L.A

The embattled Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority sued the Trump administration on Monday to stop it from depriving the region of hundreds of millions of dollars in funding, saying the effort is unwarranted and violates federal laws.

The authority, better known as LAHSA, said in its Monday filing that cutting off the funds would put more than 11,000 people — 1,900 of them children — at risk of losing housing or other services.

LAHSA, a joint city-county agency overseen by political appointees, is seeking a temporary restraining order to bar the federal Housing and Urban Development Department from suspending the funds.

“The people who will be harmed by this decision are not bureaucrats,” said Gita O’Neill, LAHSA’s interim chief executive officer, in a statement Monday. “They are families, veterans, seniors, and formerly homeless Angelenos who rely on these resources to remain housed.”

The filing in federal court comes nearly three weeks after HUD officials said they were suspending LAHSA from applying for or receiving federal funds, citing financial mismanagement, fraud and a lack of safeguards to prevent conflicts of interest.

In its 46-page lawsuit, LAHSA pushed back on HUD’s allegations, saying they were not supported by the evidence. Lawyers for LAHSA portrayed HUD’s actions as part of a larger political agenda — elimination of the federally approved “Continuum of Care” system, which makes LAHSA the overarching applicant for most federal homelessness funding across Los Angeles County.

The Trump administration “has made clear it wants to scrap the program entirely in favor of a homelessness policy favoring criminal enforcement, drug treatment, institutionalization and civil commitment of the mentally ill,” the lawsuit states.

HUD officials have said they are barring LAHSA from applying for funds on behalf of the Continuum of Care, which covers 85 cities, including Los Angeles. LAHSA secured $220 million in federal funds for various agencies in 2024 and $944 million since 2021, according to the June 11 letter from HUD Deputy Secretary Andrew D. Hughes.

HUD did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In the letter, Hughes said his agency had received information that LAHSA “may have committed violations of federal law” while carrying out its obligations as part of its HUD grant agreements.

“HUD has evidence that LAHSA’s repeated false statements and its irresponsible actions and failures, including its lack of financial management, internal controls, and safeguards against conflicts of interest, pose a threat to HUD, the public, and those living on the streets of Los Angeles,” he wrote.

In the letter, Hughes said that HUD’s inspector general had opened an investigation. Depending on the outcome, the money could be restored or LAHSA could be permanently barred from receiving funds.

LAHSA, in its lawsuit, said HUD has not provided any investigative findings to show violations of the funding agreements. Instead, agency lawyers said, federal officials relied on “a mash-up of old news articles, comments from public officials taken out of context, and findings from routine public audits that included recommendations that were all appropriately actioned.”

Lawyers for LAHSA contend that HUD’s actions violate the U.S. Constitution and override the dictates of Congress, which established many of the processes for distributing federal homeless funds.

The vast majority of the federal funds secured by LAHSA as a grant applicant goes toward permanent housing, agency officials said.

LAHSA, created in 1993, is overseen by a 10-member commission, half from the city and half from the county. Among those commissioners is L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, who has made homelessness a central part of her agenda. Each of the five county supervisors has an appointee.

At stake in the battle between HUD and LAHSA is an array of services affecting some of the region’s most vulnerable residents.

LAHSA oversees the Homeless Management Information System, the federally-mandated software that tracks homeless people across the county. It has 8,000 individual users and is used by more than 300 agencies, according to the lawsuit.

HUD’s plan to suspend the funding would prevent LAHSA from using the system to match Angelenos — those on the street and in shelters — with housing and services, the lawsuit said.

LAHSA also oversees the annual “point in time” homelessness count across the county. Agency officials have pointed to the results from those counts as evidence that they have been making steady headway, with homelessness decreasing 4.3% countywide and 5.5% within Los Angeles between 2023 and 2025.

Unsheltered homelessness, which tallies the people living outside or in their vehicles, fell by a larger margin, declining 14% across the county and 17.5% within L.A. during that period.

Despite those numbers, LAHSA’s reputation has been battered by some highly critical assessments.

Last year, a global consulting firm retained as part of a federal lawsuit over the city of L.A.’s response to homelessness found that homeless services provided by LAHSA and the city lacked adequate financial controls, leaving the system vulnerable to waste and fraud.

Several months earlier, county auditors identified lax accounting procedures that resulted in LAHSA’s failure to pay its contractors on time. Even after that report was issued, nonprofit groups with LAHSA contracts continued to report that payments were behind schedule.

Last year, the county Board of Supervisors reached a breaking point, pulling more than $300 million — the vast majority of its funds — out of LAHSA and creating its own homelessness department. City officials have been weighing a similar move in recent months.

Visit Medellín, and everyone will tell you to try one dish: bandeja paisa.

Translated as a “countryside tray,” you’ll find the loaded meat platter at any restaurant in Colombia’s second-largest city. The spread is loaded with savory red beans; white rice; ground beef or grilled steak; a long, curved strip of crispy chicharrón; chorizo; morcilla (blood sausage); a fried egg; golden lobes of sweet plantain; a mini arepa; and a slice of avocado.

Though its origins lie in the mountainous, coffee-growing region of Antioquia, known as the home of the paisas (derived from the Spanish word for countryman), the dish is widely celebrated and eaten across the country. It’s a hearty lunch meal meant for one person, a combination of flavors and textures that transport you straight to Medellín, known for its rich coffee landscape, blooming flowers and eternal spring weather.

“The bandeja paisa is the seal of the Colombians,” said Gloria Hernandez, owner of Nene’s Colombian Food in Lawndale.

The dish is believed to have started as a filling, nourishing meal for campesinos (field workers), providing strength to get through a day working in the fields. “There’s a gathering of various dishes to make a bandeja paisa,” said Cesar Gutierrez, owner of Arepa’s Colombianas in Redondo Beach.

Over 40,000 Colombians live in L.A., according to the Los Angeles Almanac. Three-thousand miles from home, the city is host to several Colombian restaurants, food trucks and even a rooftop night market in downtown L.A.

From a longstanding restaurant in Larchmont to a favorite for modern Colombian cuisine in Long Beach, here are seven places where you can devour a bandeja paisa.

As one of the biggest techno DJs in the world, Charlotte de Witte never has her feet on the ground for long. But she comes back to L.A. as much as she can.

In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.

“Since I started, L.A. has been one of those very important cities. You really want to hit it as a beginning artist. It’s where everything is centered and everything is happening,” De Witte said during an interview at the Grammy Museum in November. She was here celebrating the release of her self-titled album debut. “L.A. made a difference for me.”

Throughout her years partying and performing in L.A., she’s played clubs such as Sound and Exchange LA. Then she grew to larger spaces like the Shrine and City Market, where she played open-to-close sets.

In the past, when things haven’t been as hectic, De Witte has enjoyed many of L.A.’s unique cultural offerings. Here are a few of her favorite things to do on a Sunday in the city.

9 a.m.: Coffee at Maru downtown

When I’m staying around downtown, I like to go to the Arts District and stop by Maru for a coffee. They also make great matcha and pastries. Whether it’s to-go or you’re just hanging around for a bit, great coffee is the best way to start the day!

11 a.m. Roller skate from Venice to Santa Monica

If we have a little bit more time to enjoy L.A. on tour, we always go to Venice. It’s such a unique place to be, but it’s also a very chill place. You’re in L.A., which is a huge city, but because you’re also next to the ocean it’s more calming for the mind and soul. When I’m on tour, I’m always in big cities, in the middle and the heart of where everything’s happening, and I could miss some peace and quiet, because I live in the countryside at home in Lisbon. Venice is that bright, sweet spot in the middle, where you have the more relaxing presence of the water and the beach, but still connected to Los Angeles.

Noon: Lunch at Gjusta

My manager is a big fan of Gjusta. He goes there all the time, wherever he is staying, so I think it kind of rubbed off on me.

2 p.m.: Facial treatment at Formula Fig in Culver City

A facial treatment is one of my favorite self-care moments when I’m on the road. It helps me relax and keeps me feeling fresh. The area around the Culver City location is also really nice for a walk or to grab a drink or a bite.

4 p.m.: Cruise around L.A. with an old-school Manx Beach Buggy

Manx Beach Buggies are an amazing buzz! I recently had the chance to take one for a spin around the city with my wonderful friends at Race Service, the car culture hub on Venice Boulevard in Mid-City. They had an event at Living Room. People from all over the U.S. drove there with their cars. It was incredibly fun, and it felt very, very L.A.!

6 p.m.: Dinner at Dudley Market

I am kind of into wine, especially natural wines. In Portugal, we are doing a lot with wines. Actually, we are building our own vineyard, so it’s important to us to learn more about natural winemaking. Dudley has amazing food and a great wine selection, and it’s also in Venice, so it’s perfect.

11 p.m.: Night out in a rough and sweaty warehouse like Aurora

As a DJ, I obviously have to end my night on the dance floor. It’s such a primal feeling to go clubbing, to all come together and dance to a beat. To feel this in your chest, it’s an experience that human beings have been doing throughout history. Because of the time that I spent on the dance floor, but also the time that I spent on the other side as a DJ, I would really argue that clubbing is essential in everyone’s life. It’s also self-care. During my last stay in L.A. — the week I released my debut album — I played five shows during a three-day period. I enjoyed all the sets, but to end the day with a deep dive into the night, Aurora Warehouse is a great venue.

Good morning, and welcome to L.A. on the Record — our City Hall newsletter. It’s Noah Goldberg and David Zahniser, with an assist from Melissa Gomez and Connor Sheets, giving you the latest on city and county government.

The city of Los Angeles will shell out $120,000 for outside lawyers to fight a lawsuit filed by a councilmember challenging an ethics fine.

On Wednesday, the City Council voted unanimously to hire the law firm Hecker Fink LLP to represent the city’s Ethics Commission as it defends its decision to fine Councilmember John Lee $138,000 for allegedly violating city gift laws during a notorious 2017 trip to Las Vegas. Lee recused himself from the vote.

The city attorney’s office has said it can’t represent the Ethics Commission in Lee’s lawsuit because of a conflict of interest.

Lee was chief of staff to then-Councilmember Mitchell Englander when the two were plied with meals and alcohol, as well as hotel stays and gambling chips, by people seeking business with the city.

Lee, who represents the northwest San Fernando Valley, has claimed that he made a good faith effort to pay his own way. At a nearly $2,500 dinner that included Kobe beef, Maine lobster, Peking duck and sea bass, the only thing he ate was a spoonful of bird’s nest soup, he said at a hearing in his ethics case.

In 2020, Englander pleaded guilty to a single count of providing false information to the FBI and was sentenced to 14 months in prison. Three years later, he agreed to pay $79,830 to settle an Ethics Commission case focused on his own gift law violations.

The commission levied the fine against Lee in December, finding that he committed two counts of violating the city’s law against accepting gifts above a certain value, three counts of violating a law requiring that such gifts be disclosed to the public and five counts of misusing his city position.

David Tristan, the Ethics Commission’s executive director, had asked the council to provide at least $120,000 to defend against Lee’s lawsuit.

Lee declined to comment on the vote. In his lawsuit, he claimed that the statute of limitations had expired on the matters that were investigated by the Ethics Commission. He also accused the commission of overvaluing the share of gifts he partook in.

Lee is seeking to get the fine overturned.

More churn in the Karen Bass campaign

Turns out the shakeup in Mayor Karen Bass’ campaign did not end with the departure of Douglas Herman, her top strategist.

Herman told The Times on Wednesday that he stepped down due to “strategic differences” over the Nov. 3 runoff campaign against City Councilmember Nithya Raman. Bass’ team said on the same day that they had replaced him with Julie Chávez Rodriguez, who was campaign manager for the Joe Biden and Kamala Harris presidential campaigns in 2024.

A day later, political consultant Larry Grisolano confirmed that he too is no longer with the Bass reelection effort. His company, Thematic Campaigns, had been providing media and digital strategy.

On Friday, Berkeley-based research consultant Mike Rice told The Times that his firm, VR Research, had also left the Bass campaign, effective Wednesday. He declined to comment further.

Bass campaign spokesperson Alex Stack declined to discuss the departures. Asked if the campaign is in disarray, he said no, adding that Chávez Rodriguez’s hiring “is a really big get for us.”

“We’re getting a lot of positive feedback,” Stack said.

Still waiting on eviction defense contracts

In March, it appeared that a battle between City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto and the nonprofit running L.A.’s eviction defense program was over.

At the time, Feldstein Soto said she had concerns over awarding funds to the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, which has sued the city successfully over homelessness issues on multiple occasions. Feldstein Soto argued that contracts should not be awarded without rigorous reports and invoice review from Legal Aid and other nonprofits.

The City Council awarded the contracts anyway, funding the initial portion of a three-year, $177-million deal for Legal Aid and three other nonprofits to provide eviction defense, short-term rental assistance, tenant outreach and more as part of the city’s Stay Housed L.A. program.

But months later, Feldstein Soto’s office still hasn’t executed the contracts, frustrating tenants rights advocates and the nonprofits, which are struggling to pay their staff without the funds from the city.

“We’ve been really in a state of purgatory for over a year,” said Mike Dennis, senior director of housing justice at the Liberty Hill Foundation, which does tenant outreach as part of the city’s program.

Dennis said the failure to execute the contracts has created planning and operational uncertainty for the community-based organizations that Liberty Hill works with. Soon, some of them may face serious issues.

“We’re quickly approaching a point where the organizations are not going to keep being able to pay staff and absorb those costs,” he said. “The longer this goes on, the more likely we are to see contractions in the work.”

