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Eater
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Eater
These 15-Year-Old Twins Opened a Viral Hot Dog Stand at a Gas Station in Long Beach
Skip to main content Current eater city: Los Angeles Less than a week after opening Glizzy Street, brothers Chazz and Chaze Clemens have a steadfast following and a one-hour wait by Mona Holmes Photography by Mona Holmes Jul 1, 2025, 8:10 PM UTC Less than a week after opening Glizzy Street, brothers Chazz and Chaze Clemens have a steadfast following and a one-hour wait by Mona Holmes Photography by Mona Holmes Jul 1, 2025, 8:10 PM UTC Mona Holmes is an editor at Eater Southern California/Southwest, a regular contributor at KCRW radio, and a 2022 James Beard Award nominee. It's a pleasant June evening on Long Beach Boulevard, slightly north of the 91 Freeway. A speaker blares mostly old-school R&B hits from Luther Vandross and Teena Marie, as well as early Alicia Keys. On the corner of 68th Way is the American Oil Gas Station, owned by the Clemens family. As cars cycle through to fill up on gasoline, a line of people wait patiently for a pair of teenage twin brothers to dress bacon-wrapped hot dogs from Glizzy Street, a new Long Beach hot dog stand, with grilled onions, bell peppers, jalapeños, and a choice of mustard, mayonnaise, or barbecue sauce. A heavy-set and bearded man named Joseph, who requested to not use his full name, waited an hour to take home four generously dressed hot dogs, affectionately called 'glizzies' in slang. 'I'll probably eat the first one in my car,' says Joseph. 'They're that good. But I'll do anything to support these kids.' Though Glizzy Street is a family-run operation, Chazz and Chaze Clemens are the faces of the business. The twins are the ninth and tenth out of 10 siblings. Their older brother Jay and the rest of the Clemens siblings support the entrepreneurial 15-year-olds in their new business endeavor. On the night Eater visited, the Clemens' older sister, Blanche, tended to the stand, too, pouring plastic cups of strawberry agua fresca, along with punch or blue raspberry Kool-Aid, while another brother, Dajahn, replenished supplies. The hot dogs at Glizzy Street are $5, an astounding deal in a region where Los Angeles-style danger dogs, sold from street vendors in prime locations outside of sports stadiums or densely packed nightlife strips, can run for $8 or more, easily. For their summer break, Chazz and Chaze knew that running a business was the way to go. 'My older brother asked what we wanted to do this summer and gave us some suggestions like Six Flags or amusement parks,' says Chazz. 'We wanted to be outside the house and start a business. When [Jay] was a kid, he wanted to do a hot dog business. We used social media to post a video, and then it went viral.' Before starting the business, Chazz and Chaze were required to keep a 3.85 grade point average. The brothers saved $400 after working at the gas station, developed a budget, learned about profits and losses, planned a menu, learned how to cook, secured a hot dog cart, and got to shopping and prepping. After announcing the business launch via social media on June 25, Glizzy Street saw over 213,000 likes on TikTok. On day one, Glizzy Street sold 20 dogs. As of July 1, the team prepares 150, which are typically sold out at the end of the night. Chazz says repeat customers drove from Sacramento, San Diego, and the Inland Empire to try their fantastically stacked hot dogs. Adding another food business felt like a natural fit for the Clemens family. Two years ago, the Clemens family started selling gumbo, peach cobbler, and chicken from inside the gas station. Every night from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m., Glizzy Street sets up outside next to the parking spaces facing 68th Way. Chazz handles the glizzies while Chaze grills the vegetables. 'The first day was really busy,' says Chaze. 'I don't think I was good at cooking on the first day, but I got a lot better.' The father, Bryan Clemens, started working in the oil industry in 1975, first as an oil blender for Lubricating Specialties Company. He later worked as a fuel delivery driver for ARCO, then acquired his first truck and trailer, and eventually two gas stations in Los Angeles County. In the future, Chazz and Chaze want to go into business for themselves. Chazz's favorite subjects are business and math, while Chaze is passionate about history and business. When asked how the name came to be, Chazz didn't hesitate. 'We tried to think of something with three syllables that was funny, something very catchy, and wanted to do something that goes with LA on a busy street.' See More: Dining on a Dime LA Restaurant Openings
Los Angeles Times
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
