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Los Angeles Times
09-07-2025
- Los Angeles Times
L.A. vowed to remove 9,800 encampments. But are homeless people getting housed?
Musician Dennis Henriquez woke up in a doorway in East Hollywood last month, hidden behind cardboard and sheltered by a tarp. When he peered outside, half a dozen sanitation workers were standing nearby, waiting to carry out one of the more than 30 homeless encampment cleanups planned that day by the city of Los Angeles. Henriquez eventually emerged, carried out a bicycle and deposited it on a grassy area 20 feet away. He also dragged over a backpack, a scooter, two guitars, a piece of luggage and a beach chair. The city sanitation crew grabbed the tarp and the cardboard, tossing them into a trash truck. Then, the contingent of city workers, including two police officers, climbed into their vehicles and drove away, leaving behind Henriquez and his pile of belongings. This type of operation, known as a CARE-plus cleanup, plays out hundreds of times each week in the city, with sanitation crews seizing and destroying tents, tarps, pallets, shopping carts and many other objects. The cleanups have emerged as a huge source of conflict in a five-year-old legal dispute over the city's handling of the homelessness crisis. Depending on how the cleanup issue is resolved, the city could face legal sanctions, millions of dollars in penalties or increased outside oversight of its homeless programs. In 2022, city leaders reached a legal settlement with the nonprofit L.A. Alliance for Human Rights, promising to create 12,915 homeless beds or other housing opportunities by June 2027. Eventually, they also agreed to remove 9,800 homeless encampments by June 2026 — with an encampment defined as an individual tent, makeshift structure, car or recreational vehicle. To reach the latter goal, city leaders have been counting each encampment removed from streets, sidewalks and alleys during the Bureau of Sanitation's CARE-plus cleanups — even in cases where the resident did not obtain housing or a shelter bed. The alliance has strongly objected to the city's methodology, arguing that destroying a tent, without housing its occupants, runs afoul of the 2022 settlement agreement. Any 'encampment resolution' tallied by the city must be more permanent — and address the larger goal of reducing homelessness, said Elizabeth Mitchell, an attorney for the alliance. 'If the person insists on staying where they are and nothing else has happened, that's not a resolution,' she said. 'They can't count that.' City leaders have carried out CARE-plus cleanups for years, saying they are needed to protect public safety and restore sidewalk access for wheelchair users, the elderly and others. Some encampments are strewn with debris that spills across an entire walkway or out into the street, while others carry the smell of urine, fecal matter or decaying food waste. The cleanups have a Sisyphean quality. Many seasoned residents drag their tents across the street, wait out the cleanup, then return to their original spots in the afternoon. The process frequently restarts a week or two later. The alliance's legal team, alarmed by the inclusion of CARE-plus cleanups in the encampment reduction count, recently spent several days trying to persuade a federal judge to seize control of the city's homelessness initiatives from Mayor Karen Bass and the City Council and turn them over to a third-party receiver. U.S. Dist. Judge David O. Carter, who presides over the case, declined to take that step, saying it went too far. But he has made clear that he, too, objects to the city's approach to eliminating the 9,800 encampments. In March, Carter issued a court order saying the city may not count CARE-plus cleanups toward its goal because, as the alliance had argued, they are 'not permanent in nature.' Last month, in a 62-page ruling, he found the city had 'willfully disobeyed' that order — and had improperly reported its encampment reductions. Clarifying his position somewhat, the judge also said that the city cannot count an encampment reduction unless it is 'accompanied by an offer of shelter or housing.' 'Individuals need not accept the offer, but an offer of available shelter or housing must be made,' he wrote. Attorney Shayla Myers, who represents homeless advocacy groups that have intervened in the case, has opposed the 9,800 goal from the beginning, saying it creates a quota system that increases the likelihood that city workers will violate the property rights of unhoused residents. 'Throwing away tents doesn't help the homelessness crisis,' she said. 'Building housing does.' City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo, who helped negotiate the settlement, told the court last month that his office does not count the tents that homeless people move temporarily — around the corner or across the street — during city cleanups. However, the city does include those that are permanently removed because they block the sidewalk or pose a public health or safety threat, he said. Szabo, during his testimony, said that when he negotiated the promise to remove 9,800 encampments, he did not expect that every tent removal would lead to someone moving inside. The city is already working to fulfill the alliance agreement's requirement of creating 12,915 homeless beds or other housing opportunities. On top of that, Szabo said, encampment residents have 'free will' to refuse an offer of housing. 'I wouldn't ever agree that the city would be obligated to somehow force people to accept [housing] if they did not want to accept it,' he said. 