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I knew I’d chosen the right spot to hike as I drove past the yellow-leaved bigleaf maple trees near the trailhead.

I was in search of fall foliage near Los Angeles, and after a bit of research, I’d taken a chance by heading over to Big Santa Anita Canyon in Angeles National Forest to see if I’d get lucky.

I am now here to help you, hopefully, find the same good fortune on your autumnal adventures.

The idea that L.A. and its surrounding mountains feature trees with fall foliage can be hard to grasp for those who’ve been misled into believing that 1) L.A. is a desert (it’s not), and 2) The area doesn’t have seasons (it does!).

“L.A. was once wetlands fed by the cobweb streams and marshes of the L.A. River. It had oak woodlands and grassland valleys,” wrote Times columnist Patt Morrison. “Then, at least a thousand years ago, Native Americans were burning land to flush game and to make more oak trees grow to make more acorns to eat. It’s the last hundred-plus years that made the native landscape unrecognizable.”

Thankfully, it remains possible to observe the seasonal changes of our native trees in the wild lands around L.A. County. Below, you’ll find three hikes where you’ll see some level of fall foliage.

Before I dive into those hikes, though, I wanted to teach you how to find autumnal colors near you. My hope is that you can use this information to find off-the-beaten paths near you where the loudest thing is the pop of fall colors (rather than cursed Bluetooth speakers). Here’s how your local outdoors reporter finds hikes with fall color.

• Know your native plants: There are multiple native trees, shrubs and plants that evolve as the weather cools to produce orange, red, yellow and copper colors. Those include California sycamores (orange-yellow leaves), bigleaf maple (bright yellow), Southern California black walnut (yellow), valley oak (orange, yellow, brown), poison oak (red), California buckwheat (rusty red) and more.
• Find where the wild things grow: After identifying the native trees and plants that could (hopefully!) produce colorful leaves, you can log onto iNaturalist, a citizen science app and website, and search for them in a hiking area near you. For example, I searched bigleaf maple and noticed a few documented near the Lower Stunt High Trail. Might there be a bit of fall foliage there?
• Look for water sources: Water makes for happy trees. It’s a near guarantee that if you head to one of our still-flowing local rivers or streams — like a hike along the 28(ish)-mile Gabrielino Trail where it runs parallel to the Arroyo Seco or West Fork of the San Gabriel River — you’ll find fall foliage. (This includes hiking from near NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab near Pasadena to the Brown Mountain Dam or from Red Box to the Valley Forge trail camp.)
• Set your expectations: As the fine folks at California Fall Color point out, it’s hard to predict when fall colors will pop. It depends on several factors, including the amount of daytime sunlight, nighttime temperatures and annual rainfall. That said, if you visit a trail, and it’s still quite green, consider returning a week later to see what you find. Nature is, lucky for us, a perpetual surprise!

I hope you use this knowledge to find fall foliage close to you that’s off the beaten path. That said, the three spots below are worth considering too and require no homework as I’m here to do that for you too.

1. Winter Creek Trail at Big Santa Anita Canyon

Distance: 5.2-mile loop trail
Elevation gain: About 1,230 feet
Difficulty: Moderate
Dogs allowed? Yes
Accessible alternative: Chantry Flat Picnic Area for leaf peeping

Upon parking at the Chantry Flat parking area — which is admittedly a challenge on the weekend — you’ll have multiple hiking options to venture through Big Santa Anita Canyon. Note: If you forget to buy an Adventure Pass, you can usually snag one at the Adams Pack Station, which is open Tuesday through Sunday.

I chose to take the Winter Creek Trail because it leads you through dense vegetation, and I hoped this would increase my chances of noticing leaf changes. My dog, Maggie May, and I headed north down the fire road near the restrooms and then turned after about 900 feet onto the Upper Winter Creek trailhead. As we zigzagged along this single-track route down the hillside, I looked down into the canyon and quickly spotted pops of yellow — at least nine bigleaf maples changing with the season!

I passed California bay laurel, rubbing their leaves to smell their spicy, pungent aroma, and noticed a branch with exactly one yellow leaf. The tree was considering changing with the season. Rusty red buckwheat, red poison oak and yellowish beige California brickellbush also grew along the trail. Rather than doing the entire Winter Creek trail, Maggie and I were racing daylight and turned around where the trail meets back with the fire road for just under a 2-mile adventure. The moon was rising over a ridgeline of the San Gabriel Mountains as we left.

2. Icehouse Canyon to Icehouse Saddle

Distance: 6.6 miles out-and-back, or 7 miles if looping around on Chapman Trail
Elevation gain: About 2,600 feet
Difficulty: Hard
Dogs allowed? Yes
Accessible alternative: San Antonio Falls Trail. It’s wide and mostly paved, but steep.

The Icehouse Canyon Trail to Icehouse Saddle is a pristine route that takes hikers past the crystal-clear creek and up to Icehouse Saddle, where you’ll be surrounded by pine forest and have sweeping views of the Antelope Valley and Mojave Desert.

You’ll pass bigleaf maple, incense cedar, canyon live oak and more. The parking lot, which you’ll need an Adventure Pass to use, often fills up by 8 a.m. on the weekend, so it’s best to arrive early or try to visit on a weekday.

The higher you climb, the more likely you’ll encounter snow this time of year. If you don’t plan to pack crampons, please turn around once you reach snow.

3. Sycamore Canyon Trail in Point Mugu State Park

Distance: About 6 miles
Elevation gain: About 200 feet
Difficulty: Easy
Dogs allowed? No
Accessible alternative: The trail is mostly wide and flat, making it easier to navigate.

The aptly named Sycamore Canyon Trail is a fire road hike that takes you through the lush Point Mugu State Park. You’ll immediately see the limbs of large sycamore trees stretching over and around the trail. If conditions are right, they should be among the trees featuring fall foliage.

The trail also features Southern California black walnut, black sage, the fragrant California sagebrush and several other aromatic delights. Regardless of what you see, it’s a treat to be among pristine coastal sage scrub and other native habitat. And if the mood strikes, the beach is nearby. That sounds like a true Southern California fall day.

I hope you spot gorgeous fall colors on your adventures this weekend.

If you do, please feel free to reply to this email (if you’re a newsletter subscriber) with a humble brag with your photos. I love hearing from you!

3 things to do

1. Celebrate desert tortoises in Palm Desert
The Mojave Desert Land Trust will be on hand from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Living Desert Zoo & Gardens in Palm Desert to celebrate Desert Tortoise Day. The organization will host tortoise-themed activities, including a scavenger hunt and a meet-and-greet with Mojave Maxine, a tortoise who lives at the zoo. Learn more at livingdesert.org.

2. Take trash out of wetlands near Marina and Playa del Rey
Volunteers are needed from 9:30 a.m. to noon Saturday at both north and south Ballona Creek to pull trash from these important wetland habitats. Participants must wear close-toed shoes. Register for either location at ballonafriends.org.

3. Tend the land with new friends in L.A.
Coyotl + Macehualli will host a volunteer day of weeding, planting and mulching from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday along a hillside in El Sereno. The exact coordinates will be provided to participants. Learn more at the group’s Instagram page.

The must-read

Park rangers are among government workers furloughed while the United States experiences its longest government shutdown. Times staff writer Jenny Gold wrote about how, in an effort to provide some income to these rangers, the San Francisco Bay Area-based Grasshopper Kids is paying out-of-work rangers to educate children at area schools. Riley Morris, who works as a seasonal interpretive ranger at Muir Woods, said they wondered whether the children sitting inside classrooms or school auditoriums would still be interested in learning about redwoods without the “magic” of sitting in a park among the towering giants. “But it’s just been so cool seeing that when all of that is taken out of the equation, these kids are still just so totally glued to like the information that I’m sharing with them,” Morris said. “You can just tell they’re almost vibrating with excitement.”

Happy adventuring,

P.S.

Do you have a nature lover on your holiday gift list? (Hi, Mom!) If so, check out this curated list of outdoors-themed gifts that Times staff writer Deborah Vankin and I wrote together for this year’s L.A. Times Holiday Gift Guide. I loved trying out the Six Moon Designs hiking umbrella, which I am eager to take on desert hikes this winter and spring. The Nomadix Bandana Towel is almost always either around my neck or in my pocket on every Wild hike. And the moment I finish writing this newsletter, I’m going to go find my North Face mules, which I also included on the list. They’re perfect for chilly evenings on the couch — or by a campfire. And as a bonus, read our list from last year’s Gift Guide, which doesn’t have a single repeated item. Boundless ideas for your boundless adventurers!