A Black reimagining of ‘The Great Gatsby' spotlights a hidden L.A. history
In 2022, Kyra Davis Lurie heard a story on KCRW's 'Curbed Los Angeles' about the residents of South L.A.'s West Adams Heights, nicknamed Sugar Hill after a community of wealthy Black Harlemites. Learning about the sumptuous soirees Academy Award-winning actor Hattie McDaniel hosted in her Sugar Hill mansion, Lurie realized there was a hidden Black history waiting for her to unearth. But how she created the enthralling historical novel 'The Great Mann' is a story that owes as much to Lurie's ability to reinvent herself as it does to F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby,' the iconic 20th century critique of the American dream, which provided a touchstone for the novel. Lurie, 52, grew up in Santa Cruz, far from the neighborhood where McDaniel, Louise Beavers, Ethel Waters and other striving Black actors and business pioneers depicted in 'The Great Mann' lived. While she visited family regularly in L.A., Lurie stayed up north, where she penned the light-hearted 2005 book 'Sex, Murder and a Double Latte.' She quickly followed it with two more mysteries. Encouraged by her success, Lurie struck out for L.A. to pursue her dream of getting into a TV writers room. The 2007 writers' strike deferred that goal, so Lurie pivoted to write three erotic novels which, she reveals, were 'critiques of capitalism wrapped in a romance novel.' By the time she heard about Sugar Hill and its famous inhabitants, Lurie was ready to take on a more nuanced challenge. But many literary agents weren't receptive to her change of genre. 'It was as if Marlon James had gone from writing comic books to 'A [Brief] History of Seven Killings,'' she says, name-checking the famous Jamaican writer and his Man Booker Prize-winning novel. But as Lurie continued researching the neighborhood and its history, she knew she had to tell its story, even if using 'The Great Gatsby' as her North Star proved problematic. 'I'm a huge Fitzgerald fan,' Lurie says, 'even though there was a line in that book that always bothered me.' She's referring to Nick Carraway's reference to 'two bucks and a girl' upon seeing three wealthy Black people passing by in a white-chauffeured limousine. 'While it was probably used to get a laugh in 1925, it was demeaning,' Lurie says of the scene. 'In the wake of the Red Summer of 1919 [when a record number of race riots and lynchings of Black Americans occurred in the U.S.] and the destruction of Black Wall Street in the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot, Fitzgerald's language says a lot about America's cultural climate at the time.' Was it subversive to use Fitzerald's most famous novel to frame the story of a vibrant Black enclave whose prosperity rivaled that of Jay Gatsby and his ilk? Absolutely, Lurie says, adding, 'Through a Black reimagining of 'The Great Gatsby,' I tried to marry a family's story with a little-known part of L.A. history.' The family story is told through the lens of Charlie Trammell III, a World War II veteran emotionally scarred by the violence he witnessed on the battlefield and at home in Jim Crow Virginia. Charlie arrives in L.A. looking for a fresh start and to reconnect with his cousin Margie, with whom he shares pivotal childhood experiences. But Margie, who now goes by the more exotic Marguerite, has shaken off the past and married Terrance Lewis, a vice president at Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Co. The Lewises live with their son in Sugar Hill, along with McDaniel, Beavers and Norman O. Houston, the real-life co-founder and president of Golden State Mutual. Soon Charlie is swept into the world of L.A.'s wealthy Black elite, a mix of real Angelenos like John and Vada Somerville, pioneering Black dentists and founders of Central Avenue's famed Dunbar Hotel; singers-actors Waters and Lena Horne; and fictional characters including James Mann, the mysterious Black businessman recently arrived in Sugar Hill who hosts lavish parties unlike anything Charlie's ever seen: 'The air is flavored with flowery perfumes and earthy cigars. All around me diamonds glitter from brown earlobes, gold watches flash against brown wrists. The only things white are the walls.' Mann befriends Charlie, treating the recently discharged veteran to his first hand-tailored suit and fine wine, but soon embroils him in his quest to reunite with Marguerite, the love of his life since the two met some 10 years before when they both lived in the South. Like Fitzgerald's classic juxtaposition of West Egg and East Egg in 'Gatsby,' 'The Great Mann' is about new money versus old — interlopers like Mann and the entertainers versus businesspeople like Houston and the Somervilles. But Lurie 'tried not to invent flaws' in her historical figures by doing her homework, sourcing accounts in Black newspapers, biographies and even letters between Houston and NAACP leader Walter White to depict these frictions. 