'We never would have agreed to that. We didn't agree to that.' For an outside observer, it might be difficult to discern what the different types of city encampment operations are designed to accomplish. Bass' Inside Safe initiative moves homeless people into hotel and motel rooms, and at least in some cases, permanent housing. By contrast, CARE cleanups — shorthand for Cleanup and Rapid Engagement — are largely focused on trash removal, with crews hauling away debris from curbs and surrounding areas. CARE-plus cleanups are more comprehensive. Every tent must be moved so workers can haul away debris and, in some instances, powerwash sidewalks. Sanitation crews are supposed to give residents advance warning of a scheduled CARE-plus cleanup, posting notices on utility poles. If residents don't relocate their tents and other belongings, they run the risk of having them taken away. In some cases, cleanup crews take the possessions to a downtown storage facility. In many others, they are tossed. One of the largest CARE-plus cleanups in recent weeks took place in the Westlake district, where nearly three dozen tents and structures lined a stretch of Wilshire Boulevard. A construction loader drove back and forth on the sidewalk, scooping up tents and depositing them in a trash truck. Ryan Cranford, 42, said he didn't know the cleanup was scheduled until minutes beforehand. He wound up losing his tent, a bed and a canopy, but managed to keep his backpack, saying it contained 'all that matters.' Sitting on a nearby retaining wall, Cranford said he would have accepted a motel room had someone offered one. 'Hell, I'd even take a bus to get all the way back to Oklahoma if I could,' he said. On the opposite side of the street, Tyson Lewis Angeles wheeled his belongings down the street in a shopping cart before sanitation workers descended on his spot. He said an outreach worker had given him a referral for a shelter bed the day before. Angeles, 30, said he was not interested, in part because he deals with panic attacks, PTSD and other mental health issues. He also does not want a roommate, or the rules imposed by homeless shelters. 'Basically, it's like volunteer jail,' he said. While Angeles managed to safeguard his possessions, others are frequently less successful. Nicholas Johnson, who is living in a box truck in Silver Lake, said city crews took the vast majority of his belongings during a CARE-plus cleanup in mid-June. Some were destroyed, while others were transported by sanitation workers to a downtown storage facility, he said. Johnson, 56, said he does not know whether some of his most prized possessions, including letters written by his grandmother, went into that facility or were tossed. City crews also took books, tools, his Buddhist prayer bowls and a huge amount of clothes. 'All of my clothing — all of my clothing — the wearables and the sellables, all mixed in. Hats, scarves, socks, ties, a lot of accessories that I wear — you know, double breasted suits from the '30s, the suit pants,' he said. Johnson said the city's cleanup process is a 'harassment ceremony' that only makes life more stressful for people on the street. 'They hit you in the kneecaps when they know you're already down,' he said. Earlier this year, city officials informed the court that they had removed about 6,100 tents, makeshift shelters and vehicles — nearly two-thirds of what the agreement with the alliance requires. Whether the city will challenge any portion of the judge's ruling is still unclear. In a statement, a lawyer for the city contends that the ruling 'misconstrues the city's obligations.' 'We are keeping open our options for next steps,' said the lawyer, Theane Evangelis.
Los Angeles Times
28-06-2025
- General
- Los Angeles Times
This tax-funded native habitat is finally opening to the public after 5-year wait
Welcome to July, the second anniversary of the L.A. Times Plants newsletter, which started with roughly 3,000 readers back in 2023 and now has more than 12,000 subscribers, strong evidence that Southern Californians care deeply about plants, gardening and our region's changing landscapes. Many thanks for your continued interest and support! Per usual, this issue includes a list of plant-related events and activities below, but first I'd like to revisit a story from the first Plants newsletter with the happy news that while the wheels of progress often move slowly (or sometimes even backward) progress can happen, if the players just hang on. Two years ago, this newsletter's inaugural story was about the 'lovely but puzzling' Paul Koretz Westwood Greenway, an oasis of fragrant native plants and a burbling stream along a wide, curvy trail between Overland Avenue and Westwood Boulevard next to the Metro E line. 'The project was a triumph for the Rancho Park community members who lobbied hard against early plans to build a 170-space parking lot on the site to serve Metro riders,' I wrote in 2023. 