Latest news with #Michaelson
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
L.A. Times sues city over Mayor Bass' deleted text messages during fire response
The Los Angeles Times filed a lawsuit Thursday against the city of L.A., accusing officials of unlawfully withholding and deleting the mayor's text messages and other public records from January's firestorm. The city has already turned over many of the exchanges between Mayor Karen Bass and other officials sought by Times reporters. But officials have argued they are not compelled to do so under state public records laws. The Times disagreed. Empowering public officials to scrub their records or to decide which are subject to the law sets a dangerous precedent, Thursday's suit argued. "It's bigger than these text messages," said Kelly Aviles, outside counsel for The Times. "The city seems to believe they can destroy whatever they want whenever they want, and that they don't have a duty to the public to retain public records." Read more: L.A. mayor's text messages provide vivid window into early fire response Politics reporter Julia Wick and investigative reporter Matt Hamilton joined the action as L.A. residents, aiming to block city officials from destroying protected material. Bass was in Ghana when the fires broke out on Jan. 7. She joined a Biden administration delegation feting the country's new president, despite warnings about the explosive potential of incoming Santa Ana winds. That choice may well decide her political future. Exchanges published by The Times this week gave the first clear picture into the mayor's early actions as the city caught fire and burned. Yet those exchanges with her staff and senior government officials could have remained secret, since Bass' messages had been set to auto-delete after 30 days — far shorter than the two-year retention period outlined in the city's administrative code. Officials initially told Wick those texts did not exist, and then said that they had been deleted. After months of back and forth with the paper, the mayor's office ultimately said it was able to recover the deleted texts, and last week provided about 125 messages, noting that an unspecified number of others were 'redacted and/or withheld' based on exemptions to the law. "The Mayor's office has responded to hundreds of public records requests since she was elected and we will continue to do so," said David Michaelson, counsel to the mayor. "The Mayor's office released responsive texts to a PRA request from the Times last week and the Office will continue to respond to public record requests." Read more: LAFD actions in Palisades fire shrouded in secrecy as city refuses to release records Still, Michaelson told Wick the texts were beyond the reach of the California Public Records Act. The mayor's texts were "ephemeral," Michaelson told Wick in a March 7 email, and thus protected from public scrutiny. He cited a 1981 Supreme Court decision that cast "fleeting thoughts and random bits of information" as exempt from records requests. But that ruling does not apply to officials' text messages and other electronic communication, Times attorneys argued. In an era of life-or-death decisions made on six-inch screens, the paper's suit makes the case that what politicians type with two thumbs is as durable as what they pen by hand. Under California law, any writing about public business, regardless of format, is covered by the records act and must be turned over. "The City's apparent position that an official may delete a text communication at any time as 'ephemeral' until a public records request is received would destroy the presumption of access to public records," The Times' lawsuit said. "All a public official would have to do to avoid public scrutiny is destroy the texts immediately after creating them." The mayor's texts are not the only records City Hall appears to have destroyed, the lawsuit alleged. Nor are they the only ones the paper's journalists are still seeking as part of their ongoing investigation of the fires. On Jan. 9, investigative reporter Alene Tchekmedyian sought "emails, text messages, reports, planning documents and memos — about fire planning and predeployment resources" from then-L.A. Fire Chief Kristin Crowley and her subordinates. On Feb. 19, City Hall reporter David Zahniser petitioned 'copies of correspondence regarding emergency preparations, high winds, wildfire conditions and the National Weather Service" involving City Council President Marqueece Harris Dawson while he served as acting mayor in Bass' absence. Zahniser received some records, but not the text messages he'd asked for. Tchekmedyian's request was denied in total. Questions about how American leaders communicate and what happens to those exchanges gained new urgency this week after senior White House officials were revealed to have mistakenly added a journalist to their Signal group chat while planning an air raid in Yemen. Read more: With billions at stake, lawyers pour into Altadena and race to courthouse On Thursday, Washington, D.C. Federal District Judge James E. Basberg ordered the participants of that chat to save the exchange in its entirety and to turn over their records of it. Shading such material from public records laws now on the argument they're fleeting and inconsequential defies reality, The Times' attorney said. "What you have to retain and what you have to turn over is based on the content of the communication, not based on the form or manner of the communication that you choose to use," Avilas said. The suit seeks to ensure important records "are not just destroyed at the city's whim." Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
