Many don’t appear to be doing so.
According to Redfin, 7.8% fewer homes across the U.S. went into escrow during the four weeks that ended Sept 8 compared with a year earlier.
In Los Angeles County, pending sales were up 2% from a year ago but down from earlier in the summer.
Fairweather said buyers might not be jumping in now because they haven’t realized rates have gone down or they are temporarily scared off by recent changes to real estate commission rules.
Some agents say they are noticing a pickup.
Costanza Genoese-Zerbi, an L.A.-area Redfin agent, said she’s recently noticed more first-time buyers out shopping, leading to an uptick in multiple offers in entry-level neighborhoods where people are more sensitive to rates.
Other agents aren’t seeing much of a boost.
Real estate agent Jake Sullivan, who specializes in the South Bay and San Pedro, has a theory: Homes are still far more expensive than they were just a few years ago.
Home insurance costs have risen as well.
“The cost of living is just so high,” Sullivan said.
California’s surgeon general has unveiled a new initiative to reduce maternal mortality and set a goal of halving the rate of deaths related to pregnancy and birth by December 2026.
Health officials say that more than 80% of maternal deaths nationwide are preventable. California has achieved a much lower rate of such deaths than the U.S., but maternal mortality resurged in recent years amid the COVID-19 pandemic, state data show.
“We have the lowest rate in the country. Now we can do better,” California Surgeon General Dr. Diana E. Ramos said in an interview.
Ramos was joined in announcing the effort Tuesday by First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of Gov. Gavin Newsom.
In California, leading causes of such deaths include heart disease, bleeding, “behavioral health” issues such as mental illness and substance use, and infection. More than a fifth of pregnancy-related deaths in California occur the day of delivery, but the majority happen in the days, weeks and months that follow, according to state data.
The crisis has been especially stark among Black women, who have faced a maternal mortality rate more than three times that of white women in California. In Los Angeles County, there has been a public outcry in recent years over the deaths of women like April Valentine, 31, and Bridgette Burks, 32 — Black mothers who left behind devastated families.
Health researchers have faulted numerous factors for the higher rates of maternal mortality among Black women, including the physical effects on the body of enduring years of racism; higher rates of diabetes and other chronic conditions that increase risk; and inequities in the care received by Black patients.
California officials said they are also concerned about rising rates of maternal mortality among Latinos and Asian/Pacific Islander communities in the state.
The “Strong Start & Beyond” initiative, officials said, would help patients understand potential risks before they become pregnant and prompt earlier action to address hazards such as heart disease. It would also alert Californians to doula services and other programs intended to support people before, during and after birth.
Ramos said California had reached the lowest rate of maternal mortality in the nation through its system of reviewing maternal deaths and other efforts centered on hospitals, physicians and other healthcare professionals. Up until now, “the focus has been primarily on the healthcare setting,” she said.
But “if we keep on doing the same thing — just focusing on the healthcare team — we’re going to get the same results,” Ramos said. Health officials and experts decided they needed to bolster that work, “and that’s why we’re bringing in the patient.”
“It seems so simple, but oftentimes, the pregnant person doesn’t feel like they have a voice or they have the information they need to make informed decisions,” Ramos said.
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra said in a statement accompanying the launch of the new effort that “reducing maternal mortality isn’t a ‘should,’ it’s a ‘must.’ California gets it.”
The planned strategies outlined in the California Maternal Health Blueprint, released Tuesday, include a new questionnaire that patients can take at home to assess their risk of pregnancy complications and get recommendations for next steps based on their results.
As an obstetrician-gynecologist, Ramos said she found that it was often at their first prenatal appointment that a patient would first hear, “You’re going to be a high-risk patient.’ And more times than not, patients would say … ‘I wish I would have known that I could have done X, Y or Z to decrease my risk.’”
California officials also want all medical facilities in the state to use an existing screening tool for gauging the risk levels of pregnant patients.
Ramos said those results could help guide where patients go for births. Hospitals with limited resources could refer patients with a higher risk of complications — such as someone who “is going to be at risk for hemorrhage, is going to be at risk for ICU admission” — to the medical facilities best equipped to handle them.
The new effort comes as pregnant patients may face dwindling choices for hospital births: Nationally, roughly 1 in 25 obstetric units closed in 2021 and 2022, according to a March of Dimes report.
Under “the modern fee-for-service healthcare model … hospitals must fund round-the-clock capacity but are only reimbursed when their facilities and staff are in action,” wrote Dr. Anna Reinert, an assistant professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology at USC’s Keck School of Medicine, in a recent op-ed.
“So if not enough deliveries are happening, expenses outweigh reimbursement. This drives hospitals to get out of the baby delivery business altogether,” Reinert wrote.
California has faced a wave of such closures in the last decade, including at many hospitals in Los Angeles County. A CalMatters analysis found that such closures had disproportionately affected Black, Latino and low-income communities. Among the latest hospitals to announce it would shut down a labor and delivery unit is USC Verdugo Hills Hospital in Glendale, which plans to halt maternity care on Nov. 20.
Two people died in North Long Beach on Monday morning, leading to an apparent standoff between Long Beach SWAT officers and a suspected gunman.
The series of events began at 11:15 a.m., when Long Beach police responded to a reported shooting on the 300 block of East 63rd Street.
Upon arriving, they discovered a woman with gunshot wounds to the upper body and a man with unknown injuries, the department said in a statement. The Long Beach Fire Department transported the woman to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead; the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
The victims’ identities have not been released.
A possible male suspect fled the scene to a nearby building, where officers established a perimeter and attempted to contact him, according to the statement. SWAT officers were called in to help, and they were on scene as of 3:30 p.m.
The police had released no further information about the incident as of Monday afternoon.
The motive for the shooting is unknown, and an investigation is ongoing.
Falling temperatures and rising humidity will give firefighters a brief window to gain more ground against three major Southern California wildfires, officials said Sunday.
“It’s helping out tremendously,” said Capt. Steve Concialdi, acting as public information officer on the Airport fire in Orange and Riverside counties, where overnight humidity levels topped 90% in some areas Saturday.
“It is helping us increase our containment lines and firefighters are able to work longer in these cooler temperatures,” Concialdi said. “We’re not getting heat-related illnesses.”
But there is a mixed blessing in the weather shift.
“We are expecting some fairly strong winds through [Monday] night and also at higher elevations, which could present some issues,” said Bryan Lewis, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.