'They envisioned an inviting green space for the neighborhood and an eco-friendly showcase for turning unused nuggets of city land into lush native plant habitats for birds, pollinators and other local critters.' That vision was realized when the project was completed in October 2020, except for one thing: The public couldn't get in. The greenway wasn't meant to be a park, the builders said. It was designed to capture water running through neighborhood gutters and clean out the nasties it collects along the way, such as road dirt and dog urine, before it reaches the ocean. The cleaning is done by exposing the water to sunlight and filtering it through native plants like cattails before it returns to storm drains and, eventually, the Santa Monica Bay. But advocates in the community support group Westwood Greenway Inc. noted that the space was also supposed to be a demonstration garden of sorts, to encourage similar projects around L.A. Members of the nonprofit group had a key to let them enter the space for volunteer weeding parties or monthly tours, but otherwise the site was kept behind glass (or, in this case, an ugly chain-link fence) much to the frustration of longtime advocate Jonathan Weiss, president of Westwood Greenway Inc., and Annette Mercer, the board's chair. 'The point was to educate the public,' Weiss said, 'but how do we do that if it's behind a damn fence?' But two years later, I'm happy to report that the wheels kept moving, albeit 'very, very, very slowly,' Mercer said. When Phase 2 of the project is completed this summer, the public will finally have daily access to the greenway via gates that automatically unlock at 8 a.m. and lock up again at 6 p.m. Phase 2 was supposed to be completed yesterday, Weiss said, but a week before, he was notified that the finish date has been pushed to Aug. 1. The delay is disappointing, he said, 'but this is just a hiccup. After five years, I'm extremely excited it will be open to the public. It's finally coming, so I'm not going to sweat an extra month.' The L.A. Sanitation project includes installing taller fences at the east and west edges of the greenway, building an ADA ramp from the Metro stop near Overland Avenue to the greenway trail, and repairing the decomposed granite (DG) path that was damaged by trucks coming into the area, said Leo Daube, communications director for Los Angeles City Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky, whose Council District 5 oversees the area. And that's not the only good news. Westwood Greenway Inc. and the Nature Nexus Institute, a nonprofit focused on nature education, got a $100,842 grant from the Measure W-funded Safe Clean Water Program in May. The grant will help pay for a Nature Nexus Institute-trained employee to develop an education program about the greenway's purpose and history and bring in visitors for tours, Weiss said. The grant will also pay for a small trailer at the west end of the greenway so the employee has a place to work, and a porta-potty at the site (although right now it's not certain anyone besides the employee will be able to use the toilet. The community group has asked the city council to install public modular restrooms for the visiting public). There are still concerns, Weiss said. The greenway has two sections that run north and south of the Metro E Line and bike trail. The weeds have returned with vigor since construction began on the north side because volunteers can't get in until the work is completed, Mercer said. And the area to the south, where stormwater runs through more native plant filters before returning to the drains, will remain fenced off to visitors even after Phase 2 is complete. But the grant is getting them much closer to their goals. Weiss hopes the council will allow them to install signs along the bike trail to help passersby understand they're not just looking at pretty flowers behind that chain-link fence but California native plants that can save water and create habitats for threatened pollinators and wildlife. His disappointment about the delay suddenly vanishes as he lays out the possibilities. 'What an opportunity to educate people!' he exclaimed, his enthusiasm still evident — and inspiring — despite his many years of lobbying and waiting. And that, folks, — that sometimes annoyed, sometimes frustrated but always unrelenting passion — may be the secret sauce to getting things done. Speaking of slow-but-sweet success stories: Here's another about rhubarb, a tangy garden staple that grows like a weed in colder climes but is rarely seen in SoCal gardens because it prefers freezing winters. Thanks to the tenacity of the West L.A Chapter of the California Rare Fruit Growers, varieties nurtured in Australia are growing with gusto around L.A. and available for you to buy for planting through the chapter's annual Rhubarb Rodeo. It all started in 2020 when chapter President Ronni Kern, a Rhode Island native now living in Santa Monica, got a hankering for the rhubarb she loved as a child. She learned the great plant breeder Luther Burbank successfully developed varieties from New Zealand to grow in Southern California in the late 1800s, but those strains disappeared after Burbank died in 1926. After a long search, she discovered tasty, heat-resistant varieties developed by Australian farmers Colin and Tina Clayton of French Harvest and bought several types of their rhubarb seeds for chapter members to grow. The results were spectacular, she said, so successful that in 2022 the chapter began selling rhubarb plants as a fundraiser. They are offering four varieties this year — including Success (the tastiest and deepest red of all, according to Kern) and Tina's Noble, hands down the easiest to grow, she said. Prices are $10 for plants in 5-inch pots or $20 or $25 for gallon pots, but no mail order; you must drive to Culver City or Santa Monica to pick them up. Rhubarb is a vegetable that grows in tall reddish stalks topped by big broad leaves. The plant is so rare in Southern California that people sometimes confuse it with chard, 'but you must never eat rhubarb leaves,' Kern said, because they contain high levels of toxic oxalic acid. Just snap off the leaves and eat the reddish celery-shaped