"They’re smart enough to know that they would get pummeled if they showed up.” On why Gov. Gavin Newsom and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass stayed away from public events on the anniversary of last year's wildfires. With @melmason.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2026/01...

Former reality television personality Spencer Pratt announced from the stage of a protest on the one-year anniversary of the LA wildfires that he’s running for mayor of Los Angeles. He didn’t take questions but I asked him if he actually submitted paperwork and he showed me

A phoenix on top of the American Legion post where survivors of the Palisades fire are holding a one-year memorial ceremony

On a solemn day in Los Angeles, wildfire survivors are pushing for accountability for key failures that worsened the disasters that killed 31 people and destroyed 13,000 homes one year ago www.politico.com/news/2026/01...

A California state appellate court has determined that moving playground equipment — a small zip line to be specific — from one spot to another does NOT require formal environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act www.cp-dr.com/articles/mov...

California landlords now are required under a new state law to provide refrigerators to their tenants, ending one of the strangest quirks of the Los Angeles rental market. I found a few years ago that LA rentals come with fewer fridges than anywhere www.latimes.com/homeless-hou...

Looks like the city of Los Angeles just issued its second certificate of occupancy in Pacific Palisades for a rebuilt home after the wildfires.

California housing department investigators are preparing to crack down on the city of Los Angeles over the city's denial of a 120-unit low-income apartment building a block from the beach in Venice. Penalties could affect development across the city www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

Call it Schrödinger's affordable housing project — both dead and alive at the same time. Now after nearly a decade of dispute the fate of a 120-unit, low-income apartment building along the iconic canals in Venice Beach may affect all development in LA www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

I see there’s Homelessness Discourse today. Good evidence that the recent national surge in homelessness numbers was due to an increased migrant arrivals. But in general, differences in US homelessness rates attributable to the cost and availability of rental housing in a given area.

Los Angeles city attorney has outlined her legal attack on SB 79, the high-profile bill to allow dense housing near mass transit. She's planning to make a claim to an obscure state commission to reimburse the city for $2b+ in costs. For subscribers: subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025...

C'mon man!

Newsom’s troll energy takes over the DNC

"We will not allow outside groups — even longstanding allies — to attack the Palisades," @gavinnewsom.bsky.social spokesperson on a now-filed YIMBY Law lawsuit against his July executive order banning duplexes in L.A. wildfire rebuilding www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

It's my aspirational goal that the governor stop calling his 2018 campaign pledge to build 3.5 million homes through 2025 an aspirational goal. www.politico.com/newsletters/...

I see that New York Times transcription service is unfamiliar with California's Regional Housing Needs Assessment

“Anyone coming to the Palisades with the idea of increasing density whether it’s low-income housing, high-income housing, whatever it is, we will be vehemently opposed without question.” www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

How rebuilding in LA’s wildfire zones mixes with all the pro-density housing laws passed recently in California is a major ongoing subplot in the recovery www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

Newsom accuses Trump of wildfire aid snub

A Times investigation found that California’s top insurance regulator logged at least 32 trips to 23 countries and territories but consistently failed to disclose who paid for the five-star hotels, premium airline seats and fine dining. www.latimes.com/business/st...

I spoke with @politico.com PM Playbook today about the furor surrounding the first house rebuilt after the fire in Pacific Palisades, and why a first house is important for symbolic and practical reasons. www.politico.com/newsletters/...

On the Friday before Thanksgiving, LA Mayor Karen Bass announced that the first house had been rebuilt in the Pacific Palisades after January’s wildfires. She immediately faced backlash from wildfire survivors because no one is going to live in it. www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

What happens when you downzone? Our new open-access research paper in @findingspress.org investigates effects of decades of downzoning in Chicago. Findings: —Downzoned areas added 1/7th of the new units as comparable non-downzoned areas; —Downzoned areas became more white & were more expensive.

It's underappreciated in LA's wildfire recovery how much the lack of accountability for government failures leading up to/exacerbating the disasters is contributing to residents' lack of trust for government to find solutions for rebuilding www.politico.com/news/2025/11...

Digging into LAND @birdyword.bsky.social

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass just announced the completion of the first rebuilt house after January's Palisades fire. Homebuilder Thomas James owned the property pre-fire, the house burned and the company's rebuilt home will now serve as a model for the builder in the community.