For more insider tips on Southern California’s beaches, trails and parks, check out past editions of The Wild. And to view this newsletter in your browser, click here.

A look at the top 25 high school football teams in the Southland at the end of the regular season:

Rk. School (record) result; Next game; last week ranking

1. SIERRA CANYON (10-0) def. Loyola, 52-3; D1 vs. Santa Margarita, Nov. 14; 2

2. ST. JOHN BOSCO (9-1) lost to Mater Dei, 36-31; D1 vs. Orange Lutheran, Nov. 14; 1

3. CORONA CENTENNIAL (9-1) def. Chaparral, 60-29; D1 vs. Servite, Nov. 14; 3

4. MATER DEI (7-2) def. St. John Bosco, 36-31; D1 vs. Mission Viejo at Santa Ana Staidum, Nov. 14; 6

5. MISSION VIEJO (9-1) def. Los Alamitos, 76-49; D1 vs. Mater Dei at Santa Ana Stadium Stadium, Nov. 14; 4

6 SANTA MARGARITA (7-3) def. JSerra, 41-14; D1 at Sierra Canyon, Nov. 14; 5

7. SERVITE (6-4) def. Orange Lutheran, 30-28; D1 at Corona Centennial, Nov. 14; 8

8. ORANGE LUTHERAN (2-8*) lost to Servite, 30-28; D1 at St. John Bosco, Nov. 14; 9

9. LOS ALAMITOS (8-2) lost to Mission Viejo, 76-49; D2 vs. Yorba Linda, Friday; 7

10. OXNARD PACIFICA (10-0) def. Bishop Diego, 46-33; D3 vs. Oak Hills, Friday; 11

11. LEUZINGER (8-1) def. Lawndale, 45-10; D2, at Crean Lutheran, Friday; 12

12. MURRIETA VALLEY (7-3) def. Eastvale Roosevelt, 48-13; D2 vs. Corona del Mar, Friday; 14

13. SAN JUAN HILLS (1-9^) def. Tesoro, 41-7; D2 vs. Downey, Friday; 15

14. BEAUMONT (7-2) def. Redlands East Valley, 43-6; D2 at San Clemente, Friday; 16

15. DOWNEY (9-1) def. Dominguez, 34-0; D2 at San Juan Hills, Friday; 17

16. CREAN LUTHERAN (10-0) def. Laguna Hills, 50-7; D2, vs. Leuzinger, Fridays; 18

17. RANCHO CUCAMONGA (7-3) def. Chino Hills, 31-24; D2 vs. Tustin, Friday; 19

18. VISTA MURRIETA (7-3) lost to Norco, 17-7; D2, vs. Damien, Friday; 13

19. VALENCIA (9-1) def Castaic, 63-0; D3 vs. Palos Verdes, Friday 21

20. DAMIEN (8-2) def. Ayala, 35-13; D2 at Vista Murrieta, Friday; 22

21. AQUINAS (9-1) def. Village Christian, 42-12; D3 at Dana Hills, Friday; 23

22. YORBA LINDA (9-1); def. Corona del Mar, 35-28; D2 at Los Alamitos, Friday; NR

23. CORONA DEL MAR (9-1) lost to Yorba Linda, 35-28; D2 at Murrieta Valley, Friday; 10

24. CHINO HILLS (7-3) lost to Rancho Cucamonga, 31-24; D3 vs. Mira Costa, Friday; 20

25. PALOS VERDES (7-3) def. Mira Costa, 18-15; D3 at Valencia, Friday; NR

*-two forfeits / ^-nine forfeits

The newly opened coffee shop-cum-arboretum Creature’s was created to provide a place where one could “be a creature amongst other creatures.” To that effect, the establishment filled with native plants and succulents hosts events that promote compassion for all — there’s been a free clothing swap, local makers fairs, a nature sketching gathering and a presentation in tandem with Citizens for Los Angeles Wildlife (CLAW) about peacefully coexisting with L.A.’s native animals.

Owned by Hope Creature, the business sells plants, gifts and garden supplies in one building and organic drinks and pastries in another. A 50-foot greenhouse shelters indoor tropicals, organic edibles, drought-tolerant native plants and small potted succulents, which go for less than $2. The outdoor seating area is outfitted with plants available for purchase.

“A lot went into making this space architecturally stunning as well, with every design detail considered,” Creature says. “The space also serves as a platform for our ongoing community programming, which showcases what the space is all about — bringing people together to explore, learn and connect.”

The queer-owned-and-run cafe offers standard coffee fare including matcha, espresso, cortado, cold brew and drip options from local roaster Unity, as well as a selection of teas and pastries.

Open daily from 7:30 a.m. until 5 p.m., the shop’s enclosed outdoor patio (buttressed on either side by the cafe/general store and greenhouse) offers a peaceful reprieve from the relative hustle and bustle of Eagle Rock Boulevard.

Stumped for holiday present ideas? Food gifts have universal appeal: These are fun and practical at once. And even more meaningful because they’re from local small businesses including L.A. restaurants, bakeries, farms, markets and makers.

Who’s on your gift list? A chocolate lover? A Caracas-born chef in Pasadena makes her own hot chocolate mix from Venezuelan Criollo cacao. Coffee fan? East L.A.’s Picaresca Barra de Cafe roasts coffee beans and bottles its cinnamon-scented cafe de olla syrup. Tea aficionado? A Chinatown tea shop offers subscription boxes of thoughtful blends from China and Taiwan; some are rare finds.

And any farmers market regular would want to sport the Weiser Family Farm collab T-shirt emblazoned with a pink radish or Bonnie melon.

If you make a purchase using some of our links, the L.A. Times may be compensated. Prices and availability of items and experiences in the Gift Guide and on latimes.com are subject to change.

Handwritten notes. Free product samples. Email responses to questions. And in some cases (shout-out to Surfing Cowboys in Malibu), an old-school phone call to discuss a gift item.

This is the kind of service that sets local businesses apart, offering personalized experiences you won’t find on Amazon.

From independent artists working at home to brands manufacturing in downtown Los Angeles, these businesses offer a diverse range of products and services that reflect the unique character of our city, which has been affected by wildfires, ICE raids and a struggling economy.

The gifts I’ve included here are all from Los Angeles-based businesses. They carry a personal touch — a connection to the people and the city. Some are handmade while others are manufactured, but all of them are a part of our city’s unique fabric.

Let’s keep it going and support small businesses in Los Angeles this holiday season. Our connection to one another is our strength.

If you make a purchase using some of our links, the L.A. Times may be compensated. Prices and availability of items and experiences in the Gift Guide and on latimes.com are subject to change.

In Mexico and parts of Central America, Día de los Muertos is regarded as a day to commemorate and celebrate departed family and friends.

For generations, Greater Southern California has joined the tradition with altars, Aztec dances and displays of marigolds in late October to early November. The day to honor the dead also has served as a day of gathering among the living.

However, some celebrations are being reconsidered because of fears that participants may get caught in deportation raids executed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

This week the Department of Homeland Security announced it had deported more than half a million undocumented people since the Trump Administration took over in January. More than 2 million people have left the nation overall, the department said.

With raids continuing, some organizers of this weekend’s Día de los Muertos events are moving ahead with celebrations, while others have canceled them.

Times reporters spoke with event organizers to learn what they’re doing differently.

Cancellation is the policy

My colleague Suhauna Hussain reported in mid-September that Long Beach was nixing its annual parade, which drew sizable crowds in the past.

The event was canceled at the request of City Councilmember Mary Zendejas “out of an abundance of caution,” according to city spokesperson Kevin Lee, because it’s “a large and very public outdoor event.” Officials were not aware of any targeted federal enforcement activity.

“This decision did not come lightly,” Zendejas and the city said in statements. The decision addresses “genuine fears raised by community members, especially those who may face the possibility of sudden and indiscriminate federal enforcement actions that undermine the sense of security necessary to participate fully in public life.”

Roberto Carlos Lemus, a marketer who brought food trucks and other vendors to the festival last year, called the cancellation “very sad.”

“Everyone’s very sad about the situation. Día de los Muertos has been one of the largest celebrations for a very long time, and the city has done a great job putting it on,” Lemus told The Times. “Unfortunately, with Latinos being kidnapped and attacked by ICE and the current administration, I do understand why they made the decision that they made.”

