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Breakfast burritos are one of L.A.’s most iconic foods and you’ll find the hefty, all-day dish offered at taquerias, Aussie-inspired cafes, French bakeries and everywhere in between, with new entrants frequently unseating former favorites. Restaurant critic Jenn Harris adds a new Long Beach cafe to the county lexicon, with a full menu of breakfast burritos wrapped in Chihuahua-style flour tortillas. At Masa y Taza, you can get your burrito stuffed with red pork chorizo; green chicken chorizo; sauteed nopales and bell pepper confit for a vegan take (vegan tortillas are available upon request); or the classic bacon, egg, potatoes and cheese. Tacos and churro French toast round out the food options, while beverages include a selection of aguas frescas made fresh daily, café de olla, a mocha with Mexican chocolate and specials like a mazapán banana latte.

“L.A. is a city of conflicting realities,” says gallerist Jeni Abramson, and she likes it that way. Evolving directly from Don’t Look Projects — the residency and project space Abramson ran alongside Omar Yousif from 2024 through early 2026 — her eponymous gallery establishes a rigorous, intellectually charged platform dedicated to contemporary photography, multimedia and conceptual art. “I’m drawn to artists whose work examines how political, economic and technological systems operate through images, whether that’s an artist working with archives, surveillance, AI, or the accumulated weight of decades spent looking at the world through a lens,” she says. “My own formation, moving between very different political and economic systems, shapes how I read that work.”

The gallery inaugurated this vision with “Remains of the Day,” presenting more than 50 years of work by Michel Auder — capturing unvarnished, intimate fragments of Andy Warhol’s Factory, his marriages to Viva and Cindy Sherman, and decades of well-chronicled and timelessly sensual bohemian life — organized with support from Hamza Walker, Abramson’s neighbor at the nearby kunsthalle the Brick, and an exceptionally talented archive-wrangler.

The gallery’s November-December presentation is “Meat Ghost,” a solo exhibition of new work by research-based multidisciplinary artist Jen Liu.

Shaped by coming of age in post-Soviet Eastern Europe, where underground electronic music offered a vital bridge between fractured systems, Abramson approaches visual culture with a sharp, systems-aware lens. That critical framework finds a natural home in Los Angeles, particularly when it comes to the city’s complex legacy of CalArts conceptualism, the entertainment industry’s image machinery and the city’s enduring subterranean countercultures. Operating outside the speculative frenzy of the ultra-high-end marketplace, Abramson says, “The collectors I work with don’t approach art as an asset class. They collect for deeply personal reasons.”

There’s a reason why people like to shop locally during the holidays. You don’t have to worry anxiously about when your gift will arrive — for the kids; it’s always for the kids. It doesn’t have to be like that.

This year, try visiting a local gift shop or a holiday craft fair and pick out a gift in person from a neighbor right here in L.A.

As in past years, many of the items in our Made in L.A. list are small-batch or made-to-order. You’ll find things including unique ceramics, puzzle candles, handmade jewelry and even a life-affirming baseball cap designed by an 11-year-old.

The best holiday gifts aren’t just those that arrive quickly. They also have heart. If you’re searching for the perfect gift, whether it’s the perfect handmade coffee mug or silk-screened tee boasting local pride, check out our list of favorites below.

Editor’s note: If you make a purchase using some of our links, the L.A. Times may be compensated. Prices and availability are subject to change. In some cases, listed websites may use location-based pricing.

When we went looking for the best independent gift shops in Los Angeles, we discovered a Tarot Arts store in South Pasadena, found a fun mix of paper goods — and stickers! — at Paper and Plant Co.’s new location in Highland Park and met three adorable shop cats at Adelaide, a charming flower and gift shop in Altadena, which was forced to close temporarily following the Eaton fire.

We’re fortunate in Los Angeles that holiday shopping doesn’t have to revolve around a crowded mall — or an Amazon delivery.

Shopping local can be fun.

At Little Flower in Pasadena, you can enjoy a meal or savory treat while browsing the shop’s shelves stocked with seasonal goods. At Curious in Hermosa Beach, you can book a haircut at a speakeasy-style barber inside the “pop and pop shop.” Or you might catch an art show at Tim Biskup’s Face Guts in Verdugo Village, right next to his unique lifestyle store, Home Guts.

