Paris Jackson, daughter of late pop icon Michael Jackson, seeks more than half a million dollars in a preliminary transfer from her father’s estate to a trust for his three children. Jackson alleged in a recent court filing that the funds are overdue and under the “iron grip” of the estate’s executor.
The actor-singer on Thursday accused the executors of her father’s estate of failing to fulfill the singer’s wishes for Prince, Paris and Bigi to begin receiving income from their family trust.
“Michael Jackson’s family trust remains unfunded,” she said in the petition, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court and reviewed by The Times.
According to Paris, executors said in 2011 they would file a petition to begin funding the trust. Allegedly, no such petition has been filed: “Fifteen years later, Michael’s beneficiaries are still waiting.”
Attorneys for the estate’s executors did not immediately respond on Tuesday to The Times’ request for comment.
Jackson said her father, who died in June 2009, wanted his children to begin receiving money from the estate on each of their 21st birthdays and that each child would also receive “outright principal distributions” from the trust when they each turned 30. Prince and Paris (born to the singer and former wife Debbie Rowe) are 29 and 28, respectively. Bigi is 24 and was born via surrogate.
“They instead receive lesser amounts dictated by the remaining Executor, who uses this power to deter them from checking his abuses,” Paris’ petition alleges.
The executors for Michael Jackson’s estate began generating liquidity in 2011, including the sale of the singer’s Neverland Ranch in 2020 and the $750-million deal with Sony for intellectual property assets. “Executors have claimed the overall value of the Estate is now between $2 billion and $3 billion,” Paris said in her filing.
“Executor continues to keep each beneficiary beholden to him with an iron grip over when and if monies are distributed to them,” the petition added.
The “sirens” and “evermore” singer also accused the executors of meeting her previous legal challenges with “scorched earth litigation, public attacks, and a multimillion reduction” in money to herself and her siblings.
Paris also noted in her petition that the estate was subject to litigation by the Internal Revenue Service and said that litigation “also appears to be at or nearing its end,” potentially freeing up funds to be transferred to the family trust. The estate said in a statement that it cannot “fully” fund the trust until “several legal matters are resolved” including that case with the IRS, People reported.
“The Estate was able to secure a ruling to significantly reduce that amount, but the matter has not been settled and could still change,” the estate added in its statement to People. It also denied allegations of holding back or reducing payments to the three children.
Jackson asks the court to order the executor of her father’s estate to make a preliminary transfer of $600 million, or another amount it deemed fit, to the Michael Jackson Family Trust. The next hearing for this case is scheduled for Wednesday.
It’s a bit early for holiday music, but I’ve been unable to stop myself from singing a tune.
“It’s the most wonderful time of the year!”
Although I love every season of hiking in Southern California, the fall and winter are my favorite times to explore massive swaths of our local deserts and the warmer parts of L.A. County, near Santa Clarita, Castaic and more.
It was with that joyful spirit, I wrote this week’s edition of The Wild, our weekly outdoors newsletter. Below, I will detail three great desert hikes within a two-hour drive of L.A. that are great for cool, crisp fall days. Let’s celebrate the end of this year’s heat waves!
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A segment of Three Sisters Rock near the Agua Dulce and Acton area of L.A. County.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
1. Three Sisters Rock via the Pacific Crest Trail
Distance: 7.5 miles Elevation gained: About 1,700 feet Difficulty: Moderate Dogs allowed: Yes Nearest to: Agua Dulce and Acton Accessible alternative: Acton Park Loop
This 7.5(ish)-mile moderate hike to Three Sisters Rock, a massive rock formation perched on the hillside, includes a stretch along the Pacific Crest Trail through a high desert-esque landscape with stunning monoliths of conglomerate and more. It’s hikes like these that remind us of how small we are as we pass by these giant rock formations.
This hike has minimal shade, and what appears to be the only water source, which you must filter to drink, is at the beginning. Pack plenty of water — more than you think you’ll need — and make sure to hike this trail on a cool day to prevent heat exhaustion. Additionally, I recommend wearing pants, as the trail has some overgrown segments and spots where you’ll encounter tumbleweeds. Lastly, my friend who hiked with me used a hiking umbrella and found that really helped with the intensity of the sun.
To begin your hike, you’ll park either at the Indian Canyon Trailhead parking lot or on the shoulder of Soledad Canyon Road next to the trail’s starting point.
From Soledad Canyon Road, you will head north over the Santa Clara River. This short stretch is a bit overgrown and can be buggy, but it’s also five minutes of your hike.
The beginning of the hike crosses through a riparian area along the Santa Clara River.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
As my friend Astraia and I turned out of the wetlands, we passed through dense vegetation, including what looked like rubber rabbitbrush with bright yellow blooms. Astraia cried out. She’d been stung by a bee that’d gotten stuck in her hair as we crossed through the blooms. Likely because of the proximity to water, this was an especially busy spot for the bees, so take good care as you move through here.
A bit of ice and first aid for Astraia’s hand, and we were back on track. We were headed over the train tracks — be careful here! — and continued onward along the Pacific Crest Trail, a 2,650-mile journey that spans from Mexico to Canada. You’ll immediately start gaining elevation as you crunch over the sandy dirt. Don’t forget to breathe and take in the views. You can see Mt. Gleason and Messenger Peak poking out from the San Gabriel Mountains.
The view from the Pacific Crest Trail of the canyons and foothills in the Agua Dulce and Acton area with the San Gabriel Mountains in the distance.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
About a mile in, you’ll spot a giant multilayered stone. Friends, this is a bonus rock! You have almost three miles to go before you reach Three Sisters.
Astraia and I stared in wonder at this ancient specimen, and I entertained her with a story about the one time I tried to simplify local geology in The Wild and thought I might lose my mind because of how complicated it all was. That’s to say, I think this is a type of conglomerate, but I am far from an expert. (Experts: Please email me and tell me what you think.)
Regardless, it’s amazing to look at the layers of these giant rocks and think of the stories they tell about the way these lands have weathered many storms.
The first massive rock formation you pass as you take the Pacific Crest Trail toward Three Sisters Rock.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
For the next mile after this, be mindful of where you walk, as I found a few spots on the trail with patches of soft soil where I could have tripped as my feet sank down. Thankfully, I was going slow, in awe of the landscape around me (including a formation to the east that resembles knuckles in the hillside).
At 2 miles in, you will turn off the Pacific Crest Trail onto a wide dirt fire road. I thought it would be a fairly straightforward hike to Three Sisters Rock from here, but the road ahead has multiple intersections where you can easily make a wrong turn. That said, on your return, keep your eyes peeled for where you rejoin the Pacific Crest Trail, as your local outdoors journalist completely missed it!
The first intersection comes shortly after you start the fire road, where you’ll bear right (or northeast). You’ll know you made a wrong turn if you end up at the base of a transmission tower. Shortly thereafter, you’ll bear right-ish again to avoid another dead end to a transmission tower.
Another one of the layered rock outcroppings you’ll pass as you take the Pacific Crest Trail toward Three Sisters Rock.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
About 2.8 miles in, you’ll see an option to turn left. Continue west on the fire road, following it south around a bend and then up, past another turnoff to a transmission tower about 3.1 miles in where you will bear left, continuing on the fire road. You are almost to Three Sisters Rock!
You’ll turn at about 3.4 miles onto a narrow well-trodden dirt trail down to the rocks. You’ll find three massive rock formations near other smaller heaps of geological history. There’s a nice flat area near the base of the rocks where you can have a snack or lunch break. You should use serious caution if planning to climb up the rock face, as it is not a simple scramble and poses some serious risks if you fall.
Astraia and I were pleased with how we spent the day. She repeatedly commented that, despite the occasional traffic noise from the roadway, it was near silent on the trail. We spotted multiple red-tailed hawks and whiptail lizards and were awed as we watched a raven (or maybe a crow) fly upside down, which we agreed was a skill we’d like to have.
We hiked the trail on a Sunday and saw only two other people with a friendly Brittany spaniel named Boss. They were surprised to see us until we explained we were headed to Three Sisters Rock. I hope you find a similar serenity out in this gorgeous high desert landscape!
The Devil’s Chair is one of the best lookout points in L.A. County. It is located in the Devil’s Punchbowl Natural Area near Pearblossom.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
2. The Devil’s Chair Trail
Distance: 7.4 miles Elevation gain: About 1,500 feet Difficulty: Moderate Dogs allowed? Yes Accessible alternative: Prime Desert Woodland Preserve walking trail in Lancaster
The Devil’s Chair Trail is a 7.4-mile out-and-back hike that takes visitors through ancient sandstone formations of every imaginable shape and size. It’s a great all-day adventure for adults, teenagers and older kids. The trail leads to one of the most epic lookout spots in L.A. County: The Devil’s Chair! (Less spooky than it sounds, though.)
About an hour-and-a-half drive from L.A. near Pearblossom, the hike starts in the Devil’s Punchbowl Natural Area, a 1,310-acre L.A. County park with massive sandstone rock formations and a healthy desert landscape of juniper and Joshua trees, along with native wildlife, including bighorn sheep.
Upon arriving in the large parking lot, you’ll find vault toilets and a visitor check-in area. The nature center is a great stop with live snakes, bugs and other crawly creepers inside. The rosy boa and tarantula are among my favorites to view.
The Devil’s Chair Trail was previously closed because of storm damage, but reopened thanks to the diligent work of county staff.
Its trailhead is in the southeast corner of the parking lot. The first mile of this hike is arguably the hardest part because you gain 500 feet in just under a mile.
The Devil’s Punchbowl Natural Area sits near the San Gabriel Mountains.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
After catching your breath, you’ll turn left (or east), cross a seasonal creek and hike for just over 2½ miles on a gentle path.
As you hike along the trail, you’ll likely spot chipmunks and gray squirrels. I frequently hear a variety of birds when I hike in the park, including hawks, ravens, white-crowned sparrows and dark-eyed juncos (which are very cute).
You also get incredible views of the desert below and mountains in the distance, including nearby Table Mountain in Angeles National Forest and the Tehachapi Mountains in Kern County.
To reach the trail’s namesake, you will walk down a narrow fenced path to a small boulder, surrounded by a short fence, that overlooks the valley below. This is the aforementioned devil’s chair. It’s a great spot to take a family selfie, share snacks and reminisce. And if you’re lucky, you might spot bighorn sheep in the valley below.
