Waters applauds court block on LAHSA funding suspension
U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D – Inglewood, Hawthorne, Gardena, Watts, South Los Angeles), the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, applauded a federal judge’s decision last week to temporarily block the Trump administration from suspending the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) from federal homelessness grant programs, protecting roughly $241 million in dedicated funding.
U.S. District Judge David O. Carter’s order shields both that funding and near-term future dollars supporting programs serving more than 11,000 people, amid nearly 73,000 people experiencing homelessness on any given night across LA County.
The ruling is the latest development in an ongoing fight between the administration and LAHSA that has also prompted county supervisors to prepare to step into a larger funding role if needed.
“In the face of the Trump Administration’s continued attacks toward people experiencing homelessness, I am glad to see Judge Carter demonstrate some humanity,” said Waters. “Los Angeles is on the front lines of America’s homelessness crisis and continues to confront it head on, with nearly 73,000 people experiencing homelessness on any night across Los Angeles County. Instead of working side by side to address this crisis, the Trump Administration’s response was to jeopardize hundreds of millions of dollars and cut off critical services for more than 11,000 people in dire need of assistance, with no real plan for what would happen to them next.”
Waters said the ruling amounts to a temporary reprieve rather than a lasting solution, and pointed to her own Ending Homelessness Act as a longer-term investment, alongside the bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which became law despite President Trump declining to sign it.
“Unlike Donald Trump, Democrats are not sitting around waiting for this crisis to get worse nor are we actively fueling it,” said Waters. “I introduced the Ending Homelessness Act to make the investments necessary to move people off the streets and into safe, stable, affordable homes. And just as I worked across the aisle to get the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act across the finish line, I will continue fighting for real solutions.”
Hochman: Pop Smoke’s convicted killer nailed for smuggling fentanyl in juvenile hall
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman announced on that Deijae Devon Jester, convicted as a juvenile in the 2020 murder of rapper Pop Smoke, was sentenced Aug. 13 to four years in county jail for distributing fentanyl while serving time in a county juvenile detention facility.
Jester, of Sylmar, pleaded no contest June 23 to one felony count each of possession for sale of a controlled substance, bringing contraband into a jail, and bringing contraband into a juvenile hall. Prosecutors said that on Dec. 14, 2025, while Jester was housed at Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall, his mother, Nickia Tyonia Randall, visited him and allegedly attempted to pass him two latex balls containing fentanyl pills; one was recovered and found to contain 25 fentanyl pills.
Randall was charged with the same three felony counts, and her case remains pending after being filed for a warrant in February.
“Deijae Jester committed a devastating crime when he took the life of Pop Smoke. Because he was a juvenile, the law afforded him an opportunity for redemption. Instead of embracing that opportunity, he chose to traffic one of the deadliest drugs imaginable from inside a juvenile detention facility,” said Hochman. “He was given the chance at rehabilitation by serving seven years in a juvenile hall but he chose to smuggle in fentanyl. Now he faces multiple years in county jail. If you continue to commit serious crimes after being given a second chance, this office will hold you fully accountable. I hope others take notice before making the same destructive choices.”
Valladares slams gutting of child sex-crime survivor protections
State Sen. Suzette Martinez Valladares (R-Lancaster, Palmdale, Santa Clarita, portions of the Antelope Valley) blasted the Assembly Appropriations Committee this week after it stripped key protections from her bill, Kayleigh’s Law, which would have allowed judges to issue 20-year protective orders at sentencing for people convicted of felony sex offenses against a minor.
Senate Bill 1395 passed through multiple policy committees with its full protections intact before reaching the Appropriations Committee, whose role is typically to assess a bill’s cost rather than rewrite its policy. The committee’s revised version would cut the protective order to 10 years, or until a minor victim turns 18, whichever is later — half of what the bill originally provided.
Valladares said survivors are currently forced to return to court repeatedly to maintain basic protection against their abusers, a cycle the original bill was designed to end.
“No survivor should have to keep facing their abuser in court just to stay protected,” said Valladares. “What the Assembly Appropriations Committee did is not a compromise. It is a betrayal of every child victim this bill was designed to protect.”
Valladares noted that stronger versions of the law already exist in other states, and that a federal version of Kayleigh’s Law with even stronger protections, including lifetime protective orders, is advancing through Congress with bipartisan support.
The bill is named for survivor and advocate Kayleigh Kozak and is co-sponsored by the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls. Valladares is calling on her colleagues to reject the gutted version and restore the full 20-year protective order.
Mitchell celebrates $236M in bond financing for La Brea Tar Pits
Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell (D-Inglewood, Hawthorne, Gardena, Compton, Carson) joined Gov. Gavin Newsom in celebrating $236 million in bond financing from the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank to support the La Brea Tar Pits Reimagine Project, located in her Second District.
The financing will help fund a renovated museum, the addition of the Samuel Oschin Global Center for Ice Age Research, and an expanded Hancock Park, as part of what officials describe as a once-in-a-generation transformation of the world’s only active urban Ice Age fossil site.
“The significance of this $236 million in financing goes beyond the dollars. At its core, this is about the impact private-public partnerships can have in investing in opportunities and shared spaces that make access to science, wonder, and exploration more accessible for all,” said Mitchell. “For more than a century, the LA County Natural History Museum has uncovered and preserved the stories and data held beneath our feet at the La Brea Tar Pits, helping to further our understanding of our world.”
“I want to thank Governor Newsom and IBank for building on the County’s commitment to this work with additional financing to advance the La Brea Tar Pits Reimagined Project,” Mitchell continued. “This transformative project will include a renovated museum, the addition of the Samuel Oschin Global Center for Ice Age Research, an expanded Hancock Park, and more opportunities for our residents, visitors and especially our youngest constituents to be inspired for generations to come.”
Chu honors 10 San Gabriel Valley leaders at annual awards ceremony
U.S. Rep. Judy Chu (D-Pasadena, Monterey Park, San Gabriel, Alhambra, the west San Gabriel Valley) hosted her annual Congressional Leadership of the Year Awards Ceremony Saturday in Arcadia, honoring 10 individuals and organizations from across the San Gabriel Valley for their community service.
Several honorees have direct ties to Eaton Fire recovery in Altadena: Fair Oaks Burger, owned by Christy and Janet Lee, was recognized as Business of the Year for becoming a community gathering place after the fire, hosting farmers’ markets and food giveaways, while Webster’s Community Pharmacy, marking 100 years serving Altadena, was honored for raising recovery funds through its “Beautiful Altadena 91101” merchandise line and operating the neighborhood’s Village Post Office. Altadena Meals on Wheels, honored as Nonprofit of the Year, was recognized for rebuilding its senior meal delivery service from the ground up after the fire.
“This year’s honorees are our everyday leaders, the educators, volunteers, activists, and small business owners who have made a real difference in the San Gabriel Valley,” said Chu. “I’m proud to recognize them all, not only for their accomplishments, but for the lasting impact they make every single day. Their service reminds us of the importance of community, showing up for others, and the difference one person can make.”
The full list of honorees included Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Ringo Chiu of Temple City for the Building Bridges Award; Javier Arellano of Upland’s Taco Bout Good and Ruben Karapetian of the Armenian National Committee of America’s Western Region as Community Activists of the Year; Dean Sheldon Serwin of South Pasadena and Otis Triplett, an 88-year-old Army veteran who volunteers with the Pasadena Police Department, as Volunteers of the Year; La Cañada High School senior Mikaela Hong, founder of the Pediatric Hope Project, as Youth of the Year; and longtime Alhambra Unified School District board member Robert “Bob” L. Gin, who received the Lifetime Achievement Award.
