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Catch up on the L.A. Times’ investigative reporting from 2020

By Jack LeonardSenior Editor, Investigations 
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Asking the powerful tough questions is one of the most fundamental responsibilities of journalism. At the Los Angeles Times, it is a priority.

During an extraordinary year, our journalists demanded answers from elected leaders, business people and institutions. They told stories of police wrongdoing, medical neglect, racial injustices and government failures. They brought readers inside secretive and unfamiliar worlds — private immigration detention centers where crimes against detainees went unpunished; teeming markets in parts of Asia where a trade in dog meat endures; California nursing homes where thousands of elderly and sick residents are dying from COVID-19.

Investigative journalism has the power to change the world for the better, and the paper’s work inspired new laws, reversed policies, led to criminal charges and spurred numerous government inquiries. Here are just a few of the investigative stories we published in 2020. Please support our work by subscribing today.

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The response to COVID-19

Robbie Hall sewed masks at a factory in a women's prison in Chino until she became infected with COVID-19.

California kept prison factories open. Inmates worked for pennies an hour as COVID-19 spread

Inmates who made masks and furniture for as little as 35 cents an hour say they felt pressure to stay on the job, even as the coronavirus spread through the prison factories.

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RESEDA, CA - MARCH 25: A worker at Eisenberg Village nursing home screens all incoming for symptoms of the coronavirus on Wednesday, March 25, 2020 in Reseda, CA. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

As coronavirus ravaged nursing homes, inspectors were not being tested

Desperate for coronavirus help, California spending billions on no-bid contracts with little accountability

RIVERSIDE, CA- APRIL 8, 2020: Bernie Erwig, 84, is removed from Magnolia Rehabilitation and Nursing Center after 39 tested positive for coronavirus and nursing staff was not showing up to work for their own safety on April 8, 2020 in Riverside, California. All 84 residents were removed. Erwig tested positive for COVID-19 and was transferred to the county hospital in Moreno Valley, RUHS, where he spent 4 weeks recovering from the coronavirus. He is now home still recuperating. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

As coronavirus raged through nursing homes, inspectors found nothing wrong

Coronavirus is attacking nursing homes with poor infection track records in L.A. County

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LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 10: Andrew Diaz poses for a portrait a couple weeks before the start of the school year where he will be an 11th grader in Lynwood Park on Monday, Aug. 10, 2020 in Los Angeles, CA. The unparalleled disruption of California schools has had profound impacts on students in high-poverty communities. Diaz did not receive a computer to work from home until more than a month after the shutdown and struggled to find motivation to complete schoolwork without the in person interaction. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)

A generation left behind? Online learning cheats poor students, Times survey finds

Times survey finds profound disparities in distance learning between children attending schools in high-poverty areas and those in more affluent ones.

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Toxic fumes on airplanes

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How we investigated toxic chemicals on airplanes

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Investigating law enforcement

Adjutant General David Baldwin, Gov. Jerry Brown's appointee to head the California National Guard, responds to a question during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Rules Committee at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012. Baldwin has been tasked to take over a military agency that faces several challenges, including two separate criminal investigations involving alleged fraud and improper payments to service members, many high-level officers. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Spy plane was sent to monitor protest in affluent suburb, home to head of California National Guard

The Guard reconnaissance aircraft flew over peaceful protests in the upscale community of El Dorado Hills, the location of Maj. Gen. David S. Baldwin’s home.

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Vershell Hall's son Richard Tyson, 20, was killed by Inglewood police officers in 2007 poses for a portrait at her apartment

Deputies killed Dijon Kizzee after a bike stop. We found 15 similar law enforcement shootings, many fatal

In 11 shootings, including Kizzee’s, the bicyclists — all male and Black or Latino — were killed.

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Hollywood, CA, Monday, June 1, 2020 - An LAPD officer chases a suspected looter in an alley behind Hollywood Blvd. (Robert Gauthier/LA Times)

Troubling videos capture L.A. police violence, aggression amid demonstrations

Recent protests in Los Angeles have served up a steady stream of troubling videos of police aggression and violence.

