Category: Los Angeles

Late one morning on a sun-drenched November day, I was exploring the western edge of MacArthur Park when I came upon a social worker who was looking for a client. We got to talking about the tree-shaded, grassy slopes; the Levitt bandstand that hosts summer concerts; the soccer field where youngsters still gather; and the lovely view across the lake toward the once-grand Westlake Theatre building and the downtown L.A. skyline. “It’s a beautiful oasis in the middle of the city,” Willard Beasley said. That’s the thing that breaks your heart. There’s so much potential in the 35-acre expanse that dates to the 1880s and was once a symbol of municipal pride, as well as a setting for Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton movies and for a stunt in which escape artist Harry Houdini jumped into the lake in chains. California is about to be hit by an aging population wave, and Steve Lopez is riding it. His column focuses on the blessings and burdens of advancing age — and how some folks are challenging the stigma associated with older adults. But the history is

Eight years ago, L.A.’s political leaders jumped into action on the issue of immigration, moving to protect the city’s undocumented population from the Trump administration. City Council members put public money toward lawyers to defend Angelenos facing deportation. They pushed to legalize the work of street vendors, many of whom lack citizenship. And they created a new committee focused on immigration. This week, there was a feeling of deja vu at City Hall as political leaders braced for another round against President-elect Donald Trump. Several council members said Friday that they would hasten passage of L.A.’s “sanctuary” law, which is still under review by city attorneys, in the face of Trump’s promised crackdown on immigrants. The ordinance, first proposed last year and modeled after a San Francisco law, would bar federal immigration enforcement officials from accessing city databases. Seven council members on Friday also signed a resolution urging President Biden to renew a program that allows undocumented people from Central America to stay temporarily in the U.S. Los Angeles has the largest Central American population outside of Latin America. One of the resolution’s backers, City

He preened, he hugged, he shook hands and hobnobbed with legends and politicians. Los Angeles City Councilmember Kevin de León was in full campaign mode two days before Tuesday’s election, when voters would decide whether he deserved a second term. The setting wasn’t a restaurant or a neighborhood street: It was the VIP section of a dedication ceremony in Boyle Heights for a towering set of murals featuring the late Dodgers ace Fernando Valenzuela. Kevin de León, in a blue Dodgers jacket, with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, to his right, and others Sunday at a ceremony honoring the late Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela in Boyle Heights. (Harry How / Getty Images) Wearing a satin Blue Crew jacket, De León emceed the one-hour-plus program attended by hundreds of baseball fans. Outside the fenced-off area where he held court, workers in neon yellow vests emblazoned with “Kevin de León Cleanup Crew” handed out bottles of water. Nearby, an electric truck bore in Spanish the legend “Courtesy of: Councilmember Kevin de León.” He led chants and cracked jokes and introduced a parade of speakers — among them

On the first day of October, two Dodgers executives were on the other side of the world. Shortly after the end of the regular season, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and vice president of player personnel Galen Carr were in Japan on a scouting trip. The center of their attention: phenom pitcher Roki Sasaki. For the last several years, the Dodgers’ front office has adored Sasaki, enamored by a dazzling repertoire headlined by a triple-digit fastball. The only question was when the right-hander would come across the Pacific. Late Friday night, they finally got their answer. The Chiba Lotte Marines, Sasaki’s team in the Nippon Professional Baseball league, announced they will be posting the 23-year-old star for Major League Baseball teams to sign this winter. “From the time he joined the organization, we were told by him of his dream to play in America,” Chiba Lotte general manager Naoki Matsumoto said in Japanese in a release. “Taking into account the last five years as a whole, we have decided to prioritize his thoughts. We are hoping he does his best as a representative of

A 19-year-old man suspected of stealing agricultural products from a farming company was taken into custody in the unincorporated community of Mecca, authorities announced Friday. Investigators from the East Rural Crime Team, District Team, and Coachella Community Action Team executed a search warrant in the 91-400 block of Third Street around 8:40 p.m. Thursday, which stemmed from a social media post investigated by deputies from the Thermal Sheriff’s Station for stolen agricultural products Monday, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. Walter Ernesto Barrera Hernandez of Mecca was arrested and booked into the John Benoit Detention Center on suspicion of felony theft. Anyone with information regarding the alleged theft was urged to call Deputy Pasch of the Thermal Sheriff’s Station at 760-863-8900.

