Paramedics with Los Angeles Fire Department responded at about 1:40 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13 near North Alameda and East Temple streets, where they took a 40-year-old man to a hospital, LAFD spokeswoman Lyndsey Lantz said.

The Los Angeles Police Department said the man was a federal agent who was attacked by several people during a demonstration.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed that Saturday and said two other federal officers were also hurt.

“On February 13, a group of about 200-300 rioters and agitators gathered outside in ICE building in Los Angeles. They threw objects including rocks at law enforcement. One ICE officer was hit in the head with a rock thrown and was injured,” the DHS spokesperson said in an email.

“Two Federal Protective Services officers were injured, one in the hospital with concussion and the other with a cut over his eye. The rioters remain at large,” the department added.

Police said the demonstrations began shortly before 12:30 p.m. Friday between Spring and Temple streets, near First Street, where several traffic lanes were obstructed.

At approximately 1:10 p.m., LAPD officers received reports of vandalism on Los Angeles Street near East Aliso Street, moments before demonstrators began walking northbound on Los Angeles toward the 101 Freeway.

Demonstrators then moved toward North Alameda Street between East Temple and East Aliso streets shortly before 1:25 p.m., where additional acts of vandalism were reported 10 minutes before police received notification of the federal agent being attacked.

“Assaulting federal law enforcement is a felony and a federal crime,” the DHS said. “Secretary Noem has been clear: Anyone who assaults or obstructs law enforcement will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Law and order will prevail.”

Roughly one in six California houses is owned by someone who doesn’t live there ' but investors’ market clout varies across the state.

Thats what my trusty spreadsheet found after reviewing a BatchData report that found investors of all sizes own 1.28 million houses statewide ' 17% of California’s supply of houses and townhomes.

Investors in this study include everything from giant companies controlling thousands of houses to folks with a small collection of rentals to short-term rental operators to people with a second home. Condo ownership was not included.

Where investors own

California’s No. 1 investor spot, by the number of houses owned, is Los Angeles County, where investors controlled 179,294 homes as of the 2025 third quarter.

Next were San Bernardino at 123,088, Riverside at 103,183, San Diego at 79,127, and Orange at 74,663. It’s a decidedly southern group.

Sparsely populated, remote counties had the fewest number of houses owned by investors: Alpine at 423, Inyo at 890, Modoc at 958, Glenn at 1,102, and Sierra at 1,170.

By the slice

Investors dominate housing in some of California’s most lightly populated counties when contemplating the share of houses not occupied by their owners.

For example, in Sierra County, 72% of houses are investor-owned. Mono is No. 2 at 64%, then Plumas at 57%, Modoc at 51%, and Alpine at 50%. Most of these investments are likely vacation homes in these hidden spots.

Investor clout is more modest around heavily populated job hubs: San Mateo at 11%, Marin and Ventura at 12%, and Los Angeles and Alameda at 13%.

Where they’re buying

It’s again a southern story when you consider the number of houses investors purchased between 2020 and the third quarter of 2025.

Statewide, it was 471,500 purchases. No stats were available for what investors sold.

The counties with the most purchases were Los Angeles at 65,496, San Bernardino at 48,889, Riverside at 45,963, San Diego at 30,314, and Orange at 27,962.

Thinly populated counties far from city life also had the fewest purchases: Alpine at 220, Glenn at 318, Modoc at 374, Inyo at 391, and Sierra at 396.

How much?

Statewide, purchases during 2020-25 averaged $876,000. At the county level, however, you see wide variations.

The highest prices paid were in Bay Area counties: San Mateo and Santa Clara ($1.74 million), Marin ($1.71 million), and San Francisco ($1.66 million). No. 5 was Orange at $1.4 million.

Low prices weren’t near metro areas: Modoc at $157,000, Lassen at $197,000, Tehama at $215,000, Imperial at $262,000, and Siskiyou at $277,000.

The bounty

Combining those purchases and prices tells you in which counties investors spent the most in 2020-25 on acquisitions that totaled $413 billion statewide.

The largest target was Los Angeles at $82 billion, followed by Orange at $39 billion, San Diego at $36 billion, Riverside at $35 billion, and San Bernardino at $25 billion.

The least? Modoc at $59 million, Glenn at $92 million, Tehama at $106 million, Colusa at $129 million, and Alpine at $132 million.

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com

The San Jose mayor and Democratic candidate for governor, in fact, said, “I don’t know what moderate means,” when asked about his reputation during a recent trip to Los Angeles to talk housing and homelessness and tour Skid Row.

Instead, it’s optimism that Mahan said more accurately defines his campaign style, his would-be approach as California’s potential next governor, his persona.

