place

WASHINGTON — President Trump’s administration on Friday asked the Supreme Court to pause a court order to reinstate Education Department employees who were fired in mass layoffs as part of his plan to dismantle the agency.

The Justice Department’s emergency appeal to the high court said U.S. District Judge Myong Joun in Boston exceeded his authority last month when he issued a preliminary injunction reversing the layoffs of nearly 1,400 people and putting the broader plan on hold.

Joun’s order has blocked one of the Republican president’s biggest campaign promises and effectively stalled the effort to wind down the department. A federal appeals court refused to put the order on hold while the administration appealed.

The judge wrote that the layoffs “will likely cripple the department.”

But Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote Friday that Joun was substituting his policy preferences for those of the Trump administration.

The layoffs help put in the place the “policy of streamlining the department and eliminating discretionary functions that, in the administration’s view, are better left to the states,” Sauer wrote.

He also pointed out that the Supreme Court in April voted 5-4 to block Joun’s earlier order seeking to keep in place Education Department teacher-training grants.

The current case involves two consolidated lawsuits that said Trump’s plan amounted to an illegal closure of the Education Department.

One suit was filed by the Somerville and Easthampton school districts in Massachusetts along with the American Federation of Teachers and other education groups. The other suit was filed by a coalition of 21 Democratic attorneys general.

The suits argued that layoffs left the department unable to carry out responsibilities required by Congress, including duties to support special education, distribute financial aid and enforce civil rights laws.

Education Department employees who were targeted by the layoffs have been on paid leave since March, according to a union that represents some of the agency’s staff. Joun’s order prevents the department from fully terminating them, but none have been allowed to return to work, according to the American Federation of Government Employees Local 252. Without Joun’s order, the workers were scheduled to be terminated Monday.

Trump has made it a priority to shut down the Education Department, though he has acknowledged that only Congress has the authority to do that. In the meantime, Trump issued a March order directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to wind it down “to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law.”

Trump later said the department’s functions will be parceled to other agencies, suggesting that federal student loans should be managed by the Small Business Administration and programs involving students with disabilities would be absorbed by the Department of Health and Human Services. Those changes have not yet happened.

The president argues that the Education Department has been overtaken by liberals and has failed to spur improvements to the nation’s lagging academic scores. He has promised to “return education to the states.”

Opponents note that K-12 education is already mostly overseen by states and cities.

Democrats have blasted the Trump administration’s Education Department budget, which seeks a 15% budget cut including a $4.5 billion cut in K-12 funding as part of the agency’s downsizing.

Sherman writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Collin Binkley contributed to this report.

North Salinas High sophomore Clara Adams ran the fastest time in the girls’ 400-meter finals at the CIF State Track & Field Finals last weekend.

She crossed the finish line .28 seconds ahead of her closest competitor.

But Adams is not the state champion. She was stripped of that title after she used a fire extinguisher to spray her cleats while on the field inside the track moments after the race.

“I was robbed,” Adams, 16, told The Times shortly after being disqualified from that event as well the 200 finals, which took place later in the meet.

Adams said CIF officials told her that she was being disqualified because she had been “unsportsmanlike,” but that’s not how she saw it at all.

“I was having fun,” Adams said, noting her win in the 400 marked her first state title. “I’d never won something like that before, and they took it away from me. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

She added: “I worked really hard for it and they took it from me, and I don’t know what to do.”

Days later, David Adams, who said he is the sprint coach at North Salinas, told The Times his daughter was “doing better” but still trying to cope with everything that unfolded Saturday afternoon at Buchanan High in Clovis.

“Clara’s hurt. She’s hurt right now,” David Adams said Wednesday. “She’s better today than Saturday. Saturday was fresh. It just happened. It was a shock. She felt numb. They made her sit there and watch while they put those other girls on the podium, knowing Clara’s the fastest 400-meter runner in the state of California.”

Clara Adams has been running competitively since age 6, her father said. She finished fourth in the 400 at last year’s state meet and won the event with a state-best time of 53.23 at the Central Coast Section championships last month. After posting the top qualifying time in Friday’s preliminaries, Adams surged ahead of Madison Mosby of St. Mary’s Academy in Inglewood to win the race with a time of 53.24.

Immediately afterward, Adams walked over to the wall in front of the stands and found her father, who reached down and handed her what he described as a “small” fire extinguisher. She then walked back across the track into the grass, where she sprayed her cleats as if she was putting out a fire — a move her father said was a tribute to former U.S. sprinter Maurice Greene, who similarly celebrated his win in the 100 at the 2004 Home Depot Invitational in Carson.

CIF officials apparently were not amused and disqualified Adams on the spot, awarding first place to Mosby. According to rules established by the National Federation of State High School Assns., “unsporting conduct” is defined as behavior that includes but is not limited to “disrespectfully addressing an official, any flagrant behavior, intentional contact, taunting, criticizing or using profanity directed toward someone.” The penalty is disqualification from the event in which the behavior took place and further competition in the meet.

The CIF did not respond to a request for comment from The Times.

According to David Adams, the officials “were really nasty” toward his daughter. They “tugged on her arm,” he said, “they were screaming in her face. I could hear it from where I was at. I could see it — I couldn’t hear exactly what they were saying, but they were just really nasty.”

Clara Adams said she specifically asked the officials to speak with her father about the disqualification, but they refused.

“They kept telling me, ‘It’s OK,’ and I was telling them, ‘It’s not OK,’ and they didn’t care,” she said. “They were trying to smile in my face, like them telling me ‘no’ amused them or something.”

David Adams said the officials would only speak to North Salinas head coach Alan Green, who declined to speak to The Times for this story.

“They told him that it was unsportsmanlike conduct,” David Adams said of the officials’ discussion with Green. “We were asking for the rule, the specific rule of what she did, and they didn’t really give anything. It was more of a gray area that gives them discretion to pick and choose what they feel is unsportsmanlike conduct.”

Adams disputes that his daughter behaved in a manner that could be considered unsportsmanlike.

“Looking at the film, Clara is nowhere near any opponent,” he said. “She’s off the track, on the grass. Her opponents are long gone off the track already, so she wasn’t in their face. It was a father-daughter moment. … She did it off the track because she didn’t want to seem disrespectful toward nobody. And they still found a reason to take her title away. They didn’t give her a warning or anything.”

He added that his daughter is a “very humble, really sweet kid.”

“I take responsibility for the situation. I’m taking full responsibility,” he said. “Clara has run several championship races and won and walked off the track. It’s just weird that she celebrates one time and now people, these strangers, these middle-aged people want to chase after her character?”

Greene, the four-time Olympic medalist who inspired Clara’s celebration, told KSBW-TV in Salinas that the CIF should reconsider its decision.

“If [the celebration] was away from everyone and not interfering with anyone, I would say reinstate her,” Greene said.

David Adams said he is trying to make that happen but so far the CIF won’t return his calls .

“We have an attorney on standby right now,” he said. “I don’t want to take it there, but I will fight this all the way. As long as I’m breathing I’m gonna fight it. But we’re trying to go through proper channels to give the CIF an opportunity to do the right thing. Having an attorney involved is our last resort, that means we tried everything.”

Castle Combe in Wiltshire has been named one of the most beautiful villages in the UK, and anyone visiting the fairytale setting will see why it has received so many accolades

With summer upon us, Brits are eagerly scratching that holiday itch, and you don’t even need a passport for a slice of the extraordinary within our isles. Hailed as one of the most picturesque spots on the globe, let alone Britain, Castle Combe in Wiltshire is an essential stop for anyone venturing into the Cotswolds.

This storybook village, with its medieval stone cottages and timeless lanes, remains untouched by the march of time, offering sightseers an authentically charming experience. Encircled by the sublime Cotswold scenery, visitors to Castle Combe are treated to nearby woodlands, undulating hills, and verdant landscapes that accentuate the village’s alluring ambience.

READ MORE: Teeth whitening solution ‘removes stains’ quickly in time for summer holidays

Described by Country Living as houses “so pretty they should be on a postcard” due to their “ancient, honey-hued” charm, it’s no wonder it’s counted among the world’s loveliest villages by travel experts.

CN Traveller said: “Castle Combe is a quintessentially English village located in the southwest county of Wiltshire. No new houses have been built here since the 1600s, so the town is a well-preserved stretch of Cotswold stone cottages and old pubs and churches.”

This idyllic village is a dream destination for photography enthusiasts, with the old bridge crossing the River Bybrook being the most iconic spot to capture due to its breathtaking location.

History buffs will be drawn to Castle Combe for its plethora of medieval structures, including the stunning St Andrew’s church, established in the 13th century, reports the Express.

The church houses the tomb of Sir Walter de Dunstanville, Baron of Castle Combe, a crusader who passed away in 1270, and also boasts a quaint shop renowned for its charming postcards.

Film aficionados will find it an exciting visit as Castle Combe has been featured in numerous iconic films such as the 1960s Doctor Dolittle, and more recently, the 2007 fantasy blockbuster Stardust and Steven Spielberg’s 2011 film War Horse.

Castle Combe is perfect for those seeking a leisurely holiday, offering opportunities for nature walks, historical site visits, and relaxing evenings at the local pub.

For those planning a nature walk, the village’s famous Little Picnic Shop provides everything needed for a delightful summer picnic.

However, for a quintessential English countryside experience, a visit to The Old Rectory Pop-up Tearoom is a must, where guests can enjoy afternoon tea complete with homemade cakes, sandwiches, and a cuppa served in traditional china.

The quaint village also boasts The Old Stables, a snug and informal coffee shop ideal for enjoying a bacon sarnie or your favourite hot drink.

As you wander through Castle Combe, you’ll find charming homes adorned with little stalls offering a delightful selection of local and homemade treats like jams, cakes, or sweets.

Travel aficionado Jamie, the mastermind behind ‘Explore with Ed,’ reckons now is the prime time to visit Castle Combe, citing mid-summer as the period when the village’s charm truly flourishes.

He commented: “The prettiness of Castle Combe is perhaps at its peak in the height of summer when the honey-coloured cottages are graced with colourful climbing plants and overflowing window baskets.”

From this month anyone purchasing from unauthorised street vendors will face new laws – as well as a host of changes on electric scooters, nudity, and drinking

UK tourists in a holiday hotspot are being warned that will face fines of 750 euros (about £630) – for buying anything – including food and drink – from street vendors. Palma, the capital of the island of Mallorca, this month introduced the new laws which could see Brits hit with fines and possibly even arrest for an array of infractions this summer.

