Ongoing Toll of ICE Raids on L.A.’s Latino Businesses

/0 Comments/in , /by

When immigration raids swept through Los Angeles County’s Latino commercial corridors in June 2025, storefronts emptied as customers and workers stayed home. A year later, many businesses have still not recovered, according to a new report by the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute in partnership with the nonprofit Inclusive Action for the City.

Researchers estimated that businesses near nine enforcement sites lost more than $3 million in revenue in the two weeks following the raids last summer, with entrepreneurs also reporting persistent financial and mental health impacts.

“These businesses function as local economic engines. They employ neighbors, buy from local suppliers, and keep money circulating in their communities,” said Amada Armenta, co-author of the report, director of LPPI, and an associate professor of urban planning at UCLA Luskin. “When enforcement drives away their customers and workers, the harm extends to the health, well-being, and safety of entire communities.”

The report, which received coverage in the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and other media outlets, captured the experiences of 75 Latino entrepreneurs across the county, who described fewer customers, reduced operating hours, canceled orders, staffing disruptions, depleted savings, and accumulated debt. Nearly a year later, 95% continued to report financial stress, researchers found.

Fear, prolonged uncertainty, and financial pressure also took a toll on entrepreneurs’ health, with 76% of participants reporting a substantial emotional impact, including anxiety, sleep disruption, gastrointestinal disorders, and other stress-related illnesses.

“Immigration raids impose costs well beyond just individuals who were targeted,” said Nicholas Vargas, an associate professor at UC Berkeley and one of the study’s co-authors.

Zev Yaroslavsky Discusses L.A. County’s Growth and Housing Challenges

/0 Comments/in /by

As Los Angeles County struggles with limited space for new housing, some of its fastest-growing communities have emerged in areas once considered unlikely places for expansion. Zev Yaroslavsky, former Los Angeles city councilmember and county supervisor who now directs the Los Angeles Initiative at UCLA, spoke with Los Angeles Times about how these boom areas benefited from one major advantage: room to build.

“You’re starting from scratch,” Yaroslavsky said, explaining why places such as the Antelope Valley and other northern reaches of the county have been able to add housing more easily than established communities. But he cautioned that growth does not necessarily mean affordability. While these communities offer lower prices than areas such as the Westside, Sherman Oaks or Encino, many new homes remain out of reach for typical Los Angeles households.

Yaroslavsky cited a UCLA study that found that nearly half of Los Angeles County households earn less than $90,000 annually, too low to afford many of the new units under construction. “These units are not being built for that demographic,” he said. “Rents are very high.”

Herrera Warns in CalMatters Op-Ed on Plastics Risks After Garden Grove Emergency

/0 Comments/in /by

Veronica Herrera, professor of urban planning at UCLA Luskin, published a guest op-ed for CalMatters analyzing a recent chemical emergency in Garden Grove, California, where a cracked storage tank at a GKN Aerospace facility containing methyl methacrylate led to large-scale evacuations.

Herrera argues that the incident exposes serious vulnerabilities in the plastics manufacturing supply chain, writing that “California communities are vulnerable to dangerous accidents tied to the plastics supply chain.” She explains that chemicals like methyl methacrylate are derived from oil and gas and are widely used in producing acrylic plastics, but they are also toxic, flammable and capable of causing long-term environmental and health harm if released.

She places the Garden Grove event within a broader national pattern of industrial accidents involving plastics-related chemical facilities. Drawing on research from the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation, Herrera highlights that California contains more than 800 plastics-related facilities, many concentrated in densely populated regions such as Greater Los Angeles.

She concludes that “the proximity of these plastics-chemical plants to densely populated areas shows the significant health risks of our dependence on plastics. It’s putting us all at risk,” calling for stronger oversight of hazardous facilities and a reduction in dependence on plastics production to better protect public health and surrounding communities.

Manville on the Unintended Consequences of Los Angeles’ ‘Mansion Tax’

/0 Comments/in /by

In a new opinion essay for The Washington Post, Luskin urban planning professor Mike Manville examines the unintended consequences of Los Angeles’ Measure ULA, commonly known as the “mansion tax.” Intended to generate funding for affordable housing and homelessness programs by taxing high-value property sales, the measure instead demonstrates how policy design can shape outcomes in unexpected ways.

Manville argues that Measure ULA’s high tax rates on a narrow segment of real estate transactions reduced property sales, generated significantly less revenue than projected, and may have discouraged new housing construction. “The devil is in the details,” he writes, emphasizing that while “good intentions matter, [the] boring details matter more.” Rather than dismissing the need for affordable housing programs, Manville contends that they should work alongside efforts to increase housing production. He concludes that expanding the housing supply remains essential to improving affordability, arguing that “rents won’t come down until housing comes up.”

“A safety net is crucial, but programs like Measure ULA need to complement, not compete with or cannibalize, efforts to build.” Read the full op-ed in Washington Post.

LAX People Mover Delays Continue as World Cup Crowds Arrive

/0 Comments/in /by

As thousands of FIFA World Cup visitors arrive at Los Angeles International Airport, the long-awaited SkyLink Automated People Mover remains unfinished and has yet to carry its first passengers. Originally slated to open in 2023, the $3.34-billion elevated train has been delayed by technical issues, construction setbacks, and ongoing disputes between Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) and its contractor, LAX Integrated Express Solutions (LINXS).