Earlier this month, Councilmember Ysabel Jurado put forward a motion asking the city attorney to explain why the contracts have not been executed. Jurado said the delay has left $17 million in funds unused.

“At the same time, the selected contractors struggle to maintain staffing without this funding, placing services for those at risk of homelessness in jeopardy,” she wrote in the June 2 motion.

Feldstein Soto argued in a June 15 response that Legal Aid has failed to agree to the “accountability and reporting requirements” needed to execute the contracts. She said those requirements were designed to make sure that taxpayer funds are spent properly.

“This office will continue to work with proposed contractors until the concerns are sufficiently addressed,” she said in a statement.

State of play

— UNHAPPY MEMORIES: Bass was out of town when the Boyle Heights warehouse fire erupted, which is giving voters a fresh reminder of her absence at the start of the Palisades fire. The situation could have an impact on her reelection campaign against Raman.

— HEADING TO THE BALLOT: A half-cent sales tax hike that would generate $345 million annually for the Los Angeles Fire Department will go before voters in the Nov. 3 election. The measure has been spearheaded by the city’s firefighter union, which gathered the signatures to qualify it for the ballot.

— D.A. DENIED: A judge has rejected Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman’s request to freeze payments in the $4-billion sex abuse settlement approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. The ruling boots Hochman from his brief stint in a civil courtroom as he moves forward with his criminal investigation into lawyers, recruiters and medical practitioners who may have submitted fraudulent claims.

— SOCIALIST SURGE: L.A.’s democratic socialists are looking to expand their power at City Hall yet again, setting their sights on the races for mayor and city attorney. Raman and city attorney hopeful Marissa Roy, both members of the L.A. chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, are heading into the runoff after strong showings in the June 2 primary. (DSA-LA endorsed Roy but not Raman in the primary.)

— A BLOWOUT ELECTION: Property owners across the city voted overwhelmingly against increasing the assessment they pay to maintain streetlights. City leaders had hoped to use the funds — an additional $80 million a year — to speed up repairs and upgrade the city’s 225,000 streetlights.

— CLEARING THE LAND: Overgrown lots razed by the Eaton and Palisades fires pose an increasing wildfire threat to surrounding properties. The county Board of Supervisors recently passed a motion calling on county departments to develop a plan to clear vegetation in Altadena and Sunset Mesa.

QUICK HITS

• Where is Inside Safe? The mayor’s signature program to combat homelessness went to the area around the Wiltern Theatre in Koreatown this week. The area is represented by Councilmember Heather Hutt.
• On the docket next week: On Tuesday, the council takes up a package of ballot measures that would rewrite the City Charter. The changes cover topics such as voting rights for noncitizens, expanded park funding and City Council oversight of policies at the Los Angeles Police Department.

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.

Los Angeles officials have reached a tentative agreement with organizers of the 2028 Olympic Games laying out the process for reimbursing the city for potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in public services.

The agreement, which still needs approval from Mayor Karen Bass and the City Council, would require the privately run Olympic organizing committee LA28 to provide the city with funding in advance to cover services that are ineligible for reimbursement from the federal government, such as traffic control and trash pickup.

The two parties would take a somewhat different approach for police protection at high-security venues. Under the proposed arrangement, the city would seek reimbursement from the federal government for security costs at those locations, said City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo, the city’s top negotiator.

If the federal government does not provide full reimbursement for those security costs, the city would seek to tap LA28’s contingency funds to cover the difference, Szabo said.

“This deal ensures the 2028 Games will have the City services needed to be safe and successful, while protecting the taxpayers from footing the bill,” he said in a statement.

Paul Krekorian, executive director for Bass’ Office of Major Events, praised the agreement.

“Mayor Bass’ priority is that the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games be fiscally responsible, protect taxpayers, and benefit Angelenos for decades to come,” he said. “This agreement helps deliver that commitment.”

Negotiations between the city and LA28 have played out behind closed doors over the last year, even as critics have grown increasingly vocal about the potential for taxpayers to be saddled with huge payouts if the Games fail to generate a profit. If organizers experience significant losses, the city would be on the hook for the first $270 million and possibly more after that.

Szabo acknowledged that under that scenario, the city would be far less likely to recoup all of its security costs if the federal government failed to provide full reimbursement.

Under an agreement finalized in 2021, the organizing committee must reimburse the city for any services that go beyond what would be provided on a normal day at a variety of locations, including parts of downtown L.A., Exposition Park, Venice and elsewhere.

President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” included $1 billion for security, planning and other costs associated with the Olympics. Nevertheless, some elected officials have voiced fears that money might not materialize once the Games are over, or that the city’s security expenses could exceed that amount.

The tentative deal, known as an Enhanced City Resources Master Agreement, goes before the council’s ad hoc committee on the Olympic Games on Tuesday, then to the full council.

Even with the agreement, many of the details surrounding taxpayer services during the Olympics and Paralympics will remain unresolved for at least a year.

The two sides still have to finalize agreements spelling out the services that will be provided at each venue by July 2027. They also must agree on the cost of those services by Oct. 31 of the same year.

According to a summary of the agreement released by the city Friday, Los Angeles World Airports, the Port of Los Angeles and the Department of Water and Power would need to enter into their own service agreements with LA28.

LA28 and the city were supposed to have a tentative agreement in place last fall. The negotiations dragged out for an additional nine months, in large part because of the “inherent complexity of the 2028 Games,” Szabo said in a memo he co-wrote with Sharon Tso, the city’s chief legislative analyst.

Under the terms of the 2021 agreement, LA28 must create a $270-million contingency fund that can be distributed as a surplus if the Games make money, or be used to cover any losses in the event of a shortfall.

The proposal unveiled Friday calls for the five-year-old agreement to be amended to ensure that those contingency funds can be used to cover the city’s costs in the event that other revenue is not enough to pay for certain city services provided during the Games.

The money from that contingency fund would be distributed to the city only after LA28 covers its own costs, according to the city’s summary.

If LA28 does make money, it would not be allowed to distribute its surplus funds to any other organization until after it has covered its financial obligations to the city, according to the tentative agreement.

Jacie Prieto Lopez, LA28’s vice president of communications and public affairs, said in a statement that her organization is pleased to forward the agreement to the council for consideration.

“We proudly stand behind this agreement which delivers on our commitment to execute a safe, secure, and fiscally responsible Games that benefits Los Angeles for decades to come,” she said.

Twenty-four days after the polls closed on election day, Los Angeles County officials have certified the results from the 2,227,461 ballots cast. Despite questions raised about the pace of the vote count, a Times analysis found ballots this June were tallied faster than in previous cycles.

California is known to have a slow vote count, partially because of the state’s grace period for mail-in ballots. This year, counties were required to report most of the ballots by June 15, with some exceptions, including for mail-in ballots received within seven days of election day and ballots requiring additional verification such as signature curing. The process has spurred baseless claims of fraud from President Trump and others, leading the U.S. Supreme Court to take up a case on whether mail-in ballots must be received by election day to count.

The state has reported 9.4 million processed ballots. Officials estimate about 5 ballots remain to be counted and 17,650 are waiting to cure a missing or mismatched signature.

Compared with the last time both governor and Los Angeles mayor were on the ballot, county election officials counted more ballots, and tallied them faster than in 2022, The Times found.

In Los Angeles County, turnout jumped from 28% of eligible voters in the 2022 primary to 38% this June, according to the county registrar. Meanwhile, the share of vote-by-mail ballots dropped about 3 percentage points to 82%, indicating a rise in in-person voting.

Statewide, early results show 41% of registered voters turned up for the June election, up from 33% in 2022, according to the secretary of state. County elections officials must report their final results by July 3, giving state officials a week to certify all election results.

The Los Angeles Times reports election results from the county clerk as well as from the Associated Press. The AP provides ballot counts, a calculation of the expected vote and race calls for statewide and national races.

The expected vote percentage, or EEVP, is an estimate of the total number of votes that will eventually be certified. That number can be adjusted based on new information over time.

“Before counting begins in California, our estimates are primarily informed by turnout in past similar elections plus pre-election data on ballot returns, with projections based on what percentage of ballots had already been received at the same point in past elections,” AP director of election analytics Emily Swanson said in an email.

In the gubernatorial and mayoral races, more than half of the votes were counted by the end of election day, EEVP data show.

Swanson’s team also observed a faster vote count this year than in the 2022 and 2024 primaries.

In January 2024, L.A. County consolidated its election operations into a new ballot processing center in the City of Industry. Dean Logan, head of the L.A. County registrar-recorder/county clerk’s office, told The Times earlier this month that the facility, which is open to observers, is designed for transparency, security and efficiency.

“It doesn’t take long to count. The counting process is very fast,” Logan said ahead of election day. “What extends the time period is those options that are provided under California law for voters — to allow everyone the opportunity to vote up until election day, and then allowing us the time to process those with the same level of security and integrity that we did the ballots that were received two weeks before the election.”

Despite the faster count, the Associated Press took longer to call winners, suggesting these races were more competitive. The AP makes such declarations by determining whether there is an opportunity for a trailing candidate to catch up to the race leader. It has been calling races for nearly 180 years.

Both the gubernatorial and Los Angeles mayoral race saw a 30% increase in votes from 2022. The governor’s race received more than 9.2 million votes compared with 7 million in 2022. The Los Angeles mayor’s race received more than 850,000 votes, an increase from nearly 650,000 in 2022.

The vote counting process for California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada and Alaska may change for the November midterm election, depending on which way the U.S. Supreme Court rules.

Data and graphics assistant editor Sean Greene contributed to this report.

In 2015, musician Roberto Carlos launched Boleros de Noche, an annual concert series held in Los Angeles that aimed at preserving and showcasing the Latin American bolero music genre.

This year, the event is celebrating its 10th anniversary with performances at the Ford on Aug. 1 by Puerto Rican singer and former Calle 13 member iLe and L.A.-based bolero trio Voz Bohemia

On Friday, the city of L.A. honored the series’ decade-long run and legacy of uplifting bolero music by declaring Aug.1 “Día del Bolero.”

Boleros are ballads noted for their slow tempo and romantic lyrics accompanied by a crooning vocal style. Though the genre originated in Cuba, it quickly gained popularity across Latin America, with each culture putting their own spin on it. In the early 20th century, the evolving sound of boleros was shaped by the Cuban group Trio Matamoros, Mexican composer Agustín Lara, Puerto Rican artist Rafael Hernández and Ecuadorian singer Julio Jaramillo.

The genre saw a resurgence in popularity in the 1980s and ‘90s when famed Mexican artists Juan Gabriel and Luis Miguel embraced the bolero sound. In recent years, the bolero movement has been modernized and electrified by artists such as Mon Laferte, Romeo Santos, Adrian Quesada and Kali Uchis. In the last five years, Quesada has released two bolero albums, “Boleros Psicodélicos” and “Boleros Psicodélicos II,” that mix the genre’s classic sounds with elements of psychedelic rock.

“Over the past decade, Boleros de Noche has presented numerous concerts featuring both local and international artists, has brought together thousands of people across the city to bask in the lush orchestration of this music,” said City Councilmember Nithya Raman, who presented Carlos with the honor. “For so many in the Latino community and beyond, this isn’t just music, it’s memory, it’s home, and perhaps most importantly, it’s heritage being carried forward.”

Raised in L.A. County by parents who immigrated from the Mexican state of Oaxaca, Carlos says he first fell in love with live performance and bolero music in his midteens, when he would frequent the now-defunct Teatro los Pinos in South Gate.

He yearned for that same level of comfort and awe at music and wanted to share that with a larger audience. The first iteration of Boleros de Noche took place in 2015 at an art gallery in Echo Park.

“Over the years, I have heard countless stories from audience members who tell me how this music reminds them of their parents, grandparents, first loves and family traditions,” Carlos said Friday at City Hall. “Ten years ago, bolero was rarely part of our city’s cultural conversation, and today bolero programming can be found across Los Angeles, and I’m honored that Boleros de Noche has been a driving force behind its growth.”

Boleros de Noche has sold out shows at the Ford over the last few years and has featured artists such as Gaby Moreno, Marisoul and the legendary trio Los Panchos. In 2025, the event made its debut at Chicago’s historic Symphony Center.

The bolero genre’s popularity and cultural significance has been spotlighted outside of L.A. in recent years as well.

On Dec. 5, 2023, UNESCO, the United Nation’s agency aimed at safeguarding social and cultural foundations, recognized the musical genre as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

As part of Friday’s ceremony, Carlos and his bolero group Los Rebeldes Románticos performed several tunes, including the Mexican bolero classic “Sabor a Mí.”

Last year, Carlos spoke with The Times about his ambitions for Boleros de Noche and the mentality that drives the event series.

“At Boleros de Noche, [I want] for us to speak in Spanish, to feel recognized, to do this music as a celebration for all these artists that unfortunately became background music for a lot of like weddings and quinceañeras,” he said. “How about if we celebrate them and give them recognition? How about if, through my events, I can take people back to the 1940s to my experience at Teatro los Pinos?”

Given recent attacks on Latinos on the local and national levels, Carlos said he hoped his events would create a safe and welcoming gathering place.

“It’s about bolero music. It’s about community. It’s about people. It’s about the musicians,” he said. “Many of the musicians were undocumented. They brought this music to L.A. through their hometowns.”

Los Angeles property owners voted against an increase in an assessment for maintaining streetlights that would have collected an additional $80 million a year, as the city faces a backlog of broken streetlights due to stagnant funding and a rise in vandalism.

