By Brian Hews Publisher | Follow X June 30, 2026 SAN FRANCISCO — A San Francisco Superior Court judge has invalidated controversial gambling regulations adopted by California Attorney General Rob Bonta's Bureau of Gambling Control, ruling the agency exceeded its legal authority in attempting to restrict certain card games offered at licensed cardrooms throughout the state. In a decision issued Monday, Judge Richard Darwin concluded the Bureau lacked the authority to impose statewide restrictions on table games that have been offered by California cardrooms for decades.

By Brian Hews Publisher | Follow X April 1, 2026 A high-stakes legal war that could gut Southeast Los Angeles County city budgets and wipe out thousands of jobs is now headed to a San Francisco courtroom, where California cardrooms are asking a judge to immediately block new state rules targeting blackjack-style games. The lawsuit, filed by the California Gaming Association and dozens of cardrooms and gaming companies, seeks a preliminary injunction against regulations pushed by Attorney General Rob Bonta that would effectively outlaw the most popular games in California cardrooms.

By Brian Hews LCCN Publisher | Follow X February 9, 2026 Sacramento — California regulators have formally cleared the way for sweeping new gambling restrictions that will eliminate blackjack-style games and impose mandatory player-dealer rotation in cardrooms statewide, despite warnings that the rules will slash jobs, gut city revenues, and destabilize dozens of municipal budgets. Late Friday, the Office of Administrative Law approved two sets of regulations issued by the California Department of Justice governing cardroom operations.

January 27-February 2, 2026 Welcome to LCCN’s new weekly crime report, which tracks incidents reported by law enforcement across LCCN cities with an emphasis on repeat locations and emerging patterns rather than isolated events. By organizing activity by city and street, the report highlights where crime continues to concentrate, giving residents a clearer picture of ongoing issues in their communities.

Happy Friday! This week’s digital edition of Los Cerritos Community News leads with an exclusive investigation that forced the removal of Whittier Union High School District Trustee Gary Mendez after state and county authorities confirmed he had unlawfully held two incompatible public offices. Our coverage details the timeline, legal findings, and political fallout that culminated in Mendez’s resignation. Inside this edition, readers will also find local government updates across Southeast Los Angeles County, including the City of Cerritos’ effort to rezone key commercial corridors for future housing development, plus a look at Los Angeles County’s ribbon-cutting for two new Project Homekey supportive housing communities in Long Beach.

By Brian Hews Publisher | Follow X October 21, 2025 For nearly a decade, California’s top law enforcement office has quietly worked both sides of the gambling table—taking millions from tribal casinos while punishing the legal cardrooms that sustain local cities. First, it was Xavier Becerra. Now, it’s Rob Bonta. Both attorneys general accepted major tribal campaign donations and then issued Bureau of Gambling Control regulations that could cripple cardrooms—destroying jobs, choking off city revenue, and protecting tribal casino monopolies in the process.

By Brian Hews Publisher | Follow X October 10, 2025 A Sacramento County Superior Court judge has dismissed the Agua Caliente–led lawsuit against California cardrooms, dealing a major setback to efforts to curb banked-style games through state court. The court found that SB 549, the so-called Tribal Nations Access to Justice Act, is preempted by federal law that governs Indian gaming and therefore cannot be used to shut down cardroom games that state regulators have long allowed.

May 7, 2025 By Brian Hews Earlier this year, seven of California’s wealthiest gaming Tribes filed the “Agua Caliente Lawsuit” against nearly every cardroom in the state, including The Gardens Casino in Hawaiian Gardens and the Commerce Casino in Commerce. The greedy tribes even included cardrooms that had not been operational for years. The lawsuit was a result of the enactment of State Senator Josh Newman’s (D-Fullerton) Senate Bill 549, a special interest bill that was sponsored by the state’s wealthiest gaming Tribes, who pumped hundreds of millions into getting the bill passed, aiming to shut down taxpaying cardrooms by terminating their ability to offer Department of Justice approved player-dealer games.