This holiday season, why not try shopping in your neighborhood? Whether you need something for a teacher or loved one, shopping small helps support businesses that may have had a tough time of late. Many store owners shared that the holidays can make or break their entire year. “The holidays matter a lot to us,” says Ivana Suvak of Goods in Santa Monica. “I think in-person retail matters more than it used to. We’re all online all day, but walking into a shop, touching something, smelling it, discovering something you weren’t looking for and talking to another person … I don’t think that can be replaced.”

Shopping local makes a difference beyond just your gift recipient — it helps your neighbors. “My thought every year is: If you build it, they will come,” says Sonya Gallardo, who owns Highlow Gift Shop in Torrance. “To make the heavy investment, I have to have faith that my customers will remember my shop, and new customers will want to shop small and find me.”

Here’s a list of our favorite gift shops in Los Angeles.

Numerous cities and neighborhoods offer places to remember, in festive ways, loved ones who have passed. Here are some of the places to participate in the rich Mexican Day of the Dead tradition.

Olvera Street

Olvera Street’s Day of the Dead events have taken place for nearly 40 years. Daytime events, including entertainment, face painting and altars begin at 11 a.m., with a colorful novenario procession at 7 p.m.

Downtown

At the Central Library, 630 W. 5th St., beginning at 1:30 p.m. and until 4:30 p.m., sugar skull decorating, Aztec dance performances, puppet decorating, stories storytelling, arts and crafts, photo opportunities with La Catrina Andante, ofrenda making, and more. Open to all ages.

Gloria Molina Grand Park, from 3:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., a closing celebration of Dia de los Muertos features a lineup with The Negrete Family, the viral family band blending banda roots with pop flair; DJ Butchona, bringing corridos and banda to a family house party where you can come as you are; Lxs Cochinxs, serving up Cumbia Cochina with chicha, merengue, punk, and rave beats.

Families can take part in Indigenous Mexican ribbon braiding with Ponte Your Monos, sugar skull decorating with Kalaveritas Y Mas, face painting with Doodling Faces, and paper weaving with Ana Reyes. As night falls, candlelight and offerings will illuminate the park.

Los Angeles Zoo

At the Los Angeles Zoo, patrons can bring a picture of their late companion animals to display on a community altar.
For the sixth straight year, the L.A. Zoo is partnering with Plaza de la Raza Cultural Center for the Arts & Education to bring the Beloved Pets Ofrenda back to the Zoo. It’s designed to honor the memory of cherished animal companions that have passed away, and all Zoo guests may participate. Staff from the Zoo’s Learning & Engagement team will be available from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to help create altar.

Highland Park

The Northeast Los Angeles Día de los Muertos Festival takes place from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Heritage Square Museum, 3510 Pasadena Ave. Supported by the Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council, this free community event features traditional altars (ofrendas), Aztec dancers, live mariachi music, face painting, and local food vendors.

Glendale

Forest Lawn Memorial Park, 1712 S. Glendale Ave. will celebrate from noon until 3 p.m. with marigolds, Catrina and spirit guide artworks, community altars, marionettes, folklorico and mariachi performances, arts and crafts, face painting.

Pasadena

At Boston Court Pasadena, 70 N. Mentor Ave, there are two performances, one at 4:00 p.m. and one at 6:00 p.m. of Mariachi Tierra Mia on Sunday.

Canoga Park

Canoga Park’s 26th Annual Día de los Muertos Festival, healing through memory, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sherman Way between Topanga Canyon Blvd. and Canoga Ave. It will have dance performances, live music, a classic car show, family arts and crafts, and community altars.

Mid City

On West Adams Blvd. between Fairfax Ave. and Hauser Blvd., Mid-City has its community festival. Family friendly with live music, food trucks, art gallery, workshops, community altar & more. Live Music & Performances: Acoustic sets, the Recuerdos stage, and a Super Sonidero stage.

