L.A

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This runoff election for an open seat features two veteran attorneys with extensive experience as public defenders: Justin Allen Clayton and Anna Slotky Reitano.

Clayton is in charge of the Inglewood branch of the public defenders office and has defended three cases with life sentences.

Reitano represented juvenile and adult clients, many of them accused of felonies, before joining the county counsel’s office.

The Los Angeles County Bar Assn. considers both qualified to serve. Here’s more of what you need to know about the candidates.

Justin Allen Clayton, L.A. County deputy public defender

Bar rating: Qualified

Clayton is a Los Angeles native who attended public schools, earned a bachelor’s degree in criminology and passed the bar in 2012. He joined the public defender’s office two years later and since 2023 has served as deputy in charge of the Inglewood branch.

Clayton describes himself as a “working supervisor” who conducts arraignments and represents clients at preliminary and other hearings. He has completed dozens of trials, including three with life sentences, according to his website.

The position involves overseeing and training attorneys, as well as law clerks and summer interns, on misdemeanor and felony case preparation and trial strategy.

Clayton said a priority is improving court efficiency through pretrial preparation and “firm but fair enforcement of deadlines.”

Time as a candidate, he said, has shown him the importance of effective communication within the court system in bridging language and cultural differences. He called that a guiding principle, particularly for clients who lack counsel.

“Sometimes, one additional question, or one additional statement, can make all the difference in resolving an issue,” he said.

Clayton said running a public defender branch office, which brings him in contact with judges, sheriffs, court clerks, interpreters and others, combined with 14 years as a trial attorney, gives him a “comprehensive understanding” of the courtroom.

“That combination of courtroom experience, leadership and daily interaction with the many people who make our justice system work has uniquely prepared me to serve as a Superior Court judge,” he said.

Anna Slotky Reitano, L.A. County deputy county counsel

Bar rating: Qualified

Reitano spent the early part of her career in criminal defense, contract law and other sectors. In 2014, she joined the L.A. County public defender’s office. A decade there included three years in juvenile court, where she primarily handled felony cases, and five years at the San Fernando Courthouse, where she represented indigent clients facing felony charges.

Reitano focused on mental health diversion and treatment, aiming to support rehabilitation when possible. Having a brother with schizophrenia and witnessing how families navigate the legal system when dealing with mental illness has informed her approach.

“This has given me a deeper understanding of both the challenges individuals and families face and the ways in which the system can fall short in addressing those needs,” she said.

This is not her first bid for office. She lost a campaign for a judgeship in 2022 and two years later assumed her position in the county counsel’s justice and safety division, where she supervises litigation and advises county departments.

Reitano, a former child actor, volunteers with local schools and, according to her website, mentors “future lawyers” through moot court competitions.

Campaigning, Reitano said, has shown her that constituents, no matter how different, uniformly want “a judge who is experienced, prepared, fair and willing to listen.”

“My experience across criminal, juvenile, civil, administrative and government law has uniquely prepared me to serve wherever the court needs me,” she said.

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This race for an open seat pits a former U.S. assistant attorney who represented President Obama, the FBI and NASA against a seasoned Los Angeles County public defender who has taken more than 100 trials, some with three-strikes implications, to verdict.

David DeJute, who defended Obama against the so-called birther claims, spent a decade as vice president of litigation at Sony Pictures Entertainment. He now works in litigation at a private firm.

Anthony “A.J.” Bayne’s background includes nearly two decades serving in the Compton Courthouse, where he for a time served as deputy in charge. He’s now handling serious felony cases at the Torrance branch.

DeJute is rated “qualified” to serve by the Los Angeles County Bar Assn. Bayne is rated a notch higher, “well qualified.”

Here’s what you need to know about the candidates.

Anthony “A.J.” Bayne, L.A. County deputy public defender

Bar rating: Well qualified

Bayne’s 31-year legal career includes more than a quarter-century as an L.A. County deputy public defender. He has taken more than 100 jury trials to verdict, including murder, special circumstances and three-strikes cases, some of which carried sentences of death or life in prison.

“Even during the [election] primary period, I continued taking cases to trial rather than continuing them, because my clients should not be prejudiced by unnecessary delay,” he said.

He spent 19 years at the Compton Courthouse, where for a time he served as deputy in charge, supervising misdemeanor trial deputies. He now is stationed in the Torrance branch, where he handles serious felonies.

Bayne is an inventor, with patent-pending applications for artificial intelligence tools that automate legal workflows. One helps with closing arguments; another uses court reporter transcripts to generate cross-examination questions.

Using AI to address the county’s heavy caseload is a priority. He argues the technology could modernize court infrastructure, aiding in case management, scheduling and document processing.

Bayne, who trains in jiujitsu and Krav Maga self-defense, said extensive jury trial experience has prepared him to be an effective judge.

“Wherever I go, people want the same things: a judge who is prepared and fair, who will listen to their side of the case, and who treats them with respect,” he said.

David DeJute, law professor/attorney

Bar rating: Qualified

The son of a late judge, DeJute has had a 35-year legal career. After graduating from law school, he clerked for a U.S. district judge and then worked at a boutique litigation firm. He spent nearly a decade as vice president of litigation at Sony Pictures Entertainment.

In 2005, he was appointed as an assistant U.S. attorney. Over more than a decade, he worked on 10 trials, including successfully defending President Obama against “birther” lawsuits that challenged his eligibility to hold office. DeJute represented the FBI and NASA in other cases.

He joined Michelman & Robinson in 2017 and is part of the complex litigation group.

An adjunct professor at Pepperdine’s Caruso School of Law, he’s taught ethics, antitrust, copyright and patent law. After last year’s wildfires, he returned as director of the disaster relief clinic, where he instructed students who provided pro bono legal services to victims of the Palisades and Eaton fires.

“I continue to provide free legal help to wildfire survivors who have asked me to stay involved,” he said, though he no longer runs the clinic.

DeJute said he has experienced discrimination as an openly gay man, which drives his desire to ensure that everyone in the justice system is treated with dignity and respect.

“Justice requires more than achieving certain results,” he said. “It requires a fair process untainted by bias.”

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This runoff for a vacant seat on the bench features a longtime public defender running against a veteran alternate public defender. Both boast extensive trial experience.

Donna Tryfman, a deputy public defender, serves in the major cases unit, where she handles homicide and other high-profile defendants. She also has extensive experience in juvenile cases.

David Ross is an alternate in the Torrance branch of the public defenders office and also works in Bellflower and Long Beach. He claims to have represented more than 10,000 clients at hearings and in trials.

The Los Angeles County Bar Assn. rates both attorneys as “qualified” for office. Here’s more of what you need to know about the candidates.

Donna Tryfman, L.A. County deputy public defender

Bar rating: Qualified

Tryfman began with the public defender’s office in 1998, logging more than 100 jury trials. Her experience includes supervising Eastlake Juvenile Court, where she ran a branch with 15 lawyers and represented clients in the collaborative drug court. She is stationed in the major cases unit, focusing on capital homicide litigation.

Tryfman has served as a Superior Court judge pro tem, handling traffic and small claims cases. She has proctored teen courts at Dorsey and Hamilton high schools and last year received the peer-bestowed Gideon felony attorney of the year award.

Conversations on the campaign trail have helped her understand what works and what doesn’t in the justice system.

“It has reinforced for me that experience and knowledge of the law matter enormously, but so does how people are treated when they walk into a courtroom,” she said.

Tryfman said the heavy caseload of a public defender has prepared her for the bench’s rigors. She also cited her life experience as the daughter of immigrants, a single mother and a widow who was faced with the decision of whether to discontinue life support for her husband.

“Experiences like that teach you something about responsibility, compassion and judgment that cannot be learned from a law book,” she said.

Outside the office, Tryfman spent five years as president of the California Public Defenders Assn. and chaired the Rent Stabilization Commission for the city of Beverly Hills. She has served as vice chair of the L.A. County Bar Assn.’s Conference of California Bar Assns., where she helps develop state legislative proposals.

David Ross, L.A. County deputy alternate public defender

Bar rating: Qualified

Ross has more than three decades in the legal field, but it was not his original calling. The Los Angeles native served as a legislative aide to the late U.S. Rep. Floyd Fithian (D-Ind.) on Capitol Hill, then worked as a television journalist and documentary producer in Washington, D.C., Tennessee and Kansas.

“I grew up wanting to be Peter Jennings, not Clarence Darrow,” he told The Times.

Ross passed the bar in 1994, joined the Riverside County public defender’s office the following year and began as a Los Angeles County deputy alternate public defender in 2000. He has litigated 113 jury trials, conducted more than 2,000 preliminary hearings and represented some 10,000 indigent clients. Assigned to the Torrance office since 2018, he also has worked in the Bellflower, Long Beach and Pomona branches, among others.

Ross, who lives in Long Beach, said he has spoken with more than 60 Democratic clubs, unions and other organizations on the campaign trail and frequently has heard a desire for qualified and independent judges who will listen to all sides.

A priority would be ensuring that even if a party loses, they walk out of the courthouse knowing the judge paid attention.

Ross said his mix of legal and life experience and his time as a journalist, in which he “listened to real people, gathered the facts and told objective stories,” provide a unique perspective.

Genres Book Society, a new bookshop coming to L.A., is hiding a few secrets. The first indication that something a bit fantastical is going on here is the fact that the boutique store has a mascot.

Look up upon entering the space, and you’ll meet Lore. Lore is a dragon, and this dragon is made of books. The striking sculpture will hover over a cozy space with modular bookshelves that are arranged on a floor covered in book quotes. Peer closely and you’ll see the quotes are designed in the shape of a tree.

A story is being built, a narrative that signifies that Genres aims to be not just a bookshop, but a place that feels like a real-life fairy tale. For this bookstore is also concealing a speakeasy of sorts, a secluded cafe and bar with multiple themed spaces and a two-story tree with glowing books growing out of its branches.

Stories, Genres is telling us, are life.

“This is for people who want to enter into story worlds,” says Ann Morrow Johnson of design firm Gensler. Johnson, a former creative with Walt Disney Imagineering, leads Gensler’s entertainment and experiences division, which is designing the bookshop.

She wants guests to feel transported into a fantasy universe, and understands how to make that happen. For instance? “Adding just a little bit of theatricality and sparkle helps create an invitation of suspension of disbelief,” she says.

Genres, on track to open in mid-2027 near the intersection of Melrose and Fairfax avenues, is tapping into a local trend of heavily designed thematic spaces with a penchant for fantasy. Think, for instance, of the Witch’s Cottage in North Hollywood, or the Last Canteen in the shadow of Universal Studios Hollywood. Consider it the latest evolution of the themed restaurant, and a way to bring the heavily theatrical worlds of theme parks closer to home. Johnson, for instance, says the firm’s research with the the Immersive Experience Institute has shown a hunger in younger generations to embrace spaces such as the Rainforest Cafe.

“People are seeking out a moment,” Johnson says. “Those more theatrical, highly scenic spaces are more likely to get you off your phone. Little moments of delight center you.”

Genres was dreamed up Clare Grant and Karissa Marston, who brought the project to Gensler and tapped them to lead its design. Grant, an actor/producer, says the idea came to her while experiencing the regret of missing a retreat hosted by her girlfriends, who had rented a cabin to read the latest edition in the fantasy “Crescent City” series.

“Just having a newborn, I was like, ‘Why can’t I go read this book in a fantasy-themed cabin?’ That’s literally my dream,” Grant says. “Then I started thinking about it. Why don’t I have something like this in Los Angeles, where I can pop in for an afternoon or evening where someone is handing me drinks and food in an immersive space?”

