Fires and ICE
It’s the end-of-the-year episode! And what a horrible year it has been! Alissa, Rachel, and Mike recap the biggest stories, the stories that didn’t get nearly enough attention, and what to look forward to next year. (Yes, there are some things to look forward to!) Plus: predictions for 2026 and what will be a very big election year for LA. Check out last year’s end-of-the-year show to see what we got right (and wrong) LA Mayor Karen Bass started 2025 seemingly invincible and after missteps, reversals, and delays now seems politically vulnerable Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky had an incredible year challenging the status quo of LA’s fiscal woes . Here’s her final speech of 2025 , captured by Unrig LA: “Public safety is about more than police... it's about having enough money to paint our own damn crosswalks and not having rogue volunteers doing it for us” Local journalism flourished in the face of adversity: LA Taco , The LA Local , Boyle Heights Beat , The LA Reporter , Mar Vista Voice , Golden State , Streetsblog LA , and Alissa’s mega-event newsletter Torched — with more new publications still to come Six local publications banded together to cover ICE : LA Public Press , Caló News , Capital & Main , Capital B , LA Taco , and Q Voice Revisiting Emily Baumgaertner Nunn’s New York Times investigation about the Blade, the 50-block sex-trafficking corridor on LA’s Figueroa Street City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto is facing a new alleged ethical breach after a declaration in CA superior court accuses her of contacting an expert witness in a case against the city and asking him for a campaign contribution. The lawsuit spurred a major LA Times investigation about reckless LAPD driving. The case was settled for $18 million, “thought to be the most city taxpayers have ever paid to resolve a police collision case” Feldstein Soto also put another major campaign donor , Mark Adams, in charge of the Skid Row Housing Trust as it was dissolving, only to remove him later Last year, a city attorney who works for Feldstein Soto filed a declaration saying she prosecuted people based on “personal relationships” or “perceived political gain” After a judge concluded that Councilmember John Lee violated laws on receiving and reporting gifts, LA’s City Ethics Commission fined Lee a staggering $138,000 Re-live the 2020 Department of Justice filing after the surrender of Mitch Englander, Lee’s former boss, and read Scott’s 2021 assessment of Lee’s role: “ A Co-Conspirator on City Council ” There has been at least one call for him to resign , by Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo who represents a big part of CD 12 Councilmember Curren Price pled not guilty to corruption charges filed by the LA District Attorney’s office. Prosecutors filed an amended complaint in September alleging two additional counts of conflict of interest relating to development and land use. Price was arraigned and the DA’s office rejected a motion to dismiss the public corruption charges Scott called the local charges faced by Price “outlandish and flimsy" but Price was one of three sitting councilmembers being investigated by the FBI in the original search warrant that took down Englander and former councilmember Jose Huizar, along with other Garcetti administration officials including former deputy mayor Ray Chan, who was sentenced to jail last year Anyway, this all makes reforming the city’s land-use decisions even more important! You can join a public assembly or become an ambassador for Rewrite LA , the new effort to bring more Angelenos inside the charter reform process. Sign up for updates at rewritela.org/deliberate Will Rick Caruso announce his (second) campaign for LA mayor on January 7, the anniversary of the fires? Will the announcement happen at his unscathed Palisades mall, which is supposed to reopen in 2026 ? He’s got a Christmas tree up and ready to go Will LA County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath also run for LA mayor ? After Bass published an op-ed in the LA Daily News