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  • Short-term home rentals are dropping in L.A. ‘The rules are too much’

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    For the last four years, Katherine Taylor rented out her Westside guesthouse on Airbnb. She came to rely on the extra income at a time when it felt like everything was getting more expensive.

    But this spring, she took the listing down.

    “I’m out,” Taylor said. “The rules are too much. All these new regulations kept popping up, and it felt like it was only a matter of time before I got fined.”

    Across the L.A. region, many people who rent out their homes for income seem to be changing their preferences. Short-term rentals are much more lucrative than longer stays, but the steady turnover often creates headaches for landlords, and increasingly they are in the crosshairs of local ordinances, including the risk of fines.

    Because of this and other factors, short-term rental registrations have dipped over the last year.

    Last July, there were 4,228 active Home Sharing registrations in the city of L.A., according to the Planning Department. This July, there were 3,972 — a 6% decrease.

    Short-term rental software platforms show a decrease in listings as well, to varying degrees. In analyzing a sample set of short-term rentals in the L.A. metro area, Hospitable estimated a 44% drop in listings year over year, with steady declines each month. AllTheRooms reported a 13% drop in Airbnb listings across L.A. County over the same stretch.

    The data sources vary, since companies have different access to listing data. AirDNA reported an 8% increase in Airbnb and VRBO listings in the L.A. metro area over the last year, but noted a decrease since January fueled by big drops in fire markets: a 56% decrease in Altadena, 36% decrease in Pacific Palisades and 25% decrease in Malibu.

    Expert opinions differ on the cause of the drop-off, but the fires are definitely a factor. Thousands of homes burned down in the Palisades and Eaton fires, taking many rentals off the market. But in the wake of the disaster, many short-term rentals were converted to mid- or long-term rentals to house fire victims.

    Other hosts are opting for mid-term rentals — stays of longer than 30 days but less than a year — independent of the fires.

    “The short-term rental space got stuck. Regulations hit, and people are finding that the next best option is mid-term rentals,” said Jesse Vasquez, an entrepreneur who runs a mid-term rental summit every year.

    Vasquez said L.A. is the best market for mid-term stays because so many people visit the city for extended periods with no permanent plans: travel nurses, students, digital nomads or people working on long-term projects such as films or construction.

    He said mid-term rentals rake in about 15% to 20% less than short-term rentals, but in exchange, homeowners deal with less turnover. If a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house in a popular neighborhood can make around $10,000 per month as a short-term rental, it could still bring in $8,000 per month as a mid-term rental, Vasquez said.

    Last year, Airbnb Chief Executive Brian Chesky identified mid-term stays as a “huge growth opportunity” for the company, and said such bookings make up 18% of the company’s business compared with 13% to 14% before the pandemic.

    Mark Lawson used to rent out his San Fernando Valley home on VRBO for weekend stays, but last year he set the parameters to only accept bookings of 30 days or more.

    “I got tired of having someone new in the house every few days,” he said.

    Short-term rentals have long been contentious. While advocates say sites such as Airbnb and VRBO offer income for homeowners and options for tourists, critics claim home-sharing removes long-term rentals from a market in the midst of a housing crisis.

    To prevent L.A.’s housing stock from being converted into short-term rentals, Los Angeles in 2018 passed the Home-Sharing Ordinance, which regulates short-term rentals by restricting hosts to renting out only their primary residences and requiring them to get a license.

    The regulatory framework worked — somewhat. Listings dropped 70% from 2019 to 2023, though much of the drop could be attributed to the pandemic. Last year, the restrictions spread to unincorporated areas in L.A. County, which previously weren’t subject to the rules.

    But despite the new requirements, thousands of hosts still operate without a license, or fake their registration numbers, due to lack of enforcement.

    Last year, a report from the L.A. Housing Department said that as of October 2024, there were an estimated 7,500 violations of the Home-Sharing Ordinance, but only 300 citations. So in March 2025, the L.A. City Council approved a slew of recommendations to beef up the ordinance even more, arming the city with a war chest of new enforcement tools.

    The plan calls for 18 staffers to monitor violations and increased fines based on the square footage of the rental: $1,000 for rentals less than 500 square feet, up to $16,000 for homes greater than 25,000 square feet. The fines double and quadruple on the second and third violation, respectively.

    The recommendations even call for city staffers to go on spy missions in illegal rentals. Under the proposed plan, Housing Department staff would use prepaid cards to book home-sharing rentals and stay in homes to gather evidence that they’re operating illegally.

    However, two months later, the city’s $14-billion budget scaled back spending for many city departments. As a result, no new enforcement officers have been hired, and many of the plans have yet to be implemented.

    But simply the threat of higher fines and stricter enforcement has had a chilling effect.

    “Talking to our customers, regulation is the biggest factor in short-term rental inventory decreasing,” said Derek Jones, Hospitable’s vice president of sales and partnerships. “L.A.’s ordinance combines all the strict rules from other markets around the country.”

    Jones said the potential for $1,000 fines — now able to be doled out without a warning beforehand — are causing some hosts to remove listings from the market out of fear, since the fines far exceed the nightly revenue brought in by the average listing.

    “Housing is expensive already, then you add high penalties and zoning that limits supply,” Jones said. “All that put together, it creates a market where housing investors are cautious to invest. And that proved to be the case this year.”

    Taylor is one such investor. She specifically bought her Westside home because it had a guesthouse she could rent. But she found herself frustrated by the maximum days she could rent it annually under the Home Sharing Ordinance — 120 days.

    Her space was larger than 500 square feet, so under the new rules, it could be subject to a $2,000 fine for the first violation, $4,000 for the second, and $8,000 for the third. Ultimately, she decided it wasn’t worth the hassle.

    “I’ll keep an eye on how the city is enforcing the rules. Maybe I’ll try it again someday,” she said. “But for now, it’s gonna stay empty.”

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    Jack Flemming

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  • Evicted from her apartment at 68, an artist starts anew in a sunny L.A. fourplex

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    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.

    “I moved into the apartment in 2014, and four years later, my landlord sold it to a wealthy family who bought it at a loss,” said Weiss, 69, who works as a textile artist and was evicted last year. “They knew they couldn’t evict us due to rent control.”

    In this series, we spotlight L.A. rentals with style. From perfect gallery walls to temporary decor hacks, these renters get creative, even in small spaces. And Angelenos need the inspiration: Most are renters.

    When the landlords put the three-unit complex on the market in 2022, however, they offered Weiss $50,000 to move out — far more than the amount required by law — to make the building easier for them to sell. She declined, concerned it would affect her Social Security benefits, as there is a limit to how much one can earn and still receive full benefits.

    Then, last February, the three tenants received eviction notices under the Ellis Act, which allows landlords to evict renters from rent-controlled apartments if the building is being torn down or removed from the rental market. It’s currently for sale for $3.2 million.

    As a senior, Weiss was entitled to a full year’s notice because she had lived in her unit for more than a year. Still, she knew she would eventually have to move out of the comfortable 1,200-square-foot duplex, for which she paid $2,670 a month in rent.

    Artist Debra Weiss stands in her dining room

    Artist Debra Weiss stands in her dining room where she often works as a fiber artist.

    When she began looking for another apartment in the area, Weiss quickly learned that she could no longer afford to live in Los Feliz. “The apartments were so much more expensive than what I was used to paying, and they had no parking or a washer and dryer,” she said. (Weiss was paid $24,650 in relocation assistance, which was taxed, due to her age and the length of time she lived in her Los Feliz apartment.)

    She also visited some small studios and considered purchasing a TIC, or Tenancy in Common, where buyers purchase a share in a corporation that owns a building. However, to secure a loan, she’d need someone to co-sign. “Even though they are cute, they are tiny and not necessarily in the best neighborhoods,” she said. Another option, a Craftsman apartment near USC, wasn’t in a good walking neighborhood, something that was important to Weiss. It was also dark and hundreds of dollars more a month than her previous apartment. “I’m almost 70 years old and I need light to work,” she added.

    A knitted cowl on a mannequin
    Handknitted metal sculptures hang on a wall
    A bedroom filled with colorful textiles and weavings

    Handknitted sculptures, embroidered weavings and a tufted rug adorn the guest room.

    When her son-in-law spotted a charming two-bedroom apartment near the Los Angeles County Museum of Art for $2,950 a month on Zillow, Weiss decided to check it out.

    “My 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. A newly redone modern kitchen felt out of character for the 1930s building, but that didn’t bother Weiss. “The kitchen is a blank canvas,” she said of the all-white cabinets and countertops. “The white background makes all of my stuff stand out,” including ceramics by Mt. Washington Pottery and Altadena artist Linda Hsiao.

    Artist Debra Weiss knits a sweater at her dining room table

    Weiss knits a sweater for her granddaughter with yarn she purchased in Japan.

    Concerned that the landlord wouldn’t want to rent to her because of her age, she was pleasantly surprised when she got the apartment. “The light is amazing,” Weiss said. “I was initially worried about some of the modern touches like the overhead lighting, but it floods the room with bright light that allows me to work at night.”

    Nearly a year after moving in, Weiss has filled the apartment with her stitched collages, quilts and the artworks of others, many of which she described as “trades.” “I like color and pattern and objects,” she said as she pointed out some Japanese ceramics on her buffet and a dress that she crocheted with scraps of fabric, yarn and metal.

    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. “I like the pattern; it reminds me of eating together on picnic tables.”

    Ceramics, flowers and art rest on an all white mantle
    Ceramics rest on a white countertop in a kitchen
    Dried yellow flowers rest on a brown ceramic bowl
    Debra Weiss is reflected in a mirror in her bedroom

    “I like objects,” Weiss said of the many treasures and collections of things that are featured throughout her rental.

