
Prairie birds — including Illinois' dapper bobolink — in steep decline, study says
By no means depleted, the plucky visitor goes on to dazzle the females of his species with a high-energy courtship display in which he soars over wildflower-studded fields, flapping his wings rapidly and singing a bright, burbling tune.
In the vast nature preserves surrounding the city, he is joined by the crafty eastern meadowlark, the elusive Henslow's sparrow, the stubby grasshopper sparrow, the tiny sedge wren and the gold-splashed dickcissel.
'If you go to a grassland in the Chicago area — if it's big enough — you're going to see those birds,' said Chicago Bird Alliance President Judy Pollock. 'The whole area used to look like that so it's kind of like going back in time.'
But if iconic grassland birds still appear to flourish here, the story is very different when the camera pans out across the Midwest and the Great Plains, according to the latest State of the Birds Report by scientists at U.S. bird conservation groups.
The nation's grassland birds, spread across 320 million acres in 14 states, have declined 43% since 1970, more than any other category, and are 'in crisis,' according to the report, released in March.
Overall, the study found that about a third of American bird species are of high or moderate conservation concern.
Even duck populations — previously a bright spot, with strong increases since 1970 — have trended downward in recent years, the report said.
'The bird conservation community and scientists sounded the alarm in 2019 about these declines,' said Amanda Rodewald, a professor and senior director at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Center for Avian Population Studies.
'We're a little over five years out and we're seeing they're becoming steeper — some of these trends. We know this is happening. We're now showing we have tools and data sets (that can help) managers and decision-makers to know specifically where they need to direct some conservation. What we need is the will to act.'
The study encourages practices such as coastal restoration, conservation ranching and seabird translocation, or transporting birds to locations where they are likely to thrive.
For grassland birds, which are losing 1 million to 2 million acres of habitat annually in the Great Plains, the study highlights solutions such as improved grazing practices for cattle and sheep, invasive plant removal, investment in grassland conservation and converting low-quality cropland to grassland.
The landmark 2019 study, which found that the North American bird population had dropped by nearly 3 billion since 1970, focused on the nation as a whole, while the new study focuses on birds that require certain specific habitats, such as forests and coastlines.
Those birds are better indicators of change in a particular habitat because they don't just dip in and out of it — they depend on it for survival.
In the case of grassland birds, including those in Illinois, the news isn't good. The study says birds that need grassland habitat are in crisis.
One measure the study looked at was 'tipping point' species status, which signals that a bird has lost more than 50% of its population within the past 50 years.
Shorebirds had the most tipping point species, with 19. Grassland birds had eight tipping point species, including the plucky bobolink and another Chicago classic, the Henslow's sparrow.
The bobolink was listed as an 'orange-alert' tipping point species, second only to the 'red-alert' category. Orange-alert status is for birds showing 'long-term population losses and accelerated recent declines within the past decade.'
The Henslow's sparrow was listed as a 'yellow-alert' with 'long-term population losses but relatively stable recent trends' and 'continued conservation efforts needed to sustain recovery.'
A total of 9% of the breeding population of Henslow's sparrows and 5% of the breeding population of meadowlarks are in Illinois, according to Jim Giocomo, the American Bird Conservancy's central region director.
The study's findings are important in part, he said, because humans live in the same environment as birds.
'Birds are literally our canary in the coal mine,' he said. 'The bird needs the same stuff we do but reacts to changes in the environment faster.'
Water availability, air pollution, chemicals and the decline of insect populations all can affect birds.
The eastern meadowlark, a fairly common sight for grassland birders in the Chicago area, wasn't singled out for concern in the study. But the LeConte's sparrow, lark bunting and western meadowlark — all grassland birds — were among the species that experienced the largest declines in the Midwest and Great Plains.
The LeConte's sparrow migrates through Illinois, and some western meadowlarks summer here. Lark buntings are generally found farther west.
