Bass, Park clear Venice Beach homeless encampment
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Councilwoman Traci Park (D-Venice, Pacific Palisades, Brentwood, Mar Vista, Del Rey, Playa Vista, Westchester, and communities of the Westside) conducted a successful Inside Safe operation Friday at Rose Avenue and Hampton Drive in Venice Beach, housing 17 unhoused residents and restoring sidewalks to the neighborhood — the follow-through on a contentious City Council vote two weeks earlier.
“That sustained effort kept the area clear for several years before a small number of new individuals set up camp,” Bass and Park said in a joint statement. “The site is now clear, and both offices will continue monitoring and deploying resources as needed.”
On April 12, the City Council voted to designate the Rose and Hampton intersection under municipal code 41.18 — the city ordinance that prohibits sitting, lying, sleeping, or storing property in designated public spaces, giving the city legal authority to clear the site. The measure passed but not unanimously. Councilmember Nithya Raman, a mayoral candidate, joined three colleagues in voting against it. Bass’s office sharply criticized Raman’s opposition, saying the vote was consistent with her record of voting against encampment cleanups.
The Venice Beach site was first addressed by Inside Safe in January 2023, when more than 100 people were housed and the area was cleared. The city monitored the site regularly in the years since before a small number of new individuals recently returned. Friday’s operation also followed a successful Inside Safe action at Echo Park on Thursday.
Allen advances two insurance reform bills
State Sen. Ben Allen (D-Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Santa Monica, and communities of the Westside and South Bay) advanced two insurance reform bills out of committee last week aimed at strengthening policyholder protections in a California insurance market that has been in crisis since the January 2025 Eaton and Palisades fires.
“The dysfunction exposed in the insurance market over the past year requires our urgent attention in Sacramento,” Allen said. “Too many families are losing coverage without explanation, leaving them in the dark on how to proceed, and lax enforcement authority is failing to hold insurers accountable to the law.”
The first bill, SB 1301, would require insurers to explain in nonrenewal notices why a policy is being dropped and give policyholders the opportunity to maintain coverage if they address the identified risk — a direct response to a pattern in which Californians, who face the fourth-highest nonrenewal rate in the country, are being dropped without knowing why.
The second bill, SB 1209, would require California-based insurers to resolve compliance concerns identified by Department of Insurance examinations within set timeframes or face fines of up to $20,000 — closing an enforcement gap exposed when a 2025 examination found that less than half of recommendations from a 2022 FAIR Plan audit had been implemented.
Both bills advance to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Torres amendment to investigate surveillance pricing defeated by House Republicans
U.S. Rep. Norma Torres (D-Pomona, and communities of the eastern San Gabriel) introduced an amendment last week in the House Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill that would have directed the Federal Trade Commission to investigate how retailers use electronic shelf labels, digital tools, and consumer data to change prices in real time — and watched House Republicans vote it down.
The practice, known as dynamic or individualized pricing, allows grocery stores and other retailers to change prices thousands of times a day using electronic shelf labels and to target individual consumers based on surveillance data and artificial intelligence — potentially charging different customers different prices for the same item based on their perceived willingness to pay. Critics argue the practice amounts to algorithmic price gouging that hits lower-income consumers hardest.
“Today, House Republicans sold out hardworking families to protect the profits of corporate giants,” Torres said. “My amendment was a common-sense demand for transparency: why should neighbors pay different prices for the same loaf of bread at the same store based on data from their phones? By killing this investigation, the GOP has effectively green-lit corporations using digital tools to shake you down at the checkout line.”
By defeating the amendment, House Republicans cleared the way for retailers to continue individualized pricing practices without federal scrutiny. The vote drew a sharp partisan line on corporate pricing transparency ahead of an election cycle in which inflation and cost of living remain top voter concerns.
Friedman marks Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day
U.S. Rep. Laura Friedman (D-Burbank, Glendale, West Hollywood, and communities of the Hollywood Hills and Foothills) joined community members, elected officials, and Armenian American leaders at the Armenian National Committee of America Burbank Chapter’s annual Armenian Genocide Commemoration on Thursday, marking the 111th anniversary of the 1915 massacres that claimed an estimated 1.5 million Armenian lives under the Ottoman Empire.
Friedman, who has spoken at the ANCA Burbank commemoration every year since her election to Congress, represents California’s 30th Congressional District — home to the largest concentration of Armenians outside of Armenia itself.
“In just the past year alone we’ve seen Armenian Genocide denialism from the highest levels of government, which underscores just how important commemorating the Armenian Genocide is,” Friedman said. “Today is not just an important reminder to remember history, but to stand by the Armenian American community at home while ensuring that the United States serves as a strong ally for the nation of Armenia.”
Friedman has been among the most vocal members of Congress on Armenian American issues, calling out Vice President JD Vance for deleting a social media post recognizing the Armenian Genocide and condemning the assault of protesters by members of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s security detail.
She is a cosponsor of the Azerbaijan Sanctions Review Act and has co-authored multiple resolutions reaffirming U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
Friedman was joined at Thursday’s event by ANCA Chairman Sarkis Simonian, Burbank City Councilmembers Nikki Perez and Konstantine Anthony, and Burbank USD Board Member Dr. Armond Aghkhanian.
