LA Squawk Box for Friday, July 17, 2026

Summer doldrums makes restless LA city leaders, sinkhole opens in West Hollywood after dramatic leak from LADWP water main, and a quick Measure G meeting on a November ethics ballot measure.

What’s happening today?

There is a quick meeting of the Measure G task force, to look at the ballot language of a measure to create an independent Ethics Commission, which was included as a requirement under Measure G. The meeting is at 12 p.m., and it’s both in-person and online.

What just happened?

Summer doldrums are setting in, with LA city leaders on recess this month. But wait, check this action out!

The personal account for Council member Monica Rodriguez really got into it with commenters under an Instagram social media post announcing City Controller Kenneth Mejia’s endorsement of Council member Nithya Raman for mayor. The operator of the account, which referred to Council member Monica Rodriguez in the third person, posted multiple times in a back and forth with other commenters, after seeking to poke holes in Raman’s voting record. It eventually devolved into people looking up Rodriguez’s own voting record and finding instances when Rodriguez flip-flopped or sat out on votes. A few of the comments in response to Rodriguez’s comments highlighted that council members have been on a recess, with one person writing, “it’s nice to see you using your council recess productively to……argue with LA voters on your future mayoral campaign account?”

An LA DWP water main in West Hollywood burst

The pipe burst at around 4 a.m., creating a sinkhole that sent water gushing through the streets in West Hollywood. The water was not turned off until several hours later. The water pipe belongs to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, which provides water primarily to the city of Los Angeles, but also to other communities like West Hollywood, a city that’s separate from the city of Los Angeles. The latest update from the LADWP can be found here, while yesterday’s is here. Mayor Karen Bass’s office also sent out something about the water pipe bursting.

The pipe in question is more than a 100 years old, originally installed in 1916. It is set to be replaced in 2031, although a report from 2019 by the Office of Public Accountability said that contracting delays have gotten in the way of replacing pipes, according to the LA Times. A 2014 analysis by the LA Times found that officials had given a “C” grade to almost half of the trunk lines, and highlighted those in the Hollywood Hills as particularly concerning because they were older and under more pressure since they operate at higher pressure and is therefore more prone to leaks. The LA Times database can be found here.

City Controller Kenneth Mejia put up a PSA post about how people can file claiims, as well as some relevant data and history about LADWP trunk replacement. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath also shared information about how people can file claims.

Also, the San Andreas Fault has been scarily quiet. Experts say this means it could be ready to blow. The LA Times’s Rong-Gong Lin, who has been on the earthquake beat for years, gives an update about how seismologists are looking at this possible precursor to the Big One.