Advertise on podcast: LA Podcast

Alissa, Mike, and Rachel on the 2 a.m. union deal that prevented an LAUSD strike. A major hack of sensitive LAPD information causes City Attorney Hydee Feldstein-Soto to lose her police endorsement. Mad about pricey LA28 tickets? So are LA’s councilmembers. Then: how a whisper network of accusers ousted Eric Swalwell from the governor’s race — and Congress. LAist: “A late-night labor deal averts LAUSD strike and keeps schools open. Here are the details” “The mayor’s role was a mixture of shuttle diplomacy, jumping from room to room, and convening senior leaders together into the wee hours”: LA Material reports on how Mayor Karen Bass helped close the deal during negotiations Some LAUSD board members apologized to parents for waiting so long to share information about the school day How will the district pay for it? Especially with declining enrollment? LAUSD doesn’t actually know A trove of “337,000 files, including some of the LAPD’s most closely guarded records” were leaked in a major data hack of a third-party file system used to store documents regarding LAPD litigation Reporter Liz Chou was the first to get a statement about the hack from the city attorney’s office, which initially tried to downplay the magnitude The Los Angeles Police Protective League then rescinded its endorsement of City Attorney Hydee Feldstein-Soto  Councilmember Ysabel Jurado introduced a motion to get more answers about the hack and what city systems were affected Alissa covered a similar Metro hack and how it impacted riders last month Ten photos of City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson listening to the City Clerk read a list of lawsuit settlement payouts into the record for council approval, totaling $5,735,650.72 LA28 has an estimated $4 billion in contracts that it’s trying to award to local businesses. But what “local” means is riling up councilmembers, who want the definition to include more city of LA businesses Are expensive LA28 tickets the only way the city can break even? Good analysis from California state budget advisor Jason Sisney LA28’s human rights strategy is finally public but anti-trafficking advocates say it just pays “lip service” to prevention Alissa has more details about all the recent LA28 encounters with city officials in her Torched news roundup San Francisco Chronicle: “Ex-staffer says Eric Swalwell, candidate for California governor, sexually assaulted her Politico: “The whisper network that caught up to Eric Swalwell” Mike’s interviews at What’s Next, Los Angeles include gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer, Raymond Meza, chair of the LA City Charter Reform Commission, and LA mayoral candidates Nithya Raman, Rae Huang, and Adam Miller Alissa and Rachel will be appearing at Torched LA Live at frank.radio on Thursday night — all details here, plus a week’s worth of events celebrating Torched’s 2nd birthday, including a screening of the documentary Changing Lanes on April 20 in Santa Monica Mayor Caroline Torosis LA Forward’s Spring Into Action fundraiser is April 25, honoring Dr. Loraine Lundquist, EAA Union, and Cofax This week’s episode was produced by Sophie Bridges The reporting and analysis you hear in the show is put together by our rotating cast of producers and co-hosts every week. All opinions expressed on the show are solely those of co-hosts and may not represent the views of LA Forward Alissa Walker writes the newsletter Torched, tracking LA’s megaevent progress. Find her at @awalkerinla on Instagram and @awalkerinla.bsky.social on Bluesky Mike Bonin is the executive director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at CalState LA, and can be found at @mikebonin on Instagram and @mikebonin.bsky.social on Bluesky Rachel Reyes is an LA native and community organizer. Follow her advocacy and antics at @rchrys on Instagram

Mike, Rachel, and Laura reveal the troubling story of the Neighbors First dark money network that’s mucking up LA City Council elections, including previously unreported details. Then: the latest in the ongoing Measure ULA saga, and a potential new progressive revenue stream for housing and basic services in the city of Long Beach Details about the dark money network in Los Angeles were first shared by Rob Quan, including images of the mailers and billboards  Mike followed up and dives much deeper for a piece in Think Forward CalMatters wrote about the emergence of “Govern for California” as a political force back in 2022 Nielsen Werkasamer, the law firm at the hub of the dark money network, played a key role in ousting progressive officials in San Francisco like DA Chesa Boudin, and flipping control of SF City Hall The law firm also played a key role in passage and defense of Proposition 22, the 2020 ballot measure that stripped workers rights for Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash drivers The local arms of the dark money network are Vibrant LA and Neighbors First, which have websites that tell you zilch about who they are In the 2024 Los Angeles elections, a local network called Thrive LA emerged to try to knock out progressive candidates. (They’re still around.) A piece in The Nation co-authored by Mike covered the story in depth LA’s Housing Department is proposing an allocation of $360 million in Measure ULA money to fund 80 projects, construction of 1,528 new units and repairs to more than 2,500 affordable units Anti-tax groups like the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and the California Business Roundtable submitted 1.3 million signatures for ballot measure that would require two-thirds vote for local special taxes, cap transfer taxes at 0.11%, and repeal all the transfer taxes that exceed that cap LA’s City Council formed a new Ad Hoc Committee to consider reforms to Measure ULA, and is studying potential impacts of changes. Critics of ULA say the potential changes do not go far enough In Long Beach, a coalition of renter advocates and firefighters are pushing a proposal to tax wealthy homeowners to pay for road repairs, new housing, and new fire stations. Advocates call it the ‘fair share’ tax proposal Listen to this week’s episodes of What’s Next, Los Angeles, featuring interviews with gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer, and Raymond Meza, chair of the LA City Charter Reform Commission. And don’t miss recent interviews with LA mayoral candidates Nithya Raman, Rae Huang, and Adam Miller (Apple Podcasts, Spotify) This week’s episode was produced by Sophie Bridges. The reporting and analysis you hear in the show is put together by our rotating cast of producers and co-hosts every week. All opinions expressed on the show are solely those of co-hosts and may not represent the views of LA Forward Mike Bonin is the executive director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at CalState LA, and can be found at @mikebonin on Instagram and @mikebonin.bsky.social on Bluesky Rachel Reyes is an LA native and community organizer. Follow her advocacy and antics at @rchrys on Instagram Laura Raymond works on housing campaigns and strategic initiatives in Los Angeles at ljraymondstrategies.com

