🐦 The LA Reporter, Issue 23: 'Why were we not allowed to speak to this decision-making body?' thelareporter.la/p/the-la-rep... In this issue, the mystery around a canceled "ICE out of LAPD" presentation, police union pulls endorsement of city attorney after data leak, and more.

Why a private company is investigating rapes at an ICE detention center instead of the sheriff apnews.com/article/otay...

Scoop: City of L.A. Facing Over 120 Claims For Damages Related To Anti-ICE Protests Amid Financial Crisis @lataco.bsky.social lataco.com/claims-for-d...

Inside California’s bid to build the world’s deepest floating wind farm The plan would transform Humboldt Bay into a hub for offshore wind to help the state reach its 100% clean energy goal. Assembling all the turbines could take a decade. @hayleysmith.bsky.social www.latimes.com/environment/...

Here are the candidates for LA City Council District 15 Los Angeles political veteran Tim McOsker faces a challenge from newcomer Jordan Rivers.

US had hottest March on record as nation faced ‘unprecedented’ heat

A bunch of LAPD records got leaked that likely include misconduct and other sensitive documents. ope! www.latimes.com/california/s...

Brazil’s Amazon hydropower plants are becoming vulnerable to climate change, and Belo Monte may be the clearest warning sign yet. Built after years of debate, the mega-dam is facing a problem its planners could not solve with engineering: less water. @mongabay.com news.mongabay.com/2026/03/fall...

US is ‘using Mexico as a garbage sink’ leading to ‘toxic crisis’, UN expert says www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

People living near these operations in California, Texas, and Iowa suffer from higher rates of cancer, according to a new study. buff.ly/H0Fgq6E

Under L.A. mayor's $300-million homeless program, 40% have returned to the street www.latimes.com/california/s...

ProPublica launched a database that helps journalists, researchers and others more easily find and connect pieces of financial information about individuals in key executive branch positions. Join us on Wednesday, April 8, for a walk-through of the new tool. RSVP below ⤵️

Copublished with @grist.org: During the three years after the Inflation Reduction Act passed, Texas developers invested some $62 billion in clean energy ventures statewide and announced billions more in planned construction.

More than 2 million oil and gas wells sit unplugged in the U.S., many leaking contaminants into waterways, farmland and neighborhoods. Time and time again, oil companies have walked away — leaving taxpayers to pay for cleanup. Here’s how. (Published Dec. 2024)

Contributor: For water and mining policy near Salton Sea, keep in mind local children's health

Pam Bondi transformed the Justice Department from an autonomous agency into one that carries out the president’s wishes. Old friends and colleagues in Florida ask: What happened to the person they once knew? Stephanie McCrummen reported in January:

Starting today, some immigrants will lose public food assistance benefits. The loss of public food assistance benefits applies to certain non-citizens, including, asylees, refugees, and victims of trafficking. lapublicpress.org/2026/04/la-c...

Here's where to find affordable fresh food in LA. These Los Angeles organizations are working to provide free and low-cost food. They also need volunteers. lapublicpress.org/2025/08/wher...

Chemically recycling plastic has proven to be a technical and economic challenge. Now, the chemical industry wants the EPA’s help. Environmentalists are raising alarms.

What California’s awful snowpack means for fire season With reservoirs brimming, but snowpack abysmal, experts warn of a potentially early fire season.

🐦 The LA Reporter, Issue 20: Controller candidate cries foul on process that gave opponent matching funds In this issue, a candidate cries foul on matching funds, coalition forms to revise Measure ULA, and pushback on plans to take down bus shelter walls thelareporter.la/p/the-la-rep...

L.A. County student homelessness has surged, study finds. Here's what the numbers show

There are world-changing amounts of minerals underneath California’s “Lithium Valley.” But extracting them has proven difficult. Hanging in the balance is a vast and thirsty farming region enduring the slow-motion devastation of climate change. capitalandmain.com/newsom-promi...

Most of the snow in California’s Sierra Nevada has melted after a record-breaking heat wave. “Climate change is influencing California’s water system quickly and severely.” @petergleick.bsky.social www.latimes.com/environment/...

