LOS ANGELES—Police asked the public for help Dec. 27 in finding a Sun Valley couple who are under investigation for alleged neglect of their three children and narcotics abuse. The couple’s youngest child, Legend Avalos, tested positive for cocaine along with the baby’s mother when the child was born on Dec. 2, accoridng to the authorities. The Los Angeles…

LOS ANGELES—Ahead of the holidays, Los Angeles officials announced on Dec. 22 details of the city’s Christmas tree recycling program to ensure Angelenos know how to properly dispose of their trees. To have a Christmas tree turned into compost and mulch—which is available to residents for free—people can chop their tree into smaller pieces and put them into their green bin….

LOS ANGELES—Los Angeles city filed a nuisance abatement lawsuit against the owner and a tenant of a 16-unit apartment building in South Los Angeles that they allege is a hotbed of gang activity and a magnet for violent crime, City Attorney Mike Feuer announced Dec. 22. The building, at 501 E. 23rd St., has had five documented…

LOS ANGELES—At least 244 full-time city employees are on unpaid leave Dec. 20 after Los Angeles’ mandate that municipal workers get vaccinated against COVID-19 went into effect on Saturday, according to figures shared by Mayor Eric Garcetti’s office. Just over 80 percent of the city’s employees complied with the vaccination mandate by the deadline, with…

LOS ANGELES—The nonprofit Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles announced Dec. 16 that it will provide $300 for groceries and other essentials to 5,000 families impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic for the holiday season. The money will be provided through the GIVEN 2.0 initiative launched by the Mayor’s Fund. GIVEN stands for Grocery Intervention for Vital Emergency Needs. The recipients,…

LOS ANGELES—Four Democratic candidates in next year’s Los Angeles mayoral election appeared Dec. 12 in their first public forum and gave their thoughts on key issues in the city. Candidates in attendance included City Attorney Mike Feuer, Rep. Karen Bass, marketing executive Craig Greiwe, and Jessica Lall, CEO of the Central City Association. The forum…

LOS ANGELES—Los Angeles is set to host the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, after the city council approved on Dec. 3 an agreement with LA28, the 2028 Olympic Games organizing committee. The city council voted 11–2 in favor of the agreement, with Councilmembers Nithya Raman and Mike Bonin disagreeing. The Olympics are expected to cost…

Black Friday’s online shopping revenue dropped from $9 billion to $8.9 billion from 2020 to this year, but Cyber Monday was expected to generate $11.3 billion in revenue and become the largest online spending day of the season, according to Adobe Analytics (pdf). The $9 billion online consumer spending on Black Friday in 2020 marked…

LOS ANGELES—The Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved on Nov. 24 a blueprint to zone for nearly 500,000 new housing units by 2029, as mandated by the state. “The housing crisis is one of the biggest and most pressing issues facing our city,” Council President Nury Martinez said in a statement following the vote. “While other cities have…

LOS ANGELES—Today, Nov. 15, is the deadline for Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19, with those who fail to meet the requirement facing possible termination. It was not immediately known how many LAUSD employees have not yet complied with the mandate. An LAUSD representative said data was still being…