The Brief

Who says you need art skills to sell your art? I loved this story about Pasadena Humane’s poorly-drawn pets fundraiser — maybe the follow-up project to '90s band Badly Drawn Boy? Kidding. The fundraiser supports the organization's work following the Eaton Fire. It turns out that plenty of people, nearly 450 all over the country, tried their hand at "pet-traits," with varying degrees of success. Check out a few of LAist’s favorites here.

Find even more throughout LAist.com, where we’re remembering screen legend Robert Redford, previewing the best new fall TV shows and gathering all the info you need to snag your 2028 Olympic Games tickets.

Also happening this week...

Events

Tuesday, September 23, 7:30 p.m. 
Camerata Pacifica
The Huntington’s Rothenberg Hall
1151 Oxford Road, San Marino 
COST: FROM $35; MORE INFO

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Manny Becerra

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Russian composer Anton Arensky’s "String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor, Op. 35" opens the Camerata Pacifica concert and season at The Huntington’s Rothenberg Hall, followed by a more contemporary work from Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks and then Johannes Brahms' 1864 piece, "Sextet for Strings No. 2 in G Major, Op. 36." The organization aims to make chamber music more accessible; the performance features musicians Paul Huang, Alena Hove, Che-Yen Chen, Meredith Crawford, Ani Aznavoorian and Santiago Cañon-Valencia.

September 25-28
The Other Art Fair
Barker Hanger
3021 Airport Ave., Suite 203, Santa Monica
COST: FROM $20; MORE INFO

The Other Art Fair is more than just art. You can also party with tunes from KCRW’s Dan Wilcox, check out new work from favorite and undiscovered artists, get a chakra tune-up, take a sound bath or find out your future with a tea leaf reading. Taking place at Barker Hanger in Santa Monica, you can join the fun starting Thursday and go all weekend long. Maybe you’ll get some artwork for your growing collection and support some up-and-coming artists; maybe you’ll go inward and just frame your own aura portrait. Either way, it’s a fun time, and there's so much to see.

Thursday, September 25, 8 p.m.
'Abbot Kidding': A Comedy Show in Venice
Roosterfish
1302 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice
COST: $13; MORE INFO

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Abbot Kidding

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Each week, the charming back patio at Roosterfish in Venice transforms into one of the most unique comedy clubs in L.A. Featuring a variety of performers from across TV and social media fame, the "Abbot Kidding" series is a fun, low-key date night where you might just come across your next favorite act. And you never know who will show up. Previous surprise guests include Alex Edelman (Just For Us).

Through Sunday, October 5
Eureka Day
Pasadena Playhouse
39 S. El Molino Ave., Pasadena 
COST: FROM $53; MORE INFO

Well, it doesn’t get more topical than this. The new show at Pasadena Playhouse is Eureka Day, a comedy about a progressive Berkeley school trying to get its parents to agree on – you guessed it – a vaccination policy. If you don’t laugh, you cry, right? Fortunately, this Tony-winning new play by Jonathan Spector has taken the former route.

Wednesday, September 24, 7 p.m.
Go Inside America’s Test Kitchen with Julia and Bridget
Skirball Cultural Center
2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., West L.A. 
COST: FROM $90; MORE INFO

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Courtesy PBS SoCal

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Chefs and America’s Test Kitchen hosts Bridget Lancaster and Julia Collin Davison will launch their new cookbook at an event with our friends at PBS SoCal. The pair will share time-tested techniques, kitchen essentials, and favorite recipes and tools, live on stage with audience demos and participation opportunities. Plus, your ticket is a donation to PBS SoCal. Yum on all fronts.

Through Sunday, February 15, 2026
'In Bloom: Flowers in Contemporary Art'
Forest Lawn Museum 
1712 S. Glendale Ave., Glendale
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

Painting flowers is nothing new. It’s often one of the first things we learn to do in art class at school. But at the new Forest Lawn Museum exhibit, "In Bloom: Flowers in Contemporary Art," the curation looks at all different approaches to flowers in art, from realistic to abstract; sculpture to painting to video. The exhibit features mostly new works by David Flores, DABSMYLA, Francesca Gabbiani and Eddie Ruscha, Simonette David Jackson, Jasmyn Marie, Analia Saban, Kim Schoen and Tiffanie Turner.

Through Sunday, July 26, 2026
'Jaws: The Exhibition'
Academy Museum 
6067 Wilshire Blvd., Miracle Mile 
COST: INCLUDED IN MUSEUM ADMISSION; MORE INFO

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Academy Museum of Motion Pictures

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Dun dun. Stay out of the water but in the museum for this huge retrospective look at Jaws, celebrating the film’s 50th anniversary year at the Academy Museum. Steven Spielberg himself was on hand for the opening of this exhibit last week; you have almost a year to get up close and personal with the most famous shark of all time.