Former Assemblyman Jose Medina, D-Riverside, continued to whittle down Sen. Richard Roth’s lead Friday in the race to fill the soon-to-be-vacant seat on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors. Medina and Roth are contending for the District 1 supervisorial seat up for grabs with the year-end retirement of decade-long Supervisor Kevin Jeffries of Lakeland Village. Roth, D-Riverside, enjoyed a nearly 10% margin over Medina early in Tuesday’s count, but that spread has compressed daily, and the latest vote tabulation published by the Office of the Registrar of Voters Friday evening showed the lawmaker only 2.5% ahead. An estimated 280,000 vote-by-mail and provisional ballots have yet to be tabulated. Another update on the count is slated for Saturday afternoon. Roth, who will term out of the state Senate this year, was an Air Force major general stationed in the area before entering politics. He spotlighted as accomplishments since 2012 securing funding for the UC Riverside School of Medicine and funds to increase the number of judicial officers countywide. “I’m running for supervisor to build more housing our families can afford, improve our quality of life, recruit

Registrars of voters’ offices in Orange and Riverside counties were evacuated Friday evening after receiving bomb threats, but no explosives were located at either site, authorities said. All staff and members of the public at the Orange County Registrar of Voters were evacuated from the Santa Ana office 15 minutes before the facility was scheduled to stop processing ballots, officials said in a statement. Orange County sheriff’s deputies were already on site and coordinated evacuating the building at 1300 S. Grand Ave. Bomb detection dogs were used to search the entire building, and no explosives were found. “The Orange County Registrar of Voters is committed to ensuring equal access to the election process, protecting the integrity of votes, and maintaining a transparent, accurate and fair election system,” Registrar of Voters Bob Page said in a statement. “We are working diligently to address this incident and keep all staff and members of the public who visit our office safe.” A similar unfounded threat was also received by the Riverside County Registrar of Voters on Friday evening at its office in Riverside. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department

LOS ÁNGELES —  El concejal del distrito 14 de Los Ángeles, Kevin De León, reconoció la victoria de la joven abogada filipina, Ysabel Jurado, quien alcanzó más de 36 mil votos en el escrutinio preliminar y amplió la distancia en 8 mil en relación a los sufragios que acumula el expresidente del Senado de California. “Quiero extender mis felicitaciones a Ysabel Jurado por una campaña bien peleada y desearle éxito al liderar nuestro distrito”, admitió el concejal en un comunicado que publicó en sus redes sociales. En el último resultado revelado por las autoridades acumula 28 mil 19 votos, mientras que la filipina tiene 39 mil 19. Ysabel Jurado, candidata al distrito 14 de Los Ángeles, recibe flores al llegar a la fiesta de la noche de elecciones en el patio del bar Block Party, en Highland Park. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) En el texto, divulgado en Facebook e Instagram, De León agradeció a los habitantes del distrito 14, en donde ha fungido como concejal desde el año 2020, luego de que ese puesto quedó vacante. Su predecesor, José Huízar, fue sentenciado a 13

One man is dead from an officer-involved shooting that took place in San Bernardino on Thursday morning, according to police. Around 9:19 a.m., two officers pulled over Albert Jose Rodriguez Jr., 48, of San Bernardino, for what police said were “multiple vehicle code violations.” According to the Friday media release, Rodriguez was uncooperative during the stop, refusing to get out of the vehicle. He also refused orders to stop reaching inside his shirt, where a firearm was later located. Police said officers then attempted to remove Rodriguez from the vehicle, and a struggle ensued, during which the suspect attempted to drive away. During this flee attempt, the officer positioned on the vehicle’s passenger side reportedly leaned into the car to turn it off and unbuckle Rodriguez’s seat belt. However, “Rodriguez continued to violently resist and managed to drive away, injuring one officer and trapping the other in the vehicle,” wrote the department. Then, as he was driving with the trapped officer, Rodriguez attempted to grab the loaded firearm from inside his shirt. Police said this is when the officer-involved shooting occurred. “After the shooting, the

