Phoenix Tso

Over the last two years, three progressive members of the LA City Council — all of whom are fighting for their political futures as they run campaigns in the June primaries — have overseen hundreds of CARE+ cleaning operations carried out in unhoused communities in their districts, according to LA Public Press analysis of city data. The number of CARE+ operations carried out in Nithya Raman, Hugo Soto-Martínez, and Eunisses Hernandez’s districts increased from 2024 to 2025, contributing to a citywide increase of 16% in total CARE+ operations in 2025. CARE+ operations are “comprehensive” cleanings staffed by LA’s Bureau of Sanitation crews. During these operations, encampment residents are required to move their belongings at a scheduled time or risk having them trashed. LA City Council members maintain a lot of control over CARE+ operations. Sanitation spokesperson Tonya Shelton said that operations are scheduled in coordination with council districts “based on their respective priorities.” Sanitation data shows that operations at specific encampments can occur as frequently as several times in one month. The council members ordered at least some of these operations despite initially running campaigns against sweeps. To learn more, read the full story by Phoenix Tso (@phoenixtso ) via the link in our bio or at LAPublicPress.org.

Chinatown residents Jiaming Luk, who goes by Mr. Luk, and his wife said they’re forgoing haircuts and eating out to make rent. Their neighbor Anh Mac said she and her neighbors only have about $70 dollars left over after paying for rent, utilities and other needs. “ How can I live if my [social security] is even less or about the same as my rent?” Mr. Luk asked in Cantonese at an April 4 rally in Chinatown. “ I can only ask my relatives and family for help, but if I wait for their help, I would be dead by now. They can only do so much to support me.” Several tenants living in the Metro at Chinatown Senior Lofts, a 123-unit building near the Chinatown Metro station for low-income seniors, say they’re going through something similar. For the past few years, tenants have battled rent increases that are nearly double that of rent-controlled buildings in LA, according to residents and tenant organizers. Metro is one of 537 buildings constructed using federal low-income housing tax credits in LA. It’s one of nine such buildings in Chinatown. Landlords who manage these buildings are required to rent a portion of apartments to lower-income tenants who make specific percentages of the local area median income. There is a cap on rent increases and a gross rent limit for each unit, but tenants say that rents remain unaffordable even with these restrictions. This year, Metro tenants were hit with a rent increase of almost 8%. Tenants told LA Public Press that their social security checks, which grew by 2.8% this year, can’t keep pace with these rent increases. To learn more, read the full story by Phoenix Tso (@phoenixtso ) via the link in our bio or at LAPublicPress.org.

Need to access fresh, healthy, affordable food? 🍏 For those those hit with the latest surge of unemployment in the city, or those who recently lost CalFresh benefits, that task may be a struggle. Though food insecurity has lessened somewhat in Los Angeles in recent years, it’s still well above the national average. And as LA Public Press has previously reported, hundreds of thousands of Angelenos could lose their food stamps in coming years after President Donald Trump and the U.S. Congress cut $187 billion through 2034 to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in July. At the same time, the federal government made it harder for immigrants, unhoused people, foster youth, older people and other vulnerable communities to access SNAP. In the meantime, a variety of LA-based organizations are working to provide free and low-cost food. They also need volunteers. To learn more, read the full story by Phoenix Tso (@phoenixtso ) and Mariah Castañeda (@papayathemariah ) via the link in our bio or at LAPublicPress.org.

It’s not the flashiest political office in Los Angeles. Many people don’t even know exactly what it does. But the city attorney is one of LA’s most powerful offices, performing a range of functions, including: 🔎 prosecuting misdemeanors 🔎 advising politicians on local legislation 🔎 defending the city against lawsuits & 🔎 enforcing consumer protection laws, including those that protect tenants’ rights With over 1,000 employees, the city attorney’s office plays a hand in the region’s most important policy issues, like policing, housing, and homelessness. Learn more about who is running for LA City Attorney. Read the full story by Phoenix Tso (@phoenixtso ) via the link in our bio or at LAPublicPress.org

The LA County Board of Supervisors rejected a motion on Tuesday to raise the amount of rent debt countywide a tenant is allowed to have before being evicted from one month of fair market rent to three. Supervisor Lindsey Horvath authored the motion. But when she moved for a vote, none of her colleagues seconded it — which rendered it dead. The Board did pass a motion last week that would raise allowable rent debt for tenants to two months, but only in unincorporated areas of the county. The Evict ICE, Not us! Coalition has campaigned to raise the rent debt threshold and other eviction protections since last summer. They said that doing so would provide immediate relief to immigrants who have lost income due to increased federal immigration enforcement in LA County. A large group of tenants and organizers showed up and gave public comment in support of the motion. Some landlords gave public comment as well in opposition to the motion. David Albright of the LA Tenants Union, who are part of the coalition, said they “continue to defend Angelenos against evictions and kidnappings because we see those things as deeply connected.” On Monday, LA County reopened the application that would give rent relief to tenants who have lost income due to immigration raids, last January’s fires and other emergencies. They also increased the amount of available funding to $44.6 million in relief. This time, the county is giving both tenants and landlords the opportunity to initiate an application. Both parties would have to submit the application by Wednesday, March 11 at 4:59 p.m. 🎥: Phoenix Tso (@phoenixtso ) Edits: Mariah Castaneda (@papayathemariah )