The assessment has not changed since 1996. Property owners had until June 2 to submit their votes, which were weighted by the amount of their parcel’s proposed assessment. According to results released Thursday, nearly 80% of the weighted vote went against raising the assessment, which currently generates about $45 million a year.

For the average single-family home, which make up the majority of parcels, the current payment is $58 annually, or about $5 a month, according to Miguel Sangalang, executive director and general manager of the Bureau of Street Lighting. The increase would have brought the average annual bill to $117, or about $10 a month.

The proposed increase would have brought the total amount collected by the assessment to $125 million a year.

In a joint statement Thursday, Mayor Karen Bass, Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson and City Councilmembers Eunisses Hernandez and Katy Yaroslavsky said that despite the result, the “critical work will continue” to address the broken streetlights that have plunged neighborhoods into darkness across the city.

“Despite this outcome, the City remains committed to improving streetlight reliability, repairing outages faster, and building a sustainable funding path for streetlight operations and maintenance,” the group statement said. “Every Angeleno deserves to feel safe walking their dogs, returning home from work, and parking their cars at night, and the City is committed to delivering the reliable street lighting that makes that a reality.”

The Bureau of Street Lighting owns and operates nearly 225,000 streetlights across the city, which have historically been covered by the assessment. The average repair time for a streetlight was one year, bureau officials said in February.

Without more revenue from the assessment, city officials have been looking for alternative funding. The City Council has said it will finance $65 million for solar-powered streetlights.

Bass recently announced an initiative to repair and replace 60,000 streetlights over the next two years, and several council members have turned to their district’s discretionary funding to fix broken streetlights in their districts.

Hernandez, who chairs the council’s Public Works Committee, said in a statement that the result doesn’t change the fact that the city is trying to maintain a 21st century lighting system with an outdated funding model.

“If this assessment isn’t the path forward, then it’s our responsibility to build one through better leveraging City assets like light poles, exploring new revenue opportunities, and pursuing reforms to outdated state laws like Proposition 218 that make it extraordinarily difficult for cities as large as Los Angeles to maintain basic public infrastructure,” she said.

Broken streetlights have emerged as an issue in the mayoral election, with Councilmember Nithya Raman citing broken lights as an example of how the city “can’t seem to manage the basics.” Raman is facing Bass in a Nov. 2 runoff.

In February, city council members announced a plan to replace streetlights with solar-powered versions, in an attempt to deter copper wire theft. About 1 in 10 streetlights are out of service because of disrepair or copper wire theft, according to the city.

A well-known example is the Sixth Street Bridge, where thieves stole seven miles’ worth of wire.

WASHINGTON — California’s two Democratic senators on Thursday criticized the Trump administration after it requested $87.6 billion from Congress to address some of the nation’s most “urgent needs” but omitted funding for victims of last year’s Los Angeles wildfires.

“Donald Trump’s desire to punish Los Angeles and the state of California for not voting for him, means once again that thousands of Angelinos are left watching this administration fight for anything but them, their businesses, and their communities,” Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff said in a joint statement.

“These fires did not discriminate based on party or political preference. Neither should this administration,” they added.

The omission is the latest strain in a yearlong standoff between California leaders and the Trump administration over federal disaster aid, and it comes after Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger met with President Trump at the Oval Office in April to request the funding.

At the meeting, Trump signaled his commitment to working with local officials to help with disaster recovery efforts. The officials asked for $16 billion that would be split between the city and county. The money would consist primarily of disbursements from the Federal Emergency Management Agency flagged for communities hit by the fires, part of a $33.9-billion wildfire relief funding request made by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Two months later, those talks have yet to yield results sought by local leaders.

The budget request, submitted by the Office of Management and Budget on Wednesday, mostly seeks funding for the Pentagon to address costs related to the Iran war. It also includes $11.1 billion in economic assistance for American farmers, $1.4 billion to address the Ebola virus outbreak in Central Africa, $500 million to support “ongoing efforts to complete restorations and construction projects” across the nation’s capital and $1 billion to boost the pensions of workers at General Motors that were cut as a result of the automaker’s bankruptcy.

“I urge the Congress to take action on these important and urgent requests as soon as possible,” White House budget director Russell Vought wrote in a letter addressed to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).

Vought said the administration was open to discussing “additional relief for other urgent matters.” The White House did not immediately respond when asked why the budget request did not mention the Eaton and Palisades disaster relief funds.

State leaders, including Newsom, have repeatedly accused the Trump administration of stonewalling billions in wildfire aid. The governor visited Washington in December to meet with lawmakers, including three who serve on the Senate and House appropriations committees, to push for the funding.

The governor also attempted to meet with FEMA about the matter, but said his request was denied. Newsom, a political foe of Trump’s, would not say whether he had attempted to meet with Trump to talk about the recovery efforts.

The Sports Report Hall of Fame, other sports edition

Those of you who read the Dodgers Dugout newsletter know that for the last few years, we have done a Dodgers Dugout Hall of Fame, asking readers to vote for former Dodgers whom they believe should be in this more fan-oriented Hall of Fame. Clayton Kershaw was the most recent inductee.

Which got me thinking (always a dangerous thing), what if we had a Sports Report Hall of Fame, as selected by the readers, of people who made a huge impact on the local sports scene?

This week, the category is the other sports, mainly MLS and WNBA. Is it a perfect category? No, and there will probably be a separate category for soccer next year, with the Sparks moving over to a pro basketball category. You can vote for up to five people. You don’t have to vote for five, you can vote for any number up to and including five. Your vote should depend on what the person did on and off the field only as a member of their local team. The rest of their career doesn’t count.

If there’s a name not on here that you think should be, please send me an email so that person can be included in next year’s ballot.

Any records mentioned are at the time that person retired.

Whoever is named on at least 75% of the ballots will be elected. The three people receiving the fewest votes will be dropped from future ballots for at least the next two years. A person must be retired as a player to appear on the ballot.

How do you vote? For this week’s ballot, click here. Results will be announced every Tuesday.

So, without further ado, here is the ballot for the other sports/colleges category.

David Beckham—Six-year tenure with the Galaxy (2007–2012) revolutionized American soccer. Arriving as the league’s first Designated Player, Beckham’s tenure ultimately yielded two consecutive MLS Cup titles in 2011 and 2012 before he departed for Paris Saint-Germain.

George Best—Best joined soccer’s L.A. Aztecs in 1976 after a stellar career with Manchester United. He scored 15 goals in 24 appearances in his first season, but declined after that.

Mauricio Cienfuegos—Playmaker for the Galaxy from 1996 to 2003, making 206 regular-season appearances, scoring 35 goals and 80 assists. Helped the club win the 2002 MLS Cup, the 2001 U.S. Open Cup, and the 2000 CONCACAF Champions Cup.

Johann Cruyff—Joined the Aztecs for just one season in 1979, but scored 13 goals in 25 games and won the most valuable player award.

Landon Donovan—Had a highly decorated career with the Galaxy, making 247 appearances, scoring 112 goals and leading the team to four MLS Cups.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic—played for the Galaxy and in just 58 appearances, he dominated the league, scoring 53 goals and 15 assists. His was named MLS newcomer of the year and had a record-breaking 31-goal season.

Cobi Jones—Spent his entire 12-season Major League Soccer career with the Galaxy. Midfielder made 306 regular-season appearances, scored 70 goals, and provided 91 assists, helping the club secure two MLS Cups and two U.S. Open Cups.

Robbie Keane—Scored 104 goals in 165 matches with the Galaxy and was a key member behind the early 2010s dynasty, earning the 2014 MLS MVP award.

Lisa Leslie—The best player in Sparks history. A three-time WNBA MVP, two-time Finals MVP, and eight-time First Team All-WNBA selection. She led the team to championships in 2001 and 2002.

Mwadi Mabika—Fifth in points scored in Sparks history and a key member of the 2001 and 2002 titles teams.

DeLisha Milton-Jones—A forward who played a major role on the Sparks’ 2001 and 2002 championship teams. Known for her clutch play and is fourth all-time in points scored in team history.

Candace Parker—Drafted first overall by the Sparks in 2008, Parker won the rookie of the year and MVP awards in her debut season. One of the best players in WNBA history, she was the Finals MVP during the Sparks’ 2016 championship run.

Laffit Pincay Jr.—Winningest jockey in Santa Anita history.

Bill Shoemaker—One of the best jockeys in Santa Anita history.

Carlos Vela—LAFC’s first-ever Designated Player. In 2019, he scored a record-breaking 34 goals to lead the Black & Gold to the Supporters’ Shield and was named the MLS MVP. Captained LAFC to its first MLS Cup title in 2022. Retired as the team’s all-time leader in matches played (152), goals (78) and assists (59).

You can vote here. You can vote for up to five people.

Voting is still open in these categories:

To vote in the other colleges ballot, click here.

To vote in the USC ballot, click here.

To vote in the NHL ballot, click here.

The inductees so far:

MLB
Don Drysdale
Clayton Kershaw
Sandy Koufax
Vin Scully
Fernando Valenzuela

NBA
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Elgin Baylor
Kobe Bryant
Chick Hearn
Magic Johnson
Jerry West

NFL
Eric Dickerson
Deacon Jones
Merlin Olsen

UCLA
Lew Alcindor
Arthur Ashe
Ann Meyers
Jackie Robinson
Bill Walton
John Wooden

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.

Diego Cano-Lasso had been looking for an architectural project when he found two hillside lots with spectacular views for sale in Mt. Washington. With work scarce in 2012, the SCI-Arc graduate persuaded his family to invest in the property, and together they bought the two plots for $95,000.

“We are not developers,” he says, “but sometimes you have to jump.”

He didn’t realize the Mt. Washington project would take 12 years to complete, including a shutdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, or that he, his family and friends would end up doing much of the work themselves.

Diego Cano-Lasso stands in front of the hillside lots in 2012. (Hassan Ismail) The lots today. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

As a fan of Los Angeles’ Midcentury Modern architecture, he imagined designing and building a post-and-beam dream home next-door to a similar home by his aunt Lucia Cano and her husband, José Selgas, of the Madrid architecture firm SelgasCano, stretching over the hillside and connecting to the city below.

Growing up in Madrid, the 41-year-old Cano-Lasso first discovered modernist architecture as a child while visiting his grandfather Julio Cano Lasso’s architecture office. There, he saw architectural photographer Julius Shulman’s famous photo of Pierre Koenig’s glass and steel Case Study House No. 22 in West Hollywood, one of L.A.’s most iconic homes and a lasting symbol of midcentury L.A.

“It’s why I moved here,” Cano-Lasso says. “Midcentury design was like a dream to me, because it’s not just an architectural style; it’s a lifestyle.”

But his dream quickly hit a snag when the geotechnical engineer arrived in Mt. Washington to assess the site.

“He said the plots were unbuildable,” Cano-Lasso recalls. “He told me, ‘It is impossible. We cannot even do the soils report, because a big machine can’t fit up here on these narrow streets.’”

Eventually, Cano-Lasso found someone who visited the site and said, “No problem.”

La Canaria House by José Selgas and Lucia Cano features canary yellow aluminum tubes.

Cano-Lasso and his wife, Belén Rodero, in the open kitchen and living area of La Canaria House.

Then the city told him that he didn’t have the right to build on the property. To get permission, Cano-Lasso and his family would need to widen the narrow street, put in a sewer system and add a power pole.

Permits were just as difficult. According to Cano-Lasso, neighbors complained about the project, and the city bureaucracy dragged out the process for three years.

Eventually, he and his crew began digging into the hillside and moved more than 120 truckloads of soil through the steep, narrow streets of Mt. Washington. Without a general contractor, they managed construction themselves and hired different crews for each job.

When COVID-19 hit, construction on the project stopped, and Cano-Lasso returned to Spain. Construction did not restart until 2022, by which time the construction industry had changed and the project felt even more challenging to complete.

“Everything cost more, and there weren’t enough skilled workers,” Cano-Lasso says. As a result, Juan de Santiago, the master builder Cano-Lasso hired and calls “paramount to the project,” was too busy to finish the houses, which had windows and drywall but still needed finishing.

“The only way we could do it was by doing most of the work ourselves and with friends,” Cano-Lasso says.

With help from his brother Alejandro Cano, who is also known as Cato, and his wife, Belén Rodero, they handled everything from carpentry and metal work to lighting, wall finishes, flooring, painting, furniture, custom garage doors and landscaping.

“What I didn’t realize at the time — not even when hundreds of boxes of Moroccan tiles showed up at our door in Madrid — was that I was signing up for both a crash course and a career in tiling,” Cato says of designing murals for three of the Cano Home’s four walls. “I wasn’t expecting to lay a single tile, let alone take on the filing, sanding, rearrangement and all the care and attention required when most tiles come in odd sizes.”

Seven years and plenty of mishaps later, including the time a truck got stuck on the narrow, winding streets of Mt. Washington hauling 42-foot wooden beams, Cano-Lasso finally has a finished home that feels peaceful and warm.

With eye-catching details everywhere, the 2,250-square-foot homes feel relaxed and reflect the style of a Spanish designer inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright and Rudolph Schindler. (Cano-Lasso once lived in Schindler’s Sachs apartment in Silver Lake.) The open floor plan, designed by his father, Spanish architect Diego Cano Pintos, features warm oak floors, inexpensive radiata pine walls and ribbed wood ceilings.

“I am enjoying witnessing the house being lived in,” Cano-Lasso says of renting his house to music producer Jennifer Jimenez and interior designer Hanna Li, pictured right.

The rooms of the Cano House are filled with colorful art, accessories and custom furniture by Andrew Riiska and Cato. “Although we were working toward a deadline on a project that had already been under construction for several years, most pieces of furniture were designed and fabricated on site, with the conviction that we were building something special,” Cato says of setting up a furniture workshop in the garage.

