By Bo Tefu | California Black Media
_____________Blacks and Latinos Clash Over LA’s Barrio Run; Mayor Karen Bass Calls for Dialogue Across Racial, Neighborhood Lines
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass urged Black and Latino Angelenos to resolve their differences constructively after a dispute over a Latino-led running event planned for Leimert Park escalated into racial hostility online.
“Los Angeles is strongest when we listen to one another, treat every community with respect and work through our differences constructively,” Bass said in a statement she shared on Facebook.
Barrio Athletics, a grassroots fitness organization founded by South Central Los Angeles native Henry Gallardo, planned a 5K for Sept. 6. Participants were initially scheduled to meet in Leimert Park before running along Crenshaw Boulevard. In a promotional video,an organizer said the group would “take over the streets of Leimert Park.”
The language drew objections from Black residents and community leaders, who said organizers had not adequately consulted local stakeholders. They were also concerned that the gathering, which included plans for a DJ and vendors, would disrupt the Leimert Park Sunday Marketplace and other scheduled activities.
Leimert Park is widely regarded as the cultural heart of Black Los Angeles. Its weekly marketplace, food vendors and drum circle have long provided an economic and cultural gathering place for Black residents. That history, compounded with lingering concerns about gentrification and the city’s declining Black population, intensified sensitivity to the event’s promotion.
“This is a historic Black district which we fought for and built up, its arts district, its cultural hub,” KBLA radio host Dominique DiPrima told a local L.A. news station.
“You’re saying that you’re going to “take over” is sort of like the last stand for Black LA is problematic.”
In another widely circulated video, a woman warned organizers, “We don’t want you to come into Africa Town,” adding that they would be “met with resistance from the Black community.” A separate Black social media user suggested, “We should call ICE,” drawing condemnation amid federal immigration enforcement concerns affecting Latino communities.
Barrio Athletics said it did not condone “racism, violence or hate.” Black and Latino community organizers later joined the group for what local L.A. radio station KJLH described as a “tough but necessary conversation.”
KJLH posted a video of the discussion.
Following “careful conversation with community leaders,” Barrio Athletics relocated the run to Elysian Park “to respect Leimert Park and the surrounding community.”
Bass denied claims that she had ordered the move, saying she had not known about the dispute before its resolution.
“Bringing people across racial, cultural and neighborhood lines together has been the foundation of my life’s work,” Bass said, “and it continues to guide how I lead this city today.”
“Ready to See These Bills Become Law”: Sen. Weber’s Package of 15 Bills Advance to Gov. Newsom’s Desk
The California Legislature has sent Gov. Gavin Newsom a package of 15 bills authored by state Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson, D-San Diego. The measures address health care, education, patient safety and consumer protections.
More specifically, they include legislation focused on early math intervention, health care costs, artificial intelligence, nutrition information and physician accountability. The measures now await Newsom’s signature.
“This package represents the kind of change I came to Sacramento to fight for, change that improves people’s lives in real and tangible ways,” said Weber Pierson. “I’m proud of the work we’ve done, and I’m ready to see these bills become law.”
Among the measures is SB 1067, which would require annual math assessments for students in kindergarten through second grade to identify learning difficulties early and provide evidence-based interventions. The bill passed both chambers unanimously.
SB 869 would require chain restaurants with at least 20 locations to display a clear warning next to beverages with high levels of added sugar, including on drive-through menus. SB 977 would require those restaurants to offer at least one children’s meal that meets expert nutrition standards if they already offer a kids’ menu.
The package also includes SB 503, which would require developers and deployers of clinical decision-support systems to identify and mitigate risks of biased impacts in health care artificial intelligence tools and monitor the systems after deployment.
Other measures would strengthen protections for patients and consumers. SB 849 would restrict physicians from seeking reinstatement of a surrendered medical license in certain sexual misconduct cases involving patients. SB 950 would seek to ensure timely access to FDA-approved treatments for Californians with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease.
The remaining bills address Medi-Cal behavioral health treatment, CPR and automated external defibrillator education, the consideration of increased building heights under state environmental law, health insurance rate transparency, medical claims, biosimilar drugs and other state policies.
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Report: Community Level Policy Is Impacting Homelessness and Drug Abuse in California
Local housing capacity, behavioral health services and criminal justice policies are playing a role in California’s homelessness and drug crises, according to a new report examining how policy decisions have affected outcomes across the state.
The report compiled by the Public Policy Institute of California found that counties that added more permanent housing beds per capita saw larger decreases in homelessness, while areas with larger declines in incarceration following Proposition 47 saw greater increases in homelessness.
“Places that saw larger increases in permanent housing beds per capita saw larger decreases in the homelessness rate,” researchers Magnus Lofstrom, Shannon McConville, and Sean Cremin stated in the report.
California’s homelessness rate has increased more than 60% since 2014, with unsheltered homelessness driving most of the growth. The state had the sixth-highest overall homelessness rate and the second-highest unsheltered homelessness rate among states in 2025.
Researchers found that counties with higher rents tended to have higher homelessness rates. But they did not find a statistically significant relationship between changes in homelessness and changes in local housing markets, poverty or unemployment.
