CA congressional delegation demands wildfire aid
U.S. Reps. Judy Chu (D – Pasadena, San Gabriel Valley), Norma Torres (D, Pomona) and Brad Sherman (D – Sherman Oaks, Encino, Woodland Hills, Northridge, Malibu Pacific Palisades) joined the California Democratic Congressional Delegation yesterday in fireing off a letter to congressional leadership demanding that no supplemental funding package move forward until Congress passes long-overdue federal disaster assistance for communities devastated by the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires.
The letter, led by California Democratic Congressional Delegation Chair Zoe Lofgren (D – Santa Clara), argues that while the Trump administration has requested more than $67 billion for military operations related to the war in Iran, it has failed to submit a formal supplemental disaster aid request to Congress for California’s wildfire recovery.
More than 100,000 Californians were displaced by the January 2025 fires, which destroyed more than 13,000 homes and properties, claimed more than two dozen lives, and caused an estimated $275 billion in economic damage.
“It is deeply disappointing that since January 2025, not a single step has been taken by the White House to submit a request for federal disaster aid, not just for California, but also for the over 30 States, Tribes, or Territories with major disaster declarations,” the members wrote. “Instead of taking up the June 24, 2026, Iran War supplemental request, we believe that Congress should immediately draft a federal disaster aid supplemental to help Americans rebuild their communities from the most deadly and costly wildfires in recent history.”
The delegation’s letter comes against a backdrop of significant federal aid already deployed. FEMA and federal partners have made more than $3 billion available to LA wildfire survivors since the January 2025 fires, including direct household grants and SBA disaster loan offers to nearly 13,000 borrowers.
In April, Mayor Karen Bass and LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger met with President Trump in the Oval Office — a meeting both described as “very positive” — to push for an additional $16 billion in FEMA disbursements that had already been approved at the regional level but were awaiting final federal sign-off.
California has requested $33.9 billion in total federal assistance, a figure that includes fire prevention, infrastructure and business recovery measures. The larger supplemental funding request has not yet been submitted to Congress by the administration.
Hahn reestablishes $20k reward in drunk driver deaths of father and daughter
Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn (D – San Pedro, Long Beach, Compton, Carson, Lakewood, Hawaiian Gardens, Cerritos) won Board approval Tuesday to reestablish a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Octavio Montano Islas, identified as the drunk driver who killed 42-year-old Jose Palacios-Gonzalez and his three-year-old daughter Samantha as they slept in their North Long Beach apartment on March 1, 2022.
Shortly after 10 p.m. that night, Long Beach Police Department officers responded to a report of a vehicle crashing into an apartment building near Artesia Boulevard and Rose Avenue. Palacios-Gonzalez was pronounced dead at the scene. Samantha was rushed to a local hospital but later succumbed to her injuries. Detectives identified Montano Islas, then 24, as the driver, who fled the scene in a 2014 Dodge Ram. An arrest warrant was issued for him on two counts of felony manslaughter, one count of felony driving under the influence, and one count of felony hit and run. He has not been apprehended.
The reward had previously been set at $10,000 before Hahn moved to double it in 2025.
“Jose and Samantha’s loved ones have lived with the pain of this unimaginable loss for more than four years now, and still have not gotten justice,” said Hahn. “We are asking anyone who may have any information on where Octavio is or where he may have gone to please share it with detectives. We need your help.”
Anyone with information is urged to contact Commander Paul Baum of the Long Beach Police Department Special Investigations Division at (562) 570-7449.
Bass celebrates $6.6 billion film tax credit boom as LA shoot days climb
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass yesterday celebrated the latest round of projects awarded under California’s expanded Film and TV Tax Credit program, which is on track to inject a record $6.6 billion into the state’s economy — with thousands of union jobs returning to Los Angeles.
Forty-one projects received awards in the latest round, including LA-based productions Tracker and Gingerbread Men. The announcement comes as film and television production in Los Angeles is rising for the first time in years.
The city logged 5,121 total shoot days last quarter, a 10.7 percent increase from the 4,625 shoot days recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025.
“With an expected $6.6 billion in economic impact for California, the expanded Film and TV Tax Credit is proof that when we advocate for our entertainment industry, we create real economic opportunity for Angelenos,” said Bass. “The success of the tax credit is why I’ve called for a no-cap State tax credit and a federal film incentive. Our entertainment industry is a vital part of our local economy that thousands of hardworking Angelenos rely on and it will remain a priority for my administration.”
Friedman convenes second housing advisory meeting, eyes red tape cuts
U.S. Rep. Laura Friedman (D-Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena) convened the second meeting of her Housing Advisory Committee this week, bringing together leaders from government housing agencies and local stakeholders to advance her efforts to reduce housing costs and cut regulatory barriers for builders and families.
Friedman was recently selected by House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries to lead the House Democrats’ Housing Affordability Working Group. Language from her Cut Red Tape for Housing Act — aimed at eliminating costly barriers around urban infill projects — was included in the bipartisan 21st Century Road to Housing Act currently on President Trump’s desk.
The lawmaker is also helping to lead the bipartisan Build HUBS Act, which would unlock federal investment programs for housing production that have long been stalled by regulatory delays.
“I’m proud that much of the language and spirit of the housing bills I’ve introduced in this Congress have found their way upstream, but there is still so much left to be done,” said Friedman. “I’ll never stop rallying to cut costs and the red tape holding Angelenos back from being able to afford a roof over their heads.”
Tuesday’s meeting included Home Again LA CEO Albert Hernandez, EAH Housing Director of Business Development Jose Torres, West Hollywood Community Housing Corporation Director of Asset Management Rachel Bacola, Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Regional Housing Trust Manager Dima Galkin, New Economics for Women CEO Leticia Andueza, Ascencia Executive Director Laura Duncan, Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency Chief Engagement and Intergovernmental Relations Officer Seyron Foo, Southern California Association of Nonprofit Housing Senior Policy Director Emy Farrow-German, and LA Family Housing President and CEO Stephanie Klasky-Gamer.