stalks, which add a nice, tart bite to sweet desserts or can even be roasted. You can buy rhubarb at local farmers markets, Kern said, from people who grow the plants as annuals, but she believes their flavor and pale color are far inferior to the plants she and other chapter members are growing from the Aussie seed. A last note about growing rhubarb in SoCal: the plants don't require lots of water — Kern just uses drip irrigation twice a week — but they do prefer cooler temps. So the hotter your area, she said, the more shade the plants will require, whether from a tree or 90% shade cloth strung up on supports. Through July 15Applications for Conejo Valley Audubon Society Lawns to Habitat & Ashes to Habitat Grants; successful applicants will receive $250 worth of bird-friendly native plants (roughly 40 to 50 plants at wholesale prices) for their new residential landscapes. Applicants must live in Agoura Hills, unincorporated Agoura, Oak Park, Simi Valley, Moorpark, Westlake Village, Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park or Camarillo and certify they have no outdoor cats with access to the property. Ashes to Habitat applicants must also show proof that the project property was within a neighborhood affected by fires from 2018 to present, but successful applicants will also receive a higher financial grant and extended time for ordering and planting. Full details available online. Through August 6Apply for free Xerces Society Southern California Residential Habitat Kits, for residential properties, schoolyards, community gardens and urban gardens in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Santa Barbara, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura counties. The kits include 22 plants from 10 different species, sufficient to cover about 150 to 200 square feet, designed to support threatened insects such as monarch butterflies and native bumblebees. The kits must be picked up Dec. 9-13 in (no deliveries or special orders) and planted within the month after pickup. Recipients will be required to email photographic evidence of the kit being planted and pledge not to use pesticides. July 5 & 6Introduction to Wild Buckwheats (Eriogonum) of California, a two-day class starting in a classroom at 9 a.m. until noon at the California Botanic Garden in Claremont on July 5. The next day, participants will meet at Big Bear Lake from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. to observe the many varieties of buckwheat in the wild. Participants must provide their own transportation. Register online, $125 ($110 for members of California Botanic Garden). July 5, 12South Bay Parkland Conservancy El Segundo Blue butterfly walks at 10:30 a.m or 12:30 p.m., both days near Miramar Park in Redondo Beach. The free guided walks will be led by conservancy board members Ann Dakley, Esplanade Bluff Restoration Project biologist, and Mary Simun. Registration is required. July 5Wizarding World of Plants Family Hike Night and Adult Night Hike, 5:30-7 p.m. for the family hike night and 7:30 to 9 p.m. for the adult night hike at the Los Angeles County Arboretum in Arcadia. Learn the secrets behind wands, wishing trees and other plant folklore and myths. Tickets are $20 ($15 for members) for the family hike night and $25 ($20 members) for the adult night hike. July 6, 20, Aug. 1, 10, 17Twilight Estate Tours at the Huntington, a 90-minute docent-led walking tour of the gardens explaining how Henry E. and Arabella Huntington turned their San Marino Ranch into the famous gardens, library and museums. Tours are offered at 5 and 5:30 p.m. each day. Advance registration required. Tickets are $49 adults, $39 children 4-11. July 8, 15 & 22Three-part California Native Garden Design taught by Phil Davis, principal designer of Green House landscape design, 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. each day at the Theodore Payne Foundation in Sun Valley. Learn how to evaluate your existing garden, convert existing irrigation systems and consider different design approaches for a garden of California native plants. The foundation's online course Right Plant, Right Place ($39.19 or $28.52 for members) is a prerequisite and should be taken in tandem with the design course. Register online for the design course, $348.65 ($295.29 for members) or $412.67 for couples working on one project ($359.32 for members). July 10-11, Aug. 14-15, Sept. 25-26 and Oct. 23-24Southern California Garden Club 27th Gardening School, a series of four ten-hour courses offered by National Garden Clubs since 1958. 'Courses are designed to stimulate interest in all phases of landscape design and to develop greater appreciation, pride and knowledge about residential, public and historic gardens.' Each 10-hour course is $85 ($70 for members), or $300 ($240 for members) for all four. The classes will run from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. each day at the Sepulveda Center in Encino. Register online. July 12BioBlitz at California State University, Northridge, G.A.R.D.E.N. to learn about creating habitat for pollinators from 9 to 11 a.m. on the half-acre campus site managed by the Institute for Sustainability. The free event will be led by two Xerces Society endangered-species conservation biologists, monarch overwintering specialist Sara Cuadra-Vargas and pollinator habitat specialist Giovanni Di Franco who helped develop the society's habitat kit program. The event is free but registration is required. Efficient Watering for Fruit Trees and Vegetable Gardens, a free workshop by the Chino Basin Water Conservation