Scott, Mike, and Godfrey go long on Metro’s greenlighting of a major regional transit expansion – the northern extension of the K Line – and the politics that almost derailed the action. Plus, what recent polls say about LA Mayor Karen Bass’s reelection chances, and political attacks that backfired in the race for City Controller and Council District 9. Metro’s approval of the K Line northern extension promises to fill a missing link in the region’s network, connecting Hollywood Bowl, West Hollywood, Cedars-Sinai, and the Grove, different rail lines, as well as major bus lines, by 2040 The project was approved after a dramatic week of negotiations, protests, and public advocacy, with transit advocates warning Bass was trying to delay or kill the project. Bass strongly objected to the characterization but her public statements only exacerbated the fears Bass tried to calm the residents of Lafayette Square, a historically Black neighborhood worried about the impacts of tunneling, comparing the K Line to the history of nearby Sugar Hill, an affluent Black neighborhood that was devastated by the construction of the 10 Freeway Although Bass and Supervisor Lindsey Horvath – one of the project’s biggest champions –  reached a kumbaya moment and jointly claimed credit for progress on the project, it felt like yet another chapter in an ongoing feud between the two public officials LA Material: “Why is everyone so mad about Metro’s K Line extension vote?”  New polls in the mayor’s race show Bass struggling in her bid to win a second term. A poll from LMU’s Center for the Study of Los Angeles put Nithya Raman in first place by nearly two-to-one, with the mayor only .4% ahead of community organizer Rae Huang. The poll’s methodology was controversial, and many decried it as an outlier UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs released its own poll, showing Bass with 25%, ahead of Spencer Pratt with 11%, Raman with 9% and Huang and Adam Miller with 3% each. The Luskin poll showed 40% undecided Jim Newton on the potential Bass-Pratt runoff at CalMatters: “Top-two race in Los Angeles makes strange political bedfellows” When Controller Kenneth Mejia’s campaign qualified for and received public matching funds, challenger Zack Sokoloff said he was exploiting a loophole in the program’s rules and tried to block Mejia’s access to the funds. Liz Chou of LA Reporter talked to Zokoloff’s campaign consultant The LA Times published a story about CD 9 candidate Esturado Mazariegos’s 2009 arrest on a gun charge – a story opponent Jose Ugarte had been hinting about on What’s Next, Los Angeles last fall – but Mazariegos shared an emotional story about how the arrest was a turning point in his life and prompted him to turn to activism and public service As election season heats up, be sure to listen to subscribe to Mike’s podcast What’s Next, Los Angeles to hear interviews with candidates all over LA County Support What’s Next, Los Angeles and LA Podcast by becoming a paid subscriber at thinkforward.la. We’re already planning our next paid subscribers-only event!  This week’s episode was produced by Kristen Torres The reporting and analysis you hear in the show is put together by our rotating cast of producers and co-hosts every week. All opinions expressed on the show are solely those of co-hosts and may not represent the views of LA Forward Scott Frazier is an original co-host of LA Podcast  Mike Bonin is the Executive Director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at CalState LA, and can be found at @mikebonin on Instagram or @mikebonin.bsky.social Godfrey Plata is the Deputy Director of LA Forward and can be found at @godfreyplata on Instagram

Alissa, Mike, and Sammy discuss the resignation of Janisse Quiñones as head of LADWP and what this will mean for LA’s clean energy goals. Then, takeaways from the first LA mayoral debate and how climate is factoring into the governor’s race. And a new baseball season means more complaints about how the Dodgers can be doing more for the community. LADWP CEO Janisse Quiñones stepped down earlier this month to return to Puerto Rico and work on modernizing the grid Sammy’s excellent story about Quiñones leaving describes the role as “one of the most important roles in global climate policy” — and she helped push forward that vision LA Mayor Karen Bass named David Hanson as interim director. He’s worked at DWP two decades, starting as an electrical mechanic The LADWP board has almost completely turned over under Bass, and, in addition, four out of five of her Fire Commissioners have also stepped down If you want to catch up on LA’s clean energy goals and all the various colors of hydrogen, listen to the last episode where Sammy joined us The LA Local: “Bass orders 60,000 streetlights to get solar upgrade in 2-year plan” Meanwhile, LA’s City Council advanced a plan to raise streetlight assessments, with ballots going out April 17 And Councilmembers Katy Yaroslavsky and Eunisses Hernandez announced their own “solar surge” A general reminder to read India Mandelkern’s excellent book: Electric Moons: A Social History of Street Lighting in Los Angeles Watch the first LA mayoral debate sponsored by Streets for All and Housing Action Coalition. It was unusually friendly turf for a candidate — one of the moderators used to work for Nithya and the other helped recruit Nithya to rum for mayor So far, only Rae Huang has a climate platform Nithya Raman is talking about parks as a neighborhood-cooling solution — and look at those Griffith Park bike lanes! Raman was also removed from the AQMD board by Bass just before she declared for mayor, and just after this bizarre vote where an AI-powered campaign bot sent 20,000 emails and helped defeat a motion to phase out gas-powered appliances (Raman voted yes, but it failed) Watch Sammy’s climate forum with governor candidates and read his take on the governor’s race Politico: “Tom Steyer’s climate pivot signals new playbook for Dems”LA Material: “Why USC Really Spiked the Gubernatorial Debate” Alissa’s quoted in Bill Shaikin’s LA Times story on walking to Dodger Stadium As election season heats up, be sure to listen to subscribe to Mike’s podcast What’s Next, Los Angeles to hear interviews with candidates all over LA County And support What’s Next, Los Angeles and LA Podcast by becoming a paid subscriber at thinkforward.la. We’re already planning our next paid subscribers-only event  This week’s episode was produced by Sophie Bridges Alissa Walker writes the newsletter Torched Mike Bonin is the executive director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at CalState LA Sammy Roth writes the newsletter Climate-Colored Goggles The reporting and analysis you hear in the show is put together by our rotating cast of producers and co-hosts every week. All opinions expressed on the show are solely those of co-hosts and may not represent the views of LA Forward