Even as a moist blanket of air in the marine layer thickens, rising to 4,500 feet by Sunday, conditions above that remain parched. Upper peaks could see wind gusts of up to 45 mph, Lewis said, spelling fresher air for valley residents but posing a challenge to fire crews. Lewis said the marine layer, with its cool, moist air, could deepen to 6,000 feet by Monday.
In San Bernardino County, the Line fire moved at a crawl over the weekend, but the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said humidity and the chance of light rain late Sunday should give firefighters a chance to douse hot spots and solidify control lines that surround a third of the 36,000-acre fire. The fire was 36% contained as of Sunday afternoon.
Paul Faulstick, 67, walks among the ruins of his friend, David Mix’s, property that was destroyed in the Bridge fire along Bear Canyon Road in Mount Baldy on Thursday. “It was Armageddon-like,” said David Mix, 50, about the fire. “This place is like a relative. I had to know if she was gone,” Mix concluded.
(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
The nearby Bridge fire sprawling nearly 55,000 acres in the San Gabriel Mountains of San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties continued to press north and west, but the agency said firefighters are holding lines to the south and east, though the Mount Baldy area remains under evacuation orders. The fire is only 9% contained.
In the Santa Ana Mountains, the Airport fire made no new advances Saturday night, holding under 24,000 acres and giving ground crews a chance to reach hard-to-access areas around Trabuco Canyon and establish fire lines. To date, 115 residences and three businesses have been destroyed, with injuries reported to 12 firefighters and two civilians. The fire is 19% contained.
Fire plans called for crews of hot shot firefighters to be flown in and dropped off in these remote areas, to establish camps from which they will work for several days dousing anything smoldering. “If the wind shifts or the Santa Ana [wind] kicks up, we want to make sure all of those hot spots are extinguished,” Concialdi said.
With other ground gains, Riverside County on Saturday downgraded evacuation orders in some areas to warning status.
Dry conditions still dominate at upper elevations. State officials said the Line fire near Big Bear Lake continued to be active on higher ground. In the Airport fire, Modjeska Peak remained dry, and state officials warned smoldering vegetation above 4,000 feet still had the potential to flare and roll downhill to ignite unburned vegetation.
The high pressure system that locked Southern California in a heat dome last week has been displaced by the passage of a weak and dying cold front. Local weather forecasts called for temperatures slightly below normal, thick night fog and high humidity, and chances for light rain leading into Monday. Light rain returns to the forecast for Wednesday before National Weather Service forecasts call for temperatures to rise again to slightly above normal.
Air quality advisories remained in effect for all four counties, with smoke choking the air with fine-particulate matter. The South Coast Air Quality Management District advised residents to limit outdoor activity.
A firefighting helicopter battles the Airport fire, dropping water near Santiago Peak on Tuesday. The Airport fire has charred more than 9,000 acres.
Growing up, I realized that children are a product of their environment, so let me tell you a little bit about mine: I grew up in Secaucus, N.J., a town called “the Jewel of the Meadowlands.” My suburban hometown exists within a large ecosystem of wetlands, the Meadowlands, through which the Hackensack River flows. But with post-agricultural pig farm effluent and debris from New York’s train station decay being dumped into the area, the Meadowlands became a jewel in need of polishing.
Secaucus is working to recover the natural marshes by designating them as protected so fewer apartment complexes can be built and begin to sink a few years down the road, which has happened in the past. The town became environmentally conscious, and existing within that environment, I did the same.
In high school, I worked with the Secaucus Environmental Department for over three years as part of the Next Generation Community Leaders, or NGCL, program created by the Lindsey Meyer Teen Institute. Little did I know just how much this experience would influence my life. Throughout that time, I learned about climate change, the planet’s environmental challenges, and the actions we need to take to reduce our footprint. I helped implement a plastic bag and Styrofoam ban, designed a food waste composting system at my high school and local gardens and created eco-friendly living PSAs. I canvassed to promote eco-friendly living and educated residents on how to compost at home.
I also certified local businesses as “green,” depending on whether they followed practices set by the Sustainable Jersey network. These practices included recycling, reducing food waste, not using Styrofoam, etc. My contributions to the environmental department helped Secaucus to earn recognition from Sustainable Jersey as a Silver Certified Community.
That experience showed me how local actions can create change. By educating residents in Secaucus, we altered their behaviors, if even slightly, to be more environmentally conscious. Residents began to grow produce in the community gardens, compost at home and reduce their plastic bag usage. I witnessed how humans responsible for harming the planet have the potential to make changes to fix it and make it better for future generations. From that day forward, I carried that responsibility with me.
I will be honest: I don’t know the current status of those projects I worked on in Secaucus. I hope that residents are still composting at home and that those businesses continue their green practices.
I began my journey into learning about sustainability at USC with a major in industrial and systems engineering and a minor in law and public policy. Although these are not fields directly tied to the climate ecosphere, my advocacy in Secaucus made me realize that a systematic mindset and policy knowledge would be strong tools with which I can effect change within both the government and private sector in advocating for larger-scale sustainability solutions. With the opportunities provided by USC, I knew I could get involved in environmentalism and sustainability without having to be an environmental science major.
“We have canvassed [local] youth … and discovered that their top environmental priorities are cleaner air, green spaces and green buildings,” says Alyssa Jaipersaud, a member of the L.A. County Youth Climate Commission.
(Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)
If you asked freshman Alyssa what her ultimate career goal was, she would have said, “Facilitate systemic change within the bureaucracy through ecological and climate-preservation policies to make society more sustainably conscious.” I wrote this on an index card and kept it in my backpack throughout college to constantly remind me of the goal because being an environmentalist can be discouraging, given the current climate.
Since then, I think I would have made freshman Alyssa proud. I was accepted into the USC Student Sustainability Committee and became a mentor to new members. The SSC acts as a representative for the student body within the Presidential Working Group for Sustainability. We work on projects such as getting reusable takeout containers in dining halls, ensuring ongoing campus construction is adhering to green practices, and creating a central physical space where sustainability-minded students can gather.
As a member of the SSC, I ensured that sustainability would become a standard educational practice at USC and change student behaviors toward respecting their environment. I continued my education at USC by pursuing a master’s in sustainable engineering, and I have earned the distinction of a National Academy of Engineering Grand Challenges Scholar by focusing on sustainability.
Alyssa Jaipersaud poses for a portrait at Exposition Park Rose Garden.
(Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)
My environmental pursuits have culminated in my becoming a Los Angeles County Youth Climate commissioner in the world’s first such organization. We have canvassed the youth in L.A. County and discovered that their top environmental priorities are cleaner air, green spaces and green buildings.
Now, as a member of the legislative committee, I track all federal and state measures that relate to these priorities and bring them to the attention of the county Board of Supervisors so that they can weigh in on whether the legislation should be amended, supported or rejected. We are working actively to support legislation currently going through the U.S. Senate that would call for establishing opportunities for youths to be involved in policy development so they can ensure a healthy environment for their future and those to come.
Since children are a product of their environment, we should help future generations have a good environment to live in. With the environment constantly changing due to global warming, future generations will have a chance only if we work to make the world sustainable starting today. Instead of forcing future generations to learn how to survive to fix the environmental mistakes we are making today, they should have the opportunity to live without the repercussions of the past.
I witnessed the negative effects of a mistreated environment in my hometown, and I want to make sure future generations aren’t suffering from the consequences of what we are doing. With a sustainability mindset, local changes can influence the politicians and create the systemic change needed to get the biggest offenders under control. One of the significant steps is behavioral changes, which can begin locally and be brought by people not even studying in the environmental field, just like me.
Alyssa Jaipersaud earned a bachelor of science in industrial and systems engineering with a minor in law and public policy at USC and is also completing a master’s of science in sustainable engineering. She is setting her sights on a full-time role in the sustainability industry either as a consultant or practicing engineer.
Amid a record-breaking heat wave, firefighters in Southern California have struggled over the last week to contain three large wildfires that have scorched more than 100,000 acres.
The arson-sparked Line fire has chewed through 38,000 acres in the San Bernardino Mountains between Highland and Big Bear Lake, prompting the evacuation of several mountain communities. The Bridge fire consumed nearly 53,000 acres in the San Gabriel Mountains in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, destroying more than a dozen structures. And the Airport fire swept through 23,000 acres in Orange and Riverside counties.
The three blazes are still largely uncontrolled, but an incoming cold front and cloudy weather this weekend are expected to offer some reprieve, officials said Saturday. Much of Southern California saw temperatures ranging from the high 60s to mid-70s throughout the day.
Many parts of the region are expected to see a double-digit drop in temperatures, extensive cloud cover and a chance for light rain over the next few days, according to the National Weather Service. In one of the most drastic swings, downtown Los Angeles is forecast to see high temperatures in the low 70s, a nearly 40-degree drop from its high of 112 degrees Sept. 6. There is even a slight chance for light rain Wednesday and Thursday.
These milder conditions — along with increased humidity — are also expected to extend farther inland near the wildfires.
“As we’ve seen the last few days, there’s been a pretty good cooling trend from the excessive heat wave that we saw persist for almost a week,” National Weather Service meteorologist Bryan Lewis said. “This provides some really nice relief, especially after these fires have been going out of control.”
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection credited high moisture levels with slowing the Line fire, which was 25% contained as of Saturday but continued to creep into dry vegetation while making occasional runs along slopes. Favorable wind conditions also helped keep the Bridge fire — the largest active wildfire in California — within its current footprint but it remained only 3% contained Saturday. The Airport fire was only 9% contained.
Patchy fog and drizzling rain could help firefighters in these hot spots as well.
“We’re calling it more of a drizzle to light rain,” Lewis said. “That’ll likely impact these lower elevation areas. It’ll help dampen the fuels and potentially help put out some of the smaller spot fires.”
Meanwhile, communities stretching from the San Gabriel Mountains to Lake Elsinore remain under a smoke advisory from the South Coast Air Quality Management District. The air district has encouraged residents to take precautions to protect themselves from dangerous levels of air pollution, including remaining indoors and keeping windows closed as wildfires have released large plumes of smoke and ash, which continue to hover over nearby communities.
Last week, several air monitors in the Inland Empire detected fine-particulate pollution levels above the federal health limits, including Riverside, Ontario and Fontana. An air monitor in Big Bear City recorded the highest level with a daily average of 372 parts per million, more than 10 times higher than the federal health standard.
The pollution has eased in many areas. However, communities in the San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains were still experiencing unhealthy air quality, according to the air district.
Standing on his golf course less than a mile from the Rancho Palos Verdes landslide zone where hundreds of homes are without gas and electricity, former President Trump on Friday called his property “very solid” and called on the government to help the troubled city.
“It’s a very wealthy area, but you also have people living here that are elderly and have fixed incomes and have houses that are gonna be, ya know, shoved into the Pacific Ocean if something’s not done,” the former president said.
Trump spoke to reporters at a campaign-related news conference at his seaside Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles, which he bought from bankrupted developers in 2002 after the 18th hole slid into the ocean.
The landslide-prone city is under a state of emergency issued by Gov. Gavin Newsom this month because of extreme land movement triggered by back-to-back rainy winters. Neighborhoods near the golf course are under a city-issued evacuation warning, with the land moving about nine to 12 inches a week.
Before he began his lengthy remarks at an outdoor lectern — the Pacific Ocean behind him with Catalina Island visible after the morning fog cleared — Trump invited Rancho Palos Verdes Mayor John Cruikshank to speak.
“Obviously, I’m a tiny bit nervous. This is a very big deal,” Cruikshank said as he held a red “Make America Great Again” hat in his hands.
Rancho Palos Verdes Mayor John Cruikshank holds a “Make America Great Again” hat while listening to former President Trump speak at a news conference at Trump National Golf Course on Friday.
(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)
Cruikshank told the Times on Thursday that he had, for several days, been trying to get on the Republican presidential nominee’s schedule. He had hoped to talk to Trump about the landslide before the news conference and had not expected to speak.
At the lectern, Cruikshank pleaded for help for the city of 40,000 people.
“We believe we can solve the problem, but we really need the assistance of the state of California and the federal government,” he said. “We have solutions out there for that, but the problem is bigger than the city of Rancho Palos Verdes.”
Trump, who is actively pursuing long-held plans to build up to 23 homes on the property, has struggled over the years to get city approvals for development, in large part because of the area’s instability.
The original owners of the property, then called the Ocean Trails Golf Club, went bankrupt after the 18th hole fell into the Pacific during a 1999 landslide while the course was still under construction. Trump bought the property in 2002 for $27 million.
He brought up the club Friday while attacking the leaders of San Francisco, who he said have allowed the city to decline. Trump compared costs at his club with an infamous $1.7-million public toilet that opened this year in San Francisco.
