LA Podcast – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Alissa, Mike, Godfrey, and Rachel watch LA Mayor Karen Bass’s State of the City address and discuss why a speech that was hyped as a "fundamental overhaul of city government" didn’t deliver on that promise. And a first look at the city’s budget includes major layoffs and department cuts to cover a billion-dollar funding gap.

Check out Bass’s proposed budget :cao.lacity.gov/budget

Watch the State of the City address: mayor.lacity.gov/SOTC2025

The New York Times: "Los Angeles is rebuilding, but new crises are mounting and Mayor Karen Bass has been haunted by her absence when the fires started. This week, she is trying to reset"

Shine LA is Bass’s new volunteer effort for "cleaning, greening, and preparing our city for the world stage," starting this weekend

The city’s unarmed response pilot programs are funded in the budget (so far). Join LA Forward’s Unarmed Crisis Response working group to protect them

LAist’s look at how liability payments have tripled in recent years

A scathing audit of Vision Zero, the city’s plan to end traffic deaths by 2025 (which obviously did not happen) points to major failures in leadership and funding priorities

Alissa’s story about the city’s capital infrastructure plan, or CIP, and how the first one will be focused around making improvements for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games

"Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Monday proposed laying off 1,647 workers and closing some city departments in the fiscal year that starts July 1. It's the most austere budget since the city was wracked by the 2008 recession," writes LAist

Meanwhile LA residents are likely facing higher trash fees and an increase in streetlight fees

A new UCLA survey shows Bass's unfavorability ratings soaring after years of being the most favorably ranked local elected official, leading many to question her political future as she faces a recall effort

Give public comment at upcoming Budget & Finance Committee meetings on April 25 at 1 pm at Van Nuys City Hall and on April 28, 4 - 8 pm, at City Hall

CD5 (Yaroslavsky) is hosting a series of budget conversations, so is CD14 (Jurado), and CD1 (Hernandez) is asking for videos from constituents about their priorities

Join your LA Podcast co-hosts at LA Forward's Spring Into Action garden party fundraiser on Saturday, May 3

And support the podcast directly by becoming a paid subscriber at thinkforward.la, the new home on the web for LA Podcast episodes! All "Patron" level subscribers will get two free tickets to the Spring Into Action event on May 3.

Alissa, Mike, and Rachel talk about how the Trump administration is attempting to stoke fear and uncertainty at the port, schools, and cultural organizations — and how some local institutions are resisting. Plus: LA28 is getting challenged on Olympics venues, and LA’s budget-busting $2.2 billion convention center expansion lives to see another day.

LA Times: "As a center of global trade, L.A. could be in for a bumpy ride after Trump tariffs"

“Expensive cars, expensive trains, expensive bikes, expensive everything,” writes Streetsblog

Rebuilding after the fires is also going to get more expensive

At least 600 student visas have been revoked, with at least 83 California campuses, and the federal government seems to be targeting Muslim students

The Guardian: "Gaza protesters sue UCLA for civil rights violations after ‘brutal attack’ in 2024"

A House investigation requested information on USC’s 5,993 Chinese national students, saying the students posed a "direct threat to our national security”

USC also removed DEI from its list of values and replaced the phrase with “community”

But some institutions refuse to back down: “Our community is based on diversity, equity is guaranteed to us in the Constitution, and inclusion is what we believe in,” said Japanese American National Museum board chairman Bill Fujioka

More on the JANM’s program that lost its funding and how you can support the museum

LA Times: "Federal agents sought access to students at two Los Angeles elementary schools this week and were denied access”

Spectrum’s Kate Cagle reported that Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said the federal agents claimed they had permission to question the students -- which was a lie

Alissa’s coverage of LA28 venue battles including beach volleyball in Santa Monica and sailing in Long Beach (and since we recorded, Galway Downs in Temecula suddenly learned it was no longer the equestrian venue) 

LA Daily News: "$2.2 billion LA Convention Center expansion moves forward as council votes to keep project alive”

Listen to Mike’s most recent episode of "What’s Next Los Angeles” on LAHSA funding with guests LA County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath and LA City Councilmember Bob Blumenfield

And join LA Forward for a city/state budget-focused zoom with Kenneth Mejia on April 15 and a community happy hour on Monday, April 21 for a first look at the Mayor's budget proposal

Produced by Sophie Bridges

Alissa, Rachel, and Godfrey talk about the protests that are drawing attention to Trump’s mass deportation policies when California’s elected officials are not. Then: Rick Caruso launches his nonprofit, Steadfast LA, into a field that grows more crowded each day, and how Mayor Karen Bass should be thinking about rebuilding LA City infrastructure. 