Alissa, Rachel, and Sophie discuss the bombshell sexual abuse accusations against the late labor leader Cesar Chavez, including by Chavez’s fellow labor leader Dolores Huerta and two women who were abused as children. A reckoning is underway to erase Chavez’s likeness from public space and rename the March 31 holiday honoring Chavez to Farmworkers Day. Then: LAUSD teachers and staff are set to strike April 14. If you or someone you know is dealing with sexual abuse, please reach out to RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline. Help is available 24/7 by texting HOPE to 64673 The New York Times: “Cesar Chavez, a Civil Rights Icon, Is Accused of Abusing Girls for Years” “I am nearly 96 years old, and for the last 60 years have kept a secret because I believed that exposing the truth would hurt the farmworker movement I have spent my entire life fighting for,” Dolores Huerta wrote in her statement Before the NY Times story dropped, United Farm Workers issued a statement Tuesday canceling all Cesar Chavez Day related activities: “Far more troubling are allegations involving abuse of young women or minors. Allegations that very young women or girls may have been victimized are crushing” The Los Angeles Times, also published a story before the NY Times story: “’Profoundly shocking' allegations against Cesar Chavez spark soul-searching in movement Change was swift: Supervisor Janice Hahn was the first to call for a renaming of the March 31 holiday celebrating Chavez’s birthday; California House Speaker Robert Rivas introduced the legislation to change the name to Farmworkers Day that day, and LA Mayor Karen Bass held press conference also calling for a change to Farm Workers Day “As the UFW looks to move forward, with an understanding of Chavez’s conduct that contradicts his longtime use as a symbol, perhaps they can look to feminism for guidance. Feminists, after all, have learned how to commit to a principle even as one must discard a cult of personality,” Moira Donegan wrote for The Guardian Meanwhile, UFW held a rally at a federal courthouse in Fresno to protest the Trump administration cutting farmworker pay Many Boyle Heights residents didn’t want Brooklyn Avenue to be named for Chavez in the first place Statues boxed, signs covered, murals defaced or repainted: the erasure of Chavez’s name and likeness from public space was just as swift “Everything should be named for the martyrs of the Farm Workers Movement. Every street should be named after them,” Huerta told Latino USA LAist: “LAUSD's teacher and staff unions will strike if no deal is reached by mid-April” “One undisputed example of contracts that went awry is $6 million allotted to AllHere, a tech startup that was hired to design an all-purpose, artificial intelligence chatbot for L.A. Unified. The district spent about $3 million of that contract for a chatbot that was never fully deployed and quickly withdrawn from service when AllHere collapsed financially,” reports the LA Times  The FBI hasn’t commented on why Superintendent Alberto Carvalho was detained and investigated — and handcuffed outside his home — but sources have said it’s because of the AllHere chatbot contract One reason LAUSD’s budget is in trouble is due to payouts for sexual misconduct and abuse cases This week’s episode was produced by Sophie Bridges The reporting and analysis you hear in the show is put together by our rotating cast of producers and co-hosts every week. All opinions expressed on the show are solely those of co-hosts and may not represent the views of LA Forward