A hiker celebrates from a peak at Vasquez Rocks Natural Area in Agua Dulce. The rocks were used in many television shows and movies. Vasquez Rocks are named for the outlaw Tiburcio Vásquez, who used the rocky hills as his hideout.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
3. PCT and Apwinga Loop Trail at Vasquez Rocks Natural Area
Distance: 3.4 miles Elevation gain: 600 feet Difficulty: Moderate
The first time I visited Vasquez Rocks Natural Area, I drove up, explored its famous rocks that jut from the ground like massive flying saucers, and then left. But this park has more to offer than spots to reenact Captain Kirk’s fight with the Gorn in the original “Star Trek.”
To begin the loop, you can start at the gate after parking near the nature center (which features fun movie memorabilia of films made at Vasquez).
Follow the Pacific Crest Trail clockwise and you’ll soon find yourself with your first great view of the park, including its iconic slabs of earth. You’ll follow the trail as it passes next to large rocks — including one that resembles a T. rex — before entering an open area with a green picnic table beneath a pepper tree. Continue following the PCT.
The formations at Vasquez Rocks are diverse in shape and color.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
Soon, you’ll notice trail signs noting that you’re on both the PCT and the Apwinga Loop Trail. The PCT will eventually jag southeast. You will continue following the Apwinga Loop. Here you’ll see so much more than those big famous rocks: sweeping vistas, purple-red rocks to scramble along, native desert plants, like buckwheat and yucca, and — depending on when you visit — plenty of solitude.
I enjoyed looking at the numerous rock formations and, like a high desert Rorschach test, deciding what I thought they looked like: a bolt screwed into the ground, stacks of vinyl records and pancakes. (Maybe I was getting hungry at that point.)
A section of the Pacific Crest Trail runs through Vasquez Rocks Natural Area in Agua Dulce.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
In terms of difficulty, this trail is firmly moderate. Parts of it are flat or gently sloping, but you will run into a few stretches where you will briefly huff your way up. You will walk near the 14 Freeway for a bit, but unlike the drivers, you’ll have a close-up view of these remarkable rocks, formed an estimated 25 million years ago, when their “sediment was spread across alluvial fans — cone-shaped deposits that develop as fast-moving streams empty onto relatively flat plains,” according to NASA.
Vasquez Rocks has different hours depending on the season. From Nov. 1 to Feb. 28, it’s open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Its spring and summer hours, which run from March 1 to Oct. 31, are 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.
3 things to do
A big brown bat is one of many bat species that call L.A. County home.
(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
1. Behold bats in San Dimas The San Dimas Canyon Nature Center will host Bats of the Angeles National Forest from 6 to 7 p.m. Friday in San Dimas. Visitors will learn about multiple species of bats that flap about our mountains. Learn more at the nature center’s Instagram page.
2. Hike to the sound of ghost stories in L.A. Naturalist and outdoors educator Jason Wise will host Curse of Griffith Park Hike at 6 p.m. Thursday along the park’s trails. Wise will lead hikers on a 2-mile jaunt as he points out spiders, bats and owls, and shares about local lore and legend. Kids and dogs welcome. Suggested donation of $25. Register at eventbrite.com.
3. Hunt for treasure in Long Beach Real estate agent David Sanchez, a longtime organizer of paddling events in the South Bay, will host a Halloween scavenger hunt from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday in Long Beach. Participants will join the spooky hunt for hidden treasures on the water using their own (or rented) stand-up paddleboards, kayaks or other vessels. Register at eventbrite.com.
The must-read
Some of the infrastructure for the Mt. Waterman ski resort.
(Chris Erskine / Los Angeles Times)
The Mt. Waterman ski resort is for sale — again. In 2024, hikers collectively cringed when the news broke that an investment firm was angling to turn Mt. Waterman into an exclusive ski club with pricey memberships, which included chartered helicopters up the mountain. That plan shockingly didn’t work out. Times staff writer Lisa Boone wrote recently about how the ski resort has been relisted, this time for $3.275 million. “We have the steepest skiing in Southern California,” said listing agent Marc Ramirez of Pacific West Business Properties, referring to the black diamond slopes. “We offer advanced skiing you can’t find unless you drive to Mammoth.” He said he’s received about 25 calls a day since the listing went live and is in serious talks with two potential buyers.
May the next buyers understand the spirit of public lands.
Happy adventuring,
P.S.
Quickly, a bit of trunk-cated news: State and local officials secured $1 million to acquire private property in the Elephant Hill area of El Sereno. This will allow the public land known as Elephant Hill Open Space to grow more, providing even more green space for a community that’s fought long and hard for it. You can hike through Elephant Hill’s new trail using the route I developed that connects multiple green spaces in Northeast L.A. Enjoy!
For more insider tips on Southern California’s beaches, trails and parks, check out past editions of The Wild. And to view this newsletter in your browser, click here.
ATLANTA — Keisha Lance Bottoms talks a lot about the policies she would pursue as Georgia governor. The Democratic nominee is less likely to talk about the history she would make by winning the job.
Never has a Black woman been elected governor in any state. The former Atlanta mayor and onetime White House adviser to Democratic President Biden is trying to do it in a Deep South state where her lineage extends back to antebellum enslavement.
“I am at least a fifth-generation Georgian,” Bottoms, 56, says as she campaigns. “I say ‘at least’ because we can only trace our family back five generations to a plantation in Crawfordville.”
Bottoms rarely if ever mentions slavery, Jim Crow segregation or even race explicitly. But that story — hers, Georgia’s and the nation’s — shadows her battle with Republican nominee Rick Jackson.
The billionaire, a 72-year-old white man who grew up in Atlanta but now lives on a sprawling suburban estate, has hammered the former mayor as a failure, painting her four-year tenure as a crime-ridden decline. Other Republicans, up to Donald Trump, have joined in, with the president accusing Bottoms of ruining a once-great city.
“It’s a long-standing playbook to paint Atlanta as this big bad place,” Bottoms said, dismissing the Republican frame as ridiculous for a town that once hosted the Olympics and recently staged eight World Cup soccer matches.
One of her most recent ads pushes back by featuring clips of the news conference she held with the city’s law enforcement leaders during the peak of 2020 street protests of police violence in Atlanta and nationwide against Black men. “If you care about this city, then go home,” she said. “We are better than this.”
Bottoms would have her chance to answer Trump and Republicans at a rally Wednesday headlined by Barack Obama, the first Black U.S. president.
Some Black women see the attacks as loaded
Republican coalitions in most states, and certainly in Georgia, are overwhelmingly white and anchored in suburbs, smaller cities and small towns. Those are places where many voters look skeptically, even scornfully, upon big cities and the people who run them. But some of the rhetoric directed against Bottoms is steeped in the specter of race and gender in a state where all 83 governors since 1776 have been white men.
Jackson’s TV ads, a deluge funded by more than $200 million of his own money, feature footage of the demonstrations and violence in Atlanta in 2020, along with grainy images of Bottoms. The protests followed the police killing of Rayshard Brooks, an unarmed Black man, by a white Atlanta police officer.
The Republican campaign effort has not gone unnoticed among some Bottoms supporters, especially other Black women.
“It’s easy for people to attack Atlanta and Mayor Bottoms based on their own biases,” said retired educator Beverly Rice, a Bottoms supporter.
Bottoms’ bid marks the third consecutive time that Georgia Democrats have nominated a Black woman for governor. Stacey Abrams lost in 2018 and 2022 to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who is leaving office in 2027 after eight years due to term limits. Abrams came as close to winning a governor’s race as any Black woman before her.
In an interview, Abrams was reluctant to assign race and gender as the deciding factor in her defeats. But she said Black women running for governor face a higher bar because there is no example yet for voters who place a special emphasis on executive experience. Abrams, also an Atlantan, had served previously as state House minority leader, a role Republicans minimized as insufficient experience.
Abrams said that executive standard “does not apply equally across candidates” in politics. She said Bottoms “has a sound argument” because she has held the executive’s role. Before that, Bottoms was a City Council member, magistrate judge and prosecutor. That resume, Abrams and others said, is why Republicans have so aggressively criticized Bottoms’ experience.
“Bad mayors don’t make good governors,” Jackson has said over and over in the closing stretch of the campaign.
He has taken special notice of her decision not to run for a second term as mayor, instead joining Biden’s White House as a senior adviser – a move Bottoms said she deliberately put off to finish her four-year term. In Jackson’s telling, Bottoms “turned her back on Atlanta.”
Republicans say Atlanta ‘burned’ in Bottoms’ tenure
Other conservatives have gone further than Jackson.
“Keisha Lance Bottoms let Atlanta burn,” top Jackson surrogate John King, a former Atlanta police officer and now state insurance commissioner, sometimes says at the candidate’s rallies.
That is a reference to protesters setting fire to a Wendy’s fast food restaurant close to where Brooks was killed. The reference carries an extra weight in a city whose symbol is a phoenix rising from the ashes — a symbol adopted because Union forces burned parts of a young Atlanta during the Civil War.
At a Trump rally last weekend in Macon, a smaller city in middle Georgia, the president hammered away, too. Bottoms “destroyed Atlanta with her crime and filth and constant riots,” Trump said, echoing the kind of sometimes profane attacks he has leveled against many places with large or majority Black populations.
“I always viewed Atlanta as a great city,” he insisted. “It’s not considered that anymore.”
In a 2017 dispute with then-U.S. Rep. John Lewis, Trump called the civil rights icon’s district, which includes Delta Airlines’ and Coca-Cola’s world headquarters and the Georgia Institute of Technology, “crime-infested” and said it was “falling apart.”
Bottoms counters with a more complicated reality
Atlanta did see a crime spike during Bottoms’ tenure, but it was not an outlier alongside the COVID-19 pandemic surge across the country, according to federal statistics. After the pandemic waned, U.S. and Atlanta crime rates dropped significantly. Bottoms did sign an executive order blocking the Atlanta jail from holding federal immigration detainees.
Republicans have exaggerated her action on bail. Bottoms signed a city ordinance that eliminated cash bail for certain nonviolent crimes, intending to reduce the jail’s population and what she and other city officials deemed excessive punishment for low-grade offenses.
Her latest advertising retort follows a surge of fundraising that she did not have throughout Jackson’s summer advertising onslaught. “When a national crisis poured into Atlanta, Keisha Lance Bottoms stood up,” a voice-over says.
Besides her exhortation for people to leave the streets, the mother of four said, “Above everything else, I am a mother, so you are not going to out-concern me and out-care about where we are.”
