By Los Angeles County Politics (LACP)
Valladares wants Newsom to convene emergency addressing refinery closures
State Sen. Suzette Martinez Valladares (R-Lancaster, Palmdale, Santa Clarita, portions of the Antelope Valley) joined her Republican colleagues in the State Senate yesterday in sending a letter urging Governor Gavin Newsom to immediately convene a special session of the Legislature to address the fallout from the impending closure of Valero’s Benicia refinery, scheduled for April.
This marks the second major refinery shutdown in California in the past six months, following the recently shuttered Phillips 66 refinery in Los Angeles.
“Bad policy has consequences,” said Valladares. “California’s extreme regulatory environment is forcing refineries to shut down, reducing fuel supply and driving gas prices higher. The Governor and legislative Democrats talk about affordability, but they refuse to acknowledge that it is their own policies that are making everyday life more expensive for working families.”
Valero’s Benicia refinery is one of the largest in Northern California, accounting for nearly 10 percent of the state’s total refining capacity. Combined with the shuttered Phillips 66 refinery in Los Angeles, these two facilities produced roughly 20 percent of California’s gasoline supply. Their closures will further tighten fuel markets, disrupt supply chains, and push prices even higher as the state becomes increasingly reliant on imported fuel and alternative sources to meet demand.
“There’s a reason gas prices continue to fall across the country while Californians keep paying more,” Valladares added. “If the Governor fails to act, Californians could soon be facing $8-per-gallon gas. That cost won’t stop at the pump—it will ripple through the economy, raising the price of food, goods, and services.”
Phillips 66 cited long-term sustainability concerns and unfavorable market dynamics as reasons for closing its Los Angeles refinery. Valero has pointed to mounting regulatory pressures and an increasingly challenging operating environment.
Click here to see the letter that Sen Valladares and her colleagues sent to Governor Newsom today.
Santa Monica launches restorative justice program
The Santa Monica City Council this week approved the launch of one of the largest locally funded restorative justice initiatives of its kind, establishing a $3.5 million Restorative Justice Fund and a new Restorative Justice Commission.
The citywide Restorative Justice Program aims to address historically rooted harm caused by past municipal actions, advancing a priority initiative tied to equity, reconciliation and historic accountability. The program will be guided by three core components: a dedicated fund, a City Council–appointed Restorative Justice Commission to establish eligibility and oversight standards, and independent administration to ensure a fair, transparent and legally sound process.
The Restorative Justice Fund is initially seeded with $3.5 million in one-time funding received through the city’s Development Agreement with the RAND Corporation, with no impact on the city’s operations budget. Once the program is up and running, the Council will evaluate whether to incorporate an additional $2 million in one-time funds from the RAND agreement, set to be paid to the city by mid-2028.
“Santa Monica is choosing repair over rhetoric,” said Santa Monica Mayor Caroline Torosis. “With an initial $3.5 million investment and a clear, transparent process, the program Council approved reflects our commitment to doing the hard work of restorative justice with care and accountability. It is about putting real resources behind repair and setting an example for how cities can confront their history honestly and responsibly.”
The new Restorative Justice Program is expected to launch by spring 2026. For more information, click here for the staff report, or view the meeting discussion here.
Friedman meets with museums, tourism committee ahead of Olympics
U.S. Rep. Laura Freedman (D-Burbank, Glendale, West Hollywood, Hollywood) will today launch the first meeting of her new Museums and Tourism Advisory Committee to discuss what is needed to ensure the 2028 Olympics are successful and how to support the tourism industry amid Trump Administration threats.
Tourism to the United States has taken a hit due to the Trump Administration’s tariffs and immigration policies. The fear and uncertainty generated could negatively impact the Los Angeles region, which will host the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The meeting comes as the California Post – a quasi-Trump media outlet having direct access and influence within the Trump Administration – reported today that there is growing concerns within the Los Angeles City Council that Trump’s tariff and immigration policies – as well as his threats to bring the military in to police LA during the Olympics will have a huge affect on tourism for the world games.
Included in the meeting are executives from The Autry Museum of the American West, Discovery Cube Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board, the Museum of Neon Art, the Rose Bowl Stadium, the Petersen Automotive Museum Group Tours, The LA Phil, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Hollywood Bowl, The Ford, YOLA, Universal Studios Hollywood, and the Los Angeles Zoo & Botanical Gardens.
Solis honors those who challenged questionable immigration enforcement
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Hilda L. Solis (D-Central and Eastern Los Angeles including Downtown LA, East LA, Pico-Union, Boyle Heights, El Monte, West Covina, Baldwin Park, Pomona) this week recognized the plaintiffs and legal teams behind Vasquez Perdomo v. Noem for defending constitutional and human rights and challenging immigration raids that began in June 2025 in Los Angeles County.
“Today, we honor the extraordinary courage of the plaintiffs and legal teams who took a stand to defend the rights of our communities,” said Solis. “By challenging unlawful arrests, racial profiling, and the aggressive enforcement policies being carried out by the Trump administration, they have shown remarkable bravery and a steadfast commitment to the rule of law. In the face of ongoing fear and uncertainty for the well-being of our communities, these honorees remind us of the power we hold when we come together to stand for our values.”
The lawsuit, filed July 2, 2025, by five individual workers and four organizations — the Los Angeles Worker Center Network, United Farm Workers, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, and Immigrant Defenders Law Center—alleged that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security conducted unconstitutional stops, and detentions to meet arbitrary enforcement quotas under the Trump administration, while denying individuals held in detention access to legal counsel.
The complaint argued that immigration agencies violated the Fourth and Fifth Amendments by racially profiling individuals, conducting suspicionless stops and warrantless arrests without assessing probable cause or flight risk, and denying due process protections.
In July 2025, a federal district judge issued an order protecting Los Angeles County residents from unlawful arrests and from being denied access to counsel while in detention. Although the U.S. Supreme Court later overturned the preliminary injunction addressing the suspicionless stops, the plaintiffs continue to seek a permanent injunction to safeguard constitutional rights and prevent discriminatory enforcement practices.