“I try to be a pragmatic problem-solver more than anything,” Mahan said in an interview outside the Midnight Mission, a homeless shelter that provides wraparound services, on Friday afternoon, Feb. 13.

“I think we should want great things for everyone, but I worry that our state often embraces policies that are idealistic, that sound good, are performative and aren’t working in practice,” Mahan said. “And that’s why I consider myself a pragmatist more than anything.”

Mahan’s late entrance in the California gubernatorial race ' he launched his campaign in late January after meeting with several of the candidates ' was noticeable in what has otherwise been a crowded yet lackluster contest.

That’s because while Mahan, 43, has supported many progressive policies, he has also clashed with his own party and earned a reputation as a critic of the very man he’s vying to replace as the state’s chief executive, Gov. Gavin Newsom.

“We have to be willing,” Mahan said, “to embrace good ideas and change what we’re currently doing, irrespective of who had the idea. We can’t have pride of authorship or partisan rigidity.”

“When (policies) aren’t working, we experiment, we try new things,” he continued. “We don’t get so locked in our partisan silos because of who had the idea.”

Mahan’s age and relative “newcomer” status in the political world could prove to be advantageous for him in the race for governor, said Matt Lesenyie, an expert in political philosophy who teaches at Cal State Long Beach.

And a focus on pragmatism ' and even some disagreements with Newsom ' could help him in places like the Central Valley, where some counties boast more registered Republican voters than Democrats. But the approach doesn’t come without some concerns, said Lesenyie.

“Politically, that could be an advantageous strategy, but against a Republican candidate, it might be hard to tell the difference between them,” he said.

“I think the next governor is still going to have to build the state party and fight against the federal government,” Lesenyie said. “You have to wonder if a Gov. Mahan would have spurred the redistricting process in 2025 ' something Californians overwhelmingly backed.”

But Mahan was in L.A. on Friday to talk homelessness and tout his city of San Jose’s approach to the unhoused, a major focus during his tenure as its mayor.

Mahan is a fan of tiny homes and other approaches to interim housing. He supports mandatory drug, alcohol and mental health treatments for conditions “that lead to repeated arrests and trap people on the streets,” his campaign website described. And he has proposed enforcing trespassing laws when shelter is offered and available but someone repeatedly refuses, as he wrote in a blog post last year.

On Friday, amid a cacophony of chirps from birds and shouts from people congregating on 6th Street in downtown L.A., Mahan said the Skid Row area represents “a multi-decade public policy failure.”

“We have made it too difficult to build housing,” Mahan said. “We have failed to intervene in cycles of addiction and mental illness, and we are not doing enough statewide to coordinate our state agencies and our cities and counties to expand the shelter and treatment capacity that we need, and then create accountability for coming indoors and taking advantage of those services.”

In San Jose ' where there has been a 10% drop in the number of people who sleep outside in San Jose since January 2023, when Mahan became mayor, according to KQED ' a “back to basics” approach has worked, Mahan said.

“When we get back to basics, and we build safe, dignified, interim housing and shelter, and then improve the quality of our outreach and enforce our code of conduct in our no-emcampment zone out on our streets, we can move people indoors and help them turn their lives around,” Mahan said.

At this point in the gubernatorial race, less than four months until the primary, what’s clear about Mahan is that he’s passionate about tackling homelessness around the state and he’s willing to, at least at times, buck his own party.

But he’s also still introducing himself to voters, particularly those at opposite ends of the state from San Jose.

To that end, Mahan said he’s a family guy who enjoys playing board games or embarking on hikes with his wife and two children. He’s big on spending time outdoors, too ' whether that’s hiking or biking or gardening ' and he can make a mean sandwich, his “signature dish” should he ever find himself competing against Bobby Flay in a cooking competition.

He grew up in Watsonville, a strawberry farming community, and attended a high school with a college prep program. He is a Harvard alumnus who taught middle school English and history in San Jose before entering the tech world, co-founding Brigade, a civic engagement platform, in 2014.

Mahan is the mayor of one of California’s biggest cities, which he noted is technically a nonpartisan office.

“That doesn’t mean we don’t have partisan issues, or I don’t have values I’m willing to fight for,” Mahan said. “But the job of a mayor is to deliver results. I think the state must have a governor who will fight for our values and fix our problems. I want to be a governor who can balance both of those things.”

And then there is that self-described “eternal optimist” characterization, something he credits his father, a former letter carrier, for instilling.

“I know we can do better,” Mahan said, although it wasn’t clear if he meant California, the country or the world at large.