De Los: "Why LA students walked out of school and protested mass deportations"

Boyle Heights Beat on how LAUSD is working to protect immigrant families

Here’s how you can order red cards or print your own

LA Times: "Who’s in charge of Palisades fire recovery? The answer has gotten complicated"

New rebuilding initiatives: Rick Caruso’s Steadfast LA and the Department of Angels, led by Snap’s Evan Spiegel and California Community Foundation’s Miguel Santana

Rick Caruso on the Joe Rogan Experience

Joe Mathews: “Why Didn’t L.A. Plan for This?”

Designing the Future of LA City: A Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) for LA, an LA Forward Institute teach-in

Produced by Sophie Bridges

Schools can now reopen... but will they? Some confusing and clarifying words from the Mayor on Project Roomkey. DA George Gascon seeks information on officer misconduct. Is Patrick Soon-Shiong selling the LA Times? Councilmember Nithya Raman changes course. And freelance reporter CERISE CASTLE joins the show to speak up about her experiences working at KCRW and their new #MyBlackLA project.

We didn’t reach out for comment from KCRW before the episode aired, but after it was released, Cerise Castle corrected or clarified a few moments: Paul Bennun is KCRW’s Chief Content Officer, not Chief Operating Officer. Also, a previous version of this episode contained a statement from Cerise Castle about a meeting she'd had with a KCRW staff member. Later, Cerise and another former KCRW employee clarified on social media that she had misremembered and that her recollection wasn’t accurate. We've removed that section from the episode.

More controversy over vaccine prioritization! A little (but not enough) momentum for expanding Project Roomkey! What's the deal with the LAPD union's new deal? And the major crisis at the Employment Development Department.

What kind of issues is LA experiencing with vaccine distribution? What's up with this debate on building preservation right now? Why did the police union finally decide to make a deal to delay their raises? Who's raising the most money in city races, and from where? And LAUSD Board President KELLY GONEZ joins the show to talk about the recent threat by a Councilmember to sue the district to reopen, and what it's going to take to make schools safe for kids and teachers.

With deaths still at record highs, are we looking at the other side of the surge? Newsom's new rules on vaccinations, outdoor dining, evictions, and rent relief. Non-non-violent protest at Dodger Stadium. A former City Councilmember is sentenced to prison. And a big win at the Metro board meeting.

It rained! COVID hospitalizations and tests are falling, but CA's vaccine rollout is now the worst in the country. What are the ethics of vaccine chasing? And is there actually a new strain? New FEMA guidelines open a path for Project Twomkey. Mitch Englander is about to be sentenced, and the developments Huizar greased get approved in PLUM. Finally, Culver City Vice Mayor and State Senate candidate DANIEL WAYNE LEE joins to talk about Culver City's unique role as a laboratory for equitable housing policy in the 2020 election.

Articles referenced in this episode:

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-01-23/controversial-el-monte-church-rocked-by-ied-attack-fbi-says

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-01-23/standby-lines-backdoor-vaccine-access

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-01-23/councilman-mitchell-englander-corruption-prison

Rain maybe! Dodger Stadium becomes the biggest vaccination site in the country. When can you get one? Are there more restrictions coming? LAPD and LASD participate in an attempted coup. More information on the deputy who killed Andres Guardado. And looking ahead to Wednesday's inauguration, Mitch Englander's sentencing, and whether John Lee will ever be held accountable.

As right-wing riots extended from DC to downtown, what does the end of the Trump administration mean for the next few years in LA? What could the a federal Dem trifecta potentially bring? Plus: new uncertainty around LA's testing provider, ADEM elections, Prop 22 fallout, and the passing of two LA legends.