The Chicago-area birding community has been working to restore grassland habitat for at least 20 years, according to Pollock, and forest preserve districts in and around Chicago have made good progress.
The Forest Preserves of Cook County, for instance, has removed trees and connected pieces of land to create sprawling prairies for grassland birds, which nest on the ground.
'They need really large areas to hide their nests from predators,' Pollock said. 'One hundred acres is small for them. They really want 1,000, 2,000 acres.'
The big grassland preserves in the region include Bartel Grassland and Bobolink Meadow near Tinley Park, Orland Grassland near Orland Park, Busse Woods near Elk Grove Village and Paul Douglas Preserve in Hoffman Estates.
A 2022 study by the nonprofit Bird Conservation Network found that dozens of birds, including the Henslow's sparrow, are doing surprisingly well in Chicago — likely because of the region's many parks and nature preserves, which cover nearly 10% of land in the six-county area.
Of 104 key species tracked in the study, 56% had stable or increasing populations in the Chicago region, while only 37% were stable or increasing in other areas of the state.
At the time, only about 410,000 breeding Henslow's sparrows remained in the world, and the birds were declining nationally.
However, the conservation network study found the birds were up an average of 3.4% per year in the Chicago area.
The bobolink was a different story, with the study finding the local bobolink population was down 2.9% per year since 1999.
Among the possible explanations: A lot of restored grasslands in the area tend to be dominated by tall grasses, and bobolinks may prefer a mix of grasses and flowering plants, Bird Conservation Network President Eric Secker told the Tribune in 2022. It was also possible that an international decline in insects, which is increasingly of concern to scientists, may have been reducing the birds' food supply.
Lastly, the problem may not have been limited to this region — or even this country, he said. Bobolinks are poisoned by farmers in Central and South America, where the birds feed on crops.
Solutions to the grassland bird decline vary among regions, although all rely on increasing or improving habitat. In the Great Plains, Rodewald highlighted the work of the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, which encourages voluntary conservation by farmers and ranchers.
'People rely on the land for their livelihoods, and so any approaches that we're using to preserve birds in those areas needs to be really grounded in voluntary conservation measures,' Rodewald said.
In Illinois, 'agricultural intensification,' in which farmers squeeze more production out of their land, is a major contributor to grassland bird decline, she said. Agricultural intensification means bigger farms, larger single-crop areas, less rest for the land, fewer hedgerows and more chemicals.
Among the potential solutions: The government can give farmers financial incentives to return land to a more natural state, as in the farm bill's conservation reserve program.
The farm bill is a comprehensive package of legislation that sets agriculture and food policy and is supposed to be updated every five years. The 2018 farm bill has been extended twice as Republicans and Democrats argue about what should be included.
Bobolink-conscious management of hay fields also can help in Illinois, Pollock said. The birds lay several sets of eggs in the course of a summer, and mowing can prove fatal to the young.
'They're crunching up lots of baby bobolinks, and other grassland birds,' Pollock said.
The solutions include mowing in May, which discourages nesting. That's a good approach when conditions are right, Pollock said, but sometimes it's too wet to mow.
Rodewald said data on birds has improved, thanks to the efforts of volunteers and advances such as the popular eBird app, which allows everyday birders to submit detailed reports on their sightings.
'It's really adding to our ability to detect and diagnose population changes — and that, fundamentally, allows us to respond to them in ways that are more proactive, more cost-efficient and more effective on the ground,' she said.
For example, scientists can use eBird data to determine where installing a solar array is least likely to affect a sensitive bird population, or where a conservation measure — say, adding more trees — can benefit humans as well as birds.
'Despite the bad news, I think that because we have more information than ever and knowledge is power, we do have reason to hope,' Rodewald said.
