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Cinerama Dome reopening? New permit request filed with city

Will Cinerama Dome ever reopen? Maybe.

Dome Center LLC, the company that owns the property along Sunset Boulevard upon which the iconic movie venue stands, filed an application for a conditional-use permit to sell alcohol for on-site consumption at the Cinerama Dome Theater and adjoined multiplex Tuesday.

According to the application filed by the company’s representative, Elizabeth Peterson-Gower of Place Weavers Inc., Dome Center is seeking a new permit that would “allow for the continued sale and dispensing of a full line of alcoholic beverages for on-site consumption in conjunction with the existing Cinerama Dome Theater, 14 auditoriums within the Arclight Cinemas Theater Complex, and restaurant/cafe with two outdoor dining terraces from 7:00 am – 4:00 am, daily.” This would be a renewal of the current 10-year permit, which expires Nov. 5.

The findings document filed with the City Planning Department also mentions that “when the theater reopens, it will bring additional jobs to Hollywood and reactivate the adjacent streets, increasing safety and once again bringing vibrancy to the surrounding area.” No timetable for this reopening was indicated.

A representative for Dome Center LLC did not respond immediately Friday to a request for comment.

The Cinerama Dome, which first opened in 1963, has been closed since it was shut down at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. After it was announced in April 2021 that the beloved theater would remained closed even after the pandemic, it was revealed in December of that year that there were plans for the Cinerama Dome and the attached theater complex to eventually reopen.

In 2022, news that the property owners obtained a liquor license for the renamed “Cinerama Hollywood” fueled the L.A. film-loving community’s hope that the venue was still on track to return. But the Cinerama Dome’s doors have remained closed.

At a public hearing regarding the adjacent Blue Note Jazz Club in June, Peterson reportedly indicated that while there were not yet any definitive plans, the property owners had reached out to her to discuss the Cinerama Dome next. Perhaps this new permit application is a sign plans are finally coming together.

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Trump taps Tammy Bruce to be next deputy representative to U.N.

Aug. 10 (UPI) — Tammy Bruce, the former conservative radio host and Fox News contributor who now serves as the spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, has been nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as the next deputy representative to the United Nations.

“I am pleased to announce that I am nominating Tammy Bruce, a great patriot, television personality, and bestselling author, as our next deputy representative of the United States to the United Nations, with the rank of ambassador,” Trump said on Truth Social.

“Since the beginning of my second term, Tammy has been serving with distinction as spokesperson of the State Department, where she did a fantastic job. Tammy Bruce will represent our country brilliantly at the United Nations. Congratulations Tammy!”

Bruce’s nomination will require confirmation by the U.S. Senate after its monthlong recess. It was not immediately clear who would replace her at the State Department.

Mike Walz, Trump’s former national security adviser, has been nominated to serve as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. He testified at his Senate confirmation hearing last month, but his confirmation has since stalled. It is the last cabinet-level position that has not been confirmed by the Senate.

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Scientist and green-card holder detained at San Francisco Airport

A Texas Lyme-disease researcher who came to the U.S. from South Korea at age 5 and is a longtime legal permanent resident was detained at San Francisco International Airport for a week, according to his lawyer.

Tae Heung “Will” Kim, 40, was returning from his brother’s wedding in South Korea on July 21 when he was pulled out of secondary screening for unknown reasons, said Eric Lee, an attorney who says he’s been unable to talk with his client.

Lee said that he has no idea where Kim is now and that Kim has not been allowed to communicate with anyone aside from a brief call last week to his family. A Senate office told him that Kim was being moved to an immigration facility in Texas, while a representative from the Korean Consulate told Kim’s family that he was going to be sent somewhere else.

“We have no idea where he is going to end up,” Lee said. “We have no idea why.”

Kim has misdemeanor marijuana possession charges from 2011 on his record, but his lawyer questioned whether that was the kind of offense that would merit being held in a windowless room underneath the terminals at the airport for a week.

Representatives from the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the L.A. Times. But a spokesperson for Customs and Border Protection told the Washington Post, which first reported the story, that “this alien is in ICE custody pending removal hearings.”

The spokesperson also said: “If a green card holder is convicted of a drug offense, violating their status, that person is issued a Notice to Appear and CBP coordinates detention space with [Immigration and Customs Enforcement].”

