Thursday, February 12, 2026
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Welcome to “The Kill Zone”

Reporters Desk
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Welcome to “The Kill Zone”

Life and Death, Courtesy of Jones Chemicals in the Harbor Gateway

By Rick Thomas, Columnist and Harbor Gateway Community Activist

They call themselves “neighbors.”

And wanted us to respond to them using the same title.

“Them” being Jones Chemicals, Inc., that is.

Neighbors?

How about… polluters?

Residents learned at a recent Harbor Gateway South Neighborhood Council meeting, hosted at Councilman Tim McOsker’s new field office at the Enclave, that Jones Chemicals, Inc. wants to introduce itself to the community.

More on the Enclave as you continue reading… but drumroll please… “Let’s bring to the stage… Jones Chemicals, Inc.!”

For those of us who live in Harbor Gateway, Jones Chemicals, Inc. hasn’t brought goodwill or welcome mats.

Jones Chemicals, Inc.?

They’ve brought nothing more than danger. And misery. And chaos.

They are nothing more than environmental polluters.

Not neighbors.

Jones Chemicals’ footprint is just steps from the modular-built Cheryl Green Boys & Girls Club facility, because the soil is too contaminated for permanent foundations. Also, I live in that neighborhood. What the Del Amo Action Committee now calls “The Kill Zone.”

 

It’s called “The Kill Zone” because of that environmental polluter known as Jones Chemicals, Inc. The place where toxins seep into the ground, cloud the air, and kill residents in the Harbor Gateway.

But silence echoes in the chambers of City Hall.

Until now.

Thanks to the Del Amo Action Committee — DAAC for short — residents are finally organizing.

But let me be clear: one mistake from Jones Chemicals, Inc. dumping chemicals here, one lapse in containment or oversight, and the results could be catastrophic.

I want more Christmases. More time to sing along with The Whispers: “And this Christmas will be a very special Christmas… for me.”

But that future isn’t promised — not here.

Not in “The Kill Zone.”

Cancel Christmas, pal.

Politicians are shaking hands with corporations like Jones Chemicals, Inc., while those same corporations are poisoning us as law enforcement institutions cling to the motto “to protect and serve” — but who, exactly, are they protecting and serving?

Apparently not us.

Here in the “The Kill Zone,” families breathe and step onto chemicals they can’t even pronounce. Children walk past fenced-off “cleanup sites” on their way to school or to the Cheryl Green Boys & Girls Club. Asthma, rashes and unexplained illnesses have become a way of life for those of us living here.

All from the likes of Jones Chemical, Inc.

For a time, I tried to play the game. I believed maybe, just maybe I could be transactional — trade a little favor by being quiet for a little safety — a little leverage for a little peace of mind.

I thought I could work with the system.

Maybe work within the system.

But I can’t sell out my community in the Harbor Gateway.

I just can’t.

That ain’t me.

And that community, by the way, is stretching into the Harbor City section of Tim McOkser’s Council District 15.

More to come on that.

I’d rather work for free, for the people who actually live here — the ones who actually breathe the toxic air and walk on the toxic ground, rather than sell out to weak politicians.

Or sell out to those who are supposed to protect and serve.

Because they are killing us, slowly but surely. Murdering the safety of our communities…

And it’s unacceptable.

There’s no negotiating with rot that allows a company like Jones Chemicals, Inc. to operate just feet from children’s playgrounds and homes.

It’s not a negotiation.

It’s a fight.

I won’t tell the whole story, but I will give a hint or two on what may be coming. But until our air is clean, our soil is safe, and our children can play without fear of contamination, the Del Amo Action Committee isn’t backing down.

And neither am I.

Let’s circle back to that neighborhood council meeting at Tim McOsker’s new office, located in the ultra-modern retail/office complex on 190th Street. You’ve probably driven past the Enclave, but if you blink, you’ll miss it. There’s Nook, the popular coffee shop, Trademark Brewery, the Long Beach Fish Grill (still on my to-do list), and one of my favorites — 123 Pho.

This place is cool.

Buzzing.

Optimistic.

But dig a little deeper, and you’ll see what’s festering beneath the surface of this office complex. Because guess who rents office space at the Enclave along with Councilman Tim McOsker?

Jones Chemicals, Inc.

The environmental polluters.

That’s right — Councilmember McOsker’s office is on the first floor, and Jones Chemicals?

Ninth floor.

Same building.

Same air.

I don’t need PhD-level intelligence to do the math here. Truly my minus-7 credits in a baccalaureate degree in political science at Temple University are enough education for me to be able to read between the lines.

Mama didn’t raise no fool!

Brings to mind the phrase, “There are no secrets in life, just hidden truths that lie beneath the surface.”

That quote comes from an appropriate character in the Showtime television series Dexter. The lead character was a serial killer, so he fits right in with what’s going on with the environmental polluters known as Jones Chemicals, Inc.

I liked Dexter when it was on Showtime, but watching it is different than, well, living it.

At the neighborhood council meeting, sitting right in front of me was Tim Ross, vice president of operations for Jones Chemicals, Inc. He looked familiar, and for a moment I couldn’t place him.

But then it clicked — Tim Ross from Jones Chemicals, Inc. manages the trucks I’ve seen rolling through residential streets, transporting hazardous materials.

I’ve met him before.

That was the first time he was rude to me.

So, when it came time for questions, of course I spoke up. With all the sarcasm I could muster, I asked, “Oh, so your trucks are the ones — marked with ‘JCI’ — driving illegally down residential streets, past children and families and cats and dogs and chickens and ducks and veterans and yes, even gangbangers, right?”

Alright, I embellished a bit, but you see my point.

He didn’t like that.

Not one bit.

But guess what, Tim Ross?

I don’t care.

