Los Angeles, Ca
Chiquita Canyon Landfill still isn't fixing odor issues, regulators say
Despite pressure from neighbors and public officials, the Chiquita Canyon Landfill in Castaic continues to plague the surrounding area with terrible odors, prompting regulators to call for more to be done.
A three-day South Coast Air Quality Management District hearing earlier this month was full of criticism of the landfill operators’ inability to limit the smells reaching neighbors, noting that there has so far been “no meaningful improvement,” as reported by the Los Angeles Times.
In fact, efforts to combat a fire beneath the surface of the landfill — the second-largest in L.A. County — require “emergency measures that are exacerbating odors, such as excavating and relocating buried trash to prevent landslides,” the Times reports.
“Many of these actions actually have the adverse side effect of increasing odors in the immediate and short term even though they are considered necessary to curb the emergency situations occurring at the landfill,” said Kathryn Roberts, attorney for the South Coast AQMD.
In a news release, the AQMD board directed landfill operators to make changes, including meeting “more than two dozen conditions that will improve leachate collection, add preventative maintenance and inspections, mitigate odors associated with excavation activities, and require additional air monitoring.”
The issue is expected to be discussed again during another hearing in November.
The AQMD regulators join a chorus of critics targeting the landfill and its odors.
The landfill’s neighbors have filed a lawsuit alleging toxic fumes are harming them, and the Environmental Protection Agency and local elected officials have also raised concerns.
About 20 people were detained Saturday during a large police response in Los Angeles’ Koreatown after authorities received reports of an armed man threatening people, officials said. Officers responded to the 3400 block of West 8th Street near Kingsley Drive on reports of an assault with a deadly weapon, according to the Los Angeles Police […]
A former Riverside County man was found guilty of sex trafficking a female victim and forcing her to engage in commercial sex acts along L.A.’s notorious Figueroa Corridor.
Elias Abdul Shabazz, 34, formerly of Perris, was found guilty by a jury following a five-day trial, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Prosecutors said Shabazz had led the victim to believe they were in a romantic relationship before he turned physically and sexually violent. He began demanding that the victim engage in commercial sex acts from May to October of 2021, court documents said.
He carried a handgun with him and, on occasion, was accused of using it to pistol-whip the victim. He also fired the gun at her feet while threatening to kill her, prosecutors said.
At trial, the victim said Shabazz demanded that she meet a daily quota of commercial sex proceeds and that she was terrified of the consequences of not meeting that quota.
She testified that Shabazz compelled her to work in the notorious Figueroa Corridor in South L.A., a dangerous area known for human trafficking and prostitution.
Shabazz had confiscated her identification card, Social Security card and birth certificate. He constantly monitored her cell phone to stop her from communicating with any friends or family.
“He also introduced her to addictive narcotics and controlled every aspect of her life, including when she ate, slept and showered,” prosecutors said.
In May 2025, Shabazz was arrested and has remained in federal custody. His last known address at the time was in Washington, D.C.
On June 26, 2026, Shabazz was found guilty of one count of coercing or enticing interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 6, where he faces 15 years to life in prison.
“Sex trafficking matters rank among the most tragic cases our office prosecutes,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli. “This defendant will now face many years in a federal prison cell for his sick, disgusting, and disturbing behavior.”
“Elias Shabazz preyed on a vulnerable victim using physical and sexual violence and cruel psychological coercion to compel commercial sex acts for his own profit,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “There is no place for this type of conduct in civilized society. We deeply respect the victim’s courage to face her trafficker in court. The Criminal Division will continue to bring these cases and try them.”
Anyone with information about human trafficking can report tips to the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888
The star-studded feel-good giveback event of the summer has returned. KTLA 5 is teaming up once again with Project Angel Food for the annual “Lead with Love: Going the Distance” telethon to raise critical funds for medically tailored meals delivered to people living with serious illnesses throughout Los Angeles County. The seventh annual telethon airs […]
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