Ceramic rain gutters from Ceramiques Est in Spain have been repurposed as wall-mounted light fixtures for indoor use. Door handles are made from stones found on the beach, and glass light fixtures by Luz Mixtura in Spain echo Robert Irwin’s disc installations. Large boulders from the excavation were brought inside to serve as furniture. Built-ins were made in Spain and shipped to Los Angeles in three containers. Outside, the house is covered in shou sugi ban charred-wood siding, which they installed themselves.

Both homes have similar structures and layouts with four bedrooms and four bathrooms, but La Canaria House features canary yellow powder-coated aluminum tubes inspired by California sunsets, while the Cano House is minimal and warm. “The homes are all about the beams,” Cano-Lasso says, which makes them look like they are floating above the city.

The neutral rooms feel warm and simple, with striking pops of yellow that reflect Southern California’s sunshine and decks that allow a smooth flow from indoors to outdoors.

Li, left, and Jimenez in their music room. The custom DJ workstation, designed by Li, is clad in ceramic tiles designed to look like plywood.

Behind the Cano House, Cano-Lasso created a narrow outdoor space with built-in banquette seating, a raised-bed herb garden and a water fountain. Now the house opens up to the outdoors, making it easy to entertain. “The garden is the coolest feature,” he says. “It really makes the house feel special.”

In some ways, the modern design has revived the midcentury ideal by using post-and-beam construction, an open floor plan, simple materials and easy indoor-outdoor access, all with Cano Lasso’s artistic touch.

But finishing the project also left Cano-Lasso with the large debt he took on — he estimates the project cost about $1 million, although he saved around 40% by acting as his own contractor.

Cano-Lasso and his wife divide their time between La Canaria House and a project in Venice, so he is renting out his dream house to interior designer Hannah Li and music producer Jennifer Jimenez, who grew up together in Pasadena.

Li descends the spiral staircase to the music room on the first floor.

Renting such a personal project might seem overwhelming for the tenants, since the rental included some of Cano-Lasso’s custom furnishings, but the two have made the house their own. They added a striking listening room on the first floor, with a turntable lined with ceramic tiles designed by Li to resemble plywood.

“We’re all artists in this house,” Jimenez says. “We’re always creating here, and other music producers often come over to make music and jam with us. It’s such an inspiring, creative space.”

“It’s a very comfortable house,” adds Li, who enjoys practicing archery on the terrace deck.

The friends’ rental is filled with treasures from their travels, along with pieces Li designed specifically for the home. Li turned one of the first-floor bedrooms into a cozy study by paneling the walls with wood and adding textiles she collected on her trips.

Recently, they hosted a birthday party with art-making stations, candle-making and even goats and they invited their landlord. “Mt. Washington has so many artists, so it’s wonderful to bring everyone together,” Li says.

Cano-Lasso, greets Jimenez, center, and Li on their side-by-side terraces.

When asked if he might consider tackling another hillside project, Cano-Lasso laughs.

“When I finished, I said, ‘I will never do that again,’” he says. “Now I’m starting to think there’s a plot of land for sale nearby. We installed a sewer line, so why not take advantage of it?”

Despite his debt, he isn’t planning to sell the house. “In a way, the project doesn’t finish with construction; I am enjoying witnessing the house being lived in,” he says. Even if he’s not the one living in it.

Bob Blumenfield would like to see Angelenos’ old banana peels and moldy bread stay local.

On Tuesday morning, the City Council member told a small crowd of waste advocates in front of city hall that he was introducing a motion to reduce the city’s greenhouse gas emissions by strengthening local composting infrastructure and decreasing reliance on distant facilities.

Currently, when city residents separate their food waste and yard clippings, chances are it’s being trucked to faraway processing facilities in Bakersfield or Lancaster.

The motion would help the city meet targets set by California’s Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy, or Senate Bill 1383, which phases out sending green waste to the landfill, because it is a major source of the powerful climate pollutant methane.

It also would help meet Mayor Bass’ Climate Action Plan, which aims to use at least 50% of locally produced compost and mulch within Los Angeles by 2030. Currently, only 25% to 30% of the city’s material is applied to land locally.

The city produces approximately 350,000 tons of organic material a year, Blumenfield told the crowd, which he said equates to roughly 1.2 to 1.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.

“That’s a big number, and when you do the math,” he said, that’s roughly the same amount of carbon dioxide released by the entire country of Belize, the entirety of Humboldt County or the equivalent of burning 1.6 billion pounds of coal per year.

As the announcement was underway, in the background a fire burned for a sixth day in a Boyle Heights warehouse, where 85 million pounds of frozen food was thawing and beginning to rot.

Signed into law in 2016, the state’s composting bill mandated a gradual increase in the amount of organic waste that must be diverted away from landfills. It required 50% of all green and food waste be diverted by 2020; by 2025, that number was supposed to hit 75%.

But it hasn’t. Although Los Angeles has pushed to get a residential curbside bin program in place — recall the “Great Green Bin Apocalypse of 2025” — it has struggled to get people to comply.

According to reports for the recycLA program, a commercial and multifamily waste collection franchise program, only about half of households and business are separating their compostable waste.

Alex Helou, assistant general manager of L.A. Sanitation & Environment, provided a much brighter picture of the city’s food waste situation. L.A. is the first major city to provide green bins to 750,000 residential customers, he said. The city has “exceeded expectations” in food recovery, he said, saving 80 million meals that would have been thrown out and redirecting them to people in need.

Helou said Blumenfield’s motion completes the loop by keeping food waste close to home, creating more local composting and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transporting waste outside of the city. It doesn’t directly affect the city’s compliance with SB 1383, but that isn’t necessary, he said. “We’re meeting that and exceeding that at multiple fronts.”

Blumenfield’s initiative directs the Bureau of Sanitation to develop a plan for expanding local composting across the city. It would also increase the use of locally produced compost and mulch.

For instance, the motion would encourage using the compost on urban farms and at community gardens and city parks. It also would be used to replace artificial grass and turf.

It will support a “citywide transition away from artificial turf and towards nature-based solutions, such as California native plants and natural grass plant fields, and ensure everyone has access to safer, cooler, and sustainable parks, schools, and communities,” said Terry Saucier, a Tarzana resident and member of the Neighborhood Council Sustainability Alliance and the Tarzana Neighborhood Council.

The state’s composting law has proved challenging on several fronts.

The Antelope Valley has become a dumping site for many of the city’s haulers looking to cut transport and facility costs — causing concern among environmentalists and others who say the material is destroying fragile ecosystems.

Complying has been particularly difficult for Los Angeles and much of coastal Southern California, where there are few large composters and low demand for compost. Unlike areas to the north, there is little agricultural demand for compost and mulch.

Experts say dumping in the desert has always been a problem, but the law made it worse by making it more expensive and difficult to deal with.

In addition, composters are struggling with the amount of plastic and other debris that people and businesses put in the food waste bins.

According to a report by Closed Loop Partners, which partners with companies such as Pepsico and McDonald’s, nearly 4% of food waste is contaminated with other materials — most of it plastic. State law requires that finished compost contains no more than 0.5% by dry weight of physical contaminants.

If You Stay

(Giacomo Bagnara / For The Times)

When you live in Los Angeles, there are far worse fates than being stuck in the city all summer. Our thriving food capital draws diners out with sunlit farmers markets, midnight taco stands, multigenerational kebab shops and serene sushi dens. Community-oriented breweries, stylish wine bars and glimmering rooftop destinations round out the scene.

Whether you’re a lifelong Angeleno, new transplant or just passing through, you’ll want to get to know the 50 essential dining experiences that define eating in L.A. right now, from a pastrami sandwich at an iconic deli near MacArthur Park to a char-spotted tlayuda at a burgeoning food bazaar in West Adams and an L.A.-shaped churro from a rising Highland Park panadería.

Don’t miss our guide with nearly two-dozen new bar openings across the city. Finally, a handful of sparkling rooftops recently debuted across the city, offering vistas into neighborhoods we rarely spy from up above.

Thoughtfully compiled by our Food staff over the course of several months, we invite you to return to these lists whenever you’re seeking an answer to that perennial question: Where should I go next? — Danielle Dorsey

If You Go

(Giacomo Bagnara / For The Times)

There’s no easier way to get to know a new place than through its food. Wandering markets, eating at food stalls, sitting among locals and fellow travelers at the restaurants that embody a city. Its flavors and customs and ways of living are revealed to us over dinner or even a simple morning coffee.

And for those of us who are lucky enough to write about food for a living, traveling with an eater’s mindset gives us a deeper understanding of places we’ve read about in cookbooks and novels or seen in movies.

Each of us at L.A. Times Food keeps a running list of our favorite restaurants in some of the world’s great cities — and we want to share what we know with you. The recommendations that follow are not meant to be definitive for any given place. These are personal guides by dedicated eaters to some of the places we’ve loved during our wanderings around the globe.

If you’d like to share your own personal favorites with us, we’d love to hear from you in the comments below. — Laurie Ochoa

A new sales tax that would generate $345 million annually for the Los Angeles Fire Department will go before voters later this year, the City Council decided Tuesday, as a stubborn warehouse blaze burned for a seventh day on the city’s eastern edge.

The council voted 14-0 to put the half-cent sales tax hike on the Nov. 3 ballot, with supporters saying the additional funds would go toward more firefighters, new fire stations and new equipment, such as firetrucks and helicopters.

The vote came nearly 18 months after the outbreak of the Palisades fire, which destroyed thousands of homes in Pacific Palisades, Malibu and other coastal areas, leaving 12 people dead. But it more immediately coincided with the city’s fight to extinguish the blaze at the Boyle Heights cold storage facility, which has spread smoke across the region over the last week.

The campaign for the sales tax hike is being spearheaded by United Firefighters of Los Angeles City Local 112, the union that represents nearly 3,400 firefighters. Appearing before the council, union leaders pointed to the Boyle Heights fire as the latest sign that the city needs more money for emergency response.

“This is our plan to undo decades of under-investment in the department,” said Ryan Quigley, a 23-year firefighter/paramedic who also serves as the union’s secretary.

Mayor Karen Bass, through a spokesperson, said she is grateful to the union for bringing the tax proposal forward.

“[The mayor] has championed this measure from the very beginning,” the spokesperson, Paige Sterling, said in a statement.

The firefighters union began gathering signatures for the tax earlier this year, submitting them to the city clerk last month. Since then, backers have voiced confidence that it would pass, given the growing concern across the city about urban wildfires.

Still, the path to victory could be complicated by recent events.

Last month, Los Angeles County voters narrowly passed a different half-cent sales tax hike that’s expected to raise $1 billion annually to pay for healthcare. That measure, which received just above the 50% needed for passage, pushed the tax rate within the city of Los Angeles to 10.25 cents for every dollar of spending.

If voters approve the fire tax increase as well, the rate will jump to 10.75 cents per dollar.

The firefighters union also will be campaigning in a year when one of its recent leaders, Adam Walker, has been charged with one count each of grand theft and forgery. He has been accused of stealing more than $82,000 from a charity for injured firefighters to pay for his online gambling, his mortgage and other personal expenses.

Union President Doug Coates said Walker left his position two years ago. The union, he said, intends to make clear to voters that “the money is going to the right thing.”

So far, no one has emerged as an opponent of the tax increase. The Central City Assn., a downtown-based business group, is supporting the fire tax.

Susan Shelley, spokesperson for the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn., said her organization has not taken a position on the proposal. Still, she argued that sales taxes in general are “extremely regressive,” hitting the hardest for Angelenos who can afford it the least.

“Our view is that the city budget should be prioritized to fund the fire department from the first dollar, not the last dollar,” Shelley said. “And that there shouldn’t be a need for a tax increase.”

The sales tax hike, if approved by voters, would represent the most significant public investment in the fire department since 2000, when voters passed a $532-million bond measure to pay for new facilities. Backers said the tax increase would help the department speed up emergency response times, while also building new fire stations and repairing existing ones.

The firefighters union began work on the tax proposal more than two years ago, before the inferno that erupted on Jan. 7, 2025, and carved a lethal path through Pacific Palisades and other communities. Still, the push for more funding gained greater attention in the wake of the fire.

While the flames were still raging, then-Fire Chief Kristin Crowley went on local and national television to accuse city leaders of failing to give her department the resources it needed. The media blitz shocked some at City Hall, who believed Crowley should have waited until the emergency was over before publicly assigning blame.

Crowley and the union said city leaders had forced the department to scale back its operations amid a budget crunch. Bass and the city’s policy analysts pointed out that fire department spending grew that year, largely because of pay increases given to firefighters.

Bass ultimately ousted Crowley, saying the chief failed to properly deploy firefighters amid warnings of dangerous Santa Ana winds. Crowley, who was demoted to another position, filed a lawsuit against the city, saying the mayor engaged in a retaliation campaign.

The fire that broke out last week at the Lineage Logistics cold storage facility has helped to rekindle calls for additional fire department funding.

Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, whose Eastside district has been enveloped in smoke in recent days, told her colleagues Tuesday that climate change and corporate negligence are making such emergencies “more frequent and more severe.”

“Whether it’s the devastating fires that hit Altadena and the Palisades last year, or the Boyle Heights warehouse fire currently affecting air quality and public health across the whole city, every one of our districts is feeling the impacts,” she said, before voting to put the tax on the ballot.

Councilmember Traci Park, who represents the Palisades, said the fires in the Palisades and Boyle Heights have “exposed Los Angeles’ urgent need to modernize LAFD for the realities and demands of a modern century.”