District, 9 a.m. to noon at the Waterwise Community Center in Montclair. Scott Kleinrock, the district's conservation programs manager, will demonstrate two approaches to irrigating fruit trees and how to build and run drip irrigation systems for vegetable gardens. Registration online. Santa Rita Hills Lavender Farm's 2nd Lavender Festival from noon to 5 p.m. in Lompoc. The event includes an artisan's market, pony rides for children, classes in making lavender wreaths and distilling lavender oil, lavender-flavored food and drink and, of course, blooming fields of lavender. Tickets are $12 if purchased in advance or $20 at the gate. Irrigation Basics for Native Plants, a walk-and-talk class led by Erik Blank, horticulture educator at the Theodore Payne Foundation from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the foundation nursery in Sun Valley. Learn about a variety of irrigation methods for native gardens during the dry months. Register online, $39.19 ($28.52 members) California Native Plant Cyanotype Printing, a class photographing native plants using one of the earliest photographic printing methods taught by multimedia artist and naturalist Hannah Perez, from noon to 2 p.m. at the Theodore Payne Foundation in Sun Valley. All materials provided. Register online, $60.54 ($49.87 members). Reptiles of Theodore Payne: A walk-and-talk course with Diego Blanco, a research assistant at the Occidential College Lab of Ornithology and reptile fan, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Theodore Payne Foundation in Sun Valley. Learn about the various lizards and snakes of Southern California's mountains and chaparrals. Participants are encouraged to wear closed-toe shoes, long pants and sun protection, and bring binoculars for easier viewing from a distance. Register online, $39.19 ($28.52 members). Bind Your Own Nature Sketch Book, noon to 4 p.m. at California Botanic Garden in Claremont. Create a handmade sketchbook with natural papers and 'nature-themed embellishments' in a class taught by mixed-media artist Christina Frausto of Rotten Apple Studio. All materials provided. Register online, $70 ($60 members). July 16Propagatng California Native Plants from Seed with Ella Andersson, chief botanical technician for the Theodore Payne Foundation in Sun Valley, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Each student will take home the seeds they have sown from 10 species of native seeds. All materials provided. Register online, $92.55 ($81.88 members). July 18-1911th Plumeria Festival at the Los Angeles County Arboretum in Arcadia from 4 to 8 p.m. on July 18 and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on July 19. The festival includes talks by experts and more than 20 vendors selling plumeria, staghorn ferns, epiphyllums, hibiscus, succulents and other plants, as well as garden art and supplies. July 19Plant-O-Rama at the Sherman Library & Gardens, 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the gardens in Corona del Mar. The annual sale, which debuted in 1972, features plants and experts from multiple organizations including the Los Angeles International Fern Society, Newport Harbor Orchid Society, Orange County Begonia Society, Saddleback Valley Bromeliad Society, Southern California Carnivorous Plant Enthusiasts and the California Native Plant Society. Admission to the sale is free with a $5 ticket to the gardens (members and children 3 and younger enter free). Planning and Caring for a Southern California Rain Garden, 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. at California Botanic Garden in Claremont. The garden's senior horticulturist, Jennifer Chebahtah, explains the importance of creating rain gardens in urban and residential areas, along with tips for how to make them. Register online, $38 ($28 members). Guided Family Nature Walk at White Point Nature Preserve in San Pedro at 10:30 a.m. with naturalists from the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy to discover the wildlife, plants and beautiful ocean views in the coastal sage scrub habitat. Meet in front of the Nature Center. The walk is free. Reservations are not required. July 26Intro to Waterwise Home Landscape Renovation and Turf Replacement Rebates, a free workshop by the Chino Basin Water Conservation District, 9 a.m. to noon at the Waterwise Community Center in Montclair. Jacob Jones, the district's conservation and sprinkler evaluation specialist, will discuss the benefits and basics of turf-removal rebate projects and converting to a low-water landscape. Register online. Where have all the gardeners gone? Immigration raids are worrying Southern California's undocumented gardeners, the workers so prevalent in suburban neighborhoods that the sound of weed whackers and leaf blowers can feel like ambient noise. 'People are afraid,' one gardener said, 'but they still have to work.' The second, final and most complicated stage of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing starts this month. The project won't be completed before the end of 2026, but already the first non-insect wildlife has been spotted on the structure that currently leads to nowhere — a Western fence lizard that somehow climbed 75 feet up to the top. This year's jacaranda bloom in L.A. was short a few trees following the January wildfires, but experts say many burned trees will recover. Just give them water and time, arborists say. Are these community gardens or playgrounds for the rich? Santa Monica officials are set to approve 200% price hikes on community garden plots, with the largest plots going for $600 a year.