This community has fought hard to stop tractor trailers and other big rigs from using residential streets to get to the freeways to make their deliveries. We understand fully where we live and that it’s not going to get any better. More real estate is now available for other trucking firms to locate in the Harbor Gateway.

It’s a byproduct of where we reside.

But we don’t have to live in “The Kill Zone.”

We’re going to see a lot of trucks in the hood. We worked with the trucking companies on Denker Avenue to stay the hell off residential streets in the Harbor Gateway. The Los Angeles Police Department collaborated with this community to put up signage to prevent that nasty practice from continuing.

So then I learned from Tim Ross that Jones Chemicals, Inc. was given the OK to roll down residential streets. So, I asked the question aloud, “Who gave you, Jones Chemicals, Inc., permission to go down residential streets in our community?”

I didn’t like the answer. But I can be transactional if I get what I need to protect members of my community. So it’s not about me.

For now.

Back to that neighborhood council meeting.

After my question, Tim Ross from Jones Chemicals, Inc. went on a slight tirade.

He was rude to me, again.

“Our trucks don’t come down those streets and if you see any of our trucks going down those streets, I will fire that driver!” he shouted.

“All right, calm down fool,” I said.

OK I said that to myself. I’m a runner not a fighter.

“Um, Tim Ross from Jones Chemicals, Inc.? Would you like to see the photos… of your trucks… going down Del Amo Boulevard?”

Pissed off. I left. I was done.

Everything stinks here as Jones Chemicals, Inc., the polluters in the Harbor Gateway, are the developers of the so-called “The Kill Zone.” Maybe I should have asked, “Why the hell is Jones Chemicals, Inc., the polluters, not our neighbor, introducing themselves to a community of residents that they are killing?”

In a text that night I wrote to Councilman McOsker about what took place in HIS office.

“I am just stunned.”

Environmental polluters… Jones Chemicals, Inc.

Tim McOsker texted back that he would take care of it in the morning. I texted, “If this were San Pedro we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

There were a lot more words in that conversation. But it’s just another example of how the elected leaders and those that are supposed to be looking out for the best interest of the communities they represent, don’t.

They just don’t.

But “We don’t give up until the clock says zero.” Sports verbiage I heard this year from an NBA all star who competed to the point where he will miss a full year of future contests and competition because of a torn achilles tendon in Game 7 of the NBA championship.

You don’t give up “until the clock says zero.”

“… our office has received numerous concerns from residents regarding truck traffic associated with your facility along Del Amo Boulevard,” Councilman Tim McOsker wrote in a letter to Tim Ross at Jones Chemicals, Inc.

“Our office will be coordinating with the Los Angeles Department of Transportation to install the appropriate signage along Del Amo Boulevard to ensure compliance and improve safety and quality of life for nearby residents,” he continued.

I guess sometimes you gotta be a prick, and well, rude, to get shit done.

“Continued violations may result in further enforcement action.”

Well, that could have been a bit stronger, Tim. I might have written something like, “Continued violations WILLresult in further enforcement action.”

Jones Chemicals, Inc. is killing human beings in the Harbor Gateway.

There’s no “may result” rather “will” result.

Jones Chemicals, Inc. went through an Environmental Protection Agency inspection in 2024 and the EPA determined that Jones Chemicals, Inc. had seven… I repeat, seven “areas of concern” that needed to be addressed at their Harbor Gateway facility.

Seven “areas of concern.”

Seven.

Just one area of concern is troubling enough. But seven?

That’s just this location.

Do a search for Jones Chemicals, Inc. and another one of their environmental polluting sites pops up. This is in Caledonia, New York. From the EPA report on issues at that location they wrote, “Spills occurred during the transfer and repackaging of many of these chemicals, contaminating soils and groundwater with hazardous chemicals.”

Jones Chemicals, Inc. are long time, serial, environmental polluters because this report in Caledonia, New York was written by the EPA back in 1986.

Yeah, these are the guys I want to be in bed with so let’s welcome them into the neighborhood, right?

No.

I can easily say no.

In future posts I will focus on the Del Amo Action Committee with respect to Jones Chemicals, Inc. The Del Amo Action Committee wants Jones Chemicals, Inc. shut down.

The community wants them shut down as well.

“As we proceed,” in the words of the philosopher Biggie Smalls, I will share the response to a letter sent to Jeffrey Jones, chairman and CEO of Jones Chemicals, Inc. Said letter was sent by Rep. Nanette Barragán, who represents our community now.

“… the most recent EPA inspection found the company failed to maintain their responsibilities as required by federal law, “ she wrote about their Harbor Gateway location.

Jones Chemicals, Inc. must respond back to her in 60 days from the May 22, 2025 correspondence.

Not “may” respond.

Must.

I’ve met Rep. Nanette Barragán.

Several times.

Um, quick note to Jeffrey Jones, Jones Chemicals, Inc. chairman and CEO…

PSSST!

I would respond back to her sooner rather than later if I were you.

Stay tuned.

This is just the pilot… maybe I should pitch this story to Showtime.

I know.

This is not funny.

In a time where I just want to produce Christian stand up comedy shows and heartwarming content about military wives on military bases saving lost dogs, I gotta deal with the mess about Jones Chemicals, Inc. polluting our community.

OK then, I will.

This is just the first episode of many more episodes to come concerning the drama and the tragedy known as “The Kill Zone,” directed and produced in surround sound, Technicolor and IMAX by the environmental polluters in the Harbor Gateway known as Jones Chemicals, Inc.

Airport Workers Push For Alternative Jet Fuels

Paul Rosenberg
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Airport Workers Push For Alternative Jet Fuels

Unlike the controversies over bio-fuels, there’s virtual unanimity for including jet fuel in the overall phase-out of fossil fuels in California’s transportation sector. The only questions are “Will it begin quickly?” and “Will it be done right?” Dozens of union airport workers, including union officers, showed up at the California Air Resources Board public hearing on the Low Carbon Fuel Standards update on September 28 to demand that it will.