Her aides see the ad — and the reality of how she handled the matter in real time — as depicting a political figure who is tough and empathetic, aware of public safety concerns and the realities for Black Americans.
But Bottoms’ advisers, and the candidate herself, also say they want Georgians to make their decisions on tangible policy distinctions, most notably her emphasis on addressing economic struggles and expanding Medicaid insurance eligibility — a move that would reach urban and rural populations across racial lines.
That is the point of the governor’s office, said Rice, the retired educator.
“I have 100% faith that she can win if people just judge her with their values,” she said. “I don’t look at her and see a ‘Black governor.’ I see a governor for all the people.”
Actor and singer Cheyenne Jackson, who has starred on Broadway and held roles on dozens of television series including “American Horror Story,” “30 Rock” and “Glee,” had never considered that he might lose his health insurance.
But in a grim moment last year, he realized he was several thousand dollars short of the roughly $28,000-annual minimum to qualify for healthcare through actors union SAG-AFTRA. Otherwise, he would lose the plan that also covered his husband and their 11-year-old twins.
“Auditions weren’t coming in. It was just a really lean, lean time,” Jackson said. “I think I just took my insurance for granted. I thought it would always happen.”
Jackson reflected on the experience while on a layover Sunday in Atlanta’s airport for his one-man musical act, “Midlife Torso Tour.” He decided to offer to spotlight other union members on social media who were short on their earnings. Within 24 hours of posting about the project idea on Instagram, he had received hundreds of messages, he said.
Jackson credited his friend Kathy Bates, the Oscar- and Emmy-winning actor he worked with on four seasons of “American Horror Story,” for helping him pull through last year. He had texted her describing his plight. She called him back within five minutes and told him, “I have good news and bad news,” he recalled.
The good news, she explained, was that she got him a part on “Matlock,” the CBS reimagining of an ’80s legal drama where she stars as a brilliant criminal defense attorney. The bad news was that he would have only four lines and his character wouldn’t have a name.
“I was like, ‘Sign me up!’” Jackson said. “I was grateful, and I showed up and did my four lines.”
Bates had “really paid it forward,” he said.
Actors’ health insurance plans are typically managed by performing arts unions rather than dispensed by a single corporate employer. Producers and studios contribute to a shared health fund based on union contracts, wages and hours worked. If workers accumulate a preset number of hours or pay, they can qualify for up to a year of coverage.
But dry spells and uncertainty in the industry because of the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown and industry strikes have shed light on actors’ struggles to keep insurance as work dwindles. Several years ago, stories proliferated of performers losing health insurance as they contended with heart problems or underwent cancer treatment, and in recent months, actors have again aired concerns.
“I Saw the TV Glow” star Jack Haven posted a video on YouTube in September saying they were “in a bit of an emergency situation.” Haven said they needed to earn $4,000 by the end of the month to keep their insurance. In the video, Haven said they would do “pretty much any job.”
This month, former Nickelodeon star Drake Bell of “Drake & Josh” posted a screenshot of SAG-AFTRA’s health plan website showing that he needed to earn about $11,450 more to qualify.
“Do not become an actor. Do not join SAG,” Bell wrote, using a middle finger emoji and tagging the union’s president, Sean Astin, in the post.
SAG-AFTRA spokesperson Pamela Greenwalt did not respond to a request for comment. But the union has long been open about the financial effects of the pandemic and other industry headwinds that have led to lower employer contributions.
In December 2020, a group of SAG-AFTRA members sued the union’s board of trustees over changes to the health plan. Actors 65 years and older who vested their pensions could no longer count their earnings from residuals in the annual threshold. A provision allowing actors older than 40 with a decade of credits to qualify for coverage at a reduced level of $13,000 in annual earnings was also eliminated.
The union acknowledged renewed challenges during the SAG-AFTRA strike in 2023. The union’s national executive director, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, told The Times that year that earning enough to qualify for health coverage had become a “real source of anxiety and concern for many members.”
At a meeting of the union’s national board over the weekend at its Miracle Mile office, Astin in a recorded speech addressed members’ frustrations about economic pressures, saying that the union is using “every bit of leverage we have to make sure working performers have a place in whatever this industry becomes.”
It can take years for members to build up enough union work to qualify for the health insurance. Some who have worked in the industry for years never do. Reportedly only about 14% of the union’s 160,000 members qualify for the union’s healthcare. Of SAG-AFTRA’s membership, which also includes dancers, DJs, journalists and radio program hosts, more than 100,000 members are actors and performers.
Miller Tai, a voice actor on the new Paramount+ animated film “Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender,” said he joined the union in 2017 and had not struggled in recent years to meet the earnings minimum, having qualified for the last seven years. He feels that the noise on social media obscures the actual problem: a broken healthcare industry that is hurting people beyond just actors.
“We have a greedy system raising prices by the second,” Tai said. “This is a problem for any sector where we rely on our employers for healthcare.”
In 2027, the earnings minimum will rise to $28,933. Quarterly premiums will rise from $375 to $390 for one participant, with higher amounts for added dependents. Actors with certain credits who lose their eligibility can temporarily keep their health coverage at a reduced rate for up to 18 months through the federal program known as COBRA, according to the union’s website.
Jackson said starting over every year is tough and unpredictable even for people like him who have been in many television shows and make “OK money on residuals.” He said that although one year he might make $300,000 from acting, the next he might make closer to 5% of that amount. He said that he scraped together his minimum earnings this year by taking on more commercial gigs and acting in a vertically filmed microdrama.
“I ended up doing a few things that I have never done before and never thought I would,” Jackson said.
Jackson’s social media project now has a home on Instagram called One Job Away, and he began posting Tuesday morning. His manager’s assistants and others on his team are combing through requests, he said. More than a dozen photos of actors have already been posted, with captions listing the amount they need to make to hit their earnings minimum and describing their past credits.
“To me, it didn’t seem that big of a deal to say I’m struggling and I need to find that next gig,” he said. “But I understand why for a lot of people they don’t want to say that. They don’t want to look needy or look whatever. I do get it, but I think the more we talk about it, the less shame and the less stigma there will be around it, because it just is happening.”
When William Jackson Harper moved to Los Angeles to star in NBC’s “The Good Place” a decade ago, he himself felt out of place.
“As an actor, I was like I don’t know if this is where I’m supposed to be,” says Harper, who earned an Emmy nomination for his role as Chidi Anagonye, the show’s endearingly panicked and indecisive professor.
In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.
“People felt more finished there,” he says of L.A. “I felt like people had sort of come into their appearance, they knew what they were selling. And I was like, you know, I’m much more of a theater guy, New York is probably where I’m going to land.”
He adds, “So I had this idea that I was going to get to L.A. and everyone was just going to laugh at me.”
Quite the opposite happened. Harper leaned into the L.A. experience, exploring the sprawling city, particularly its nature, and connecting with old friends on a deeper level. He soon grew to appreciate it — so much that he continues to split his time between L.A. and New York alongside his wife, Ali Ahn, who is also an actor.
Harper now stars in the dramatic anthology series “American Hostage,” which re-creates the true story of Tony Kiritsis, an Indianapolis man who, in 1977, kidnapped a mortgage broker whose family Kiritsis blamed for his own financial hardships. During a 63-hour standoff, Kiritsis demands that Fred Heckman, a beloved radio reporter played by Jon Hamm, interview him live on air.
“When that script came across my desk, I was like ‘This is insane,’” Harper says of the show, now streaming on MGM+. He was excited to portray Ben Hairston, a reporter and Heckman’s mentee, who attempts to help him navigate the challenging situation.
Harper says he’d been interested in being part of the show set in the late 1970s. Another draw? “I was looking forward to just rocking a mustache,” he says with a laugh. “I was looking forward to just looking like my uncles.”
Here’s how Harper would spend his perfect Sunday in L.A., from a morning hike at Griffith Park to shopping for more French tour jackets at a vintage store in Silver Lake.
7 a.m.: Start with an intense workout
Even though I typically don’t work out on Sundays, sometimes I get a wild hair and do it anyway because I enjoy it. I’ll go to a class around 7 or 8 a.m. I go to Training Mate a lot because the instructors are fun. They’re all, like, beautiful people, but they are dorks, which I find really endearing. They’re really sweet and encouraging. So we’ll do a really tough 45-minute workout an I’ll probably want to go for a hike after that. Griffith Park is one of my favorite places anywhere, so I’d kind of march around there for a couple of hours. I don’t always do the hard [route], I’m already kind of cooked. I just want to be in nature a little bit.
11 a.m.: Bond with friends over breakfast
Then it would be time to eat. I have this tradition whenever I’m in L.A. of meeting with a couple of friends of ours at Fred 62 on Vermont [Avenue]. I’ll get a tofu breakfast enchilada and then we’ll just sit there and talk for a couple of hours. The waiters remember my order even if it’s been months. Or my friends and I will go to some place like All Time, which is really good. There’s always a line and everyone is very done up and I feel really dirty and underdressed when I go, but f— it. It’s like deal with it. I’m old. I can’t be out here flexing.
2 p.m.: Nap to recharge for a shopping spree
All those things make for a powerful wave of sleepiness, so I’ll take a nap. Usually when I have days off like this, I have a shopping addiction, so there’s a few stores that I’ll probably wind up hitting. One of them is this place called Golden Age that has all these old French tour jackets. I have so many [laughs]. I rock those a lot. So I’ll go there, look around and abuse my bank account a little bit. Then there’s this other place on La Brea called General Quarters. It’s got a bunch of work wear stuff.
6 p.m.: Watch a movie at an old-school theater
After that, I might go see a movie at Los Feliz 3. It just reminds me of the movie theaters I grew up going to. I love an old-school, no frills theater that shows cool stuff.
8:30 p.m.: Have a delicious pescatarian dinner
If we are not cooking, we’re going out to eat somewhere. There’s this place in Eagle Rock that we like a lot called Little Beast. One of my favorite restaurants is Bavel. Every time I go there, I’m just like I don’t deserve this meal. I don’t deserve these cocktails. I’ve ordered something different every time. My wife and I are both pescatarian, so we usually load up on the veggies and pick whatever fish dish they have.
10:30 p.m.: Time for bed
After that, we’ll go back home, give our dog Chico another walk and watch Netflix until we fall asleep. My wife falls asleep first. When we are together, I’ll fall asleep earlier between like 11 p.m. and midnight. When I’m by myself, I’m up till 2 or 3 in the morning. I’m just up.