Marston, it turns out, who has experience in hospitality and marketing with an emphasis on fandom, was already dreaming of such a space. The two of them crafted a business plan for a bookstore, one that wouldn’t look out of place in a sword and sorcery fantasy novel, with a hidden speakeasy.

“I was in Paris, and I went to the Shakespeare bookstore, and it was truly the most magical experience I have ever had,” Marston says. “I walked in and felt so immersed in the books and the history and I went up to the second floor and sat up there and wept. I was like, ‘I never want to leave this place. I only ever want to feel this way and be surrounded by books and people who love books.’”

Their vision is grand. The bookstore, they hope, will become a gathering spot for authors in the fantasy and sci-fi realms. And they talk of the speakeasy as not just being a safe eatery to sit and read all day, but also a future venue for, say, immersive theater. The two-story space will house multiple themed rooms, either for hanging out and hiding, or for potential events.

“I think it’s safe to say that if you wanted to be transported to outer space, you would be pleasantly surprised,” Marston says. “Or if you wanted to escape to Dracula’s castle or some of these other really big genres that you have, readers will be pleasantly surprised at the worlds that we are building.”

Johnson says Genres will be flexible enough to welcome introverts who want to dream away the day with a book, but can also be a home for a baby shower in addition to an author signing or a theatrical event. That’s in part why the shop and ground floor of the speakeasy have a familiar fantasy vibe, one not out of place in, say, the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, albeit with the welcoming tone of Disney.

“The focal point of the space is this sort of epic woodland fantasy,” Marston says. “When we first brought this to Gensler, and showed them our inspo deck, we kept saying ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream.’”

That’s key, as everything in the space will spring from the written word. Genres, in that sense, also feels refreshing, emphasizing actual books and tactile media at a cultural moment when AI is often dominating conversations. Grant and Marston speak of being influenced by passionate social media creators who celebrate books, wanting to build a community as much as an event space. A prerequisite to be a bartender, says Marston, will need to be a love of books.

“We’re calling all our bartenders book-tenders,” Marston says. “Not only will they be well-versed in all things spirits and cocktails, but they are also someone who can give you the next book recommendation. These are very specialized employees. They can curate cocktails and books for you.”

Consider Genres a place for dinner and drinks, but one where story is always on the menu.

“People are craving more than dinner,” Grant says. “They want experience. They want magical memories that can get them through harder moments because nothing is easy right now. People want to spend money on something that is more than just dinner or going to a bar. Like whimsy.”

National treasure and musical icon “Weird Al” Yankovic may have once titled an album “Straight Outta Lynwood” to pay homage to the Los Angeles suburb where he was raised, but he’s lived in the same Hollywood Hills home since 2001, the year he married his wife Suzanne.

Though he says the two are “homebodies,” they do enjoy getting out and exploring L.A. When he was bored during the pandemic, Yankovic made it his mission to find the city’s best culinary offerings for categories like doughnuts and chocolate chip cookies. What else would you expect from the guy who made “Eat It”?

Yankovic gets most of his food recommendations by either word of mouth or scrolling Instagram reels. “I’ll see something that looks delicious and I’ll go, ‘Oh, where’s that?’” he says. “Sometimes it’s in Tokyo, but if it’s in L.A., I’ll make a note and maybe check it out sometime.”

When Yankovic spoke to us, he was wrapping up his Bigger & Weirder tour, which spanned two years and included 165 concerts. His last appearance of the year takes place on Halloween at the Greek Theatre. The one-time event will feature a showing of “UHF,” the 1989 cult classic film that he co-wrote and starred in, along with a live orchestral performance of its score conducted by John Du Prez, a Q&A session and surprise guests.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for length and clarity.

8 a.m.: Planning ahead for breakfast

I wake up, fall out of bed, drag a comb across my head. Then I find my way to the kitchen for a little breakfast.

My favorite breakfast treat is Courage Bagels. I wouldn’t actually go to Courage Bagels on a Sunday morning, so the standard protocol is every six to eight weeks I drive out there and just get a big bag full of assorted loosies, as we call them. Then I immediately go home and slice them in half and wrap them in cling wrap and put them in an airtight Ziploc baggie and throw them in the freezer.

Then whenever I want one, I just take it out, I sprinkle a little water on it, toast it, cover it with Violife vegan cream cheese, a little slice of tomato, a little onion, some fresh ground pepper, some Maldon salt, a little Graza drizzle and maybe a little lemon twist.

A lot of New Yorkers might say, ‘Oh, that’s not a real bagel’ — because it’s not a real New York bagel, they call it a Montreal-style bagel — but it’s what I like.

10 a.m.: Sunday service

I go to church. I don’t manage to go to church when I’m on the road, but when I’m at home, I do.

Noon: Old and newer favorites

After church, since I’m already out and about, I pick up a little lunch to go. If I’m in the mood for Indian, I’d probably go with Curry Kingdom on Santa Monica. It’s a really small hole-in-the-wall place with great food.

If I want Thai, I’d probably do Toi on Sunset, which is one of my old standbys. I’ve been going there for decades. I love the food. I love the funky rock ‘n’ roll vibe. We probably eat in more than we take out there. If I’m dining with the family, we try to get the low table in the back where you can sit on the floor. You’re not allowed to take off your shoes, they make that very clear.

1 p.m.: Members only

There’s honestly nothing better than a Sunday afternoon nap, so that would be a big attraction for me. But if there’s something cool playing at the Directors Guild or the Writers Guild, my wife and I love doing that. The DGA is maybe the best place in L.A. to actually watch a movie. I’ve had both of the movies that I’ve done in my life screened at the DGA and I’ve never seen them look better or sound better.

I am a member of the Directors Guild and the Writers Guild. I pay my dues, so I want to take advantage of that and see as many movies there as possible. And honestly, my wife and I will go there even if it’s a bad movie because we’re just entertained by seeing the illusion of motion created by a rapidly projected series of still images.

3 p.m.: All who wander

We might do a little of what we call tumbleweeding. That’s what we call rolling around town with no set destination in mind, just going wherever the wind blows us. We just get in the car and see where we wind up.

A lot of times we’ll wind up in Silver Lake or Little Tokyo. We love to stop there and grab a little mochi candy or matcha ice cream to keep us awake.

6 p.m.: Pizza or Postmates

By that point, we’re probably ready for dinner. I hesitate to plug them because it’s already virtually impossible to get reservations there, but Pizzeria Sei has absolutely the best pizza you can get west of New York City. Their Special Margherita’s my go-to. It’s Neopolitan-style with a bit of Japanese flair. My wife and I always comment after dinner that you can eat there until you’re absolutely stuffed and you never feel gross afterwards.

But again, reservations are hard to come by, so another good option is our favorite Mexican food place, which is the Gardens of Taxco. It was off of Santa Monica Boulevard for forever. Sadly it closed down a few years ago, but you can still order their food from Postmates. The only difference is now Jaime won’t be serenading you with “Bésame Mucho” while you’re eating your quesadilla.

8 p.m.: Choose your own post-dinner adventure

My wife and I just love staying home. We celebrate whenever plans get canceled, that kind of thing. So if we’re staying at home, sometimes we’ll just grab a blanket and go into the den and get cozy on the couch and binge something on our big TV. I’ve seen a lot of shows on the road and my wife will get jealous that I watched without her, so I’ll watch the whole series again at home with her.

If we feel more energetic, because I’m not really a gym guy, I do like to walk. My wife and I are trying to stay healthy together. We never really feel like exercising, but we force ourselves, so we will drive to Beverly Hills and do the walking path along Santa Monica Boulevard, which is quite lovely. It goes through a cactus garden. It’s also fun to FaceTime our daughter while we’re walking. She’s living on the Lower East Side in New York, but we talk to her pretty much every day, and that’s a nice time to touch base with her.

We’ll walk for a couple hours, and if we’re in the mood for a drink or a treat, we’ll head across the street to heytea or Go Greek. Go Greek is a big favorite of ours, and it’s crazy busy in the evenings, but it’s definitely worth waiting for.

And if we’re feeling social, something we absolutely love is doing a ding dong. Maybe that only makes sense to a small handful of people, but it’s basically a musical dinner party, and the one that we go to is full of really cool and talented people like Eric Idle, Peter Asher, Mike Geier (who’s Puddle’s Pity Party, who I’m touring with currently), and a bunch of other amazingly talented musicians. We all just bring our instruments and have a potluck dinner, and then we’ll just sit around in someone’s living room singing old Beatles songs all night long. It’s the absolute best. It’s one of those things I can’t believe I get to do.

Late night: Rock ‘n’ roll hours

Right now, I’m sort of on my rock ‘n’ roll schedule, I tend to stay up pretty late at night anyway, and my wife has got a more normal schedule. If we can go to bed at the same time, that’s great, but if not, my wife will head to the bedroom and I’ll stay in the den with my headphones on and I’ll play video games until the wee morning hours. When I finally get tired of shooting people in the face, then I’ll snuggle in next to her and fall asleep.

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Dozens of groups have lined up behind the proposal, including the Trust for Public Land, TreePeople, Friends of the Los Angeles River and many others. At City Hall, the measure is backed by Rodriguez and several other council members as well as City Controller Kenneth Mejia.

Rodriguez and Mejia signed the ballot argument in favor of Charter Amendment PRK, as did Rev. Gregory Boyle, founder of Homeboy Industries, Nicole Chase, president and chief executive of the Boys & Girls Club of the San Fernando Valley, and several others.

Backers of the measure say the parks department provides an essential safety net for the city’s low-income residents, offering summer camps, sports activities and senior programs for free or at reduced prices.

When temperatures soar, the city’s recreation centers welcome residents who lack air conditioning. During emergencies, those facilities are converted into places of refuge from fires, floods or other disasters.

Despite those varied responsibilities, the department has been underfunded for years, said Tori Kjer, executive director of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust, who pushed for the measure to reach the ballot.

“If you talk to many Angelenos, they are unhappy with their local park, and that is because we have not funded it with the resources it needs,” she said.

Kjer said the department never recovered from the 2008 recession, when city leaders cut staffing by more than 25%, leaving it with about 1,500 workers last year. The city also began charging the department for the cost of water, electricity, trash pickup and other city services.

On a blazing hot Silver Lake morning, ushering in yet another heatwave day, Anna Holmes and I say “no” to a steamy sidewalk table at Millie’s Cafe, opting instead for an indoor, air-conditioned spot. Our server reads our order back to us, shaking his head in theatrical disbelief. “Pancakes. French toast. Biscuit. Waffle with whipped cream.” He glances from one of us to the other. “No protein?” he asks. “Just the carbs?”

“I guess I’ll have some egg whites, too,” I cave. Not so my brunch companion who confirms, “Just the carbs.” Holmes grins, “I’m not a fan of fad diets that make women hate ourselves.”

In fact, Holmes has built a career of saying “no” to woman-hating of all kinds — starting in 2007, when she founded the boundary-pushing feminist website Jezebel, the sister site of the notoriously provocative Gawker. “I decided that NO would be our mantra of sorts,” she writes in her new book, “The Power of No: A Celebration.” “‘No’ to diet tips, ‘no’ to sexist gossip, ‘no’ to conspicuous consumption. We drove the point home again and again … creating new definitions and examples of what it means to be female.”

Raised in a biracial, working-class family in Davis, Calif., Holmes escaped to New York at 18, chasing her writer’s dream. “Davis was a safe, homogenous little town,” she tells me, spearing one of the sliced strawberries fanned prettily across her waffle. “Being Black, I wasn’t one of the homogenies. I couldn’t wait to get out.”