“I developed pneumonia, asthma, and diabetes. I have respiratory problems,” said Oscar Antonio, a 23-year airport worker. “I am exposed to airplane fumes all day long,” said LAX cargo worker David Goddard. “On really bad days, I have trouble catching my breath and it’s difficult to breathe. A lot of my coworkers have developed asthma and breathing problems.”

“In 2019, I was diagnosed with COPD. No, I’m not a smoker, but I guess I breathe jet fuel on a daily,” said Jovan Houston, LAX worker and SEIU-USWW executive board member.

COPD, or Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a common lung disease causing restricted airflow and breathing problems.

“I live seven minutes from LAX. So when I lay in my bed at night, I see jet fuel flying, dumping over my house. This is the type of air that I breathe on a daily basis.”

“Even though I work inside the terminal, my job at the airport exposes me to air pollution that impacts my health and the health of my coworkers,” said security officer Davonni Sturdivant. “I have asthma and the pollution and smell of the fumes that I am exposed to on the job definitely makes it worse. The fumes come into the terminal sometimes and I have trouble breathing and I get bad headaches and migraines from it.”

“SEIU members are here in solidarity with other black immigrant communities fighting for environmental justice,” said Armando M. “We support the farm worker communities fighting to end air pollution from methane crediting. We stand in solidarity with the communities living near pollution jet fuel refineries. We are suffering from the same health impacts.”

How quickly and strictly CARB acts in response will become apparent in the months ahead.

Read the main story of this sidebar.

 

LA County Assessor Prang ― What LA County Residents Need to Now About Their Property Taxes

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LA County Assessor Prang ― What LA County Residents Need to Now About Their Property Taxes

Over the past three years, California has lost nearly a million people to states like Texas due to the housing affordability crisis. It’s bad enough that during a time when folks are concerned about generational wealth and passing on assets to their children without being taxed into oblivion, Californians passed two tax-related amendments over the past three years. It will be three if the repeal of the voter-enacted changes to property tax rules for transfers between family members gains enough signatures in time for the 2024 November ballot.

Last month, Random Lengths News publisher James Allen interviewed Los Angeles County Property Assessor Jeffrey Prang about these stress points and more. The interview can be viewed at www.randonlengthsnews.com.

Prang was first elected to County Assessor’s office in 2014, but before that, he served on West Hollywood’s city council for nearly 18 years.

“I also have been working in the public sector for most of my adult life. I was a city administrator,” Prang said. “I spent a number of years in the City of Los Angeles, working for the city council and then later at the Department of Animal Services.”

Among the topics of conversation between the two was the disparity in the way the state treats wealthy families and corporations in regard to property assessments.

Oftentimes corporations with long-term leases with the Port of Los Angeles would sell or merge with another corporation without necessarily triggering a reassessment in the same way a homeowner would when selling his primary residence. Like when Union Oil sold its refinery to ConocoPhillips.

One would think that the sale of a refinery would trigger that kind of assessment because it’s basically a transfer of property. But it doesn’t. This is true for all of the many different properties that are held by a corporation that buys another corporation. As a result, the people of the county and the state are actually being shortchanged behind these corporate sales.

Prang agreed, noting that under California law, in order for a sale or transfer of property to cause a reassessment, 50% ownership has to change.

“This is actually a loophole that really only benefits corporate entities where they transfer less than 50% of an asset, sometimes over a period of time, and not trigger a reassessment,” Prang said. “So they can keep the property taxes low.”

Prang highlighted Michael Dell’s 2006 purchase of Fairmount Hotel in Santa Monica, the CEO of Dell Technologies. The hotel was assessed somewhere around $80 million, but the new market value of that hotel was closer to a quarter billion dollars.

That would have been almost a three-time increase in property taxes. So instead of purchasing the property to take full ownership, Dell assembled a limited liability company, or LLC, where he and members of his family purchased a minority share, and then that LLC purchased the hotel. Because no one individual or entity got 50% ownership, it was not considered to be a transfer even though 100% control of the hotel changed, the law determined that 50% ownership did not change. Thus, it was not really assessable.

“That’s really inequitable,” Prang said. “It’s the part of the system that really needs to be changed.

Even the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, the defenders of Prop. 13, indicated that the law was not intended to create strategies to evade taxation. It was intended to stabilize taxation. Prop. 13 is the 1978 California Constitutional amendment that rolled back most local real estate assessments to 1975 market value levels, limited the property tax rate to 1 percent plus the rate necessary to fund local voter-approved bonded indebtedness, and limited future property tax increases to a maximum of 2% per year.

“This 50% rule is done by statute,” Prang said. “So they can pass a law that says, those properties can be reassessed, but no one has been able to get it done.”

Prang surmises that advocates in favor of reforming Prop. 13 don’t want to do it piecemeal.

“They want the whole thing to go away,” Prang said. “They are afraid that if they just take little pieces of it to try to fix those broken pieces they will lose their momentum toward greater reform.”

Prang said he doesn’t agree with that perspective.

“I’ve been in government now for most of my adult life and I’ve learned sometimes the incremental approach to change, though not very satisfying, is the best way.”

The career administrator noted that Prop. 13 is so polarizing, that it’s almost impossible to have a rational conversation. It’s not as if there isn’t consensus in the state legislature, Prang said.

“There’s this legal corporate loophole, which allows them to transfer property without being reassessed. There are very few people who think that’s a fair and equitable system,” Prang said.

“If we can agree in Sacramento that there is a solution to that and address it, maybe we can look at other elements of the law that might also need to be looked at. We just need to have all sides recognize that no law is perfect.”

Prang argues that this zero-sum state of politics in regard to Prop. 13 is what leads to poorly crafted legislation having unintended consequences. He called the 2020 Property Tax Transfers, Exemptions, and Revenue for Wildfire Agencies and Counties Amendment known as Prop. 19,a dumpster fire.