Viewing Pick

Through Thursday, September 25
Apollo 13: 30th Anniversary in IMAX
Multiple IMAX theater locations
COST: FROM $26; MORE INFO

Failure is not an option. Celebrate American ingenuity and 30 years of quoting “Houston, we have a problem” every time something goes wrong at work by enjoying Apollo 13 in IMAX, Ron Howard’s Best Picture Oscar-winning masterpiece

Dine & Drink Deals

Tuesday, September 23 
Pasta Sisters 10-Year Anniversary 
Multiple locations
COST: $8; MORE INFO

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Pasta Sisters

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Pasta Sisters’ classic Tomato & Basil with Spaghetti will be just $8 (regularly $15) in a "nod to their opening pricing and the viral Buzzfeed video that declared their $8 pasta better than a $100 dish." They’ve also launched happy hour at their Culver City location (4:30 to 6:30 p.m., Monday to Friday) with $8 wines and spritzes, $5 beers, pizza bites ($4-7), ham and cheese focaccia bites ($10), a mortadella and truffle cheese plate ($10) and more.

Tuesday, September 23, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. 
Wines of Georgia tasting 
The Shay
8801 Washington Blvd., Culver City
COST: FROM $23.18; MORE INFO

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Wines of Georgia

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The secret is out about the incredible wines of Georgia — the country, not the state. This biggest-ever Georgian wine tasting event features a Q&A with Phil Rosenthal (Somebody Feed Phil) and award-winning wine personality Vince Anter (V is for Vino), where they will discuss Rosenthal’s recent Season 8 episode filmed in Georgia's capital, Tbilisi.

Thursday, September 25 
National Lobster Day
Luke’s Lobster 
Multiple locations
COST: $20; MORE INFO

Snag a lobster roll at Luke’s Lobster locations for just $20 on National Lobster Day this Thursday (and they're including Friday, too). The quarter-pound lobster roll is available at all locations, including the newly opened Newport Beach location. Each roll is filled with wild-caught, chilled seafood on a split-top, toasted buttered bun with mayo, lemon butter and a sprinkle of Luke’s Secret Seasoning. The roll comes with chips and a soft drink.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Since 1977, Richard Santillan has been to every Opening Day game at Dodger Stadium. 

“The tradition goes from my father, to me, to my children and grandchildren. Some of my best memories are with my father and children here at Dodger Stadium,” Santillan told The LA Local, smiling under the shade of palm trees near the entrance to the ballpark Wednesday morning. He was there to protest the team less than 24 hours before Opening Day.

Santillan, like countless other loyal Dodgers fans, is grappling with his fan identity over the team’s decision to accept an invitation to the White House and owner Mark Walter’s ties to ICE detention facilities.

More than 30 people joined Santillan on Wednesday morning for a press conference held near 1000 Vin Scully Drive to convey a message directly to the team. 

“We are demanding the Dodgers stop participating in funding of inhumane treatment of families and do not go to the White House to celebrate with the criminal in chief,” Evelyn Escatiola told the crowd. “Together, we have the power to make a change.”

Escatiola, a former dean of East Los Angeles College and longtime community organizer, urged fans to flex their economic power by “letting the Dodgers know that we do not support repression.”

Jorge “Coqui” Rodriguez, a lifelong Dodgers fan, spoke to the crowd and called on Dodgers ownership to divest from immigration detention centers owned and operated by GEO Group and CoreCivic.

Jorge Coqui H Rodriguez speaks at a press conference outside Dodger Stadium on March 25, 2026, to demand the Dodgers not to visit the White House following their 2025 World Series win.

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J.W. Hendricks

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In a phone interview a day before the protest, Rodriguez told The LA Local he did not want the Dodgers using his “cheve” or beer money to fund detention centers. 

“They can’t take our parking money, our cacahuate money, our cheve money, our Dodger Dog money and invest those funds into corporations that are imprisoning people. It’s wrong,” Rodriguez said. 

Rodriguez considers the Dodgers one of the most racially diverse teams and said the players need to support fans at a time when heightened immigration enforcement has become more common across L.A.

The team’s 2025’s visit to the White House drew ire from the largely Latino fan base, citing the Trump administration’s ongoing attacks on immigrants. 

In June, the team came under further scrutiny when rumors swirled online that federal immigration agents were using the stadium’s parking, which immigration authorities later denied in statements posted on social media accounts.

The team again came under fire after not releasing a statement on the impacts of ICE raids on its mostly Latino fan base at the height of immigration enforcement last summer. The team later agreed to invest $1 million to support families affected by immigration enforcement.

When he learned the Dodgers were pledging only $1 million to families in need, Rodriguez called the amount a  “slap in the face.” 

“These guys just bought the Lakers for billions of dollars and they give a million dollars to fight for legal services? That’s a joke,” Rodriguez said. “They need to have a moral backbone and not be investing in those companies.”

According to reporting from the Los Angeles Times, former Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershawsaid last week that he is looking forward to the trip.

“I went when President [Joe] Biden was in office. I’m going to go when President [Donald] Trump is in office,” Kershaw said. “To me, it’s just about getting to go to the White House. You don’t get that opportunity every day, so I’m excited to go.”

The Dodgers have yet to announce when their planned visit will take place. 

Santillan sometimes laments his decision to give up his season tickets in protest of the team. His connection to the stadium and the memories he has made there with family and friends will last a lifetime, he said. On Thursday, he will uphold his tradition and be there for the first pitch of the season, but with a heavy heart.