Kim’s attorney said if his client was detained because he “had a little weed when he was pulled over 15 years ago in his 20s,” that was absurd, adding: “If every American who had a tiny amount of weed in their car was detained under these conditions…”

Kim’s mother, Yehoon “Sharon” Lee, told the Washington Post that she was worried about her son’s health in custody.

“He’s had asthma ever since he was younger,” she told the Washington Post. “I don’t know if he has enough medication. He carries an inhaler, but I don’t know if it’s enough, because he’s been there a week.”

His mother told the paper that she and her husband entered the U.S. on business visas in the 1980s but by the time they became naturalized citizens, Kim was too old to get automatic citizenship.

Kim has a green card and has spent most of his life in the U.S. After helping out in his family’s doll-manufacturing business after the death of his father, he recently entered a doctoral program at Texas A&M and is helping to research a vaccine for Lyme disease.

There have been multiple reports nationwide of U.S. permanent residents being detained at airports, particularly those with criminal records, no matter how minor. These cases have prompted some experts to warn that green-card holders should avoid leaving the country, to reduce the risk of not being allowed back.

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Musician Ray Stevens recovering after heart attack

Singer Ray Stevens has shared his first update since being admitted to the hospital on July 4 for surgery.

According to his Instagram, the 86-year-old has been moved out of intensive care and is continuing to recover.

“Ray is out of ICU and beginning to walk the halls as therapy with a nurse’s assistance as he is working towards recovering from this surgery,” the post from Wednesday reads. “Ray is very grateful for all of the cards and get-well messages. Everything is Still Beautiful!!!!”

The last line is a reference to one of Stevens’ best-known songs, the Grammy Award-winning “Everything Is Beautiful.”

In a previous statement provided to People magazine, representatives of Stevens said he was recovering after a “minimally invasive heart surgery” on Monday. On July 4, he went to a Nashville hospital after experiencing chest pain.

Following a heart catheterization, Stevens was informed that he had suffered a minor heart attack. A subsequent surgery was carried out successfully.

Though the two-time Grammy winner’s upcoming performances at his CabaRay Showroom in Nashville have been canceled, fans are just happy to hear he is OK.

“This is the good news I was waiting for,” one Instagram user commented under the update. Another rejoiced, saying it was “great news in a world of such sadness and loss recently.”

Stevens has had a successful music career, cutting his first top 10 pop hit, “Ahab the Arab,” in 1962. The singer has recorded 45 albums, according to his website, won two Grammy Awards, and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2019.

Following the induction, Stevens was asked whether he would be retiring anytime soon.

“I feel fine; I’ll probably keel over after I hang up the phone,” he joked.

In 2024, he announced he would be hanging up his boots — only to change his mind a year later with the release of a new album, “Say Whut?”

“Although I said earlier that last year was going to be my final year at the CabaRay … I’m kind of going back on that because I want to promote this album,” he told NewsChannel 5 Nashville.



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Deborra-Lee Furness divorces Hugh Jackman two years after separation

“The Wolverine” star Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness are officially going their separate ways two years after announcing an amicable separation.

Furness filed the paperwork Friday in New York.

All filings have been processed and only a judge’s signature is required to finalize the divorce. A representative for Furness did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on Tuesday.

“Our journey now is shifting and we have decided to separate to pursue our individual growth,” the former couple previously said in a joint statement. The co-signed release, first released to People in September 2023, added that the two were “blessed” to have shared nearly three decades together in a “wonderful, loving marriage.”

“Our family has been and always will be our highest priority. We undertake this next chapter with gratitude, love, and kindness,” they added. “We greatly appreciate your understanding in respecting our privacy as our family navigates this transition in all of our lives.”

Jackman, star of “Logan” and “Les Misérables,” has since been linked with his “Music Man” co-star Sutton Foster.

Furness, 69, and Jackman, 56, initially wed in 1996 and share two children. They adopted their son, Oscar, in 2000 before announcing the birth of their daughter, Ava, in 2005.

“My kids are constantly reminded about how lucky we are in our family,” Jackman told People in 2018. “We’re ridiculously blessed. We live in a beautiful home in places that other people dream of.”

The pair’s last public appearance together was at the Wimbledon men’s final in July 2023. Prior to that, they were seen on the Met Gala red carpet in May of that same year.

Representatives of Jackman did not respond to The Times’ request for comment.

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