Santa Monica

On the Santa Monica Pier from 12:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Merry Go-Round building and West End. This year’s celebration will honor Pedro Infante and offer a classic car cruise, face painting, Aztec blessing and procession, Ballet Folklorico, mariachi music, and a communal ofrenda.

Long Beach

Long Beach’s Day of the Dead festivities return to their original location at Rainbow Lagoon, 400 E. Shoreline Dr. They begin at 1 p.m. with the duo Las Chicas Tristes and include Millikan’s Ballet Folklorico Program, Mariachi Divas, Tiancho and the Selena tribute band Como La Flor Band until 7:00 p.m.

Gardena

At the Gardena City Hall Complex, 1700 W. 162nd St. from 5:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. celebrate life, honor loved ones, and experience the beauty of this meaningful tradition with an evening full of culture, community, and remembrance. Live entertainment, food, crafts, games, and a beautiful display of altars with a Catrina & Catrín contest. Bring a photo of a loved one for the community altar.

Downey

At Brookshire and Firestone Blvds from 11:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. there will be arts and crafts, a chalk walk, face painting, art displays, car altars, and so much more. Decorate your own sugar skull, grab a bite to eat at the food trucks, purchase something from the mercado, pay a visit to the community altar, or go see some live entertainment.

Ontario

At the Ontario Museum of History & Art, 225 S. Euclid Avenue, from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. there will be live entertainment, with Adeliade Pilar, and a Catrina competition, celebrating Día de los Muertos through elegant costume design, traditional makeup and cultural storytelling. All ages are welcome to participate.

From 6:00 to 9:00 p.m., the celebration will continue at the R. Jack Mercer Community Bandstand at Euclid Avenue and C Street, where community members can gather for a Día de los Muertos procession. Attendees are encouraged to wear their favorite Día de los Muertos attire.

Santa Ana

At the Bowers Museum, 2002 N. Main St., celebrates a free festival from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. with live music, dance performances, face painting, and family art projects.

At the Heritage Museum of Orange County, 3101 W. Harvard St, from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., live entertainment, community altars, artisan crafts, and historic tours.

Fullerton

The Muckenthaler Cultural Center Día de los Muertos Festival goes from noon until 4 p.m. with live music, family fun, kids arts and crafts, local artisans and more. 1201 W. Malvern Ave.

Rep. Jimmy Gomez’s reelection bid, once helped by his high-profile fight against President Trump’s immigration policies, is in peril as he tries to recover from allegations of sexual misconduct.

The accusations, which Gomez denies, have left the 51-year-old Eagle Rock Democrat vulnerable to an upstart challenger from Highland Park who earned a reputation for antagonism while serving on the area’s neighborhood council.

Angela Gonzales-Torres, 31, is seizing on Gomez’s issues in the race to represent California’s 34th Congressional District, a Latino-majority territory spanning Koreatown, Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles, Glassell Park and adjacent neighborhoods.

Gonzales-Torres, who has worked part-time jobs as an academic counselor for formerly incarcerated students and at an affordable housing development, is backed by the Democratic Socialists of America and counts support from other national progressive organizations.

Over the last week, she campaigned at UC Berkeley alongside fellow progressive Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Fremont), appeared on left-wing streamer Hasan Piker’s show and rallied in Los Angeles with Parkland, Fla., school shooting survivor and activist David Hogg.

Gonzales-Torres has linked the accusation against Gomez to the politician’s onetime ally former Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Bay Area Democrat who saw his campaign for governor derailed when several women came forward with allegations of impropriety. Swalwell has also denied wrongdoing.

“We’re going to take on this apparent culture in Congress in which men appear to abuse their positions of power and abuse women and younger staffers,” she said on Piker’s show.

In August, attorneys representing a woman released a statement accusing Gomez of sexual assault. Days earlier, the House Ethics Committee had announced an inquiry into Gomez, elected in 2017, over alleged “inappropriate sexual contact with a House staffer.”

Gomez denied wrongdoing while acknowledging mistakes outside his marriage — a sharp contrast with his image as the lawmaker who founded the Congressional Dads Caucus to champion family-friendly policies and famously carried his infant son in a baby carrier during the protracted votes for House speaker in 2023.