Los Angeles Times
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
The perfect summer corn fritter to welcome you back to downtown L.A. restaurants
Returning to downtown L.A. restaurants after the curfew. The spirituality of red Fanta. 'The most exciting place to eat in the South Bay in recent memory.' And a Crunchwrap Supreme plot twist. I'm Laurie Ochoa, general manager of L.A. Times Food, with this week's Tasting Notes. I was happily eating a light lunch of poached chicken with an array of radishes, tarragon mayonnaise and buttered milk bread toast dusted with sea salt when our friendly and attentive waiter, just four days on the job, walked up holding a plate of sunshine: three beautifully fried corn fritters with flash-fried basil, a wedge of lime and a mound of salt for dipping. There was a dish of chile sauce too, but the corn's sweetness, salt and herbs were all I needed on the day before the official start of summer. I was at chef Giles Clark's Cafe 2001 with the editor of L.A. Times Food, Daniel Hernandez, and every table in the place was filled. The cafe's big brother restaurant, Yess, from chef Junya Yamasaki, was boarded up at the front entrance facing 7th Street — the dinner-only spot closed during the recent downtown L.A. curfew — but we saw activity in the kitchen when we peeked through the glass blocks on the side of the restaurant and were hopeful that Yess would reopen that night. As columnist Jenn Harris wrote this week, the seven-night curfew left downtown L.A. streets empty: 'All along 2nd Street, the windows and doors were hidden behind plywood. ... The frequently bustling Japanese Village Plaza, where shoppers dine at a revolving sushi bar and stop for cheese-filled corn dogs, was desolate.' Now there are tentative signs of recovery. 'Hours after the curfew was lifted Tuesday, downtown started to show signs of coming to life again,' Harris wrote. 'Just before 7 p.m., a line began to form at Daikokuya in Little Tokyo ... known as much for the perpetual wait as it is for its steaming bowls of tonkotsu ramen. It was a hopeful sight.' Yet, as Harris also reported, Kato, the three-time No. 1 restaurant on the L.A. Times 101 list, whose chef, Jon Yao, was named the best chef in California at this week's James Beard Awards, 'was still looking at a 70% drop in reservations for the upcoming week' after the curfew's end. 'The direct impact of the media's portrayal of DTLA being unsafe, which it is not, has impacted Kato,' Ryan Bailey, a partner in the restaurant told Harris. Certainly downtown is frequently portrayed, 'as a sometimes dodgy place to live and work.' But 'despite myriad challenges,' reported real estate specialist Roger Vincent this week, 'downtown L.A. is staging a comeback. ... Occupancy in downtown apartments has remained about 90% for more than a year ... slightly higher than the level before the pandemic. ... In fact, the downtown population has more than tripled since 2000, reflecting a dynamic shift in the city center's character toward a 24-hour lifestyle.' On Tuesday night, I met reporter Stephanie Breijo at Hama Sushi, another Little Tokyo spot where the wait is usually lengthy, and was able to get a spot at the sushi bar by arriving before 6 p.m. The place quickly filled up behind us. Though some were at Hama to support downtown, many came to pay their respects to the memory of recently deceased owner Tsutomu Iyama. Breijo will be reporting on the life and legacy of Iyama in the coming days, but on Tuesday night the longtime staff was on top of its game, serving affordable but excellent sushi, without gimmicks as Iyama intended. Two days later I was at Cafe 2001, which has become one of my favorite — and most useful — restaurants in the city, open all day and into the evening on weekends. In our recent brunch guide, I wrote about Clark's red-wine-poached egg, my partner, John, swears by Clark's caponata, and deputy food editor Betty Hallock loves 'his versions of a quintessential yoshoku icon, the Japanese potato salad ... [sometimes] kabocha pumpkin and puntarelle with blood orange and fermented chiles [or] a verdant pea and potato salad with lemon-y pea tendrils.' But my current favorite Clark dish? Those light and crisp corn fritters. They were the perfect welcome back downtown gift after a tense week of closed restaurants. 'I've ... had customers come in and tell me, 'The American dream doesn't exist anymore.'' That's Evelin Gomez, a juice bar worker at the Carson location of Vallarta Supermarket, speaking with reporter Lauren Ng. Ng checked social media accounts and conducted interviews with people in grocery stores and restaurants founded by immigrants and the children of immigrants about what they are witnessing with the recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) enforcement actions in Southern California. The independent-minded Casa Vega owner Christy Vega, who supported Rick Caruso over Karen Bass for mayor in the most recent election, 'has been an outspoken critic of ICE,' Ng wrote. 