“When we look at the long arc of history, we have come so far as a country, as humanity,” Mahan said. “We have big challenges, but we have an even greater capacity to overcome them.”

By now, he’s used to drawing up contingency plans just in case a disaster ' a fire or earthquake, a cybersecurity attack, a protest or other incident ' disrupts the voting process.

But in more recent elections, he’s had to consider new scenarios: What happens if the federal government sends law enforcement agents to voting locations or insists on other actions that could intimidate voters?

Logan isn’t the only one wrestling with such questions these days.

Across Southern California and the rest of the state, local election officials are thinking through such possibilities in light of recent comments by President Donald Trump that Republicans should “nationalize” elections and take over the administration of them ' a task currently handled by states.

“President Trump is committed to ensuring that Americans have full confidence in the administration of elections, and that includes totally accurate and up-to-date voter rolls free of errors and unlawfully registered non-citizen voters,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in an email on Friday, Feb. 13.

“The president has also urged Congress to pass the SAVE Act and other legislative proposals that would establish a uniform standard of photo ID for voting, prohibit no-excuse mail-in voting, and end the practice of ballot harvesting to ensure the safety and security of our elections,” she added.

Election officials and experts generally agree that voter fraud is exceedingly rare.

In addition to the president’s recent remarks, Steve Bannon, who worked in the Trump administration during the president’s first term, has suggested sending U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials and military personnel to voting locations for this fall’s midterm elections.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt recently told reporters she couldn’t guarantee that an ICE agent would not be around voting locations in November, but said she had not heard the president discuss any formal plans to place ICE agents outside such sites.

Still, election officials in California are on their guard, including for the June primary elections.

Logan said comments about possibly “nationalizing” elections or sending immigration or other federal law enforcement officials to voting locations are “concerning.”

“Those are things that we would view as potentially intimidating voters, discouraging voters from participating in the election. And depending on how those were carried out, probably activities that violate California election laws,” Logan said.

For local election offices in Southern California, this isn’t the first time they’ve had to contend with the question of how to respond should immigration agents or other federal workers show up at or near vote centers.

Ahead of last November’s special redistricting election, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it would send election monitors to five counties in California, including Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside. That in turn led California Attorney General Rob Bonta to announce that the state would send its own people to keep an eye on the federal monitors.

In the end, nothing much came of the hoopla over federal monitors and speculations about whether ICE agents would show up at or near voting locations.

Still, local county registrar offices know that each election, they need to think ahead about how to handle possible disruptions.

Orange County Registrar Bob Page said his office works closely with the county sheriff’s and district attorney’s offices, as well as other local, state and federal law enforcement officials, “to ensure every election is safe and voting locations are free of electioneering and intimidation.”

Page said his office makes sure law enforcement is aware of where all their voting locations are so that they can respond quickly if necessary, and a Sheriff’s deputy or sergeant is stationed in the registrar’s command center when vote centers are open. In addition, representatives from the local DA’s office are available to respond quickly to incidents like voter intimidation.

Should there be some sort of law enforcement activity in the neighborhood, a vote center will go under lockdown to keep the voters and poll workers who are inside safe.

“If law enforcement activity impacts a vote center in this election, we will again keep everyone in the vote center safe and be ready to make further arrangements if a lockdown persists for an extended period of time,” he said, adding that if a vote center is closed for a long period of time, there will be other voting locations that voters can go to throughout the county.

In the Inland Empire, the San Bernardino County elections office “train(s) poll workers to keep polling places and early voting locations free from electioneering and any attempts to compromise the voting process,” spokesperson Melissa Eickman said via email.

“In addition, we coordinate with local law enforcement before Election Day to ensure a quick response if needed. Our goal is for every voter to cast their ballot privately, without interference, and free from intimidation.”

Riverside County “remains committed to conducting safe, secure, and accurate elections in accordance with applicable federal and state laws,” Elizabeth Florer, spokesperson for the county’s registrar’s office, said via email.

She added: “Election planning includes preparing for a wide range of operational scenarios while protecting the integrity of the voting process and voter participation.”

In L.A. County, Logan said his office is focused on educating voters about their options, which include not only voting by mail but also casting ballots at any vote center within the county.

So, if someone suspects that immigration agents are stationed at or near a vote center, or is concerned about running into federal officials asking to see people’s IDs, for example, the person can go to another voting location where they feel more comfortable casting their ballot.

His office will also focus on training election workers on situational awareness and de-escalation tactics, and to document anything that happens for the record. He said the offices of California’s secretary of state and attorney general have indicated they plan to have legal resources available to the counties.

After two decades of administering elections in L.A. County, Logan said it’s “definitely different” preparing for elections in 2026 due to the current political climate.