The action was mirrored in other places. Santa Barbara’s Museum of Contemporary Art canceled its own parade because the “threat to undocumented families remains very real.” In Northern California, organizations in Berkeley and Eureka also canceled celebrations for similar reasons.

Moving ahead

Others are not letting the immigration raids interfere with the celebration.

Last year, tens of thousands of visitors patronized Division 9 Gallery’s Day of the Dead celebration in downtown Riverside. This year’s free two-day event will feature Aztec dancers, a pageant, processions, Lucha Libre wrestlers and altars — the traditional stands along with ofrendras placed inside classic cars — on Saturday and Sunday.

The event, located on Market Street between University Avenue and 14th Street, continues to grow in popularity, organizer Cosmé Cordova said.

Cordova said he’s not sure if there will be 60 altars, as was the case last year, or if 45,000 people will attend Saturday, the most popular of the two days.

“Because of what’s going on, people are afraid,” he said. “But we’re not canceling.”

Cordova said he’s hired security and noted that Riverside police and the mayor will be present.

“We’re working with the city and others to make sure everything is going to be good,” Cordova said. “This is an event that the community comes out for and I’m not concerned about anyone breaking it up.”

The week’s biggest stories

Palisades Fire investigation

Dodgers World Series coverage

Trump Administration polices and reactions

Crime, courts and policing

More big stories

This week’s must-read

More great reads

For your weekend

Going out

Staying in

Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team

Jim Rainey, staff writer
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew J. Campa, reporter
Hugo Martín, assistant editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

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

Over 5 million California residents — including 2 million children — rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits that cover essential food such as fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, dairy, bread and snacks. Those funds are on hold as the federal shutdown continues, putting economic strain on the 1 in 8 Americans who rely on SNAP benefits, during a time of year when budgets are already tight as many prepare for holiday gatherings and gift giving.

But Angelenos are stepping up for those in need, from neighborhood nonprofits and community centers to local restaurants and chefs, offering grocery delivery, mobile farmers markets, grab-and-go meals and Thanksgiving spreads.

Here are 40 food initiatives happening across Los Angeles County this November, from free chicken rice porridge on Sundays to a communal Thanksgiving feast. Be sure to read details carefully; some events are open to all with no registration required, while others require advance sign up with proof of income and residency.

Times staff writer Kailyn Brown contributed to this report.

After years of cooking at the Spanish restaurants of humanitarian-chef José Andrés in L.A. and D.C., including Minibar, the Bazaar, Café Atlántico and Zaytinya, chef-owner Joshua Whigham has opened Casa Leo, a sun-drenched restaurant in Los Feliz dedicated to celebrating Iberian cuisine with gambas al ajillo, seasonal gazpacho, boquerones with potato chips and pan con manchego. Weekend brunch brings Catalan flatbreads topped with tuna conserva and fire-roasted eggplant, along with scones and a Spanish tortilla.

Thank You Coffee began serving its play on pumpkin spice in 2020, but the Chinatown and Anaheim coffee counters riff on Asian ingredients and flavor profiles with options such as the five-spice latte year-round. Around fall, however, the scent of gourd spice always makes its return: the seasonal, signature KSL — or kabocha spice latte — which swaps pumpkin for kabocha squash.

“We don’t really eat pumpkin, but we eat a lot of kabocha,” said co-owner Jonathan Yang. “My wife, Julia, and I love kabocha but not all people know it, and we realized this is a neat way to highlight that kabocha is pretty much like a Japanese pumpkin.”

Thank You Coffee’s KSL derives its chief flavors from a blend of toasted spices including cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom and ginger, which are turned into a syrup with a combination of white and dark brown sugars and ginger bitters; it all gets steeped and strained. Yang steams fresh kabocha squash, then purées it and incorporates it into the spice syrup, adding depth without detracting from the spices, he says. In both locations, a hint of condensed milk is added to the lattes, and they’re dusted with kinako, a roasted soybean flour, for added earthiness and a pie-crust effect. This year they’re adding another fall-inspired drink to the menu at both locations: a persimmon-and-apple latte that’s meant to evoke coziness and comfort throughout the season.

If you’re like me, you spent a lot of time over the last few weeks reading about the unbelievably brazen Louvre museum heist. Not only did it provide a welcome respite from obsessing over the destruction of the East Wing, it also supplied an adrenaline boost for the imagination: Who on earth had the nerve to literally cut through a window in broad daylight and leap into the world’s most famous museum in order to grab nearly $102 million worth of crown jewels before escaping on a motor scooter?

My favorite article about the fiasco ran in the Atlantic under the headline “The Louvre Heist is Terrific,” with the subhed, “Here was a dreamy little crime in which no one really got hurt.” The French people beg to differ. In many circles, the crime signaled a glaring national failure. Either way, seven suspects have now been detained by police in connection with the crime, and we will have answers soon enough — even if nobody will ever see the jewels again.

The heist seemed ripped from the script of a Hollywood blockbuster — something along the lines of “Ocean’s Eleven,” starring Vincent Cassel and Omar Sy instead of George Clooney and Matt Damon. As such, it spawned a paroxysm of frenetic, click-sticky activity on social and legacy media alike. Newly-minted CBS news chief Bari Weiss reportedly suggested to staff that they interview “The Da Vinci Code” author Dan Brown about the heist. And an online platform called Action Network that analyzes odds, mostly for betting and sports books, released a new U.S. study called “Top 10 Museums Most Vulnerable to a Heist.”

“The study estimates each museum’s implied probability of a heist, showing how visibility, value, and public access combine into a theoretical ‘heist appeal.’ It reflects exposure, not vulnerability. To be clear: we’re not predicting theft. We’re measuring where culture meets risk,” Action Network explained on its website.

It turns out that in Los Angeles, Getty Center and Los Angeles County Museum of Art have the most “heist-appeal,” according to the study. The former comes in at No. 4 on the list, and the latter at No. 7. New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art sits in the top place, followed by Washington D.C.’s National Gallery of Art.

The study puts the implied probability of a heist at Getty Center at 3.9%, and gives this sunny description of the campus, “A hilltop postcard with galleries. Open vistas, bright courtyards, and art that draws camera phones nonstop, all under movie-worthy security.”

Movie-worthy security has me thinking: I might write a screenplay featuring a gang of criminals who make a daring escape on the Getty tram with Titian’s Venus and Adonis.

I’m arts and culture writer Jessica Gelt, planning my next great adventure. Here’s your arts and culture news for the week.

On our radar

Hildegard
With her new opera, “Hildegard,” which has its West Coast premiere as part of Los Angeles Opera’s Off-Grand series, Sarah Kirkland Snider joins a broad range of artists enraptured by the earliest remembered composer, Hildegard von Bingen. Her otherworldly sacred vocal music, along with her visionary writing, has made the 12th century mystic philosopher, medical doctor, natural historian and Benedictine abbess a source of late 20th and 21st century fascination. She shows up in texts about gardening, numinous Christianity and the Kabbalah. David Lynch was not the only filmmaker obsessed with the abbess. Her 900th birthday in 1998 was observed by a feminist composer and singer collective, Hildegurls, by inventively staging Hildegard’s luminous “Ordo Virtutum.” Now it is Snider’s turn, assisted by Elkhanah Pulitzer, for a full-scale Hildegard opera.
– Mark Swed
7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Nov. 8; 2 p.m. Nov. 9. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. laopera.org

Psycho
The American Cinematheque celebrates the 65th anniversary of the unleashing of Norman Bates on moviegoers. “Alfred Hitchcock’s terrifying 1960 landmark forever upended the audience’s narrative expectations, changed theatrical exhibition models and probably led to reduced water bills nationwide,” wrote former Times film critic Justin Chang in 2016. “Accept no substitutes.”
7:30 p.m. Friday. Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica. americancinematheque.com

Table 17
The West Coast premiere of this rom-com by Douglas Lyons (author of the Broadway comedy “Chicken & Biscuits”) concerns a formerly engaged man and woman who reunite at a restaurant to sift through the past with calm, friendly, objective detachment. What could possibly go wrong? This MCC Theater production, directed by Zhailon Levingston (“Cats: The Jellicle Ball”) features Gail Bean, Biko Eisen-Martin and Michael Rishawn in a play the New York Times described as “comfort food” that “satisfies a genuine craving.”
– Charles McNulty
Wednesday through Dec. 7. Geffen Playhouse’s Gil Cates Theater, 10886 Le Conte Ave., Westwood. geffenplayhouse.org