    On the opposite wall of the guest room above her sewing machine, a series of metal sculptures she knitted with copper and silver hangs alongside cloth dolls and purses. In the corner, a cowl made of macrame, textiles and yarn adorns a mannequin. There’s also a colorful latch hook rug that she made with acrylic yarn that looks more like artwork than a functional accessory.

    In her bedroom, a coverlet that Weiss assembled from vintage quilts adorns the bed.

    The long hallway ends at the laundry room and is lined with her colorful quilts, some of which are mounted on Homasote board, along with weavings and stitched works, which, like her cooking, are improvisational.

    “I work without planning and respond to the materials and see what it becomes,” she said. “I start knitting and see where it goes. I get excited about the material, and then I go for it. “

    A hallway lined with fiber art

    The hallway in Weiss’s apartment is lined with her artworks.

    Much of the wood furniture in her apartment was made by her father, who died 13 years ago.

    “I’ve had this since my kids were little, and you can see all the markings,” she said of the hutch in the corner of her dining room. “My dad made it 40 years ago for the Van Nuys house I grew up in.”

    It is here, at the dining room table that her father made, that she works, hosts workshops and teaches lessons in fiber art, collage and stitching. Later this year, she hopes to host a sale of her work at a holiday open house in her apartment.

    A dining room table and walls lined with art
    A dining room with a wood table and chairs
    A brown knitted work rests on a table

    Weiss is an expert in mixing texture, pattern and color in her Mid-Wilshire apartment.

    The mixing of colorful Persian rugs, textiles, natural materials, chunky wood pieces and intricately knitted metal sculptures creates a warm balance throughout her apartment.

    Bursting with color and pattern, the rooms offer a sense of calm that Weiss appreciates as a woman who raised three daughters alone and has had to pivot during major life changes. Over the years, she has run a clothing company, Rebe, which closed in 2019 due to economic uncertainty, declared bankruptcy and sold her Woodland Hills house. Most recently, she was forced to weather the eviction process.

    Debra Weiss looks through a cabinet full of her artwork at her apartment

    “I’ve always been an entrepreneur,” said Weiss, who works six to eight hours a day at home and sells her artwork and sewing patterns on her Specks and Keepings website and at L.A. Homefarm in Glassell Park. “I’ll always figure out a way to make money by selling the things that I make.”

    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. “I go to the Hollywood Farmer’s Market on Sundays. Kaiser is nearby and I can walk to LACMA. Everything worked out perfectly.”

    Artist Debra Weiss looks through a cabinet full of her work

    Weiss pulls out a drawer of her flat files cabinet filled with her artwork.

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    Lisa Boone

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  • ‘I’m not going anywhere’: For one Altadena fire survivor, the math makes sense to rebuild

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    Jennie Marie Mahalick Petrini has a big decision on her hands.

    For Petrini, the night of Jan. 7 brought total loss. The Eaton fire decimated her quaint home in the northwest corner of Altadena near Jane’s Village, reducing her sanctuary to a pile of rubble.

    “I have a spiritual connection to that house,” she said. “It was the only place I felt safe.”

    Now, like thousands of others, she’s crunching the numbers on whether to sell her burned lot and move on, or stay and rebuild.

    For many, it makes more sense to sell. Experts estimate a rebuild could take years, and navigating contractors, inspectors and governmental red tape, all while recovering from a traumatic incident, just isn’t worth the effort. It’s the reason why lots are hitting the market daily.

    But for Petrini — for reasons both emotional and financial, a melding of head and heart — staying is the only realistic option.

    Breaking down the math

    Petrini, 47, bought her Altadena home, where she lived with her partner and two daughters, for $705,000 in 2019. Built in 1925, it’s 1,352 square feet with three bedrooms and two bathrooms on a thin lot of just over 5,300 square feet.

    She was able to refinance her loan during the pandemic, lowering the interest rate to 2.75% on a $450,000 mortgage. The move brought her mortgage payments from $3,600 down to $3,000 — a relative steal, and only slightly more than the $2,800 rent she has been paying for a Tujunga apartment since the fire.

    The property was insured by Farmers, which sprang into action following the fire, sending the first of her payouts on Jan. 8.

    Petrini received $380,000 for the dwelling, an extra 20% for extended damage equating to roughly $70,000, and $200,000 for personal property. She used the $200,000 payout to cover living expenses such as a second car, medical bills and a bit of savings, and also tucked away $50,000 to use toward rebuilding.

    She estimates that even the thriftiest rebuild will cost around $700,000, and right now, she can cover around $500,000: the $380,000 and $70,000 insurance payouts, plus $50,000 of the personal property payout she stashed for a rebuild.

    To cover the extra $200,000, she received a Small Business Administration loan up to $500,000 with an interest rate of 2.65%, which can be used for property renovations. Once she starts pulling from that loan, she estimates she’ll pay around $1,000 per month, which, combined with her $3,000 mortgage, totals roughly $4,000.

    It’s a hefty number, but still far cheaper than selling and starting over.

    “I could sell the lot for $500,000, take my insurance payout and buy something new, but my house was valued at $1.2 million,” she said. “So even if I put $500,000 down on a new house, to get something similar, I’d have a $700,000 mortgage with a much higher interest rate.”

    As it stands, if she cashed out, she’d be renting for the foreseeable future in the midst of a housing crisis where rents rise and some landlords take advantage of tenants, especially in times of crisis. Price gouging skyrocketed as thousands flooded the rental market in January, leading to bidding wars for subaverage homes. To secure her Tujunga rental, Petrini, through her insurance, had to pay 18 months of rent up front — a total of more than $50,000.

    “It sounds so lucrative: sell the land, pay off my mortgage and be debt-free. But then my children wouldn’t have a home,” she said.

    Bigger than money

    Jennie Marie Mahalick Petrini, from left, and her daughters, Marli Petrini, 19, and Camille Petrini, 12, look over the lot where their home stood before the Altadena fire. It was the first time the daughters had looked through the lot.

    (Robert Hanashiro / For The Times)

    While the math makes sense, Petrini has bigger reasons for staying: she’s emotionally tied to the lot, the community and the people within it.

    Altadena is a safe haven for her. She bought her home after escaping a domestic violence situation in 2017. The seller had higher offers, but ended up selling to Petrini after she wrote a letter explaining her circumstances.

    It’s also the place where she got sober after abusing stimulants to stay awake and keep things running as a single mom.

    “When I was getting sober, I’d go for walks five times a day through the neighborhood,” she said. The trees, the animals, the flowers, the variety of houses. It was — is — a special place.”

    Petrini once worked as the executive director of operations at Occidental College, but took a break in 2023 to focus on her children and her health. She and a daughter both have Type 1 diabetes.

    Petrini hasn’t been employed since, and her parents helped her pay the mortgage before the fire. She acknowledges that she’s operating from a place of privilege, but said accepting help is crucial when recovering from something.

    “Even being unemployed, I just knew I’d be okay here,” she said. “I would trade potting soil to a man who owned a vegan restaurant in exchange for food. You always get what you need here.”

    Getting crafty

    For Petrini, speed is the name of the game. Experts estimate rebuilding could take somewhere between three and five years or even longer, but she’s hoping to break ground in August and finish by next summer.

    In addition to nonprofits, she’s also reaching out to appliances manufacturers and construction companies. The goal is to stitch together a house with whatever’s cheap — or even better, free. She recently received 2,500 square feet of siding from Modern Mill.

    “I’m not looking for a custom-built mansion, but I also don’t want an IKEA showroom box house,” she said. “My house was 100 years old, and I want to rebuild something with character.”

    To help with costs, she’s also hoping to use Senate Bill 9 to split her lot in half. She’d then sell the other half of the property to her contractor, a friend, for a friendly price of $250,000.

    Jennie Marie Mahalick Petrini is diving into the complicated process of staying in Altadena and rebuilding her property.

    Jennie Marie Mahalick Petrini is diving into the complicated process of staying in Altadena and rebuilding her property.

    (Robert Hanashiro / For The Times)

    To speed up the process, she’s opting for a “like-for-like” rebuild — structures that mirror whatever they’re replacing. For such projects, L.A. County is expediting permitting timelines to speed up fire recovery.

    So Petrini’s new house will be the exact same size as the old one: 1,352 square feet with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. She submitted plans in early June and expects to get approval by the end of the month.

    For the design, she turned to Altadena Collective, an organization collaborating with the Foothill Catalog Foundation that’s helping fire victims in Jane’s Village rebuild the English Cottage-style homes for which the neighborhood is known. For customized architectural plans, project management and structural engineering, Petrini paid them $33,000 — roughly half of what she would’ve paid someone else, she said.

    “I’m going with whatever’s quickest and most efficient. If we run out of money, who needs drywall,” she said. “I want my house to be the first one rebuilt.”

    It doesn’t have to be perfect. Petrini and her daughters have been compiling vision boards of their dream kitchen and bathrooms, but she knows sacrifices will be made.

    “It’s gonna be a scavenger hunt to get this done. We’re gonna use any material we can find,” she said. “But it’ll have a story. Just like Altadena.”

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    Jack Flemming

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  • ‘Unfortunately, Altadena is for sale’: Developers are buying up burned lots

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    In the wake of the devastating Eaton fire that tore through Altadena in January, hundreds of signs sprouted up in the ash-laden yards of burned-down homes: “Altadena Not for Sale.”

    The slogan signified a resistance toward outside investors looking to buy up the droves of suddenly buildable lots. But as the summer real estate market kicks into gear, not only is Altadena for sale — it seems to be flying off the shelves.

    Roughly 145 burned lots have sold so far, around 100 are currently listed, and dozens more are in escrow. The identity of every single buyer isn’t clear, since many are obscured by trusts or limited liability companies, but real estate records and local sources suggest that developers are buying the lion’s share of lots.

    It’s far outpacing the Palisades market, where less than 60 lots have sold since the fire and roughly 180 are sitting on the market, sometimes for months.