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Business Journals
5 hours ago
- Business Journals
Building a greener, smarter future
San Leandro's Gate510 campus has quickly become a hub for companies shaping the future of multiple industries. Air Protein, Coreshell and Lyten are among the innovators leveraging the infrastructure and support for makers in San Leandro. Read on to discover how they're redefining what's possible. AIR PROTEIN NASA-inspired research drives sustainable food production A food production facility that once made such American breakfast innovations as Eggo Waffles and Pop-Tarts is aiming to change the way we eat once again, this time with a sustainable twist. Air Protein opened its first Air Protein Farm on San Leandro's Gate510 campus in 2023, where it does just what its name suggests: make high-quality protein out of particles in the air. Co-founders Lisa Dyson and John Reed were inspired by research from the early days of NASA, which explored ways astronauts could produce food on long space journeys. They built on that work, creating a method for growing protein in cultures, similar to the production of yogurt, cheese, and wine. The result is a neutral-tasting protein flour that can be turned into or used in any food. 'We and our investors believe we've cracked the code on making functional ingredients that have a great cost profile,' Dyson said. 'Many companies are also looking for ingredients that are resource-efficient, and that's what we do. We help CPG [Consumer Packaged Goods] companies make great products for consumers.' In choosing San Leandro, Air Protein put the company's headquarters in a location with a history of food manufacturing. Dyson said the Air Protein project team and the landlord worked closely with the City throughout the process to obtain the necessary permits for building out the facility. 'With this particular site and location, there is fermentation happening with other companies around us,' Dyson said. These include 21st Amendment Brewery and Drake's Brewing. 'That made this more appealing than some other options.' The San Leandro Air Protein Farm produces samples of its protein in large enough quantities for food product companies to use in their product development. Next up will be a larger commercial facility to support full-scale use of Air Protein in food for grocery shelves. 'That's the most exciting thing about 2025,' Dyson said. 'We're turning the science innovation that NASA started in the 1960s and 1970s, completing the mission and making it a reality.' LYTEN San Leandro lands new battery cell production facility Every once in a while, an opportunity comes along that is just too good to pass up. That's what happened to Lyten, a San Jose-based company specializing in supermaterial applications, which focuses on commercializing lithium-sulfur batteries as a high-performance, low-cost alternative to lithium-ion technology. The company was in the process of planning a gigafactory in Nevada and thinking about its next major production facility outside California when the perfect location popped up in San Leandro, said Chief Battery Technology Officer Celina Mikolajczak. A lithium-metal battery maker had closed, leaving behind a manufacturing space and equipment that was immediately of interest. Lyten snapped up the equipment and 119,000-square-foot lease at Gate510 that November. Mikolajczak expects to have a 100-megawatt-hour production line in San Leandro up and running in 2026. 'We were planning and tooling for a big factory, and then the opportunity to take over the lease in San Leandro occurred,' she said. 'We said, 'Wow, that's a big enough space. There's enough dry room capability there. There's enough power. We could get one high-volume production line running there and learn a hell of a lot and get a jump on being ready for a bigger factory.' Lyten's San Leandro site will deliver lithium-sulfur battery cells for multiple types of energy storage customers, including defense and drone applications. In doing so, the company will help U.S. manufacturers keep more of their supply chain close to home. 'With lithium-sulfur, we can develop the technology and commercialize it in the U.S. and be part of creating the next wave of manufacturing in this country,' Mikolajczak said. CORESHELL New battery anodes boost domestic supply chain Batteries have quickly become a crucial component in efforts to transition from fossil fuels to sustainable forms of energy. But the batteries most widely used in electric vehicles and other key applications today come with limitations. San Leandro-based Coreshell is one of the innovators working to change this. The company has developed a battery anode that uses 100% domestically sourced metallurgical silicon instead of graphite, allowing it to store significantly more energy without relying on a risky supply chain. 'We're replacing something that is produced only in China with silicon that is produced widely here in the United States and in Europe,' said Co-founder and CEO Jonathan Tan. 'It can be even more cost-effective.' Founded in 2017, Coreshell relocated its development work to the Gate510 campus in 2020 and opted to remain in the city when it was time to expand into the first stages of production in 2024. It moved across the street to another building on the Gate510 campus, where a team of approximately 50 people has a four megawatt-hour pilot production facility that produces its first battery cells ready for commercialization in electric vehicles. 'We're proposing a foundational change in battery chemistry by replacing graphite — one of the largest single materials in a battery — with silicon,' Tan said. 'It is imperative that we show the market how that will help people power their daily lives.' San Leandro was ideal because it offered a combination of the necessary infrastructure — including access to the heavy power Coreshell needs for manufacturing — and efficient permitting and other City support, Tan said. A San Leandro headquarters also gives Coreshell access to a strong talent pipeline from throughout the Bay Area's growing battery expertise. San Leandro Mayor Juan Gonzalez, and members of the City staff visited with Coreshell this spring. It was an opportunity for Tan and his team to share more about their work and talk about how the City can support the company's future growth. 'To have a receptive audience with the Mayor, the City Manager's office and others in San Leandro, it shows that they are invested in helping companies like Coreshell grow and be successful,' Tan said. 'We value that partnership and how they are actively working to find ways to support the success and growth of companies like ours.'