The week ahead: A curated calendar

FRIDAY
Halloween
What better way to experience “All Hallows’ Eve” than by gorging on John Carpenter’s 1978 horror classic and its chillingly insistent piano score with a group of like-minded souls. Jamie Lee Curtis laid the groundwork for the generations of scream queens to follow.
4:15 and 7 p.m. Vidiots, Eagle Theatre, 4884 Eagle Rock Blvd. vidiotsfoundation.org

SATURDAY
Bluebeard’s Castle
The Odyssey Theatre Ensemble presents the American debut of this dark musical thriller laced with romance and horror. A hit in Europe and based on a medieval French fairy tale, it was written and directed by Sofia Streisand and features music by Sergey Rubalsky and Artem Petaykin; lyrics by Elena Hanpira; and choreography by Irina Lyahovskaya, with songs adapted for the English production by Nancy Magarill and Terra Naomi.
8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday; through Nov. 23. Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd. odysseytheatre.com

Día de Los Muertos
The Wallis delivers its first Family Fest of the season with a free celebration of the holiday featuring story time with Lil’ Libros authors, plus arts, crafts and learning activities; altar-building workshops with Self Help Graphics & Art; face painting by Color Me Face Painting; and a dance workshop and performance by the Pacifico Dance Company, highlighting traditional styles.
11 a.m. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. thewallis.org

The People’s Party
Civics Is Sexy and the NAACP bring together artists, activists and community leaders for two days of film, music and comedy featuring Yasmin Elhady, Chris Dowd of Fishbone, Nic Novicki, Peyton Edmonds and many more.
11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. NAACP Hollywood Bureau, 5757 Wilshire Blvd. peoplesparty.civicsissexy.co

Pony Cam
The experimental Australian collective presents “Burnout Paradise,” in which four performers on treadmills attempt to complete a series of increasingly difficult, boundary-testing tasks in a comedic absurdist interpretation of overachievement.
8 p.m. Saturday; 6 p.m. Sunday. UCLA Nimoy Theater, 1262 Westwood Blvd. cap.ucla.edu

A Tender Excavation
Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions presents a group show of artists working from historical and familial photographic archives to create transformative new stories from Afro-Latinx, African American, Chinese American, Gabrielino/Tongva Nation, Korean American, Iraqi American, Latinx, Mexican, Mexican American, Peruvian American, Thai, Turkish American and Vietnamese American cultures and communities.
Opening reception, 2-5 p.m. Saturday; noon-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, through Feb. 21, 2026. Cal State L.A., Luckman Gallery, 5151 State University Drive. theluckman.org

Faye Webster
The Atlanta-based singer-songwriter, backed by the 40-piece Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, conducted by Thomas Wilkins, performs her indie-folk, alt-country and jazz R&B-infused songs.
8 p.m. Saturday; 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com

SUNDAY
Written On Heaven
A musical portrait of Emahoy Tsege-Mariam Gebru, an Ethiopian nun and composer who died in 2023, featuring performances by pianists Thomas Feng and Gloria Cheng.
8 p.m. Sunday and Monday. Shatto Chapel at First Congregational Church of Los Angeles, 540 S. Commonwealth Ave. mondayeveningconcerts.org

MONDAY

An Evening with Jeff Goldblum
A conversation with the popular actor, musician and raconteur is followed by a 4K screening of Robert Altman’s 1976 country and gospel music epic “Nashville.”
7 p.m. Academy Museum, 6067 Wilshire Blvd. academymuseum.org

TUESDAY
Moulin Rouge! The Musical
This Tony-winning jukebox spectacle inspired by the 2001 Baz Luhrmann movie, adapted for the stage by John Logan featuring anachronistic pop hits Elton John, Beyoncé, Madonna, Rihanna, Katy Perry and more, focuses on the star-crossed romance between a songwriter from a Ohio and the star of the titular nightclub.
7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday, through Nov. 16. Hollywood Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd. broadwayinhollywood.com

WEDNESDAY
Listening by Moonrise
This seasonal series returns for an evening of music, culture and community with performances by Azucar LA, Juan Gabriel impersonator Marco Ortiz and King Dance.
6:30-9 p.m. Wednesday. Los Candiles Night Club, 2100 Cypress Ave., Glassell Park. clockshop.org

Mariology
The West Coast premiere of this collaboration between playwright Nancy Keystone and Critical Mass Performance Group explores all things Virgin Mary in a fifth-grade classroom that erupts into fantasy and rebellion.
7:30 p.m. Wednesday, through Dec. 7 (check days and times). Boston Court Pasadena, 70 N. Mentor Ave. bostoncourtpasadena.org

THURSDAY
Marilyn Minter
A solo exhibition of the artist’s work features paintings from four separate but related bodies of work: large-scale portraits (including Nick Cave, Jane Fonda, Jeff Koons and Cindy Sherman), the “Odalisque” and “After Guston” series, and a selection of Minter’s signature magnified mouths.
Opening, 6-8 p.m. Thursday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday–Saturday, through Dec. 20. Regen Projects, 6750 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles. regenprojects.com

Music Restored
Violinist Adam Millstein and pianist Dominic Cheli perform works by Martinů, Kaprálová, Smetana and Schulhoff.
7 p.m. Colburn School, Thayer Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. colburnschool.edu

New Original Works (NOW)
REDCAT’s annual festival of experimental performance kicks off with a program of works by Maylee Todd, Jacob Wolff, Diana Wyenn and Ammunition Theatre Company. NOW 2025 continues with additional programming Nov. 13-15 and Nov. 20-22.
8 p.m Thursday-Saturday. REDCAT, 631 W. 2nd St., downtown L.A. redcat.org

Culture news and the SoCal scene

A ‘Perfect’ mystery
The little-known story of a child literary prodigy named Barbara Follett — who published her first novel at 12 and disappeared without a trace at 25 — is the subject of a world-premiere musical, “Perfect World,” at El Portal Theatre. I sat down with librettist and co-lyricist Alan Edmunds to talk about his interest in Follett’s story, and how a deep dive into her archives at Columbia University led him to believe it would be a good candidate for the stage.

Pasadena Playhouse classes ramp up
A bustling theater school is rising on the century-old campus of the Pasadena Playhouse. More than 400 students per semester are now participating in 14 classes tailored for kids as young as 4 years old, as well as adults in their 80s and everyone in-between. “Education is as core to us as the shows on stage,” producing artistic director Danny Feldman told me in a recent interview.

LACMA unionizes
Employees at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art announced earlier this week that they are forming a union, LACMA United, representing more than 300 workers from across all departments, including curators, educators, guest relations associates and others. The move comes just six months before the museum is scheduled to open its new $720-million David Geffen Galleries.

Suntory time for Dudamel
Times classical music critic Mark Swed flew to Tokyo to watch Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic perform two concerts of works by John Adams, Stravinsky and Mahler in Suntory Hall. The stop was part of an Asian tour that also includes Seoul and Taipei.

A father grieves
Times theater critic Charles McNulty caught a performance of “Guac” at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. Manuel Oliver’s powerful one-man show examines the death — and celebrates the life — of his son, 17-year-old Joaquín Oliver, who was one of 17 people killed in the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. “The production, written and performed by Oliver, turns a parent’s grief into a theatrical work of activism,” writes McNulty.

Theater hot spot
If you know, you know — that’s the verdict on tiny New Theater Hollywood, which has lately taken on an outsize presence on formerly sleepy Theatre Row. “Opening post-pandemic, at a time of rising costs, dwindling audiences and little financial aid, New Theater Hollywood feels like an anomaly. It’s an intricate support system for practitioners to hone their craft in a space dedicated to original theatrical work,” writes Times contributor Emma Madden.

The girl is still having fun
A new musical adaptation of the 1988 film “Working Girl” is premiering at La Jolla Playhouse with score by ‘80s pop icon Cyndi Lauper. Ashley Lee has the scoop.

Wine meets art
The Donum Estate is home to 60 monumental sculptures by artists including Jaume Plensa, Louise Bourgeois, Ai Weiwei, Yayoi Kusama, Keith Haring, Doug Aitken, Robert Indiana and Anselm Kiefer, making it quite possibly “the largest private sculpture collection of any winery in the world,” writes Times contributor Sam Lubell in a story about the unique vineyard in California’s Carneros wine region.