The report also examined Proposition 47, the 2014 ballot measure that reclassified some drug and property offenses from felonies to misdemeanors. Researchers estimate that the law contributed to a roughly 10% increase in California’s unsheltered homelessness rate, equivalent to about 7,000 additional people experiencing unsheltered homelessness between 2015 and 2019.
The researchers also estimated that Prop. 47 was associated with a 7% to 8% increase in serious drug use, measured through overdose deaths, hospitalizations and emergency department visits. Drug treatment admissions fell by roughly 20%, largely because of fewer referrals from courts and criminal justice agencies.
“Our findings suggest that Prop 47 likely did contribute to rising rates of homelessness and drug overdoses, as well as declines in drug treatment,” the researchers stated.
The report cautions that the relationship between homelessness, drug use and criminal justice policy is complex. Researchers found no consistent evidence that California’s 2011 public safety realignment or pandemic-era reductions in incarceration affected homelessness or drug use.
They also emphasized the role of the criminal justice system in connecting vulnerable people with services.
“Jails and prisons serve as sources of shelter for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness,” the researchers stated in the report. They added that courts and criminal justice agencies can help connect people with the drug treatment they need.
California has made major investments in housing and behavioral health services in recent years. The researchers said state and local agencies should continue evaluating whether those investments are reaching people most at risk and whether newer policies, including Proposition 36, are effectively connecting people with treatment.
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California’s Legal Cannabis Market Hits $8 Billion as State Touts Progress on Fighting Drugs, Crime
California’s legal cannabis market has generated nearly $8.4 billion in tax revenue since 2018 as the state ramps up enforcement against illegal drugs and touts declines in crime, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Sept. 2.
The cannabis revenue includes nearly $4.5 billion in excise taxes and nearly $3.4 billion in sales taxes. In the second quarter of 2026 alone, cannabis retailers remitted $261.7 million in cannabis excise and sales tax revenue.
The state uses cannabis revenue to support programs including childcare and early childhood development, youth substance abuse prevention, medical research and environmental recovery.
“We are building a legal cannabis market that generates billions for Californians, and going after the illicit operators who undermine it,” said Newsom. “That’s public safety: protect consumers, support the businesses playing by the rules, and put the revenue to work in our communities.”
California is also targeting illegal intoxicating products outside the regulated cannabis market. State officials have removed more than 15,000 illegal hemp, kratom and 7-hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH, products from store shelves.
The enforcement effort resulted in the removal of 7,403 illegal hemp products and 7,888 kratom and 7-OH products. Officials reported compliance rates above 97% among Alcoholic Beverage Control licensees inspected for both categories.
The state has warned that kratom and 7-OH products have been linked to addiction, overdose and other serious health risks.
California is also using its law enforcement resources to target violent crime, drug trafficking and other criminal activity. Since 2023, CHP Crime Suppression Teams have made 15,197 arrests, recovered 7,042 stolen vehicles and seized 656 illicit firearms.
Since the teams expanded to six regions statewide in August 2025, they have also confiscated nearly 1.7 million grams of illegal drugs, including about 108 kilograms of fentanyl.
“Over the past few years, our Crime Suppression Teams have demonstrated the value of proactive, intelligence-driven enforcement,” CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee said.
The Newsom administration says the efforts are part of a broader public safety strategy that combines regulation, enforcement, prevention and partnerships with local agencies.
California has also reported declines in major crime categories since 2024, including an 18.6% drop in homicides and a 25.8% decline in motor vehicle theft.
California officials say the combination of a regulated cannabis market, targeted enforcement and state-local law enforcement partnerships is helping protect consumers, disrupt illicit drug activity and improve public safety across the state.
_____________Election Watch 2026: 85% of Eligible Voters in California Are Registered
California enters the 2026 election cycle with a large pool of registered voters, as 85% of eligible adults were registered to vote as of May, according to a new report from the Public Policy Institute of California.
The report found that 23.2 million of California’s 27.3 million eligible adults were registered. Voter registration, political engagement and past voting habits will help shape turnout in the June statewide primary and November general election.
“Likely voters are registered voters who cast ballots regularly and are politically engaged,” researchers Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, Lauren Mora, and Deja Thomas stated in the report.
California’s likely voters generally lean Democratic. Democrats make up 46% of likely voters, while Republicans and independents account for much of the remainder.
Independent voters could be an important group to watch during the 2026 election cycle. Independent likely voters are more likely to lean Democratic, although many do not favor either major party or remain unsure.
The report found that likely voters do not fully reflect California’s broader adult population. They tend to be older, more educated and more affluent.
Older Californians make up a larger share of likely voters, while younger adults are less likely to participate regularly in elections. Likely voters are also more likely to own their homes and have higher household incomes.
The racial makeup of the likely electorate differs from the state’s overall adult population as well. White Californians are overrepresented among likely voters, while Latino residents make up a smaller share of likely voters than they do of the state’s adult population. Black Californians make up 6% of likely voters, slightly than their share of the state’s total population.
The researchers said voter enthusiasm and past voting habits have played an important role in determining who participates in California elections.