Alissa, Rachel, and Mike discuss LA city’s six-year journey to end the racist and ineffective practice of pretextual stops by police. For the first time in a decade, the number of homeless people who died in LA County went down, not up; from a high of seven deaths per day to six deaths per day. Then: the Noma pop-up in Silver Lake is protested after allegations of abuse by Danish chef René Redzepi resurface, fueling a reckoning over how restaurants treat workers. Our LA Podcast party for paid Think Forward subscribers is coming up this Saturday, March 21! Subscribe today at ThinkForward.la to join us Alissa, Rachel, and Mike discuss LA city’s six-year journey to end the racist and ineffective practice of pretextual stops by police. For the first time in a decade, the number of homeless people who died in LA County went down, not up; from a high of seven deaths per day to six deaths per day. Then: the Noma pop-up in Silver Lake is protested after allegations of abuse by Danish chef René Redzepi resurface, fueling a reckoning over how restaurants treat workers. Our LA Podcast party for paid subscribers is coming up this Saturday, March 21! Subscribe now to join us. Here’s a personal plea from Alissa LAist: “Black and Latino Angelenos are overrepresented in traffic stops used to investigate serious crimes” The city’s Chief Legislative Analyst office report noted Black people made up one third of all pretextual stops, despite being only 8% of the city’s population. LAPD released its own report, and Catalyst California released a report showing the ineffectiveness of such stops Meanwhile, traffic enforcement of actually dangerous driving has decreased since 2020 Listen to Mike’s interview with Chauncee Smith of Catalyst California and Leslie Cooper Johnson of the Community Coalition NACTO’s 2020 statement: “The harassment and injustice that people of color, particularly Black people, experience at the hands of law enforcement on transit and in streets and public spaces is unacceptable and wrong” During a joint hearing of the transportation and unarmed response committees, Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson testified that he had been stopped four times in a city vehicle, including the previous Wednesday A new poll shows LA Mayor Karen Bass is polling very poorly for an incumbent, with just 20% support Read the LA County Department of Public Health report: “Lives Lost : Mortality Trends and Prevention Opportunities For People Experiencing Homelessness in LA County, 2015-2024” The Guardian: ​​”LA county reports first drop in deaths of unhoused people in a decade” But as the LA Times reports, “health officials warn that steep cuts to federal and state homeless services threaten to reverse the progress achieved over the last two years” LA City Council had to overrule City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto to fund $107 million in tenant aid after her office tried to end the Legal Aid Foundation contract Watch Feldstein Soto’s very disingenuous campaign video claiming she supports renters The famous Copenhagen restaurant Noma was just about to start an LA pop-up for $1500 a person when new allegations surfaced about chef René Redzepi Former Noma employee Jason Ignacio White has been collecting allegations of abuse from workers on his Instagram Protests at Noma LA have been organized with One Fair Wage, which has been fair wages for restaurant workers Eater LA: “Noma LA Sponsors Exit Amid Abuse Allegations” Redzepi stepped away from Noma — posting a statement and video — but the protests have continued LA Times food critic Jenn Harris wrote that she would not review Noma LA. “Normally, an event of this scale would warrant coverage. Instead, I found myself making no plans to attend, and even rethinking how I approach my job” As Meghan McCarron and Julia Moskin write at the New York Times, local chefs were promised spillover economic impact by Noma coming to town that never really happened. And some of them have joined the protests This episode was produced by Sophie Bridges The reporting and analysis you hear in the show is put together by our rotating cast of producers and co-hosts every week. All opinions expressed on the show are solely those of co-hosts and may not represent the views of LA Forward

Mike, Godfrey and Oscar dive into two big charter reform debates: oversight of the LAPD and the role of LA’s city controller, which current Controller Kenneth Mejia is turning into a public battle. The Trump administration is planning to evict thousands of immigrant families, but community groups are fighting back. Plus, the proposed “Billionaire’s Tax” that’s dividing California Democrats. COME PARTY WITH US! Join all the LA Podcast co-hosts and producers on Saturday, March 21! This gathering is exclusively for paid subscribers so sign up today at thinkforward.la to get the invite Godfrey is quoted in this LAist story by Frank Stoltze: “LA commission recommends expanding City Council power over LAPD” Meanwhile, even some commissioners are expressing confusion about the significance of the recommendation The commission originally punted on the issue entirely before facing pushback from the public, advocacy organizations, and Councilmembers Eunisses Hernandez and Hugo Soto-Martinez, who wrote letters proposing specific and significant reforms The debate over whether the City Council can set policy for the LAPD gained new energy when Chief Jim McDonnell flatly stated he would not enforce a law against immigration agents wearing masks, and a later executive order from Mayor Karen Bass instructing LAPD to enforce the ban and train their body cameras on immigration operations. A recent Police Commission meeting revealed LAPD’s enforcement of the mayor’s orders has been minimal The subject of police liability — and police immunity — is covered by UCLA’s Joanna Schwartz in her excellent book Shielded: How the Police Became Untouchable The commission has also been looking at ways to rein in LAPD liability costs, which have resulted in massive taxpayer-funded settlements, as often highlighted by the City Controller City Controller Kenneth Mejia has been marshaling public support on social media to fight back against efforts to limit his power, including the suggestion to add a CFO Public comment was overwhelmed with over 1,000 pages of written comments supporting Mejia’s agenda after he issued pleas to back his recommendations Mejia has also been pushing for expanded resources and greater oversight of other elected officials at the same time. Here's more on his vision — including a Capital Infrastructure Plan! — on Spectrum's "Inside the Issues," and his history of LA's budget priorities You can watch the full March 7 charter commission meeting hearing here A mixed-status family is a household with members holding different citizenship or immigration statuses, often consisting of U.S. citizen children living with undocumented parents or relatives. A new proposed regulation from the Trump administration to deny these households rent subsidies could have a devastating impact on families living in public housing or using federal housing vouchers. More than one-third of those families are in California Capital & Main: “Community organizers in Los Angeles are rallying in opposition to a Trump administration rule that they say will displace and fracture immigrant families, increase homelessness and potentially throttle rent collections to the point that local housing authorities might be forced to shutter some of their stock” LA officials are fighting the policy, warning it could force 1,700 local families into homelessness Weigh in on the proposed policy by making a public comment or attending one of many virtual teach-ins organized by Keep Families Together, and you can also sign up for email updates California voters may get a chance to impose a one-time 5% tax on the state’s estimated 200 billionaires in November. The proposal is dividing Democrats, and causing concern the uber rich may flee the state LA Forward, CHIRLA and dozens of other groups are planning a mass mobilization, LA Strikes Back: A Call to Action, this Saturday, March 14 at 9 a.m. at LA Trade Tech College. Details and registration here This episode was produced by Sophie Bridges The reporting and analysis you hear in the show is put together by our rotating cast of producers and co-hosts every week. All opinions expressed on the show are solely those of co-hosts and may not represent the views of LA Forward

