In Depth

Fentanyl

Fentanyl became LA’s deadliest drug in 2022 and hit Black community hardest

Last year’s data on fentanyl in LA County paints a grim picture of what an expert calls the worst overdose crisis in history: With over 1,900 deaths recorded in 2022, fentanyl replaced meth as the leading cause of overdoses in the county. What’s more, fatal overdose data indicates a disproportionate impact on Black residents. Reporter Clara Harter dives into the numbers with experts to discuss trends and emerging threats. Read more

Map of LA’s fentanyl hot spots reveals where critical resources are missing

Skid Row. MacArthur Park. Hollywood. These are the neighborhoods in LA County most prone to fentanyl deaths, but an analysis by Southern California News Group found that it’s also where key services to fight the epidemic are scarce. Our series of maps help illustrate the resource gap. Read more

The background: Fentanyl addiction fuels underground shoplifting economy in LA’s MacArthur Park Read more

More From This Reporter: Find more stories written by Clara Harter here. Read more

This Week's Editors' Picks

Law Enforcement

Widow blames excessive overtime for suicide of LA County sheriff’s deputy

The widow of a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy who killed himself last month has filed a $20 million claim alleging her husband suffered from deep depression after he was forced to work exhaustive, mandatory overtime for a dozen years at a jail facility. Read more

Education

Assistant principal arrested for alleged sexual abuse of LAUSD students decades ago

A former coach and teacher at Woodrow Wilson High School in El Sereno, now an assistant principal in the San Gabriel Unified School District, faces criminal charges that he sexually abused two teenagers on his girls basketball team more than two decades ago. San Gabriel Unified has placed him on unpaid leave. Read more

Demographics

6 intriguing things new census data tells us about Southern California

Newly released results from the American Community Survey, the census bureau’s smaller, year-by-year questionnaire about dozens of topics, asks everything from commute times to languages spoken to health insurance to how we make a living. Those numbers say a lot about how we live and how Southern California is changing. Read more

Preservation

Why does it cost some $3 million to fix up one Crystal Cove cottage?

Yes, that funky vibe at Crystal Cove State Park is, indeed, priceless. But $55 million to renovate 17 eclectic little cottages, averaging more than $3 million apiece? Why does it cost so much?! Columnist Teri Sforza posed this question to the Crystal Cove Conservancy, the nonprofit running the show with California State Parks, and they were eager to answer. Read more

Politics

Biden impeachment vote, for Reps. Michelle Steel and Young Kim, is complicated

Should Congress open an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden? That’s the question expected to be posed to House members this week. The vote would mean moving forward with the impeachment investigation — it’s not a straightforward decision to impeach the president — and it would need nearly all Republicans in the oft-bickering House to succeed. Read more

Israel-Hamas war

Should local government weigh in on the Israel-Hamas war? Officials grapple with what to do

Recently, residents have been asking city councils to do what they can to influence the war waging half a world away between Israel and Hamas, leaving community leaders divided on what their responses should look like, or whether they should respond at all. Read more

Military

Why the Reagan Library defense forum draws top decision makers

High in the remote rolling hills of Simi Valley, the who’s who of the defense landscape meets annually to discuss the challenges and solutions of maintaining the United States’ “peace through strength” amid global threats. Experts call the Southern California-based forum one of the most important globally because leaders who can make a difference come together and discuss key challenges to national defense away from the noise of the Washington, D.C. beltway. Read more

Criminal Justice

Bid by LA County cities to halt zero bail rejected by judge

More than two dozen L.A. County cities concerned about increased crime sought an injunction to block the county’s no-bail policy, but the effort was rejected by an Orange County judge. The judge permitted the cities to amend their complaint to document a link between the policy and increased crime rates and resubmit it Jan. 31. Read more

History

Irvine quietly scrapped a vintage WWII PV-1 Ventura bomber

The 1943 Lockheed PV-1 Ventura, the first stealth aircraft used by the Marine Corps, was the Great Park’s first vintage plane in a collection once meant to become an aviation museum. An aircraft restoration team spent nearly five years restoring the plane. But in mid-November, it was scrapped as part of the city’s plans to clear the Great Park of old buildings and structures for a transformation of the park. News of the demolition of the rare plane sent shockwaves through the aviation community. Read more

Recent Editors' Picks

• Transportation: State finds 15 more potentially dangerous properties beneath 10 Freeway READ MORE
• Animals: Sending bunnies to a reptile rescue group was a look OC Animal Care wanted to avoid READ MORE
• Courts: How a Christmas Party at Taco Bell went completely off the rails READ MORE
• Education: California has no accredited Native American colleges, but that could change READ MORE
• Religion: Christians and climate change: Southern California churches preach very different messages READ MORE
• Automotive: Former owner of high-end auto dealership charged with theft, tax fraud READ MORE