    Victor Becerra surveys his property on Wednesday, located next to a recently sold property on Wapello Street. Becerra is rebuilding and said he is anxious for the neighborhood to “bloom again.”

    (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

    The roughly 250 lots sold and listed so far in Altadena represent only a small fraction of the 6,000 homes lost in the Eaton fire, but the market will probably get even hotter. Each month has seen an increase in listings and sales, and local real estate agents say the only thing keeping more from selling is the slow process of fire victims navigating insurance claims and wrapping their heads around the reality of rebuilding, which will probably take at least half a decade.

    “In a perfect world, my neighbors and I would all rebuild, and five years from now, Altadena would look the same as it did before the fire,” said one resident who asked to speak anonymously for fear of judgment from community members urging others not to sell. “But it’s just not realistic.”

    She listed the lot in May and had a handful of offers in days. She ended up selling to the highest bidder, a midsize developer that has purchased a few other properties in Altadena.

    “I’ll always love Altadena, but I don’t have the resources for a rebuild that could take half a decade,” she said, echoing a Times report that said fire victims are hesitant to return to the neighborhood over fears that government officials won’t fast-track new development.

    Despite the surge of lots hitting the market, demand has been steady, and lots are selling fast. Through the first four months of the year, the median property in Altadena spent 19 days on the market compared with 35 days over the same stretch last year, according to Redfin.

    Lots have sold for as little as $330,000 and as much as $1.865 million, with most going for somewhere between $500,000 and $700,000. The first lot to hit the market listed for $449,000 and sold for $100,000 over the asking price in an all-cash deal — though with the influx in inventory since then, buyers are typically paying just the full asking price, not more.

    “Everybody in Altadena thought they were going to rebuild, but depending on their situation, a lot of the time it just doesn’t make sense,” said Ann Marie Ahern, an Altadena resident and real estate agent. “We wanted to keep things local, but unfortunately, Altadena is for sale.”

    Ahern currently has a listing on Rubio Crest Avenue for $735,000. She said most of the interest has come from either single developers looking for a project or two, or large developers hoping to buy as many lots as possible.

    “One agent called me and said he has someone looking to buy 100 lots,” she said.

    A sign says Altadena is not for sale

    While many properties destroyed by the Eaton fire are up for sale, some displaced residents proclaim their homes are not.

    (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

    Of the sales so far, around half of the burned properties have sold to buyers that have only purchased only one, while half have sold to buyers purchasing multiple lots including Black Lion Properties, Iron Rings Altadena, Ocean Dev Inc., NP Altadena and Sheng Feng.

    Ahern said the shopping spree is causing deep concern among locals that the new builds won’t match the charm and quirks of Altadena, where century-old Craftsmans mingle with Colonial Revivals and English Tudors. New development can also bring gentrification, which is why some nonprofits are attempting to buy up lots to resell them below market value to displaced locals.

    The collective fear? An Altadena ego death, where the community fades into suburban sprawl obscurity. The potential culprits? Developers.

    But some say the vilification of developers is misplaced.

    “The big danger facing Altadena isn’t gentrification. It’s that it won’t get built back at all,” said Brock Harris, a real estate agent who has sold half a dozen burned lots, including some to developers.

    Harris said most developers buying up lots aren’t huge companies looking to turn Altadena into a community of tract homes. Rather, it’s smaller developers capable of taking on 5 to 10 projects per year.

    “If Altadena is going to come back, we need way more developers coming in to help out,” he said. “Otherwise, a decade from now, it’ll look desolate and unwelcoming with one house for every five lots.”

    He said rebuilding is a complex process for an average citizen, and anyone considering that route should be prepared to spend the next three to five years yelling at inspectors and getting ripped off by contractors.

    “Professionals will be the ones rebuilding the city,” he said, since they’re more equipped to handle the “bureaucratic mess” of building a house in L.A.

    He’s not surprised at the booming speculative market. In the midst of a housing crisis — where home prices soar and empty land is scarce — a flat, buildable lot is a rare opportunity.

    Harris expects the new builds in Altadena to match the ones that burned down — to a degree. One developer client told him they plan to replicate whatever style was there before. If a Tudor burned down, build a Tudor. If a Craftsman burned down, build a Craftsman.

    Locals say replication brings pros and cons. One downside is that no matter what style developers opt for, the level of craftsmanship from a century ago can’t be copied due to the expensive process of building a house in the modern market and the thin margins developers have to make a profit. But modern building codes are much more fire-resistant, which could protect the neighborhood from fires in the future.

    Initially, some speculators were concerned that homebuyers would be hesitant to purchase in an area that recently burned. However, in a state plagued by earthquakes, landslides and rising seas, Californians have consistently shown that they’re fine living and buying in disaster-prone areas. As offers pour in for lots in the burn zone, and with excessive lead levels found in the homes that survived, it’s clear that the fires haven’t diminished demand for Altadena real estate.

    The same can be said for the surrounding foothill communities, such as La Cañada Flintridge or Sierra Madre, where a dry, windy day could put them at the same risk for disaster. In the months after the Eaton fire, both markets are surging.

    To the west, the area of La Cañada Flintridge and La Crescenta-Montrose saw 92 home sales in the first five months of the year compared with 70 during the same stretch last year. To the east in Sierra Madre, 40 homes sold in the first five months of the year compared with 28 in 2024.

    Fire victims shopping for new homes are partly responsible for the mini boom, said real estate agent Chelby Crawford. She said 10% of buyers at her open houses are people who lost their homes in the Eaton fire.

    Crawford listed a house in the foothills of La Cañada Flintridge in April, and it went under contract a month later. In March, she sold a home high along Angeles Crest Highway to a displaced fire victim, who had no problem with the fire-prone location.

    “Pasadena and La Cañada Flintridge are benefiting the most,” she said. “Fire victims are just excited to find their next home. It’s selling season.”

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    Jack Flemming

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  • How to Reduce Chronic Absenteeism in Schools

    How to Reduce Chronic Absenteeism in Schools

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    Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the rate of students who are chronically absent—defined as missing just under one month of class—has doubled to 26 percent nationally, reaching crisis levels and threatening the educational foundation of our nation’s youth. Chronic absenteeism is estimated to be responsible for up to 27 percent of the overall decline in math test scores and a shocking 45 percent of the drop in reading scores between 2019 and 2022.

    To combat this problem, the company Edia recently unveiled an AI-powered platform aimed at school districts across America. Within minutes of an absence, Edia initiates personalized AI-driven conversations with families in more than 100 languages, enabling school districts to identify and tackle root causes of chronic absenteeism.

    “Today, nearly three-quarters of absences are unexplained, meaning no one called in ahead of time and districts don’t know where those children are,” said Joe Philleo, CEO of Edia. “With so many students missing school, staff don’t have the capacity to reach out to every single family and understand what is happening with their child.”

    “Every situation is different,” Philleo continues. “When staff don’t know the reason students are missing school, they can’t fix the root cause. One student may miss school because they don’t have reliable transportation, and another student may skip Math and English in the morning and just attend Computer and Welding at the end of the day because they find those classes more engaging.”

    By leveraging AI, Edia enables schools to identify and solve the root causes of chronic absenteeism. Its system ensures no absence goes unnoticed, helping to restore accountability, rebuild connections between schools and families, and resolve underlying challenges that keep students from attending class.

    Key features of the Edia AI platform include:

    1. AI Conversations within minutes of Absence: Personalized text message conversations in 100+ languages sent to parents within minutes of an absence, reducing unexplained absences by up to 80 percent.
    2. Analysis to understand why students are missing class: Texts, calls, and notes come together in a single profile to identify why students are missing school and enable teams to take the right set of action.
    3. Purpose-built workflows for MTSS interventions: Ability to launch, track, and coordinate personalized intervention plans for students at risk.

    Edia’s new solution is currently being used in K-12 school districts nationwide, including Raton Public Schools, Farmington Municipal Schools, and Hobbs Municipal Schools.

    “Chronic absenteeism is a significant issue in education and in the Raton Public Schools that can severely impact student achievement and the long-term success of a student,” Kristie Medina, Superintendent at Raton Public Schools. “It refers to students missing a substantial number of school days, typically defined as 10 percent or more of the school year, for any reason, whether excused or unexcused. The challenge of chronic absenteeism lies in its widespread impact, affecting not just individual students but the entire school community. Our district is committed to addressing chronic absenteeism because it is critical to ensuring every student has the opportunity to succeed and thrive in both school and life.

    Medina continued, “I’m genuinely excited for Raton Public Schools to implement Edia’s AI Attendance Solution! The integration of AI into tracking and improving attendance will be a game-changer, especially when tackling chronic absenteeism. By leveraging AI, the district can gain deeper insights into attendance patterns, identify at-risk students earlier, and tailor interventions more effectively.”

    Kevin Hogan
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  • O.C. man charged with workers’ comp fraud involving $100 million of billings

    O.C. man charged with workers’ comp fraud involving $100 million of billings

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    In a major California workers’ comp insurance case, authorities have charged an Orange County man who was twice convicted of fraud, along with a San Diego neurosurgeon and two others, in connection with allegedly billing nearly $100 million in fraudulent fees.

    Following a three-year investigation, the Orange County district attorney’s office said on Friday that David Fish, 55, of Laguna Niguel allegedly masterminded an extensive scheme “to control clinics and providers who would see patients, refer them to specific providers in order to receive illegal referral payments, and then unlawfully bill workers’ compensation insurance companies for these services.”

    Workers’ comp fraud is estimated to be a $30-billion annual problem in the U.S., and California employers have long complained about the high cost of insurance premiums to cover employees from work-related injuries. One common scheme at so-called medical mills involves steering workers to seek medical treatment from specific doctors.

    “At a time when families across America are struggling to keep up with increasing prices for everything from gas and rent to just being able to put food on the table for their families, criminals like these only increase the cost of insurance premiums and put the American dream just that much further out of reach for so many hardworking people,” said Orange County Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer.

