Reporter Reporter Megan Jamerson:  

Phase one of the cleanup is over, but it’s still going to take many months to remove all the dangerous ash and soot from the Eaton and Palisades Fires. I think about the workplace a lot, so naturally, I had questions: Who'll be taking these risky jobs? Will they feel prepared to do it safely? Is there a political and social initiative to keep workers safe while allowing families to rebuild quickly? I learned from the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) that immigrant day laborers have been historically tapped to do disaster cleanups. They are already vulnerable to workplace exploitation, and NDLON has seen people get sick after taking these jobs. So the organization is doing what it can to prevent that from happening in LA.

Immigrant day laborers learn how to do risky fire cleanup

Two months ago at the Pasadena Community Job Center, NDLON brought in an instructor to take 175 workers through OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) certification to work on disaster sites. Now, through a partnership with the local nonprofit Fire Poppy Project, NDLON is training workers on cleaning a smoke-damaged house or apartment to make it habitable. The curriculum includes the importance of wearing protective gear even when the risk level is unknown.

Pablo Alvarado, co-executive director of NDLON, says he knew day laborers who participated in New York City cleanup after 9/11 and died from illnesses related to the work — a lesson he hopes both employers and workers in LA take seriously. 

Kevin Riley, director of UCLA’s Labor Occupational Safety and Health Program, adds that the sheer size of LA’s fire disaster also makes it difficult for the government to monitor how safely things are being done. And with thousands of property owners anxious to get things cleaned up and rebuilt, they can mount pressure on officials for the cleaning to move quickly, which could lead to shortcuts on safety. 

“We do know how to keep people safe,” says Riley. “We may just not have the political will or the social will.”

Local Ukrainians voice fear, dismay as Trump weakens support

On March 1st, several hundred people gathered in a small park in Beverly Hills to speak out after Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy clashed with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. At the White House meeting, a deal to extend U.S. support for Ukraine’s fight against Russia fell apart. Local Ukrainians said they feared for their families — and the fate of their nation.

Oksana Dydiuk came to the U.S. from Ukraine 12 years ago. The tax accountant always took for granted that both countries would be allies against Russian interference. She hopes this is still true, she said, but others will have to take more responsibility. 

“Europe needs to wake up if they haven't already,” Dydiuk said, “because it seems like Europe is on its own to protect peace, democratic order, and the freedoms we all want.”

Lesia Voronova said she feels helpless in LA, and would rather be with her parents in Ukraine who live close to the border with Russia. “They are getting more and more air attacks and more and more drones. It's going to be less and less safe for them, and I don't want them to be alone.”

Need a professional recording studio, 3D printer, or laser cutter? Turn to the Octavia Lab

In 1993, sci-fi writer Octavia Butler published her groundbreaking dystopian novel Parable of the Sower. The novel is set in the year 2025 in a Los Angeles suburb plagued by gun violence, homelessness, and drought-fueled fires.

Butler was born in Pasadena, lived in Altadena, and did a lot of her writing at the Central Library in Downtown LA where she also volunteered to help adults learn to read. 

On April 29th, 1986, the Central Library caught fire, and after Butler’s death in 2006, it named an art-making space and technology hub after her. Today, the Octavia Lab provides free access to state-of-the-art gadgets and software; plus supplies, inspiration, and a sense of safety for photographers, filmmakers, fashion designers, and others.

Original Pantry Cafe was a historic cultural monument. Why’d it close?

The Original Pantry Cafe officially closed on Sunday after being a Downtown LA icon since 1924 with customer lines stretching down the block. 

Former LA Mayor Richard Reardon was so enamored by the building that he bought it in the 1980s. He also cemented development restrictions there. Eater LA editor Matthew Kang explains, “He was saying, ‘I want this restaurant to live forever, and I have every intention of keeping it that way.’ In the late '80s, it was designated as a historic cultural monument, so therefore the building has a lot of strings attached to it.”

When Reardon died in 2023, his family trust took control of the building and recently decided to sell it — reportedly to maximize its value and fund their charitable foundation.  

“There's now this battle, basically, between the family trust and a union of workers who say, ‘Hey, if you are going to sell this property, we would like to have some stipulations, which include: If the new owner comes in, they need to operate a restaurant here and … we want to keep our jobs.’” The trust’s response: “If you have these stipulations, then we're just going to close.”

‘It’s so thrilling’: Chicks hatch to Big Bear eagle couple

Tens of thousands are still watching a 24/7 live stream — operated by the nonprofit Friends of Big Bear Valley (FOBBV) — of famed bald eagle couple Jackie and Shadow and their nest since Jackie laid three eggs last month. Excitement grew over the stream’s chat when pipping — or cracks — were spotted on the eggs earlier this week. Then, within hours of one another, two eaglets emerged from their shells.

The hatchings come after the couple experienced disappointment the last two years — which included a brutal 2024 Big Bear winter — when their eggs never hatched. 

The days ahead will be challenging, though. According to the American Eagle Foundation, less than half of eaglets survive their first year.

“Weather is a big issue,” explains Sandy Steers, executive director of FOBBV. “At about six weeks old, [the eaglets] get too big to fit under the parents but don’t quite have their waterproof feathers yet. … Also, they tend to compete with each other to try and get food. So there’s lots of things going on that they have to deal with right away.”