L.A. Times sues city over Mayor Bass' deleted text messages during fire response
The Los Angeles Times filed a lawsuit Thursday against the city of L.A., accusing officials of unlawfully withholding and deleting the mayor's text messages and other public records from January's firestorm. The city has already turned over many of the exchanges between Mayor Karen Bass and other officials sought by Times reporters. But officials have argued they are not compelled to do so under state public records laws. The Times disagreed. Empowering public officials to scrub their records or to decide which are subject to the law sets a dangerous precedent, Thursday's suit argued. 'It's bigger than these text messages,' said Kelly Aviles, outside counsel for The Times. 'The city seems to believe they can destroy whatever they want whenever they want, and that they don't have a duty to the public to retain public records.' Politics reporter Julia Wick and investigative reporter Matt Hamilton joined the action as L.A. residents, aiming to block city officials from destroying protected material. Bass was in Ghana when the fires broke out on Jan. 7. She joined a Biden administration delegation feting the country's new president, despite warnings about the explosive potential of incoming Santa Ana winds. That choice may well decide her political future. Exchanges published by The Times this week gave the first clear picture into the mayor's early actions as the city caught fire and burned. Yet those exchanges with her staff and senior government officials could have remained secret, since Bass' messages had been set to auto-delete after 30 days — far shorter than the two-year retention period outlined in the city's administrative code. Officials initially told Wick those texts did not exist, and then said that they had been deleted. After months of back and forth with the paper, the mayor's office ultimately said it was able to recover the deleted texts, and last week provided about 125 messages, noting that an unspecified number of others were 'redacted and/or withheld' based on exemptions to the law. 'The Mayor's office has responded to hundreds of public records requests since she was elected and we will continue to do so,' said David Michaelson, counsel to the mayor. 'The Mayor's office released responsive texts to a PRA request from the Times last week and the Office will continue to respond to public record requests.' Still, Michaelson told Wick the texts were beyond the reach of the California Public Records Act. The mayor's texts were 'ephemeral,' Michaelson told Wick in a March 7 email, and thus protected from public scrutiny. He cited a 1981 Supreme Court decision that cast 'fleeting thoughts and random bits of information' as exempt from records requests. But that ruling does not apply to officials' text messages and other electronic communication, Times attorneys argued. In an era of life-or-death decisions made on six-inch screens, the paper's suit makes the case that what politicians type with two thumbs is as durable as what they pen by hand. Under California law, any writing about public business, regardless of format, is covered by the records act and must be turned over. 'The City's apparent position that an official may delete a text communication at any time as 'ephemeral' until a public records request is received would destroy the presumption of access to public records,' The Times' lawsuit said. 'All a public official would have to do to avoid public scrutiny is destroy the texts immediately after creating them.' The mayor's texts are not the only records City Hall appears to have destroyed, the lawsuit alleged. Nor are they the only ones the paper's journalists are still seeking as part of their ongoing investigation of the fires. On Jan. 9, investigative reporter Alene Tchekmedyian sought 'emails, text messages, reports, planning documents and memos — about fire planning and predeployment resources' from then-L.A. Fire Chief Kristin Crowley and her subordinates. On Feb. 19, City Hall reporter David Zahniser petitioned 'copies of correspondence regarding emergency preparations, high winds, wildfire conditions and the National Weather Service' involving City Council President Marqueece Harris Dawson while he served as acting mayor in Bass' absence. Zahniser received some records, but not the text messages he'd asked for. Tchekmedyian's request was denied in total. Questions about how American leaders communicate and what happens to those exchanges gained new urgency this week after senior White House officials were revealed to have mistakenly added a journalist to their Signal group chat while planning an air raid in Yemen. On Thursday, Washington, D.C. Federal District Judge James E. Basberg ordered the participants of that chat to save the exchange in its entirety and to turn over their records of it. Shading such material from public records laws now on the argument they're fleeting and inconsequential defies reality, The Times' attorney said. 'What you have to retain and what you have to turn over is based on the content of the communication, not based on the form or manner of the communication that you choose to use,' Avilas said. The suit seeks to ensure important records 'are not just destroyed at the city's whim.'