    Benjamin N. Gluck, Fish’s attorney in Los Angeles, said the charges are unfounded.

    “The Orange County District Attorney’s Office has a history of filing similar cases only to have them collapse under scrutiny,” Gluck said. “We think this case will be just one more in that line.”

    Spitzer’s office Friday also named two co-conspirators — Martin Brill, 78 of Los Angeles and Robert Lee, 61 of Rancho Mirage — alleging that they formed a firm, Southern California Injured Workers, that offered medical management services, including marketing, billing and collections. The company, in fact, was controlled entirely by Fish, authorities said.

    The three co-defendants, along with San Diego neurosurgeon Dr. Vrijesh Tantuwaya, also created a medical group called Injured Workers Medical Group, which was the main client for Southern California Injured Workers. Tantuwaya was designated as the owner and CEO of this medical professional corporation, Spitzer’s office said.

    The four men have been charged with 13 separate felony counts, including violations related to referral of clients for pay, conspiracy to commit a crime and insurance fraud.

    Scott A. Simmons, an Irvine-based attorney for Tantuwaya, said in a statement that his client “maintains his complete innocence and is confident that the evidence will demonstrate his lack of involvement in any illegal activities.”

    “Dr. Tantuwaya is a respected and highly skilled neurosurgeon, with a 22-year unblemished career,” Simmons said. “The records will show that Dr. Tantuwaya did not receive a single penny in kickbacks. It will become clear that he was a victim of fraud himself and, in fact, has filed a civil lawsuit against Southern California Injured Workers.”

    Attorneys for Brill and Lee could not immediately be reached for comment.

    Simmons said that his client, Tantuwaya, and the other three men have all pleaded not guilty and been released on bail.

    If convicted, Fish faces a maximum sentence of 18 years and four months in prison; Brill, a maximum of 12 years and four months in prison; Tantuwaya, 13 years, four months in state prison; and Lee, 12 years and four months in prison.

    According to the O.C. district attorney’s office, Fish was convicted twice before for workers’ comp fraud. That included a conviction in 2010 for compensation or inducement for referral of clients who went to preferred medical providers to run up high bills.

    In December 2017, Fish was barred from participating in the state’s workers’ comp system by California’s Department of Industrial Relations.

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    Don Lee

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  • Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month: PepsiCo Foods North America and LNESC Partner to Bridge the Digital Literacy Divide

    Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month: PepsiCo Foods North America and LNESC Partner to Bridge the Digital Literacy Divide

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    PLANO, Texas – PepsiCo Foods North America (PFNA) is proud to announce a $150,000 investment to enhance digital literacy training across the nation through its partnership with LULAC National Educational Service Centers (LNESC). This initiative comes as a critical response to a staggering statistic: 32 million Americans lack essential digital skills. [1]

    To address this gap, PFNA’s investment emphasizes the importance of fostering digital skills from an early age and across generations to unlock educational and economic opportunities, in line with its key business priorities. Since 2022, PepsiCo has donated over $500,000 to LNSEC’s Pathways to Uplift and Empower through Novel Technology and Education Services (P.U.E.N.T.E.S.) program, which provides vital training and educational support for families equipping them with the skills, resources, and tools needed to be successful in a digital environment.

    With PFNA’s support, the P.U.E.N.T.E.S. program has reached 450 participants across six U.S. cities, creating transformative learning environments that equip families with essential technology skills – including a San Antonio family whose six-year-old son is part of the bilingual program. Melody Urbina found it not only helped from an education standpoint, but it created new opportunities for her to bond with her son and strengthened the family’s connections with the school and their community.

    According to Urbina, “The program is about more than just technology. We’ve created a strong network with other families. The program has facilitated communication across different cultures and generations, which is especially important in Hispanic communities.” Through the program, families participate in cohorts, encouraging intergenerational involvement and creating a safe space to learn valuable computer skills. Families gain familiarity with the digital tools needed to engage with and monitor their child’s academic progress, empowering them to practice new skills together at home.

    Alongside fostering a sense of community and belonging, the program is demonstrating measurable impact. Upon completion of the program, results show:

    • Over 90% of participants have increased confidence with technology.
    • Over 90% of participants feel comfortable using technology to learn new skills.
    • 92% of participants feel comfortable using an electronic device to perform basic computer functions (e.g., email, office applications, etc.).

    “As someone who immigrated to the U.S. from Venezuela, I am incredibly proud of our partnership with LNESC and our shared passion to create sustainable economic opportunities for underserved communities,” said Antonio Escalona, SVP, Emerging Business at PepsiCo Foods North America. “Putting people and their experiences at the forefront is essential to our business success. We take great pride in our efforts to enhance digital literacy, and we’re excited to continue supporting this impactful initiative.”

    This newfound digital literacy opens doors to economic opportunities and enables parents to interact effectively with school officials and other community stakeholders.

    Participants are granted access to the vast world of opportunity available through technology, bridging the digital divide and enriching lives in previously unattainable ways.

    “Continuing this partnership with PFNA means so much for our students and families,” said LNESC Executive Director Richard Roybal. “Hearing stories from participants of how they’ve benefitted from these resources is what it’s all about. Together, we’re making a transformative impact on so many families, and we’re excited for what’s to come.”

    To learn more about LNESC and the P.U.E.N.T.E.S. program, go to www.LNESC.org/programs/puentes. 

    About PepsiCo  
    PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $91 billion in net revenue in 2023, driven by a complementary beverage and convenient foods portfolio that includes Lay’s®, Doritos®, Cheetos®, Gatorade®, Pepsi-Cola®, Mountain Dew®, Quaker®, and SodaStream. PepsiCo’s product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including many iconic brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

    Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Beverages and Convenient Foods by Winning with pep+ (PepsiCo Positive). pep+ is our strategic end-to-end transformation that puts sustainability and human capital at the center of how we will create value and growth by operating within planetary boundaries and inspiring positive change for planet and people. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com, and follow on X (Twitter), Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn @PepsiCo.

    About LNESC

    LULAC National Educational Service Centers, Inc. (LNESC) was established in 1973 by the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) to provide educational programming to high-need students throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Throughout 16 education and technology centers, LNESC has served over 621,000 students, sent 160,000 students on to college, and awarded nearly $31 million in scholarships. LNESC’s results are made possible by a network of dedicated field staff, top-notch teachers, over 90 school partners, and the support of LULAC – the nation’s largest membership-based Latino organization. LNESC works to change lives and build Latino communities, one student at a time.  www.LNESC.org

    [1] DigitalUS Coalition, 2020

    eSchool News Staff
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  • COVID money countdown: Schools exhaust pandemic aid as federal help winds down

    COVID money countdown: Schools exhaust pandemic aid as federal help winds down

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    This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters.

    Over the last three years, an influx of pandemic aid has been transformative for many schools.

    Some were able to hire social workers or give every child a laptop for the first time. Others fixed up old buildings, tutored struggling students, or revamped summer school programs.

    But that era is quickly drawing to a close. And this month marks an important stop on the way toward the end of COVID relief.

    Schools have to say by the end of this month how they plan to spend the last of their $123 billion from the American Rescue Plan, the third and final batch of schools’ COVID aid from the federal government. Then they have until Jan. 28, 2025 to spend the money.

    The deadline at the end of September matters a lot: Schools that have any money not earmarked by then could eventually have to return the funds to the federal government. And some states have said they are concerned that schools may be at risk of not meeting that deadline.

    Schools can seek an extension to spend their remaining aid until March 2026. But that won’t give them more time to officially decide how to use it — leaving some scrambling to come up with a plan before the deadline in 11 days.

    “We have been in contact, in many cases multiple times, with districts and charters to remind them of their responsibility to obligate these funds,” Tom Horne, Arizona’s state superintendent, said in a news release earlier this week. “Most are showing the ability to do this, but a number of them are at great risk of reverting funds.”

    Some Arizona school districts or charter schools had yet to commit any of their funds to a specific purpose, Horne said, and many others have earmarked only a fraction of their aid.

    Michigan said it expected some federal aid would be returned by schools, but noted it had left less than 1% of the first two aid packages on the table.

    “We do anticipate that some school districts and subgrantees will not be able to obligate funds by the end of the month and may revert funds back to the federal government,” Jeremy Meyer, a spokesperson for the Colorado Department of Education, told Chalkbeat in an email.

    Still, federal officials told reporters on Thursday they were confident that little if any money was at risk of being returned by schools. Schools across the country have already spent and been reimbursed for 87% of their American Rescue Plan dollars, officials said. Much of the remaining money has been spent, too, but hasn’t yet shown up on spending trackers due to record-keeping lags.

    Schools can’t use the aid to pay staff salaries after this month. But they can continue using it to do things like pay tutors to work with their students, finish up a construction project, or contract with a community organization to help with attendance outreach.

    Federal officials have said they would look especially favorably on applications to spend the money beyond the usual timeline on Biden administration priorities, such as intensive tutoring, efforts to boost attendance, and extra instructional time.

    Delaware, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, and Puerto Rico have already applied for and received spending extensions on behalf of some districts and schools. These extensions cover some $1.1 billion in aid, federal officials said.

    Several other states, including Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, and Washington, D.C., told Chalkbeat that they intended to apply for spending extensions in the coming weeks or months.

    Nationwide, schools have already spent about $1.5 billion beyond original deadlines after getting extensions on their first two aid packages, federal officials said.

    Schools have struggled for a number of reasons to spend down their pandemic aid, though often not for lack of need.

    Construction delays held up spending in Mississippi, where schools spent a large share of aid on building projects. Meanwhile, supply-chain issues slowed spending in Tennessee and Illinois.

    In Colorado, some schools had trouble filling certain educator positions amidst national shortages, or they planned to hire a company to provide training and were still waiting for that service to come through, Meyer wrote.