Alissa, Mike, and Godfrey report back from the California Democratic Party state convention where endorsement battles plague the governor’s race. Will Republicans end up nabbing the top two spots on the November ballot? LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho is placed on leave after an FBI raid of his home and office. And Metro wants you to ride the D — with crop tops to match — on May 8. Join all the LA Podcast co-hosts and producers on Saturday, March 21! This gathering is exclusively for paid subscribers so sign up today at thinkforward.la. Here are the full CADEM endorsement results CalMatters: “CA Democrats can’t agree on endorsement for governor. Will Republicans benefit?” Columnists like the Los Angeles Times’ George Skelton are arguing for some Democratic candidates to drop out Watch Mike’s video which provides the critical analysis that the candidates being urged to drop out are almost all people of color Meanwhile, the race for insurance commissioner is interesting, but who would want this job? An early morning FBI raid of LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho’s home and office appears to be tied to an AI chatbot that Carvalho championed The chatbot, named Ed, was made by the company AllHere which collapsed in 2024 when its CEO was indicted for defrauding investors. Carvalho said he’d set up a task force to investigate the company but never did After meeting for a total of seven hours, the LAUSD school board placed Carvalho on paid leave and named Chief of School Operations Andres Chait as interim superintendent SEIU Local 99, which represents educational workers, put out a statement calling for more accountability. SEIU Local 99 and UTLA had previously planned a rally on March 18 to draw attention to proposed layoffs Harbor Peace Patrols first broke the news of Carvalho’s home being raided. The group which had formed to track immigration raids staging on Terminal Island recently celebrated a win when federal agents packed up their operations The Graffiti Ghost Towers are being bought by developer Kali P. Chaudhuri — but he doesn’t want to save the graffiti Artist Sayre Gomez built an astonishing sculpture of the towers Unfortunately for Alissa’s 2025 predictions, but fortunately for everyone else, the D line extension is finally opening on May 8! But the even bigger news was that Metro made ‘Ride the D’ shirts and the internet went wild Alissa wrote about the astonishing demand for ‘Ride the D’ t-shirts Some LA City charter reform recommendations are moving forward, including expanding the council to 25 members and ranked choice voting starting in 2032 Plus, LA City Council votes to make Unarmed Crisis Response a permanent city program. But $40 million a year is needed to make the program citywide This episode was produced by Sophie Bridges The reporting and analysis you hear in the show is put together by our rotating cast of producers and co-hosts every week. All opinions expressed on the show are solely those of co-hosts and may not represent the views of LA Forward

Scott, Alissa, and Rachel dry off after yet another flash flooding event and absorb a new report that says LA County could eliminate half of its pavement. Casey Wasserman is leaving his own company but will apparently stay on as LA28 chair (?!?) as more elected officials call for him to step down. And LA’s City Council searches for more ways to not build more housing near transit by delaying implementation of SB79 as many places as possible. Coming up on Saturday, March 21 –a fun gathering exclusively for paid subscribers with LA Podcast co-hosts and producers! Become a paid subscriber at thinkforward.la to join us and to keep this podcast coming out every week Melrose stores flooded again and business owners are blaming the city’s lack of response. Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky is calling for an investigation: "The response was delayed, inadequate, and local businesses were left dealing with flooding and damage” Elsewhere: food delivery bots can’t swim, Santa Monica channel in Rustic Canyon lost all its concrete, Trader Joe’s parking lot floods store in Silver Lake Alissa would like to remind everyone we would have had stormwater gardens to stop the flooding on Melrose if former councilmember Paul Koretz hadn’t killed the Uplift Melrose project The new DepaveLA study from Accelerate Resilience LA shows that LA County contains 488 square miles of pavement — that’s about the size of the city of LA — and nearly half of it may be unnecessary Accelerate Resilience LA’s Devon Provo writes about LA County’s sustainability plan, which calls for “the first explicit depaving target from a major U.S. public agency, signaling an emerging shift in how policymakers are rethinking infrastructure” — but it’s only 1,600 acres by 2045 There are incentives for property owners to reduce impermeable surfaces through Measure W, also known as the Safe Clean Water Program Flooding happens pretty much exactly where we paved over old creeks, which are easy to see thanks to maps from UC Irvine’s Flood Lab that show flood risk. Unsurprisingly, LA’s Black communities would be hit the hardest in a major flood Last Friday, after dozens of the artists he represents fled his agency due to his ties with sex traffickers Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, Casey Wasserman announced he was selling his entire company and issued a heartfelt apology to his employees Yet he will stay on as LA28 chair, because the board voted to keep him. Here’s a really good Guardian story that sums it all up, with some very angry quotes from Councilmember Monica Rodriguez Alissa wrote about “LA28's big gamble” over at Torched LA Mayor Karen Bass finally said she thought Wasserman should step down CNN: LA mayor calls for head of 2028 Olympics to step down over Epstein ties  West Hollywood had a rally with survivors and Councilmember John Erickson said he was introducing a resolution to call for Wasserman’s resignation More state representatives have called on Wasserman to resign, including a statement from the LA County delegation (although some said they didn’t know they were signed on) Sports Illustrated’s Michael Rosenberg puts the emails in context and argues why Wasserman is a liability NOlympics LA: LA28 Chair Casey Wasserman: A Lifelong Pattern of Abuse  LAist: “How much housing is LA actually building?” LA’s planning department has delivered a plan to delay SB79 effectuation (also in StoryMap form), the new state law requiring cities to build more (as in taller and denser) housing around high-quality transit stops Come learn about SB79 implementation on Thursday evening and why LA Forward, Abundant Housing LA, and others are supporting Option C in the planning department's proposal Meanwhile, Beverly Hills has a thoughtful plan to reluctantly implement SB79 (which the city only has to do for a ¼-mile area around at the three new D line stations)  Although Beverly Hills is also forced to approve multiple “builders remedy” projects because the city didn’t build enough housing This episode was produced by Sophie Bridges (allegedly) The reporting and analysis you hear in the show is put together by our rotating cast of producers and co-hosts every week. All opinions expressed on the show are solely those of co-hosts and may not represent the views of LA Forward

