Bass, council tout city’s new say in homeless housing
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass joined City Council members to announce that the city will, for the first time, decide who moves into permanent supportive housing and other affordable units paid for by city taxpayers, under an agreement with the county that LACP reported yesterday.
The agreement lets the city match homeless people to city-funded housing units within city limits, while the county takes over the region’s homeless data and housing-matching systems.
Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson (D-South Los Angeles) and Councilmembers Imelda Padilla (D-Van Nuys, Arleta, Lake Balboa, Panorama City, Sun Valley, North Hills) and Tim McOsker (D-San Pedro) joined Bass. Councilmember Ysabel Jurado (D-Boyle Heights), who chairs the council’s Homelessness and Health Committee, introduced the motion directing city officials to draft a binding agreement with the county.
“For too long, homelessness in L.A. has been managed by a tangle of city, county, and regional agencies, which has made it hard for anyone to be held accountable – today we’re taking a monumental step to fix this. I am proud that, for the first time, the City of Los Angeles can address policies that have not prioritized Angelenos for housing in our own backyard and administer part of the system that decides how and when people on our streets are housed,” said Bass.
Currently, 91% of the units the city sets aside for homeless people go to households from across the county, with no preference for the city’s unhoused residents, according to the mayor’s office. The city says it has built more than 10,000 affordable housing units in the past four years.
The county frames the deal more narrowly. Its board letter says the city agreed it cannot prioritize people in its own programs over other homeless people, and that any preference for city residents will be left to joint policy recommendations due within 60 days of the county taking over. The county can also cancel the city’s contract if matching is slow or breaks the rules.
“The City of Los Angeles is home to both a majority of the region’s people experiencing homelessness and the vast majority of the housing and beds needed to address this crisis. It only makes sense that the City has the information and authority necessary to connect our residents with the beds we’ve worked so hard to create,” said McOsker.
“Now it’s up to both the City and County to follow through on these commitments, hold one another accountable, and make sure our common understanding translates into real results for the people who are counting on us,” the lawmaker added.
Bonta sues Chiquita Canyon Landfill owners over toxic leaks
California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued Waste Connections and the other owners and operators of the Chiquita Canyon Landfill yesterday, accusing them of repeatedly mishandling hazardous waste from an underground reaction that has plagued nearby Santa Clarita Valley neighborhoods since 2022.
The 639-acre landfill near Castaic opened in 1972. Since May 2022, a chemical reaction deep in the buried trash has driven temperatures as high as 260 degrees, spreading from 20 acres to at least 90. It releases odors and toxic fumes and produces millions of gallons of contaminated liquid, called leachate, that has been found to contain benzene.
The landfill stopped accepting trash at the start of 2025. Last November, it spilled 8,000 gallons of hazardous leachate, and in December, stormwater mixed with leachate flowed into Castaic Creek, which feeds the Santa Clara River, according to Bonta’s office. The nearest community, Val Verde, sits about 1,000 feet from the landfill, and other neighborhoods and 10 schools are nearby.
“Protecting the environment and safeguarding Californians requires quick and effective action from the Chiquita Canyon Landfill’s owners and operators. For too long, the Chiquita Canyon Landfill has done the opposite, which has resulted in numerous spills of leachate and other violations of our state’s hazardous waste laws,” said Bonta.
The lawsuit, filed with the state Department of Toxic Substances Control, seeks civil penalties, forfeiture of profits and a cleanup fund. It joins suits already filed by LA County, the South Coast Air Quality Management District and residents.
“For years, families living near Chiquita Canyon Landfill have endured dangerous conditions, toxic gasses, and serious impacts to their health and safety, while those responsible have repeatedly failed to protect our community. No company should be allowed to put its profits ahead of the health of our families or the safety of our community. I want to thank Attorney General Bonta and the DTSC for taking this critical step to hold the landfill accountable and enforce the laws meant to protect us,” said Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo (D-Santa Clarita, Chatsworth, Granada Hills, Porter Ranch, Northridge, Castaic).
Feldstein Soto sues Studio City pet store over ‘puppy laundering’
Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto has sued Wagmor Pets in Studio City, its owner Melissa Bacelar and related businesses, accusing them of buying dogs from commercial breeders, including puppy mills, and reselling them to families as rescues.
The lawsuit alleges the defendants used several entities, including a purported nonprofit, to buy and resell hundreds, possibly thousands, of dogs, violating laws that ban pet stores from selling live dogs and newer laws that bar dog brokers from selling puppies.
It also alleges that numerous dogs died after being adopted. The practice, known as puppy laundering, lets sellers charge “adoption fees” that can reach thousands of dollars, according to the ASPCA, while keeping commercial breeding operations in business. The suit seeks a permanent injunction, restitution for buyers and civil penalties.
“Los Angeles and California have some of the strongest animal welfare laws in the country, and my office is committed to enforcing them. Families who open their homes to rescue animals deserve honesty, not deception. We allege that the defendants exploited many Angelenos’ compassion for financial gain while putting vulnerable animals’ welfare at risk,” said Feldstein Soto.
Anyone who bought a dog from Wagmor Pets or has information about the case can contact the City Attorney’s Office at att.wagmorpets@lacity.org.
Cisneros bill orders review of military suicide prevention
U.S. Rep. Gil Cisneros (D-Covina, West Covina, Baldwin Park, El Monte, Azusa, La Puente) introduced legislation requiring the Defense Department’s inspector general to review each military branch’s efforts to prevent suicides, suicide attempts and suicidal thoughts among service members.
Suicide remains a persistent crisis in the military. There were 365 suicides among active-duty service members in 2023, and 304 suspected or confirmed suicides in 2024, according to Defense Department reports.
Among veterans, the suicide rate was 36.4 per 100,000 in 2024, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. The VA’s previous report counted 6,398 veteran suicides in 2023, about 17.5 a day, with the year after leaving the military among the riskiest periods.
“There has not been an investigation into each military branch’s suicide prevention programs since 2021, when there was a string of suicides on the USS George Washington at port in Norfolk. Unfortunately, that report confirmed the Navy could have done more. Mental health legislation, like the Brandon Act, is not being carried out to its full extent, and servicemembers are suffering because of it. The military branches owe it to servicemembers and their families to do everything they can to prevent suicide,” said Cisneros.
The Brandon Act, passed in 2021, lets service members request a mental health evaluation confidentially, without going through their chain of command.
Service members, veterans and their families in crisis can reach the Veterans Crisis Line by dialing 988 and pressing 1, or by texting 838255.