“They built a toilet for $1.7 million, and it’s not even nice. I saw pictures of it. I built this whole thing for less than that,” he said, sweeping his hand in reference to his property.
As for landslides, Trump said they “are something that can be taken care of.”
“This area’s very solid,” he said of his property. “But if you go down, a couple miles down, you’ll see something that’s pretty amazing. The mountain is moving, and it can be stopped, but they need some help from the government. So, I hope they get the help.”
Trump did not indicate if he was referring to the state government or federal government.
City officials say the golf club is about a half-mile from the active slide area.
Trump repeatedly trashed the Golden State but praised his club, saying he never has to advertise because “it’s always loaded up with golfers” and is “one of the best courses in the world.”
He added: “I have the ocean. Pebble Beach has the bay. The ocean’s better than the bay.”
The 34-year-old Norco man arrested on suspicion of starting the Line fire, which has raged through San Bernardino County, tried multiple times to start a fire before succeeding, prosecutors allege.
The San Bernardino County district attorney’s office filed criminal charges Thursday against Justin Wayne Halstenberg. He’s facing multiple counts of arson, including using incendiary devices to start fires and arson causing great bodily injury. Prosecutors said additional charges may be filed for any further structure damage or injuries as the fire continues.
“The devastation that has unfolded due to the alleged actions of one man cannot be undone,” Dist. Atty. Jason Anderson said in a statement, adding that “37,000 acres of forest land and mountain communities might never be what they once were.”
“My hope is that with the investigative efforts of our law enforcement partners and thorough prosecution of this case,” he said, “we can offer some measure of justice.”
The man’s mother spoke out in her son’s defense, telling The Times on Thursday that he “did not light that fire.”
A helicopter drops water on the Line fire Monday in Mentone, Calif.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Connie Halstenberg made the comment in a text message response to The Times in which she said that she was not talking to the press.
But, she said: “I do want to say this about my baby boy. He did not light that fire, I repeat he did not light that fire.”
She said there are things that her son does that she does not approve of but that “he is not an arsonist.”
In filing charges, prosecutors said Halstenberg attempted to start multiple fires within an hour in the city of Highland. His first alleged attempt occurred at Bacon and Lytle lanes. That fire was reported and extinguished by local firefighters.
Justin Wayne Halstenberg, 34, is being held without bail. He is scheduled to be arraigned Friday at Rancho Cucamonga Superior Courthouse.
(San Bernardino County sheriff)
Prosecutors said he tried a second time just east of Bacon Lane, near Base Line and Aplin streets. They said the fire was stomped out by a good Samaritan.
“Undeterred, he ignited a third fire which is what we now know as the Line Fire,” prosecutors said in the statement.
Three firefighters were injured in the first couple of days of the fire. At least one structure has been destroyed, and three others have been damaged, but none were homes, according to San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus. He said the fire had affected an estimated 100,000 county residents.
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Battalion Chief Matt Kirkhart, who supervises the law enforcement investigation unit, said arson investigators responded to the fire that day to determine the origin and cause of the fire.
Flames from the Line fire reach tree tops Tuesday in Running Springs, Calif.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
He said investigators immediately began to comb through video taken from traffic cameras and license plate readers in an effort to develop a lead. They were joined by detectives with the Sheriff’s Department. Kirkhart said investigators at some point were able to identify a white truck, which led them to the suspect.
Sheriff’s Det. Jake Hernandez said Halstenberg was taken into custody Tuesday at his home in the 1000 block of Detroit Street in Norco, where a search was conducted.
Halstenberg, who remains in jail without bail, is scheduled to be arraigned Friday at Rancho Cucamonga Superior Courthouse.
As the Bridge fire swept through mountain communities Tuesday night, Mountain High’s webcam showed a dramatic scene: Flames cutting through ski lifts at the well-known ski resort.
The images boded ill for Mountain High, but as the night wore on, the resort’s fate remained a mystery.
With sunrise, it became clear that the resort largely survived the blaze.
“Fire raced through the area yesterday, but all the main lifts and buildings survived with little to no damage,” according to a post from Mountain High. “Thank you to all the employees and fire fighters for their hard work. Our hearts go out to the Wrightwood families that may be suffering. We are with you!”
Some homes were burned in nearby Wrightwood, but exact numbers were unavailable Wednesday morning.
Located about 75 miles northeast of L.A., Mountain High has three mountains for skiers and boarders, an ice rink for skaters and Yeti’s Snowplay, which includes tubing and sledding for young ones.
The Bridge fire broke out Sunday in Angeles National Forest, with the flames spreading rapidly Tuesday in the northeast area, forest officials reported.
Between Tuesday and early Wednesday, the blaze exploded from 4,000 acres to 47,904 acres, growing more than 10 times in size.
Angeles National Forest visitors were being evacuated Sunday as a wildfire broke out north of Glendora in Los Angeles County.
Dubbed the Bridge fire, the blaze had quickly grown to 200 acres as of 6 p.m. Sunday, according to Dana Dierkes, public affairs officer for the Angeles National Forest.
Forest officials said firefighters were performing an “aggressive attack with air and ground resources.” As crews labored, the temperature hit 105 degrees in nearby Glendora.
Dierkes told The Times it was “likely a very busy day” in the forest “given the high temperatures. Visitors come to find relief from the heat in the waters of the San Gabriel River.” Cars parked along forest roads can block firefighters as they try to get to the location of a wildfire, Dierkes noted.
The cause of the fire, which was 0% contained Sunday evening, was under investigation.
Several roads were closed, including State Route 39, East Fork Road, Glendora Mountain Road and Glendora Ridge Road.
Meanwhile, the fight continued against the Line fire in San Bernardino County. The wildfire had caused mandatory evacuations in multiple mountain communities and was threatening more than 35,000 structures.
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday declared a state of emergency due to the rapidly expanding blaze.
A pair of modest earthquakes rattled Southern California on Saturday morning, with epicenters in Ontario.
The earthquakes, of magnitudes 3.5 and 3.9, occurred within about a half hour of each other. Shaking was felt as far away as the city of Los Angeles, Orange County and northern San Diego County, according to crowdsourcing reports sent to the U.S. Geological Survey.
“Light” shaking, as defined by the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale, was felt close to the epicenter, which included Ontario International Airport, the USGS said. Light shaking is enough to disturb windows and dishes and can rock standing cars noticeably.