Even though concerns about possible chaos during last fall’s special election did not materialize, he said, one can’t assume that will be the case again this year.

“We have to be prepared either way and hope that the recognition of the importance of free and fair elections will prevail,” Logan said.

That said, he added, “If there is disruptive activity, we will actively document that so that if that has to be addressed after the election, we’re prepared to do that.”

The decibel level was akin to an Elton John concert, not because of the TV volume but from the excited youngsters born to some 20 families in attendance.

As the LX (60) logo appeared, what dawned on me was this: I have watched EVERY Super Bowl since its inception in 1967, as the Packers of Green Bay squared off against the Kansas City Chiefs.

But as my thoughts drifted to the week ahead, I wondered what commercial real estate lessons would be learned from this years extravaganza.

For this exercise, I looked at the game through the lens of the Seattle Seahawks. Not the pageantry. Not the commercials. Not the halftime show. But the way championship teams are built and how they mirror success and failure in commercial real estate.

Here is what stood out.

Champions are built over time

No Super Bowl is won on Sunday alone. It is the product of years of drafting, development, coaching continuity, discipline and systems. The Seahawks success has never been about a single star. It is about preparation and patience.

Commercial real estate is no different. Deals do not close because of one heroic phone call. They close because of months or years of relationship building, market knowledge, repetition and process.

By the time a transaction reaches the finish line, the real work has already been done.

Defense matters more

The Seahawks identity has long been rooted in defense, controlling the line, limiting mistakes and forcing the opponent to earn every yard. It is not glamorous, but it wins games.

In commercial real estate, defense is underwriting, due diligence, lease language, timelines and managing expectations. It is knowing when not to do a deal.

The brokers who endure are rarely the flashiest. They are the ones who protect their clients and their reputations.

Systems beat talent

Every Super Bowl roster is filled with talented players. What separates champions is how those players perform within a system.

It’s assignment football: Do your job, trust the structure.

This is where many brokers wash out.

Talent without structure leads to inconsistency. Systems ' how you source, qualify, control, execute and close ' create repeatable success. The best brokers do not rely on memory or motivation. They rely on process.

Special teams close games

Games often turn on field position, penalties, clock management and execution when no one is watching. Special teams do not get headlines, but they do swing outcomes.

In our business, special teams are follow-ups, summaries, documentation, communication cadence and closing logistics.

Clients remember how a deal felt. Sloppy execution at the end can undo months of great work.

Teams win or lose together

No one wins a Super Bowl alone. Coaches, players, trainers, scouts and support staff all matter.

The same holds true in commercial real estate. The most durable careers are built with transaction coordinators, analysts, mentors, partners and cooperative brokers.

Lone wolves burn out. Teams endure.

As the last confetti fell and Monday arrived, the Super Bowl faded quickly. But the lessons do not have to.

Whether on the field or in the marketplace, success is rarely accidental. It is built deliberately, patiently, and with discipline.

And that is a game worth studying.

Allen C. Buchanan is a principal with Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services in Orange. He can be reached at abuchanan@lee-associates.com or 714-564-7104.

The councilman, who represents the 15th Council District, which encompasses the Harbor Area, said he received reports that the staging operation has demobilized. Though he awaits confirmation from the federal government, McOsker added that he “believes these accounts to be true.”

Since June 2025, federal immigration enforcement agents have used federal property ' a Coast Guard base located on Terminal Island ' as a staging area. McOsker said that for well over half a year their presence has been unsettling for families, workers and the community who want to live their lives in peace.

“Although we do not know the reason for their departure, in moments like this, we will take any good news we can get. However, I want to urge everyone to remain vigilant and look out for your neighbors as indiscriminate raids are still occurring throughout L.A. County, even if these agents are no longer staging at Terminal Island,” McOsker said in a statement.

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

When U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and Border Patrol officers began conducting operations in Southern California, residents have observed and captured their activity.

Among these groups, Harbor Area residents launched the Harbor Area Peace Patrol to monitor and report ICE activity in their community.

McOsker believed the federal government’s decision to demobilize was in large part to the peace patrollers.

“Day after day, morning and afternoon, rain or shine, they showed up. They kept watch. They ensured that enforcement activity was not happening in the shadows. By documenting vehicles, photographing license plates, and sharing timely information with the broader community, they helped residents across the county stay informed and look out for one another,” McOsker said in his statement.

“I am tremendously grateful to the Peace Patrollers and to all our community members who looked out for their neighbors, for their steady presence and their dedication to community safety,” McOsker added. “We need to carry on that spirit in the months and years to come.”