Editor’s note: There will be a celebration of life for Todd Pinion from noon to 5 p.m. at Ancient Peaks Barn in Santa Margarita on Saturday.More details can be found on the Celebration of Life’s Facebook page .It’s been nearly a week since the body of murdered Atascadero man Todd Pinion was found in a remote area near Santa Margarita. Pinion’s mother, Melody, is finally speaking out following her son’s death. I want to thank the community,” she expressed. “I want to thank the authorities. Without them, I wouldn’t know what happened. And I would not be bringing my son home to me. Melody learned her son was missing on Oct. 28. Two days later, she was on a plane headed to California from Louisiana with her daughter, Pinion’s younger sister. Less than 24 hours after arriving in her home state, the Atascadero Police Department found his body. They relayed that he had been murdered, and had been dead for 11 days. The maliciousness behind this, I don’t understand the evil in the world,” Melody expressed. “Why? Why would someone want to take such a

California no longer has fire seasons, its a fire year. Over the last couple of weeks, there has been an uptick in fires across the state. Every year we are always going to have an annual grass crop, it always gets green, really beautiful then it turns brown, so the more rain we have, it sets us up for a potentially bad fire season, said Josh Taylor, deputy chief with CAL FIRE SLO. Taylor says California’s fire season used to be from May to November but that is no longer the case. With the droughts weve had, the fuels have never recovered so once it’s dead, it doesnt come back because dead fuel is dead fuel so it will always be there regardless of how much rain we have, Taylor said. The Mountain Fire in Ventura County is one of the biggest fires in the state right now. It burned more than 20,000 acres in about two days. San Luis Obispo County fire departments, including those from Morro Bay, San Luis Obispo, Atascadero, Paso Robles and CAL FIRE, sent crews to help out. When major

HENDERSON, Nev. —  Tyler Bilodeau rose for a three-pointer that fell through the net while getting knocked to the court. The UCLA forward and his team were on the verge of getting blown out midway through the second half in their first test of the season. If the Bruins were going to rally from a double-digit deficit, they needed to start here. Bilodeau stepped to the free-throw line for what could have been a four-point play. He missed. Grabbing the rebound, he went back up for a putback. That also was off the mark. Winding up face down on the court, Bilodeau pounded the hardwood with both hands and uttered an expletive. UCLA guard Trent Perry, left, attempts to save a loose ball near New Mexico forward Mustapha Amzil Friday in Henderson, Nev. (Ian Maule / Associated Press) It was a sequence that symbolized a night of frustration for the Bruins. Unable to get much of anything it wanted, No. 22 UCLA faltered across the board during a 72-64 loss to New Mexico on Friday night in the Las Vegas Hoopfest at Lee’s Family Forum. Outside

UCLA’s quest to scratch and claw its way to a bowl berth after a slow start to the season continues. In front of a Rose Bowl crowd split 60-40 between UCLA blue and Iowa black during homecoming, the Bruins left the Hawkeyes black and blue thanks to a potent run game and strong defensive effort. UCLA (4-5 overall, 3-4 Big Ten) extended its three-game win streak against conference opponents and inched closer to bowl eligibility, defeating Iowa 20-17 in Pasadena. DeShaun Foster celebrated his first win at the Rose Bowl as the Bruins’ coach. “Our season turned around after the Minnesota loss; that was the type of loss that the players were bothered by and able to channel,” Foster said. “I always knew we had the talent, but it was baby steps. This is where we are now.” UCLA coach DeShaun Foster, right, and running back T.J. Harden celebrate after the team’s win over Iowa Friday at the Rose Bowl. (Ryan Sun / Associated Press) Running back T.J. Harden, who played a crucial role in UCLA’s win, was excited about the Bruins’ chance to earn