Fire Chief Jaime Moore, in an interview Monday, said he asked Bass to declare a state of emergency last week so that his department could obtain additional resources to fight the Boyle Heights fire, including firefighters, firetrucks, drone pilots and hazardous materials teams.

“I had firefighters work Wednesday afternoon, Thursday, Friday, Saturday. I talked to my incident commander, and he goes, ‘Chief, these guys are getting their butts kicked.’ And that’s when I said, ‘I’m gonna reach out to the mayor, and I’m gonna see what I can do to get the state of emergency declared.’”

Supporters of the sales tax increase contend the department lacks the personnel to serve a city of nearly 4 million people. According to the union, L.A. has nearly 3,400 firefighters, roughly the same number as 50 years ago.

If voters pass the sales tax hike, the city would have the funds to bring the department up to 5,000 firefighters by 2050, union officials said.

At the beginning of Mary H.K. Choi’s wildly entertaining presentation for her new novel “Pool House’” at Skylight Books, she reveals she won’t be reading.

“Readings are boring,” she says, tapping her Prada loafers. “It’s like you’re watching someone else play video games.”

Instead, she and Yasi Salek, host of the hit podcast “Bandsplain,” spend the evening riffing on literature, coolness, autism diagnoses and a literary perennial: unrelenting pain.

“How is your mother wound?” Salek asks in her signature vocal fry most often heard ad-libbing about the band Weezer. Salek reveals she is in Jungian therapy, adding, “What Carl says, goes.”

Throughout the discussion, Choi describes her novel as a challenging read — calling it a “gross, decaying meat soup.” She jokes that her career as an author feels like a “Make-A-Wish Foundation wish,” bewildered by any attention her work has garnered. Yet dozens of eager readers have packed into the independent bookstore, spilling into the aisles with copies of the novel balanced on their laps.

“Publishing is so slow, it’s like giving birth to a lawn chair,” Choi remarks. Later, she professes tedium with the resurgence of an alt-lit scene.

“Don’t you find that everyone has to be cool right now? Why is everyone so cool?” Choi asks Salek.

Let’s be clear: Salek and Choi are very cool. Salek sits cross-legged, dressed in all black, with a heart tattoo on her forearm that reads “books.” Before “Pool House,” Choi authored three New York Times bestselling novels. Salek recounts dropping out of her MFA program at Bennington College in 2020 to start what would become a cult-classic podcast.

Book-themed sugar cookies sold at a past Little Literary Fair at Hauser & Wirth.

(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

“I love that you started a podcast instead of getting an MFA,” Choi replies.

Like Skylight Books, independent bookstores across Los Angeles have become gathering places for readers and writers alike. Authors ranging from household names to debut novelists regularly draw enthusiastic crowds. Increasingly, bookstores are functioning not only as retail spaces but as community hubs.

A few blocks from Echo Park Lake, local favorite A Good Used Book has transformed Sunday mornings into one of the neighborhood’s liveliest recurring gatherings. Visitors browse used books while enjoying charcoal portraits, handmade jewelry and Hawaiian shaved ice. Buy a book and you might even end up on the store’s coveted Instagram Story — the hottest plug in town.

“It feels like in a city as big as Los Angeles, books are still underrepresented. So there’s a lot of room to grow, and that’s exciting,” says Chris Capizzi, who founded the bookstore in 2017.

Earlier this month, the Los Angeles Review of Books hosted its annual Little Literary Fair at SCI-Arc, drawing hundreds to literary panels and workshops on zine-making, publishing and finding an agent. Vendors from across California filled the space, representing independent presses, bookstores and literary magazines.

“I find writers based [in the L.A. area] to be socially incisive in equal measure as being experimental, innovative and just fun,” says Emily VanKoughnett, the events director at the Los Angeles Review of Books. “I love the L.A. lit scene because it invites people to explore pockets of the city and connect over writing.”

This summer, literary events across Los Angeles are continuing to draw readers into bookstores, community spaces and alternative venues alike. The city’s literary scene remains as weird, profane and sentimental as ever.

L.A. bars offer something for everyone. Want to sip amaro cocktails in a moody Echo Park bar? We’ve got the spot for you. Or maybe you prefer a beachside tiki haunt with frozen Dole Whip and crab rangoons. What about a sprawling West Hollywood rooftop overlooking the hills, or a destination for locally produced sake in Sawtelle Japantown? Much like the drinks that flow from these newly established institutions, the options are endless.

A neighborhood favorite dive relaunched in its former Echo Park location, while a new gastropub brings Korean bar culture to Highland Park. In West Hollywood, a karaoke lounge elevates the art with luxurious surroundings, and just next door, a lesbian-owned LGBTQ+ club debuted just in time for Pride Month. Tapas seemingly is taking the city by storm, with two Spanish cafes on opposite sides of the city offering pintxos and bocaditos alongside vermouth and Tempranillo wines.

Nonalcoholic options are more thoughtful than ever, presenting those of us who aren’t drinkers with smart and layered concoctions that prove just as complex as their boozy counterparts. In Los Feliz, a veteran bar team launched a cocktail destination that puts the focus on L.A.’s seasonal produce, and in Beverly Hills, a three-Michelin-starred chef is behind a stylish new restaurant and lounge in a luxury retail shop. Here are 23 of L.A.’s best new bars to visit this summer and beyond. — Danielle Dorsey

“Do you have an extra ticket?” a man shouted outside SoFi Stadium last Thursday.

The World Cup has been drawing fans from around the globe. But for many, getting a seat in the stadium has come at a steep price.

Some were lucky enough to nab $400 to $500 tickets through official World Cup lotteries, others paid thousands of dollars to catch the action IRL. Tickets for the upcoming USA versus Turkey match were selling for more than $1,400 on resale sites.

The demand has been so high that authorities have been warning fans about how to avoid ticket scams.

As crowds flocked into the stadium, we asked attendees about how much they paid to get into the most-watched sporting event in the world. Here’s what they shared.

Their responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Luis Moreno, Luis Moreno Jr., Angelica Castellano, Diana Moreno and Ramon Aguilera of Orange County

Luis Moreno, Luis Moreno Jr., Angelica Castellanos, Diana Moreno and Ramon Aguilera sport Mexico gear.

How much did you pay for your tickets?

Diana: We don’t want to say because I don’t want our parents to know.

*Whispers* We paid retail. It was like $500 per ticket. For Father’s Day, we wanted to make sure he got to enjoy it.

Why did you want to attend the World Cup?

Castellano: We went in ‘86 in Mexico, ‘94 in Pasadena and now here. We’re excited because I want to enjoy it with my kids. If we didn’t come, I would’ve been sad because they need to see how it is.

Diana: Now, it’s our turn. Even though [today’s match] is not our country, we still had to come and experience it. We’ll watch our team play later on the big screen.

Did you have to give up anything to be here?

Diana: Work, but that doesn’t matter. This is more important. Time with family.

Luis Jr.: Sleep. [Laughs]

Diana: It’s Thursday. We’re out here watching the game, we’re drinking, so there’s no complaints.

Was it worth it?

Diana: Absolutely. No matter what happens today. The fact that we’re here, it’s already a success.

Tell me about your outfit. You’re rocking Paisaboys, an L.A. brand.

Diana: I got the Paisaboys shirt on, repping. I know they have a collaboration with Nike. I got my Nike shoes on and I’m just ready to have a good time. My mom sewed her top last night. She wanted to add a little touch to it.

Angelica: Yes! This is an old, old, old jacket.

Diana: My dad’s outfit is sponsored by me. All Adidas, Father’s Day gift.

Luis Sr.: I got lucky this year.

Adam Chapman and Sarah Harrell of Washington, D.C.

Adam Chapman and Sarah Harrell.

How much did you pay for tickets?

Harrell: We went to two games: USA versus Paraguay [in Los Angeles] and Senegal versus France in New Jersey/New York.

Chapman: The L.A. tickets were way more expensive. We bought them presale for like $1,940, but the [seats] were still very high in the arena and the resale prices are actually cheaper than the ones we bought on presale. It’s horrible. [Laughs]

Why did you want to come to the World Cup?

Chapman: This is my first men’s World Cup. I went to the women’s World Cup in Australia a couple years ago. The last time the U.S. had a men’s World Cup here was like forever ago. We’re probably not going to have another in our lifetime, so I really wanted to make sure we had a chance to go to some games.

Did you have to give up anything to be here?

Harrell: We’re moving the day we get back, so we were packing until the moment we got here. Some of this gear was last-minute purchasing in order to make that work. Also, we took a six-hour plane ride, middle seats. We really committed to get here. We got cat sitters, we both took days off from work, the whole thing.

Was it worth it?

Chapman: Yeah, just for the experience. It’s more money than we would’ve wanted to pay but yeah.

Harrell: We bought the tickets like a year and a half ago, so it’s been on the calendar forever. We ended up getting to bring my brother and his best friend to celebrate his 40th birthday, so it sort just worked out for all of us.

Laila Samimi and Elizabeth Cambage of Los Angeles

Laila Samimi and Elizabeth Cambage.

How much did you pay for your ticket?

Cambage: Nothing. Sorry.

Samimi: We were blessed.

Why did you want to attend the World Cup?

Cambage: This is my first fútbol game ever. I wanted to come cause it’s L.A. Yay sports! It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Let’s get out there and get into it.

Samimi: I’m born and raised in L.A. so I’m happy to see the World Cup here.

Tell me about your outfit inspiration.

Samimi: I’m wearing Honor the Gift, Russell Westbrook’s brand, a Nike top, my shorts are from a random boutique in L.A. and Jordan shoes.

Cambage: I just went crazy at the Nike store. I’m not gonna lie. We just came from the Nike store. I’m reppin’ USA today. Yes, I am Australian, but I do live in America and USA is AUS. [Laughs]

Kenan Sahbaz of St. Louis and family

Bosnia and Herzegovina fans cheer on their team.

How much did you pay for your ticket?

I got mine directly through the FIFA website. We paid $500 a piece. I brought my son, my cousins and their kids.

Why did you want to attend the World Cup?

Sahbaz: This is our very first World Cup. It’s a historic event for our very small country, Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is a huge accomplishment in the past 12 years. This is going to be the first time we’ve made it here again. We’ve got a really good squad and I think we can do some amazing things for our country. This is a time when we really need some support and joy in the country, and no better way to do it than at the World Cup.

Who’s your favorite player?

Kids: Džeko.

Did you have to give up anything to be here?

Sahbaz: A lot. Work. Time. We were initially going to go on vacation to the Bahamas, but I asked him either the Bahamas or the World Cup. So when we found out that we made it, it was the World Cup. We canceled everything else. We even went to the qualifiers in Wales and that was a once-in-a-lifetime experience as well. There was just no way we were going to miss it.

Was it worth it?

Sahbaz: 100%. Win or lose, we still win today.

Daniel Henriquez and David Njenga of Seattle

David Njenga, left, sports Kenya gear, while Daniel Henriquez cheers for El Salvador.

How much did you pay for your ticket?

Henriquez: This match was $500 each. We bought it in like October of last year.

Why did you want to attend the World Cup?

Njenga: Because this is the World Cup. You have to go to a World Cup. This is my second one. I was in Qatar for the last World Cup.

Henriquez: The energy! World Cup baby!

Njenga: There’s people from all over the world. We are all assembled here to enjoy this moment.

Henriquez: This is what happens when all the world comes together. This is our utopia. We all love each other. We’re all here for one thing, to support our country.

Did you have to give up anything to be here?

Njenga: My job. I have to be at work right now, but I took the day off. I don’t mind.

Henriquez: I’m a nurse for the fire department. My boss was awesome. She gave me a day off. I love my boss Nancy. Go Nancy!

Was it worth it?

Njenga: It is worth every penny. It’s not even the money. It’s the experience. After this, we head to San Francisco for another game.

Henriquez: Then we’re heading to Vancouver and then we have another game in Seattle.

Njenga: We’re going to six games [in total]. Our Houston tickets were the cheapest. They were about $400.

Cindy Vazquez of Grenada Hills

Cindy Vazquez Zavala reps Mexico with her outfit.

How much did you pay for your ticket?

It was free.99. Shh!

Why did you want to come to the World Cup?

This is my first World Cup. The Jordan team invited me to attend this game, so lucky me. That’s why I’m wearing Jordans today. I’m in the industry so they invited a few employees from neighborhood stores to come.

Tell us about your outfit inspiration.

Today there’s a Mexico game, so I still gotta rep even though I’m attending this match [Switzerland versus Bosnia and Herzegovina]. The outfit is a Nike T90 jersey and my lace is from Amazon. I got the little [soccer] ball, the little World Cup and teddy bear from the gas station. I needed it.

Did you have to give up anything to be here?

I actually had to request PTO to attend, but the store is still running without me. Right after this game, I actually have to jet back. I work at Feature, which is a sneaker boutique in Studio City. S/O Feature for allowing me to come here!

Fabian Almiron of Spain

Fabian Almiron, originally from Paraguay but currently living in Spain, rides Metro to the game.

How much did you pay for your ticket?

I paid $1,100 for the first game [June 12], $290 for the Turkey game [June 19] and the last game with Australia was $170 [June 25].

Why did you want to come to the World Cup?

This is my first World Cup. I live in Spain, but I’m rooting for Paraguay. I’m very excited to be seeing them participate after 16 years.

Did you have to give up anything to be here?

I used like 20 to 25 days of vacation time to come see the World Cup.

Was it worth it?

Yes!