According to myths, the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac were selected through a race. This race was meant to create a time measurement for people. There could only be 12 winners, and in order to win, the animals had to cross a swift river and reach the finish line on the shore.

There are many variations of this story. Some say the Jade Emperor called a race of animals on his birthday to create the Chinese zodiac. Others say it was the Buddha who did. The stories are essentially the same, save for some minor details.

In Chinese astrology, each zodiac sign is associated with a fixed, or perpetual, element. Every year is associated with an element as well. The elements are metal, water, wood, fire and earth. 2026 is fire and horse. Depending on what year you were born, you’ll get a unique combination of a sign and an element.

Present-day lunisolar calendars include the Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Hindu, Hebrew and Thai calendars. The most common form of intercalation is to add an additional month every second or third year. China will celebrate year 4724. Jewish New Year wont be until September for Rosh Hashanah and it will be year 5787.

Famous horses

Rembrandt

Isaac Newton

Frédéric Chopin

Thomas Edison

Theodore Roosevelt

Nelson Mandela

Paul McCartney

Jimmy Hendrix

Adam Sandler

Catherine OHara

Jerry Seinfeld

Usher

Mike Tyson

Nelly Furtado

Davy Crockett

David Lee Roth

Salma Hayek

Denzel Washington

Neil Armstrong

Jackie Chan

Traditional practices

First day

Visit family: The oldest and most senior family members will be visited in order to strengthen family kinship. Also, guests are welcomed with sweets.

Second day

Birthday of dog: After being offered sacrifices, the god of wealth leaves for heaven. People will see the deity off, wishing for a prosperous year and eating wonton resembling an ingot.

Third day

Birthday of pig: People pay respects to the dead. Some believe evil spirits roam the Earth on this day.

Fourth day

Birthday of sheep: The fourth day is a continuation of the third day.

Fifth day

Birthday of the god of wealth: Respect is paid to this god. All businesses reopen.

Sixth day

Birthday of horse: Marks a time to visit temples, relatives and friends.

Seventh day

Birthday of men: Is the birthday of ordinary or common men and celebrated with certain foods.

Eighth day

Completion day: People have another family reunion dinner and a midnight prayer to the Jade Emperor.

Ninth day

Birthday of Jade Emperor: Celebrations held for emperor believed to rule heavens and Earth.

10th to 12th days

Feasting: More food and drink with friends and family.

13th day

Slow down: Vegetarian dishes are eaten to cleanse the digestive systems of all the rich foods.

14th day

Lantern decoration day: Preparations are made for the Lantern Festival.

15th day

Lantern Festival: This marks the full moon after the spring festival and the new year. Another reunion dinner is held, with lanterns and oranges being a large part of the celebrations.

There are over 200 different horse breeds living around the world today. Although breeds can look wildly different, they are all the same species: Equus caballus.

Over thousands of years, people created different breeds by mating horses that have desirable traits.

About 200 years ago, English horse breeders mated light, swift Arabians with local riding horses. This created the Thoroughbred ' a lean and super-speedy breed used in horse racing.

Horse quiz

1. Can horses breathe through their mouths? Yes or no?

Answer: No. Horses are obligate nasal breathers. This means that they are unable to breathe through their mouth as humans can.

2. Do horses need to sleep 8 hours a day? Yes or no?

Answer: No. Horses can sleep standing up.

Horses have a 'stay-apparatus' which is a system of tendons and ligaments that allows the horse to lock their legs in position so they can relax without falling over. On average, horses sleep 2½ and 3 hours per day.

3. What is a male horse called? Stallion, filly or mare?

Answer: Stallion. In the wild, a lead stallion guards the herd from the rear. The lead mare ' a female horse ' guides the herd from the front. A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule.

4. Which animal is most closely related to the horse? Cow, rhinoceros or antelope?

Answer: Rhino. Horses belong to a group of mammals with an odd number of toes. A horse foot has one toe. That rules out mammals with two toes, or 'cloven hooves.' Rhinoceroses and tapirs, which also have odd numbers of toes, are the closest living relatives to horses.

5. What is the color pattern of the horse in the photo below called? Palomino, chestnut or pinto.

Answer: Palominos are gold bodies with white mane and tail. Palominos have this dominant gene color pattern in several different breeds of horses.

6. What is the tallest breed of horses in the world? Clydesdale, English shire or  Dutch draft

Answer: English shire. The largest breed of horse is the English shire horse, a famous working breed of draft horse. Stallions stand 17 hands or even taller at maturity. The tallest horse ever was a shire gelding called Sampson (later renamed Mammoth), who stood 21.5 hands.