“Weak” shaking may have been felt as far away as Los Angeles, the San Gabriel Valley, Long Beach, Orange County, Riverside and San Bernardino.
The first earthquake struck near Archibald Avenue and Brookside Street at 10:05 a.m. Saturday, and was followed by the larger earthquake about three-fifths of a mile to the northeast, with an epicenter at the 60 Freeway and South Oak Hill Drive.
The Ontario Police Department said there were no immediate reports of damage.
In Rowland Heights, a resident felt his desk shake hard for a few seconds. The shaking was so jarring he initially thought someone might have crashed into the house.
Former President Trump is scheduled to return to California next week for a pair of high-dollar fundraisers, one notably hosted by relatives of the wife of Gov. Gavin Newsom, according to invitations obtained by The Times.
On Sept. 13, donors are being asked to pony up as much as $500,000 per couple for an afternoon fundraiser in Woodside hosted by Tom and Stacey Siebel. Tom Siebel, a billionaire software developer and businessman who has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Trump’s 2024 campaign, is a second cousin once removed of Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the Democratic governor’s wife.
Newsom’s representatives did not respond to requests for comment.
Siebel Newsom’s family has a well-reported history of Republican activism, including by her father, Ken Siebel. But after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whose presidential bid Ken Siebel supported financially, misstated the motivation for Siebel and his wife moving to Florida during a debate with the governor, the first partner’s father described DeSantis as a “lying slimeball,” according to the Daily Mail.
Trump will also headline an evening fundraiser in Los Angeles on Sept. 12, with top tickets going for $250,000 per person. The location and hosts have not been revealed.
The gatherings take place at a critical moment in the campaign, in the window between the first debate between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, on Tuesday, and Sept. 18, when Trump is scheduled to be sentenced for his conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying records to cover up a sex scandal that could have affected his 2016 bid.
Trump’s vice presidential running mate, Ohio‘s Sen. JD Vance, will raise money in Los Angeles on Sunday, as Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff did on Thursday. Several Italian Americans, including Hollywood stars, will host a virtual dinner fundraiser for Harris on Sunday. Among the participants of “Paisans for Kamala” are actors Steve Buscemi, Alyssa Milano, Lorraine Bracco, Marisa Tomei and John Turturro, as well as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The amount of attention being showered on Californians in the waning weeks of the presidential campaign is due to its outsized role in fueling campaigns of both parties. Despite the state’s cobalt-blue tilt, it is home to an enormous number of Republican as well as Democratic donors and is typically among the largest sources of donations to candidates of both parties.
As of Aug. 8, Harris had raised $65.5 million for her presidential campaign from Californians, more than any other state’s residents had donated, according to Federal Election Commission fundraising disclosures of donors who contributed more than $200 to a candidate committee.
Trump had raised $24.8 million from California donors, the second-most from any state. (These figures reflect donations to the candidates’ committees, not to outside groups or independent expenditure committees.)
Ysabel Jurado, 34, a lifelong community member of Highland Park, and openly out candidate, is running against current Councilmember Kevin De Leon for Council District 14, the most powerful city council in Los Angeles County.
Her campaign slogan is ‘Ysabel For The Community.’
Earlier this year, Jurado made history in the primary, using her perspective as a historically underrepresented person in the hopes of bringing new leadership to the district after De Leon was called to resign in 2022, following a scandal.
The live voting results earlier this year highlighted Ysabel Jurado at 24.52%, with 8,618 votes, while De Leon fell behind by nearly 400 votes, with 23.39% in the primary.
Jurado is a tenants rights lawyer and housing justice advocate from Highland Park who has built her reputation in the community with support from social activist Dolores Huerta, L.A. City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez and L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis.
“I’m the daughter of undocumented immigrants, a public transit rider, a former teen mom, and a working class Angeleno who has navigated the challenges of poverty. I have held the line on countless strikes and defended truck drivers against the same wage theft my father faced,” said Jurado in her candidate statement.
De Leon secured the second spot and will go head-to-head against Jurado in November. Jurado rose to the top of the polls, while her opponents spent more money on their campaigns, including De Leon. Miguel Santiago raised the most money for his campaign and also spent the most to secure support. De Leon came in second with both money spent and money raised. While Jurado came in fourth in the amount of money spent and raised for her campaign.
Jurado is running to become the first queer, Filipina to represent CD-14. Among the list of issues she aims to tackle while in office are; homelessness, climate action, safer streets and economic justice that uplifts small businesses.
“I will bring the institutional knowledge of a legal housing expert and the lived experience of a queer, immigrant-raised, working class, woman of color – a battle-tested representative for and from the community,” said Jurado.
De Leon might be facing an uphill climb after he was caught saying homophobic, racist and anti-sematic remarks in a leaked audio recording that rocked his political career. Even President Joe Biden called for his resignation.
The conversation that rocked L.A politics is said to have started because of redistricting plans and gerrymandering. According to a report by the Los Angeles Times, De Leon had his hopes set on running for mayor of Los Angeles. Since the audio was leaked, protests erupted, calling for his resignation. De Leon continued in his position after an apology tour and is now running against Jurado on the November ballot.
The recording of a conversation between De Leon, Ron Herrera, Nury Martinez and Gil Cedillo.
“Between FBI raids, backroom gerrymandering, racist rants, and corruption charges, our needs have been chronically ignored,” says the statement. “City government has failed us. We deserve better.”
If she wins, she would join a progressive bloc of leaders in city council that include Nithya Raman, Hugo Doto-Martinez and Councilmember Hernandez. The leadership would have a pendulum swing toward city affairs that has not been seen before.
CD-14 covers Eagle Rock, El Sereno, Boyle Heights and parts of Lincoln Heights and downtown L.A., which includes skid row and other points of interest.
Those points of interest make CD-14 seats particularly difficult when it comes to dealing with polarizing issues like homelessness and street safety measures.
According to the latest demographic data by L.A City Council, 61% of the population is Latin American, while the second highest population is white, at 16%, followed by Asian, at 14% and Black at 6%.
If elected, Jurado aims to tackle homelessness in a district that has one of the highest unhoused populations in the city.
Jurado is now gearing up for the November election by continuing to campaign at various events across Los Angeles, including ‘Postcarding with Ysabel,’ at DTLA Arts District Brewing and The Hermosillo.
Two street takeovers in South Los Angeles veered into vandalism early Tuesday morning as the window of a local car dealership was smashed and cars were set on fire.