Sunny Kwong, Sam Mallari, Antonio Evangelista, Michael Evangelista of San Diego and Los Angeles

Antonio Evangelista, Sam Mallari, Michael Evangelista and Sunny Kwong are decked out in Bosnia and Herzegovina gear.

How much did you pay for your ticket?

Michael: We paid $400 each. We got lucky with the last chance lottery. They released the tickets a few months ago.

Why did you want to attend the World Cup?

Michael: We’re rooting for Bosnia this time. This is our first World Cup.

Antonio: It’s a lifelong dream. I’ve loved the sport ever since I was in the Philippines.

Did you have to give up anything to be here?

Michael: Most of us had the day off. I worked in the morning at like 6 a.m. and then I’m going to work afterward. I really wanted to carve out time to be there.

Mallari: I took time off because this is my first soccer game ever and I wanted to experience the World Cup with true fans.

Was it worth it?

Michael: 100%. It’s honestly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It’s been awesome to be here with my dad. We watched the last World Cup finals and we were literally in tears. I know he’s been playing soccer ever since he was in the Philippines military.

Antonio: 20 years.

Becky Clift of Orange County and William Wagner of San Diego

Colleagues William Wagner and Becky Clift sport traditional festival inspired outfits to cheer on Switzerland.

How much did you pay for your ticket?

Clift: They were gifted to us.

Wagner: We’re a fortunate group.

Why did you want to come to the World Cup?

Clift: The World Cup in America is super fun, so we wanted to support it and be a part of it. This was the game that we got tickets for, so we decided to dress up a little bit and have some fun.

Wagner: We’re both soccer people. We both speak the world’s language, so we’re happy to be a part of it here.

Tell me about your outfit inspiration.

Wagner: I have a very close Swiss friend who was equipped for this. One quick phone call and here I am.

Clift: Then I had to get mine so I could support.

Did you have to give up anything to be here?

Wagner: A full day of work. We’re both engineers. We know each other through work.

Was it worth it?

Wagner: We’ll find out.

Clift: Heck yeah!

Jorge Morales of Topanga

Jorge Morales holds out a ball he got at the World Cup opener in Mexico City.

How much did you pay for tickets?

It was between $800 to $900 for my USA versus Paraguay tickets. I bought them through Seat Geek.

Why did you want to come to the World Cup?

I wanted to experience it not just in Los Angeles, but I also wanted to experience it in Mexico. I’m going to three games in Los Angeles and four in Mexico City. Going to my first World Cup in Mexico City was a whole different ballgame. Mexico played in their home country and they won. It was like pandemonium. Even though it was raining over there at the time, it was still a lot of fun. Everyone was hugging each other. I’m looking at you, New York Knicks fans. [Laughs]

Did you have to give up anything to be here?

I’m used to traveling, so I’m like this ain’t nothing. I just wanted to experience a World Cup game and the fact that it’s in three countries, you’re not going to experience that any other time. It’s the one and only World Cup where you’re going to see three countries hosting it.

Alexi Kulik, Marcella Harkness, Luke Kulik and Ian Harkness of San Diego

Switzerland fans Alexi Kulik, Marcella Harkness, Luke Kulik and Ian Harkness.

How much did you pay for your ticket?

Ian: $450 per ticket.

Alexi: We won the ticket lottery. That’s the only way ‘cause the resale is expensive.

Why did you want to attend the World Cup?

Marcella: This is our first World Cup!

Ian: I was at the Switzerland versus Qatar game. Similar outfit. We got it dialed this time. Lots of fun. Tough ending, but what are you going to do?

Luke: We wanted to support Switzerland. Everyone in the family is Swiss. It’s fun to go to a World Cup game. We were just excited to get tickets. I think it’s a great way for the family to spend time together and a good excuse to get out of work.

Did you have to give up anything to be here?

Luke: Time off work. Time to come here. We drove up here. I don’t think we gave up much. We just enjoy being here.

Ian: $450.

Alexi: And we woke up at 5 a.m., so that we could come up here and spend the day together.

Was it worth it?

All: Yes!

Anja Gegic, Dino Gegic, Benjamin Mustafic, Nordin Kapic, Armin Kapic of Los Angeles

Bosnia and Herzegovina fans Anja Gegic, Dino Gegic, Benjamin Mustafic, Nordin Kapic and Armin Kapic.

How much did you pay for your ticket?

Nordin: $3,000. We’re like literally on the field.

Anja: $450. In L.A., we got it like that.

Why did you want to attend the World Cup?

Anja: This is our second time ever qualifying for the World Cup. We are so proud to be here and support our country today.

Nordin: I mean, look around. Why would you not want to be here today?

Armin: We’re hoping for the win!

All: 2-0!

Bendicht Hügli and Lucia Grajales of Mexico City

Lucia Grajales and Bendicht Hugli, both currently living in Mexico City, hold a Swiss flag.

How much did you pay for your ticket?

Hügli: The ticket was $650. That’s stealing. That’s robbery. When I went in ‘86, I think the tickets were 10% of the price I paid for this year.

Why did you want to attend the World Cup?

Hügli: I had some business in San Diego. I saw Switzerland is going to be here, so let’s hit it and break the bank to get tickets. I went to the World Cup in Mexico City in ’86. I saw 12 games. I’m going to one this time.

Was it worth it?

Hügli: We’ll see. If Switzerland plays lousy, then I’m going to be pissed, but I think they’ll do better than in the first game.

Flavia Sacco and Isidoro Garcia of Washington, D.C.

Flavia Sacco and Isidoro Garcia root for Paraguay.

How much did you pay for your ticket?

Isidoro: I think it was around $500 per ticket. Again, we were very lucky because Paraguay was the first game.

Flavia: It was early bird without knowing who was going to play.

Isidoro: We’re also going to the Paraguay versus Turkey game in San Francisco and the third one in Mexico City.

Why did you want to come to the World Cup?

Flavia: We’re rooting for Paraguay. I’m from Paraguay, born and raised.

Isidoro: This is my second World Cup. I went to the one in Qatar. We were very excited about it. Actually, we were very lucky too because we bought Paraguay’s tickets when they were selling them blank. So we just bought the three tickets for Paraguay before knowing the group stage and then it turned out to be in the U.S., so it was awesome.

Flavia: We were hoping it would be on the East Coast because that’s where we live and it ended up being on the other side of the country, but we already had the tickets and we really wanted to go to a game, so we flew. We’re coming straight from the airport. We have our 5-month-old baby who is at the hotel with my mom.

Did you have to give up anything to be here?

Isidoro: I guess time with our daughter. Even though it’s only going to be a few hours, we miss her a lot. She’s very tiny. Every [moment] is precious with her.

Was it worth it?

Isidoro: Yes, even though it’s a few hours and hopefully Paraguay will pull it off.

Jorge Espinosa of Los Angeles

Jorge Espinosa of Los Angeles.

How much did you pay for tickets?

For the USA versus Paraguay ticket, I think I paid like $1,800, and for another match, I think I paid about $1,020, so a little less. I think that’s when the prices started to go down.

Why did you want to come to the World Cup?

I’ve always wanted to go. I missed my chance to go to Brazil in 2014. I really wanted to go, but I had just taken a huge trip to Asia, so I couldn’t really go. I didn’t have any money left and I’ve been thinking about the World Cup being here since it was awarded to the U.S. I was really bummed out when it was awarded to Qatar instead of the U.S. and also instead of Australia. I’m really excited about it. It feels unreal.

What does it mean for the World Cup to be in your hometown?

It means so much. I remember when they had it here in ‘94. I didn’t get a chance to go to any of the games, but the energy that you feel around the city is like next level. The events they’ve been hosting are so awesome. You get to meet more people from other walks of life and other countries.

Did you have to give up anything to be here?

I just pretty much had to pick up more debt, but I get points so it’ll help fly somewhere. Also, debt disappears when you die so they can try coming after me for that World Cup money, but they never will. [Laughs]

Was it worth it?

I looked at the price and was like, “It’ll never be this cheap in my life, ever.” It’s only ever going to go up, and, hey, it’s in my backyard.

The Iran soccer team left a note in its SoFi Stadium locker room thanking Los Angeles area fans for their hospitality.

The Iranians made history with two draws in Inglewood, marking the first time the team has avoided a loss through its first two World Cup games. While the matches drew protests against the Iranian regime, including some booing both times the national anthem was played before kickoffs, the crowds heavily favored and cheered loudly for the Iranian team.

Iran will close group play against Egypt at Seattle’s Lumen Field on Friday night.

Before leaving Sunday, the Iranian soccer federation and forward Ramin Rezaeian shared pictures of the team’s note of appreciation.

“Thank you, Los Angeles, for your hospitality,” the note read. “And thank you to every Iranian who gave their heart, voice, and soul for Iran throughout these 180 minutes.

“May peace, respect and friendship prevail among all nations.”

Iran has complained about U.S. government restrictions that forced them to spend limited time in the Los Angeles area before and after its matches, quickly returning to its base camp in Tijuana. But the complaints don’t extend to those who they crossed paths with while practicing briefly in Carson, spending two nights in a Manhattan Beach hotel and playing two big games at SoFi Stadium.

“From ancient Persia of thousands of years ago to the civilized Iran of today, the spirit of Iran remains alive and steadfast,” the note read. “We came to Los Angeles with pride, competed with honor, and leave with dignity.”

Democratic socialists are looking to extend their power in Los Angeles City Hall this fall with their biggest prizes yet: mayor and city attorney.

Mayoral candidate Nithya Raman and city attorney hopeful Marissa Roy, both members of the Los Angeles chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, are heading into the Nov. 3 general election with strong showings in the June 2 primary as tailwinds.

If she prevails in November, Raman would join the ranks of democratic socialists leading big U.S. cities, including New York’s Zohran Mamdani and Seattle’s Katie Wilson. Washington, D.C., looks to be next: Janeese Lewis George won the Democratic primary for mayor there this month, all but ensuring her a general election win in that deep-blue city.

In Los Angeles, a democratic socialist mayor and city attorney could mean added clout because of an ideological lockstep between the two offices, said Fernando Guerra, a political science professor at Loyola Marymount University. In such a scenario, he said, the city attorney’s office is less likely to be a check against the mayor’s authority to set policy on issues such as land use and public safety.

“It’s incredibly substantive that the city attorney will interpret much of the policy that the mayor may push to be the right policy, and not challenge it,” Guerra said.

The election of Raman and Roy would also underscore the leftward tilt of Los Angeles, which has four City Council members, including Raman, who are DSA members — two of whom were reelected in the primary. City Controller Kenneth Mejia, who was recommended (although not formally endorsed) by DSA, was also reelected.

The DSA champions ideas sharply to the left of more establishment Democrats, such as incumbent L.A. Mayor Karen Bass. The L.A. DSA chapter, for example, says its objectives include abolishing prisons and defunding the police.

DSA-L.A. co-chair Sean Wakasa said his organization is thriving in L.A. and across the country because it has destigmatized the concept of socialism.

“Democratic socialism ultimately, at the end of the day, is about making the politics that working-class Americans can see themselves in,” Wakasa said.

In Los Angeles, Wakasa said, a DSA mayor would be expected to build more public transit, strengthen protections for renters, fight for workers’ rights, raise the minimum wage and defend local immigrants from the federal government.

The city attorney, he said, would be expected to defend working-class Angelenos by enforcing renter protections, resolving wage-theft issues and enforcing sanctuary city policies.

Business groups and public safety advocates have voiced concerns over the prospects of DSA members calling the shots at City Hall.

“They would run roughshod over the city,” said Stuart Waldman, president of the Valley Industry and Commerce Assn. He said Raman and Roy “don’t just drink the DSA Kool-Aid, they live it.”

Waldman said he would expect Los Angeles under democratic socialist leadership to adopt overzealous tenant protection policies that would discourage new rental development. He said they would also seek to weaken the police, leading to a “free-for-all for crime.”

“They would run business out,” Waldman said.

Roy, who has promised to turn the city attorney’s office into “the largest public interest law firm in the city,” targeting wage theft, tenant harassment and other issues, disputed Waldman’s assertion.

“Allowing corporate bad actors to violate our laws doesn’t make L.A. safer or more affordable — enforcing protections for renters, workers, and consumers does,” Roy said in a statement.

Raman said in a statement that she shares “DSA’s commitment to fighting for working people and those who have been left behind by a political system that too often serves powerful interests instead of everyday Angelenos.”

But she also said “there is no liberal or conservative way to fill a pothole.”

“I’ve always believed the most progressive thing you can do is actually make government deliver,” Raman said. “Every time City Hall fails to do that— potholes that don’t get fixed, streetlights that stay dark, 911 calls that go unanswered — it erodes people’s faith that government can solve problems at all.”

Rick Cole, a former deputy mayor of L.A., said the DSA label for both candidates doesn’t mean they’ll adhere to the most dramatized versions of what DSA stands for. Neither candidate is an ideologue, he said.

Raman’s membership in DSA “is a signifier she’s going to be more skeptical of current policing,” said Cole, a Pasadena City Council member. “She’s going to be more focused on affordable housing. She’s going to be more focused on a humane approach to getting people off the streets.”

A poll by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies that was co-sponsored by The Times showed that in a head-to-head runoff, Raman was supported by 32% of the registered voters polled, compared with 28% for Bass.

Bass finished first in the primary, ahead of Raman, with former reality TV personality Spencer Pratt finishing in third place.

With Pratt now out, the race is on for both campaigns to appeal to his voters, who are generally considered more conservative. Even so, the Bass campaign said it doesn’t plan to focus on Raman’s DSA affiliation.