“It’s an absolute crappy piece of legislation rushed through the legislature in the last week of the legislative session,” Prang said. “They didn’t do their due diligence. They didn’t vet it through expert assessors who are responsible for administering it.”

Prang noted that after Prop. 19’s passage, his office spent the next couple of months trying to dissect it and find out what they could and could not do to implement it.

“The legislature gave us two months to put it into effect,” Prang said. “I can tell you that we could not have done it in less than 12 months. Eighteen to 24 months was much more realistic because it totally changed the way we operate. [The legislature] didn’t give us any resources in terms of personnel or money even though it changed the way that our operation works.

“So let me tell you what Prop. 19 does. It does two things. One is, I think a lot of people would think it’s beneficial … it allows seniors over the age of 55, the disabled, and people who are victims of natural disasters like a flood or earthquake to transfer their property taxes when they sell their home and buy a new one. So if you owned your home since 1990 and have a relatively low tax base, you can buy a new house and take that tax base with you. So you’re not going to pay new taxes in your new more expensive home. It allows you to move anywhere in the state of California to buy a home of any value and to transfer that tax base three times, or if you’re married — six times, so the tax base becomes portable.

“So seniors, especially, want that sort of stability. The challenge with that is you lose revenue by stabilizing those taxes, so local governments were very concerned. So, what the authors did to compensate, and they didn’t talk about this publicly because it’s not very popular, but they eviscerated family inheritance benefits,” Prang said. “Under the old law, if you were a parent and you want to leave your property to your children, you can leave them your home and up to a million dollars and other property, without being assessed. So, your kids will have a tax increase. Prop. 19 rolled a lot of that back. Under Prop. 19, the only property that your children can inherit without reassessment is your primary residence. There are some conditions to that. So for them to adhere to your home and the tax base one, they have to move into that house within 12 months and they have to file the homeowner’s exemption and as long as they want that tax base to continue, they must live there in perpetuity.

Secondly, it puts a cap on how much value of that home can be transferred to the children that would be exempt from taxes or transfer the old tax base. The rule of thumb is that if the house is worth less than a million dollars, you will inherit the home and your taxes will remain the same if it’s over a million dollars. The median sales price of a single-family home in LA County is about $900,000 ― that’s half the properties in the county. The value over 1 million dollars will be assessed at market value. The first million dollars, you’ll inherit your parents’ rate over a million dollars, and you’ll get a market rate. And for those people who inherit their parents’ home and don’t plan to live in it, that home will be reassessed to market rate which may cause them to have to sell the property, Prang explained.

Indeed, the past August, the California Attorney General’s office released the Repeal of Voter-Enacted Changes To Property Tax Rules For Transfers Between Family Members. The initiative has to gain 874,641 valid signatures in order to get on the November 2024 ballot. The deadline is Feb. 20.

October Art Walk ― The Lights, Sights, and Sounds of First Thursday in San Pedro

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October Art Walk ― The Lights, Sights, and Sounds of First Thursday in San Pedro

By Baraka Noel

A sky tinged with lilac blessed the journey to 6th Street. Cooling air, a welcome respite from the day’s
heat.

Leashed dogs. The trolley. A gentle breeze animating flags around the neighborhood. Curbs lined
with trash bins and dogs barking, distantly. Birds flocking to rooftops. Lights hung festively across
the avenue.

Young folk in black t-shirts, carrying skateboards. Masks on a few faces. Folks talking on the street.
“What’s your dream job?” A lively back and forth. “Dream? That means, like, everything … right?”
The Tuna Fish Painting Co. held a pop-up shop by The Crazy Fish Grill, bookended by Salsas
Chingona and Latina Baker’s spooky desserts in their street vendoring debut.

Fresh copies of Record Collector magazine were delivered outside the Grand Emporium. A sign by Heart’s Respond welcomed visitors to a small gathering, where a fellow in a little chair drew upon an easel while a few musicians tuned their instruments.

One couldn’t help but notice the conviviality of Compagnon Wine Bistro. Thomas Compagnon
shared his strong opinion that First Thursday “takes all the parking away… pushes our regulars
away.” He explained, “Even though we were busy last night, that wasn’t always the case for First
Thursday… to give more incentive they have to come up with new ideas and have more art galleries
open later. The last few months, it’s been pretty low… We’re better off any given Thursday… I
think it’s a great event… It’s been going on for so long … Enough of the food trucks being close to
the restaurants… If people are going to be coming for the food trucks; it shouldn’t be called the art
walk. It should be the food truck festival.”

Thomas went on to talk about his restaurant. A “french bistro in downtown San Pedro … French
food … everything from scratch, including all the stocks and braising… local supplies … We use
Alma Farms, a local farm located behind Target. They are becoming a big part of the community
[with] kids programs … teaching kids to grow and plant.”

Friendly conversation bubbled out from the curated fancy of the Art and Curiosities Shop.
Art appreciators mingled in hushed tones at Menduina Schneider. The gallery’s curators, Alejandra
and Jorge Schneider asked passersby to “immerse [themselves] in the magic of finding works that not
only will marvel … but also transform.”

A band called Douglas was booked to play outside, on the corner of 6th and Mesa. Their Boogie amp
stacked onto a Fender. Their bassist locked in with his drummer, back turned on a public who
filtered the performance through lit phone screens.

The singer warned his audience to “hold on, it’s almost here” as a large brown shaggy dog arrived;
tongue bouncing to the tempo. “Hold on, it’s coming.”

Listeners hovered nearby. One barefoot dancer holding a stuffed monkey. The air of a club, waiting
for the drop. By the food trucks, a crackling loudspeaker blared out: “Nine!”