I was trying to discern whether I’d made a wrong turn when I heard a loud whoosh next to me. Somehow, I’d missed the red-tailed hawk perched on a small tree, watching me from an arm’s length away.
That was one of many delightful surprises I encountered as I developed a 6.7-mile urban hike that I will share in this edition of The Wild, our weekly outdoors newsletter.
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Back in May, I published a 13.5-mile urban hike (see map) that connects trails along the Arroyo Seco and in Elephant Hill Open Space, Ascot Hills, Lincoln Park, Flat Top Park and Ernest E. Debs Park. I wanted to celebrate our local hillsides but also showcase natural areas that remain under threat of development.
I have wanted to expand the route ever since I published it. I got motivated, though, when I saw that the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, or MRCA, will receive a $200,000 grant in Proposition 4money to develop a trail connecting open spaces in Northeast L.A.
MRCA will consider how to connect Elephant Hill Open Space with other land that it owns and manages, including Elyria Canyon and Rainbow Canyon, along with parks and open spaces owned by other public agencies.
The view from Kite Hill, a high point in Mount Washington, from near North Avenue 37.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
“We’ve been thinking about connectivity in Northeast L.A. for a while, the idea being that we connect the protected hilltops and canyons creating access to the Arroyo Seco, which ties up to the Angeles National Forest and down to the L.A. River,” said Sarah Kevorkian, deputy chief of wildfire resilience at MRCA, noting that there’s great energy and momentum built by community members who want to see their neighborhood open spaces protected.
I am eager to see what MRCA and its partners develop. Based on what I’ve experienced, urban hiking trails can lead to better connection among neighbors and a deeper appreciation for nature nearest to us. In the interim, I developed the trail below that envisions what a regional connector trail could look like.
The total extension to the River to the Hilltops route is about 9.4 miles when you include the three “connector” trails that I indicate via a dotted blue line on the map. In total, the full route is now about 23 miles. Below, I explain the heart of the extension through Cypress Park and Mount Washington, which is about 6.7 miles without the connectors, including the two that would take you to the larger original trail. I made this route in a “Choose Your Own Adventure” style, hoping to inspire folks to (legally!) explore their city, hence the flexibility (and complications in explaining mileage).
Some quick logistics before I dive into the route:
I developed the route using CalTopo, an online mapping software with a desktop site and mobile app. You can download the CalTopo app onto your phone and follow the route there; you can also download the trail from CalTopo to use on your Garmin or other device. I also uploaded it to my AllTrails profile.
In May, I dubbed the original trail “River to the Hilltops” in CalTopo and on AllTrails. Afterward, a reader suggested “Jewel Necklace” as a name. What do you think?
I haven’t marked everywhere you can find a restroom or water, but will try to add those as time allows. Please plan accordingly, as some stretches run through neighborhoods or open spaces where there isn’t much nearby.
There is no single place to start this route, although this newsletter will focus on the latest extension. You can start and stop this route in several spots though.
Trail access and conditions can change. Please follow all posted signage (and contact me if you encounter major issues).
This route travels through several neighborhoods. Please refrain from using Bluetooth speakers and anything else that would be disruptive to residents.
There are several places along the route where you will walk in the street of a neighborhood because it lacks sidewalks; please use caution!
At several junctures along the suggested route, you will have an option to take a different path that will essentially get you to the same place. Do what’s best for you, and most important: Have fun, be safe and don’t trespass!
A red-tailed hawk flies over Bob Scholfield Park in Mount Washington.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
Now let’s talk more about the route (full map here).
To begin this extension into the neighborhoods of Mount Washington and, briefly, Cypress Park, I started at the Lincoln/Cypress Metro station off the A Line (previously, and forever in our hearts, the Gold Line). The station has a series of stairs and ramps that you can take down to West Avenue 26, which borders the station on its eastern-ish side.
You’ll quickly turn right (or northeast) onto Lacy Street, passing Lacy Street Neighborhood Park. I chose this option because, as you’ll see after about a quarter of a mile on Lacy, it leads to a pedestrian bridge.
A pedestrian path that leads to a bridge taking walkers and hikers over the 110 Freeway.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
It is not a well-marked or particularly welcoming pedestrian bridge, but it exists nonetheless. You’ll see a narrow walkway lined with a green metal fence topped with spikes and, later, razor wire. Did I mention it’s not terribly welcoming?
Head over the 110 Freeway via this bridge, and turn right onto Arroyo Seco Avenue and then soon left on Amabel Street. But appreciate this little jaunt, as it’s the last bit of flat walking for a bit.
A pedestrian bridge over the 110 Freeway near Cypress Park.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
Cross over North Figueroa Street, and trudge up the hill before you, which has an average grade of about 15%. You’ll pass a neighborhood sign for Mount Washington as you bear left on Isabel Street before making a quick right (north) turn onto Glenalbyn Drive. Continue northeast onto Beech Street and feel as amazed as I was when it becomes a dirt path.
As I trotted through here, I enjoyed watching a kettle of turkey vultures soaring high above the homes perched on the hillside, looking for a fine carrion brunch.
Rather than continuing on the dirt path that heads southeast, I headed up Montalvo Street. Be careful here, as there is no sidewalk. I headed north onto Andalusia Street, or Avenue on some maps, and then further northwest onto West Avenue 37.
A gate was installed on West Avenue 37 in the late 1980s to block rowdy visitors from driving to and partying on Kite Hill in Mount Washington. The route remains open to pedestrians.
You’ll soon arrive at Kite Hill, which The Times described in 1988 as “a scenic Mt. Washington location popular with kite-flyers by day and partying teenagers by night.”
The rambunctious youths were so noisy, L.A. City Council spent $1,200 — about $3,500 in today’s money — to install gates to prevent vehicle traffic. The route remains open to pedestrians.
“It’s like the Hollywood Bowl up there, but it goes on all night,” resident Bob Cummings, a real estate agent who had lived on Mount Washington for 18 years, told The Times in 1988. “It’s like a cancer that started. We’re asking for the city’s surgeons to cut it out.”
When I visited Monday, I saw no evidence of kites or parties, but I did appreciate the glorious views of our local hillsides and San Gabriel Mountains.
One perk of walking the Mount Washington leg of the route is the Halloween decor you’ll spy along the way.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
At the juncture of West Avenue 37 and San Rafael Avenue, you have two options in terms of the route I’ve charted out: You can continue northwest on West Avenue 37, where you’ll quickly be frolicking in Elyria Canyon, or you can take San Rafael Avenue and a short winding path down to Rainbow Canyon, which is also lovely.
Although I designed this leg of the River to the Hilltops route to start at the Lincoln/Cypress Metro stop and end at the Southwest Museum Metro station, you can also turn it into a loop, as you’ll see on the map.
For the purposes of this newsletter, I’m going to explain the route via the first option, continuing northwest on West Avenue 37 and then right (or northwest) onto Killarney Avenue for about 400 feet until you turn right onto some wooden, dirt-covered steps. You’ve reached Elyria Canyon Park!
Wooden stairs lead down into Elyria Canyon Park, where hikers will find several species of native shrubs and trees.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
Be mindful as you take the steps, as the loose dirt can be slippery. You will have lovely views of L.A. and its landscapes as you meander past native shrubs and trees, including black sage, toyon and wild cucumber. This 35-acre park “boasts one of the finest examples of California black walnut woodland in Southern California,” according to the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, which manages the land.
That’s one reason that a 1996 Times story dubbed this park “a living example of the Los Angeles of 200 years ago.”
There are multiple routes, and I won’t discourage you from exploring beyond what I’ve mapped out, which from the map, you can see is a quick loop, passing through the park (including Akuutet Learning Nursery and the surrounding neighborhood. If you find yourself needing a snack break, you’re in luck. (I will admit that I wanted the same while in Elyria Canyon and took a short walk over to Little Barn Coffee House, one of my favorite spots in L.A.)
The path through Elyria Canyon travels through the 35-acre park that features a California black walnut woodland.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
After the loop, you’ll head out of the canyon onto Elyria Drive and then make a left back onto San Rafael Avenue, which you’ll take for about a third of a mile. Continue north past San Rafael Avenue and Danforth Drive onto Sea View Avenue. In about a third of a mile, Sea View will transform into a dirt path as you enter Bob Scholfield Park (per the name etched into a rock under a tree).
Two red-tailed hawks flew overhead as I entered this charming stretch of the walk. I chatted with another hiker and petted his Great Pyrenees dog, as I grew up with the breed and have a soft spot for these giant fluffy goobers.
After following this dirt path as it curves around, you will return to a paved Sea View Drive. Head southeast, and you’ll quickly find yourself at Moon Canyon Park.
Moon Canyon Park in L.A.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
Developers had wanted to construct 18 homes and a parking lot in this 4.5-acre canyon, but the L.A. City Council instead set aside $550,000 to preserve it, according to a 2003 Times story.
“I couldn’t be happier because the canyon will be left open,” resident Sharon Roesler, a member of a group opposing developing the canyon, said at the time. “We don’t have enough of these places to go to in Los Angeles.” (If you want to learn more about restoration efforts here, you can visit the Friends of Moon Canyon website, which is working to restore the canyon.)
You will walk southeast down a pleasant dirt path through the canyon, noticing those restoration efforts, before you hit pavement for just a moment and then immediately bear right onto West Pheasant Drive, another dirt path.
A Chevy van parked ahead on the trail.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
I was enjoying my hike when I followed the bend of West Pheasant Drive and noticed a van parked ahead. Now, I’ve seen enough horror movies that I quickly started to write the opening scene to my demise.
EXT. DIRT HIKING TRAIL
“JAC, a well-meaning but unfortunately oblivious hiker, spots a vintage camper van on the trail. They have no idea what lurks ahead.”
Thankfully, there was nothing other than a funky DIY project lurking in the distance. I approached the van to find a cardboard sign attached (which, again, sounds creepier than it was).
“The process is as WiLD as the circumstances!” it read. “This van is unable to leave the road (you may have noticed 🙂 ) so we are resituating it to optimize space (something special, incoming!).”
A narrow dirt path called West Pheasant Drive on some maps.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
After you pass the van art project, you’ll soon reach a nest of streets, as each has a bird name. You will turn right from West Pheasant onto Quail Drive and then quickly left onto Dove Drive. Follow Dove Drive southeast and quickly take a hard right (northwest) onto Glenalbyn Drive, followed by a hard left (southeast) onto Mavis Drive and then soon a right on Frontenac Avenue, then left on West Avenue 46 to head into the park area around the Carlin G. Smith Recreation Center.