“What’s important isn’t labels — it’s what her [Raman’s] record shows, and that’s voting over and over and over to allow encampments near schools and to shrink our police force. It goes against what L.A. needs and what most of L.A. believes,” Bass campaign spokesperson Alex Stack said in a statement.

Raman, who was twice elected to the City Council with DSA support, has voted against additional police hiring and spending and creating new anti-encampment zones around the city.

One irony is that the three other members of the DSA on the City Council — Eunisses Hernandez, Ysabel Jurado and Hugo Soto-Martínez — have all endorsed Bass, citing the mayor’s fierce resistance to the Trump administration’s immigration raids last year, among other factors.

In the primary, DSA’s L.A. chapter recommended Raman but didn’t endorse her, with the distinction being that an endorsement comes with active canvassing and support from DSA members. DSA-LA co-chair Leslie Chang said it wasn’t yet clear whether her group would endorse Raman in the runoff.

A DSA endorsement for Raman now might be a mixed blessing, given that Pratt’s support came from more conservative parts of the city, said Christian Grose, a political science professor at USC.

“Karen Bass is not popular with Pratt voters, and the DSA is not popular with Pratt voters, but that’s who will decide the mayor’s election,” he said.

Roy, a deputy state attorney general, finished first in the city attorney primary by a wide margin and will compete against John McKinney, a deputy district attorney, in the runoff.

McKinney said electing Roy to the city attorney’s office would be like “going back in time” to when George Gascón was the top prosecutor in Los Angeles County, which police and prosecutors said was a disaster for public safety.

In the recent City Council primaries, DSA-endorsed incumbents Hernandez and Soto-Martinez both won reelection easily, while DSA-endorsed Faizah Malik failed to push incumbent Traci Park into a runoff in her Westside district.

In the Council District 9 race, DSA-endorsed community organizer Estuardo Mazariegos will be in a runoff with Jose Ugarte, a former aide to termed-out incumbent Curren Price.

DSA leaders are pleased overall with how their candidates have performed.

“DSA has really claimed a foothold for ourselves in L.A. County politics,” Chang said.

Nneka Ogwumike called game.

The 10-time WNBA All-Star and Sparks forward hit a buzzer-beating three-point shot to give the Sparks an electric 98-97 come-from-behind win over the New York Liberty on Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.

In a rematch of the WNBA’s first-ever game from June 21, 1997, the Sparks overcame a 17-point Liberty lead, all while celebrating the inaugural matchup — and iconic alumni — that changed women’s sports forever.

Ogwumike led the way with a game-high 24 points on 11 of 18 shooting while the rest of the starting lineup — Dearica Hamby, Erica Wheeler, Kelsey Plum and Ariel Atkins — all finished in double figures. Guard Rae Burrell also scored 19 off the bench.

Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts spoke highly of her team’s locker room pregame, even as L.A. entered riding a two-game losing streak. But the Sparks continued to fight, as Roberts expected, ultimately beating the No. 2 team in the Eastern Conference.

“I think it’s good,” Roberts said. “I wish we were fully healthy. Not having [Cameron Brink] is a big loss, or an impactful absence. But we got [Kelsey Plum]. And obviously, as you guys know, she’s the head of the snake. So that gives us, the whole group, a little more confidence … a little swagger, maybe that’s the right word.

“But the mood is good. We’ve had some great wins and some tough losses … it’s the process. You have to stay present and not freak out or panic … We’ve got great people in that locker room.”

Without Brink, who remains out after suffering an ankle sprain against Golden State, the Sparks were glad to have Plum back. L.A. entered with a 6-0 record in games in which Plum recorded six-plus assists, and the four-time WNBA All-Star, in her return from a one-game absence due to a leg injury, finished with seven to go with 12 points.

New York led for most of the night despite a cold game from guard Sabrina Ionescu, who finished with a quiet two points. The rest of the Liberty’s starting five — Breanna Stewart, Satou Sabally, Leonie Fiebich and Jonquel Jones — delivered, though, with a combined 63 points.

“Well, they’re big,” Roberts said pregame of the Liberty. “I think the unique thing is New York is huge all the way across, and so that enables them to do some things that are unique. I think the other thing they’re doing is putting [Jones] and Stewie in kind of lead guard positions. … They’ve got Hall of Famers over there. It’s a talented roster, which presents problems in and of itself, but they’re a good team.”

However, after a halftime break honoring Sparks and Liberty legends like Lisa Leslie and Teresa Weatherspoon, among many others at half court, L.A. was rejuvenated for the final 20 minutes. And after rapper Warren G performed after the third quarter, the Sparks — and their crowd — had all the momentum in the world. Ogwumike just delivered the icing on the cake.

Sunday, before anything else, was a celebration of the WNBA’s existence and the pioneers who fought to bring the game to its current standing.

“Just know that we never took a day for granted,” Leslie said at halftime. “We appreciate every moment, every day, every moment that you guys supported the WNBA from New York to L.A. and everywhere in between.”

But after Ogwumike’s game winner? WNBA fans exited Sunday’s game spoiled.

Good morning, and welcome to L.A. on the Record — our City Hall newsletter. It’s David Zahniser, with an assist from Noah Goldberg and Melissa Gomez, giving you the latest on city and county government.

It’s long been the Holy Grail for the reform crowd that tracks L.A. city government: expanding the size of the City Council.

The idea of giving L.A. more council members was endorsed by the city’s redistricting commission in 2021. Two years later, the concept was debated at length by a council committee focused on reform. After that panel failed to reach a decision, the idea was assigned to the city’s Charter Reform Commission, which endorsed the change, saying the council should have 25 members, up from 15.

Yet even after that five-year journey, the council voted Wednesday to push a proposed ballot measure on that topic off to the future, sending the idea to a new reform committee for more deliberations.

So what happened this time around?

For one thing, the 13-member citizens commission that recommended the idea didn’t offer a lot of specifics on how the change would work.

The commission recommended 10 additional council members, a move that would cause each district to shed more than 100,000 residents, leaving each member with about 159,000 constituents.

But it never explained whether that decrease should be accompanied by a similar reduction in a council member’s salary, now nearly $245,000 a year.

“That’s one of the reasons why [council expansion] is slated for further study,” Councilmember Bob Blumenfield said in an interview. “While the commission might have had a nice discussion and a negotiation among themselves, what we need to have in front of us to vote responsibly is context and information.”

A councilmember’s pay could be a major sticking point for voters during a campaign over council expansion — especially if an opposition campaign arose to defeat it.

Blumenfield said the commission failed to vet other issues, including the number of council aides needed for each district if a district is smaller.

Councilmember Tim McOsker expressed a similar view.

“I think there were gaps in what the commission proposed — substantive gaps,” he said.

Backers of council expansion have argued that an increase in the number of districts would make the council more responsive and more diverse. Opponents said bigger does not necessarily mean better representation.

Raymond Meza, who chaired the Charter Reform Commission, acknowledged that pay, staffing and the cost of each council office didn’t come up during his panel’s deliberations. Those questions should have fallen to the council, which reviews and approves the city budget each year, he said.

“They would need to figure this out through the budget process, like they figure out most other things in the city,” he said.

Meza said he believes that, in the end, council members didn’t want to dilute their own power. Former City Councilmember Mike Bonin offered a similar take, saying elected officials generally don’t want to risk changing the system that got them into office.

“They are in power because of the way the system is structured,” said Bonin, who now runs the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at Cal State LA.

Before sidelining the expansion proposal, Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson said a larger council would shift the balance of power at City Hall, giving the mayor greater authority and the council less of it.

In the end, none of these delays may end up mattering. No one at City Hall expected council expansion to happen until 2032 anyway, since the change would require a new round of redistricting — the process of drawing new boundaries for each council district. Redistricting won’t happen until after the release of results from the 2030 U.S. Census.

In other words, there’s still time for voters to act.

What happened to the City Hall misconduct measure?

Here’s another proposal that got shunted to the sidelines during the council’s eight-hour marathon meeting: what to do about city elected officials who are charged with serious crimes.

Charter reform was, in part, a reaction to a string of corruption scandals. Among them: three sitting council members who were charged with felonies between 2020 and 2023.

In each case, council members had to decide whether to use their power, spelled out in the City Charter, to suspend colleagues accused of wrongdoing — stripping away their duties until their criminal cases were resolved.

The council moved swiftly to suspend then-Councilmember Jose Huizar in 2020, taking action the day he was arrested, before he even pleaded “not guilty” to racketeering and other charges. The council suspended then-Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas in 2021 after a lengthy floor debate, with some saying he was being denied his due process rights. (Ridley-Thomas, who was found guilty of seven felonies, is fighting his conviction.)

A few years later, the council decided not to suspend Councilmember Curren Price, allowing him to step off of his council committees but preserving his other council duties as he contests charges of embezzlement, perjury and conflict-of-interest violations.

Although the case is still ongoing, Price is back on various city committees.

Each of those cases put the council in a bind. Voting in favor of suspension can mean depriving a council member’s constituents of representation. It also runs counter to the idea that a colleague is innocent until proven guilty.

Voting against suspension has its own set of dangers, such as undermining trust in city government. It could also allow an elected official accused of wrongdoing to continue taking part in decisions about contracts, real estate development and other matters where the potential for corruption exists.

Under the current system, a council member can be suspended with just eight votes. Harris-Dawson, who supported the suspension of Huizar but opposed it for Ridley-Thomas, said early on that he wanted the Charter Reform Commission to look at the process for disciplining elected officials accused of wrongdoing.

The Charter Reform Commission offered its answer two months ago, recommending that the council retain the power to suspend, but only with a three-fourths vote — 12 out of 15. That safeguard was meant to guard against potential abuses of power, said Meza, the former commission chair.

The council declined to put that idea on the ballot, saying it needs more study.

Asked about that decision, Harris-Dawson said he has long had serious problems with the idea that “one set of elected officials could suspend another set of elected officials.” He suggested that a third party in another branch of government — not the council — determine whether a member merits suspension.

Under that arrangement, the council could initiate the process but leave it to a judge or other party to make the final call, he said.

“I personally think that we have checks and balances in government that should be respected,” Harris-Dawson said.

A last-minute union threat

One ballot proposal that did survive this week’s gauntlet of votes was a plan to increase, not decrease, the council’s power. That proposal, backed by Councilmember Hugo Soto–Martínez, would give the council the authority to set policy at the Los Angeles Police Department.

But even that proposal may be in danger, thanks to a dispute that has erupted between the city’s labor negotiators and the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union representing rank-and-file officers.

Union leadership said this week that the league was not formally asked by management to meet and confer over various charter proposals dealing with the LAPD, including the one focused on policy. That step is legally required before such measures can be sent to voters, the union said.

City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo, the city’s chief labor negotiator, told council members on Monday that his office sent three emails to various employee units asking if they wanted to confer over the charter changes. He said his office received no response from the police union.

A day later, after learning of Szabo’s remarks, the league fired back.

In a letter to council members, the union said it only received emails about charter reform that had nothing to do with policing. Those emails did not constitute a formal invitation to meet and confer about potential changes at the LAPD, the union said.

The city “did not follow the law and did not formally contact us,” union President Ricky Mendoza said in a statement.

The council voted to draft the change in LAPD policy making, pending a confidential report from the city attorney on whether the city first has to bargain with the police union. Council members cast that vote even after the union demanded that they suspend any further consideration of the proposal for the Nov. 3 ballot.

If the city attorney concludes that the LAPD ballot proposal does not require further talks, the Police Protective League will file a lawsuit to protect its members’ legal rights, union officials said.

On Wednesday, Szabo said the proposal to give the council power over LAPD policy decisions doesn’t require collective bargaining.

The proposal to give council say over policy at the LAPD wasn’t the only one focused on that department. Another measure discussed by the council would have given the police chief power to terminate alleged problem officers.

The council sent it to a committee for more study. The union said that proposal also would have required a meet and confer process.

State of play

— CITY CHARTER GRAB BAG: As noted earlier, the council voted to draft an assortment of charter amendments for the Nov. 3 ballot, including one to allow the council to give noncitizen residents the right to vote in local elections. The council also ordered up a measure doubling the amount of money allocated for the Department of Recreation and Parks, discarding an alternative plan that would have increased it by 50%. Other measures would switch the city to a two-year budget process and require a five-year plan for maintaining and upgrading city infrastructure.

— KNOWING ME, KNOWING ULA: Looking to boost apartment construction, the council backed a surprise plan to rewrite Measure ULA, the tax on high-end property sales passed by voters in 2022 and sometimes called the mansion tax. The council voted 9-5 to instruct the city’s lawyers to draft a measure exempting apartment buildings sold within 10 years of construction from having to pay the tax. Another vote will be needed to get it on the ballot.

— ZOO STORY: Membership at the Los Angeles Zoo has fallen by 23% over the past year, dropping from 36,914 in April 2025 to 28,440 in February, according to a report issued by the Los Angeles County civil grand jury. That report urged the city to create a new public-private partnership to run the facility, saying such a move will be critical for the zoo’s long-term survival.

— SHERIFF SUBPOENAS: L.A. County’s Civilian Oversight Commission is suing the Sheriff’s Department, asking a judge to order the release of records on three use-of-force incidents involving its deputies. The commission issued three subpoenas to the agency in February 2025, but according to the suit, the department has declined to fully comply.

— UNION DUES AND DON’TS: A former high-level officer with L.A.’s firefighter union has been accused of stealing more than $82,000 from a charity for injured firefighters to pay for his online gambling, his mortgage and other personal expenses. Adam Walker, former secretary of United Firefighters of Los Angeles City Local 112, was charged with one count each of grand theft and forgery, prosecutors announced Wednesday.