Curbside, the incongruous offerings of Cousins Maine Lobster. Grilled cheese seafood and their
hypnotic video loop, like something in the realm of Philip K. Dick. Surrounded by smiling families
and wise-eyed adolescents; a screen displayed its narrative concerning cousins, Jimmy and Sabine.
Hobnobbing with the likes of Jon Favreau and Freddie Prinze Jr, thanks to their success on Shark
Tank.

The street vendor block party went on: Inglourious Funnels. Crepes Bonaparte. Deli Doctor. Bison
Burger. Eagle Rock BBQ.

Down the block, a man seemed to prophesize. “They know when a new ice age is coming,”
murmured the solitary elder gentleman. LA Harbor’s Masonic Lodge manned a table outside
Goodfellas sports bar.

Further along, sidewalk capoeiristas chanted melodies against percussive polyrhythms.
Tambourines, maracas and atabaque. Maculeles held upright. Scooters and skaters. Street
musicians, representing Capoeira Batuque South Bay.

Arteluta Capoeira's monthly Roda at the First Thursday Art Walk. Photo by Arturo Garcia-Ayala
Arteluta Capoeira’s monthly Roda at the First Thursday Art Walk. Photo by Arturo Garcia-Ayala

Buono’s offered up free slices on their corner of Centre St. An instant hotspot; teens chasing one
another, sharing tater tots.

Off The Wall Art Designs opened its doors with a candy offering. Saucer eyed owl in the window.
Gregory Koosed welcomed visitors and heralded Halloween. A spunky gallery; its signature texture
and cobbled-together style. The two-wheeled muscle power of a versus bike and splash-toned
Interceptor motorcycle on display by the front entrance. Outside, passersby were greeted with
candy and warnings of thievery.

Nearby, next to Crimsin Cocktails stood a Tim Burtonesque purple-clad scarecrow slash skeleton.
Cake pops, baked with love, hawked on the sidewalk by mobile young vendors. What appeared to be
a child-run mini bodega out front of Badfish Clothing Company. Cinnamon buns served up in the
entrance of Old School Vintage.

The singer from Douglas inquired, “Anybody seen any UFOs lately?” before an ode to hitting ‘Rock
Bottom’. The First Thursday sidewalks were resplendent with Hello Kitty and Pokemon, totes and
mini satchels; laughter and moving shadows. Earrings for sale.

A cheerful Red Cross Club posed for photographs beside Sunken City Books. In an adjacent tent,
visitors were met with offerings of bubble tea. Gostosas catering truck nestled away from the
sparkling lights of town as the Roundtrip Collective displayed their wares.

Jovial friends consoled each other, “It’s not always sunny, but it will be tomorrow.”

Backdoor Studios invited entrance into the workspace of Jules Wolfe and her lushly colored denim
jackets. She shared her process. “Oil on canvas. Everyone thinks they’re acrylics, but they’re not …
Oil is more vibrant, more rich. Acrylics dry, and your brushes get wrecked.”

Out in the hall, hung a stark unframed canvas of wheat-pasted news and magazine clippings. Fresh
rosemary for interested pedestrians.

Meeting goers piled out of the Grand Annex Concert Hall. A man in sunglasses, on a bicycle,
tendered an invitation to The Sardine’s newly opened next-door space. Douglas gained traction with
a mix of locals caught in the groove. Karaoke echoed from Brouwerij West.

The trolley stopped at Mesa and 7th; passing Godmother’s Saloon and approaching the harbor.
Rhythm and blues-laced pop sounds serenaded the smattering of convivial travelers.

Trios of dark-haired teenagers climbed aboard. A night of masks and painted faces. An impromptu
sidewalk capoeira crowd swelled. The trolley’s driver, Tony, stopped at 10th and Mesa.
And night continued, as everybody moved along their path.

 

California Delivers $90 Million in Emergency Funding for Planned Parenthood

Reporters Desk
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California Delivers $90 Million in Emergency Funding for Planned Parenthood

 

The funding ensures clinics can keep their doors open and continue providing essential reproductive health services to Californians.

“California is taking steps to ensure people don’t lose access to the range of services provided by Planned Parenthood. As the Trump administration’s Big Ugly Bill punishes women and community health providers, California continues to stand in support of women’s access to essential health services and reproductive freedom,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom

This announcement follows the $145 million California has provided to support Planned Parenthood since last fall. Without fiscal support from the federal government, California is left to assist more than 100 Planned Parenthood health centers across the Golden State alone – centers that provide over a million patient visits a year to Californians in search of basic health care needs.

California Permanently Closes AllenCo Oil Wells, Ending Years of Community Harm

Reporters Desk
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California Permanently Closes AllenCo Oil Wells, Ending Years of Community Harm

 

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Newsom announced Feb. 12 that all 21 oil wells at the notorious AllenCo site in University Park, Los Angeles, are now permanently plugged and sealed—marking the end of a decades-long battle led by residents, advocates, and state regulators to protect community health and clean up one of California’s most dangerous abandoned oil facilities.

Located in South Central Los Angeles, the AllenCo facility sat in a densely populated community near homes, schools, and hospitals. For many years, residents reported air quality problems, health issues, and safety concerns while the operator repeatedly violated environmental protection laws. Plugging and sealing this oil well is an important step to protect the health of those who live and work nearby.

The City of Los Angeles first filed a civil enforcement action against the oil operator in 2014 for repeated violations of oil, gas, and environmental protection laws. When the company ignored an order from CalGEM to remediate hazardous conditions, CalGEM issued a plug order in 2020 to permanently seal the wells. The Los Angeles city attorney also pursued criminal misdemeanor charges against the company.

In 2022, after continued obstruction by the operator, the Department of Conservation’s Geologic Energy Management Division or CalGEM and local safety officers gained entry using bolt cutters under a court order — a turning point in the years-long fight for accountability.