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
Scientist Jane Wu's brilliant career is an inspiration ... her tragic death is a warning
[Source] The death of a Chinese American scientist following the shutdown of her laboratory has become a tragic warning on the mental health toll facing Asian American scholars under unjust scrutiny and institutional abandonment. Dr. Jane Wu, an accomplished neuroscientist at Illinois' Northwestern University, was far more than the bleak headlines that now bear her name. For nearly four decades, she dedicated her life to American science, building a distinguished career that focused on RNA splicing, neurodegenerative diseases and tumor development. A life cut short Wu died by suicide on July 10, 2024. Prior to the unfortunate event, she held an endowed research professorship for more than a decade at Northwestern's Feinberg School of Medicine. There, she led the Wu Lab — a research group she started after completing her postdoctoral training at Harvard in 1994. Her daughter, Elizabeth Rao, paints a picture of a woman whose scientific brilliance was matched only by her warmth as a mother and mentor. 'Our Mom was a big hearted and deeply loving parent, a world-class scientist, a resilient cancer survivor and gentle soul,' Rao tells The Rebel Yellow. 'She always considered her lab members and her collaborators, part of our extended family. As the lead research scientist who built and led the Wu Lab, she was a generous team leader and caring mentor.' Trending on NextShark: Far from the strict 'tiger mom' stereotype, Wu created a nurturing environment for her children while pursuing groundbreaking research. 'She made sure that my brother and I had got not only a great education but also got to do all the stuff of a quintessential American childhood. Sports, road trips, dance classes, choir, you name it,' Rao recalls. Wu loved music, particularly Tanya Tucker and Teresa Teng. Some of Rao's best memories with her mother are 'singing along with her to their albums — her, elegantly and me, melodramatically.' Trending on NextShark: The trajectory of Wu's life changed in 2019 when the National Institutes of Health (NIH) began investigating her for contacts related to China, part of a broader federal effort to investigate foreign influence at U.S. research institutions. Though her work included occasional international contacts in China as well as Argentina, Canada, the U.K. and other countries — and despite never being charged with any wrongdoing — Northwestern reportedly began limiting her ability to work during the investigation. Seeking justice through pain The Wu family's lawsuit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court on June 23, alleges a pattern of discrimination that began during the NIH investigation. 'Before May 23, 2024, my mom had never been in a psychiatric ward, much less forced into one by her bosses,' Rao shares. 'Northwestern's treatment of her, both on the day they evicted her from her own office and prior to that, created a horrible shock that damaged her health even more than they already had. No employer should ever treat their workers like that.' Rao argues that Northwestern should have permitted her mother to continue working during the period when she was incorrectly singled out and faced unfair examination as an Asian American scientist. The university, she contends, should not have penalized her mother for being wrongfully targeted and subjected to unwarranted scrutiny. Trending on NextShark: The family's frustration extends to the university's continued punishment even after the NIH investigation concluded with no findings of wrongdoing. 'Once NIH's inquiry was over, Northwestern should have given her grants back to her and facilitated her return to full normalcy,' Rao says. 'Northwestern should never have taken away her research space and lab members, not during NIH's inquiry and absolutely not after their inquiry was over.' Instead, Northwestern blocked Wu's return to research and pushed her out of the faculty, according to the family's complaint. In May 2024, university and Chicago police allegedly forcibly removed Wu from her lab, handcuffed her and had her admitted to a psychiatric facility without consulting her family or outside doctors. Trending on NextShark: 'A great injustice was done to my mom,' Rao concludes. 'My mom's death is a tragic loss for our family, for the Asian American community and for American science.' Community under siege Wu's story reflects a troubling pattern affecting Asian American scholars nationwide, according to Gisela Perez Kusakawa, executive director of the Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF). 'Discrimination and isolation are fairly common for Asian Americans and have increased in recent years, in part due to the coronavirus pandemic and the China Initiative,' Kusakawa tells The Rebel Yellow. 