'I protested in honor of my Mexican immigrant father, Rafael Evaristo Vega, and the very people Casa Vega was built on since 1956,' Vega wrote on Instagram of her attendance at a 'No Kings' protest. 'I will always remember my roots and ALWAYS fight for the voiceless immigrant community.' Some restaurateurs, as Stephanie Breijo reported, have been coordinating grocery handouts and deliveries for those fearing being swept up in ICE raids. 'We understand the feelings that are happening in our community right now, even if we are legal,' said Xochitl Flores-Marcial, a partner in Boyle Heights' X'tiosu with its chef-founders, Felipe and Ignacio Santiago. 'Even if we have documents, that doesn't exempt us from the danger that so many people are facing right now and in our culture.' Meanwhile, assistant food editor Danielle Dorsey, put together a guide to 15 different food fundraisers and events to support those affected by ICE actions. Many are happening this weekend. The young and ambitious staff at Vin Folk — with two alums of Aitor Zabala's Somni leading the team of chef-servers — charmed columnist Jenn Harris during her visits to the Hermosa Beach restaurant created by chefs Kevin de los Santos and Katya Shastova. 'The dining room crackles with the hopeful, earnest energy of a start-up company, ripe with possibility,' she writes in her restaurant review published this week. 'And with food that has all the technique and precision of a tasting menu restaurant with less of the fuss, it is without a doubt the most exciting place to eat in the South Bay in recent memory.' Some of the dishes she highlights: a savory tart that could be 'a love child of mussels in escabeche and pot pie'; headcheese toast, 'a loose interpretation of the patty melt at Langer's Deli'; pritto, 'a take on Taiwanese popcorn chicken'; 'exceptionally tender' beef tongue, 'an homage to Shastova's childhood in rural southern Russia,' and a risotto-style interpretation of Singapore chili crab. Vin Folk is also nurturing a new generation of chefs and restaurateurs: 'Staff are trained in multiple positions, both in and out of the kitchen,' Harris writes. 'Everyone helps with prep, then De los Santos and Shastova [place] members in positions where they may be strongest.' 'We are teaching them,' Shastova tells Harris. 'You go through everything because we believe it's important to learn every single detail of the restaurant if you want to have your own one day.' In her latest Grocery Goblin dispatch, correspondent Vanessa Anderson examines why strawberry red Fanta — 'known as Fanta nam daeng, or 'Fanta red water'' — is seen in so many Thai shrines or spirit houses, many of which are set up at local grocery stores and restaurants. 'Much like those on this earthly plane, the way to a spirit's heart is through his or her stomach,' Anderson reports. 'In the past when we would do offerings to ghosts, it would be an offering of blood,' Pip Paganelli at Thai dessert shop Banh Kanom Thai, tells Anderson, who concludes that 'the bubbly strawberry nectar has since replaced animal sacrifice.' Paganelli, Anderson adds, also posits that red Fanta's 'sickly sweetness ... is beloved by ghosts because of just that. Most spirits have a sweet tooth.' The anniversary none of our social media feeds or TV news anchors will let us forget this week is the release 50 years ago of Steven Spielberg's 'eating machine' blockbuster 'Jaws.' But columnist Gustavo Arellano has another anniversary on this mind this week — the debut 20 years ago of Taco Bell's Crunchwrap Supreme. 'The item has become essential for American consumers who like their Mexican food cheap and gimmicky,' he wrote this week, 'which is to say, basically everyone (birria ramen, anybody?)' The plot twist is that Arellano, author of 'Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America,' had never actually eaten a Crunchwrap Supreme until this month. And when he finally did try it? Let's just say it lacked the crunch he was looking for. I'll let you read his column to find out why he prefers the bean-and-cheese burritos and Del Taco. Bonus: Arellano references Jenn Harris' 2015 story and recipe for a homemade Taco Bell Crunchwrap Supreme, to be enjoyed in the comfort of your home, without the 'bad playlists, scratchy paper napkins and fluorescent lighting' of a fast food restaurant. I think hers would have the crunch Arellano seeks.