NEW: The first rebuilt home after Los Angeles' January wildfires is a two-bedroom ADU in Altadena. The property owner built the ADU himself replacing a garage that burned down. www.politico.com/news/2025/11...

After failing to stop a major state housing bill from becoming law, Los Angeles leaders are turning to plan B: Delaying Senate Bill 79's implementation and pushing for unspecified legislative changes next year. My dispatch for @politico.com Pro subscribers subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025...

Such a pleasure to be back on @kcrw.com today. Talked about LA’s major new rent control changes www.kcrw.com/shows/press-...

A vote to sharply lower rent hikes for 1.5 million Los Angeles tenants caps years of wins for local activists and comes amid a national focus on affordability punctuated by Zohran Mamdani's victory in New York. www.politico.com/news/2025/11...

The LA city council just voted on a major change to sharply lower annual rent increases in rent stabilized units — 660k apartments — to between 1% and 4% depending on inflation. Story to come

The state of California owns dozens of empty houses in Los Angeles County. It's spent more than $17 million since 2020 on private security and extra police patrols to guard them from protestors and keep them vacant. My first byline for @politico.com www.politico.com/news/2025/11...

Interesting assessment of the state of affairs in California's home insurance market. The liability of the state FAIR plan — insurer of last resort — "is now nearly $700 billion, more than double the level two years ago." subscriber.politicopro.com/article/eene...

Why it takes so long to rebuild after major wildfires and why it's all the more important as California continues in the middle of its most destructive era of wildfire in state history. I broke things down with @npr.org's Here & Now earlier today: www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2...

Today's my first day @politico.com! I'm writing about rebuilding in Los Angeles and housing issues across California. You can reach me here or at [email protected].

Business Insider wrote up a story on how some of their past investigative work led to a new California law. The story is strangely unbylined. The reason perhaps? The publication recently laid off the reporter behind that investigation, Matt Drange. www.businessinsider.com/california-e...

So very excited to share that I’ll be writing about housing in Los Angeles and across California for Politico www.politico.com/blogs/politi...

We're living in the worst era of wildfire in California history. My colleagues and I found that an astounding 22,500 homes burned down in the five most destructive fires in the state from 2017 through 2020. Just 38% of them have been rebuilt. www.latimes.com/homeless-hou...

After nearly 10 years, today is my last day at the @latimes.com. I'm so grateful to have worked with so many talented people. Please be on the lookout for one more big story soon! Can't share yet where I'm headed next, but I'll still be writing about California housing issues.

California lawmakers pass SB 79, housing bill that brings dense housing to transit hubs

A bill proposed Monday night, just days before the end of the legislative session, would punch a very small hole in a landmark housing law passed earlier this year that appears to apply to one (1) proposed apartment building in the incoming Senate leader's district. calmatters.org/politics/202...

All time epic Dodgers collapse. Wow

The city of Los Angeles has tentatively agreed to pay $500,000 to two journalists who claim their rights were violated four years ago, when police arrested them as they covered a protest in Echo Park. @liborjany.bsky.social has the story www.latimes.com/california/s...

Fascinated by the reaction in Pacific Palisades to duplexes vs. casitas. Roughly 15% of permit applications include an ADU and the process is streamlined. A handful of duplex projects proposed and the outcry pushed the governor to exempt the Palisades from state law. www.latimes.com/homeless-hou...

A new milestone in Pacific Palisades this week. 500 homeowners have applied for rebuilding permits after January's wildfire. www.latimes.com/homeless-hou...

A flurry of action from Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass in the last few days has led to a ban on new duplex construction in Pacific Palisades. ADU building, however, continues to be expedited and is popular among rebuilding residents. www.latimes.com/homeless-hou...

After a push from L.A. elected officials, Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to issue an executive order weakening the state’s landmark duplex law in wildfire affected regions of the county www.latimes.com/homeless-hou...

Have CA’s environmental protections been blocking new housing — and therefore climate progress? On this week’s Boiling Point podcast, I’m talking “abundance” & CEQA reform with my @latimes.com colleague @liamjdillon.com. Please listen before firing off your take: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b...

Powerful and devastating work from @brittnymejia.bsky.social Deaf, mute and terrified: ICE arrests DACA recipient and ships him to Texas www.latimes.com/california/s...

A 70-year-old housing activist who seized a state-owned home in Los Angeles more than five years ago died this week after apparently falling from a 28-foot-high treehouse he built in the backyard in an attempt to block his eviction. www.latimes.com/homeless-hou...