The ordinance covers a host of issues – vandalism, including graffiti, posters, leaflets, gambling and betting in public spaces, false begging and sexual demands, artistic performances, guided tours, littering, alcohol consumption in public, group gatherings, street vending, motorhomes, nudism, balconing as well as scooters.

One change is the regulation of electric scooters. Users will now have to be able to prove they have civil liability insurance (with a minimum coverage of €120,000) and wear an approved helmet.

Another law people are likely to fall foul of is a total ban on purchasing any item from unauthorised vendors in public spaces. This includes buying souvenirs, food and drink and fashion accessories such as sunglasses and watches, with the exception being in authorised markets.

Laws are being brought in partly after protests on the island against excessive tourism, along with people complaining about the behaviour of visitors.

A document detailing the measures explained they were to ‘prevent inappropriate everyday actions’ and ‘address incivility in general’. Danny Toffel, CEO and founder of online retailer Watches2U, said: “When travelling abroad it’s always worth reading up on local rules.

“These measures have been put in place to protect Palma’s culture and economy and, in some cases, for public safety. Buying from unauthorised street vendors might seem like a harmless way to get a bargain but they can undermine local, legitimate businesses.

“Illegal street vendors may also offer counterfeit goods which again may not seem like a big problem to many, but fall foul of intellectual property rules and take money away from legitimate businesses. The message is clear – buy from reputable sellers or tourists could find themselves facing tough consequences.”

Graffiti, classified as a very serious offence, will carry a fine of up to 3,000 euros. Nudism, whether total or partial, will be punishable by a fine of up to 750 euros. This doesn’t apply to ‘designated areas’ or, for example, to women who go topless on beaches. Drinking alcohol in groups (‘botellón’) is banned as is the use of drugs in public spaces.

The use of speakers without municipal authorisation; parkour; laser pointers; urinating and defecating in public will also see arrests. Balconing – moving from one balcony to another – will be subject to a fine of up to 1,500 euros. The police will support hotel establishments with the immediate expulsion of those who commit this offence.

Already slated to be the first venue in the world to host events from three different Olympic Summer Games, the Coliseum will help break new ground for the Paralympics in 2028.

The iconic stadium is at the center of the first Paralympic Games in L.A. as it hosts the para track and field competition, LA28 announced Tuesday in an updated venue plan that placed 23 sports into their future Paralympic homes.

“This is a momentous occasion for the city of Los Angeles,” para swimmer and Inglewood native Jamal Hill said in an interview with The Times. “Being a native Los Angeleno, you always hear about this melting pot of Los Angeles and many times, that melting pot, the default is to really thinking like, ethnic or racial or even cultural based. … I think it’s really, really beautiful and inclusive now that that melting pot is really starting to cover ability.”

The venue plan approved by the International Paralympic Committee places the majority of the Paralympic events in L.A., with additional sites in Long Beach, Carson and Arcadia. With all competition venues within a 35-mile radius, competitors have the opportunity to be housed in one Paralympic village for the first time since Rio in 2016.

The unified Paralympic village on UCLA’s campus differs from Paris, which had a decentralized plan with Paralympians staying at satellite villages. The 2024 Games, which were the first post-pandemic Olympics and Paralympics, marked the first true Games experience for Hill, who won a bronze medal in the 50-meter freestyle in Tokyo.

An artist’s rendering of the swimming venue in Long Beach for the 2028 Paralympic Games.

(LA28)

After dozens of friends and family made the trip to Europe last year, Hill, who finished fifth in Paris, will be saving more seats for his hometown Games in 2028.

“We had 30 people that I know who are going to fly [to Paris],” Hill said. “There’s going to be like 300 people that I know at that swim venue.”

Para swimming will take place in the Long Beach Convention Center lot alongside para climbing, which will make its Paralympic debut in 2028. Long Beach will also host shooting para sport in the convention center, sitting volleyball in the Long Beach Arena and para canoe sprint and para rowing at Marine Stadium.

An artist’s rendering of the Galen Center hosting badminton during the 2028 Paralympic Games.

(LA28)

Long Beach, which also is hosting 11 Olympic sports, will use the Olympic beach volleyball venue at Alamitos Beach to stage blind football in the Paralympics in a dual-use venue that mirrors the setup in Paris under the Eiffel Tower.

The Coliseum, which will also host the Paralympic closing ceremony, anchors an Exposition Park sports zone that includes wheelchair rugby and para badminton at USC’s Galen Center.

In downtown L.A., the Convention Center will host boccia, para judo, para table tennis, para taekwondo and wheelchair fencing. Across the street, wheelchair basketball will take place in Crypto.com Arena while goalball will be in the Peacock Theater.

Venice Beach will have the starting lines for the para triathlon and para marathon.

An artist’s rendering of the Los Angeles Convention Center playing host to boccia competition at the 2028 Paralympic Games.

(LA28)

Carson will host para archery at the fields at Dignity Health Sports Park, wheelchair tennis at the tennis center and para cycling track in the Velodrome. Para equestrian will take place at Santa Anita Park.

“The Paralympic Games showcases the highest level of athleticism, skill and endurance and it is important for LA28 to deliver a plan that not only elevates Paralympic sport, but brings it to the next level,” LA28 Chief Executive officer Reynold Hoover said in a statement.

Venues for para weightlifting, para cycling road and the course and finish line of the para marathon have yet to be announced. The 2028 Paralympics will run from Aug. 15-27, opening at SoFi Stadium. They follow the 2028 Olympics, which will run from July 14-30.

While the Olympics will be in L.A. for a third time, 2028 will mark the city’s first Paralympic Games. The international sporting event for athletes with physical disabilities is coming off record viewership numbers in Paris, where the overall live audience grew by 40% compared to Tokyo and by 117% compared to Rio, according to a Nielsen Sports study conducted on behalf of the IPC.

1

2

3

4

1. An artist’s rendering of the Paralympic wheelchair tennis venue next to Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. 2. An artist’s rendering of wheelchair rugby at the Galen Center. 3. An artist’s rendering of the wheelchair basketball at Crypto.com Arena. 4. An artist’s rendering of the judo competition at the Los Angeles Convention Center. (LA28)

NBC reported a record 15.4 million total viewers across its TV and streaming platforms for the Paralympic Games, which followed a similar boost in interest to the Olympics last summer.

“The Olympics and the Paralympics are truly becoming this concurrent and congruent movement which reflects the times that we’re in,” Hill said. “People aren’t afraid anymore. They’re not ashamed of who they are. They’re not ashamed of their disability. They’re not afraid to speak out and be seen as different because it’s more accepted than ever for us to say, you know what, we’re all different.”

The Department of Homeland Security’s “sanctuary jurisdiction list” has more holes than the plot for the latest “Mission Impossible” film.

All you need to know about its accuracy is how my native Orange County fared.

The only O.C. city on the list is Huntington Beach — you know, the ‘burb with an all-Republican council that’s suing California for being a sanctuary state, declared itself a “non-sanctuary” community in January and and plans to place a plaque outside the city’s main library with an acrostic “MAGA” message.

Missing from the list? Santa Ana, long synonymous with undocumented immigrants, which declared itself a sanctuary city all the way back in 2016 and has a deportation defense fund for residents.

More laughable errors: Livingston, the first city in the Central Valley to declare itself a sanctuary for immigrants in 2017, isn’t on the list. Yet Santee in San Diego County, so notorious for its racism that people still call it “Klantee,” is.

There’s even Represa. Ever heard of it? Me, neither. Turns out it’s not a city but the name of the post office for two places not exactly known as sanctuaries: Folsom State Prison and California State Prison, Sacramento.

Within hours of his inauguration, Donald Trump signed an executive order tellingly titled “Protecting the American People Against Invasion” that, among other things, stated that sanctuary jurisdictions should no longer receive federal funds.

But the May 29 list laying out the jurisdictions that are supposedly subject to the penalty was so flawed that it was taken off the Homeland Security website within days. It’s still not back up. The effort seemed cobbled together by someone who typed “sanctuary” and a city’s name into Google and swallowed whatever the AI spat up without even bothering to cross-check with Wikipedia.

Trump’s opponents are already depicting this fiasco as emblematic of an administration that loves to shoot itself in the foot, then put the bloody foot in its mouth. But it’s even worse than that.

The list shows how blinded by fury the Trump administration is about illegal immigration. There is no mistake too big or too small for Trump to forgive, as long as it’s in the name of deportation and border walls. The president’s obsession with tying all of this country’s real and imagined ills to newcomers reminds me of Cato the Elder, the Roman Republic politician famous for allegedly saying “Carthage must be destroyed” at the end of all his speeches, no matter the topic.

That’s why the pushback by politicians against Homeland Security’s big, beautiful boo-boo has been quick — and hilarious.

Huntington Beach Mayor Pat Burns listens to speakers discuss the city’s plan to make Huntington Beach “a non-sanctuary city for illegal immigration” during a City Council meeting in January

(James Carbone)

Huntington Beach Mayor Pat Burns appeared on KCAL News to declare that Surf City’s inclusion was “pure negligence” while holding a small white bust of Donald Trump the way a toddler clings to its blankey.

Vista Mayor John Franklin, meanwhile, was on the city council that voted in 2018 to support the Trump administration’s unsuccessful lawsuit against California’s sanctuary state law. He told ABC 10News San Diego that he thought Vista made the list because “another city in the county that bears a similar name to ours … may have, and I haven’t confirmed it yet, adopted a sanctuary policy.”

Dude, say the city’s name: Chula Vista, a far cooler, muy Latino town closer to the U.S.-Mexico border than Vista is. It’s also on the list and isn’t a sanctuary city, either.

On the other end of the political spectrum, Rep. Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) told the Voice of OC that he recently advised Santa Ana officials to “keep their head low” and not make a big deal about their sanctuary city status — as if hiding under a desk, like a “Scooby Doo” caper, will somehow save the city from the Trump administration’s haphazard hammer.

Immigration, more than any other part of Trump’s agenda, exemplifies the Silicon Valley cliché of moving fast and breaking things. His administration has deported people by mistake and given the middle finger to judges who order them brought back. Trump officials are now shipping immigrants to countries they have no ties to, and shrugging their shoulders. Immigration agents are trying to apprehend people in places long considered off-limits, like schools and places of worship.

And yet, this still isn’t enough for Trump.

Deportation rates are rising, but still not to the levels seen in some years of the Biden and Obama administrations, and not even close to Operation Wetback, the Eisenhower-era program that deported over a million Mexican nationals. Trump’s deportation dream team — Homeland Security head Kristi Noem, border czar Tom Homan and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller — has berated ICE officials for not doing more to comply with Trump’s wishes.