Gomez has avoided the public eye since the accusations surfaced, declining media interviews and campaign appearances, giving further momentum to his opponent.

“They’re trying to fly so far under the radar to not bring attention to the [allegations] or to me,” Gonzales-Torres said during a get-out-the-vote event in Eagle Rock.

Gonzales-Torres’ history in Highland Park

Gonzales-Torres, who graduated from UCLA, has described a childhood in Highland Park, where she was raised by her mother after her father was deported to Mexico following a domestic violence charge.

Reflecting the anxieties of thirtysomethings like herself, she’s talked about going without health insurance, working multiple low-wage jobs and questioning whether she can afford children.

In 2023, she was elected to the Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council, on which she served two years advising City Hall on issues and policy matters. She opposed new liquor licenses and took stances against gentrification, a hot-button issue in Highland Park, where some longtime business owners and residents feel squeezed by rising rents.

Her year as president on the area council proved contentious, prompting several former colleagues to issue a statement Saturday criticizing her congressional bid.

Jens Jonasson, a member of the neighborhood council’s board of directors, characterized her tenure as chaotic, arguing that her unwillingness to compromise derailed board initiatives, including a proposed resolution supporting the Gaza Strip.

“She is not ready for the office she is asking voters to entrust to her,” Jonasson and three other board members said in the joint statement.

Darren Gold, who succeeded Gonzales-Torres as board president, alleged that she falsely accused him of shaking her. Gold was briefly removed from the board during an inquiry but reinstated after a city investigation.

In a 2024 podcast interview with Hear in L.A., Gonzales-Torres referred to Gold as a “very Zionist gentrifier man, a white man” and a “threat to my community.”

Gold told The Times he had never publicly staked out a position on Israel or Gaza.

“If she assigned me that label because I’m Jewish, that is antisemitic,” Gold said. “My concern is less about what she called me than whether she can turn her rhetoric into results and treat people respectfully when they disagree with her.”

Another board member, Caroline Aguirre, filed a police report in 2024 accusing Gonzales-Torres of aggressively pointing a finger at her during a meeting. The report did not result in an arrest or charges.

Gonzales-Torres declined to comment on the incidents involving Aguirre and Gold.

In 2025, Gonzales-Torres mounted a bid for one of 13 at-large neighborhood council seats, finishing last in a field of 23.

Her supporters pointed to her dedication to Highland Park and the work she’d done to help previously incarcerated youths.

Jesse Rosas, a Figueroa corridor business leader, echoed her concerns about neighborhood displacement and wants a representative more involved in the area.

“She’s a young lady who can bring change to the community for the better,” Rosas said. “I’ve seen her trying to do the best that she can.”

State Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, a Pasadena-area Democrat who met Gonzales-Torres through her work as an academic counselor, said she’s impressed with her interest in challenging federal immigration laws.

“She’s had a firsthand account into some of the way that the immigration raids are directly impacting our students,” Pérez said.

Gomez runs on anti-Trump record

Despite the abuse allegations, Gomez has the power of incumbency and name recognition in a vast and diverse district.

A spokesperson pointed to his lawsuit challenging the Trump administration over access to immigrant detention centers as well as his advocacy for tenant protections and affordable housing.

If reelected, Gomez said in a statement, he aims to reverse federal healthcare cuts, lower living costs for working families and push for an end to the Iran war.

“Anyone can promise to stand up to Donald Trump, but I’ve proven I can take him on and win, whether it’s in Congress, on the picket lines, or in the courts,” Gomez said.

Both candidates back progressive priorities such as a Green New Deal and Medicare for all. Gomez advocates redirecting funding away from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, while Gonzales-Torres calls for abolishing ICE.

Gonzales-Torres is also criticizing Gomez for receiving financial support from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. An AIPAC-affiliated political action committee spent more than $1.7 million supporting his 2024 campaign, and the group helped direct donations this cycle.

For some voters in the district, neither candidate is ideal.