— DOG DISASTER: The Los Angeles Police Department is facing a public outcry after its officers shot and killed the dog of a woman celebrating the New York Knicks’ NBA championship in Canoga Park. Video on social media showed the dog’s owner sobbing and hugging her dog, who was wearing a Knicks T-shirt, as several LAPD officers stood nearby.

— BASS WEIGHS IN: The Canoga Park incident prompted Mayor Karen Bass to issue a statement promising a thorough and transparent investigation into the death of Jameson, the dog killed by the LAPD. “Every life lost to violence is a tragedy, and we know that the devastating loss of Jameson will be felt by his family forever,” she said. “I have spoken directly to the Chief to ensure a full investigation and accountability for any wrongdoing.”

— OFFICE FIRE: A fire broke out at a building in Pacific Palisades where former mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt maintained an office for his crystals company. Pratt, whose home burned in the 2025 Palisades fire, called the latest blaze “very suspicious.” The fire department said it’s investigating.

QUICK HITS

• Where is Inside Safe? The mayor’s signature program to address homelessness went to a stretch of Silver Lake Boulevard that passes under the 101 Freeway. That area is represented by Soto-Martínez.
• On the docket next week: The council meets Wednesday to take up the massive 4th & Central project, which calls for offices, retail space and nearly 1,600 units of housing on a 7.6-acre site in downtown.

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.

The Sports Report Hall of Fame, other colleges edition

Those of you who read the Dodgers Dugout newsletter know that for the last few years, we have done a Dodgers Dugout Hall of Fame, asking readers to vote for former Dodgers whom they believe should be in this more fan-oriented Hall of Fame. Clayton Kershaw was the most recent inductee.

Which got me thinking (always a dangerous thing), what if we had a Sports Report Hall of Fame, as selected by the readers, of people who made a huge impact on the local sports scene?

The way it works: Each Thursday over the next few weeks, you will see a list of candidates. A different category each week.

This week, the category is the other colleges. You can vote for up to 15 people. You don’t have to vote for 15, you can vote for any number up to and including 15. Your vote should depend on what the person did on and off the field only as a member of their school. The rest of their career doesn’t count.

If there’s a name not on here that you think should be, please send me an email so that person can be included in next year’s ballot.

Any records mentioned are at the time that person retired.

Whoever is named on at least 75% of the ballots will be elected. The 10 people receiving the fewest votes will be dropped from future ballots for at least the next two years. A person must be retired as a player to appear on the ballot.

How do you vote? For this week’s ballot, click here. Results will be announced every Tuesday.

So, without further ado, here is the ballot for the other sports/colleges category.

Abe Alvarez—One of the greatest pitchers in Long Beach State history. The all-time winningest left-hander in school history who won back-to-back Big West Pitcher of the Year awards in 2002 and 2003.

Damon Allen—A four-year quarterback (1981-84) and three-year pitcher (1983-85) at Cal State Fullerton. He led the football team to its only two conference (Pacific Coast Athletic Assn.) championships in 1983 and 1984.

Dain Blanton—At Pepperdine, lettered for four seasons (1991-94) as an outside hitter. Blanton was a key member of the 1992 NCAA championship team. Still holds the Pepperdine record for digs per game (2.30), and previously held the career record for total digs (707).

Lynn Biyendolo—The first Pepperdine Wave to represent Team USA on the international stage, Biyendolo was the 2011 West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year and eventually became a three-time All-West Region and WCC First Team selection. As a senior, Biyendolo put together an All-American season and helped the Waves reach the NCAA Round of 16 for just the third time in program history.

Doug Christie—A men’s basketball player at Pepperdine, Christie earned All-American honorable mention honors in his junior and senior seasons, and was named the West Coast Conference’s Player of the Year in both 1991 and 1992. He led the team in scoring, assists and steals both seasons and Pepperdine won both WCC regular-season and tournament titles and advanced to the NCAA tournament.

Tara Cross-Battle—A four-time All-American in women’s volleyball, Cross-Battle was the NCAA Player of the Year in 1988 and 1989. When she graduated, she had recorded more kills (2,767) than any man or woman in NCAA history and is or was the holder of nearly every Long Beach State record.

Bob Ctvrtlik—Though he played men’s volleyball at Pepperdine for just one season (1985), Ctvrtlik was the National Player of the Year and led the Waves to the national title. Ctvrtlik led the 1985 squad with 424 kills, 103 digs and 27 service aces and was named MVP of the NCAA tournament.

John Fishel—Holds NCAA records for the most career games played (295) and at-bats (1,114). He was the Most Outstanding Player of the 1984 College World Series.

Jeff Fryer—A key member of Loyola Marymount’s run to the Elite Eight in 1990. Averaged 22.7 points per game in 1990 and finished his career averaging 17.2 points, hitting 363 three-pointers.

Augie Garrido—While at Cal State Fullerton, Garrido’s baseball teams won three national championships, made seven College World Series appearances and 16 conference championships including 11 in a row (1974-84). Four times he won national coach of the year honors.

Hank Gathers—While at Loyola Marymount, Gathers led the nation in scoring (32.7) and rebounding (13.7 RPG) as a junior, only the second player at the time to lead the NCAA in both categories in the same season. LMU’s all-time leading scorer with 2,490 points.

Ashley Gonzales—Long Beach State’s career goals scored leader with 36, Gonzales was a dangerous striker for women’s soccer who led the school to three NCAA tournaments in her four seasons.

Dan Haren—As a pitcher at Pepperdine, Haren won Freshman All-American honors in 1999 from Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball. He was also the West Coast Conference’s Freshman of the Year. In 2001, he earned All-American second team honors and was named conference player of the year after going 11-3 with a 2.22 ERA and hitting .308 with five home runs and 47 runs batted in. Pepperdine advanced to NCAA Regional play in both 1999 and 2001.

Bo Kimble—Led Loyola Marymount to the Elite Eight in 1990 and led the nation in scoring with 35.5 points per game. Only player in school history to score 50 points in a game and he did it four times.

Billie Jean King—While her collegiate career was interrupted repeatedly by national and international competition, she won the Ojai Tennis Tournament intercollegiate singles title while playing for Cal State L.A.

Shayna Kimbrough—An outstanding shortstop for Long Beach State, and one of just two players in Big West history to be named the Big West Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year.

Mark Kotsay—Won the 1995 Golden Spikes Award while at Cal State Fullerton as the nation’s best college baseball player and is an inductee into the College Baseball Hall of Fame.

Evan Longoria—Spent two seasons at Long Beach State, hitting .336 with 16 home runs with 73 RBIs. The Big West Co-Player of the Year in 2006, Longoria was a Golden Spikes Award finalist.

Kevin Magee—A two-time All-American in the early 1980s while playing basketball at UC Irvine, Magee was also the PCAA Player of the Year in 1980–81 and 1981–82. In those two seasons, he averaged 26.3 points and 12.3 rebounds per game. Was a first-team All-American in 1981, when he became the first player in NCAA history to finish in the top four in three statistical categories, finishing third in the country in scoring (27.5), second in field-goal percentage (67.1) and fourth in rebounding (12.5).

Misty May-Treanor—Led the Long Beach State women’s volleyball team to an undefeated 34-0 national championship season in 1998.

Phil Nevin—Led Cal State Fullerton to the College Baseball World Series title game in 1992 and won the Golden Spikes Award.

Christian Okoye—The most celebrated athlete in Azusa Pacific history. Was a nine-time NAIA champion in track and field and a two-time NAIA All-American first team pick in football. On the track, Okoye led Azusa Pacific to four straight NAIA Outdoor Track and Field national championship titles (1983-86). He was the first person in NAIA history to win the discus four years, setting the NAIA record in the process with a heave of 208-4 in 1985. When Okoye was not selected for the Nigerian Olympic team of the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games, he turned his attention for the first time ever to football and became one of the greatest running backs in small college football history, setting 14 school records and, in 1986, leading all of college football by averaging 186.7 rushing yards a game.

Mark O’Meara—As junior men’s golfer at Long Beach State in 1987, O’Meara won the U.S., California and Mexican amateur championships.

Mark Pringle—Despite playing just two seasons at Cal State Fullerton, he became the program leader in rushing touchdowns, and is second in rushing yards and scoring. In 1989, he set the single season all-purpose yards record with 2,690. Pringle also shared the NCAA single-game rushing record at one point with 357 yards against New Mexico State.

John Rambo—He led the Long Beach State basketball team in scoring in 1965 (20.3 points per game) and dominated in track. He was a two-time national champion in the high jump and, in 1964, jumped 7-1 to earn a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

Ed Ratleff—A two-time consensus All-American at a time when only 12 players in NCAA history had done so, Ratleff led Long Beach State to conference titles and NCAA tournament appearances in 1971, 1972 and 1973. He finished his three-year career as the school’s all-time scoring, rebounding and assist leader.

Sam Robinson—Jerry Tarkanian’s first recruit to Long Beach, Robinson led the 49ers to a pair of conference titles. He averaged 19.7 points and 10.3 rebounds a game during the 1969-70 season when Long Beach went 24-5 and earned its first invitation to the NCAA tournament. In 1970, Robinson became the first 49er taken in a pro basketball draft.

TJ Robinson—Still the only Long Beach State player to grab over 1,000 rebounds in his career, with 1,208. Fifth in career scoring with 1,718 points, Robinson was part of Long Beach State’s “Fab Four,” starting as freshman and winning back-to-back Big West titles before leading them to the 2011-12 NCAA tournament.

Terry Schroeder—Played men’s water polo for four seasons at Pepperdine and was the head coach for 20 seasons. As a player, earned three All-American awards and set school records for goals in a career (392) and season (138 in 1978). As head coach, he posted a career record of 340-220 and took Pepperdine to the NCAA championships eight times, including the program’s only national championship in 1997.

Steve Scott—Still holds the UC Irvine record in the 1,500 meters. The UC Irvine Steve Scott Invitational is named after him. Won the 1977 NCAA Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Division I championships 1,500-meter title after winning the 1,500 twice and the mile once at three previous NCAA Division II meets.

Jim Snyder—Played tennis for UC Irvine and was the first in school history to be named Big West Men’s Tennis Player of the Year in 1981, then won it again in 1982 and 1983. Won three straight Big West individual singles and doubles titles. First Anteater to qualify for the NCAA Division I tournament in singles. Compiled a 132-53 record and is still UC Irvine’s all-time singles wins leader.

Dwight Stones—Dominated the high jump while at Long Beach State. Set a world record on June 5, 1976 when Stones jumped 7-7 to win the NCAA championship.

Andy Sythe—Retired after 35 years as coach of the Cal State Long Beach track and field team. Over his tenure, he was named Big West Track and Field Coach of the Year 11 times.

Jerry Tarkanian—Compiling a 121-20 mark in his five years coaching Long Beach State men’s basketball. During that span, his teams won one California Collegiate and four Pacific Coach Athletic Assn. championships. Tarkanian’s last four 49er teams qualified for the NCAA Tournament and his 1971 team came within inches of the Final Four, losing to UCLA, 57-55.

Penny Toler—Key member of two Long Beach State Final Four teams in 1987 and 1988, Toler was a two-time All-American and a two-time Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. Player of the Year.

Jenny Topping—One of the most decorated players in softball history. She won an Olympic gold medal with Team USA at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens and was inducted into the Cal State Fullerton Athletics Hall of Fame.

Troy Tulowitzki—Started at shortstop for three years for Long Beach State. A second-team All-Big West selection as a freshman, Tulowitzki then made two first-team All-Big West teams while also earning All-America honors as a junior. Hit .310 over his career with 20 home runs, Tulowitzki then became the highest draft pick in school history, drafted No. 7 overall by the Colorado Rockies.

Tim Wallach—Won the 1979 Golden Spikes Award while at Cal State Fullerton.

Jered Weaver—Won seven different national player of the year awards after the 2004 season, during which Weaver led the nation in wins (15) and strikeouts (213), finishing the season with a 1.62 ERA and a 15-1 record over 144 innings. That capped a career that saw Weaver post a 37-9 overall record with a 2.43 ERA and 431 strikeouts with 73 walks. He holds the Long Beach State and Big West career records in wins and strikeouts, and also leads the school record books in innings pitched (370), starts (55), and consecutive wins (14).

Randy Wolf—Went 25-8 overall at Pepperdine and posted a 1.97 earned-run average with 328 strikeouts in 315 innings pitched. On Pepperdine’s all-time lists, he finished his career first in strikeouts and shutouts, second in ERA, fifth in innings pitched and seventh in wins. Wolf’s Pepperdine team won the 1995 WCC championship and advanced to the 1995 NCAA West Regional. During his time at Pepperdine, he pitched for the U.S. National Team in 1995 and 1996 and posted a 6-0 record.

Leon Wood—While at Cal State Fullerton, he led the United States’ men’s basketball team to gold in 1984, playing point guard. Earlier that year he earned first-team All-American honors.

You can vote here. You can vote for up to 15 people.

Voting is still open in these categories:

To vote in the UCLA ballot, click here.

To vote in the USC ballot, click here.

To vote in the NHL ballot, click here.

The inductees so far:

MLB
Don Drysdale
Clayton Kershaw
Sandy Koufax
Vin Scully
Fernando Valenzuela

NBA
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Elgin Baylor
Kobe Bryant
Chick Hearn
Magic Johnson
Jerry West

NFL
Deacon Jones
Merlin Olsen
Eric Dickerson

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.