The sanctuary list embodies all of this. Who cares if the wreckage involves human lives, or the Constitution? The sloppiness is the point. The cruelty is the point.

Homeland Security didn’t answer my request to explain the flaws in its sanctuary jurisdiction list and why it was taken down. Instead, a spokesperson emailed a statement saying “the list is being constantly reviewed and can be changed at any time and will be updated regularly.” The decision whether to include a place, the statement said, “is based on the evaluation of numerous factors.”

Except the truth, it seems.

Let’s laugh at the absurd mistakes while we can. Really, how pendejo can you be to think that Huntington Beach is friendly to undocumented immigrants but Santa Ana isn’t? Let’s laugh while we can, because things are going to get much worse before they get better.

By cracking down on immigration and defunding scientific research, the United States is slowly losing its position as the world leader in research and development, argues Holden Thorp, editor of Science journal and former chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Thorp tells host Steve Clemons that the US government had made a concerted effort over the past 80 years to fund scientific research, but with the changes ushered in by the administration of President Donald Trump, Thorp predicts the results will be “bad for science in general, and also for the US role in innovation”.

At the end of a nearly two-week trip to Melbourne, Australia, early last month, I drove with a friend 50 miles outside the city to a rural town with the amazing name of Cockatoo.

A once-in-a-lifetime Korean meal in Australia

She teetered her pickup truck at the edge of a steep driveway, double-checking the address to make sure we were in the right place. She inched her way down to park and we walked the short path to a house nestled in the woods. Yoora Yoon greeted us at the door and welcomed us inside. We had made it to our Saturday lunch destination: Chae, a six-seat restaurant centered on the talents of Jung Eun Chae, to whom Yoon is married.

Yoon stood at the crook of the L-shaped counter where the diners had settled and introduced Chae as she quietly glided between tasks in the open kitchen we sat facing. Then he left the room. Chae placed pots of ginseng tea on burners in front of us. We were in her hands.

A plate of jeok and jeon (Korean meat or vegetable fritters) at Chae, a six-seat restaurant run by Jung Eun Chae in Cockatoo, Victoria, Australia.

(Bill Addison / Los Angeles Times)

A trio of bites comprised the first of seven courses. Sanjeok can refer to skewered meats and vegetables; Chae reconceived the dish as minced chicken marinated in ganjang (the Korean version of soy sauce that Chae makes herself) and pan-fried. She hid a lightly candied walnut half in its center for crunch. It was flanked by two jeon, or fritters. One was a loose ball of shrimp and julienned king oyster mushrooms nipped with spring onion and chile, flattened where it had browned in the skillet. The other was a zucchini coin cooked in translucent egg batter.

Each was a microcosm of mixed textures and savory flavors. I looked over with “ok, wow” raised eyebrows at the friend next to me, Besha Rodell. Longtime food-obsessed Angelenos will remember Besha as the last food critic for L.A. Weekly, from 2012 to 2017. She’s currently the chief restaurant critic for the Age and Good Weekend in Melbourne, and this month her memoir “Hunger Like A Thirst” was published.

We’ve been close for 20 years and shared many exceptional meals. Chae was shaping up to be one of them.

Jung Eun Chae at her six-seat restaurant Chae in Cockatoo, Victoria, Australia.

(Bill Addison / Los Angeles Times)

A stone bowl filled with more diverse tastes arrived next. Pyeonyuk, striated pork meat and fat pressed into square slices for satisfying chew. Yukhoe, a tangle of chopped raw beef glossed with just-made sesame oil. The dish often includes Asian pear; Chae spritzed it instead with a fermented apple extract she had concocted. Cilantro leaves dressed in nutty perilla oil acted as mulchy contrast against poached octopus and a ojingeo-jeot, squiggly fermented squid.

In the center of the plate, to season and balance the tastes, was a dense pool of cho-gochujang, a vinegared variation on the ubiquitous Korean chile paste. Chae had made this, too, from the very building blocks of Korean cuisine: She ferments her own meju, the bricks of crushed soybeans also used to craft ganjang and doenjang, the paste analogous to miso.

A platter of meat, seafood and vegetables that’s part of a multi-course meal at Chae, the six-seat restaurant run by chef Jung Eun Chae in Cockatoo, Victoria, Australia.

(Bill Addison / Los Angeles Times)

I’m generally a fast eater. This collage of small dishes, where every element felt so considered, managed to slow me way down.

Something beautifully simple followed: chicken noodle soup, its poultry-intense broth sharpened only by thin triangles of radish kimchi.

Chae, who was born in Seoul, had been working in Melbourne fine dining when she injured her ankle in a motorcycle accident, forcing her to step away from the extreme demands of kitchen work. She was considering her next move when she watched the season-three episode of “Chef’s Table” on Netflix about Buddhist nun-chef Jeong Kwan, who lives and teaches at the Baegyangsa temple in South Korea. Moved by the clarity of her philosophy and relationship to nature, Chae went to study with her. It set the path for her tiny home-based restaurant, where she would make her own jangs — as she remembered her mother doing in her childhood — and serve meals only two days a week.

What we have (and don’t have) in Los Angeles

I read up on all this after my meal with Besha, but aspects of the cooking registered as familiar even in the moment.

Kwang Uh, the chef and co-owner of extraordinary Baroo in Los Angeles, also studied with Jeong Kwan; he met his wife and business partner Mina Park at the temple. With a couple of day’s notice, Uh will make a vegetarian or vegan version of Baroo’s set menu. When I think of its bowls of wondrous, seaweed-seasoned rice and banchan of seasonal vegetables, and treasures like dried acorn jelly with the thick chew of cavatelli, I can trace the through-line of Jeong Kwan’s influence to both chefs. I’m remembering Chae’s finale of rice crowned with spinach and mushrooms and sides of kimchi and spicy radish salad; she served it alongside jeongol (hot pot) of mushrooms and croquettes of minced beef and tofu.

Los Angeles, we all know, is blessed with one of the world’s great Korean dining cultures. If I’m hungry for jeon of many shapes, I can head to HanEuem in Koreatown. For soup that seemingly heals all ills, we have Hangari Kalguksu. For chefs that turn the essence of Korean cuisine into personal, meditative tasting menus, we have Uh at Baroo and Ki Kim at his new Restaurant Ki.

And still: How rich to have a meal, on the opposite side of the world, that expressed another side of the culinary Korean diaspora unlike anything I’ve experienced. The economics of a small operation like Chae‘s must sometimes feel precarious. But the impressive structure and flow of the meal, balanced with a forested home environment in a room full of honeycomb-colored woods, was singular. Would a chef anywhere in the Los Angeles area be able to age meju, produce their own jangs and serve meditative meals to a tiny number of people?

Unlikely, but if nothing else, it reminds me that the Korean dining possibilities here are inexhaustible.

A centered shot of ginseng tea at six-seat restaurant Chae in Cockatoo, Victoria, Australia.

(Bill Addison / Los Angeles Times)

Curtis Stone’s Malibu work retreat

I’ll be writing more in detail about my time eating in and around Melbourne in the coming months. Australia is on our minds at the Food section this weekend since the Times and Tourism Australia will present the 2nd Annual Great Australian Bite on Saturday, featuring chefs Curtis Stone of Gwen and Pie Room and Clare Falzon visiting from Staġuni above Adelaide in South Australia. The event has sold out, but food reporter Stephanie Breijo wrote about the Malibu property where Stone will host the event — and where he’s building a new lifestyle empire.

Chef Curtis Stone examines new growth in his vineyard at Four Stones Farm.

(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)

Also …

She rides three buses from her Panorama City home to her job as a caregiver for an 83-year-old Sherman Oaks woman with dementia, and lately she’s been worrying about getting nabbed by federal agents.

When I asked what she’ll do if she gets deported, B., who’s 60 and asked me to withhold her name, paused to compose herself.

“I don’t want to cry,” she said, but losing her $19 hourly job would be devastating, because she sends money to the Philippines to support her family.

Steve Lopez

Steve Lopez is a California native who has been a Los Angeles Times columnist since 2001. He has won more than a dozen national journalism awards and is a four-time Pulitzer finalist.

The world is getting grayer each day thanks to an epic demographic wave. In California, 22% of the state’s residents will be 65 and older by 2040, up by 14% from 2020.

“At a time where it seems fewer and fewer of us want to work in long-term care, the need has never been greater,” Harvard healthcare policy analyst David C. Grabowski told The Times’ Emily Alpert Reyes in January.

So how will millions of aging Americans be able to afford care for physical and cognitive decline, especially given President Trump’s big beautiful proposed cuts to Medicaid, which covers about two-thirds of nursing home residents? And who will take care of those who don’t have family members who can step up?

A building where multiple caregivers live in a cramped studio apartment in Panorama City.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

There are no good answers at the moment. Deporting care providers might make sense if there were a plan to make the jobs more attractive to homegrown replacements, but none of us would bet a day-old doughnut on that happening.

Nationally and in California, the vast majority of workers in care facilities and private settings are citizens. But employers were already having trouble recruiting and keeping staff to do jobs that are low-paying and difficult, and now Trump administration policies could further shrink the workforce.

Earlier this year, the administration ordered an end to programs offering temporary protected status and work authorization, and the latest goal in Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration is to make 3,000 arrests daily.

“People are worried about the threat of deportation … but also about losing whatever job they have and being unable to secure other work,” said Aquilina Soriano Versoza, director of the Pilipino Workers Center, who estimated that roughly half of her advocacy group’s members are undocumented.

In the past, she said, employers didn’t necessarily ask for work authorization documents, but that’s changing. And she fears that given the political climate, some employers will “feel like they have impunity to exploit workers,” many of whom are women from Southeast Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Mexico and Latin America.

That may already be happening.

“We’ve seen a lot of fear, and we’ve seen workers who no longer want to pursue their cases” when it comes to fighting wage theft, said Yvonne Medrano, an employment rights lawyer with Bet Tzedek, a legal services nonprofit.

A gathering at the Pilipino Workers Center in Los Angeles in Historic Filipinotown. Aquilina Soriano Versoza, director of the center, says, “People are worried about the threat of deportation … but also about losing whatever job they have and being unable to secure other work.”

(Ringo Chiu / For The Times)

Medrano said the workers are worried that pursuing justice in the courts will expose them to greater risk of getting booted out of the country. In one case, she said, a worker was owed a final paycheck for a discontinued job, but the employer made a veiled threat, warning that showing up to retrieve it could be costly.