You’ll pass through a gate and meander down the path, with an optional side quest to have a friend push you on the tire swing. After shenanigans, walk through the basketball court to where the path continues in the court’s southeast corner.
This route, when I traversed it, was loose and narrow. If it feels too sketchy, take the road or use a trekking pole if you’ve brought one. No reason to turn an ankle after you’ve had an otherwise splendid day!
At the end of this rustic route, take West Avenue 45 down to the Rainbow Canyon Test Plot, a publicly owned area where volunteers are readily restoring the canyon with native plants and shrubs. There is a pleasant little trail from the test plot that goes through the canyon. You will take it up to West Avenue 44.
A previous walker left a message on a utility pole to remind us of one reason we hike.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
From here, you can either use the connector trail I’ve mapped out or head down West Avenue 44 to Marmion Way and the Southwest Museum Metro stop.
That is the end of the Mount Washington trail extension, but doesn’t have to be the end of your day. If you’re feeling adventurous, I have mapped out a connector route through Sycamore Grove Park that will take you to the Arroyo Seco and Debs Park — and beyond that!
The total route now includes about 23 miles of urban hiking. Where should I extend the route next? I’d love your feedback on how to connect our public lands.
3 things to do
The Devil’s Punchbowl Natural Area sits near the San Gabriel Mountains.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
1. Be with the bats near Pearblossom L.A. County Parks and Recreation will host Bat Weekend on Saturday and Sunday, from 4 to 7 p.m. both days, at the Devil’s Punchbowl Natural Area near Pearblossom. Guests can participate in crafts and a night walk and visit educational booths. Learn more at the park’s Instagram page.
2. Seek out scares in Culver City Walk ‘n Rollers will host a Halloween-themed bike ride from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Sunday in Culver City. Cyclists will travel five miles on city streets and bike paths, exploring the best Halloween decor in the area. Riders will meet at Village Well Books + Coffee. Register at eventbrite.com.
3. Blend science and the spooky in Orange SoCal Science Hikes will host a Halloween-themed evening hike from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday through Irvine Regional Park in Orange. Participants will first try to spot diurnal animals as they hike 2.5 miles, and then after, meet at a faux campfire for ghost stories. Costumes welcome, as long as you can hike in them. Register at eventbrite.com.
The must-read
Finley Kilgo pauses during a birdwatching bike ride through the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary at the northern end of the Humboldt Bay Trail. The trail could eventually become part of the Great Redwood Trail.
(Andrew Cullen / For The Times)
Advocates of the Great Redwood Trail, a proposed 307-mile route that follows defunct railroad lines, say the route could become as epic a bucket-list trip as other great multi-day scenic trails. But at what cost? Times staff writer Lila Seidman spoke to Perry Lincoln, a member of the Wailaki Tribe, who said he and other Indigenous people in the area have been left out of the planning process for a hiking trail that cuts through their ancestral land. “We’re barely getting access to these areas ourselves, but we’re going to allow outside communities to have full access to these places?” Lincoln’s daughter Tisanche Warren said. “That doesn’t seem fair.” About 40% of the trail is complete, with major efforts planned to clean up railroad pollution and restore fish habitat. The Kinest’e Community Coalition, composed of Lincoln and other tribal members and their allies, continues its fight to not only have a say in the project but also to reroute the trail to protect sacred sites, including graves.
Happy adventuring,
P.S.
Are you interested in getting into mountain biking? Or do you want to find a community of mountain bikers? The California Mountain Biking Coalition will host Rally for the Trails, a gathering of the Southern California cycling and trails community from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Cub House in San Marino. You’ll learn from guest speakers, watch short films and learn about local ride events. Plus, you can meet volunteers from several local outdoors groups. Sounds like a great way to meet new pals!
For more insider tips on Southern California’s beaches, trails and parks, check out past editions of The Wild. And to view this newsletter in your browser, click here.
LEWISTON, Maine — Maine Republican Susan Collins has promoted her reputation as one of the most independent U.S. senators and she is using the waning days of the election season to sell that message to voters by campaigning with a former colleague who has endorsed her.
Collins is trying to fend off a challenge from Democrat Troy Jackson, a onetime state Senate president, and on Wednesday she made appearances with Joe Manchin III, a West Virginian who was a Democrat then became an independent late in his career before retiring.
After stopping for breakfast at Simones’ Hot Dog Stand in Lewiston, Collins spoke of how she and Manchin were “part of every piece of bipartisan legislation that passed and became law” during their time together in office.
Manchin said to lose Collins would be “to lose the soul of the Senate.” He praised her independent streak, her willingness to buck Republican President Trump and her record of fighting for Maine’s interests.
“This is a true blue-blooded Maine person who knows exactly where she came from,” Manchin said.
They planned a stop later at a New Balance shoe facility in Norway. Jackson, 58, is scheduled to campaign Thursday in Portland with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive congresswoman from New York.
Collins, 73, is in what may be her toughest reelection fight as she seeks her sixth term.
It’s only the second time that she has sought reelection in a midterm with a sitting Republican president, and the national trends are much less favorable to the GOP than they were the last time she did so, in 2002. Trump’s approval has fallen well below where it was when he took office last year, and a recent poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that a strong majority of voters want change in Washington.
Collins has been working to persuade voters that she is independent of Trump and willing to break with him. In Manchin, she enlisted a politician who was one of the most moderate voices in the Senate. Manchin said in 2023 that Trump would “ destroy democracy in America” if he was elected to a second term.
Among the few dozen Collins supporters at the Lewiston event was Mike Marcotte.
“I may not have always been a fan of her complete package of votes, but when I look at the vitriol that’s in the U.S. Senate right now, we need more people like Susan Collins,” he said.
Jackson got a late start on campaigning after the party’s initial nominee exited the race but trails Collins in the money race by less than $3 million after an aggressive quarter in which he raised more than $20 million. Jackson has campaigned relentlessly and his events have drawn hundreds. Collins has largely stuck to smaller appearances.
Some of Jackson’s backers demonstrated across the street from the hot dog stand. A few held signs bearing the face of Brett M. Kavanaugh, the U.S. Supreme Court justice whom Collins voted to confirm and whose vote eventually helped overturn the constitutional right to abortion.
“Someone needs to stand up and be a check on Donald Trump and his harmful policies,” said David Sysko.
Collins has broken with Trump and Republicans over the years. She voted to convict him at his impeachment trial in 2021. Increasingly during the campaign, she has worked to distance herself from the president as Democrats argue that she is too close to him.
Collins said in early October that she is “not exactly his favorite senator,” and that she did not expect Trump to campaign in Maine. He has steered clear of the state with the Nov. 3 election nearing.
Pinning Collins to Trump is central to the Democrats’ strategy. In one ad, a nurse says the state is in a healthcare crisis “because of Susan Collins and Donald Trump,” citing Collins’ vote for Trump’s push for Medicaid cuts. Collins did vote to advance the bill but ultimately voted against it.
Trump also was a major focus of four contentious debates between the candidates this month, where Collins sought to distance herself from the president and Jackson repeatedly accused her of doing Trump’s bidding.
Asked at the final debate to name a time in which she bucked her own party and succeeded, Collins gave the example of rallying support against Trump’s nomination of Pete Hegseth, who was confirmed as Defense secretary.
Democrats seized on the moment and released a statement that said the exchange “underscores a central question in the Maine Senate race: Does Collins, a Republican in a state that disapproves of President Donald Trump and has grown bluer in recent years, stand up to her party enough to earn the independent streak she has staked her career on?”
Jackson has characterized Collins as out of touch with the struggles of working-class people in Maine. He has described Collins as a “rubber stamp” for the president and criticized her votes on Kavanaugh and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s second-term Health secretary. Collins has said she does not regret either vote.
Republican ads against Jackson, a logger from northern Maine, have focused more on accusations of his having a volatile personality and behaving like a bully with female colleagues. Jackson has denied those accusations.
Collins distanced herself on Wednesday from a Republican super PAC attack ad that she said “should be taken down.”
The senator was a top target of Democrats in 2020 when she defeated challenger Sara Gideon by nearly 9 percentage points. Collins is the only Republican senator from New England, a distinction she has had since January 2013.
It was already going to be a short week, but Sean McVay navigated unexpected business that affected the start of preparation for Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals.
“He says, ‘How’s that tube?’” McVay recalled. “I said, ‘What do you mean?’
“He said, ‘That tube of [s—] that never stops coming down over your head when you’re a head coach.’
“But honestly, it’s part of it.”
The Rams hope that Grupe can clean up the kicking game and relieve criticism of the Rams’ struggling special teams. McVay said this week that he has “a lot of confidence” in special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone, and that “no changes” are going to be made to that staff position.
“You’re continuing to figure out some of our identity,” McVay said Thursday, adding, “I have seen the intentionality from the group that I’m looking for.”
Grupe was signed off the New York Jets practice squad. Last season, he was released by the New Orleans Saints in late November after he made only 18 of 26 field-goal attempts. The Indianapolis Colts signed Grupe and he made all 11 of his attempts.
“For these last five weeks, I’ve been staying ready, been doing what I need to do to take advantage of an opportunity,” Grupe said.
Quessenberry, 36, is a ninth-year pro. But he has not started a game since 2023, when he played for the Minnesota Vikings.
Quessenberry played only 18 snaps on offense last season, none this season.
But McVay said Quessenberry was a “consummate pro” who has played “a lot of meaningful snaps” in his career and worked with the Rams’ first-team offense when Jackson has been held out while managing blood-clot issues.
“This is kind of why I’m here, when things like this happen,” Quessenberry said. “So I’m ready to go. This is what I’ve worked for. I’ve played this position my whole life. Go out there on Sunday and play ball. I’m fired up.”
This will be the first game without Jackson since last season’s late December game against the Atlanta Falcons. With D.J. Humphries starting at left tackle, the Falcons swarmed Matthew Stafford. Humphries was called for two crucial penalties, the Falcons sacked Stafford three times and intercepted three passes.
“He’s proven himself in this league,” Stafford said, adding, “ton of trust in what he’s capable of.”
Rookie lineman Keagen Trost practiced Thursday for the first time since he was placed on injured reserve before the season because of a hamstring injury suffered in the preseason opener against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Trost, a third-round draft pick out of Missouri, could be activated to the roster.
“It’s been a little bit of time since he’s played football,” McVay said. “But if he’s feeling good, expect him to be up for the game.
