Los Angeles

Gov. Gavin Newsom, dressed is brown pants, a black jacket and a grey baseball hat, picks up trash from a homeless encampment.

Commentary

Newsom tries shifting blame for homelessness crisis to local officials

Gov. Gavin Newsom says homelessness is "the biggest scar on the reputation of California" and accuses local officials of dragging their feet to resolve it.

By

Dan Walters

• August 13, 2024

A homeless man wearing a white button up shirt and plaid shorts pushes a wheelchair next to a homeless encampment in Skid Row with the Los Angeles skyline in the background.

Commentary

How Karen Bass is using a charity to prevent more Angelenos from becoming homeless

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has transformed a charity established under her predecessor into a key tool for preventing homelessness.

By

Jim Newton

• August 8, 2024

The exterior of the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration in downtown Los Angeles.

Commentary

Los Angeles County supervisors look to rare reforms that would dilute their power

Three of Los Angeles County's five supervisors are supporting a major overhaul of county governance that would almost double the board's size and establish an elected county executive, which would arguably become California’s second-most powerful office.

By

Dan Walters

• July 30, 2024

Politics

CHP justifies its officers’ use of force at Gaza protests, without providing evidence

“This doesn’t build public trust. Where is the evidence?” said Jeff Wenninger, a former Los Angeles Police lieutenant who oversaw use of force investigations.

By

Sergio Olmos

• July 25, 2024

Rows of yellow voting marking devices while voters fill out their ballots at a polling place inside Assumption Church in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles on March 3, 2020. Photo by Kyle Grillot, Reuters

Commentary

Latinos, renters and presidential politics could extend L.A.’s lurch to the political left

The electorate — who votes and in what numbers — determines local races. LA, once an anchor of conservatism, now rests on the cutting edge of progressive politics.

By

Jim Newton

• July 25, 2024

Carlos Parra, 44, delivers cold beverages and ice to his unhoused neighbors in an industrial part of Los Angeles during a heat wave on Sept. 4, 2022. “For us homeless, it is a little harder to deal with this heat," said Parra. Photo by Pablo Unzueta for CalMatters

Commentary

Homelessness slowed down in Los Angeles. It’s little cause for celebration

Los Angeles County recorded a small decline in its homeless population for the first time in years, and made progress in reducing encampments. It's too early to say if Mayor Karen Bass has successfully turned the corner, especially with other forces at play.

By

Jim Newton

• July 11, 2024

Development near the Ballona Wetlands in the Playa Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles on June 4, 2024. Photo by Zaydee Sanchez for CalMatters

Commentary

Unfinished wetlands from Playa Vista pact capture the promise, perils of California housing

Playa Vista, a West LA community that took decades to build, is an extraordinary accomplishment in a city where housing is notoriously difficult to create. Yet one piece remains: the wetlands restoration. It's being blocked, paradoxically, by environmentalists.

By

Jim Newton

• July 8, 2024

An LAPD helicopter circles the Lincoln Park neighborhood after it was cordoned off as police look for a gunman who shot three police officers, in Los Angeles, on March 08, 2023. Photo by David Swanson, Reuters

Commentary

‘Ghetto birds’: California has yet to reckon with longstanding bias from police helicopters

Police helicopters have long evaded oversight and accountability. Recent scrutiny of the LAPD's Air Support Division shows that law enforcement helicopters perpetuate bias against certain communities and squander taxpayer dollars.

By

Kate McQuarrie

• July 3, 2024

Los Angeles mayoral candidate Rick Caruso points to the crowd at his election-night headquarters in Los Angeles on Nov. 8, 2022. Photo by Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP Photo

Commentary

Rick Caruso is considering another political run. His best shot might be California’s highest office

Despite losing the Los Angeles mayoral race two years ago, billionaire businessman Rick Caruso is showing signs that he's still eyeing political office. His ambitions may even extend to California governor.

By

Jim Newton

• June 13, 2024

Los Angeles City Council President Paul Krekorian holds a press conference to discuss actions "to preserve public trust" following the filing of charges against Los Angeles Councilmember Curren Price Jr. in Los Angeles, on June 14, 2023. Photo by Damian Dovarganes, AP Photo

Commentary

Los Angeles politicians take rare steps to limit their power and boost public confidence – sort of

Self-regulation is a messy business. In politics, it can seem elusive. When elected officials adopt rules to govern the conduct of elected officials, they’re pulled in one direction by constituents who favor restrictions and punishments, and in the other direction by self-preservation, a basic instinct politicians have in abundance. Progress tends to be incremental and uneven […]

By

Jim Newton

• May 30, 2024