Dakota Smith covers the San Fernando Valley for the Los Angeles Times. She is part of the team that won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in breaking news for reporting on a leaked audio recording that upended City Hall politics. She joined the newsroom in 2016 and previously covered City Hall for the Los Angeles Daily News. She is a graduate of Lewis & Clark College and lives in Los Angeles.
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In an interview with The Times, Staycee Dains said she felt powerless to solve entrenched problems that included severe understaffing and employees who mistreated or neglected animals.
Suspected members of a South American crime group are accused of committing burglaries in Burbank and other cities in California, Oregon and Washington.
A kit-built plane crashed in Simi Valley, killing two passengers and a dog. It was the second crash of that model aircraft in the last five months.
Two people and one dog are dead after a single-engine aircraft crashed into a residential area of Simi Valley. Two homes were damaged.
Tujunga residents are outraged over a hauling operation in their neighborhood. L.A. County officials contend the soil is safe and say more storm debris will be trucked in.
Three men were arrested on suspicion of killing another man during an alleged home-invasion robbery in Woodland Hills, the L.A. Police Department said.
The monthly trash fee for single-family homes and duplexes will go up 54%, reaching $55.95, up from $36.32. The monthly fee for smaller apartment buildings will be increased to $55.95, up from $24.33. Residents can protest the fees.
Frenemies Mayor Karen Bass and developer Rick Caruso are working together to rebuild a city recreation center in the Pacific Palisades.
The L.A. City Council is weighing a plan to increase trash fees by 56% for single-family homes and duplexes, while doubling the fee for apartments with three or four units.
The council’s action, on a 14-1 vote, doesn’t authorize the massive renovation, but it shows that the council is firmly behind the effort to overhaul the downtown structure.