Alissa, Mike, Rachel, and Olga unpack Nithya Raman’s surprise mayoral run. How the LA city councilmember’s last-minute decision to challenge incumbent Karen Bass has rattled establishment Democrats and angered activists on the left — and why comparisons to progressive officials in other cities don’t really hold up. Then: Trump’s attorney general Pam Bondi is suddenly worried about crime in Culver City. Become a paid subscriber at thinkforward.la to keep this podcast weekly. A fun gathering exclusively for paid subscribers with LA Pod co-hosts and producers is coming up Saturday, March 21! New York Times: “Rising Progressive Star Shakes Up Race for Los Angeles Mayor” Here’s Raman’s campaign video and her first TV interview with NBC LA’s Conan Nolan LA Daily News: “Nithya Raman’s entry tests Karen Bass from the left in Los Angeles mayoral race” More reaction stories from the Los Angeles Times and Politico “Now is not the time for distractions from a political opportunist — especially one who backed the Mayor’s re-election campaign just weeks ago,” said Yvonne Wheeler, president of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO told the LA Times “As Raman scrambles to build a campaign apparatus before the June election, Bass’ supporters have rallied around the embattled incumbent with fresh energy and barely-veiled fury,” writes Melanie Mason at Politico (includes a quote from Mike!) LA Times: “The record of Nithya Raman, L.A. mayoral candidate, may surprise you” Meanwhile, mayoral candidate Rev. Rae Huang got her mic cut at a charter reform meeting about LAPD reform One of Raman’s key platform planks is addressing the city’s streetlight outages. While some councilmembers might prefer dark skies, the truth is that the city needs to raise the streetlight district assessments not increased the 1990s — and Raman has already been messaging this reality to her constituents Read Alissa’s story at Torched about the new SAJE report looking at the financial risks of hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games and how the city could turn a bad deal into a less-bad one And if you need a refresher about who, exactly, is running for mayor, check out Mike’s video about the five front-runners In response to questioning about the Epstein files from Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Attorney General Pam Bondi went off on a bizarre tangent: “Her district includes Culver City, and she’s not talking about any crime in her districts” “Kamlager-Dove shrugged off Bondi’s comment, saying Culver City was known for “breakfast burritos — not crime,” reports the LA Times “The first thing I thought was, ‘What is she talking about?’ said Bryan Fish, the vice mayor of Culver City, whom everyone calls Bubba but doesn’t look like someone whom everyone calls Bubba. ‘The only crime here,’ he added, ‘is like the $18 strawberry at Erewhon,” reports the New York Times Yes, Culver City actually bought a gun store and they’re turning it into 67 units of affordable housing with a preference for teachers This episode was produced by Sophie Bridges The reporting and analysis you hear in the show is put together by our rotating cast of producers and co-hosts every week. All opinions expressed on the show are solely those of co-hosts and may not represent the views of LA Forward

Alissa, Mike, and Memo discuss the “No Secret Police Act,” which requires ICE agents to remove face coverings — and why LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell’s refusal to enforce it is such a red flag. Don Lemon’s federal detention highlights the double standards for LA journalists who are arrested during protests. LA Mayor Karen Bass delivers her (first) state of the city. Plus: why elected officials are calling for LA28 chair Casey Wasserman to step down. At a press conference, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell “described two state laws that were passed by the state legislature in response to the ICE raids — one banning face coverings, the other requiring law enforcement officers to identify themselves — as ‘not a good public policy decision,’” LA Taco reports Mike writes about how McDonnell is setting the city back: “In his 15 months as chief, McDonnell has consistently shown contempt for civilian authority, tolerance for police violence, hostility toward the press, and a drive to militarize LAPD under the guise of mega-event security. He is rebuilding the old LAPD that had only recently been partially dismantled.” After deadly shootings, ICE says it will start using body cameras for transparency (where have we heard that before?). Read Copaganda’s Alex Karakatsanis on why body cameras are bad, actually Attorneys for Keith Porter, Jr.’s family are calling for an investigation of his murder at the hands of an off-duty ICE agent Don Lemon and Georgia Fort were two of four Black journalists detained after covering a protest in St. Paul. Lemon talked more about his arrest on his YouTube channel. ”We’re having a constitutional crisis,” Fort said on Democracy Now! LA Mayor Karen Bass was publicly defending Lemon but hasn’t defended journalists arrested by LAPD at protests, including LA Taco reporter Lexis-Olivier Ray who was detained by LAPD at a protest in downtown the same weekend Adam Rose, deputy director of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, was out sounding the alarm about these arrests and had some very harsh words for Bass Bass delivered her first of two State of the City addresses: here’s the address as delivered and here’s Alissa’s thread from the event LA28 chair Casey Wasserman is facing calls to resign due to associations with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell revealed in the latest Department of Justice release Bass declined to call for Wasserman’s resignation, saying instead: “Ultimately, any decision on the LA28 leadership must be made by the LA28 Board. As you know, they are a separate and independent nonprofit organization." Alissa’s tracking which elected officials, organizations, and clients are calling for Wasserman to step down Lindsey Horvath and Monica Rodriguez both went on TV calling for Wasserman to step down And yes, after we recorded, Horvath opted not to run for LA mayor, but, in a huge surprise, Councilmember Nithya Raman did. We’ll talk about that more next week This episode was produced by Kristen Torres The reporting and analysis you hear in the show is put together by our rotating cast of producers and co-hosts every week. All opinions expressed on the show are solely those of co-hosts and may not represent the views of LA Forward Become a paid subscriber at thinkforward.la  to keep this podcast weekly! A fun gathering exclusively for paid subscribers is coming up Saturday, March 21!

