Traffic is back on the 10 Freeway, but expect delays in getting answers

Good morning. It’s Wednesday, Nov. 22. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.

• Traffic is back on the 10 Freeway, but many open questions remain
• Israel and Hamas have agreed to a temporary cease-fire to free hostages
• A historic Black church in Oakland fights high housing costs
• 18 things to do in California’s enchanting storybook village by the sea
• And here’s today’s e-newspaper

Traffic is back on the 10 Freeway, but many open questions remain

First it was months, then it was three to five weeks. But in the end, Los Angeles’ much-used 10 Freeway was back in business eight days after a suspected arson fire damaged an underpass of the key traffic corridor.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, who spent the week behind podiums emblazoned with “Fix the 10,” said the return of car traffic to the freeway was “about government getting things done.”

But it might be more apt to say this was about government fixing something that government was expected to prevent in the first place.

As Times reporters uncovered, Caltrans, the agency that manages the state’s freeway system, was long aware of safety issues on the land it leased to Apex Development. My colleagues Rachel Uranga, Matt Hamilton and Ruben Vives learned more about that lease, which Caltrans began renting to Apex and its owner, Ahmad Anthony Nowaid, in 2008.

“Under Apex’s lease agreement, the property could be used only for parking operable vehicles and ‘open storage’; other uses required the approval of Caltrans and the Federal Highway Administration, something the company does not appear to have secured,” they reported last week. “Apex was also not allowed the storage of inoperable vehicles, flammable materials or other hazards.”

Nowaid subleased parts of the 48,000-square-foot parcel to nearly a dozen businesses. And according to state documents, Apex was made aware of lease violations and the safety hazards they posed. But it never addressed them.

Recently released Caltrans documents show the agency knew about the piles of wooden pallets and combustible liquids stored close together under the 10 for at least three years before last Saturday’s fire.

“Evict tenant and start over,” the inspector wrote after an August 2022 visit.

It took a year for Caltrans to issue a three-day eviction notice, but Apex didn’t leave. The agency followed that with a lawsuit against Nowaid, his firm and his subtenants in mid-September this year.

Who’s to blame? Depends who you ask

The state points the finger squarely at Apex for allowing hazardous conditions on the leased site.

An attorney for Apex accused state and city leaders of using the firm as a scapegoat “to excuse their own failures to adequately address the public safety issues caused by the unhoused.” He said Apex had reported fires started by people living in encampments on the perimeter of the lot, but that L.A. police and fire personnel had been dismissive of their concerns.

Newsom and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass have said there is no reason to assume that people living in tents under or near the freeway camp were responsible for the fire in question, which is currently under investigation as arson.

But according to a Caltrans engineer who spoke with The Times, Caltrans has known about this and similarly hazardous situations under its freeways “for a long time.”

“They have permitted lessees to store flammable stuff underneath these freeways for decades,” the engineer told reporters last week. “They’ve had a couple of fires in the last three years that have affected columns, but inspectors can’t completely get underneath the bridge to make a thorough inspection because of all the junk.”

What exactly is being repaired and how long will it take?

That’s unclear right now. Caltrans has not released any information about the timeline for repair work and declined to speak with the Times about the project.

Much of the work is happening under the freeway and officials said that incremental closures may happen as the repair project continues. Temporary shoring is in place to bear the weight of car and truck traffic.

On Monday, city traffic data and commuters pointed to congestion as a sign of a return to normalcy on the freeway and surrounding streets.

Of course, normal in Los Angeles means being among the worst U.S. metro areas for traffic congestion and leading the nation in hazardous smoggy air. Whatever happens with the 10, that won’t be changing anytime soon.

Today’s top stories

Pastor Todd Benson addresses a visitor during worship at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Oakland.

(Loren Elliott / For The Times)

Housing

• In West Oakland, a church wages a fight against rising housing prices and homelessness, in what is an existential struggle for the historic Black community.
• Three rentals and an ADU? A narrow two-story in Venice makes the case for building up.
• The California exodus isn’t over. About 60,000 more people moved from California to Texas than the other way in 2022. Experts point to housing, taxes and politics.

Israel-Hamas

• After 47 days and more than 14,000 deaths, Israel and Hamas have agreed to a short-term cease-fire. Under the temporary truce, Israel will release approximately 150 Palestinian women and teenagers held in Israeli prison in exchange for 50 of the estimated 240 hostages held by Hamas.