Given the hostile environment, some workers are giving up and going home.

“We’ve seen an increase in workers self-deporting,” Medrano said.

Conditions for elder care workers were bleak enough before Trump took office. Two years ago, I met with documented and undocumented caregivers and although they’re in the healthcare business, some of them didn’t have health insurance for themselves.

I met with a cancer survivor and caregiver who was renting a converted garage without a kitchen. And I visited an apartment in Panorama City where Josephine Biclar, in her early 70s, was struggling with knee and shoulder injuries while still working as a caregiver.

Biclar was sharing a cramped studio with two other caregivers. They used room dividers to carve their space into sleeping quarters. When I checked with Biclar this week, she said four women now share the same space. All of them have legal status, but because of low wages and the high cost of housing, along with the burden of supporting families abroad, they can’t afford better living arrangements.

B. and another care provider share a single room, at a cost of $400 apiece, from a homeowner in Panorama City. B. said her commute takes more than an hour each way, and during her nine-hour shift, her duties for her 83-year-old client include cooking, feeding and bathing.

She’s only working three days a week at the moment and said additional jobs are hard to come by given her status and the immigration crackdown. She was upset that for the last two months, she couldn’t afford to send any money home.

“People are worried about the threat of deportation, but also about losing whatever job they have and being unable to secure other work, said Aquilina Soriano Versoza, executive director of the Pilipino Workers Center.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Retired UCLA scholar Fernando Torres-Gil, who served as President Clinton’s assistant secretary on aging, said “fear and chaos” in the elder care industry are not likely to end during this presidential administration. And given budget constraints, California will be hard-pressed to do more for caregivers and those who need care.

But he thinks the growing crisis could eventually lead to an awakening.

“We’re going to see more and more older folks without long-term care,” Torres-Gil said. “Hopefully, Democrats and Republicans will get away from talking about open borders and talk about selective immigration” that serves the country’s economic and social needs.

The U.S. is not aging alone, Torres-Gil pointed out. The same demographic shifts and healthcare needs are hitting the rest of the world, and other countries may open their doors to workers the U.S. sends packing.

“As more baby boomers” join the ranks of those who need help, he said, “we might finally understand we need some kind of leadership.”

It’s hard not to be cynical these days, but I’d like to think he’s onto something.

Meanwhile, I’m following leads and working different angles on this topic. If you’re having trouble finding or paying for care, or if you’re on the front lines as a provider, I’m hoping you will drop me a line.

[email protected]

Gaza is the “hungriest place on Earth” and its entire population is at risk of famine, warns the United Nations, as desperate Palestinians are shot at, starved, and forced from their homes by the Israeli forces.

Calling on Israel to stop its campaign of deliberate starvation and allow food into the besieged enclave, the UN on Friday said its mission to help Gaza’s Palestinians is the “most obstructed in recent history”.

“The aid operation that we have ready to roll is being put in an operational straitjacket that makes it one of the most obstructed aid operations, not only in the world today, but in recent history,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) spokesperson, Jens Laerke, said.

He said out of 900 aid trucks that were approved to enter from the Israeli side of the Karem Abu Salem crossing, known as Kerem Shalom in Israel, fewer than 600 have been offloaded in Gaza, adding that a lower amount of aid had been picked up for distribution.

“I have no flour, no oil, no sugar, no food. I collect mouldy bread and feed it to my children. I want to get a bag of flour for my children. I want to eat. I’m hungry,” a Palestinian told Al Jazeera.

Reporting from Gaza City, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud said the northern part of the Strip, which includes Gaza City, “has not seen a drop of aid coming in that has been allowed in the past few days”.

“People in the central area, in the [southern] city of Khan Younis and Rafah are also struggling on a daily basis to find food supplies, particularly when it comes to flour and other basic necessities to help them survive these difficult conditions,” he added.

Palestinians leaving aid points empty-handed

After a nearly three-month blockade, Israel, under pressure from Western governments and international humanitarian organisations, allowed limited aid to enter the enclave and the resumption of limited UN operations.

However, Israel also pushed for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a shadowy United States-backed private aid distributor, to provide essential food aid to starving Palestinians.

The UN and other aid groups have refused to work with GHF, saying it lacks neutrality and its distribution model forces the displacement of Palestinians.

Still, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Friday that while any aid that gets to those who need it is “good”, aid deliveries are having “very, very little impact”.

“The catastrophic situation in Gaza is the worst since the war began,” he said.

With only three of the four distribution points set up to receive aid from the GHF, people like Layla al-Masri, a displaced Palestinian, are leaving empty-handed.

“What they are saying about their will to feed the people of Gaza is all lies. They neither feed people nor give them anything to drink,” she said.

‘Parents giving children water’

Abdel Qader Rabie, another displaced Palestinian, said his family has nothing to eat. “No flour, no food, no bread, we have nothing at home,” he said.

“Every time I go to get aid, I hold a box and hundreds of people crowd over me. Earlier, UNRWA [UN agency for Palestinian refugees] used to send me a message, [and] I would go and get aid. Now there’s nothing. If you are strong, you get aid. If you are not, you leave empty-handed,” Qader Rabie said.

Eri Kaneko, UN humanitarian affairs spokesperson, also criticised the type of aid that UN agencies are being allowed to bring into Gaza.

“Israeli authorities have not allowed us to bring in a single ready-to-eat meal. The only food permitted has been flour for bakeries. Even if allowed in unlimited quantities, which it hasn’t been, it wouldn’t amount to a complete diet for anyone,” Kaneko said.

Palestinians who received GHF aid said their packages included rice, flour, canned beans, pasta, olive oil, biscuits, and sugar.

Meanwhile, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food, Michael Fakhri, described the GHF as a “bait to corral people” which “violates every principle of international law”.

“This is aid being used … to push people out from the north into militarised zones … and it’s about humiliating people, and it’s about controlling the population. This has nothing to do with stopping starvation,” he said.

Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary, reporting from Deir el-Balah in Gaza, said not much food is coming into the enclave as the number of trucks entering and the aid they are carrying is very limited

“Despite the trucks’ entry over the past few days, Palestinians say they have not really received any food because there have not been any normal distribution points,” she said, adding that many are going back with their pots empty.

“Some parents say they are giving their children water just to make them feel full. People say they are willing to do anything for one bag of flour or one food parcel. They are very desperate.”

What Felix Mallard has grown to appreciate about living in L.A. is that there’s a pocket of town to match every vibe — even if that vibe is “Aussie,” which his proudly is, having moved from Melbourne seven years ago.

“There are a lot of places that remind me of home,” says the 27-year-old actor, who plays tough-shelled Marcus in Netflix’s “Ginny & Georgia,” which returns for its third season next week. “The coastal cities and certainly some parts of Silver Lake and Echo Park feel very Melbourne. They feel very hipster. I mean, that word has changed so much — I don’t know if bohemian is the right word either. But there’s a sense of wanting to engage with good food, good coffee and good art. That kind of thing is very important to people from Melbourne.”

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

As he carves his own space in Los Angeles, Mallard has been captivating Gen Z audiences with his nuanced roles, ones that tend to resonate with young men amid all of the distinct pressures they face. Last year, he starred in the romantic drama “Turtles All the Way Down,” the film adaptation of John Green’s young adult novel that explores the complexities of obsessive-compulsive disorder. He’s now set to headline “Nest,” a movie about a young family whose home is invaded by deadly arachnids. (“It’s a quiet meditation on masculinity and being a father, wrapped up in a really fun spider horror movie,” he explains. “A real one-two punch.”)

For Mallard, a perfect Sunday in L.A. involves surfing (a must), playing music loudly (he knows his way around the guitar, bass, piano and drums) and trekking from West L.A. to the Eastside in the name of adventure. Here’s a play by play.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

5:30 a.m.: Chase the waves
I’d get up early and have a surf. The funny thing with surfing in L.A. is that you have to go where the waves are good. So it could be anywhere — Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Huntington Beach, Malibu or Ventura. You’ve got to check the Surfline app and kind of know the seasons as well, like how winter brings north swells and summer brings south swells. But it’s a guessing game. You kind of throw a dart and follow it, you know? There’s a nice crew of Aussies, Kiwis and Americans. We all try and surf together, which is really sweet.

8 a.m.: Post-surf burritos
Now I’ll probably be in a raggedy flannel top and some track pants and some Birkenstocks. Really just kind of half asleep. But it’s mandatory after a surf to get a breakfast burrito. There’s a really, really good place in Hermosa Beach called Brother’s Burritos. They don’t do the typical kind of massive breakfast burrito. Theirs come in two little bite-size burritos, which is perfect for breakfast, you know? And then there’s another place in West L.A. called Sachi.LA that’s just off the Culver loop. It’s a really cool, funky little coffee shop and cafe with a little record store next door — the perfect kind of vibe after having a surf and being in nature all morning. I really try to enjoy the peace that comes after that.

9:30 a.m.: Catch up on shows
I’m going home and catching up on the week’s shows. Right now, I’m really deep into “Hacks” — obsessed with it. I feel like I came to it quite late and I’ve had to make up for lost time. And I’m really, really loving “Everybody’s Live With John Mulaney,” and “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver.” I feel like if you’re going to check in with the news these days, it’s got to be in a format that’s digestible. I think John Oliver has a really great way of doing that, presenting the outrage and the absurdity in a fun context.

Noon: Try to find the joy of cooking
I’ve always found it such a challenge to see cooking as the expression of love that I know it is — I just haven’t had the inspiration. But Jamie Oliver’s books have really helped me because he explains recipes in a way that teach you the fundamentals. He’s got this cookbook, “One-Pan Wonders,” with an herb-y chicken tray bake that’s really simple. You can put the vegetables at the bottom of the tray — and a lot of rosemary and a lot of lemon — and put the chicken on the bars above the tray, so that when it cooks, the chicken fat drops into the vegetables and creates this really lovely flavor in the veggies. And then you finish it off with some lemon and olive oil. So that’s the one I think I can do. But if anyone has seen that recipe, they’ll know it’s the easiest one in the book, so I’m not trying to brag here.

1 p.m.: Get lost in the music
It’s always a struggle to get up off the couch, but once there’s been some food, I’m off to play some music. There was this beautiful, really fun, cheap, grungy rehearsal studio in Culver City called Exposition Studios. It would be, like, $25 or $30 an hour, and you could rent instruments and rent a room and just play as loud and as long as you want. It’s not there anymore, but there are a few other places like that around town. I’ve gone to Pirate Studios in West Adams a couple times, and just anywhere I can play some music, really, really loud.