La Jolla, launchpad of musicals
La Jolla Playhouse announced its 2026/2027 season, featuring three world-premiere musicals: The Playhouse-commissioned “The Family Album” (book by Sam Chanse and music and lyrics by MILCK, a.k.a. Connie Lim); “GRIM” (book by Joey Orton and Brad Silnutzer, music and lyrics by Petro AP, Scott Hoying, Joey Orton and Brad Silnutzer): and David Henry Hwang’s “Particle Fever,” with music and lyrics by Bear McCreary and Zoe Sarnak, directed by Tony Award nominee Leigh Silverman.

D.C. arts purge continues
The White House fired all six members of the Commission of Fine Arts earlier this week, according to an exclusive in the Washington Post. That independent federal agency would have reviewed a number of President Trump’s construction projects, “including his planned triumphal arch and White House ballroom.”

Nobel laureate stripped of visa
The first African writer to win the Nobel Prize for literature has been stripped of his U.S. visa by the Trump administration. The Nigerian author and playwright, Wole Soyinka, received notice of the decision from a U.S. consulate in Lagos on Oct. 23, calling it a “rather curious love letter.”

— Jessica Gelt

And last but not least

Happy Halloween! Looking for something truly scary to watch? Try Game 6 of the World Series, which takes place in Toronto tonight.

About a week ago, I was chatting with friends at a gathering when I realized I had before me a diverse range of political ideologies. “How are you guys voting on Prop 50?” I asked.

I received a range of answers, including folks who wanted more information before casting their ballot and those who remained conflicted. As a journalist, I don’t share how I vote on, well, anything, and I also don’t tell people how they should vote. But I want to encourage you to vote.

If you, like my friends, remain conflicted or want more information, what better way to work those feelings out than out on the trail? Using a strategy known as temptation bundling — where you pair something you enjoy with something you’re perhaps procrastinating — you could download a few political podcasts beforehand and listen as you hike (leaving one earbud out) or invite a few pals and talk out your thoughts on Prop 50 as you hike along.

Here you’ll find three great hiking areas near ballot drop boxes. We aren’t forced to vote in one specific place here in L.A. County, so let’s take full advantage of that.

1. Area around the Glendale Sports Complex

Ballot drop-off point: Glendale Adult Sports Office

Hikers have a few options when adventuring around the Glendale Sports Complex, including the 2-mile Catalina Verdugo Trail loop. This trail leads hikers through the San Rafael Hills around the Glendale Sports Complex. It’s not an escape from urban life, but it is well-maintained and has much to appreciate, including native trees like laurel sumac, lemonade berry, oak trees, toyon and ceanothus. You can run your fingers through the zesty California sagebrush as you consider your podcast’s or friend’s points on our current political dynamic.

At 1.25 miles on the trail, you have the choice to continue up to the Ridge Motorway, or you can go down .7 of a mile back via the Catalina Verdugo Trail. The Ridge Motorway continues upward, offering ocean views, before connecting with the Descanso Motorway and several other trails.

The accessible alternative is the Mountain Do Trail that runs around the border of the sports fields. You can extend your journey beyond the Mountain Do Trail, which I drew out via CalTopo here. It’s overall a wide path with a gentle slope and a few picnic tables where it’d be nice to take a break and consider how to complete your ballot.

2. Palos Verdes Nature Preserve

Ballot drop box location: Rancho Palos Verdes City Hall

The Palos Verdes Nature Preserve is actually 15 individual preserves totaling about 1,500 acres. That includes the Alta Vicente Reserve, 55 acres around and below Rancho Palos Verdes City Hall where a ballot drop box is located.

The Alta Vicente Reserve features a few different trails that can be turned into a 2-mile loop. If you want to further your adventure, you can hit one of the trails that remains open despite landslides. Regardless, you’ll be treated to gorgeous ocean views, a sight that always helps me think.

Those seeking an accessible option can take the Seascape Trail and see the Point Vicente Lighthouse or try the Terranea Beach Trail.

After hiking and voting, you can also visit the Point Vicente Interpretive Center to learn about local flora and fauna. It is open daily and also features a fun gift shop.

3. Vasquez Rocks Natural Area and Nature Center

Ballot drop box location: Vasquez Rocks Natural Area and Nature Center

Vasquez Rocks Natural Area is one of those places you can visit over and over, and keep seeing something new. I enjoy taking the Apwinga Loop Trail, a 3.4-mile trek where you’ll pass massive pancake-like rock formations along with the park’s appropriately named “Famous Rocks.” This trail connects with others in the park, including the Bobcat Trail, Tokupar Ridgetop Trail or the Pacific Crest Trail as it descends into the canyon.

The Juniper Meadow Walking Loop is about a half mile and is an accessible loop. Its trailhead is near the parking lot where visitors can see the park’s iconic geography. Hopefully, the high desert atmosphere provides you with ample time and space to consider the choice you’d like to make on your ballot!

The good news is, if these trails aren’t calling to you, there are voting centers and ballot drop boxes all over L.A. County. It doesn’t matter where you go — just that you vote!

3 things to do

1. Observe Day of the Dead around L.A.
Several local parks are hosting Día de los Muertos events, including from 3 to 7 p.m. Sunday at Grand Park. The event, titled Noche de los Muertos, is a closing ceremony that will feature music, dancing, lanterns and a community mercado. Nature for All and other local groups will host a Día de los Muertos event from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday at Marson Park in Panorama City. Participants can help build a community altar and design mini paper altars. San Gabriel River Park will host its Día de los Muertos event from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday. Learn more about additional park Day of the Dead events at L.A. County Park’s Instagram page.

2. Hike with an almost full moon in L.A.
The Sierra Club Angeles Chapter will host a 5-mile moderate hike from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday through Griffith Park. Guests should arrive by 6:45 p.m., allowing for extra time because of the park’s Haunted Hay Ride. For additional details and to sign up, visit meetup.com.

3. Do the most for the least tern in Huntington Beach
OC Habitats, a local conservation nonprofit, will host a dune preservation work day at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday at Huntington State Beach. Volunteers will pick up trash and remove invasive species to help improve the nesting habitat of the endangered California least tern. Register at eventbrite.com.

The must-read

I am terrified to report that it’s tarantula mating season, meaning these eight-legged furry residents will be far easier to spot on the trails. Times staff writer Lila Seidman wrote — in a story I was almost too scared to read — that in California, “October is typically a prime mating month for the bulky, hirsute spiders. Natural cues are key, with autumn’s initial precipitation generally triggering the march. Experts suspect males are following pheromones to hunkered-down females.” Although I will never personally find out, some parts of the tarantula feel almost like sable fur, Seidman wrote. “They’re soft like kitties,” said Lisa Gonzalez, program manager of invertebrate living collections at the county Natural History Museum.

I will take my chances trying to pet the fuzzy tummies of my actual cats because, regardless of how reasonable it is, their fangs scare me less! (I am much less of a wiener when it comes to literally any other spider — judge me not!)

Happy adventuring,

P.S.

If like me, you’ve never been to Big Sur, now is the time for Southern Californians to go. My colleague Christopher Reynolds reports that because Big Sur’s South Coast highway remains closed, there’s a rare window of solitude: “empty beaches, dramatic cliffs and nearly empty trails for six months.” Whaaaaa? Amazing. Let’s take full advantage of this opportunity and support local businesses in the process!

For more insider tips on Southern California’s beaches, trails and parks, check out past editions of The Wild. And to view this newsletter in your browser, click here.

Few recent films have had quite the reversal of reputation as Karyn Kusama’s 2009 supernatural high-school thriller, which can now clearly be seen for the wise, witty gem it has always been. Overwhelmed at the time by the cultural backlash that swarmed both its star Megan Fox (fresh from the media firestorm of the “Transformers” franchise) and screenwriter Diablo Cody, after her meteoric ascent with the Oscar-winning “Juno,” initial audiences were unprepared for a savage horror-comedy about the traumas of navigating the world as a teenage girl. The bond of two best friends (Fox, Amanda Seyfried) is put to the test when, after a ritual sacrifice goes awry, one of them becomes a possessed succubus who must feed on human flesh. Kusama’s finely modulated direction keeps all the plates of the story spinning as the film moves between being funny, scary and surprisingly tender toward its characters. A conversation with Kusama, Fox and professor Tananarive Due, who specializes in horror, should make this a special evening.

“Jennifer’s Body” is playing Oct. 25 at the Academy Museum. Tickets here.

It’s Dodgers mania. Los Doyers clinched their spot in the World Series for the second year in a row.