Politics

• The Biden-Harris reelection campaign ramps up political fundraising in Hollywood.
• Why Kamala Harris prefers Gen Z to millennials, and why it matters.
• Pro-Palestinian marches are far more frequent than pro-Israeli ones. How U.S. reaction to the Israel-Hamas war has changed.
• California Assembly: Who’s in and who’s out for the most powerful posts.

Climate and environment

• The search is on for a pipeline leak after as much as 1.1 million gallons of oil spills into Gulf of Mexico.
• How to score an instant rebate on a new or used electric car in California.

More big stories

• As Disneyland reels from its third death in a year, what can be done to prevent suicides?
• A jury found a Northern California man guilty of a murder so shocking that officials offered support to witnesses to the crime and deputies who responded to the scene.
• More officers allege sexual hazing on LAPD’s Centurions football team.
• Los Angeles County supervisors requested an investigation into the Los Angeles County Fire Department Foundation after learning that the charity may have collected donations months after the state barred it from fundraising.
• An aspiring actor, homeless in L.A., was fatally shot by a CHP officer on 105 Freeway.
• Actress Melissa Barrera was dropped from her starring role in ‘Scream VII’ after pro-Palestinian posts.
• 9 common-sense tips that can keep you sane during Thanksgiving travel.

Get unlimited access to the Los Angeles Times. Subscribe here.

Commentary and opinions

• Mary McNamara: At a time of strife, 11 small things Angelenos (and others) can be thankful for.
• Jonah Goldberg: On Thanksgiving, step away from America’s outrage industry.
• Editorial: Your turkey would be thankful for better treatment before it reaches your plate.
• Sammy Roth: Solving climate change will have side effects. Get over it.
• Commentary: One Nicaraguan’s joy of seeing Sheynnis Palacios win Miss Universe.
• Gustavo Arellano: A failed recall heralds a new era for Latino politics in Orange County.
• Michael Hiltzik: This water project is expensive, wasteful and ecologically damaging. Why is it being fast-tracked?
• Opinion: Cozying up to Trump, Univision is betraying its Spanish-speaking viewers.
• Michael Hiltzik: Nonunion automakers are matching the UAW’s great contract, but that may be bad for the UAW.
• Brian Merchant: OpenAI’s board had safety concerns. Big Tech obliterated them in 48 hours.

Today’s great reads

(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)

Bowling, that simple game of our youth, is being turned upside-down by technology. Bowling alleys across the country are ditching traditional pinsetters — the machines that sweep away and reset pins — in favor of contraptions that employ string. Bowlers aren’t happy.

Other great reads

• Snoop Dogg’s apparent farewell to weed was all smoke and mirrors. He had something else up his sleeve.
• Is the music industry finally having its #MeToo moment?
• While thrifting in L.A. with my teenage son, I found what my mother missed.
• On closing L.A.’s Kinn, chef Kiyong “Ki” Kim highlights mental health issues in the restaurant industry.

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to [email protected].

For your downtime

(Kaitlin Brito / For The Times)

Going out

• 🛝 14 fantastic playgrounds in SoCal (with nice places to sit for tired parents).
• 🥞 A stylish all-day two-part cafe opens in Melrose Hill. Try the brown butter pancakes.
• 🏕️ Here are California’s 10 most coveted state campgrounds, with tips on how to book them.
• 🌊🍷18 things to do in Carmel, California’s enchanting storybook village by the sea.

Staying in

• 🥧 Where to order the best pies in L.A. for Thanksgiving.
• 🍽️ The best L.A. restaurants for a Thanksgiving takeout feast.
• 📺 60 years later, JFK’s assassination still raises questions. These 3 docs have (some) answers.
• 📚14 essential books for understanding the Israel-Hamas war, according to experts.
• 🍗 Here are some recipes for Thanksgiving classics and turkey leftovers.
• ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.

And finally ... a great photo

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.

Naillah Benjell of Los Angeles greets Maximus Mighty-Dog Mueller III, otherwise known as Mayor Max III, the mayor of Idyllwild.

(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Today’s great photo is from Times photographer Mel Melcon in Idyllwild, a small mountain community where a golden retriever is the mayor.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Ryan Fonseca, reporter
Elvia Limón, multiplatform editor
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Laura Blasey, assistant editor

Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.