Barger Hits Pause Again on Men’s Central Jail Closure Report
LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger (R-Santa Clarita, Palmdale, Antelope Valley) is expected this morning to again delay a long-awaited progress report on closing the Men’s Central Jail, asking the full Board to push the item two more weeks to May 19.
The move comes more than five years after the Board voted 4-0 to close the aging Downtown Los Angeles lockup within 12 months. The facility, located at 441 Bauchet Street, was built in 1963 and expanded in the 1970s, and has been described in county reports as “unsafe, crowded and crumbling,” with annual maintenance costs running between $3 million and $5 million.
The county’s own Jail Closure Implementation Team estimates that closure requires reducing the current countywide jail population by roughly 45 percent — to approximately 7,160 people — a target that remains far off.
The team was created in 2021 to coordinate the shutdown and has published six quarterly reports outlining its three-pronged approach: reducing new inflow into custody, shortening length of stay, and expanding community-based diversion and treatment. A five-year closure timeline presented to the Board calls for 1,200 new mental health and supportive housing beds per year and for courts to safely release an additional 7,000 people annually. Closure advocates say even that pace is insufficient.
The item was already continued from the April 7 Board meeting. Today’s expected delay to May 19 would mark yet another postponement of a report the Board has been waiting on since April 2024.
The Board meets at 9:30 a.m. at the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, 500 West Temple Street, Los Angeles.
County Supervisors Could Reveal New CEO Today
LA County Board of Supervisors Chair Hilda L. Solis (D-East Los Angeles, Boyle Heights, San Gabriel Valley) will preside this morning over what could be a landmark announcement — the public naming of a new permanent Chief Executive Officer for the nation’s largest county government.
In a closed session report from last Tuesday’s April 28 Board meeting, supervisors revealed they had unanimously selected a final candidate and directed the Department of Personnel to negotiate a salary and execute an at-will employment contract. No name has been publicly disclosed ahead of today’s 9:30 a.m. session.
The position has been effectively leaderless at the top since CEO Fesia Davenport abruptly went on medical leave October 8, 2025 and never returned. Her exit came amid a firestorm after LAist reported she had secretly negotiated a $2 million taxpayer payout for herself — a settlement the county had labeled “confidential” — while simultaneously telling county workers there was no money available for raises. Deputy CEO Joe Nicchitta has been serving as acting CEO in her absence.
The new CEO inherits a job managing a roughly $48.8 billion annual budget and more than 100,000 county employees, with a sky-high inbox that includes wildfire recovery costs, a volatile federal funding landscape threatening Medi-Cal and CalFresh, and ongoing labor negotiations.
The hire also comes with an expiration date built in. Voters approved Measure G in November 2024, which creates a directly elected County Executive by 2028 — with broad mayor-like powers, including authority over department heads, budget preparation, and the right to veto Board resolutions. Whoever takes the CEO seat now will manage the county’s largest administrative office through its final years before a fundamental restructuring of county government.
Whether today’s closed session produces a public announcement will depend on where salary negotiations stand.
The Board meets at 9:30 a.m. at the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, 500 West Temple Street, Los Angeles.
Allen Calls State Farm Enforcement a Warning Shot
State Sen. Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Malibu, Pacific Palisades) is applauding the California Department of Insurance’s enforcement action against State Farm following an investigation into how the insurer handled claims from survivors of the 2025 Los Angeles fires.
The Department of Insurance filed an Accusation and Order to Show Cause against State Farm — the first step toward a public hearing before an administrative law judge — after an expedited investigation uncovered 398 violations identified in a Market Conduct Examination, plus 34 additional violations drawn from consumer complaints, for a total of 432 alleged violations.
If an administrative law judge finds the claims have merit, State Farm could face penalties ranging from $2 million to $4.3 million. The commissioner also has authority to suspend the company’s license to sell insurance in California for one year. State Farm policyholders filed approximately 11,300 residential wildfire claims — nearly one third of all residential claims filed across all insurers statewide.
“We will not tolerate barriers that prevent survivors from receiving what they’re justly owed,” Allen said. “Processing claims fairly cannot be a privilege for only a few to enjoy; this is a necessary component of a successful recovery effort after any disaster. Unfortunately, too many Californians have been mistreated by their insurer since the 2025 LA Fires, which is why I urged for this investigation last year alongside my legislative colleagues. Residents need to know they’re being protected from bad actors during these moments of extreme vulnerability, and today’s enforcement action sends a strong message that we will not stand for these harmful practices.”
Allen was among the legislators who sent a letter to Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara last year requesting a probe into State Farm. The enforcement action marks a formal outcome of that push.
The move comes alongside additional momentum at the Capitol on insurance accountability. The Senate Insurance Committee recently advanced a package of stronger policyholder protections designed to ensure the insurance system is ready to respond when Californians need it most.
Cisneros to Trump on Iran: Change Course Now
U.S. Rep. Gil Cisneros (D-West Covina, Diamond Bar, Pomona, Azusa) is leading a push by the New Democrat Coalition’s National Security Working Group to force a course correction from the Trump administration on its handling of the now 65-day-old war with Iran.
Cisneros, who chairs the working group, joined fellow coalition members last week in sending a letter to President Trump, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling for an immediate change in direction.
The letter argues the administration’s approach has endangered both domestic and global security by waging open-ended conflicts without legal justification or clear objectives, alienating allies, emboldening adversaries, and damaging military readiness.
“Over the last year, the Trump Administration’s chaos and aggression have made the American people less safe, the world less stable, and the United States weaker on the world stage,” said Cisneros. “Together, we’re working to restore American military strength, our national security, and our status as the leader of the free world.”
The working group laid out four priorities: reversing damage caused by the alienation of American allies; realigning defense planning to focus on China as the primary strategic threat; reaffirming the military’s apolitical nature; and requiring the administration to work in good faith with Congress on matters of war, including restoring institutional checks and balances.