Game 1 kicks off Friday. The first two games facing the Toronto Blue Jays will be away, with the Dodgers returning home for Games 3 and 4. Local restaurants and bars are preparing for back-to-back World Series wins by hauling in extra TVs and adding food and drink specials.

Whether you’re heading to Dodger Stadium and looking for a pre- or post-game destination or just want to be in the thick of Dodger madness, keep reading for 11 places near the stadium that are screening all of the games:

The hosts got into the end zone on each of their opening two drives, with Herbert making an eight-yard touchdown pass to Oronde Gadsden II before Kimani Vidal, who finished with 117 rushing yards, punched in his first NFL touchdown from three yards.

Herbert then launched a 27-yard pass to the corner for Ladd McConkey to help make it 21-3 at half-time, but the Chargers quarterback gave up his only interception midway through the third quarter.

The Vikings took advantage, with Carson Wentz finding Jordan Addison at the back of the end zone to make it 24-10, but the hosts emphasised their dominance with a Tre’ Harris touchdown and two field goals in the fourth quarter.

The Vikings are now 3-4 and Wentz struggled on his fifth start in place of the injured JJ McCarthy, throwing for 144 yards, one touchdown and one interception while being sacked five times.

McCarthy has been out with a high ankle sprain suffered in week two but head coach Kevin O’Connell hopes the second-year quarterback can return next week, when the Vikings face a tough game at divisional rivals the Detroit Lions.

“If JJ is healthy, JJ will play,” said O’Connell. “I believe we’re right around the corner from seeing him be healthy, have a week of preparation and go compete.”

If you watched 54 Ultra’s music video for “Upside Down” and came away thinking it was a relic from 1980s music programs like “Solid Gold” or “Night Tracks” — you’d be forgiven for making the assumption.

Aside from the 25-year-old’s vintage wardrobe, hairstyle, and ‘stache that harks to that decade, the song itself — a silky, boppy ballad that channels the energy of groups like the Chi-Lites or solo acts like Johnnie Taylor — sounds and feels ripped from the era in a manner that’s hard to faithfully re-create these days.

That old-school vibe isn’t exactly how 54 Ultra started off when he began putting out solo music three years ago, but it’s what he’s settled into nowadays. The artist, whose real name is JohnAnthony Rodríguez (and yes, his name is supposed to be written together), hails from New Jersey and is of Puerto Rican and Dominican descent.

The name he settled on, 54 Ultra, came by way of uniting Frank Ocean’s 2011 album “Nostalgia, Ultra” and the historic nightclub Studio 54. It was sometime between 2019 and 2020 that he interned at a few different recording studios, songwriting in his spare time with the intention of writing and producing music for others.

“I remember I was trying to find a way to make a living out of music and introduce myself to other artists,” he says over the phone, recalling all the demos he had recorded and presented to artists he’d cross paths with.

“People would be like ‘Who’s singing this? Who demo’ed this?’ And I’d say ‘It was me.’ And then they’d say, ‘You keep it.’ After that [happened] a couple of times I realized that I might as well put it out by myself.”

His first solo singles, like the high-energy “What Do I Know (Call Me Baby)” and “Sierra,” were firmly rooted in the indie rock family tree. It wasn’t until more recently, first with “Where Are You” and later “Heaven Knows,” that Rodríguez began to explore a more retro and soulful approach.

The latter track made an appearance in a 2024 “rhythm and soul” playlist curated by Mistah Cee, an Australian DJ and music selector, who included the song between Bobby Caldwell’s “My Flame” and Earth, Wind & Fire’s “Devotion.” The segues between tracks are seamless, in no small part due to Rodríguez’s immaculate production and fealty to the tempo of the times. His was the only contemporary track on the playlist, but it fooled many who eventually caught on to the rest of his work.

“On YouTube, I remember that was a nice boost, because people would comment, ‘Who came from Mistah Cee?’ Or, ‘Who thought this was an oldie?’ or whatnot,” he says.

To date, it’s not only Mistah Cee’s most viewed playlist by a wide margin (5.6 million and counting) but also 54 Ultra’s most-streamed song on Spotify with 27 million. “That was a very organic wave of things happening, and I’m very grateful for that also because I didn’t expect [it] at all,” says Rodríguez.

Latin soul, of the kind that recalls the doo-wop and boogaloo era of the 1950s and ‘60s, has seen a resurgence in the past few years. Artists like Chicano Batman, Thee Sinseers, Los Yesterdays and the Altons, as well as solo acts like Jason Joshua and Adrian Quesada, have made inroads with listeners and on the radio. Rodríguez is enthusiastic about this opportunity to show different facets of Latin culture and music through this genre.

“I just feel like I’m grateful to be a part of that family, or that idea that people relate all the music together and being a part of that scene is pretty nice,” he says.

Despite his Gen Z status, he notably lacks the “smartphone face” that’s rampant among pop artists and celebrities — and is partial to dressing in an anachronistic way, which he pulls off with gusto. It might be easy to assume his regular getup is a result of wanting to match the music, but Rodriguez insists he was already dressing that way much before he ever considered dabbling in soul. There is a kind of freedom he associates with the wardrobe of that time.

“[The clothes] were never a costume or a gimmick,” he says. “Whether I did music or not, I enjoyed how it fits because that [period] just has the best clothes. I think that was peak menswear. No one cared about any type of gender assignment with clothing; everybody wore what they wanted, and all the measurements were the same … it seemed like everybody had fun back then. They weren’t worried so much about what people thought.”

He shouts out Blood Orange, a.k.a. artist-composer Dev Hynes, as a major inspiration for him. “That’s my favorite guy,” he says. But at the same time, he offers an eclectic list of artists whose music lights fires for his own output; Brazilian musicians like Jorge Ben Jor, Lô Borges and Evinha have made his rotation, along with some moody ‘80s bands like the Smiths, the Cure and Siouxsie and the Banshees.

“And Prefab Sprout,” he adds excitedly. “That’s my jam. That stuff’s crazy.”

His reputation has grown this past year, putting him in rooms he never expected to be invited to. Earlier this year he found himself producing the song “All I Can Say” for Kali Uchis, off her 2025 album, “Sincerely,” and recently opened for her during a concert stop in San José.

Earlier this month, he kicked off a world tour promoting his latest EP, “First Works,” that will take him from D.C. and Brooklyn to London and Paris. The schedule includes multiple stops in California, including two in Los Angeles: Oct. 26 at the Roxy Theatre and Oct. 28 at the Echoplex.

For Rodríguez, a tour like this is the culmination of everything he’s worked toward in his admittedly still nascent but steadily growing career. He confirms that he’s been chipping away at a debut LP, which will brandish a more “fast and punchy” rock sound that recall his days playing basement shows.

“Anytime anybody asked me what I wanted to do, I would say: ‘I want to perform anywhere I can and for anybody, wherever that may be.’ I’ve always wanted things to resonate, and I’ve always wanted it to make sense.”

The political cartoon by Auth (Commentary, Aug. 2) was very appropriate. It’s too bad the cartoon had to be cropped for space, as I am sure that just behind the two elephants were two donkeys and many, many people, all laughing their heads off at “Noah” Bush standing there on the deck of the ark. We all know what happened to those who thought they were too wise to enter the safety of the ark. Perhaps the animals that the real Noah allowed aboard the ark had misgivings too, but they entered and settled down to ride out the storm, and in the end they were better off than those who stood outside and laughed.

Those who were unwilling to ride with Noah were doomed, just as are those who now think they are too wise to ride with “Noah” Bush (and Dan Quayle).

