Latest news with #Angeleno
Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Whether it's canine massages or ‘pawdicures,' Los Angeles pups get five-star treatment
It's no secret. Los Angeles loves dogs. Everywhere you go is crawling with dogs, and they are living their best lives. I even wrote about it in a previous edition of this newsletter. I've certainly seen dogs seated inside restaurants and being pushed around in strollers. But I've never seen one at a spa. I've also never heard of a dog having more frequent-flier miles than some humans. Canines enjoy these things and more in The Times' newest series, Dog Days of Summer, in which my colleagues dig into the city's obsession with dogs and the most extravagant things L.A. humans do for their furry best friends. Wellness for dogs mirrors the spectrum of wellness treatments for humans — be they relaxing and rejuvenating or dubious — my colleague Deborah Vankin writes. Deborah followed Dug the dog around for a week as he experienced L.A.'s dog wellness scene, including sound baths for hounds, canine massage, 'pawdicures' and reiki meditation for mutts. Dug, an 8-year-old golden retriever, was chauffeured to his spa treatment in a presidential Cadillac stretch limo. While at Collar & Comb in West Hollywood, he received a blueberry facial and exfoliating mud mask from the same professionals who groom the dogs of Gwyneth Paltrow, Mark Wahlberg and Dakota Johnson. And that's just on the pampering end of the spectrum. There are also vet-affiliated treatments including acupuncture, hydrotherapy and chiropractic care. As self-care for humans becomes more popular, there are more wellness products and services being developed for dogs. Plus, an increasing number of pet owners now view their dogs as children, 'Pet Buzz' radio show co-host Charlotte Reed told Deborah. 'People are worried about the world. So a lot of people are not having children — and they're treating their dogs like kids,' Reed said. 'Dogs — like kids — are a reflection of your lifestyle. If you're into health and wellness, that's what you want your dog to be into.' Be careful not to project your human desires onto animals that don't share the same tastes, warns American Kennel Club chief veterinarian Dr. Jerry Klein. 'A lot of this stuff, it's geared to the humans. But what we derive pleasure and relaxation from might create the opposite for a dog that might not want to be touched or handled. People should get their vet's opinion, always, before doing anything that might affect the dog's health.' But who are we kidding? That's not going to stop Angeleno pet owners from taking their dogs for deep-tissue massages and inflammation-fighting red light therapy. Here's more from our series on extreme dog pampering, in case your furry besties aren't already participating: Email us at essentialcalifornia@ and your response might appear in the newsletter this week. Today's great photo is from Times photographer Gina Ferazzi at the home of Nauzhae' Drake who has four children all born on the same date, July 7. Jim Rainey, staff writerDiamy Wang, homepage internIzzy Nunes, audience internKevinisha Walker, multiplatform editorAndrew Campa, weekend writerKarim Doumar, head of newsletters How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@ Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on
Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
This hidden rural oasis makes for a splendid day trip — and it's just an hour from L.A.
Ask a random Angeleno to find Piru, Fillmore or Santa Paula on a California map and odds are they'll shrug and give up. Blame it on location, location, location. Collectively known as the Heritage Valley, these small towns hidden on the stretch of Highway 126 are often ignored and bypassed by L.A. travelers bound for Ojai or Ventura. But if you take the time to stop in this rural oasis, you'll find miles of citrus groves, heaps of history and truly tasty Mexican food. Yes, there are more tractors than Tesla Superchargers in this region — that's part of the draw. This, you realize, is what Southern California looked like before suburbia moved in. Heritage Valley was previously known as Santa Clara River Valley, which is what the locals still call it. In 1998, a committee was assembled to help bring in tourists, and the new, jazzier label was coined. It was an improvement over an earlier, clunkier nickname, Santa Clara River Valley Heritage Trail, which sounded more like a hiking path. It wasn't the only title created for the sake of marketing. The town of Santa Paula has always proclaimed itself 'the citrus capital of the world' for its abundance of lemons and oranges. Fillmore, not to be outdone, picked a gem: 'The last, best small town,' which inspired a play of the same name that's set there. Piru was already born with a compelling handle when its devoutly religious founder proclaimed it as 'The Second Garden of Eden' in 1887. Today, it's better known for its popular outdoor recreational area, Lake Piru. (After 'Glee' actress Naya Rivera drowned in the lake in 2020, swimming was temporarily banned. It's now allowed, but only in designated areas between Memorial Day and Labor Day.) If you go back hundreds of years before Lake Piru was created by the construction of the Santa Felicia Dam, you'd see Chumash villages dotting the valley. Then came the Spanish expeditions in the late 18th century, followed by ranchos that used the land for sheep and cattle. Soon the railroads arrived, and then an oil boom. The valley's eventual transformation into an agricultural mecca was hastened by a Mediterranean climate that proved ideal for crops — first citrus, then avocados. But along with the bounty there were disasters, both natural and man-made, including the 1994 Northridge Earthquake and the catastrophic flood from the 1928 St. Francis Dam collapse. Numerous fires also have made the valley live up to a Times article that called it 'among the most dangerous wind and fire corridors in Southern California.' Yet through it all, the population has steadily grown and more travelers are discovering the area for its lively gatherings (the Santa Paula Citrus Music Festival took place last week), new attractions (check out the 17-mile Sunburst Railbike experience) and stunning hikes. Here's where to go on a road trip along Highway 126.
