Horvath mourns fatal Chatsworth bus and helicopter tragedy
Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath (D-Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Calabasas, Malibu, Pacoima, Panorama City) mourned the victims and vowed a full investigation into two linked tragedies in Chatsworth that killed at least five people Tuesday.
A Metro Line 166 bus was struck around 5 p.m. by a wrong-way SUV at Nordhoff Street and De Soto Avenue, killing two people and injuring six. The driver, identified as Bailee Lynn Rios, 36, of Simi Valley, has been arrested on murder charges.
About two hours later and roughly a quarter-mile away, an NBC4 and Telemundo 52 news helicopter covering the bus crash went down and burst into flames between two commercial buildings, killing pilot George Marciniw, reporter Eliana Moreno, and one person on the ground. A fourth person was hospitalized. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the helicopter crash.
“This is a devastating moment for Chatsworth and for all of Los Angeles,” said Horvath. “My heart is first and foremost with the victims’ families, with the loved ones, with those who were injured, and with everyone whose life changed by what happened here.”
Horvath said she was on the ground in Chatsworth Tuesday night with public safety and city officials, and pledged a full accounting of what happened.
“We share a commitment with our City partners, with our partners at Metro, federal agencies and our public safety agencies to fully understand what happened. That means a thorough investigation… following the facts and working hard, hand in hand with everyone involved to ensure that families and everyone involved receive justice.”
Bass praises ruling limiting warrantless immigration arrests
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass praised a federal court ruling this week that significantly restricts when immigration agents can make warrantless arrests in Southern California.
The ruling is the latest development in Vasquez Perdomo v. Noem, a case filed in June 2025 by detained individuals and immigrant rights groups, challenging ICE and Border Patrol tactics during a months long surge of immigration raids across the region.
The suit alleged agents conducted suspicionless stops and warrantless arrests based on factors like a person’s apparent race, accent, or occupation, including at day-labor sites.
U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong first sided with plaintiffs in July 2025, barring agents from stopping people based on those factors. The Supreme Court later stayed that order pending further proceedings.
Frimpong’s newest ruling, a preliminary injunction granted Sept. 2 and unsealed this week, takes a narrower approach: rather than addressing who agents may stop, it requires agents to document specific, particularized facts supporting their belief that a person is likely to flee before arresting someone without a warrant.
“For more than a year, families across our city have lived with the fear that a trip to work, a walk down the street, or a goodbye in the morning could end with a loved one being taken away,” said Bass. “Today’s ruling is an important protection against the warrantless arrests that have racially targeted Angelenos and terrorized communities.”
Hahn condemns House vote to block California’s ship pollution rules
Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn (D-Long Beach, San Pedro, Diamond Bar, Whittier, Cerritos, Downey, Torrance, Redondo Beach, Hacienda Heights) is condemning a House vote to overturn California’s authority to enforce stricter air pollution limits on ships docked at the state’s ports.
The House voted 216-211 Tuesday night to pass a resolution rescinding the EPA’s authorization of California’s expanded At-Berth Regulation, which requires ships to shut off diesel engines and plug into shore power, or use pollution-capture technology, while docked.
State regulators estimate the rule costs about $2.23 billion to implement but delivers $2.32 billion in avoided health costs, cutting at-berth pollution by roughly 90%. The measure still requires Senate approval before it could reach the president’s desk.
“Congressional Republicans are trying to roll back decades of efforts we have made here in Los Angeles to protect our port communities from the pollution that ships spew when they are docked,” said Hahn. “These Members of Congress do not breathe the air we do in San Pedro, Wilmington, and Long Beach. Their children do not have asthma from this dirty air. Their family members do not have cancer because of diesel fumes from container ships. I urge our US Senators to block this harmful bill.”
Barger appoints Lauffer to Measure ER oversight committee
Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger (R-Palmdale, Lancaster, Santa Clarita, San Marino, Pasadena, La Cañada Flintridge, portions of San Gabriel Valley) secured unanimous Board of Supervisors approval Tuesday for her appointment of Margaret Lee “Marlee” Lauffer to the Measure ER Citizens’ Oversight Advisory Committee, the nine-member body charged with monitoring how revenue from the county’s voter-approved health care sales tax is spent.
Measure ER, approved by voters in June 2026, established a half-cent sales tax to help fund county hospitals, community clinics and other safety-net health services amid federal cuts to Medi-Cal funding.
“Marlee has spent her career building trust between institutions and the communities they serve,” said Barger. “That’s exactly the perspective this committee needs as we hold the County accountable for every dollar Measure ER raises.”
Lauffer retired in June 2026 after 11 years as president of the Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital Foundation, where she led fundraising efforts that secured more than $15 million for the hospital’s new patient tower.
Lauffer will join the committee as it begins its work reviewing Measure ER revenue and expenditures. The committee will recommend changes to the Board of Supervisors before it adopts a spending plan next Spring for fiscal year 2027-2028.