I’ve got an EP of songs that I’m working my way through. It’s very grungy, very emotion-based. It’s probably quite angsty. There’s a lot of anger in there, and then I think maybe a lot of sadness. It’s touching on a lot of the uglier sides of our psyche that we all have.

4 p.m.: Car entertainment
Now we start preparing the journey east. Because it’s L.A., you can’t pretend that you’re not going to spend some part of your day in traffic. So a podcast is a must. I’ll be listening to Louis Theroux. I just love how he asks questions, how he kind of gives a space for his guests to either showcase who they are or maybe unknowingly reveal parts of themselves they may not even intend to. How he holds the space for that is quite impressive, and it’s a good distraction while you’re driving.

5 p.m.: Fuel up with burgers
We’re going to Burgerlords. They do a really simple menu. You can get a smashburger, I think a vegan burger, and something else, and they’ve got a really nice selection of craft beers. And it’s kind of like a redone version of a ‘50s diner inside.

7 p.m.: Let loose at a punk show
From there, we’ll go to Zebulon. I love it. I don’t see too many venues with an indoor-outdoor kind of space. They have a big garden, so you can go and take a break outside and then come back in and enjoy that change of pace. It’s one of my favorite spots in L.A. to go and watch music, for sure.

The last time I went, we saw the Spits. They’re, you know, really proper punks. And then another time, we saw a band called Spy, and they were supported by Fentanyl, Blood Stained Concrete and Yard, which is a Polish hardcore band. So any time we’re out there, it’s usually for a bit more of a hardcore kind of scene. And they’re the most fun gigs to go to. Everyone’s there to release some tension, some energy. The fans are always super, super, super die-hard fans.

Midnight: Straight to bed

I’ll make the trek home and tuck into bed. That’s usually about midnight. I’d like to say it’s earlier and that I’m, like, healthy, but I’m not.

Is a restaurant worth a visit simply because it’s been around longer than that bottle of yellow mustard in your refrigerator? Longer than your oldest living relative? Maybe. Proper respect should be paid to an institution.

Los Angeles is home to restaurants celebrating a century in business. About 36,500 days in operation. The feat alone is something to marvel at.

What is Hollywood without the martini culture built around Musso & Frank Grill? The Long Beach bar scene without the Schooners of cold beer and pickled eggs at Joe Jost’s? A South Pasadena stretch of Route 66 without milkshakes and phospate sodas at Fair Oaks Pharmacy? Over decades in business, these restaurants have become landmarks synonymous with the cities themselves.

Some of L.A.’s most popular attractions are our food halls, with Grand Central Market in downtown and the Original Farmers Market in Fairfax drawing millions of visitors each year. Grand Central Market opened in 1917 with nearly 100 food merchants. Its oldest running restaurant is the China Cafe, with a 22-seat counter that’s been around since 1959. In 1934, about a dozen farmers and other vendors started selling produce at the corner of 3rd Street and Fairfax Avenue, where the Original Farmers Market still operates today. Magee’s Kitchen, its oldest restaurant, began when Blanche Magee started serving lunch to the farmers in the ‘30s.

1

2

3

1. El Coyote founder Blanche March. (El Coyote) 2. The counter at Fugetsu-Do in 1904. (Fugetsu-Do Bakery Shop) 3. Alicia Mijares, left, daughter of Mijares founder Jesucita Mijares, with Maria Guzman in 1984. (Mijares Restaurant)

Many of the restaurants on this list were built by immigrants from every corner of the world, their American dreams realized in a mochi shop in Little Tokyo, a French restaurant in downtown L.A. and a taste of Jalisco, Mexico, in Pasadena.

If you’re looking for the oldest restaurant in Los Angeles County, you’ll find it in Santa Clarita, a city about 30 miles northwest of downtown. Originally called the Saugus Eating House when it opened as part of a railway station in 1886, the Saugus Cafe boasts a history rich with Hollywood film stars, U.S. presidents and a train network that helped establish towns across the state.

In 1916, the cafe moved across the street to where it sits now, one long, narrow building that includes a dining room and a bar. It has closed, reopened and changed hands numerous times over the last 139 years. Longtime employee Alfredo Mercado now owns the restaurant.

It’s a place that exists in a cocoon of nostalgia. The history embedded in the walls, the decor and the friendly staff are the main draw. If you’re searching for the best breakfast in town, you may want to keep looking.

The following are decades-old restaurants that have stood the test of time, shrinking wallets and fickle diners. In operation for 90 years or longer, these 17 destinations (listed from oldest to newest) are worth the trip for both the history, and whatever you decide to order.

TikTok users are raving about this ‘underrated’ UK seaside town – and it’s no wonder why. The destination boasts two beaches, a charming lighthouse and an award-winning bakery

The prospect of a sunny summer has many Brits contemplating a staycation this year instead of jetting off overseas. Staycations, which became exceedingly popular during the Covid pandemic, are proving to be just as enjoyable and sun-soaked as trips abroad – and they often come with less hassle and a smaller price tag.

With summer around the corner, it’s the perfect time to discover some of Britain’s finest beaches, perhaps visiting a coastal town that’s new to you? TikTok influencer and travel expert @lotteboo3 took to the platform to shine a light on what she considers an “underrated” seaside treasure.

READ MORE: Natalie Portman’s makeup artist takes anti-ageing gadget ‘on every job’ to shrink wrinkles

Southwold, hailed as a “classic seaside town” by the Express, is nestled in Suffolk and ticks all the boxes for a quintessential British staycation.

The town is home to two inviting beaches, Southwold Pier Beach to the north and Southwold Denes Beach to the south. Holiday-goers will be greeted by rows of quaint, brightly coloured beach huts that line the shore, injecting vibrant butter yellows, whites, and blues into the scenery.

The TikTok user posted footage of an “award-winning bakery”, overflowing with delectable sausage rolls, gingerbread men, croissants, and assorted pastries.

She also highlighted a “charming lighthouse” – perfect for those holiday photos – and a magnificent pier where visitors can leave their mark by adding personalised plaques.

The official Southwold Pier website even offers a Pier Plaque Creator, giving tourists the chance to craft their own plaque as a “great gift, a wonderful surprise or a memento of your visit”.

Holidaymakers heading to Southwold are in for a treat, with the chance to meander through its picturesque streets dotted with colourful abodes, discover distinctive independent boutiques, and relish traditional coastal pleasures such as ice cream.

Lotte’s TikTok showcase of Southwold has captured the imagination of social media users, racking up nearly 32,000 likes and over 3,200 saves.

The post has sparked some serious wanderlust, prompting more than 1,000 shares as people plot their next escape. Admiring comments flooded in from fans of the town, with one user, @Goodgriefisthatthetime, professing: “Worked at scores of seaside towns all over the UK. By far the cleanest, well looked after.”

Meanwhile, Laura Marsh joined in the chorus, saying, “We live down the road from Southwold, definitely one of our happy places. Great beer and fish and chips.”

Numerous commenters labelled Southwold as their “happy place”, including Bethany who revealed, “I absolutely love it here I go every year, it’s like a second home”.

Adding to the endorsements, Caitlin Harvey shared her six-year working experience in Southwold, concluding: “Worked here for six years. Can’t deny that it’s actually a lovely place to visit.”

There has never been a shortage of TV series that take place in Los Angeles, the longtime hub of the American television industry and its players. But the 2025 Emmy season features such a wealth of shows set and shot in and around L.A. that we couldn’t resist spotlighting how several of them use the iconic locale we call home.

‘Shrinking’

Jason Segel, left, Jessica Williams, Christa Miller and Ted McGinley in “Shrinking.”

(Apple)

The Apple TV+ comedy, which follows an interconnected group of co-workers, friends and neighbors, is set mainly in Pasadena and Altadena. Location manager David Flannery, a fifth-generation Pasadena native, notes, “So often [these cities] play for everywhere else in the world. But we want to show exactly where we are — which is just a little more specific than general L.A. — and that the characters are grounded in very real places.” These sites have included the Rose Bowl, Pasadena City Hall, Pasadena’s Central Park (featuring the landmark Castle Green building) and the South Pasadena train station. The Laird and Bishop family homes, with their adjoining backyards, may look like a set but are actually neighboring Altadena houses, both of which survived the Eaton fire.

‘Only Murders in the Building’

Martin Short, left, Selena Gomez and Steve Martin in “Only Murders in the Building.”

(Eric McCandless / Disney)

Although Hulu’s Emmy-winning comic mystery is the ultimate New York tale, its Season 4 opener sent its crime-solving lead trio to Tinseltown to pursue a movie adaptation of their popular podcast. Co-creator and showrunner John Hoffman, calling in during the show’s Season 5 shoot, says, “Last season had to start in L.A. It really kicks off a season that is specific to cinema, to moving images.” Filming took place on the classic Paramount Studios lot, at the historic Il Borghese condo building in Hancock Park and at an “ultra-glamorous, deeply L.A.” Hollywood Hills home, which served as studio exec Bev Melon’s party house.

‘Nobody Wants This’

Kristen Bell and Adam Brody in “Nobody Wants This.”

(Adam Rose / Netflix)

Creator-showrunner Erin Foster can’t imagine her Netflix rom-com about a progressive rabbi and a gentile sex podcaster set anywhere but her native Los Angeles. “You have to write what you know, and that’s what I know,” she says by phone from her West Hollywood home. “In L.A., people are following their dreams, so it says a lot about who someone is. I think the same applies to locations in a TV show: They all signal where [the characters] are in their life and who they are.” Some of these illustrative locales have included Westwood’s Sinai Temple, the Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Koreatown, the Los Feliz 3 Theatre, Calamigos Ranch in Malibu and WeHo’s Pleasure Chest sex shop.

‘The Studio’

Seth Rogen and Catherine O’Hara in “The Studio.”

(Apple)

Seth Rogen and company’s raucous creation about a beleaguered movie studio chief is rooted in firsthand experience. “Seth knows this town very, very well,” says supervising location manager Stacey Brashear. “He and [co-creator] Evan Goldberg wrote in 90% of the locations, including the [John] Lautner-designed, Midcentury Modern houses that studio executives like to collect.” Among these eye-popping sites are the Silvertop house above the Silver Lake Reservoir and the Harvey House in the Hollywood Hills. Adds Brashear, “I feel like our locations are actual characters in the show.” Among the Apple TV+ series’ many other L.A. locations: the Warner Bros. studio lot, the Smoke House Restaurant in Burbank, Lake Hollywood Park and the Sunset Strip’s Chateau Marmont.