Los Angeles Times
09-03-2025
- General
- Los Angeles Times
Mayor Karen Bass is deleting her text messages, raising eyebrows and questions
Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It's Sunday. I'm your host, Andrew J. Campa. Here's what you need to know to start your weekend: Shortly after the Palisades fire erupted on Jan. 7, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass hopped on a flight home. She was roughly 7,000 miles away on a diplomatic trip to Ghana and faced a roughly 24-hour return trip. During that time, her staff said they were in constant contact with the mayor. What was communicated, however, remains a mystery. My colleagues Julia Wick and Matt Hamilton discovered that Bass' text messages during this time were not saved. They had a simple question: Why? Tale of the text A city lawyer, David Michaelson, told The Times that Bass' phone is set not to save text messages, and there is 'no requirement that a city official or employee' do so. This is despite the fact that the city's own document retention policies require most records be kept for two years at least. How did the text issue come about? Times reporters filed a public records request with the city on Jan. 10. They specifically asked for all text messages sent and received by the mayor as she was returning from Africa on Jan. 7 or Jan. 8 that specifically mentioned fire response or travel plans. Bass left Accra, Ghana, at about 9 p.m. on Jan. 7, (1 p.m. local time) and traveled the first leg on a military plane, where she could make phone calls and communicate by text and email. The next morning, she flew commercial from Washington Dulles International Airport and would have been able to communicate only by email and text. She reached Los Angeles International Airport at 11:24 a.m. on Jan. 8, according to her itinerary and flight records. It took about two months, but Bass' office eventually responded to The Times' request, saying it had 'no responsive records.' Interpretation of text obligations Michaelson said Friday that Bass' phone auto-deletes text messages. He added that this wasn't new and the setting has been in place for at least two years. Michaelson contended that city administrative code regarding retention, particularly Los Angeles Administrative Code Section 12.3(b)(6), does not apply to texts. That statute dictates that most records 'shall be retained for a minimum of two years unless a shorter period is otherwise permitted by law or a longer period is otherwise required by law, or unless, consistent with state law, a different period of retention is established by order or resolution of the Council.' That interpretation received some push back, however. Other agencies and officials have released a multitude of records from the early days of the fire in response to public records requests. California law dictates the release of these kind of records, unless there is a specific exemption. First Amendment Coalition Legal Director David Loy argued that Bass' texts should be retained. 'As I read the plain language of L.A.'s own administrative code, the city imposed upon itself a more stringent record retention requirement than state law might otherwise require,' he told The Times. For more, check out the full article. Trump administration policies and reactions Los Angeles fires and recovery Final days of Gene Hackman South by Southwest and Entertainment News More big stories Get unlimited access to the Los Angeles Times. Subscribe here. Column One is The Times' home for narrative and long-form journalism. Here's a great piece from this past week: In prison and seemingly unable to escape a destructive cycle that began when he was a child, Ahmed Bellozo spent hours watching investigative journalism shows, educational documentaries and Huell Howser's homespun travelogue, 'California's Gold.' It was a way, he said, to distract from his pain. Years later, out of prison and wanting a drastic change in his life, Bellozo turned to those shows for inspiration as he reinvented himself on social media as the star of 'On the Tira' — a video series that's part showcase of local landmarks, part investigative journalism and part hyperlocal news about fires and car accidents across the Inland Empire communities he's lived in for most of his life. More great reads How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@ Going out Staying in Get wrapped up in tantalizing stories about dating, relationships and marriage. That evening outside Eaton Canyon, the fire spread without halting. First it was 400 acres without containment, then 800. She had loved the canyon. It offered a sanctuary after her divorce. It is a place where she built a life with her husband and child. Though her house did not burn, the scars from the Eaton fire run deep. Will she fall in love with Eaton Canyon again as she once did? Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team Andrew J. Campa, reporterLuke Money, news editor Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Karen Bass' text messages about Palisades Fire were deleted: Report
The Brief Mayor Karen Bass' text messages from the first days of the January wildfires were deleted, according to a Los Angeles Times report. After a public records request for Bass' text messages from Jan. 7 and 8 related to the fires, the Times said the city had "no responsive records." City lawyer David Michaelson said Bass' phone is set to auto-delete messages. Michaelson argued state public record laws don't apply to text messages. LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass' text messages from the early days of the Palisades Fire were deleted, according to a new report from the Los Angeles Times. What we know Bass was in Ghana when the Palisades and Eaton fires broke out on Jan. 7, and spent much of the next day traveling the more than 7,500 miles back to Los Angeles. She and her office said she was in communication with city officials while she was traveling back to LA. In a March 7 report from the LA Times, the newspaper said it had filed a public records request to find out just what Bass and city officials were saying about the situation. SUGGESTED: Palisades, Eaton fires could cost local economy up to $9 billion, new report says Specifically, the Times said it had requested all text messages two and from the mayor about the fires and her travel plans, while she was traveling on Jan. 7 and 8. On Thursday, Bass' office told the Times that