'Among Asian Americans in general, instances of discrimination are linked to the development of major depressive disorder, anxiety and other mood disorders. The odds of psychological distress are higher for non-male Asian Americans.' The first Trump administration launched the China Initiative in 2018 as a means to counter China's theft of American technology and trade secrets through prosecutions of scholars and researchers, particularly those with ties to Beijing. The Biden administration ended the program in 2022, but damage to the Asian American academic community had already been done. Trending on NextShark: The mental health implications are particularly severe for older Chinese Americans, where discrimination has 'also been shown to increase the likelihood of suicidal ideation,' Kusakawa notes. In academic settings, the impact has been profound and measurable. 'Many Chinese American scholars have reported disengagement from research and fear when applying for federal funding, in part due to rising tensions with China and anti-Chinese rhetoric from public leaders,' she says. The problem is compounded by systemic underrepresentation in academic leadership. 'Though Asian Americans have a significant presence in research institutions, they are less represented in senior positions than white colleagues and those from other ethnic minorities,' Kusakawa observes. 'Asian American women hold significantly fewer leadership positions than their male colleagues.' 'This lack of representation in university leadership could make it more difficult for Asian American scholars to report and address problems that arise,' she adds. A path forward Amid the devastating loss of Wu, Kusakawa sees potential for meaningful change if institutions learn from the tragedy. 'It is important to recognize the McCarthy environment that pervaded the country and escalated under the China Initiative,' she says, referencing xenophobic fears prevalent during the Cold War. 'The Asian American scholar community was living in a climate of fear and stigma. As such, it became all the more important under such a climate for universities to support their Asian American faculty and students.' The difference between institutional support and abandonment can be literally life-changing, as demonstrated by contrasting cases. 'Many Asian American faculty, scientists, researchers and students, especially those of Chinese descent, face heightened scrutiny and unjust investigations. We have seen the tragic consequences of a lack of institutional support during such treatment,' Kusakawa recalls. However, she points to a positive example where institutional support changed outcomes entirely. Dr. Gang Chen became a target of the China Initiative in 2021 over allegations of hiding his connections to China. His charges, however, were dropped in 2022. Kusakawa believes Chen's situation was unusual as MIT and faculty members stood by him during the investigation, which helped shift media narratives in his favor. Unlike many others who face job loss or academic ostracism during such investigations, Chen was able to return to his position after the case ended, benefiting from the institutional and collegial support he received throughout the ordeal. For universities seeking to prevent future tragedies, Kusakawa advocates for specific, actionable reforms. 'To similarly mitigate the negative impacts of unjust scrutiny and xenophobia, universities should work towards providing safeguards and best practices for the treatment of their faculty, including transparently communicating with their faculty about ongoing investigations and what the allegations are,' she recommends, adding that institutions should establish internal systems with proper due process safeguards that enable scholars to challenge accusations and present additional evidence regarding the truthfulness of claims made against them. The call for change extends beyond procedural reforms to fundamental cultural shifts within academic institutions. 'This moment calls for renewed collaboration between universities and advocates to build environments rooted in trust and care,' Kusakawa stresses. 'Academic institutions have the opportunity to lead by example — by strengthening mental health resources, reaffirming commitments to civil rights and cultivating cultures where every scholar feels valued.' Northwestern University, for its part, has denied the allegations in the Wu family's suit and plans to file a motion to dismiss the case. If you or anyone you know is at risk of self-harm, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides 24-hour support at 1-800-273-8255. This story is part of The Rebel Yellow Newsletter — a bold weekly newsletter from the creators of NextShark, reclaiming our stories and celebrating Asian American voices. Subscribe free to join the movement. If you love what we're building, consider becoming a paid member — your support helps us grow our team, investigate impactful stories, and uplift our community. Subscribe here now! Download the NextShark App: Want to keep up to date on Asian American News? Download the NextShark App today!


