Mike, Kate, and Loraine unpack the long-awaited state report detailing the failures (and some successes) of the Eaton and Palisades fire responses. As Election Day rapidly approaches, a few last-minute endorsements (and some not-endorsements) shake up local races. And under First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, Trump’s DOJ is supposedly increasing election security by… arresting old men in their pajamas?

Tell your friends, your acquaintances, and your frenemies — we are so close to reaching our goal of 100 new paid subscribers by Election Day! Now’s the time: lapodcast.org

If you’re looking for reading material to get cozy with as the weather starts changing, try this 724-page report commissioned by Governor Gavin Newsom’s office investigating what went right and what went wrong during the Eaton and Palisades fires

Here are the County reports if you just can't get enough, including the LAFD report that confirmed Southern California Edison equipment started the Eaton Fire

Alternatively, you could read the L.A. Times summary if you’re trying to be informed but still make it to the pumpkin patch

(The report confirmed many things we already knew, such as Black neighborhoods in Altadena received delayed evacuation alerts that resulted in more deaths)

In the wake of this report, LAFD also changed its position, acknowledging the role the still-smoldering Lachman fire played in igniting the Palisades fire

Former LA mayoral candidate and former LAUSD superintendent Austin Beutner is suing his insurance broker, forcing a legal look into a regulatory void: when smoke imbues a house with invisible, unregulated toxins, who pays for it?

(This is less for the sake of his $20 million lead-filled mansion and more on the behalf of other fire victims who wish their houses burned down instead)

Especially as climate change makes everything worse?

And especially as disaster survivors are still waiting for at least $10 billion in federal aid? The Trump administration’s partisan divides and government shutdowns have forced California residents to wait the longest with no real end in sight

New laws were passed this legislative session to address this issue, establishing first-in-the-nation standards, but won’t go into effect for three more years

Altadena residents held a community press conference calling for more resources and funding to rebuild, saying: “What Altadena do you want your children to call their hometown?”

On “Rebuilding Los Angeles,” Kate chronicled the work and tears and tense exchanges that led to the reopening of Marquez Charter Elementary School in the Pacific Palisades

As always, there are new polls in the mayoral race: CA Post‘s latest shows 70% disapproval of Mayor Karen Bass and a net favorable rating of DSA

Rick Caruso is not making an endorsement in the mayoral race but has expressed “extreme concern” about Nithya Raman and is continuing to conjure the ghost of George Gascón as Raman’s LAPD Chief (both Raman and Gascón have said this is not true)

Unlike Caruso, L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath made an official endorsement to back Nithya Raman

Two L.A. Times profiles highlight the differences between the candidates for LA City Attorney: John McKinney, running a “stoic, law-and-order campaign” that has “emphasized the word ‘Democrat’ in his ads” versus Marissa Roy, a progressive deputy attorney general in the California DOJ with “plans to avenge exploited tenants and claw back stolen wages”

The race for City Council District 3 is a similar study of contrasts: Tim Gaspar, a small business owner endorsed by the police unions with multiple alleged ethics violations, versus Bari Worth Givran, a “lifelong public servant”

Wanting to do something totally cool and normal and not fascist, President Donald Trump’s DOJ instructed the state of California to “set aside” the ballots of 20,000 “likely noncitizens” (their names were on a thumbdrive) with a 48-hour deadline

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli — still not officially confirmed — is now suing the state for not meeting the deadline and Kate interviewed him about it

The feds have charged 28 people with illegally voting, arresting some in their pajamas, including one registered Republican

Trump’s DOJ is also threatening to arrest and prosecute election officials. Trump said, on Truth Social, “They will all go to jail for a long period of time!!!”

California Attorney General Rob Bonta? “Not impressed”

Trump is trying to cast doubt and mistrust of the elections because Republicans are scared to lose: the earlier you vote, the better! If you’re still deciding, here’s the LA Forward voter guide

Thank you to Kristen Torres for producing this episode and to our digital producer Bianca Cockrell

The reporting and analysis you hear in the show is put together by our rotating cast of producers and co-hosts every week. All opinions expressed on the show are solely those of co-hosts and may not represent the views of LA Forward

Mike Bonin is the executive director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at CalState LA, and can be found at @mikebonin on Instagram and @mikebonin.bsky.social on Bluesky

Kate Cagle is an anchor at Spectrum News and the host of the L.A. Times Studios podcast “Rebuilding Los Angeles.” Find her at @katecagle at Instagram

Loraine Lundquist is chair of LA Forward’s board, an astrophysicist, and a sustainability policy expert who earned 49.4% of the vote as a candidate for LA City Council

Way Too Early 5/14/25

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