    In other cases, not as many students or staff showed up to certain activities like summer school or after-school programs as originally anticipated, so they ended up costing less than expected.

    Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news organization covering public education.

    Related:
    Federal COVID relief dollars improved student test scores, two new studies find
    As COVID relief spending deadlines loom, one district moves ahead with an uncommon tech plan
    For more news on pandemic aid, visit eSN’s Educational Leadership hub

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    Kalyn Belsha, Chalkbeat

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  • Former British police officer chosen to lead LAPD watchdog

    Former British police officer chosen to lead LAPD watchdog

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    As the Los Angeles Police Department holds its breath over the selection of its next chief, officials this week announced the selection of the agency’s new top watchdog.

    Django Sibley, a former police officer in the United Kingdom, was named executive director of the Los Angeles Police Commission. Sibley held the job on an interim basis for nearly six months after the retirement of Richard Tefank, who served in the role for nearly two decades.

    His selection was ratified in a 4-0 vote by the commission on Tuesday.

    Before taking over for Tefank, Sibley spent about two decades in the LAPD inspector general’s office, rising to the rank of assistant inspector general in charge of all investigations of serious police uses of force. He joined the office in 2004 and built a reputation as an effective behind-the-scenes operator with a sophisticated understanding of police affairs.

    In a prepared statement, commission president Erroll G. Southers said that the pick comes at “a critical time in this Department’s history.”

    Django Sibley, 51, held the executive director job on an interim basis for about six months.

    (Los Angeles Police Commission)

    “Mr. Sibley comes to us uniquely qualified with an extensive career in law enforcement and police oversight,” the statement read.

    A commission spokesperson said that Sibley was selected from among 20 applicants.

    As its executive director, Sibley, 51, will act as a liaison between the commission and police department officials. The civilian oversight panel reviews all serious uses of force by LAPD officers and helps craft policies.

    His selection fills one of three vacancies in LAPD leadership and oversight positions: chief, inspector general and executive director of the Police Commission.

    Sibley’s former boss, then-inspector general Mark Smith, left in April after being named as an independent monitor to oversee police reforms in Portland, Ore.

    L.A. Mayor Karen Bass has said she intends to make her chief pick by the end of the month.

    The three finalists for the position, winnowed down from a list of more than 30 candidates, are LAPD deputy chief Emada Tingirides; Jim McDonnell, a one-time LAPD assistant chief and former Los Angeles County sheriff; and Robert Arcos, a former LAPD assistant chief who is a senior official in the L.A. County district attorney’s office.

    The commission remains at four members, after a potential replacement for former commissioner William Briggs pulled out of consideration a day after his confirmation hearing before the City Council’s Public Safety Committee.

    Bass had nominated Karl Thurmond, a co-chair of Rep. Adam B. Schiff’s finance committee. But members of the council committee appeared to grow frustrated with Thurmond over his responses — and non-responses — to questions about his background, police hiring and other issues.

    Before enrolling at graduate school at USC, Sibley worked for Humberside Police, a roughly 4,000-member force that patrols East Riding of Yorkshire, about four hours north of London.

    Sibley’s departure was chronicled in the local newspaper, the Hull Daily Mail, in an article titled, “Bobby packs bags for spell in sunshine state.”

    The story says that Sibley joined Humberside police in 1995 and spent the bulk of his career patrolling areas around Hull, a faded North Sea port in northeast England.

    Sibley had reportedly chosen to attend USC to study geography, taking advantage of a five-year sabbatical granted to all Humberside officers to “pursue other personal activities.” Sibley told the paper that he was looking forward to living in California, but that “the plan is that I will be back in two years.”

    Times staff writer David Zahniser contributed to this report.

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    Libor Jany

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  • Sale of massive Skid Row homeless housing portfolio approved by judge

    Sale of massive Skid Row homeless housing portfolio approved by judge

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    The sale of one of Los Angeles’ largest collections of homeless housing was approved by a judge Wednesday, marking a final step in averting a catastrophic loss of permanent shelter in Skid Row.

    Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Stephen Goorvitch said the $10-million purchase price for 17 buildings to be paid by Beverly Hills developer Leo Pustilnikov was in the best interest of formerly homeless tenants and L.A. taxpayers who had been financing the portfolio’s maintenance and repairs for 16 months.

    “This is a solution that is the product of collaboration, hard work and checks and balances,” Goorvitch said. “Only time will tell whether this will be a success story, but I am optimistic.”

    Goorvitch on Wednesday approved the sale of an additional building, the New Genesis, to KE Ventures, an entity affiliated with a Washington D.C.-based multifamily developer, for $2.1 million. Both deals are scheduled to close next month. Along with the earlier transfers of 11 other properties to nonprofit landlords, all 29 buildings previously controlled by the Skid Row Housing Trust have found new owners.

    The trust was once considered a national model for taking old single-room occupancy hotels and small apartment complexes in Skid Row and rehabilitating them into supportive housing for homeless residents. But in February 2023, the nonprofit announced it could no longer pay its bills after years of leadership problems and financial challenges. The decision left its 2,000-unit portfolio in disarray as tenants, many of whom were elderly, disabled or dealing with drug addiction, faced broken plumbing and heating, vermin infestations and other terrible conditions.

    Mayor Karen Bass, City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto and other city leaders pushed for a court-ordered receivership last year to oversee the portfolio and search for new owners. Without urgent action, they said at the time, more than a thousand people could be forced to the streets and a critical source of homeless housing would be abandoned.

    The process has been costly and faced missteps. The first receiver chosen, Mark Adams, resigned under pressure after just three months after struggling with financing and management. The Times reported that the city did not fully vet Adams — who had hosted a political fundraiser for the city attorney and had a history of problems in other receiverships involving low-income tenants — before recommending him for the role.

    The city’s bill for the receivership is at least $37 million, though some of that amount is expected to be repaid once the sales approved Wednesday close.

    Identifying new owners has been challenging, for some of the same reasons that the trust failed. Many buildings are aging and need extensive repairs; federal housing subsidies haven’t covered growing monthly costs to operate them; the tenant population has grown more difficult as leasing practices prioritize those with mental health and addiction needs. Kevin Singer, the current receiver, said in recent court filings that some of the properties had such negative value that they couldn’t be given away.

    Because of these problems, city leaders had originally pitched taking on the most troubled buildings and spinning them off to nonprofits that would demolish them and build new homeless housing in their place.

    But that plan faltered in the spring as city and state budgets dried up. A deal for some of the remaining buildings with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation broke down in April amid concerns about the charity’s track record in Skid Row, disputes over providing tenants with social services and the foundation’s assertion that conditions in the buildings were worse than they had believed.

    Pustilnikov, who had long been interested in the properties, emerged as a buyer in the aftermath. The developer is better known for his plans to leverage a state law to build 3,500 new apartments in Beverly Hills, Redondo Beach and other wealthy Southern California communities. His attempt to amass a large downtown portfolio alongside two wealthy investors a decade ago fell apart amid litigation.

    Pustilnikov has said that he’s stepping in to prevent worsening conditions in Skid Row and that he’s learned the complexities of financing and managing affordable housing in the neighborhood. He’s committed to maintaining social services for tenants, a key demand of Bass and the city.

    “I would like to thank the city, county and state for their efforts in protecting this vulnerable population and I look forward to continuing to work with the mayor, City Council and County Board of Supervisors in turning around these challenging and neglected properties,” Pustilnikov said in a statement.

    No formal opposition emerged to the sale, which Goorvich said was a significant factor in his approval following a 90-minute hearing in which he questioned city lawyers and the receiver. Goorvich said he was persuaded this decision would avoid an outcome that would threaten vulnerable tenants’ housing and that the city had sufficient regulatory authority to ensure the new owners would improve the properties.

    “To put it in colloquial terms, something is better than nothing,” the judge said. “But I think this is a good something.”

    Ann Sewill, general manager of the Los Angeles Housing Department, said after the hearing that she’s been impressed with Pustilnikov’s attention to the properties since he’s been engaged in the deal. She said he’s attempted to visit tenants units across the portfolio, asked detailed questions about building operations and has worked collaboratively with the city.

    “We have a clear-eyed view of how to put these buildings back into financial and physical viability,” Sewill said.

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    Liam Dillon

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  • Death Valley sets another heat record. August temperatures also could be above average

    Death Valley sets another heat record. August temperatures also could be above average

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    Death Valley National Park set another record in July.

    The area dubbed the hottest place on Earth saw an average temperature in July of 108.5 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. That broke the previous record of 108.1 degrees in July 2018.

    The average high temperature last month in Death Valley was 121.9 degrees, tying the record set in July 1917.

    The National Weather Service keeps a temperature sensor in Furnace Creek in Death Valley.

    “It’s a pretty hot one out there,” said Morgan Stessman, a meterologist in the National Weather Service’s Las Vegas office.

    Farther south, a California town near the border of Arizona also boasted a new record for the hottest monthly average temperature in the country.

    Needles averaged 103.2 degrees in July, surpassing Phoenix’s highest average temperature in July 2023 of 102.7 degrees, according to the Arizona State Climate Office.

    More punishing temperatures may be on the way. Meteorologist Stessman said that there is a 50% to 60% chance that Death Valley will see above normal temperatures for the month of August.

    A long, narrow basin near the border of Nevada, Death Valley is 282 feet below sea level. The mountains trap hot air and circulate the heat like a convection oven.

    The highest temperature ever recorded in Death Valley was 134 degrees on July 10, 1913. The average high temperature that month was 116.5 degrees.

    In July, a European tourist in Death Valley melted the skin off his feet when he lost his flip-flops in the sand dunes, park officials said. Also in July, a biker in Death Valley died.

    The heat hinders rescue efforts. When temperatures exceed 120 degrees, a medical helicopter cannot access the park. Air expands when it is heated, becoming thinner than cold air and helicopters can’t get the lift needed to fly.