‘Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story’

Chloë Sevigny and Javier Bardem in “Monsters: The Lyle Aand Erik Menendez Story.”

(Netflix)

This Netflix limited series revisits the 1989 murder of wealthy Beverly Hills couple José and Kitty Menendez by sons Erik and Lyle, a crime notoriously connected to Los Angeles. “It was such a period of decadence and grandeur, and Beverly Hills was kind of the poster child for that,” says production designer Matthew Flood Ferguson. “I wanted to recapture the [town’s] glamour and celebrity culture.” He also notes, of L.A.’s diverse architecture, “You can get quite a few different looks all in the same place.” These “looks” included a grand Hancock Park-area home standing in for the Mendendez mansion, Koreatown’s Wilshire Colonnade office complex, a 1970s-built Encino bank building, Beverly Hills’ Will Rogers Memorial Park and the former Sunset Strip site of Spago, restored to look as it did in its heyday.

‘Hacks’

Megan Stalter left, and Hannah Einbinder at the Americana at Brand in “Hacks.”

(Kenny Laubbacher / Max)

Unlike past seasons, in which L.A. often subbed for Las Vegas, Season 4 of “Hacks” is mostly shot and set in Los Angeles. Says Lucia Aniello, co-creator with Paul W. Downs and Jen Stasky, “Much of [the season] is getting back to the roots of L.A. comedy. It really is a love letter to Los Angeles — and to the comedy world.” Adds Downs, “The show is a lot about people outside of the industry looking in. By being in L.A., we got to really explore what that means.” Some key locations: CBS Television City, the Lenny Kravitz-designed Stanley House, the Americana at Brand and Echo Park’s Elysian Theater; the Altadena estate doubling for Deborah Vance’s Bel-Air mansion was lost in the Eaton fire.

‘Running Point’

Kate Hudson and Max Greenfield in “Running Point.”

(Katrina Marcinowski / Netflix)

Loosely based on the life of Lakers President Jeanie Buss, this Netflix comedy is “filled with a lot of L.A. DNA,” says co-creator and showrunner David Stassen. He adds that, like Buss, the show’s star, Kate Hudson, “is also part of a dynastic L.A. family. Plus, she knows Jeanie, she loves the Lakers and she grew up going to games.” Though much of the season was filmed downtown at Los Angeles Center Studios, location work included the Pacific Coast Highway south of Venice (where Cam, played by Justin Theroux, crashes his Porsche), downtown L.A.’s elegant Hotel Per La and homes in Sherman Oaks and Woodland Hills. The L.A. skyline gets quite the workout here as well.

‘Forever’

Lovie Simone in “Forever.”

(Elizabeth Morris / Netflix)

Netflix’s reimagining of Judy Blume’s 1975 novel unfolds in 2018 Los Angeles, where it evocatively explores first love between teens Justin and Keisha. Showrunner and L.A. native Mara Brock Akil considers her adaptation “a love letter to Los Angeles and to the idyllic life we’re all trying to live in this city, where dreams are not isolated to one particular neighborhood.” Key parts of the story take place around Keisha’s home in the View Park-Windsor Hills area, with the show’s many other L.A. locations including Ladera Park, St. Mary’s Academy in Inglewood, the Grove and the Original Farmers Market, Griffith Park and the Santa Monica Pier. Adds Akil, “A lot of people [in L.A.] are moving around on public transportation, which I wanted to shine a light on too.”

Welcome to the Riley Tiernan Revenge Tour.

Oh, sure, the Angel City forward is far too nice to call it that, but that’s what her first NWSL season has become.

“Everybody loves an underdog story,” she said. “It kind of added fuel to my fire. When people doubt you, it makes you want to prove it that much more.”

Tiernan was definitely being doubted about six months ago when she finished her college career at Rutgers as the school’s all-time leader in assists, yet didn’t get a call from 12 of the 14 NWSL teams. In the first winter without a league draft, every player was a free agent, available to the highest bidder. Only no one bid on Tiernan.

So she accepted an invitation to training camp with Angel City and now she’s showing the others what they missed, with her five goals leading all NWSL rookies and ranking second in the league overall heading into Saturday night’s home match with Racing Louisville.

“A fair shot,” said the 22-year-old. “All I wanted, literally, was just a chance to prove myself. Without the draft it was kind of like you get what you get and you’ve got to hope for the best.

“Once I got this invitation it was ‘let’s go big or go home.’ I got to show out. And pretty much did.”

Four of her five goals have given her team a lead; two were game-winners. Without her, Angel City (4-3-2) would not be in playoff position a third of the way into the season.

If Tiernan gets credit for passing her preseason test with the team, then technical director Mark Wilson and the rest of Angel City’s staff deserve praise for doing their homework. They identified Tiernan as a player worth watching last summer and nothing they saw — even the lack of interest from other clubs — swayed their thinking.

“We decided Riley was a top, top target once we’d kind of curated all of her stuff,” Wilson said. “You have to trust your process.”

So in November, Wilson had a Zoom call with Tiernan and found that he liked the person even better than he liked the player.

“That was the final piece of the puzzle,” he said. “We believed she had a big ceiling after watching her and we wanted to at least invite Riley in to spend some time with us.

“We really liked her character after the interview.”

Angel City forward Riley Tiernan heads the ball downfield during a game against the Washington Spirit on May 2.

(Roger Wimmer/ ISI Photos via Getty Images)

Tiernan said the only other offer she received came from Gotham FC, which trains 35 miles from Rutgers. But after spending her entire life in South Jersey, she felt Southern California offered a different sort of challenge.

“It just felt like it was time for me to spread my wings and step out of my comfort zone,” she said. “I had nothing to lose. After the first couple of training sessions, I started feeling comfortable and I started feeling like it was a place that I should be, an environment where I belonged.”

She’s certainly fit in, starting all nine Angel City matches and ranking second among outfield players in minutes played. Plus her five goals are just two shy of the franchise single-season record with 17 games left.

“She’s a big presence, but she turns on a sixpence,” Wilson said. “She has the ability to send players into the stands with a little check and her balance and mobility for a big presence is deceiving.

“She exhibited all of those qualities and more in all the work we did.”

She’s continued to prove she belongs despite playing as an attacker on a team that has seven forwards with World Cup experience.

“Isn’t it funny how that worked out?” Wilson said with a wry grin. “While we had quality attacking players, we want you looking over your shoulder. When you’re looking over your shoulder, you’re not comfortable. When you’re not comfortable, you’re pushing yourself. That level of competition for places drives standards and performance.

“Riley exhibited that from Day 1 and it hasn’t stopped. I don’t see her ever taking her foot off the gas.”

At least not until she’s finished proving herself to all those who doubted her. If she was once unwanted she’s now in high demand, having earned her first callup to the U-23 national team earlier this week. She’ll leave after Saturday’s game for Europe and two games against Germany, which constitute another new challenge.

“I think it’s good to have a sense of humbleness and be intimidated by such a high level in a new environment,” she said. “But I also think it’s important to turn that intimidation into motivation.”

It wouldn’t be the first time Tiernan has used others’ opinion of her to fuel her fire.

“I love this game because it does reward talent that works hard,” Wilson said. “Riley’s a talent, she is working hard, and eventually that value will be recognized.”

PAINTSVILLE, Ky. — Janet Lynn Stumbo leaned on her cane and surveyed the two dozen or so voters who had convened in a small Appalachian town to meet with the chair of the Kentucky Democratic Party.

A former Kentucky Supreme Court justice, the 70-year-old Stumbo said the event was “the biggest Democratic gathering I have ever seen in Johnson County,” an enclave where Republican Donald Trump got 85% of the presidential vote in November.

Paintsville, the county seat, was the latest stop on the state party’s “Rural Listening Tour,” a periodic effort to visit overwhelmingly white, culturally conservative towns of the kind where Democrats once competed and Republicans now dominate nationally.

Democrats’ path back to power may start in places like Paintsville, one small meeting at a time, because it may be difficult for the party to regain control of Congress or the White House without faring better among rural and small-town voters across the country.

The party recently lost U.S. senators from states with significant rural populations: Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Also, Democratic-led states are losing population to Sun Belt states led by Republicans, with some projections suggesting changes after the 2030 census could cost Democrats 12 electoral college votes.

“The gut check is we’d stopped having these conversations” in white rural America, said Colmon Elridge, the Kentucky Democratic chair. “Folks didn’t give up on the Democratic Party. We stopped doing the things that we knew we needed to do.”

It’s not that Democrats must carry most white rural precincts to win more elections. It’s more a matter of consistently chipping away at Republican margins in the way Trump narrowed Democrats’ usual advantages among Black and Latino men in 2024, and not unlike what Kentucky’s Democratic governor, Andy Beshear, did in two statewide victories.

Nationally, Trump won 60% of small-town and rural voters when he lost reelection in 2020 — and 63% in his 2024 victory, according to AP VoteCast data. That’s a far cry from a generation ago, when Democrat Bill Clinton won pluralities in Johnson County on his way to capturing Kentucky’s electoral votes in the 1992 and 1996 White House races.

“We have to be intentional about how we build something sustainable,” Elridge said. “It’s not like we haven’t won here before.”

Combating the ‘caricature’ of Democrats

For two hours in downtown Paintsville, Elridge listened as Stumbo and others took umbrage at conservatives’ policy agenda, expressed frustration over President Trump’s standing in eastern Kentucky and said they were determined to sell their neighbors an alternative. Many brought their personal experiences to bear.

The event was part town hall, part catharsis, part pep talk. In some ways, the complaints in Paintsville mirrored how Democrats nationally are angry, often for very different reasons.

Sandra Music, a retired teacher who called herself “a new Democrat,” converted because of Trump. She bemoaned conservatives’ success in advancing private school tuition voucher programs and said they were threatening a public education system “meant to ensure we educate everybody.”

Music criticized Republicans for making a “caricature” of Democrats. “They want to pull out keywords: ‘abortion,’ ‘transgender,’ ‘boys in girls’ sports’” and distract from the rest of the Republican agenda, she said.

Stumbo, the former justice, lamented what she called the rightward lurch of the state and federal courts. “We are going to suffer irreparable damage,” she said, “if we don’t stop these conservative idiots.”

Michael Halfhill, who works in healthcare information technology, was incredulous that the billionaire president has taken hold of voters in Appalachia, historically one of the country’s poorest regions.

