| Trump administration sues California over law keeping oil wells from homes, schools - Los Angeles Times |
| California communities and environmental justice groups worked for years to win a law to prevent new oil and gas wells from being drilled near where people live, work and gather. Now, the Trump administration is suing to overturn it.
In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, the U.S. Department of Justice challenged Senate Bill 1137, state legislation passed in 2022 that establishes a 3,200-foot minimum setback between new oil wells and “sensitive receptors,” defined as homes, schools, community centers, parks and playgrounds, healthcare facilities or any public building.
Under the law, existing wells that are close to these places can continue to operate, but must monitor emissions, control their dust and limit nighttime noise and light.
But the Trump administration says the law would “knock out” about one-third of all federally authorized oil and gas leases in California, amounting to unconstitutional state regulation of federal lands. In its complaint, the administration argues that federal law — specifically, the Mineral Leasing Act and the Federal Land and Policy Management Act — supersedes SB 1137, and asks that the court declare the state law unconstitutional and prevent it from being enforced.
While the majority of active wells in California are on private and state lands, the federal Bureau of Land Management administers more than 600 oil and gas leases within the state, according to the lawsuit. About 218 of those leases overlap with the buffer zones established by the law. [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-01-15 |
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| Metro seeks public input on LA River bike path extension | Boyle Heights News | theeastsiderla.com |
| Imagine riding a bicycle along the Los Angeles River all the way from the San Fernando Valley to Long Beach—a distance of more than 30 miles—and never sharing the road with cars. [Article] |
| by , . 2026-01-15 |
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| Flu cases surging in California as officials warn of powerful virus strain - Los Angeles Times |
| California officials are issuing warnings about a new flu strain that is increasing flu-related cases and hospitalizations statewide, with public health experts across the nation echoing the alerts.
A newly emerged influenza A strain, H3N2 subclade K, is already wreaking havoc globally and is affecting hospitals and clinics in California, the state’s Department of Public Health announced Tuesday. The agency described the seasonal flu activity as “elevated” in the state; data show that flu test positivity rates, which measure the percentage of patients who come in with flu symptoms and actually test positive for influenza, have been rising in recent weeks. However, they are still relatively low compared to last year’s flu season. [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-01-15 |
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| Inflation’s spike leaves lasting anxieties – Pasadena Star News |
| Certain folks would like to tell you that inflation is cured.
And in some ways, if you track inflation by the Consumer Price Index, there is some truth to the thesis that the cost of living has returned to its normal, modestly upward path.
Ponder a California inflation index from my trusty spreadsheet, which averaged four decades’ worth of annual changes in regional price indexes for Los Angeles-Orange County, San Diego and San Francisco. [Article] |
| by , Pasadena Star News. 2026-01-15 |
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| LA is giving away food carts to street vendors. Here’s how to apply | LAist |
| Sidewalk vendors can now apply to receive a free, health-code-compliant food vending cart through a new program launched in a partnership between the county and the city of Los Angeles. [Article] |
| by , . 2026-01-15 |
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| LA federal judge hears DHS bid to dismiss immigrants’ lawsuit; no ruling yet – Daily News |
| A Los Angeles federal judge on Thursday declined to make a final ruling on a bid by the Trump administration to dismiss a closely watched lawsuit in which Southern California residents, day laborers and advocacy groups accused the U.S. Department of Homeland Security of “abducting and disappearing” community members using unlawful stop and warrantless arrest tactics and confining detainees without access to attorneys. [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Daily News. 2026-01-15 |
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| LA County Approves ICE-Free Zones Ordinance Development |
| The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion by Supervisors Lindsey P. Horvath and Chair Hilda L. Solis initiating development of an ordinance to establish ICE-Free Zones across County-owned and County-controlled properties.
The board action directs County Counsel to draft and return an ordinance for board consideration within 30 days. [Article] |
| by , . 2026-01-15 |
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| California Combats Largest Mushroom Poisoning Outbreak in the Country | KQED |
| State health officials on Wednesday issued their second warning this season to avoid mushroom foraging as illness and deaths from eating wild mushrooms known as death caps rise to unprecedented highs.
Thirty-five people have gotten sick so far this season, three needed liver transplants, and three died, compared to a typical year that sees only three to five cases. Doctors worry more cases are coming amid a “super bloom” of death caps, sparked by early rains and warm temperatures in the fall. [Article] |
| by , . 2026-01-15 |
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| The eternally filthy parks of Los Angeles County – Daily News |
| A couple of weeks ago, I took a walk at Magic Johnson Park, a large park in the Willowbrook neighborhood of South Los Angeles. The Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation Department describes it so: “This 104-acre recreation area, named after basketball Hall of Famer, Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson, is ideal for outdoor activities such as family or corporate gatherings, festivals and large sports activities. The focal points of the park are the beautiful fishing lakes, open green space and a popular walking path.” [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Daily News. 2026-01-15 |
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| California's Delta is in poor ecological health, scientists say - Los Angeles Times |
| California’s biggest rivers converge in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, the waterways and wetlands forming an ecosystem where fresh water meets salt water from San Francisco Bay, and where native fish historically flourished.
Every few years, dozens of scientists examine the environmental health of the estuary in a report card that considers water flows, wildlife and habitat, as well as other factors. Their latest shows the bay is mostly in fair condition and stable, but the Delta is “mostly in poor condition and declining.”
According to the State of Our Estuary report, less fresh water has been flowing through the Delta in recent years, which creates “chronic artificial drought conditions” and harms fish.