The Los Angeles police and fire departments responded a few minutes past midnight to a call of a vehicle on fire and a possible street takeover at the intersection of Normandie and Florence avenues. The vehicle was so charred, it was not driveable and had to be impounded, according to police.
Margaret Stewart, a public information officer with the Los Angeles Fire Department, said the large crowd and vehicles were packed tightly, and firefighters struggled to reach the flaming vehicle.
The second call came at 3:23 a.m. from the intersection of Jefferson Boulevard and Figueroa Street, walking distance from the main USC campus. Los Angeles police officers and firefighters responded to another report of a rowdy takeover, with a second vehicle that had caught fire, this one containing fireworks.
In video of the street takeover obtained by KABC7, loud popping noises can be heard in the background as crowds run past Felix Chevrolet on Figueroa Street. Glass is scattered on the ground from a shattered window at the car dealership. One individual in a ski mask appears to grab items from a gray sedan that is on fire.
In each takeover incident, fresh black skid marks on the asphalt traced where drivers had spun “doughnuts” repeatedly in the night.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, there were no injuries and no arrests at either incident.
Residents of South Los Angeles are crying foul.
“I live in the neighborhood and I can hear it at night,” said Emma, who works at a local business. Emma, who provided only her first name out of fear for her safety, says the noise often wakes her and her neighbors in the middle of the night, with the abrupt explosion of fireworks setting off car alarms. She said these late-night rendezvous have increased to several times a week.
The Avalon Gardens resident believes the culprits have been emboldened by law enforcement that she says remains lax in spite of neighbors’ numerous complaints to the city.
“When [police] do arrive, it’s 15 minutes too late,” when the crowds have already dispersed and gone home, she added.
From 2019 to 2020, the number of street takeovers nearly doubled amid the pandemic. The illegal sideshows have been deadly, as The Times has previously reported. Earlier this year, another street takeover left two sedans burning at the intersection of West 18th and Main streets.
Southern California was bracing Monday for a heat wave expected to bring triple-digit temperatures to much of the region this week.
Driven by weak offshore winds and a heat dome over the southwestern United States, temperatures are forecast to rise over the course of the week before peaking Thursday and Friday. Portions of the Los Angeles Basin could reach 113 degrees by the weekend while the mercury could climb to 119 in the Coachella Valley.
“We are in what’s already the hottest time of the year climatically, and we are going to be 10 to 15 degrees above normal, in almost every area from the beach to the deserts,” said meteorologist Ryan Kittell of the National Weather Service’s Oxnard office.
Labor Day was already scorching in many communities, with the San Gabriel Valley forecast to hit 100 degrees and the western San Fernando Valley to see temperatures as high as 103. L.A. neighborhoods closer to the water were to enjoy relatively more moderate conditions in the 80s and low 90s.
Woodland Hills, traditionally the hottest place in L.A., was expected to have temperatures of up to 109 degrees Tuesday, 110 Wednesday and 113 Thursday before falling slightly to 111 on Friday.
In Santa Clarita, temperatures were expected to skyrocket from an uncomfortable 95 degrees on Monday to an oppressive 106 by Thursday. In Palm Springs, Labor Day temperatures of 107 to 111 degrees were to give way to temperatures of 114 to 118 degrees by Thursday.
Dangerously hot conditions were affecting a swath of the country including Nevada and Arizona. Kittell, of the National Weather Service in Oxnard, said that because days are shorter than in June and July, desert areas experience less sun and as a result, there are fewer differences in temperature between them and coastal communities.
He said people who live close to the beach and don’t have air conditioning may not be prepared for the heat.
“Make plans now for how you are going to stay cool,” Kittell said.
Temperatures will ebb slightly over the weekend, but it is not clear when the heat wave will subside.
However uncomfortable, the heat this week is not expected to break records. The record for the first week of September was set in 2020 when temperatures reached 121 in Woodland Hills.
A human-caused brush fire near San Jacinto had grown hundreds of acres by Sunday evening, leading to evacuation warnings and sending six firefighters to local hospitals, according to fire officials.
Fire crews first responded to the vegetation fire at 2:17 p.m. near Soboba and Gilman Springs roads in Riverside County.
Several firefighters were taken to area hospitals on Sunday amid the Riverside County brush fire, which was holding at 650 acres at 8:30 p.m.
(OnScene.TV)
By 8:30 p.m., the blaze, dubbed the Record fire, had spread to 650 acres and remained uncontained.
“Out of an abundance of caution,” the Riverside County Fire Department said Sunday evening, “six firefighters have been transported to area hospitals with minor medical symptoms.”
The department issued evacuation warnings that remained in effect late Sunday night.
Cal Fire said the fire was human-caused by did not provide any specifics. The agency said the investigation remained ongoing.
The evacuations were issued in the Poppet Flats region, according to fire officials. That area includes the Silent Valley Club RV resort. A map of the area covered by the evacuation warning can be found here.
The Rev. Paul Anthony Daniels knows the names and life stories of the people who sleep in their cars near St. Mary, a century-old church in Palms.
In the past, homeless people have spent the night in St. Mary’s Sunday school room.
So it wasn’t a huge leap for Daniels to think about building affordable housing on the church property.
A place to sleep, bathe and cook “provides a basic dignity” that can turn around someone’s life and also help the neighborhood, said Daniels.
“The unhoused are a part of this community,” he added. “Not only in the sense that we shelter them, but also in the sense that they live literally around the property.”
Across Los Angeles, some religious leaders are sizing up their own properties, encouraged by new legislation making it easier to develop the land.
A California law that went into effect Jan. 1 allows affordable housing projects on property owned by churches, temples, mosques and other religious institutions to bypass an extensive review process and to be built in single-family neighborhoods. The city of Los Angeles is considering even more exemptions.
An aerial view of St. Mary in Palms, center, where some of the land owned by the church may eventually be leased for affordable housing.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
In L.A., which has little vacant land, sky-high rents and a homeless population that topped 45,000 at last count, affordable housing proponents view religious institutions — often land-rich but cash-poor — as an untapped resource.
For religious leaders, building their own housing could be a way to fulfill their missions of helping needy people. And with many congregations shrinking as Americans become less religious, revenue from the developments would help make up for dwindling collection boxes.
But some real estate experts question whether many religious organizations will ultimately seek to build, considering the buy-in required from their members and governing boards. Years of construction near their sanctuaries could be a deterrent, as could opposition from neighbors.
