On Friday, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla said he has secured more than $24.3 million in federal funding for 25 targeted projects across Los Angeles and Orange County, a grab bag of local spending that ranges from groundwater cleanup and heat relief at public housing to public-safety upgrades, supportive-housing renovations, and workforce training. The money is slated for local governments, nonprofits and community colleges.
Padilla's Announcement And Scope
In a press release from Sen. Alex Padilla's office, Padilla said, "I am proud to help secure millions in federal funding that will deliver lasting improvements for Los Angeles and Orange County." His office framed the local awards as part of a much larger pot: $241,794,366 in Congressionally Directed Spending that his team says it delivered for California in FY 2026.
Major Projects And Dollar Amounts
Among the bigger ticket items are $3.24 million for the San Gabriel Basin Restoration Fund, $1.7 million for solar panels and energy storage at Pasadena’s Central Library, $1.49 million to expand Long Beach’s Community Crisis Response program, $1.2 million for cooling equipment at the Nueva Maravilla public-housing development in East L.A., and $1.06 million to grow the CIRCLE unarmed response program. Smaller grants, from police equipment in Lancaster to a Pacoima warehouse renovation for L.A. County Fire, traffic-signal upgrades near future Metro L Line stations and a flood-planning study in Orange County, help round out the 25-project slate, as reported by the Van Nuys News Press.
Water Cleanup And Flood Planning
The San Gabriel Basin Restoration Fund has historically paid for the construction and operation of groundwater treatment plants that strip out industrial contaminants and emerging chemicals of concern, and local managers say federal contributions are critical to keep orphan sites moving through cleanup, according to the San Gabriel Basin Water Quality Authority. The Orange County Flood Futures project, described in community funding disclosures as a UC Irvine led study to evaluate modifications to channels and dams that could restore natural sand supplies to beaches, reflects a push to link coastal resilience planning with long term cost savings, according to Rep. Dave Min.
Libraries, Cooling And Crisis Response
Pasadena’s Central Library, currently closed for seismic retrofit, would get solar panels and battery storage designed to lower operating costs and provide backup power when the grid goes down, city materials show, according to the Pasadena Public Library. In Long Beach, the money is intended to widen the reach of the city’s nonpolice Community Crisis Response teams, which have been piloted to handle behavioral health and quality of life 911 calls instead of sending armed officers, as described in a release from the City of Long Beach.
How The Money Moves
The awards fall under Congressionally Directed Spending items tucked into FY 2026 appropriations packages, and the Senate Appropriations Committee posts project disclosures, certification letters and related paperwork on its CDS portal, according to the Senate Appropriations Committee. Local recipients still have to clear federal certification steps and coordinate with the relevant agencies before any of the dollars are formally obligated and spent.
Padilla’s office has been rolling out similar regional funding notices this week, and the officials named in the latest release now face the less glamorous part of the story: turning fresh line items on a federal spreadsheet into actual contracts, construction and services on the ground.
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