Hahn proclaims Cambodian Heritage Month, Genocide Remembrance Day
Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn (D-South Bay, Gateway Cities) directed the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday to proclaim tomorrow, April 17, as Cambodian Genocide Remembrance Day and the month of April as Cambodian Heritage Month.
Los Angeles County is home to one of the largest Cambodian communities outside Cambodia, centered in Long Beach in Hahn’s district. April 17 marks the 51st anniversary of the fall of Phnom Penh in 1975, which ushered in the Khmer Rouge regime and the deaths of millions of Cambodians.
“While many Cambodian Americans continue to cope with the atrocities they witnessed and experienced, the thriving Cambodian community centered in Long Beach is a testament to the perseverance and unbreakable spirit of the Cambodian people,” Hahn said. “I believe that it is important that as the Cambodian community marks the 51st anniversary of the darkest period in their history, that Los Angeles County joins them and takes the opportunity to recognize their resilience and lifts up the many ways they have made us a stronger and better county.”
Hahn first led the effort to have the County officially recognize the Cambodian Genocide and establish Cambodian Genocide Remembrance Day in 2017.
She is also a longtime sponsor of the annual Long Beach Cambodia Festival, which took place on April 4.
Kamlager-Dove introduces bill requiring EPA to account for climate change at Superfund sites
U.S. Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Ladera Heights, Culver City, View Park, and communities along the mid-city and South Los Angeles corridor) introduced legislation Tuesday requiring the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to incorporate climate change risks into its management and cleanup plans for Superfund toxic waste sites.
The bill arrives weeks after the EPA’s own Office of Inspector General found that roughly 100 of the nation’s most contaminated federal Superfund sites sit in areas prone to flooding or wildfire — and that most five-year cleanup plans fail to account for those risks.
About 3 million Americans live within a mile of a Superfund site designated as a priority. Fifteen of those sites are in LA County, where January’s wildfires underscored how quickly disaster can threaten communities living near toxic contamination.
“With 15 active EPA Superfund sites across LA County, climate-driven disasters like last year’s LA Fires threaten to upend pollution cleanup efforts that keep our neighbors safe,” Kamlager-Dove said.
The Preparing Superfund for Climate Change Act of 2026, co-introduced with U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), would require the EPA to factor natural disasters and extreme weather into both cleanup plans and periodic site reviews. The Trump administration has scrubbed the term “climate change” from federal websites and fired the EPA’s inspector general last year — making the legislation an uphill fight in the current Congress.
U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) introduced companion legislation on the Senate side.
Bass, Aussies sign Olympic partnership MOU
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass signed a Memorandum of Understanding yesterday with Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner, formally linking the host cities of the 2028 and 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games in a partnership covering sustainability, housing, economic development, transportation, and cultural exchange.
The two cities also signed a Letter of Intent to establish a Sister City relationship. Brisbane will host the 2032 Games, making it the third Australian city to host the Olympics after Melbourne in 1956 and Sydney in 2000.
“Los Angeles is not just preparing to host the world in 2028 — we are leading on sustainability, housing, and economic development, setting a standard for how Host Cities can collaborate and innovate together,” Bass said.
The partnership comes as Brisbane advances its own preparations, including construction of a new 63,000-seat stadium at Victoria Park that will serve as the centerpiece of the 2032 Games.
For Los Angeles, the MOU arrives as LA28 ramps up operational planning with venue confirmations underway and tickets going on sale.
The two cities plan to exchange lessons on transit planning, homelessness, and disaster preparedness — areas where both face significant challenges as they head into their respective Games.
Richardson launches second round of Long Beach ADU loan program
Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson announced this week the second round of the city’s Backyard Builders loan program, which helps lower-income homeowners finance, design, permit, and build accessory dwelling units on their properties.
The program provides income-qualified homeowners loans of up to $250,000 at a below-market 2% interest rate, with payments deferred for the life of the 30-year loan — meaning most borrowers pay nothing until the loan term ends or the property changes hands.
“Backyard Builders has been a tremendous success since it launched in 2024,” Richardson said. “This second round of the program will transform more lives, whether that’s a homeowner making space for a grandparent or renters simply looking for more options.”
The program will finance the construction of at least 16 ADUs, up from 10 in the first round of funding, and provide project management assistance at no cost to homeowners, guiding them through the ADU design, permitting, construction, and lease-up processes.
To be eligible for the program, applicants must own and occupy a single-family home in the designated program area and meet the State’s definition of lower-income.
The 2026 income limits for the second round of Backyard Builders have not yet been released. Other eligibility factors that will be considered include applicants’ debt, mortgage payments and property taxes, and maintenance of a homeowner’s insurance policy.
Prospective applicants should be aware that deferred loans typically require a balloon payment — the full accumulated balance — when the home is sold or the loan term ends, which can affect the equity homeowners expect to have built.
Applications open in Summer 2026. Homeowners interested in the program can find information and eligibility requirements at longbeach.gov/lbcd.