Los Angeles Times
13 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
The fight to keep space shuttle Discovery at the Smithsonian: L.A. arts and culture this weekend
The Smithsonian Institution has faced pressure from President Trump since March when he issued his 'Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History' executive order, which demanded an end to federal funding for exhibitions and programs based on racial themes that 'divide Americans.' Amid Trump's headline-grabbing gambits to remake the landscape of American arts and culture into a more MAGA-friendly image, another challenge to the Smithsonian flew largely under the radar. In early April, Texas Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz introduced the Bring the Space Shuttle Home Act, which proposed to move the space shuttle Discovery from the National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia to a spot near NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. The act was folded into President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill, which Trump signed into law on July 4. NASA gifted the Discovery to the Smithsonian in 2012 and it has been in Virginia ever since. Discovery launched on its maiden voyage in 1984 and flew 39 Earth-orbital missions — more than any other orbiter. The Smithsonian considers it a key part of its collection and issued a statement to Congress objecting to the proposed move. According to the Hill, the statement noted that 'the case against relocating the orbiter Discovery is both philosophical and practical … It would be unprecedented for Congress to remove an object from a Smithsonian collection and send it somewhere else.' In late June, the Houston Business Journal reported that the Smithsonian estimated the cost of moving Discovery to Texas would be between $300 and $400 million, far more than the $85 million cited by Cornyn and Cruz in Trump's massive reconciliation and spending package. Since the passage of of the bill, the fight over Discovery has heated up. Earlier this week, Rep. Joe Morelle, a Democrat from New York, introduced an amendment to keep Discovery at the Smithsonian. The Appropriations Committee agreed to the amendment, which now moves to the Rules Committee before going to the House floor for a vote. 'The forced removal and relocation of the Space Shuttle Discovery from the Smithsonian Institution's Air and Space Museum is inappropriate, wasteful, and wrong. Neither the Smithsonian nor American taxpayers should be forced to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on this misguided effort. I am grateful for the bipartisan support of my colleagues on this amendment and hope we can continue working together throughout the remainder of the Appropriations process to keep a treasured Smithsonian artifact where it belongs,' Morelle said in a statement sent to The Times. The Smithsonian did not respond to a request for comment on the evolving situation, or its quest to keep the Discovery in its collection. I'm arts and culture writer Jessica Gelt, hoping to orbit a positive news cycle someday soon. Here's your arts and culture roundup for this week. The Corpse FlowerThe infamously stinky plant, formally Titan Arum (Amorphophallus titanum), 'produces the largest unbranched inflorescence in the plant kingdom' and is known for its pungent aroma. 'Green Boy,' one of 43 corpse flowers in the Huntington's collection may have already blossomed by the time you read this, so be sure to check it out as the bloom lasts only 24-48 hours. 'It smells pretty bad,' Brandon Tam, the Huntington's associate curator of orchids,' told Times summer intern Aspen Anderson in her story on the event. But for those who prefer to avoid the full olfactory experience, there's a livestream.10 a.m.