Los Angeles Times
17-07-2025
- Health
- Los Angeles Times
L.A. homeless population drops again. And yes, there's reason for hope
For nearly two decades, an official count confirmed what all of us could see: more and more people living on sidewalks, streets and other marginal spaces all over Los Angeles County. So it felt like only good news this week when the county's homeless agency announced a 4% decline in the homeless population and a 10% decline in those living in the street. To go a bit deeper than the numbers, I got hold of my colleague, Doug Smith. A deep thinker who's covered every big story in L.A., Doug has become The Times' foremost expert on homelessness. Here's what the essential Doug Smith had to say: What did you make of the latest figures? I expected it. I drive around a lot, as does [City Hall reporter] Dave Zahniser. We both have seen the difference made by [the city's] Inside Safe and [the county's] Pathway Home programs. Many of the largest encampments have been eliminated. Should we be hopeful that L.A. is finally tackling this problem? The [city and county] programs are very expensive and are barely two years old. The big question is how much more they will be able to expand, or even maintain the number of hotel and motel beds they now have. Does Mayor Karen Bass, or any other individual or group, deserve credit for this decline? She does, but she's not the only one. One of the most important initiatives is Housing for Health, a program created by L.A. County Department of Health Services when Mitch Katz was running it. It targets frequent users of the public health system. Judge Carter has forced the county to create 3,000 new mental health beds (still in the works). [California Community Foundation Chief Executive] Miguel Santana is now on the newly-created housing board that will be Proposition HHH on steroids. Janey Rountree at the California Policy Lab at UCLA has done more than anyone else to make usable information out of the oozing mash of data coming out of homeless services agencies and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. What are a few things that will be needed to keep moving people off the street? We are finally, mercifully, moving beyond the ideology of 'Housing First' as the one and only solution. The system has improved, but is still stuck in the binary thinking of interim vs. permanent housing. When you visit encampments, you quickly identify people for whom neither of those is the right first step. Some need detox and drug treatment, some long-term mental health treatment and some jail. The first two are woefully scarce, so they tend to all end up in jail. There are several valiant private enterprises out there trying to figure out a conventional financing model to build affordable housing. I hope they figure it out. Is there anything the average Angeleno can do? They can pat themselves on the back already for doubling the sales tax. Even if the recent trend continues, it's going to be a long way to 'Problem solved!' Try to be equally empathetic with the people living on the street and the people whose houses and businesses they live in front of. Finally, don't be too harsh in judging those in positions of responsibility who have made only incremental progress. Yes, they're imperfect. But all they have is local levers to budge a problem that has macro social and economic causes. The 2025 Emmy nominations have been announced. The best comedy category is stacked, with fan favorites including 'Abbott Elementary' and 'The Bear.' Who should win? Email us at essentialcalifornia@ and your response might appear in the newsletter this week. On July 17, 1969, the Apollo 11 crew continued their historic journey to the moon, which launched from NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. the day before. On July 20, two of its astronauts became the first people to step on the surface of the moon. For the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, The Times measured the mission by heartbeat. Jim Rainey, staff writerDiamy Wang, homepage internIzzy Nunes, audience internKevinisha Walker, multiplatform editorAndrew Campa, Sunday writerKarim Doumar, head of newsletters How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@ Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on
Eater
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Eater
Susanna MacManus, Longtime Owner of LA's Original Taqueria Cielito Lindo, Dies at Age 82