Ray Rios, president of the Hillside Homeowners Assn. in El Sereno, wants to see more from Gomez when it comes to federal funding for the district. He also voiced skepticism over the DSA’s anti-policing platform and questioned whether Gonzales-Torres can build the institutional relationships needed to deliver federal resources.

“Her lack of experience is a consideration, a big consideration,” said Rios, who intends to vote for Gomez.

While Gomez beat back progressive challengers in recent election cycles, the local DSA chapter has built momentum across the district, winning City Council seats, noted Fernando Guerra, director of the Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University.

“Even without the allegations, this would be a competitive race,” Guerra said. “Then you add that, and that really hurts him.”

Before it gets topped with seafood, seasonal produce and a medley of sauces, each tostada begins as a blank canvas. Local chefs are the artists, using the tostada as a vehicle to showcase their cultural backgrounds, kitchen expertise and the ingredients they love. Each bite is intentionally crafted to hit certain taste and textural marks: the crispy tostada, buttery seafood, zesty citrus and creamy avocado, plus unexpected elements that take it over the top, like tart grapefruit, piquant pickled onions or earthy salsa macha.

The best part? The seafood tostada comes ready to eat as-is, requiring no more than a dash of salsa or a squeeze of lime to complete the chef’s vision. It’s not unlike a meticulously prepared tasting menu course, except these chefs are handing over tostadas at taco trucks, food halls, raw bars and everywhere in between.

Seafood tostadas originated in coastal regions across Mexico, but in L.A., the dish pulls global influence, including a tostada topped with tuna carpaccio and cachucha pepper aioli at a Central American restaurant in Venice; salmon and chicatana ant mayo at a modern Mexican haunt in the Arts District; and scallops and wasabi aioli that merge Baja California and Japanese flavors at a Frogtown favorite.

For a refreshing bite on a hot day, or anytime really, here are 20 of the best seafood tostadas to try in L.A.

— Danielle Dorsey

Maurisio “Mauri” Tapia, the frontman of the popular SoCal indie rock act Los Retros, has been charged with four felony counts of unlawful acts with a child under the age of 10.

Tapia, a 26-year-old Moorpark resident was arrested on Oct. 8 and booked with bail set at $3 million. He was charged in Ventura County Superior Court on Monday, according to court records, and did not enter a plea.

The charges come with additional special allegations, around the victim’s vulnerability and that Tapia abused a trustworthy position. His next court date is Thursday.

Los Retros became an influential act in a wave of Latino bands drawing from vintage Mexican balladeers, American oldies and modern indie rock. Tapia played the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival this year, and singles like “Someone to Spend Time With” and “Amtrak” have millions of streams and monthly listeners.

The project was a prominent act on Stones Throw Records, which had initially booked Los Retros to co-headline its 30th anniversary festival.

In a statement posted to social media, Stones Throw said that “Yesterday we learned of extremely serious and disturbing allegations against Mauri Tapia, professionally known as Los Retros. We had previously announced the cancellation of his scheduled performance at Stones Throw 30 before we were aware of these circumstances. In light of this information, we are taking steps to disassociate ourselves from Tapia and his work. We take these allegations extremely seriously and will continue to assess the situation as more information becomes available.”

Los Tigres Del Norte will perform this Saturday at Anaheim’s Honda Center. Ahead of rocking the Pond with its classic hits, the famed norteño band brought its signature sound and activism to NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert. The performance closed out the series’ Hispanic Heritage Month celebration, dubbed as “El Tiny.”

Composed of the Hernández brothers (Jorge, Hernán, Eduardo and Luis) and cousin Óscar Lara, Los Tigres Del Norte was founded in the late 1960s in the Sinaloan town of Rosa Morada and settled in San José. It has sold millions of records worldwide with songs about the drug trade, unrequited love and immigrant life in this country.

That theme of immigrant struggle within the U.S. was top of mind when the group performed at NPR’s Washington, D.C., offices.

The group was recently honored by the city of Minneapolis in September for defending the rights of immigrant communities for decades, and for standing in solidarity with the city following the large-scale immigration enforcement campaign that took place there earlier this year. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey proclaimed Sept. 9 Los Tigres del Norte Day.