    Trees and wildlife also are suffering. One 2022 study found that thousands of the trees have died at Telescope Peak, the highest point in Death Valley, since 2013.

    Another study from 2019 found that about a third of Death Valley’s bird species have declined in the last 100 years because of heat stress associated with climate change.

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    Dakota Smith

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  • Study details ‘transformative’ results from L.A. pilot that guaranteed families $1,000 a month

    Study details ‘transformative’ results from L.A. pilot that guaranteed families $1,000 a month

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    Some of L.A.’s poorest families received cash assistance of $1,000 a month as part of a 12-month pilot project launched nearly three years ago. There were no strings attached and they could use the money however they saw fit.

    Now, a new study finds that the city-funded program was overwhelmingly beneficial.

    Participants in the program experienced a host of financial benefits, according to an analysis co-authored by University of Pennsylvania and UCLA researchers. Beyond that, the study found, the initiative gave people the time and space to make deeper changes in their lives. That included landing better jobs, leaving unsafe living conditions and escaping abusive relationships.

    “If you are trapped in financial scarcity, you are also trapped in time scarcity,” Dr. Amy Castro, co-founder of the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Guaranteed Income Research, told The Times. “There’s no time for yourself; there’s no time for your kids, your neighbors or anybody else.”

    The Basic Income Guaranteed: Los Angeles Economic Assistance Pilot, or BIG:LEAP, disbursed $38.4 million in city funds to 3,200 residents who were pregnant or had at least one child, lived at or below the federal poverty level and experienced hardship related to COVID-19. Participants were randomly selected from about 50,000 applicants and received the payments for 12 months starting in 2022.

    Castro and her colleagues partnered with researchers at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health to compare the experiences of participants in L.A.’s randomized control trial — the country’s first large-scale guaranteed-income pilot using public funds — with those of nearly 5,000 people who didn’t receive the unconditional cash.

    Researchers found that participants reported a meaningful increase in savings and were more likely to be able to cover a $400 emergency during and after the program. Guaranteed-income recipients also were more likely to secure full-time or part-time employment, or to be looking for work, rather than being unemployed and not looking for work, the study found.

    “Instead of taking the very first job that was available, that might not have been a lasting, good fit for the family, [the participants were] saying, ‘Hold on a minute, I have a moment to sit and think and breathe, and think about where I want my family to be,’ ” said Dr. Stacia West, also a co-founder of the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Guaranteed Income Research.

    In a city with sky-high rents, participants reported that the guaranteed income functioned as “a preventative measure against homelessness,” according to the report, helping them offset rental costs and serving as a buffer while they waited for other housing support.

    It also prevented or reduced the incidence of intimate partner violence, the analysis found, by making it possible for people and their children to leave and find other housing. Intimate partner violence is an intractable social challenge, Castro said, so to see improvements with just 12 months of funding is a “pretty extraordinary change.”

    People who had struggled to maintain their health because of inflexible or erratic work schedules and lack of child care reported that the guaranteed income provided the safety net they needed to maintain healthier behaviors, the report said. They reported sleeping better, exercising more, resuming necessary medications and seeking mental health therapy for themselves and their children.

    Compared with those who didn’t receive cash, guaranteed income recipients were more likely to enroll their kids in sports and clubs during and after the pilot.

    Los Angeles resident Ashley Davis appeared at a news conference Tuesday about the study findings and said that her health improved because she could afford to buy fruits, vegetables and smoothies. Before, she was pre-diabetic and “my cholesterol was going through the roof,” Davis said.

    “I was neglecting my own needs,” said Davis, who described herself as a single mother of a special-needs child. She switched careers and is now studying to be a nurse, she said.

    Abigail Marquez, general manager of the Community Investment for Families Department, which helped oversee BIG:LEAP, said she’s spent 20 years working on various anti-poverty programs.

    “I can say confidently that this is by far the most transformative program,” Marquez said.

    BIG:LEAP was one of the largest of more than 150 guaranteed-income pilot programs launched nationwide in recent years. The program was funded through the city budget and included $11 million that city leaders moved from the Police Department budget in response to nationwide protests after the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020.

    Despite the positive research findings, programs like BIG:LEAP have raised concerns among some taxpayer groups.

    “It’s simply wrong for the city government to take tax dollars earned and paid by people who are trying to pay their own bills and transfer that money to other people chosen by the government to receive it,” the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. said in a statement. “Guaranteed-income programs are appropriately funded voluntarily by charitable organizations and foundations, not forcibly through the tax code.”

    Councilmember Curren Price, whose South Los Angeles district includes some of the city’s most impoverished neighborhoods, introduced a motion Tuesday to continue a version of the pilot with a focus on people in abusive relationships and young adults in need of mental health and emotional support.

    Price said he would contribute $1 million toward the next phase from his council funds. Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez also pledged $1 million.

    Beyond that, it’s not clear where the next round of funding would come from. Price expressed hope the city would continue to support the effort through the general budget.

    “I don’t know how realistic it is that it’s going to be $40 million again,” Price said. “But I think it’s realistic that we could receive something.”

    This article is part of The Times’ equity reporting initiative, funded by the James Irvine Foundation, exploring the challenges facing low-income workers and the efforts being made to address California’s economic divide.

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    Rebecca Plevin, Dakota Smith

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  • Best of ISTE—PowerSchool Drops Data in Its Annual Education Focus Report

    Best of ISTE—PowerSchool Drops Data in Its Annual Education Focus Report

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    PowerSchool today released findings from its 2024 Education Focus Report for the 2024-2025 school year. The report offers an in-depth analysis of the key challenges and innovations currently shaping the U.S. education landscape going into the 2024-2025 school year. Drawing from a national survey of 1,620 educators, alongside 12 focus groups and 12 interviews engaging over 75 district leaders, teachers, parents, and students, the report provides critical insights into the evolving needs and priorities of the education community.

    eSchool was given a sneak peek into the data in Denver last month when PowerSchool’s VP of Education Strategy, Ryan Imbriale (left) hosted a panel featuring K-12 educators, which included:

    • Pati Ruiz, Senior Director of Edtech and Emerging Technologies, Digital Promise
    • Addison Davis, Partner and Education Consultant, Strategos Group and former K-12 superintendent
    • Susan Moore, Director of Technology at Meriden Public Schools (Meriden, Connecticut)

    Click below for a snippet:

    Download the report here

    Below is an overview of some of the key insights & learnings stemming from the report: 

    Educators see benefit of personalized learning, but traditional beliefs are getting in the way:

    • PowerSchool found education leaders see competency and mastery-based learning as key to improving student engagement and outcomes. However, educators said changing traditional beliefs about what education looks like is the #1 hurdle to implementing more personalized learning models, showing that many leaders recognize the need for personalized learning but struggle with how to shift traditional views.

    Educators are open to new technologies like AI, but still in a “wait and see” mode:

    • 70% of district leaders believe AI can enhance teaching and learning— up from 53% in 2023 and 60% of school leaders and educators believe AI can enhance teacher practice and development.
    • Despite the increased excitement on AI in the classroom, only 8% of respondents are using AI in classrooms and only one in five district leaders reported that their school system is developing guidance on AI.
    • Many districts are in a “wait and see” mode, looking to early adopters and third parties for guidance on how to safely and securely implement AI technology.

    Staffing, hardware purchases, tutoring programs and teacher salary increases are the top four initiatives education leaders plan to financially deprioritize this school year:

    • When education leaders were asked which initiatives they would consolidate or stop entirely in the 2024-2025 school year, staffing (45%), purchasing new hardware (30%), tutoring programs (25%) and teacher salary increases (22%) came up as the top four areas to financially deprioritize.

    Caregivers want more personalized communication:

    • Enhancing communication and engagement between schools and homes is vital for student success, but caretakers are busy and must navigate a complex stream of information about their child’s education daily.
    • PowerSchool interviewed caregivers about their experience communicating with schools and found they would like more personalized and streamlined notifications from schools about schedules, policies, and key milestones, ideally all through one tool, not many.
    • They also said they are rarely asked about communication preferences. For example, some shared they receive texts for one child and emails and physical mail for another child, but their schools did not invite input on what is best for them.

    Disengagement and lack of family support are top reasons for decline in student attendance:

    • When it comes to attendance, seven in 10 educators agree that student attendance has been a significant challenge in their school system since the pandemic with disengagement, lack of family support and mental health issues called out as the top three reasons.

    Teachers don’t believe the “one teacher, many students” model is working for students:

    When exploring the modern education workforce, PowerSchool found that teachers are seeking better work/life balance, professional development, and intuitive technology.

    • The key thing leaders said must be addressed to make the teaching profession more sustainable is “Reducing teacher, student intervention, and parent communication workloads.”
    • And when asked what teaching model schools were following, over seven in 10 responded that the “one teacher, many student” model is the mainstay, even though nearly two-fifths of educators (36%) said the “one teacher, many students” model is not working for students.
    • PowerSchool also found that the top three things adding to teachers’ workloads were:
    1. Disruptive behavior
    2. Student intervention planning
    3. Parent communication and engagement
    Kevin Hogan
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    Kevin Hogan

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  • Copper wire thieves plunge L.A. neighborhood into darkness

    Copper wire thieves plunge L.A. neighborhood into darkness

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    Once the sun sets in the Pico-Union area, workers and residents approach the streets with trepidation. Here, and in other parts of Los Angeles, copper-wire thieves have stripped them of their sense of safety.

    “I had a guy pull a gun on me one night,” said Albert Robles, owner of Robles Carburetors, at Hoover and West 18th streets. Emboldened, he believes, by the cover of darkness, the man was breaking into a car and didn’t want any interference from Robles.