Accepted by several top universities, Holmes said ‘yes’ to New York University. “They gave me money,” she explains. “And they had a journalism school.” After graduating, Holmes grabbed a rung on the media ladder and started climbing: writing and editing for Glamour, InStyle and Entertainment Weekly. Holmes published her first book, “Hell Hath No Fury: Women’s Letters from the End of the Affair,” featuring a collection of breakup letters from the likes of Anaïs Nin, Charlotte Brontë and Sylvia Plath, in 2002.

“So, you’ve always been a slacker,” I say.

Holmes laughs. “I come by my drive honestly. It stems from my fear of failure. And growing up lower-middle class, without the kinds of connections the wealthier kids had.”

Next came the breakthrough media success of Jezebel. Her project quickly reached 10 million monthly views, exceeding Gawker’s. But the bold irreverence that drew droves of devoted readers to Jezebel brought contention, too. In June 2010, Jezebel reported that women’s exclusion from senior positions at “The Daily Show” — which the article called a “boys’ club” — was “frustrating and alienating” for women. The story earned an on-air mention by Jon Stewart, who announced “Jezebel thinks I’m a sexist prick” — and an open letter signed by more than 30 female “Daily Show” employees, refuting Jezebel’s allegations.

Weeks later, under the header “How feminist blogs like Jezebel gin up page views by exploiting women’s worst tendencies,” former Gawker employee Emily Gould wrote in Slate, “When Jezebel was founded, it proposed itself as an explicit alternative to traditional women’s magazines … but the easiest way for Jezebel writers to be provocative is to stoke readers’ insecurities — just in a different way.”

Holmes says some Jezebel haters were anti-feminist or far-right. “Others were politically aligned with Jezebel, but felt we were too pop-culture-focused. Some accused us of being snarky to other women,” she adds.

After three years, Holmes resigned. “I’d done what I went to Jezebel to do,” she says. “Also, the 14-hour workdays were threatening my marriage, my sanity and my health. I was smoking too much. Drinking too much. Gaining weight.”

Holmes said a final goodbye to her creation in 2013 by publishing “The Book of Jezebel: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Lady Things.” Despite — and because of — having founded one of the internet’s most provocative publications, she helped lift up journalists, and journalism, in her wake.

“I would follow Anna off of a cliff, professionally and personally,” says Reyhan Harmanci, Wired’s editorial director, who reported to Holmes at Topic magazine a decade ago. “She channels her curiosity in a way that opens the world to readers.”

Former Gawker editor A.J. Daulerio also lights up at the mention of Holmes’ name. “If you look back at Anna’s history of finding and developing talent, you can see her impact. Writers who’ve worked with and for her can be found on podcasts, on mastheads at major publications and on bestseller lists.” Meanwhile, New York magazine’s Emily Gould, who wrote the biting Slate critique of Jezebel in 2010, has come to admire Holmes. “Nobody’s right 100% of the time,” Gould says, “especially when publishing around the clock and reacting to news as it unfolds. My current sense of Anna is that she’s genuinely brave, clear-sighted and wise. I’m eager to read her new book.”

Post-Jezebel, Holmes wrote the “Bookends” column for the New York Times Book Review. Her byline grew a few picas when she replaced Roxane Gay as editor of the Times’ popular “Work Friend” column. Having “made it there,” Holmes decided to leave New York.

“I never considered myself a New Yorker,” she says, stirring a foam flower into her latte. “When people asked, I’d say, ‘I’m from California but I live in New York.’”

While deliberating about where to go next, Holmes says, “I got a job offer with the Obamas’ production company in L.A.”

“The Obamas?” I blurt. Holmes nods. “I was tired of New York. And wanting to be closer to my elderly mom.” In the first week of the COVID shutdown, Holmes packed her two hissing black cats, donned an N95 mask and flew to LAX. Six years later, after several moves around town, she shares the upper half of a sun-splashed 1920s duplex with Ewok and Harriet.

“I didn’t have a writing community in New York and I don’t have one here,” Holmes says about her L.A. move. “I had a media community in New York. If that exists here, I’m not invited to those parties.” She cocks her head. “Every once in a while, I wonder, ‘Does Susan Orlean have regular salons? And if so, can I please go?’”

Holmes continues to settle into a slower, more domestic groove. “I’m 53 now,” she says. “I don’t want to go out all the time. I like going to bed early. All the cliches are true of me: moving from NYC to L.A. and ending up in Silver Lake — with a Volvo, no less. In my defense, I dress like a tomboy, I don’t have tattoos and I’ve never been to Bar Stella.”

Since her big move, Holmes has written “The Power of No” and is finishing up her fourth book, a sexual memoir. Her articles on wildly divergent topics continue to appear in the New York Times, the New Yorker, the Atlantic and L.A. Material.

“The Power of No” is a slim but impactful guide to the human dance between yes and no; vulnerability and ambition. The book consists of readily digestible yet smart, sophisticated bits, including quotes from luminaries, research findings, anecdotes from Holmes’ own life and others, practical tips, and lists like “Ways to Say No” (which is especially helpful to have on hand during the upcoming holiday season).

“No,” Holmes writes on Page 1: “As uttered by a woman, a provocation. Has there ever been a more fraught relationship between women and word?” By way of example, she cites what she calls “my biggest NO, my strongest rejection of what was expected of me as a woman: founding Jezebel.”

“Has writing about ‘no’ made you better at saying it?” I ask Holmes.

“I don’t purport to be good at it,” she answers. “But I’m more cognizant now of wanting to say it, at least.”

Maran, author of “The New Old Me” and other books, lives in Silver Lake.

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Six weeks into the NFL season and Chargers versus the Kansas City Chiefs pits a winless team against an unbeaten one. Last season, when the Chargers swept the Chiefs, feels like a lifetime ago.

This game might not be as lopsided as it appears, considering these teams know each other so well. But these are rough times for the Chargers, who are still missing their two starting tackles and All-Pro safety Derwin James Jr. What’s more, it has been a terrible start for Justin Herbert, who has five touchdowns, seven interceptions, an anemic passer rating of 70.2 and has been sacked 17 times.

Conversely, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is on a roll despite returning from last season’s devastating knee injury. He has nine touchdowns, two interceptions, a 106.2 rating and six sacks — almost two-thirds fewer than Herbert.

A big battle for Los Angeles will be on defense, as the Chargers have done a good job against the run and are facing Kansas City’s Kenneth Walker III, who has rushed for 537 yards at an average of 6.2 yards per carry.

After the L.A. mayoral debate on NBC4 ended Tuesday, reporters rushed downstairs to a courtyard hoping to speak with the candidates or their surrogates.

Speaking for Mayor Karen Bass were Councilmember Monica Rodriguez and State Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur (D-Los Angeles). On the other side, speaking for Councilmember Nithya Raman, the sole spin doctor was Controller Kenneth Mejia.

“What Councilmember Nithya Raman did up there was show a better path, a better vision for what this city could be,” Mejia told reporters outside the NBC4 and Telemundo52 studios in Universal City.

Mejia isn’t just listed as Raman’s top endorser on her campaign website. He’s also her biggest cheerleader, and the only elected official at City Hall publicly supporting her mayoral bid. (Raman’s camp has contended throughout the campaign that endorsements are not necessarily a sign of how the electorate is feeling.)

Of all the elected officials out there, Mejia is an obvious ally for a politician like Raman who has been somewhat ostracized at L.A. City Hall since she announced her candidacy in February. Not a single council member — even her three fellow comrades in the Democratic Socialists of America — has endorsed Raman’s candidacy.

“When you’re in office, once you learn how status quo works and how to game it, you don’t want to change it,” Mejia told The Times, referring to the three DSA council members supporting Bass.

As for Mejia, he doesn’t mind being on the outside.

“It’s been lonely since I’ve been here [at City Hall],” he said.

“People have told me, ‘Kenneth you ruined your political career by endorsing Nithya,’” he said. “I’m honored to be the only one endorsing her … Karen Bass said the political establishment doesn’t like Nithya and I said, ‘So? I won by bucking political establishment.’”

Mejia has turned into an attack dog for Raman over the past few weeks. After endorsing her in July, he has showed up at news conferences with her and posts sometimes multiple times per day on social media supporting her or attacking the mayor.

One reason for his endorsement is that Bass declined to consent to Mejia performing an audit into her signature homelessness program Inside Safe.

Raman, meanwhile, has said she’ll open the books to Mejia.

If Raman wins, she will have a formidable City Hall ally in Mejia, who has not been shy about using social media to attack an assortment of political targets in and outside city government. On Friday, he announced that he had issued subpoenas to LA28, the private Olympic organizing committee, demanding financial records on the planning for the 2028 Games.

A vote, but no endorsement

Fourteen members of the Los Angeles City Council have endorsed Bass (yes, that includes Raman, who subsequently decided to challenge the incumbent).

The sole holdout on the council, Traci Park, made her allegiances — soft as they may be — abundantly clear Wednesday at a town hall in Pacific Palisades when she said she would be voting for Bass but not endorsing her.

“I want some change too,” Park said, addressing her constituents about the mayor’s race. “But the alternative does not actually get us where we want to be. I think it actually impedes our progress.”

“I have deep concerns about the leadership and effectiveness of both candidates. I have personally been deeply frustrated and angry with our current mayor. We have tangled on some major policy issues. But always respectfully.”

Park said that as difficult as things may be now, they could get worse if Raman were elected.

The council member, who represents a large swath of L.A.’s Westside, said she is “very, very concerned” about a Raman mayoralty.

Park represents the Palisades, where the Palisades fire burned last year, destroying thousands of homes and killing 12 people.

Park told The Times in an interview that an endorsement of Bass would have represented “an affirmative statement of support earned based on agreement with someone’s records or positions or accomplishments.”

But Bass is someone Park can work with, the council member told The Times.

“I cannot say the same thing about Nithya Raman. That’s the problem. She doesn’t work with others. I think that deep frustration with her unwillingness to collaborate with others is reflected in the fact that no other council members at all are endorsing her,” Park said.

Bass goes to Ramanland

Bass went hard after Raman at this week’s NBC4/Telemundo 52 debate, accusing her of neglecting constituents in her district, which stretches from Silver Lake to the San Fernando Valley. She pushed even harder the following morning, appearing with some of those dissatisfied residents and business owners in Sherman Oaks.

Standing outside the Valley Inn Restaurant and Martini Bar, Bass said she reached out to Raman early on as mayor to warn her that some of her Valley constituents had contacted the mayor’s office to voice unhappiness with Raman. Bass said she told Raman she was going to meet with them.

“She essentially said to me that … she knew that they didn’t like her, that it was a feeling that was mutual, and to have at it if I want,” Bass said. “To me, I thought that was a strange way to respond.”

Raman spokesperson Liz Garcia denounced Bass’ comments as “bizarre and simply not true,” saying her boss has maintained positive relationships with her constituents. In a statement, she pointed to recent polling that showed Raman with an 8-point lead in the Valley.

“Nithya’s results in her district help explain why: She has reduced encampments, tents and RVs by 70% in her district over the past three years, helped businesses succeed, protected tenants, installed traffic safety upgrades and improved quality of life for residents,” Garcia said.

Raman has been pushing back against the mayor’s claims in other ways, noting that two-thirds of voters in the June 2 primary chose someone other than the incumbent.

During this week’s debate, Raman criticized Bass for boasting that she had given Sherman Oaks residents her personal cell number, saying it showed that regular government operations are dysfunctional.

Standing outside the martini bar, Bass acknowledged that her own staffers aren’t always happy about her generosity with her cell number. But things were worse when she was a member of Congress, she said.

“My cellphone was on my business card,” Bass said.