“It’s not left versus right. It’s rich versus poor,” he said, shaking his head at working-class white voters — Johnson County is 97.5% white — “voting against themselves.”

Ned Pillersdorf, who is married to Stumbo, went after Republicans for their proposed federal tax and spending plans, especially potential cuts to Medicaid. He said Paintsville still has a rural hospital, which is among the largest employers in the region, in no small part because Kentucky is among the GOP-leaning states where a Democratic governor expanded Medicaid under the 2010 Affordable Care Act.

Elridge, the first Black chair of a major party in Kentucky, mentioned Trump’s attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and related civil rights laws and regulations.

“This is where Trump and MAGA excel — if somebody who looks like me is your enemy, then you don’t care if the guy in the White House is peeing on your leg and telling you it’s rain,” he said, referring to Trump’s “Make American Great Again” movement.

Republican response

By definition, a “listening tour” is not meant to produce concrete action. Elridge and Nicholas Hazelett, the Johnson County Democratic chair who is a college student and a Paintsville City Council member, acknowledged that the small crowd was Democrat-friendly. Despite a few recent converts, no one was there waiting to be convinced.

Across the street, antiques shop owner Michelle Hackworth said she did not even know Democrats were holding a meeting. Calling herself a “hard-core Republican,” she smiled when asked if she would consider attending.

“They wouldn’t convince me of anything,” she said.

Bill Mike Runyon, a self-described conservative Republican who is Paintsville’s mayor and loves Trump, went immediately to social and cultural commentary when asked in an interview to explain Johnson County politics.

Democrats, he said, “have to get away from the far-left radical — look at the transgender message.” Further, Runyon said, “everything got kind of racial. It’s not like that here in Paintsville and in Johnson County, but I can see it as a country. … It’s making people more racist against one another.”

Asked specifically who he was talking about, he alluded to progressive U.S. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Latina from New York City, and Jasmine Crockett, a Black woman from Texas.

“It’s the ones you always see on TV,” the mayor said.

Governor’s bipartisan appeal

Beshear seems to be the one Democrat who commands wide respect in and around Paintsville.

Democrats hailed the 47-year-old governor for supporting abortion and LGBTQ+ rights while still attracting support beyond the Democratic strongholds of Louisville, Lexington and Frankfort. Beshear did not win Johnson County but got 37% of the vote in his 2023 reelection. He carried several nearby counties.

Many Republicans, including the mayor, complimented Beshear for his handling of floods and other disasters in the region.

“He’s been here,” Runyon said. “I absolutely can get to him if I need him.”

In 2024, Beshear landed on the list of potential vice presidential running mates for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. He also remains Senate Democrats’ top pick for a 2026 campaign for the seat coming open with Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell’s retirement.

Beshear, whose father once lost to McConnell after having won two governor’s races, has said he will not run for Senate. But he has stepped up his cable TV interviews and launched his own podcast, fueling speculation that his next campaign will be for the 2028 presidential nomination.

“Andy is not like those national Democrats,” Runyon said. Harking back to the 1990s, he added, “Bill Clinton wasn’t like these Democrats today.”

Hackworth, the shop owner, noted that she voted against the younger Beshear twice. But over the course of an extended interview, she, too, commended the governor’s disaster management. She also questioned some moves by Trump, including the idea of getting Washington completely out of the disaster aid business.

She blamed Trump’s predecessor, former President Biden, for a “tough time at my store,” but acknowledged that federal aid had helped many businesses and households stay afloat through the COVID-19 pandemic emergency.

Hackworth said she was not familiar with details of Medicaid expansion, but she identified the nearby hospital as among the area’s largest employers. The others, she said, are the public school system and Walmart, which a day earlier had announced it was increasing prices because of Trump’s tariffs.

While supporting Trump’s “America first” agenda, Hackworth said widespread tariffs would upset many consumers. “You can walk through my store and see where the new stuff is made,” she said. “I try to buy American, but so much of it is China, China, China.”

Asked again whether any of that should give Democrats an opening in places like Paintsville, she said, “Well, there’s always an opening if you show up.”

Barrow writes for the Associated Press.

More than 20 easy takeout ideas from chefs and food pros for your next potluck. Plus, Curtis Stone grows a lifestyle empire in Malibu wine country, the return of Miya Thai and making chicken in a rice cooker. I’m Laurie Ochoa, general manager of L.A. Times Food, with this week’s Tasting Notes.

When chefs don’t cook

Azizam’s “kuku sandevich,” house-leavened flatbread with herb-and-leek frittata, yogurt, cucumber, tomato and radish.

(Laurie Ochoa / Los Angeles Times)

The invitation via text message was brief: “Having a ‘potluck’ at my house next Sunday. Bring your favorite takeout food.”

I looked at the sender’s name: Nancy Silverton.

I’ve been to Nancy Silverton’s house for parties many times. I co-wrote her bread book and first got to know her while writing a story for this paper on the making of Campanile, the restaurant she and her late ex-husband Mark Peel opened in the complex that is now Walter and Margarita Manzke‘s Republique. So the idea of Silverton throwing a party with only takeout food — nothing cooked by her or any of her chef or food-obsessed friends — was surprising.

It’s not that Silverton favors complex dishes. One of her lesser-known cookbooks is “A Twist of the Wrist,” with simple recipes made from jarred, tinned or boxed ingredients. And she sometimes augments her party menus with food from some of her favorite takeout spots like Burritos La Palma.

But Silverton is obsessed with details, even at a burger party where the patties are hand-shaped with a custom-blend of meat (20% to 28% fat, as writer Emily Green once described in a story on the chef’s hamburger process), and she only assigns grill duties to trusted cooks (frequently Elizabeth Hong, culinary director of Silverton’s many Mozza restaurants, or Jar restaurant owner-chef Suzanne Tract). Even the burger toppings and condiments are precisely arranged. Her avocados, for instance, are almost always halved, loosened from the skin, which remains to protect the fruit, then sliced, drizzled with lemon or lime juice and seasoned with salt, pepper and often chopped chives.

I wondered how Silverton would react to the chaos that can ensue at potluck gatherings. What if everyone showed up with Burritos La Palma? (Well, maybe that wouldn’t be so bad.)

Of course, Silverton and her partner, former Times reporter Michael Krikorian, eliminated some of the event’s wildcard nature by making gentle inquiries over text to find out what people were bringing.

It was clear from the start that one of my favorite foods to bring to a party would not be an option: the football-shaped Armenian flatbread from Glendale’s Zhengyalov Hatz — filled with more than a dozen different herbs, as writer Jessie Schiewe described in our recent guide to “15 L.A. restaurants where ordering the house specialty is a must.” Krikorian was already bringing some.

He was also getting brisket from Andrew and Michelle Muñoz‘s Moo’s Craft Barbecue, which is one of critic Bill Addison‘s favorite L.A. barbecue spots; “kuku sandeviches,” or house-leavened flatbread filled with herb-and-leek frittata, yogurt, cucumber, tomato and radish from Azizam, which Addison called “L.A.’s best new Persian restaurant”; fried chicken and fish sandos from Mei Lin‘s Daybird, the shop that attracted columnist Jenn Harris’ admiration soon after its 2021 opening and before Lin’s most recent restaurant, 88 Club in Beverly Hills, previewed recently by Food’s reporter Stephanie Breijo; and fantastic basturma brisket sandwiches from III Mas Bakery & Deli (pronounce it “Yerord Mas”) run out of a Glendale ghost kitchen by husband-and-wife team Arthur Grigoryan (who used to work at Mozza) and Takouhi Petrosyan.

Oh, and Silverton also arranged for Frutas Marquez (phone: 909-636-1650) to set up an umbrella-shaded cocos frios and cut fruit stand.

Fruit cup from Frutas Marquez.

(Laurie Ochoa / Los Angeles Times)

So before the first guest turned up, there was enough food for a hungry crowd. Then the chefs and other food pros started to arrive with food from all over city.

Chef Chris Feldmeier of the sorely missed Bar Moruno in Silver Lake and now back in the kitchen at Love & Salt in Manhattan Beach gave Silverton’s guests a chance to try some of the Southland’s greatest Indian cooking from Quality of Bombay in Lawndale. He brought goat biryani, butter chicken and palak paneer, with large pieces of curd cheese mixed into the gently seasoned spinach. People were raving over the butter chicken and I was so taken with the goat biryani that I stopped into the unassuming storefront this week and picked up some lamb biryani as well as two of the restaurant’s naans, one flavored with green chile and one, Peshawari naan, baked with ground nuts and raisins. Feldmeier also brought crispy rice salad with Thai sausage from North Hollywood’s Sri Siam, a place I recently rediscovered.

Feldmeier’s former Bar Moruno partner (and contributor to our wine coverage), David Rosoff, brought a sampling from Armen Martirosyan‘s Mini Kabob spinoff MidEast Tacos in Silver Lake. Many guests had heard about the Armenian-Mexican tacos and were happy to have a chance to try them.

Another hit from the party came from Jar’s Suzanne Tract, who brought spicy shrimp dumplings and kimchi dumplings from Pao Jao Dumpling House started by Eunice Lee and Seong Cho in the food court of the Koreatown Plaza on Western Ave. In the dumpling season of Jenn Harris’ video series “The Bucket List,” she finds out that Cho developed the recipe for the spicy shrimp dumpling and isn’t sharing the secret to its deliciousness — which will make you all the more popular when you show up with a batch at your next potluck.

Photographer Anne Fishbein brought many delicious things from chef Sang Yoon‘s Helms Bakery, including doughnuts and gorgeous breads with different schmears and butters, including the sweet black garlic butter that Harris included in her story about the Helms’ foods that got her attention when the marketplace opened in Culver City late last year.

Times contributor Margy Rochlin arrived with swaths of the pebbly Persian flatbread sangak, so fresh from the oven at West L.A.’s Naan Hut the sheets of sesame-seeded bread burned her arm when she picked up her order. (Read Rochlin’s 2015 story for Food for more on how sangak is baked on hot stones.) She then went to Super Sun Market in Westwood for French feta cheese, fresh herbs and the shallot yogurt dip mast-o musir, arranging everything on a wood board.

The shallot yogurt dip mast-o musir with fresh herbs and French feta from Super Sun Market in Westwood and a basket of the Persian flatbread sangak from Naan Hut in West L.A.

(Laurie Ochoa / Los Angeles Times)

Silverton’s daughter, Vanessa Silverton-Peel set out an impressive array of flaky borekas from the always-busy Borekas Sephardic Pastries in Van Nuys with various fillings. These included cultured cheese and za’atar; potato and brown butter; mushroom, caramelized onion and truffle; spinach and cheese, plus carrots and hot honey, which is an occasional special. With them, came pickles, tomato sauce and jammy eggs. And because she is everywhere, Harris has written about her love for this place too.