'The Great Mann' is also about people reinventing themselves amid the realities and contradictions of the time. Like Black actors who played maids but employed Black 'help' in real life. Or the controversy over the stereotypically demeaning roles Black actors depicted. Chief among them was Delilah Johnson, the subservient Black maid portrayed by Beavers in the 1934 film 'Imitation of Life.' It's a debate that's introduced in 'The Great Mann' when Marguerite and Terrance tell Charlie that Beavers' home, where he will be staying and which is much grander than theirs, is paid for 'with Black shame.' Also addressed in the novel are touchier subjects like White's advocacy for the lighter-skinned Horne to get roles over her darker-skinned colleagues like McDaniel or Beavers. But the engine that fires up the plot of 'The Great Mann,' and which sets it apart from 'Gatsby,' is the battle Black creatives and business owners faced to hold onto their properties. A clause placed in thousands of L.A. property deeds in 1902 restricted housing covenants at the time West Adams Heights and many other L.A. County communities were developed, prohibiting homes from being sold to anyone 'other than the white or Caucasian race.' But some white sellers sold property to Black buyers anyway, who then had to fight white groups — like the West Adams Heights Improvement Assn. — to prevent eviction from their own homes. To say how Sugar Hill's Black residents fared in court would spoil the enjoyment of this suspenseful tale, which has put Lurie on a new path in writing historical fiction. She has another project percolating, but for now, she's just grateful to have found her niche. 'It's been a journey,' she says of the twists and turns of her writing life, 'but writing about historical Black lives feels like home to me, what I was meant to do.' Lurie will be discussing 'The Great Mann' at Vroman's Bookstore at 7 p.m. June 10; Diesel, a Bookstore at 6:30 p.m. June 11; and Chevalier's Books at 6:30 p.m. June 19.
Los Angeles Times
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
L.A. Theatre Works, citadel of audio drama, keeps adapting to changing times
The golden age of radio drama is a memory shared by a dwindling few. But the flame has been kept alive in Britain by BBC Radio, in Ireland on RTÉ and in America by L.A. Theatre Works. LATW celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. The company, founded by Susan Albert Loewenberg and seven other women in 1974 during the heyday of the liberation movements, was formed with a strong social conscience. A main focus of the early years was on programs that brought artists into prisons. By the 1980s, Artists in Prison (the company's original name) had become L.A. Theatre Works and was building a reputation for its professional theater productions of classic and contemporary works. A group of prominent actors approached Loewenberg with the idea of forming a classical repertory company. And with these founding members (Ed Asner, René Auberjonois, Robert Foxworth and Marsha Mason among them), LATW transitioned again, this time from conventional theatrical presentations to audio recordings of plays. 'The idea was to form this repertory company and be like the Mark Taper Forum,' Loewenberg recalled. 'For various reasons, it didn't happen. The first big project we did was to record Sinclair Lewis' novel 'Babbitt.' Ed Asner played Babbitt. And it was done like a theater production in the sense that every time there was a character, the role was played by an actor. So we did the whole book and it was a huge success.' 'Babbitt' was recorded at KCRW in Santa Monica in 1987. KCRW founder Ruth Seymour, an early champion, broadcast the recording in serial and marathon formats. 'And then National Public Radio got in touch, and they aired it all over the country,' Loewenberg continued. 'And the whole thing took off and the company solidified around that success. We did many plays with KCRW. We recorded Arthur Miller's 'The Crucible,' which still remains our No. 1 bestseller.' (The titles, Loewenberg explained, 'were originally sold as cassettes, then CDs, then digital downloads, and now both as digital downloads and through LATW's streaming subscription service.') I wasn't in L.A. during the glory days of KCRW Playhouse. I was introduced to the work of the company through the radio program 'The Play's the Thing,' which I would listen to on Saturday nights on KPCC-FM, usually when driving home from the theater. Transfixed by the voices of actors giving life to drama I had stumbled upon on the freeway, I would try to guess the title before an