State of play

— BLOW FOR BLOW: The gloves came off in the final debate between Bass and Raman this week, with the two candidates trading verbal jabs over public safety, the Palisades fire and the fate of Police Chief Jim McDonnell. Meanwhile, here’s who three L.A. Times columnists believe won the debate.

— A MOVING TARGET: Raman has shifted her position on police hiring, public safety spending, the so-called mansion tax and other issues, causing some to question what she stands for. Raman has defended her various policy shifts, saying she made them after receiving new information or recognizing changed circumstances.

— CHIEF AMONG THEM: Raman and Bass have diverged over whether to keep Chief McDonnell. Raman said she would replace the chief if she becomes mayor, although she offered mixed messages on the timing. Bass said that McDonnell’s replacement before the 2028 Olympics could throw the LAPD into turmoil.

— GATES-GATE: Bass denounced Raman for saying the “gold standard” for the LAPD’s noncooperation with immigration enforcement took place during the tenure of former police chief Daryl Gates. Bass suggested Raman is not in touch with the city’s Black community, while Raman said the mayor had deliberately twisted her words.

— HOPE FOR HOUSING: Both Bass and Raman have been talking up their work on housing affordability. Bass said her administration has fast-tracked tens of thousands of units of affordable housing, while Raman has boasted of her success in enacting the strongest tenant protections in L.A. in 40 years.

— FIGHTING FRAUD: Los Angeles County voters are concerned about a host of voter fraud issues that could disrupt the Nov. 3 general election, even though they have a high degree of confidence in local elections officials, according to a new poll funded by the nonprofit California Community Foundation.

QUICK HITS

• Where is Inside Safe? The mayor’s signature program did not have an operation this week.
• On the docket next week: The final, pre-election campaign finance statements are due in Los Angeles runoff contests on Thursday.

Stay in touch

That’s it for this week! Send your questions, comments and gossip to LAontheRecord@latimes.com. Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Saturday morning.

A spectacular run that included back-to-back World Series championships and delivered unforgettable memories ended with a whimper for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday.

The Milwaukee Brewers, humiliated by the Dodgers last year in a four-game sweep, returned the favor at Chavez Ravine, defeating L.A., 6-4, in the National League Championship Series. The loss eliminated the Dodgers and ended their run at a vaunted three-peat, or three consecutive titles.

No North American sports franchise can claim such an accomplishment since the Shaq- and Kobe Bryant-led Lakers from 2000 to 2002.

How did a team of All-Stars fall short? Our sports team delivered tremendous coverage that answers that question and many more.

Columnist Bill Plaschke wrote how a team with seemingly every advantage fell short, beat writer Maddie Lee documented what led to the demise, while columnist Bill Shaikin provided updates to several questions on the team’s future. The devoted fans of the Boys in Blue have also had a chance to react.

Let’s sample some of their in-depth reporting.

Shohei Ohtani’s declining health was too much to overcome

Plaschke wrote that the single biggest reason the Dodgers didn’t three-peat centered on the health of designated hitter and pitcher Shohei Ohtani.

The owner of four MVP trophies, Ohtani began the season with a goal of also winning the Cy Young Award. So he focused on pitching, and he pitched well, going 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA in 14 starts.

Then he injured his knee, but he still pitched, long past when he should have been pitching, said Plaschke. He was finally pulled off the mound in early July, but by then he had also injured his elbow and his offense suffered because he was so worried about the pitching. It was at this point the Dodgers should have shut him down entirely, given him a month off to ensure he would be ready for October, according to Plaschke.

But no. Ohtani insisted he was fine even though his plummeting batting numbers said otherwise. When he was finally placed on the injured list in early September, Plaschke said it was too late, and he entered the playoffs as a shell of his former great self.

An autopsy reveals much

Lee agreed with third baseman Max Muncy when he said, “The train finally ran out of steam, I guess.”

A major aspect of the challenge of winning three straight is simply workload. The Dodgers not only have played more games than any other team the last two years, but their schedule has included grueling travel.

The Dodgers started both the 2024 and 2025 seasons early and overseas, playing in the Seoul Series and Tokyo Series in consecutive years. And both years ended with coast-to-coast travel for the World Series, as the Dodgers won titles over the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays.

The team’s collective age — the oldest lineup in the majors this year, according to Baseball Reference, weighted by at-bats and games played — may not have helped.

Cap concerns

Shaikin wrote about a lockout expected this winter as Major League Baseball owners attempt to implement a salary cap, which limits the amount of money a team can spend on player salaries.

The owners initially proposed a salary cap of $245 million for next year. The Dodgers already have $347 million committed to 14 players next year, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts.

Under a cap, the owners have promised a transition period to account for existing commitments, and an actual negotiated cap could be higher, said Shaikin.

Even if the players do not agree to a cap — and they insist they won’t — whatever economic system emerges from collective bargaining would likely make it painful for the Dodgers to spend so freely, according to Shaikin.

What some Dodgers fans are saying

Most baseball teams create a now well-anticipated “thank you fans” social media post after the conclusion of a season.

Passionate fans use the post as a sounding board for everything that ails them about their favorite teams. Just look at the “thank you fans” X posts from the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies laced with profanities and vitriol fiercer than any East Coast nor’easter.

But on Friday, Dodgers fans were gracious and supportive on the fan appreciation post on X.

“Thank you for the great run over the last three years. Let’s come back stronger,” wrote one user.

“Thank you for the ride,” another tweet noted. “We’ll be back next year!”

The week’s biggest stories

Southern California wildfires

Olympics and sports news

Crime, courts and protests

More news

Editor’s pick

More picks

Things to do

• 🎭The world premiere play “Bobby Robotowitz” brings AI questions into your living room — literally — with performances on the Eastside and Westside.
• 👀 The 10 biggest revelations of Nathan Fielder’s new Elizabeth Holmes documentary, ‘You Can See Everything.’
• 🍽️ For many, like the preservationists pushing to save Santa Monica’s Mel’s Drive-In, the mere thought of demolishing the iconic restaurant is offensive. Eating there was certainly on the bingo card for columnist LZ Granderson when he and his son first drove across the Southwest decades ago, and it continues to be a favorite breakfast spot of theirs.

Today’s recipe

Many meatballs are made with a panade, often a mixture of white bread soaked in milk, which lends moisture to the final meatballs. For these lamb meatballs, cooking editor Cody Reiss decided to make his panade out of ingredients that felt more in-line with the mutabbal he was serving them with. He ended up using a mixture of leftover pita bread and labneh (drained yogurt). The resulting meatballs were moist, herby, spiced, seasoned, spicy and just a joy to eat.

Photo of the day

Games

Here’s today’s mini crossword, plus our other free, daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and jigsaw games.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Jack Dolan, investigative reporter
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, Fast Break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew J. Campa, weekend writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com. Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.

Cameron Winter had one last knife to twist for the Dodger faithful in the audience at Hollywood Forever on Thursday night.

“My husband lost everything but the kitchen sink, because he spent it all on DraftKings,” Winter deadpanned during the band’s closing hit “Trinidad,” where he typically sneers ad-libs about domestic nihilism. “He bet everything on the Dodgers, and they f—ing lost.”

The crowd cracked up in grim commiseration (as a Mets fan, Winter could probably sympathize). It felt cathartic when he hit that song’s freaked-out chorus — “There’s a bomb in my car!” — in a hail of guitar noise.

Geese had an atypical, if kind of old-fashioned, run on the hype train for a young rock band. Structured around Winter’s twitchy, stentorian vocals with contortions of feedback and meditative jams, the New York City quartet is, to paraphrase something Brian Eno said about My Bloody Valentine, “The vaguest music ever to have been a hit.” A group rooted both in Sonic Youth’s avant-garde pedal squalling and haunted, pre-Beatles rock ’n’ roll, they can still play “Saturday Night Live” and get its frontman a luscious prestige concert doc filmed at Carnegie Hall directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.

That sudden ascent, for a band spiritually in league with the Velvet Underground and Suicide, led some to wonder what exactly happened behind the social media scenes to get them there (one conspiratorial phrase got thrown around in particular). Geese were always an odd band to pin to anxieties about fabricated culture — if a label had resources and abilities to manufacture stars, why not do it for a 100x-hyperscaling pop act instead? But if they didn’t have the goods after three LPs so far, they’d fade out soon enough.

At Hollywood Forever, Geese showed they did indeed have the mettle to run their scabrous noise into arenas. Much has been made of Winter’s idiosyncratic star power, and as an extremely tall, wet-dog-handsome instrumental virtuoso with a one-of-a-kind voice and just enough self-aware wit and lacerating lyricism to keep it relatable, that’s indisputable.

But Geese is also a band, in the sense that every musician matters to a distinct aesthetic. I was just as compelled by guitarist Emily Green’s swells of reversed reverbs and sad-eyed, contrapuntal melodies, or drummer Max Bassin’s patience in building moods before firing off a relentless, redlining backbeat halfway between outlaw country and krautrock. Bassist Dominic DiGesu brought gnarled ballast to everything, and even touring keyboardist Sam Revaz added texture and levity (what was up with that twenty-second, heavily filtered sample of Randy Newman’s “I Love L.A.” halfway through “2122”?)

Last year’s LP “Getting Killed” raised the stakes formidably, both for the band’s fame and their songwriting prowess. From “Long Island City Here I Come” onward, the band were merciless but measured in their attack. The slinky, lurching “Husbands,” “Islands of Men” and frantic “Bow Down” sounded meaner and more electric than on the record. “Au Pays du Cocaine” hit even more mournful and lonesome in an actual cemetery — “You can stay with me, and just pretend I’m not there” never felt so apropos.

A few tracks from 2023’s “3D Country” like “Cowboy Nudes” and “Gravity Blues” showed their insouciant Americana streak — you can easily imagine Bruce Springsteen getting wind of another grimy New York noise-rock act to champion. To judge from the lines of young, very devoted fans snaking around the cemetery, Geese has already built the requisite subculture to thrive longer-term. In decades past, some greasy label dude would probably tell them to go write a real hit next. These days, what they’re doing now already feels like one.

Winter will have some tough choices about how to balance both Geese and his regal piano-centric solo career (his late 2024 solo LP “Heavy Metal” is fantastic, and captivated no less an authority than PTA himself). You can see why Olivia Rodrigo wanted to get dinner with him. But for the next couple of nights in L.A., a genuinely beguiling and astringent new rock band is at the height of its powers and has captured the zeitgeist. Savor that.

Karina Longworth loves Los Angeles for all its quirks and charms.

Born and raised in the San Fernando Valley, the film critic, author and journalist has made a career out of celebrating her city. Her podcast “You Must Remember This,” about “the secret and/or forgotten histories of Hollywood’s first century,” has spent 21 seasons diving into the intricacies of the movie industry, from lauded stars to undersung production designers. (Its new season, “The Bisexuals,” tells the story of singer turned actor Libby Holman, whose love life would later intersect with the now-famously queer screen star Montgomery Clift.)

She’s also fiercely loyal to the hangouts and haunts she grew up frequenting.

“Until they closed down three or four years ago, my favorite Indian restaurant was this place in Studio City on Ventura Place called Gangadin,” she says. “That was the only place I would order from, and I have not been able to find an Indian spot that I like since just because I’m comparing it to Gangadin, which probably wasn’t even the most authentic or the best. It’s just what I had been eating for 30 years.”

Here’s how Longworth would spend her perfect Sunday in L.A., from a stroll down Mulholland Drive to grabbing a cup of frozen yogurt with a cinematic spin.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

9 a.m.: Get up and grab a latte

I try to sleep as late as possible, but the older I get, the harder it is to actually sleep in. Ideally on a perfect Sunday, I would sleep until 9. It doesn’t always happen, but I try.