“[Following the Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids], they told the people of Minneapolis, the Latino American community that we are one, that we are united and that we’re going to do everything possible for the people that we love,” Frey said in a September news conference.

Los Tigres’ director and lead vocalist Jorge Hernández told The Times the honor came as a surprise to the group, who was in town for the 39th annual Hispanic Heritage Awards to present the people of Minnesota with the Humanitarian Award for their collective acts of solidarity with the immigrant community throughout the ICE raids.

The frontman said he was humbled by the action and was touched to spend time with members of the Minneapolis community who worked on the front lines during the ICE surge.

“There were Latinos present who set an example for how to support people in [a time of chaos],” Hernández said. “Those who were documented brought food to families who were undocumented so that they didn’t have to go outside to face the problems that were made possible due to [the Trump administration]. It’s because of action like those that we showed up for the city.”

Immediately after its time in Minnesota, the band flew out to film the Tiny Desk set.

The performance was a long time coming, according to Hernández.

“It was something beautiful and historic for us which should’ve happened 10 to 15 years ago,” he said, blaming conflicting schedules for the delay.

Though postponed, the 73-year-old musician knew the band’s messages would land with as much timeliness as ever.

In his introduction for Los Tigres Del Norte, NPR’s “Alt.Latino” host and “El Tiny” coordinator Felix Contreras spoke about why he wanted the band to perform as part of Tiny Desk’s month-long celebration of Latinidad.

“Our community is under attack and it’s not the first time … and it takes away our humanity,” Contreras said before Los Tigres kicked off the set with their hit “Somos mas Americanos.” “And for as long as I can remember, these gentlemen have been giving us back our humanity.”

Opening with the 2001 track was notable as the song flips jingoist U.S. narratives about who can call themselves American. The lyrics assert that Mexicans are more American than “gringos” and highlight how a large swath of the U.S. once belonged to Mexico.

Los Tigres let their songs do all the talking as they played straight through a series of tunes from across several decades, including 1995’s “Golpes en el Corazón,” 1997’s “Quiero Volar Contigo,” 1989’s “Ni Parientes Somos” and the 1986’s bittersweet single “La Puerta Negra.”

Hernández said the group wanted to use the platform to bring further awareness to the struggles immigrants continue to face in this country with an audience that notably skews more American than Los Tigres is accustomed to.

“We performed songs that talk about the problematic systems [in the U.S.] that have been around for years, but that are right now worse than ever before,” Hernández said. “The songs we sang [for Tiny Desk] have a lot to do with our society. I hope the wider public can listen to it and translate the songs to English so that they can connect to the lyrics.”

He said he hopes that the band can set an example for younger people that political messaging through music can empower artists, not hinder them.

“We’ve been singing songs since the ’70s about immigration and problems our community faces,” Hernández said. “As an artist, if you see a problem that affects your community, no matter how much you ignore it, you must realize that you are an active participant. You can’t stay quiet, your songs should talk about your problems so that through your work you can connect with and inform people.”

One thing that has continued to surprise and inspire Hernández over the last few years is seeing younger generations of fans celebrate his group’s music.

“They are the future and we sing our songs to them so that they can hear about the problems in our community that have existed and that persist,” he said. “At some point in life you will face big problems and it will be important that you know your history, what you stand for and how to defend yourself. We want to help people know their rights and be prepared to know how to act in difficult times like right now.”

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

The surge in soccer fans this summer was bad for some businesses in Los Angeles.

World Cup host cities had lofty economic expectations for the summer tournament. But the city’s hotels only got a 1% bump in occupancy, according to a report published this week by Hospitality Education and Research Organization, a project of the Hotel Assn. of Los Angeles.

Seventy-two percent of surveyed hotels said the tournament hurt their 2026 finances, and 48% called the impact “extremely negative.” Just 2% said it met projections.

Downtown occupancy reached 66% in June, down from 71% a year earlier, the report says. Room nights fell between 10% and 12%.

Ahead of World Cup tournaments, FIFA holds large blocks of rooms. But FIFA canceled or released up to 70% of the hotel room blocks it had reserved in host cities, including Los Angeles.