To learn more about the findings, I called Christina Swanson, a biologist who for more than two decades has worked on the assessments. One reason the Delta’s health is declining, she said, is that giant state and federal pumps, as well as those of other entities, are taking more water out of rivers and the Delta, “degrading the environmental and ecological conditions that species need to survive and to thrive.”
“The amount of water that we’re taking out of the system, it’s too much,” Swanson said, and it has “been increasing for years, despite the fact that we know that it’s an environmental problem.”
The new report, the first since 2019, was prepared by the San Francisco Estuary Institute, an independent environmental research organization, together with the San Francisco Estuary Partnership. It was supported with federal funds that are funneled through the state for water initiatives.
California’s largest estuary provides vital habitat for fish including Chinook salmon, steelhead, green sturgeon, longfin smelt and Delta smelt, but the numbers of many native fish have declined over the last few decades.
On the positive side, the researchers found that wet years such as 2023 still allow some fish to rebound, at least locally, especially near floodplains that people have worked to restore. [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-01-15 |
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| L.A. County green-lights initial phase of La Brea Tar Pits revamp |
| The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has approved an updated approach for the revamp of the La Brea Tar Pits and Page Museum in Mid-Wilshire.
A Weiss/Manfredi-designed master plan for the complex, initially approved in February 2025, calls for a renovation and expansion of the existing Page Museum, as well as reconfiguration of the 13-acre surroundings with new entrances from surrounding corridors such as Wilshire and 6th Street, as well as improved landscaping and vegetation. [Article] |
| by , . 2026-01-15 |
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| If California has record revenue, why do school districts say they need more money? | LAist |
| Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed record levels of public funding for K-12 schools, but in several Southern California school districts declining enrollment and rising costs may still lead to cuts next school year. [Article] |
| by , . 2026-01-15 |
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| New LA Metro ‘care-based’ division adds flexible approach to safety on trains, buses, stations – Daily News |
| When someone brandishes a weapon on a Metro train or bus, sworn officers should respond.
But what if a homeless person is riding without paying and taking up several seats? Or a mentally ill individual is screaming at passengers? Most times, these calls do not warrant an armed response.
That’s where the new LA Metro Care-Based Services Division comes in. [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Daily News. 2026-01-15 |
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| Why almost none of the homes burned in LA have been rebuilt since last year’s fires | Grist |
| The Associated Press this week reported a stunning fact: Of the 13,000 homes destroyed a year ago in the extraordinary wildfires in and around Los Angeles, fewer than a dozen have been rebuilt.
The massive, fast-moving wildfires that tore through Los Angeles County last January directly killed at least 31 people and sickened many more, torching more than 16,000 structures in total. With an economic toll estimated as high as $275 billion, the 2025 Los Angeles fires may be the costliest disaster in U.S. history [Article] |
| by , . 2026-01-15 |
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| Federal government has no right to California voters' sensitive data, judge rules | LAist |
| A federal judge ruled today that the Trump administration is not entitled to personal information belonging to California’s 23 million voters. Judge David O. Carter made the ruling. [Article] |
| by , . 2026-01-15 |
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| Unhoused women on Skid Row face dire health outcomes. This doctor wants to change that | LAist |
| Standing on a busy street in Skid Row on a recent sunny day, Mary Marfisee tried to block out street noise as she popped her stethoscope into her ears. Dozens of people were milling about. Dogs barked. Music blared. A constant thrum of cars drove past.
But Marfisee is used to the commotion. [Article] |
| by , . 2026-01-15 |
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| County plans new teen centers | News | avpress.com |
| The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved more than $4 million in funding Tuesday for four new teen center projects, including at Jackie Robinson Park in Sun Village and Stephen Sorensen Park in Lake Los Angeles.
The projects will create a dedicated teen-centered spaces, titled “Our SPOT and Well-Being,” to be constructed by the LA County Department of Parks and Recreation. [Article] |
| by , . 2026-01-15 |
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| How Altadena businesses are trying to recover from the Eaton Fire - CalMatters |
| A year after the Eaton Fire, some small business owners in Altadena are striving to rebuild, in some cases while also grappling with being displaced from homes that burned down or were severely damaged.
For others, such as Steve’s Pets Store owner Carrie Meyers, it’s just too much.
“People want me back,” Meyers said. “But I don’t know if we can survive up there. No one lives there … mentally I’m not there.” [Article] |
| by , CalMatters. 2026-01-15 |
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| LA County officials weigh major cuts to homeless programs | LA Local |
| Facing a loss of state and federal funding and increased costs, Los Angeles County officials are considering cutting homeless services and programs by more than 25% in the next budget year. [Article] |
| by , . 2026-01-15 |
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| L.A. sees 16% drop in film and TV shoot days compared to 2024 - Los Angeles Times |
| It was another tough year for film and television production in Los Angeles as the total shoot days for 2025 dropped 16.1% compared to the previous year, according to a new report.
Last year’s 19,694 shoot days was the lowest total since 2020, according to the nonprofit FilmLA, which tracks filming in the greater L.A. area. In 2024, that total was 23,480 shoot days.
The drop in filming comes as L.A. continues to battle runaway production to other states and countries, as well as the continued effects on the industry of the pandemic and the 2023 dual writers’ and actors’ strikes, as well as cutbacks in spending at studios.
The production decline has left many in Hollywood without work for months or even years, leading to a widespread lobbying effort last year to bolster the state’s film and TV production incentive program. An increased annual cap, as well as expansion of eligibility criteria, was passed by lawmakers last year, buoying the industry’s hopes that filming could return to the Golden State.
The new inclusion of 20-minute shows to the qualification categories could also lead to more production in L.A., particularly for TV comedies, FilmLA said. [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-01-15 |
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