    At the Domino’s across the street, Luis Rojas has worked for three years delivering pizzas. Nowadays, he says, fellow pizza delivery drivers are often scared to leave their cars to go knocking on doors along the gloomy corridor of South Union Avenue between Washington and Venice boulevards.

    “I used to walk to work,” said Rojas, who lives a brisk 10-minute walk from his employment. Now, it’s frightening. “People can follow you.”

    This new layer of fear has become a fact of daily life in Pico-Union, said lifelong resident Aurora Corona. According to locals, entire blocks go dark at night in this L.A. neighborhood that lies west of downtown. One of L.A.’s most densely populated neighborhoods, it is home to about 40,000 people within 1.67 square miles.

    The lack of lighting is an issue Corona cares about and part of the reason the retiree joined the Pico-Union Neighborhood Council; she’s secretary and chair of a committee on quality of life and safety.

    Pico-Union and the Westlake neighborhood have both been greatly affected by the outages, she said, but noted, “It’s a citywide problem.”

    An NBC4 investigation found that of the 223,000 streetlights throughout Los Angeles, 25,000 — or more than 1 in 10 lights — are broken. Vandalism is a problem. Unhoused people sometimes divert power from streetlights to encampments.

    “I understand their situation,” said Corona. On Venice Boulevard, she’s seen people living on the streets struggling to stay warm when temperatures drop at night. But rerouting power has caused streetlights to blow out, she said, or even burst into flames.

    But the problem of copper-wire theft has skyrocketed. Thieves steal the copper to resell as scrap metal. The Bureau of Street Lighting said theft of copper wire from streetlights rose 800% from 2017 to 2023, NBC reported.

    Los Angeles City Council members have been struggling to address copper-wire theft for months, debating whether to levy heavier consequences to deter crime. Thieves absconded with seven miles of copper wire — about $11,000 worth — from the newly rebuilt 6th Street Bridge, plunging the so-called ribbon of light into pitch black last month.

    Meanwhile, in the Pico-Union area, Rojas said he’d seen someone — amid the shadows — attempting to break into a car. And he’s noticed that families no longer walk their kids to the nearby Toberman Park and Pico-Union Vest-Pocket Park after the sun goes down.

    The Olympic Community Police Station did not respond to The Times’ request for comment on whether crime had increased in the area as the lack of working streetlights plunged streets into darkness. Studies have shown, however, that properly lighted streets can reduce criminal activity.

    Yet local residents and business owners have had to wait months on repairs, according to L.A. City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, whose district includes Pico-Union. There have been “delays of over six months for broken streetlights,” she said in a statement.

    According to Corona, the city already has spent millions on repairing the damage done to Los Angeles streetlights. But Hernandez says more needs to be spent to “better fund neighborhood services so that our constituents are not left waiting for months for safely lit streets.”

    The Bureau of Street Lighting has already attempted different methods of discouraging thefts — camouflaging or better securing electrical boxes. There’s also the option of transitioning to solar power. But those changes “will take at least five years,” Corona said. And in a year where the city is undergoing a budget deficit and cutting city programs, there are many squeaky wheels officials are trying to grease.

    “I commend the city for attempting to solve the problem,” said Corona.

    Meanwhile, the residents of Pico-Union who are in the dark continue to wait.

    “Right now,” said Rojas, “it’s a little scary.”

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    Jireh Deng

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  • United Airlines plane loses tire after takeoff at LAX, the second time in four months

    United Airlines plane loses tire after takeoff at LAX, the second time in four months

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    A United Airlines flight departing from Los Angeles lost a tire during takeoff Monday, its second Boeing aircraft to have lost a tire in four months.

    The Boeing 757-200 departed Los Angeles International Airport around 7:16 a.m. and continued to its destination at Denver International Airport even after losing the tire, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The plane landed safely around 10:10 a.m. with no reported injuries on the aircraft or on the ground, United Airlines said in a statement.

    “The wheel has been recovered in Los Angeles, and we are investigating what caused this event,” United said. The company did not say which tire on the aircraft was lost.

    The plane had 174 passengers and seven crew members on board, according to United.

    United and FAA said they would investigate what caused the tire to fall.

    This is the second incident involving a tire falling from a United aircraft mid-air in four months.

    In March, a Japan-bound United flight lost one of its main landing tires seconds after takeoff from San Francisco International Airport. The tire landed in an employee parking lot and damaged several vehicles. The Boeing 777, which carried 235 passengers and 14 crew members, made an emergency landing at LAX and was towed away with no reported injuries.

    United did not respond to an inquiry about whether the causes for the incidents were potentially the same.

    In January, a Boeing 757 operated by Delta Air Lines lost its nose wheel while preparing for takeoff at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta. Delta said a nose gear tire and rim had come loose and then rolled down a hill. Passengers had to exit the plane, but no one was injured.

    Concerns surrounding the safety of Boeing planes has been circulating for years, particularly after two crashes of its 737 Max jets killed 346 people in October 2018 and March 2019. Boeing agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud charge over the deadly crashes Monday, avoiding a criminal trial.

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    Ashley Ahn

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  • Need a background check in California? Changes at the courts are causing long waits

    Need a background check in California? Changes at the courts are causing long waits

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    Significant delays in the processing of background checks are causing headaches across California, leaving applications for jobs and housing stuck in limbo while making it harder for employers and landlords to screen for criminal records.

    The situation stems from a state appellate court ruling more than three years ago, which industry experts say has blocked background screeners and any court researcher from using date of birth or driver’s license information to narrow down search results as they investigate an individual’s criminal history.

    The 2021 decision in All of Us or None of Us vs. Hamrick arose from a case brought by criminal justice reform advocates who have long argued that background checks lead to discrimination against formerly incarcerated people.

    A panel at the 4th District Court of Appeals determined that Riverside County’s Superior Court website, which allowed users to input dates of birth and driver’s license numbers while searching for criminal records, was in violation of a state court rule that says such information should be excluded from court “indexes” accessible to the public through “electronic means.”

    “After considering the text, history, and purpose” of the rule, the judges found that state courts should limit search criteria for the public, effectively eliminating the use of birth dates and license numbers.

    Those personal identifiers had long been used to match individuals to their records, and without them it has proved nearly impossible to conduct searches that involve common names, industry experts say.

    “This was an interpretation that no one had ever seen before or seen coming,” said Melissa Sorenson, executive director of the Professional Background Screening Assn. “Each of the courts is trying to figure out how to comply.”

    Delays are particularly bad in Los Angeles County, where background check firms receive about 100,000 screening requests each month.

    “Right now, L.A. County is an example of something that’s not sustainable,” Sorenson said.

    Residents with common names or those with a long history in the area may have to wait for months or even years for their background check to be completed, Sorensen said, if it’s possible for it to be completed at all.

    It has taken time for courts to adjust since the 2021 appellate ruling was handed down. The Superior Court of Los Angeles announced its changes in February.

    “All the background screener can do is plug in Jose Rodriguez, for example, and because it’s a relatively common name in L.A., you could get back hundreds to thousands of results,” Sorenson said. “We have no way to filter based on any other identifier.”

    Dates of birth are contained within physical court files, the Superior Court of Los Angeles said.

    “These restrictions require background checkers seeking information on commonly named individuals to visit the courthouse where the physical court file is located to determine if the information they obtained in an electronic criminal record search applies to the person about whom they are inquiring,” the court said in an email.

    The court limits the number of case files it will retrieve for a requester to five per day at any courthouse. For names with thousands of results, it’s not practical to check each physical file.

    At the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, the county’s busiest criminal clerk’s office, additional court service assistants have been assigned to assist with file viewing requests. The current wait time to pull multiple files at a time is three to five days, the court said.

    In a message reviewed by The Times, the background screening firm Sterling sent out a notice to clients explaining the situation earlier this year.

    “With this change, the L.A. County court has made it significantly more challenging to accurately identify individuals during background checks,” the firm said. “Delays for criminal checks in L.A. County are expected to increase. … Some searches were closed as unperformable.”

    Sterling did not respond to a request for comment. On the online forum Reddit, Los Angeles residents shared concerns that their background checks were not getting completed in time.

    “Sterling is not able to get it done!” one user wrote. “Seriously anxious and have been unemployed for a month now,” said another.

    In 2022, Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed Senate Bill 1262, which would have allowed court researchers to use date of birth to search for an individual without making the date publicly available.

    “This bill would override a 2021 appellate court decision and current court rules that strike a fair balance between public access to court records, public safety, and an individual’s constitutional right to privacy,” Newsom wrote after shutting down the bill.

    The nonprofit Legal Services for Prisoners with Children pushed for the veto, arguing the bill “was sponsored by commercial background check companies … with no regard for the interests of formerly incarcerated or convicted people.”

    Eric Sapp, a staff attorney at the Oakland-based organization, pointed out that when background checks are authorized and required by law, local authorities are obligated to provide the relevant information and assure compliance.

    “There’s no need for a background check company to intervene in those circumstances,” he said.

    “We definitely believe that background checks are overused and are often useless for the purposes for which they’re used,” he said. “The criminal background check as it currently exists today might not be a viable model in the near future.”

    Joshua Kim, lead attorney for the plaintiffs in the Hamrick case, said he wasn’t aware of holdups with housing and job applications — but said any such issues would be the fault of the background check industry, not the courts complying with the law.

    “If there is in fact a delay that affects people’s opportunity for housing and employment because of the background check company’s inability to do their job, then that could potentially create another legal liability for them,” he said.

    Thirty-seven states have adopted what is known as a “ban the box” policy that prohibits investigation into a job candidate’s conviction history before making an offer of employment, but many employers still seek to vet candidates, especially for jobs that require working with vulnerable populations or involve access to sensitive data.

    “The fundamental question that we’ve been asking in the reentry law community is whether background checks are effective in screening out dangerous employees,” Kim said.

    But some Angelenos have been frustrated by the current state of affairs.