Some cities, including Chino, Rancho Palos Verdes, Santa Clarita and Thousand Oaks, opposed the new state law as it was being debated in Sacramento. Then-Beverly Hills Mayor Lili Bosse said it would strip local governments of their power to control development, “overriding carefully crafted, locally informed plans.”
Leaders at St. Mary, an Episcopal church in the Anglo-Catholic tradition, are in the early stages of studying the idea. The small congregation is close-knit, with a few dozen people attending a typical Sunday service in the diminutive, brown-shingled church. An affordable housing project would enrich church coffers, probably through leasing fees paid by the developer.
The St. Mary property includes two main buildings, a house and six parking spaces on a narrow strip of land in a neighborhood of apartment buildings. Daniels, who has led St. Mary since 2022, said it’s too soon to say where on the property the new housing would go.
The Rev. Paul Anthony Daniels, the rector of St. Mary in Palms.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
In South Los Angeles, with its abundance of historically Black churches, many congregations are still reeling from the pandemic and a decline in attendance.
Regina Fair, a board member at Bethel AME-Los Angeles, said her church draws a few hundred people on Sundays but has cut back to a single sermon.
Like other churches, Bethel AME, which was founded in 1921, relied on livestreaming during the pandemic lockdown and uses social media to reach younger people. That all means fewer dollars in the collection plate.
“People became OK with doing church in their home, on their couch,” Fair said. “And when you’re not in the church, it makes a big impact on the giving.”
Bethel AME, which faces a stretch of South Western Avenue lined with businesses and apartment buildings, has embarked on a multiyear plan to develop affordable housing on its parking lot.
The 53-unit project, which benefited from city rules intended to fast-track affordable housing, will cater to some of the homeless men who sleep in the church on cots during the winter. The church also plans to build housing on two nearby parcels it owns.
Logos Faith Housing, which is co-developing the property, was started by a pastor to help churches build affordable housing. Bethel is leasing the land to a collection of backers in what the church’s leader, the Rev. Kelvin T. Calloway, describes as a “perfect model” to bring in revenue over a long period.
Calloway has seen gentrification change other neighborhoods in South L.A., leaving fewer worshipers in church pews. That isn’t happening much yet in Bethel AME’s neighborhood of Manchester Square, but “it’s a real possibility,” he said.
Pastor Martin Porter, managing partner of Logos Faith Development LLC, a real estate development company focused on partnering with religious entities, on the parking lot of Bethel AME Church in Los Angeles.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
“Christianity is in crisis,” said Logos founder Pastor Martin Porter, who leads Quinn African Methodist Episcopal in Moreno Valley. “You’re seeing a lot of empty pews. The natural question is: What do we do with excess property that’s not being used?”
Bethel AME didn’t need the new state law, sponsored by state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), to develop its property.
But in L.A., at least 600 sites owned by faith-based groups in single-family neighborhoods are now eligible to build affordable housing, according to the city Planning Department. City officials couldn’t provide information about whether any applications have been filed under the law in the last eight months.
Wiener predicted it will take a few years for a substantial number of projects to launch — particularly as religious institutions figure out how to approach the opportunity.
“They’re typically not major financial players,” he told The Times. “They’re a church or synagogue, not a development company.”
“This is a big deal,” said Pastor John Oh, project manager of faith in housing at L.A. Voice, a community organization that supported the law.
Oh sees it as a potential “domino” that could lead to more zoning changes in single-family neighborhoods, which have long been treated by political leaders as off-limits for multi-unit development.
The city of L.A.’s planning department has put forward a version that, unlike Wiener’s law, does not require paying construction workers prevailing wages, or, on larger projects, providing them with healthcare.
The proposal, which is expected to come before the City Council in the next six months, is meant to appease affordable housing developers who say that the higher wages and benefits can add 30% to their costs.
Labor unions, including the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, are opposed.
Pete Rodriguez, the brotherhood’s western district vice president, called the proposal “outrageous” and suggested it could worsen the homelessness crisis by impoverishing workers.
“When will the city of L.A. realize that so many of our problems, from homelessness to budget deficits, are caused by the simple fact that too many Angelenos cannot make ends meet?” he said.
Wiener declined to comment on the city’s proposal. He said his law prioritizes protections for construction workers, who can be targets of wage theft.
Some development experts privately question whether religious entities in single-family neighborhoods will want to build affordable housing, in the face of possible resistance.
In Laguna Beach, some residents are protesting a church’s plans to build affordable housing under Wiener’s law. A petition against the development on the property of Neighborhood Congregational Church has collected about 1,500 signatures.
“It affects the entire community by altering the neighborhood’s character and exacerbating existing issues such as traffic congestion and parking shortages,” the petition said.
But Bishop Lovester Adams, who heads Greater New St. Matthew Missionary Baptist Church in a single-family residential area in South L.A., isn’t shying away. He called Wiener’s law and the city proposal “a game changer.”
Adams, who is also a senior associate at Logos Development, said he can’t afford to build housing on his church’s parking lot at 36th and Crawford streets unless the city passes the labor exemption.
The church, which dates to the 1960s, is nestled between homes and duplexes. Church leaders regularly give out food and toys to needy residents.
Attendance has fallen since the pandemic, Adams said. Sunday services draw 50 to 70 people, who fill fewer than half the seats. Some older people stay away because of concerns about COVID-19.
Adams said he wants veterans to live in the new housing: “There is a great need there.”
IKAR CEO Melissa Balaban stands in the foundation’s parking lot where affordable housing will be developed in Los Angeles.
(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
On South Fairfax Avenue in Mid-Wilshire, the Jewish congregation IKAR is building an affordable housing complex for formerly homeless senior citizens on its parking lot.
The project was built through Mayor Karen Bass’ Executive Directive 1, which fast-tracks affordable housing, said IKAR executive director Melissa Balaban. State legislation pushed by IKAR reduced the amount of required parking.
Balaban said IKAR isn’t relying on the project, which is being funded by a nonprofit developer, to generate revenue for the congregation.
“My hope is that what we’re doing isn’t just going to provide 60 homes but hopefully inspire other faith-based communities,” she said.
In Palms, St. Mary member Julia Bergstrom, 72, is enthusiastic about the idea of affordable housing on the church property.
She has noticed the number of people living in RVs rise and fall, and she finds the years-long wait for Section 8 housing vouchers to be “immoral.”