7. Which term is not for a noise a horse makes? Laugh, whinny or nicker?

Answer: Laugh. A whinny is a greeting, the same as a neigh. A whinny is generally made with the mouth open, ears up and pricked forward. A nicker is made up of softer lower contiguous vocalizations. The tone of the nicker can vary depending on the circumstances and who is involved. You may often hear this when you are bringing food.

8. This horse has held the track record at the Kentucky Derby since 1973. Trigger, Secretariat or Seattle Slew?

Answer: Secretariat. Also known as Big Red, Secretariat finished in 1:59.40 and ran each quarter-mile segment faster than the one before it. No other horse had won the Derby in less than 2 minutes before, and it would not be accomplished again until Monarchos ran the race in 1:59.97 in 2001.

9. What breed of horse has the largest equine breed registry in the world? Thoroughbred, Quarter or Pinto?

Answer: Quarter Horse. The American Quarter Horse is one of the oldest recognized breeds of horses in the United States. With more than 6 million horses registered, the American Quarter Horse Association is the worlds largest equine breed registry. The Quarter Horse name is derived from the breeds ability to outrun other horse breeds in races of a quarter mile or less. Some horses have been clocked at speeds up to 55 mph.

10. Does a statue with the horses hooves in certain poses symbolize the riders fate? Yes or no?

Answer: No. Its considered the 'hoof code' myth. According to urban legend, the position of a horses hooves on a statue tells the story of the riders fate. If both front hooves are raised, it is said the rider died in battle. If only one front hoof is raised, the rider was wounded in battle or later died from those wounds. If all four hooves are firmly on the ground, the riders death was unrelated to battle.Frances Pollard, a curator at the Virginia Historical Society, put it plainly:

'It is a simple ‘code that has been passed along by tour guides, history buffs and curious visitors for generations. To the best of anyones knowledge, the position and pose of the statue do not signify anything.'

Sources: nationsonline.com, webexhibits.com, astrohoroscopes.com, travelchinaguide.com, VietHoroscope.com, creativeartsguild.org, chinahighlights.com

Federal immigration officials plan to spend $38.3 billion to boost detention capacity to 92,600 beds, a document released Friday shows, as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement quietly purchases warehouses to turn into detention and processing facilities.

Republican New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte posted the document online amid tension over ICEs plans to convert a warehouse in Merrimack into a 500-bed processing center.

It said ICE plans 16 regional processing centers with a population of 1,000 to 1,500 detainees, whose stays would average three to seven days. Another eight large-scale detention centers would be capable of housing 7,000 to 10,000 detainees for periods averaging less than 60 days.

The document also refers to the acquisition of 10 existing 'turnkey' facilities.

Plans call for all of them to be up and running by November as immigration officials roll out a massive $45 billion expansion of detention facilities financed by President Donald Trumps recent tax-cutting law.

More than 75,000 immigrants were being detained by ICE as of mid-January, up from 40,000 when Trump took office a year earlier, according to federal data released last week.

The newly released document refers to 'non-traditional facilities' and comes as ICE has quietly bought at least seven warehouses ' some larger than 1 million square feet ' in the past few weeks in Arizona, Georgia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Texas.

Warehouse purchases in six cities were scuttled when buyers decided not to sell under pressure from activists. Several other deals in places like New York are imminent, however.

City officials are frequently unable to get details from ICE until a property sale is finalized.

Tensions boiled to the surface after interim ICE Director Todd Lyons testified Thursday that the Department of Homeland Security 'has worked with Gov. Ayotte' and provided her with an economic impact summary.

Ayotte said that assertion was 'simply not true' and the summary was sent hours after Lyons testified.

The document mistakenly refers to the 'ripple effects to the Oklahoma economy' and revenue generated by state sales and income taxes, neither of which exist in New Hampshire.

'Director Lyons comments today are another example of the troubling pattern of issues with this process,' Ayotte said. 'Officials from the Department of Homeland Security continue to provide zero details of their plans for Merrimack, never mind providing any reports or surveys.'

DHS did not respond to questions about Ayottes comments or the new document. But it previously confirmed that it was looking for more detention space, although it objected to calling the sites 'warehouses,' saying in a statement that they would be 'very well structured detention facilities meeting our regular detention standards.'

Associated Press writer Holly Ramer contributed.

LOS ANGELES (AP) ' In the arid, cracked desert ground in Southern California, a tiny bee pokes its head out of a hole no larger than the tip of a crayon.

Krystle Hickman crouches over with her specialized camera fitted to capture the minute details of the bees antennae and fuzzy behind.

'Oh my gosh, you are so cute,' Hickman murmurs before the female sweat bee flies away.