CLIFFORD L. LILLO, Torrance

A look at the top 25 high school football teams in the Southland:

Rk. School (record) result; Next game; last week ranking

1. ST. JOHN BOSCO (8-0) def. Santa Margarita, 27-14; vs. Servite, Friday; 1

2. SIERRA CANYON (8-0) def. Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, 45-10; at Bishop Amat, Friday; 2

3. CORONA CENTENNIAL (6-1) def. Murrieta Valley, 48-20; at Norco, Thursday; 3

4. MISSION VIEJO (7-1) def. San Clemente, 34-16; vs. Edison at Huntington Beach, Friday; 4

5. SANTA MARGARITA (5-3) lost to St. John Bosco, 27-14; vs. Orange Lutheran at Trabuco Hills, Friday; 5

6. MATER DEI (5-2) def. Servite, 29-19; vs. JSerra at Santa Ana Stadium, Friday; 6

7. LOS ALAMITOS (8-0) def. Edison, 41-22; at San Clemente, Friday; 7

8. SERVITE (5-3) lost to Mater Dei, 29-19; at St. John Bosco, next Friday; 8

9. ORANGE LUTHERAN (4-4) def. JSerra, 63-24; vs. Santa Margarita at Trabuco Hills, Friday; 9

10. CORONA DEL MAR (8-0) def. Villa Park, 21-3; at Tesoro, Friday; 10

11. MURRIETA VALLEY (6-2) lost to Corona Centennial, 48-20; at Vista Murrieta, Friday; 11

12. OXNARD PACIFICA (8-0) def. Camarillo, 42-6; vs. Simi Valley, Friday; 12

13. DAMIEN (7-1) def. Upland, 35-14; at Chino Hills, Friday; 13

14. LEUZINGER (6-1) def. Culver City, 47-7; vs. Mira Costa, Friday; 14

15. SAN JUAN HILLS (7-2) def. Newport Harbor, 47-10; vs. Villa Park, Friday; 15

16. BEAUMONT (5-2) def. Yucaipa, 57-10; at Citrus Valley, Friday; 16

17. VISTA MURRIETA (6-2) def. Eastvale Roosevelt, 42-0; vs. Murrieta Valley, Friday; 17

18. DOWNEY (7-1) def. Paramount, 48-9; vs. Warren, Friday; 19

19. CREAN LUTHERAN (8-0) def. La Habra, 56-21; vs. Huntington Beach, Friday; 21

20. RANCHO CUCAMONGA (4-4) def. Ayala, 41-0; vs. Etiwanda, next Friday; 22

21. EDISON (5-3) lost to Los Alamitos, 41-22; vs. Mission Viejo, Friday; 20

22. JSERRA (3-5) lost to Orange Lutheran, 63-23; vs. Mater Dei at Santa Ana Stadium, Friday; 18

23. VALENCIA (7-1) def. Golden Valley, 35-7; vs. Hart, Friday; 23

24. AQUINAS (7-1) def. Heritage Christian, 49-7; vs. Capistrano Valley Christian, Friday; 24

25. CHAPARRAL (4-4) def. Norco, 56-28; vs. Eastvale Roosevelt, Thursday; NR

Were California voters especially wise Tuesday when they adopted both Proposition 25, which erases the Legislature’s crippling two-thirds vote requirement for adopting a budget, and Proposition 26, which imposes a new two-thirds mandate for imposing or raising a fee? End the gridlock, perhaps they were saying, but not at the expense of taxpaying families or businesses.

Or were they being especially clueless, telling Democratic lawmakers to adopt the budget they want, but without knowing or caring that they were simultaneously making the job close to impossible by depriving those same politicians of one of their chief budget-balancing tools?

It’s tempting but in the end pointless to try to find a consistent voter philosophy among the confusing and often contradictory ballot measures. The electorate’s role is to say “yes” or “no” to individual questions; it’s up to their elected leaders and representatives to make those decisions work. In the coming year, lawmakers and the once-and-future Gov. Jerry Brown will be presented with an opportunity in Proposition 25, the majority-vote budget, possibly the most important reform adopted at the ballot box in a generation. They will have to demonstrate wisdom, leadership and self-restraint to take good advantage of it without being snared by Proposition 26 and the other ballot-box budgeting mandates sent them by voters in this election and others over the last 30 years.

California’s persistent fiscal mess is based less on poor budget decisions in Sacramento than it is on the inability to make a decision of any kind. At the heart of the problem has been the two-thirds supermajority requirement, imposed by voters in three stages. First, during the Depression, voters decided that no budget could be passed in a slow-growth year without the approval of two-thirds of the members of each house of the Legislature. Then, in the 1960s, the two-thirds requirement was extended to include all budgets in all years. Then, in 1978 as part of Proposition 13, it was applied to all tax increases as well. Proposition 25 undoes the two-thirds requirement only on budgets. It remains in place on taxes and, in fact, is now, under Proposition 26, extended to fees.

Now, like every other state in the nation but two, California will be able to adopt a budget on a majority vote (as long as that budget doesn’t include any tax or fee hikes). It’s an important step up from deadlock and stasis, and holds the prospect of returning the Legislature to a measure of accountability that it has too long eluded.

Majority votes form the core of democracy. A majority is a mathematically unique number. Any deviation from majority rule in a legislative body gives disproportionate power to the minority. Require less than a majority, and a small cabal can have its way. Require a supermajority, and an equally small group can stymie the will of the majority by repeatedly saying “no.” In California’s Legislature, the minority party — the Republicans — has held fast to that power, arguing that it is the last check on irresponsible spending. But the result has been a budget process that stretches well past the constitutional June 15 deadline, and that delay has, in turn, damaged California’s reputation and creditworthiness far more than any cuts sought by GOP lawmakers or taxes proposed by Democrats.

Conservatives should also recognize that Democrats have been able to use the requirement to shirk accountability. No more. Democratic lawmakers must now stand behind their budgets. The electorate — especially the large and growing number of decline-to-state voters — will know exactly whom to hold responsible if the next budget is late or unbalanced.

No doubt Democrats would like to be able to raise taxes on a majority vote as well, and, in fact, the same principles that make two-thirds wrong for budgeting make it wrong for taxes. But for the present voters don’t appear to agree with them. Meanwhile, Democrats need no longer bargain away substantive and non-budget-related policy points merely to score Republican budget support. They may bargain for GOP support on taxes, but they have a choice.

Proposition 25 is a useful new tool, but it alone doesn’t solve the state government’s structural problems. In passing Proposition 22, voters cut off another source of state funds by protecting redevelopment agencies and local governments. Of course, those very agencies and governments would have run out of their own funds and gone bankrupt many times had they not been bailed out by Sacramento after Proposition 13 and then after the reduction of the vehicle license fee in the 1990s. When the state “raids” local treasuries, it is merely taking back its own money — money it can no longer afford to give away. But voters have made clear repeatedly that they prefer funding for local programs. In rejecting Proposition 21, a new vehicle fee to support parks, voters said no to the fee but presumably didn’t say no to state parks, which still must be funded — or lost to posterity.

Now more than ever it becomes the responsibility of Brown and the legislative majority to remind Californians that institutions that make a safe, just and abundant life here possible — courts, disaster preparedness, the Highway Patrol, water systems, schools and universities — are a bargain but nevertheless require funding.

Questionnaires were distributed to candidates this month. Answers have been edited to fit the available space.

Family Sick Leave

Q. Gov. Deukmejian recently vetoed legislation that would have granted workers as much as four months of unpaid leave every two years to care for sick children, spouses and other family members without fear of losing their jobs. Do you favor this type of legislation?

Margolin: Yes.

Michael: Yes.

Staley: Yes.

Teacher Salaries

Q. The Legislature approved a 4.7% cost-of-living raise for school employees, and Gov. Deukmejian reduced it to 3%, placing the difference in an account for special education programs. Should this money be used for salaries?

Margolin: Yes. Recruiting talented and dedicated teachers is critical to improving educational performance.

Michael: Yes, but only for teachers’ salaries. I do not consider an increase of 4.7% to be extravagant and do not believe the governor should have cut corners on teachers.

Staley: Yes. It should be used for cost-of-living raises.

Big Green

Q. Proposition 128, the so-called “Big Green” initiative on the November ballot, seeks to eliminate ozone-depleting chemicals by the year 2000, phase out pesticides known to cause cancer and require that trees be planted in all new developments. Do you support this initiative? Margolin: Yes. These significant reforms of our environmental protection laws represent a major breakthrough in the effort to halt the alarming deterioration of our environment.

Michael: Yes. We must eliminate toxic pesticides from our food, land and livestock and must cease endangering our farm workers and their families. This is the best aspect of Big Green.

Staley: Yes. Preservation of the environment is of the utmost importance.

Tree-Cutting

Q. Proposition 130 on the November ballot would restrict clear-cutting of forests, allow the sale of $710 million in bonds to preserve ancient redwood forests and provide $32 million to retrain unemployed loggers. Do you support this initiative? Margolin: Yes.

Michael: Yes.

Staley: Yes, but not as an alternative to 128.