“We understood that we were maybe going to be disappointed with attendance going into the World Cup simply by the volume of cancellations that came out of the room block agreement,” said Jackie Filla, president and CEO of the Hotel Assn. of Los Angeles.

The disappointing turnout led to staff reductions. Of the hotels surveyed 82% reduced seasonal staff and more than six in 10 reported reducing employee shifts, scheduled hours, or permanent staff.

Hotels did raise prices, with the average daily rate hitting $228, the highest of any comparable L.A. event in three years. But occupancy was 71%, well below the 83% recorded during Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.

The survey drew 58 responses from 210 hotels, and the analysis was done by travel-data firm Rove using CoStar and AirDNA data. International visitors were also scarce, with Los Angeles welcoming 700,000 international arrivals in June and July — roughly 80,000 visitors below 2024 levels for the same period, the report says.

“We particularly didn’t see a lot of foreign visitors and that’s something that was disappointing,” Filla said. “Foreign visitors do spend three times the amount of money as the average domestic traveler.”

Short-term rentals, meanwhile, gained. Their demand rose 23% and revenue 21% versus July 2024, while hotel revenue fell 3.3%. Airbnb, the tournament’s official fan accommodation, offered new hosts $750 incentives.

The city is currently weighing a temporary proposal to ease its short-term rental rules through the end of 2028 to accommodate tourists. “That will really, truly undercut the business of hotels,” Filla added. “We saw some of that with the World Cup.”

The worry is carrying over to the Olympic Games, set to be hosted in Los Angeles in 2028. Six in 10 surveyed hoteliers expect an Olympic rental surge to hurt their bookings and rates, the report says.

The World Cup “gave us false hope to recover from a negative year,” one Los Angeles hotelier said, according to the report. “I also feel [the] same thing will probably happen for [the] Super Bowl and Olympics.”

Members of the Republican Party have joined Democrats in questioning remarks made by United States President Donald Trump about the California cities of Los Angeles and San Diego.

Much of the backlash came on Tuesday, a day after Trump told a midterm rally in Nebraska that Americans should be willing to make sacrifices to gain victory in the US-Israeli war against Iran.

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Those sacrifices, he implied, could include the destruction of American cities, in case of an Iranian attack.

“It’s a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe,” Trump said, seemingly in reference to the knock-on effects of the war, including rising fuel and fertiliser prices.

“They can take out a city. Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego. This is a very small price to pay, and it’s going to be over with very soon.”

Trump has downplayed the impact of the war – now in its eighth month – despite polling that shows the conflict is widely unpopular in the US. He has also repeatedly promised the war would end soon, though no lasting ceasefire has been reached so far.

The fallout from his Nebraska remarks was swift. Gavin Newsom, an outspoken critic of Trump and the Democratic governor of California, said the president was “deranged”.

“This is not only madness. This is dangerous,” Newsom said in a video on the social media platform X, in which he called for Congress to rein in Trump’s behaviour.

Newsom, a possible contender in the 2028 presidential race, has clashed repeatedly with Trump.

Last year, the two faced off over Trump’s decision to deploy federal troops to California, as part of an effort to support a crackdown on undocumented immigration in the Los Angeles area.

In December, a federal judge ruled that the deployment had been illegal and ordered its end. Newsom, who opposed the deployment, cited that conflict in his remarks about Trump’s Nebraska rally.

“The president of the United States – the same one who sent in the National Guard into Los Angeles, sent 700 active duty Marines to the second largest city in the United States of America – just invited Iran to take out Los Angeles and San Diego,” Newsom said.

He added that Trump’s remarks should convince those who “didn’t think the November election mattered” to vote in the upcoming midterms.

Some from Trump’s own party have also expressed shock at his remarks.

Jim Desmond, a Republican running in a competitive race for the House of Representatives near San Diego, was among those who distanced themselves from Trump’s statement.

“I vehemently disagree with President Trump’s comments. America must stand up to Iran and defend our interests, but the first responsibility of our Commander in Chief is to protect the American people and our homeland,” Desmond wrote on X.

“No American city is expendable, and no American family should ever be treated as collateral damage.”