Susanna MacManus, a co-owner of Olvera Street institutions taquería Cielito Lindo and restaurant Las Anitas, died in her sleep at the age of 82 on Wednesday, June 25, due to complications from Alzheimer's disease. For decades, MacManus — a second-generation Angeleno — was the face of Cielito Lindo, a taqueria where most people would order the combination number one — an order of two beef taquitos drowned in a complex avocado salsa and a side of refried beans with melted cheese. Just after the founding of the city of Los Angeles in the 1780s, the area that became known as Olvera Street (Placita Olvera) was a thriving commercial hub until the 1920s, when it began to decline. Los Angeles socialite Christine Sterling led the revival of the area in 1930. It was there that McManus's grandmother Aurora Guerrero eventually opened a small retail shop on Placita Olvera and later sold food out of a neighboring stall. Guerrero, who immigrated from Huanusco, Zacatecas, arrived in Los Angeles with her children to search for her husband, a bracero who had come to the U.S. three years prior. Sterling asked her to come up with a different recipe than what was being served at other restaurants on the street, and Guerrero settled on taquitos covered in her original avocado sauce. The dish earned her the chance to open Cielito Lindo in 1934, named after a Mexican folk song popularized by the great mariachi singers. As for the taquitos, their rise to fame was swift in a segregated Los Angeles, where many white Angelenos and tourists alike got their first taste of Mexican culture. Taco USA author Gustavo Arellano has argued that this was the birthplace of America's interest in tacos, and Los Angeles became an epicenter of Mexican American cuisine. Guerrero's daughter Ana Natalia Guerrero went on to open Las Anitas in Olvera Street and other locations. On June 12, 1943, Ana Natalia gave birth to Susanna MacManus in Lincoln Heights, as Cielito Lindo was celebrating nine years in business. MacManus eventually married Carlos Eduardo MacManus, not too long after his arrival in Los Angeles from Mexico City in the 1970s. Susanna received a bachelor's degree at Cal State Los Angeles and went on to earn a master's degree in Spanish at UCLA. She taught Introduction to Spanish at Occidental College in Eagle Rock in the 1980s and 1990s while completing coursework for her Ph.D. 'She was teaching full time and raising us, and never got around to writing her dissertation,' says Carlos Eduardo Jr. Ana Natalia died in 2000, and the following year Susanna stepped in to run Cielito Lindo along with her sister, Diana, who served as the CFO. Her other sister, Marianna, became a silent partner in the restaurant. Susanna MacManus in her youth. I interviewed Susanna for my 2017 book, LA Mexicano, getting to experience her sharp wit and gregarious nature firsthand over in-person interviews and multiple phone calls. She joined me for some events, including my book release at Vroman's in Pasadena, where her team served Cielito Lindo's iconic taquitos in avocado sauce. To this day, it's difficult to fathom how easily she just shared the recipe for the salsa, something so good that customers slurp it up from their plates and order it to-go. I remember telling her that I knew she couldn't give up the recipe for the salsa, and she just cut me off mid-sentence. 'Why not? I'll give it to you,' said Susanna with one corner of her mouth turned up. That's just the way she was. Susanna continued to come to events to represent Cielito Lindo. 'She loved being on stage, but above all, carrying on the legacy of the family,' says her son Carlos MacManus Jr. 'I loved how she would talk to random people [in line], like this older gentleman with his grandkid and he would say, 'I would come here with my grandfather as a kid and now I'm taking my grandchild,'' says Susunna's daughter Viviana MacManus, 'She was so touched by that importance.' Beyond her profession, MacManus had a thirst for knowledge, and particularly oral histories. According to her children, she had hoped to document the stories of her customers and their connection to Cielito Lindo, and took a keen interest in young people. 'You know, she even tried to be hip with all the lingo with the music, that new music to keep up with the current generation,' says Carlos MacManus Jr. Susanna's outgoing, infectious nature that helped Cielito Lindo stay relevant and help maintain its status as a Mexican American and Los Angeles institution. It may have been Susanna's outgoing, infectious nature that helped Cielito Lindo stay relevant and help maintain its status as a Mexican American and Los Angeles institution. 'I know that for her, the connection to how important Cielito Lindo is in the story of immigrant Los Angeles needed to be preserved,' says Viviana. In 2017, Cielito Lindo was featured on CNN's Parts Unknown, where the late-Anthony Bourdain discussed Mexican culture in Los Angeles with Los Angeles Times columnist Gustavo Arellano and comedian Al Madrigal over plates of olive green salsa. There's a satisfying comfort and simplicity in dredging crispy taquitos into a tart, fruity salsa alongside refried beans and shards of melted cheese. Cielito Lindo's signature recipe was born out of desperate times. Susanna's grandmother, Aurora, on her own as a single mother, crafted an unforgettable recipe and secured a restaurant space for posterity. 