The LNG we import in Europe is far from clean. Visible methane plumes at US gas sites rated “grade A” resulting in much higher upstream emissions. Auditors don’t measure emissions — they review operator data that studies show is massively understated. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

“I'm concerned that leadership is only now beginning to understand that racing has found itself once again behind in the technology curve” - my Q&A @thetdn.bsky.social with Drew Couto about the implications to the industry from the loss of FanDuel TV:

Will the ‘sanitation sweeps’ of the 1984 Olympics haunt LA in 2028? Decades ago, LA’s police forces consulted foreign intelligence agencies to “sanitize” South LA for the Games. Now, as new surveillance centers rise, residents fear history is repeating itself. lapublicpress.org/2026/03/la-o...

🐦 The LA Reporter, Issue 19: A playbook for getting LA city's finances out of the red thelareporter.la/p/the-la-rep... In this issue, a plan to improve LA's 'credit score' ahead of $1.8 billion borrowing for Convention Center expansion, Pali Dems club hears from mayoral hopefuls, and more.

Alfalfa won't last forever on the Colorado River — it uses too much water. Some forward-looking farmers are testing out alternatives: www.azcentral.com/story/news/l... via @brandonloomis.bsky.social

“Right now, the machines are with the state, which means time is on the side of the attorney general" - my Q&A @thetdn.bsky.social with I. Nelson Rose, a leading expert on gaming law, on the HHR machine fight between Santa Anita and the state:

A spokesperson with the LA City Attorney's Office sent back a statement, responding to a post about an LA city data leak, saying they are "investigating unauthorized access to a 3rd party transfer tool." They also say there isn't any impact to "any city services or operations."

Who is running for LA City Attorney? Incumbent LA City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto is being challenged by three attorneys: Aida Ashouri, John McKinney, and Marissa Roy.

Five takeaways from the first LA mayoral debate of 2026: Three out of the top five candidates showed up to discuss their policy vision on transportation, housing affordability and infrastructure. lapublicpress.org/2026/03/la-e...

Check out this work by @uclalewiscenter.bsky.social + colleagues

Donkeys are being shot with arrows in the Inland Empire. There's a $50,000 reward to find the culprit

LA Controller Kenneth Mejia, presenting his revenue forecast to City Council members rn, and just pulled out an interesting detail -- revenue comes mostly from the highest income households, so 80% of LA's taxpayers struggling. More on mtg in today's @thelareporter.bsky.social newsletter.

Federal forecasters now say they expect Lake Powell to get just 27% of average inflows this year, down from a previous forecast of 36%: www.reviewjournal.com/news/environ... via @alanhalaly.bsky.social

LA is in a budget crisis. Here are your candidates for City Controller LA Controller Kenneth Mejia says he wants transparency and accountability on municipal finances. His challenger says he will scrutinize how every public dollar is spent.

🐦 The LA Reporter, Issue 17: DSA-LA won't be jumping into the LA mayor's race before June This issue, a look at DSA-LA 's debate on jumping into LA mayor's race, Council committee to talk budget, Black history collection moves to Baldwin Hills library thelareporter.la/p/the-la-rep...

🐦 The LA Reporter, Issue 16: How might unhoused people be getting through a dangerous heat wave? thelareporter.la/p/the-la-rep...

As precious groundwater vanishes, a few in California find ways to bring it back

As war returns to Iran, an Iranian-American artist turns an LA café into a sanctuary of memory and culture Caspian Coast Coffee creates a diasporic bridge between the Caspian Sea and LA as Iranian Americans grapple with conflict and longing for a freer homeland.

A shrinking Colorado River is forcing farms to change: "If it wasn’t for that canal coming off the Colorado River, this would just turn to desert." By Caitlin Ochs @highcountrynews.org www.hcn.org/issues/58-3/...

Advocates say the proposal could weaken protections for workers and communities exposed to hazardous chemicals. buff.ly/a2JZq2v

One month after an executive order to ‘end a nightmare of delay,’ is Altadena rebuilding any faster? Survivors say they need money and accountability in order to move on.

Story from @lataco.bsky.social on recent rally by mutual aid groups to put heat on CD13 council member Hugo Soto-Martinez, as he runs for re-election ... 50 Mutual Aid Groups Demand Repeal of ‘Anti-Homeless’ Zones in Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez’s District lataco.com/soto-martine...

With cities like Phoenix and Tucson bracing for their allotments of Colorado River water to be slashed, San Diego County’s water agency could sell some of its water to other states by drawing on its ample supplies from the nation’s largest desalination plant. www.latimes.com/environment/...

Have you been wondering: What is the function, if any, for statewide oversight of community water systems’ role in fighting wildfires? We wrote a ~10k word discussion paper, outlining 8 potential pathways, specifically for you🔽 innovation.luskin.ucla.edu/publication/...