announcer would break in with the information. Curious about the work of a local company that was drawing top-flight actors to ambitious plays, I attended a few offerings in the company's performance series at UCLA's James Bridges Theater, where the programs were recorded before a loyal audience. I liked what I heard, but it struck me that LATW was operating in an adjacent field, complementary but separate. As a theater critic surfeited with plays, radio dramas worked best for me as an unplanned diversion in my car. But listening has never been easier. Technology has transformed audio broadcasting into an on-demand experience. LATW streams its radio show and launched its own podcast in 2017. The podcast series, Loewenberg clarified in an email, 'has allowed LATW to reach a wider and more diverse audience because of the way it's distributed.' Different platforms reach different sectors. 'Audiences have their preferences as to the way they look for content,' she elaborated. 'All these various platforms — radio broadcast, free streaming services like SoundCloud, podcast platforms like Apple, Amazon, iHeart, etc. — have their own audiences. We distribute to over 100 podcast platforms, each with its own constituency.' New competitors have also unexpectedly arose. Audible, the audiobook and podcast service that's a subsidiary of Amazon, has notably entered the theatrical space, commissioning new works from playwrights and presenting productions at the Minetta Lane Theatre in Greenwich Village. Hugh Jackman and Ella Beatty are starring in the U.S. premiere of 'Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes' at the Minetta Lane Theatre. The play by Hannah Moscovitch, which is alternating with Jen Silverman's 'Creditors,' a new take on Strindberg's drama starring Liev Schreiber, represents a unique collaboration between Audible and Together, a company launched by Jackman and the prolific, award-winning producer Sonia Friedman to create new models of intimate and accessible theater. 'I would say they were inspired by us,' Loewenberg said when asked whether she sees Audible as an inspiration or a threat. 'We distribute through Audible and still do, and then they decided they wanted to do plays themselves. And they've done so. They do so many things. I think they realize that recording plays is a lot more expensive and a lot less profitable than recording one person reading a book.' Currently, LATW's program airs weekly on KPFK 90.7 in Southern California and on station affiliates serving over 50 markets nationwide. But the heart and soul of the operation is the archive of play recordings, which Loewenberg, still the company's indefatigable producing director, said is nearing 600 titles. A recently launched monthly subscription service now offers full-range access to a catalog that includes Broadway titles, world classics and docudramas and social justice plays. The extensive collection is a tremendous resource for libraries and schools, as well as for industry professionals and play-lovers. Before I went to New York in April for my annual Broadway spring marathon, I listened to LATW's recording of Arthur Miller's 'The Crucible' to prepare for my encounter with 'John Proctor Is the Villain,' a play by Kimberly Belflower that's in conversation with Miller's classic. I haven't seen a production of 'The Crucible' since Ivo van Hove's deconstruction on Broadway in 2016, which is probably the last time I read the play. While sitting down with my copy of the drama, I found LATW's recording online and followed along with the text as a sterling cast thunderously performed Miller's allegory of a paranoid America that had lost its way during the communist witch hunts of the McCarthy era. LATW has had access to what is arguably the greatest acting pool in the world. Annette Bening, Nathan Lane, George Clooney, Chris Rock, Amy Irving, Alan Alda, Alfred Molina, Jimmy Smits, Matthew Rhys and Charlayne Woodard are just some of the luminaries who have lent their voices to the LATW airwaves. The glittering cast of 'The Crucible,' which included Stacy Keach, Hector Elizondo and Richard Dreyfuss, would be difficult for even a major Broadway revival to match. 'Many of the actors we work with are known by the public for their movie or TV roles, but their background is in theater,' managing director Vicki Pearlson said on a Zoom call with Loewenberg. 'They work with us because they love theater and our format allows them the opportunity to work on plays in a very compact amount of time.' When LATW presents live recordings, the commitment for performers is about a week. For studio recordings, the actors are needed for just three or four days, although the entire process from pre- to post-production takes around three to four months. 