LAist

05/14/2025

L.A. city leaders will finalize the city budget this month, likely locking in drastic cuts to services to make up for department overspending, wildfire recovery costs and the potential loss of federal funding.

But city officials don’t have absolute say over everything in the budget.

Once in a while, voters get to make decisions that affect what the city can and can’t spend from that point on.

Five ballot measures voters passed that affect what the city can and can't spend.

05/14/2025

California’s Department of Cannabis Control is working toward new rules that could protect pets from potentially harmful products.

State law requires the Department of Cannabis Control to create a regulatory framework for cannabis-based products, and to announce those rules by July 1.

And now the state is seeking for public comment.

The Department of Cannabis Control has until this summer to establish new rules.

05/14/2025

Although Olivia and Liam are the two most popular names for newborns right now, according to data from the Social Security Administration released Friday, another name is rising in popularity, especially in red states.

That name is Oaklee, or Oakley, or Oakleigh or a similar variant. The name is usually, but not always, given to girls.

Olivia and Liam are the most popular baby names now, but Social Security Administration data show oak-based names are gaining popularity.

05/14/2025

🔗 Find out more: https://ow.ly/fLOS50VScpO

The L.A. County Fire Department will soon have a new pipeline for formerly imprisoned firefighters to join its ranks.

The L.A. County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously passed a motion that will establish intern positions and other entry level roles within the department, alongside a broader training program.

✍️ Cato Hernández
📸 Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty Images

05/14/2025

🔗 Read more: https://ow.ly/Bhtn50VSbKY

The L.A. County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously voted to repeal a 2023 law to phase out oil drilling in unincorporated communities over the next 20 years.

Counterintuitively, the move is part of the ongoing effort to end reliance on fossil fuels.

The county’s ordinance and a similar one passed by the city of L.A. in 2022 have been stalled by litigation brought by oil companies. One of those lawsuits led to the city’s ordinance being overturned in late 2024. The companies argued that only the state has the power to regulate oil drilling.

However, a state law that went into effect this year explicitly gives local governments the authority to regulate drilling within their jurisdictions.

✍️ Erin Stone
📷 Gary Kavanagh/iStockphoto

05/14/2025

The Menendez brothers, who have spent more than three decades behind bars after gunning down their parents in their Beverly Hills home, were resentenced Tuesday to 50 years to life in prison, meaning they are now eligible for parole.

Lyle and Erik Menendez had been serving life in prison without parole in connection with the 1989 killings of Jose and Kitty Menendez.

The decision came at the end of a daylong hearing in L.A. County Superior Court, during which the lawyers for the brothers argued they no longer pose a risk to public safety.

🔗 https://ow.ly/PcFY50VSeiJ
✍️ Frank Stoltze
📷 Nick Ut/AP

05/14/2025

🔗 More details: https://ow.ly/LQ2E50VSbJP

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced today that he will seek to regulate prescription drug middlemen that he blames for driving up costs for patients, less than a year after he vetoed similar oversight for the companies called pharmacy benefit managers.

The plan — part of a revised state budget proposal that Newsom will unveil in full on Wednesday — calls for licensing pharmacy benefit managers through California’s Department of Managed Health Care and requiring them to report their operational and financial details.

✍️ Alexei Koseff and Kristen Hwang | CalMatters
📷 Anne Wernikoff/CalMatters

05/14/2025

🔗 Read more: https://ow.ly/iYeQ50VS7KK

Mental health professionals say normalcy remains far away for many students impacted by January’s fires, and long-term trauma is expected.

The Pasasdena Unified School District is looking for ways to provide ongoing support to students with greater needs.

✍️ Mallika Seshadri | EdSource
📸 Kirby Lee/Associated Press

05/14/2025

🔗 Read the full story: https://ow.ly/zgz850VS7Zt

L.A. County will reimburse or forgo charging water fees for people who were displaced by the Palisades, Franklin and Broad fires and are looking to rebuild their homes and businesses.

✍️ Julia Barajas
📸 Etienne Laurent/AP

05/13/2025

🔗 Read more: https://ow.ly/YIpL50VS7vj

The winner of NPR’s 2025 Tiny Desk Contest is the Bay Area’s own Ruby Ibarra.

A research scientist and fiercely poetic lyricist raised in San Lorenzo, Ibarra raps in English alongside the Filipino languages of Tagalog and Bisaya.

Her Tiny Desk Contest-winning track, “Bakunawa,” was inspired by the dragon-like serpent of Philippine mythology.

✍️ Pendarvis Harshaw | KQED
📸 Gino Lucas

05/13/2025

🔗 Find out more: https://ow.ly/TxKm50VS3T0

A star met a violent end in a galaxy far, far away — about 600 million light-years from Earth.

It wandered too close to a black hole and was ripped apart in a bright burst of light.

That much isn’t unusual, but what stunned astronomers was where it happened: not in the dense center of the galaxy, but thousands of light years away.

✍️ Sarah Mohamad | KQED
📸 C. Carreau/ESA

05/13/2025

🔗 What you need to know: https://ow.ly/oAVx50VS3Kx

State Farm can raise homeowner and other rates starting next month, becoming the first insurance company to win approval to do so on an emergency interim basis in California.

✍️ Levi Sumagaysay | CalMatters
📸 Julie Leopo/LAist