In Las Vegas last summer, a veteran NBA coach spoke about the Lakers’ decision to hire JJ Redick noting that nothing can prepare someone — an assistant, broadcaster, whoever — for the massive volume of decisions a head coach needs to make on a nightly basis. Most of the choices are relatively small — what play to call out of a timeout, when to use a challenge, how to adjust a pick-and-roll coverage. When it comes to decisions, that’s a lot of the job. But Friday night with the Lakers having lost four of their last five games, Redick went down a less common road. He made a big choice. Following a benching Wednesday in a loss to Memphis, Redick moved point guard D’Angelo Russell to the second unit in favor of Cam Reddish, who wasn’t even in the rotation three games ago. Decisions like that are fraught with second-guessing, the kind of moves fans can hold against a coach like they did a year ago when after nine games, Darvin Ham sent Austin Reaves to the bench to start Reddish. Friday, the move worked

California air quality regulators late Friday approved tougher rules to encourage use of lower-carbon fuels, overriding objections that the action would lead to higher gasoline prices for motorists. On an 12-to-2 vote, the California Air Resources Board approved amendments to the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard, or LCFS, which aims to shift California’s fuel dependence away from gasoline and toward lower-carbon fuels such as biodiesel, hydrogen and electricity. The board members voting for the plan, some looking bleary-eyed by the end of the 12-hour meeting, said the new rules were needed to move the state closer to its goal of no longer burning fossil fuels. “From a climate perspective, this is absolutely necessary,” said board member Hector De La Torre. Dean Florez, a former Democratic state lawmaker, was one of two board members to vote no. He said one of his concerns was that the plan would make driving more expensive in a state that already has the second-highest pump prices in the nation after Hawaii. “I’m just kind of wondering how we can in all good conscience, say that … somehow we’re not a

Winning in the MLS playoffs isn’t always about being the best team. It’s about being the hottest. And LAFC may be able to claim both descriptions after Friday’s 1-0 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps. With Mateusz Bogusz scoring in the 62nd minute, LAFC won its best-of-three series with the Whitecaps to advance to the Western Conference semifinals for a third straight season. The win also was the team’s seventh in eight games since mid-September and its fourth straight at BMO Stadium, where it has lost just once in four months. That’s where LAFC, which has the second-best home record in MLS, will meet the Seattle Sounders in the next round. But a two-week playoff pause for the FIFA international break means that game won’t be played until the weekend of Nov. 23 and 24. For the Whitecaps, Friday’s loss ended their most successful season in six years, one in which they captured their third straight Canadian Championship and won 13 regular-season games for the first time since 2018. But they haven’t made it past the first round since 2017. Both teams were playing on just

Officers and family members are asking for the public’s help searching for an at-risk 32-year-old man in Los Angeles, according to the sheriff’s department. Authorities said Christian Xavier Womack was last seen on Nov. 5 at 10:50 p.m. on the 13900 block of Marquesas Way in Marina Del Rey. Authorities said Christian Xavier Womack, pictured above, was last seen on Nov. 5 at 10:50 p.m. on the 13900 block of Marquesas Way in Marina Del Rey. November 2024. (LASD) According to the missing person report, Womack is described as a Black male who stands 6 feet and 2 inches tall, weighing about 205 lbs. He has brown hair and brown eyes and has tattoos on his chest and both of his arms. The report also says he was last seen wearing a black jacket and black jeans. The sheriff’s department said Womack suffers from depression and is possibly leaving the country. His family is concerned for his well-being and asking for the community’s help. Officials encourage anyone with information about this incident to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Missing Persons Unit at 323-890-5500. 