'So actors who have very busy schedules can do this thing they love, knowing that the work is going out to the world and will reach new generations of students,' Pearlson said. 'We've worked with more than 2,000 actors over the years and we're obviously adding to our family of artists all the time.' Bringing a stage play to an audio medium requires adjustments. 'The actors have to learn how to do this,' Pearlson said. 'Susan always used to say, 'Half the volume, twice the intensity' at the mic. Of course, we set the environment by the sound design, but it's very much about engaging the story through the dialogue of the play.' Loewenberg said she often would tell actors: 'OK, you're smiling here, but if the smile is not in your voice, I don't know you're smiling.' LATW has never lacked ambition. At one point, the group had extended its live shows to Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Boston. Carving such an independent path in the theater is a Herculean challenge, but the secret of longevity has been the company's adaptability. 'We've had to adapt to many changes,' Loewenberg said. 'And sometimes challenges turned into really positive enhancements.' (A new emergency has just arrived with the Trump administration's decision to cut NEA grants, as my colleague Jessica Gelt recently reported.) When a radio station stopped broadcasting, another stepped into the breach. Live recordings, put on pause during the pandemic, haven't yet restarted. But audiences have been engaged through a panoply of digital programs and new outreach endeavors, such as the play club program with libraries that Loewenberg said she plans to introduce throughout the country. Education is an integral part of LATW's mission. This commitment is clear in the enthusiasm with which Loewenberg reels off canonical titles (by Shakespeare, Jane Austen and John Steinbeck). She is equally ardent when talking about specialized initiatives, such as the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation-sponsored Relativity Series of science-themed plays. Database tools for higher education make it possible to search the archives for plays dealing with specific thematic topics, making it more useful for instruction across disciplines. 'As a nonprofit organization, LATW's purpose is to expand access and to introduce both the general public and students to theater,' Pearlson added in an email follow-up. 'Much of our programming is available for free through radio broadcasts, streaming, podcasts, public libraries, and the distribution of recordings and educational materials to secondary schools across the country. So those who support us by purchasing titles are not just enjoying the best of theater but are helping us bring it to people who may not otherwise have the opportunity to experience the full range of works our library offers.' When asked to name personal highlights of LATW, Loewenberg mentioned her experience of taking the docudrama 'Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers' to China when President Obama and China's President Xi Jinping happened to be holding a bilateral meeting in California. Pearlson joyfully recalled the sight of Neil Simon laughing in the audience during a live recording of his play 'Broadway Bound.' In the divergence of these answers lies the company's extraordinary legacy. Art should delight and instruct, the Roman poet Horace asserted. LATW has taken an auditory approach to this challenge. But the ultimate destination of the work, like that of any long-enduring theater company, has always been the hearts and minds of the audience.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
UTA Partner Jeremy Barber & Comms Vet Chris Day Join KCRW Board
EXCLUSIVE: United Talent Agency Partner and Agent Jeremy Barber and Communications veteran Chris Day have joined the board of Southern California's NPR flagship station KCRW. This move comes in the wake of President Donald Trump issuing an executive order to block federal funding to Public Broadcast Service and National Public Radio. Funding from both government and philanthropic sources has grown increasingly uncertain, while the information landscape is more fragmented than ever. In this environment, stations like KCRW play a key role in bridging divides, elevating underrepresented voices, and providing reliable, in-depth reporting at the local and global levels. More from Deadline Ruth Seymour Dies: Groundbreaking Longtime KCRW General Manager Was 88 KCRW Workers Choose SAG-AFTRA As Their Union Dave Franco & Alison Brie Accused Of Copyright Infringement In 'Together' Suit Barber and Day's addition to the KCRW Foundation signals the Board's heightened commitment to preserving the role of public media as a trusted source of news, music, and thoughtful conversation for all communities. 