While she worries about changes to the “very beautiful little church” she has attended since 2008, “it doesn’t stop me, and it doesn’t make me sad about the whole thing,” she said.
Last week, Keck Medicine of USC announced the closure of USC Verdugo Hills Hospital obstetric services on Nov. 20. They cited a 40% decline in deliveries over the past decade within “our community” and the resulting financial effect on the hospital as reasons for the decision. While this justification appears reasonable at first glance, it conceals an unsettling trend with significant implications for maternal health.
Obstetric care is different from many other types of healthcare in its unpredictability. Babies do not arrive on anyone’s schedule, and the busyness of labor and delivery units can wax and wane accordingly. For doctors to care for laboring mothers and their babies safely, hospitals must be staffed for the possibility of a sudden abundance of patients requiring emergency care.
The modern fee-for-service healthcare model, which pushes hospitals to maximize efficiency and reduce staffing, treats the resiliency necessary for delivering babies as a drag on their bottom line. In this model, hospitals must fund round-the-clock capacity but are only reimbursed when their facilities and staff are in action. So if not enough deliveries are happening, expenses outweigh reimbursement. This drives hospitals to get out of the baby delivery business altogether.
California has experienced a higher rate of obstetric unit closures than other states, and it continues to accelerate. More than 46 labor and delivery departments closed in the state between 2012 and 2023, with 60% occurring within the last three years. These closures are not limited to sparsely populated rural areas: 17 were within Los Angeles County, resulting in a local rate of closures that far outpaces the declining birth rate. This year, five more California hospitals have stopped providing obstetric care, and USC Verdugo Hills Hospital will be the fifth in L.A. County to close labor and delivery within a two-year period.
Healthcare and medical benefit administrators talk of scaling and consolidation, of concentrating obstetric care at fewer hospitals so that there will be enough deliveries to cover the expense of remaining open. This will only work if we assume that market forces will sort out the balance between supply and demand so enough labor and delivery departments remain open to meet demand. But such forces only work if prices are dynamic and responsive to changes in supply. Insurance providers, especially Medicaid and Medi-Cal, have not shown this type of flexibility.
Medi-Cal, the Medicaid program in California, has reimbursement rates for obstetric care that are fifth lowest in the nation. In our state, even busy labor and delivery departments that care primarily for Medicaid patients do not break even. South L.A.’s Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital is struggling to stay open despite increasing its volume of obstetric patients as other Los Angeles labor and delivery units have closed. This shows that the amount paid by Medi-Cal is below the market cost of providing obstetric care. This deficit is at the core of the California closures.
There are at least two paths forward.
The first is to increase Medi-Cal’s reimbursement of each delivered patient. The second would require directly regulating and subsidizing the maintenance of labor and delivery units the way the state does for emergency rooms. Either approach will be costly, because providing safe, modern, evidence-based obstetric care is expensive.
Reproductive freedom is much in the news this campaign season. It should include reasonable, safe and dependable access to labor and delivery services.
Anna Reinert is an assistant professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology at USC’s Keck School of Medicine.
Several people have been arrested and tens of thousands of pounds of copper recovered as part of a crackdown by Los Angeles police and staff on thieves and rogue recyclers that at times have left the city paralyzed and dark in the last few years, officials announced at a Tuesday news conference.
Flanked by members of the Los Angeles Police Department and Caltrans, City Council President Paul Krekorian announced that 16,000 pounds of copper wire valued at $40,000 has been recovered during a recent two-month crackdown.
“The consequences to the taxpayers of Los Angeles are far, far greater than that,” he said of the copper’s value. “The cost of repairs to replace that copper wire are estimated to be over a half-million dollars already.”
As part of the push in enforcement, LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton said eight East Valley recyclers have been fined and arrests made, but he did not provide details on how many or for what charges. Police also made arrests at other facilities on suspicion of theft, failure to report and receiving stolen property.
“We are aware of and have observed some of our businesses being less than honest brokers,” Hamilton said, adding that some area recyclers have been purchasing stolen wire from outside the city as well.
Krekorian’s office said at least two people were arrested at a North Hollywood recycler on June 19, followed by more arrests, including a manager, three days later at another North Hollywood recycler.
“We have refocused our efforts on the most egregious individuals and businesses that we’ve identified through our tracking system as continually having involvement in this illegal activity,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton said that one time, the California Department of Transportation incurred a $150,000 loss from a single individual.
“If you just multiple that over the course of a year, that can be very expensive for the taxpayer,” Hamilton said.
More arrests are expected, the deputy chief said.
Over its last three North Hollywood operations, the LAPD has reclaimed 1,668 pounds of stolen copper wire, along with hundreds of pounds of aluminum cable and backup batteries for roadway safety systems, it said. In late July, the city announced it had made 82 arrests and recovered 2,000 pounds of wire.
City Councilmembers Kevin de León and Traci Park attributed the efforts to the city’s copper wire task force, a partnership between the LAPD and the Bureau of Street Lighting.
In November, Krekorian acknowledged that copper wire theft had been seen “too often” as “a minor crime” despite recent spikes that left neighborhoods “darker and more dangerous.”
That day Krekorian announced the city would target “unscrupulous” metal recyclers — the “upstream part of the problem” — who were not checking identifications of vendors or material provenance.
City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto eventually sent letters to 600 recyclers throughout the city warning them they were subject to searches and inspections.
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday signed two bills that tweak existing shelter and ADU laws in an attempt to boost supply and make a dent in the state’s housing and homelessness crisis.
One of the bills, Assembly Bill 3057, focuses on something called junior ADUs — units created within existing houses that can be up to 500 square feet and don’t need their own bathroom.
Under the new law, junior ADUs — like larger ADUs — will be exempt from requirements under the California Environmental Quality Act that can add time and cost to projects.
The bill’s author, Assemblymember Lori D. Wilson (D-Suisun City), called the exemption a “a small but significant technical change that offers Californians more accessible and efficient options to build affordable housing solutions.”
The second bill, Assembly Bill 2835, was authored by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino). It makes permanent a set of temporary rules that have made it easier to house homeless individuals in privately owned hotels and motels for longer than 30 days.
Local governments, including Los Angeles, have increasingly turned to that strategy to get people off the streets, at times relying on state funding.
“The homelessness crisis demands immediate and innovative action, not the status quo,” Newsom said in a statement. “With these new laws, local governments have even more tools to provide housing. I urge them to fully utilize the state’s unprecedented resources to address homelessness.”