The AllenCo closure was made possible, in part, through major investments in California’s orphaned well cleanup. In the 2022-23 State Budget, Gov. Newsom and legislative leaders first set aside significant funding to plug and seal old, abandoned oil wells and facilities across the state.
President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provided federal support. CalGEM conducted a statewide inventory to identify the most dangerous abandoned wells, and AllenCo’s history of violations put these 21 wells at the top of the priority list.

Trump Tariffs Job Growth All In Home Care

Reporters Desk
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Trump Tariffs Job Growth All In Home Care

 

On April 2, 2025, President Donald Trump announced a broad package of import duties — which he dubbed “Liberation Day.”

In a White House ceremony, Trump signed Executive Order 14257, “Regulating Imports With a Reciprocal Tariff to Rectify Trade Practices That Contribute to Large and Persistent Annual United States Goods Trade Deficits.” This order declared a national emergency over the United States’ trade deficit and invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act or IEEPA to authorize sweeping tariffs on foreign imports.

NBC News reported this week, preliminary data had indicated that the U.S. economy added 584,000 jobs last year. However, the Bureau of Labor Statistics revised that number after it received additional state data which found that the labor market had rather added 181,000 jobs in all of 2025.

The BLS reported job gains occurred in health care, social assistance — industries largely employed by Haitians — and construction, while federal government and financial activities lost jobs. As of February, federal judges have blocked the Trump administration from ending Temporary Protected Status or TPS for about 350,000 Haitians, pausing efforts to deport them. While the administration targeted TPS termination, a lawsuit and a court-ordered stay have prevented deportations from proceeding.

A Bluesky post by Justin Wolfers read:

“This industry group comprises establishments primarily engaged in providing nonresidential social assistance to children and youth, the elderly, persons with disabilities, and all other individuals and families.” (The other group is the rest of us.)”

If Trump succeeds in deporting Haitians under TPS, most of the jobs gained in 2025 would disappear.

Trump Declares Republican Party the “Pro-Pollution Party.

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Trump Declares Republican Party the “Pro-Pollution Party.

 

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom blasted the Trump administration Feb. 12 for repealing the U.S. EPA’s Endangerment Finding, while ignoring binding law, overwhelming science, and the lived reality of Californians and the American people. This decision overturns the 2009 scientific determination that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare. That determination has been the legal foundation for nearly all federal actions to curb planet-warming emissions of carbon dioxide and methane, including the authority to regulate vehicle greenhouse gas emissions, one of the nation’s largest sources of climate pollution.

The Clean Air Act is clear: U.S. EPA has an affirmative duty to protect public health and welfare from air pollutants, including greenhouse gases, a responsibility the Supreme Court affirmed in 2007.

In September 2025, Gov. Newsom submitted a formal comment to the U.S. EPA opposing EPA’s proposal to reverse the Endangerment Finding. Watch his video comments and read his full letter.

The cost of Trump’s dereliction of duty will be measured in human lives and economic devastation. In California alone, wildfires fueled by rising temperatures have killed hundreds, destroyed entire communities and tens of thousands of homes, and caused tens of billions of dollars in damage.

“Air quality regulations help us breathe cleaner air, producing health benefits across California and the United States and decreasing air pollution-related heart and lung disease. Additional climate change health impacts include increased injury and loss of life due to wildfires and severe storms, increased occurrences of vector-borne and water-borne diseases, and stress and mental trauma from loss of livelihoods, property loss and displacement,” said Dr. Erica Pan, California Department of Public Health Director and State Public Health Officer. “Climate change also disproportionately harms the mental health and well-being of children and youth, with heat, extreme weather, poor air quality, displacement, and other impacts leading to anxiety, depression, sleep troubles, post-traumatic stress disorder, impairment to cognitive development and function, decreases in learning, and other mental health challenges that can have long-term consequences.”

“Crash Out Queens”: LB Opera’s challenging spotlight for Tiffany Townsend

Greggory Moore
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“Crash Out Queens”: LB Opera’s challenging spotlight for Tiffany Townsend

Because this is “a reduced season” for Long Beach Opera, “[…] a chance for us to do some resetting of some of our practices” (CEO Michelle Magaldi), Crash Out Queens — soprano Tiffany Townsend’s two-night stand in the lovely wooden confines above Altar Society on Pine Avenue — appears to be just about all the home-grown opera we’re gonna get in 2026.

Billed in the program as “both a recital and a dramatic exploration,” Crash Out Queens was intended to “trac[e] a journey through opera’s most iconic moments of reckoning — examining the inner lives of women pushed to their psychological limits.” In practice, however, the thematic aspirations were little more than a fishing line on which to string together seven arias that were a demanding program for any singer.

Although LBO patrons already knew Townsend could bring it from her turn as Idleness in the 2023 world premiere of Kate Soper’s The Romance of the Rose, the recital format should — and in this case, does — train a microscope on a singer in a way almost no full-blown opera can, if for no other reason than the back-to-back-to-backness of her arias. Well, if you were unsure about Townsend’s strength and stamina, perish the thought, as the high C (at least) that closed opener “Dis-moi que je suis belle” from Massenet’s Thais was mere prelude to the power she generated during Mozart’s “D’Oreste d’Ajace” (from Idomeneo), power she continued to flaunt periodically for the remainder of the performance.

But it could be argued that Townsend’s most effective vocalizations were not the moments of brute force but the subtler colors found particularly in Britten’s “Embroidery in Childhood Was a Luxury of Idleness” (from Peter Grimes) and Verdi’s “Una macchia è qui tuttora (from Macbeth). The aural pensiveness in such moments enabled Townsend (accompanied only by pianist Lucy T. Yates) to display just how fine her instrument can be.