Los Angles Times reports that the contractor has blamed airport-related “blockers,” including landscaping work, approval delays, and conflicts with other projects, while LAWA has emphasized extensive safety testing requirements. Officials say the system must complete 30 consecutive days of flawless operation before opening, a milestone it has not yet reached, with current projections pointing to early October. Jacob Wasserman, UCLA transportation researcher, said the project ultimately “offers an alternative,” noting, “You can choose to avoid the traffic.” Experts say the delays highlight broader challenges in delivering large-scale transit infrastructure at LAX, even as officials look to future mega-events like the Olympics.

LA Officials Advance Proposal for Non-Citizen Voting

/0 Comments/in /by

City officials have taken the first step toward placing a measure on the November ballot that would allow non-citizens to vote in Los Angeles local elections, based on the principle that those who live in and contribute to the city should have a voice in its governance.

CBS interviewed Zev Yaroslavsky, director of the Los Angeles Initiative, who noted that the proposal is likely to be controversial and faces significant uncertainty ahead of the vote.

“I think there are a number of issues that have to be resolved before they can even execute this. First of all, voters are going to have a chance to weigh in. They have to decide to do it. Whether they will approve it or not is up in the air. I suspect it will be controversial. And secondly, if they do approve it, that only gives the city council the authority to do it. The city council would then have to execute that plan, and that could take some time.”

Astor Weighs In on Investigation Following Fatal Graduation Shooting

/0 Comments/in , /by

Following a fatal shooting after a graduation ceremony at Fairfield High School, KQED reported on the community’s efforts to mourn and heal while authorities continue their investigation. The June 3 shooting occurred after a commencement ceremony for Sem Yeto High School, a continuation school within the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District. Eighteen-year-old Jamario Baker was killed, and three others were injured.

More than a week later, local faith leaders organized a vigil and blessing ceremony at the school to honor the victims. Community members gathered to grieve and reflect on the tragedy, which many said has deeply affected the close-knit Fairfield community.

Ron Avi Astor, distinguished professor of social welfare at UCLA Luskin and an expert on school violence, provided context on the ongoing investigation. Astor noted that it is atypical for so little information to be publicly known about a suspect or motive in a case of this nature. The article also examined broader concerns about school safety and recent incidents of violence on the Fairfield High School campus.

David C. Turner III Discusses Community-Based Alternatives to Policing on Law & Disorder

/0 Comments/in , /by

On a recent episode of “Law & Disorder” host Cat Brooks explored community-based alternatives to policing and ongoing debates over public safety funding in Oakland. Representatives from the Justice Team Network and the Anti-Police Terror Project explored the vision behind the Care Not Cops Conference, examining how communities can invest in care, healing, and supportive services rather than traditional law enforcement. Guests included Tanisha Cannon, Guadalupe Chavez, Diego Jimenez, and UCLA social welfare professor David C. Turner III, who discussed racial justice, healing-centered approaches, and strategies for building safer communities without reliance on policing.

Referencing recent incidents in which police killed a family’s dog during a New York Knicks celebration and fatally shot a one-year-old child during an alleged shoplifting investigation, Dr. David C. Turner III argued that society too often treats policing as the primary response to conflict.

“Reimagining public safety doesn’t mean conflict won’t exist,” said Dr. David C. Turner III. “It means creating the systems, tools, and strategies to intervene when conflict arises. That’s what creates real safety for people. Police do not create that safety—they often exacerbate the violence.”

The “Law & Disorder” podcast exposes the cracks in our system, agitates for resistance and collectively builds a new world that centers Black experience, movement building and art.

Listen to the full podcast episode.

Turner on the L.A. County Department of Public Health’s New Tracker

/0 Comments/in /by

Heat waves are becoming more frequent as a result of climate change, and L.A. County’s Department of Public Health has released a tracker that will provide near-real-time (weekly) tracking of heat-related emergency room visits and deaths.

The tracker uses heat illness data collected from physician diagnoses and patient complaints and stratifies daily emergency room (ER) visits and mortalities by categories like race and ethnicity and age.

So far, according to an article by Los Angeles Times, the tracker has found that individuals over the age of 65 are at a higher risk for heat illness and the locations with the most ER visits due to heat are San Fernando, San Gabriel, and Antelope valleys.

Associate professor of urban planning and geography Kelly Turner commented on the link between heat illness and social inequality, stating that “A heat death or heat illness is dependent on who you are and what assets you have… If you have air conditioning or not, if you work outside or you don’t, all of those factors factor in.” 

Public health officials and experts anticipate the tracker’s use in keeping the public updated during extreme heat.

 

Millard-Ball Discusses Robotaxis and World Cup Transportation Challenges

/0 Comments/in , /by

A recent article in WIRED explored how autonomous vehicles could shape transportation during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is expected to draw millions of visitors to North America. The article examined the role of Waymo’s driverless taxi service, which plans to serve six World Cup host cities, including Los Angeles.

Adam Millard-Ball, professor of urban planning at the UCLA Luskin, noted that autonomous vehicles will face many of the same logistical challenges as traditional ride-hail services when large crowds arrive and depart from stadiums simultaneously.

“There’s never going to be a perfectly orderly process with no congestion,” Millard-Ball told WIRED. “Geometrically, you’re not going to be able to have ‘front door’ pickups for everybody.”

While autonomous vehicles may improve efficiency through fleet coordination and organized pickup systems, Millard-Ball explained that they cannot overcome the physical constraints of limited road space. The article concludes that public transportation, including trains, buses and shuttle services, will continue to play a critical role in moving large numbers of people during major events.