Hickman is on a quest to document hundreds of species of native bees, which are under threat by climate change and habitat loss, some of it caused by the more recognizable and agriculturally valued honey bee ' an invasive species. Of the roughly 4,000 types of bees native to North America, Hickman has photographed over 300. For about 20 of them, shes the first to ever photograph them alive.

Through photography, she wants to raise awareness about the importance of native bees to the survival of the flora and fauna around them.

'Saving the bees means saving their entire ecosystems,' Hickman said.

Community scientists play important role in observing bees

On a Saturday in January, Hickman walked among the early wildflower bloom at Anza Borrego Desert State Park in San Diego County, a few hundred miles southeast of Los Angeles, where clumps of purple verbena and patches of white primrose were blooming unusually early due to a wet winter.

Where there are flowers, there are bees.

Hickman has no formal science education and dropped out of a business program that she hated. But her passion for bees and keen observation skills made her a good community scientist, she said. In October, she published a book documenting Californias native bees, partly supported by National Geographic. Shes conducted research supported by the University of California, Irvine, and hopes to publish research notes this year on some of her discoveries.

'Were filling in a lot of gaps,' she said of the role community scientists play in contributing knowledge alongside academics.

On a given day, she might spend 16 hours waiting beside a plant, watching as bees wake up and go about their business. They pay her no attention.

Originally from Nebraska, Hickman moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting. She began photographing honey bees in 2018, but soon realized native bees were in greater danger.

Now, shes a bee scientist full time.

'I really think anyone could do this,' Hickman said.

A different approach

Melittologists, or people who study bees, have traditionally used pan trapping to collect and examine dead bee specimens. To officially log a new species, scientists usually must submit several bees to labs, Hickman said.

There can be small anatomical differences between species that cant be photographed, such as the underside of a bee, Hickman said.

But Hickman is vehemently against capturing bees. She worries about harming already threatened species. Unofficially, she thinks shes photographed at least four previously undescribed species.

Hickman said shes angered 'a few melittologists before because I wont tell them where things are.'

Her approach has helped her forge a path as a bee behavior expert.

During her trip to Anza Borrego, Hickman noted that the bees wont emerge from their hideouts until around 10 a.m., when the desert begins to heat up. They generally spend 20 minutes foraging and 10 minutes back in their burrows to offload pollen, she said.

'Its really shockingly easy to make new behavioral discoveries just because no ones looking at insects alive,' she said.

Hickman still works closely with other melittologists, often sending them photos for identification and discussing research ideas.

Christine Wilkinson, assistant curator of community science at the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles, said Hickman was a perfect example of why its important to incorporate different perspectives in the pursuit of scientific knowledge.

'There are so many different ways of knowing and relating to the world,' Wilkinson said. 'Getting engaged as a community scientist can also get people interested in and passionate about really making change.'

Declining native bees

Theres a critically endangered bee that Hickman is particularly determined to find ' Bombus franklini, or Franklins bumblebee, last seen in 2006.

Since 2021, shes traveled annually to the Oregon-California border to look for it.

'Theres quite a few people who think its extinct, but Im being really optimistic about it,' she said.

Habitat loss, as well as competition from honey bees, have made it harder for native bees to survive. Many native bees will only drink the nectar or eat the pollen of a specific plant.

Because of her success in tracking down bees, shes now working with various universities and community groups to help find lost species, which are bees that havent been documented in the wild for at least a decade.

Hickman often finds herself explaining to audiences why native bees are important. They dont make honey, and the disappearance of a few bees might not have an apparent impact on humans.

'But things that live here, they deserve to live here. And that should be a good enough reason to protect them,' she said.

That’s what a study authorized by Congress in December 2022 and launched earlier this month by the U.S. National Park Service will try to determine. The study was put into a larger federal appropriations bill by Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Los Angeles.

The study will examine the coastline adjacent to Santa Monica Bay, stretching from Will Rogers State Beach to Torrance Beach, avoiding the sinking Palos Verdes Peninsula area but including the San Pedro coastline within the city of Los Angeles. The study area also includes the sensitive wetlands of Ballona Creek, as well as Baldwin Hills.

The just-launched Los Angeles Coastal Special Resource Study will produce a report in 2027, answering whether the area is suitable and feasible for either a national park or a unit of the National Park Service, such as a national recreation area. Both would be managed by the park service, with the goal of resource protection and better public access.

Any type of NPS designation must meet four criteria: suitability, contain nationally significant resources, be feasible as a park service unit, and able to be managed by NPS staff, including park rangers.

A completed study will be sent to the secretary of the interior, who could make a recommendation to Congress. Only Congress or the president can designate a new national park unit.