'This is a critical moment for public broadcasting,' said Jennifer Ferro, President of KCRW. 'At a time when disinformation is rampant, journalism is under constant threat, and arts funding continues to shrink, the value of an independent, nonprofit public media outlet like KCRW cannot be overstated. Jeremy and Chris deeply understand the cultural and civic importance of what we do, and we are incredibly fortunate to welcome their guidance and support.' Barber said, 'Public radio is an essential element of a free and democratic nation. KCRW's commitment to storytelling, music discovery and fostering community is more critical than ever as we begin to rebuild and reimagine the future fabric of Los Angeles and beyond. I am so excited to be joining Jennifer and the board in this fight to preserve and expand the role of KCRW and the public airwaves.' Day added, 'In an era of media consolidation and extreme partisanship, public broadcasting remains one of the last strongholds of truly independent journalism and creative expression. Joining the KCRW board is not just an honor—it's a call to action. We must protect this institution and ensure it thrives for the next generation.' Barber, a Partner in UTA's Motion Picture Literary and Talent Departments, is known for his work repping celebrated filmmakers, actors, and creators. Prior to UTA, Barber was President of Catch 23 and Catch 23 UK, the production and management company which he helped found, and was also head of Production and Acquisitions at Artisan Entertainment. Prior to Hollywood, Barber had stints in law and politics. Of the boards he serves or has served on are the Georgetown University Law School Board of Visitors, the Telluride Film Festival's Esteemed Council of Advisors, the board of The People Concern, and the Independent School Alliance Board of Directors. He was also Chairman of the Board of the UCLA Lab School for almost a decade, where he now maintains an emeritus position. Barber currently is a Storytelling Consultant to Harvard College through Harvard Divinity School's Center for the Study of World Religions' Constellation Project around narratives surrounding the climate crisis. Day is a strategic communications and branding consultant and a 25-year veteran of the media and entertainment industry. He provides advisory services to CEOs, founders and creative entrepreneurs and represents leading companies and organizations across entertainment and media. Prior to forming his consultancy, Day served as Head of Corporate Communications for UTA from 1999 until 2017. During his tenure, he built and led the agency's widely respected corporate communications department, overseeing all external and internal communications during the agency's growth into a global top three player. He also co-established the UTA Foundation and the company's research and analytics department and was heavily involved in the firm's corporate consulting practice, among other initiatives. Prior to UTA, Day was VP of film & TV comms firm Bumble Ward & Associates where he represented corporate clients in television. Day has also championed causes that reflect the diverse voices and values of the broader community, including his work for Rideback RISE, the non-profit content accelerator that supports diverse filmmakers and creators in making commercial film and television to drive narrative change. KCRW 89.9 FM is home to such shows as Morning Becomes Eclectic, Press Play, Good Food, The Treatment, and The Business and serves as an incubator for new talent and ideas. A community service of Santa Monica College, KCRW reaches millions around the globe through its on-air broadcasts, podcasts, events, and digital content. Best of Deadline TV Show Book Adaptations Arriving In 2025 So Far Book-To-Movie Adaptations Coming Out In 2025 2025-26 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Tonys, Emmys, Oscars & More
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
What more than $3 billion in federal funding would do to make LA's 2028 Summer Games ‘car free'
Planning to attend events at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles? Better hope a request for $3.2 billion in federal funding comes through or you could have trouble getting to Southern California's Olympic venues. That's because Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has called for a 'no car' Olympics in a city famous for its dependence on private vehicles, so spectators will need to rely on what she promises will be an improved public transportation system. Bass announced the goal at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris, acknowledging it would be 'a feat in Los Angeles, because we've always been in love with our cars, but we're already working to ensure that we can build a greener Los Angeles.' Those improvements, however, are counting on federal funding. In a recent interview, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority CEO Stephanie Wiggins made the case for the taxpayer investment. 