Good morning. Here's what you need to know to start your day.
L.A.'s big budget crisis
The city of Los Angeles was already facing the entrenched challenges of crime, homelessness, a housing shortage and traffic violence.
Then came the destructive Palisades fire and President Trump's volatile trade war, which have disrupted the livelihoods of Angelenos in a major U.S. trade hub. Now city leaders are bracing for a nearly $1-billion budget deficit.
How's the city doing with all that? Mayor Karen Bass gave her official answer Monday in the annual State of the City address, followed by her proposed budget to get L.A. through the coming fiscal year.
Bass delivers her State of the City address at City Hall on Monday, April 21, 2025. (Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
Bass pointed to progress in reducing crime and street homelessness, but also highlighted the "broken system" of city government, calling for "a fundamental overhaul... to deliver the clean, safe and orderly neighborhoods that Angelenos deserve."
Here are a few key takeaways from Bass' speech and how the city's budget lines up with her rhetoric.
Some city workers would lose jobs under Bass' proposal
In the face of a massive shortfall, Bass said city leaders have reduced funding for the mayor's office, eliminated "ghost positions" in the city's workforce and postponed some projects to save money.
On Monday she vowed to increase efficiency in city government — which she referred to as "broken" — in part through consolidating departments.
Though Bass praised city workers as L.A.'s "greatest asset," she acknowledged that her proposed budget includes layoffs, calling it "a decision of absolute last resort."
Bass' proposal, published in two parts, calls for eliminating about 1,650 currently filled positions and more than a thousand more that are vacant, city budget officials told The Times. Bass said the city attorney is meeting with legislators in Sacramento this week to "advocate for resources."
"Under her budget proposal, Bass would eliminate city commissions dealing with health, with climate change and with efficiency and innovation," my colleagues Julia Wick, David Zahniser and Noah Goldberg reported. "She would also combine some of the city's smaller agencies into a single entity."
The fire recovery effort is a focal point in upcoming funding
Bass said the recovery effort for January's Palisades fire "is on track to be the fastest in California history." She announced new actions to speed up the recovery, including a new self-certification program for property owners seeking building permits and integrating AI into the process in an effort to accelerate building. Bass said the AI initiative could later expand citywide.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Bass tour the downtown business district of Pacific Palisades on Jan. 8, 2025. (Eric Thayer / Getty Images)
"We know the faster we can rebuild, the faster we can heal," Bass said. "We want to be fast, we want to be safe and we want to be resilient."
Bass' proposal would boost Fire Department funding by more than $103 million, roughly 12.6% higher than the department received for the current fiscal year.
L.A. is preparing for the world stage — and asking for Angelenos' help
Adding to the pressure, L.A. is slated to host World Cup matches next year, then the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2028.
"We want people not just to see our stadiums," Bass said. "We want them to see the real L.A., our neighborhoods."
To spruce up those neighborhoods, Bass announced Shine LA, a series of volunteer efforts aimed at "cleaning, greening, and preparing our city for the world stage."
"Every single month, we will bring Angelenos together side by side to unify and beautify our neighborhoods, improving parts, planting trees, painting murals and so much more," Bass said.
It's unclear if or how much the volunteer labor will replace services currently provided by city workers whose jobs may be cut.
For more on Bass' financial plan for Los Angeles, read the reporting from my Times colleagues.
Today's top stories
The Gen. James Gavin Power Plant, a coal-fired power plant in Cheshire, Ohio, shown here on April 14, 2025. (Joshua A. Bickel / Associated Press)
We used to agree on Earth Day. Political division has changed the environmental priorities
- This year marks the 55th anniversary of Earth Day, but rather than enjoying its golden years, the planet is facing a new kind of peril.
- The Trump administration is rolling back landmark environmental legislation that dates back to the Nixon era, including key protections for clean air and water.
House Democrats, in El Salvador, say they were not allowed to meet wrongly deported man
Californians mourn a pope who shared their values and brought excitement to church
Beautiful, deadly: Wolves stalk rural California
- California wolves are on the comeback. And no matter how hard wildlife officials try to direct them toward their natural prey, the wolves seem to find the domesticated cattle wandering through open pastures a lot more appealing.
What else is going on
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This morning's must reads
(Photo illustration by Jim Cooke / Los Angeles Times; Photos by Spencer Platt/Getty Images, Stockcam/Getty Images)
Amid Trump tariffs, the world responds with a free export: Humor. There are many ways world leaders, businesses and consumers are grappling with the growing threat of a global trade war, but perhaps the easiest — and, for some, the most therapeutic — is to rely on dark humor.
Other must reads
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For your downtime
Daniele Uditi prepares food during the Le Le Dinner Club, a new pop-up dinner in West Adams. (Red Gaskell / For The Times)
Going out
Staying in
A question for you: What is the best concert or music festival you experienced in California?
Ross Hering writes: "The KaaBoo festival held at the Del Mar fairgrounds 2015-2019 was the best festival ever. We attended three, including the first in 2015. Well organized, reasonably priced, easy parking, killer lineups each year, great food, great venue, great sponsors with plenty of freebies, acrobats, etc. The lineups were diverse. We saw many bands I otherwise would not have seen like, Imagine Dragons, Pink, Alanis Morissette, Muse, Billy Idol, Gwen Stefani, Billy Idol and more! Among my faves were Foster the People, Wallflowers, Dawes & Tom Petty & Heartbreakers — [a few weeks] before he passed away."
Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.
And finally ... your photo of the day
Show us your favorite place in California! Send us photos you have taken of spots in California that are special — natural or human-made — and tell us why they're important to you.
Scenes from the Rummiklub event at Gravitas in Beverly Hills. (Alex Papke / For The Times)
Today's great photo is from Times contributor Alex Papke from a swanky L.A party where guests play Rummikub, the latest tabletop game club to pop up in Los Angeles at a time when people, particularly Gen Z and millennials, are seeking alternative ways to connect with others outside of bars and nightclubs.
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Ryan Fonseca, reporter
Andrew Campa, Sunday reporter
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Hunter Clauss, multiplatform editor
Christian Orozco, assistant editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
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