“But not at the expense of putting him in a situation that, if he did have to play, wasn’t good for him.”
Offensive lineman Justin Dedich, who has been on injured reserve because of a hand injury, also is eligible to return. But interior linemen such as guards Kevin Dotson and Steve Avila have remained physically sound.
“We’ll pray that we stay healthy,” McVay said, “but at some point we’ll start his clock and get him in there.”
Three weeks after the autumnal equinox, it finally feels like fall.
Well, kind of.
This past weekend, Southern Californians breathed a collective sigh of relief as an oppressive heat wave broke. Temperatures in L.A. dropped 31 degrees, from 104 degrees on Oct. 4 to one week later, a high of 73 degrees, according to observed weather data.
I felt like a climatological grim reaper when, in the midst of my friends celebrating the drop in temperature, I told them it was temporary, as it was expected to get hot. Again. (I’m great at parties!)
But, even still, I want to help you get outdoors — safely. In this week’s edition of The Wild, our weekly outdoors newsletter, I will share three excellent L.A. hikes that each offer something different — great views or shade, for example — with caveats about the best time to go.
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The first caveat is: The National Weather Service issued a red flag watch and warning, which signals an increased risk of fire danger, for much of L.A. and Ventura counties from Thursday morning through Saturday evening. It includes the San Gabriel and Santa Monica mountains. As a result, parks within Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area will be closed Thursday through Saturday. The closure applies to land managed by California State Parks, the National Park Service, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority.
Daniel Swain, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources climate scientist, told my Times colleagues Terry Castleman and Rong-Gong Lin II in a recent story that the greater fire risk will be in communities and natural areas west of the 405 Freeway, as east of the 405 recently saw rain.
The 405 Freeway passes through several areas with hillsides covered in dense shrubs and trees.
(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
“West of that point, almost no rain fell at all, and in early October we had a record-breaking heat wave,” Swain said. “East of the 405 in Southern California, the fire risk is lower because it recently rained.”
Bearing that in mind, two of the hikes below are east of the 405 and the third is an urban hike. All three avoid long drives far into the mountains. The two hikes closest to the foothills have large parking areas and clear exits. The urban hike usually offers clear views that should allow hikers to spot a fire near them and evacuate quickly.
Several children balance on rocks as they cross a segment of the Arroyo Seco near Pasadena.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
1. A shady hike along a flowing river
Gould Mesa via Gabrielino Trail Distance: About 4 miles out and back Elevation gained: About 300 feet Difficulty: Easier end of moderate Dogs allowed: Yes Nearest to: Pasadena, La Cañada Flintridge and Altadena Accessible alternative: The first mile of this trail is paved. See notes below.
The Gabrielino National Recreation Trail is a 28.8-mile journey from Chantry Flat Recreation Area north of Sierra Madre all the way to the Ventura Street & Windsor Avenue trailhead near the Hahamongna Watershed Park in La Cañada Flintridge. It is a multi-use trail for hikers, mountain bikers and horse riders.
The trail has several beautiful sections, including from its western entrance in Hahamongna to the Gould Mesa Trail Camp. This segment is mostly shaded and great for a morning stroll, especially before 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.
To begin your hike, you’ll park at a large free dirt lot near the backside of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab. If hiking in a wheelchair or seeking an accessible paved path, I recommend parking at this smaller paved lot, as that’s where the paved portion of the trail begins. (Please leave this lot for folks seeking the accessibility alternative, as it’s smaller than the large dirt lot — and both are free!)
You can either take the paved trail or an unofficial dirt trail that follows the Arroyo Seco before leading you to the official trail. Either way, it’s primarily a mix of flat path and gentle inclines along the Arroyo Seco, shaded by coast live oaks, bay laurels and sycamore trees. After hiking about two miles, you’ll reach the Gould Mesa Trail Camp, where you can set up a picnic at one of the campground’s tables, or cool off along the creek.
And if you’d like to go a bit farther, you can continue onward to the Paul Little Picnic Site or the Brown Mountain Dam waterfall (see map). Regardless of where you stop, I promise you’ll be treated to a stunning landscape and likely hear the chirp and squawk of scrub jays, California quail and more.
The San Gabriel Mountains become blanketed in golden light in the early evening in Dunsmore Canyon in Deukmejian Wilderness Park, a Glendale park.
This 2.6-mile hike through the 709-acre Deukmejian Wilderness Park in Glendale will offer you not only great views of the surrounding cities but also an opportunity to spend time among healthy native trees and plants, including California buckwheat, black sage and California sagebrush (which you should smell).
You’ll park in a lot near the Stone Barn Nature Center. Several signs are usually posted around the lot warning visitors about when the park will close, and a staff member will lock the gate. I think that’s serious, so take note.
You’ll start your hike on Dunsmore Canyon Trail, headed northeast up a straight gravel path covered on both sides with thick ceanothus, yerba santa and more.
Although some hikes, like this path in Dunsmore Canyon in Glendale, may appear exposed during the day, you might find they’re shadier in the morning or evening, depending on their local topography.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
Just 0.2 miles in, there’s a massive old coast live oak where kids could easily create an imaginary forest kingdom under its large branches.
As you continue to climb, you might hear Dunsmore Creek, which runs parallel to the trail. Remember to turn around as you gain elevation, as this trail rewards you with substantial views of Glendale and the Crescenta Valley soon after you start. All the while, you have the San Gabriel Mountains right in front of you, including Mt. Lukens, which you can hike to from the same park.
Half a mile in, you have the option to continue on the Dunsmore Canyon Trail or Le Mesnager Trail to make a shorter loop. Le Mesnager Trail includes a lookout point at about 2,750 feet, a great spot for sunset as long as you don’t get locked in! As you meander down the trail, you’ll find a nice shady canopy and continued views of the city below.
Given our weekend temperatures, this trail is best in the morning or evening. I personally prefer the latter, when golden hour paints the mountains a deep gold to red.
If you plan to hike it in the evening, though, keep the park hours in mind. It is open until 8 p.m. until Monday, when its hours shift to closing at 7 p.m., which remains until Daylight Saving Time ends Nov 1. This is relevant if you plan to park in the lot. Otherwise, you can walk out of the park and back to your car. Regardless, have fun!
Visitors reach the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook by climbing the Culver City Stairs.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
3. An urban hike near a great picnic area
Culver City Stairs to Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook Distance: 1.4 miles Elevation gained: About 350 feet Difficulty: Moderate Dogs allowed? Only on the paved road, not on trails Accessible alternative: Discovery Park and Bluff Creek Trail
This 1.4-mile out-and-back jaunt up 282 concrete steps, known locally as the Culver City Stairs, takes hikers to the stunning Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook. From here, you’ll have one of L.A.’s most breathtaking — kind of literally — city views.
To begin, you’ll take the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook entrance off Jefferson Boulevard. You’ll follow a dirt path briefly east, follow a switchback to the west and soon find stairs. Head straight up, pausing to breathe and appreciate the views. The stairs vary in height, from about 3 to 20 inches, so it’s good to take your time.
At the top, you’ll have panoramic views that, on a clear day, include the Pacific Ocean. To return, you can either head back down the steps or take the meandering dirt trail down.
Culver City is expected to be cooler on Sunday than Saturday, with an expected high of 85 degrees. Why not make it a morning trek followed by brunch?
Regardless of where you go, I hope you have a safe and meaningful time on our public lands!
3 things to do
1. Prance up to a giant pumpkin in Norco The L.A. Fright Club will host a 1.6-mile moderate hike at 9 a.m. Sunday to Pumpkin Rock in Norco. Guests should wear comfortable hiking shoes and bring water. Costumes encouraged. Learn more, including how to register, at the club’s Instagram page.
2. Make marvelous marsh pics in Irvine The California Native Plant Society’s Orange County chapter will host a beginner nature photography course at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Duck Club at the San Joaquin Marsh in Irvine. At 5:30 p.m., photographer Bob Allen will guide attendees on a short walk in the marsh, followed by a presentation and discussion of technique at 7 p.m. Learn more at the organization’s Instagram page.
3. Witness the cosmos near Palm Springs The San Bernardino Valley Amateur Astronomers will host a star party from 8 to 10 p.m. Saturday at the Whitewater Preserve northwest of Palm Springs. Gates will open at 7:30 p.m. and close at 8:05 p.m. No late entry. Learn more at the preserve’s Instagram page.
The must-read
An Eastern box turtle at the Turtle Conservancy in Ojai.
(Julie Leopo / For The Times)
The 90-acre Turtle Conservancy in Ojai was founded in 2005 as a research center and advocate for turtle habitat. But over the past 10 years, its mission has shifted in response to illegal turtle poaching, prompting the small nonprofit to take in 810 turtles — more than 400 of which they received in the past six months. What should the conservancy do once it has the turtles? That question remains heavily debated (and underfunded), an issue covered in a recent Times story by writer Stuart Miller. “It’s so easy to pluck an animal out of the wild, but when you want to put one back there’s more roadblocks,” said conservancy founder Eric Goode. “Can we find a happy medium? Because the best thing for these turtles is not to keep them in holding areas for too long.”
Happy adventuring,
P.S.
Would you like to help scientists better understand where native species are thriving in L.A. County? Or how about researchers who are tracking where invasive species are taking up loads of space? The L.A. Nature Quest is a monthlong challenge that runs through Oct. 31. The L.A. Public Library helps host the challenge, which asks participants to download the citizen science app iNaturalist and then document the natural world in their neighborhood. This year, quest organizers are especially hoping people will pay attention to “cold spots,” where there is little to no data on habitat in an L.A. neighborhood. Check out the map at lapl.org to see how you can help.
For more insider tips on Southern California’s beaches, trails and parks, check out past editions of The Wild. And to view this newsletter in your browser, click here.
Rams left tackle Alaric Jackson’s suspension for punching a Buffalo Bills player after a game has been reduced from two games to one, an NFL spokesman said Wednesday.
“Hearing officer Derrick Brooks, jointly appointed by the NFL and the NFLPA, has reduced the two game suspension of Los Angeles Rams offensive lineman Alaric Jackson to one game,” Michael Signora, the NFL’s senior vice president of football and international communications said in a post to X.
Jackson must sit out Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals but is eligible to return for an Oct. 25 game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
David Quessenberry is on track to start in place of Jackson, coach Sean McVay said Tuesday.
The Rams will also start the 21-day window for rookie Keagan Trost to return from injured reserve.