My favorite place to get coffee in L.A. is Kings Road Cafe. I’ve been going there since the ‘90s, and I still think they have the best coffee in Los Angeles. It’s very strong and they give you a large portion, and I find that you rarely get both of those things in L.A. (I like a coffee that can last me multiple hours.) I’ll usually get an almond milk latte — iced if it’s warm out, hot if it’s not.

10 a.m.: A Laurel Canyon hike

Probably what I’d do next is go over to Laurel Canyon. I built my recording studio in a tiny house at the end of a cul-de-sac in Laurel Canyon a few years ago, and I really like hiking around there. So I’d drive up, park there, and then walk up Laurel Pass to the Nancy Hoover Pohl Overlook.

The first half of that walk is really tough because it’s just straight uphill until you get to Mulholland, but I like it because it’s not a hiking trail, so it’s not dusty and there aren’t that many people. There’s an element of solitude and quiet to it, and I love that the end of it is all downhill so you can just kind of run down and get it over with.

Growing up in the Valley, I always romanticized Mulholland Drive, which was always quote-unquote “over the hill.” There’s something about manifesting and then realizing my ideal adult life that I can come to understand by standing at the overlook and looking at the other side, remembering when I dreamed of living where I do now.

In the ‘80s and ‘90s, the Valley wasn’t what it is now. There wasn’t an Alfred Coffee or anything like that. It was a few years behind the times compared to Hollywood or Beverly Hills, where all the cool stuff that I wanted to do was usually happening. All the good record stores, all the good bookstores and movie theaters.

I used to go to the Silent Movie Theater when I was a teenager or the Beverly Cinema, which is now the New Beverly. I’d go to the Nuart all the time, too. I saw a lot of important movies at the Sunset Five, which is now called the Landmark Sunset [Hollywood] and isn’t going to be showing the 2026 equivalent of “Gummo.” I think being in the Valley just felt like being in the Los Angeles version of suburbia and so it was like, “I’ve got to get out of here and go to where things are actually happening.”

11:30 a.m.: An old favorite

After that walk, I’ll go back to my place in Laurel Canyon to have a shower and get dressed and then it’s off to Art’s Deli on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City, which is a place that I’ve been going to since 1987. I had friends that worked there in high school, too, so I was there almost every day having matzo ball soup and coffee.

There used to be a lot more really good delis in L.A. My favorite actually was Solley’s in Sherman Oaks, where I used to go with my grandfather. I’ve never had white fish salad that’s better than what they had at Solley’s, but Art’s Deli is good, too. I really like their knishes, or I’ll get a half-sandwich and soup. I’d probably do turkey on rye with mustard, but with coleslaw and Russian dressing on the side so I can add small amounts when I want. That and a cup of split pea soup.

1 p.m.: Sweet treats

Ideally after lunch, I’ll get dessert at Humphrey Yogart. It’s sort of a funny joke that I’ve become this classic movie person and there’s this frozen yogurt place inspired by the name Humphrey Bogart, but I’ve actually been eating Humphrey Yogart since before I knew who Humphrey Bogart was.

They take frozen yogurt — sweet or tart — add mix-ins, and then put it in this crazy blender that’s like a giant drill with a handle that comes down. I like to do sort of a fake Cherry Garcia with cherries and some kind of nut, but they also have an option called Killer Chocolate where they take plain tart yogurt and add a dark chocolate syrup, which I really like. I’ll add orange and espresso to that, and sometimes I’ll have them put sprinkles on top because sprinkles are amazing.

2 p.m.: Movie magic

I love to go to the movies. On Sundays at the Los Feliz Three, they do something called “Sunday Print Edition” where they show a 35mm print and have somebody come and talk about it, which is always cool. Or if there’s a festival happening at the Egyptian or something I wanted to see at Vidiots, maybe I’d do that.

I think the Egyptian is probably my favorite movie theater in L.A. It’s historic, it’s beautiful inside, and I find that the projection and programming are both very good. It’s also close to where I live so that’s convenient and, assuming they’re open, you can go have a drink or food at Musso and Frank after, which is perfect.

4 p.m.: Dodgers and drinks

Usually on Sundays, the Dodgers play at 1 o’clock, but if it’s a nationally broadcast game sometimes it’ll be on at 4 o’clock. If that’s the case, then I’d like to go to Colombo’s to sit at the bar, have a drink, and watch some of the game.

I think I’d have either a vodka martini, a Manhattan on the rocks, or maybe a glass of wine. Colombo’s is my favorite place to watch a Dodger game that’s not a sports bar. I don’t really love sports bars anyway, but if it’s a big World Series game maybe I’d go somewhere in Koreatown that’s more sporty to watch. But for sitting in a dark bar to watch an hour and a half of a game while you have one or two drinks, Colombo’s is perfect.

6 p.m. Dinner at Da Prato

Right now, I really like Da Prato, which is run by this chef Elisa Da Prato, and she’s calling it a supper club. It’s in this strange almost-loft space on 2nd Street downtown, and I’ve been there three times since early July. Each time it’s gotten busier and busier, too, so I think word of mouth is growing.

She just makes very beautiful traditional but artistically done Italian food. Everything is homemade, and it’s very L.A., but at the same time, it feels like you stumbled into some small place in an alleyway in Rome because it’s informal and they only have a small staff. It’s such a great experience, but you have to think of it in a European way because it’s not a place where you’re going to get in and out in 45 minutes. You’re going to have several courses, you’re going to linger over your food, order a couple bottles of wine, and everything’s going to be very relaxed and wonderful.

If I can’t go to Da Prato or if I need a more “special occasion” place, I’d do Jacaranda, which was started by chef Daniel Patterson and his wife, Sarah Lewitinn. I’ve been internet friends with Sarah for 15 to 20 years, so I went a couple times when they were doing it as a pop-up in their house, and now I’ve gone once since they opened the official restaurant. I’m not normally a tasting menu person because some places it can feel like too much food, but Daniel’s cooking is so phenomenal and you can absolutely manage to eat all 12 courses without feeling like you want to die.

10 p.m.: Skincare and sleep

After dinner, I’d head home and maybe take a little walk to burn off dinner a bit. Otherwise, it’s time for my nighttime routine, which is boring middle-aged lady stuff like skincare and taking magnesium. I try to be asleep by 10, but oftentimes the only time I really have to read a novel or to read for pleasure is in the 10 minutes before bed. So I’ll read a physical book or my Kindle or put on a show that I’ve seen 1,000 times if I just need something to fall asleep.

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.

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.

“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.

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.

2. A canyon hike with incredible views

Dunsmore Canyon & Le Mesnager Loop Trail
Distance: 2.6 miles
Elevation gained: About 800 feet
Difficulty: Moderate
Dogs allowed? Yes
Accessible alternative: Stough Canyon Fire Trail with Action Trackchair AXIS 40

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.

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!

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

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.

Los Angeles County voters are concerned about a host of voter fraud issues that could disrupt the Nov. 3 general election, even though they have a high degree of confidence in local elections officials, according to a new poll funded by the nonprofit California Community Foundation.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents expressed concern that false rumors and misleading information online could confuse voters or make them believe that their vote won’t count, the poll found. Other top concerns included politicians interfering with the election and mail-in ballots getting lost, stolen or delayed.

Still, most of the voters surveyed expressed confidence in the county’s handling of election proceedings, with 68% saying L.A. County does an excellent or good job at running elections and counting ballots.

Once presented with information about how the county handles elections, that number rose to 72%. Around three-quarters of respondents also believe that the upcoming election will be fair, secure and accurate, the poll found.

The online poll was conducted from Sept. 30 to Oct. 6 by Tulchin Research, a San Francisco-based public opinion firm. It surveyed 500 voters in L.A. County considered likely to cast ballots in the Nov. 3 election and has a margin of error of 4.4%.

“Voters feel good about the local officials running their elections. So, reinforcing the fact that that is who’s in charge of the election and how the process works is reassuring to folks,” said Ben Tulchin, the polling company’s president. “It … reduces their anxiety about some of the outside criticism that California, L.A. County faces.”

The poll was funded by the California Community Foundation, which awards millions of dollars in grants to local charitable groups, to support the “A Count You Can Trust Coalition,” an initiative aimed at enhancing trust in local elections.

Recent polling has suggested that potential federal interference in the Nov. 3 election is a top concern statewide for California voters. The local poll was administered to shed light on how L.A. County voters feel, said former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who co-chairs the A Count You Can Trust group with Miguel Santana, who leads the California Community Foundation.

“This is the epicenter of the California vote,” Villaraigosa said. “The concern is not as great as it is statewide. Here in L.A. County, people seem to trust the vote to a greater degree.”

A recent poll by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, co-sponsored by The Times, found that 61% of California voters identified interference by the Trump administration as a “major concern.” President Trump has fueled doubts over election integrity, spreading unverified claims of widespread voter fraud in blue states such as California.

Young voters and Latino voters expressed the lowest levels of confidence in how the county runs elections, the new poll found. The findings suggest those demographics need “a lot more reassurance” that elections are safe and that their votes matter, Tulchin said.

“It’s not surprising at all, and it means we’ve got work to do,” Villaraigosa said. “We got a lot of work to do to communicate to those people and to make it clear that, in fact, this vote can be trusted.”

Villaraigosa said he plans to focus his efforts on social media engagement and creating video content with poll workers to speak on how vote-counting works in the county.

The poll also asked respondents whether “things in Los Angeles County are going in the right direction or do you feel things have gotten pretty seriously off on the wrong track?” Most — 62% — said wrong track, and 26% said right direction.

Among voter concerns in the upcoming election, 18% listed the economy, the cost of living and inflation as their biggest worry, followed by election integrity, fraud and interference at 17% of respondents. Concerns about Republicans and Trump “winning or retaining power” came in third, with 16% of respondents saying that is their biggest concern.

Homelessness and immigration, two issues that have been prominent the L.A. mayoral race between incumbent Karen Bass and Councilmember Nithya Raman, ranked low in the list of concerns for the surveyed voters. Tulchin noted that the focus of the survey was on election integrity, which could have had an effect on what issues were top of mind of respondents.

The survey findings indicate that L.A. County voters seem to trust the county more than voters statewide. Still, just over 30% of surveyed voters have a fair or poor view of how the county runs elections, Villaraigosa said.

“They’re concerned, but what we found in this poll is that there are a number of people who, while concerned, do trust this county,” he said.

With three weeks left to go until election day and polls showing her on the brink of losing, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has begun to channel the Sun King himself, Louis XIV:

L’État, c’est moi.

Gaslighting voters by insisting the political establishment that has left Los Angeles a mess and that she personifies is worth keeping in office for four more years is her only hope for victory. It’s a wild strategy that reached a crescendo during Tuesday night’s debate, as Bass kept bringing up the fact that L.A.’s ancien régime just doesn’t like her democratic socialist opponent, Nithya Raman.

“Your colleagues have a very difficult time working with you,” Bass snapped at one point, later claiming that Raman’s constituents don’t care for her even though the council member won reelection two years ago. The mayor twice bragged that immigrant rights groups support her; twice referenced Imelda Padilla, the moderate San Fernando Valley council member whose internet dragging of Raman has been out of the Burn Book from “Mean Girls”; and described her opponent as “not ready for prime time.”

Well, the way the mayor’s term has gone in the last couple of years, if it was a prime-time TV show, it might be called “Breaking Bad 2.” And it wouldn’t exactly be a hit.

If it were, two-thirds of Angelenos wouldn’t have decided to vote for anyone but Bass in the primary.

Bass arguably won the debate Tuesday night, but it felt like the technical “victory” — and that’s probably the wrong word — of a politician who is simply more polished. The mayor really needed a knockout punch, and that she did not achieve.