“It’s a family tradition, but the Dodgers have a lot of work to do,” he said.

A local favorite mom-and-pop bookshop in Eagle Rock is facing displacement due to a steep rent hike. The owners say theirs is just one of several small businesses along Eagle Rock Boulevard struggling to keep up with lease increases.

Over the past 19 years, many in the neighborhood have come to love READ Books for its eclectic collection of used titles and shop dog Florence.

Co-owner Jeremy Kaplan said it’s been a delight to grow with the community over the years.

“Like seeing kids come back in, who were in grade school and now they’re in college,” Kaplan said.

But the building where Kaplan and wife Debbie rent was recently sold, and the rent increased by more than 130% to $2,805 a month, Kaplan said. He told LAist it was an increase his small business simply could not absorb.

Kaplan said he originally was given 30 days notice of the rent increase. After some research, assistance from Councilmember Ysabel Jurado’s office and some pro-bono legal help, Kaplan said he pushed back and got the 90-day notice he’s afforded by state law.

California Senate Bill 1103 requires landlords to give businesses with five or less employees 90 days’ notice for rent increases exceeding 10%, among other protections.

Systems Real Estate, the property management company, did not immediately respond to LAist’s request for comment.

What can small businesses do? 

Nadia Segura, directing attorney of the Small Business Program at pro bono legal aid non-profit Bet Tzedek said California law does not currently allow for rent control for commercial tenancies.

Outside of the protections under SB 1103, Segura said small businesses like READ Books don’t have much other recourse. And even then, commercial landlords are not required to inform their tenants of their protections under the law.

“There’s still a lot of people that don’t know about SB 1103. And then it’s very sad that they tell them they have these rent increases and within a month they have to leave,” Segura said.

She said her group is seeing steep rent hikes like this for commercial tenants across the city.

“We are seeing this even more with the World Cup coming up, the Olympics coming up. And I will say it was very sad to see that also after the wildfires,” Segura said.

Part of Bet Tzedek’s ongoing work is to advocate for small businesses, working with landlords who are increasing rents to see if they are willing to give business owners longer leases that lock in rents.

What’s next 

After READ Books posted about their situation on social media, commenters chimed in to express their outrage and love for the little shop.

While he looks for a new spot, Kaplan says he’s forming a coalition of local businesses and activist groups to see what can be done to help other small businesses facing similar displacement. He wants to address the displacement issue for businesses like his, which have made Eagle Rock the distinctive neighborhood that it is today.

Owl Talk, a longtime Eagle Rock staple selling clothing and accessories in a unit in the same building as READ Books, is facing a “more than double” rent increase, according to a post on their Instagram account.

Kaplan said he’s been in touch with the office of state Assemblywoman Jessica Caloza and wants to explore the possibility of introducing legislation to set up protections for small businesses like his, including rent-control measures or a vacancy tax for landlords. Kaplan said he also reached out to the office of state Sen. Maria Durazo.

By his count, Kaplan said there are about a dozen businesses within surrounding blocks that are at risk of closing their doors or have shuttered due to rent increases or other struggles.

When READ Books was founded during the Great Recession, Kaplan said he knew it was a longshot to open a bookstore at the same time so many were struggling to stay in business.

“It was kind of interesting to be doing something that neighborhoods needed. That was important to me growing up, that was important to my children, that was important to my wife growing up,” Kaplan said.

“And then somebody comes in and says, ‘We’re gonna over double your rent.”

Topline:

Frozen budget: Most of the city’s Bureau of Street Lighting budget comes from an assessment that people who own property illuminated by lights pay on their county property tax bill. The amount people pay depends on the kind of property they own and how much they benefit from lighting. A typical single-family home currently pays $53 annually, and in total, the assessments bring in about $45 million annually for the city to repair and maintain streetlights. Changing the amount the Bureau of Street Lighting gets from the assessment requires a vote among property owners who benefit from the lights.

Ballots: L.A. City Council’s vote gives city staff the green light to prepare and send out those ballots. Miguel Sangalang, who oversees the bureau, said at a committee meeting earlier this month that he expects to send out ballots by April 17. Notices about the ballots will be sent out prior to the ballots themselves.

Near unanimous vote: L.A. City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez was the only “No” vote Tuesday, saying she wanted to see a more current strategic plan for the bureau. Sangalang said the bureau developed a plan in 2022 that lays out how money will be spent. Councilmember Imelda Padilla was absent for the vote.

Vote count: Votes will be weighted according to the assessment amount. Basically, the more you’re asked to pay yearly to maintain streetlights, the more your vote will count. Ballots received before June 2 will be tabulated by the L.A. City Clerk.

How much more money: According to a report, the amount needed in assessments from property owners to meet the repair and maintenance needs of the city’s streetlighting in the next fiscal year is nearly $112 million.

Use of the money: Sangalang said at a March 11 committee meeting that the extra funds would be used to double the number of staff to handle repairs and procure solar streetlights, which don’t face the threat of copper wire theft. That would all potentially reduce the time it takes to repair simple fixes down to a week. Currently, city residents wait for months to see broken streetlights repaired. The assessment would come with a three-year auditing mechanism.