Limited Terms

Q. Proposition 131 on the November ballot, authored by Atty. Gen. John K. Van de Kamp and Common Cause, would limit most statewide elected officials to eight consecutive years in office, and senators and Assembly members to 12 years. Proposition 140, sponsored by Los Angeles County Supervisor Pete Schabarum, is more stringent, limiting lifetime service to eight years in the Senate and six in the Assembly. Do you support limiting the number of terms state legislators can serve? If yes, how long should the limits be? Margolin: No. Term limits deprive the voters of the right to select their representatives. They also would expand the influence of the special interests who would clearly benefit from the turmoil artificial term limits would create.

Michael: Yes. I support Proposition 140. We must rid ourselves of the corrupt Legislature we have, and this will do that.

Staley: Yes. I favor shorter limits. Legislators will be less at the mercy of campaign contributors. They would give more citizens access to government and would help free legislators from constant campaign worries.

Sales Tax

Q. Proposition 133 on the November ballot would raise state sales and use taxes by 0.5% for four years to raise $7.5 billion for drug enforcement and treatment, anti-drug education , and prison and jail construction and operation. Do you support this initiative?

Margolin: Yes.

Michael: Yes.

Staley: No.

Liquor Tax

Q. Proposition 134 on the November ballot would substantially raise taxes on beer, wine and liquor, and dedicate the revenue from the tax hike to programs for the treatment of drug and alcohol abuse. Do you support this initiative? Margolin: Yes.

Michael: No.

Staley: No.

Inmate Laborers

Q. Proposition 139 on the November ballot would allow private companies to hire state prison and county jail inmates as laborers. Do you support this initiative? Margolin: No.

Michael: Yes.

Staley: No.

Death Penalty

Q. Do you support capital punishment? If so, do you think it should be imposed on those convicted of importing or selling drugs? Margolin: No.

Michael: Yes, I support capital punishment. No, I am not inclined to use it for simple drug-dealing, but would make it an option if a specific death can be clearly tied to a certain dealer’s drugs.

Staley: No to both.

Handgun Controls

Q. Do you support additional limits on handgun purchase or possession in California? Margolin: Yes. Senseless violence is made easy because of the virtually unrestricted access to handguns. I support waiting periods for their purchase and mandatory training programs. I also support increased penalties for illegal possession.

Michael: No. Gun laws do not work, as the cities of New York and Washington, D.C., readily prove. In addition, they are of questionable constitutionality.

Staley: Yes. A more thorough background check, a waiting period and proof of training should be rigid. Ultimately, handguns should be made illegal, but it is a decision voters must make.

Abortion Rights

Q. Do you support a woman’s right to unrestricted abortions within the first three months of pregnancy? Margolin: Yes.

Michael: No.

Staley: Yes.

Abortion Funding

Q. Do you support government funding of abortions for women who cannot afford them? Margolin: Yes.

Michael: No, except in cases of reported rape and incest, and where the life and/or health of the mother is in jeopardy.

Staley: Yes.

Day-Care Services

Q. Do you believe the state should require private employers to subsidize day-care services for employees who request them? Margolin: Yes. Better day care would allow working parents to improve their job performance. It serves the interests of both the employee and the employer.

Michael: No. The state should provide tax incentives for companies to provide day care. Mandatory requirements would promote discrimination against women in hiring.

Staley: Yes, as well as paid maternity leave.

War on Drugs

Q. Do you believe our present strategy of criminal prosecution, interdiction of supplies and imprisonment of users and dealers will ever significantly reduce the level of drug use in the United States? If no, what should be done? Margolin: No. While they are necessary steps, by themselves they are unlikely to succeed. Equal effort has to be applied to drug education and drug treatment if any long-term progress is to be made.

Michael: No. You must decrease the demand side through education. If the demand is still there, the law will not stop it alone.

Staley: No. The problem is not the users and dealers.

Drug Decriminalization

Q. Would you consider supporting the decriminalization of drug use? Margolin: No.

Michael: No, except for marijuana.

Staley: Yes.

Oil Exploration

Q. Do you think the present Mideast crisis justifies opening up additional parts of the California coastline to oil exploration? Margolin: No. New energy sources can be developed without desecrating our priceless coastline.

Michael: No. The economic crisis isn’t that bad, and we need to be less dependent on petroleum.

Staley: No. The United States has other reserves.

Parkland Exchange

Q. Should the National Park Service exchange 50 acres in Cheeseboro Canyon in southeastern Ventura County for about 1,100 acres of the neighboring Jordan Ranch owned by entertainer Bob Hope, permitting park agencies to buy another 4,600 acres of Hope’s land in the Santa Monica and Santa Susana mountains for $10 million? Margolin: Yes.

Michael: Yes.

Staley: No, Mr. Hope should donate the land voluntarily.

Mandatory Ride-Sharing

Q. Do you favor mandatory ride-sharing in an effort to meet government air pollution standards? Margolin: Yes. Ride-sharing has proven to be an effective tool in reducing traffic congestion. Any mandatory program needs to be flexibly structured to meet the needs of Southern California commuters.

Michael: No. It’s unenforceable.

Staley: No. That would be a violation of civil liberties. Public transit should be improved and should be free.

Political Funding

Q. Do you support full or partial public funding of political campaigns? Margolin: Yes, if it applies to general elections and the level of funding is adequate for the candidates to effectively communicate their views to the electorate.

Michael: No. Taxpayer money should not go to campaign consultants and television stations.

Staley: Yes. Full funding for candidates who want it would make this process fairer and would help reduce the influence of campaign contributors. There should be spending limits, also.

Income Disclosure

Q. Are you willing to publicly release your income tax returns and those of your spouse prior to the November election? Margolin: No.

Michael: No.

Haley: Yes.

Porter Ranch

Q. Do you support development of the massive Porter Ranch project in the hills north of Chatsworth as presently configured? Margolin: No. Projects of this immense scale will add to the congestion that is already choking our streets and eroding the quality of life in Los Angeles.

Michael: No. The neighborhood doesn’t want it, and it’s simply a developer, money-making scheme which benefits no one else.

Haley: No. I do not support unlimited growth and I believe voters in the area should make the decision, not politicians.

CONTENDERS Burt Margolin, 39, a Democrat, has represented the 45th District in the state Senate since 1982. Previously, he worked for Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles) and Rep. Howard. L. Berman (D-Panorama City).

Elizabeth Michael, 34, of Hollywood, is a businesswoman who has long been active in Republican party politics. She made an unsuccessful bid for the state Senate two years ago.

Owen Staley of Hollywood is the Peace and Freedom party candidate. He is a college instructor.

Are you eating out less? Is it starting to feel like a sit-down dinner, even at a casual restaurant, can set you back what you might have paid for a big celebratory meal not too long ago?

Daytime is one thing, with lunch deals or happy hour discounts coaxing more consumers out for a bite. But at prime dinnertime lately, getting the check can come with sticker shock.

Industry trends show diners are getting more selective about dining out as inflation worries wallop U.S. consumers. In a 2025 survey from global accounting firm KPMG, 85% of respondents said they are eating at home more often to save money due to budget limitations. As a result, U.S. restaurants and bars saw one of the weakest six-month periods of sales growth during the first half of 2025 — even weaker than during the COVID pandemic when lockdown orders were in place, according to a CNN analysis of Commerce Department data.

In Los Angeles, the added factors of the 2025 wildfires, ICE raids, and rising rental and labor costs make the trend feel especially acute.

But with a little strategy, it’s more than possible to have a standout meal at some of L.A.’s most exciting haunts right now without breaking your budget. For this guide, the Food team challenged ourselves to find 50 L.A. restaurants where you can dine for $50 or less per person, including tax and tip.

A nice dinner out translates differently for everyone, so we set a few parameters before beginning our search:

• The pre-tax total should be no more than $38 per person, in order to account for a roughly 10% sales tax and 20% tip. Sometimes it needs to be even less if a restaurant includes a mandatory service fee.
• The restaurant doesn’t have to offer table service, but there must be seating available to enjoy your food on-site.
• It must be open until at least 9 p.m.
• You must be able to order at least two menu items, whether that’s a starter and a main, an entree and a dessert, or a large plate and a cocktail.

The final list ranges from places ranked on The Times’ annual 101 Best Restaurants guide that require specific hacks to stay within budget, to more casual options where $50 lets you sample a wide swath of the menu. And just in case you’re bringing a date or a friend, we share suggestions for how to approach this challenge as a duo.

Note that the prices outlined below are accurate as of our most recent visits but may change based on which location you visit, whether you’re ordering in person, for pickup or delivery and other factors.