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Police PR machine under scrutiny for inaccurate reporting, alleged pro-cop bias

Amid calls to defund police, the public relations machine within law enforcement is coming under scrutiny.

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CALABASAS-CA-JANUARY 26, 2020: Fans, including Gennady Grinblat, center, gather in Calabasas after reports that Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

L.A. County deputies shared graphic photos of Kobe Bryant crash scene, sources say

L.A. Sheriff’s Department says it is looking into reports that deputies shared graphic images of the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash scene.

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Chaos in the Postal Service

Postal workers sort parcels at Margaret L. Sellers Processing and Distribution Center at the USPS Carmel Mountain Post Office on May 14, 2020 in San Diego, California. The post office is seeing a huge increase in the amount of packages its handling.

‘Like Armageddon’: Rotting food, dead animals and chaos at postal facilities amid cutbacks

VAN NUYS, CA - SEPTEMBER 09: Mail carriers load their trucks at the United States Postal Service (USPS) located at 15701 Sherman Way in Van Nuys, California on the morning of September 9, 2020. The USPS may be experiencing delays. U.S. Postal Service on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020 in Van Nuys, CA. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times

Empty trucks, falsified records: How Louis DeJoy’s changes at the Postal Service brought chaos

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Examining long wait times for care

Los Angeles, CA, August 24, 2019 - Majid Vatandoust, a 49-year old heating and air conditioning technician from Canoga Park, who went to LAC clinic Mid-Valley for a check-up in early 2014. He had unintentionally lost about 20 pounds and routine tests found he was anemic and had blood in his stool, all early indicators of potentially deadly colon cancer. His doctor put in a request via eConsult for a colonoscopy but was denied, his medical records show. The gastroenterologist who turned down the request without ever seeing Vatandoust said the test used to detect blood in Vatandoust's stool was "not valid for patients under 50 years old." Thousands of patients in L.A. County's public hospital system who endure long, sometimes deadly delays to see medical specialists, a Times investigation has found. Doctors, nurses and patients describe chronic waits that leave the sick with intolerable pain, worsening illnesses and a growing sense of hopelessness. According to a Times data analysis of more than 860,000 requests for specialty care at the L.A. County Department of Health Services, a sprawling safety-net system that serves more than 2 million, primarily the region's poorest and most vulnerable residents. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

L.A.’s poorest patients endure long delays to see medical specialists. Some die waiting

Thousands of patients in L.A. County’s public hospital system face long, sometimes deadly waits to see specialists, a Times investigation has found. The system serves primarily the region’s poorest and most vulnerable residents.

Los Angeles, CA, March 2, 2020 - LA County Medical Center and hospital complex. Thousands of patients in L.A. County's public hospital system who endure long, sometimes deadly delays to see medical specialists, a Times investigation has found. Doctors, nurses and patients describe chronic waits that leave the sick with intolerable pain, worsening illnesses and a growing sense of hopelessness. According to a Times data analysis of more than 860,000 requests for specialty care at the L.A. County Department of Health Services, a sprawling safety-net system that serves more than 2 million, primarily the region's poorest and most vulnerable residents. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

How we reported the story: Deadly delays in L.A. County’s public hospital system

Los Angeles, CA, Sunday, August 16, 2020 - Sean Solis, 15,left, and his brother Steven, 21, with a funeral card of their grandmother, Isabel Lianiez Velasquez, who died in 2016. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

California regulators launch review of long, deadly delays in L.A. County specialty care

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Inside the troubled end-of-life care industry

BEVERLY HILLS,

End-of-life care has boomed in California. So has fraud targeting older Americans

Nowhere has the hospice industry’s growth been more explosive, and its harmful side effects more evident, than in Los Angeles County.

BEVERLY HILLS,

Dying Californians suffer harm and neglect from an industry meant to comfort them

VAN NUYS, CA - NOVEMBER 15: An office building in the 14000 block is home of numerous hospice providers at in Van Nuys, CA. Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020. A drive along Victory Boulevard might give the impression that people in Van Nuys are dropping like flies. More than two dozen hospices pepper a mile-long stretch of the east-west artery. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

What you need to know if you or a loved one requires end-of-life care

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Inside the conditions at immigration facilities

19 women allege medical abuse in Georgia immigration detention

J. Lee, 38, said he was sexually assaulted by his cellmate while he was detained at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center.