'For now, you will not be able to drive your car to a venue as a ticketed spectator. For security reasons, you have to take transit, walk, bicycle, or get dropped off,' Wiggins told Santa Monica-based KCRW, a National Public Radio member station. She said about a million additional riders a day are expected during the Summer Games that start in mid-July 2028 with 16 days of the Olympics, followed by the Paralympics in August for athletes with disabilities. 'Well, we're carrying a million people a day today on the Metro system with 2,000-plus buses. So essentially, to handle the level of demand for the Olympics and Paralympics, that's like a whole other system,' Wiggins said. Better known as L.A. Metro, the transit authority for the nation's most populous county operates a public transportation system that includes bus routes, subway lines, light rail and commuter rail. Buses, though, are the primary mode of public transportation driving the $3.2 billion funding request submitted late last year to then President-elect Donald Trump. Just like the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City did, L.A. plans to borrow buses from transit agencies around the country to transport spectators. The cost of using loaners adds up to about $2 billion. 'That means you're paying for their mechanics, the bus operators, their wages, and all the supporting infrastructure; as well as making some improvements on mobility hubs that doesn't degrade the experience of the million essential riders that we're carrying today,' Wiggins said. She expressed confidence that Washington will help pay for what she repeatedly called a 'rail revolution' already underway with the rail network expected to be expanded throughout Los Angeles County by 2028. 'Our ask has been submitted, and we expect it to be favorably received,' Wiggins said. 'These are America's games. We want to make sure they're spectacular for everyone. Fundamentally, I'm sure no one wants a degraded experience for the existing folks who ride our system.' With support from the federal government as well as state and local entities, she said the county's public transportation system will be ready for what will be the third Summer Games held in Los Angeles. 'This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The whole world will be watching,' Wiggins said. 'Given the $17 billion that we're already investing in our rail revolution, this is definitely something that the federal government will have a return on investment on.' Olympics leaders have said they're confident the needed support will be there. After lobbying in Washington, D.C., earlier this month, U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee Chair Gene Sykes told reporters there's 'tremendous support from the administration and members of Congress. There is great excitement and focus on the L.A. '28 Games." In making the request, L.A. Metro officials reportedly noted the federal government came up with $1.3 billion for the 2002 Winter Games and $609 million for 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta. The federal government's financial support for the Salt Lake Games also included a big boost in funding for security that came in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States. Since the deadly bombing at the Atlanta Games in 1996, an Olympics in the U.S. has been considered a National Special Security Event, like a Super Bowl, where the Secret Service is in charge of security. When the Winter Games return to Utah, in 2034, the amount of funding needed from the federal government for security needs and spectator transportation has been estimated at less than $1 billion. Federal support is not part of the budget for the state's next Olympics that adds up to $4 billion, all of it raised from private sources, largely the sale of broadcast rights, sponsorships and tickets. And while the Utah Transit Authority has long been talking about projects that will help with hosting again, such as a TRAX Orange Line from Salt Lake City International Airport to University of Utah Research Park, organizers have not yet developed detailed plans. In the detailed bid documents Utah put together for the International Olympic Committee, a projected 2.75 million spectators would be moved through the 'expanded use of transit bus systems along with the existing light rail and commuter rail systems.' The bid, submitted a few months before the Winter Games were awarded in July 2024, also pledges, 'The local systems would be augmented with borrowed equipment from across the United States and supported by federal government funding as was the case in 2002.'