    South Pasadena mother Erin Chang had been stuck waiting months for her disabled son’s summer camp aide to get approved for work. The background check had to clear in order for the state to cover the cost of the aide, Chang said.

    Although the check cleared just before camp began, Chang had to pay out of pocket for the aide and said she will seek reimbursement.

    “Camp is over next week, and we’re still not sorted out,” Chang said. “They offered the explanation that she had a common name and that there is a backlog.”

    Outside Los Angeles, other counties are making similar changes to comply with the court rules. San Luis Obispo County announced last month that it is redacting access to date of birth and driver’s license information in court search engines, and Orange County is rumored to be making the same move soon, said Sorenson of the background check trade group.

    “It is more than just an L.A. County issue,” she said. “If an employer has a candidate with California history, they may have to move on to a different candidate.”

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    Caroline Petrow-Cohen

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  • Harris glosses over debate at San Francisco fundraiser, highlights Biden victories over ‘liar’ Trump

    Harris glosses over debate at San Francisco fundraiser, highlights Biden victories over ‘liar’ Trump

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    SAN FRANCISCO — 

    At a fraught moment in President Biden’s reelection campaign, as he faces calls to drop out of the race due to serious flubs at last week’s debate, Vice President Kamala Harris addressed donors at a private fundraiser Tuesday in San Francisco and focused on the election as a choice between civil liberties and dictatorship.

    “Let’s just deal with the elephant in the room. There are actually two: One is the debate, and the other is Trump,” Harris said to light laughter from a group of about 35 supporters at the Nob Hill condo of real estate executive Susan Lowenberg, in a high-rise building overlooking the city and bay.

    “The debate, as the president said, [was] not his finest hour. We all know that,” Harris told the room. But the outcome of the election, she added, “cannot be determined by one day in June.”

    “It is still the fact that the stakes are so high in this election. It is still the fact that the race is close. It is still the fact that there is a profound contrast on the two sides of the split screen in terms of who stands for what and what each has accomplished,” she said. “And it’s still true that Trump is a liar.”

    Her appearance at the San Francisco fundraiser came the same day Trump’s campaign reported raising $331 million compared with Biden’s $264 million during the second quarter of this year, eliminating the cash advantage Biden previously had over Trump.

    “President Trump’s campaign fundraising operation is thriving day after day and month after month,” the Republican’s top campaign advisors, Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles, said in a statement. “This fundraising momentum is likely to grow even more as we head into a world-class convention and see the Democrats continue their circular firing squad in the aftermath of Biden’s debate collapse.”

    Harris didn’t say anything further about Biden’s debate performance while a Times reporter was present at Tuesday’s private fundraiser.

    Elizabeth Ashford, a Democratic strategist who served as Harris’ chief of staff during her tenure as California’s attorney general, applauded Harris’ focus in recent days on delivering a crisp, clear message to an anxious American electorate. Harris’ job, Ashford said, is to focus on the administration’s accomplishments, and to demonstrate to voters — without actually saying it — that she can step in if necessary to effectively lead the nation.

    “That is where I would be singularly focused,” Ashford said. “One of Kamala’s areas of growth has been to be really confident in how she communicates. And this is that moment.”

    A new CNN poll indicates some 75% of voters think Democrats would have a better shot at keeping the White House if they swapped Biden out for someone new. The poll also showed nearly as much support for Harris as for Trump in a hypothetical matchup — with 47% of registered voters surveyed nationwide saying they would support Trump and 45% saying they would vote for Harris. The same poll indicated the difference between the current likely candidates was larger, with 49% backing Trump and 43% favoring Biden.

    At the fundraiser Tuesday, Harris seemed comfortable and relaxed in a room full of longtime donors and friends stretching back to her start in San Francisco politics as district attorney 20 years ago.

    Harris touted the administration’s policy accomplishments, such as capping the price of insulin for seniors on Medicare and erasing student loan debt for millions of borrowers. She highlighted the White House’s commitment to mitigating climate change through investments in green energy, and its support for reproductive freedoms and other rights for women and marginalized communities.

    “There is an awareness among the American people that there is a full-on attack — an intentional attack — against hard-fought, hard-won freedoms and liberties,” she said.

    Those stakes became “even higher” with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on Monday that gave Trump — and possibly future presidents — legal immunity from criminal charges stemming from official actions while in office, Harris said.

    “And let’s not forget, Donald Trump has openly said he admires dictators and intends to be ‘a dictator on Day One,’” Harris said. “We gotta fight, and we know how to fight.”

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    Hannah Wiley

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  • Californians won’t pay more than one month’s rent for security deposits under new law

    Californians won’t pay more than one month’s rent for security deposits under new law

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    The days of needing to save two to three months’ worth of rent for a security deposit are largely over in California.

    Legislation took effect Monday that limits a security deposit on a rental property to no more than one month’s rent for all but the smallest landlords. The law, passed as Assembly Bill 12, was authored by Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco).

    “Massive security deposits can create insurmountable barriers to housing affordability and accessibility for millions of Californians,” said Haney, who chairs the California Legislature’s Renters Caucus, in a statement.

    Previously, owners could charge two months of rent for unfurnished property and three months for furnished.

    The median rent in Los Angeles is $2,795, according to Zillow, an online real estate marketplace.

    An exception in the bill was carved out for landlords who own two or fewer properties that collectively have no more than four rental units.

    The bill was written in December 2022, passed by the Assembly and Senate last fall and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October.

    Along the way, it earned support from the Los Angeles County Board of Trustees.

    Supervisor Lindsey Horvath noted in May 2023 that she was unable to move into a rental a couple of years earlier because she was asked to pay “nearly a half a year’s rent upfront.”

    “As someone with a well-paying job, making more than the median income of the county, it was difficult for me to rent a new apartment because of the substantial deposits that were required,” she said.

    But the legislation raises concerns among some in the real estate industry.

    Sharon Oh-Kubisch, a partner at Irvine-based Kahana Feld, which practices real estate law, noted two potential drawbacks to the legislation.

    While she supports the bill’s aim of alleviating high costs of renting, financial burdens are being flipped to landlords, she said.

    She noted that security deposits are intended to cover damages when a tenant moves out. Lower deposits mean landlords are more likely to have to sue clients who cause considerable damage.

    “A landlord can demand damages at the back end, but then they’re more than likely going to have to sue and hire counsel to get that money,” Oh-Kubisch said.

    Additionally, she said that reducing security deposits may work against tenants who have less than perfect credit or lack a strong history of renting.

    Higher security deposits allowed landlords to be more flexible, Oh-Kubisch said. With those “safeguards” gone, she expects landlords to be “more precise and heighten scrutiny for tenants.”

    Still, others say the legislation will benefit those who have the most trouble finding housing.

    Masih Fouladi, executive director of the California Immigrant Policy Center, said in a statement that the law will help vulnerable communities.

    “In California’s high-cost rental market, expensive security deposits are often imposed on immigrants and people of color, effectively limiting access to safe and affordable housing,” he said. “By capping high security deposits, AB-12 advances a measure of equity.”

    Catherine A. Rodman, director and supervising attorney of San Diego-based Affordable Housing Advocates, a tenants rights legal group, said the news received mixed reviews among her mainly working-class clients.

    “I know that it’s been a big relief to many throughout the state, but at least here in the San Diego area, it’s not a big issue,” Rodman said.

    Zillow lists the median rent in San Diego at $3,095.

    She said “soaring rents” have already led most area landlords to require no more than one month’s rent as a security deposit.

    “I’ve been here for 40 years, and I’ve only encountered security deposit gouging on a few occasions,” Rodman said. “Our issue is rent.”

    Rodman said she didn’t want to “pooh-pooh” the legislation but hoped it was part of a broader vision to make housing affordable for larger swaths of the state.

    “I’m sure it helps, but we need to address the cost to rent, because that’s really the big roadblock,” she said.

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    Andrew J. Campa

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  • Austin Pets Alive! | Supporting People that Help Pets

    Austin Pets Alive! | Supporting People that Help Pets

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    APA! has always operated outside of the “typical” role that animal
    welfare plays. Our teams and programming have contributed to thousands
    of lives saved and as we’ve continued to grow our organization and
    lifesaving, we recognized that much more needs to be done for the people
    who have given their time, talents and love to the animals who need us
    most!

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  • Community is Key to Saving Schools

    Community is Key to Saving Schools

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    While not a new concept, the importance of building a sense of community within school districts has never been more apparent, especially in the wake of the pandemic. In a recent survey by the Education Advisory Board, 80% of superintendents reported that student behavior has worsened over the last four years, and 74% reported that parent communication has become more disrespectful. 

    Dr. Joe Phillips, Broward County Public Schools’ (FL) Chief Information Officer, and Sam Chaudhary, CEO of ClassDojo, got into the weeds in person last month on this topic at a CoSN session and were gracious enough to follow up with me via Zoom. In this conversation, they explore how leaders can leverage technology to foster close-knit, supportive relationships among teachers, children, and families.

    Joe emphasizes a need to shift back to community-based education, where schools are not viewed as separate entities but integral parts of larger communities. He stresses the importance of parent engagement and collaboration in bridging the gap between home and school life, ultimately fostering a supportive student environment. Sam speaks to the evolution of Class Dojo from a grassroots initiative to a district-wide community-building tool. He details the platform’s focus on intimacy, trust, and real-time communication among teachers, parents, and students, contrasting it with broader social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter (I refuse to use the letter) that often exacerbate divisions.

    Both envision a future where technology complements rather than replaces human interaction in education. They foresee a hybrid model where technology facilitates communication and collaboration while preserving the invaluable benefits of face-to-face engagement. Despite the challenges, they remain optimistic about the potential for unified efforts rooted in a shared commitment to children’s education. I found this to be a powerful conversation and I hope you find it insightful.

    Kevin Hogan
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    Kevin Hogan

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