Alissa, Godfrey, and Sophie recount another week of accelerating immigration raids and how Angelenos are organizing against them. Why the “national shutdown” isn’t a general strike (yet). If ICE is going to the Winter Olympics, what does that mean for LA in 2028? And what about the World Cup this summer? And RIP to Shirley Raines who brought dignity, agency, and eyelash extensions to Skid Row residents. LA Taco’s Daily Memo for Wednesday, January 28: “There was a time when 25-40 was the total number of incidents I’d report for a whole week; they just did that in one day” “What we’re seeing now are large numbers of officers to grab anywhere from one to five people, not necessarily questioning them, and then moving out as quickly as possible,” Juan Pablo Orjuela-Parra, an organizer with the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, told the Los Angeles Times TPM: ICE not only looks and acts like a paramilitary — it is one Gavin, wyd? “California has cooperated with more ICE transfers probably than any other state in the country,” California’s governor told Ben Shapiro Meanwhile progressive district attorneys — meaning: not LA’s DA — are banding together to prosecute federal agents: “The group launched Wednesday and calls itself Fight Against Federal Overreach, or FAFO” Highland Park is testing out air raid sirens for ICE raids There’s another community defense training Saturday, February 7 at 11 a.m.; here’s how to sign up Kim Kelly on the difference between a general strike and a national shutdown Yes, ICE is going to the Winter Olympics. Yes, it’s also kind of horribly normal for U.S. law enforcement to be involved in the Olympics — does everyone remember when the LAPD got special permission to carry guns in Paris during the 2024 Summer Olympics?  “ICE, NO GRAZIE!” LAist’s Libby Rainey reported on potential plans to clear unhoused people from around sports venues ahead of megaevents Will LA see a boycott in 2028? Will LA see a boycott this summer? Alissa’s Torched piece focused on “hospitality houses” in what feels like the least hospitable possible environment — and she also reported on the World Cup fan zones announcement Speaking of cognitive dissonance, how about that Home Depot World Cup sponsorship deal? LA Mayor Karen Bass is giving two State of the City addresses; one is Monday, February 2, watch it here Finally, remembering the Skid Row outreach legend Shirley Raines who died at 58 Tune in Tuesday, February 3 at 7 p.m. for a Measure G teach-in to learn the latest news about LA County’s charter reform initiative This episode was produced by Sophie Bridges The reporting and analysis you hear in the show is put together by our rotating cast of producers and co-hosts every week. All opinions expressed on the show are solely those of co-hosts and may not represent the views of LA Forward Become a paid subscriber at thinkforward.la to keep this podcast weekly! Subscribers-only event is coming soon!

Mike, David, and Carla do a deep-dive on state and local efforts to build and fund — and also stop and kill — housing, while changes are proposed to LA city’s ULA transfer tax, also known as the “mansion tax.” More charter reform proposals advance. Are 23 councilmembers enough? Should 16-year-olds get the right to vote in local elections? Then: California’s mountain lions might finally get endangered species protection. 2025 was a pivotal year for housing legislation in California and Los Angeles, with a slew of new laws and rules taking effect this year to spur housing construction — and the coming year might see even more, as KQED reports Politico’s Liam Dillon reports on LA’s latest strategy to stop/subvert SB 79, the new state law allowing more density in transit-rich areas. Metro also weighed in against SB 79, expressing concern that transit-oriented housing creates opposition to new transit. Reminder to Metro board members that building housing near transit increases transit ridership, which you think would be their goal?  Metro also voted on this as they approved the Sepulveda subway and potentially stall the C line extension to Torrance. Time to dissolve (or seriously reform) the Metro board? Liam also reports on the high-stakes staredown between the state and the city trying to kill affordable housing in Venice Meanwhile, YIMBY Law has filed a lawsuit to overturn Gavin Newsom’s executive order blocking SB 9, which would allow new duplexes, in Pacific Palisades The fight over Measure ULA has been brewing for months. Affordable housing advocates proclaim success with more than $1 billion raised. Opponents of the measure contend it’s killing development of multifamily housing in Los Angeles.  Conflicting reports — even in the same publication — argue new apartment construction is down and that multifamily investment is on the rebound Councilmember Nithya Raman, a longtime supporter of Measure ULA, is proposing a ballot measure to exempt multifamily and commercial housing from the transfer tax for 15 years after construction. Raman’s proposal is getting a lot of attention. The council has until February 11 to put something on the June ballot State lawmakers are mulling a proposal to put a $10 billion affordable housing bond before voters in November LA’s Charter Reform Commission is weeding through various proposals. If you can’t find anything to binge on Netflix, watch the full 6 hour, 22 minute meeting — the commission is likely to recommend expanding the size of the City Council from 15 to 23  The commission also seems poised to recommend lowering the voting age for Los Angeles city and LAUSD elections to 16.  There is a national movement to lower the voting age and extend the franchise to 1-6 and 17-year-olds. Liz Chou recently looked at the issue in her LA Reporter newsletter. A ballot measure to lower the threshold to 16 in Culver City failed narrowly last year, getting 49.5% of the vote Here’s the Charter Reform Commission website. Stay involved with LA Forward’s governance reform and CIP working groups. Topics coming up: police reform; the removal/replacement of elected officials for misconduct; establishment of a 2-year budget cycle, ethics, and neighborhood councils California wildlife officials are considering listing mountain lions as threatened. Advocates of the protected status point to the hazards encountered by LA’s beloved Hollywood Hills mountain lion, P-22 In 2022, the wealthy Northern California town of Woodside declared its entire jurisdiction a mountain lion habitat to pause all new housing projects under SB 9 — yep, the same duplex bill that’s being exempted in Palisades — but the decision was later reversed This week’s episode was produced by Sophie Bridges The reporting and analysis you hear in the show is put together by our rotating cast of producers and co-hosts every week. All opinions expressed on the show are solely those of co-hosts and may not represent the views of LA Forward Become a paid subscriber at thinkforward.la to keep LA Pod going. Subscribers-only event coming soon! 