they had "no responsive records" to fulfill their request. Dig deeper The California Public Records Act allows any member of the public to request a public record. State law defines a public record as "any writing containing information relating to the conduct of the public's business prepared, owned, used or retained by any state or local agency regardless of physical form or characteristics." There are exemptions to records requests, which are usually centered around privacy. Government agencies can deny requests for things like personnel and investigative records. Another big exception is "whenever the public interest in nondisclosure clearly outweighs the public interest in disclosure." SUGGESTED: Mayor Bass opens up about trip to Ghana during LA fires: 'I felt absolutely terrible' But the law also says that when agencies deny requests, they have to say why. Agencies can also redact any exempt information from whatever records they deliver. In the case of Bass' text messages, however, the Times said that Bass' office didn't give them a reason, or say whether they were withholding any records. What they're saying David Michaelson, an attorney for the city, claims that these laws do not apply to text messages, telling City News Service that "the Mayor's phone is set to not save text messages — it auto deletes." Michaelson added that the CPRA is "not a record-retaining statute. There is no requirement that a city official or employee save text messages." Michaelson went on to cite an Attorney General ruling from 1981, that says for any public record to be kept, "it must have been made or retained by the public officer for the purpose of preserving its informational content for future reference." The backstory The Palisades Fire broke out in the Pacific Palisades on Jan. 7. As firefighters were fighting the rapidly-spreading flames amid deadly winds, Bass was halfway around the world in Ghana. Bass was there as part of a four-member U.S. delegation sent by President Joe Biden to attend the inauguration of President John Dramani Mahama. Bass returned to Los Angeles once she heard about the fires, getting back on Jan. 8. But, City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, acting as mayor, had to sign the proclamation of a local emergency issued by Bass. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Mayor Bass removes Kristin Crowley as LAFD Chief Bass has faced loads of criticism for the trip, which she later admitted was a mistake. In an interview with FOX 11's Elex Michaelson, Bass said she wasn't aware before leaving for the trip that the fire forecast was so dire, and that she would not have left if she had known how bad it was. She partially blamed former LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley, saying Crowley never contacted her before she left for Ghana to warn her. Bass later fired Crowley over her fire response. The Source Information in this story is from a March 7, 2025, Los Angeles Times report, an interview with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Feb. 18, 2025, the state of California's website on the California Public Records Act, the California Attorney General's Office and previous FOX 11 reports.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
MTA touts congestion pricing success on traffic — but no revenue or air quality data yet
The MTA is already trumpeting the success of its controversial congestion pricing plan, which it says has sliced travel times and cut the number of cars on the road — although data about revenue and air quality is still forthcoming. Juliette Michaelson, the agency's deputy chief of policy and external relations, said at the MTA board's Wednesday meeting that three weeks of data show fewer drivers crossing the congestion zone's 60th Street border. Travel times are improving as a result, with more commuters funneling onto buses and subways or shifting driving times to miss peak toll hours, Michaelson said. On an average January weekday, about 583,000 vehicles enter the congestion zone — but this month, that fell to 490,000, she said. 'I'm very happy to say what we studied, what we expected and what we planned for is what seems to be happening,' she said, adding the rollout has been 'very smooth.' 'We're spreading traffic away from the busiest period,' she continued. 'That's what we wanted to do, and that's what the toll is doing.' Michaelson said trip times across the eight bridges and tunnels leading to the Manhattan congestion zone have fallen by an average of 10% to 30%. But the agency said it's planning to release revenue data next week — and give the public a clearer idea of how much cash the MTA will reap from the $9 toll on anyone driving below Central Park during peak hours. And congestion pricing's effect on air quality has yet to be measured, with Michaelson saying the agency will need 'months of data to make any kind of categorical conclusion.' 'It will be a little while before we know the impact,' she said. The agency is still fighting toll evaders who cruise through the camera banks with so-called 'ghost plates' that hide their identity from collectors, officials said. 'The covered plates are just something [where] we're losing out [on] big dollars, so we must look at a continual enforcement, just like we're doing in the subway,' board member David Mack said. MTA CEO and Chairman Janno Lieber said he agreed with Mack, but the agency collects 96% of its tolls and, in the end, it's Albany's problem to solve. 'We need changes in the law,' Lieber said. 'Right now, people get bills in the mail, they don't pay them. If they are New York registrants, we can take their registration away. But what happens if our friends in New Jersey don't pay their tolls? 'We can't always deregister cars registered in New Jersey,' he said. 'So that's No. 1: How are we dealing with out-of-state deadbeats?' There's still the looming possibility that President Trump will try to end congestion pricing. But Lieber believes the Queens native understands the Big Apple's traffic issue better than most. 'I do believe that Donald Trump, as a New Yorker who lived on 59th Street and spent plenty of time trying to work his way downtown to his buildings in Lower Manhattan or Midtown in a car, understands the damage and the cost of traffic in New York. 'I know there are politicians in his party who feel strongly about it,' he continued. 'We'll see how things shake out in the administration.'