Taylor Parsons, once declared L.A.’s best sommelier when he was at Republique by former L.A. Weekly restaurant critic Besha Rodell, and Briana Valdez, founder of the growing Home State mini-chain of Texas-style breakfast tacos and more, brought cheesy Frito pies and tacos from Valdez’s restaurant. And Pasquale Chiarappa, a.k.a. the sometime actor Pat Asanti, a.k.a. Patsy to his pals, brought his own Della Corte Kitchen focaccia, which he supplies to Pasadena’s Roma Deli among other places.

Pizza and cake from another Addison favorite, Aaron Lindell and Hannah Ziskin‘s Quarter Sheets in Echo Park went fast, though I’m not sure who brought them since at this point it was getting hard to keep track of all the incoming food. The same goes for the bucket of Tokyo Fried Chicken that was quickly gobbled up. Jazz musician and composer Anthony Wilson had the good taste to bring a whole duck from Roasted Duck by Pa Ord, which I wrote about in this newsletter recently because I think it might be the best duck in Thai Town.

A platter from Thai Town’s Roasted Duck by Pa Ord with boxes of pizza from Quarter Sheets in the background.

(Laurie Ochoa / Los Angeles Times)

Claudio Blotta, founder of All’Acqua in Atwater Village and Silver Lake’s Barbrix, which is undergoing rennovations at the moment, tapped his Argentine roots by bringing empanadas. I missed the name of the place he bought them, but a good bet if you’re looking for some to bring to a party is Mercado Buenos Aires in Van Nuys.

Erik Black, founder of the recently revived Ugly Drum pastrami, broke the rules a bit by actually cooking something — spiced caramel corn from recipe in “Nancy Silverton’s Sandwich Book.” And Mozza’s Raul Ramirez Valdivia made tortilla chips, guacamole and wonderful salsa verde. Of course, Burritos La Palma showed up thanks to Mozza’s Juliet Kapanjie.

I ended up bringing a tray of fresh Vietnamese spring rolls, a party offering that has never failed me, from Golden Deli in San Gabriel. There were three kinds: shrimp and pork, beef and tofu for vegetarians.

And just when it seemed that the party could not take one more food offering, in walked former L.A. Times restaurant critic S. Irene Virbila and photographer, wine aficionado and cook Fred Seidman with a box of burgers from In-N-Out. Because no matter how full you are, there’s always room for In-N-Out.

Cheeseburgers from In-N-Out.

(Laurie Ochoa / Los Angeles Times)

Curtis Stone’s work retreat

Chef Curtis Stone examines new growth in his vineyard at Four Stones Farm.

(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)

Food reporter Stephanie Breijo got a look at the inner workings of Curtis Stone‘s Four Stones Farm in the Santa Monica Mountains, where the Australian chef of Hollywood’s Gwen and the Pie Room in Beverly Hills has established a base for his burgeoning lifestyle empire. This includes TV-ready testing and production kitchens for taping live HSN cooking demos promoting his cookware, plus a winery that uses grapes grown on the property’s vineyards and a set up for events, including the upcoming Great Australian Bite in collaboration with the L.A. Times and Tourism Australia. On May 31, Stone and visiting chef Clare Falzon of Staġuni in South Australia’s Barossa Valley are teaming up to prepare a multicourse meal in the area becoming known as Malibu wine country. Tickets cost $289 and are on sale now.

Altadena check-in

Thai fried chicken with papaya salad at Miya Thai restaurant in Altadena.

(Laurie Ochoa / Los Angeles Times)

Regular readers of this newsletter know that I have been keeping watch in my Altadena neighborhood for signs of recovery following the firestorm that destroyed so much of the area. I’m thrilled to report that Miya — David Tewasart and Clarissa Chin‘s Thai restaurant, which survived in the section of Lake Ave. that saw major destruction — has quietly reopened and is happily busy. We ran into friends from the neighborhood and sat with them at a table to catch up. It felt like home. And the fried chicken with hand-pounded papaya salad? It’s as good as ever.

Easy rice cooker chicken

A whole chicken is cooked in the rice cooker and served alongside a condiment made with ginger and scallions.

(Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times )

Have you seen that woman who cooks an entire chicken in a rice cooker?” style pro Joe Zee asked columnist Jenn Harris recently, as she wrote in our most recent Cooking newsletter. He was referring to the Instagram video made by London content creator Shu Lin, who showed her followers how to make Hakka-style salt-baked chicken with not much more than a seasoning packet sold in most Asian supermarkets and a rice cooker, plus ginger, green onions, shallots and oil. The technique isn’t new, but Lin’s recipe is very simple and inspired Harris to try it.

Coffee generation

Gefen Skolnick, owner of Couplet Coffee in Echo Park.

(Chiara Alexa / For The Times)

Gefen Skolnick tells Food contributor Jean Trinh that she wanted a “fun and funky” Gen Z-friendly space when she opened Couplet Coffee in Echo Park this year. That means “limited-edition product drops, community-building, storytelling and social media.” As Skolnick put it to Trinh, “There needs to be great coffee made more approachable.”

Also …

• Writer Lina Abascal asks, “Is the teahouse the future of nightlife in L.A.?” She describes Jai in Koreatown, Tea at Shiloh in the Arts District, the invite-only tea purists haven NEHIMA in Los Feliz and Chinatown’s Steep LA, which is one of my favorite spots.
• Frequent contributor Tiffany Tse says zhajiangmian, or “fried sauce noodles” is having a well-deserved moment. She selected 11 L.A. places to eat the comforting noodles, including traditional and creative interpretations and jjajangmyeon, a Korean-Chinese adaptation.
• And with the weather heating up, many diners are looking for rooftop dining. Food’s senior editor Danielle Dorsey updated our guide to 50 of the best rooftop restaurants and bars to soak in city views, with Butterfly, Tomat, Lost, Sora Temaki Bar and Level 8 among the additions.

YOU have probably heard of Sutton Hoo, the Suffolk site where a huge Anglo-Saxon ship was discovered under ancient grassy mounds.

Excitement around the medieval treasure trove grew in 2021 when Carey Mulligan starred in a Netflix movie about the discovery, The Dig.

3

3

But it’s not just ancient artefacts, old textiles and traditional silverware that make this area so special.

The site sits close to Woodbridge, an off-grid market town on the banks of the River Deben that was recently crowned the UK’s happiest place to live by Rightmove.

Having spent a weekend soaking up its moreish cocktail of history, gorgeous views and cracking food — including one of the best pizzas I’ve ever had — I’m inclined to agree.

It was a short trip for me and my partner across the Essex/Suffolk ­border, where we checked into one of Woodbridge’s best-known hotels, The Crown.

The charming inn features ten comfortable boutique rooms, with enormous beds and grand panelled bathtubs.

The property’s position, smack bang on the thoroughfare of the town, is perfect for soaking up the best Woodbridge has to offer, within walking distance of a high street scattered with independent shops.

Swing by The W Gallery if you get a chance.

We were captivated by a huge canvas of an avenue of neon orange trees by artist Samuel Thomas.

A few doors down, at Bois Jolie, the owner explained how he went from market researcher to owning his own woodcraft business.

Now, rather than staring at spreadsheets and pie charts, he spends his time creating interesting coffee tables and beautifully grained yew lamp stands, topped by his wife’s colourful handmade shades.

If we weren’t convinced before, we certainly were after that: Woodbridge really is a town of happy people — and they love to chat.

We had made sure we were well fuelled for our first day of adventure with a huge brekkie of juicy local sausages and perfectly poached eggs at the hotel.

Make sure you book in here for dinner one night, too.

The Crown’s restaurant and bar are buzzing with locals on a Saturday night.

If you ever tire of the hotel’s jam-packed burgers, fish and chips and flavoursome salads, you won’t need to venture far for a decent meal in Woodbridge.

I recommend The Woodyard Ltd, where the air was thick with the lip-smacking scent of smoke and garlic.

Its wood-fired pizzas are something special and we were grateful for our cold beers after devouring a Vesuvio — all charred dough, spicy nduja sausage and fiery salami.

The queue for tables stretched out of the door and, after eating, it was easy to see why.

The Anchor proved the perfect spot for a relaxed Sunday roast.

My plate came piled high with pork, doused in a stock-rich gravy that was so good I would have happily drunk it from a mug.

Once we were finished feasting, we walked it off along Woodbridge’s River Deben and the marina, where hundreds of colourful boats are moored.

3

Take a peek at the tide mill on your wander.

The Grade I listed mill is one of the few remaining in the country and has a history stretching back 800 years.

We then made our way towards Kyson Hill, where the sun-drenched river is framed by salt marshes and ancient woodland.

This National Trust area is full of wildlife and we spotted a heron motionless at the water’s edge while, in the distance, deer darted between the trees.

While we didn’t get the chance to visit the mounds of Sutton Hoo itself on the other side of the river, its connection to the town is deepening.

It’s thought the ship and its treasure were hauled three miles up to the burial site from Woodbridge in the 7th Century, and now a community-led project is rebuilding the ancient craft in all its 90ft glory.

The locals are brilliantly enthusiastic about the mission, and you can take a look at the impressive work in progress in The Longshed.

After a weekend of eating, walking and soaking up the charm of this riverside town and all its history, I reckon Woodbridge is quite possibly the happiest place to live in the UK.

And it’s just as great to visit.

It may even feature frequently on my property searches . . . 

Evans is part of Wales’ 10-player mixed squad and she will not be the only one to break records on Saturday.

Jodie Boyd-Ward will become the sport’s most capped player when she leads Wales out at Archers Arena.

The 32-year-old is currently on 44 international appearances, level with Welshman Harry Jones.

“It truly is an honour to be asked to captain Wales for the Celtic Cup, especially as it’s an opportunity to lead the squad out and look to reclaim the trophy,” Boyd-Ward said.

“Last year, I knew after an amazing tour to the US, that I needed to take some time out after not taking a break for the whole of my wheelchair rugby league career.

“Now I’m back and feeling better than ever, I’m looking forward to getting stuck in with the team and also seeing how both Scotland and Ireland have continued their development, as I know we have at Wales.”

Wales’ World Cup captain from 2022, Stuart Williams, is named as vice-captain.

The 40-year-old, who is Wales’ record international try scorer with 66, returns to the side after missing last year’s Wales matches.