Conceptually, well, let’s just say that Crash Out Queens fits perfectly in LBO’s new tradition (i.e., over the last five years or so) of occasionally offering Rorschachean presentations into which they hope we’ll read whatever the program says the show is about. Here we got a background of sheer drapes and tinsel fringe fronted by a set consisting of a chaise lounge, a lamp/table combo, a booze cart, some empty bottles and glasses and spent streamers lying about — so I guess it’s the wake of New Year’s Eve? Decked out in a disco ball of a suit (which Azra King-Abadi’s lighting exploited delightfully), Townsend tore down at the tinsel from time to time, symbolizing that she’s, er … (Paging through the program) … a woman pushed to her psychological limit? A couple of dancers moved about, sometimes in abstractions of distress? longing? and sometimes just on the breeze. During the Verdi the dancers blindfolded and bound Townsend, while we were silently instructed to don the sleep masks we received upon entry. I can’t even guess at what that was about (not that it had to be about anything). The most effective marriage of music and mise en scène was closer “To This We’ve Come” (from Menotti’s The Consul), where the dancers threw around a lot of pink paper to illustrate the Kafkaesque bureaucracy the song explicitly evokes (“Papers! Papers! Papers!”). That was fun.

Unless you count a forthcoming gala to celebrate the original cast recording of The Central Park Five, which world premiered at LBO in 2019 and garnered a Pulitzer for composer Anthony Davis, Long Beach Opera concluded its scheduled programming for 2026 on February 1st after one well-paced hour. That’s too much weight for any recital to carry. But Crash Out Queens shined a spotlight on a soprano that hopefully we’ll see again ‘round these parts once Long Beach’s resident opera company cycles through their self-imposed reset.

 

City Council Advances Ban on Private Detention Facilities Citywide

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City Council Advances Ban on Private Detention Facilities Citywide

 

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles City Council took action Feb. 11 to advance local legislation toward a ban on private detention facilities, approving Councilmember Tim McOsker’s motion to revive legislation that would use the city’s land use authority to prohibit such centers in all zoning designations citywide.

The action today reactivates a city file and draft ordinance that was nearly complete during the first Trump Administration term, restoring it to its most recent legislative status and restarts the final steps needed to codify the ban into the Los Angeles Municipal Code.

“This motion is about being prepared, not reactive. The City of Los Angeles came very close in 2021 to formally prohibiting private detention centers, but that work was left unfinished,” said Councilmember Tim McOsker. “I want to make sure Los Angeles is clear about where we stand. I have no indication that a private detention facility is being proposed here today, but with the state of our nation as it stands, it would be irresponsible not to complete this work. Reactivating this file and adopting the ordinance will allow us to define these uses in our Municipal Code and prevent private detention facilities from taking hold in our communities before there is a proposal on the table.”

The effort originated in 2019 under then–Council President Herb Wesson, in response to the rapid expansion of private detention facilities nationwide and widespread concerns about children being held in detention facilities, human rights violations, poor living conditions, and private prison operators profiting from an aggressive federal enforcement strategy.

Across the country, federal immigration officials and private prison companies are pursuing large industrial properties like warehouses as new detention spaces. The Washington Post reported last month that the Trump Administration has moved to acquire industrial buildings in at least eight states. This is part of their broad effort to build out a national detention network and house growing numbers of immigrants in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE custody.

One high-profile example of the national detention build-out is the facility in the Florida Everglades informally known as Alligator Alcatraz, a remote migrant detention center that opened in mid-2025 at a converted airstrip and has drawn national criticism over its conditions.

In July 2021, the city attorney had submitted a final report and draft ordinance amending the Municipal Code to formally prohibit private detention centers and community detention facilities for unaccompanied minors. That report was referred to the planning and land use management committee, where the file expired.

The ordinance builds on recommendations adopted by the planning and land use management committee in April 2021 and an expanded definition approved by the city planning commission in December 2020. The definition of “Private Detention Center” includes any privately or nongovernmentally operated facility where individuals are incarcerated or otherwise involuntarily confined, including facilities used to house persons in federal custody, with limited statutory exceptions.

McOsker emphasized the need to update the legal research and complete this work. The council district he represents is home to the federal detention facility on Terminal Island, which is currently in the process of closing, as well as numerous large warehouses and industrial sites throughout the district. McOsker believes that before any proposals for private detention facilities are submitted, the city needs to assert its land use authority and prohibit uses that are contrary to local public policy.

Kaiser Pharmacy and Lab Workers Continue Unfair Labor Practice Strike

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Kaiser Pharmacy and Lab Workers Continue Unfair Labor Practice Strike

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA —Thousands of Kaiser workers and supporters Feb. 10 continued their unfair labor practice strike, picketing at locations throughout Southern California to protest the company’s unlawful actions that have prevented frontline healthcare workers from getting the fair contract they deserve. Actions took place at select Kaiser medical centers throughout the region, including a large solidarity rally organized by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union or UFCW and United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals or UNAC/UHCP in Panorama City.

Several videos circulating on social media have shown hours-long waits at Kaiser pharmacies throughout Southern California, with patients expressing frustration with Kaiser.

“I’ve worked at Kaiser for nearly 18 years because I believed in partnership and taking care of patients,” said Christina Thomas, a pharmacy technician with Kaiser in Lancaster, and a UFCW Local 770 member. “But partnership only works when workers are respected and heard. Our patients respect us, and they know that what Kaiser is doing is wrong. What we’re seeing now—multiple unions standing together against unfair labor practices—is historic. We’re united because this is about accountability, dignity at work, and protecting the future of healthcare for the patients we serve.”

UFCW will continue actions tomorrow at select Kaiser medical centers throughout Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, San Bernardino, Riverside, Ventura, and Kern Counties, with a large solidarity rally planned at Kaiser Permanente’s Downey medical center tomorrow at 10:30 a.m.