The LA County Board of Supervisors can’t agree on how to aid renters struggling to make payments due the increased federal immigration enforcement operations sweeping across the county. Supervisors are considering two different motions to make it harder for landlords to evict tenants for unpaid rent. The first would apply to just unincorporated areas of LA County. It was authored by Supervisors Janice Hahn and Hilda Solis. The second would apply countywide and was authored by Lindsey Horvath. The Board of Supervisors passed Hahn and Solis’ motion on Tuesday requesting an ordinance to raise the rent debt threshold — the amount of rent a tenant owes before a landlord can evict them — from exceeding one month of fair market rent to two. The board would have to vote twice on the ordinance to approve it. Once passed, it would only apply to tenants living in unincorporated areas. But around 3 p.m., Supervisor Lindsey Horvath introduced a new motion directing county counsel to write a resolution for board consideration by March 3. It would increase the rent debt threshold to three months for tenants affected by ICE raids — an estimated $6,000 to $11,000 based on fair market rents in LA County. And it would apply to all countywide 88 cities in the county, ranging from the City of Los Angeles to small cities like Bell, and also to unincorporated neighborhoods. The supervisors are scheduled to vote on Horvath’s motion on Feb. 10. The Board will also vote on the ordinance requested in Hahn and Solis’ motion within 30 days. Horvath said she supported both motions. To learn more, read the full story by Phoenix Tso (@phoenixtso ) via the link in our bio or at LAPublicPress.org. This post is not an endorsement of any collaborators.

LA street vendor Maria Luz said she’s making about half as much money selling pupusas as she did before federal immigration raids escalated earlier this year. At a downtown rally hosted by the LA Tenants Union last week to put pressure on county supervisors to pass an eviction moratorium, the vendor said she’s struggling to pay her rent of around $1,200, but is also afraid of going to work. “I’m worried that if I go in the street, I’m risking that immigration will grab me,” Maria Luz said in Spanish. LA County Supervisors have taken some action to help renters affected by the federal government’s immigration crackdown. In September, the Board directed staff to put together a $30 million rent relief program. A month later, the Board declared a local emergency over federal immigration actions, a precursor to passing an eviction moratorium for tenants affected by the raids. But they have stopped short of passing the moratorium, which housing advocates say would keep people in their homes. Over the last several years, the Board of Supervisors took action within just days or weeks to enact temporary eviction moratoriums to address the COVIC-19 and January’ wildfires. They have yet to take similar action in response to the ICE raids, which have been happening for six months. Many immigrants have lost income because they are afraid to leave their homes. Thousands of tenants are still at risk of being arrested, indefinitely detained and deported. To learn more, read the full story by Phoenix Tso (@phoenixtso ) via the link in our bio or at LAPublicPress.org.

Backyards farms and community gardens are playing an important role in keeping LA fed.👨‍🌾 Compton Community Garden and SOW collective provide free produce to the neighborhoods they serve and Crop Swap LA has a grocery subscription service that provides locally grown and harvested produce for 70 members. All three of these gardens also utilize their time and spaces to teach people how to grow their own food. Read the full article by Phoenix Tso (@phoenixtso ) via the link in the bio or go to LAPublicPress.org. 🎥 by @adelcidlugo

North Oak Property Management, which manages dozens of properties in LA County, notified Koreatown tenants in April that it would no longer provide them parking at their rent-controlled Kingsley Drive building at the end of May. North Oak planned to remove one building’s laundry room and 13 parking spots to build five accessory dwelling units, or ADUs — additional housing units on a property with a main house or building, which local politicians and developers have championed as a way to solve California’s housing shortage. North Oak and other LA landlords have also attempted to replace amenities with ADUs on other rent-controlled apartment building sites. Multiple tenants across three buildings told LA Public Press that their landlords’ actions would result in the loss of essential amenities. California SB 1211 allows landlords to build up to eight ADUs on a lot with an existing multi-family apartment building. Landlords would not be required to replace any parking that was converted to ADUs. The Kingsley tenants are pushing back, including blocking crews from accessing the parking spaces by staging a sit-in in the parking lot during designated construction hours. To learn more, read the full story by Phoenix Tso (@phoenixtso ) via the link in our bio or at LAPublicPress.org.

Take Care Club is a free youth group based in Highland Park where parents can take their children ages 5 and up to learn about and perform acts of mutual aid. Gilda Davidian, Take Care Club founder, began the group in January and has hosted 8 events since then in hopes of "plantings seeds of action" in her children and the others that participate. The most recent meeting focused on Labor Day, unions, representation and support for day laborers. The children read the book Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin and assembled small care packages to be distributed to local day laborers. There is also a tween chapter in Sierra Madre that is open to kids ages 10 and up. To learn more visit lapublicpress.org or the link in our bio.

While school officials can block federal immigration agents from entering campuses if they don’t present a judicial warrant, these agents have been targeting students and their parents across Southern California near or even outside schools. As ICE increasingly targets students and parents, there has been a growing number of community patrols around LA schools. Organizations are also calling for more volunteers to defend students from ICE arrests. For example, the LA Tenants Union has organized school patrols in several LA neighborhoods with other grassroots organizations. Along with observing school drop-offs, patrollers are prepared to document, confirm and alert people to any federal immigration activity in the area. They also provide information on how community members can report ICE and Border Patrol sightings and resources on what to do if federal immigration agents do arrive and take people. To learn more, read the full story by Phoenix Tso (@phoenixtso ) via the link in our bio or at LAPublicPress.org.

LA students and educators speak out and demand the release of high school student Benjamin Marcelo Guerrero Cruz who was arrested by immigration agents on August 8th. 18 year old Marcelo Guerrero Cruz is still detained at the Adelanto Detention Center, a facility notorious for allegations of human rights abuses. Teacher Lizette Becerra said that the high schooler overheard his captors talk about the money they’d received for his capture, approximately $1,500. 🎥: @phoenixtso Edits: @papayathemariah #iceoutofla #losangeles #losangelesnews #utla