–5 p.m., closed Tuesday. The Huntington, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino. Father John MistyJosh Tillman, whose Misty persona was described in a 2017 profile by Times pop music critic Mikael Wood as 'a convivial (if polarizing) chronicler of society's growing absurdity,' is joined by Lucinda Williams and Hamilton Leithauser for an eclectic evening of indie rock and folk.7 p.m. Friday. Greek Theatre, 2700 N. Vermont Ave. Phasmagorica: The Room Between WorldsLimited to nine audiences members at a time, this 'experiential paranormal encounter' proudly boasts that it is not a performance and does not use actors. Instead, sacred geometry, occult methodology, immersive light phenomena and 13 speakers of Dolby Atmos sound produce 'a fully-contained, tactile installation designed to provoke contact.' Guests are guided through a séance featuring spirit communication via arcane instruments and trigger objects, fortune-telling and psychological thresholds.7:30 and 9:15 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Heritage Square Museum, 3800 Homer St. Austin Powers triple feature Yeah, baby! The academy's 'Summer of Camp' series continues with the shagadelic trilogy of 'Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery' (1997), 'Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me' (1999) and 'Austin Powers in Goldmember' (2002). Director Jay Roach will be in attendance.2 p.m. Saturday. Academy Museum, 6067 Wilshire Blvd. Billy WoodberryThe MOCA Artist Film Series presents the L.A. Rebellion filmmaker's 2016 feature, 'And when I die, I won't stay dead,' a documentary on the life of Beat poet Bob Kaufman. Best known for 'Bless Their Little Hearts' (1983), Woodberry assembled archival footage and photos, interviews with Kaufman's contemporaries, and readings from Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis and others, plus a jazz soundtrack featuring Billie Holiday and Ornette Coleman.3 p.m. Saturday. Museum of Contemporary Art, 250 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. Queens of SoulThe peacocks and peahens will not be the only ones strutting and preening at the L.A. County Arboretum when the Pasadena Pops performs this salute to such divas as Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, Whitney Houston, Alicia Keys, Adele and others, featuring hit songs such as 'Respect,' 'Proud Mary, 'I'm Every Woman' and 'Rolling in the Deep.'7:30 p.m. Saturday. L.A. County Arboretum, 301 N. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia. Black Pasifika: Deep Sea ProtocolsWriter, relational architect and guerrilla theorist Neema Githere hosts this program exploring the links between climate crisis and technology across Melanesia. Githere will provide context and discuss deep-sea protocols and the consequences of technological accelerationism on sea-stewarding peoples from the Swahili coast to Melanesia with their grandfather, Dr. Gilbert Githere, founder of the Mombasa-Honolulu Sister City society. The filmic essay 'AI: African Intelligence' by Manthia Diawara searches for a more humane and spiritual control of algorithms. Ahead of the program, from 10 a.m.–6 p.m., the time-based somatic works 'Oceanic Refractions' and 'Cries From the Moana' will be shown on monitors in LACMA's Smidt Welcome Plaza.6 p.m. Sunday. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd. L.A. Phil at the Hollywood BowlIn a week of debuts, Italian conductor Daniele Rustioni, recently appointed principal guest conductor of the Metropolitan Opera, makes his Los Angeles Philharmonic bow leading the orchestra through Mendelssohn's 'Violin Concerto' (with soloist Veronika Eberle), selections from Berlioz and Liszt, and Respighi's 'Pines of Rome.' Two nights later, former Dudamel Fellow and current Boston Symphony Orchestra assistant conductor Anna Handler makes her first Bowl appearance, leading the Phil in the world premiere of Eunike Tanzil's 'Ode to the City of Dreams,' Mozart's 'Concerto for Flute and Harp' and Richard Strauss' 'Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30.' Mendelssohn, 8 p.m. Tuesday; Tanzil, Mozart and Strauss, 8 p.m. Thursday. Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave. — Kevin Crust Times art critic Christopher Knight was thrilled to see the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's exhibit 'Realms of the Dharma: Buddhist Art Across Asia.' Currently installed in the temporary exhibition spaces of the Resnick Pavilion, the show consists of roughly 180 objects that have been in storage for years after being boxed up in preparation for the demolition of the museum's original campus and the debut of the new David Geffen Galleries. Catch the exhibit now, before it gets stowed away again, writes Knight, adding that it 'includes some of the most splendid sculptures and paintings' in the museum's permanent collection. Times classical music critic Mark Swed hopped a plane to Austria and headed for the small town of Bregenz, where a major arts festival that attracts more than 250,000 visitors in July and August and boasts a $31-million budget is hosted. The biggest draw at the bustling festival is opera, and the biggest show is a production staged each year on the Seebühne — a massive stage built directly on Lake Constance with bleachers to accommodate an audience of 7,000. 'This year's 'Die Freischütz,' Carl Maria von Weber's early 19th century opera about a huntsman who makes a very bad deal with the devil for a magic bullet, opened last week and runs through Aug. 17,' writes Swed. 'All 27 performances are expected to sell out as usual for the kind of spectacle that exists nowhere else.' Read all about the world-famous technical and artistic extravaganza, here. Johanna Burton is leaving the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, to become the new director of the Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania, ICA Philadelphia announced Thursday. Burton became MOCA's first female director in 2021 after its recently named Artistic Director Klaus Biesenbach unceremoniously left his position for a job in Berlin. Burton's departure makes her the fifth director to leave MOCA since 2008. Burton will fill the role at ICA Philadelphia left vacant by Zoë Ryan who exited the museum to take over leadership at the UCLA Hammer Museum in Westwood after its longtime director Ann Philbin retired. MOCA did not respond to a request for comment about Burton's departure. Architect Paul R. Williams' L.A. building, Founders Church of Religious Science, is among five structures across the country picked to receive funding through the Getty Foundation's Conserving Black Modernism Initiative. Announced earlier this week by the foundation and the National Trust for Historic Preservation's American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, the money will support preservation plans for the buildings and further train caretakers in maintenance best practices. Another overarching goal is to increase public awareness of the architects' legacies and the buildings they created. The other four buildings receiving Getty funds are the ITC Administration Building in Atlanta, designed by Edward C. Miller; First Church of Deliverance in Chicago, an adaptive reuse project redesigned by Walter T. Bailey; McKenzie Hall in Eugene, Ore., designed by DeNorval Unthank Jr.; and Vassar College's 2500 New Hackensack building in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., by Jeh Vincent Johnson. Artist Amy Sherald has canceled her upcoming solo show, 'American Sublime,' at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery, citing censorship after she was told the museum wanted to exclude a painting featuring a transgender woman holding a torch in a pose meant to evoke the Statue of Liberty. Sherald was told that the museum did not want to provoke a reaction from President Trump, who has brought anti-trans ideals into the federal government. In a statement to the New York Times, Sherald wrote, 'It's clear that institutional fear shaped by a broader climate of political hostility toward trans lives played a role.' The Ebell of Los Angeles has named Camille Schenkkan its chief operating officer. The nonprofit organization, which dedicates itself to 'inspiring women and fostering community through arts, culture and education,' was founded in 1894 and occupies one of the city's most storied historic buildings — a campus and theater designed in 1927 by architect Sumner Hunt. Schenkkan arrives at the Ebell from Center Theatre Group, where she served as deputy managing director. Republican members of the House Appropriations Committee introduced a proposal earlier this week to rename the Opera House at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington after the first lady, Melania Trump. — Jessica Gelt Marlee Matlin shared her favorite Sunday activities with The Times — including a stop for pizza in Eagle Rock (hint: it's a classic). See you there!