Bass, Rivas, Padilla secure $2M for CIRCLE mental health program
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D), U.S. Rep. Luz Rivas (D-San Fernando, Pacoima, Arleta, Panorama City, Sylmar, Van Nuys, Sun Valley, North Hollywood) and LA City Councilmember Imelda Padilla (D-Van Nuys, Arleta, Lake Balboa, Panorama City, Sun Valley, parts of North Hills, North Hollywood) on Friday announced more than $2 million in federal funding for the city’s Crisis and Incident Response through Community-Led Engagement program, known as CIRCLE, which sends trained mental health professionals rather than police officers to respond to non-violent mental health crises.
CIRCLE operates through Bass’ Office of Community Safety, which she created to address the social and economic conditions underlying crime rather than relying solely on law enforcement response. Since taking office, Bass has expanded the program into Downtown Los Angeles, Central Hollywood, South Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley, Westside communities and the Harbor Area.
The new federal funding will pay for additional mental health professionals and support further expansion, with Rivas’ office specifically directing the investment toward growing the program’s presence in the San Fernando Valley.
“For too long, communities have been asking for a better way to respond to mental health crises: CIRCLE is that solution,” said Bass. “By bringing trained mental health professionals directly into our communities, we are ensuring Angelenos in crisis receive the care they need, not just a response. This federal investment will allow us to strengthen and sustain this life-changing program while ensuring our police officers can focus on the emergencies where they are needed most.”
“I am proud to secure over $2,000,000 in federal funding to expand the CIRCLE Program into the San Fernando Valley,” said Rivas. “Since its founding, the CIRCLE Program has been incredibly successful in deploying trained mental health professionals to handle mental health crisis calls with care and compassion.”
Padilla, whose council district includes parts of the San Fernando Valley, framed the funding as a matter of basic dignity for people experiencing crisis.
“Our unhoused neighbors deserve to be approached with dignity, care and humanity — not treated like criminals because they are experiencing homelessness or going through a crisis,” she said. “These teams can de-escalate situations, assess an individual’s needs and connect them with support.”
Blumenfield says talks stalled on Woodland Hills Country Club project
Los Angeles City Councilmember Bob Blumenfield (D-Canoga Park, Reseda, Tarzana, Winnetka, Woodland Hills) told constituents in a newsletter update that negotiations over the proposed Woodland Hills Country Club housing development have reached an impasse, after neighborhood groups he convened decided against pursuing a modified, less dense version of the project.
The original proposal calls for nearly 400 units of high-density housing on 19.5 acres in a high fire-severity zone, built under a “ministerial” approval process made possible by recent amendments to state law AB 2011 — a process that bypasses the normal discretionary review and public hearings a project of that scale would typically require.
Blumenfield said he has opposed the project on those grounds from the outset.
“I have been aghast that nearly 400 units of high-density housing could be built with a minimal ‘ministerial’ review in a very high fire hazard severity zone rather than the normally required discretionary process,” Blumenfield wrote. “By taking advantage of new state laws including the recent amendments to AB 2011, there would be no community input or public hearings.”
Blumenfield said representatives for the property’s landowners approached him with an alternative: a less dense project spread across the property’s full 92 acres rather than concentrated on 19.5 acres, producing homes similar in size to existing homes in the area and subject to full California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review, since it would follow the discretionary process rather than the ministerial one.
That offer, however, was contingent on Blumenfield supporting a zone change and general plan amendment the developers would need to build it — support he said he would only give if the community itself wanted it.
He convened the Woodland Hills Neighborhood Collective, the Woodland Hills Landwise Alliance, the Woodland Hills Warner Center Neighborhood Council, the Woodland Hills Homeowners Organization and the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority to weigh the offer directly.
“After several days of consideration, the consensus of the groups was not to negotiate with the developers for a modified project,” Blumenfield wrote, meaning the original high-density ministerial proposal remains the operative plan for now, along with the likelihood of litigation.
Puza lauds Culver City 30% drop in homelessness
Culver City Mayor Freddy Puza last week touted a significant decline in the city’s 2026 Point-in-Time Homeless Count this week, continuing a multi-year downward trend as LA County’s broader count showed homelessness rising for the first time in two years.
Culver City’s raw count total fell from 105 people in 2025 to 74 in 2026, a 30% reduction, according to internal data the city released in coordination with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. Unsheltered individuals specifically dropped from 51 to 38, a 25% decline, and the city’s raw count has now fallen 69% since a 2021 peak of 240.
Improvised dwellings — cars, vans, RVs, tents and makeshift shelters — also declined sharply, from 54 in 2025 to 36 this year, with vehicle dwellings falling in every category counted.
“These results reinforce that meaningful, lasting progress requires a comprehensive and compassionate approach,” said Puza. “Through initiatives such as Wellness Village, Project Homekey, and the Mobile Crisis Team’s outreach efforts, Culver City is helping connect people in need with interim shelter, supportive services and pathways to permanent housing. While there is more work ahead, these programs are making a difference and helping more people move toward safety, stability and hope.”
The city said it continues to explore a dedicated safe parking program as an additional strategy for residents living out of their vehicles.
Hochman: jury convicts man in 2019 murder of off-duty LAPD officer
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman announced last week that a jury has convicted a 27-year-old man in the 2019 murder of Los Angeles Police Officer Juan Diaz, who was killed while off duty in Lincoln Heights.
Cristian Facundo, 27, of Temecula was found guilty of first-degree murder with a gang special circumstance allegation, shooting at an occupied motor vehicle, and vandalism causing more than $400 in damage, with multiple firearm allegations also found true. He is expected to be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Oct. 27.
“This verdict marks a long-awaited and important milestone in this case that has demanded patience and diligence from everyone involved,” said Hochman. “While this decision represents a significant step toward accountability, it does not lessen the profound loss of life that was taken or the lasting impact on those who knew and loved Officer Juan Diaz.
Prosecutors say Diaz was killed July 27, 2019, after a confrontation between the defendant and a group that included Diaz; the defendant returned to the group and opened fire as they drove away, killing Diaz and wounding another man.
Two co-defendants pleaded guilty in 2021 in connection with the case. Francisco Talamantes III, then 23, of Temecula, pleaded guilty to attempted murder, vandalism over $400, assault with a firearm, and voluntary manslaughter with a gang enhancement. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Ashlynn Smith, then 18, of Temecula — pleaded guilty to vandalism over $400 and accessory after the fact. She’s scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 18 and faces up to 8 years, 8 months in state prison.