Instead, she in effect told voters that the last four years of disasters, inefficiencies and ineptitude are still a better option than taking a chance on the City Hall equivalent of the classroom dork.

Yet people are so angry at Bass and what she represents that a democratic socialist has a great shot at becoming L.A.’s next mayor — an unthinkable prospect even last year, with no one to blame but the ruling class that has left this great city hobbled, cynical and at the point of giving up.

So the establishment doesn’t like Raman: So what? And: Boo-hoo.

Casting Raman as a political leper while asserting that Bass represents stability and good times ahead isn’t the winning strategy that Bass and Raman’s critics think it is. It’s really just a sad coda for Bass.

She’s been a good soldier for L.A., someone who has participated in nearly every progressive movement to pass through Southern California since volunteering for Robert F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign as a teenager nearly 60 years ago. Even as Bass embarked on a 22-year political career that has seen stops in Sacramento, Washington and City Hall, the native Angeleno always successfully depicted herself as a political outsider.

Because she was: a Black woman in a realm not meant for people like her. She was someone who co-founded a pioneering nonprofit in the crucible of a changing South L.A. in the 1990s and always seemed to land on the right side of history until becoming mayor in 2022.

Sadly, Bass didn’t turn out to be the visionary L.A. desperately needed.

Like so many baby boomers, Bass eventually became The Man without realizing it. Today, she not only stands as the figurehead of the city’s liberal potentates, but she’s also calling on them to rally around one of their own — and they have responded in kind. Democratic politicians, bureaucrats and labor leaders, once rabble-rousers like Bass who nowadays seem to exist mostly to keep their sinecure, have labored mightily to convince unbelieving voters that Bass deserves another shot.

That’s always been the marvel of L.A.’s political establishment. It can take someone like Bass, once considered so radical that her days visiting communist Cuba in the 1970s torpedoed her chances of becoming then-presidential candidate Joe Biden’s running mate in 2020, and transform her into an anodyne incumbent. It can make democratic socialists like Councilmembers Eunisses Hernandez, Ysabel Jurado and Hugo Soto-Martínez — people who explicitly ran to take on a sclerotic City Hall — full-throated Bass supporters who have refused to support one of their own in Raman.

Raman was also becoming part of L.A.’s political chosen ones, to the point she initially endorsed Bass. But she now embraces her turn as the machine’s biggest sellout — whether it’s a true change of heart or a chameleonic self-serving measure, as critics maintain, remains to be seen. It was Raman who said at the end of the debate, “When the mayor is confronted with issues, she blames the system. With your support, we can actually change the system” — catnip to enough Angelenos that Raman seems to be at the cusp of victory and a monumental upset.

After the debate, NBC reporter Robert Kovacic interviewed elected officials to let them hype up Bass or Raman. The latter’s proxy was City Controller Kenneth Mejia, another person loathed by L.A.’s political know-it-alls because he keeps bucking the establishment. Mejia gushed about how Raman “destroyed” Bass with the enthusiasm of a Swiftie.

Bass’ supporters were Councilmember Monica Rodriguez and Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur, both of whom gravely parroted their candidate’s warnings about just how dangerous a Raman mayoralty would be. Chavez Zbur reduced Raman’s not-bad performance to a “host of complaints” — ironic, because most of Bass’ night was spent bashing Raman instead of offering much of anything positive.

Rodriguez, meanwhile, told Kovacic that voters shouldn’t choose Raman because “we can’t afford that level of indecisive leadership.”

I rolled my eyes when Rodriguez — whose office declined a chance for her to sit down with me to talk up why Latinos should support Bass — said that.

She’s part of the fabled eastern San Fernando Valley Latino political machine, another group of former gatecrashers who assumed the trappings and stylings of the old guard once they assumed power. Rodriguez long blasted Bass with the same venom she reserved for Raman until the latter mounted her challenge — but now that Rodriguez’s power is under threat, she’s all of a sudden decided to become Bass’ ride-or-die?

Moves like that remind me of another French monarch, Louis XV. “After me, the deluge,” he is supposed to have said, a warning of what would happen once his reign ended.

If Bass’ vow to rule the same as before represents a decisive leader, more and more Angelenos seem to be saying, give us the Raman flood.

Besides, nobody ever said, nor ever put on a campaign sticker, “The establishment? It’s cool!”

Halfway through her very sold-out concert Tuesday night at the Greek Theatre, Ella Langley pulled up a stool near the front of the stage and told us she wanted to “be kind of normal for a second, if that’s all right witcha.”

Life has been pretty un-normal lately for the 27-year-old country singer from small-town Alabama, whose smash “Choosin’ Texas” set a new record last month for the longest stay of all time atop Billboard’s Hot 100. The chart achievement only bolstered talk that Langley is due to clean up when Grammy Award nominations are announced next month — welcome chatter, no doubt, for a striver who grew up, as she said at the Greek, determined to get exactly where she’s gotten.

Yet Langley’s success has brought with it some darkness, including accusations from armchair experts on social media that “Choosin’ Texas” — a monster hit that people keep saying they’ve never heard — owes its impressive stats to an act of record-biz chicanery. More ominously, Langley called off a concert in Oklahoma last week due to what she called a “serious security threat.”

Then former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem got involved in Langley’s business when she tried in a tweet to pit the singer against Kacey Musgraves after Musgraves hosted the Senate hopeful James Talarico at a show in Dallas. (Langley, who’s been circumspect about voicing her political opinions, appeared to un-tag herself from Noem’s post, which is objectively hilarious.)

So you could empathize with Langley — empathize more than with other country singers longing for the good ol’ days — as she straightened up on that stool to do “Somethin’ Simple,” a winsome ditty from this year’s double-platinum “Dandelion” LP. “While I’m living the dream,” she sang, “all I’m dreaming about is slowing down just a little.”

This acoustic section of Tuesday’s gig, the first of two at the Greek, was by far the best part of the night; Langley also brought out her two openers for a pair of stripped-down duets in “Dreams,” the deathless Fleetwood Mac classic, which she sang with Laci Kaye Booth, and “Strangers,” her soulful power ballad with Kameron Marlowe, who gladly disregarded that unspoken rule about not showing up the headliner who hired you.

Loose, chatty, surrounded by friends and bandmates, Langley here was just a musician playing music; I can’t say whether she attained the normalcy she said she was looking for, though I’d buy that this is more or less what she gets up to on the back porch she sings about missing in “Somethin’ Simple.”

The problem with the rest of the concert — the parts with the lights and the videos and the goofy stage business involving a guy with a keytar and a cigarette — was that it demanded a level of star power that Langley simply doesn’t possess (or anyway isn’t interested in deploying).

On record, she summons a coolly detached quality that plays intriguingly against arrangements lush with romantic pedal steel; there’s something hard to pin down about the emotion of tunes like “Be Her” and “Choosin’ Texas,” in which the narrator sounds almost alienated from her own heartbreak.

If somebody wants to make a case that Langley’s beautifully dead-eyed love songs represent the purest embodiment of Gen Z’s post-pandemic social dysfunction — well, I’m all ears. (Great look too: very Linda Ronstadt meets Stevie Nicks.)

But onstage the lack of affect just felt flat, not least when she’d dole out the kind of canned banter between songs that would make anyone resent the mechanics of stardom. The performance posed an interesting question: How much (or how little) charisma is required to support a branding infrastructure as robust as Langley’s? At the Greek there were ads for her jeans and her sunglasses and her energy drink, and there were more merch stands than I’ve ever seen at the venue. Every one of them was jammed.

Thank You Coffee’s Kabocha Squash Latte, or KSL, has garnered a cult fandom over the years. The gourmet, Asian-inspired take on the pumpkin-spice originator is made with fresh squash and house-made syrup, and it will return to the Chinatown and Anaheim locations in early November. Until then, and finding a home in the newly opened Chinatown space, are two new seasonal lattes. The cozy apple latte (pictured) is fragrant, comforting and available through November, made with a house syrup involving cold-pressed apple juice, green tea, sour plum powder, ginger, cardamom and more. It’s topped with a dash of even more sour plum powder, which gives the effect of tart green apples on the nose and tongue. The sweet corn latte, inspired by cornbread, is a sweet-savory mix of brown butter, malted milk powder, annatto seed and beyond, and can be found through October.

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Carlos Dammeier, administrative law judge, California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board
Bar rating: Qualified

Dammeier began in law enforcement, working for a decade as a dispatcher, jailer and police officer. He went to law school and, for a quarter-century, represented police and other public-sector unions, “handling employee rights cases at every level from administrative hearings to the U.S. Supreme Court,” he said in an email.

In 2013, The Times reported, a law firm in which he was a named partner dissolved after two Costa Mesa City Council members sued one of his clients, the city police union, over legal and political tactics the politicians asserted were overly aggressive.

Dammeier recently said his team was the focus of “antiunion attacks by political forces” and said that after multiple investigations, none of the firm’s attorneys faced charges or disciplinary action.

In 2022, Dammeier became an administrative law judge. His campaign website states he has heard and issued decisions in more than 2,000 unemployment, disability and tax appeal cases.

Priorities are addressing case backlogs and making thoughtful, unbiased decisions.

“Win or lose, everyone needs to know they had fair treatment by our courts,” he said.

He ran for Superior Court seats in Merced and San Bernardino counties in March 2024, losing both races, and also ran unsuccessfully in San Bernardino County in 2016.

David Ross, deputy alternate public defender
Bar rating: Qualified

Ross worked as a legislative aide for an Indiana Democrat in Congress and as a TV reporter and documentary producer before becoming a lawyer in 1994, according to his campaign website.

His legal career began in Riverside County, where he served five years as a deputy public defender. In 2000, he became a Los Angeles County deputy alternate public defender in regional branches, including Long Beach and Compton. He has been at the Torrance office since 2018.

Ross, according to his website, has represented more than 10,000 indigent defendants and completed more than 110 jury trials.

A priority would be ensuring people feel recognized in his courtroom.

“My goal is to hear everyone out, so that even if a party ultimately loses, they will walk out of court knowing the judge listened,” he said in an email.

Troy W. Slaten, administrative law judge, state Department of Industrial Relations
Bar rating: Qualified

After roles as a child actor on “Cagney and Lacey” and “Parker Lewis Can’t Lose,” Slaten began a two-decade law career in 2005.

He first worked as a private criminal defense attorney, then spent 11 years at an international firm where he focused on criminal, civil and administrative law and, for a time, managed the criminal defense division. He’s regularly cited as a legal analyst on TV and in The Times.

Slaten volunteered as temporary Superior Court judge from 2016-20 and in 2021 became a full-time administrative law judge presiding over workers’ compensation hearings.

“I have uncovered fraud and have helped when injured workers have been denied healthcare and other benefits,” he said in an email.

He has twice run for Superior Court, falling short in 2020 and 2022.

He would prioritize fairness and efficiency. “I would work to ensure cases move forward in a timely and organized manner while preserving due process,” he said.

Outside the courtroom, Slaten announces and deejays UCLA men’s and women’s water polo games.

Donna Tryfman, L.A. County deputy public defender
Bar rating: Qualified

A deputy public defender since 1998, Tryfman has had assignments countywide. From 2016-19, she supervised 25 attorneys and mentored new hires as deputy in charge of Eastlake Juvenile Court. She’s worked in collaborative drug court, coordinating with prosecutors, judges and others to help individuals dealing with addiction.

Her current assignment is in the Major Crimes Unit, where she exclusively handles homicides with special circumstances.