'The women always took care of business, and my mom grew up very independent since her mom, Ana Natalia, always worked,' says Carlos Eduardo MacManus Jr. Carlos Eduardo recounted a story that his mother told him that she would pass out in one of Cielito Lindo's booths to take a nap while her mother served locals and tourists their post-church ritual of crispy taquitos slathered in salsa. It held true for me as well after attending the No Kings protest in Downtown Los Angeles on June 14. Many of those who participated in the march ended up at Cielito Lindo for combination #1. Dragging pro-immigration banners, marchers full of hope sought the timeless comfort of Chicano food. One pair of elderly women commented on how there was no place to sit, so I directed them to Las Anitas restaurant, where they could enjoy their taquitos in air conditioning surrounded by an array of pastels. The rally took place less than two weeks before Susanna's passing, which followed the March 2025 death of her younger sister, Diana Robertson. The restaurant will remain in the family as the fourth generation of Cielito Lindo sorts out the details. Seamlessly, the line keeps moving on Olvera Street as another leader of this storied institution becomes etched into the legacy of an immortal combo plate. 'Mom always thought of the restaurant as a sort of nexus or a gathering place of solidarity and community for the immigrant population in Los Angeles,' says Carlos Eduardo MacManus Jr. Susanna MacManus is survived by her husband, Carlos Eduardo MacManus, sister Mariana Robertson, and children Carlos Eduardo MacManus Jr. and Viviana MacManus. Cielito Lindo's taquitos with avocado salsa. Bill Esparza Eater LA All your essential food and restaurant intel delivered to you Email (required) Sign Up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice . 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Los Angeles Times
10-07-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
BofA Directs Additional $1 Million to Los Angeles Nonprofits for Evolving Fire Recovery Needs
Latest Round of Grants Brings BofA Fire-Relief Contributions to Over $3.5 Million As Los Angeles hits six months since the onset of the January wildfires, Bank of America continues to support impacted clients, employees and communities and their evolving recovery needs. Most recently, BofA directed more than $1 million in additional philanthropic capital to local nonprofits that are providing resources, ranging from helping small businesses reopen and families navigate complex legal, insurance and debris removal needs to providing health and trauma counseling, as well as ongoing housing and supplemental food resources. The latest round of giving brings BofA's total fire-related contributions to more than $3.5 million, in addition to helping thousands of its clients and hundreds of employees and their families with their recovery needs. These efforts have been led by Bank of America Business Banking president Raul A. Anaya, an Angeleno who was tapped by company CEO Brian Moynihan to focus full time on leading the company's recovery efforts. 'Having helped clients through disasters over many years, Bank of America has the expertise, capital and connections to help Los Angeles rebuild following this tragedy. From our immediate initial response to the fires in January to pivoting as needs change over time, our aim is to help all Angelenos recover. We're doing this together with the region's incredible public, private and nonprofit sectors,' said Anaya. Small business relief and recovery have been a notable focus for the bank, including $400,000 recently directed to small businesses through three local Community Development Financial Institutions to provide technical coaching and low-cost microloans. This is in addition to funding and support to chambers of commerce and other business support entities, as well as awarding BofA grants directly to impacted small businesses. Additionally, having two of its own financial centers destroyed by the fires in Altadena and the Pacific Palisades, BofA quickly opened a temporary mobile center and has committed to rebuilding new permanent financial centers in those communities. The company also leveraged its vast experience to successfully reunite more than 2,000 safe deposit box clients with their possessions from the two locations that were destroyed by the fires, thanks to a team of nearly 100 vault and safe box experts. Bank of America leaders have also been working with government officials and other leaders on ways to help impacted homeowners and communities through issues ranging from insurance challenges to rebuilding needs. Information was sourced from Bank of America. To learn more, contact