Hindustan Times
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Which US cities are seeing anti-ICE protests? Dallas, Atlanta, and Denver report demonstrations
Protests against immigration raids have rapidly spread across the United States this week, following aggressive ICE operations in Los Angeles. Cities from coast to coast are witnessing growing resistance, as demonstrators rally against mass deportations, federal crackdowns, and President Donald Trump's decision to deploy National Guard troops. ALSO READ| Chicago riots: Videos show violent clashes, Trump effigy set ablaze | 10 points Last Friday in Los Angeles, ICE launched widespread raids to cuff 'illegal aliens,' and in response, protesters poured into the streets. Clashes with law enforcement escalated throughout the weekend, prompting Governor Gavin Newsom to request that Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth withdraw military orders. Despite this, more demonstrations are planned, including large-scale 'No Kings' protests coinciding with Trump's planned military parade in Washington this Saturday. In Austin, a march that started at the Texas State Capitol turned violent near the J.J. Pickle Federal Building, where ICE has an office. Protesters threw rocks and bottles; police responded with pepper spray and tear gas. Four officers were injured and 12 people arrested. 'Change will only happen when we keep putting pressure on the people in power,' one protester told KEYE. Dallas also saw a fiery protest on a city bridge Monday night. While officers initially allowed the assembly, it was later declared 'unlawful' as tensions rose. Police used pepper spray and smoke to disperse the crowd. 'Peaceful protesting is legal,' Gov. Greg Abbott posted on X. 'But once you cross the line, you will be arrested.' In Seattle, about 50 people gathered outside the immigration court on Tuesday, chanting, 'Free Them All' and blocking entryways with scooters. 'We're here to show that we're opposed to ICE in our community,' said Mathieu Chabaud from the University of Washington. Santa Ana, California, saw heavy damage downtown, with broken glass, graffiti, and a heavy National Guard presence. Workers scrubbed the Civic Centre clean Tuesday morning. ALSO READ| The L.A. Riots Hand Republicans a Political Edge Boston residents rallied in City Hall Plaza to demand the release of SEIU leader David Huerta. 'An immigrant doesn't stand between an American worker and a good job, a billionaire does,' said Chrissy Lynch. Mayor Michelle Wu added, 'Secret police do not make communities safer.' From Washington, D.C., where Rep. Pramila Jayapal joined union protests, to New York City, San Francisco, and Chicago, the message is clear: 'We want full rights for all immigrants… and to get the military out of L.A,' one told CBS New York.
Miami Herald
07-06-2025
- Automotive
- Miami Herald
Street Takeover Participants & Spectators Could Soon Be Hit With Steep Fines
Street takeovers - where crowds block off intersections so drivers can pull stunts like donuts, burnouts, and drifts - have become a hallmark of Southern California's underground car culture. But now, L.A. County is drawing a hard line. A new proposal would double the fine for participating in or even watching a takeover, raising it from $500 to $1,000, the Los Angeles Times reported. The idea isn't just to hit drivers in the wallet; it's also aimed at the crowd. Spectators fuel the vibe, create cover for drivers, and generate social media content that keeps the trend alive. By making it costly just to show up, officials hope to tamp down the spectacle altogether. Takeovers might look like Fast & Furious-style fun, but they've turned increasingly dangerous. County officials point to a rise in fatal crashes, shootings, and torched vehicles tied to these events. In some neighborhoods, families say they hear engines bouncing off rev limiters just blocks from their front doors. Supervisor Holly Mitchell, whose district includes cities like Compton, Inglewood, and Carson, introduced the measure and stated that the issue is personal for many residents. In one recent tragedy, a woman in Pomona was killed during a suspected street-racing crash. Stories like that have become too common. The proposed ordinance doesn't stop with street-level enforcement. It also calls on social media platforms to enforce their own community standards and remove content that promotes illegal activity, specifically, takeover clips that rack up views and ad dollars. Officials want platforms to demonetize those videos and cut off the oxygen that keeps the culture going viral. Interestingly, while street takeover reports have dropped in most of L.A. County, Mitchell's district saw a sharp rise - from 191 incidents between July and September to 297 from October through December. County officials credit some of the decline elsewhere to a coordinated task force that includes law enforcement, city leaders, and community groups working to intervene early and redesign problem intersections. Mitchell's district is still playing catch-up, and that's part of why she's pushing hard for tougher penalties. If you're a car enthusiast, the rise in takeovers and the resulting crackdown might hit close to home, even if you're not in Southern California. Similar events have popped up across the country, and cities are watching each other to figure out what works. San Jose, Atlanta, Chicago, and Houston are all places that have seen sideshows spark community backlash and new legislation. The L.A. County Board of Supervisors gave the proposed fine increase a thumbs-up this week, but it still needs one more vote to become law. If approved, the new penalties could go into effect later this year. There's also talk of broader reforms - everything from hardened centerlines at takeover hotspots to possibly creating safe, legal alternatives for car enthusiasts. For now, though, the message is clear: if you're planning to show up at a sideshow in L.A., even just to watch, you might want to think twice. Your next post could come with a $1,000 price tag. Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