Rams left tackle Alaric Jackson has been suspended for two games without pay for punching Buffalo Bills linebacker Bradley Chubb after Monday night’s game at SoFi Stadium, the NFL announced Tuesday.
The Bills defeated the Rams 37-34 in overtime. The incident occurred on the field as players from both teams were talking and exchanging jerseys.
Jackson violated Rule 12, Section 3, Article 1, which applies to “any act which is contrary to the generally understood principles of sportsmanship,” the NFL said in the release announcing the suspension.
Jackson can appeal the suspension.
The loss of Jackson leaves star quarterback Matthew Stafford potentially vulnerable when the Rams play the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday and the Las Vegas Raiders on Oct. 25.
Veteran David Quessenberry could start in place of Jackson. Or coach Sean McVay could move right tackle Warren McClendon Jr. to the left side and play Quessenberry on the right.
Rookie Keagan Trost has been on injured reserve since before the start of the season.
This is the second time that Jackson has been suspended. In 2024, he sat out the first two games for an unspecified violation of the NFL’s personal conduct policy. Jackson had been named the defendant in a lawsuit filed by a woman, who alleged he recorded her without her consent during sex, that he refused to delete the video and that he taunted her with it. The civil suit was dismissed.
Jackson also was under scrutiny before this season after he was arrested on suspicion of felony domestic violence involving an incident in West Hills. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office and the City Attorney declined to file formal criminal charges.
Alaric Jackson has a history of violent outbursts. Still, it was surprising to see the Rams star offensive tackle punch Buffalo Bills linebacker Bradley Chubb on the SoFi Stadium field moments after the Bills defeated the Rams 37-34 in overtime on Monday.
Players were milling around midfield, exchanging jerseys and making small talk when Chubb appeared to say something to Jackson, who was chatting with another Bills player. Jackson immediately marched over to Chubb and slugged him once in the face, knocking a cap from his head.
Players from both teams intervened, and the episode was documented on video by the NFL. Based on precedent, Jackson, 28, likely faces a suspension.
One year ago, Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch was suspended for one game after he smacked Kansas City Chiefs receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster in the helmet after a game.
At the time, Branch spoke to reporters in the locker room and admitted his actions were “childish.”
Jackson did not make himself available for an interview after Monday’s incident, although Chubb did.
“It’s just emotions, you know what I mean? Emotional game. It was a close game,” Chubb said. “And, you know, they always catch the second guy. So, I let him swing. And then my teammates held me back, and I just chilled.”
Jackson averted a suspension ahead of this season when authorities declined to file formal criminal charges after he was arrested on suspicion of felony domestic violence. Police responded to a call at a home in West Hills on June 8 at 11 p.m. and said in a report that the 6-foot-7, 338-pound Jackson was arrested for “willfully inflicting physical or corporal injury resulting in a ‘traumatic condition’ [such as a bruise, scratch, swelling, or internal injury] on an intimate partner.”
Jackson, who is in his sixth season with the Rams and fourth as quarterback Matthew Stafford’s blindside protector, entered a diversion program that required him to complete probation and anger management classes. Four months earlier, he had signed a three-year contract that included $35 million in guarantees. He is scheduled to earn $18.4 million this season.
In 2024, Jackson was suspended for two games by the NFL for violating its personal conduct policy following a lawsuit filed by a woman alleging he recorded her without her consent during sex. The woman, who also reported it to the league, alleged that Jackson refused to delete the video and taunted her with it. The civil suit was dismissed.
ATLANTA — Not long ago, Georgia gubernatorial nominee Rick Jackson eagerly compared himself to his fellow billionaire in the Oval Office. He promised to be Donald Trump “with a Southern tone.” And sharing a summer rally stage, Jackson pointed at the president and declared, “I’m going to be this man’s favorite governor.”
On the debate stage this week with his Democratic opponent, however, Jackson discussed Trump only when Keisha Lance Bottoms brought him up. And he assured his audience that he’d “stand up to anybody.”
Jackson is not alone in his recalibration: Republican nominees for Senate, the U.S. House and governor’s offices across the country are sidestepping President Trump or openly distancing themselves as they debate before Election Day.
Those tactics, not unlike Republicans scrubbing Trump from their campaign websites, are the latest signs of how much Trump’s standing has fallen because of voters’ frustration with inflation, the Iran war and other matters. And the dynamics highlight the perilous options many Republicans face as they try to stitch together winning coalitions that go beyond Trump’s core supporters.
“Republicans right now are facing a voter turnout problem” in their own party, said GOP pollster Paul Shumaker, and must win “unaffiliated voters” who care most about the economy.
“You have to have something significant to change this narrative,” Shumaker said. But, he explained, that means “a significant victory in Iran” and seismic economic improvements — not something any Republican midterm candidate can force from behind a debate podium.
There’s a Trump tightrope on Iran, tariffs and rhetoric
Some Republicans are taking specific positions at odds with the president.
Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers said in his debate Thursday with Democrat Abdul El-Sayed that he’d urged the White House privately to reach a trade deal with Canada and end the president’s tariffs. Canada is Michigan’s largest trading partner, as it is for many Great Lakes and Midwestern states.
Days before, Rogers unveiled a new ad in which he said, “We know that Canada is not our enemy. We need to end the tariff war — now.”
That’s a noticeable departure from Rogers’ earlier, less specific statements praising Trump’s “America First” economic agenda while saying tariffs are not a “one-size-fits-all” solution.
Another Michigan Republican, Rep. Tom Barrett, already had bucked the president by voting for a war powers resolution intended to assert congressional authority over military actions in Iran. But debating Democrat Will Lawrence in their central Michigan district, Barrett added a criticism of Trump’s rhetoric Monday in Nebraska, where he floated the possibility of Iran attacking San Diego and Los Angeles.
The president mentioned those cities as part of his argument that higher gas prices because of his Iran war are a “small price to pay” to keep the country safe. But Democrats seized on the remarks, some insisting that Trump was calling for Iran to attack U.S. cities.
Barrett was asked whether Trump’s words were acceptable. Given the opportunity to echo the White House explanation that Trump was offhandedly mentioning a worst-case scenario he was trying to prevent, Barrett offered no defense.
“Nope,” he said flatly.
Many Republicans prefer a more generalized stiff arm
Reflecting the complex electoral balance, most Republicans have attempted to separate themselves without naming any firm difference with the president.
Running for a promotion to the Senate, Iowa U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson tried in her debate Wednesday against Democrat Josh Turek to reconcile her earlier promises to be a Trump ally in Congress’s upper chamber. She said it would be “really easy” to keep her word and still be bipartisan — a buzz word she’s already been featuring in her campaign.
“I’ll be President Donald Trump’s ally when it is important for Iowa, but I will push back on him — he knows this, because I talk to him regularly — on things that are wrong for our state,” she said. “That’s true no matter who’s in the White House. That’s true no matter who is governing and who has the gavel.”
That’s the same path Jackson took in Georgia, as he pivoted away from Trump by embracing outgoing Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican who has clashed with the president, starting with Trump’s false claims that he won Georgia in the 2020 presidential election.
“I will stand up to anybody, just like Brian Kemp has done,” Jackson said.
Another Republican House member, Mike Lawler of New York, made a point of name-checking a Democratic colleague, New Jersey’s Josh Gottheimer, and discussing bills they’d work on together. It was part of his argument that he’s able to challenge Trump and the party line.
“When I agree with the president I say it. When I disagree with the president, I say it,” he said in his closing remarks.
Hinson, meanwhile, referenced bills she’s worked on in the House that have been signed into law by both President Joe Biden and Trump.
But she also avoided criticizing Trump when asked about the president sending Affordable Care Act rebate checks to some Americans and promising a $5,000 bonus after the midterm elections if Republicans retain control of the House and Senate.
She said she “cares very deeply” about making sure Congress maintains the power of the purse and thinks it’s important to “live better within our means.”
Democrats pounce on either approach
Regardless of the Republican efforts, Democrats have continued peppering them with attacks and retorts about Trump. The most heated moments came when Democrat Cait Conley repeatedly said Lawler always voted with Trump.
“No matter how many times you say 100% of the time,” the congressman answered, “it’s provably false.”
When Rogers conceded in his back-and-forth with El-Sayed that the administration “probably” made errors in its mass deportation strategy, the Democrat answered swiftly.
“He said it was probably not right. I mean, it’s definitely not right,” El-Sayed said. “They killed two people.”
And while Georgia’s Jackson seemed uncomfortable talking about Trump, Bottoms was more than happy to mention him.
“I’m not running to be his favorite governor,” she said. “I’m running to work on behalf of people like you.” ___ Associated Press reporters Joey Cappelletti in Washington; Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa; and Jill Colvin in New York contributed to this report.
I miss the ease with which I used to hop into my car, gear and dog loaded, and head to the Mt. Waterman trailhead deep in Angeles National Forest for a day of serenity and adventure. It was one of my go-to happy places.
But the segment of Angeles Crest Highway to reach the trailhead has been closed since last December when heavy rain destroyed several sections of the roadway. I could technically reach the trail by taking the closed highway 3.8 miles on foot from the closure’s start to the trailhead, or the Pacific Crest Trail for part of the way. But as I said, I miss the ease of it all.
This winter, Southern California is expected to be pummeled by a “super” El Niño that could bring record-breaking amounts of rain — and maybe snow — to the region. I have been worried about whether storms will blast away the progress that construction crews have made repairing Angeles Crest Highway, a 66-mile stretch of California 2 through the San Gabriel Mountains, along with causing more damage.
In anticipation of further closures of California 2 in the San Gabriel Mountains, I have compiled a list of trails that would be most inaccessible should the roadway close. I hope you can use the list below to either hike trails you’ve never tried or haven’t visited in a while.
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First, let’s talk about the current state of California 2.
Over the last four years, the route has seen multiple months-long closures after storms blasted out massive chunks of roadway, leading to lengthy repairs.
Since January, the California Department of Transportation and its contractors have worked on three emergency projects on Angeles Crest Highway. The work stretches over nearly 30 miles and includes about 40 places identified as needing to be repaired. The projects are noted below by postmile value, a numerical identifier used by state and federal officials to identify precise locations on a specific route:
From Postmile 79.2 in L.A. County to Postmile 1 in San Bernardino County; construction completed: 80%; anticipated completion date: Winter 2026/27
From Postmile 55 to 66.39; construction completed: 40%; anticipated completion date: Summer 2027
From Postmile 64 to 74.3; construction completed: 20%; anticipated completion date: Winter 2027/28
Crews have and will continue installing K-rail barriers around washed-out shoulders and road; repairing eroded slopes and embankments under the road; reconstructing shoulders and slopes to their “original design grades,” which is a feat of engineering I’m personally impressed by; and installing erosion control measures to better ensure a future storm does not cause the exact same issues that prompted previous repairs, according to a Caltrans fact sheet of the project.