El LAFC y los Whitecaps de Vancouver decidían su suerte el viernes, en el BMO Stadium, para buscar su pase a la segunda ronda de playoffs, después de que la serie estaba igualada a un triunfo por bando. Aunque los angelinos derrotaron a los canadienses por 1-0, no fueron tan contundentes a la hora de concretar sus jugadas sobre su rival. Sin embargo, fue suficiente para ganar la serie 2-1 y seguir en sus aspiraciones a una tercera aparición consecutiva en la Copa MLS. Matheusz Bogusz anotó el único gol del juego que le dio el pase a la siguiente ronda de playoffs. Los angelinos ganaron apretadamente su primera cita ante los Whitecaps con un marcador de 2-1 el 27 de octubre, para que seis días después caer 3-0 en el Juego 2 de la serie a ganar de tres. Los Ángeles no se había visto necesariamente fino en esta primera ronda de playoffs y para este Juego 3 y solo por medio de un error pudo asegurar el triunfo. A los 62 minutos, el LAFC finalmente pudo abrir el cerrojo defensivo de los Whitecaps.

Parece que le gusta complicarse la vida. Eso es al menos lo que indicaría el hecho de que, para hacer su debut en la dirección cinematográfica, Rodrigo Prieto haya decidido ponerse al frente de una nueva versión fílmica de una de las novelas más celebradas de la literatura latinoamericana. Estamos hablando de “Pedro Páramo” (1955), el emblemático libro de Juan Rulfo que sentó las bases del realismo mágico y que solo había sido llevado anteriormente a la pantalla grande en 1967, mediante una película en blanco y negro que no tuvo muchas criticas favorables, pese a contar con la participación del legendario director de fotografía Guillermo Figueroa. Por supuesto, Prieto es también un director de fotografía, y no uno cualquiera. Sus cuatro nominaciones al Oscar por “Brokeback Mountain” (2005), “Silence” (2016), “The Irishman” (2019) y “Killers of the Flower Moon” (2023) lo demuestran claramente, y aseguraban de antemano la majestuosidad de una puesta en escena que se puede todavía disfrutar a través de Netflix -la plataforma que exhibe de manera exclusiva la nueva cinta-, pero que merece definitivamente apreciarse en la pantalla grande, algo que

Officers made one arrest and found 88 pounds of methamphetamine in a trailer in San Bernardino County, officials announced in a release on Friday. According to the sheriff’s department, a sergeant came across two trailers connected to a generator on vacant land in the 13500 block of Rosado Road in Phelan on Thursday afternoon. When the sergeant approached the trailers, multiple individuals fled. Officials reported that deputies searched for the individuals and, with the help of the California Highway Patrol, located and detained Carlos Adrian Lizarraga, 39, of Phelan. Initial reports did not include further information on the other suspects. Deputies later served a search warrant on the trailers, finding the methamphetamine as well as evidence consistent with the manufacturing of the drug. Also found in this search were two AR-style rifles and a handgun. The sheriff’s department said Lizarraga was arrested and booked at the High Desert Detention Center. He is currently being held on $1 million bail. Officers said the investigation is ongoing, and asked anyone with information to contact the Victor Valley Sheriff’s Station 760-552-6800.  To remain anonymous, contact We-Tip at 800-78CRIME

A Hancock Park middle school teacher accused of allegedly grooming and sexually assaulting a 13-year-old boy in her classroom was charged with multiple felony counts, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced Friday. Colleen Jo Matarico, 43, of Valley Village is charged with five felony counts of a lewd act upon a child under age 14, two felony counts of lewd act upon a child age 14 or 15, and one felony count of furnishing a controlled substance to a minor, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón. Matarico allegedly also persuaded the victim to have sexual intercourse with her in her vehicle, according to a statement from the Los Angeles Police Department. Matarico is expected to be arraigned Tuesday in the downtown Criminal Courts Building. Her Linkedin profile states she is a special education teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District. She is listed as a teacher at John Burroughs Middle School in Hancock Park, according to the school’s website. It is alleged that the victim was particularly vulnerable, and that Matarico took advantage of her position of trust and