US Representative Kevin Kiley, an independent who caucuses with Republicans and is running for re-election in northern California, also called Trump’s comments “unhelpful”.

But the White House has dismissed criticism of the remarks, calling it part of a “media freakout” that “is not rooted in reality”.

“He was clearly stating U.S. cities would have been threatened if a nuclear Iran hadn’t been stopped,” White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung wrote on social media.

“America is safer because of the President. Iran has no nuclear, no navy, no air force, and no money.”

California has the largest population and economy of any state in the US. Because of its population, it also has the most seats in the House of Representatives, at 52.

All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for grabs in November’s midterms, along with a third of the Senate. Also on the ballot are key state and local races.

With Republicans’ control of Congress on the line, the results of the midterms are expected to weigh heavily on the final two years of Trump’s second term.

A pet project of architect Frank Gehry, a smaller concert hall to complement his legendary Walt Disney Concert Hall, is taking shape in downtown Los Angeles for an opening next September.

Elements Gehry devised to set it apart are already visible, as construction on the $337-million addition to the Colburn School of Performing Arts reveals details the architect conceived years ago.

The centerpiece of the expansion will be a 1,000-seat concert hall named for Pasadena philanthropists Terri and Jerry Kohl with an in-the-round design meant to create intimacy between the performers and the audience. The hall will include an orchestra pit and a stage similar in size to the one at Disney Hall so it can accommodate grand orchestra, opera and dance performances.

Gehry set out to create an immersive hall that would inspire artists and envelop the audience, said Meaghan Lloyd, his chief of staff and right-hand at his firm, Gehry Partners.

“Frank’s passion was bringing the audience closer to the performers and getting the relationship between the two just right, so that the audience can feel the performers, the performers can feel the audience reacting,” Lloyd said.

Kohl Hall will be part of the school where Colburn’s symphony orchestra, bands, youth string programs and children’s choirs will perform. It will also be available for rent for outside productions such as jazz and classical music concerts. It is expected to be in use more than 200 times a year.

The hall will open with a concert on Sept. 25, the Colburn School announced Tuesday. The weekend celebration will include inaugural performances at the Dance Center, a new dance instruction and performance venue being built as part of the 100,000-square-foot Gehry-designed addition.

The new Dance Center will double facilities for the school’s Trudl Zipper Dance Institute. The dance facilities will include a 100-seat theater for dance and four professional-size studios for dance instruction and rehearsal.

Beginning next year, the hall will be the home of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, a group of professional musicians about half the size of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. LACO concerts will feature premieres of new fanfares by celebrated film composers, including a work by John Williams to be performed at LACO’s inaugural concert in the hall.

The fanfares are curated by Grammy nominee and singer Seth MacFarlane, best known as the creator and star of “Family Guy.”

Part of the hall’s commercial appeal is expected to be its size, in a sweet spot between the 2,265-seat Disney and the popular 415-seat Herbert Zipper Concert Hall already on the Colburn campus. The nearby Dorothy Chandler Pavilion seats about 3,200 guests. The Peacock Theater at L.A. Live seats 7,100.

Kohl Hall’s in-between size “is the missing piece of the venue puzzle” for Los Angeles, Colburn President Sel Kardan said.

A key feature already in place, hanging from the ceiling, is an array of steel clouds packed with concrete, designed to improve acoustics and evoke a sense of airiness. The clouds were made in the Netherlands by a firm with a history of building steel ship hulls that now specializes in building complex steel constructions like the clouds using digital data.

The exterior metal cladding of the addition features a luminescent pink paint coating called Pink Kandi.

Japanese acoustical engineer Yasuhisa Toyota will serve as the hall’s acoustician, as he has for all of Gehry’s concert halls, beginning with Disney Hall.

The long-awaited Colburn School addition will be the third Gehry-designed building on Bunker Hill, which already has Disney Concert Hall and the Grand LA, a $1-billion apartment, hotel and retail complex he designed for New York mega-developer Related Cos.

The Colburn School dates to 1950 and moved to its current location downtown in 1998, where it has more than 2,000 students, most of whom range from middle school to college age.