San Gabriel Valley commits record $25 million to build 212 affordable units across four cities
The San Gabriel Valley Regional Housing Trust (SGVRHT) this week approved the largest single funding commitment in its six-year history — nearly $25 million to accelerate construction of 212 new affordable housing units across four San Gabriel Valley cities, using Los Angeles County Measure A funds directed through the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency (LACAHSA).
The four projects receiving funding are the BLVD in Montebello, which received $10,160,220 to construct 51 units serving families and survivors of domestic violence; 405 S. Del Mar in San Gabriel, which received $7,400,000 to construct 73 units dedicated to senior residents; El Centro Senior in South Pasadena, which received $4,400,000 to construct 52 units for senior residents; and Mariposa in Alhambra, which received $3,000,000 to deliver 36 units serving low-income households and individuals experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
“This significant funding allocation demonstrates our unwavering commitment to expanding access to high-quality, affordable housing throughout the San Gabriel Valley,” said Baldwin Park Councilmember Emmanuel Estrada, Board Chair of the SGVRHT. “By working collaboratively with our member cities and leveraging regional partnerships, the SGVRHT is able to maximize the impact of taxpayer dollars to help our most vulnerable populations address their urgent housing needs as we build a stronger, more equitable San Gabriel Valley.”
The funding also allows project developers to repay existing loans through the SGVRHT’s Revolving Loan Fund — freeing approximately $11.2 million in local revolving capital for immediate reinvestment into future affordable housing developments across the region.
Since its establishment in 2020 through State Sen. Susan Rubio’s Senate Bill 751, the SGVRHT has helped fund more than 900 units of affordable housing and more than 130 units of interim housing shelter throughout the San Gabriel Valley.
For more information, visit sgvrht.org.
Bass celebrates passage of LA’s largest ever budget — $14.9 billion
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass celebrated the Los Angeles City Council’s 12-1 passage yesterday of a $14.9 billion budget for fiscal year 2026-27 — the largest in the city’s history — preserving her police hiring plan while reinforcing the city’s financial reserves.
The spending plan paves the way for hiring 510 LAPD officers to offset retirements and resignations, leaving the department with an estimated 8,555 officers by summer 2027 — down from approximately 10,000 in 2020.
The revised budget increased the city’s reserve fund from $490 million to $515.9 million and boosted the budget stabilization fund from $9 million to $14.5 million. Councilmember Curren Price recused himself, citing a potential conflict of interest as a landlord. Councilmember Tim McOsker was absent.
“I applaud the City Council’s support for my plans to hire more LAPD officers, continue moving people inside from encampments, and fix more streets,” Bass said. “When I took office, the LAPD was shrinking, homelessness had been rising for years, and LA was the only major American city without a comprehensive infrastructure plan. Under my administration, homelessness is down for two years in a row for the first time in our city’s history, violent and property crime are down, and we have created our city’s first comprehensive infrastructure plan, all while delivering fiscally responsible budgets.”
The lone dissenting vote came from Councilmember Traci Park, who said the plan provides too little funding for the fire department and homeless encampment cleanups — concerns that echo criticism that has followed Bass since the January 2025 fires.
Rubio advances legislative package, including crackdown on livestreamed child sexual exploitation
State Sen. Susan Rubio (D, Baldwin Park, West Covina, El Monte) announced this week that ten bills from her 2026 legislative package have advanced out of the Senate Appropriations Committee and now move to the Senate Floor for consideration.
The package spans a wide range of policy areas, including child protection, government transparency, healthcare access, economic development, and immigrant community services.
The strongest individual bill is SB 1276 — the End Child Exploitation Act — which cracks down on the livestreamed sexual exploitation of children online, an emerging and particularly disturbing form of abuse that has outpaced existing law.
“Every one of these bills was introduced with our communities in mind,” Rubio said. “From protecting children from exploitation and supporting survivors of domestic violence, to expanding healthcare access, increasing transparency in government, and supporting working families, this legislative package reflects the real issues Californians are facing every single day.”
Other significant measures include SB 1192, the Reclaim Act, which protects domestic violence survivors from abusive legal harassment; SB 1309, the Stop Lung Cancer Early Act, which expands affordable access to early lung cancer screenings; SB 1323, which protects patient communication and rights during ICE medical custody; and SB 1175, the Lobbyist Registration Modernization Act, which updates California’s lobbying disclosure and transparency system.
All ten measures now move to the Senate Floor.
Feds charge PATH nonprofit worker with intent to distribute fentanyl near MacArthur Park
A Culver City man who works for People Assisting the Homeless (PATH) — a nationwide nonprofit that distributes syringes to homeless drug users in the MacArthur Park area and elsewhere — was arrested on a federal criminal complaint charging him with possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, federal prosecutors announced.
PATH is one of the largest homeless services nonprofits in California, operating with an annual budget of approximately $130 million — the vast majority of which comes from government contracts through the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), the city, county, and state.
Christopher Barret Johnson, 42, was pulled over by Los Angeles Police officers near MacArthur Park on the evening of May 5 after officers observed his white BMW abruptly make a U-turn in front of them.
According to a federal affidavit, Johnson appeared nervous during the stop, and officers observed a plastic baggie containing methamphetamine in plain view on the center console. Johnson was also carrying two knives in his waistband.
A search of Johnson and his vehicle uncovered methamphetamine in his pocket, additional bags of methamphetamine and fentanyl in a backpack, a digital scale with fentanyl residue, cash, and a dish soap container filled with plastic bags of fentanyl. Laboratory analysis confirmed at least 142 grams of a substance containing fentanyl and nearly 46 grams of methamphetamine.
Johnson works for PATH as a vendor distributing syringes — including in MacArthur Park, which federal prosecutors describe as notorious for open-air drug markets, including methamphetamine and fentanyl.
If convicted, Johnson faces a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of 40 years in federal prison.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Jones of the General Crimes Section and investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration with assistance from the LAPD.