Alissa, Rachel, and Godfrey remember Keith Porter Jr., who was killed by an off-duty ICE agent on New Year’s Eve in Northridge. A new UCLA report shows how Metro’s unarmed ambassadors are helping Metro’s riders. A subway concept advances for the Sepulveda Corridor and Fred Rosen’s monorail might finally be dead. And LA City’s charter reform commission has begun the purge. “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” by Martin Luther King, Jr. On New Year’s Eve, Keith Porter Jr. was killed by off-duty ICE agent Brian Palacios in Northridge, and vigils were held across the city this past week There’s just so much to protest! An anti-ICE protester was blinded by a DHS agent in Santa Ana Meanwhile a new LA City Council motion that advanced would require LAPD to adopt tactics like a “graded response” model ICE raids seem to be intensifying: 10 people were taken across 8 Echo Park locations in 3 hours. Read Blood in the Machine and 404 Media on how tech companies like Palantir are finding neighborhoods to raid Sign up for the Community Self Defense Coalition patrols training and share the information on Instagram Read the Metro ambassador report from UCLA’s Institute of Transportation Studies Streetsblog LA: “UCLA Study Finds Metro Transit Ambassador Program Is Benefitting Metro Riders” And the monorail option for the Sepulveda Pass project MIGHT ACTUALLY BE DEAD but keep your calls coming — Modified Alternative 5 is up for a full Metro board vote this week Nick Andert’s video shows how they picked a hybrid option that’s pretty cool actually LA’s city charter reform process held “the purge” last weekend, where certain reforms are starting to be taken off the table. Here’s the Charter Reform Commission website and a way to join the conversation at Rethink LA Here’s a great policy document with proposed reforms for LA’s Capital Infrastructure Program — a 5 year outlook and 2 year budget, to start! Stay involved with LA Forward’s governance reform and CIP working groups Finally: we’re out of drought after 25 years! Check our progress with Cal Matters’ 2026 California Water Tracker  This week’s episode was produced by Kristen Torres The reporting and analysis you hear in the show is put together by our rotating cast of producers and co-hosts every week. All opinions expressed on the show are solely those of co-hosts and may not represent the views of LA Forward Our first subscriber-only event will be held in 2026! Become a paid subscriber at thinkforward.la and you’ll be the first to know the details

Alissa, Mike, and guest co-host Golden State’s Mariel Garza talk about how local officials commemorated (or didn’t commemorate) the one-year anniversary of the fires, including a shocking statement from Councilmember Traci Park. Reality TV star Spencer Pratt is running for LA mayor. Gavin Newsom delivers his final State of the State address. And right-wing tabloid journalism is coming to the West Coast with the launch of the California Post. “It wasn’t an act of nature. It wasn’t some ‘storm of the century.’ And it wasn’t climate change, and don’t let anybody try to tell you otherwise.” Yep, that’s Councilmember Traci Park at the "They Let Us Burn" rally on the anniversary of the fires. Recent LA Podcast guest co-host Sammy Roth wrote a whole story about Park’s climate denial At the same rally, reality TV star Spencer Pratt announced he was running for LA mayor at what ended up being a very MAGA Palisades rally (but Pratt can’t give interviews until February?) Mike talked to the Los Angeles Times about Pratt: “If you look at the model of who he is as a candidate, it’s similar to Trump: the reality television background; his most visible communication presence is on Twitter, just as Trump’s was. And he’s sort of developing a candidacy around frustration and blowing the system up, just like Trump did.” Mike also said Pratt’s entry into the race could be “perilous” for Bass. LA Mayor Karen Bass did not go out in public the entire day on January 7 Read Mariel’s piece: “14 ways fire victims were failed by government at all levels” LAFD Chief Jaime Moore accepted responsibility for the watered-down after-action report but then news broke that Bass’s office might have been trying to make changes? Sorry, refinements LA Times: “Anger overflows in west Altadena: Where is the accountability for 19 deaths, epic losses?” Supervisor Lindsey Horvath made it sound even more like she’s running for mayor in an interview with CNN’s Elex Michaelson (here’s the transcript) Watch Gavin Newsom’s final State of the State address, with coverage from Politico and commentary by CalMatters’ Dan Walters Why Mariel is excited about a wide-open governor’s race The New York Post officially announced the California Post is launching at the end of the month But lots of other new local publications are launching, like Golden State, the LA Local, and LA Reported  This week’s episode was produced by Kristen Torres The reporting and analysis you hear in the show is put together by our rotating cast of producers and co-hosts every week. All opinions expressed on the show are solely those of co-hosts and may not represent the views of LA Forward Our first subscriber-only event will be held in 2026! Become a paid subscriber at thinkforward.la and you’ll be the first to know the details