UFCW Southern California locals have announced that their Unfair Labor Practice strike will end Feb. 12, at 5 a.m. In an email to members, the unions said, “we’ll continue to push Kaiser to come back to the national table and negotiate a fair contract. And if they break the law again we will come back to the picket line. Kaiser has the full power to prevent this from happening again. To stop disrupting the lives and the care of our patients. All they need to do is bargain in good faith.”

Mayor Bass Signs Executive Directive 17 to Strengthen LA Protections Against ICE Raids

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Mayor Bass Signs Executive Directive 17 to Strengthen LA Protections Against ICE Raids

LOS ANGELES — In response to escalating immigration raids across Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass Feb. 10 signed Executive Directive 17 to build on the city’s efforts to confront federal overreach by the Trump administration and protect Angelenos from the ongoing, dangerous federal immigration raids.

The announcement outlines a set of directives from Mayor Bass, including measures that prohibit the use of city property for immigration enforcement staging areas, processing locations, or bases of operation, and increases transparency around the conduct of federal agents through the use of body-worn cameras and other mechanisms. The directive also calls on the board of police commissioners to take specific actions to comply with the requirements of California Senate Bills 627 and 805, which address the use of facial coverings and visible identification by federal agents.

“Immigration raids across L.A. have not stopped, and neither has our resolve to protect Angelenos from ICE’s campaign of terror,” said Mayor Karen Bass. “It’s outrageous that federal agents hide behind masks while racially profiling hardworking Angelenos. It’s cowardly and it must end — and so must the presence of ICE in Los Angeles. Together, we will stand united to defend our city and protect one another.”

In June, Los Angeles became a test case for the Trump administration’s aggressive, unlawful, and inhumane immigration enforcement raids. Mayor Bass issued Executive Directive 12 and, with philanthropic and private partners, raised $1.7 million in immediate relief for impacted families. ED12 has become a model for other cities, including Portland, Minneapolis, and Chicago, who are facing similar federal actions.

As these enforcement efforts have intensified, marked by highly visible operations and fatal shootings of civilians by federal agents in Los Angeles and Minneapolis, Executive Directive 17 aims to sharply expand protections to keep Angelenos safe from federal enforcement abuses.

Executive Directive 17 includes the following directives:

  • Mandates that city property is not utilized by federal immigration agents for staging areas, processing locations, or bases of operation;
  • Requests the board of police commissioners to direct the police chief to update LAPD’s protocols related to federal immigration action;
  • Provides guidance related to implementing state law that prohibits masking of federal immigration agents;
  • Directs the Department of City Planning to prepare an ordinance regarding private property owners who give site control for immigration enforcement and related activities; and
  • Begins the process to ensure that city contractors disclose whether they have agreements with the Department of Homeland Security.

Details: Read the full Executive Directive here.

Scan. Share. Shape the LA County Budget

Reporters Desk
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Scan. Share. Shape the LA County Budget

Los Angeles County invites you to watch and participate in the upcoming county departments budget presentations, where departments will publicly present their budget requests as part of the county’s annual budget process.

Budget Presentations
Time: 9 a.m.Feb.12 and Feb.13,

Details: Click here for the survey on Feb. 12 at 9 a.m.: https://tinyurl.com/e-survey-la-county-gov

Watch Live:
bos.lacounty.gov/board-meeting-agendas/live-broadcast

These presentations provide an opportunity to help county residents better understand how resources are proposed, discussed, and prioritized while also sharing feedback in real time.

For questions contact: info@measureg.lacounty.gov or 213-974-1411.

After 175 Years, Indigenous Communities Reclaim Ancestral Lands

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After 175 Years, Indigenous Communities Reclaim Ancestral Lands

 

Freedom Socialist newspaper, Vol. 47, No. 1, February-March 2026

socialism.com

By Sukey Wolf

Finally, a portion of the Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation’s land has been returned. In late 2025, the tribe received back into its care almost 900 acres in an area that buffers Yosemite National Park. A rare win for Native people.

Who are the Miwuk?

Since the arrival of the Spaniards in 1595, the story of this Indigenous group has been one of subjugation, betrayal, genocide and land theft.

According to Wikipedia, the nation is made up of “members of four linguistically related Native American groups” that once occupied a vast territory from central to northern California. Their lands extended from the San Francisco Bay to what are now Marin, Sonoma and Lake Counties, east to the Sierra mountain range and north to the Sacramento Delta.

They were divided into villages of fifty to one hundred individuals united by a common language and cultural practices. They were egalitarian, with both men and women sharing leadership duties.

In the 1850s, the Southern Sierra Miwuk people were evicted from their land by the formation of Yosemite National Park. The return of these acres to the nation begins to reverse this history of theft and degradation.

The parcel in question was purchased 20 years ago by the Pacific Forest Trust, a non-profit devoted to conservation and land restoration. The trust acquired it after developers tried to build vacation homes on it. Pacific Forest Trust then partially restored the space before it was transferred to the tribe.

A new era for land stewardship

The Miwuk have been working to protect Mother Earth for centuries. They have a long history of setting fires to burn off underbrush and thin trees to prevent wildfires. This notion of intentionally setting fires to protect the forest was once regarded as primitive by early European settlers and outlawed by the California legislature. However, the wisdom of it was finally realized and the practice was adopted by the California Forestry Service in 1978.

The latest transfer of land does more than help in fire management. In a Seattle Times article, Miwuk Tribal Secretary Tara Fouch-Moore stated, “We will be able to harvest and cultivate our traditional foods, fibers and medicines and steward the land.” And they will be able to teach this to the nonindigenous population of California. In light of the current climate crisis, the perspective of Native people is more important than ever.

Today, the Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation looks forward to inhabiting the nearly 900-acre tract and returning to some of their traditional ways. Tribal Council Chair Sandra Chapman believes getting this ancestral Yosemite land back will provide a place of healing for the tribe’s youth and bring the community together to celebrate tradition.

Truly, this is a well-deserved victory for this Indigenous people.

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