Caltrans spokesperson Eric Menjivar said in an email Tuesday that at least some of the repairs are on hold as the agency obtains supplemental funding through an internal review process to finish the repairs.
Contractors have continued work to prep the roadway for El Niño, he said, including slope erosion control work.
An excavator works to repair a segment of Angeles Crest Highway.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
In terms of the timing of when we will start to see rainfall, it could be as early as this month.
“Forecasters say there’s a 75% chance this latest El Niño — a climate pattern characterized by warmer ocean waters in the central and eastern tropical Pacific — will be stronger than any other since 1950,” Times staff writer Iris Kwok wrote. “There is a 98% chance that El Niño will be ‘very strong’ for the three-month period ending in December, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center.”
That’s why I wanted to dig into which trails would be most affected by a California 2 closure. Below, I’ve listed trails that are primarily accessed using a trailhead off the route, while also noting how hikers might still reach a peak or vantage point using another option.
I am not suggesting where damage will or won’t occur, but rather encouraging you to get out on these trails soon — especially if they’ve been on your list for a while — while it remains easy enough to drive to their trailheads. Additionally, we cannot predict how our trails will fare during a significant El Niño winter.
A sweeping view of Angeles Crest Highway and the San Gabriel Mountains from the Hoyt Mountain trail.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
Here are trails primarily accessed off California 2:
The Gabrielino Trail is a multiuse trail frequented by hikers, bikers and horseback riders.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
Grizzly Flat Trail: A challenging 7.4-mile out-and-back route where you climb up and then down the mountainside, reaching the Stonyvale picnic area where you can have a lunch break before clambering back up the mountain.
Hoyt Mountain via Grizzly Flat: A 4.6-mile steep jaunt up to Hoyt Mountain, a 4,415(ish)-foot peak in the front range of the San Gabriel Mountains in Angeles National Forest. There are multiple routes to reach it (see map), which you can read about in a previous Wild.
Switzer Falls and picnic area: The 4.6-mile Switzer Falls hike, one of the most popular in the forest, is primarily reached via the Switzer picnic area off California 2; note that my distance includes walking down from the parking area adjacent to the road, as the gate has been closed recently because of bear activity; if that trailhead became inaccessible, Switzer Falls could be reached off the Gabrielino Trail, but it’s a much longer hike (about 20 miles one way from Azusa, or about 8.8 miles one way from near Pasadena).
One cascade of Switzer Falls.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Colby Canyon Trail: This difficult 9.2-mile out-and-back trail takes hikers to Strawberry Meadow, a flat area in the San Gabriels with nice views. Note: Do not attempt to use the mountaineering route to reach Strawberry Peak. There is an option, as noted on the map, to also hike to Josephine Peak during the same excursion.
Strawberry Peak Trail: This 7-mile out-and-back route takes hikers to the highest peak in the front range of Angeles National Forest. Said to resemble an upside-down strawberry, the summit is reached through a moderately strenuous hike that offers great views of the surrounding mountains. The route is exposed and should not be attempted on warm weather days.
Mt. Wilson area: If California 2 shuts down before Mt. Wilson Red Box Road, which leads to the Mt. Wilson Observatory, several trails will be either inaccessible or much more challenging to reach. That includes reaching Mt. Disappointment, Mt. Deception or Mt. Markham. Hikers would technically be able to access those peaks by first summiting Mt. Wilson, but that requires a 7-mile journey up Little Santa Anita Canyon where you gain about 4,800 feet. There’s a limited number of people who want to hike more after that.
Redbox to Valley Forge: A beautiful 4.8-mile out-and-back trek to Valley Forge Trail Camp via the Gabrielino Trail, where hikers can go farther in multiple directions should they choose.
The Vetter Mountain lookout tower in Angeles National Forest.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
Vetter Mountain Lookout: A 5(ish)-mile round trip that includes a stop at a fire lookout where you will get sweeping views of the surrounding peaks and valleys.
Devils Canyon Trail: A 5.8-mile out-and-back stretch down 1,400 feet into a shaded canyon where a seasonal stream runs.
Mt. Hillyer from Chilao via Silver Moccasin Trail: A 6(ish)-mile journey in a corner of the San Gabriel Mountains that has both high desert vibes and pine trees — and boulders! (One of my favorites.)
Three Points to Sulphur Springs: This is a 7.4-mile out-and-back hike along the Pacific Crest Trail where you reach Sulphur Springs Trail Camp. The camp sits at 5,300 feet and features about six tent-camping sites. Its campsites are shaded by tall pine trees, ideal for hanging a hammock. It has vault toilets but no potable water or bear boxes.
And more!
There are obviously others, including some I’m not listing because I know they’re not in great condition. Additionally, several hikes remain accessible under the current closures only by hiking or biking to them. That includes the Burkhart Trail, Cloudburst Summit to Cooper Canyon Trail Camp, Throop Peak, and, as mentioned, the Mt. Waterman Trail.
I found a few hikes I’ve never done thanks to this week’s Wild. I hope it serves a similar purpose for you. Let me know if you get out there and where you go! If you received this newsletter as an email, you can simply reply, and your messages come right to me. See you out there!
3 things to do
Skaters meander through Little Tokyo during a previous CicLAvia event.
(CicLAvia Los Angeles)
1. Dilly-dally through downtown L.A. CicLAvia will host a 6.5-mile open streets event from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday via a route that connects Echo Park, downtown L.A., Chinatown, Little Tokyo, the Arts District and Boyle Heights. Guests are welcome to walk, bike or use other people-powered mobility devices to traverse the route. See rules for e-bikes. Learn more at ciclavia.org.
2. Craft local clay in L.A. Clay artist Evelyn Hernández will host from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday a hike through Griffith Park and teach participants along the way to identify clay and earthen pigments in their natural habitat. Attendees will also create a ceramic piece using locally processed clay. Tickets are $48.05 to $63.63 based on your economic ability to pay. Register at events.humanitix.com.
3. Haunt the hillsides near Atwater Village Dance Quest will host a Halloween-themed silent disco from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday through Griffith Park. Attendees will dance along a 1.5-mile loop trail while wearing headphones with a curated playlist. Halloween costumes and flair welcomed and encouraged. Suggested donation of $15 to $25. Register at eventbrite.com.
The must-read
George Jensen records audio of geese and ducks during a Los Angeles Field Recording meetup at the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve.
(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)
One of the best parts of hiking is the unexpected sounds that nature provides, from the crunch of your boots on the sandy soil to the surprisingly thunderous sounds a covey of quail makes as it leaves a shrub (which has maybe scared a certain outdoors journalist more than once). And because L.A. has a club for truly everyone, there’s now a place nature sound lovers can go to really appreciate what they find outdoors, the Los Angeles Field Recording Club. “I feel like now everything’s so … doctored. But when you’re recording, this is what’s really happening. You’re hearing real sound. You’re engaged with the world in a real way,” said George Jensen, founder of the Los Angeles Field Recording Club.
Happy adventuring,
P.S.
Everyone is looking for a way to escape this heat wave, including the black bears of the San Gabriel Mountains. Wildlife photographer Robert Martinez shared a video this week of one of our ursine neighbors taking a dip into cool water deep in Angeles National Forest. The bear even takes time to exfoliate, using what appears to be a concrete barrier to scratch its back. Now that’s self-care!
For more insider tips on Southern California’s beaches, trails and parks, check out past editions of The Wild. And to view this newsletter in your browser, click here.
LEGENDARY R&B singer Freddie Jackson has died at 70 as family and friends mourn the icon’s passing online.
The singer, known for his hit song Rock Me Tonight (For Old Times Sake), passed away on Monday, just days after his milestone birthday.
R&B legend Freddie Jackson has died, days after his 70th birthdayCredit: Getty ImagesFreddie is known for his hit songs Rock Me Tonight (For Old Times Sake) and You Are My LadyCredit: Getty Images
Freddie’s family announced the sad news on his Instagram on Tuesday.
“It is with profound sadness and heavy hearts that we share the passing of our beloved Freddie Jackson, who went home to rest last night,” the post read alongside a photo of the iconic vocalist.
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“Freddie was more than a legendary voice. He was a kind, generous soul who loved his fans, his family, his friends, and his music with everything he had.
“For decades he gave us the songs that became the soundtrack to our love stories, our celebrations, and our most treasured memories. That gift will live on forever,” the caption continued.
“To everyone who ever sang along, danced, or felt something when Freddie took the stage: thank you. You were family to him, and he carried your love with him always.
“Please keep his family, friends, and loved ones in your prayers during this difficult time. Details regarding arrangements and how to honor his legacy will be shared in the coming days.”
The family concluded the post, writing, “Rest in peace, Freddie. Your legacy and your voice will live on forever.”
They did not reveal the artist’s cause of death.
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Fans shared their grief and condolences to Freddie’s loved ones in the comments.
“Another Legend Gone…Another Legacy left behind. This sucks! Grateful for the gift he shared with an unforgiving world,” professional wrestler Elijah Burke (Da Pope), wrote.
“Oh man Freddie one of. The true greats!!!! I had the pleasure of working on a song duet with him and Natalie Cole! Superb!” singer Narada Michael Walden added.
“Three days after his birthday. Rest well and Thank you for all the wonderful songs throughout the years here with us on earth,” a fan said.
The singer’s cause of death was not disclosedCredit: GettyThe vocalist released his newest album, My First Love, in May 2023Credit: Getty
“Awww man. Such a cool brother. So talented too ! One of the Greats,” chimed in a fourth.
“Heartbreaking news!!! Rest in Paradise Freddie,” a fifth echoed.
Freddie’s music career took off in the 1980s, with his chart-topping hits, You Are My Lady, Have You Ever Loved Somebody, and Jam Tonight.
The New York native kept performing until his death, singing his old hits and songs from his newest album, My First Love, released in May 2023.
He hit the stage in June for a performance at a winery in Philadelphia and was among the headliners at an 80s Night Concert in Fort Worth, Texas, in April, per his recent Instagram posts.
In one of Freddie’s latest posts, he thanked fans “for all the love” on his birthday and shared a photo of himself in a white suit.