Tryfman spent five years as president of the Public Defenders Assn., according to her campaign website, and has proctored a high school program on civic duties and constitutional principles. She has served as a Superior Court judge pro tem, handling traffic and small claims cases. She received the peer-decided Gideon Award as felony attorney of the year in 2025, her bio states.

“I would champion further access to justice by exploring and expanding digital access to the courts in underserved communities,” she said.

Karen Bass and Nithya Raman faced off Tuesday night in a debate hosted by NBC4 and Telemundo52 in Universal City. It was the L.A. mayoral candidates’ last head-to-head before the Nov. 3 election.

Times columnists Lorraine Ali, Gustavo Arellano and Steve Lopez weigh in on the highlights and lowlights.

Arellano: Raman had the line of the night at the very beginning, channeling — of all politicians — Ronald Reagan, one of the last people you’d think of as an Angeleno, even though he absolutely was.

“Are you better off than you were four years ago?” she asked while looking directly into the camera.

For the vast majority of L.A. residents, the answer is a resounding no.

Up until tonight, Raman has done a good job of communicating a message of hope and change, while Bass, as the incumbent, has repeatedly tripped on her record over the biblically bad four years of her first term.

But I didn’t hear that Raman tonight — partly because Bass made her play defense, from her first answer to her closing statement.

The mayor won the debate, if we’re judging by forensics. She rarely looked down at her notepad, unlike Raman. It’s something I’ve never noticed about Raman before — either a new nervous tic, or an indication that the city councilmember can’t seem to speak with conviction, which has been a frequent critique against her.

Bass’ barrages got to Raman more than a few times, leading her to talk over the NBC and Telemundo moderators or even shush them. A whining Raman is not a good Raman, which her advisors need to drill into her sooner rather than later.

But Raman’s answers never meandered and weren’t too elliptical, even when she was pressed by the able moderators. Since she’s ahead in most reputable polls, Raman’s job for the night was not failing — and she cleared that low, low hurdle.

Bass, meanwhile, needed to deliver a knockout punch. Instead, as a politico friend who cares for neither candidate texted me after the debate, she won one round. There are only so many more rounds before Election Day for her to catch up — and Bass can’t rely on just winning on points anymore, especially with an opponent who’s now running like she’s ahead.

During closing remarks, Raman hearkened back to her Reagan shout-out, stating, “We cannot afford another four years of decline, of mismanagement, of excuses.” She then pivoted to her positivity message, smiling while proclaiming, “We can be joyful and ambitious again.” The more she sticks to that upbeat vibe, the better she comes off to a voter base tired of the doom and gloom that has fallen over L.A. under Bass.

Bass, meanwhile, came off as funereal, beginning with, “It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve in the city that I was born and raised.” That’s how you start a retirement announcement, not another four-year term. Let’s see what the voters say on Election Day.

Lopez: After watching the debate, I don’t think this thing is over.

Yes, Raman has been ahead in polling, and Bass is saddled with high negativity ratings, the baggage of the Palisades fire and the continued challenge of homelessness.

But this debate could have been a knockout punch for Raman, and instead, I think Bass won the night, not just by touting her achievements and responding sharply to criticism, but by seeming to have a better command of the moment.

My colleague Lorraine Ali made a good point — how many people were actually watching this debate? Probably not many, so it’s not like this one-hour back-and-forth tips the scale.

But as has been noted, a huge percentage of likely voters remain undecided. Maybe that’s because they’re not in love with either candidate. Or maybe they’re ready to move on from Bass but aren’t sure about who Raman really is. If they watched tonight, looking for an answer, I’m not sure they got one.

Raman came into elected office as a darling of the Democratic Socialists of America and was a high-profile member of that wing on the City Council. But even the council’s DSA members didn’t endorse her bid for mayor. In fact, Bass has gotten support from 13 of the 15 council members.

So how will Raman build a coalition in a city where mayoral power is shared with the council, and matters like homelessness are the joint responsibility of the city and the county, and any progress is stymied without strong mayoral relationships in Sacramento and D.C.?

It’s possible that the council will come around to her if she’s elected, because just as the mayor needs the council to get much done, the council needs the mayor.

But I’d like to know more about who Raman is and why she’s flip-flopped so much (on support for the LAPD, on the mansion tax, on the Inside Safe homeless initiative, etc., etc.), as my colleague David Zahniser reported just the other day.

Learning and evolving can be a good thing. But voters need to know who Raman is, what her vision is for the city and how she expects to lead.

I didn’t get that in this debate. Bass, whose first term works against her as much as for her, is still hanging on and hanging in.

It may come down to whether older voters, who are likely to favor Bass, turn out in greater numbers than younger voters, who are likely to favor Raman.

But from where I sit, it ain’t over. Except maybe for the Dodgers.

Ali: Raman was ahead in the polls headed into tonight’s mayoral debate, so her job wasn’t quite as hard as Bass’, who is fighting for her political life. Raman just needed to knock the mayor off balance — then keep her there for an hour. But that didn’t happen.

Bass came off composed, confident and in command of the conversation, while Raman appeared less sure of herself, frequently looking down to check her notes while defending her work on key concerns such as homelessness (until recently, she was chair of the city’s housing and homelessness committee) and attacking Bass for leaving the city “leaderless” during crises such as the Palisades and Lineage fires.

The overall tone of the debate was less heated than when the two candidates met in August to battle it out sans Spencer Pratt, the former reality TV personality and Republican contender who lost in the primary.

But there were moments Tuesday when the women’s history as colleagues — and onetime allies — informed their attacks on one another.

Bass said Raman was “not ready for prime time” and that she had a “contemptuous” relationship with her constituents. Raman continually pointed out that Bass had failed to remedy L.A.’s homelessness crisis, and did so from the perspective of someone who had worked closely with the mayor.

There’s still a question around how many folks actually watched the debate, and if the candidates’ points will resonate in subsequent clips or memes. Neither contender has the charm or spark of, say, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and as vapid as it may sound, charisma matters.

Three weeks out from the election and there still isn’t a lot of excitement over the mayoral choices on the ballot. This debate didn’t help that cause, or juice the race.

Lucky for Bass, she has the presence of a leader, and that gave her the edge over Raman tonight. But was anyone watching beyond my fellow columnists Gustavo Arellano and Steve Lopez?

Ali: The stakes are high for both contenders, yet I wonder how many Angelenos will be watching.

It’s surprising the number of otherwise politically aware folks who had no idea the debate was taking place tonight until I mentioned it. Then they were irked to find it airing on network TV: “Who still has cable?!” Apparently, venturing onto Telemundo or NBC’s live feed is a bridge too far. But it shouldn’t be.

Raman is still a mystery to many, even though she’s polling ahead. Tonight, she needs to definitively show who she is beyond The Candidate Who Is Not Karen Bass. Bass has to defend her record, of course, but also contend with the electorate’s insatiable need for change — even if they know very little about what that change may bring.

As for the rest of us? Tune in! The future of L.A. requires your attention.

Lopez: Picking up on Gustavo’s framing of the debate as Round 3, we’re talking about two pugilists who used to fight for the same club, more or less, and now enter the ring looking to take each other out. So it’s personal, and could indeed get nasty.

Raman’s job in the debate is a little easier, in some ways. Though I don’t put much stock in polls, she’s ahead on points by virtue of Bass’ high negative rating alone. And yet, think of the pressure on Raman to seal the deal.

If the challenger doesn’t prevail tonight and go on to win the election next month, she could be setting herself up for a lonely political future, having alienated more than a few former allies in her quest to evict the mayor from City Hall.

For Bass, the stakes are just as high. A 21-year political career is on the line.

I hope that along with the punches and counter-punches, we get some inspiration, too, and a workable game plan for making a great but troubled city a better place to call home, even if the Dodgers end up breaking our hearts.

Arellano: Will the Third Bass-Raman debate be a classic — or a dud?

Ali-Frazier. Morales-Barrera. Liddell-Couture. Trilogies are hallowed in the worlds of boxing and mixed-martial arts as case studies of evenly matched rivals to wallop each other in the first two matches, creating the setting for a final showdown and chance at eternal bragging rights — and usually, a title.

Will tonight’s bout between L.A. mayoral candidates Karen Bass and Nithya Raman, scheduled to air at 7 p.m. on KNBC, rise to those rarified levels?

The makings of a classic are there. Bass was the wily incumbent during her primary face-off with Raman who let fellow mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt land most of the attacks against their shared opponent. That left Raman uttering loopy word salads when she wasn’t crying conspiracy between the two. But the council member nevertheless made it into the general election against Bass, and dominated their second debate, hosted in August by the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn.

All of a sudden, Bass was a staggering champion lunging at a revived Raman, who swung and stung and ducked the way only a hungry up-and-comer can.

The two go into their rubber match each promoting polls that they claim show voters back them, while letting proxies launch attack ads that promise to get uglier and more ubiquitous as Election Day nears. Expect Bass at tonight’s debate to try and assert her dominance early with equal part offense against Raman and defense of her record. Expect Raman, whom City Hall opponents have long trashed as conflict-averse, to focus on a message of possibility and positivity while holding her ground and striking back — and hard — when necessary.

Will tonight cement the Bass-Raman trilogy as an electoral classic — or end it on a deflating note? One thing’s for sure: the two need to leave everything on the debate stage if either wants to win and get that much closer to become L.A.’s Madam Mayor.

Dodgers fall to Brewers again

From Maddie Lee: Mookie Betts slapped his bat with his free hand after tipping a slider from Brewers right-hander Abner Uribe back into catcher William Contreras’ mitt.

Betts had been setting the tone for the Dodgers from the leadoff spot all postseason, taking good at-bats against some of MLB’s best starting pitchers. But there wasn’t much he could do against a sinker-slider mix like Uribe’s.

Uribe shuffled off the mound, and the crowd at American Family Field roared.

Then, with left-handed-hitting Freddie Freeman coming to the plate, Milwaukee had an answer for him too. Manager Pat Murphy signaled to the bullpen, left-hander Aaron Ashby emerged and struck out Freeman on four pitches, only one of which touched the strike zone.

“They all throw 100 [mph] from different angles,” Freeman said after the Dodgers’ 7-4 loss in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series on Monday.

Those back-to-back strikeouts in the eighth inning were part of five perfect innings thrown by the Brewers’ bullpen — a postseason record.

The Dodgers’ performance against the Brewers bullpen on Monday magnified how much the star-powered lineup hasn’t been clicking with Shohei Ohtani struggling at the plate. He went 0-for-4 in the cleanup spot in Game 2, bringing his postseason total to three hits, all singles, in 20 at-bats.

Manager Dave Roberts told The Athletic after the game that he would “have a conversation” with Ohtani Tuesday to determine “what’s best for him, what’s best for [the team].”

Continue reading here

In the NLCS, the Dodgers are seeing what money can’t buy: a bullpen such as Milwaukee’s

Dodgers Debate NLCS Game 2: Did the Dodgers forget how to hit?

Dodgers box score

Three-peat chance is looking weak

From Bill Plaschke: Once brimming with life, the Dodgers’ historic quest has curled up into a withered heap.

The three-peat is dying.

The three-peat is slowly, agonizingly having the life squeezed out of it by a collection of hardscrabble Midwesterners with no regard for stardom or status.

Two games into the National League Championship Series, the three-peat was formally placed on life support Monday after the mighty Dodgers lost a second consecutive game to those little giants known as Milwaukee Brewers.

This time the score was 7-4 after another devastating night at American Family Field, and now the Dodgers trail two games to none in a best-of-seven series that appears beyond their control.

For a second consecutive game, their ace was knocked out. For a second consecutive game, their powerful offense petered out.

For a second consecutive game, they looked like a weary, aging band of fallen stars that had stumbled into a surprisingly deep pothole and had no idea how to climb out.