California police got hundreds of calls about abuse in private ICE detention centers. Cases were rarely prosecuted

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Marc Ching

Times Investigation: He was a Hollywood darling for fighting dog meat trade. Butchers say he staged killings; he denies it

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Broadimage/Shutterstock (10129814az) Shannen Doherty, Marc Ching 2nd Annual Animal Compassion Project Gala, Arrivals, Los Angeles, USA - 03 Mar 2019

Animal rescue charity with star-studded support has ‘troubling’ financial practices, experts say

Activist Marc Ching speaks onstage at Circle V Festival in 2017.

After Times investigation, dog activist Marc Ching charged by city’s animal protection unit

STUDIO CITY, CA - JULY 05: Natalia Soto, with her dog Moo, is a veterinarian who raised concerns about Marc Ching giving bad medical advice to pet owners. She was treating a dog that needed surgery to remove bladder stones. She said the dog's owner told her Ching had advised that the stones would dissolve if she gave the pet his supplements, which cost her about $600. Soto photographed at Woodbridge Park on Sunday, July 5, 2020 in Studio City, CA. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

Hollywood-backed activist endangered pets by treating them with his own products, veterinarians say

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Allegations of misconduct in the entertainment world

The Magic Castle, a private club that has magic shows and other entertainment

Entertainment & Arts

L.A.’s storied Magic Castle shaken by allegations of sexual misconduct, racism

Entertainment & Arts

Actor Bryan Callen accused of sexual assault, misconduct

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The Golden State Killer

Joseph James DeAngelo sits in court at the Gordon D. Schaber Sacramento County Courthouse

The untold story of how the Golden State Killer was found: A covert operation and private DNA

Subscriber exclusive: Of the many mysteries that surround the Golden State Killer, one of the most consequential is exactly how authorities caught Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. four decades after his murders began.

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Unearthing the hidden history of DDT

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California’s housing crisis

SAN BERNARDINO, CA - AUGUST 21: Terrance Stewart Jr., right, stands for a portrait with his children Terrance the 3rd, 4, and Taylor, 10, and wife Tiffane outside the apartment complex where they have lived since 2018 in Colton on Friday, Aug. 21, 2020 in San Bernardino, CA. Due to crime-free housing policies, ever since Stewart was released from prison on a felony drug charge in 2005 he has struggled to find housing for he and his family. Stewart reflected, "that thing I did in my twenties is not who I am. I bring something positive for the community. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)

Black and Latino renters face eviction, exclusion amid police crackdowns in California

SOLANA BEACH, CALIF. -- TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2020: A notice of permit application sign is posted the site of a proposed affordable housing project near million-dollar condos on S. Sierra Ave, Solana Beach, a parking lot behind Sand Pebbles Resort in Solana Beach. It's a 10-unit project that has been in the works for the last 10 years and has yet to break ground in Solana Beach, Calif., on Jan. 14, 2020. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Why does it cost so much to build affordable housing in California? How we got the answer

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The lives of the rich and powerful

An infant dies, a millionaire doctor calls 911, and a tale emerges of drugs, love and suspected crime

The case of the death of newborn Boaz Yoder plunged detectives into the murky world of USC’s ex-medical school dean, Carmen Puliafito.

Sheikh Khalia bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani

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The true story of the heartthrob prince of Qatar and his time at USC

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The legal titan and the ‘Real Housewife’: The rise and fall of Tom Girardi and Erika Jayne

CaliforniaTimes Investigations
Jack Leonard

As senior editor of investigations, Jack Leonard oversaw the work of a team of investigative reporters. As a reporter, he was part of the team that exposed fraud and abuse in California’s conservatorship system, a series that won several national awards. He went on to investigate how early releases from L.A.’s jail system perverts justice and fosters more crime on the street. Later, he worked on a sweeping expose of abuse and corruption in the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department.

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