In the next few months, the park service is collecting public comments on the idea.

In a recent NPS presentation, the agency asked the public to weigh in on what specific coastal cultural and natural resources need better management and protection from the park service. It also wanted to know what kind of role the NPS should play in managing the coastline, and if they had any concerns about that, or the study itself.

'Public participation is important to this study,' said Denise Louie, natural resources, planning and compliance program lead for the National Park Services Pacific West Region, in a written statement announcing the opening of the study.

'The L.A. coastline is exceptionally diverse, and feedback will help inform whether these places meet the criteria for inclusion in the National Park System and how they could be preserved for future generations,' Louie added.

Announcement of the study’s kickoff seemed to catch elected leaders and some environmental groups off guard.

Since the northwestern edge of the study area is adjacent to where hundreds of coastal homes burned in the Palisades fire of Jan. 7, 2025, questions arise as to how that will affect the study, whether it encourages an NPS designation or the opposite.

Also, dozens of environmental groups have opposed President Trump’s plan to license oil drilling off the California coast, leaving questions about whether the potential takeover by the National Park Service would move this forward or roadblock drilling.

Third District Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, whose district includes the coast, unincorporated areas of the Palisades, the Westside of L.A. and the San Fernando Valley, did not feel ready to give a response on Thursday, Feb. 12. “She is learning more about the study bill and the NPS study to understand the goals and local impacts,” wrote Constance Farrell, the supervisor’s communications aide in a text.

The group, Heal The Bay, which works on cleaning up Santa Monica Bay and other coastal waters, said they heard rumblings about the study but have not reached any conclusions about a NPS unit established along the L.A. coastline.

“I’m sure we will have concerns about making sure there is an equitable understanding about any human impact,” said Jillian Marshall, spokesperson for the group. She said the group expects to hear from other environmental groups about the study.

The L.A.-area Sierra Club’s members have been working with the congressman for 10 years on the study bill, and hope that the coastal areas of L.A. County finally get the recognition in Congress they deserve.

“National Parks help get people outside and enjoying the outdoors, bringing good jobs into the economy and creating protected spaces for wildlife that are threatened by development. We hope NPS gets positive feedback and can move forward. Especially in an age where public lands are under attack. We hope this can be a glimmer of good news for our region,” said Juanita Chavez, director of the Sierra Club Angeles Chapter in an emailed response on Friday, Feb. 13.

The NPS already manages 433 units. Some are national parks, some national monuments, others are recreation areas. These units are under the NPS but are often guided by their own enabling legislation.

Southern Californians may be familiar with the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, a large 153,785-acre mountain area north of Los Angeles filled with trails and open space, and is home to birds, bobcats and mountain lions. The NPS manages about 15%, while the rest of the unit is overseen by its partners, including the California State Parks and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.

The groups work together to “protect resources and provide public access,” explained Ana Beatriz Cholo, spokesperson for the NPS’s Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. Some of the SMMNRA overlaps with the study area but it does not own or directly manage beaches there, she wrote in an emailed response.

Adding the federal park service can mean a collaboration is needed with other agencies. For example, Will Rogers, Santa Monica and Dockweiler beaches are owned by California State Parks but managed by the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors, while the Ballona Wetlands are managed by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and the State Lands Commission, said Beatriz Cholo.

If there is an NPS designation, it could be what’s called “a partnership park,” since so many other government agencies have jurisdiction. The existing agencies would have to collaborate with the federal NPS on shared goals, resources and recreation, she said.

Fourth District L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn said in an emailed response on Friday that any discussion involving the coastline should be thoughtful and include a fact-based approach.

“Im looking forward to seeing the pros and cons that come out of this study and what making our beaches a national park could mean for public access, local decision-making, and our responsibility to protect our beaches for generations to come,' said Hahn.

Questions about funding for a new unit or park require separate legislation, usually in the form of a Congressional appropriations bill, said Beatriz Cholo.

“New units typically do not receive funding at the time of authorization,” Beatriz Cholo said. “NPS would request funding through the annual appropriations process, and new parks compete with existing parks for project funding beyond their base allocation.”

To comment, go to the project website: parkplanning.nps.gov/LosAngelesCoastal and click on “Open for Comment.” Send a comment through the mail to: National Park Service, Denver Service Center, Attn: Los Angeles Coastal SRS, One Denver Federal Center, Building 50, Denver, CO 80225.

Comments are accepted through April 6.

The next virtual public meeting on the study is March 11, 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Go to the meeting link: https://bit.ly/4akUPVE or join by phone: 1-202-640-1187, Conference ID: 362420885#.