Continue reading here

MLB postseason schedule

All times Pacific

NLCS

No. 1 Milwaukee vs. No. 2 Dodgers
at Milwaukee 2, Dodgers 1 (box score)
at Milwaukee 7, Dodgers 4 (box score)
Wednesday at Dodgers, 5 p.m., FS1/FOX Deportes/FOX One
Thursday at Dodgers, 6 p.m., FS1/FOX Deportes/FOX One
*Friday at Dodgers, 6 p.m., FS1/FOX Deportes/FOX One
*Sunday at Milwaukee, 5 p.m., FS1/FOX Deportes/FOX One
*Monday at Milwaukee, 5 p.m., FOX/FS1/FOX Deportes/FOX One

ALCS

No. 1 Tampa Bay vs. No. 2 Cleveland
Cleveland 7, at Tampa Bay 3 (box score)
Tuesday at Tampa Bay, 5 p.m., TBS/truTV/UniMas/HBO Max
Thursday at Cleveland, 3 p.m., TBS/truTV/UniMas/HBO Max
Friday at Cleveland, 3 p.m., TBS/truTV/UniMas/HBO Max
*Saturday at Cleveland, 5 p.m., TBS/truTV/UniMas/HBO Max
*Monday at Tampa Bay, 2 p.m., TBS/truTV/UniMas/HBO Max
*Tuesday at Tampa Bay, 5 p.m., TBS/truTV/UniMas/HBO Max

* if necessary

World Series starts Friday, Oct. 23

Rams lose to Bills in OT

From Gary Klein: The losses are mounting.

And the coach of the supposedly Super Bowl-favorite Rams is frustrated.

With the kicking unit.

“Not even close to good enough,” a gravelly-voiced Sean McVay said.

With himself.

“I’m sick right now,” he said.

With the Rams’ 37-34 overtime defeat by the Buffalo Bills at SoFi Stadium.

“It’s been a while,” McVay said, “since I’ve been this pissed after a game,”

Really?

McVay and the Rams have been getting plenty of practice. See the season-opening debacle against the San Francisco 49ers in Australia, or the turnover- and penalty-plagued loss to the Denver Broncos.

On Monday, when Buffalo’s Tyler Bass kicked a winning 45-yard field goal, the Rams’ record dropped to 2-3.

McVay was not the only one frustrated.

Offensive lineman Alaric Jackson was captured on video punching Buffalo’s Bradley Chubb on the field after the game.

Continue reading here

Rams summary

NFL standings

Nico Iamaleava probably out for the season

From Connor Dullinger: UCLA coach Bob Chesney wasn’t ready to declare the end of UCLA senior starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava’s season on Monday, but the forecast was grim.

Iamaleava is expected to miss the rest of this season with a knee injury, according to a person with knowledge of the injury not authorized to discuss it publicly.

Chesney said he is waiting for UCLA doctors to “make the final call on things.”

“He has a meeting later today, and he’ll have a whole lot more clarity on exactly where things are at,” Chesney said of Iamaleava during a news conference Monday. “Everything being reported is what’s being reported. There is a serious concern at this moment, but at the same point in time, there is nothing that has been fully ruled at this moment.”

The injury is a blow for the No. 12 Bruins, who are 5-0 during Chesney’s first season and have a favorable path to the College Football Playoff.

Chesney said that while Ty Dieffenbach and Madden Iamaleava, Nico’s younger brother, both earned the right to start, Chesney will start Dieffenbach going forward and see how it plays out.

Continue reading here

This day in sports history

1893 — The U.S. yacht Vigilant wins the America’s Cup with a three-race sweep over the British challenger Valkyrie II.

1947 — The NHL holds its first All-Star game with the All-Stars beating the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3. Toronto’s Harry Watson scores the game’s first goal and assists on the other two goals. Trailing 3-2 after two periods, Montreal’s Maurice Richard and Chicago’s Doug Bentley each score to give the All-Stars the win.

1961 — Jacky Lee of the Houston Oilers passes for 457 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-31 tie with the Boston Patriots. Charley Hennigan of the Oilers catches 13 passes for 272 yards.

1963 — Mickey Wright wins her fourth LPGA championship in six years by beating Mary Lena Faulk, Mary Mills and Louise Suggs by two strokes.

1982 — IOC Executive Committee approves the reinstatement of Jim Thorpe’s gold medals from the 1912 Olympics.

1985 — Phil Simms of the New York Giants passes for 513 yards with an NFL-record 62 pass attempts in a 35-30 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Simms completes 40 passes with 29 for first downs, also an NFL record.

1998 — For the first time in NBA history, the league cancels regular season games after labor talks break off.

2001 — DeShaun Foster of UCLA runs for a school-record 301 yards and four touchdowns as the Bruins beat Washington 35-13.

2001 — Georgia Southern fullback Adrian Peterson is held to 71 yards rushing, snapping his NCAA-record streak of 36 straight regular-season games with at least 100 yards.

2011 — American Jordyn Wieber wins another gold medal, beating Russia’s Viktoria Komova for the all-around title at the world gymnastics championships in Tokyo. Wieber, who led the Americans to the team title two days earlier, finishes with 59.382 points, just 0.033 ahead of the Russian.

2013 — Kenya’s Dennis Kimetto, six weeks removed from a bout of malaria, breaks the course mark in capturing the Chicago Marathon. Kimetto finishes in 2 hours, 3 minutes, 45 seconds, leading a 1-2-3 finish for Kenyan men. He beats the mark of 2:04:38 set by Ethiopia’s Tsegaye Kebede last year.

2017 — Gustav Nyquist scores twice and Detroit has four goals in the third period to beat Vegas 6-3, handing the NHL’s newest franchise its first loss. Vegas is the first NHL expansion team to win its first three games.

2019 — Simone Biles becomes the most decorated gymnast in history when she wins record 25th medal at the World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1903 — The Boston Pilgrims win the first World Series, 5 games to 3, with a 3-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

1960 — Bill Mazeroski opens the bottom of the ninth with a home run off Ralph Terry of the New York Yankees to give the Pittsburgh Pirates a 10-9 victory and the World Series championship.

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time…

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Oct. 12, 2026 6 AM PT

One word that could describe Aria Vega’s whirlwind 2026? Chévere.

The Colombian expression for “awesome” is also the name of the fast-rising star’s global smash hit. Released in January, the breezy tropical swing of “Chévere” — and the rest of her sun-kissed singles — embodies the spirit of Colombia’s Caribbean coast where she hails from.

Ahead of the Latin Grammys on Nov. 12, where Vega will be in the running for the best new artist award, Vega is taking what she calls her “Costeñita Core” pop movement on the road, with her first-ever U.S. tour.

“Looking back at all the dreams I’ve accomplished and made come true, it’s all blessings,” a wide-grinning Vega says over Zoom from Miami.

“I’ve been crying tears of joy with my family, my friends and my combo chévere, as I like to call my fandom. Every artist wishes and dreams of a Latin Grammy, and for me, just to be one of the nominees is like, ‘Yo, I’m a winner!’”

Vega was born Mariana Padilla Pérez in Barranquilla, where she lived the lifestyle of the costeños — or the people of Colombia’s Caribbean coastal region. She has been steadily chasing her dreams of superstardom since competing on “Idol Colombia” in 2014; but Vega finally started making waves last year when she integrated more costeño culture, rhythms and slang into her mellowed, Spanglish pop flow.

“Chévere” exploded in popularity after fellow Colombian singer Ryan Castro jumped on the remix in February. Since then, Vega has pushed “Costeñita Core” further into the mainstream with songs like the alluring “Cule Poco (Sirena_Besarico_Costeña),” and the sultry “Compa Coleto (Uy_Como),” offering unhurried takes on champeta and other Afro-Caribbean rhythms.

Vega just kicked off her U.S. Cariavales Tour, which includes a stop at the Roxy in Los Angeles on Oct. 13. Just a week before, she was handpicked by her pop foremother and icon from Barranquilla — Shakira — to perform as part of her 12-show residency in Madrid.

In an interview with The Times, Aria Vega opened up about her Latin Grammy nomination, representing costeños and getting a co-sign from Shakira.

How did the success of the song “Chévere” change your life?
I didn’t expect to be on [so many] airplanes and flights. Right now, I’m starting to feel the weight of that. I’ve seen what it’s like to live on the road. The remix happened after Ryan [Castro] sent me a DM on Instagram saying, “‘Chévere’ is a banger!’” I was really excited to even get that message from him, because I’m a fan of his music. That was a really cool moment.

What can you tell us about your upcoming debut album?
It’s Afro-Caribbean-inspired music. Right now, the album is really long. I have recorded more than 30 songs for it. I’m working on cutting it down to hopefully 15 songs that will touch your heart and soul … I want to make people vibe with my songs, feel cool, and feel chévere. That’s my goal with this album [I call] “Costeñita Core.”

What does “Costeñita Core” mean to you?
It’s an energy that you either vibe with or you don’t. It’s like our food, our slang and experimental fashion. Caribbean maximalism and shifting [mainstream] culture. Overall, it’s about making bold choices and being rebellious.

How do you feel about representing costeño culture through your music and visuals?
It’s a big responsibility. I feel really happy and excited when I see comments that say things like, “It’s an honor for you to represent us, and we love what you’re doing.” I get emotional because I don’t always get that response … There’s also people that say, “I feel that I’m not represented by her in any way.” It’s a mixture of feelings. What can I say? I’m doing this with a lot of love for Barranquilla, Colombia and Colombia’s Caribbean coast. I want to be a voice of the Caribbean coast.

What did it mean for you when Shakira selected you to perform for her residency in Madrid?
As soon as my team told me about this opportunity with Shakira, I was going crazy because she’s so inspiring. She’s also from Barranquilla. Her music has been a part of [my] life. It has been like a companion for me. Since I was like 5 years old, there’s always been a Shakira song that I was vibing with. I’m really excited even about the possibility of meeting her.

How do you feel about performing in L.A. for the first time on your U.S. tour?
I’ve been to Los Angeles before in meetings with my agents and stuff like that, and it felt like a movie. It’s Hollywood vibes and I’ve never felt that energy in my life. It’s really special getting to perform all my songs that are not just in Spanish, but in Costeñol [the costeño dialect of Spanish] at the Roxy. I’m going to wear outfits with cultural designs and perform traditional dances that have been part of my life, ever since I was literally in my mom’s belly. Los Angeles is a coastal city too, so there’s something that connects us.

What are your thoughts about being nominated in the category of best new artist at this year’s Latin Grammys?
Everyone says it’s a really important category, because you can’t be nominated twice. You can only be nominated once in your career. Hopefully I’ll go to Las Vegas for that Latin Grammy and I’ll take it over to la costa.

What will you do if you win the award?
Maybe I’ll do a concert at home. I want to do something that feels honest and authentic, because that’s what led me to being nominated. I dream of becoming a bearer of my culture. What better way to do it than being recognized in the eyes of the Latin Recording Academy?

What was the inspiration for your latest single “Compa Coleto (Uy_Como)”?
My muse is always my tiburón, my shark. It’s no secret that I’m in love. It just makes sense to talk about him in these really loving and cool songs. It’s a song with flirtatious vibes. When you understand the song’s lyrics, it just makes sense to flirt that way and have fun with it.

Who do you want to collaborate with in the future?
I would love to collaborate with Shakira and Beéle. I feel they do a lot for Barranquilla as well. I would love to collaborate with Bomba Estéreo from Santa Marta. Maybe I’ll do vallenato music with Silvestre Dangond. That would be really cool. Felipe Peláez has an amazing voice. It would be cool to bring these sounds of our own to the world.