Alissa, Rachel, and Mike recap former LAFD chief Kristin Crowley’s failed attempt to appeal her firing and discuss the political repercussions from the fire union, UFLAC. LA Mayor Karen Bass faces a recall campaign. And revenue shortfalls are forecast for LA, meaning leaders will have to take action to address the city’s park funding crisis.

Crowley lost her appeal to overturn her dismissal by LA Mayor Karen Bass; now she’ll take a new job as assistant chief of the Valley Bureau

LA Times: “Bass aides were warned of growing fire danger before she flew to Ghana”

And a follow up by the LA Times, published after we recorded: “Why is Mayor Karen Bass deleting her text messages?”

Meanwhile, as a reminder of where to place blame, LA County sued SoCal Edison for allegedly starting the Eaton Fire

Now Bass faces a right-wing recall with a bonkers campaign ad

LA City Controller Kenneth Mejia writes a dire revenue forecast: “Eight months into the current fiscal year, our best estimate is that revenue will fall approximately $140 million short of the adopted budget.” Also of note: “Our short-term focus on year-to-year balance neglects the need for a multi-year transition to service models that allow the City to live within its means”

LA is 88th out of 100 U.S. cities in the Trust for Public Land’s annual rankings for park equity and access 

An LA City parks needs assessment is currently being conducted, you can join meetings at parks and online 

Alissa’s story on LA’s park funding crisis for Torched

LA County’s Measure A, which voters approved in 2016, just secured 623 new acres of green space

The council is also considering CEQA exemptions for temporary and permanent projects related to the Olympics (which was supposed to be a “no-build” Olympics)

Compare LA’s lack of plans to the city of Long Beach’s Elevate ’28, a capital infrastructure plan timed to make citywide improvements by 2028

And as an update to a previous discussion, Bass now says she’s committed to getting charter reform on the November 2026 ballot and is looking for people to join the charter reform commission, you can apply here

Produced by Sophie Bridges